After the first day's air massacre, Ozawa still believed hundreds of land-based aircraft remained available because no one had told him what happened over Guam and Rota. Task Force 58 widened its searches and found the Japanese near the edge of strike range with daylight running out. Mitscher launched a long-range dusk attack that sank Hiyo, hit oilers, damaged several carriers and Haruna, and cost twenty American aircraft to fighters and anti-aircraft fire. The returning aircrews then faced darkness, fuel exhaustion, and a U.S. carrier force less practiced in night recovery than its Royal Navy counterpart. Carriers illuminated their decks, destroyers fired star shells, and pilots were cleared to land on any available flight deck despite the submarine risk. Eighty aircraft were lost to crashes, ditching, and dry fuel tanks, although roughly three-quarters of the crews in the sea were rescued. The strike succeeded, but night flying cost far more American aircraft than Japanese action did.
Chapter · 1:32:36-1:41:52
Mitscher's long-range strike and night recovery
The June 20 strike chapter follows Ozawa's fading air strength, Mitscher's distant launch, Japanese tanker and carrier losses, and the dangerous night recovery.