The Japanese seized the Caroline Islands in Micronesia in 1914, and established a naval base on the island of Truk within it in 1939. As the primary anchorage for the Imperial Japanese Navy’s 4th Fleet, Truk was soon transformed into a fortress.
Truk seemed the perfect spot. Offering a natural protected harbor with ready access to nearby deep water, Truk played home to dozens of Japanese warships and merchant vessels. Along the way, the Japanese built five major airfields and a seaplane base. The associated layered air defenses made the place seem impregnable.
American forces called Truk the “Japanese Pearl Harbor.” With the tide of the Pacific War gradually turning in the favor of the Allies, Adm. Ray Spruance ordered Vice Adm. Marc Mitscher’s Fast Carrier Task Force 58 to deal with Truk. They called the two-day aerial assault over February 17-18, 1944, Operation Hailstone.
The Attack
With his five fleet carriers and four light escort carriers in position along with seven battleships and numerous lesser vessels, Mitscher cranked up the party with a heavy fighter sweep that appeared over the island 90 minutes before dawn on the 17th. Dozens of American Hellcat fighters flew in low to avoid rudimentary radar coverage, achieving complete surprise. A total of 30 of the 80 Japanese fighters that launched in response went down in flames.
The Japanese based some 300 warplanes at Truk. Arrayed against this formidable force were around 500 state-of-the-art American carrier aircraft flown by well-trained, seasoned crews. By early afternoon on 17 February, the Japanese were no longer able to mount any serious aerial resistance. That’s when the proper pummeling began.
Japanese commanders appreciated that this had the makings of a disaster, so they ordered all of the ships that were able to make for the mouth of the lagoon to escape. American Dauntless dive bombers and Avenger torpedo bombers queued up to do the deed. However, the Japanese still had plenty of fight left in them.
These carrier air groups cratered the runways on Truk’s several airfields and scattered fragmentation and incendiary bombs among the enemy aircraft on the ground. They divided up the ships remaining the harbor and blew them to pieces. An Avenger piloted by Lt. James Bridges struck the fully loaded ammunition ship Aikoku Maru. The subsequent massive explosion obliterated the vessel and consumed Lt. Bridges’ plane as well.
Fallout
Despite having achieved tactical surprise, the area around Truk lagoon positively bristled with anti-aircraft guns. Many of the these fast-firing weapons were difficult if not impossible to target from the air. They took a heavy toll on attacking American aircraft. As the first day unfolded, the waters around the base filled with downed American aircrew in small rafts.
This was not a particularly desirable place to be. The Japanese were notorious in their ill treatment of Allied prisoners. As an example, during the battle of Midway, every TBD Devastator of Torpedo Squadron 8 was shot down. Those crews that survived to be picked up by Japanese escorts were interrogated, weighted down, and thrown overboard. Only Ensign George Gay survived by hiding underneath a seat cushion as the battle raged around him. Word of this had gotten around. Nobody much wanted to be captured by the Japanese.
Pilots and gunners improvised sails and sea anchors in an effort to distance themselves from the fighting. American submarines were dispatched to gather survivors. One of the subs was the USS Tang skippered by Lt. Cmdr. Richard O’Kane, who went on to earn the Medal of Honor.
In addition to the submarines, American commanders dispatched O2SU Kingfishers to assist in the hunt. These floatplanes launched from U.S. battleships and cruisers via compact steam catapults to be recovered via crane while underway. The Kingfisher was used for search and rescue as well as spotting the fall of shot for long-range surface engagements. This day, the Kingfisher crews were going to ask a lot of their ugly slow little planes.
The Rescue
Lt. John Dowdle and Lt. j.g. John Burns flew the two Kingfishers that searched the surrounding seas for downed aviators. Burns operated off of the battleship USS North Carolina. Spotting a downed Hellcat pilot, Dowdle landed his Kingfisher and taxied up close to take him aboard. However, sea swells were around five feet. An unexpected gust of wind caught the flimsy plane and flipped it over. Now Dowdle, his radio operator Robert Hill, and the downed Hellcat pilot clung madly to the overturned floatplane.
Seeing his fellow sailors in dire straits, Burns landed his Kingfisher and took the three aviators aboard. There was no room for the men in the plane and it was too overloaded to fly, so he taxied to the nearby Tang and offloaded his survivors. Then he went back to work.
By now, the air attacks against Truk had resumed in earnest. Burns spotted another downed Hellcat pilot followed by the crew from an Avenger. He landed and taxied his floatplane from spot to spot, at first having the survivors lash their life rafts behind the aircraft. However, whenever he gained any speed at all, the tiny little rafts just swamped in the wake of the plane. He therefore had the waterlogged men simply climb about the struggling machine and cling to its wings.
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By now the combination of the severe sea state and the massive load of humanity conspired to the beat the Kingfisher to pieces. The main pontoon began to leak, and the plane developed a severe list. With the valiant floatplane now badly taking on water, Burns nursed the crippled machine back to the Tang where everyone transferred onboard. Kane sent Burns and his radioman below so they wouldn’t have to watch and sank the Kingfisher with fire from his deck gun.
The War’s Not Over…
Submarines are notoriously cramped, and this one was now packed with waterlogged aviators. Lt. j.g. Burns had personally rescued 10 downed American aircrewmen, something that earned him the Navy Cross—the Navy’s second-highest award for valor in combat.
The rescued survivors tried to make themselves useful and tagged along for the rest of the Tang’s combat patrol. Upon her return to Pearl Harbor, Lt. Cmdr. Kane dropped off Burns and the rest of the rescued men. Before they departed somebody snapped a picture of them all arrayed around the conning tower.
History has glamorized the Second World War because we have had the luxury of doing so. Thanks to John Burns, 10 Americans who would otherwise have been lost survived to go home, make families, and just live. He was indeed a hero among heroes.
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