{"id":474,"date":"2020-03-02T10:16:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T10:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zoa.com\/2019b\/?p=474"},"modified":"2020-03-03T11:00:14","modified_gmt":"2020-03-03T11:00:14","slug":"chuuk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoa.com\/2019b\/travel\/chuuk\/","title":{"rendered":"Chuuk Lagoon — World’s biggest naval graveyard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Way over on the western side of the Pacific Ocean is a beautiful, tropical atoll that was the site of one of the most one-sided and decisive battles of World War II. Here, at Chuuk Lagoon<\/a> — also known as Truk Lagoon, the Gibraltar of the Pacific — the US Navy did to the Japanese fleet what the Japanese did to the American fleet at Pearl Harbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Operation Hailstone<\/a>, 17\u201318 February 1944, was a massive US Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon. In two days, 500 carrier-based American Hellcats<\/a>, Avengers <\/a>and Dauntless <\/a>dive bombers sank or damaged more than 50 Japanese ships, destroyed more than 250 Japanese warplanes, and killed almost 5000 Japanese soldiers. For a dramatic 9-minute newsreel documenting this attack, click the video below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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