Operation Hailstone was a massive United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon on 17–18 February 1944, conducted as part of the American offensive drive against the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre.
Japanese ships burning off Dublon Island.
Japanese ammunition ship Aikoku Maru exploding after a torpedo hit, 17 February 1944.
Katori sinking by the stern following fatal damage from Iowa's main guns.
Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about 1,800 kilometres northeast of New Guinea and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, 225 kilometres (140 mi) around, encloses a natural harbour 79 by 50 km, with an area of 2,130 km2 (820 sq mi). It has a land area of 93.07 square kilometres, with a population of 36,158 people and a maximal elevation of 443 metres (1,453 ft). Weno city on Weno Island functions as both the atoll's capital and the state capital, and is the largest city in the FSM with its 13,700 people.
Chuuk islands
Native Micronesian of Japanese Truk Island, circa 1930s.
Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi in anchorage off Truk Islands in 1943
Japanese shipping under attack in Truk Lagoon during Operation Hailstone on 17 February 1944