Eten Island and the Fourth Fleet Anchorage

The Fourth Fleet anchored on the eastern side of Dublon, exposed to the Trade Winds. South of Dublon, Eten Island was converted into an airstrip, essentially becoming a stationary aircraft carrier. Personnel were stationed on Dublon and ferried to Eten to sortie. When the attatck came, few pilots were ready and it has been reported that many of the aircraft that were shot down in the initial fighter sweep were manned by cadets or mechanics.

Aircraft were ferried from Japan partly dissasembled, and when it became inevitable that Truk would come under attatck the freighters unloaded quickly and readied for departure. As dawn broke and the fighter sweep bore down on Eten Airfield, the Hellcats found the field crowded with planes wingtip to wingtip. Many were fuelled and strafing ignited the planes on the ground. Fires raged out of control and dozons of aircraft were destroyed before they could become airborne.

 
18. Nippo Maru
 
19. Aikoku Maru
 
20. Momokawa Maru
 
23. San Francisco Maru
 
24. Shotan Maru
 
29. Hoki Maru
 
30. Fujikawa Maru
 
34. Shotan Maru
 

B. Betty Bomber