Are we even? The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, and destroyed our navy. Now we bombed theirs.

On March 2nd, 1943 the American air force destroyed a large amount of the Japanese navy by skip bombing them. The air force killed 3,660 Japanese troops, and injured thousands more with only 950 remain survivors from this battle. It took place on the Bismarck Sea which is near New Guinea's north-eastern coast line.

The battle took place over the course of only a few hours, but left a mark that will last a lifetime for the Japanese.

The attack was so successful that only four of 16 ships remained afloat. This was due to the success of the skip bombing employed by the Americans. Light bombers flew low along the water near the navel ships. The 37,500 pound bombs released by the airplanes were dropped on the water horizontally. This caused the bombs to skip along the surface of the water until the ships' hulls were struck. Thus the ships sunk very rapidly.

The air force learned of the technique from. Major General Arnold, a United States Army officer, who commands the Army Air Forces. Arnold learned how to skip bomb from Britain when he visited London in 1941. Skip bombing was then tested, and used to perfection in this battle.

The American Air Force was alerted to the Japanese ships in the Bismarck Sea by a modern technology called ULTRA intelligence. Then the full-scale attack was launched by the air force. Without warning the Japanese convoy was attacked in the middle of the night. They were taken totally by surprise, and did not have time to protect themselves at all. After the first pass made by the planes, 28 bombs that were dropped hit their prospective targets.

Many of the survivors were rescued by the remaining four ships that were not sunk. The rest swam to shore for safety.