Marines examine wrecked Japanese seaplane. U.S.

Marines examine wrecked Japanese seaplane. U.S. Marines examine a riddled four-motored Japanese seaplane, one of several enemy aircraft caught on the ground by American airmen at the Japanese seaplane base at Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, in the Marianas Islands of the Central Pacific. Saipan, only 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from Tokyo, was captured by U.S. forces on July 8, 1944, after a 25-day fight. Loss of this bastion in the Japanese inner line of defense was followed by the resignation of the Japanese cabinet. Premier-General Hideki Tojo warned his nation as he stepped down that Japan faces an unprecedented national crisis due to the Saipan defeat. Thirteen days after conquering Saipan, U.S. forces stormed ashore on Guam in the Marianas.