Japanese planes and buildings smashed in U.S. raid on harbor of Saipan.

Japanese planes and buildings smashed in U.S. raid on harbor of Saipan. Smashed Japanese planes lie on an airstrip of Tanapag Harbor, on the western side of Saipan, as U.S. aircraft attack installations of the submarine and seaplane base. American troops, who landed June 14, 1944, gained control of Saipan, key island in the Marianas group of the Central Pacific, after nearly a month of fighting. Tanapag Harbor will be of immediate value for fueling and rearming American submarines for penetration of waters at the mouth of Japan's home ports. Saipan, which lies at the crossroads of Japan's Pacific supply lines, is only 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from the Japanese home islands.