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Newport County A.F.C.

Newport County Association Football Club (Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Sir Casnewydd) is a professional association football club in the city of Newport, South Wales. The team compete in, the fourth level of the English football league system. The club's usual home colours are amber shirts and black shorts.

Formed in 1912, the club began life in the Southern League before being invited to become founder members of the Football League Third Division in 1920. They failed re-election in 1931, but were elected back into the Football League the next year. They struggled for the next few seasons, but went on to be crowned Third Division South champions in 1938–39. World War II meant they had to wait until the 1946–47 season to take their place in the Second Division, though they were relegated at the end of the campaign. They were relegated out of the Third Division in 1962. In the 1979–80 season, under manager Len Ashurst, they secured promotion out of the Fourth Division and won the Welsh Cup for the first time. They reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup the next year. In the 1980s they suffered financial difficulties with a double relegation costing them their Football League place in 1988 and the club went out of business in February 1989.

The club reformed but were initially unable to play at their home ground at Somerton Park, so picked up the nickname of the "Exiles". They immediately won the Hellenic League in 1989–90 and were promoted out of the Southern League Midland Division in 1994–95. While playing at Newport Stadium, they were relegated from the Premier Division in 1997, before winning promotion out of the Midland Division again in 1998–99. Placed in the Conference South in 2004, they went on to be crowned champions in 2009–10 and after moving to Rodney Parade in 2012, they returned to the Football League following a 25-year absence after winning the Conference National play-off final in 2013 under manager Justin Edinburgh.

Rise through the league
Newport County, originally nicknamed The Ironsides due to Newport being home to Lysaght's Orb Works steel works, started out in the Southern League in 1912 at Somerton Park. The official name of the club was The Newport & Monmouthshire County Association Football Club, although the shorter Newport County was soon adopted. The club were reformed in 1919 and were first elected to the Football League in 1920. They were not re-elected after the 1930–31 season but rejoined for 1932–33. After almost 20 years in the Third Division South, the club finally clinched promotion to the Second Division as champions in 1939 under manager Billy McCandless.

Second Division
Hopes were high that the championship-winning side could prosper in the Second Division, but only three games were played of the 1939–40 season due to the outbreak of World War II. Newport County managed a 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur and a 3–1 win over Southampton, finishing joint ninth out of 22 in the abandoned season. The War League operated for the remainder of the 1939–40 season and County finished 10th in the South-West Division.

After the war, the club reformed and competed in the temporary Football League South for the 1945–46 season. On the resumption of national league football for the 1946–47 season Newport resumed their place in the Second Division but the reshaped team suffered a host of defeats – including a joint Football League record 13–0 defeat at Newcastle United. Newcastle player Len Shackleton remarked "they were lucky to get nil". Despite victories over Coventry City, Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham, the club needed four wins out of the last four games to have any hope of safety. Despite a revenge victory over Newcastle United, defeats to Birmingham City, Luton Town and Manchester City sealed their fate. County finished bottom of the Second Division and were relegated.

Third Division
Newport reached the fifth round of the 1948–49 FA Cup under manager Tom Bromilow, the furthest they have gone in the competition, later equalled in 2019. They only narrowly lost the game 3–2 away to Portsmouth, the eventual FA Cup semi-finalists and First Division champions that season.

After 11 further seasons in the Third Division South, the club narrowly avoided another effective relegation with the creation of the Fourth Division for the 1958–59 season. The bottom 12 teams from the Third Division North and South were placed in the new division, with the remainder forming the revived Third Division. County avoided this fate by a mere four points. However, in 1962, with only seven wins all season, the club were relegated to the Fourth Division – their home for the next 18 years.

Fourth Division
Billy Lucas had the first of three spells as Newport County manager from 1953 to 1961. County reached the fourth round of the 1956–57 FA Cup losing 2–0 to Arsenal in front of 20,000 spectators at Somerton Park. In the 1958–59 FA Cup County faced Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round. The game was played in heavy snow away at White Hart Lane, and although County lost 4–1 their goal came from an incredible 35-yard effort by defender Ken Hollyman. This made the score-line 1–2, giving County the hope that they could force an upset upon Bill Nicholson's men (who were double winners a year later). However, two late goals for Tottenham ended County's hopes of pulling off a shock result. County faced Tottenham again in the 1959–60 FA Cup third round at Somerton Park in front of a cup record 24,000 crowd, this time losing 4–0.

In January 1964 under Billy Lucas in his second spell as manager, County took on another high-profile side – Burnley, the 1960 Division One champions and 1962 double runners-up – in the FA Cup fourth round, but again suffered defeat 2–1.

In the 1970–71 season the Newport team managed by Bobby Ferguson set an unwanted Football League record by not winning any of their first 25 matches, losing 21 in the process. In the same season Newport equalled the worst defeat of a Football League club by a non-league club when they lost 6–1 to Barnet in the FA Cup first round. Results improved in the following season under Billy Lucas in his third spell as manager and in the 1972–73 season Newport missed out on promotion only on goal average.

For the 1976–77 season the team managed by Jimmy Scoular changed their playing strip to light blue and white striped shirts, light blue shorts and white socks akin to the Argentina national team in an attempt to turn around their fortunes. However, the team continued to struggle until Colin Addison took over in January 1977. The season became known as "the great escape" as County avoided relegation with a 1–0 win at home to Workington in the last game of the season.

Promotion, cup 'glory' and European run
The 1980s heralded both the brightest and darkest moments in Newport County's history. Len Ashurst was manager from 1978 to 1982, the club's most successful period in its history and under the chairmanship of Richard Ford. In the 1978–79 FA Cup County beat West Ham United 2–1 in round three before losing 1–0 to Colchester United in a fourth round replay. In 1980, promotion was finally achieved from the Football League Fourth Division, the club being only five points from being crowned champions although never being in contention to win the league and never being top. County sealed promotion in the last match of the season with a 4–2 win at high-flying Walsall. Walsall finished second in the league and were also promoted.

The team included a young John Aldridge who later became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football history, most famous for helping Liverpool win the First Division title in 1988 and FA Cup in 1989, as well as helping Oxford United win two successive promotions and the Football League Cup.

Also in the promotion-winning team was Tommy Tynan, one of the leading lower-league strikers of his era, who scored the all-important goal that sealed County's promotion. Dave Gwyther completed the trio of prolific goalscorers whilst captain Keith Oakes provided strength in central defence. Youth team products Steve Lowndes and Nigel Vaughan went on to attain international caps for Wales. This was also the year that County won the Welsh Cup, entitling them to play in the 1980–81 season European Cup Winners' Cup.

The 1980–81 European Cup Winners' Cup turned out to be quite eventful – the first round against Crusaders of Northern Ireland was won 4–0 on aggregate (4–0 at home and 0–0 away). The second round against SK Haugar of Norway was even more convincing: after a 0–0 draw away, the home leg was won 6–0, taking the club into the quarter-finals against Carl Zeiss Jena F.C. of East Germany. Aldridge was injured for both matches against Carl Zeiss Jena, though he was a non-playing substitute in the 2nd leg. The quarter-final away leg was drawn 2–2 with Tommy Tynan scoring both goals, including his equaliser in the 90th minute. However, despite dominating the home leg, Newport lost 1–0 in front of 18,000 fans at Somerton Park, denying them a high-profile semi-final with S.L. Benfica. Carl Zeiss Jena went on to be the eventual cup runners-up, losing the final to Dinamo Tbilisi of the Soviet Union.

The Newport County squad for the first leg was: 1 Gary Plumley, 2 Richard Walden, 3 John Relish, 4 Grant Davies, 5 Keith Oakes (Captain), 6 Tommy Tynan, 7 Nigel Vaughan, 8 Steve Lowndes, 9 Dave Gwyther, 10 Karl Elsey, 11 Kevin Moore, 12 Neil Bailey, 13 Steve Warriner, 14 Dave Bruton, 15 Bobby Ward, 16 Mark Kendall.

In the 1982–83 season Colin Addison, in his second spell as manager, led Newport County to their highest post-war league finish – 4th in the Third Division, just four points behind third-placed Huddersfield Town. Huddersfield were promoted to the Second Division, along with champions Portsmouth and local rivals Cardiff City. County had actually gone top of the table in early April after a 1–0 win over Cardiff in front of 16,052 fans at Somerton Park, but a return of only four points from the last seven games meant County missed out on promotion. County faced First-Division team Everton in the third round of the 1982–83 FA Cup. After a 1–1 draw at Newport, Everton won the replay 2–1.

In 1986 County reached the FA Cup third round under manager Bobby Smith, losing 2–0 to Sunderland. Newport appeared in the Welsh Cup final again in 1987 under manager John Lewis, this time losing 1–0 to Merthyr Tydfil after a replay.

Freefall and bankruptcy
Despite reaching the Welsh Cup final, County were relegated from the Third Division in 1987 and in 1988 finished bottom of the Fourth Division with a mere 25 points, meaning that their 60-season stay in the Football League was over. They failed to finish their first season in the Conference and finally went out of business on 27 February 1989 with debts of £330,000. They were then expelled from the Conference for failing to fulfil their fixtures. Their record (four wins, seven draws and 19 points from 29 games) was expunged.

The BBC Wales current affairs programme Week in Week Out broadcast a documentary in 1989 about the winding up of Newport County and its controversial owner at the time, American Jerry Sherman.

Reformation and exile

In June 1989 the club was reformed by 400 supporters, including David Hando as chairman and, later, club president. Former manager John Relish was re-appointed team manager and they were elected to the Hellenic League (then four divisions below the Football League). The club's main aim was to regain the Football League status lost in 1988. The club took on the name "Newport A.F.C." and adopted the nickname The Exiles, as a result of having to play home matches for the 1989–90 season at the London Road ground in the north Gloucestershire town of Moreton-in-Marsh, 80 mi north-east of Newport. Newport Council considered the new company to be a continuation of the old, and refused it permission to use Somerton Park on the grounds of unpaid rent.

Newport won the Hellenic double, gaining promotion to the Southern League. After the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons back home in Newport at Somerton Park, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) consigned them to a further two seasons of exile in England, ground-sharing at Gloucester City's Meadow Park stadium for 1992–93 and 1993–94. The club was forced to resort to legal action to protect themselves from being forced out of the English football league system by FAW secretary Alun Evans, who was promoting the first national League of Wales formed for the 1992–93 season. That litigation proved successful, with a landmark High Court verdict enabling them to have a permanent home in Newport at the then newly built Newport Stadium.

The club's first season back in Newport, in 1994–95 under manager Graham Rogers, saw them promoted to the Southern League Premier Division, after winning the Midland Division Championship by a 14-point margin. On the way to that championship, the club set a then record for the Southern League by winning 14 successive league matches.

Further progress
In 1999, the club reintroduced the name Newport County A.F.C.

In the 2001–02 season the team managed by Tim Harris reached the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time since the club was reformed, drawing Second Division side Blackpool. Holding them to a 2–2 draw away, County lost the home replay 4–1 after extra time. The following season, then managed by Peter Nicholas, Newport reached the final of the FAW Premier Cup beating Swansea City and Cardiff City along the way before losing 6–1 in the final against Wrexham.

Conference South
Subsequent reorganisation of the upper divisions of non-league football saw County take their place in the 2004–05 inaugural season of Conference South, one of the two feeder divisions into the Football Conference. Peter Beadle was appointed manager in October 2005 and in the 2006–07 season Newport again reached the first round proper of the FA Cup but lost 3–1 to Swansea City. In the same season, Newport reached the final of the FAW Premier Cup for the second time, beating Wrexham along the way but losing 1–0 to TNS in the final. In 2006–07 Newport finished just one position below the playoffs after losing 2–1 to Cambridge City on the final day of the season.

In the 2007–08 season, Newport won the last-ever FAW Premier Cup beating Llanelli 1–0 in the final, making a total of one win out of three finals. For the second consecutive season a last-day defeat prevented County reaching the Conference South playoffs. In April 2008 Peter Beadle was sacked as club manager, and was replaced by Dean Holdsworth.

In his first full season in charge, Holdsworth led Newport to a 10th-place finish in the league, despite a poor start. Newport went top of the league in September of the 2009–10 season and held onto the top spot for the rest of the season. The league title was won in March 2010 after beating Havant and Waterlooville 2–0 at Newport Stadium with seven league games remaining. The win made them the first team in the English football leagues to achieve promotion in the 2009–10 season. County finished the season with a Conference South record 103 points, 28 ahead of nearest rivals Dover Athletic. Craig Reid was the league's top scorer with 24 goals in the season.

Conference Premier
Newport County were promoted to the Conference Premier for the 2010–11 season, the level they had played at prior to bankruptcy in 1989. Dean Holdsworth left Newport County to become team manager of League Two club Aldershot Town on 12 January 2011 with Newport County in fifth place in the Conference Premier table. Tottenham Hotspur reserve-team coach Anthony Hudson was announced as the new manager on 1 April 2011. The team finished their first season back in the Conference Premier league in ninth place.

After a poor start to the 2011–12 season with the team last-but-one in the table after picking up just a single win out of the first 12 games, Hudson was sacked on 28 September 2011. He was replaced on 4 October 2011 by Justin Edinburgh with the task of saving County from relegation. Under Edinburgh, County finished in 19th place and so maintained their Conference Premier status. They also reached the 2012 FA Trophy Final and their first Wembley Stadium appearance coincided with the 100th anniversary of the club. County lost the final 2–0 to York City who went on to secure promotion to the Football League a week later in a Wembley play-off match.

In May 2012, Newport County announced that they had agreed a deal to move to the city's rugby stadium, Rodney Parade. In August 2012 EuroMillions lottery winner Les Scadding succeeded Chris Blight as club chairman. In February 2013 a further 10-year lease to play at Rodney Parade was signed.

The centenary 2012–13 season saw Newport County finish third in the Conference Premier league, reaching the play-offs for the first time. A 2–0 aggregate win over Grimsby Town in the two-legged play-off semi-final saw Newport County reach the 2013 Conference Premier play-off final at Wembley Stadium. The final versus Wrexham was the first Wembley final to feature two Welsh teams, and Newport County won 2–0 to return to the Football League after a 25-year absence with promotion to League Two. County were awarded Freedom of the City of Newport on 17 August 2013 in recognition of this achievement.

Return to League Two 2013
On their return to the Football League in the 2013–14 season, Newport County finished a creditable 14th in League Two. On 7 February 2015, with Newport County in sixth place in League Two, it was confirmed that Justin Edinburgh had been appointed manager at Gillingham. Jimmy Dack stepped up from assistant manager at the club to caretaker manager and was later appointed manager until the end of the 2014–15 season. On 29 April, Dack stated he had been offered the manager's job beyond the end of the season but he had decided he would move on after the final game. Newport finished the 2014–15 season in ninth place in League Two. Terry Butcher was appointed team manager on 30 April 2015. On 18 June 2015 Les Scadding resigned as Newport County chairman and director.

Supporters Trust takeover 2015
On 1 October 2015 Newport County Supporters' Trust took over ownership of the club with Tony Pring appointed interim chairman. Butcher was sacked on the same day, with Newport bottom of League Two after gaining just five points from the first 10 matches of the 2015–16 season. John Sheridan was appointed team manager on 2 October 2015 until the end of the 2015–16 season and results improved. Sheridan resigned on 13 January 2016 after just 14 league games to take up the manager's job at Oldham Athletic. Assistant manager Warren Feeney was promoted to team manager on 15 January 2016. On 18 January 2016 County lost 2–1 to Championship team Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup; the first time Newport had reached the third round of the cup since 1986. A good start saw Feeney gain 21 points from his first 12 games but results then worsened. Newport finished the season in 22nd place in League Two, avoiding relegation.

Feeney and Todd were sacked by Newport on 28 September 2016 with Newport County bottom of League Two having gained just six points from their first nine matches of the 2016–17 season. First team coach Sean McCarthy and goalkeeping player/coach James Bittner were appointed joint caretaker managers. Effective from 10 October 2016 Graham Westley was appointed team manager with Dino Maamria his assistant and Mccarthy released by the club. On 9 March 2017 Westley and Maamria were sacked with Newport 11 points adrift at the bottom of League Two.

Progress under Michael Flynn 2017–2021
Following the departure of Westley, first team coach Michael Flynn was appointed caretaker manager for the remaining 12 league matches of the 2016–17 season and Wayne Hatswell returned to the club as assistant manager. A remarkable recovery saw Newport avoid relegation, sealed by a final day of the season 2–1 victory at home against Notts County with centre half Mark O'Brien scoring the 89th-minute winner. The season became known as the second "great escape" in the club's history.

On 9 May 2017 Flynn was appointed permanent team manager on a two-year contract. On 7 January 2018 a 2–1 home win over Championship club Leeds United in the FA Cup third round meant Newport progressed to the FA Cup fourth round for the first time since the 1978–79 FA Cup. In the following round, the club was drawn at home to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. On 27 January 2018 Newport achieved a creditable 1–1 draw to force a replay at Wembley Stadium. Tottenham won the replay 2–0. County finished the 2017–18 season in 11th place in League Two.

Newport began the 2018–19 creditably, securing 23 points from their first 10 games, losing only twice. On 6 January 2019, County won their home FA Cup third round tie against Premier League club Leicester City 2–1. The subsequent Fourth round drew Newport in an away match against Championship club Middlesbrough on 26 January 2019, in which they achieved a 1–1 draw, going on to a home replay victory 2–0 on 5 February 2019. County progressed to the most high-profile fixture in their modern history, the FA Cup fifth round which they had not reached since 1949. The Exiles were rewarded for their success with a home fixture against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on 16 February 2019. County lost the match 4–1 with striker Pádraig Amond scoring a late goal. Amond finished the competition as joint-top scorer with Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus. Newport finished the 2018–19 season in 7th place in League Two, thus qualifying for the League Two play-offs. In the semi-final against Mansfield Town, Newport drew the first leg 1–1 at home, drew the second leg 0–0 at Mansfield but then won the subsequent penalty shoot-out. In the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium on 25 May 2019 Newport lost to Tranmere Rovers 1–0, after a goal in the 119th minute.

On 27 August 2019, Newport County faced West Ham United of the Premier League in the EFL Cup, losing the tie 2–0. Newport also reached the semi-final of the EFL Trophy for the first time on 19 February 2020, losing to Salford City on penalties. The 2019–20 season was suspended on 13 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, with Newport in 15th place in League Two. The club furloughed the players, management team and most staff to "protect the long-term financial viability" of the club. The League Two season was formally terminated on 9 June 2020. Points per game was subsequently adopted to determine the final League Two table with Newport County rising one place to 14th in the league. Club chairman Gavin Foxall stated that they expected to lose 40% of their income as a consequence of continued COVID-19 constraints.

On 22 September 2020 Newport County beat Championship club Watford 3–1 at home in the third round of the EFL Cup to reach the fourth round for the first time in the club's history. Newport were drawn at home to Premier League club Newcastle United in the fourth round and after drawing 1–1 in normal time, Newcastle won the penalty shoot-out. Newport again reached the third round of the 2020–21 FA Cup to face Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion at home and lost to Brighton on penalties having drawn 1–1 after extra time. On 19 January 2021, goalkeeper Tom King scored the first goal of his career with a wind-assisted goal kick in the 12th minute of Newport's 1–1 League Two draw at Cheltenham Town. His goal was confirmed to have broken the Guinness World Record for longest football goal, with a distance of 96.01 metres (105 yards), a record previously held by Asmir Begović. In March 2020 Newport were permitted by the EFL to move two home matches to Cardiff City Stadium due to the poor condition of the Rodney Parade pitch. Newport finished the 2020–21 season in 5th place in League Two and qualified for the play-offs. Newport beat Forest Green Rovers 5–4 on aggregate to reach the play-off final for the second time in three seasons. On 31 May 2021, Newport lost 1–0 to Morecambe in the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium, a contentious 107th-minute penalty.

On 25 August 2021, Newport County faced Southampton of the Premier League in the second round of the 2021–22 EFL Cup but they lost heavily 8–0. Michael Flynn resigned as Newport County manager on 1 October 2021 after nine league matches of the 2021–22 season with Newport 15th in League Two.

2021 onwards
On 19 October 2021, it was confirmed that the club had appointed Cardiff City first team coach James Rowberry as team manager with Newport 13th in League Two after 13 league games. Newport finished the 2021–22 League Two season in 11th place. On 10 October 2022, Rowberry was sacked with Newport in 18th place in League Two after 13 league matches of the 2022–23 season.

On 20 October 2022, Graham Coughlan was appointed manager on a two-and-a-half-year contract. Newport reached the third round of the 2022–23 EFL Cup, losing 3–0 to Leicester City of the Premier League in November 2022. Newport finished the 2022–23 season in 15th position in League Two. In August 2023 Newport County reached the second round of the 2023–24 EFL Cup, losing on penalties to Brentford of the Premier League after drawing 1–1 in normal time.

On 24 January 2024 former Swansea City chairman Huw Jenkins purchased a controlling interest 52% of shares in Newport County from the Supporters Trust. In February 2024 Newport reached the fourth round of the 2023–24 FA Cup, losing 4–2 to Manchester United of the Premier League. Newport finished the 2023–24 season in 18th place in League Two. On 20 June 2024, Graham Coughlan departed the club by mutual consent. On 16 July 2024 Nelson Jardim was appointed as Newport County Head Coach.

Ownership
In 2015 following the sale of the club by majority shareholder Les Scadding, Newport County AFC Supporters Society Limited was established with guidance from the UK Government backed charity Supporters Direct. The Society is established as a trust with an elected board, yearly elections, regular AGMs, and fee-based supporter ownership.

As a Registered Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014) the group acquired a majority shareholding in the football club's trading body, Newport Association Football Club Limited.

The supporters trust members elected a board of between 6 and 12 Directors. The board established that it would aim to operate with 9 directors, with a mixed model of elected and co-opted (unelected) directors. Directors are elected to three-year terms. In 2017 Peter Madigan and Mark Crook were co-opted to serve as unelected directors.

In 2017 a leaked resignation letter by director Charlie Hopkins he made allegations against some serving directors which were disputed by the Trust Board.

In October 2023 Newport County Supporters Trust members voted in favour of selling a controlling interest 52% of shares in the club to former Swansea City chairman Huw Jenkins, subject to EFL approval. The supporters trust retained 27% of shares and other previous private investors retained 21%. The sale was confirmed as completed on 24 January 2024

Supporters
Newport County draws its main support from the city of Newport but also from the wider surrounding historic Monmouthshire area, as reflected in the original club name of Newport & Monmouth County A.F.C. The club's supporters refer to themselves as the Amber Army, in reference to the traditional club colour, and the sporting colours more widely associated with Newport. The club operates the 'ifollow' match day voice and video commentary service for supporters.

The supporters' unofficial anthem is Come on the County, written by Ken Buck and Eric Thomas. Originally released in 1973, it was re-recorded in 1999 and 2010. The 1999 release included the song Carl Zeiss Jena by Newport band Flyscreen, celebrating County's 1981 European campaign. The 2010 release included reworkings of Come on the County by The Tenants Supermen, who are ardent County fans. For the 2012 FA Trophy final, singer-songwriter Tracey Curtis wrote and released the song A Hundred Years of Football (And We're Off To Wembley).

In the 1970s and 1980s comedian Frank Carson was appointed as a director and vice president in order to raise the profile of the club. Newport-based rappers Goldie Lookin' Chain are supporters of the club and were the team's shirt sponsors for the 2004–05 season FAW Premier Cup matches

Rivalries
County fans consider their main rival to be South Wales rivals Cardiff City, however, the two sides have rarely met since the 1980s due to the league gap between them. Other rivals, to a lesser extent, include Welsh rivals Swansea City and Wrexham, as well as relatively local rivals Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers. A 2017 match against Swindon Town saw opposing fans clash before and after the game in Swindon town centre. Before a match at Rodney Parade in January 2020, Swindon fans were filmed throwing toilet paper and drinks containers outside a pub in Newport city centre.

During County's days in the non-league pyramid, Merthyr Tydfil and Bath City were considered rivals. County also used to maintain a rivalry with Hereford United. However, the club went out of business in 2014 and a new club, Hereford FC was formed.

Youth academy
Glyn Jones was appointed director of the Newport County Youth Academy in 1997. In 1998 Newport County established a partnership with Newport City Council and the club has a youth development programme with around 50 students based at Llanwern High School.

The team compete in the Under-18 Football League Youth Alliance. A number of the academy graduates have progressed to the senior squad including Andrew Hughes, Lee Evans, Regan Poole, Aaron Collins, Tom Owen-Evans, Kieran Parselle, Lewis Collins, Kiban Rai and Harrison Bright.

In the 2001–02 season County's youth team won the English Schools' Football Association under-19 trophy under the banner of Hartridge High School. In the 2004–05 season they won the FAW Youth Cup.

In May 2014 Glyn Jones was succeeded after 17 years as academy director by Michael Flynn. In 2015 the academy organisation was restructured to comply to FA requirements and in June 2015 Grant Kalahar was appointed to the senior role of academy manager. Kalahar left the academy at the end of the 2015–16 season with Byron Anthony appointed academy manager.

Newport County were champions of the Football League Youth Alliance in the 2016–17 season.

Byron Anthony resigned in November 2018. Stevenage coach Jorden Gibson was appointed Newport County Academy Manager in June 2019 but he resigned 11 September 2019 following an internal investigation after an altercation with a youth team player. In December 2019 Damien Broad was promoted internally to academy manager. In November 2022 Luke Hussey was promoted internally to academy manager.

Notable former players
For all Newport County players with a Wikipedia article see Category:Newport County A.F.C. players.

Honours
League
 * Third Division South (level 3)
 * Champions: 1938–39
 * Fourth Division (level 4)
 * Promoted: 1979–80
 * Conference Premier (level 5)
 * Play-off winners: 2013
 * Conference South (level 6)
 * Champions: 2009–10
 * Southern League Midland Division
 * Champions: 1994–95
 * Hellenic League
 * Champions: 1989–90

Cup
 * FA Trophy
 * Runners-up: 2011–12
 * Welsh Cup
 * Winners: 1979–80
 * FAW Premier Cup
 * Winners: 2007–08

title: Newport County A.F.C.


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Talk:Michaelis' classification of demons

Dear Warlock, i must confess my astonishment with your article: i never knew that people actually classified demons. Very interesting! Suggestion: put a link to the other classifications: it makes easier to compare... Cheers, Muriel Gottrop 11:55, 1 Aug 2003 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Volkskammer

The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of the German Democratic Republic. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it.

The Volkskammer was initially the lower house of a bicameral legislature. The upper house was the Chamber of States, or Länderkammer, but in 1952 the states of East Germany were dissolved, and the Chamber of States was abolished in 1958. Constitutionally, the Volkskammer was the highest organ of state power in the GDR, and both constitutions vested it with great lawmaking powers. All other branches of government, including the judiciary, were responsible to it. By 1960, the chamber appointed the State Council (the GDR's collective head of state), the Council of Ministers (the GDR's government), and the National Defence Council (the GDR's collective military leadership).

In practice, however, it was a rubber stamp parliament that did little more than ratify decisions already made by the SED Politburo. By the 1970s and before the Peaceful Revolution, the Volkskammer only met two to four times a year.

Membership
In October 1949 the Volksrat ("People's Council"), charged with drafting the Constitution of East Germany, proclaimed itself the Volkskammer and requested official recognition as a national legislature from the Soviet Military Administration in Germany. This was granted by Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. The Volkskammer then convened with the Länderkammer to elect Wilhelm Pieck as the first President of East Germany and Otto Grotewohl as the first Prime Minister of East Germany.

From its founding in 1949 until the first competitive elections in March 1990, all members of the Volkskammer were elected via a single list from the National Front, a popular front/electoral alliance dominated by the SED. In addition, seats were also allocated to various organizations affiliated with the SED, such as the Free German Youth. Effectively, the SED held control over the composition of the Volkskammer. In any event, the minor parties in the National Front were largely subservient to the SED, and were required to accept the SED's "leading role" as a condition of their continued existence.

The members of the People's Chamber were elected in multi-member constituencies, with four to eight seats. To be elected, a candidate needed to receive half of the valid votes cast in their constituency. If, within a constituency, an insufficient number of candidates got the majority needed to fill all the seats, a second round was held within 90 days. If the number of candidates getting this majority exceeds the number of seats in the respective constituency, the order of the candidates on the election list decided who got to sit in the Volkskammer. Candidates who lost out on a seat because of this would become successor candidates who would fill casual vacancies which might occur during a legislative period.

Only one list of candidates appeared on a ballot paper; voters simply took the ballot paper and dropped it into the ballot box. Those who wanted to vote against the National Front list had to vote using a separate ballot box, without any secrecy. The table below shows an overview of the reported results of all parliamentary elections before 1990, with the resulting disposition of parliamentary seats.

In 1976, the Volkskammer moved into a specially constructed building on Marx-Engels-Platz (now Schloßplatz again), the Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik). Prior to this, the Volkskammer met at Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus in the Mitte district of Berlin.

Initially, voters in East Berlin could not take part in elections to the Volkskammer, in which they were represented by indirectly elected non-voting members, but in 1979 the electoral law was changed to provide for 66 directly elected deputies with full voting rights.

After the 1990 election, the disposition of the parties was as follows:

Presidents of the People's Chamber
The president of the People's Chamber was the third-highest state post in the GDR (after the chairman of the Council of Ministers and the chairman of the State Council) and was the ex officio vice president during the existence of the office of president. As such, on two occasions, the president of the People's Chamber served as acting president for brief periods in 1949 and 1960. The last president of the People's Chamber, Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, was also interim head of state during the last six months of East Germany's existence due to the State Council having been abolished.

The presidency of the People's Chamber was held by a bloc party representative for most of that body's existence to keep up the appearance that the GDR was led by a broad coalition. Only one SED member ever held the post.

title: Volkskammer


text:
William Brown (admiral)

William Brown (also known in Spanish as Guillermo Brown or Almirante Brown) (22 June 1777 – 3 March 1857) was an Irish sailor, merchant, and naval commander who served in the Argentine Navy during the wars of the early 19th century. Brown's successes in the Argentine War of Independence, the Cisplatine War, and the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata earned the respect and appreciation of the Argentine people, and he is regarded as one of Argentina's national heroes. Creator and first admiral of the country's maritime forces, he is commonly known as the "father of the Argentine Navy".

Early life
Brown was born in Foxford, County Mayo, Ireland, on 22 June 1777. He emigrated with his father to Baltimore, Maryland in 1793. Probably, they went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A short time after their arrival, the friend who had invited them and offered them food and hospitality died of yellow fever. Several days later, William's father also succumbed to the same disease.

One morning, while he was wandering along the banks of the Delaware River, he met the captain of a ship then moored in port. The captain inquired if he wanted employment and Brown agreed. The captain then and there engaged him as a cabin boy, thereby setting him on the naval promotion ladder, where he worked his way to the captaincy of a merchant vessel.

Comparatively little is known of Brown's early life, and it has been suggested that he was illegitimate and took his mother's surname and that his father's surname was actually Gannon.

Napoleonic Wars
After ten years at sea, where he developed his skills as a sailor and reached the rank of captain, he was press-ganged into a Royal Navy warship. British impressment of American sailors was one of the primary issues leading to the War of 1812.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Brown is said to have escaped the ship he was serving on, a galley, and scuttled the vessel. However, the French did not believe he had assisted them and imprisoned him in Lorient. On being transferred to Metz, he escaped, disguised in a French officer's uniform. However, he was recaptured and imprisoned in the fortress of Verdun. In 1809 Brown escaped from there in the company of a British Army officer named Clutchwell and eventually reached German territory.

Returning to England, he renounced his maritime career and on 29 July 1809, he married Elizabeth Chitty in Kent. As he was a Catholic and she a Protestant, they agreed to raise their sons as Catholics and their daughters as Protestants. Brown left the same year for the Río de la Plata on board Belmond and set himself up as a merchant in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Immigration to Argentina
Brown became part-owner of a ship called Eliza, trading between Montevideo and Buenos Aires. When Eliza met with disaster and ran aground, Brown carried his cargo inland and having disposed of it profitably, he next crossed the Andes to Chile. He had by now accumulated sufficient capital to enable him to purchase a schooner called Industria (Spanish for "Industry") with which he opened a regular sailing-packet service between Uruguay and Argentina, the first such venture in South America. Then, the Spanish colonial government stepped in, sensing a threat to its mercantile interests.

War with Spain
Spanish ships destroyed Brown's schooner and took drastic steps to nullify Argentina's attempts to defend its coasts against Spanish raiders. As a result of the incident, Argentina resolved to provide ships to protect her coasts and trade, with Brown being commissioned as a lieutenant-colonel at the service of the navy and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Argentine fleet. That was following the challenge of Benjamin Franklin Seavers, registered as a Canadian merchant shipman, who relinquished his challenge when Brown's supposedly illegal press-ganging earlier in his career came to light, which is believed to have tipped into his favour to lead the flotilla. Seavers was American-born. However, following the Embargo Act of 1807, like most other merchant shipmen, he became Canadian to avoid the double taxation imposed on international trade.

The River Plate presented new opportunities for captains of free enterprise. It was important to keep grain lines open to the north of the continent, and the Spanish stood in the way. Seavers was Brown's second-in-command; he led the first attack on the Spanish naval force, opening the blockade and providing a path for the fleet to take to high water. Seavers was also the first casualty of the battle. The news of the death of his friend and comrade impelled Brown to launch a full attack on the Spanish as Argentine morale was low at the loss of this experienced officer so early in the engagement.

"On 10 March 1814 the Hercules, joined by the Julieta, the Tortugas, the Fortunata and the felucca San Luis, faced the strong Spanish naval fleet commanded by Captain Jacinto de Romarate. The Spanish armada had six warships, brigs, gunboats and a land battery with four cannons. There was a fierce combat after which the Hercules was stranded. American-born officer Benjamin Franklin Seaver, commander of the Julieta, was killed in action. The Hercules defended herself until 12 March at 10 am. As a result of this combat Commander Elias Smith, Lieutenant Robert Stacy and forty-five sailors were killed by grapeshot. There were about fifty wounded, which imposed a heavy task for the surgeon Bernard Campbell. The flagship received no less than eighty-two cannon blows and was repaired in the war zone. Plumb plates were placed under the waterline and the hull was covered with leathers and tar. Henceforth it was nicknamed as 'the Black Frigate'. Richard Baxter, an English-born officer, was appointed as the new commander. On 17 March 1814, Brown attacked the island Martín García together with the Julieta and the Zephir. The Hercules engaged in combat with the Spanish warships Esperanza and Carmen."

A land attack was organized and at that moment William Brown ordered the fife and the drum to play "Saint Patrick's Day in the Morning", which boosted the morale of the troops.

On 20 April 1814, Montevideo was blocked by Argentine forces. There were no other major engagements until 14 May, when combat started, but the sea conditions stopped a full attack.

Brown resolved to attack the formidable Spanish squadron with his ill-equipped flotilla of seven ships. On 8 March 1814, Brown took his ships to sea and within 48 hours, he was engaged in a furious battle. Land and sea forces saw action at Martín García island, a fortified island 20 mi from Buenos Aires, known as "the Gibraltar of the River Plate", which commanded the access to the rivers Paraná and Uruguay. Brown failed to win possession of the island, and his flagship, Hercules, was badly battered and ran aground. Argentine forces attacked by land and sea on 14 March and after a stiff contest, he succeeded in gaining possession of Martín García. The Spanish commander took his ships to Montevideo pursued by Brown whose naval forces were increased by the addition of three armed merchant vessels.

The Spanish blockading squadron was now blockaded itself by Brown and his fleet. Montevideo was threatened with starvation. Brown, pretending to retreat, drew the Spanish forces away on 14 May from the protection of the fort guns, and two days afterwards, an engagement took place in the course of which Brown's leg was shattered by a cannonball. Undeterred, he continued to issue orders and direct operations while lying on the deck of Hercules. In a panic, the Spanish squadron sailed for shelter to port, but three of the ships were captured. As a direct result, the Río de la Plata was freed from Spanish control and Montevideo fell to the Argentines.

The battle continued for Brown well after Argentina claimed victory. Assisted by Hippolyte de Bouchard, he chased and harassed Spanish shipping not only in Argentine waters but also on the west coast of the Americas and throughout the Pacific, much to the consternation of the Argentine investors of his ships. Stranded on an island and exhausted from fever, news arrived that he was to be court-martialed on his return to Argentina. He returned to England, where he fought a legal and political battle, which he won with the support of his allies. He returned to Argentina and had Hercules gifted to him. William Brown took up farming and enjoyed 14 years of contented and happy family life.

War with Brazil
Brown remained active. Uruguay had been a bone of contention between Spain and Portugal for three centuries and now played the same role in relations between Argentina and Brazil. On 14 December 1825, war broke out between the two nations.

The Argentine authorities had neither an experienced admiral nor a fleet, with all their energies being deployed to land campaigns along the borders. The coast seemed invisible, and Brown had long campaigned for an operational fleet but was ignored and labelled a "foreigner" by most of his opposition, which had turned from the "blue shirt" of the union to the "red shirt" of the federation. Then his chance finally came.

He was once again coaxed from his retirement by the "cap in hand" opposition to save the port of Buenos Aires. Brown accepted his commission and with a team of caulkers, he started building and equipping a fleet, as best he could.

The Brazilians initiated operations by blockading Argentina, which, under Brown's guidance, improvised a new naval squadron of which he took command. Before the battle, Brown said two of his most memorable quotes: "Comrades: confidence in victory, discipline, and three hails to the motherland!" and, a few minutes later, "Open fire, the people are watching us!" As a counter to the blockade of Argentina, he vigorously attacked the Brazilian coast, shattered Brazilian shipping and, at the hard-fought Battle of Juncal (24 February 1827), destroyed the entire opposing Brazilian squadron, with seven ships and eight 1-gun launches. He also took its commander prisoner. On 11 June 1826, the Battle of Los Pozos took place between the Argentine and Brazilian forces in view of Buenos Aires, Argentina having only eleven ships as opposed to Brazil's thirty-one warships. Later, he fought in the Battle of Monte Santiago, and peace of a sort followed, with Brown acting as Argentine commissioner when the Treaty of Montevideo was signed on 4 October 1827.

War with Uruguay

Factional disputes within Uruguay led Argentine leader Juan Manuel de Rosas to support his friend, the deposed Uruguayan president Manuel Oribe, in the civil war between the Blancos (supporting Oribe) and the Colorados. Brown returned to active service and defeated his former officer John Coe in three engagements near Montevideo. On 15 August 1842, he fought a battle on the River Paraná, defeating a Uruguayan riverine fleet of launches commanded by the future hero of the Italian Risorgimento, Giuseppe Garibaldi. After pursuing the Uruguayan up the river, Brown forced a landing and his marines brought the Uruguayans to action.

Many men on both sides knew one another from previous engagements and a minority of Brown's men, having gained the advantage, took personal vengeance on a prisoner, emasculating him. Brown became enraged and, tolerating no cowardice among his men, severely punished them using the infamous "gauntlet" technique. The men were stripped and walked between two lines of their comrades who beat them with rods, with some killed. Brown, refusing to accept the victory because of the dishonour brought upon the battle by his men, used his influence to have Garibaldi released from prison where he was awaiting trial and certain execution. Brown used a saying on such occasions when loyalties were in question: "Even if to the devil the word is given, then it must be kept". Honour in the line of duty was important to him, and his services to his adopted country were seen in the favour of Garibaldi, who would years later name one of his grandchildren "William" after Brown. The Argentine/Blanco forces occupied most of Uruguay but could not capture Montevideo, which endured a nine-year siege beginning in February 1843. When access to Paraguay was blocked in 1845, the United Kingdom and France entered the conflict on the Colorado side.

Last years
In 1847, Admiral Brown visited his native Foxford accompanied by his daughter.

After the fall of the Rosas regime, many naval officers found themselves discharged but not the Commander of the Navy. Brown remained honoured for his long and loyal service to the nation. Retiring to his villa, Casa Amarilla at Barracas, Brown was visited by Grenfell, his opponent in the Brazilian war, who remarked how ungrateful the Republic was to its good servants; the old Admiral replied: "Mr Grenfell, it does not burden me to have been useful to the mother country of my children; I consider the honours and the wealth superfluous when six feet of earth are enough to rest so many difficulties and pains."

On 3 March 1857, he died and was buried with full military honours. The Argentine government issued a comuniqué: "With a life of permanent service to the national wars that our homeland has fought since its independence, William Brown symbolized the naval glory of the Argentine Republic". During his burial, General Bartolomé Mitre famously said: "Brown in his lifetime, standing on the quarterdeck of his ship, was worth a fleet to us". His grave is currently located in the Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires.

Legacy
Commemorative stamps showing him were issued in 1957 and 2003 by the Irish government, and in 1891, 1935, 1957, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 2007, 2014, by the Argentine government.

Since the mid-1980s, a replica of Brown's sword has been worn by Admirals of the Argentine Navy. One such replica is on display in the National Maritime Museum of Ireland. The original is in the National Historical Museum of Argentina.

Statues and memorials of Brown's battles are located in both Buenos Aires and Foxford, his birthplace in Ireland. A museum to his honour was opened in Foxford, located on Lower Main Street. In April–June 2006 the Irish Naval Service patrol boat LÉ Eithne travelled to Buenos Aires in the first-ever deployment of an Irish warship in the southern hemisphere, in order to participate in commemorations of the impending sesquicentenary of Brown's death, and to bring back a statue of Brown to be displayed in Dublin. During the trip, LÉ Eithne made a stop in the city of Mar del Plata, where they visited Plazoleta Almirante Brown (Admiral Brown's Square) and pay tribute to the Irish naval hero along with their colleagues of the Argentine Navy.

Bertie Ahern, the Irish Taoiseach, said on 27 September 2006 on the occasion of unveiling the new statue of Brown on Admiral Brown Way, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin: "Back in 2001, it was my honour to lay a wreath at the Admiral Brown monument in Buenos Aires and to unveil a plaque commemorating my visit there. I brought away with me a clear sense of just what a significant figure William Brown is in Argentine history as well as a real idea of just how strong the links are, past and present, between our two countries."

Located in Casa Amarilla, a replica of Brown's house in La Boca neighbourhood, the Brownian National Institute (Instituto Nacional Browniano) was created in 1948 for "research and study the nation's maritime history and naval interests, and cooperate with both the Argentine and Irish governments in the investigation of William Brown's life and military achievements". The centre is based in Buenos Aires, with branches throughout the country.

Also, a substantial number of Argentine warships and political entities have been named after him. Examples include: Since 25 November 2012, the winner of the rugby international between Argentina and Ireland has been awarded The Admiral Brown Cup (La Copa Almirante Brown). Ireland became the first team to win this after defeating Argentina 46 points to 24 points.
 * The Almirante Brown-class destroyer of destroyers, a group of four German-designed military ships commissioned between 1983 and 1984 for the Argentine navy.
 * ARA Almirante Brown, an Italian-built cruiser in service during World War II, whose design was similar to those of the Trento-class cruiser.
 * ARA Almirante Brown, a currently active destroyer.
 * The Almirante Brown Antarctic Base, an Antarctic base located in Paradise Bay.
 * In 1982 the Wolfe Tones composed and performed a tribute song titled "Admiral William Brown".
 * The Almirante Brown department in Chaco Province, in the country's northern region.
 * The Almirante Brown Partido in Buenos Aires Province, located at the south of the Gran Buenos Aires urban area.
 * The Admiral William Brown National College, a high school located in Adrogué, Buenos Aires Province. Colegio Nacional Almirante Guillermo Brown.
 * Four different football clubs: Club Atlético Almirante Brown located in the town of Arrecifes, Club Almirante Brown located in Isidro Casanova, Brown Athletic Club from Adrogué, and Puerto Madryn-based Guillermo Brown.

title: William Brown (admiral)


text:
GEB

The GEB or Geb may refer to:
 * Geb, an Egyptian god
 * Games and Economic Behavior, a scholarly journal
 * Gödel, Escher, Bach, a book by Douglas Hofstadter
 * Golden Eagle Band of the University of North Georgia
 * Golden Eagle Broadcasting, an American television network
 * Guiding Eyes for the Blind, an American guide dog training school
 * Haile Gebrselassie (born 1973), Ethiopian long-distance runner

title: GEB


text:
Mbuti mythology

Mbuti (Bambuti) mythology is the mythology of the African Mbuti (also known as Bambuti) Pygmies of Congo.

The most important god of the Bambuti pantheon is Khonvoum (also Khonuum, Kmvoum, Chorum), a god of the hunt who wields a bow made from two snakes that together appear to humans as a rainbow. After sunset every day, Khonvoum gathers fragments of the stars and throws them into the Sun to revitalize it for the next day. He occasionally contacts mortals through Gor (a thunder god who is also an elephant) or a chameleon (similar to the divine messenger used by Orish-nla of Yoruba mythology). Khonvoum created mankind from clay. Black people were made from black clay, white people came from white clay, and the Pygmies themselves came from red clay. He also creates the animals that are needed by hunters (Polygenism).

Arebati is a lunar deity and Sky Father. In some sources, he was said to have created humanity from clay, instead of Khonvoum.

Tore is a god of the forests who supplies animals to hunters. He is also a thunder god who appears as a storm and hides in rainbows. Most importantly, Tore appears as a leopard in the initiation rites. The first Pygmies stole fire from Tore; he chased them but could not catch them, and when he returned home, his mother had died. As punishment, he decreed that humans would also die, and he thus became the death god.

Negoogunogumbar is a child-eating giant. Obrigwabibikwa is a dwarf who can change himself into a reptile.

A Mbuti soul is called a megbe. When a man dies, his son places his mouth over his to draw in part of the megbe. Another part inhabits the man's totem animal. If the son does not inhale the megbe or the totem animal is later killed, the megbe may escape into the forest, where it becomes a semi-visible being called a Lodi and lives forever with others like it.

title: Mbuti mythology


text:
Battle of the Philippine Sea

The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a major naval battle of World War II on 19–20 June 1944 that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War. The battle was the last of five major "carrier-versus-carrier" engagements between American and Japanese naval forces, and pitted elements of the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet against ships and aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Mobile Fleet and nearby island garrisons. This was the largest carrier-to-carrier battle in history, involving 24 aircraft carriers, deploying roughly 1,350 carrier-based aircraft.

The aerial part of the battle was nicknamed the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot by American aviators for the severely disproportional loss ratio inflicted upon Japanese aircraft by American pilots and anti-aircraft gunners. During a debriefing after the first two air battles, a pilot from USS Lexington (CV-16) remarked "Why, hell, it was just like an old-time turkey shoot down home!" The outcome is generally attributed to a wealth of highly trained American pilots with superior tactics and numerical superiority, and new anti-aircraft ship defensive technology (including the top-secret anti-aircraft proximity fuze), versus the Japanese use of replacement pilots with not enough flight hours in training and little or no combat experience. Furthermore the Japanese defensive plans were directly obtained by the Allies from the plane wreckage of the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, Admiral Mineichi Koga, in March 1944.

During the course of the battle, American submarines torpedoed and sank two of the largest Japanese fleet carriers taking part in the battle. The American carriers launched a protracted strike, sinking one light carrier and damaging other ships, but most of the American aircraft returning to their carriers ran low on fuel as night fell. Eighty American planes were lost. Although at the time the battle appeared to be a missed opportunity to destroy the Japanese fleet, the Imperial Japanese Navy had lost the bulk of its carrier air strength and would never recover. This battle, along with the Battle of Leyte Gulf four months later, marked the end of Japanese aircraft carrier operations. The few surviving carriers remained mostly in port thereafter.

Japanese plan for a decisive battle
From the very start of the conflict in December 1941, the Japanese war plan had been to inflict such severe and painful losses on the US military that its public would become war weary and the American government would be convinced to sue for peace and allow Japan to keep its conquests.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto had grown wary of this strategy, but he was killed in Operation Vengeance on 18 April 1943. The following day, Admiral Mineichi Koga succeeded Yamamoto as commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, and Koga wanted the Imperial Japanese Navy to engage the American fleet in the "single decisive battle" in early 1944. On 31 March 1944 Koga was killed when his aircraft (a Kawanishi H8K) flew into a typhoon and crashed. Koga's chief of staff, Vice Admiral Shigeru Fukudome, was flying in an accompanying plane and carrying the Z Plan documents, and also crashed. Fukudome survived, but the Z Plan briefcase did not sink with the destroyed aircraft and was recovered by Filipino guerillas who over the next few weeks transported the documents to General Douglas MacArthur's Military Intelligence Service (MIS) in Brisbane, Australia. MIS forwarded the translated Z Plan to Admiral Chester Nimitz in Honolulu, and the Japanese plans were quickly dispatched to the fleet commanders in the Philippine Sea in June. A new commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Soemu Toyoda, was appointed, and he finalized the Japanese plans known as Plan A-Go or Operation A-Go. Operation A-go did not change much from the Z Plan, so the U.S. Navy knew exactly what was going to happen during the upcoming naval battle. The plan was adopted in early June 1944. Within weeks, an opportunity arose to engage the American fleet now detected heading for Saipan.

The Japanese had some advantages they hoped would turn the battle in their favor. Though outnumbered in ships and aircraft, they planned to supplement their carrier airpower with land-based aircraft.

Advantages for the Americans
Meanwhile, IJN aircrew losses, suffered during earlier carrier battles at Coral Sea, Midway, and the long Solomon Islands campaign of 1942–43, had greatly weakened the Japanese Navy's ability to project force with its carriers. Losses suffered in the Solomons drastically reduced the number of skilled carrier pilots available to fill the carrier air groups. It took nearly a year for the Japanese to reconstitute their groups following the Solomons campaign.

Japan no longer had enough oil tankers to transport the required volume of petroleum from the Dutch East Indies to Japanese refineries. Without adequate supplies of refined residual fuel oil, Japanese aircraft carriers refueled with unrefined Tarakan petroleum in June 1944. This undesalted petroleum damaged boiler tubes, and the unremoved naphtha fraction volatilized the fuel to form explosive atmospheres incompatible with aircraft carrier damage control procedures.

In early 1944 the U.S. fleet continued its advance in a steady progression across the islands of the central Pacific. While U.S. commanders, particularly Admiral Spruance, were concerned about the Japanese trying to attack U.S. transports and newly landed forces, the Japanese objective was actually to engage and defeat the Fast Carrier Task Force in a decisive battle.

Initial stages

On 12 June 1944 U.S. carriers made air strikes on the Marianas, convincing Admiral Soemu Toyoda that the U.S. was preparing to invade. This move came as a surprise; the Japanese had expected the next U.S. target to be farther to the south, either the Carolines or the Palaus, and had protected the Marianas with only 50 land-based aircraft. On 13–15 June American carriers made additional airstrikes while surface forces bombarded the Marianas. On June 15, the first American troops went ashore on Saipan.

Since control of the Marianas would bring American strategic bombers within range of the Japanese home islands, the IJN decided it was time for the long-awaited Kantai Kessen (decisive battle). Toyoda immediately ordered a fleet-based counterattack, committing nearly all of the Japanese navy's serviceable ships.

The main portions of the fleet rendezvoused on 16 June in the western part of the Philippine Sea and completed refueling on 17 June. Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa commanded this force from his newly commissioned flagship, JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Taihō. In addition to extensive command facilities, reinforced torpedo blisters and a large air group, Taihō was the first Japanese carrier with an armor-plated flight deck, designed to withstand bomb hits with minimal damage.

At 18:35 on 15 June the submarine USS Flying Fish (SS-229) sighted a Japanese carrier and battleship force coming out of San Bernardino Strait. An hour later USS Seahorse (SS-304) spotted a battleship and cruiser force steaming up from the south, 200 mi east of Mindanao. The submarines were under orders to report sightings before attempting to attack, so Flying Fish waited until nightfall, then surfaced to radio in its report. Fifth Fleet commander Spruance was convinced that a major battle was at hand. After consulting with Nimitz at Pacific Fleet Headquarters in Hawaii, he ordered Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher, commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force (Task Force 58), who had sent two carrier task groups north to intercept aircraft reinforcements from Japan, to reform and move west of Saipan into the Philippine Sea. TF 52's battleships, cruisers and escort carrier groups were ordered to remain near Saipan to protect the invasion fleet and provide air support for the landings.

Shortly before midnight on 18 June Nimitz radioed Spruance that a Japanese vessel had broken radio silence. The message intercepted was an apparent dispatch from Ozawa to his land-based air forces on Guam. Radio direction-finding placed the sender approximately 355 mi west-southwest of TF 58. Mitscher considered whether the radio messages were a Japanese deception, as the Japanese were known to send a single vessel off to break radio silence, to mislead their adversaries about the actual location of the main force.

Mitscher realized that there was a chance of a night surface encounter with Ozawa's forces. Arleigh Burke, Mitscher's chief of staff (a former destroyer squadron commander who had won several night battles in the Solomons), assumed that battle line commander Willis Lee would welcome the opportunity. But Lee strongly opposed such an encounter. Having personally experienced a confused night action off Guadalcanal, Lee was not enthusiastic about a night engagement with Japanese surface forces, believing that his crews were not adequately trained for it. Shortly after learning Lee's opinion, Mitscher requested permission from Spruance to move TF 58 west during the night, to reach a launch position at dawn that would allow for a maximum aerial assault on the enemy force. Spruance considered for an hour, then refused Mitscher's request. Mitscher's staff was disappointed with Spruance's decision. Burke later commented: "We knew we were going to have hell slugged out of us in the morning. We knew we couldn't reach them. We knew they could reach us."

Spruance's decision was influenced by his orders from Nimitz, who had made it clear that the protection of the invasion fleet was the primary mission of TF 58. Spruance had concerns that the Japanese would attempt to draw his main fleet away from the Marianas with a diversionary force while slipping an attack force in to destroy the landing fleet. Locating and destroying the Japanese fleet was not his primary objective, and he was unwilling to allow the main strike force of the Pacific Fleet to be drawn westward, away from the amphibious forces. Mitscher accepted the decision without comment. Spruance's decision in this matter, although subsequently criticized, was certainly justified; by this point in the war, it was well known that Japanese operational plans frequently relied on the use of decoys and diversionary forces. Spruance, as it turned out, was acting appropriately to the Japanese plans that called for a diversion to draw the fleet far away so there would be a great opportunity for land-based Japanese planes to also augment the carrier aircraft to attack Spruance's fleet.

Before daybreak, Spruance suggested that if the daybreak searches revealed no targets, the bombers could be sent to crater the airfields on Rota and Guam. However, the fleet's contact-fused bombs had been largely used up in the earlier strikes, and Mitscher was left with only the armor-piercing bombs needed to combat the Japanese fleet, so he informed Spruance he could not launch such strikes. As the morning broke, TF 58 launched search aircraft, combat air patrols (CAP) and anti-submarine patrols and then turned the fleet west to gain maneuvering room from the islands. The U.S. Navy had developed a sophisticated air control system, which vectored CAP fighters by radar to intercept enemy bombers well before they reached the fleet. Any attackers that got through the CAP would then face a "gun line" of screening battleships and cruisers that would put up devastating barrages of VT-fuzed anti-aircraft fire before the attackers reached the aircraft carriers.

Early actions
The Japanese had already launched their morning search patrols, using some of the 50 aircraft stationed on Guam, and at 05:50 one of these, a Mitsubishi A6M Zero, found TF-58. After radioing his sighting of U.S. ships, the bomb-carrying Zero attacked picket destroyer USS Stockham (DD-683) but was shot down by the destroyer USS Yarnall (DD-541).

Alerted, the Japanese began launching their Guam-based aircraft for an attack. These were spotted on radar by U.S. ships. A group of thirty Grumman F6F Hellcats were dispatched from USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) to deal with the threat. The Hellcats arrived while aircraft were still launching from Orote Field. Minutes later, additional radar contacts were seen, which were later discovered to be the additional forces being sent north from the other islands. A battle broke out in which 35 Japanese aircraft were shot down for the loss of a single Hellcat. It was a pattern that would be repeated throughout the day. At 09:57 large numbers of Japanese aircraft were picked up approaching the fleet. Mitscher said to Burke, "Get those fighters back from Guam." The call "Hey, Rube!" was sent out. The fleet held steady until 10:23, when Mitscher ordered TF 58 to turn into the wind on course east-southeast, and ordered all fighter aircraft aloft, deployed in several layers of CAP to await the Japanese. He then sent his bomber aircraft aloft to orbit open waters to the east rather than leaving them in a hangar deck full of aircraft vulnerable to a Japanese bomb attack.

Japanese raids

The recall had been ordered after several ships in TF 58 picked up radar contacts 150 mi to the west around 10:00. This was the first of the raids from the Japanese carrier forces, with 68 aircraft. TF 58 started launching every fighter it could; by the time they were in the air the Japanese had closed to 70 mi. However, the Japanese began circling to regroup their formations for the attack. This 10-minute delay proved critical, and the first group of Hellcats met the raid, still at 70 mi, at 10:36. They were quickly joined by additional groups. Within minutes, 25 Japanese aircraft had been shot down, against the loss of only one U.S. aircraft.

The Japanese aircraft that survived were met by other fighters, and 16 more were shot down. Of the 27 aircraft which remained, some made attacks on the picket destroyers USS Yarnall and Stockham but caused no damage. Between three and six bombers broke through to Lee's battleship group and attacked; one bomb hit the main deck of USS South Dakota (BB-57), killing or injuring over 50 men but failing to disable her. South Dakota was the only American ship damaged in this attack. No aircraft of Ozawa's first wave got through to the American carriers.

At 11:07, radar detected another, larger attack. This second wave consisted of 107 aircraft. They were met while still 60 mi out, and at least 70 of these aircraft were shot down before reaching the ships. Six attacked Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery's group, nearly hitting two of the carriers and causing casualties on each. Four of the six were shot down. A small group of torpedo aircraft attacked USS Enterprise (CV-6), with one torpedo exploding in the wake of the ship. Three other torpedo aircraft attacked the light carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) and were shot down. In all, 97 of the 107 attacking aircraft were destroyed.

A third raid, consisting of 47 aircraft, came in from the north. It was intercepted by 40 fighters at 13:00, while 50 mi out from the task force. Seven Japanese aircraft were shot down. A few broke through and made an ineffective attack on the Enterprise group. Many others did not press home their attacks. This raid therefore suffered less than the others, and 40 of its aircraft managed to return to their carriers.

A fourth Japanese raid was launched between 11:00 and 11:30, but pilots had been given an incorrect position for the U.S. fleet and could not locate it. They broke into two loose groups and turned for Guam and Rota to refuel. One group flying toward Rota stumbled upon Montgomery's task group. Eighteen aircraft joined battle with American fighters and lost half their number. A smaller group of nine Japanese dive bombers of this force evaded U.S. aircraft and attacked USS Wasp (CV-18) and Bunker Hill but scored no hits; eight were shot down. The larger group of Japanese aircraft had flown to Guam and were intercepted over Orote Field by 27 Hellcats while landing. Thirty of the forty-nine Japanese aircraft were shot down, and the rest were damaged beyond repair. Aboard the Lexington afterward, a pilot was heard to remark "Hell, this is like an old-time turkey shoot!"

Including the continued aerial slaughter over Orote Field, Japanese losses exceeded 350 planes on the first day of battle. About 30 American planes were lost, and there was little damage to American ships; even the damaged South Dakota was able to remain in formation to continue her anti-aircraft duties.

Submarine attacks
Throughout the day, American scout aircraft had been unable to locate the Japanese fleet. However, two American submarines had already spotted Ozawa's carriers early that morning and were about to provide important assistance to the Fast Carrier Task Force.

At 08:16 the submarine USS Albacore (SS-218), which had sighted Ozawa's carrier group, had maneuvered into an ideal attack position; Lieutenant Commander James W. Blanchard selected the closest carrier as his target, which happened to be Taihō, the largest and newest carrier in the Japanese fleet and Ozawa's flagship. As Albacore was about to fire, however, her fire-control computer failed, and the torpedoes had to be fired "by eye". Determined to go ahead with the attack, Blanchard ordered all six torpedoes to be fired in a single spread to increase the chances of a hit.

Taihō had just launched 42 aircraft as a part of the second raid when Albacore fired the torpedo spread. Of the six torpedoes fired, four veered off-target. Japanese pilot Sakio Komatsu had recently launched and from his aircraft sighted one of the two torpedoes which were heading for Taihō. Komatsu dived into the path of the torpedo which then detonated. The sixth torpedo struck the carrier on her starboard side and ruptured two aviation fuel tanks. The carrier's escorting destroyers made depth charge attacks but caused only minor damage to Albacore. Initially, the damage to Taihō seemed minor; the flooding was quickly contained and the carrier's propulsion and navigation were unaffected. Taihō quickly resumed regular operations, but gasoline vapor from the ruptured fuel tanks began to fill the hangar decks, creating an increasingly dangerous situation on board.

Another submarine, USS Cavalla (SS-244), was able to maneuver to an attack position on the 25,675-ton carrier JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Shōkaku by about noon. The submarine fired a spread of six torpedoes, three of which struck Shōkaku on her starboard side. Badly damaged, the carrier came to a halt. One torpedo had hit the forward aviation fuel tanks near the main hangar, and aircraft that had just landed and were being refueled exploded into flames. Ammunition and exploding bombs added to the conflagration, as did burning fuel spewing from shattered fuel pipes. With her bows subsiding into the sea and fires out of control, the captain gave orders to abandon ship. Within minutes, there was a catastrophic explosion of aviation fuel vapor which had built up between decks, which blew the ship apart. The carrier rolled over and sank about 140 mi north of the island of Yap. 887 crew and 376 men of the 601st Naval Air Group, 1,263 men in all, were killed. There were 570 survivors, including the carrier's commanding officer, Captain Hiroshi Matsubara. Destroyer JAPANESE DESTROYER Urakaze attacked the submarine, but Cavalla escaped with relatively minor damage despite near misses from depth charges.

Meanwhile, Taihō was falling victim to poor damage control. Hoping to clear the explosive fumes, an inexperienced damage-control officer ordered her ventilation system to operate at full blast. This action instead spread the vapors throughout Taihō, putting the entire vessel at risk. At approximately 14:30, a spark from an electric generator on the hangar deck ignited the accumulated fumes, triggering a series of catastrophic explosions. After the first explosions, it was clear that Taihō was doomed, and Ozawa and his staff transferred to the nearby destroyer JAPANESE DESTROYER Wakatsuki. Soon thereafter, Taihō suffered a second series of explosions and sank. From a crew of 2,150, 1,650 officers and men were lost.

U.S. counterattack

TF 58 sailed west during the night to attack the Japanese at dawn. Search patrols were put up at first light.

Ozawa had transferred to the destroyer Wakatsuki, but the radio gear on board was incapable of sending the number of messages needed, so he transferred again, to the carrier JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Zuikaku, at 13:00. He then learned of the disastrous results of the previous day and that he had about 150 aircraft left. Nevertheless, he decided to continue the attacks, thinking there were still hundreds of aircraft on Guam and Rota and started planning new raids for 21 June.

The main problem for TF 58 was locating the enemy, who had been operating at a great distance. Early-morning American searches on 20 June found nothing. An extra mid-day search by Hellcat fighter pilots was also unsuccessful. Finally at 15:12 a garbled message from an Enterprise search plane indicated a sighting. At 15:40 the sighting was verified, along with distance, course, and speed. The Japanese fleet was 275 mi out, moving due west at a speed of 20 knots. The Japanese were at the limit of TF 58's strike range, and daylight was slipping away. Mitscher decided to launch an all-out strike. After the first attack group had launched, a third message arrived, indicating the Japanese fleet were 60 mi farther out than previously indicated. The first launch would be at their limits of fuel and would have to attempt landing at night. Mitscher canceled the second launch of aircraft but chose not to recall the first launch. Of the 240 planes that were launched for the strike, 14 aborted for various reasons and returned to their ships. The 226 planes that continued consisted of 95 Hellcat fighters (some carrying 500-pound bombs), 54 Avenger torpedo bombers (only a few carrying torpedoes, the rest four 500-pound bombs) and 77 dive bombers (51 Helldivers and 26 Dauntlesses). The TF 58 aircraft arrived over the Japanese fleet just before sunset.

The 35 or so fighters Ozawa was able to put up were overwhelmed by the 226 incoming aircraft of Mitscher's attack. While the few Japanese aircraft were often skillfully handled and the Japanese anti-aircraft fire was intense, the U.S. planes were able to press in on the attack.

The first ships sighted by the U.S. strike were oilers, 30 mi before the carrier groups. The strike group from Wasp, more concerned with their low fuel levels than with finding the more important Japanese carriers and battleships, dived on the tankers. Two of these were damaged so severely that they were later scuttled, while a third was able to put out fires and get underway. The carrier JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Hiyō was attacked and hit by bombs and aerial torpedoes from four Grumman TBF Avengers from Belleau Wood. Hiyō was set afire after a tremendous blast from leaking aviation fuel. Dead in the water, she sank stern first, with the loss of 250 officers and men. The rest of her crew, about one thousand, were rescued by Japanese destroyers.

The carriers Zuikaku, JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Junyō and JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Chiyoda were damaged by bombs. Returning American strike pilots generally assessed these carriers as more crippled than they actually were, mistaking for devastating direct hits what Japanese post-war records revealed to have actually been huge geysers caused by near misses. The battleship JAPANESE BATTLESHIP Haruna was also hit by two bombs, including one directly on a main battery turret. Damage was contained, and she was able to keep station because her captain promptly called to flood the turret's magazine to avoid the possibility of an explosion.

Twenty American aircraft in the strike were destroyed by Japanese fighters and anti-aircraft fire that made up for a relative lack of accuracy with high volume of fire. After the protracted strike, it became clear that most of the aircraft returning to their carriers were running dangerously low on fuel, and to worsen matters, night had fallen. At 20:45, the first returning U.S. aircraft reached TF 58. Knowing his aviators would have difficulty finding their carriers, Admiral Joseph J. Clark of USS Hornet (CV-12) decided to illuminate his carrier, shining searchlights directly up into the night, despite the risk of attack from Japanese submarines and night-flying aircraft. Mitscher backed up the decision, and soon every ship in Task Force 58 was lit up, in spite of the risks involved. Picket destroyers fired starshells to help the aircraft find the task groups.

Planes were given clearance to land on any available flight deck (not just their home carriers, as usual), and many did land on other carriers. Despite this, 80 of the returning aircraft were lost. Some crashed on flight decks, but the majority ditched into the sea. Some pilots intentionally went down in groups to facilitate rescue, and more ditched individually either in a controlled landing with a few gallons of fuel left or in a crash after their engines ran dry. Approximately three-quarters of the crews were rescued from the sea, either that night from crash locations within the task forces, or over the next few days for those further out, as search planes and destroyers criss-crossed the ocean looking for them.

Japanese
That night, Toyoda ordered Ozawa to withdraw from the Philippine Sea. U.S. forces gave chase, but the battle was over. The four Japanese air strikes involved 373 carrier aircraft, of which 243 were lost and 130 returned to the carriers; many of them were subsequently lost when Taiho and Shōkaku were sunk. After the second day of the battle, losses totaled three carriers, more than 350 carrier aircraft, and around 200 land-based aircraft.

In the five major "carrier-on-carrier" battles, from the Battle of the Coral Sea to the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the IJN had lost nine carriers, while the USN had lost four. The aircraft and trained pilots lost at Philippine Sea were an irreplaceable blow to the already outnumbered Japanese fleet air arm. The Japanese had spent the better part of a year (following the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands) reconstituting their depleted carrier air groups, and the American Fast Carrier Task Force had destroyed 90% of it in two days. The Japanese had only enough pilots left to form the air group for one of their light carriers. As a consequence, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf four months later, they sent out a decoy carrier group with only 108 aircraft, across six carriers (two were hybrid-carriers), that was sacrificed in an attempt to draw the American fleet away from protecting the troops and supplies being landed for the Battle of Leyte.

The Japanese military, which had hidden the extent of their previous losses from the Japanese public, continued this policy. Though the occurrence of the simultaneous Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Saipan were made known to the public, the extent of the disasters was withheld.

American
Losses on the U.S. side on the first day were 23 aircraft. The second day's airstrike against the Japanese fleet saw most of the aircraft losses for the U.S.; of the 226 aircraft launched on the strike, 115 returned; 20 were lost to enemy action in the attack, and 80 were lost when they ran out of fuel returning to their carriers and had to ditch into the sea, or crashed attempting to land at night.

Spruance's conservative battle plan for TF 58, while sinking just one light carrier, severely weakened the Japanese naval aviation forces by killing most of the remaining trained pilots and destroying their operational reserves of naval aircraft, a blow that effectively shattered the Japanese naval air arm, from which it never recovered. Without the time or resources to build sufficient aircraft and train new pilots, the surviving Japanese carriers were almost useless in an offensive role, a fact the Japanese acknowledged by using them as sacrificial decoys at Leyte Gulf. With the effective crippling of her best striking arm, Japan chose to rely increasingly on land-based kamikaze suicide aircraft in a last-ditch effort to make the war so costly that the U.S. would offer peace terms better than unconditional surrender.

Spruance was heavily criticized after the battle by many officers, particularly the aviators, for his decision to fight the battle cautiously rather than exploiting his superior forces and intelligence data with a more aggressive posture. By failing to close on the enemy earlier and more forcefully, his critics argue, he squandered an opportunity to destroy the entire Japanese Mobile Fleet. "This is what comes of placing a non-aviator in command over carriers" was the common refrain. Admiral John Towers, a naval aviation pioneer and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet, demanded that Spruance be relieved. The request was denied by Nimitz. Moreover, Spruance was supported in his decision by Admiral Kelly Turner and Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations.

Spruance's caution (in particular, his suspicion of a diversionary force) can be compared with Admiral William Halsey's headlong pursuit of an actual diversionary force at Leyte Gulf four months later. Halsey left the American invasion fleet weakly protected during the Battle off Samar, nearly resulting in a devastating attack on the landing force by Japanese heavy surface units. It was prevented only by the heroic and desperate attack of 5 small American surface ships, which put up such an intense fight that the 23 ship strong Japanese fleet thought they were engaging a much larger force and withdrew. In addition, by focusing on defense first, the carrier forces under Spruance at Philippine Sea suffered no significant harm. This was in contrast to Leyte Gulf when Halsey's carriers were trying to neutralize the enemy airfields and attack the enemy fleet simultaneously, such that a Japanese bomber managed to evade the Combat Air Patrols to fatally cripple the light carrier USS Princeton. Likewise, during the carrier-based air raids, U.S. carriers were in a vulnerable position, and the low visibility coupled with radar confusion let a Japanese bomber slip through and severely damage USS Franklin (CV-13).

Although the American carrier aircraft strikes caused less destruction to enemy naval vessels than earlier battles, American submarines made up for it by sinking two of the three Japanese fleet carriers, which left Zuikaku as the only remaining operational IJN fleet carrier.

The American F6F Hellcat fighter proved its worth, as its powerful engine generated superior speed, while its heavier armor and firepower made it rugged and deadly. The Japanese on the other hand were still flying the A6M Zero which, though highly maneuverable and revolutionary during the early stages of the Pacific War, was now underpowered, fragile and essentially obsolete by 1944. In addition, the D4Y "Judy", though fast, was also fragile and easily set on fire. The Japanese naval airmen were also inadequately trained. The Japanese training programs could not replace the quality aviators lost during the past two years of the Pacific Campaign. Flying against the well-trained and often veteran U.S. aviators, it was a one-sided contest. The Americans lost fewer than two dozen Hellcats in air-to-air combat. Naval aviation and anti-aircraft fire shot down nearly 480 Japanese aircraft, 346 of those carrier aircraft on 19 June alone.

A very fortunate result of the Battle of the Philippine Sea for the Allies was it greatly benefited General MacArthur's invasion of Biak in Dutch New Guinea which started weeks before the Mariana Islands operations started. The Japanese military had designated Biak as its most important island of defense in the Southwest Pacific theater. 13 June was the original starting date of a massive operation, spearheaded by the battleships Yamato and Musashi, to challenge MacArthur's paltry naval forces, which had no aircraft carriers or battleships and consisted of only a few cruisers and destroyers. On that very same day Yamato and Musashi and their supporting ships received new orders to head north to screen aircraft carriers that were about to begin Operation A-Go. The battleships didn't take part in the Marianas operations other than anti-aircraft duty.

title: Battle of the Philippine Sea