Flattops and Flyboys: The Carrier War in the Pacific 1942-44

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Major Events to mid February 1942
1937-1940
Field Marshal (and Major General US Army) Douglas Macarthur is killed in a traffic accident in New York City on May 1. Major (and quickly Lieutenant Colonel) Dwight D Eisenhower becomes principal architect of the Philippine Army which is revised from Macarthur's dream of a “Switzerland in Asia” model to goals that are more realistic for the Filipino budget and likely mission post independence.

1940-41
In reaction to Japanese moves against French Indochina, the US Pacific Fleet is sent to Pearl Harbor. Admiral James Richardson strongly protests the move, but concerned that the Admiral may get himself into trouble with the President, the Secretary of the Navy convinces him to accept the situation. The Admiral then proceeds to demonstrate in Fleet Problem XXII that the most dangerous threat to Pearl Harbor is a possible air attack. This leads to changes in command for the US Army in Hawaii, as well a much stronger emphasis on air defense and long range patrolling, as well as joint Army/Navy air defense and reconnaissance headquarters.

In the Philippines, the Philippine Army gradually increases in size to several divisions, along with several engineer brigades that provide a useful adjunct to the US Army Far East. Included in this is a small but highly useful air force and a smaller but still useful coast guard. As the threat of war grows, General Krueger is sent to replace retiring General Parsons and along with him as his chief of staff is Brigadier General Eisenhower.

December 1941
The improvements by Richardson prevent the Japanese from achieving a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, although they still inflict heavy damage to the fleet but only at the cost of roughly a third of their attack force. American counterattacks around Midway Island prevent the Japanese seizure of that strategic island. The battles December 7-10 cost the Japanese 2 fleet carriers, a heavy cruiser, and 2 destroyers sunk, numerous other ships damaged including a fleet carrier and 2 battleships, and by the end over half of the Japanese carrier aircraft have been lost, along with many aircrew. American losses are 2 battleships, 1 fleet carrier, 2 heavy cruisers, several destroyers sunk, and 4 battleships as well as several cruisers and destroyers damaged along with heavy aircraft losses.

Among the dead is Japanese Admiral Nagumo and American Admiral Richardson, while Vice Admiral Halsey is seriously injured and knocked out of the war for a year.

Meanwhile in the Philippines Japanese air attacks kill the commander of the US Asiatic Fleet, Admiral Hart, and severely wound General Krueger, leaving General Eisenhower in command of the Philippines and US Forces Far East. Ably assisted by his aviation commander, Brigadier General Chennault, the US and Filipino forces put up strong resistance before retreating carefully to Bataan, taking vast amounts of supplies with them in addition to huge stockpiles that have been prepared for the last four years. A brave action by the US Navy at Albay Gulf briefly stalls the Japanese as well but the more important role of the Navy is the evacuation of thousands of excess military personnel, civilians, and an entire Marine Regiment, as well as most of the navy support personnel both Filipino and American from the Philippines plus the evacuation of a very large part of the ground elements of the US and Filipino air forces in the Philippines to Australia.

January – February 1942
The American and Filipino forces win a defensive battle at Bataan, throwing a spanner into the works of the Japanese timetable there. At the same time an airlift from Java continues the evacuation of wounded and vital personnel from Bataan, and when Malaya falls and Singapore is placed under direct siege, that airlift force, joined by other Allied aircraft, flies thousands of civilians and some wounded out of Singapore.

A final American evacuation attempt suffers heavy losses in the Battle of the Celebes Sea, ending any further hopes for naval support and significant sea lift for the American / Filipino forces. Reinforcements, along with a new naval commander, Vice Admiral Bellenger, arrives in Australia to provide support to Eisenhower.

The Battle of the South China Sea is fought in mid February as Allied naval and air forces cover in a sacrificial action a full scale evacuation of Singapore that rivals the evacuation of Greece and Crete nearly a year before in losses and troops evacuated to safety. The battle finishes off ABDA as a viable naval surface force as well as gutting most of its air strength but over 40,000 British troops are evacuated along with thousands of civilians and many wounded. Another 10,000 British, Indian and Australian troops meant to arrive as reinforcements are rerouted to Ceylon or remain in Australia.

As of February 12, the final battle for Singapore is imminent while elsewhere the Japanese are invading Burma and have seized much of the Eastern Dutch East Indies, and are about to invade Sumatra and Java and Timor are next. In the Philippines the Americans still hold most of the islands outside of Luzon except for southern Mindanao, and in continue to remain well dug in at Bataan and Corregidor.

General Eisenhower is on his way to Washington DC to consult with the President, as well as the Secretary of War and Army Chief of Staff, while Admiral Nimitz is in command of the Pacific Fleet and is already getting ready for the first Pacific Fleet offensive of the war.

 

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The First Air Fleet: The Japanese Carrier Striking Force
The Hawaiian battles resulted in serious losses to the carrier striking force, with 2 carriers sunk (the Kaga and Soryu), while damage was suffered by the Zuikaku and the Shokaku suffered severe losses to its air group. Both of these carriers are rebuilding their squadrons in Japan while the yard workers repair the flight and hanger deck of the Zuikaku. Both have additional 25 mm anti aircraft guns installed as well, increasing their number from 36 to 52. The light carrier Hosho is reassigned from supporting the battleships Nagato and Mutsu for training duty to while both ships are in the yard.

Pearl Harbor and Midway cost the Japanese Navy 200 pilots, including over half of their squadron and air group leaders. As a result, with only 2 fleet and 3 light carriers sufficiently fast enough to keep up with them, the 1st Air Fleet has been temporarily reorganized until the 2 Shokaku class ships are available again in June. Admiral Yamaguchi, promoted to Vice Admiral after Hawaii, flies his flag aboard the Hiryu, which he views as a lucky ship. Yamaguchi also acts as commander Carrier Division 1, while Rear Admiral Kakuta flies his flag aboard the Zuiho and commands Carrier Division 3 with the Zuiho, Shoho and Ryujo. Additional scouting support is provided by float planes from 5 heavy cruisers assigned to escort duty with the carriers.

As of the conclusion of supporting landings at Mindanao and the eastern Dutch Indies, additional aircraft are flown in to replace the few combat losses and higher number of operational losses as well as allowing the last few Claude fighters to be sent ashore. The 1st Carrier Division is the offensive striking force, with the Akagi carrying 12 Zero, 24 Val and 27 Kate and the Hiryu carrying 12 Zero, 24 Val, and 18 Kate. The 3rd Carrier Division is assigned the chore of fleet air defense, offensive combat air patrol, antisubmarine patrolling and reconnaissance missions for the fleet, supported by float planes from the cruisers. The Shoho carries 18 Zero and 12 Kate, the Zuiho 18 Zero and 12 Kate, and the Ryuho has 12 Zero and 12 Kate assigned. With the cruisers are 16 Jake floatplanes.

The cruisers Chikuma (Vice Admiral Takagi screen commander), Myoko, Nachi, Haguro, Ashigara, light cruisers Nagara and Isuzu, and 20 Fubuki class destroyers (8 of which are assigned to escort 8 tankers supporting the fleet).

Vice Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi


Japanese raids in the East Indies
Completing refueling from their tankers at Balikpapan harbor on February 12, the 1st Air Fleet moves south into the Java Sea and launches its first strike against Dutch facilities and Allied shipping at Surabaya, sinking 2 American gunboats and a minesweeper, as well as several small Dutch vessels and several small merchant ships. The carrier planes attack the airfield and ships, while level bombers from Celebes follow up hitting barracks and the city itself. Civilian and military casualties are heavy. A day later on February 13, the Japanese hit Batavia, where the Allies have already ordered the ships to flee the day before (through the Sunda Strait) but again facilities and airfields are badly hit, and the few surviving Dutch fighters that remain are wiped out.

These two raids also put an end to further America airlift efforts from Java to Cebu in the Philippines as several aircraft are lost and the airfields are heavily damaged, rendering further efforts unsustainable. By February 14 General Chennault and the remnants of the American Army Air Force and what naval aircraft that remain are ordered out to Darwin. The Japanese lose only 17 aircraft in these two raids from antiaircraft fire and Dutch and American fighters, and the American 35th Pursuit Group (58 remaining P39D) split between Surabaya and Batavia is effectively destroyed as 37 of its aircraft are shot down or destroyed on the ground in the two day battle as the P39D and its relatively green pilots are completely overwhelmed by the Japanese fighters and bombers . The surviving P39s are handed over to the Dutch and the remnants of the pilots and the ground personnel are among the last flown out of Java at the end of February.

The devastation of Darwin February 19
Having swept the remaining air and naval forces in the Dutch East Indies away, the next move is to eliminate Darwin as a base for Allied reinforcements and replacements. The Imperial Japanese Army backs out of its agreement pre-war for an invasion here in a conference in early February as the Army feels that demands are already greater than expected in the Philippines, more troops are needed in Burma, and losses have been greater than anticipated everywhere. Furthermore, the Germans are doing better after weathering the Soviet counteroffensive and are already planning a major offensive in the early summer that very well might bring about a Soviet collapse. Having already raided the garrison in Manchuria, the Army is loathe to raid it further as a Soviet collapse will open opportunities in Siberia.

Thus the original plan to launch a two division invasion to secure Darwin as the bastion to defend the East Indies is canceled due to lack of troops and overstretched shipping. The Army is also still annoyed by the Navy failure to protect the Midway invasion fleet (and loss of a full brigade and their transports) and suspicious that another failure will result in the loss of another valuable brigade or division. But the need to eliminate the Allied ability to use Darwin as a base remains and thus a raid by the carrier striking force, along with land based level bombers, should be enough to do the job.


Allied Forces Darwin February 19, 1942
The bulk of the surviving ABDA naval combat forces are elsewhere still on this date, but there are 65 ships in the harbor just before dawn. The Australians have the light cruiser Adelaide, 2 sloops, 2 corvettes, 2 minesweepers, 1 gunboat, a depot ship, and 6 other minor warships. The Americans have the seaplane tender Heron, submarine tender Holland, fleet oiler Pecos, submarines Seal and Sailfish, 2 Filipino Coast Guard light transports, the tug Napa, and the New Zealand light cruiser Leander is in port to refuel on its way to Ceylon. In addition to the 23 warships, there are 43 US Army, Australian, American, and Dutch ships in port, the most important of which is the US Army transport Mauna Loa carrying a cargo of ammunition for the US Army forces at Darwin (and due to be unloaded that afternoon), the tanker British Motorist (aviation fuel and gasoline), and 5 other freighters that had just unloaded civilians and military personnel evacuated from Java (and some from the Philippines and Malaya before that). The remaining ships are all small luggers and coastal craft that are mostly ignored in the ensuing attack.

At RAAF base Darwin are 6 Wirraway (lacking parts and not operational), 6 Hudson (being repaired), 20 P40E fighters of the USAAF 49th Fighter Group, 8 US Navy PBY (undergoing maintenance standdowns,) 3 more PBY in the harbor also undergoing maintenance, and the headquarters of American PATWING 10 and PATWING 3. At Batchelor Field, and the newly built auxiliary airfield (not yet named, OTL Pelt Field) are the headquarters and ground personnel for the 7th Bomb Wing (B17s), along with 7 bombers being serviced, as well as 17 C47, 3 C39, and 5 LB30 transport aircraft (being serviced after heavy operations in the evacuation of Singapore), as well as another 36 P40E from the 49th Fighter Group..

The ground defenses however are minimal. The Australians have a mere 16 3.7 inch AA guns, along with several Lewis guns deployed and their crews have minimal experience due to ammunition shortages. The radar sets and personnel for the air defense headquarters have not yet arrived, while the US Army has the 159th Infantry Regiment (California National Guard), 124th Field Artillery (12 105 mm guns), and 5 battalions of engineers have arrived recently from the United States and have been organized into a provisional engineer group to expand facilities as well as help build up defenses. The Australians have in addition to their anti-aircraft battalion, 2 battalions of of infantry and several coast defense batteries as well as a few headquarters and support units. In addition to the military presence there are around 6,000 civilians living in the area.

In addition to the aircraft above, another 21 B17s, 9 C47s, and 3 LB30s have already left for flights to Java, while 12 PBY are on patrol and 4 more have left for a flight to Timor. Admiral Bellinger and his senior staff are in Brisbane carrying out discussions with the Australians and US Army, leaving Brigadier General George in overall command of US and Australian air forces, while all ground troops and naval forces are under the command of Australian local commanders (or in the case of the convoy and visiting cruisers, the command of their convoy commodore).

Last reports indicate that the Japanese carriers far away in the Java Sea, apparently covering the imminent invasion of Java itself while it is presumed unlikely that the Japanese will commit unescorted bombers to attack Darwin. However 8 P40s are up from dawn to dusk, and another 12 are on strip alert but the lack of radar means that the 49th Fighter Group is reliant on Australian coastwatchers.

The Attack
An hour before dawn, having steamed to within 250 miles of Darwin, the Japanese launch a strike consisting of 9 fighters each from the Zuiho, Ryuho and Shoho, plus 6 fighters and 21 dive bombers each from the Akagi and Hiryu. Also launched are 9 Kates from the light carriers, as well as all 16 cruiser float planes to conduct searches within 250 miles of the fleet and after dawn a standing combat air patrol of 9 Zero fighters is in the air, with another 18 ready to lauch.

By good fortune, an American PBY and an Australian Hudson both failed to spot the approaching Japanese fleet the previous afternoon due to weather conditions and timing and unexpectedly the Japanese are going to have complete surprise.

The first shots are by the leading 9 Zero fighters from the Zuiho which run across a PBY outbound from Darwin which they shoot down in minutes, although not before it gets off a warning. A few minutes later, those same Zeros shoot up Sacred Heart Mission Station, killing Father McGrath even as he is attempting to send out a message warning of enemy aircraft overhead. His garbled and incomplete message is still being studied by the inexperienced staff at the Australian air defense early warning center when the first attackers are overhead 21 minutes later.

The Zuiho fighters begin strafing the harbor, where American PBYs are tied up, while the Ryuho fighters attack Batchelor Field and the Shoho Zeros attack RAAF Darwin. Meanwhile, the American P40s already in the air, all 8 of them, are attacked by the 12 Zeros from the Akagi and Hiryu, and while they manage to shoot down 2 of the Japanese fighters, only 1 American fighter manages to land (and is promptly declared a write off) after the fight. The Japanese fighters inflict severe damage, catching all 12 American fighters that were on strip alert as they attempt to take off, downing all but 2, but these 2 manage to down 3 Japanese fighters in return before being forced to flee after exhausting their ammunition. However the strafing forces everyone at both bases into cover, knocks out a number of anti-aircraft guns, and leaves the base wide open as 9 dive bombers plaster RAAF Darwin and 9 hit Batchelor, cratering runways and preventing any take offs until they are repaired. The Japanese dive bombers escape without a loss.

Meanwhile at the harbor, none of the PBYs survive the strafing and while anti-aircraft guns are concentrating on the fighters (downing 2 of them, damaging 4 others), the gunners miss the arrival initially of 24 dive bombers. The Japanese strike commander orders 9 of his bombers to concentrate on the Leander, 3 to attack the Adelaide, 6 to hit the two tankers, and the remaining 6 to attack the two American submarines. Japanese bombing is outstanding, with 80% of their bombs falling on their targets, sufficient to sink both American submarines, leave both tankers billowing massive flames and smoke, and leaving the Adelaide down by the stern and the Leander ablaze from end to end. The Japanese have several bombers damaged but none are shot down and only 2 are write offs when they return to their ships.

There is a 20 minute lull as headquarters in Darwin send out warnings to subordinate commands, orders all ships to sortie and reports what happened to higher authority. Meanwhile large numbers of Allied servicemen and Australian civilians rush to the docks to begin rescuing sailors coming ashore covered in oil, many with serious burns. Meanwhile the aircraft at Batchelor Auxiliary Field are hurried into the air, regardless of mechanical condition, as long as they can get there. Most are able to fly at least a few miles south and 25 heavy bombers and transport aircraft end up scattered all over the Northwest Territory by the end of the day. Of these 3 end up making crash landings and another 2 land and due to mechanical failures never take off again.

The lull ends when the next attack comes in. The Japanese have sent 54 level bombers from Celebes to deal with Allied air power, allocating 27 bombers each for Batchelor and RAAF Darwin, and they are met with only a few flak bursts as they cruise comfortably and carefully overhead, effectively leveling every building and destroying or severely damaging every aircraft that had not already been destroyed at both bases. Personnel losses are heavy as well, and communications facilities are destroyed at Batchelor. They miss the American auxiliary field however, being unaware of its existence and the personnel there are living in tents next to a long dirt airstrip and thus not an obvious target.

However Darwin is now almost completely helpless except for a few guns that remain manned and still have ammunition. At 0800 hours the next wave comes in consisting of 18 torpedo bombers that concentrate on the Allied merchant ships attempting to escape as well as the 2 cruisers and 24 Kate level bombers that attack the docks and town of Darwin itself. The Japanese are thorough and the damage is appalling. Both of the cruisers are sunk, the transport Mauna Loa detonates after a torpedo sets off her cargo, and the American submarine tender and all of the merchant ships are left sinking. Meanwhile nearly 600 people are killed in Darwin, including over 250 civilians, and much of the town is left burning. Among the dead is the Chief Administrator (Civilian government) Aubrey Abbot, while his maid is spared even though only a couple of meters away. Nearly 2,000 Allied servicemen and Australian civilians are left wounded, and the hospital ship Manunda and local facilities are swamped by the massive casualties.

Yamaguchi considers a second strike but reports from scout planes indicate that the airfields and harbor are wrecked and every important ship has been sunk or is burning. Content that he has done what he needs to do, he orders his fleet north.

At the cost of 12 aircraft and 9 aircrew, the Japanese Carrier Striking Force has ended any hope of using Darwin as a base to support Allied forces in the Dutch East Indies and Philippines for the time being.

 

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The American Fast Carriers February 1942
After the Saratoga is torpedoed and sent to Bremerton for repairs and modernization (where she will remain until the end of May), the US Navy has only two carriers in the Pacific, the Yorktown and the Enterprise. The Hornet (Yorktown class) is still working up, leaving only the Ranger and the Wasp as well as the experimental escort carrier Long Island. Another 5 Bogue class escort carriers are in the final stages of construction in Tacoma (Washington) and will be available by the end of the year. All six of these escort carriers will remain in the Pacific to support operations, act as aircraft ferries and to escort convoys. In the meantime there is a dire need for carriers now, as fighters need to be sent to forward bases, and while the Navy feels the Ranger and Wasp are too light for combat against the Japanese carriers, they will serve adequately enough for other duties until the Hornet and Saratoga are available.

American carriers and their squadrons February 1, 1942
CV 6 Enterprise – VF6 (18 Wildcat), VF5 (18 Wildcat), VB6 (18 Dauntless), SB6 (18 Dauntless) (Carrier Air Group 6)
CV 5 Yorktown – VF3 (18 Wildcat) VF 42 (18 Wildcat) VB5 (18 Dauntless) SB5 (18 Dauntless) (Carrier Air Group 5)
CV 8 Hornet – VF8 (18 Wildcat) VMF 111 (USMC)(18 Wildcat) VB8 (18 Dauntless) SB8 (18 Dauntless) (Carrier Air Group 8)

These three carrier can operate up to 90 aircraft but their torpedo squadrons (VT5, VT6 and VT8) are on the East Coast reforming and flying coastal patrols out of Norfolk waiting for the new TBF Avenger which is just entering service. They will be fully equipped and trained on their new aircraft by July 1942 and sent to join their carrier air groups at that time. The Hornet is also taking part in an experiment involving B25 Mitchell Bombers that is highly classified.

CV 3 Saratoga – VF2 (forming Norfolk, 18 Wildcat), VMF112 (forming San Diego, 18 Wildcat), VB3 (18 Dauntless), SB3 (18 Dauntless) (both at San Diego), Only able to handle 78 aircraft, once TB3 is filled out with its Avengers (September 1942) the Marine Corps squadron will be reassigned. (Carrier Air Group 3)

CV 4 Ranger – VF41 (18 Wildcat) VS41 (15 Dauntless ) VB41 (15 Vindicator), (Carrier Air Group 4) while able to handle up to 76 aircraft normally and as many as 86 if necessary, the carrier will not get additional aircraft until another fighter squadron is available. CAG4 will replace its dive bombers with Avengers in late 1942 once they are available.

CV7 Wasp – VF 71 (18 Wildcat) VMF 211 (rebuilt, 18 Wildcat) VS71 (12 Vindicator) VS72 (12 Vindicator) (Carrier Air Group 7) while able to handle up to 90 aircraft, due to the second line nature of her duties for now she remains under equipped until she returns to the Atlantic. At that point her Marine Corps squadron will be reassigned, while additional squadrons join CAG7.

The Wasp and the Ranger can each ferry up to 72 Army single engine aircraft (carried on their deck) which conduct exactly one carrier take off and still store their air groups below deck

A spare Air Group (2) has been formed consisting of SB2, VB2, VMF 112, VMF121 at San Diego (although still receiving aircraft and pilots), while 2 Marine Air Groups are available (one each Pearl Harbor and Midway). All Marine Corps squadrons are of course carrier qualified. The remaining Buffalo fighters have been taken from the Marine Corps and assigned as advanced trainers.

 

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In mid February 1942, the US Pacific Fleet, supported by naval forces from Australia and New Zealand, escort several large convoys to Australia, the Solomon Islands, and New Britain. To cover this move, Nimitz sends Admiral Spruance and his Task Force 16 to raid the Japanese held Marshall Islands

Japanese Forces Marshall Islands February 1942
24th Air Flotilla
NAS Maloelp 24 Mavis, 12 Claude
NAS Yalut 11 Mavis,
NAS Kwajalein 36 Nell, 25 Claude, 11 transport aircraft,
NAS Wake Island 12 float planes


Naval Forces
6 RO class submarines

Gilbert Islands Invasion force (at Kwajalein)
3 CL, 4 DD, 4 gunboats, 4 minesweepers, 1 seaplane tender w 12 floatplanes, 2 large transports, 2 construction battalions, 2 guard companies

garrison forces
various naval guard and engineer battalions and companies spread throughout the area
There are still 200 American civilian captives on Wake Island doing labor

US Forces
Task Force 16 (Vice Admiral Spruance)(Rear Admiral Kinkaid is screen commander) (Chief of Staff to Spruance and air commander is Rear Admiral Frederick Sherman, former commander of USS Lexington)
CV Yorktown, Enterprise CA Northhampton, Portland, CL Helena, Phoenix, Brooklyn, Savannah, DD Jarvis, Mugford, Bagley, Cummings, Farragut, Monaghan, Blach, Maury,


Solomons / Bismarks Convoys (Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher in overall command)
CV Wasp, Ranger (also ferrying 72 P40E, 36 Wildcat, 36 Dauntless from US 59th Fighter Group and Carrier Air Group 2 which is mixed USN/USMC along with their regular air groups), plus 4 US and 2 Australian heavy cruisers, 1 New Zealand light cruiser, 7 US light cruisers, 20 US destroyers, numerous tankers, transports, and several other support ships, all carrying another 300 P40E, ground elements of 59th Pursuit Group, replacement aviation personnel, 2 engineer groups, 7th Marine Regiment, several Army coast defense battalions, several Army antiaircraft battalions, 24th Infantry Regiment (Colored), several other support units to Australia, New Guinea, New Britain and Tulagi. Included with this are a submarine tender (Fulton)(to Rabaul) and seaplane tenders Pocomoke (to Tulagi) and Albemarle (to Tulagi) supporting PATWING 8 and PATWING 9. Also arriving are 2 motor torpedo boat squadrons to be based out of Rabaul

Upon the arrival of these two patrol wings the battered and exhausted survivors of PATWING 10 are sent to Fiji to rest and recover and perform less demanding patrols in this area.

 

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The Marshall Islands Raid: The First American Carrier Offensive
The American fleet assembles at Pearl Harbor over the course of early and mid February, leaving on February 22, with Task Force 17 leading the way. Aggressive American antisubmarine patrols have sunk 2 I-Boats in the last few weeks after the Saratoga was torpedoed, and the American task forces and convoys leave Hawaiian waters unmolested. Although at extreme range from any Japanese aircraft from the eastern Mandates (Marshall Island) the possibility of Japanese naval forces in the area being in position to sortie and interfere with reinforcement convoys heading to Rabaul leads Nimitz and Spruance to decide that a raid to potentially knock the Japanese off base is desirable. It is also an opportunity to see what the Japanese actually have in the way of strength in that island chain, which under War Plan Orange has been a primary target under American planning for decades.

Spruance has orders to hit Majuro and Kwajalein and then to retire to Midway before returning home. Admiral Frank Fletcher, with his two carriers and escorts will cover the convoy heading to Rabaul, fly off aircraft being transported, and then return to American Samoa where the the Ranger is to return to the Atlantic via Panama. Fletcher will then return to California as additional reinforcements are scheduled for the South Pacific.

Meanwhile Admiral Inoue has the directive calling for him to secure the Gilbert Islands, which will provide an advanced base for the Marshall Islands. While he is still busy conducting the 2nd Phase Offensive in the eastern Dutch East Indies he has assigned Rear Admiral Kajioka, conqueror of Wake Island (after two attempts) the mission and orders to set up a seaplane base at Makin and place construction and base troops ashore at Tarawa to begin construction of an airfield. This small fleet is to leave Kwajalein on March 1 as repairs have been completed on the cruisers Katori and Kashima which both suffered damage in the second attempt on Wake Island. The 24th Air Flotilla was also in need of additional aircraft to replace bomber losses suffered at Wake Island. Those replacements had been scheduled earlier but had been redirected south after heavier than expected losses in the fighting around Malaya and Luzon,. Those aircraft replacements only arrive in mid February. Rear Admiral Goto, commander of the 24th, is trying to also get A6M fighters to replace the A5Ms he was promised, but again losses in other operations have prevented the timely allocation of new aircraft for what is viewed at least for now a secondary theater. He is promised those new fighters sometime in April.

Movement to contact
The American carrier task force refuels 100 miles northwest of Howland on February 26, and that night begin the approach to Majuro (750 nautical miles to the northwest) at 18 knots to conserve fuel. Just out of range of Japanese patrols out of Majuro, which in any event are patrolling in the direction of Midway or south toward the Gilbert Islands, the Japanese fail to spot the American ships as they refuel.

The next morning at 0917 hours radar aboard the Enterprise picks up a Mavis as it approaches, and 4 American Wildcats from VF5 intercept and blast the Japanese aircraft out of the sky, but not before it gets off a report of enemy fighters and a partial position report. Admiral Goto is informed a few minutes later at his headquarters at Kwajalein, while American signals intelligence (based at Midway and passed by cable to Pearl Harbor) picks up a sharp increase in Japanese message traffic in the Marshall Islands. Admiral Sherman, air commander, orders increased readiness for his fighters, with 8 in the air at all times, another 24 spotted for immediate takeoff and the rest being serviced below. Meanwhile the SBDs of his two scout squadrons are searching ahead and two from SB5 spot the RO 61 only 65 miles from the fleet and attack the enemy submarine, scoring a hit with a 500 pound bomb that sends her to the bottom. None of the crew are ever seen again.

The Japanese meanwhile have been preparing a response. Only 29 of the Nells are combat ready and a strike is organized with 12 torpedo aircraft and 17 level bombers. They take off at 1200 hours, winging their way toward the last reported position of the lost scout plane. The Americans pick up the inbound strike 3 hours later on radar, and 8 patrolling Wildcats of VF3 led by Lieutenant Commander Jimmy Thach move to intercept the level bombers (which are the first spotted) while both carriers launch their 24 ready fighters led by Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare, commander of VF42. Thach and his command hit the level bombers, downing 5 (3 shot down by Thach) but during this radar picks up the approaching low flying torpedo bombers and O'Hare and his fighters are directed to deal with the torpedo bombers. The 12 Nell torpedo bombers are overwhelmed by 24 American fighters and every one of them is shot down as they approach the fleet, with Butch O'Hare getting 5 of them. The surviving level bombers manage to drop their bombs, trying for hits on the Yorktown, but superb ship handling by Captain Elliot Buckmaster dodges them all.

Both Thach and O'Hare would receive the Navy Cross for this action. The surviving 14 Nell level bombers flee the scene, but only 11 manage to reach home as 2 ditch near Majuro and another crashes on landing killing its crew. Admiral Got orders his ground crews to get the rest the bombers airworthy but is painfully aware that he will have only around a dozen for the next day.

 

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American strikes
Soon after the last Japanese aircraft flies off, Spruance cancels the planned strike on Majuro and directs the fleet to increase speed to 30 knots to close as rapidly as possible with Kwajalein. By 1700 hours, even as the Japanese are frantically repairing their aircraft that were down for maintenance reasons or repairing damaged aircraft, the Americans launch 48 Dauntless armed with 500 pound high explosive bombs and 32 Wildcats with the objective of hitting the Japanese airfield. Sherman retains 24 Wildcats, with 4 to remain in the air at all times, as a combat air patrol The remaining SBDs are retained for antisubmarine patrol for the fleet, and 1800 hours they spot the submarine I-73, which hurriedly submerges but smoke bombs mark her position and aggressive work by the destroyers Jarvis and Bagley force her to the surface and finish her with shellfire just before dusk.

The Japanese have an air patrol of only 6 Claude fighters in the air when the Americans arrives at 1900 hours, only 20 minutes before dusk. The Japanese aircraft are lined up on the ramp or in hangers, and none of the remaining 19 Claude fighters, 18 Nell bombers, 12 floatplanes and 12 various transport aircraft are ready to take off. Half of the American fighters slaughter the Japanese fighters, while the rest take position to catch anyone take off, while the American bombers plaster the ramp and hangers. Strafing follows as American dive bombers and fighters sweep across the field for 15 minutes. None of the Japanese aircraft are airworthy by the time the strike ends, with over half destroyed and the rest damaged beyond quick repair. Japanese personnel losses are relatively light, only a few dozen killed and a few score wounded, but the airfield is effectively knocked out of action and with it most of the 24th Air Flotilla.

Meanwhile the American aircraft fly home in darkness, and there are concerns about their return. Sherman and Spruance both had discussed the issue and although Sherman is willing to accept the inevitable losses from a night recovery, Spruance decides he needs every pilot and aircraft and with the knowledge that the Japanese submarines have failed thus far to successfully attack, he orders the fleet to turn on its lights until the last aircraft is recovered. A Japanese submarine indeed spots the Americans, but by the time it can approach the Task Force 16 due to the differences in speed the Americans have completed their recovery and executed a radical high speed course change that takes it to far away to catch.

In all the Americans lose 2 Wildcats and 1 Dauntless over Kwajalein, another 2 dive bombers and 2 fighters ditch due to battle damage (and 4 aircrew are recovered the next day by the USS Gudgeon (Tambor class submarine) and 6 fighters and 11 dive bombers are forced to ditch or wreck during recovery (9 aircrew lost at sea or killed, another 8 injured). Although the first day of fighting has cost Task Force 16 almost a quarter of its aircraft, Spruance and Sherman feel that a followup strike for the next day is called for, as the strike reports indicate that a sizable number of Japanese combat and other ships are anchored in the harbor of the huge atoll.

Admiral Kajioka has a very difficult problem however. He lacks fighter cover and his force is hopelessly too slow to escape the American fleet should it chase him which he views as certain. He has his fleet scatter about the lagoon (over 800 square miles) with escorts and transports paired up to provide support. Every available AA gun is moved to cover the lagoon as well, and the Navy troops spend the night trying to get the airfield runway repaired. The Japanese also offload all of the passengers from the ships to prevent unnecessary losses.

The Americans come back into strike range just before dawn, having spent the night steaming in an evasive pattern to avoid Japanese submarines, and launch 32 SBDs and 16 Wildcats at first light. The Americans arrive at their target just over 2 hours later and it quickly becomes apparent that there is no Japanese fighter cover. Taking advantage of this, the fighters are sent in to strafe and provide flak suppression, while the dive bombers line up their targets. Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky, the strike commander, decides to concentrate dive bombers on the slower moving seaplane tender Kiyokawa Maru (6,800 tons, its 12 aircraft wrecked the previous day) and the 8,000 ton transports Kaijo Maru and Kongo Maru. American bombing is mediocre, but all three are hit and left burning, with fires aboard the Kongo Maru causing her to explode while fires in the fuel storage tanks aboard the Kiyokawa Maru leave her burning from end to end and abandoned within minutes of being hit. The Kaijo Maru is sinking and is beached at Enubuj island, one of the smaller islands of the atoll. Japanese flak fails to shoot down any of the American aircraft, but 5 Wildcats and 2 SBDs are damaged severely enough to ditch on the way home, with 5 of their aircrew rescued by American floatplanes. Another 5 aircraft are write offs after recovery.

Japanese revenge
Spruance and Sherman are discussing launching another strike and sending the heavy cruisers in to conduct a bombardment when the I17, after many hours of trying to regain contact with the American fleet manages a firing solution and sends 6 torpedoes into the formation around the Enterprise. The Enterprise is saved by alert lookouts and excellent ship-handling but the heavy cruiser Portland is less fortunate, as two of the torpedoes hit her amidships, wiping out her engineering spaces (and many of the crewmen in them) and leaving her sinking. She goes down in 14 minutes, taking 312 men with her and leaving over 900 men in the water to be picked up by destroyers. Aggressive counterattacks by American bombers and destroyers force the I17 away, but she escapes unscathed.

Sobered by the abrupt loss of a major warship, Spruance orders a retirement once the survivors are rescued and by nightfall the Americans are in full retreat south toward the Gilbert Islands (still in Allied hands, although still undefended).

In all the Raid on the Marshal Islands has cost the Americans one heavy cruiser, over 50 aircraft, and over 300 sailors and airmen lost. In exchange the Japanese have suffered serious damage to their base at Kwajalein, 2 submarines sunk, the 24th Air Flotilla is wrecked and unfit for action, and 3 important support ships lost. Unknown to the Americans is that the planned invasion of the Gilbert Islands has to be postponed as the bulk of the assigned sealift has been sunk. Although the loss was higher than expected, the US Navy considers the action valuable experience earned, albeit painfully.

The USS Portland in better days
(source: http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/033/04033.htm)

 

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Timeline of the Pacific War February – March 1942

February 1942
February 12
The last of 60,000 Australian, British, and Indian soldiers, sailors, and airmen are evacuated from Singapore, along with over 20,000 Allied civilians. Japanese air attacks on the evacuation fleet sink the battleships Revenge and Royal Sovereign and the light cruiser Durban but by doing ignore the evacuation ships. In the Philippines the siege of Bataan enters a lull for the next few weeks.

February 17
The surviving 12,000 British Imperial garrison of Singapore surrenders bringing an end to the Malaya Campaign. British losses are 54,000 total for the campaign, with Japanese losses approaching 20,000 for the campaign, with the heaviest losses in the final days of fighting. That same day the Japanese invade Sumatra.

February 18
The Japanese Supreme War Council orders the Imperial Army and Navy to plan operations that will bring the Allies to the peace table. There is considerable friction between the two services, with both having suffered some embarrassment over the last few months. The Luzon operation and heavier than expected casualties at the Midway operation (where an entire brigade loaned to the Navy was effectively destroyed there and seizing Wake Island) and at Singapore, where in the view of the Army the Navy was lax in preventing the evacuation of British forces as well as a British naval attack that inflicted serious losses on forces commanded by Yamashita and delayed the fall of the city by almost a week. The Navy also has the embarrassment of Midway and the heavier than expected losses to Allied warships and aircraft at Hawaii, the Philippines and the South China Sea and thus is in an overall weaker position when it comes to pushing its strategy.

February 22
A devastating series of air raids finishes off British fighter protection of Rangoon and kills tens of thousands of civilians, starting a panicked flight from the city. In the Central Pacific, the American Pacific Fleet battles Japanese air and naval forces in the Raid on the Marshal Islands.

February 28
With Rangoon in ruins and under daily air attack, General Alexander orders a full scale retreat. Japanese forces however are still days away, delayed by poor roads and sacrificial efforts of the Indian 17th Division. In the Mediterranean, intense attacks on Malta whittle away the air defenses there, forcing the cancellation of plans to send 2 British carriers to the Indian Ocean as they are needed to cover the “Cub Runs” to that deliver aircraft to that besieged island. Admiral Phillips and his Force Z are ordered to avoid combat with superior Japanese forces and his primary mission is to cover the sea lanes between South Africa and the vital ports of Bombay, Karachi, Aden and Suez.

March 1942
March 2
Overwhelming Japanese air and naval forces cover the invasion of Java, as well as landings in Bali and Timor. General Eisenhower returns to Australia from Washington DC and sets up his headquarters at Brisbane. Reinforcements continue to flow into the South Pacific from the United States, while 3 Australian divisions (6th, 7th, 8th) continue their return to Australia, leaving on the New Zealand 2nd Division and Australian 9th Division still in the Middle East (where they will remain for several more months).

March 7
The final air evacuation of Java by American and Australian transport aircraft bring out 12,000 Allied military and civilian personnel, including a large number of Dutch civilians but comes to a halt after powerful air strike on Tjilitap destroys half of the air transport aircraft. In Burma, Japanese forces enter Rangoon.

March 11
British and Indian forces prepare to make a stand in central Burma. The Chinese are persuaded by General Brereton, the newly appointed commander of American forces in the China/Burma/India Theater, to send troops to help the British, as the Burma Road is vital for the Chinese.

March 12
General Chennault arrives in China and begins the initial organization of what will eventually become the US 14th Air Force and a new iteration of the Nationalist Chinese Air Force. The US 10th Air Force is formed in India (with Brereton wearing a dual hat as commander of the 10th Air Force). Neither of these organizations will have significant units assigned to them until the summer of 1942. Meanwhile the last organized Dutch resistance in Java and the remainder of the Dutch East Indies comes to an end after a formal surrender. \

March 19
The 10 day battle of Toungoo in Burma begins. The Japanese find the Nationalist Chinese troops to be tough opponents and the battle will result in 2,000 Chinese and 5,000 Japanese casualties but the Chinese will be forced out of their positions which unhinges the entire Allied position in Burma.

March 21
Final authorization is given for the planned strike on Japan by Colonel Doolittle and Vice Admiral (newly promoted) Raymond Spruance.

Meanwhile the Japanese Supreme War Council approves Operation RO, a series of operations aimed at isolating and then securing Rabaul, which will include the seizure of the Gilbert and Solomon Islands, Naura and Ocean islands, and eastern New Guinea including Port Moresby. Once this operation is concluded, Operation M will be conducted to isolate Australia from the North American West Coast by seizing Fiji, Samoa and the New Hebrides as well as New Caledonia. The Army is to provide the 8th Area Army, consisting of the 16th and 17th Armies and 6 divisions total to support these operations, with remaining landing forces and base forces to be provided by the Navy. The Navy expects to meet, engage, and destroy the US Pacific Fleet during these operations as Australia is certainly vital to American plans. An operation to seize bases in the Aleutians to secure the Kuriles and Hokkaido is also approved.

The Imperial Army will consolidate its control over the Philippines, East Indies and Burma, and conduct a major offensive later in the year against the Chinese to establish a land route from Indochina to Northern China, as well as critically weaken the Nationalist Chinese and bring them to the table now that the supply route of foreign aid to China from the Allies has been cut off. Once this is accomplished, a peace offer will be made to the Nationalist Chinese.

Also in the late winter of 1942.
In the Atlantic, German U-Boats sink 168 Allied merchant ships between January 1 and March 30, 1942 or nearly 850,000 tons of shipping. This is called the "Second Happy Time" by the Uboat sailors. Every available escort ship is needed for the Atlantic, which are in serious shortage due to competing demands in the combat theaters of the Pacific, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Murmansk run.

The Germans are preparing for a major offensive in the Eastern Front, called Fall Blau.

In North Africa, the Axis under Rommel and the British under Ritchie continue to refit and build up for further operations. The Germans and Italy plan Operation Hercules, a combined airborne and amphibious assault on Malta. The British plan Operation Ironclad, the seizure of Madagascar, for April as there are concerns that the Vichy French will allow German and Japanese submarines to use it as a base.

 

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The Doolittle Raid and Raid on Wake Island

Special Aviation Project One
In January 1942, at the direction of the President, Admiral Stark (Chief of Naval Operations) and General Hap Arnold (Commander US Army Air Force) work on a plan to strike Japan with Army bombers from an aircraft carrier. Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle, a US aviation pioneer (and skilled engineer) is assigned to head the mission. Over the next 3 months a special squadron of 24 B25 Mitchell is formed and specially trained and equipped. The aircraft carrier Hornet, commanded by a very experienced Naval Aviator Marc Mitcher, is assigned as the mission ship. On April 1, the Hornet is in San Francisco where it loads 16 of the aircraft aboard before steaming west into the Pacific with orders to link up with Task Force 16 north of Hawaii.

(practicing take offs at Elgin Airfield 1942)

B25s being loaded aboard the USS Hornet


US Forces assigned to operations April 1942
Task Force 16 (Vice Admiral Raymond Spruance, Commander Battle Force Pacific)
CV Enterprise (Flag w Spruance and R Adm Sherman) Yorktown (R Adm Murray, Commander CV Div 2), Hornet (mission ship)
each carrier has 48 Wildcat (2 USN squadrons, 1 USMC squadron or 2 USMC squadrons, 1 USN squadron), 30 Dauntless ((2 USN squadrons)


As of April 1941 the USN Torpedo Bomber squadrons are still equipped with TBD Devastator's and are being reequipped and retrained with the new TBF Avenger as they become available. All are on the East or Gulf Coast conducting antisubmarine patrols while they retrain. The first squadron will not be available for fleet service in June 1942 and will join the CV Saratoga at that time.

Escorts (R Adm Kincaid, screen commander)
CA Indianapolis, Quincy CL Philadelphia, Savannah, CLA San Diego, San Juan plus Destroyer Squadron 16 w Benson, Mayo, Madison, Lansdale, Jones, Hughes, Laffey, Fitch, Forrest,


Support (R Adm Bowman)
CVE Long Island DD (old) Rodgers, Belknap, Lawrence, Hopkins AO Neosho, Platte, Sabine, Guadalupe, Sabine, Kaskaskia, Neches, Kankakee

Meanwhile, Task Force 17 is given the mission of escorting the newly arrived destroyer transports (APD) of Transport Squadron 12 along with various support ships to the Solomon Islands where US forces plan to establish a naval station at Tulagi and build an airfield on nearby Guadalcanal which will support convoys, air transport aircraft and aircraft being ferried from islands further to the southeast and east on their way to Rabaul, as well as providing a base for air and sea patrols to watch for Japanese activity from the northwest.

Task Force 17 (R Adm Fletcher)(escort commander Rear Admiral Theobald)
CV Wasp,, CA Northhampton, Chicago, CL Helena, Brooklyn, CLA Atlanta, Juneau, Destroyer Squadron 17 w Sims, Anderson, Hughes, Hamman, Mustin, Russell, O'Brien, Walke, Morris,


Task Force 19 (Commodore George Hussey)
DMS Perry, Trever, Wasmuth, Zane, AE Pyro, AO Cayuma, Kanawha, AVD Williamson, McFarland (AVD is a converted 4 stack destroyer now serving as a seaplane tender, a DMS is a converted 4 stack destroyer still acting as a minewarfare vessel but retains its sonar and depth charge racks), PG Niagara (gunboat) APD (converted 4 stack destroyer transports) Manley, Colhoun, Gregory, Little, Mckean, Stringham AV Tangier carrying 4th Marine Defense Battalion, 6th Marine Defense Battalion, 810th Aviation Engineer Battalion, detachment from 1st Naval Construction Battalion

 

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The Doolittle Raid (part 2)

On April 17, Task Force 16 and its 18 ships is finally able to refuel from the tankers of Task Force 11, after which a gale rises up and air operations are suspended until first light the next day. Leaving the rest of the fleet behind, the Hornet and the Yorktown, along with both heavy cruisers and both light cruisers dash ahead at 30 knots. That night radar aboard the Yorktown picks two surface contacts, each 24,000 yards distance from the attack force and lights are seen, but radio intercepts pick up no signals from them and within a couple of hours both disappear from radar as the various ships proceed on their separate courses.

Concerned that these contacts are Japanese picket ships, Spruance orders Sherman to deal with them as soon as it is light to avoid any potential sighting.

Just before first light, the Yorktown launches 12 SBDs and 12 Wildcats, with orders to find and destroy any vessel within potential sighting distance. A second strike group is spotted on deck and launched an hour later to expand the search zone and it is launched when it is ready. At 715 Hours, the first Japanese patrol vessel is spotted and strafed heavily, killing most of the crew and silencing the radio. A few minutes later another Japanese patrol vessel is similarly dealt with. Both are shortly after destroyed by bombs from the American dive bombers. The second strike group spots two more Japanese patrol vessels and they too are attacked and silenced.

10 hours later, at 1700 Hours, the attack force has reached the planned launch point 500 miles northeast of Tokyo and the first of the B25 aircraft begin taking off. Within an hour, the last of the 16 bombers has left the scene. The carriers and cruisers then reverse course and begin their high speed dash to rejoin the rest of the fleet. Spruance orders the preplanned signal sent to China as the first of the raiders reach their targets which for the fleet is in the darkness of the early night.

30 Seconds over Tokyo

The Doolittle Raiders achieve complete surprise, flying over Tokyo (10 aircraft) Yokohama (2 aircraft), Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka (1 aircraft each). No Japanese aircraft intercept them (indeed none take off to do so) and flak does not open up until well after the bombers are overhead and flying away. Bombing results are terrible as the bombers are flying at high speed and low altitude in the darkness and bombs are released as a matter of best guess. The best results are at an oil tank farm which is left burning, but the remaining bombs fail to do much significant damage, although several dozen civilians are killed or wounded by the attack (for which they received no warnings). One of the bombers makes a wrong turn and realizing the mistake and Captain York and his crew reach Vladivostok and internment as their fuel runs out. Of the remaining 15 aircraft, 7 crash due to fuel exhaustion resulting in the deaths of 3 aircrew while several aircrew injured including Ted Lawson who will eventually lose his leg from injuries in the crash. The remaining 8 aircraft, including that of Doolittle, successfully reach Zhuzhou were they are refueled and sent further on the Chongging where they are personally greeted by Chaing Kai-shek.

Aftermath
The 8 surviving B25s end up forming the basis of a bomb group of the 14th Air Force, along with 28 aircrew. The remainder are sent home where they will mostly see service fighting the Germans. All are decorated, while now Brigadier General Doolittle (promoted two ranks by Presidential Order) is awarded the Medal of Honor and assigned a major role in the upcoming Operation Torch.

The Japanese react massively to the raid. Operation Sei-Go, a major Japanese Army operation, is launched within a few days of the raid, resulting in heavy Chinese casualties and the fall of Zhuzhou. Unit 731 conducts operations in support of this offensive, which ultimately results in the deaths of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Chinese (depending on which estimate is accepted postwar). An entire Army Air Division of fighters is assigned duty in Japan permanently as an air defense force. The Japanese Navy, appalled that the Americans have managed to attack Tokyo itself, begins to consider options to force the American carriers to battle and to destroy them.

 

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Japanese Naval Aviation August 1942
The Hawaiian Island Campaign, with the heavy losses over Oahu and further losses at Midway, was a devastating blow to what had until then been a superb weapon. The two naval battles cost the Japanese 200 naval pilots and 350 aircraft from all causes. Fierce battles over Luzon and the Marshall Islands, along with fighting in the Dutch East Indies and Indian Ocean, plus training and operational losses, cost the Japanese another 400 naval pilots and 600 aircraft. This from a force that started the war with 3,089 aircraft, including 1830 first line aircraft. Thus nearly half of the first line aircraft were lost between December 1941 and June 1942. Pilot losses are also severe, with 350 carrier pilots lost, with the remainder split roughly evenly between land based bombers, land based fighters and float planes, with a few flying boats. These losses are from 3,500 available pilots, including roughly 1,800 carrier qualified pilots. Between January 1942 and July 1942, the Japanese Navy graduates close to 700 pilots from 9 training classes, with another 120 due to graduate by the end of the year. Thus losses have just barely kept up with replacements.

Just as serious are aircraft losses and the limited number of replacements. Only around 300 Val Dive Bombers (including the new A2 version), 300 Kate Torpedo bombers (all of the N2 version), and 600 Zero fighters are available for carrier service, and all are also needed for shore based units too. This includes aircraft added to the force since the start of the war, as well as aircraft lost to combat and operational losses. The land based bombers now consist of 300 Nell bombers (after losses and new production are factored in), and 200 Betty bombers and provide bombers for 13 airgroups assigned to the various Air Flotillas. The remaining aircraft are 2nd line aircraft suitable for basic and advanced training, plus some transport aircraft and a large number (around 500) floatplanes for scouting and observation, but only 120 Mavis flying boats and only 8 of the highly valuable Emily flying boats.


Carrier Aviation
The available carriers and assigned aircraft are organized into three groups.


The fast (ships capable of 30 knots) are the Akagi (81 aircraft), Hiryu (54 aircraft), Shokaku (81 aircraft), Zuikaku (81 aircraft), and they are organized into the 1st Air Fleet, and operate with the 4 Kongo class battleships. After operations over the last 6 months, the 3 larger carriers handle strikes, with the smaller Hiryu carries 36 Zero fighters and 18 of the new Judy Dive bombers (as scout planes). The remaining carriers have Val dive bombers and Kate torpedo bombers still. The 1st Air Fleet has in total 297 aircraft (117 Zero fighters, 81 Kate torpedo / level bombers, 81 Val dive bombers, 18 Judy scout bombers) plus each carrier has 12 spares (only 4 spare Zero fighters on the Hiryu) for a total of 337 aircraft and 350 pilots. Another 20 floatplanes are assigned to the various battleships and cruisers (and 24 pilots). However the 1st Air Fleet has only recently completed its first operation after replacing the losses and repairing the damage from the Hawaiian campaign. The Aleutian campaign was a useful experience for the newly trained aircrews of the Shokaku and Zuikaku, but they are still not the equal of the elite veteran survivors of the Hiryu and Akagi. However, the 1st Air Fleet is ready for action in July 1942 for operations in the South Pacific.

The other carriers are assigned to the 2nd Fleet (the battleship fleet) to provide air cover, or to the 3rd Fleet (Southeast Asia) which is guarding the East Indies and keeping an eye of the Royal Navy pr assigned to training duties These are the slower light carriers suitable for covering landings or supporting the battleships.


Assigned to the 2nd Fleet, which has at its core the brand new superbattleships Yamato and Mushashi, plus the 16 inch gun battleships Nagato and Mutsu, are the light carriers Zuiho and Shoho, each with 12 Zero fighters and 12 Kate torpedo bombers (which are mainly for search and antisubmarine patrol). The battleships and cruisers add another 20 float planes for additional air search capability. This fleet is still working up in the Sea of Japan in August 1942.


The 3rd Fleet, which has at its heart the 2 Fuso class and 2 Ise class battleships, has the light carrier Ryujo assigned. This veteran ship, which was involved in the invasion of the Philippines, then assigned to the 1st Air Fleet for a time, has an elite veteran core of pilots (as do the 2 light carriers assigned to the 2nd Fleet) but only can operate 21 Zero fighters and 12 Kate bombers (for antisubmarine and search missions) but provides valuable air cover. The 3rd Fleet is at Brunei in July 1942 and ready for operations.

The remaining carriers are the Hosho, which is providing carrier qualification training in the Inland Sea and thus available for only the briefest of operations, and normally does not have an assigned air group, and the two newly commissioned Hiyo class conversions. These two ships, the Hiyo and Junyo, are too slow to operate with the 1st Air Fleet, but can each operate 21 Zero fighters, 9 Kate torpedo bombers and 18 Val dive bombers. Both have newly trained and inexperienced air groups, and the two ships have been operating with the 3d Fleet since they were commissioned as aircraft ferries moving Navy strike aircraft and fighters to forward bases in Malaya, Luzon and Java. In late June, they were assigned to the 2nd Fleet and ferried more fighters and strike aircraft to the Marshall Islands (and provided back up to the 1st Air Fleet which spent a fruitless week looking for the American carriers in expectations of another American raid). However the continuous operations were too much for the Hiyo, which sits at Truk waiting for parts to repair its faulty engines. Only the Junyo is available for operations and as of July it is undecided if she will be assigned to the 2nd or 3rd Fleets.


Between all the carriers, there are 534 aircraft (including partially assembled spares) and 575 pilots assigned.

A Zero of this model was found intact in the Aleutians after the battle and soon was being evaluated by the US military

Land based strike forces
Unlike the US Navy and to a larger degree then the Royal Navy, the Japanese pre-war developed a powerful land based strike force of bombers and fighters, and indeed many of these pilots were elite veterans when the war started. Accidents, operational losses, and combat losses have produced serious attrition, and the US Navy all but wiped out three entire bomb groups in raids in the Marshall Islands and the Admiralty Islands between February and June 1942, while Navy bombers committed to the Luzon campaign suffered heavy losses to a further two groups. This forced the Japanese Navy to pull all but a few float planes from the China campaign as they are now needed elsewhere. The replacement pilots are well trained but mostly inexperienced, just like their Allied counterparts in the South Pacific.

The medium attack groups have an authorized strength of 18 Betty or Nell bombers each, while the Fighter groups, as well as the light attack groups have an authorized strength of 27 aircraft. The principal operating forces, similar in some respects to a US Army Air Force numbered Air Force, are the Air Flotillas, of which there are 6 as of July 1942 (21st - 26th Air Flotilla). The 24th Air Flotilla lost nearly all of its aircraft and most of its aircrew in February 1942 at the hands of Spruance's Task Force 16, while 21st Air Flotilla lost over half its aircraft and a quarter of its aircrews in December 1941 over Luzon, and the 26th Air Flotilla suffered disastrous losses in aircraft and its airfield on Manus was reduced to a cratered moonscape by raids by Spruance's carriers and American medium and heavy bombers from Rabaul. The 24th and 21st have since replaced their losses (by drawing on aircraft from the 22nd and 23rd Air Flotillas in Japan), but the land based forces are now stretched thin. The 21st Air Flotilla is in Malaya (48 Betty, 27 Zero), the 25th is in the Dutch East Indies (48 Betty, 27 Zero) and the 22nd and 23rd Air Flotillas are in Japan while their groups work up. This leaves the 24th in the Central Pacific covering the Caroline and Marshall Islands (with 108 Nell, 54 Kate, 54 Val, 96 Zero) and with the strong possibility of further raids, and to block a repeat of the Doolittle Raid, those forces are not moving either. The 26th Air Flotilla, responsible to the Palau Islands, plus the Philippines and now northern New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands, only has airfields able to operate medium bombers in Luzon, Mindanao, and in the Palau islands, with only primitive strips available in New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands. It has, after getting some replacements, around 150 aircraft available (25 Zero, 50 Nell, 25 Kate, 50 Val). Each of the Air Flotillas also has 18-21 Mavis Flying boats, and 50-150 float planes assigned. The first fighter group of Rufe (Zero fighter float planes) is now deployed at the Japanese forward base in Hollandia, arriving in July.

Japanese Navy Rufe fighter at Hollandia August 1942

Thus far, aside from Luzon, the Army has not provided any aircraft except to defend the Homeland and the bulk of its aircraft are in Burma, China, Manchuria or Japan. The aircraft assigned to the Luzon campaign begin leaving in July for China.

A Japanese Emily Flying Boat. Once of the finest aircraft fielded by the IJN, but there were never enough of them. All of them were still in Japan at this point of the war, all 8 of them.

 

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US Navy forces Battle of Tarawa August 1942
Commander US Forces: Vice Admiral Raymond Spruance

Task Force 16 (R Adm Frederick Sherman)
CV Enterprise (flag for Sherman) w Carrier Air Group 6 (Cmmdr Max Leslie), 36 Wildcat, 35 Dauntless, 15 Avenger
CV Saratoga w CAG 3 (Cmmdr Harry Felt) 28 Wildcat, 35 Dauntless, 13 Avenger
BB North Carolina (flag for Spruance), CLAA Atlanta, CLAA San Diego, CL Honolulu, CL Phoenix (flag CruDiv 10 R Adm Callaghan) DD Balch, Maur, Ellett, Benham

Task Force 17 (R Adm George Murray)
CV Yorktown (flag for Murray) w CAG 6 (Cmmdr Richard Gaines) w 36 Wildcat, 35 Dauntless, 15 Avenger
CV Hornet w CAG 8 (Cmmdr Walter Rodee) w 36 Wildcat, 35 Dauntless, 15 Avenger
BB Washington (flag BatDiv 6 R Adm Lee), CLAA Juneau, CLAA San Juan, CL Helena (flag CruDiv 4 R Adm Norman Scott), CL Brooklyn DD Conyingham, Ralph Talbot, Blue, Monssen, Dewey


Allied Naval Forces: The Trondheimsfjord Raid September 1942

British Home Fleet (with attached US forces)
Commander: Admiral James Somerville RN
Deputy Commander (Carrier Forces) V Adm William Halsey USN
Deputy Commander (batttleships) V Adm Harry Harwood RN
Deputy Commander (US screen) R Adm Kent Hewitt USN


RN Forces
BB King George V, BB Prince of Wales, BB Anson, BB Duke of York, CA Sheffield, Suffolk, Norfolk. Plus 4 light cruisers, 12 destroyers escorting CV Illustrious, Formidable, Indomitable, Victorious
each carrier has 21 Sea Hurricane Mk1C, 15 Swordfish (Albacore on the Victorious) aboard, Swordfish have radar and are carrying either torpedoes, flares or 1 x 1,590 pound armor piercing bomb (converted 14 inch shell). The Indomitable carries 12 Barracuda in addition to the Swordfish.

USN Forces
BB South Dakota, BB Massachusetts, CA Augusta, Tuscaloosa, Minneapolis, Vincennes plus 9 destroyers escorting CV Ranger w Air Group 4 (Dixon) 24 Wildcat, 24 Dauntless, 24 Avenger (armed with 2,000 pound armor piercing bombs) CV Wasp w Air Group 7 w 24 Wildcat, 24 Dauntless, 24 Avenger (equipped as level bombers)