Deployment United States Navy August 15, 1941
As the US Navy is a strong believer in Mahan, the battleships are concentrated in one Ocean to fight the main enemy. The carriers and cruisers are considered scouting and 'show the flag' ships and thus are split more equally but the operational fleet submarines, indeed all that are not obsolete, obsolescent, training ships or working up, are all being sent to the Pacific as are some additional S class boats to provide protection to the Philippines (their short range is a less of a handicap there)
Many of the warships below are still in transit to their new stations or deployment areas, and a number are under refit
(Refit*)
US Navy Forces Europe (Admiral Husband Kimmel) HQ Belfast, Northern Ireland
Primary mission: Guard the United Kingdom and local waters Secondary mission (late 1941), escort convoys to Murmansk along with British Home Fleet units
Fleet flagship CL Philadelphia
Battle Force (V Admiral Pye) BB West Virginia (Battle Force flag), Maryland, Colorado*(at Bremerton), Tennessee, California, New Mexico, Mississippi, Idaho, Pennsylvania*(at Philadelphia) Arizona* (at Boston) 4 BB attached to British Home Fleet, remainder escorting convoys in Western Approaches
Cruiser Division 9 (Rear Admiral Kent Hewitt) CL St Louis, Helena, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Phoenix
Destroyer Flotilla One (Rear Admiral Theobald) CL Phoenix (flag)
Tenders Dobbin, Whitney|
DesRon 1 (Phelps, Dewey, Hull, MacDonough, Worden, Aylwin, Dale, Farragut, Monaghan)
DesRon 5 (Porter, Drayton, Flusser, Lamson, Mahan, Cushing, Perkins, Preston, Smith)
Total force: 10 BB (including 1 still on West Coast refitting, 2 still on East Coast refitting), 5 CL (2 refitting US West Coast), 18 DD (6 refitting US East Coast)
Atlantic Fleet (Admiral Chester Nimitz) HQ Boston, Massachusetts
Fleet flag CA Augusta (alt flag is sailing frigate Constitution)
Mission: Defend convoys and eliminate surface raiders in Western North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, also provide cover to troop convoys to South America, Africa and the Middle East and includes subsidiary South Atlantic and Caribbean commands
Heavy Escort Force: RAdm Lebreton, BB Nevada, Oklahoma, New York (flag), Arkansas covering convoys to UK and Iceland
The battleships are organized into task forces based out of Norfolk, Philadelphia, New York and Boston and escort troop convoys. They are however mostly acting as training ships at present and their destroyers are escorting convoys instead
Aircraft Atlantic Fleet (RAdm Arthur Cooke) CV Ranger, CV Wasp, CV Yorktown, CVE Long Island (working up), CV Hornet ( commissioned Oct 12, available after February 1942)
Atlantic Fleet carriers sent their most modern fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo planes to Marine and Navy squadrons that would remain in the Pacific but due to proximity to home, will be the first to receive newer aircraft as they become available. Thus in 1941 there are a number of Brewster Buffalos and Vought Vindicator Dive bombers equipping their squadrons along with Douglas Devastator torpedo bombers
All Carriers are based out of Norfolk, along with their escorts and are organized into Task Forces
Cruiser Division 7 (RAdm Robert Giffen) CA Wichita (flag), Quincy, Tuscaloosa, Vincennes, Augusta,
Cruiser Division 4 (RAdm John Newton) CA Chicago, Louisville, Portland, Indianapolis
Destroyer Flotilla 3 (Captain Alan Kirk)
DesRon 7 (DD Plunkett, Niblack, Benson, Gleaves, Maya, Madison, Lansdale, Hilary Jones, Charles Hughes)
DesRon 27 (DD Decatur, Herbert, Jacob Jones, Roper, Dickerson, Badger, Babbitt, Leary, Schenck)
DesRon 9 (DD McDougal, Winslow, Moffett, Sampson, Davis, Jouett, Somers, Warrington)
Cruisers and destroyers are assigned to the battleship and carrier task forces, with 1 BB, 4 BB or CV, 2 CA, 4 DD or 1 CVE, 4 DD each group
(total force 4 BB, 3 CV, 1 CVE, 9 CA, 26 DD) (1 BB, 1 CV, 2 CA, 6 DD on US East Coast refitting)
US Convoy Escort pool (RAdm Reichmuth) (US East Coast Ports for convoys across Atlantic)
Destroyer Flotilla Four
DesRon 2 (DD Morris, Anderson, Hamman, Hughes, Sims, Mustin, Russell, O’Brien, Walke)
DesRon 8 (DD Wainwright, Lang, Stack, Sterrett, Wilson, Mayrant, Trippe, Rhind, Rowan)
DesRon 10 (DD Hambleton, Rodman, Emmons, McComb, Forrest, Fitch, Corry, Hobson) (these ships are working up and not combat ready)
Destroyer Flotilla Eight
DesRon 30 and DesRon 31 (18 Wickes/Clemson class 4 stack destroyers)
Total force: 36 destroyers plus 9 fitting out or training plus 18 more nearly complete and will be combat ready within 12 months) plus supplimental destroyers from DesROn 27 when they are not escorting the battleships
US Eastern Sea Frontier Command
120 Catalina Flying Boats
All US Coast Guard Forces on Eastern Seaboard
Minecraft US Battle Force (USS Oglala flag) R Admin Furlong
Mine Squadron One (8 Wickes/Clemson class 4 stack destroyer minesweeper/minelayers, 4 remained at Pearl Harbor)
Mine Squadrons Seven (12 Wickes/Clemson class 4 stack destroyer minesweeper/minelayers)
Mines Squadrons Eight, Nine, Ten (56 mine sweepers of various types)(26 are assigned to Gulf (16) and Caribbean (10) Sea Frontiers
Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic Forces (R Adm Jonas Ingram)
12 Catalina Flying Boats plus various BLIMPS and smaller patrol aircraft
Cruiser Division Two (CL Memphis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Omaha) plus CA Chester
DesRon 33 (9 Wilkes/Clemson class DD)
All US Coast Guard forces Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico (plus 26 minesweepers above) plus various patrol craft Balboa and San Juan bases
DesRon 29 (12 Wilkes/Clemson class DD taken from Asiatic Fleet)
Special note
The BB North Carolina and BB Washington as well as CLAA Atlanta are undergoing modification due to propeller problems and excessive vibration. None of these ships will be ready until early 1942. BB South Dakota has been launched but is still being completed and will be ready late summer 1942
The Pacific and Asiatic Fleets have both undergone substantial reorganization as the bulk of their battleships and destroyers and many of their cruisers have been sent to the Atlantic (along with a considerable amount of their minewarfare ships).
Asiatic Fleet (Admiral Thomas Hart)
21 Catalina Flying Boats
31 Submarines (mix of S type and fleet submarines) plus 17 S type en route from Atlantic
CA Houston (flag)
Cruiser Division 3 (RAdm Thomas Bidwell) CL Marblehead, Trenton, Richmond, Concord, CA Houston,
Destroyer Division 7 (DD Henley, Blue, Bagley, Helm)
Plus various patrol and support ships based in the Philippines
plus gunboats of Yangtze Patrol being moved to Philippines in September 1941
In the event of a war with Japan, the cruisers and submarines of the Asiatic Fleet will do as much damage as possible to Japanese warships and shipping before falling back to new bases
Pacific Fleet (Admiral Ernest King)
66 Catalina Flying Boats
22 Fleet submarines
Aviation Pacific Fleet (V Adm Bill Halsey)
CV Lexington, Saratoga, Enterprise (see above, but now all 3 ships have Wildcat fighters instead of Buffalos)
Cruiser Division 5 (R Adm Raymond Spruance) CA Northampton, Pensacola, Salt Lake City
Cruiser Division 6 (R Adm Frank Fletcher) CA Minnapolis, Astoria, New Orleans, San Francisco, CL Honolulu, Boise
Destroyer Squadron 6 (DD Selfridge, Mugford, Jarvis, Patterson, Ralph Talbot, Balch, Gridley, Maury, Craven, McCall, Dunlap, Ellet, Fanning, Benham
Aleutians Patrol (part of Pacific Fleet)
CL Raleigh plus 4 Wilkes/Clemson class destroyers plus various Coast Guard vessels
plus various craft and ships assigned to Western Sea Frontier