Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942)
Invasion of Tulagi | |||||||||
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Part of the Special Naval Landing Force that seized Tulagi in May 1942 | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Allied forces including: United States Australia United Kingdom | Japan | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
William Sydney Marchant (land) Frank Jack Fletcher (naval) | |||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
1 aircraft carrier, 3 cruisers, 4 destroyers, 58 aircraft[1] |
2 destroyers, 5 | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
4 aircraft destroyed[5][6][7][8] |
1 destroyer, 3 minesweepers sunk, 2 minelayers, 1 destroyer damaged, 1 transport damaged, 5–6 aircraft destroyed, 87 killed[9][10] |
The invasion of Tulagi, on 3–4 May 1942, was part of Operation Mo, the Empire of Japan's strategy in the South Pacific and South West Pacific Area in 1942. The plan called for Imperial Japanese Navy troops to capture Tulagi and nearby islands in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. The occupation of Tulagi by the Japanese was intended to cover the flank of and provide reconnaissance support for Japanese forces that were advancing on Port Moresby in New Guinea, provide greater defensive depth for the major Japanese base at Rabaul, and serve as a base for Japanese forces to threaten and interdict the supply and communication routes between the United States and Australia and New Zealand.
Without the means to effectively resist the Japanese offensive in the Solomons, the British
Over the next several months, the Japanese established a naval refueling, communications, and
Background
On 7 December 1941,
The Imperial Japanese Army supported the idea of taking Port Moresby and in April 1942, with the Japanese Navy, developed a plan for the attack that was titled "Operation Mo". The plan also included the seizure of Tulagi, a small island in the southern Solomon Islands, where a seaplane base would be set up for potential air operations against Allied territories and forces in the South Pacific. Although Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto—commander of the Combined Fleet—was concurrently planning an operation that he hoped would lure the U.S. Pacific Fleet into a decisive showdown in the central Pacific, he detached some of his large warships to support the Mo operation and placed Inoue in charge of the naval portion of the operation.[14]
A large force consisting of two heavy
At the time, Tulagi was the capital of the
The only Allied military forces at Tulagi were 24
Throughout most of April, the Japanese conducted "desultory" bombing raids on Tulagi with aircraft based at Rabaul or nearby that caused little, if any, damage. The coastwatchers on Guadalcanal were usually able to radio advance warning to the Australian troops on Tulagi of the approaching Japanese aircraft, but the troops did not have large enough weaponry—three Vickers machine guns and one Bren light machine gun—to seriously challenge the Japanese bombers. On 25 April, Tulagi was bombed by eight Japanese aircraft. Similar raids occurred daily over the next week, with one raid on 1 May heavily damaging one of the Catalinas at Gavutu. The remaining Catalinas successfully evacuated that same day.[20]
Allied
Landings and air attacks
On 2 May, coastwatcher Jack Read on Bougainville reported that a large force of Japanese ships, believed to be part of the Japanese Tulagi invasion force, had departed from the Buka area. Later that day, coastwatcher
Supporting the Japanese landings were seaplanes from Kamikawa Maru, temporarily based at
At 17:00 on 3 May, Fletcher was notified that the Japanese Tulagi invasion force had been sighted the day before approaching the southern Solomons.[28] Unable to communicate with the Lexington task force because of the need to maintain radio silence, Yorktown's task force proceeded independently toward Guadalcanal in order to be in position to launch airstrikes against the Japanese forces at Tulagi the next morning.[29][30]
At 07:01 on 4 May, Yorktown launched a first strike consisting of 12 TBD Devastator torpedo bombers and 28 SBD Dauntless dive bombers from a position about 160 km (86 nmi; 99 mi) south of Guadalcanal. The aircraft began their attacks on Shima's ships anchored near Tulagi at 08:50, taking the Japanese ships by surprise and at anchor.[31] Okinoshima and the two destroyers were positioned to provide a protective barrier for Azumasan Maru and Kōei Maru which were busy unloading troops and materiel. The three minesweepers had just got underway to support the Port Moresby invasion and were still near Tulagi. Although the U.S. pilots from the first strike claimed many bomb and torpedo hits on the anchored ships, they actually hit only Okinoshima, causing minor damage, and Kikuzuki, causing major damage. Kikuzuki—with the assistance of one of the subchasers—was beached on Gavutu in an attempt to keep her from sinking. During this time, all of the other ships weighed anchor and attempted to escape from the harbor. One U.S. dive bomber destroyed a Japanese Mitsubishi F1M2 "Pete" floatplane that attempted to take off during the attack.[32][33]
Yorktown's second strike—utilizing the same aircraft—returned to Tulagi and began their attack at 12:10 on the Japanese ships, many of which were now at full steam and attempting to put distance between themselves and Tulagi harbor. The second strike hit and sank the minesweepers #1 and #2 and severely damaged Tama Maru northeast of
A third, smaller strike from Yorktown arrived at 15:30 and caused moderate damage to Azumasan Maru and Okinoshima. One of the TBDs (Bu No. 0333) in the third strike became lost, ran out of fuel, and ditched in the ocean about 60 km (32 nmi; 37 mi) south of Guadalcanal. Two of the Wildcats from the second strike also ran out of fuel and crash landed on the southern coast of Guadalcanal. Fletcher sent the destroyers USS Hammann and Perkins to rescue the aircrews from the three aircraft. Hammann was able to recover both fighter pilots, but Perkins was unable to locate the TBD's crew. Both destroyers returned to Yorktown's task force late that evening as the task force turned away from Guadalcanal toward the southeast in order to refuel and rendezvous with Lexington the next day.[37]
Aftermath
On 5 May, Kikuzuki slid off of the shore of Gavutu and sank in Tulagi harbor, a total loss (09°07′S 160°12′E / 9.117°S 160.200°E). Tama Maru foundered two days later. The other surviving, damaged Japanese ships were able to reach Rabaul and Kavieng for repairs. Hagoromo Maru and Noshiro Maru #2 joined the Port Moresby Invasion Group. On 10 May, as Okinoshima participated in the first Japanese attempt to take Ocean (Banaba) and Nauru Islands, titled Operation RY, she was sunk by the submarine USS S-42 off New Ireland (05°06′S 153°48′E / 5.100°S 153.800°E).[38][39] A total of 87 Japanese naval personnel died in the 4 May air attacks on Tulagi, and 36 of the landing troops were seriously injured.[10][32][36]
The lost Yorktown TBD aircrew (Leonard Ewoldt, pilot, and Ray Machalinsk gunner) reached Guadalcanal after drifting in the ocean for three days. A
After striking Tulagi, Yorktown rejoined with Lexington, and the two carriers engaged the rest of the Japanese forces involved in the Mo operation from 6–8 May in the Battle of the Coral Sea. In the battle, Lexington was sunk and Yorktown was damaged. The Japanese suffered Shōhō sunk, a fleet carrier heavily damaged, and heavy losses to their carrier aircraft and aircrews. Fearing more damaging attacks from Allied land-based aircraft or warships and unable because of their aircraft losses to provide adequate air cover for their naval surface forces, the Japanese turned back from their planned assault on Port Moresby with the intention of trying again later. The next Japanese seaborne attempt to take Port Moresby, however, never happened, mainly because of their navy's defeat in June at the Battle of Midway. Instead, the Japanese decided to try to take Port Moresby in an ultimately unsuccessful overland attack along the Kokoda Track. The failure to take Port Moresby in May 1942 would have significant and far-reaching strategic implications, many of which involved the small Japanese naval base at Tulagi.[42]
Despite the damaging air attacks to their ships and landing forces, the Japanese proceeded with the construction of the naval seaplane base at Tulagi and Gavutu, receiving more shipments of troops and construction workers over the next several months. The base was soon operational with aircraft from the
The Allies were greatly concerned about the Japanese airfield construction effort on Guadalcanal because, when completed, the aircraft operating from the airfield would be a significant threat to Allied operations between Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. The two strategic victories for the Allies in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway provided an opportunity to take the initiative and launch an offensive against the Japanese somewhere in the Pacific. An Allied plan to attack the southern Solomons was conceived by U.S. Admiral
The failure of the Japanese to take Port Moresby and their defeat at Midway had the effect of leaving their base at Tulagi without effective protection from other Japanese bases. Tulagi was four hours flying time from Rabaul, the nearest large Japanese base.
Notes
- ^ a b Hackett, CombinedFleet.com, "IJN Minelayer Okinoshima: Tabular Record of Movement."
- ^ a b D'Albas, Death of a Navy, p. 110.
- ^ Hackett, Combinedfleet.com.
- ^ Jersey, Hell's Islands, pp. 58–60.
- ^ Cressman, pp. 91–94.
- ^ McCarthy, p. 80.
- ^ Lundstrom, p. 149.
- ^ Lord, pp. 10–11.
- ^ Hackett, CombinedFleet.com, "IJN Minelayer OKINOSHIMA: Tabular Record of Movement," and IJN Seaplane Tender KIYOKAWA MARU: Tabular Record of Movement." Aircraft losses included two to four F1M2 "Petes" and one or two E8N2 "Daves" from Kiyokawa Maru and Kamikawa Maru.
- ^ a b Gill, Royal Australian Navy, p. 44.
- ^ Parker, A Priceless Advantage, p. 3.
- ^ Murray, War to be Won, pp. 169–95
- ^ Parker, A Priceless Advantage, p. 5; and Frank, Guadalcanal, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Jersey, Hell's Islands, p. 57.
- ^ Lord, p. 13; Jersey, pp. 58–60; Dull, pp. 122–24; Lundstrom, p. 143; Bullard, p. 56.
- ^ a b c Gill, Royal Australian Navy, p. 42.
- ^ Jersey, Hell's Islands, p. 13; Lord, Lonely Vigil, pp. 2–5, 9.
- ^ McCarthy, South-West Pacific Area, p. 63; and Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 28.
- ^ Lord, Lonely Vigil, pp. 6–7.
- ^ McCarthy, South-West Pacific Area, p. 80, and Lord, Lonely Vigil, pp. 10–11; Jersey, Hell's Islands, p. 24. The first Japanese bomb raid on Tulagi took place on 22 January 1942 by one aircraft and occurred with increasing frequency and size over succeeding months. The damaged Catalina on 1 May was towed to Aola on Guadalcanal where Martin Clemens later destroyed it to keep it out of Japanese hands.
- ^ Parker, A Priceless Advantage, p. 11.
- ^ Cressman, pp. 83–86; Lundstrom, pp. 141–45.
- ^ Feuer, Coastwatching in WWII, pp. 36–37. What Read probably saw were ships from either Goto's support force (Dull, p. 129 (map)) or Marumo's cover force (Lundstrom, p. 145).
- ^ Lord, Lonely Vigil, pp. 12–13; Jersey, Hell's Islands, p. 60.
- ^ Jersey, Hell's Islands, pp. 48 and 426; Hackett, Combinedfleet.com. Aircraft from the seaplane tender Kiyokawa Maru, undergoing repair in Japan, were temporarily assigned to augment Kamikawa Maru's complement of aircraft. The tender departed Santa Isabel on 5 May to support the Japanese Port Moresby invasion forces from the Deboyne Islands in the Louisiade Archipelago.
- ^ Lord, p. 13; Jersey, pp. 58–60; Lundstrom, pp. 144–45. 3rd Kure troops involved numbered 398 and they were accompanied by an anti-aircraft detachment and some construction workers.
- ^ AWM, Coral Sea
- coastwatcherin the Solomons.
- ^ Jersey, p. 62; Cressman, p. 86; Gill, p. 43; Parker, p. 27; and Lundstrom, p. 145.
- ^ Yorktown's'task force included the U.S. heavy cruisers USS Astoria, Chester, and Portland, plus the U.S. destroyers USS Hammann, Anderson, Perkins, and Sims.
- ^ Cressman, That Gallant Ship, p. 87.
- ^ a b c Dull, Imperial Japanese Navy, p. 127.
- ^ Cressman, pp. 87–88; Lundstrom, p. 147; and Nevitt, Combinedfleet.com, "IJN Kikuzuki: Tabular Record of Movement."
- ^ Cressman, pp. 89–91; Lundstrom, pp. 147–48.
- ^ Hackett, Combinedfleet.com, "IJN Seaplane Tender Kiyokawa Maru: Tabular Record of Movement."
- ^ a b Jersey, Hell's Islands, p. 63.
- ^ Cressman, pp. 91–94; Lundstrom, p. 148.
- ^ Willmott, p. 85; Brown, pp. 62–63; Nevitt, Combinedfleet.com, "IJN Kikuzuki: Tabular Record of Movement."
- ^ Hackett, Combinedfleet.com, "IJN Minelayer Okinoshima: Tabular Record of Movement." The rest of the Japanese ships later turned back after receiving reports of U.S. carriers (USS Enterprise and Hornet) in the Ocean Island/Nauru area. Ocean Island and Nauru were later occupied by Japanese forces in August 1942.
- ^ Cressman, That Gallant Ship, p. 92.
- ^ Lord, Lonely Vigil, p. 16.
- ^ Frank, Guadalcanal, pp. 17, 24–25.
- ^ Frank, p. 31; Jersey, p. 98–112; Bullard, p. 121. The B-17s were from the 19th Bombardment Group (later called the 19th Bomb Group) and 11th Bomb Group. Japanese records indicate that two crewmen from a shot down B-17 were captured by Japanese personnel from Gavutu on 5 August 1942 but, if so, the crewmen's fates are unknown.
- ^ Morison, Struggle for Guadalcanal, p. 12.
- ^ Murray, War to be Won, pp. 199–200.
- ^ Frank, Guadalcanal, pp. 17, 194–213.
- ^ Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 51; and Morison, Struggle for Guadalcanal, p. 15.
- ^ Frank, Guadalcanal, pp. 61–62, 79–81.
- ^ National Park Service, A Guide to the Pacific War, "War in the Pacific: The First Year – The Rising Sun"
- ^ Anderson, Guadalcanal, pp. 2–27
References
- Anderson, Charles R (1993). CMH Pub 72-8: Guadalcanal. Center for Military History. )
- Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
- Bullard, Steven (translator) (2007). Japanese army operations in the South Pacific Area New Britain and Papua campaigns, 1942–43. ISBN 978-0-9751904-8-7.
- Cressman, Robert (2000). That Gallant Ship U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-5) (4th printing ed.). Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. ISBN 0-933126-57-3.
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- Feuer, A. B. (1992). Coastwatching in World War II (Stackpole Military History Series). Westport, Connecticut: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-3329-7.
- ISBN 0-394-58875-4.
- Gill, G. Hermon (1968). Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945. OCLC 637329967.
- Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (1998–2005). "IJN Minelayer Okinoshima: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp; Allan Alsleben; Peter Cundall (1998–2006). "IJN Seaplane Tender Kamikawa Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp; Allan Alsleben; Peter Cundall (1998–2005). "IJN Seaplane Tender Kiyokawa Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- Jersey, Stanley Coleman (2008). Hell's Islands: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. ISBN 978-1-58544-616-2.
- Lord, Walter (2006) [1977]. Lonely Vigil; Coastwatchers of the Solomons. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-466-3.
- Lundstrom, John B. (2006). Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-475-2.
- McCarthy, Dudley (1959). South–West Pacific Area – First Year: Kokoda to Wau. OCLC 3134247.
- ISBN 0-252-06995-1.
- ISBN 0-316-58305-7.
- Murray, Williamson; Allan R. Millett (2001). A War To Be Won: Fighting the Second World War. United States of America: Belknap Press. ISBN 0-674-00680-1.
- Nevitt, Allyn D. (1998). "IJN Kikuzuki: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- "War in the Pacific: The First Year – The Rising Sun". A Guide to the Pacific War. National Park Service. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- Willmott, H. P. (1983). The Barrier and the Javelin: Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies February to June 1942. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-535-3.
Further reading
- Hoyt, Edwin P. (2003). Blue Skies and Blood: The Battle of the Coral Sea. I Books. ISBN 0-7434-5835-4.
- Henry, Chris (2003). The Battle of the Coral Sea. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-033-1.
- Lundstrom, John B. (2005). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway (New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-471-X.
External links
- Gillison, Douglas (1962). "Chapter 26 – Coral Sea and Midway". Royal Australian Air Force, 1939–1942. Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 3: Air. Vol. I. Canberra: Australian War Memorial.
- Naval Historical Center (2000). "Battle of the Coral Sea, 7–8 May 1942". Online Library of Selected Images: Events – World War II in the Pacific. Archived from the originalon 26 June 2004. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- Office of Naval Intelligence (1943). "The Battle of the Coral Sea". Combat Narrative. Publications Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, United States Navy. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- Parker, Frederick D. "Part One: The Battle of the Coral Sea". A Priceless Advantage: U.S. Navy Communications Intelligence and the Battles of Coral Sea, Midway, and the Aleutians. National Security Agency, Central Security Service. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- United States Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific) – Naval Analysis Division (1946). "Chapter 4: The Battle of the Coral Sea". The Campaigns of the Pacific War. United States Government Printing Office. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- Japanese Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, Volume II – Part I. United States Army Center of Military History. 1994. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2006.
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ignored (help) – Translation of the official record by the Japanese Demobilization Bureaux detailing the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy's participation in the Southwest Pacific area of the Pacific War.