Bombing of Rabaul (November 1943)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Carrier raids on Rabaul
partof= the Pacific Theater of World War II


caption= Japanese cruiser "Chikuma" under attack on 5 November 1943
date=November 1 1943 – November 11, 1943
place=coord|4|11|58|S|152|10|4|E|type:city|name=Rabaul|display=inline,title Rabaul on New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago
result=Allied victory
combatant1=flag|United States|1912 flag|Australia flag|New Zealand
combatant2=flag|Empire of Japan
commander1=George Kenney (land air forces),
William Halsey, Jr.,
Frederick Sherman (naval forces)
commander2=Mineichi Koga,
Jinichi Kusaka
strength1=3 fleet carriers,
2 light carriers,
2 light cruisers,
9 destroyers,
282 carrier aircraft,
94 land-based aircraft [Gailey, "Bougainville", p. 86-92.]
strength2=10 cruisers,
11 destroyers,
200 aircraft [Gailey, "Bougainville", p. 86-92.]
casualties1=10 carrier aircraft,
1 land-based aircraft destroyed [Gailey, "Bougainville", p. 88-89.]
casualties2=5 cruisers heavily damaged,
52 aircraft destroyed [Gailey, "Bougainville", p. 88-91 and Parshall & Hackett, Combinedfleet.com.]

The Allies of World War II conducted a bombing of Rabaul in November 1943 at the major Japanese base. Allied carrier and land-based planes attacked Japanese airfields, ships and port facilities, on the island of New Britain, to protect the Allied amphibious invasion of Bougainville. As a result of the Rabaul raids, several Japanese heavy cruisers and numerous smaller warships and transports were damaged, effectively ending the Japanese naval threat to the initial landings on Bougainville.

Background

Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, was one of two major ports in the Australian Territory of New Guinea. It was the main Japanese naval base for the Solomon Islands campaign and New Guinea campaign. Simpson Harbour — captured from Australian forces in February 1942 — was known as "the Pearl Harbor of the South Pacific" and was well defended by 300 anti-aircraft guns and five airfields.

In early 1943 Rabaul had been distant from the fighting. However, the Allied grand strategy in the South West Pacific Area, Operation Cartwheel, aimed to isolate Rabaul and reduce it by air raids. Japanese ground forces were already retreating in New Guinea and in the Solomon Islands, abandoning Guadalcanal, Kolombangara and Vella Lavella.

Land based air attacks

From October 12, 1943, as part of Operation Cartwheel, the U.S. Fifth Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force, directed by the Allied air commander in the South West Pacific Area, General George Kenney, launched a sustained campaign of bombing against the airfields and port of Rabaul. The biggest raid was on November 2.

Carrier attacks

With the invasion of Bougainville on November 1, 1943, Rabaul came under threat from another direction. A hasty attempt to drive Allied forces off Bougainville had been defeated in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay. Now Koga planned to reinforce Rabaul and overwhelm the limited Allied forces around Bougainville while most of the U.S. Navy was involved in preparations for the invasion of Tarawa.

Rear-Admiral Frederick Sherman planned to pre-empt this threat by a carrier raid. "Saratoga" and "Princeton" headed for New Britain under cover of a weather front and launched every plane at Rabaul. No ships were sunk, but six cruisers were damaged, four heavily. "Atago" was near-missed by three 500-lb bombs that caused severe damage and killed 22 crewmen, including her captain. [Hackett, "HIJMS ATAGO: Tabular Record of Movement", Combinedfleet.com. "Atago" went to Yokosuka, Japan, for further repairs which were completed on December 30, 1943.] "Maya" was hit by one bomb above one of her engine rooms, causing heavy damage and killing 70 crewmen. [Hackett, "HIJMS MAYA: Tabular Record of Movement", Combinedfleet.com. "Maya" went to Yokosuka for further repairs which, along with the addition of additional anti-aircraft guns, were completed on April 9, 1944.] "Mogami", was hit by one 500-lb bomb and set afire, causing heavy damage and killing 19 crewmen. [Hackett, "HIJMS MOGAMI: Tabular Record of Movement", Combinedfleet.com. "Mogami" went to Kure, Japan for further repairs which were completed on February 17, 1944.] "Takao" was hit by two 500-lb bombs, causing heavy damage and killing 23 crewmen. [Hackett, "HIJMS CHIKUMA: Tabular Record of Movement", Combinedfleet.com. "Takao" went to Yokosuka for further repairs which were completed on January 18, 1944.] "Chikuma", was slightly damaged by several near-misses. [Hackett, "HIJMS CHIKUMA: Tabular Record of Movement", Combinedfleet.com.] "Agano" was near-missed by one bomb which damaged one anti-aircraft gun and killed one crewman. [Hackett, "HIJMS AGANO: Tabular Record of Movement", Combinedfleet.com.] Three destroyers were also lightly damaged. [Hackett, "HIJMS FUJINAMI: Tabular Record of Movement", "HIJMS AMAGIRI: Tabular Record of Movement", "HIJMS WAKATSUKI: Tabular Record of Movement", Combinedfleet.com., "Fujinami" suffered minor damage with one crewman killed. "Amagiri" and "Wakatsuki" suffered minor damage and no casualties.] Most of the Japanese warships returned to Truk the next day for repairs and to escape further Allied airstrikes. One was hit by 12 bombs and sank in 21 minutes.

A second carrier raid was made on November 11 by the "Saratoga", "Princeton", "Bunker Hill", "Essex" and "Independence". "Agano", which had remained at Rabaul after the November 5 strike, was torpedoed in this attack and heavily damaged. [Hackett, "HIJMS AGANO: Tabular Record of Movement", Combinedfleet.com. On February 16, 1944, as "Agano" traveled from Truk to Japan for further repairs, she was hit by two torpedoes from USS Skate (SS-305) and sunk. Her 523 survivors were picked up the destroyer "Oite" and returned to Truk. In Operation Hailstone, "Oite" was sunk by U.S. carrier aircraft, killing all of "Agano's" survivors.]

Notes

References

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title = Bougainville, 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign
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last = Hara
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External links

*cite web
last = Mersky
first = Peter B.
year = 1993
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Aces/index.html
title = Time of the Aces: Marine Pilots in the Solomons, 1942-1944
work = Marines in World War II Commemorative Series
publisher = History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps
accessmonthday = October 20
accessyear = 2006 Account of U.S. Marine involvement in air war over Solomon Islands and Rabaul.
*cite web
url = http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Epi-c1-WH2-1Epi-d.html
title = Title: THE ASSAULT ON RABAUL. Operations by the Royal New Zealand Air Force December 1943 — May 1944
accessdate = 2006-05-30
*cite web
last = Chen
first = C. Peter
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 2004-2006
month =
url = http://www.ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=8
title = Solomons Campaign, 23 August 1942 - 26 November 1943
format =
work = World War II Database
pages =
publisher =
accessmonthday = June 2
accessyear = 2006
*cite web
last = Shaw
first = Henry I.
coauthors = Douglas T. Kane
year = 1963
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/II/index.html
title = Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul
work = History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II
accessdate = 2006-10-18
*cite web
last = Miller
first = John, Jr.
year = 1959
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Rabaul/index.html
title = CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul
work = United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific
pages = 418
publisher = Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Department of the Army
accessmonthday = October 20
accessyear = 2006
*cite web
last = Parshall
first = Jon
coauthors = Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt
url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/kaigun.htm
title = Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)
accessdate = 2006-06-14- Tabular records of movement for the Japanese warships involved in this battle.
*cite web
last = Parshall
first = Jon
coauthors = Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt
year =
url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/btl_rab.htm
title = Carrier Raid on Rabaul
work =
accessdate = 2006-12-14