Target: Rabaul by Bruce Gamble

Author:Bruce Gamble [Gamble, Bruce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780760344071
Amazon: 0760344078
Publisher: Zenith Press
Published: 2013-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Hours before the carrier strikes commenced, “Tip” Merrill’s Task Force 39 had bombarded both Buka and Bonis with 2,700 six-inch and five-inch shells. Leaving the two airdromes in shambles, the cruiser force raced two hundred miles and bombarded the Shortlands on the afternoon of November 1. Afterward, Merrill received the urgent signal to intercept Omori’s warships coming out of Rabaul, which culminated in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay on the morning of November 2. At the conclusion of that affair, Merrill moved east while refueling his ships, not even resting his crews before heading into the Central Pacific to support the Gilberts campaign.

Because of the damage inflicted by Merrill’s cruisers, the claims submitted by the two carrier air groups were probably compromised, yet the attackers were credited with destroying or damaging thirty-three Japanese planes at Buka and Bonis. The lone aerial victory was credited to Clifton, who shot down a Sally twenty-five miles from the task force.

Regardless of the specific damage, the two days of strikes gave Saratoga’s crew something to cheer about. Even better, according to Sherman, the Japanese reported the sinking of one large and one small American carrier, an indication that they had taken the presence of the task force seriously. The enemy’s claims were curious, since Task Force 38 had not been attacked during the two days of strikes. This was a fortunate break for Sherman, as Rabaul lay just two hundred miles to the northwest. American carriers had never come so close to the stronghold. Furthermore, Koga had just reinforced Rabaul with dozens of carrier-based planes for Ro Operation. Perhaps Saratoga’s luck was finally turning for the better.

Not taking any chances, Sherman moved his warships out of harm’s way immediately after the air strikes. Task Force 38 steamed almost to Guadalcanal to meet a fleet oiler near Rennel Island, arriving on November 3. For the rest of that day and the most of the next, the twenty-one-thousand-ton Kankakee, a T-2 tanker with a capacity of nearly six million gallons, refueled Sherman’s fourteen ships off Indispensable Reef.

In the meantime, the 3rd Marine Division landed at Torokina Point on November 1, finding the three hundred Japanese troops surprisingly resilient. Unusually high surf swamped several landing craft, causing delays in unloading the invasion force. Further disruptions resulted from repeated air attacks out of Rabaul. By November 3, the marines had established a narrow beachhead, piled high with tons of jumbled supplies. The situation was tenuous, even vulnerable; however, the Allies remained unaware of the powerful enemy fleet steaming southward from Truk. With a dozen warships and thousands of counterinvasion troops, Admiral Kurita planned to refuel at Rabaul before driving the marines back into the sea.

AERIAL COVERAGE OF the seaways between Rabaul and Truk was improving, thanks to shared patrols by long-range aircraft of the Fifth Air Force, RAAF, and U.S. Navy, but the area was vast, and the frequent bad weather favored the Japanese. Even a big fleet could stay well hidden beneath squall lines. Luck was on Halsey’s side, however, by a slim margin.

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