Cuttlefish
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Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
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November 19, 1943 - AM phase
Location: 60 miles north-northeast Island
Course: South
Attached to: TF 4
Mission: Air Combat
System Damage: 1
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 284
Orders: Engage enemy forces attacking the New Hebrides
---
Perhaps it could not have been done. Perhaps the possibility of victory for Japan in this war against far stronger opponents was only an illusion from the beginning. Yet on the morning of November 19, 1943 victory seemed to be within Japan’s grasp. Was it just an illusion, or could it have been achieved after all?
---
On November 18 the main Allied carrier force is north of New Caledonia. They have not been spotted by Japanese search planes out of Guadalcanal. However, thanks to the sacrifice of DesDiv 48 they now know where the Japanese carriers are.
They Allied force is ordered to move to a position just south of the Santa Cruz Islands. This will put them in position to engage the Japanese carriers whether they remain in position to the north or whether they move south to strike at the invasion fleet off Efate. For their part the Japanese do move south. The two forces come very close to colliding in the night, and if that had occurred it might have gone badly for the Allies indeed; the Japanese have powerful surface combat task forces with them, and the Allies do not.
But they miss each other, and as the sun rises the two opponents are barely 75 miles apart, with the Allies northwest of the Japanese. This is virtually point-blank range for a carrier duel. The two fleets discover each other’s presence almost immediately.
---
“Combat stations!” says Captain Ishii. “Helm, 40 degrees to port.” The task force is turning into the prevailing southeast trade wind to launch its planes. Hibiki is alive with the sound of running feet and hatches clanging shut. Canvas covers are stripped from AA guns and stowed away and extra magazines are brought up. On the bridge Captain Ishii nods in satisfaction as all stations are swift to report they are manned and ready.
“Sir, more reports coming in!” comes a voice from the radio room. “There is a second enemy carrier force, same bearing, at least four carriers in this one too.” Ishii acknowledges the report.
“That’s eight carriers,” says Lieutenant Miharu. “And there may be more.”
Ishii nods. “And they can come right at us to launch planes,” he says. “We may be attacked very soon.” He looks out at nearby Shokaku. A torpedo bomber is lumbering off the carrier, which is 500 meters to starboard. The other carriers in the task force are also launching planes, and though he can’t see them Ishii knows the other three carrier groups are doing the same thing. He picks up a pair of binoculars and trains them aft, looking for enemy planes. The sky is clear except for the Japanese strike assembling overhead.
---
There are in fact twelve Allied carriers out there, an exact match for the twelve Japanese carriers. The Allied force carries more fighters than do the Japanese, who have a strong edge in the number of bombers.
In the course of the war Kido Butai has launched many strikes, and the Japanese are by now thorough professionals in the art of launching a large, coordinated air strike. Despite having to turn away from the enemy their attack is underway first, though only by about 15 minutes. The two forces pass each other en route to their targets, and here and there the opposing planes even catch a glimpse of each other. No one breaks formation, however.
If the failure of the two forces to collide in the night is the first turning point of the battle, the second turning point is the fact that the southernmost Allied carrier group, and thus the one closest to the Japanese, is the mostly British task force commanded by Admiral Sir Denis Boyd. It is this group, with carriers Victorious, Indomitable, Formidable, and the American light carrier Cowpens, that bears the fury of the Japanese attack.
The Japanese send in over 250 bombers with a strong fighter escort. They are met by 126 Hellcat and Corsair fighters. The Japanese fighters engage them furiously but are outnumbered, and though they shoot down a number of Hellcats and damage many more they are unable to keep the fighters away from the bombers. Japanese planes go down all over the sky, trailing smoke and flame. The Allied fighters seem to be everywhere.
But there are too many Japanese planes to stop. A group of dive bombers finds Formidable first and plasters the flight deck with five bomb hits. None of the bombs penetrate the deck, and the attack seems to be a failure. But the seeds of Formidable’s destruction have already been sown; the shock of the impacts is transmitted throughout the ship. Watertight doors are sprung, hull plates are loosened, and fire-suppression lines are snapped. Torpedo bombers arrive a short while later and quickly score four hits on the carrier, three on the port side a one on the starboard.
Fires blaze up below decks and they cannot be stopped. Soon they reach the forward avgas storage tanks and a huge explosion rocks the carrier. Open to the sea in dozen places the ship begins to settle by the bow. Formidable is ordered abandoned and an hour later slips beneath the surface.
Victorious is struck by a torpedo and Indomitable by four bombs which fail to penetrate the flight deck. Cowpens takes two bombs and for a while battles a dangerous fire, but the flames are brought under control and the carrier is soon able to resume limited operations.
And then the attack is over. Of the more than 340 planes the Japanese launch only about 120 survive to return to their carriers.
---
“Sir, there is heavy anti-aircraft fire to the northeast,” calls a lookout. Ishii can see it too, a low smudge of black near the horizon. That, he knows, is the position of Okada’s Task Force 49, with carriers Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu. Radio reports reaching Hibiki describe a brutal air battle taking place over the task force.
---
The Allied attack consists of 140 fighters, about 100 of them Hellcats, escorting over 150 bombers. These are met by 133 Japanese fighters. The veteran Japanese pilots, here free to roam the sky, deliver a shock to the American planes. A great many Hellcats are lost. The British Corsairs are a different story; while a dozen of them are shot down they take a heavy toll on the Japanese wherever they appear.
Though under heavy attack most of the Allied bombers break through the fray and press home their attacks. Kaga and Soryu take the worst of it; both are hit hard and left afire, each struck by several bombs and torpedoes. Hiryu also takes a torpedo but is still able to recover planes.
Shortly after the attack ends a smaller strike approaches from the north, consisting of 33 dive bombers and a few fighters. The Japanese fighters are largely out of position to the west and only manage to shoot down a few of the planes; the remainder put three bombs into the Hiryu, knocking that carrier out of the fight, and five more into stricken Soryu. The fires on Soryu now rage out of control and the carrier appears doomed. Kaga is in little better shape.
The Japanese are not quite done, either. They too have a small group that was separated from the main attack and arrives late to the scene of battle. These planes surprise the disorganized British carriers and put a torpedo into Indomitable.
By mid-morning both sides have recovered their battered air groups. There is a pause while planes are re-armed and both sides prepare further attacks. It is at this juncture, with the Japanese reeling but not yet defeated, that Admiral Ozawa commits the blunder that decides the battle.
Next: The PM phase and Ozawa’s blunder.
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