Baptism of Fire and Strategic Bombings in the Pacific War

Sit Rep PTO late December 1941-January 1942

• Japanese are on the offensive everywhere
• Philippines are already on the way out
• Wake Island, despite a gallant defense by the Marines has been captured and the planned relief had been called off December 22.
• The fact that Wake Island had been abandoned by Admiral Pye lit a fire under Nimitz to strike back.
• Morale was extremely low in the fleet due to the fact that Wake had been abandoned.  
• Capt McMorris, Pye’s Chief of staff, said that retreating from Wake would be “unduly cautious” and a retreat would “destroy service and public confidence.  It is an opportunity unlikely to come again soon.  We are in great need of a victory.”
• Talk about the effect of Pye’s retreat order on the Carrier Force
• Aubrey Fitch withdrew to his cabin so he would not hear the mutinous talk on the bridge.
• Fliers on Saratoga threatened to ignore the order and launch anyway.
• Intel officer Edwin Layton said, “To lose to an enemy that fought you and you fought well was one thing.  But to lose because your own Admiral was a nervous Nellie was another.”
•  January 1942 was probably the worst month of the war in the Pacific as far as public knowledge and morale went.

• Admiral King wants to strike back
• In a cable dated January 2, 1942 King told Nimitz that he was not pleased with the “half-hearted” deployment of the CVs.
• He desired “Hit and Run” raids in the Marshalls and Gilberts.
• Talk about surprise raids to hit the outlying Japanese bases.
• Even though King wants to strike back, Nimitz’s advisers say don’t do it

• What can Nimitz strike back with?
• Talk about the carriers and their availability
• CV experience or lack thereof

• What are the risks of utilizing the CVs at this juncture?
• Who is expressing doubt?
• Admiral Bloch 14th Naval District responsible for defending Hawaii
• What were the arguments against a raid or raids?
• Bloch said that deploying the CVs on raids would leave Hawai’i dangerously exposed to further Jap assaults or invasion
• Intelligence on the Marshalls and Gilberts was scarce
• Little was known about the targets
• Didn’t think it was worth the risk
• Why take the risk?
• CVs were all we had
• Why raid in the first place and why the outer ring?
• Morale boost
• Japan focused on going south. – this would hit them in their “rear area”
• “Turning Movement” not the same as flank attack
• Possibly may divert Japanese attention from Australia and the Coral Sea
• Hitting the outer ring of islands was easier as there would be less of a threat from heavy Jap fleet units
• Would also protect Samoa and Australia by weakening the Jap airfields there

• The Marshall and Gilbert Islands Raid
• Nimitz confers with Admiral Halsey about the upcoming strike.
• Halsey is enthusiastic (no surprise here)
• Says that CVs should strike like General Nathan Bedford Forrest said about cavalry, “get to the other fellow first with everything you have and as fast as you can and dump it on him.”
• Halsey says he will take Enterprise to the Marshalls himself
• What strike isn’t with risk?
• Halsey says it’s important for the Navy’s self-respect
• Nimitz pulls the trigger
• Cryptanalysts state to Nimitz that radio traffic indicated a large Japanese fleet movement south, thereby putting the proposed targets out of range of major enemy fleet units
• Set for Feb 1
• Will comprise Task Force 8 built around Halsey and CV6 and TF 17 under Fletcher and CV5.         
• TF8 will strike the Marshalls in the am and if possible strike again that afternoon with targets on Kwajalein, Wotje and Taroa (Moelap)
• TF17 will strike the Gilberts area with targets on Mili, Makin and Jaluit

• Task Force 8
• Due to radio intercepts, Nimitz ordered Halsey to strike deep into the Marshalls at Kwajalein and hit the targets as much and as often as practical.
• Halsey told his pilots on CV6 that they would stay all day and “raise a little hell in the Marshalls”.  
• Pilots were elated
• First combat for Halsey & Spruance
• Weather was clear, moon was high, no wind, no rain…perfect for flying
• Aircrews awakened at 0300
• Takeoff at 0445
• CV6 launches 37 SBDs and 9 TBDs armed with bombs
• VS6 to attack airfield
• VB6 to freelance and attack targets of opportunity
• As VS6 approached Roi island, Japs scramble fighters, Type 96 Claudes and AAA starts sprouting up as the SBDs go into their glide bombing runs
• VS6 CO Halstead Hopping’s SBD is jumped by Claudes and is hit by AAA.  He drives directly into the drink.
• Emergence of Earl Gallaher and Dusty Kleiss. Wade McCluskey & Dick Best
• John Snowden gets an aerial kill on the Claude that shot down Hopping
• VS6 makes secondary runs on targets on the island with good success
• VB6
• They were held up and told to attack any shipping in the area
• Attacked several ships, mostly cargo ships and hit several of them, including a minelayer.
• Second attack of VS6
• They gain altitude and circle to come around on the shipping initially hit by VB6
• Instead of glide bombing as they did on the airfield, the scouts come in high and dive in 70-degree dives on the shipping
• Dusty drops his 500 pounder on a large vessel thought to be a cruiser
• Drills the cruiser dead center (the beginnings of an Dauntless dive-bomber deadeye)
• Roars across Kwajalein strafing the airfield as he goes, Snowden blasting away from the rear cockpit
• Other aircraft hit many of the ships in the harbor including a sub tender and a sub
• VT6 attacks
• First TBD attack of the war, some success
• Harbinger of things to come
• Second attack of EAG
• Big E only 95 miles from Taroa, left her exposed to retaliatory strikes from Japs
• The attack on Taroa was hotly contested by Japanese fighters and AAA
• Very heavy AAA, although not accurate and fighters who were all over the SBDs
• Halsey launches a 3rd attack
• Third attack is met by more Japanese fighters, many of the SBDs get shot up.
• Dusty Kleiss scores a hit on a hangar and is jumped by fighters on his way out.
• SBD gets shot up but he manages to force the fighters to disengage
• Stands up in his cockpit to wipe the oil from his windscreen.  SBD leaking fuel from his wing tanks.
• 4th attack
• Wotje is hit by EAG SBDs and TBDs
• Hit a ship in the harbor and other installations
• Halsey advised to “Get the hell out of here”
• As CV6 is pulling away at flank speed she is attacked by Japanese Nell level bombers
• Big E’s AAA guns start to bark at the incoming bombers
• CAP engaged but made no discernable impact
• Japs release ordnance from around 3000 feet and Captain George Murray handles the Big E like a speedboat, expertly dodging the incoming ordnance
• One last Nell, damaged by Enterprise AAA, turns around and heads back towards the ship. Pilot Lieutenant Kazuo Nakai intends on crashing his Nell into the Big E.
• Bruno Gaido
• Bomber cuts the tail off of Gaido’s SBD as it falls into the sea

• Combat Results
• 1 sunken transport, the Bordeaux Maru
• Auxiliary sub chaser No 2 Shonan Maru sinking
• Sub I-23 damaged
• Sub tender Yasukuni Maru damaged
• 5 other ships damaged to varying degrees
• 5 SBDs lost and 2 F4Fs

• Psychological Results
• Admiral Ugaki furious “we’re worse than the Americans—they didn’t have warning we did”. Made us look ridiculous.
• Yamamoto: “They have come after us after all”. (We were supposed to negotiate a peace.)
• Historians downplay significance. 
• Reinforce their forces everywhere
• Morale within the fleet skyrockets…finally a tangible retaliation to Pearl Harbor.
• Dawn February 5, Enterprise and Task Force 8 enter Pearl harbor to a hero’s welcome
• Halsey had Enterprise’s crew man their battle stations in whites
• Big E pulls into Pearl flying her battle colors
• Horns blowing, sailors waving, bands playing
• Nimitz comes aboard CV6 via bosun’s chair and congratulates Halsey, who breaks down in tears.
• The man truly loved his ship, his crew and his Navy
• The actual results of the Feb 1 raid were not much in terms of actual damage, but the pysch results were undeniable.
• True battle tested pilots in EAG

• Japanese Results
• Ugaki, Yammamoto’s Chief of Staff says, “They have come after all.”
• Forces Shokaku and Zuikaku to detach from Kido Butai and patrol Japanese home island waters for fear of a strike on the home land.
• Japanese move bombers closer to the outlying islands
• Diverted Japanese strength
• Planted the seeds for Yamamoto’s Midway operation

• Other Raids
• While EAG hits the Marshalls on Feb 1, CV5 and Task Force 17 hit Jaluit in the Gilberts the same day.
• Feb 24 EAG hits Wake
• March 4 EAG hits Marcus
• March 10 TF 17 hits Lae and Salamau

• Wrap up
• Overall importance