SPECIAL ISSUE
CARRIER BATTLE OF RABAUL (23 JANUARY 1944-27 JANUARY 1944)
MILITARY BACKGROUND
-Allied forces in south Pacific decide form a carrier group to train air crews. The forces must be under the command of RADM Halsey (a admiral very contested in the present times) and their objective will be the main japanese airstrips in the Solomons and neighbour islands, mainly Rabaul huge base.
-The allied forces exit from Noumea the 18th with the following ships:
Fast carriers: Intrepid, Franklin, and Lexington.
Light carriers: Belleau Wood, Cowpens, Cabot, Langley, Bataan, and San Jacinto.
Battleship: Massachussets.
Heavy cruisers: Indianápolis, and New Orleáns.
Light cruisers: Juneau, San Diego and Atlanta.
And destroyers: Charles Ausburne, Bache, Brown, Bush, Caperton, Converse, Cotten, Cowell, Hazelwood and LaValette.
-The 20th the allied force launch a devastating air attack against the Munda airstrip.
-The 21st the Japanese attack the allied carrier force from Lunga, mainly with Bettys carrying torpedoes. One hundred of Hellcats waiting. The Japanese air strike is annihilated. No damage is inflicted on ships.
-This disaster causes the nipon reaction on Truk. The same afternoon, the Kido Butai exit from the japanese base to intercept the allied group. The force, under the command of RADM Yamaguchi, is the following:
Carriers: Akagi, Hiyo, Taiho, Unryu and Katsuragi.
Light carriers: Chitose, Chiyoda and CVE Kaiyo.
Battleships: Musashi and Yamato.
Heavy cruisers: Maya, Chokai, Mogami and Suzuya and 9 destroyers.
-Moreover, the japanese form another surface force with the battlecruiser Hiei, the heavy cruisers Kumano, Aoba and Kinugasa, the light cruiser Oyodo and 8 destroyers to support the main force or force a night action against the allies.
JANUARY 23
-Afternoon: the allied carrier force launch a huge air attack against Rabaul base. 134 bombers are escorted with 106 Hellcats. 56 nipon fighters are on CAP but in the following dogfight the allies win the air battle. 50 Japanese are shot down and another 30 are destroy on land. Only 15 allied planes do not return to Halsey carriers.
-Afternoon: the Yamaguchi forces reach a position near Green island and locate the Halsey forces, the bad weather prevent the attack. The allies by your side also locate the japanese.
JANUARY 24
-The carrier battle: allied and japanese forces launch air attacks one against the other all morning.
-First american raid: 24 SBD and 34 TBF with a escort of 52 fighters. 45 zeros on CAP. 23 zeros are shot down and the allies lost 22 planes, mainly Flak losses.
The battleship Musashi is hit by two bombs but the damage on this colossus is very light. The CVE Kaiyo get one artifact and suffer a medium fire.
-Second american raid: 16 TBF with a escort of 29 fighters. 9 zeros on CAP. The japanese ships do not suffer any damage. 8 allied planes are shot down. All japanese fighters also are destroyed.
-Third american raid: 28 SB2C and 34 TBF with a escort of 42 fighters. Only three zeros on CAP very fast shot down.
The CVE Kaiyo is hit by another bomb and a torpedo. Heavy damage and fires. Flight deck closed. The CV Akagi get one bomb, minor damage. The CVL Chiyoda is hit by a bomb and a torpedo and suffer heavy fires, your speed is reduced to 13 knots and the flight deck is closed temporaly. Another HE bomb hit the CV Katsuragi but the damage is minor. The BB Musashi is hit again; this time by two bombs and two torpedos but the huge ship only lost a 6.1in mount.
-First japanese raid: 40 D4Y and 52 B6N escorted by 36 zeros. 50 Hellcats on CAP. 65 japanese planes are destroyed by Flak or shot down beside only six allied fighters but some planes get through...
The CVL Cowpens is hit by a bomb and the severe fires reduce your speed to 21 knots. The CV Lexington is hit by two bombs and the CV Intrepid by one but the damage is very light.
-Second japanese raid: 22 D4Y and 15 B6N escorted by 15 zeros. 36 Hellcats on CAP. 29 japanese planes are destroyed and no damage on ships.
-Third japanese raid: 49 D4Y, 34 B6N and 10 G4M2 (in a combined strike from Rabaul) escorted by 31 fighters. 27 Hellcats on CAP. 25 japanese planes are shot down beside 12 american fighters. Once more, the nipons get through.
The CV Lexington is hit by a torpedo and a bomb. The former cause heavy damage on flooding and reduce the speed to 19 knots. The bomb destroy the radar and 8 AA mounts causing some minor fires. The CVL Cabot is also damaged by a bomb that cross the deck and explodes in main hangar damaging the engines and reduced the speed to 10 knots.
-With only around the 50% of your air forces capable to launch strikes and the CVE Kaiyo and the CVL Chiyoda with heavy damage, RADM Yamaguchi decide return to Truk.
-Halsey, overestimated the damage inflicted on japanese, decide go north to annihilate the rest of the enemy.
JANUARY 25
-The weather make worse all the day prevent future operations on both sides. Halsey however locate the japanese, now divided in three groups, the northern with main forces, 120 miles south the heavy damaged CVL Chiyoda and another 120 miles south the CVE Kaiyo, try to repair your damaged engines.
JANUARY 26
-The 26th early morning, Halsey forces discover the isolated CVE Kaiyo and finish their job near Samo. The americans launch 45 bombers and 57 TBF with almost 100 Hellcats on escort. The brave and small japanese carrier get two torpedoes and a bomb and sinks.
-However, the position of both forces is in japanese favour because the superior range of their bombers and torpedo planes and Halsey stay all day go north to catch the enemy but suffering continous air attacks that cause damage on two Carriers.
-The first japanese attack is carried by the Rabaul air forces and is a complete disaster. 27 attackers fall to sea and only get a trophy, a solitaire torpedo hit the CVL Belleau Wood.
-The second raid, with all the available planes in Yamaguchi forces is more serious...
Divided in two waves, 66 D4Y and 30 B6N escorted by 21 zeros wreak havoc on american ships. The japanese catch the american CAP refueling and only 41 Hellcats are waiting.
The CA Indianapolis is hit by a bomb. The CVL Belleau Wood get two torpedoes that cause the explosion of ammo and fuel storages. The speed of ship fall to 10 knots and the fires spread freely. The same punishment fall over the CV Lexington and also cause the fires and secondary explosions. The two carriers are now out of the line.
-The battle has changed unexpectedly in japanese favour but Halsey, a know obstinate man, decide continue to north. The allied forces is divided now, the crippled vessels (Lexington and Belleau Wood) get orders to return to Noumea escorted by three destroyers and a cover force with the carriers Langley, Cabot and Cowpens.
JANUARY 27
-The morning, both forces are, again, in a situation to japanese favour. However, like the early day, the CVL Chiyoda is isolated more miles south of Yamaguchi forces and soon, in a devastating attack, is sunk with the Halsey planes. The DD Wakatake was hit by a bomb in this attack but reach Truk two days after without more problems.
-The dangerous American position in the afternoon, very near to Truk, cause this base launch continuous air strikes that damage more ships without answer.
The CA New Orleans is hit by a torpedo and your speed is reduced to 20 knots. The CV Franklin crosses the path of another but the damage is very light. The CVL San Jacinto is hit by two bombs that cause only minor fires. The worst damage is on CVL Bataan hit by two torpedoes. The japanese lost 82 planes in those attacks.
AFTERMATH
With the Yamaguchi forces now in Truk, Halsey return to Noumea to patch your ships. The battle was a complete disaster to american forces. The CV Lexington was sunk by a G4M2 flying from Munda while try to reach New Caledonia with the company of a destroyer. The CVL Belleau Wood is abandoned near Buka, very soon capsizes and sinks. The japanese only lost the CVL Chiyoda and the CVE Kaiyo but their air losses was heavy and the Kido Butai with your capacity to 30%.
