 Supporting the air superiority portion of the operation were the IJN 's 11th Air Fleet and the IJA 's 6th Air Division , based at Rabaul with 212 and 100 aircraft , respectively . 64 aircraft from carrier Zuikaku 's air group were also temporarily assigned to Rabaul . An additional 60 floatplanes from the IJN 's " R " Area Air Force , based at Rabaul , Bougainville , and the Shortland Islands , brought the total number of Japanese aircraft involved in the operation to 436 . The combined Japanese warship and naval air units in the area formed the Southeast Area Fleet , commanded by Jinichi Kusaka at Rabaul . 
