5th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)

The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, active during the early portions of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and again in World War II, primarily in the Aleutian campaign, during which it was augmented and designated the Northern Area Force.
History.
Second Sino-Japanese War.
The 5th Fleet was initially formed on 1 February 1938 as part of the Japanese military emergency expansion program in the aftermath of the North China Incident of 1937. The initial plan was to construct 3rd, 4th and 5th China Area Fleets to cover the invasions of Japanese troops into the Chinese mainland, and to interdict and control commerce on the coasts. The 4th and 5th Fleets came under the operational control of the 2nd China Expeditionary Fleet. It participated in the Hainan Island Operation and other maritime interdiction operations off the Chinese coast. The fleet was disbanded on 15 November 1939 when its operations were merged into the China Area Fleet.
World War II.
The 5th Fleet was resurrected on 25 July 1941, and tasked with patrols of northern Japanese waters from the northern portion of Honshū, through Hokkaidō, the Chishima Islands, and as far as the Bonin Islands to the east. With the threat of maritime invasion by the Soviet Union considered extremely remote, and with Japanese forces focused on attacking south "(Nanshin-ron)", the IJN 5th Fleet was considered of secondary importance and was only assigned a couple of light cruisers and smaller vessels.
With the outbreak of World War II, and the Doolittle raid on Tokyo, the 5th Fleet was reinforced by a large number of converted armed merchant vessels. The operational plan for the Battle of Midway called for a diversionary strike north towards the Aleutian Islands. The cruisers of the 5th Fleet – designated the "Northern Area Force" after its augmentation for the operation – covered the landings of Japanese troops on Attu and Kiska on 6–7 June 1942, and were in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands against the United States Navy on 27 March 1943.
However, the IJN 5th Fleet was unable to prevent the recapture of Attu by American forces in May 1943, and – after the abolition of the Northern Area Force on 4–5 August 1943 – from 5 August 1943 to 5 December 1944, the 5th Fleet was reorganized under the operational control of the Northeast Area Fleet, which oversaw the withdrawal of Japanese forces from Kiska and reinforcement of the northern approaches to Japan.
Following Japan's withdrawal from the Aleutians, the Northeast Area Fleet was reassigned directly to the Philippines in October 1944. It participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and surviving vessels were joined to the Southeast Area Fleet on 15 December 1944. On 5 February 1945, the Southeast Area Fleet became the IJN 10th Area Fleet, at which time the remnants of the 5th Fleet's administrative structure were disbanded.
Commanders of the 5th Fleet.
1st Creation.
"On 15 November 1939 the 5th Fleet was reorganized into the 2nd China Expeditionary Fleet. Command History continues there."
2nd Creation.
Chief of Staff


Bombing of Darwin

The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in Darwin's harbour and the town's two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasion of Timor and Java during World War II.
Darwin was lightly defended relative to the size of the attack, and the Japanese inflicted heavy losses upon Allied forces at little cost to themselves. The urban areas of Darwin also suffered some damage from the raids and there were a number of civilian casualties. More than half of Darwin's civilian population left the area permanently, before or immediately after the attack.
The two Japanese air raids were the first, and largest, of more than 100 air raids against Australia during 1942–43.
Background.
In 1942, Darwin – whilst it was the capital of the Northern Territory – was a small town with limited civil and military infrastructure. Due to its strategic position in northern Australia, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) had constructed bases near the town in the 1930s and the early years of World War II. Darwin's pre-war population was 5,800.
As early as August 1941, Darwin had been a key in the South Pacific air ferry route designed to avoid routes through the Japanese mandate in the central Pacific for bomber reinforcement of the Philippines. The first flight to use the route occurred when nine B-17D bombers of the 14th Bombardment Squadron (H) left Hawaii on 5 September and passed through Darwin 10–12 September. By October 1941 plans were underway to position fuel and supplies with two ships, including , being chartered and actively engaged in that purpose when war came. By November 1941 Australia had agreed to allow the establishment of training bases, maintenance facilities, munitions storage, communications, and improvement of airfields, including at Darwin, to meet the needs of the B-17 bombers in Australia.
Following the outbreak of the Pacific War in early December 1941, Darwin's defences were strengthened. In line with plans developed before the war, several Australian Army and RAAF units stationed in the town were sent to the Netherlands East Indies (Dutch East Indies; NEI) to strengthen the defences of the islands of Ambon and Timor. An improvised plan for support of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies was completed in Washington on 20 December 1941 by the U.S. Army General Staff. It envisioned Darwin as the hub of transshipment efforts to supply those forces by landing supplies at Brisbane, shipping overland to Darwin, and onward by air and blockade-running ships. In reality, transport to Darwin by sea was necessary. Supplies and shipping intended both to build the Darwin base and to support the Java and Philippine forces were gathered in Darwin and the vicinity. In the two months before the air raids, all but 2,000 civilians were evacuated from the town. Japanese submarines "I-121" and "I-123" laid mines off Darwin in January 1942.
By mid-February 1942 Darwin had become an important Allied base for the defence of the NEI. The Japanese had captured Ambon, Borneo, and Celebes between December 1941 and early-February 1942. Landings on Timor were scheduled for 20 February, and an invasion of Java was planned to take place shortly afterwards. In order to protect these landings from Allied interference, the Japanese military command decided to conduct a major air raid on Darwin. On 10 February a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft overflew the town, and identified an aircraft carrier (actually the seaplane tender ), five destroyers, and 21 merchant ships in Darwin Harbour, as well as 30 aircraft at the town's two airfields.
Among the ships in harbour were those returned the morning before the attack from the convoy escorted by involved in the failed effort to reinforce Timor. "Houston" had departed for Java but left "Mauna Loa" and the "Meigs" which had attempted to transport Australian troops to Timor and the U.S. Army transports "Portmar" and "Tulagi" which had embarked a U.S. infantry regiment at Darwin.
Prelude.
Opposing forces.
Despite Darwin's strategic importance to the defence of Australia, the city was poorly defended. The Australian Army's anti-aircraft defences comprised sixteen QF 3.7-inch AA guns and two 3-inch AA guns to counter aircraft flying at high altitude and a small number of Lewis Guns for use against low-flying raiders. The crews of these guns had conducted little recent training due to ammunition shortages. The air forces stationed in and near the town comprised No. 12 Squadron, which was equipped with CAC Wirraway advanced trainers (which had been pressed into service as fighters), and No. 13 Squadron which operated Lockheed Hudson light bombers. Six Hudsons, 3 from No. 2 Squadron and 3 from No. 13 Squadron also arrived at Darwin on 19 February after having been evacuated from Timor. None of the six Wirraways at Darwin on the day of the raid were serviceable. At the time of the event, there was no functional radar to provide early warning of air raids, and the town's civil defences were dysfunctional. The Lowe Commission, which was appointed to investigate the raids shortly after they occurred, was informed that the Australian military estimated that Darwin would have needed 36 heavy anti-aircraft guns and 250 fighter aircraft to defend it against a raid of the scale which occurred on 19 February. In addition to the Australian forces, ten United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Curtiss P-40 Warhawks were passing through Darwin en route to Java on the day of the attack. The P-40 pilots were in the main little experienced in combat.
A total of 65 Allied warships and merchant vessels were in Darwin harbour at the time of the raids. The warships included the United States Navy (USN) destroyer and seaplane tender . The RAN ships in port were the sloops and , corvettes and , auxiliary minesweepers and , patrol boat "Coongoola", depot ship , examination vessel , lugger , and four boom-net ships. Several USN and Australian troopships were in the harbour along with a number of merchant vessels of varying sizes. Most of the ships in the harbour were anchored near each other, making them an easy target for air attack. Moreover, no plans had been prepared for how the ships should respond to an air raid. In addition to the vessels in port, the American Army supply ships "Don Isidro" and "Florence D.", former Philippine vessels acquired as part of the South West Pacific Area command's permanent Army fleet earlier in February, were near Bathurst Island bound for the Philippines on the morning of the raid.
Darwin was attacked by aircraft flying from aircraft carriers and land bases in the NEI. The main force involved in the raid was the 1st Carrier Air Fleet which was commanded by Vice-Admiral Chūichi Nagumo. This force comprised the aircraft carriers , , , and and a powerful force of escorting surface ships. All four carriers had participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor at the start of the Pacific War. In addition to the carrier-based aircraft, 54 land-based bombers also struck Darwin in a high-level bombing raid nearly two hours after the first one struck at 0956. These comprised 27 G3M "Nell" bombers flying from Ambon and another 27 G4M "Betty" bombers operating from Kendari in Celebes.
Air raids.
First raid.
The four Japanese aircraft carriers launched 188 aircraft on the morning of 19 February. The main objective of their crews was attacking ships and port facilities in Darwin Harbour. Their aircraft comprised 81 Nakajima B5N ("Kate") light bombers, 71 Aichi D3A ("Val") dive bombers, and an escort of 36 Mitsubishi A6M ("Zero") fighters. While the B5N was a purpose-built torpedo bomber, it could instead carry up to of bombs and there is no evidence of torpedoes being used on this occasion; the D3A could carry up to of bombs. All of these aircraft were launched by 8.45 am. This wave was led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who had also commanded the first wave of attackers during the raid on Pearl Harbor.
On their way to Darwin, Zeros shot down a US Navy PBY Catalina and strafed a USAAF C-47 Skytrain on the ground, near Melville Island. At 9.35 am Father McGrath of the Sacred Heart mission on Bathurst Island, who was also an Australian coastwatcher, sent a message using a pedal radio to the Amalgamated Wireless Postal Radio Station at Darwin that a large number of aircraft were flying overhead and proceeding southward. The message was then relayed to the Royal Australian Air Force Operations at 9.37 am. No general alarm was given until about 10 am as the RAAF officers there wrongly judged that the aircraft which had been sighted were the ten USAAF P-40s, which were returning to Darwin at the time after reports of bad weather forced them to abort a flight to Java via Kupang, West Timor. As a result, the air raid sirens at Darwin were not sounded before the raid.
Flying escort in a Zero fighter, Petty Officer Yoshikazu Nagahama was separated from his squadron while he was attacking the PBY flying boat and arrived over the city alone ahead of the strike force, which was making a turn to attack from the south. He engaged five US Army Air Force P-40 Warhawk fighters and single-handedly shot down four of them.
The Japanese raiders began to arrive over Darwin at 9:58 am. HMAS "Gunbar" was the first ship to be attacked, being strafed by several Zero fighters. At about this time, the town's air raid sirens were belatedly sounded. The Japanese bombers then conducted dive bombing and level bombing attacks on the ships in Darwin Harbour. These attacks lasted for 30 minutes, and resulted in the sinking of three warships and six merchant vessels, and damage to another ten ships. The ships sunk were the USS "Peary", HMAS "Mavie", , (which exploded while docked at Darwin's main wharf), , , . The oil tanker "Karalee" and the coal storage hulk "Kelat" sank later. At least 21 labourers working on the wharf were killed when it was bombed.
All but one of the P-40s was shot down or destroyed on the ground at RAAF Darwin. Japanese aircraft bombed and strafed the base and civil airfield, as well as the town's army barracks and oil store. All of these facilities were seriously damaged.
The bombers began to leave the Darwin area at about 10:10. On their way back to the carriers, their crews noted two Philippine-registered freighters lying just outside the port:"Florence D." and "Don Isidro". This information contributed to planning for the second raid that afternoon (which sank both vessels).
Japanese losses may have been as few as five aircraft and three crew. However, another 34 Japanese aircraft landed safely with battle damage. Warrant Officer Katsuyoshi Tsuru and First Petty Officer (1st class) Takezo Uchikado were killed when their Aichi dive bomber (bu. no. "3304"; tail no. AII-254) crashed near RAAF Darwin. Sergeant Hajime Toyoshima (a.k.a. Tadao Minami) was taken prisoner after crash-landing his damaged Zero (bu. no. b. n."5349"; tail no. BII-124) on Melville Island. Those who ditched near the Japanese fleet and were rescued included Flyer 1st class Yoshio Egawa and the Aichi crew of Flyer 1st class Takeshi Yamada and Flyer 1st class Kinji Funazaki. In 2013, a reference was discovered in Japanese records to a Nakajima torpedo bomber suffering wheel damage from a "gunshot" and both crew (names unknown) being rescued after ditching (by the destroyer "Tanikaze").
Allied ground fire was relatively intense and may have claimed all but two of the Japanese aircraft lost. Only one of the USAAF P-40 pilots remained airborne throughout the first attack, 1st Lieutenant Robert Oestreicher, who has also been credited by US and Japanese sources with one Aichi shot down and one damaged. Toyoshima's Zero is considered to have been brought down by small arms fire from Sappers Tom Lamb and Len O'Shea of the 19th Battalion. Most aviation historians believe Tsuru and Uchikado's Aichi was brought down by ground fire, possibly from a major Australian Army camp at Winnellie. Egawa reported that the damage to his Zero came from hitting a tree at Darwin.
Second raid.
The second wave, made up of 54 land-based medium bombers (27 Mitsubishi G3M and 27 Mitsubishi G4M) arrived over Darwin just before midday. The town's air raid sirens were sounded at 11:58 am when the bombers were sighted. The Japanese force separated into two groups flying at . One of these formations attacked RAAF Base Darwin from the south-west while the other approached from the north-east. The two formations arrived over the base at the same time, and dropped their bombs simultaneously. The Japanese bombers then turned, and made a second attack on the base. Due to defective fuses, the Australian heavy anti-aircraft flak gunners were unable to shoot down or damage any of the high-flying Japanese aircraft. The bombers left the Darwin area at about 12:20 pm.
This raid inflicted extensive damage on the RAAF base, though casualties were light. Of the RAAF aircraft at the base, six Hudson light bombers were destroyed and another Hudson and a Wirraway were badly damaged. Two American P-40s and a B-24 Liberator bomber were also destroyed. Six RAAF personnel were killed. Lewis and Ingman list 30 aircraft destroyed.
The Japanese carrier force launched a small number of D3A dive bombers during the afternoon of 19 February to attack the "Florence D." and "Don Isidro". "Don Isidro" was the first of these two ships to be attacked, and was rapidly sunk north of Melville Island. Eleven of her 84-strong crew were killed. The dive bombers also attacked "Florence D." and sank her off Bathurst Island with the loss of four crewmen. All of the survivors from "Don Isidro" were rescued by the corvette on 20 February. Some of "Florence D."s survivors landed on Bathurst and Melville Islands while the remainder were rescued by "Warrnambool" on 23 February. Among the survivors of "Florence D." were the rescued crew of a U.S. Navy PBY piloted by then Lt Thomas H. Moorer (later to become Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff).
"Admiral Halstead", strafed and with plates damaged by near misses, was brought to the pier where U.S. Army volunteers along with survivors of the U.S. and Philippine vessels helped unload her 14,000 drums of aviation gasoline.
Aftermath.
Consequences.
Of major military consequence was the loss of most of the cargo shipping available to support efforts in Java and the Philippines with Java being effectively sealed off from further surface shipments from Australia.
The air raids caused chaos in Darwin, with most essential services including water and electricity being badly damaged or destroyed. Fears of an imminent invasion spread and there was a wave of refugees, as some of the town's civilian population fled inland. There were reports of looting, with provost marshals being among the accused. According to official figures, 278 personnel belonging to RAAF North-Western Area Command (NWA) were considered to have deserted as a result of the raids, although it has been argued that the "desertions" were mostly the result of ambiguous orders given to RAAF ground staff after the attacks. In the words of journalist Douglas Lockwood, after the second Japanese air raid, the commander of RAAF Darwin, Wing Commander Stuart Griffith
 summoned his senior administrative officer, Squadron Leader Swan, and gave a verbal order that all airmen were to move half a mile down the main road and then half a mile inland. At this vague rendezvous point ... arrangements would be made to feed them. The order led to utter chaos. In being passed by word of mouth from one section to another, sometimes with officers present and sometimes not, it became garbled to the extent it was unrecognisable against the original. In its ultimate form it was interpreted, especially by those desiring such an interpretation, of an impending order for immediate and general evacuation of the area. Highly exaggerated rumours of an impending Japanese invasion had already reached the base from the town and spread quickly among those wanting to believe them. In the absence of restraint, men gathered their belongings and abandoned their stations.
While the NWA staff could see what was happening and issued countermanding orders "the damage was done and hundreds of men were already beyond recall".
The Australian Army also faced difficulty controlling some of its own troops from looting private property, including "furniture, refrigerators, stoves, pianos, clothes[,] [and] even children's toys" due to the breakdown of law and order after the bombing and the ensuing chaos. Many civilian refugees never returned, or did not return for many years, and in the post-war years some land they owned in Darwin had been expropriated by government bodies in their absence, made legal by the "Darwin Lands Acquisition Act 1945".
The bombing of Darwin resulted in the destruction of 7 of the 11 above ground storage tanks, located on Stokes Hill, in raids on 19 February 16 March and 16 June 1942. This led to the construction of underground oil storage tunnels in Darwin in 1943.
Casualties and damage.
The number of people killed during 19 February raids is disputed. The Lowe Commission, which investigated them in March 1942, estimated 243 victims but, assuming a few were unidentified, concluded "I am satisfied that the number is approximately 250 and I doubt whether any further investigation will result in ascertaining a more precise figure."
Some researchers and government officials, including John Bradford (author of "In the Highest Traditions – RAN Heroism Darwin 19 February 1942"), Dr. Peter Stanley (the Australian War Memorial's Principal Historian and author of several books about Australian military history), Tom Womack (author of "The Dutch Naval Air Force against Japan"), Paul Rosenzweig (author of "Darwin 1942: a reassessment of the first raid casualties"), and Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce (governor of South Australia) have said there were 250–262 fatalities.
However, a plaque unveiled in Darwin in 2001 gave the total as 292. The plaque indicated 10 sailors had been killed aboard the USS "William B. Preston" but the US Navy said there were 13 fatalities and Peter Grose, author of "An Awkward Truth", said fifteen – he wrote: "With the William B. Preston total corrected to 15, a figure of 297 known dead is the best count anyone is likely to achieve...the full death toll is likely to be a little over 300, perhaps as many as 310 or 320." Lewis and Ingman have revised that to 14 in their 2013 book "Carrier Attack".
In 2000, Darwin historian Peter Forrest, who spoke to survivors and researched the attacks for an unpublished book, said (as paraphrased by a journalist), "the first Japanese air raids on Darwin probably killed more than double the official figure of 243", but by 2002 had lowered his estimate to "anything up to double that 243".
Other estimates put the toll far higher: one soldier who was there claimed to have seen barges filled with bodies towed out to sea, a member of one of the burial teams recounted seeing uncounted bodies "shoved in a large hole dug by a bulldozer" (paraphrased), according to some sources, former Darwin Mayor (1921–1922) Jack Burton estimated 900 people were killed; Harry Macredie, who helped rescue survivors and recover bodies in the harbour said, "we definitely estimate over 1,000", Rex Ruwoldt, one of the soldiers attacked that day, says that a few days after the raid he was told over the field telephone that Army Intelligence estimated 1,100 were killed. According to an AP article about the 50th anniversary of the attacks "some estimates say as many as 1,000 died". Bradford and Forrest said they spoke to survivors who estimated as many as 1,500 people died.
Stanley, Grose, Rosenzweig, and Tom Lewis rejected such numbers. The former said "it was certainly not the 1,024 claimed recently in unsubstantiated reports" and Grose wrote "numbers such as 1,100 are fancifully high".
By contrast, there is less dispute over the number of injured during the attacks. The Lowe Commission estimated "between 300 and 400" people were wounded. Lewis said the number was over 400, about 200 of which were seriously injured. Womack wrote that 311 were wounded. Australian military historian Chris Coulthard-Clark put the total between 250 and 320. Grose wrote: "if 900 or 1100 died, why were the numbers of injured so low? The count of the injured is more accurate, because they were treated in hospital or shipped out aboard the "Manunda" [a hospital ship]. The hospitals and "Manunda" noted names and numbers of those they treated."
Myths and inaccuracies.
The Japanese raid was unlike the attack on Pearl Harbor in that it was launched against a nation that had already declared war on Japan (on 8 December 1941). It was similar in that it was a successful aerial surprise attack on a naval target that came as a great shock to the attacked nation. While the number of bombs dropped on Darwin (681 bombs weighing by 205 bombers) exceeded those dropped on Pearl Harbor (457 bombs [including 40 torpedoes]) weighing by 273), loss of life was much greater at Pearl Harbor (more than 2,400 people) than Darwin (236 people) due to the presence of capital ships and the catastrophic loss of a single battleship, the USS "Arizona", and its 1,177 men.
A frequently repeated myth is that the Australian government downplayed the damage from the bombing raids on Darwin, in a "cover-up". The newspapers of the day disprove this claim. On the day of the attack the Prime Minister is quoted on the front pages of most newspapers:
"Damage to property was considerable", he said, "but reports so far to hand do not give precise particulars about the loss of life." "The Government regards the attacks as most grave, and makes it quite clear that a severe blow has been struck on Australian soil."
Further Japanese raids.
After the 19 February 1942 Japanese raid, the Northern Territory and parts of Western Australia's north were bombed approximately 100 times between 4 March 1942 and 12 November 1943. One of the heaviest attacks took place on 16 June 1942 when a Japanese force set fire to the oil fuel tanks around the harbour and inflicted severe damage to the vacant banks, stores and railway yards. The Allied navies largely abandoned the naval base at Darwin after the initial 19 February attack, dispersing most of their forces to Brisbane, Fremantle, and other, smaller, seaports. Conversely, Allied air commanders launched a build-up in the Darwin area, building more airfields and deploying many squadrons.
The four IJN aircraft carriers ("Akagi", "Kaga", "Hiryū", and "Sōryū") that participated in the Bombing of Darwin were later sunk during the Battle of Midway in June 1942.
Commemoration and depictions in popular culture.
A memorial ceremony has been held every year since at least 2009. On 19 February at the Cenotaph in Darwin, at 9:58 am, a World War II air-raid siren sounds to mark the precise time of the first attack.
A fictionalised version of the raid features prominently in the 2008 film "Australia".


Operation Inmate

Operation Inmate was an attack by the British Pacific Fleet against Japanese positions on Truk Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean during the Second World War. The attacks against the isolated islands on 14 and 15 June 1945 were conducted to provide combat experience for the aircraft carrier and several of the fleet's cruisers and destroyers ahead of their involvement in more demanding operations off the Japanese home islands.
On 14 June 1945 British aircraft conducted a series of raids against Japanese positions at Truk. The next morning, several islands were bombarded by British and Canadian cruisers, though only one of the four warships involved achieved any success. Further air strikes took place in the afternoon and night of 15 June before the Allied force returned to its base.
The attack on Truk was considered successful for the Allied force, with the ships and air units gaining useful experience while suffering two fatalities and the loss of seven aircraft to combat and accidents. The damage to the Japanese facilities in the atoll, which had been repeatedly attacked during 1944 and 1945, was modest.
Background.
The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was formed in November 1944 as Britain's main contribution to Allied operations against Japanese positions in the Pacific. The Fleet's base was established at Sydney, Australia, and most of its ships arrived there in February 1945. From late March to late May 1945, aircraft flying from the BPF's four fleet carriers frequently attacked Japanese airfields on islands to the south of Okinawa to support the United States military forces which were attempting to capture the island. These operations concluded on 24 May, when the Fleet began the long journey back to Sydney for a period of rest and maintenance.
The fleet carrier HMS "Implacable" was dispatched from the United Kingdom in February 1945 to reinforce the BPF. The ship arrived at Sydney on 8 May. On 24 May "Implacable" departed Sydney, and reached the BPF's forward base at Manus Island five days later. The main body of the BPF arrived at Manus to refuel on 30 May, and most of its ships continued to Sydney on 1 June. "Implacable" remained at Manus, which she and her air group used as a base for intensive training. As part of the preparations for the BPF's return to combat the commander of the fleet's combat force, Vice-Admiral Bernard Rawlings, decided at around this time to dispatch "Implacable" and several other recently arrived warships to attack the Japanese positions at Truk. The purpose of this operation was to ensure that the warships' crews had recent combat experience before the BPF commenced operations off Japan during July. Rawlings' initial orders for the attack specified that it was to involve two days of air strikes against Japanese airfields. The crews of the ships involved, including "Implacable"s aircraft pilots, were not told that the main purpose of the operation was training.
During the early years of the Pacific War, Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands had been an important base for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), using facilities which had been constructed there before the outbreak of hostilities. However, it was isolated by the rapid Allied advances in the Pacific during 1943 and early 1944, and ceased to be a significant base after being heavily attacked by the United States Navy's Fast Carrier Task Force during Operation Hailstone in February 1944. Nevertheless, the facilities at Truk could have potentially been used to raid the important Allied facilities which had been established in the Mariana Islands or the major US Navy anchorage at Ulithi. To prevent the islands from being used for this purpose, they were repeatedly attacked by US Navy aircraft carriers which were preparing to join the Fast Carrier Task Force and United States Army Air Forces heavy bomber units; like the British operation in June 1945, these raids were conducted to provide combat experience for the American airmen. The Japanese forces at Truk conscripted local civilians to rapidly repair the damage caused to airfields by these raids. The garrison's anti-aircraft units also fired upon all of the raids, though the scale of this resistance decreased over time.
Opposing forces.
In mid-1945 the Japanese garrison at Truk remained large, but had no offensive capacity. As of May that year, the garrison comprised around 13,600 Imperial Japanese Army personnel commanded by Lieutenant General Shunzaburo Mugikura and 10,600 IJN personnel under Vice Admiral Chuichi Hara. A large number of coastal artillery batteries and anti-aircraft guns protected the islands, but no warships and only a small number of aircraft were stationed there. Radar stations on the islands provided warning of most incoming raids. The Japanese forces regarded Truk's air defences as inadequate even before the start of the Allied bombardment of the atoll.
The Truk garrison received few shipments of reinforcements or supplies following the capture of the Palau islands by US forces in September 1944. Historian David Hobbs has stated that it had been "reduced to starving impotence" by the time of Operation Inmate. The garrison's main activity from mid-1944 onwards was growing food to sustain itself. The tropical conditions and damage caused by air attacks complicated this effort, and most of the Japanese personnel were malnourished. Nevertheless, the garrison also took extensive measures to protect the atoll from invasion and placed large stores of food and other supplies in reserve for such an eventuality. Following the end of the war in August 1945, United States forces found that the garrison still held enough ammunition to supply its gun batteries for at least 30 days of combat.
The BPF's Truk attack force was designated Task Group 111.2, and comprised the 4th Cruiser Squadron and 24th Destroyer Flotilla. The ships assigned to the 4th Cruiser Squadron were "Implacable", the escort carrier , the British cruisers and , the Canadian cruiser HMCS "Uganda" and the New Zealand cruiser HMNZS "Achilles". The 24th Destroyer Flotilla was made up of , , , and . The Task Group was commanded from "Implacable" by Rear Admiral E.J.P. Brind. While "Implacable", "Newfoundland" and the destroyers had only recently arrived in the Pacific, all the other ships assigned to Task Group 111.2 had seen combat off Okinawa. "Implacable"s most recent combat experience was a series of air strikes conducted against German forces in Norway during late 1944.
"Implacable" embarked 80 aircraft, which was the largest number to be operated by any of the BPF's aircraft carriers. The air group included 38 Naval Air Wing, whose 801 and 880 Naval Air Squadrons were equipped with 48 Supermarine Seafire fighter aircraft. The other units assigned to the carrier were 828 Naval Air Squadron with 21 Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers and 1771 Naval Air Squadron, which operated 11 Fairey Firefly fighters. "Ruler" was to be used as a "spare deck" for "Implacable"s air group to operate from, and embarked only a single Supermarine Walrus search and rescue aircraft from 1701 Naval Air Squadron.
Attacks.
14 June.
Task Group 111.2 sailed from Manus Island on 12 June. While en route to Truk, its orders were broadened to also include a cruiser bombardment of Japanese positions at Truk. This change was made as the cruisers were expected to be used against shore targets during future operations. In preparation for these bombardments, the Task Group conducted gunnery exercises during its voyage north. Ahead of the attacks on Truk, a US Navy submarine took up position near the atoll to rescue any British airmen who crashed into the sea.
The Allied warships reached the flying-off position for "Implacable"s air group at 5:30 am on 14 June. Ten minutes later, twelve Seafires and two Fireflies were launched. The Seafires strafed a radar station and an airfield on Moen island, and the Fireflies reconnoitred the atoll. A Seafire equipped with a reconnaissance camera also photographed Japanese installations; these photos were used to plan further air attacks and bombardments. One of the Seafires was shot down and its pilot killed while attacking the airfield, the only British aircraft to be lost in combat during Operation Inmate.
"Implacable" launched strikes every two and a quarter hours for the remainder of 14 June. These generally comprised five Avengers armed with bombs and four Fireflies with rockets and cannon. The final attack of the day was made by twelve Seafires which dive-bombed fuel tanks on Moen island. While several of the tanks were cracked open, it appeared that they were empty. This attack was the first time that Seafires had been used as fighter-bombers in the Pacific. The British aircraft reported finding few worthwhile targets; they were fired on by Japanese anti-aircraft guns throughout the day. All of the strikes were escorted by Seafires, but no Japanese aircraft were encountered in the air. During the night of 14/15 June two Avengers operated over the atoll in an attempt to prevent the Japanese from repairing the airfield on Moen; these aircraft were fired on and tracked by searchlights, but did not suffer any casualties.
Eight Seafires at a time from 38 Naval Air Wing patrolled over Task Group 111.2 for much of 14 June without encountering Japanese aircraft. "Ruler" was used as the base for this task, and refuelled and rearmed Seafires between sorties. The use of the escort carrier as a "spare deck" was considered successful, especially as a group of six Seafires which were low on fuel were able to land on "Ruler" when "Implacable" was caught in a squall and became unable to receive them. During the morning of 14 June "Ruler"s Walrus was blown overboard by a tropical squall and destroyed. Aerial search and rescue support for the force was provided by US Navy Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats which flew in relay near Truk, but these aircraft were not required; destroyers were able to rescue the crews of ditched aircraft.
15 June.
The surface bombardment took place during the late morning of 15 June. The bombardment force was organised into three task units comprising both cruisers and destroyers; "Achilles" and "Uganda" (with Brind embarked) operated with "Tenacious", "Newfoundland" was accompanied by "Troubridge" and "Swiftsure" by "Teazer". This left the aircraft carriers with only two destroyers for protection. Each task unit was also assigned two Seafires to spot their gunfire. The destroyers which were assigned to the bombardment task units were responsible for counter-battery fire on any Japanese guns which fired on the cruiser, and for generating smoke screens if necessary. Throughout the bombardments the carriers sailed to the east of Truk, and maintained a combat air patrol over the area.
The cruisers experienced differing levels of success. "Newfoundland" initially attacked coastal gun batteries, but these did not fire on her or her escorting destroyer. She also successfully bombarded the airfield on Eten Island. The attacks by "Achilles" and "Uganda" on a seaplane base on Dublon Island did not cause any damage and were marred by communications problems between the ships and their spotting Seafires. As "Achilles" sailed away from Truk, her anti-aircraft gunners fired on two aircraft which approached her from the direction of the atoll, until they were identified as British Avengers.
"Swiftsure"s bombardment of Moen was particularly unsuccessful. The initial rounds fired by her guns landed well away from their targets, and attempts to correct her gunfire led to a further deterioration in accuracy. Her gunnery officer judged that the ship's fire control equipment was defective, and ordered the gun turrets to fire under local control. This also proved unsuccessful as the gunners were unable to sight targets on the shore. After sailing closer to Moen, the ship attempted to engage Japanese positions with several of her guns. However, the ammunition for these weapons was fitted with proximity fuses intended for use against aircraft, and exploded in the palm trees above their targets. As the fallen foliage hid the Japanese positions, further attacks were ineffective. A subsequent investigation found that a faulty split pin had fallen out of "Swiftsure"s Admiralty Fire Control Table, most likely due to concussion from the initial shots, causing it to provide highly inaccurate results to the guns. After the bombardment ended at 11:10 am, the ships involved rejoined the carriers.
Further air attacks were conducted on 15 June. During the afternoon, two groups of Avengers attacked a floating dry dock and several oil tanks. That night six Avengers armed with bombs supported by two flare-dropping Avengers conducted the final British attack on Truk, but it is believed that most of their bombs landed in the sea. This was the BPF's first large-scale night operation.
Aftermath.
At the conclusion of the night strike Task Group 111.2 departed for Manus Island. On 16 June a Japanese aircraft was detected by radar. One of the Seafires was detached from the combat air patrol to intercept it, but the fighter's pilot had to abandon the attempt due to a mechanical problem. The Task Group arrived at Manus Island on 17 June, and continued training exercises there until the remainder of the BPF arrived on 4 July en route to further operations off Japan. All of the warships at Manus sailed on 6 July to join the Fast Carrier Task Force in attacks on the Japanese home islands. "Implacable" and the other ships of the BPF operated against Japan from 17 July to 12 August, during which time the Fleet conducted air attacks and participated in several bombardments of coastal Japanese cities. On 12 August most of the BPF's ships, including "Implacable", departed for a period of maintenance and rest at Sydney.
A new Task Group 111.2 was formed by the BPF at Sydney on 12 August 1945. This force comprised the veteran aircraft carrier , three newly arrived light fleet carriers, two battleships, two or three cruisers and nine destroyers. These ships were intended to reinforce the BPF for the planned invasion of Japan, but lacked recent combat experience. Consideration was given to using the force to attack Truk again, with this operation possibly also including an invasion of the atoll by Australian or New Zealand forces, but this was unnecessary as Japan surrendered on 15 August.
United States air units regularly attacked Truk until the end of the war. The atoll's garrison formally surrendered at a ceremony conducted on board on 2 September 1945, the same day as the general Japanese surrender documents were signed. The Japanese soldiers and sailors on Truk were repatriated during November and December 1945.
Assessment.
During Operation Inmate, Task Group 111.2's aircraft flew 103 offensive sorties during daylight and a further 10 at night. A total of 103 defensive sorties were also conducted. In addition to the Seafire shot down on 14 June and the loss of "Ruler"s Walrus, five Avengers were destroyed due to accidents while taking off; one of these aircraft crashed into the sea due to an error in attaching it to "Implacable"s catapult, causing the death of its pilot. The other four Avengers ditched due to engine malfunctions, with no fatalities. Two Seafires, both piloted by the same airman, were also damaged in landing accidents. A book published to mark the 50th anniversary of the BPF described these losses as low by the standards of 1945.
Japanese losses were modest. The British assessed that two Japanese aircraft had been destroyed and another three damaged during attacks on airfields at Truk. Damage was also believed to have been inflicted on the airfields, floating dry dock, oil tanks, other harbour installations and ships that were attacked. Following the operation, Brind judged that rockets had proven more useful than bombs, and was critical of the gunnery of all the cruisers other than "Newfoundland". Members of the Japanese garrison told US Strategic Bombing Survey investigators after the war that the British raid had resulted in almost no damage. The most significant loss was the destruction of part of the garrison's records, which led to a decision to bury the remaining files.
Historian David Hobbs has judged that Operation Inmate "provided realistic and useful training for ships that were newly arrived in the Pacific and everyone, including "Swiftsure"s embarrassed gunners, ... learned something". Peter C. Smith has also noted that while few targets were located, the raids provided useful experience for "Implacable"s air crew and "the standards of flight launch and recovery attained during the operation were to stand them in good stead in the months ahead". Similarly, British official historian Stephen Roskill concluded that Operation Inmate achieved its goals.


Michael E. Ennis

Michael E. Ennis is a former Major General in the United States Marine Corps.
He is a native of Minnesota. He graduated from Concordia College with Bachelor of Arts degrees in French and International Relations and from Georgetown University with a Master of Arts degree in Government/National Security Studies.
Career.
Ennis was commissioned an officer in the Marine Corps on January 1, 1972 as a graduate of the Officer Candidates Class. After spending eighteen months in Okinawa, Japan, Ennis was assigned to Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a recruiting officer.
In 1978, he began studying Russian at the Defense Language Institute, as well as at the United States Army's Russian Institute in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Afterwards, Ennis returned to Okinawa and later served with the 9th Marine Regiment. Upon his return to the United States, he became a translator on the Moscow-Washington hotline.
In 1986, Ennis was named Naval Representative to the Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. After returning to United States, he completed a Military Fellowship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He was then stationed in Moscow, Russia as Assistant Naval Attaché and U.S. military representative to Azerbaijan.
Ennis was stationed at Headquarters Marine Corps in 1993. He was then once again assigned to Okinawa, this time with the III Marine Expeditionary Force. In 1998, Ennis was given command of the Joint Intelligence Center of the United States Pacific Command. From August 2000 to January 2004, he was Director of Marine Corps Intelligence, where he oversaw USMC Intelligence support to Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF). From 2004 to 2006 he served as Director of Operations (DO) and Director of Defense HUMINT (DH) for the Defense Intelligence Agency. In 2006, he was named Deputy Director of HUMINT of the Central Intelligence Agency. Ennis retired from the Marine Corps in 2007. He was awarded the CIA's Distinguished Intelligence Medal in 2008.
Awards he received during his military career include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with award star, the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal.
Since retiring from the Marine Corps, Ennis has served on the Federal Board of Advisors for Benchmark Executive Search.
He appeared in the documentary "Meet The Real Cold War Spies Of BRIXMIS" talking about his time with U.S. Military Liaison Mission (USMLM)


United States Naval Forces Germany

United States Naval Forces Germany (NAVFORGER) was a command of the United States Navy, active from 1944 to 1958. It also had the designation Task Force 104 (TF-104). NAVFORGER was responsible for all US naval activities in Germany.
Its first commander was Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley (1944–45).
After the formation of the command, it was first necessary to take under U.S. control the German warships assigned to the U.S. as war prizes (for example, the heavy cruiser "Prinz Eugen"). To this end, in Bremerhaven, a Naval Service Unit (MDG) was established.
After the initial, purely administrative order, the settlement of the German Kriegsmarine and the merchant navy was in cooperation with the other allies, finished, the command was greatly reduced. It was intended to completely dissolve the command in 1948. However, the American military governor General Lucius D. Clay and since July 1948 COMNAVFORGER Rear Admiral Wilkes convinced the leadership in Washington to leave some naval forces in Germany.
The now allotted backup and reconnaissance tasks were to deal with three main elements: the Naval Advanced Base Bremerhaven, the Rhine River Patrol and the Intelligence Unit stationed in Berlin. The tasks also included the supervision and management of commercial shipping on the inland waters of the United States Zone.


South Coast Shipyard

South Coast Shipyard was a shipbuilding company in Newport, California. To support the World War II demand for ships South Coast Shipyard built: minesweepers, Torpedo Boats, Submarine chasers, & Air-sea rescue boats. South Coast Shipyard was opened in 1938 by Walton Hubbard. After World War II the shipyard continued to build ships for the US Navy till 1955. The shipyard was located at 2300 Newport Boulevard, Newport, California. The shipyard closed in 1963.
Auxiliary motor minesweepers.
South Coast Company built small Auxiliary motor minesweepers in 1942 and 1943. Auxiliary motor minesweepers had a wood-hull. the ships were numbered and unnamed. The auxiliary motor minesweepers designated yard minesweepers or YMS. They serviced in the Pacific War and on the US coastal ports. South Coast Shipyard built Auxiliary motor minesweepers had a displacement of 270 tons, a length of 136 feet, a beam of 24 feet, a draft of 6 feet and top speed of 13 knots. Housing for a crew of 33. Armed with One 3-inch/50-caliber gun, two Oerlikon 20 mm cannons, two depth charge projectors and two depth charge tracks. Power was from two 800 bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines with a Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear to two shafts. South Coast Shipyard built: YMS 88 to YMS 93 and YMS 259 to YMS 319. Notable ships: USS McMinnville, USS James M. Gilliss (AMCU-13), USS Simon Newcomb, USS Dutton (AGS-8) and USS Grosbeak (AMS-14).
Adjutant-class minesweeper.
South Coast Shipyard built Adjutant-class minesweepers, a auxiliary motor minesweepers for the United States Navy and other counties in the 1950s. Adjutant-class had a displacement of light, full load,
a length of , a beam of and a draft of . Power was from four Packard diesel engines, with two screws and a top speed of . Armed with two Oerlikon cannons anti-aircraft (AA) guns. Built: , "Nalón" (M 21/PVZ-51/P 51) , "Pâquerette" (M 692), "Pervenche" (M 632/694), "Renoncule" (M 634/696), "Roselys" (M 698), and "Tulipe" (M 699).
Air-sea rescue boat.
South Coast Shipyard built in 1945 US Navy Air-sea rescue boat (C-26646 to C-26651), also called a crash boat (ARB), were: Model 314 at , length of , beam of , draft of . Powered by Hall-Scott Defender V12 petrol engines with a top speed of . They had a crew of 7 or 8 and were armed with two .50 cal. M2 Browning machine guns. The boat has two rigid 795 gallon United States Rubber Company bullet sealing fuel tanks. This was a speed boat used to rescue pilots, crew and passengers from downed aircraft in search and rescue, air-sea rescue missions.
Yard patrol boat.
Harbor Boat Building Company built built two Yard patrol boats, YP 639 and YP-640. The ship housed three officers and twenty men. The boats had a length of 128 feet, beam of 30 feet, draft of 14 feet. Armed with three 20mm AA gun mounts and power with a single propeller with 560shp.
Submarine Chaser.
South Coast Shipyard built three submarine chaser at 169 tons with a length of 119 feet, a beam of 20 feet, a draft of 6 feet, a top speed of 15.5 knots. They had a crew of 27. Powered with diesel engines, and two propellers. They were armed with one Bofors 40 mm gun, three Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, two depth charge charge tracks and one mousetrap anti-submarine rocket. Built SC-1632, SC-1633 and SC-1634 in 1955.


Stevedore operations, American Expeditionary Forces

Stevedore operations were established by the United States Army to provide movement of supplies through ports in support of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. The first American stevedores in France were civilians. Stevedores were originally organized into regiments, and were among the first troops sent to France. Three regiments and two separate battalions were deployed, and were later reorganized into separate battalions and transferred from the Army Service Corps to the Transportation Corps. The battalions were inactivated in France and the troops were assigned to companies without a branch affiliation for their return to the U.S.
Organization.
Stevedore operation began with a group of nearly 500 civilian stevedores known as the transport workers battalion. This group was found to be less than well qualified because most were laborers from cotton plantations in the American South, rather than being stevedores with experience handling cargo. Stevedore regiments were organized by the Stevedore and Labor Branch, Administrative Division, Quartermaster Corps, originally managed by Colonel William G. Austin and later by Colonel Carey E. Goodwyn. The 301st, 302nd and 303rd regiments were described by Henry Granville Sharpe as each having an authorized strength of 127 Officers, 858 Enlisted Men (White), and 6121 Enlisted Men (Colored). Conversely, Robert J. Dalessandro, Gerald Torrence, and Michael G. Knapp wrote "A stevedore regiment had an aggregate strength of 2,498. It consisted of a regimental headquarters, headquarters and supply company, two battalions, and a medical detachment. Each battalion consisted of four companies; each company consisted of 253 soldiers (three officers and 250 enlisted men)." Cadre for the regiments was drawn from the Regular Army.
The Army advertised for Colored men to enlist as stevedores. Married men who agreed to support their families and who were otherwise qualified were acceptable. Recruits were to be sent to Newport News, Virginia without benefit of being issued uniforms. Many African Americans applied to join the Army on the front lines but were often turned away, as positions in black fighting regiments were limited and in the regular army only cooks and bakers with credentials were accepted, while only chauffeurs and automobile men were accepted in the medical department or quartermaster's corps, making stevedore positions desirable. By June 1918, the Army was seeking White men for the stevedore service. Men "accustomed to handling colored labor" were preferred; potential enlistees were required to present a letter of acceptance from the commander of the stevedore regiment to enlist. The Army Medical Department subsequently observed that the quality of the recruits was below standard. "Few had had much education, and as a group they were regarded as 'ignorant negroes of the poorest class, both physically and mentally.' They were in questionable health from the outset, no physical examinations having been administered at mobilization camps to weed out those who were ill or in any other way unfit for service." New troops often reported without warning, wearing little more than rags because they had been incorrectly told the Army would issue uniforms when they arrived. Stevedores were described in December 1917 as wearing a variety of uniforms from different branches of the Army or, in some cases, blue dungaree suits and as being unarmed.
By December 14, 1917, there were five stevedore regiments operating at Newport News, Virginia. The stevedores were described as being "happy as larks." The presence of the African American stevedore regiments in Newport News led to the construction of a YMCA at Camp Hill for the use of African-American soldiers in the winter of 1918. There were problems integrating the Colored stevedores into the Army. In early March 1918, approximately 300 troops of an unidentified stevedore regiment rioted and attempted to wreck a store north of Newport News, Virginia. The riot followed an argument between a Colored soldier and a White clerk at a soda fountain. Troops of an infantry regiment were ordered to arrest the stevedores, who ran and failed to halt when so ordered. The infantrymen fired and hit three stevedores; one died at the scene and another's wounds were probably fatal.
After stevedores had deployed to France, they were unsuited for the work because they had substandard clothing and had been poorly fed and had had poor medical care; these conditions required remediation before the men could work. Stevedores were used in some cases in the interior instead of at ports. There was some indecision about assigning them to the Army Service Corps, which was labor oriented, or to the Transportation Corps, which was oriented toward moving equipment. There were serious disagreements about administration, funding, discipline, allocation of supplies, and allocation of promotions. The Transportation Corps won the argument and the stevedores, along with railway units were transferred out of the Army Service Corps.
Units.
Stevedores were originally organized into regiments. This was found to lack flexibility because of varying demands at ports and they were reorganized into battalions. Individual companies had and authorized strength of 200 men until the spring of 1918 when they were reorganized to a strength of six officers and 250 men; the reorganization provided for enough non-commissioned officers and White enlisted men to provide supervision for the Colored soldiers.
301st Stevedore Regiment.
The 301st Stevedore Regiment (Quartermaster Corps) was organized at Camp Hill, Virginia in September 1917. In October 1917 the regiment moved to the port of Embarkation in Hoboken, New Jersey. The 301st Stevedore Regiment was transferred to the Transportation Corps in September 1918.
In October 1918, A Company of the 301st was cited by Rear Admiral Wilson and General McClure for setting a record by unloading and coaling the SS "Leviathan" in 56 hours.
302nd Stevedore Regiment.
The 302nd Stevedore Regiment (Quartermaster Corps) was organized at Camp Hill, Virginia in October 1917. Colonel W. G. Austin was assigned to command the regiment. In December 1917 the regiment moved to the port of Embarkation in Hoboken, New Jersey. The 302nd Stevedore Regiment was transferred to the Transportation Corps in September 1918.
303rd Stevedore Regiment.
The 303rd Stevedore Regiment (Quartermaster Corps) was organized at Camp Hill, Virginia in October 1917. Colonel C. E. Goodwin was placed in command of the regiment. In December 1917 the regiment moved to the port of Embarkation in Hoboken, New Jersey. The 303rd Stevedore Regiment was transferred to the Transportation Corps in September 1918.
304th Stevedore Regiment.
The 304th Stevedore Regiment ( also known as the 304th Training Regiment) was organized at Camp Hill, Virginia in October 1917. The regiment had an authorized strength of 59 Officers, 286 Enlisted Men (White), and 2469 Enlisted Men (Colored). Colonel M. J. O'Leary was assigned as commander of the 304th. The regiment was demobilized in February 1918 at Camp Hill.
305th Reserve Stevedore Regiment.
The 305th Reserve Stevedore Regiment, Newport News, Virginia, had an authorized strength of 76 officers, 3556 Enlisted Men (White), and no Enlisted Men (Colored). In January 1918, Colonel Charles L. Dulin was ordered to assume command of the 305th.
Operations.
Stevedores unloaded supplies at American port facilities established in Brest, St. Nazaire, Bordeaux, Havre, and Marseilles (all in France). "Negro" stevedores were praised for the speed with which they offloaded troops and supplies.


Antarctic Patrol


Operation Blockbuster

Operation Blockbuster was the completion of the larger Operation Veritable by the First Canadian Army, reinforced by the XXX Corps from the British Second Army from late February to early March, 1945. Veritable had been slower and more costly than expected and the Canadian commander, General Harry Crerar, had decided on a fresh start for the operation. Three British and Canadian divisions advanced south-eastwards, capturing unprepared German positions in the , before advancing on Xanten. They linked up with the Ninth US Army at Berendonk, near Geldern on 3 March.
Battle honours.
Attached to the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division, the Canadian infantry and armoured regiments to earn battle honours for actions during Operation Blockbuster, emblazoned on their regimental colours as The Hochwald, include:
In popular culture.
The Battle of the Hochwald Gap was the topic of an episode of the documentary series "Greatest Tank Battles." Veterans of Canadian armoured units gave testimonies on the violence of the campaign, notably the tenacity of German soldiers in the Rhineland. Former German soldiers gave testimonies on their experiences with Canadians.


Garden City Army Airfield

Garden City Army Airfield was a World War II training base of the United States Army Air Forces Central Flying Training Command (CFTC). It is currently the city-owned Garden City Regional Airport.
History.
The Garden City, Kansas, Chamber of Commerce did most of the effective work in getting an airfield established in their area. At first, all of its energies were concentrated on acquiring one of the RAF training fields which were to be established in the United States during 1941-1942. In June 1941, the Chamber of Commerce sent representatives with an elaborate booklet to the War Department, setting forth the advantages of locating a flying school in Finney County, Kansas, buttressed by photographs of the area, and containing information on water and natural gas resources, and weather conditions.
Perhaps the major obstacle to locating a training base in Kansas was the decision of the AAF Gulf Coast Training Center not to locate primary or basic training bases north of the Kansas-Oklahoma border because of poor flying weather compared to Oklahoma and Texas. To combat this decision, the Kansas delegation prepared detailed weather statistics which showed that the south portion of Kansas has as many clear and partly cloudy days as San Antonio, Texas. Over a period of 18 months a great amount of data was filed with the War Department. The cumulative effect of this information, plus the later government surveys which were largely in agreement, was in large part responsible for a reversal by the War Department of the decision of the Gulf Coast Training Command.
The first knowledge of a firm intention to construct a base in the Garden City area came to the local civic leaders on 8 April 1942, with a telegram from Washington announcing the imminent arrival of a board of officers to choose a site for the base. Three days later, the board of officers arrived and, under the guidance of the aviation committee of the Garden City Chamber of Commerce, a site was chosen 12 miles east of Garden City on US Highway 50 South. On 16 June 1942, surveying crews began work at the site outlining runways and staking buildings. When the crews arrived, the area of the projected base was a ripe wheat field. Consequently, the first days were a sort of combined operation, which began with the farmers threshing a strip down the proposed runways to enable surveyors to start. Farming and surveying proceeded simultaneously.
The construction program at Garden City was cut off before it really got under way by the orders of Headquarters, Army Air
Forces, in June 1942, stopping work on nine of the 14 proposed British Operational Training Units. This change wiped out the entire western Kansas project of British bases, including Garden City, Dodge City, Pratt, and Liberal. From the middle of June until the latter part of July 1942, the Garden City officials did not know what kind of installation would be located in their community, if any. But, by 27 July, it was definitely understood that Garden City was to have a basic flying training school. By the middle of July, the Division Engineers had received a set of plans for the construction of the new type of base. The engineers were forced to remove every stake that had been driven for the former project and start anew. Contracts were let for construction before all the new stakes had been set out.
Construction.
The main base of the Garden City Army Airfield consisted of 1,584.66 acres, approximately 489 acres of which was re-
served for the building area. The base was located on an irregular plot of high ground adjacent to the Arkansas River. The field extended one and one-half miles north and south and one and eight-tenths miles east and west along U.S. Route 50 South in Finney county, about 11 miles southeast of Garden City and 42 miles southwest of Dodge City. The land was acquired by judgments of Declaration of Taking in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, Second Division.
Some 66 barracks, with a total capacity of 2,224 persons, were built for enlisted personnel, while 520 cadets could be accommodated in 26 barracks. Officers' quarters consisted of 17 buildings, with a total capacity of 272. Two buildings were provided for nurses' living quarters and mess hall. Total housing capacity for all personnel was 3,219. The base hospital was constructed with five wards, with 151 beds.
Five runways were built, four with a dimension of 150 x 6500 feet, and one 150 x 4,960 feet, with a gross load capacity of 74,000 pounds, wheel load of 37,000 pounds. Runways and apron (500 x 4,750 feet) were constructed with a ten-inch gravel base placed in layers on a six-inch compacted earth subbase, and surfaced with one and one-half-inch asphalt cement; the service strip (80 feet wide) was a six-inch concrete slab, thickened to nine inches at the expansion and construction joints. Five taxiways, 50 feet wide, completed the runway system. Fronting on the field, three squadron hangars, 120 by 80 feet, were built.
Four auxiliary fields were planned, but only three were constructed. They were located as follows:
Runways on Auxiliary Field No. 1 were of concrete, while those of Nos. 2 and 3 were of the bituminous mat type. The runway area was the same on all three auxiliary fields 4,950 square feet. None of the auxiliary fields were completed when training began, and, as a result, the Garden City Municipal Airport served as an auxiliary field in the interim.
Construction was officially completed on 25 May 1943 when the Project Completion Report was signed by the Area Engineer. Up to 23 March 1943, funds apportioned for construction reached a total of $9,224,432.16.
Basic Flying School.
Long before the actual completion of construction the base was in operation. The field was officially activated on 21 December 1942. Official designation of the school at the time of activation was Army Air Forces Basic Flying School, Garden City Army Airfield. The school was controlled by the 32d Flying Training Wing (Basic), Perrin Army Airfield, Texas, Central Flying Training Command (CFTC). The 1050th and 1051st Basic Flying Squadrons were moved from Perrin AAF on 21 December 1942 as the flying training units, flying the Vultee BT-13A Valiant single-engine trainer. They were joined by the 502d Basic Flying Training Squadron, being moved from Lubbock Army Airfield, Texas on 4 February 1943 when Lubbock became a Twin-Engine school.
The assigned mission of Garden City AAF was pilot training for basic students. As originally planned, the first class was to arrive on 15 March 1943, but this schedule was moved up to 15 January 1943. The class began training on 16 January. From then on the base was the scene of feverish and effective training activity. In September 1943, twin-engine training was introduced flying Cessna UC-78 Bobcat advanced trainers (AT-17).
For a time during 1944, a few Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) were stationed at the field, serving as engineering test flight pilots. On 30 April 1944, this school organization was replaced, without transfer of personnel, by the 2521st AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Basic). The three flying training squadrons were reorganized as squadrons "A", "B" and "C".
The need for basic flying training schools having considerably lessened by the latter part of 1944, the basic flying school at Garden City Army Air Field was discontinued by Headquarters, Central Flying Training Command, effective 23 November 1944. Since training was somewhat ahead of schedule, 18 November became the final training date.
Immediately thereafter, both instructors and students were transferred. The upper class of cadets was transferred to advanced training, while students of the lower class were dispersed among other schools in order to complete the basic course. Garden City AAF was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma City Air Technical Service Command on 15 December 1944 and placed on a standby status.
Aircraft storage facility.
On 27 February 1945, authority was granted to place the base on an active status as a storage depot for strategic aircraft of Class I, from which aircraft were kept in a short-term ready state and could be flown out within 72 hours.
The 4132d AAF Base Unit (Air Base) was organized on 16 December 1944 to man what was now an aircraft storage depot. The peak of the storage mission was reached by July 1945, when 1,456 aircraft were stored on the base. After July 1945, the primary mission was reversed, that is, the major activity became the preparation of aircraft to be flown away from the base. By autumn of 1946 this phase of the mission was completed.
Inactivation.
On 29 October 1946, in anticipation of deactivation of Garden City Army Airfield, the base was placed in an inactive status by the Army Air Forces, and on 15 March 1947, the 4132d AAF Base Unit was discontinued. On 18 May 1947, ATSC transferred Garden City AAF to the Army's District Engineer, Seventh Service Command at Omaha, Nebraska, who assumed jurisdiction over the field, pending disposition. The War Assets Administration eventually turned the air base over to the City of Garden City.
Current status.
Excess buildings and demilitarized equipment were sold or transferred to other bases. Some were torn down and sales were held for scrap lumber of torn down buildings, fence posts, barbed wire and other items which no longer had a useful need.
The renamed new Garden City Municipal Airport served as a mid-continent stop for one of the country's first coast-to-coast air mail services. Two runways of the World War II Army airfield remain in use, the east-west runway being closed and the concrete being removed from the runway as well as many of the taxiways. The large parking apron has also been reduced in size. One of the wartime hangars remains in use, the other two being torn down, although the concrete foundations remain. Concrete foundations of some station buildings and a maintenance area are evident on the south side of the station area; outlines of other structures removed from the site are visible in aerial photography in otherwise grassy areas. Many streets remain along with the outline of the base parade ground and headquarters.
The former wartime airfield can be reached travelling east on U.S. Route 50/400 from Garden City.


Battle of Worcester

The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England, and was the final battle of the English Civil War, which began in 1642. Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian New Model Army, 28,000 strong, defeated King Charles II's 16,000 Royalists, of whom the vast majority were Scottish. The Royalist forces took up defensive positions in and around the city of Worcester. The area of the battle was bisected by the River Severn, with the River Teme forming an additional obstacle to the south-west of Worcester. Cromwell divided his army into two main sections, divided by the Severn, in order to attack from both the east and south-west. There was fierce fighting at river crossing points and two dangerous sorties by the Royalists against the eastern Parliamentary force were beaten back. Following the storming of a major redoubt to the east of the city, the Parliamentarians entered Worcester and organised Royalist resistance collapsed. Charles II was able to escape capture.
Background.
Invasion of England.
The King was aided by Scottish allies and was attempting to regain the throne that had been lost when his father Charles I was executed. The commander of the Scots, David Leslie, supported the plan of fighting in Scotland, where royal support was strongest. Charles, however, insisted on making war in England. He calculated that Cromwell's campaign north of the River Forth would allow the main Scottish Royalist army which was south of the Forth to steal the march on the Roundhead New Model Army in a race to London. He hoped to rally not merely the old faithful Royalists, but also the overwhelming numerical strength of the English Presbyterians to his standard. He calculated that his alliance with the Scottish Presbyterian Covenanters and his signing of the Solemn League and Covenant would encourage English Presbyterians to support him against the English Independent faction which had grown in power over the last few years. The Royalist army was kept well in hand, no excesses were allowed, and in a week the Royalists covered 150 miles in marked contrast to the Duke of Hamilton's ill-fated expedition of 1648. On 8 August the troops were given a well-earned rest between Penrith and Kendal.
But the Royalists were mistaken in supposing that the enemy was unaware. Everything had been foreseen both by Cromwell and by the Council of State in Westminster. The latter had called out the greater part of the militia on 7 August. Lieutenant-General Charles Fleetwood began to draw together the midland contingents at Banbury. The London trained-bands turned out for field service no fewer than 14,000 strong. Every suspected Royalist was closely watched, and the magazines of arms in the country-houses of the gentry were for the most part removed into the strong places. On his part Cromwell had quietly made his preparations. Perth passed into his hands on 2 August and he brought back his army to Leith by 5 August. Thence he dispatched Lieutenant-General John Lambert with a cavalry corps to harass the invaders. Major-General Thomas Harrison was already at Newcastle picking the best of the county mounted-troops to add to his own regulars. On 9 August, Charles was at Kendal, Lambert hovering in his rear, and Harrison marching swiftly to bar his way at the Mersey. Thomas Fairfax emerged for a moment from his retirement to organize the Yorkshire levies, and the best of these as well as of the Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire militias were directed upon Warrington, which Harrison reached on 15 August, a few hours in front of Charles's advanced guard. Lambert too, slipping round the left flank of the enemy, joined Harrison, and the English fell back (16 August), slowly and without letting themselves be drawn into a fight, along the London road.
Worcester campaign.
Cromwell meanwhile, leaving George Monck with the least efficient regiments to carry on the war in Scotland, had reached the river Tyne in seven days, and thence, marching 20 miles a day in extreme heat with the country people carrying their arms and equipment, the regulars entered Ferrybridge on 19 August, at which date Lambert, Harrison and the north-western militia were about Congleton. It seemed probable that a great battle would take place between Lichfield and Coventry on or just after 25 August and that Cromwell, Harrison, Lambert and Fleetwood would all take part in it. But the scene and the date of the denouement were changed by the enemy's movements. Shortly after leaving Warrington the young king had resolved to abandon the direct march on London and to make for the Severn valley, where his father had found the most constant and the most numerous adherents in the first war, and which had been the centre of gravity of the English Royalist movement of 1648. Sir Edward Massey, formerly the Parliamentary governor of Gloucester, was now with Charles, and it was hoped that he would induce his fellow Presbyterians to take arms. The military quality of the Welsh border Royalists was well proved, that of the Gloucestershire Presbyterians not less so, and, in basing himself on Gloucester and Worcester as his father had done on Oxford, Charles II hoped, naturally, to deal with the Independent faction minority of the English people more effectually than Charles I had earlier dealt with the majority of the people of England who had supported the Parliamentary cause. But even the pure Royalism which now ruled in the invading army could not alter the fact that it was a foreign, Scottish, army, and it was not merely an Independent faction but all England that united against it.
Charles arrived at Worcester on 22 August and spent five days in resting the troops, preparing for further operations, and gathering and arming the few recruits who came in. The delay was to prove fatal; it was a necessity of the case foreseen and accepted when the march to Worcester had been decided upon, and had the other course, that of marching on London via Lichfield, been taken the battle would have been fought three days earlier with the same result. Worcester itself had no particular claim to being loyal to the King. Throughout the First Civil War it had taken the pragmatic position of declaring loyalty to whichever side had been in occupation. The epithet 'Faithful City' arose out of a cynical (and unsuccessful) claim at the Restoration for compensation from the new king.
Cromwell, the lord general, had during his march south thrown out successively two flying columns under Colonel Robert Lilburne to deal with the Lancashire Royalists under the Earl of Derby. Lilburne entirely routed a Lancashire detachment of the enemy on their way to join the main Royalist army at the Battle of Wigan Lane on 25 August and as affairs turned out Cromwell merely shifted the area of his concentration two marches to the south-west, to Evesham. Early on 28 August, Lambert's brigade made a surprise crossing of the Severn at Upton, 6 miles below Worcester. In the action which followed Massey was severely wounded and he and his men were forced to retreat northwards along the west bank of the Severn towards the river Teme and Worcester. Fleetwood followed Lambert with reinforcements and orders to advance north towards the Teme. This western envelopment severed the Royalists lines of communications to Wales and the western counties of England. The Royalists were now only 16,000 strong with no hope of significant reinforcements and disheartened by the apathy with which they had been received in districts formerly all their own. Cromwell, for the only time in his military career, had a two-to-one numerical superiority.
On 30 August Cromwell delayed the start of the battle to give time for two pontoon bridges to be constructed, one over the Severn and the other over the Teme, close to their confluence. The delay allowed Cromwell to launch his attack on 3 September, one year to the day since his victory at the Battle of Dunbar.
Battle.
Cromwell took his measures deliberately. Lilburne from Lancashire and Major Mercer with the Worcestershire horse were to secure Bewdley Bridge, north of Worcester and on the enemy's line of retreat. Fleetwood was to force his way across the Teme and attack St John's, the western suburb of Worcester. While Lambert commanded the eastern flank of the army which would advance and encircle the eastern walls of Worcester, Cromwell would lead the attack on the southern ramparts of the city.
The assault started on the morning of 3 September and initially the initiative lay with the Parliamentarians. Fleetwood forced the passage of the Teme over the pontoon bridges against Royalists under the command of Major General Montgomery. Colonel Richard Deane's initial attempts to cross the Powick Bridge (where Prince Rupert of the Rhine had won the Battle of Powick Bridge, his first victory, in 1642) failed against stubborn resistance by the Royalists (many of whom were Scottish Highlanders) commanded by Colonel Keith. By force of arms and numbers, the Royalist army was pushed backward by the New Model Army with Cromwell on the eastern bank of the Severn and Fleetwood on the western sweeping in a semicircle long up toward Worcester.
The Royalists contested every hedgerow around Powick meadows. This stubborn resistance on the west bank of the Severn north of the Teme was becoming a serious problem for the Parliamentarians, so Cromwell led Parliamentary reinforcements from the eastern side of the town over the Severn pontoon bridge to aid Fleetwood. Charles II, from his vantage point on top of Worcester cathedral's tower, realised that an opportunity existed to attack the now-exposed eastern flank of the Parliamentary army. As the defenders on the Western side of the city retreated in good order into the city (although during this manoeuvre Keith was captured and Montgomery was badly wounded), Charles ordered two sorties to attack the Parliamentary forces east of the city. The north-eastern sortie through St. Martin's Gate was commanded by the Duke of Hamilton and attacked the Parliamentary lines at Perry Wood. The south-eastern one through Sidbury Gate was led by Charles II and attacked Red Hill. The Royalist cavalry under the command of David Leslie that was gathered on Pitchcroft meadow on the northern side of the city did not receive orders to aid the sorties and Leslie chose not to do so under his own initiative. Cromwell seeing the difficulty that his east flank was under rushed back over the Severn pontoon bridge with three brigades of troops to reinforce the flank.
Although they were pushed back, the Parliamentarians under Lambert were too numerous and experienced to be defeated by such a move. For an hour, the Parliamentarians retreated before the unexpected attack. However, following their reinforcement by Cromwell's three brigades, they reversed the situation and drove the Royalists back toward the city. The Royalist retreat turned into a rout in which Parliamentarian and Royalist forces intermingled and skirmished up to and into the city. The Royalist position became untenable when the Essex militia stormed and captured Fort Royal, (a redoubt on a small hill to the south-east of Worcester overlooking the Sidbury gate), turning the Royalist guns to fire on Worcester.
Once in the city, Charles II removed his armour and found a fresh mount; he attempted to rally his troops but it was to no avail. A desperate Royalist cavalry charge down Sidbury Street and High Street, led by the Earl of Cleveland and Major Careless amongst others, allowed King Charles to escape the city by St. Martin's Gate. This cavalry force was composed of the few Midland English Royalists who had rallied to Charles II, and largely consisted of Lord Talbot's troop of horse.
The defences of the city were stormed from three different directions as darkness came on, regulars and militia fighting with equal gallantry. Most of the few thousands of the Royalists who escaped during the night were easily captured by Lilburne and Mercer, or by the militia which watched every road in Yorkshire and Lancashire. Even the country people brought in scores of prisoners, for the Royalist officers and men alike, stunned by the suddenness of the disaster, offered no resistance.
Aftermath.
About 3,000 men were killed during the battle and a further 10,000 were taken prisoner at Worcester or soon afterwards. The Earl of Derby was executed, while the other English prisoners were conscripted into the New Model Army and sent to Ireland. Around 8,000 Scottish prisoners were deported to New England, Bermuda, and the West Indies to work for landowners as indentured labourers, or else to work on fen drainage. Around 1,200 "Scotch prisoners" were taken to London; many died from disease and starvation at Tothill Fields and other makeshift prison camps. Parliamentary casualties numbered in the low hundreds.
Charles II's escape included various incidents, including one of his hiding from a Parliamentarian patrol in an oak tree in the grounds of Boscobel House. He reached the south coast of England, and at Shoreham found transport to take him to safety in France.
The result of the battle was, in brief, one of those rare victories in which a pursuit is superfluous. In announcing the Worcester victory of the day earlier, Cromwell's 4 September despatch to William Lenthall, the Speaker of the House of Commons, has become famous: "The dimensions of this mercy are above my thoughts. It is, for aught I know, a crowning mercy". Hence, Cromwell thought the victory was the greatest of all the favours, or mercies, given to him by God. The expression "crowning mercy" is frequently linked to the battle as it heralded the end of the English Civil War by completely destroying the last major Royalist army.
The Parliamentary militia were sent home within a week. Cromwell, who had ridiculed "such stuff" six months ago, knew them better now. "Your new raised forces", he wrote to the Rump Parliament, "did perform singular good service, for which they deserve a very high estimation and acknowledgement". The New England preacher Hugh Peters gave the militia a rousing farewell sermon "when their wives and children should ask them where they had been and what news, they should say they had been at Worcester, where England's sorrows began, and where they were happily ended", referring to the first clash of the Royalist and Parliamentarian Armies at the Battle of Powick Bridge on 23 September 1642, almost exactly nine years before.
Prior to the battle King Charles II contracted the Worcester Clothiers Company to outfit his army with uniforms but was unable to pay the £453.3s bill. In June 2008 Charles, Prince of Wales paid off the 357-year-old debt (less the interest, which would have amounted to around £47,500.)
Battle analysis.
Cromwell's plan of battle divided his army into three parts, each part having a specific target: Colonel Robert Lilburne from Lancashire and Major Mercer with the Worcestershire horse were to secure Bewdley Bridge on the enemy's line of retreat. Lambert and Fleetwood were to force their way across the Teme and attack St John's, the western suburb of Worcester. Cromwell himself and the main army were to attack the town itself.
This plan was executed, and in the opinion of C.F. Atkinson the author of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article on the Civil War, the Battle of Worcester was indeed—as a German critic, Fritz Hoenig, pointed out—the prototype of the Battle of Sedan. Worcester resembled Sedan in much more than outward form. Both were fought by "nations in arms", by citizen soldiers who had their hearts in the struggle, and could be trusted not only to fight their hardest but to march their best. Only with such troops would a general dare to place a deep river between the two-halves of his army or to send away detachments beforehand to reap the fruits of victory, in certain anticipation of winning the victory with the remainder. The result was, in brief, one of those rare victories in which a pursuit is superfluous.
Legacy.
In early April 1786, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson visited Fort Royal Hill at the battlefield at Worcester. John Adams wrote that he was "deeply moved" but disappointed at the locals' lack of knowledge of the battle, and gave the townspeople an "impromptu lecture":
References.
Attribution