The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943) took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II. During the course of the battle, aircraft of the U.S. 5th Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy that was carrying troops to Lae, New Guinea. Most of the task force was destroyed, and Japanese troop losses were heavy.
Japanese forces
Destroyers
- Rear Admiral Masatomi Kimura
Destroyer | Commander | Fate | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Arashio | Commander Hideo Kuboki | sunk | [1] |
Asashio | Commander Goro Yoshii | sunk | [1] |
Asagumo | Commander Toru Iwahashi | survived | [1] |
Shikinami | Lieutenant Commander Akifumi Kawahashi | survived | [1] |
Shirayuki | Commander Rokuro Sugawara | sunk | [1] |
Tokitsukaze | Commander Masayoshi Motokura | sunk | [1] |
Uranami | Lieutenant Commander Chikara Hagio | survived | [1] |
Yukikaze | Commander Ryokichi Sugama | survived | [1] |
Transports
Captain Kamataro Matsumoto
Transport | tons | (m3) | Fate | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aiyo Maru | 2,716 | 7,686 | Sunk, 323 killed | [2] |
Kembu Maru | 950 | 2,688 | Sunk, 20 killed | [2] |
Kyokusei Maru | 5,493 | 15,545 | Sunk, 486 killed | [2] |
Oigawa Maru | 6,494 | 18,378 | Sunk, 1,229 killed | [2] |
Sin-ai Maru | 3,793 | 10,734 | Sunk, 63+ killed | [2] |
Taimei Maru | 2,883 | 8,159 | Sunk, 200 killed | [2] |
Teiyo Maru | 6,870 | 19,442 | Sunk, 1,915 killed | [2] |
Nojima Maru | 8,125 | 22,994 | Sunk, 400 killed | [2] |
Embarked units
Unit | Source |
---|---|
XVIII Army Headquarters | [3] |
XVIII Army Signals | [3] |
51st Division Headquarters | [3] |
51st Division Signals | [3] |
51st Engineer Regiment | [3] |
14th Artillery Regiment | [3] |
115th Infantry Regiment | [3] |
3rd Field Hospital | [3] |
21st Artillery Brigade | [3] |
50th Antiaircraft Battalion | [3] |
15th Independent Engineer Regiment | [3] |
22nd Airfield Battalion | [3] |
209th Airfield Regiment | [3] |
5th Air Signals Regiment | [3] |
8th Shipping Engineer Regiment | [3] |
3rd Company, 5th Shipping Engineer Regiment | [3] |
3rd Disembarkation Unit | [3] |
Yokosuka 3rd Naval Air Defence Unit | [4] |
Yokosuka 5th Special Naval Landing Party | [4] |
Maizuru 2nd Special Naval Landing Party | [4] |
Air units
Command | Unit | Source |
---|---|---|
11th Air Fleet / Southeast Area Fleet | 204 Air Group | [5] |
252 Air Group | [5] | |
253 Air Group | [5] | |
First Air Flotilla | Zuihō Fighter Group (Kavieng) | [5] |
Imperial Japanese Army | 1st Flying Group (1st Hikō Sentai) | [6] |
11th Flying Group (11th Hikō Sentai) | [6] |
Allied forces
Allied air forces
- Commander, Allied Air Forces, Southwest Pacific Area/US Fifth Air Force
- Lieutenant General George C. Kenney
- Advanced Echelon, Allied Air Forces
- Major General Ennis C. Whitehead
Wing | Squadron | Commander | Aircraft | Base | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 73 Wing RAAF | Wing Commander Blake Pelly | [7] | |||
No. 6 Squadron RAAF | Wing Commander A. A. Barlow | Lockheed Hudson | Turnbull Field | [8][9] | |
No. 22 Squadron RAAF | Wing Commander Keith Hampshire | A-20 Boston | Wards Airfield | [8][10][11] | |
No. 30 Squadron RAAF | Wing Commander B. R. Walker | Bristol Beaufighter | Wards Airfield | [8][10] | |
No. 71 Wing RAAF | Wing Commander Ian McLachlan | [12] | |||
No. 75 Squadron RAAF | Squadron Leader W. S. Arthur | P-40 Kittyhawk | Gurney Airfield | [8][13] | |
No. 100 Squadron RAAF | Squadron Leader J. A. Smilbert (acting) | Bristol Beaufort | Gurney Airfield | [8][10] |
Motor Torpedo Boat Striking Force
Lieutenant Commander Barry K. Atkins
Boat | Skipper | Source |
---|---|---|
PT-66 | Lieutenant (jg) William C. Quinby | [19] |
PT-67 | Ensign James W. Emmons | [19] |
PT-68 | Lieutenant (jg) Robert L. Childs | [19] |
PT-121 | Ensign Edward R. Bergin | [19] |
PT-128 | Ensign James W. Herring | [19] |
PT-143 | Lieutenant (jg) John S. Bayliss | [19] |
PT-149 | Lieutenant William J. Flittie | [19] |
PT-150 | Lieutenant (jg) Russell E. Hamacheck | [19] |
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 McAulay 1991, pp. 181–184
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 McAulay 1991, pp. 177–180
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 McAulay 1991, p. 187
- 1 2 3 4 Hata, Izawa & Shores 2011, p. 49
- 1 2 Hata, Izawa & Shores 2012, pp. 38–39
- ↑ "Group Captain Blake Raymond Pelly". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Morison 1950, pp. 64–65
- ↑ RAAF Historical Section 1995a, p. 16
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 McAulay 1991, pp. 173–174
- ↑ RAAF Historical Section 1995a, p. 64
- ↑ "Air Vice Marshal Ian Dougald McLachlan". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ↑ RAAF Historical Section 1995b, p. 41
- ↑ "90 Fighter Squadron (PACAF)". Air Force Historical Agency. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ↑ "319 Missile Squadron (AFGSC)". Air Force Historical Agency. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ↑ "320 Missile Squadron (AFGSC)". Air Force Historical Agency. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ↑ "321 Missile Squadron (AFGSC)". Air Force Historical Agency. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ↑ "8 Flying Training Squadron". Air Force Historical Agency. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Morison 1950, p. 61
References
- Hata, Ikuhiko; Izawa, Yasuho; Shores, Christopher (2011). Japanese Naval Air Force Fighter Units and Their Aces 1932–1945. London: Grub Street. ISBN 9781906502843.
- Hata, Ikuhiko; Izawa, Yasuho; Shores, Christopher (2012). Japanese Army Fighter Aces 1931–45. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-1076-3.
- McAulay, Lex (1991). Battle of the Bismarck Sea. New York, New York: St Martins Press. ISBN 0-312-05820-9. OCLC 23082610.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1950). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier. Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown and Company. ISBN 0-7858-1307-1. OCLC 10310299.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - RAAF Historical Section (1995a). Volume 2 Fighter Units. Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42795-7.
- RAAF Historical Section (1995b). Volume 3 Bomber Units. Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42795-7.
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