Once the convoy rounded the cape near Milne bay and entered the Coral Sea, the Japanese plan called for the Nells based at Rabaul to shed their normal torpedo armament and take on bombs to get out after the airstrip at Port Moresby. The light carriers Zuiho and Shoho would also move in to assume their close air support role, the aim being to prevent any use of that field for Allied aircraft to molest the invasion force. Major General Horii of the South Seas Detachment was already missing his naval shock troops for the planned landing, and now he was quickly briefing his officers to prepare for the attack.
The Japanese had little to fear from Allied air power at Port Moresby. There were just a few Wirraway fighters there, waiting to take a regular pounding with a morning raid by those Nells, and then an afternoon follow-up off the two light carriers. The name of the fighter came from an Aboriginal word that meant ‘Challenge’, but there was little the Wirraways could do when the A6-M2 Zeros showed up. It was basically good for an all purpose trainer, but had no business in a fight with the nimble and deadly Japanese fighters. It was even outclassed by the older A5-M1 Claudes flying off Zuiho, and that was a fairly fitting condemnation.
When dawn came on the 8th of April, the Japanese would see their invasion convoy floating paravanes off the coral reefs of Port Moresby, something that had never happened in Fedorov’s history books. Fletcher had been steaming west around Noumea, wary of the Japanese air squadrons posted there, and he was not going to reach the scene of the battle in time to stumble into what was once chronicled as the first Carrier to carrier duel of the war—the Battle of the Coral Sea. In this history, carriers had already fought each other near the Hawaiian Islands, and a second time in the New Hebrides. Coral Sea would not be fought as it once was, but better late than never, Fletcher was still on his way—and so was Bull Halsey.
TF-16 had come barreling south into the Marianas, and true to his word, Halsey had stomped on the airfield at Wotje. He was about to mount a strike against Kwajalein when Scouting 6 reported what looked like a pair of small escort carriers south near Maloelap. They were, in fact, the two hybrid scout carriers, old converted cruisers with 8-inch guns forward and a small flight deck aft for one squadron of 12 planes.
The Japanese had chosen to put 12 Zeroes on the Gozo, and Mezu was following with 12 Kate Torpedo planes. Half of the fighters were up, and three of the B5Ns were out on patrol, but they were looking in the wrong direction. Ordered to scout the primary line of communications further east, that was what Captain Sujima on the Mezu was doing. Unfortunately, Halsey was well north of his position, approaching Rongelap in the Marshalls. Both Enterprise and Hornet had planes spotted and ready for action against the fledgling Japanese base at Maloelap when that sighting report came in: Two carriers, one destroyer, course 090 East, 40 miles north of Maloelap.
That was all Wade McClusky needed to hear. The word “carriers” resonated with both danger and excitement, and the Enterprise Group was quick of the deck that morning, and heading south. The six fighters of GI-Choitai-Gozo would put up a brave fight, six zeroes against 15 Wildcats escorting that strike. Pilot Warrant Officers Matsumura and Murakami would each get a kill in the fighter dual, and Murakami would slide off to make a good pass at the incoming Dauntless Dive bomber group, putting one down for the count.
Donald Runyon of VF-6 got behind one Zero and drilled it, sending the plane down with a long arc of smoke, and Flight Leader Jimmy Grey of the “Shooting Stars” would get another. There were 26 SBDs still in formation with McClusky when they broke through a puffy white cloud and saw the two carriers below. Down they went, and in spite of some rather wild defensive maneuvers made by the ships, the bombs were going to find both flight decks that morning. With so little flak coming up from the scouting group, the approach to the target was smooth and clear. Gozo would take the worst of it, with no fewer than five bomb hits amidships, just as the flight crews had finished bringing up another Shotai of three fighters.
The planes were caught in the heat and fire of the bomb explosions, with one Zero blown to pieces, a white wing careening wildly along the flight deck and cutting down two deck crewmen who were too late to the deck well to escape. One of the bombs penetrated to the hanger deck, exploding there to set off a raging fire where the last three Zeroes were being fueled. It was that fire that sealed the ship’s fate, burning right through a buckled bulkhead and setting off the ready ammo magazine for the B-turret forward. That explosion blasted through to the main magazine, and Gozo simply blew up.
Aboard Mezu, only six B5Ns had managed to take off before the strike came in, and they had climbed to join the last four Zeroes off the Gozo. That formation of ten planes looked down on the thundering explosion that claimed the scout carrier’s life, and the pilots tightened their jaws. They could see the American dive bombers pull out and head northwest, and they followed that heading, hoping to find the enemy and take just revenge. What they found instead was Lieutenant Merrill Cook’s VF-8 off the Hornet flying CAP with 15 more Wildcats. Only three of the B5Ns would get anywhere near the targets, and no hits were scored. The remaining planes, five in all, diverted to Kwajalein.
As for Mezu, that scout carrier had also taken three hits, with very bad fires, and it was desperately steering for Maloelap to try and find an anchorage before it went down. Yamamoto had sent the two scouts out to look for enemy carriers, and now he knew exactly where they were, but at great cost. Carrier Division 1, with Akagi and Soryu, were well south, the primary covering force for the convoy bringing the Sakaguchi Detachment for the Fiji invasion. Yamamoto was there aboard the Yamato, and the battlecruiser Kirishima followed in the wake of that powerful ship. Cruisers Takao and Atago were up in front with five more destroyers in a wide escort fan.
Admiral Ugaki came in with the bad news. Gozo was gone, Mezu badly damaged, and the Americans were pounding the Marshalls. “We are not too far south,” he said excitedly. “We can still turn and engage.”
“And leave the invasion group uncovered?”
“Those carriers would have to come south to threaten that convoy, and to do so they would have to get past us first.”
“How many enemy carriers were sighted?”
“Only two, with a number of cruisers and destroyers. Admiral, if we do not turn, that task force could even pose a grave threat to our main base at Truk. We have only a single squadron of nine A6Ms, and they will not be able to adequately protect that anchorage. Musashi is just sitting there collecting staff reports and signals traffic, and consider we still have a number of merchant ships anchored, and valuable facilities that cannot be compromised.”
“Yet the Americans could simply withdraw east now. This report says the last remaining planes off Mezu diverted to Kwajalein. We will lose contact, and if we go north, they could swing down and find our invasion group.”
“Truk sir. That base could be severely damaged if we do not intervene.”
“Then you consider it more valuable than the troops we are escorting now?”
“I do, sir. We must not allow this American raiding group to proceed. It must be challenged, here and now. Isn’t that what we hoped to do in the naval component of the FS plan? We have found the American carriers, and now we must go and destroy them.”
It was a very difficult decision, for if the invasion group was found and attacked, it would seriously compromise the entire Fiji invasion plan. Operation FS would not have the forces required to prosecute that battle.
“Where is Carrier Division 5?” asked Yamamoto.
“The last report had them 60 miles west of Mundo in the Solomon Sea.”
“Hara has seen nothing of those remaining enemy carriers?”
“No sir.
“And the Abe Detachment?”
“It has reached the rendezvous point off Lakatoro in the New Hebrides.”
Yamamoto thought for a moment, then decided. “I do not think this American carrier group is going to bother Truk. It is clear, however, that our ruse regarding Midway was
not entirely successful. This group may have been on watch there, but it has obviously moved into the Marshalls. I believe it will now come south in our wake, because that is where I intend to take this task force. We will fulfill our primary mission and continue to cover the Sakaguchi Detachment. Remember, we still have no firm report on the location of those carriers that were spotted near Fiji. Until I do have better information, it is my decision to move our two carrier divisions into supporting range of one another. Order Hara’s 5th Carrier Division to proceed to the rendezvous point. We will make that our destination as well.”
Yamamoto saw his Chief of Staff hesitate ever so briefly, then he bowed, knowing an order when he heard one. As one last consideration, Yamamoto spoke again.
“There are 27 A6M fighters at Lae, and I do not think they will be all needed there, as our troops have already made a successful landing at Port Moresby. They report no enemy air defenses there worth mentioning. So we will move another three Shotai, nine more A6M fighters from Rabaul to Truk immediately, and you may notify the base to assume a high level of preparedness. Rabaul may then pull a squadron from Lae to replace those fighters.”
Ugaki nodded, and the die was cast. It was a decision that would soon set off a naval duel that would now crackle and pop like a string of fireworks. For far to the south, Admiral Fletcher had another difficult decision to make. The Japanese had beaten him to Port Moresby. Troops were already on the beaches there, and a small ongoing duel was underway between local shore batteries and the 6-inch guns mounted on the transports. Two enemy ships had been hit, set afire, and looked to be total losses, but most of the landing force was already ashore. Now what?
“The Aussies have a small scout group out there waiting for us, sir,” said Captain Archibald Hugh Douglas on the Saratoga, where Fletcher had planted his flag.
“I don’t think we can keep that appointment,” said Fletcher disconsolately. He had been thinking the situation over. They had reports from Catalinas that spotted four Jap carriers near the Rossell Island Group in the Lower Solomons. Four Jap carriers! That report had not been confirmed, but it was clear the enemy was moving in that direction with their main body. The report was erroneous, a mix-up where two separate planes had each reported a pair of carriers, Hara’s 5th Carrier Division. Yet once those reports reached Suva, they got stitched together by an eager clerk into four carriers.
Two carriers or four, it was intelligence that Fletcher could not ignore. He already knew where Halsey was, and that he was now turning south towards the lower Solomons with the intention of destroying the new enemy seaplane base at Tulagi.
“I think we have to turn,” said Fletcher. “We’re still two days from being any help to Port Moresby, but if I turn north by northeast now, I can move to effect a conjunction with Halsey, and between the two of us, we’ll have those four carriers in a vise.”
“Assuming they don’t have us for lunch first,” said Captain Douglas.
“I know,” said Fletcher. “It’s a risk. They’ll have interior lines and could turn one way or another and gang up on either side of our pincer operation here. But I’m gambling we can catch them before they catch us. Ever play chess Captain? The rule of thumb is to get those two Knights into action before the Bishops are developed. Well, we’re those two Knights. Halsey has the Bishops. So I’m heading right into the middle of the board where a good Knight belongs. Get the boys up on deck and come to 030, ahead full.”
Fletcher made his choice, and his move. With it, the history would now turn to a new page. It seemed there was going to be a battle in the Coral Sea after all, and he was sailing right into the thick of it.
Part VI
Combinations
“You have to have the fighting spirit. You have
to force moves and take chances. That’s what Chess is all about. One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one.”
― Bobby Fischer
Chapter 16
Battle of the Coral Sea
Fletcher had initially moved west around Noumea with the intention of fulfilling orders to strike at enemy bases throughout the Bismarck Archipelago, principally Gasmata and Rabaul. It was only a matter of circumstance that he then learned of Operation MO aimed at Port Moresby, and hastened to attempt an intervention. Had he been bolder, and risked a passage directly through the New Hebrides, he might have made a difference in that battle, but his swing well south of Noumea, where the Allies knew the Carrier Hiyo had laid her eggs by drooping off her entire air wing, was an example of the caution he exercised in battle.
Fletcher was a Black Shoe Admiral, schooled in surface warfare, and not one of the old Brown Shoe Admirals born and bred for carrier warfare. When Crace’s ANZAC squadron consisting of the heavy cruiser Australia, light cruiser Hobart and a destroyer was ordered to make a beeline for Port Moresby in an attempt to get at the invasion underway there, Fletcher thought he would ride in late to the rescue, until that fateful sighting report of four Japanese carriers that had been multiplied twice over.
In one sense, the sighting would end up being correct. The Black Shoe Admiral would end up tangling with all four Japanese fleet carriers before his sortie ended. When he turned northeast, it wasn’t long before planes off the Saratoga spotted the enemy right where they expected them to be to the northwest. With a predominance of SBD dive bombers in his task force, Fletcher wasted no time ordering a full strike. Yet the man on the other side was no slouch, Admiral Hara, the stalwart bullish figure the fleet came to call “King Kong.”
* * *
A big man, broad shouldered, and with a thick neck that simply became his head, Chuichi Hara looked every bit the part. He was out with 5th Carrier Division, which had been carrying the burden of most all fleet air support operations since Pearl Harbor. The damage to Kaga, the loss of Hiryu in that strange missile attack, and the refit scheduled for Akagi had left his division the only force ready to support southern offensive operations. When he first heard the news about Hiryu going down he was profoundly shocked—Hiryu struck by heavy rocket weapon just before planned launch… fires uncontrollable….
He found his eyes lingering on that message… heavy rocket weapon… What in the world could that have been? Yet even as he thought that, he knew something in some hidden recess of his mind that was shouting out a warning. Rocket weapon…
That night he saw them in his sleep, bright fiery tails trailing thin white smoke that caught the last fading remnants of the sun near dusk, and soon became gold, then crimson, as if some great unseen beast had clawed the sky. He remembered awakening in a cold sweat, his eyes wide, then realized it was only a dream, shaking it off and listening to the ship as it rode smoothly through the flat dark sea. Why did that report disturb him so? Was it merely the loss of that ship? No, it was something more, but he could not remember it.
He had successfully covered Operation R as Rabaul was taken without a hitch from the Australians. Gasmata and the rest of New Britain were occupied soon after, and then Lae and Salamaua fell easily. He had then been ordered to the Java Sea to support the landings there, but that terrible eruption had shaken that entire theater and driven even the gods of war to heel. Half the Java Sea was now blighted with ashfall, and passage west into the Indian Ocean was now a hazardous affair. The planned raid there had already been cancelled when the Rabaul operation was accelerated, so Hara had no regrets. He was pleased to be ordered east again into calmer waters, and glad to be supporting the move south into the Solomon Sea.
The Japanese carriers had also spotted the approach of the American task force to the southwest, and they were feverishly preparing to strike this unexpected enemy. Hara would order his dive bombers to lead the attack, three squadrons under Sakamoto, Ema and Hayashi. As they took longer to fuel and arm, he would hold his torpedo bombers for the second wave.
Dawn was just lightening the sky when the first planes roared off the long flight deck of Zuikaku, the Lucky Crane where Hara had decided to plan his
flag. He had considered Shokaku, the lead ship in the class, but something about her Captain, Takaji Jojima, irritated him, and he was already too prone to grumble with a bad temper.
It was just our good luck that we saw those carriers, thought Hara. Now we must kill them, as they are undoubtedly here to try and interfere with the MO invasion force. But that will not happen—not on my watch—not with Sakamoto up there now. He always went out onto the weather deck to watch the planes form up, the drone and growl of their engines seeming like a swarm of angry bees to him. The formations circled in place until the last Shotai came up to join them. Then he saw the lead plane in the centermost group dip its wings. Sakamoto was saluting him as the dive bombers started on their way.
He looked at his watch… they would be at least an hour out to the suspected location of the enemy carriers, more than enough time to make his offering to the Thunder Gods looming like shadows in the line of clouds off to the north. His carriers had turned into the wind to launch, but now he would give the order to come about, closing the range on the enemy as the strike proceeded. He bowed to the distant storm as Zuikaku began her long graceful turn. Soon he saw Shokaku come abreast to keep formation, the Soaring Crane looking trim and fast that morning. He breathed deeply, smelling the rain behind him on that wind. It was a good day for battle.
* * *
“Archie, how do you like that?” said Fletcher with a broad smile. “Halsey caught a pair of Jap carriers up north and blew them to hell!” He handed the message to Captain Douglas, who looked it over with a nod.
“Tough old bird,” he said. “How’d he get Enterprise and Hornet turned around so quickly. He’s in the Marshalls?”
“Must have chewed on Nimitz a good long while to get him to see through this Midway crap. I never bought it for one second.”
Steel Reign (Kirov Series Book 23) Page 13
