Pacifica Military History Free Sample Chapters.pmd

146 Pacifica Military History
assisted by naval gunfire, 31 USMC TBFs and eight VC-38 SBDs attack
the Cape Torokina invasion beaches in Bougainville’s Empress
Augusta Bay ahead of the lead waves of the U.S. 3d Marine Division.
Commencing Operation RO—a plan for the defense of the
northern Solomon Islands—IJN air attacks against the invasion fleet
delay unloading operations, but the invasion is considered successful
despite the fierce opposition of a small defense force that restricts the
Marines to a shallow beachhead.
AirSols fighters based in the central Solomons provide extensive
cover for the invasion force, and AirSols land-based and USN carrierbased
fighters and light bombers from Task Force 38*, as well as USN
surface warships completely neutralize the now-bypassed IJN airbases
in southern Bougainville and the Shortland Islands. Nevertheless, at
0735 hours, nine Rabaul-based D3As, escorted by 44 A6Ms, attack the
invasion flotilla through an AirSols covering force of eight VF-17 F4Us
and eight RNZAF Kittyhawks. One USN destroyer is lightly damaged
by a near miss. A second Rabaul-based air attack in the early afternoon
results in no damage, but one USN transport runs aground while
maneuvering to avoid the bombers.
RNZAF Kittyhawk pilots down seven A6Ms and VF-17 F4U
pilots down five A6Ms over Empress Augusta Bay between 0745 and
0800 hours; 347th Fighter Group P-38 pilots down seven A6Ms over
Empress Augusta Bay between 0810 and 0820; VF-17 F4U pilots down
an A6M over Empress Augusta Bay at 1330 hours; and VMF-215 F4U
pilots down four A6Ms and a B5N over Empress Augusta Bay between
1345 and 1347 hours. Four Allied fighters are lost during the day.
1stLt Robert M. Hanson, a VMF-215 F4U pilot, achieves ace
status when he downs a B5N and two A6Ms over Empress Augusta Bay
at about 1345 hours.
Twenty-one XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Bougainville/
Kahili Airdrome; AirSols B-24s, SBDs, and fighters attack Bougainville/
Kara Airdrome; and 42d Medium Bombardment Group B-25s attack
barges and docks at Faisi.
On this first day of the Bouginville offensive, AirSols has at its
immediate disposal the following units and aircraft: At Guadalcanal—