US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

294 Amphibians Came To Conquer
papers were in the mail. Soon thereafter Fletcher had his three star rank
by radio dating back to 26 June 1942, the date the recommendation l-sad
finally cleared the Navy Department to the President. He became Corn.
mander Expeditionary Force, while Noyes was designated as Commander
Carrier Aircraft of the Expeditionary Force.”
The command problem of Task Force 62 was complicated by the fact
that the second senior oficer in the force, Rear Admiral V.A.C. Crutchley,
was from an Allied Navy, the British Navy, which of itself had no ships in
the Task Force. The three Australian cruisers present therein had just come
under the command of recently promoted Rear Admiral Crutchley, who, in
June 1942, had been loaned by the British Admiralty to command the
Australian Naval Squadron since the so-year existence of the Australian
Navy had not been long enough to mature many ofiicers to Flag rank.
On 29 July 1942, Rear Admiral Turner notified Rear Admiral Crutchley
that he would be designated as:
Second–in–Command of the Operation. . . . The Third–in–Command will
not be named, as the command will automatically pass by seniority in the case
of the United States Service. It would be well for senior Captains to have an
idea of their relative rank, whether British or United States.z8
This did not please Rear Admiral Crutchley. He replied:
I am very honoured to hear that you are contemplating nominating me as
Second-in-Command of what amounts to a very considerable United States
Expeditionary Force. I must say that I doubt the propriety or wisdom of this
suggestion. It is mainly a U.S. Force and you have another U.S. Flag Oficer
on the scene [Rear Admiral Norman Scott}. I have not yet been able to ascertain
his seniority, we are both too junior to appear in our respective Navy
lists. . . . I feel that as long as there is a U. S. Flag Officer present, he should
be in charge.”
Despite this reluctance, Rear Admiral Crutchley was designated as
Second-in-Command, when the final draft of the operation order was
distributed.”
TF 62’s RUN TO THE RENDEZVOUS
There was no pain, no strain on the run to the rendezvous, except the hot
bearings on the recently reduced allowance of typewriters and mimeograph
= (a) CINCPAC to COMINCH, 092219 May 1942, 202013 Jun. 1942, 272251 Jun. 1942,
and 141027 Jul. 1942. COMINCH 151500 Jul. 1942; (b) King papers; (c) Notes on conversations
between CINCPAC and COMINCH, 4 Jul. 1942.
= RKT to Crutchley, letter, 29 Jul. 1942.
* Rear Admiral Crutchley to RKT, personal letter, 30 Jul. 1942.
= PHIBSOPAC, Op Plan A3–42, 30 Jul. 1942, para 5(c).