US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

CACTUS Bound 295
machines, directed by Admiral King, as they were worked on a 24-hour basis,
grinding out the last version of the rehearsal order. This was distributed the
second and third days after departure from Wellington, together with the
first version of the WATCHTOWER Operation Order.”
The Task Force sailed off from Wellington at 0800 on July 22nd to the
southeast at speed 14 knots on course 140”. It did not take up northeasterly
courses toward the rendezvous until late afternoon, in the hope of making
useless to the enemy any intercepted sighting reports of the task force course
by small fishing craft or off-course commercial aircraft.
The weather was ideal the first day but by Friday the 24th, the sea was
really rough and the visibility was poor. The speed was reduced to 11 knots
to”reduce the seasickness factor and the steady pounding of the heavily laden
ships. (Task Force 62 labeled the weather “quite heavy. ” Several ships
termed the weather “a gale.”)
Copies of the rehearsal plan and first draft copies of the WATCHTOWER
Plan were sent on ahead to Task Force 61 and all others afloat and ashore
in the Fiji area who needed to know, by the workhorse of the Navy, the
destroyer.
Up to the time the ships coming from the north and east assembled at the
rendezvous and received copies of the prospective operation order, most
of the lower echelons did not know where the operation would take place.
The War Diaries contain such entries as:
Loading marine equipment and stores for destination unknown. . .
To transport marine personnel stores and equipment to destination unknown.
. .
For operations in the South Pacific. .:{O
THE GATHERING OF THE CLAN AT FIJI
Rendezvous day was Saturday, 25 July 1942, 35o miles south of Suva in
the Fijis. Seventy-six ships were directly involved in the rendezvous and
72 made it on time. Fourteen ships did this via a 1,250-mile detour to
Wellington from Australia; 15 in Task Force 18 came 5,5oo miles via Great
circle course from San Diego; 16 in Task Force 11 and 11 in Task Force
16 rolled down the 3,100 miles from Pearl Harbor, while Rear Admiral
Turner and 26 ships, including 14 from Australia had the shortest run,
1,000 miles from New Zealand. The rest came from Pearl Harbor in small
task units.
n (a) PHIBSOPAC, Op Plan A2-42, 22 Jul. 1942; Rehearsal Op Plan AR-42, 22 Jul. 1942;
(b) COMPHIBSOPAC War Diary, Jui. 1942.
m USS Betelgeuse War Diary, 20–31 Jul. 1942; US Mzzry War Diary, 15 Jul. 1942.