Cactus Air Force
Encyclopedia
Cactus Air Force refers to the ensemble of Allied
air power assigned to the island of Guadalcanal
from August 1942 until December 1942 during the early stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign, particularly those operating from Henderson Field. After December, the official name of the unit became Allied Air Forces in the Solomons, but Cactus Air Force was still used frequently to refer to the organization. The term "Cactus" comes from the Allied code name for the island. In April, 1943 the organization was redesignated as AirSols
.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked
the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii
. The attack crippled much of the U.S. battleship fleet and led to a state of war between the two nations. In launching this war, Japanese leaders sought to neutralize the American fleet, seize possessions rich in natural resources, and obtain strategic military bases to defend their far-flung empire. Japanese forces also attacked and took control of Hong Kong
, the Philippines, Thailand
, Malaya
, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies
, Wake Island
, New Britain
, and Guam
.
Two attempts by the Japanese to extend their defensive perimeter in the south and central Pacific were thwarted in the Battle of the Coral Sea
(May 1942) and the Battle of Midway
(June 1942). These two strategic victories for the Allies provided an opportunity to take the initiative and launch a counter-offensive against the Japanese somewhere in the Pacific. The Allies chose the Solomon Islands, specifically the southern Solomon Islands of Guadalcanal
, Tulagi, and Florida.
Allied strategists knew that the Japanese Navy had occupied Tulagi in May 1942 and had constructed a seaplane base near there. Concern grew when in early July 1942 the Japanese Navy began constructing a significant airfield near Lunga Point
on nearby Guadalcanal island. These bases, when complete, would protect Japan's major base at Rabaul
, threaten Allied supply and communication lines across the South Pacific to Australia and New Zealand, and establish a staging base for possible future offensives against the New Hebrides
, Fiji
, Samoa
, and New Caledonia
.
The Allied plan to attack the southern Solomons was conceived by U.S. Navy Admiral Ernest King
, the Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet
. King proposed the counter-offensive to deny the use of the southern Solomon Islands by the Japanese as bases
to threaten the supply routes between the United States and Australia, and to use them as starting points for a campaign
with the goal of isolating the new and major Japanese base at Rabaul while also supporting the Allied New Guinea campaign
. All of this had the eventual goal of opening the way for the U.S. to retake the Philippines. The American Admiral Chester Nimitz
, the Allied Commander-in-Chief for all forces in the Pacific, created the South Pacific theater of operations, with Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley placed in command on June 19, 1942, to direct the Allied offensive in the Solomons.
On August 7, 1942, the First Marine Division landed on Tulagi and Guadalcanal at Lunga Point, capturing the partially completed Japanese airfield and marking the first counter-offensive taken by the Allies during in the Pacific Theater
. More construction work began on the airfield immediately, mainly using captured Japanese equipment. On August 12, the airfield was renamed Henderson Field, for Major Lofton R. Henderson
, who was killed during the Battle of Midway and who was the first Marine Corps pilot killed during the battle. By August 18, Henderson Field was ready for operation.
When the first planes began arriving, Henderson Field could barely be described as an airfield. It was an irregularly shaped blob cut out of the island growth, half in and half out of a coconut grove, with a runway that was too short and few revetments to protect the aircraft from shrapnel. Upon landing on Henderson Field on September 4, the Commanding Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 25, Colonel W. Fiske Marshall described the field by stating it "looked like a Doré
drawing of hell."
The runway was a northwest to southeast running, 2400 feet (731.5 m) long gravel surface with an extra 1000 feet (304.8 m) of Marsden Matting
that was frequently pockmarked with craters from Japanese artillery and naval gunfire. The strip was in such poor condition that it caused as many losses to aircraft as enemy action. In the heat, the field was a bowl of black dust which fouled the warplanes' engines. When it rained, the airfield quickly turned muddy, miring planes in liquid muck. Major Marion Carl described it as "...the only place on Earth where you could stand up to your knees in mud and still get dust in your eyes." The heavier SBD dive bombers had it the worst, since their hard rubber tires, designed for aircraft carrier
landings and take-offs, ripped up the runways like plowshare
s. Wooden wheels were experimented with, but these did not fare any better. The runway was extended and widened several times during the long Guadalcanal campaign, and it was 3800 feet (1,158.2 m) long and 150 wide by September 4.
Henderson Field was also very close to the thinly-held lines of the U.S. First Marine Division, so security was always a concern. There were no fuel trucks, aircraft hangar
s, or repair buildings. Damaged aircraft were cannibalized for spare parts, and with no bomb hoists, all aircraft munitions had to be hand-loaded onto the warplanes. Fuel, always critically low, had to be hand pumped out of 55 gallon drums. Even after the arrival of fuel trucks, aviation gasoline still had to be hand-pumped into the trucks.
On September 9, 1942, the U.S. 6th Naval Construction Battalion (SeaBees) opened up a second runway about one mile to the east of Henderson Field's original runway. This new runway, called "Fighter 1", consisted of tamped-down sod, and it was about 4600 feet (1,402.1 m) long and 300 feet (91.4 m) wide. The Marine fighter squadrons began operating out of Fighter 1, with the rest of the aircraft operating out of Henderson Field continued to use the original runway - thereafter was referred to as "Bomber Field No. 1."
Henderson Field's facilities began to improve around November 15, when it was officially declared a Marine Corps Air Base. Proper runways began to be installed using shipped-in ground-up coral, since the local coral was deemed to be too rotten and slushy.
Living conditions on Guadalcanal were some of the most difficult ever faced by Marine aviation. Pilots and mechanics lived in mud-floored tents in a flooded coconut plantation called "Mosquito Grove." These living conditions led to most Marines contracting tropical diseases such as malaria
, dysentery
, dengue fever
, or fungal infection
s. At night, Japanese warships would periodically bombard the airfield, and by day, Japanese artillery shelling frequently struck. The worst night of bombardment was on October 13–14, 1942, when two Japanese battleships fired more than 700 rounds of heavy shells into Henderson Field—providing cover for the Japanese Navy's landing of Marine and army reinforcements further west on Guadalcanal.
Also, nearly every day around noon, flights of 20 to 40 Mitsubishi G4M
"Betty" bombers would fly in at 20000 feet (6,096 m) in a perfect "V formation" to bomb the Henderson Field. These were always escorted by a flight of Japanese fighter planes, and this bombing helped make life on Guadalcanal even more miserable.
, who commanded all land based Allied aircraft in the South Pacific. Vandegrift and his operational commanders, however, exercised local command over the Allied aircraft operating out of Henderson Field.
On September 3, 1942, the fortunes of the beleaguered aviators changed with the arrival of Brigadier General Roy Geiger
on-board the first SCAT
plane to land on the island, an R4D Skytrain. As the "Commander, Aircraft, Guadalcanal" (ComAirCACTUS) and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
, Geiger set up his headquarters in a wooden Japanese pagoda
that was up on a hill about 200 yards (182.9 m) from the airfield. Through his energy, example and sheer force of personality he raised the collective spirits of the squadron's survivors. He was described as "...curt, cold and some said ruthless....he was determined to squeeze the ultimate ounce of performance from men and machines". During his time in command, it was said that there was a "sense of desperation but never defeatism," Ultimately, the strain of command and harsh living conditions seriously fatigued, both mentally and physically, the then 57 year old Geiger. Geiger turned over the command on November 7 to his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Louis E. Woods
.
Brigadier Woods, a 21 year aviation veteran, commanded the Cactus fliers during what was viewed as the lowest point of the campaign. He was, however, the right man for the job and was quickly transformed from a "kindly colonel to a blood thirsty brigadier general." Woods also turned the Cactus command over, this time the day after Christmas to Brigadier General Francis P. Mulcahy
, then Commanding General of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
.
The great majority of the Japanese aircraft engaged by the Cactus Air Force during its history were from Imperial Japanese Navy
air units. On August 7, when the Guadalcanal campaign began, the 5th Air Attack Force, under Rear Admiral Sadayoshi Yamada
, operated from Rabaul
, New Britain
and Lae
, Papua New Guinea
and was responsible for naval air operations in eastern New Guinea
and the Solomon Islands. The 5th was a hybrid organization composed mainly of attached units from the 25th Air Flotilla
and reported to the 11th Air Fleet (also called the "Base Air Force"), under Nishizo Tsukahara. On the morning of August 7, the 5th's air strength consisted of 39 fighters, 32 medium bombers, 16 dive bombers, and 17 seaplanes, including the 15 seaplane aircraft at Tulagi that were destroyed in the initial Allied air strikes during the landings on Tulagi and Guadalcanal.
The 5th's principal bomber unit was the 4th Air Group
that flew Mitsubishi G4M
Type 1 "Betty" bombers. Twenty-four of the fighter aircraft in the 5th belonged to the Tainan Air Group
under Captain Masahisa Saito. The Tainan contained some of the top-scoring Japanese fighter aces and flew the A6M2 Zero
fighter. With 55 pilots and 24 aircraft, only the most experienced and able Tainan pilots were allowed to consistently participate in combat operations. The dive bombers (Aichi D3A1 "Vals"
) and the rest of the fighters (A6M3 Zeros
) belonged to the 2nd Air Group. Most of the dive bombers were lost during the August 7 and 8 strikes on the Allied landing forces. On August 7 and 8, the Misawa Air Group of the 6th Air Attack Force (also called the 26th Air Flotilla) under Vice Admiral Seigo Yamagata from Tinian
with 27 Type 1 bombers joined the 5th Air Attack Force at Rabaul. Around the same time, Admiral Tsukahara moved from Tinian to Rabaul to directly supervise air operations against Allied forces around Guadalcanal.
The 4th and Misawa Air Groups took heavy losses during attacks on the Allied landing fleets off Guadalcanal on August 7 and 8, losing 24 bombers and 153 crewmen killed while the Tainan Air Group lost four Zeros and four pilots. Until reinforcements could arrive, the 5th was unable to continue attacking Marine positions on Guadalcanal, giving the U.S. time to prepare the captured airfield at Lunga Point uninterrupted by air attack. On August 20, 19 Type 1s from the Kisarazu Air Group
of the 6th Air Attack Force arrived at Kavieng. On September 2, ten Type 1s from the Chitose Air Group of the 24th Air Flotilla joined them at Kavieng. Both groups participated in subsequent bombing raids on Guadalcanal. Thirteen Zeros and pilots from the 6th Air Group joined the 2nd Air Group at Rabaul on August 31 and began flying combat missions over Guadalcanal on September 11.
From October 1 until the end of the war, the 11th Air Fleet was commanded by Jinichi Kusaka
, also located at Rabaul. Some notable pilots flying with the 11th Air Fleet included Hiroyoshi Nishizawa
and Junichi Sasai
.
A force of Japanese seaplanes called the R-Area Air Force was created on August 28 under Rear Admiral Takatsugu Jojima
and operated from Rabaul as well as forward operating bases at Buin, the Shortland Islands
, and Rekata Bay
, Santa Isabel
. The R-Area aircraft came from the four squadrons assigned to the Japanese seaplane tender
s Kamikawa Maru
, Chitose, Sanyo Maru, and Sanuki Maru. The R-Area Air Force mainly provided cover for Japanese convoys delivering troops and supplies to Guadalcanal, conducted reconnaissance missions around the Solomon Islands' area, and occasionally attacked Henderson Field. Also, air units from Japan's Combined Fleet's aircraft carriers, including Shōkaku
, Junyō
, Zuikaku
, and Ryūjō
, either operating from land bases with the 11th Air Fleet, or operating from the carriers themselves, engaged Cactus Air Force aircraft at various times during the Guadalcanal campaign.
On August 20, Marine pilots from Marine Aircraft Group 23 with eighteen F4F Wildcat
fighter planes of VMF-223 led by Major
John L. Smith
, and a dozen SBD Dauntless
dive bombers of VMSB-232 led by Lt. Colonel
Richard Mangrum, flying from the escort aircraft carrier
USS Long Island
, landed at Henderson Field, and these warplanes were conducting combat missions on the next day. They were joined on August 22, by the U.S. Army's
67th Pursuit Squadron, under Major Dale Brannon, with five Army P-400s (an "export" version of the P-39), and on August 24 by eleven SBD dive bombers that came from the aircraft carrier
USS Enterprise
because they were unable to land on their own carrier, with battle damage sustained during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
. At the end of August, these warplanes were joined by nineteen more Wildcats from VMF-224 under Major Robert E. Galer
, and twelve more SBD dive bombers from VMSB-231, also part of the Marine Air Group 23. This varied assortment of Army, Marine, and Navy pilots and warplanes was the beginnings of the Cactus Air Force.
August 21 brought the first Marine air-to-air combat but it resulted in mixed results. Japanese Zeros from the Tainan Air Group on a bomber escort mission (the bombers were fruitlessly searching for American carriers south of Guadalcanal) passed over Henderson Field Field on their way back to Rabaul, and six of these were met by four Cactus Air Force F4F Wildcats at 14000 feet (4,267.2 m). The engagement resulted in Major Smith claiming the first air-to-air victory for the CAF but two of the other pilots crashed while landing their damaged aircraft, with both of the Wildcats deemed a total loss except for salvaged parts. The Japanese actually suffered no losses in this aerial engagement. That same night, an SBD Dauntless blew a tire on take-off, causing it to ground loop
and crash for another aircraft loss.
On August 24, during the naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons
between aircraft carrier forces of Japan and the U.S. east of the Solomon Islands, Japanese Vice Admiral
Chuichi Nagumo
sent the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) light carrier Ryūjō
ahead of the main Japanese warship force to send an aircraft attack force against Henderson Field. The Ryūjō mission was most likely in response to a request from Nishizo Tsukahara, the naval commander at Rabaul, for help from the Japanese combined fleet in neutralizing Henderson Field. At 12:20 and 200 miles (321.9 km) northeast of Guadalcanal, the Ryūjō launched six "Kate"
bombers and 15 A6M Zero
fighters to attack Henderson Field in conjunction with an attack by 24 "Betty"
bombers and 14 Zero fighters from Rabaul. Unknown to the Ryūjō force, however, the Rabaul aircraft had encountered severe weather and returned to their base at 11:30. The Ryūjōs aircraft arrived over Henderson Field at 14:23 and tangled with 14 Marine Wildcats and four Army P-400s while bombing the airfield. In the resulting engagement three Kates, three Zeros, and three Marine fighters were shot down and no damage was done to Henderson Field. Two Marine pilots were killed in the engagement as well as eight Japanese aircrewmen. All of these Japanese aircraft were eventually lost because, while they were attacking Henderson Field, the Ryūjō was sunk by aircraft from the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga
, forcing the Japanese aircraft to ditch in the ocean upon returning to the previous location of their carrier.
On August 31, the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga
was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Since she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for drydock repairs, most of the Saratoga's aircraft and aircrewmen remained behind at Espiritu Santo
. Admiral McCain planned to send some of these aircraft to reinforce the Cactus Air Force at Guadalcanal.
at Henderson Field, which, along with reports from the coastwatchers
, helped provide early warning of incoming Japanese warplanes.
By September 3, the day of Geiger's arrival, the CAF consisted of only 64 flyable airplanes. Due to the heavy losses that the CAF had sustained, Admiral McCain decided to immediately deploy the USS Saratoga's fighter squadrons to Guadalcanal. On September 4, 24 F4Fs of VF-5 flew from Espiritu Santo to Henderson Field.
From September 1 through September 8 the Japanese aviation units at Rabaul concentrated on providing air cover for Japanese Army forces operating along the Kokoda Track
on New Guinea
, during the Kokoda Track campaign
. On September 9, however, the Japanese resumed air operations against Henderson Field, with the objective of destroying the CAF and isolating the American forces on Guadalcanal.
Between August 21 and September 11, the Japanese raided Guadalcanal a total of ten times, losing 31 aircraft destroyed and seven more heavily damaged, primarily due to the defensive efforts of the CAF fighter planes. Most of the Japanese aircrewmen in the destroyed aircraft were killed. During this same time, the CAF Marine Corps fighter squadrons lost 27 aircraft with nine pilots killed.
On September 12, 25 Bettys and 15 Zeros from Rabaul raided Henderson Field. Alerted by the coastwatcher Donald Kennedy, and by the radar at Henderson Field, 20 Wildcat fighters from the Marine and Navy fighter squadrons took off to intercept this raid. In the resulting battle, two Betty bombers were shot down by Marine anti-aircraft fire, and four Bettys and one fighter were shot down by the Wildcats. One U.S. Navy pilot died attempting to land his damaged fighter back at Henderson Field following the action.
That night the field was shelled by the Japanese cruiser Sendai
and three destroyers that were supporting the Japanese Army attacks on the Lunga perimeter in the first night of the Battle of Edson's Ridge
. This shelling killed two pilots from VMSB-232 and one pilot from VMSB-231, but it did not damage any aircraft or the airfield.
On September 13, 18 Wildcats arrived at Henderson Field from the carriers USS Hornet and USS Wasp. The morning of this same day, Tsukahara sent a reconnaissance mission consisting of two Type 2 aircraft escorted by nine Zeros to find out if the Japanese Army had succeeded in capturing Henderson Field during the night. The Zeros tangled with Cactus Air Force fighters from VMF-223, 224, and VF-5, losing four Zeros along with their pilots. The CAF lost four fighters, two in combat and two to accidents with two CAF pilots killed. An afternoon raid the same day by 27 Bettys and 12 Zeros attacked Henderson Field at 14:00 and again resulted in intense clashes with the Cactus defenders. In the skirmish, two Betty bombers were lost and two were heavily damaged, with three crewmen killed and six captured. Two Wildcats, one each from VMF-212 and VF-5 were lost, with both pilots killed. On that same day, two R Area floatplane Zeros from Rekata Bay swept over Lunga Point and shot down a scoutplane SBD from VMSB-231, killing both of its crewmen. Another CAF scout SBD from VS-3 ditched in the ocean that afternoon during their search patrol and neither of the two crewmen were ever seen again. Later that day 12 VS-3 SBDs and six VT-8 TBF Avenger torpedo planes arrived at Henderson Field as reinforcements.
On September 14, the R Area force attacked Henderson throughout the day with a total of 24 float fighters and bombers, losing eight of them with no losses to the CAF. A fighter sweep by seven 2nd Air Group Zeros from Rabaul also attacked Lunga that day, losing one aircraft and pilot. A Japanese reconnaissance aircraft was also shot down over Guadalcanal that day. The only CAF loss was one VMF-223 Wildcat that wrecked on takeoff, seriously injuring the pilot.
A lull occurred in the air campaign over Guadalcanal, with no Japanese air raids occurring between September 14 and September 27 due to bad weather over the Bismarck Islands, during which both sides reinforced their respective air units. The Japanese delivered 85 fighters and bombers to their air units at Rabaul while the Americans brought in 23 fighters and bombers to Henderson Field. On September 20, the Japanese counted 117 total aircraft at Rabaul while the CAF tallied 71 aircraft at Henderson Field.
The CAF reached its peak of combat power on November 12 with 47 fighters, 23 tactical bombers, and 12 medium bombers. After a month-and-a-half of enduring continual shelling at night, the pilots at Henderson Field got their first crack at a Japanese battleship, when Hiei
lost control of her steering following the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
. This battleship was repeatedly attacked by aircraft from Henderson Field and from the . After suffering numerous direct hits, and being set ablaze, the Hiei was scuttled by her crew.
The first aviation units from another country to arrive at Henderson Field came on November 26, 1943, with the arrival of No. 3 Squadron
of the Royal New Zealand Air Force
, with Lockheed Hudson
light bombers for reconnaissance work.
U.S. Navy and Marine fighter pilots, who had little high-altitude flying experience to begin with, were at a disadvantage from the start because their F4F Wildcat
was not in the same class as the Japanese A6M Zero
when it came to service ceiling, rate of climb, and maneuverability. The Zero fighter was lighter, faster, and a better climber. The American pilots learned quickly not to dogfight
with the Zero. Instead, if they became engaged with one, they would give it a quick, diving firing-burst and then dive away to regroup, climb, and attack again. Cactus pilots had to constantly refine their tactics and techniques, rely on teamwork in dogfights and improve their gunnery to remain effective against the Zeroes.
Because of the Zero's maneuverability, American pilots quickly adapted hit and run tactics similar to those used by the American Flying Tigers
in China
and Burma and the tactic of a two-plane mutually protecting flight section. This technique had previously been developed by the U.S. Navy fighter pilots John Thach
and Edward O'Hare
, and it was known as the "Thach Weave
." The aircraft would remain in the same general area of one another and if Zeroes showed up, they had a better chance of engaging the aircraft on the tails of their wing men.
One American pilot had remarked,
Disadvantages aside, the Wildcat was not without its merits. This fighter plane was found to be well-defended compared to the lightly armored Zero, had a self-sealing fuel tank
, and possessed adequate firepower with four .50 caliber M-2 Browning machine guns. U.S. Marine pilots, very skeptical since the Battle of Midway
, did place a great deal of confidence in their aircraft at first.
Because they could not effectively dogfight the Zeroes, Henderson Field's defenders realized that the best they could do was break up each day's raid and live to fight another day. With this in mind, their primary targets became the bombers rather than the fighters, and many of the tactics introduced were largely devised by Marine Major John L. Smith
. American aircraft always sought to initiate the attack at least 5000 feet (1,524 m) above the Japanese formations, and they concentrated their attack on the trailing aircraft in the Japanese formation. This gave them good angles to shoot at the exposed fuel tanks of the Japanese bombers, and it also presented a difficult gunnery problem for the bombers, since the high overhead passes of the American fighters put them into blindspots from the Japanese gunners. This tactic also caused the escorting Japanese fighters to climb and burn more of their fuel, and thus reducing the time they could spend over Guadalcanal itself.
From September 3 to November 4, 1942, the Cactus Air Force claimed downing 268 Japanese planes in aerial combat, and the damage inflicted on others is estimated to be as great.
Because of the limited number of aircraft and fuel available during the early stages of the campaign the CAF was unable to maintain a standing combat air patrol
over Henderson Field. Therefore, it was crucial for the CAF to receive early warnings of incoming Japanese aircraft so that its aircraft weren't caught on the ground during Japanese air attacks. Members of the Australia
n Coastwatchers
, including W. J. Read in northern and Paul Mason in southern Bougainville
, Donald Kennedy on New Georgia
, and Geoffrey Kuper on Santa Isabel
were able to relay ahead when Japanese airplane formations were heading for the island giving the defenders on Guadalcanal time to get airborne. On August 16, Lieutenant Commander
Hugh A. Mackenzie of the Royal Australian Navy
, the Deputy Staff Intelligence Officer for the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, set up a radio station at Henderson Field to monitor coastwatcher transmissions and relay their warnings to the CAF. Admiral Bull Halsey would later say the coastwatchers, "saved Guadalcanal".
Several coastwatchers were stationed at various points around Guadalcanal, including Martin Clemens
(who was also a local official for the British Solomon Islands Protectorate), Leif Schroeder, Donald Macfarlan, Ken Hay, and Ashton Rhoades. These coastwatchers, with help from native Solomon Islanders, helped rescue and return several Allied pilots during the campaign.
, one heavy cruiser
(the Kinugasa
), one light cruiser (the Yura
), three destroyers (the Asagiri
, Murakumo
, and Natsugumo
), and twelve transports, possibly sank three destroyer
s and one heavy cruiser, and heavily damaged 18 other ships, including one heavy cruiser and five light cruiser
s. Most notable was the battleship Hiei
, which the CAF, along with aircraft from the Enterprise, and B-17s from Espiritu Santo, finished off after she had suffered serious damage from American cruiser
s and destroyer
s during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
.
The fifteen Marine combat squadrons that fought on Guadalcanal during this time suffered from 94 pilots killed or missing-in-action, with another 177 evacuated with wounds or with sickness (especially severe malaria
). Total figures for Japanese aerial losses during the Guadalcanal campaign have never been calculated
The Battle of Guadalcanal would become the defining point for Marine Corps aviation in World War II and for the next fifty years. The great lessons learned for Marine Corps aviation units were the debilitating effects of not having air superiority; the importance of the use of radar; the vulnerability of enemy transport and warship targets; and the vital importance of quickly acquiring expeditionary airfields during amphibious operations.
for their actions during the Battle of Guadalcanal (August 1942-February 1943):
Online views of selections of the book:http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0785813063
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
air power assigned to the island of Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
from August 1942 until December 1942 during the early stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign, particularly those operating from Henderson Field. After December, the official name of the unit became Allied Air Forces in the Solomons, but Cactus Air Force was still used frequently to refer to the organization. The term "Cactus" comes from the Allied code name for the island. In April, 1943 the organization was redesignated as AirSols
AirSols
AirSols was an abbreviation of Air Solomons, the Allied air units in the Solomon Islands campaign of World War II, from April 1943 to June 1944. Its units came from the United States Navy , United States Marine Corps , United States Army Air Forces and the Royal New Zealand Air Force . AirSols...
.
Background
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. The attack crippled much of the U.S. battleship fleet and led to a state of war between the two nations. In launching this war, Japanese leaders sought to neutralize the American fleet, seize possessions rich in natural resources, and obtain strategic military bases to defend their far-flung empire. Japanese forces also attacked and took control of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, the Philippines, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
, New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
, and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
.
Two attempts by the Japanese to extend their defensive perimeter in the south and central Pacific were thwarted in the Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
(May 1942) and the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
(June 1942). These two strategic victories for the Allies provided an opportunity to take the initiative and launch a counter-offensive against the Japanese somewhere in the Pacific. The Allies chose the Solomon Islands, specifically the southern Solomon Islands of Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
, Tulagi, and Florida.
Allied strategists knew that the Japanese Navy had occupied Tulagi in May 1942 and had constructed a seaplane base near there. Concern grew when in early July 1942 the Japanese Navy began constructing a significant airfield near Lunga Point
Lunga Point
Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field....
on nearby Guadalcanal island. These bases, when complete, would protect Japan's major base at Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
, threaten Allied supply and communication lines across the South Pacific to Australia and New Zealand, and establish a staging base for possible future offensives against the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
.
Ernest King
Fleet Admiral Ernest Joseph King was Commander in Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations during World War II. As COMINCH, he directed the United States Navy's operations, planning, and administration and was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was the U.S...
, the Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet
United States Fleet
The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The abbreviation CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet. This title was disposed of and officially replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 . This...
. King proposed the counter-offensive to deny the use of the southern Solomon Islands by the Japanese as bases
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
to threaten the supply routes between the United States and Australia, and to use them as starting points for a campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
with the goal of isolating the new and major Japanese base at Rabaul while also supporting the Allied New Guinea campaign
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...
. All of this had the eventual goal of opening the way for the U.S. to retake the Philippines. The American Admiral Chester Nimitz
Chester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
, the Allied Commander-in-Chief for all forces in the Pacific, created the South Pacific theater of operations, with Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley placed in command on June 19, 1942, to direct the Allied offensive in the Solomons.
On August 7, 1942, the First Marine Division landed on Tulagi and Guadalcanal at Lunga Point, capturing the partially completed Japanese airfield and marking the first counter-offensive taken by the Allies during in the Pacific Theater
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
. More construction work began on the airfield immediately, mainly using captured Japanese equipment. On August 12, the airfield was renamed Henderson Field, for Major Lofton R. Henderson
Lofton R. Henderson
Lofton R. Henderson was a naval aviator in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He was the commanding officer of VMSB-241 at the Battle of Midway and is recognized as the first Marine aviator to die during that battle while leading his squadron to attack the Japanese carrier...
, who was killed during the Battle of Midway and who was the first Marine Corps pilot killed during the battle. By August 18, Henderson Field was ready for operation.
Henderson Field
Gustave Doré
Paul Gustave Doré was a French artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor. Doré worked primarily with wood engraving and steel engraving.-Biography:...
drawing of hell."
The runway was a northwest to southeast running, 2400 feet (731.5 m) long gravel surface with an extra 1000 feet (304.8 m) of Marsden Matting
Marsden Matting
Marsden Matting is standardized, perforated steel matting material originally developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the rapid construction of temporary runways and landing strips...
that was frequently pockmarked with craters from Japanese artillery and naval gunfire. The strip was in such poor condition that it caused as many losses to aircraft as enemy action. In the heat, the field was a bowl of black dust which fouled the warplanes' engines. When it rained, the airfield quickly turned muddy, miring planes in liquid muck. Major Marion Carl described it as "...the only place on Earth where you could stand up to your knees in mud and still get dust in your eyes." The heavier SBD dive bombers had it the worst, since their hard rubber tires, designed for aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
landings and take-offs, ripped up the runways like plowshare
Plowshare
In agriculture, a plowshare is a component of a plow . It is the cutting or leading edge of a moldboard which closely follows the coulter when plowing....
s. Wooden wheels were experimented with, but these did not fare any better. The runway was extended and widened several times during the long Guadalcanal campaign, and it was 3800 feet (1,158.2 m) long and 150 wide by September 4.
Henderson Field was also very close to the thinly-held lines of the U.S. First Marine Division, so security was always a concern. There were no fuel trucks, aircraft hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
s, or repair buildings. Damaged aircraft were cannibalized for spare parts, and with no bomb hoists, all aircraft munitions had to be hand-loaded onto the warplanes. Fuel, always critically low, had to be hand pumped out of 55 gallon drums. Even after the arrival of fuel trucks, aviation gasoline still had to be hand-pumped into the trucks.
On September 9, 1942, the U.S. 6th Naval Construction Battalion (SeaBees) opened up a second runway about one mile to the east of Henderson Field's original runway. This new runway, called "Fighter 1", consisted of tamped-down sod, and it was about 4600 feet (1,402.1 m) long and 300 feet (91.4 m) wide. The Marine fighter squadrons began operating out of Fighter 1, with the rest of the aircraft operating out of Henderson Field continued to use the original runway - thereafter was referred to as "Bomber Field No. 1."
Henderson Field's facilities began to improve around November 15, when it was officially declared a Marine Corps Air Base. Proper runways began to be installed using shipped-in ground-up coral, since the local coral was deemed to be too rotten and slushy.
Living conditions
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
, dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
, or fungal infection
Mycosis
A mycosis is a fungal infection of animals, including humans. Mycoses are common, and a variety of environmental and physiological conditions can contribute to the development of fungal diseases...
s. At night, Japanese warships would periodically bombard the airfield, and by day, Japanese artillery shelling frequently struck. The worst night of bombardment was on October 13–14, 1942, when two Japanese battleships fired more than 700 rounds of heavy shells into Henderson Field—providing cover for the Japanese Navy's landing of Marine and army reinforcements further west on Guadalcanal.
Also, nearly every day around noon, flights of 20 to 40 Mitsubishi G4M
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
"Betty" bombers would fly in at 20000 feet (6,096 m) in a perfect "V formation" to bomb the Henderson Field. These were always escorted by a flight of Japanese fighter planes, and this bombing helped make life on Guadalcanal even more miserable.
Commanders
From the time of the first Marine squadron landed on August 20 until August 25 there was no commanding officer for Marine air, which instead reported directly to General Vandegrift. The Marines had not designated an air operations commander, the Army already had a squadron present and the field had already acquired the air of a naval base after having been promised to certain naval units. The first Marine commander was Colonel William W. Wallace but he only retained command temporarily. Cactus Air Force technically was under the command of Rear Admiral John S. McCainJohn S. McCain, Sr.
John Sidney "Slew" McCain Sr. was a U.S. Navy admiral. He held several command assignments during the Pacific campaign of World War II....
, who commanded all land based Allied aircraft in the South Pacific. Vandegrift and his operational commanders, however, exercised local command over the Allied aircraft operating out of Henderson Field.
On September 3, 1942, the fortunes of the beleaguered aviators changed with the arrival of Brigadier General Roy Geiger
Roy Geiger
General Roy Stanley Geiger was a United States Marine Corps General who, during World War II, became the first Marine to lead an army. Marine Corps base Camp Geiger in North Carolina is named in his honor....
on-board the first SCAT
South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command
South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command was a joint command of US military logistics units in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It contributed notably to the success of U.S...
plane to land on the island, an R4D Skytrain. As the "Commander, Aircraft, Guadalcanal" (ComAirCACTUS) and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
1st Marine Aircraft Wing
The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan...
, Geiger set up his headquarters in a wooden Japanese pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
that was up on a hill about 200 yards (182.9 m) from the airfield. Through his energy, example and sheer force of personality he raised the collective spirits of the squadron's survivors. He was described as "...curt, cold and some said ruthless....he was determined to squeeze the ultimate ounce of performance from men and machines". During his time in command, it was said that there was a "sense of desperation but never defeatism," Ultimately, the strain of command and harsh living conditions seriously fatigued, both mentally and physically, the then 57 year old Geiger. Geiger turned over the command on November 7 to his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Louis E. Woods
Louis E. Woods
Lieutenant General Louis E. Woods CBE , one of the Marine Corps' outstanding aviators, served as Commanding General, Aircraft, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic, and 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, prior to his retirement...
.
Brigadier Woods, a 21 year aviation veteran, commanded the Cactus fliers during what was viewed as the lowest point of the campaign. He was, however, the right man for the job and was quickly transformed from a "kindly colonel to a blood thirsty brigadier general." Woods also turned the Cactus command over, this time the day after Christmas to Brigadier General Francis P. Mulcahy
Francis P. Mulcahy
Print...
, then Commanding General of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing is the major east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina...
.
Japanese
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
air units. On August 7, when the Guadalcanal campaign began, the 5th Air Attack Force, under Rear Admiral Sadayoshi Yamada
Sadayoshi Yamada
- Notes :...
, operated from Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
, New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
and Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and was responsible for naval air operations in eastern New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and the Solomon Islands. The 5th was a hybrid organization composed mainly of attached units from the 25th Air Flotilla
25th Air Flotilla
The was a combat aviation unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The flotilla, mainly consisting of land-based bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance aircraft, reported to the IJN's 11th Air Fleet. As originally organized, the flotilla's core units were the...
and reported to the 11th Air Fleet (also called the "Base Air Force"), under Nishizo Tsukahara. On the morning of August 7, the 5th's air strength consisted of 39 fighters, 32 medium bombers, 16 dive bombers, and 17 seaplanes, including the 15 seaplane aircraft at Tulagi that were destroyed in the initial Allied air strikes during the landings on Tulagi and Guadalcanal.
The 5th's principal bomber unit was the 4th Air Group
4th Air Group
was a land-based bomber aircraft unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The unit was formed on 10 February 1942 and flew the Mitsubishi G4M Rikko Navy Type 1 Attack Bomber aircraft...
that flew Mitsubishi G4M
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
Type 1 "Betty" bombers. Twenty-four of the fighter aircraft in the 5th belonged to the Tainan Air Group
Tainan Air Group
was a fighter aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The flying portion of the unit was heavily involved in many of the major campaigns and battles of the first year of the war...
under Captain Masahisa Saito. The Tainan contained some of the top-scoring Japanese fighter aces and flew the A6M2 Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
fighter. With 55 pilots and 24 aircraft, only the most experienced and able Tainan pilots were allowed to consistently participate in combat operations. The dive bombers (Aichi D3A1 "Vals"
Aichi D3A
The , Allied reporting name "Val") was a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy . It was the primary dive bomber in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and participated in almost all actions, including Pearl Harbor....
) and the rest of the fighters (A6M3 Zeros
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
) belonged to the 2nd Air Group. Most of the dive bombers were lost during the August 7 and 8 strikes on the Allied landing forces. On August 7 and 8, the Misawa Air Group of the 6th Air Attack Force (also called the 26th Air Flotilla) under Vice Admiral Seigo Yamagata from Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
with 27 Type 1 bombers joined the 5th Air Attack Force at Rabaul. Around the same time, Admiral Tsukahara moved from Tinian to Rabaul to directly supervise air operations against Allied forces around Guadalcanal.
The 4th and Misawa Air Groups took heavy losses during attacks on the Allied landing fleets off Guadalcanal on August 7 and 8, losing 24 bombers and 153 crewmen killed while the Tainan Air Group lost four Zeros and four pilots. Until reinforcements could arrive, the 5th was unable to continue attacking Marine positions on Guadalcanal, giving the U.S. time to prepare the captured airfield at Lunga Point uninterrupted by air attack. On August 20, 19 Type 1s from the Kisarazu Air Group
Kisarazu Air Group
was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific campaign of World War II.-History:...
of the 6th Air Attack Force arrived at Kavieng. On September 2, ten Type 1s from the Chitose Air Group of the 24th Air Flotilla joined them at Kavieng. Both groups participated in subsequent bombing raids on Guadalcanal. Thirteen Zeros and pilots from the 6th Air Group joined the 2nd Air Group at Rabaul on August 31 and began flying combat missions over Guadalcanal on September 11.
From October 1 until the end of the war, the 11th Air Fleet was commanded by Jinichi Kusaka
Jinichi Kusaka
, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Fellow Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka was his cousin.-Biography:A native of Ishikawa Prefecture, Kusaka graduated from the 37th class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy, ranked 21st in a class of 179 cadets...
, also located at Rabaul. Some notable pilots flying with the 11th Air Fleet included Hiroyoshi Nishizawa
Hiroyoshi Nishizawa
Lieutenant Junior Grade was an ace of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II.It is possible that Nishizawa was the most successful Japanese fighter ace of the war; he personally claimed to have had 87 aerial victories at the time of his death...
and Junichi Sasai
Junichi Sasai
Lieutenant Commander was a Japanese naval aviator and fighter ace of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Lieutenant Sasai was killed leading his fighter squadron during an attack of Henderson Field during the Battle of Guadalcanal....
.
A force of Japanese seaplanes called the R-Area Air Force was created on August 28 under Rear Admiral Takatsugu Jojima
Takatsugu Jojima
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.-Biography:Jōjima was from Saga Prefecture. He was a graduate of the 40th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1912, where he placed 111th out of 144 cadets. He served as midshipman on the cruiser and battlecruiser...
and operated from Rabaul as well as forward operating bases at Buin, the Shortland Islands
Shortland Islands
The Shortland Islands are group of islands belonging to the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, at . Named by John Shortland, they lie in the extreme northwest of the country's territory, close to the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Shortland Island...
, and Rekata Bay
Rekata Bay
Rekata Bay, also known as Suavanau, is a bay located on the northeast coast of Santa Isabel Island in the Solomon Islands between Santa Isabel and Papatura Island.-History:...
, Santa Isabel
Santa Isabel
Santa Isabel is the Spanish and Portuguese name of one of two Roman Catholic saints, Saint Isabel of France and Saint Isabel of Aragon. Various places have been named for either of such persons. These include: Argentina:...
. The R-Area aircraft came from the four squadrons assigned to the Japanese seaplane tender
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...
s Kamikawa Maru
Japanese seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru
was a seaplane tender in the Imperial Japanese Navy . The ship was initially built at Kawasaki's Kōbe Shipyard and launched on 13 December 1936 as a merchant vessel for the Kawasaki Kisen K. K. Line. On 18 September 1937 the IJN requisitioned as an aircraft transport ship and was refitted in 1939...
, Chitose, Sanyo Maru, and Sanuki Maru. The R-Area Air Force mainly provided cover for Japanese convoys delivering troops and supplies to Guadalcanal, conducted reconnaissance missions around the Solomon Islands' area, and occasionally attacked Henderson Field. Also, air units from Japan's Combined Fleet's aircraft carriers, including Shōkaku
Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku
Shōkaku was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the lead ship of her class. Along with her sister ship , she took part in several key naval battles during the Pacific War, including the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands...
, Junyō
Japanese aircraft carrier Junyo
was a of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was laid down at Nagasaki as the passenger liner Kashiwara Maru, but was purchased by the Japanese Navy in 1941 and converted to an aircraft carrier. Completed in May 1942, the ship participated in the invasion of the Aleutian Islands the following month...
, Zuikaku
Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku
Zuikaku was a Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her complement of aircraft took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor that formally brought the United States into the Pacific War, and she fought in several of the most important naval battles of the war, finally being sunk...
, and Ryūjō
Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo
Ryūjō was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was laid down by Mitsubishi at Yokohama in 1929, launched in 1931 and commissioned on 9 May 1933. Her final design resulted in a top-heavy unstable vessel and within a year she was back at Kure Naval Yard for modification...
, either operating from land bases with the 11th Air Fleet, or operating from the carriers themselves, engaged Cactus Air Force aircraft at various times during the Guadalcanal campaign.
August
F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
fighter planes of VMF-223 led by Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
John L. Smith
John Lucian Smith
John Lucian Smith is a Medal of Honor recipient and Marine Corps ace who, as Commanding Officer of VMF-223 shot down 19 Japanese planes in World War II and led his squadron to a destroy a total of 83 enemy aircraft during the Solomon Islands campaign.-Biography:John Lucian Smith was born on...
, and a dozen SBD Dauntless
SBD Dauntless
The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval dive bomber made by Douglas during World War II. The SBD was the United States Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was largely replaced by the SB2C Helldiver...
dive bombers of VMSB-232 led by Lt. Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Richard Mangrum, flying from the escort aircraft carrier
Escort aircraft carrier
The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the USN or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the British Royal Navy , the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, and the...
USS Long Island
USS Long Island (CVE-1)
USS Long Island was lead ship of her class and the first escort carrier of the United States Navy...
, landed at Henderson Field, and these warplanes were conducting combat missions on the next day. They were joined on August 22, by the U.S. Army's
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
67th Pursuit Squadron, under Major Dale Brannon, with five Army P-400s (an "export" version of the P-39), and on August 24 by eleven SBD dive bombers that came from the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (CV-6)
USS Enterprise , colloquially referred to as the "Big E," was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Launched in 1936, she was a ship of the Yorktown class, and one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to...
because they were unable to land on their own carrier, with battle damage sustained during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign...
. At the end of August, these warplanes were joined by nineteen more Wildcats from VMF-224 under Major Robert E. Galer
Robert E. Galer
Brigadier General Robert Edward Galer was a naval aviator in the United States Marine Corps who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in aerial combat during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II...
, and twelve more SBD dive bombers from VMSB-231, also part of the Marine Air Group 23. This varied assortment of Army, Marine, and Navy pilots and warplanes was the beginnings of the Cactus Air Force.
August 21 brought the first Marine air-to-air combat but it resulted in mixed results. Japanese Zeros from the Tainan Air Group on a bomber escort mission (the bombers were fruitlessly searching for American carriers south of Guadalcanal) passed over Henderson Field Field on their way back to Rabaul, and six of these were met by four Cactus Air Force F4F Wildcats at 14000 feet (4,267.2 m). The engagement resulted in Major Smith claiming the first air-to-air victory for the CAF but two of the other pilots crashed while landing their damaged aircraft, with both of the Wildcats deemed a total loss except for salvaged parts. The Japanese actually suffered no losses in this aerial engagement. That same night, an SBD Dauntless blew a tire on take-off, causing it to ground loop
Ground loop (aviation)
In aviation, a ground loop is a rapid rotation of a fixed-wing aircraft in the horizontal plane while on the ground. Aerodynamic forces may cause the advancing wing to rise, which may then cause the other wingtip to touch the ground...
and crash for another aircraft loss.
On August 24, during the naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign...
between aircraft carrier forces of Japan and the U.S. east of the Solomon Islands, Japanese Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Chuichi Nagumo
Chuichi Nagumo
was a Japanese admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and one time commander of the Kido Butai . He committed suicide during the Battle of Saipan.-Early life:...
sent the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) light carrier Ryūjō
Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo
Ryūjō was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was laid down by Mitsubishi at Yokohama in 1929, launched in 1931 and commissioned on 9 May 1933. Her final design resulted in a top-heavy unstable vessel and within a year she was back at Kure Naval Yard for modification...
ahead of the main Japanese warship force to send an aircraft attack force against Henderson Field. The Ryūjō mission was most likely in response to a request from Nishizo Tsukahara, the naval commander at Rabaul, for help from the Japanese combined fleet in neutralizing Henderson Field. At 12:20 and 200 miles (321.9 km) northeast of Guadalcanal, the Ryūjō launched six "Kate"
Nakajima B5N
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bridgwater, H.C. and Peter Scott. Combat Colours Number 4: Pearl Harbor and Beyond, December 1941 to May 1942. Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: Guideline Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-9539040-6-7....
bombers and 15 A6M Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
fighters to attack Henderson Field in conjunction with an attack by 24 "Betty"
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
bombers and 14 Zero fighters from Rabaul. Unknown to the Ryūjō force, however, the Rabaul aircraft had encountered severe weather and returned to their base at 11:30. The Ryūjōs aircraft arrived over Henderson Field at 14:23 and tangled with 14 Marine Wildcats and four Army P-400s while bombing the airfield. In the resulting engagement three Kates, three Zeros, and three Marine fighters were shot down and no damage was done to Henderson Field. Two Marine pilots were killed in the engagement as well as eight Japanese aircrewmen. All of these Japanese aircraft were eventually lost because, while they were attacking Henderson Field, the Ryūjō was sunk by aircraft from the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga
USS Saratoga (CV-3)
USS Saratoga was the second aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the fifth ship to bear her name. She was commissioned one month earlier than her sister and class leader, , which is the third actually commissioned after and Saratoga...
, forcing the Japanese aircraft to ditch in the ocean upon returning to the previous location of their carrier.
On August 31, the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga
USS Saratoga (CV-3)
USS Saratoga was the second aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the fifth ship to bear her name. She was commissioned one month earlier than her sister and class leader, , which is the third actually commissioned after and Saratoga...
was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Since she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for drydock repairs, most of the Saratoga's aircraft and aircrewmen remained behind at Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
. Admiral McCain planned to send some of these aircraft to reinforce the Cactus Air Force at Guadalcanal.
September
On September 2, the U.S. Marine 3rd Defense Battalion began operating an air search radarRadar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
at Henderson Field, which, along with reports from the coastwatchers
Coastwatchers
The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II to observe enemy movements and rescue stranded Allied...
, helped provide early warning of incoming Japanese warplanes.
By September 3, the day of Geiger's arrival, the CAF consisted of only 64 flyable airplanes. Due to the heavy losses that the CAF had sustained, Admiral McCain decided to immediately deploy the USS Saratoga's fighter squadrons to Guadalcanal. On September 4, 24 F4Fs of VF-5 flew from Espiritu Santo to Henderson Field.
From September 1 through September 8 the Japanese aviation units at Rabaul concentrated on providing air cover for Japanese Army forces operating along the Kokoda Track
Kokoda Track
The Kokoda Trail or Track is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland — in a straight line — through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea...
on New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, during the Kokoda Track campaign
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
. On September 9, however, the Japanese resumed air operations against Henderson Field, with the objective of destroying the CAF and isolating the American forces on Guadalcanal.
Between August 21 and September 11, the Japanese raided Guadalcanal a total of ten times, losing 31 aircraft destroyed and seven more heavily damaged, primarily due to the defensive efforts of the CAF fighter planes. Most of the Japanese aircrewmen in the destroyed aircraft were killed. During this same time, the CAF Marine Corps fighter squadrons lost 27 aircraft with nine pilots killed.
On September 12, 25 Bettys and 15 Zeros from Rabaul raided Henderson Field. Alerted by the coastwatcher Donald Kennedy, and by the radar at Henderson Field, 20 Wildcat fighters from the Marine and Navy fighter squadrons took off to intercept this raid. In the resulting battle, two Betty bombers were shot down by Marine anti-aircraft fire, and four Bettys and one fighter were shot down by the Wildcats. One U.S. Navy pilot died attempting to land his damaged fighter back at Henderson Field following the action.
That night the field was shelled by the Japanese cruiser Sendai
Japanese cruiser Sendai
was a Sendai-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was named after the Sendai River in southern Kyūshū.-Background:Sendai was the lead ship of the three vessels completed in her class of light cruisers, and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship...
and three destroyers that were supporting the Japanese Army attacks on the Lunga perimeter in the first night of the Battle of Edson's Ridge
Battle of Edson's Ridge
The Battle of Edson's Ridge, also known as the Battle of the Bloody Ridge, Battle of Raiders Ridge, and Battle of the Ridge, was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Imperial Japanese Army and Allied ground forces...
. This shelling killed two pilots from VMSB-232 and one pilot from VMSB-231, but it did not damage any aircraft or the airfield.
On September 13, 18 Wildcats arrived at Henderson Field from the carriers USS Hornet and USS Wasp. The morning of this same day, Tsukahara sent a reconnaissance mission consisting of two Type 2 aircraft escorted by nine Zeros to find out if the Japanese Army had succeeded in capturing Henderson Field during the night. The Zeros tangled with Cactus Air Force fighters from VMF-223, 224, and VF-5, losing four Zeros along with their pilots. The CAF lost four fighters, two in combat and two to accidents with two CAF pilots killed. An afternoon raid the same day by 27 Bettys and 12 Zeros attacked Henderson Field at 14:00 and again resulted in intense clashes with the Cactus defenders. In the skirmish, two Betty bombers were lost and two were heavily damaged, with three crewmen killed and six captured. Two Wildcats, one each from VMF-212 and VF-5 were lost, with both pilots killed. On that same day, two R Area floatplane Zeros from Rekata Bay swept over Lunga Point and shot down a scoutplane SBD from VMSB-231, killing both of its crewmen. Another CAF scout SBD from VS-3 ditched in the ocean that afternoon during their search patrol and neither of the two crewmen were ever seen again. Later that day 12 VS-3 SBDs and six VT-8 TBF Avenger torpedo planes arrived at Henderson Field as reinforcements.
On September 14, the R Area force attacked Henderson throughout the day with a total of 24 float fighters and bombers, losing eight of them with no losses to the CAF. A fighter sweep by seven 2nd Air Group Zeros from Rabaul also attacked Lunga that day, losing one aircraft and pilot. A Japanese reconnaissance aircraft was also shot down over Guadalcanal that day. The only CAF loss was one VMF-223 Wildcat that wrecked on takeoff, seriously injuring the pilot.
A lull occurred in the air campaign over Guadalcanal, with no Japanese air raids occurring between September 14 and September 27 due to bad weather over the Bismarck Islands, during which both sides reinforced their respective air units. The Japanese delivered 85 fighters and bombers to their air units at Rabaul while the Americans brought in 23 fighters and bombers to Henderson Field. On September 20, the Japanese counted 117 total aircraft at Rabaul while the CAF tallied 71 aircraft at Henderson Field.
November
Japanese battleship Hiei
was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, she was the second launched of four s, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laid down in 1911 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Hiei was formally...
lost control of her steering following the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...
. This battleship was repeatedly attacked by aircraft from Henderson Field and from the . After suffering numerous direct hits, and being set ablaze, the Hiei was scuttled by her crew.
The first aviation units from another country to arrive at Henderson Field came on November 26, 1943, with the arrival of No. 3 Squadron
No. 3 Squadron RNZAF
3 Squadron is a unit of the RNZAF. It remains on active duty.-History:No. 3 Squadron RNZAF formed as a Territorial unit of the New Zealand Permanent Air Force based at Christchurch in 1930....
of the Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
, with Lockheed Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
light bombers for reconnaissance work.
December
On December 26 there were 161 aircraft of all types at Guadalcanal.Tactics employed
F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
was not in the same class as the Japanese A6M Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
when it came to service ceiling, rate of climb, and maneuverability. The Zero fighter was lighter, faster, and a better climber. The American pilots learned quickly not to dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...
with the Zero. Instead, if they became engaged with one, they would give it a quick, diving firing-burst and then dive away to regroup, climb, and attack again. Cactus pilots had to constantly refine their tactics and techniques, rely on teamwork in dogfights and improve their gunnery to remain effective against the Zeroes.
Because of the Zero's maneuverability, American pilots quickly adapted hit and run tactics similar to those used by the American Flying Tigers
Flying Tigers
The 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, famously nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army , Navy , and Marine Corps , recruited under presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The ground crew and headquarters...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Burma and the tactic of a two-plane mutually protecting flight section. This technique had previously been developed by the U.S. Navy fighter pilots John Thach
John Thach
John Smith "Jimmy" Thach was a World War II naval aviator, air combat tactician, and United States Navy admiral. Thach developed the Thach Weave, a combat flight formation that could counter enemy fighters of superior performance, and later the big blue blanket, an aerial defense against Kamikaze...
and Edward O'Hare
Edward O'Hare
Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare was an Irish-American naval aviator of the United States Navy who on February 20, 1942 became the U.S. Navy's first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. Butch O’Hare’s final action took place on the night of November 26, 1943,...
, and it was known as the "Thach Weave
Thach Weave
The Thach Weave or Beam Defense Position is an aerial combat tactic developed by naval aviator John S. Thach of the United States Navy soon after the United States' entry into World War II....
." The aircraft would remain in the same general area of one another and if Zeroes showed up, they had a better chance of engaging the aircraft on the tails of their wing men.
- " One Zero against one Grumman is not an even fight, but with mutual support two Grummans are worth four or five Zeros."
Disadvantages aside, the Wildcat was not without its merits. This fighter plane was found to be well-defended compared to the lightly armored Zero, had a self-sealing fuel tank
Self-sealing fuel tank
In aviation, self-sealing fuel tank is a fuel tank technology in wide use since World War II that prevents fuel tanks primarily on aircraft from leaking fuel and igniting after being damaged by enemy fire....
, and possessed adequate firepower with four .50 caliber M-2 Browning machine guns. U.S. Marine pilots, very skeptical since the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
, did place a great deal of confidence in their aircraft at first.
Because they could not effectively dogfight the Zeroes, Henderson Field's defenders realized that the best they could do was break up each day's raid and live to fight another day. With this in mind, their primary targets became the bombers rather than the fighters, and many of the tactics introduced were largely devised by Marine Major John L. Smith
John Lucian Smith
John Lucian Smith is a Medal of Honor recipient and Marine Corps ace who, as Commanding Officer of VMF-223 shot down 19 Japanese planes in World War II and led his squadron to a destroy a total of 83 enemy aircraft during the Solomon Islands campaign.-Biography:John Lucian Smith was born on...
. American aircraft always sought to initiate the attack at least 5000 feet (1,524 m) above the Japanese formations, and they concentrated their attack on the trailing aircraft in the Japanese formation. This gave them good angles to shoot at the exposed fuel tanks of the Japanese bombers, and it also presented a difficult gunnery problem for the bombers, since the high overhead passes of the American fighters put them into blindspots from the Japanese gunners. This tactic also caused the escorting Japanese fighters to climb and burn more of their fuel, and thus reducing the time they could spend over Guadalcanal itself.
From September 3 to November 4, 1942, the Cactus Air Force claimed downing 268 Japanese planes in aerial combat, and the damage inflicted on others is estimated to be as great.
Coastwatchers
Combat air patrol
Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
over Henderson Field. Therefore, it was crucial for the CAF to receive early warnings of incoming Japanese aircraft so that its aircraft weren't caught on the ground during Japanese air attacks. Members of the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Coastwatchers
Coastwatchers
The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II to observe enemy movements and rescue stranded Allied...
, including W. J. Read in northern and Paul Mason in southern Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, Donald Kennedy on New Georgia
New Georgia
New Georgia is the largest island of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-Geography:This island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province...
, and Geoffrey Kuper on Santa Isabel
Santa Isabel
Santa Isabel is the Spanish and Portuguese name of one of two Roman Catholic saints, Saint Isabel of France and Saint Isabel of Aragon. Various places have been named for either of such persons. These include: Argentina:...
were able to relay ahead when Japanese airplane formations were heading for the island giving the defenders on Guadalcanal time to get airborne. On August 16, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Hugh A. Mackenzie of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
, the Deputy Staff Intelligence Officer for the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, set up a radio station at Henderson Field to monitor coastwatcher transmissions and relay their warnings to the CAF. Admiral Bull Halsey would later say the coastwatchers, "saved Guadalcanal".
Several coastwatchers were stationed at various points around Guadalcanal, including Martin Clemens
Martin Clemens
Major Warren Frederick Martin Clemens CBE, MC, AM was a British colonial administrator and soldier. In late 1941 and early 1942, while serving as a District Officer in the Solomon Islands, he helped prepare the area for eventual resistance to Japanese occupation.His additional duties as...
(who was also a local official for the British Solomon Islands Protectorate), Leif Schroeder, Donald Macfarlan, Ken Hay, and Ashton Rhoades. These coastwatchers, with help from native Solomon Islanders, helped rescue and return several Allied pilots during the campaign.
Aftermath
The Cactus Air Force's dive bombers and torpedo planes sank or destroyed 17 large enemy vessels, including one Japanese battleshipBattleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
, one heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
(the Kinugasa
Japanese cruiser Kinugasa
was the second vessel in the two-vessel Aoba-class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was named after Mount Kinugasa, located in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.- Background :...
), one light cruiser (the Yura
Japanese cruiser Yura
The was the third of the six vessels completed in the Nagara class of light cruisers, and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla. She was named after the Yura River near Kyoto, Japan.-Early career:...
), three destroyers (the Asagiri
Japanese destroyer Asagiri
was the thirteenth of twenty-four destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into service, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world...
, Murakumo
Japanese destroyer Murakumo
was a Fubuki class was the fifth of twenty-four destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into service, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world...
, and Natsugumo
Japanese destroyer Natsugumo
was the fifth of ten destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the mid-1930s under the Circle Two Supplementary Naval Expansion Program .-History:...
), and twelve transports, possibly sank three destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s and one heavy cruiser, and heavily damaged 18 other ships, including one heavy cruiser and five light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s. Most notable was the battleship Hiei
Japanese battleship Hiei
was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, she was the second launched of four s, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laid down in 1911 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Hiei was formally...
, which the CAF, along with aircraft from the Enterprise, and B-17s from Espiritu Santo, finished off after she had suffered serious damage from American cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s and destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...
.
The fifteen Marine combat squadrons that fought on Guadalcanal during this time suffered from 94 pilots killed or missing-in-action, with another 177 evacuated with wounds or with sickness (especially severe malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
). Total figures for Japanese aerial losses during the Guadalcanal campaign have never been calculated
The Battle of Guadalcanal would become the defining point for Marine Corps aviation in World War II and for the next fifty years. The great lessons learned for Marine Corps aviation units were the debilitating effects of not having air superiority; the importance of the use of radar; the vulnerability of enemy transport and warship targets; and the vital importance of quickly acquiring expeditionary airfields during amphibious operations.
Medal of Honor recipients
Six aviators who served in the "Cactus Air Force" received the Medal of HonorMedal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for their actions during the Battle of Guadalcanal (August 1942-February 1943):
- John L. SmithJohn Lucian SmithJohn Lucian Smith is a Medal of Honor recipient and Marine Corps ace who, as Commanding Officer of VMF-223 shot down 19 Japanese planes in World War II and led his squadron to a destroy a total of 83 enemy aircraft during the Solomon Islands campaign.-Biography:John Lucian Smith was born on...
- Robert E. GalerRobert E. GalerBrigadier General Robert Edward Galer was a naval aviator in the United States Marine Corps who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in aerial combat during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II...
- Joe FossJoe FossJoseph Jacob "Joe" Foss was the leading fighter ace of the United States Marine Corps during World War II and a 1943 recipient of the Medal of Honor, recognizing his role in the air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign...
- Harold W. BauerHarold W. BauerLieutenant Colonel Harold William Bauer, commonly referred to as "Joe" Bauer, was a United States Marine Corps air group commander and fighter pilot ace credited with destroying 11 Japanese aircraft during World War II...
- Jefferson J. DeBlancJefferson J. DeBlancJefferson Joseph DeBlanc was a World War II Marine Corps fighter pilot and ace — shooting down nine Japanese aircraft during two tours of duty in the Pacific at Guadalcanal and Okinawa — and a Medal of Honor recipient.-U.S...
- James E. SwettJames E. SwettJames Elms Swett was a United States Marine Corps fighter pilot and ace during World War II. He was awarded the United States' highest military decoration— the Medal of Honor — for actions while a division flight leader in VMF-221 over Guadalcanal on April 7, 1943.Subsequently he...
Order of battle
All aviation units on Guadalcanal were subordinate to Commander, Aircraft, Guadalcanal (ComAirGuadal).| USMC United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States... | USAAF | USN United States Navy The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S... | RNZAF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
VT-8 Torpedo Squadron 8 was a United States Navy squadron of World War II torpedo bombers assigned initially to the Air Group operating from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet , until after her loss in October 1942 during the Battle of Santa Cruz Island... Aboard the USS Enterprise USS Enterprise (CV-6) USS Enterprise , colloquially referred to as the "Big E," was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Launched in 1936, she was a ship of the Yorktown class, and one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to...
|
No. 3 Squadron No. 3 Squadron RNZAF 3 Squadron is a unit of the RNZAF. It remains on active duty.-History:No. 3 Squadron RNZAF formed as a Territorial unit of the New Zealand Permanent Air Force based at Christchurch in 1930.... |
Aircraft Flown
- F4F WildcatF4F WildcatThe Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
- SBD DauntlessSBD DauntlessThe Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval dive bomber made by Douglas during World War II. The SBD was the United States Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was largely replaced by the SB2C Helldiver...
- TBF AvengerTBF AvengerThe Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....
- J2F-5 Duck
- P-39 Airacobra
- PBY CatalinaPBY CatalinaThe Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
- Lockheed HudsonLockheed HudsonThe Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
(RNZAF)
See also
- AirSolsAirSolsAirSols was an abbreviation of Air Solomons, the Allied air units in the Solomon Islands campaign of World War II, from April 1943 to June 1944. Its units came from the United States Navy , United States Marine Corps , United States Army Air Forces and the Royal New Zealand Air Force . AirSols...
- Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch
- Military history of the United States during World War IIMilitary history of the United States during World War IIThe military history of the United States during World War II covers the involvement of the United States during World War II. The Empire of Japan declared war on the United States of America on 7 December 1941, immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor on the same day. On 11 December 1941,...
- List of United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons
- List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons
Books
- Much of the book details the history of U.S. Army pilots on Guadalcanal.Online views of selections of the book:http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0785813063