Attack in the Indian Ocean
Japanese attacks in South Asia, January to May 1942
| date | April 1. bis 9. April 1942 |
|---|---|
| place | Indian Ocean , India , Ceylon , Trincomalee |
| output | Japanese tactical victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| British East Asian Fleet Air Defense on Ceylon |
6 aircraft carriers , 4 battleships , 8 cruisers, 17 destroyers |
| losses | |
|
1 aircraft carrier, |
approx. 20 fighter planes |
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1941
Thailand - Malay Peninsula - Pearl Harbor - Hong Kong - Philippines - Guam - Wake - Force Z - Borneo
1942
Burma - Rabaul - Singapore - Sumatra - Timor - Australia - Java - Salamaua - Lae - Indian Ocean - Port Moresby - Coral Sea - Midway - North America - Buna-Gona - Kokoda-Track
The attack in the Indian Ocean was a large-scale Japanese attack on Allied or British bases in the Indian Ocean during the Pacific War in World War II . It had the code name Operation C and took place from April 1 to April 9, 1942.
Starting position
After the fall of Singapore , the destruction of Force Z and the defeat of the ABDA fleet in the Battle of the Java Sea , the British military leadership had set up a new headquarters in Ceylon under Admiral Geoffrey Layton , which included the British Eastern Fleet . This was in March on the Addu Atoll (Maldives) from remnants of the ABDA fleet and other document relied units under the command of Admiral Sir James Somerville , previously commander of the Force H been reformed. The Japanese leadership decided to destroy this fleet in a large-scale operation using its fast carrier group ( Kidō Butai ) and Nagumo Chūichi's 1st Naval Air Force .
The Japanese 2nd Fleet under Vice Admiral Kondō Nobutake ran out of the Kendari base on Celebes on March 26 with a course for the Indian Ocean. To her belonged the five aircraft carriers Akagi , Hiryū , Sōryū , Shōkaku and Zuikaku , the battleships Hiei , Haruna , Kirishima and Kongō . Other escort units were the heavy cruisers Chikuma and Tone and the light cruiser Abukuma and the destroyers Akigumo , Arare , Hamakaze , Isokaze , Kagerō , Kasumi , Shiranuhi , Tanikaze and Urakaze .
Another fleet under Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburō with the slower carrier Ryūjō , the heavy cruisers Chōkai , Kumano , Mikuma , Mogami and Suzuya , the light cruiser Yura and the destroyers Fubuki , Hatsuyuki , Murakumo and Shirayuki left the waters south of Java with a course for Mergui (Burma). This association had orders to advance into the Bay of Bengal and attack merchant ships and cities on the Indian coast.
In addition, on March 27, six Japanese submarines marched from Penang to take positions off the west coast of India.
On March 29, Somerville in the Andaman Islands was briefed by the approaching Japanese forces. He then withdrew his ships to a position south of Ceylon and divided them into two groups.
Group 1 consisted of the aircraft carriers HMS Indomitable and HMS Formidable , the battleship HMS Warspite , the cruisers HMS Cornwall , HMS Dorsetshire , HMS Enterprise and HMS Emerald , as well as the destroyers HMS Foxhound , HMS Hotspur , HMAS Napier , HMAS Nestor , HMS Paladin and HMS Panther .
Group 2 included the battleships HMS Ramillies , HMS Resolution , HMS Revenge , and HMS Royal Sovereign ; also the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes , the cruisers HMS Caledon , HMS Dragon and Hr. Ms. Jacob van Heemskerck and the destroyers HMS Arrow , HMS Decoy , HMS Fortune , HMS Griffin , Hr. Ms. Isaac Sweers , HMAS Norman , HMS Scout and HMAS Vampire .
The two groups crossed south of Ceylon until April 2, but could not make out the enemy Japanese units. The main part of the fleet then ran to the Addu Atoll to refuel, where it arrived on April 4. Somerville then ordered the most powerful artillery cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire back to Colombo and the HMS Hermes and HMAS Vampires to Trincomalee .
On April 4, a Catalina PBY flying boat coming from Ceylon sighted the Japanese main force advancing from the south about 400 nautical miles south of Ceylon. For their part, the Japanese launched six Zero fighters from the aircraft carrier Hiryu and shot down the Catalina. The report had already been received in Colombo, so Somerville ordered all units there to unite immediately with Group 1. Shortly after midnight, on April 5th, Group 1 left the port of Addu Atoll. Group 2 followed on the morning of the following day.
Attack on Colombo
Another Catalina, ascended early in the morning of April 5, finally reported to the Allies the current position of the incoming Japanese carriers, which were now 300 nautical miles south. Around this time the first planes rose from the Akagi in the direction of Ceylon. Vice Admiral Nagumo sent 53 Aichi D3A dive bombers , 36 Nakajima B5N2 bombers and 36 Zero fighters to attack in Colombo.
In the morning, two British hurricane hunters, launched for reconnaissance, informed the base about the current weather situation. 80% of Ceylon was covered by bad weather clouds, which only slowly dissolved. Nor did the British know much about the range of Japanese aircraft, which they clearly underestimated. An attack on the island was not expected until the next day.
The Ratmalana airfield near Colombo was equipped with a small radar system that could be controlled and briefed from headquarters for current operations. It can no longer be determined afterwards whether it was due to normal Sunday operations or to a process of releasing the radar crew; in any case, the entire radar system was unmanned at the time of the Japanese attack.
For all these reasons, the British were extremely surprised when the Japanese air strikes began without warning at around 7:50 a.m. Although they could still launch their own planes from the Ratmalana airfield, they only succeeded in shooting down seven Japanese planes. Even they lost 19 Hurricans, a Fulmar and six Swordfish in the aerial battles . The British machines were far inferior to the Japanese in terms of maneuverability and armament, and the Hurricanes had no tracer ammunition on board, as some ammunition belts had exploded in the heat days before and had therefore been replaced.
The city of Colombo was badly affected in this attack. The port facilities in particular were badly damaged. The destroyer HMS Tenedos lying in the harbor and the auxiliary cruiser Hector were sunk.
Around noon, the two British cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire were sighted by a Japanese scout 200 miles southwest of Ceylon. They were then immediately attacked by 53 dive bombers from the aircraft carriers. The first bombs fell on the ships around 1:30 p.m. The HMS Dorsetshire sank just eight minutes after the first hit. 500 sailors were able to save themselves in the water, but for 234 any help came too late. About 1000 sailors managed to jump off the sinking HMS Cornwall , 200 were killed. The survivors were later taken on board by the HMS Enterprise and two destroyers.
The Japanese scouts searched for the rest of the British ships all day, but although the distance to them was sometimes only 200 nautical miles, they did not succeed in discovering the ships because they had moved to the southwest. On April 6, Somerville was ordered to leave for Kilindini, Kenya. He sent the slower Group 2 ahead and stayed with Group 1 to cover the retreat. The British fleet was not discovered on the following two days either, as the Japanese suspected their position southeast of Ceylon.
Attack on Trincomalee
In order to achieve the broadest possible effect, Admiral Ozawa divided his association into a north, central and south group. All three were ordered to attack targets along the Indian coast. In the course of April 6, the Japanese succeeded in sinking 19 ships sailing near the coast, and three more were damaged. Ryujo planes began bombing the cities of Vizagapatam and Cocanada .
After a report received on April 8 that the Japanese carriers were approaching Ceylon again, Admiral Somerville instructed all ships still in the port of Trincomalee to leave immediately and seek protection in the south. The rest of the British East Asian fleet already entered the Addu Atoll.
On April 9th, the Japanese began their attack on Trincomalee. They managed to destroy nine defending British Hurricanes and Fulmars in an aerial combat. The nine British Bristol-Blenheim bombers that had ascended tried to attack the Japanese aircraft carriers. Five of them were shot down by Zero hunters. The Japanese porters had only received very slight damage from close British hits.
On the same day, Japanese reconnaissance planes reported the British units heading south to the fleet. Admiral Ozawa had 80 dive bombers with appropriate fighter escorts ascend to attack the ships. The small British aircraft carrier Hermes , the destroyer Vampire , the corvette Hollyhock and two tankers were sunk in a relatively short time.
After the attacks
The Japanese fleet then withdrew towards Singapore. The Japanese could not destroy the British East Asian Fleet, but with the sinking of an aircraft carrier, two cruisers, two destroyers, a few auxiliary warships and 112,312 GRT of merchant ships, the company had at least a small success. The Japanese submarines posted as cover in the west were also successful with ten sunk ships.
The British withdrew their ships to Bombay in India and Kilindini on the coast of East Africa . On the British side, the action was viewed as a victory, since an invasion of Ceylon had been prevented. Layton, however, warned his troops on the island that the Japanese had only withdrawn to refresh their forces and that another attack was to be feared. The British admiralty feared that the Japanese might next plan bases in Madagascar . The island was ruled by Vichy France at that time. The British occupied the island in May 1942 as part of Operation Ironclad .
However, there was no renewed Japanese attack, as important parts of the carrier fleet had to be parked for the upcoming Port Moresby operation and - partly because of the American Doolittle Raid - already the plan for the large-scale Midway operation to eliminate the American carrier fleet Took shape.
Quote
“The most dangerous moment of the war, and the one which caused me the greatest alarm, was when the Japanese Fleet was heading for Ceylon and the naval base there. The capture of Ceylon, the consequent control of the Indian Ocean, and the possibility at the same time of a German conquest of Egypt would have closed the ring and the future would have been black. "
“The most dangerous moment of the war, the one that worried me the most, was when the Japanese fleet turned its gaze on Ceylon. The occupation of Ceylon and the associated domination of the Indian Ocean combined with the possibility of a German conquest of Egypt would have closed the ring. Then the future would have been black. "
literature
- Richard Holmes: World War II. From Blitzkrieg to Hiroshima. The Definitive Visual Guide. (Dk). Penguin, April 1, 2009, ISBN 978-1-4053-3235-4 .
- Paul S. Dull: A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press, 1978, ISBN 0-87021-097-1
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