Operation Tan No. 2
The Second Operation Tan ( Japanese 第二 次 丹 作 戦 , dai-ni-ji tan-sakusen , English Operation Tan No. 2 ) was a Japanese operation that took place on March 11, 1945 during the Pacific War in World War II . The operation was a Shimpū Tokkōtai attack carried out by the pilots of 24 Yokosuka P1Y Ginga bombers against the aircraft carriers of the American 5th Fleet in the final hours of March 11th . The aim of the Kamikaz attack was to damage several or even all of the porters so that they could not participate in the upcoming operations of the Battle of Okinawa .
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Course of Operation Tan
Beginning
Operation Tan No. 2 was developed by the Japanese admiral Ugaki Matome , who was appointed commander of the 5th Air Fleet in February 1945 . Ugaki devised plans for massive Tokkotai attacks against American ships. At the end of February 1945 he was appointed commander in chief of all Shimpū Tokkōtai squadrons by Admiral Osami Nagano . From then on he organized kamikaze attacks against the American ships, first against the Fast Carrier Task Force off Formosa , then against the Allied escort carriers off the island of Iwojima . On March 6, 1945, Admiral Ugaki received a report from a reconnaissance plane that many American ships were gathered in the waters around the Ulithi Atoll . These ships were part of the 5th US fleet. Some of them were fleet carriers (including the aircraft carriers USS Randolph and USS Hancock ) who were protected by a few light cruisers and two destroyer squadrons ( DesRon for short ). Admiral Ugaki then devised a plan to destroy these enemy ships that were to take part in the impending invasion of Okinawa before they could leave Ulithi.
The plan of attack formulated by Ugaki, code-named Operation Tan No. 2 was immediately cleared for execution by the Imperial Naval Headquarters in Tokyo under Admiral Osami Nagano. Ugaki personally selected the units involved, choosing the pilots of the Azusa squadron. This unit was stationed at Kanoya Airfield and consisted of 30 Yokosuka P1Y bombers. These planes were due to take off on the morning of March 10, armed with a 1,000-kilo bomb and escorted by a squadron of Ki-84 fighters. If everything went according to plan, the bombers could reach Ulithi at 10 p.m., while the fighters were supposed to turn around after an hour's flight. The bombers were supposed to launch a suicide attack against the American ships over Ulithi, with the enemy aircraft carriers as their primary targets. The Japanese planes of the Azusa Combat Squadron were equipped with the bomb and prepared for take-off on the morning of March 10, while the pilots received final instructions from Ugaki in person. The men also drank the sake ration common on kamikaze missions and took off from Kanoya Airport at 1 p.m. The fighters accompanied the 27 bombers involved part of the route to their destination, then the Ki-84 turned back as planned. However, due to the poor weather conditions, the operation was canceled and the 27 bombers returned to the airfield.
attack
The operation was postponed until the following day. The bombers were finally able to take off at noon. The planes only had enough fuel to get to their destination because a return was not planned. After the usual ceremonies, the pilots boarded the planes, and shortly after 4 p.m. the bombers took off. The requested Ki-84 escort was unable to intervene due to engine problems. The P1Y bombers had to do without the escort; After a few minutes of flight, 6 of the 24 machines in use had to turn off due to mechanical faults and then returned to Kanoya. The still operational bombers did not fly in formation to save fuel. Only six aircraft reached the mandatory assembly point via Ulithi, as all other aircraft crashed or had to make an emergency landing due to lack of fuel on the way.
The remaining aircraft circled over the atoll a few times, but could not orientate themselves because of the mandatory darkening of the American ships and the port facilities. Radio contact with the airfield was officially forbidden from this point on, but Ugaki broke the radio silence and the crews received the order to attack. Then they went into the dive to ram the enemy warships. Although the sailors on the American ships in Ulithi were not prepared for an enemy air attack, the air raid alarm sounded shortly after the attack began. Several anti-aircraft guns were manned, whereupon two of the attacking Japanese bombers (the P1Y could not reach high speeds in a dive) were shot down before impact. Another aircraft was hit and damaged on the right engine by the American anti-aircraft guns, but was able to make an emergency landing on the water of the lagoon, killing the crew. Another two bombers did nosedive and were not hit, but fell into the water about 200 meters from their targets. The two aircraft carriers USS Randolph and USS Hancock were slightly damaged by splinters. The last machine, however, was able to hit the USS Randolph , broke through the two upper decks as well as the flight deck and ship hangar , and finally exploded in the galley. The Japanese pilot of the bomber had shouted "Hissatsu!" ("Direct hit!") On the radio shortly before the impact, which Admiral Ugaki learned that at least one American ship had been hit. Twenty-six men of the crew of the USS Randolph died in this attack and another 40 were wounded. The fire that broke out on the aircraft carrier was quickly extinguished by a repair ship. Over the next few days, the USS Randolph was repaired and took part in the Battle of Okinawa in April .
literature
- Ugaki, Matome: Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941-1945. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991, ISBN 0-8229-3665-8 .