HISTORY

Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi in April, 1942 during the Indian Ocean Raid

as seen from an aircraft that has just taken off from her deck. The aircraft

on the flight deck preparing for takeoff are “Val” bombers.

(Photo: Kure Maritime Museum via Wikimedia Commons)

against Zeroes for the rest of the war.

Although the Japanese had feared for some time

that the Americans would try to attack targets directly in Japan, Doolittle‘s raid on April 18, 1942,

was a huge surprise. Akagi, Sōryū, and Hiryū

were just off Taiwan and headed for Japan. Nagumo changed course to the east on April 19 and

tried to chase the attackers. However, the USS

Enterprise and Hornet were already out of range.

The Japanese carriers gave up the search after

several days.

Coral Sea, Aleutians and Midway

The next target of the Japanese command was

the port of Port Moresby in the southeast of New

Guinea. It was to be a base for the planned landings in Australia. At the same time, the Japanese hoped that their invasion force would attract

American aircraft carriers and a decisive battle

would occur. The aircraft carrier Shōhō covered the landing on Tulagi Island off Guadalcanal

during May 3, 1942. She then joined the vessels

bound for Port Moresby. But on May 7 the carrier

was attacked and sunk by aircraft from the USS

Lexington and Yorktown.

Airmen from Shōkaku and Zuikaku were not able

to intervene in the battle until the following day.

They reported shooting down 64 Allied aircraft

and severely damaging both U.S. carriers in their

attack on the American task force. The Lexington

had to be sunk later. The American airmen damaged the Shōkaku, and during combat air patrol

the Japanese fighters reported 40 victories while

losing two Zeros throughout the day. Although the

Japanese achieved a tactical advantage in the

battle thanks to the sinking of the heavier carrier,

they had to cancel the landing at Port Moresby.

The Japanese planned for an early June campaign towards Hawaii, with the target of the forces under Admiral Yamamoto being the American

territory on the Aleutians and Midway Atoll. The

attack on the Aleutians is often mistakenly described as an operation to divert attention from

the attack on Midway. It was, however, one operation conducted in two directions with reserve

forces positioned about half the distance between

the two task forces. Six carriers participated in

the operation, and on board all of them, in addition to their own carrier air units, were Zeros,

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INFO Eduard

ground personnel, and pilots of the land based

6th Kōkūtai. This unit was to be based at Midway

Atoll after its capture. The fighter pilots of the 6th

Kōkūtai participated in both the raids on the Aleutians and the fighting during the Battle of Midway.

Airmen from the carriers Ryūjō and Junyō conducted attacks against Dutch Harbor on the

Aleutians during June 3 and 4, 1942, and scored

several victories against amphibious aircraft and

P-40 fighters. However, one of the Zeros crashed

on Akutan Island and despite the efforts of the

Japanese, neither the machine nor the pilot could

be found. The lost airman was PO1c Todayoshi

Koga, whose Zero was found by the Americans

a month later and put into airworthy condition.

As planned, the Japanese established a floatplane base on the American island of Kiska.

Nagumo´s task force with core of fleet carriers

Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū and Hiryū launched raids on

Midway Atoll on June 4. The Americans, however,

were prepared for the attack by deciphering Japanese coded communications. They sailed into

battle with the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise,

Hornet and Yorktown, the latter urgently repaired

after the Battle of the Coral Sea. For the engagements of the first attack wave, the Japanese

fighters reported 35 shot down USMC airplanes

with the loss of one Zero, shot down by AA fire.

However, the Japanese had inaccurate data from

reconnaissance crews about enemy vessels. In

the critical part of the battle the Japanese aircraft

began to come back to their carriers to change

their armament in view of the change of targets

from carriers to land targets and back to carriers.

The Americans made a large number of attacks

on the Japanese fleet with Marine Corps, Army

Air Forces and Navy aircraft. Japanese fighters

made dozens of launches in defense of their carriers and claimed 90 victories with the loss of

13 of their own aircraft, but their efforts were in

vain. American attacks were so intensive that the

carriers Akagi, Kaga and Sōryū were eventually

fatally hit, just as they were replacing armament

in their hangars. Deficiencies in the design of Japanese carriers´ passive protection and insufficient damage control were fully exposed.

The last vessel able to intervene effectively in

the battle was the carrier Hiryū, which sent two

waves of bombers against the American carriers.

The raids damaged the USS Yorktown so badly

that she eventually had to be sunk. Each of the

bomber formations was accompanied by six Zeros, whose pilots claimed 18 American aircraft

while losing five machines.

The Americans eventually hit Hiryū, which was

defended by twelve fighters, who could not prevent fatal consequences. Although her propulsion

was not hit, the fires could not be brought under

control, and she sank on June 5.

The Japanese suffered a crushing defeat that

was the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

In addition to the four carriers, they lost the one

cruiser and several other vessels were damaged.

More than 3,000 crewmen were killed. The loss

of 23 fighter pilots who died in combat or aboard

their ships was not critical. However, the loss of

bomber crews and many members of technical

personnel had a significant impact.

New Guinea and Australia

In early February 1942, the 4th Kōkūtai moved

into the newly captured Rabaul, using twin-engine bombers and A5M fighters. From the middle

of that month, its fighter squadron began taking

over the modern A6M2 fighters brought to Rabaul

by the aircraft carrier Shōhō. In early March, 4th

Kōkūtai Zeroes moved to Lae, New Guinea, and

began escorting bombers over Port Moresby

and to Horn Island in northern Australia. In early April, the fighter squadron of 4th Kōkūtai was

taken over by Tainan Kōkūtai, which moved into

the area. In mid-May, Tainan Kōkūtai took over

additional 15 Zero fighters and pilots from the 1st

and Chitose Kōkūtai. Their opponents were initially mainly Australian airmen and American bomber crews, but later American fighter units also

arrived in Port Moresby. Other fighter units with

Zeros also operated over eastern New Guinea during 1942. But the main battlefield from the middle

of the year became Guadalcanal. Fighting over

New Guinea intensified again at the end of 1942

and in 1943, during the Allied advance northward.

Northwestern Australia began to be the target

of frequent Japanese naval air raids from February 1942. Zeros appeared regularly over Australia

from early March, after 3. Kōkūtai (later redesignated the Kōkūtai 202) stationed at Kupang, Indonesia. Until the autumn of 1943, the Japanese

Aircraft are prepared for a morning sortie on the HIJMS Zuikaku on May 5, 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Censor deleted tail markings from

the photo, however a patriotic donation text is visible on the fuselage of Zero standing on the right side.

(Photo: Kure Maritime Museum via Wikimedia Commons)

April 2022