The Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean, 1942-1944: The Fleet that Had to Hide

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The slower "Force B" was formed around the old carrier HMS Hermes and four unmodernized Revenge-class battleships. Eight Hurricanes and a Fulmar were lost, [48] although no serviceable fighters were lost on the ground. On 22 November 1944 the Eastern Fleet was re-designated East Indies fleet and continued to be based in Trincomalee. Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm’ list 899 squadron as conducting DLT on the Escort Carrier ARBITER on August 15th. This book fills a gap in the historical literature of what took place in the Indian Ocean during WWII.

A quote from Vice Admiral Rawlings concerning the addition of British naval forces to the US Navy in the Pacific: "We have to go back to school again. At dawn, Japanese aerial reconnaissance aircraft flew off to the south-west and north-west; they would fly out to a maximum of 200 miles (320 km) over the next few hours. By 6 April, British SIGINT indicated the Japanese force contained four carriers and three battleships, a force Somerville clearly realized as beyond the Eastern Fleet's capability to engage without undue risk. So overall a balanced, if occasionally wandering account of a Fleet that did perhaps clearly illustrate British 'overreach' in the mid 20th Century. The reinforcement of the British Eastern Fleet depended on transfers from Britain and the Mediterranean, a reflection of active warzones and the demands on the Royal Navy's (RN) resources.By 8 April, the Eastern Fleet had withdrawn [30] and the Japanese fleet was approaching Trincomalee from the east. The Japanese force, commanded by Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, had a core of five aircraft carriers; Akagi, Shōkaku and Zuikaku in Carrier Division 5, and Sōryū and Hiryū in Carrier Division 2. It is surprising how negative picture of Churchill is presented by the opinions of admirals and generals of the British forces. For the casual reader, it serves as an effective introduction to the southern China-Burma-India theater in the earliest days of World War II.

Printed by Amullya Dhone Rose in the office of The Statesman, Calcutta, who provided free facilities as a generous war gift. It is possible that the usual three-day evolution was cancelled due to the announcement of the Japanese surrender on this date and was postponed for a month.

Overall, Japanese attacks on trade enjoyed some success, but after 1942 the presence of major Japanese naval units in the Indian Ocean virtually ceased. Shortly after 06:00 [33] Nagumo's force began launching 91 bombers and 36 fighters for the strike on Colombo. The use of Japanese, British, Australian, and American archival sources is a real plus, indicative of dedicated scholarship. On the eve of battle, RAF forces were part of 222 Group, commanded by Air Vice-Marshal John D'Albiac.

If now and again a ship or a junk slipped through, unloading its cargo into the smaller craft which creep under the cover of night up the Arakan shores into the rivers, another danger lurked. In the same time frame, other air forces increased from eight obsolete torpedo bombers, [20] to seven Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats, 14 Bristol Blenheim IV bombers, and 12 Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers.Volume 2 of The Darkest Hour describes the movements of the invincible Kido Butai, consisting of five aircraft carriers and their escorts, that expected to crush the British bases on Ceylon and once and forever destroy the main core of the Eastern Fleet. Force A radar detected the air strike on Dorsetshire's force at 13:44, putting the aircraft 34 miles (55 km) to the northeast. The Eastern Fleet was greatly augmented by units intended for the Pacific and on 4 January 1945, the carriers Indomitable and Indefatigable carried out an attack on oil refineries at Pangkalan Brandon in Sumatra ( Operation Lentil).

Catalina FV-R from 205 Squadron RAF took off at 17:45 to shadow the Japanese fleet, making its first report at 22:37 on 4 April, and a final report at 06:15 on 5 April while 110 mi (96 nmi; 180 km) from Ceylon. British heavy cruisers HMS Dorsetshire and Cornwall under Japanese air attack and heavily damaged on 5 April 1942. Responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet, from April 1942 to September 1943 then transferred back under the East Indies Fleet. Raid [ edit ] First moves [ edit ] The Japanese strike force advancing to the Indian Ocean, 30 March.In early May, Japanese carriers fought the Battle of the Coral Sea in the southwest Pacific, [61] followed in June by the Battle of Midway. The author brings Eastern Fleet activities to the fore with good descriptions of its personalities, ships, and actions. This is something in which many other books are lacking and these maps only increase the understanding of the situation as it unfolds.