Attack on Rabaul
Part of World War II, Pacific War
Japanese cruiser Chikuma under attack on 5 November 1943
Date: October 12, 1943 – November 5, 1943 Location: Rabaul on New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago Result: Allied victory
Combatants
United States; Australia; New Zealand	Japan
Commanders
George Kenney (air force) Frederick Sherman (navy)	Mineichi Koga
Strength
2 carriers, 97 carrier planes, 100+ land-based planes	10 cruisers, 11 destroyers, 100+ planes
Casualties
10 carrier planes destroyed, 50+ land based planes destroyed	8 cruisers damaged, 3 destroyers damaged, 100+ planes destroyed

The attack on Rabaul was a campaign of Allied air raids against the Japanese base at Rabaul in October and November 1943. It was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead:17 million Civilian dead:33 million Total dead:50 million Military dead:8 million Civilian dead:4 million Total dead:12 million World War II... US landings in the Pacific, 1942–1945 The Pacific War occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in Asia. ... Japanese cruiser Chikuma under attack at Rabual on 5 November 1943 Downloaded from [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Chikuma was a Tone-class heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served in World War II until sunk at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... Space Radar Image of Rabaul Volcano Rabaul was the capital of East New Britain province, on New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea until 1994. ... (This article is about the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. ... The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of New Guinea in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, named in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck and belonging to Papua New Guinea. ... George Churchill Kenney, August 6, 1889-August 9, 1977, was a United States Army Air Force general during World War II and was commander of Allied air forces in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) from August 1942 until 1945. ... Frederick Carl Sherman (1888 – 27 July 1957) was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. Sherman was born in Michigan in 1888. ... Mineichi Koga (1885-March 31/April, 1944) was a Japanese admiral and successor to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto as commander of the Imperial Japanese Navys Combined Fleet. ... The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II. Fighting in the Australian mandated Territory of New Guinea (the north-eastern part of the island of New Guinea and surrounding islands) and Dutch New Guinea, between Allied and Japanese forces, commenced with the Japanese... The Battle of Rabaul, around the main town of Rabaul on the island of New Britain, in early February 1942, represented a strategically-significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan, in the Pacific campaign of World War II. Following the capture of Rabaul, Japanese forces turned it into a major... Combatants United States, Australia Japan Commanders Chester Nimitz Frank Jack Fletcher Shigeyoshi Inoue Takeo Takagi Aritomo Goto Strength 2 large carriers, 3 cruisers 2 large carriers, 1 small carrier, 4 cruisers Casualties 1 large carrier, 1 destroyer, 1 oil tanker, 543 personnel 1 small carrier, 1 destroyer, 1,074 personnel... Combatants Australia, United States Japan Commanders Ralph Honner Selwyn Porter Arnold Potts Arthur Tubby Allen George Vasey Philip Rhoden Yosuke Yokoyama Tomitaro Horii Strength 2,000 plus reinforcements 10,000 plus reinforcements Casualties 725 killed 1,055 wounded Hundreds sick with disease 6,500 killed including Maj-Gen Horii Hundreds... Battle of Milne Bay Conflict World War II, Pacific War Date August 25, 1942 – September 5, 1942 Place Milne Bay, New Guinea Result Allied victory The Battle of Milne Bay was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay... The Battle of Buna-Gona was a battle in the Pacific campaign of World War II. On November 16, 1942, Australian and United States forces began to attack the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. ... Combatants United States; Australia Japan Commanders George C. Kenney Kimura Masatomi Strength 39 heavy bombers; 41 medium bombers; 34 light bombers; 54 fighters 8 destroyers, 8 troop transports, about 100 land-based fighter planes Casualties 2 bombers, 3 fighters shot down 8 troop transports sunk; 4 destroyers sunk; 20 fighters... The eastern part of the Territory of New Guinea, and the northern Solomon Islands; the area in which Operation Cartwheel took place, from June 1943. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... Space Radar Image of Rabaul Volcano Rabaul was the capital of East New Britain province, on New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea until 1994. ... US landings in the Pacific, 1942–1945 The Pacific War occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in Asia. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead:17 million Civilian dead:33 million Total dead:50 million Military dead:8 million Civilian dead:4 million Total dead:12 million World War II...

Rabaul, the chief port of the island of New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago, was the main Japanese naval base for the campaigns in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. Simpson's Harbor — captured from Australian forces in February 1942 — was known as "the Pearl Harbor of the South Pacific" and was well defended by 300 anti-aircraft guns and five airfields. (This article is about the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. ... The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of New Guinea in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, named in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck and belonging to Papua New Guinea. ...

Early in 1943 Rabaul had been distant from the fighting. But by the autumn Japanese forces had retreated in New Guinea and in the Solomon Islands, abandoning Guadalcanal, Kolombangara and Vella Lavella. Now Rabaul was directly menaced by US airpower. 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... Guadalcanal, a 2,510 square mile (6,500 km²) island in the Pacific Ocean and a province of the Solomon Islands, is largely a jungle. ... New Georgia Islands Kolombangara is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands. ... ...

From October 12, 1943, the US 5th Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force, directed by the US General George Kenney, launched a sustained campaign of bombing against the airfields and port of Rabaul. The biggest raid was on November 2. October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. ... The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is the air force arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. ... George Churchill Kenney, August 6, 1889-August 9, 1977, was a United States Army Air Force general during World War II and was commander of Allied air forces in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) from August 1942 until 1945. ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ...

Japanese cruiser Haguro under attack on 2 November 1943.

With the invasion of Bougainville on November 1, 1943 Rabaul came under threat from another direction. A hasty attempt to drive Allied forces off Bougainville had been defeated in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay. Now Koga planned to reinforce Rabaul and overwhelm the limited Allied forces around Bougainville while most of the US Navy was involved in preparations for the invasion of Tarawa. Japanese cruiser Haguro under attack at Rabaul, 2 November 1943 Downloaded from [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Japanese cruiser Haguro under attack at Rabaul, 2 November 1943 Downloaded from [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Haguro (羽黒) was the last of the four-member Myoko class of heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... Location of North Solomons (Bougainville) Province in Papua New Guinea This article is about the island; Bougainville is also the name of a commune in the Somme département of France. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay was a land and naval battle in the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of 1-2 November, 1943 on Bougainville, an island in the Solomon Islands group, but part of the Territory of New Guinea. ... Combatants United States Japan Commanders Julian Smith Shibasaki Keiji Strength 35,000 2,600 troops, 1,000 Japanese workers and 1,200 Korean laborers Casualties 1,009 killed, 2,101 wounded 4,690 killed, 17 POWs and 129 Koreans freed The Battle of Tarawa was a battle in the Pacific...

Rear-Admiral Frederick Sherman planned to pre-empt this threat by a carrier raid. Saratoga and Princeton headed for New Britain under cover of a weather front, and launched every plane at Rabaul. No ships were sunk, but six heavy cruisers were damaged (Atago, Maya, Chikuma, Mogami, Takao, and Suzuya) and the threat to Bougainville was destroyed. Frederick Carl Sherman (1888 – 27 July 1957) was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. Sherman was born in Michigan in 1888. ... The fifth USS Saratoga (CV-3) was the third aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. ... The fourth USS Princeton (CVL-23) was a United States Navy light aircraft carrier lost at the battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ship MAYA, was one of four TAKAO Class Heavy Cruisers, which were the largest of the heavy cruisers built for the Japanese Navy. ... Chikuma was a Tone-class heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served in World War II until sunk at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944. ... Mogami was the first in a class of four heavy cruisers that sailed in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Three of the four Mogami-class ships, Mogami, Suzuya, and Kumano, were sunk in the Pacific Ocean in 1944. ... World War II United States Navy recognition drawings of Takao and Atago Takao was a heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, named after Mount Takao(高雄山), a mountain in kyoto, Japan. ...

A second carrier raid was made on November 11 by the Saratoga and Essex. November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... The seventh USS Essex (CV-9) (also CVA-9 and CVS-9) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier, the lead ship of her class. ...