Japanese air units at Tarawa and Wake?

[Carl Schwamberger]

According to Alexander 'Utmost Savagery' Betio Island was no longer used as a permanent base in the last weeks before the US attack. The bombers that few attack and reconissance missions from Betio were using it as a fuel and service stop. Alexander does not indicate how many ground crew still based on Betio, or if they were all withdrawn and the aircraft crew were performing all the refuel & service tasks. He does make it clear the last reconissance aircraft departed the morning before the assault and none were on the island when the USn arrived in sight.

[Carl Schwamberger]

The web site

http://www.tarawaontheweb.org/stanjersy1.htm

..has some contradictions with the USN/USMC post battle documents, and Alexander's research. One example from the site text would be:

"At noon, on D-day, the batteries of the USS Maryland BB 46 and the USS Santa Fe CL 60 scored a direct hit on the block house command center shelter and killed Admiral Shibasaki and most of his staff reportedly containing about 300 sea-infantrymen. Although the command center was destroyed and effective command liaison ceased, the morale of the garrison showed no decline."

Post battle reports by the Marines describe the command block house still in action until the 21st, when it's defenders were finally killed by Marines directly assulating it with satchel charges. Destruction by direct assualt is substantiated by the citations and supporting documents for awards given to the leaders of the assualt on the command blockhouse. Other support for this is from the post battle evaluation of the naval gun fire. That report describes no substantial penetration of the blockhouse by the naval guns of any caliber. Interrogation of the 14 surviving Japanese naval garrison (the surviving Korean laborers do not seem to have been questioned), specifically of the Petty Officer & the Warrant officer suggested that the Garrison commander & his command group were killed by one or more 5" projectiles from a destroyer, while they were moving out side the command bunker to better organize a counter attack.

[Larry deZeng]

Carl -



There will always be contradictions when comparing reports of the same events written by the two opposing sides. "Felix" was only interested in determining whether or not JNAF patrol aircraft operating from Tarawa had spotted the incoming landing force while still some distance from the atoll. The Japanese account taken from the official 102 volume postwar history, Senshi Sosho, probably Vol. 62 published in 1973, has been proven consistently reliable by historians since the sources are all primary (yes, nearly all of the higher level Japanese WWII records survived the war).

As for 755 Ko, it did withdraw its detachment from Betio two months prior to the landings and there after used it as an "Absprunghafen" (advanced landing ground) for staging missions, refueling and light servicing work. Nevertheless, the Japanese account covers this and shows that only a tiny handful of 755 personnel were at Betio at the time of the landings.


755 Kōkūtai

(FPO Designation: U-133)


Formed 1 November 1942 at Kisarazu NAS/23.5 mi SE of Tōkyō on Tōkyō Bay in Chiba Prefecture/E Honshū by renaming the Genzan Kōkūtai. Initially equipped with both Mitsubishi G3M Type 96 land attack bombers (NELL) and Mitsubishi G4M Type 1 land attack bombers (BETTY). The group’s authorized personnel allowance dated 1 September 1943 specified 237 officers and warrant officers, and 2,068 petty officers and men. Assigned to 22d Air Flotilla/11th Air Fleet.[1]

30 Dec 42: transferred from Kisarazu to Roi on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.[2]
7/8 Sep 43: operating from Tarawa, bombed the just-completed 5,000-foot airstrip on Nonomea Atoll in the Ellice Islands with 10 G4Ms causing 12 casualties and damaging some facilities.[3]
18-19 Sep 43: had a detachment with 18 land attack bombers and 330 personnel based on Betio Is./Tarawa Atoll in the Gilberts - hit by U.S. 7th AAF B-24s from Canton Is./Phoenix Islands and Funafuti Atoll/Ellice Islands and U.S. carrier strikes for two days and 9 bombers destroyed. All remaining planes and personnel withdrew to bases in the Marshalls over the next week or two.[4]
Mid-Sep 43 - Oct 43: completed full conversion to the G4M BETTY.[5]
Oct 43: the group finally completed its slow conversion to the Type 1 BETTY in October, the last air group in the JNAF to do so.[6]
1 Nov 43: at Roi/Kwajalein Atoll (25 planes), Taroa/Maloelap Atoll (9 planes) and Nauru Is. (6 planes) assigned to 22d Air Flotilla.[7]
19 Nov 43: reported a total of 40 G4M land attack bombers serviceable.[8]
21 Nov 43: with the U.S. invasion of Tarawa this date, the group together with 752 Kōkūtai began night torpedo attacks on fleet units operating in the Gilberts and may have shared credit for a single hit on the carrier USS Independence.[9]
2 Dec 43: ordered to transferred to Tinian in the Marianas to rest and refit, but before departing the group lost 6 destroyed and 3 damaged during a U.S. carrier strike on Kwajalein and Wotje Atoll on 4 December. The surviving planes and crews finally left for Tinian on 7 December.[10]

[1] JM#116; JICPOA Bulletin 16-45; Thorpe-JNAF; Sekigawa:136; JICPOA JNAF OB (Microfiche F-2076):175.

[2] JM#116.

[3] Cressman-Official Chronology; Hammel-Air War.

[4] Crowl-Gilberts/Marshalls:67-68.

[5] Osamu TAGAYA-j-aircraft.com Board posting, 9 Feb 2001.

[6] Tagaya-Betty Units:81 and 101.

[7] USSBS Interrogation/Translation #73.

[8] R.Dunn-j-aircraft.com Board posting 20 Jul 01.

[9] Tagaya-op cit:81.

[10] JM#173.

L.

[Nokose]

I saw a documentary TV program of a Navy landing craft boatman that returned to Tarawa some years back. In the narration portion they stated that Admiral Shibasaki and his staff were killed in the open going to another vantage point from the bunker.