The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The tactic involved loading personnel or supplies onto fast warships, such as destroyers or other warships, and using the warships' speed capability to deliver the personnel or supplies to the desired location and return to the originating base all within one night so Allied aircraft could not intercept them by day.

Name

The original name of the resupply missions was "Cactus Express" as coined by Allied forces on Guadalcanal, using the codename for the Guadalcanal operation. After the U.S. press began referring to it as the "Tokyo Express," apparently in order to preserve operational security for the codeword "Cactus," Allied forces also began to use that phrase in place of "Cactus Express." The Japanese called the night resupply missions , because they took place at night.

Organization and history

Rat Transportation was necessary for Japanese forces due to Allied air superiority in the South Pacific that was established soon after the Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Henderson Field began operating as the "Cactus Air Force" in August, 1942. Delivery of troops and material by slow transport ships to Japanese forces on Guadalcanal and New Guinea soon proved too vulnerable to daytime air attack. Thus, Japanese Combined Fleet commander, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, authorized the use of faster warships at night to make the deliveries when the threat of detection was much less and aerial attack minimal.^[1]

The Tokyo Express began soon after the Battle of Savo Island in August, 1942 and continued until late in the Solomon Islands campaign when one of the last, large Express runs was interdicted and almost completely destroyed in the Battle of Cape St. George on November 26, 1943. Although the fast destroyers typically used were not configured for cargo handling, many supplies were simply pushed into the water, inside of sealed steel drums tied together with strings that floated ashore or were picked up by barge. A typical night in December resulted in 1500 drums being rolled into the sea, but only 300 were recovered. ^[2]

Most of the warships used for Tokyo Express missions came from the 8th Fleet, based at Rabaul and Bougainville, although ships from Combined Fleet units based at Truk were often temporarily attached for use in Express missions. The warship formations assigned to Express missions were often formally designated as the Reinforcement Unit, but the size and composition of this unit varied from mission to mission.^[3]

John F. Kennedy and PT-109

see main article Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109

John F. Kennedy's PT-109 was lost on a "poorly planned and uncoordinated" attack on the Tokyo Express.^[4] 15 PT boats with 60 torpedoes did not register a single hit, let alone a sinking. The PT-109 was struck by a destroyer returning from its supply run, estimated to be traveling in excess of 30 knots with no running lights

References

Notes

1. ↑ Coombe, Derailing the Tokyo Express, p. 33.
2. ↑ History of USMC Operations in WWII, Vol I, Chapter 9: Final Period, 9 December 1942 to 9 February 1943
3. ↑ Frank, p. 559.
4. ↑ National Geographic Search for the PT-109 DVD

Books

• Online views of selections of the book:http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0785813063

Web

• - Translation of the official record by the Japanese Demobilization Bureaux detailing the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy's participation in the Southwest Pacific area of the Pacific War.

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