Status - John Skinner - USS O'Brien:
O'Brien was at Pearl Harbor until April 18th, and was receiving an anti-aircraft armament upgrade as described in the April 7th entry.
On the 13th, USS Hornet and its escorts crossed the date line and merged with Task Force 16 (Enterprise) to continue the secret mission towards Japan. The task force was to steam undetected to a point about 460 miles from the Japanese coast, so that the B-25 bombers launched from Hornet could bomb Japan and attempt to get to Chinese territory afterwards.U. S. Navy Task Forces:
- Task Force 17 (Yorktown) remained in the South Pacific area to continue raids and offensive operations. Having been at sea for a while, Task Force 17 was ordered to Tongatabu for a week of refurbishment, then to return to the Coral Sea area.
- Task Force 11 (Lexington) arrived at Pearl Harbor on March 26th. Lexington had completed its refit. Admiral Nimitz was considering sending Task Force 11 back to the Coral Sea, but did not do so yet; Task Force 11 initially proceeded to the Palmyra Island area.
- Task Force
16 (Enterprise) had joined with the USS Hornet group. Both carriers and their escorts were combined into Task Force 16 until the completion of the upcoming operation.
More Information:
- Official Navy Chronology, pp. 182-183.
- The First South Pacific Campaign, John B. Lundstrom, pp. 78-79.
NEXT POST: APRIL 19TH
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