Status - John Skinner - USS Fullam:
Solomon Islands
A convoy destined for the Russell Islands, which are just west of Guadalcanal, survived a Japanese air attack on the 17th. The Russell Islands were to be taken as a first step against the Japanese airfield at Munda, about 120 miles further west. Munda had been used for a long time for air attacks against US positions on Guadalcanal.
Navy forces under Admiral Halsey were now in the Southwest Pacific area and fell under the command of General MacArthur as they moved up the Solomon Islands chain toward Rabaul in the Bismarcks. MacArthur also had command of a small force of ships in New Guinea (called "MacArthur's Navy"), where US forces had captured the Papuan peninsula, the southwestern portion of New Guinea. MacArthur was preparing to move forward along the northern New Guinea coast.
More Information:
- Official Navy Chronology, pp. 309-310.
- Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 1-100.
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