Action off Bougainville | |||||||
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Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II | |||||||
A Japanese 4th Air Group Type 1 bomber, piloted by the strike commander Lieutenant Commander Takuzo Ito, approaches Lexington during the action. The bomber, already missing one engine after an attack by a Wildcat fighter piloted by "Butch" O'Hare moments earlier, crashed into the ocean shortly after this picture was taken. |
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Japan | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Wilson Brown Frederick Carl Sherman |
Shigeyoshi Inoue Eiji Gotō |
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Strength | |||||||
1 aircraft carrier 4 cruisers 10 destroyers 19 fighters |
17 bombers 5 scouts |
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
2 fighters destroyed 1 killed |
23 aircraft destroyed 130 killed |
The Action off Bougainville was a naval and air engagement on the South Pacific Theater of World War II near Bougainville, Papua New Guinea on 20 February 1942. A United States Navy aircraft carrier task force on its way to raid the Imperial Japanese military base at Rabaul, New Britain was attacked by a force of land-based bombers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The U.S. task force was commanded by Admiral Wilson Brown and the Japanese aircraft forces were under the command of Eiji Gotō.
In the ensuing engagement, the Japanese air group lost 15 of 17 bombers sent to attack the American carrier group. The United States lost only two fighters in defense, and no ships were damaged. As a result of the loss of surprise, however, the Americans retired without raiding Rabaul as originally planned. Because of the heavy losses in bombers, the Japanese were forced to delay their planned invasion of New Guinea, giving the Allies more time to prepare defenses against the Japanese advances in the South Pacific.
Following the capture of the port of Rabaul during the battle of Rabaul, Japanese forces proceeded to turn it into a major base. The allied command was concerned the fall of Rabaul threatened the San Francisco-Australia sea lane supply line and ordered the supply line to be patrolled. Admiral Chester William Nimitz and Admiral Brown devised a plan to solve the threat on the supply line by attacking the newly captured Rabaul. Task Force 11 (TF 11) and the ANZAC Squadron were tasked with undertaking the raid. Unfortunately, the ANZAC Squadron fuel oil supply was inadequate to accompany TF 11 to its launching point north-east of Rabaul for the planned 21 February air strike.