Task Force 17

Task Force 17
Yorktown and Task Force 17 operate in the Pacific Ocean in February or March 1942.
Active	1941–1942 ?
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Role	Seizing and maintaining Command of the sea
Size	Aircraft Carriers USS Lexington and Yorktown
Part of	United States Pacific Fleet
Garrison/HQ	Pearl Harbor, Hawaii[ citation needed ]
Engagements	Marshalls-Gilberts raids Invasion of Lae-Salamaua Battle of the Coral Sea Battle of Midway Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
Commanders
Notable commanders	Frank Jack Fletcher

Task Force 17 (TF17) was an aircraft carrier task force of the United States Navy during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. TF17 participated in several major carrier battles in the first year of the war.

TF17 was initially centered around USS Yorktown. With Yorktown, TF17 engaged Imperial Japanese Navy forces in actions at the Marshalls-Gilberts raids, Invasion of Lae-Salamaua, Battle of the Coral Sea, and the Battle of Midway. Yorktown was sunk at Midway.

Reformed around USS Hornet and commanded by RADM George Murray, TF17 supported Allied forces during the Guadalcanal campaign. At the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, Hornet was sunk. After the battle the task force ceased to exist, the remaining ships (the cruiser and destroyer escorts) were then dispersed to other duties.

Operational history

Battle of the Coral Sea

Further information: Battle of the Coral Sea

In late April 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz ordered for Rear Admiral Aubrey Fitch, commander of Task Force 11 (TF11) centered on USS Lexington, to travel to the Coral Sea to join Fletcher's Task Force 17. An additional cruise force, Task Force 44, was deployed from the south. ^[1]

The rendezvous took place on 1 May, but Fitch advised Fletcher that he "did not expect to complete fueling till noon on 4 May." Fletcher moved TF17 further to the northwest. RADM Fitch was advised by RADM Fletcher of a second rendezvous, scheduled for 4 May and would have the Australian cruisers HMAS Australia (D84) and HMAS Hobart (D63) join with TF44. ^[1]

As the American Task Forces were refueling, attempting to move to favorable positions in order to intercept incoming Japanese forces, Japan launched the Invasion of Tulagi, part of Operation Mo. Upon receiving notice regarding the Japanese invasion of Tulagi, RADM Fletcher ordered TF17 to head there, hoping for arrival on the morning of 4 May. ^[1]

By 06:30, 4 May, Yorktown made the first of three strikes at around 08:15, assaulting Japanese shipping in the harbor. After completing the strikes, Fletcher moved south to rendezvous with Fitch and RADM John Gregory Crace or TF44. ^[1]

Lexington was lost during the battle while Yorktown was hit by a bomb. The hit reduced Yorktown's speed to 24 knots. By 12:30 TF17, with the remainder of Lexington's aircraft on Yorktown, were forced to return to Pearl Harbor. For the Japanese aircraft carriers, Shokaku had been severely damaged and returned to Truk. The second carrier, Zuikaku, also left, as it was low on aircraft, fuel, and personnel. ^[2] As a result, Admiral Inouye ordered for the Moresby invasion to be postponed and for the ships to retire. ^[1]

Fletcher and TF17 returned to Pearl Harbor where Yorktown was serviced in preparation for the Battle of Midway. ^[1]

Battle of Midway

Further information: Battle of Midway

TF17, under the command of Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, was to depart from Pearl Harbor, and did so on 30 May, to join Task Force 16 (TF16), centered around USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Hornet (CV-8), northeast of Midway Island. TF16 and TF17 joined about 350 miles northeast of Midway on 2 June, when Fletcher became officer in tactical command. The three aircraft carriers, supported by cruiser-launched floatplanes, provided 234 aircraft. ^[3]

Yorktown was lost during the battle; damaged by aircraft (bombs and torpedoes) from Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū 4 June 1942, torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-168 on 6 June 1942, and capsized and sank on 7 June 1942. ^[4]

References

Books

• Cressman, Robert (2000). That Gallant Ship U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-5). 4th printing. Missoula, Montana, U.S.A.: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. ISBN   0-933126-57-3.
• Lundstrom, John B. (2006). Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-59114-475-2.
• Lundstrom, John B. (2005). First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 (New ed.). Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-59114-472-8.
• Lundstrom, John B. (2005). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway (New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-59114-471-X.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001) [1958]. The Rising Sun in the Pacific 1931 – April 1942, vol. 3 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II . Castle Books. ISBN   0-7858-1304-7.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001) [1949]. Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942 – August 1942, vol. 4 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II . Champaign, Illinois, US: University of Illinois Press. ISBN   0-252-06995-1.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943, vol. 5 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II . Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN   0-316-58305-7.
• Rose, Lisle Abbott (2002). The Ship that Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War. Bluejacket Books. ISBN   1-55750-008-8.
• Stille, Mark (2007). USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific 1942. New York: Osprey. ISBN   978-1-84603-248-6.

Web

• United States Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence (1943). "Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean: February 1 to March 10, 1942". Combat Narrative. Publication Section, Combat Intelligence Branch.

Citations

1. Straczek, Joe. Perryman, John (ed.). "Battle of the Coral Sea". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
2. "Battle of the Coral Sea". Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 4 December 2024.
3. "Battle of Midway, 4–7 June 1942". Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 4 December 2024.
4. "Battle of Midway, 3-6 June 1942; Composition of U. S. Forces; United States Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas". Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 4 December 2024.