They reflect not only congested waters off busy beachheads but inclement weather such as sailors found in the often inhospitable climes of the Aleutians or the North Atlantic.
Verifying “accidental explosions” revealed incidents that ranged from a ship accidentally firing into herself, to a turret explosion, to bombs exploding onboard an aircraft that had just landed on a carrier flight deck. Wherever possible the reason for the damage is clarified. Vague references to “United States forces” scuttlings led to attempts to verify the cause. The cumbersome “coastal defense guns” simply became “shore batteries” and “United States naval gunfire” became “friendly fire,” where appropriate.
As much as possible, the nomenclature of enemy vessels (such as the replacement of “raider” with “auxiliary cruiser” or “armed merchant cruiser” and “armored ship” for “pocket battleship”) has been rendered more accurately. Unless otherwise specified, naval vessels are designated with the nationality (Japanese destroyer, Japanese cargo ship, et cetera); where an army-chartered or civilian ship is referred to, the nationality plus either “army” or “merchant” is used to differentiate, as well as can be determined, those ships from naval vessels. Japanese surnames precede the given name.
Every effort was made to pinpoint the most exact location of each incident. Longitude/latitude coordinates are given whenever available from official reports. Varying details regarding the location of a specific place were encountered in source documents, especially for the Pacific theatre. For example, “Savo Island, Solomons” may be mentioned in some source documents and “Savo Island, Guadalcanal” mentioned in other source documents. Because either description will lead the reader to the area of action, no attempt was made to consistently identify the location of Savo Island, which is located in the southeast Solomon Islands group, northwest of Guadalcanal Island.
If coordinates are not given and the place name mentioned in the source document is not found in a standard dictionary, more detailed information has been added to direct the reader to the location. For example, “Menado” is identified as “Menado, Celebes” and “Chichi Jima” is identified as “Chichi Jima, Bonins.”
Brief accounts are included of individuals who were awarded the Medal of Honor. This was done to bring a human dimension to the war, as well as to provide a context for these acts of bravery. While their circumstances differed, the common denominator was devotion to duty.
Inevitably one who compiles a chronology comes under fire for trying to be too exclusive or too inclusive. The decision of what to include in The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II has been mine alone. There will be complaints that certain events have been omitted. Given the scope of the work, one has to try and do justice to an entire war. A book of this nature is very much a “work in progress.”
Any errors of fact in the following pages are mine alone, and the opinions and interpretations contained herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of the Navy.
As is the case with any enterprise of this magnitude, there is a goodly company of people whose unique contributions I appreciate more than mere words can express. I particularly thank William S. Dudley, director of naval history (and his predecessor, Dean C. Allard), and Edward J. Marolda, senior historian, for asking me to undertake this project; William J. Morgan, historian emeritus at the Historical Center, for his insight and input; and Sandra J. Doyle and Wendy Karppi for their editorial assistance, as well as seemingly limitless patience, on numerous occasions. I especially thank the “band of brothers” in the Contemporary History Branch, Jeffrey G. Barlow, Richard A. Russell, John D. Sherwood, Robert J. Schneller, and Curtis A. Utz, for their insightful comments and unfailing good humor, as well as support and encouragement. Gary E. Weir, head of Contemporary History, deserves special acknowledgment for his unique contributions to this project. In addition the peer review he convened allowed me to benefit from the insights not only of the aforementioned scholars, but also Timothy Francis of the Center’s Ship’s History Branch; Lt. Col. Roger Cirillo, USA; Robert G. Browning Jr.; Scott T. Price; Sarandis Papadapoulis; and Roger Havern. Samuel L. Morison took the time to point out errors in the original edition. Richard B. Frank, Charles R. Haberlein, John B. Lundstrom, James T. Rindt, and James C. Sawruk read portions of the manuscript and offered helpful suggestions. Capt. Edward L. “Ned” Beach, USN (Ret.), proved a great help in calling attention to shortcomings of the original work during the formative stages of the revision.
No historian can perform his work without good source material. I would like to thank Bernard F. Cavalcante, head of the Operational Archives Branch, and his magnificent staff. Words of praise are too few to laud Kathleen M. Lloyd, Richard M. Walker, Regina T. Akers, John L. Hodges, and Ariana T. Jacob, who were never too busy to facilitate my research in what eventually amounted to hundreds of action reports, war diaries, command files, and biography files. I particularly appreciate their patient assistance when I called with yet another request in the midst of their own often hectic workday. Another group of people who took my frequent visits in stride is the Navy Department Library staff: Jean Hort, Glenn Helm, Tonya Montgomery, David Brown, Davis Elliott, and Barbara Auman. Likewise my old friends in Ship’s History, John C. Reilly Jr., James L. Mooney, Raymond A. Mann, Kevin Hurst, and Cherie Watson, cooperated cheerfully in allowing me to check pertinent files in the office that had been my professional home for more than a decade. Edwin Finney and Jack Green facilitated my research in the superbly organized Photographic Section of the Center’s Curator Branch. Barry Zerby at the National Archives’ College Park facility provided timely research assistance. Dana Bell of the National Air and Space Museum provided valuable input concerning USAAF operations during World War II. The Center’s naval reservists, led by Capt. William Galvani, USNR, contributed to the project by putting the contents of the original chronology on diskette—a very necessary first step.
This chronology is dedicated to those men and women who served in the United States Navy during World War II, who continued to build upon the traditions of those who had served in the past, and who forged new traditions for the current generation.
I also dedicate this work to my wife, Linda; to my children, Christine and Bobby, who often put up with my bringing work home in the course of my career; and to my father, Lt. Cdr. Wilmer H. Cressman, USN (Ret.), who served in the transport Susan B. Anthony (AP 73) in the Mediterranean (1943) and in the attack cargo ship Almaack (AKA 10) in the Pacific (1944–1945), and who was an active participant in amphibious operations from Sicily to Iwo Jima. He and my mother (who died in 1988) provided me with a stable, loving, and nurturing home in my formative years as I grew to love naval history. I am also grateful to my friends (whether classmates or workplace colleagues) who have encouraged me from junior high school to the present to grow as a writer and as a historian—for this work is a product of their help as well.
SEPTEMBER
1 Friday
World War II begins as Germany invades Poland with a power and rapidity that convincingly demonstrates to the world the blitzkrieg, or “lightning war.” Italy announces its neutrality. Ultimately, the global conflict set in motion on this late summer day will engulf much of the globe and wreak far-reaching changes in the world order.
The U.S. Navy in September 1939 is, for the most part, concentrated on the west coast of the United States, reflecting the nation’s traditional interest in the Far East and its isolationist leanings away from Europe. Although the matter is discussed as hostilities loomed on the horizon late in August 1939, there are no plans to use U.S. naval vessels to repatriate American citizens except in “collecting small groups [of Americans] in the Mediterranean area for transportation to places where they can move to safe ports for
