The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by February 1942, after which it was dissolved, and the remnants incorporated into the naval component of the South West Pacific Area command, which eventually became the

Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of t ...

. The fleet was created when its predecessor, the

Asiatic Squadron The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron were primarily inv ...

, was upgraded to fleet status in 1902. In early 1907, the fleet was downgraded and became the First Squadron of the United States Pacific Fleet. However, on 28 January 1910, it was again organized as the Asiatic Fleet. Thus constituted, the Asiatic Fleet, based in the Philippines, was organizationally independent of the Pacific Fleet, which was based on the

United States West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

until it moved to Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii in 1940. Although much smaller than any other U.S. Navy fleet and indeed far smaller than what any navy generally considers to be a fleet, the Asiatic Fleet from 1916 was commanded by one of only four four-star

admirals Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

authorized in the U.S. Navy at the time. This reflected the prestige of the position of Asiatic Fleet commander-in-chief, who generally was more powerful and influential with regard to the affairs of the United States in China than was the American minister, or later

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U. ...

, to China.

1902–1907

In 1904, all

armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast en ...

s were withdrawn from the Far East. Gunboats patrolled the Yangtze River in the

Yangtze Patrol The Yangtze Patrol, also known as the Yangtze River Patrol Force, Yangtze River Patrol, YangPat and ComYangPat, was a prolonged naval operation from 1854–1949 to protect American interests in the Yangtze River's treaty ports. The Yangtze ...

. After

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regard ...

Charles J. Train became commander-in-chief of the fleet in March 1905, it was involved in various ways with the closing weeks of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

of 1904–1905. After the Imperial Japanese Navy's decisive defeat of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

in the Battle of Tsushima Strait in May 1905, units of the Asiatic Fleet escorted three fleeing Russian

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s into Manila Bay in the Philippine Islands, where Train ensured that their crews were well taken care of during a lengthy stay until they were able to return to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

.Anonymous
"Admiral Train Dies at Che-Foo, China"
'' The New York Times'', 4 August 1906. In November 1905, Train was at the center of a diplomatic dispute while with a group of American officers on a pheasant-hunting expedition near Nanking, China, when he accidentally shot a Chinese woman with

birdshot A shotgun shell, shotshell or simply shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) cartridges used specifically in shotguns, and is typically loaded with numerous small, pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, fired throu ...

, inflicting minor injuries on her. A mob of hundreds of Chinese villagers formed around Trains party and attacked it, pushing Train into the mud, seizing the officers' guns, and taking Train's son, Navy Lieutenant Charles R. Train, hostage. When the Asiatic Fleet landed 40 United States Marines to rescue the officers, the villagers attacked them with pitchforks and the Marines fired two shots. Local Chinese officials refused to return the officers' guns, but Train and his companions were able to extricate themselves without further injury to anyone. The governor of Nanking later apologized for the mob's actions, returned the American officers' guns, and punished the ringleaders of the mob. On 4 August 1906, Train died in

Yantai Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...

(known to

Westerners The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

at the time as "Chefoo"), China, while still in command of the Asiatic Fleet. After a memorial ceremony, which Japanese Admiral Heihachiro Togo and other dignitaries attended at

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

, aboard Trains

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...

, the battleship , the steamer ''Empress of China'' carried his body out of the harbor under escort en route to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

In early 1907, the Asiatic Fleet was abolished, and its ships and personnel became the First Squadron of the United States Pacific Fleet.

1910–1937

On 28 January 1910, the United States Asiatic Fleet was reestablished. In December 1922 the U.S. Navy was restructured, with the U.S. Pacific Fleet and United States Atlantic Fleet combining to form a unified

United States Fleet The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The acronym CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This was replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 ...

. However, the Asiatic Fleet remained a separate entity and was charged with defending the Philippines and Guam and with upholding the

Open Door Policy The Open Door Policy () is the United States diplomatic policy established in the late 19th and early 20th century that called for a system of equal trade and investment and to guarantee the territorial integrity of Qing China. The policy wa ...

in China. Due to political unrest in China, the Asiatic Fleet assigned the gunboats and and destroyers to the Chinese ports of

Amoy Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...

, Fuchow, and Swatow in 1932 to protect American lives and property. In late July 1937, the Asiatic Fleet's commander-in-chief,

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Harry E. Yarnell Admiral Harry Ervin Yarnell (18 October 1875 – 7 July 1959) was an American naval officer whose career spanned over 51 years and three wars, from the Spanish–American War through World War II. Among his achievements was proving, in 1932 war g ...

, took his

, the heavy cruiser , to the Soviet Union's main naval base in the Pacific, Vladivostok, along with four of the fleet's destroyers. The visit, urged by the Soviet government, was an attempt to display solidarity between the Soviet Union and the United States in the face of increasingly aggressive Japanese behavior in China and along the border between the Soviet Union and the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria. The visit was unsuccessful in deterring further Japanese military operations in either area.

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War began on 7 July 1937 with the

Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuri ...

. The United States was not a participant in the conflict, but it complicated the Asiatic Fleet's mission as the fleet continued to maintain a presence and take action to protect American lives and property. On 14 August 1937, ''Augusta'' with Yarnell aboard arrived at Shanghai from Tsingtao just after the

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan at the beginning of the ...

began. That day, aircraft of the Republic of China Air Force mistakenly attacked the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

heavy cruiser in the harbor at Shanghai, but the bombs fell wide of ''Cumberland'' and did not damage her.Hackett, Bob, Sander Kingsepp, and Anthony Tully, "RISING STORM - THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY AND CHINA: 1931-1941: The Beginning of The Second Sino-Japanese War - "The Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the Fall of Peiping and Shanghai - 1937," combinedfleet.com, 1 November 2013 Accessed 14 December 2021
/ref> Two bombs also fell close alongside ''Augusta'', but there were no fatalities. Japanese Special Naval Landing Force and Imperial Japanese Army forces landed on the coast of China at Swatow on 21 June 1939 and seized Swatow 12 hours later.Hackett, Bob, Sander Kingsepp, and Anthony Tully, "RISING STORM - THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY AND CHINA: 1931-1941: Amphibious Assault on Swatow (Shantou) - 1939," combinedfleet.com, 28 February 2013 Accessed 14 December 2021
/ref> At the time, 40 American citizens and 80 British nationals were ashore at Swatow and the Asiatic Fleet destroyer and the

destroyer were in the harbor. The Japanese peremptorily ordered the two ships to leave, and when the demand reached Yarnell aboard ''Augusta'' — anchored to the north at

Chinwangtao Qinhuangdao (; ) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population during the 2020 national ...

— Yarnell requested instructions from the

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

, which in turn granted U.S. military personnel in China the authority to make decisions on their own initiative, a response to the Japanese government's habit of blaming any confrontation between Japanese and international forces in China on local Japanese commanders. With this authority in hand, Yarnell ordered ''Pillsbury'' to remain at Swatow, sent the destroyer there as a reinforcement, and informed his Japanese counterpart, the commander-in-chief of the China Area Fleet, Vice Admiral

Koshirō Oikawa was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and Naval Minister during World War II. Biography Oikawa was born into a wealthy family in rural Koshi County, Niigata Prefecture, but was raised in Morioka city, Iwate prefecture in northern Ja ...

, that U.S. Navy ships would remain present anywhere where U.S lives and property were in danger. ''Thanet'' also remained at Swatow, reinforced by the destroyer , and the Japanese did not take further action against any of the ships or against U.S. or British nationals at Swatow.

World War II

On 25 July 1939,

Thomas C. Hart Thomas Charles Hart (June 12, 1877July 4, 1971) was an admiral in the United States Navy, whose service extended from the Spanish–American War through World War II. Following his retirement from the navy, he served briefly as a United States S ...

was appointed the commander-in-chief of the fleet. It was based at

Cavite Naval Base Naval Station Pascual Ledesma, also known as Cavite Naval Base or Cavite Navy Yard, is a military installation of the Philippine Navy in Cavite City. In the 1940s and '50s, it was called Philippine Navy Operating Base. The naval base is located at ...

and Olongapo Naval Station on Luzon, with its headquarters at the Marsman Building in Manila. On 22 July 1941, the Mariveles Naval Base was completed and the Asiatic Fleet began to use it as well. Hart had permission to withdraw to the Indian Ocean, in the event of war with Japan, at his discretion. Hart's submarines, commanded by Commander, Submarines, Asiatic Fleet ( COMSUBAF)

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John E. Wilkes were six elderly S-class submarines (plus

submarine tender A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...

) and seven ''Porpoise''s ( Submarine Squadron 5).Blair, p.77. In October 1941, 12 ''Salmon''s or ''Sargo''s—in Captain Stuart "Sunshine" Murray's Submarine Division 15 and Captain Joseph A. Connolly's Submarine Division 16, accompanied by the tender , were added. Walter E. "Red" Doyle was assigned as Wilkes' relief.Blair, p.82. Hart's defensive plan relied heavily on his submarines, which were believed to be "the most lethal arm of the insignificant Asiatic Fleet", to interdict the Japanese and whittle down their forces prior to a landing, and to disrupt attempts at reinforcing after the landings took place. When war began, Doyle's inexperience in Asian waters meant Wilkes remained ''de facto'' COMSUBAF. Problems were encountered almost from the beginning. No defensive minefields were laid.Blair, pp. 156-160. Ineffective and unrealistic peacetime training, inadequate (or nonexistent) defensive plans, poor deployments, and defective torpedoes combined to make submarine operations in defense of the Philippines a foregone conclusion. No boats were placed in

Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balil ...

, widely expected to be where the Japanese would land;Blair, p. 158. in the event, several S boats, aggressively handled, scored successes there. Nor were any boats off ports of Japanese-held

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territori ...

, despite more than a week's warning of impending hostilities. Successes were few in the early days of the war.

Chinese detachment

From 1901 to 1937, the United States maintained a strong military presence in China, to protect trade interests in the Far East, and to pursue a permanent alliance with the Chinese Republic, after long diplomatic difficulties with the Chinese Empire. The relationship between the U.S. and China was mostly on-again off-again, with periods of both cordial diplomatic relations accompanied by times of severed relations and violent anti-United States protests. China's central government was relatively weak in comparison to the local influence of regional warlords. Armed renegade soldiers and boatmen prowled the Yangtze River ready to seize any vessel unable to defend itself. The cooks, bakers, stewards, and mess attendants were exclusively Chinese aboard all gunboats and cruisers in Chinese waters. These men did not wear naval uniforms, but wore traditional Chinese civilian attire. They wore black satin slippers and a

skullcap Skullcap or skull cap usually refers to various types of headgear. Specifically it may refer to: Headwear * Beanie (seamed cap) * Biretta, forming part of some clerical, academic or legal dress * Calotte (Belgium), a skullcap worn by students ...

with a decorative button on top. The remainder of their clothing was made of white satin, consisting of long, rather loose pantaloons tied around the ankles and a short jacket fastened in front with

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' i ...

. Not considered part of the ships' crew were the Chinese girls who lived aboard sampans tied to the stern of each gunboat while moored at Shanghai. These sampans would shuttle members of the gunboat crew ashore upon request. The girls also painted the gunboat and polished

brightwork Brightwork also known historically as "bright work" refers to the exposed and varnished wood or metal work of a boat. The metal is usually brass or bronze that is kept polished, or stainless steel, which requires less maintenance. In the past, d ...

in exchange for the ship's

garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...

. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Asiatic Fleet was based from China, and the image of the "China Sailor" developed, as many U.S. Navy members remained at postings in China for 10–12 years, then retired and continued to live there. The classic film '' The Sand Pebbles'' is a dramatization on the life of the China Sailors. The U.S. military also created several awards and decorations to recognize those personnel who had performed duty in China. The

China Service Medal The China Service Medal was a service medal awarded to U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel. The medal was instituted by Navy Department General Order No. 176 on 1 July 1942. The medal recognized service in and around China before a ...

and Yangtze Service Medal were all military medals which could be presented to those who had performed duty in China. With the approach of World War II, the U.S. military in China was slowly withdrawn to protect other U.S. interests in the Pacific. With the rise of Communist China, there was no further U.S. military presence in mainland China, a status which continues to this day. Early in November 1941, the Navy Department ordered Hart to withdraw the fleet's Marines and gunboats stationed in China. Five of the gunboats were moved to Manila; was left with a skeleton crew as a radio base and was seized by the Japanese on 8 December; and was transferred to the Republic of China Navy under Lend-Lease. The majority of the

4th Marine Regiment The 4th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Based at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, it is part of the 3rd Marine Division of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. Mission Close with and destroy the enemy b ...

was stationed at Shanghai, and other detachments were at Peking (Beijing) and

Tientsin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popula ...

(Tianjin). These troops were loaded onto two passenger liners, and , on 27–28 November (at either Shanghai or

(Qinghuangdao) and arrived in the Philippines on 30 November-1 December. ''President Harrison'' returned to Chinwangtao for the remaining Marines, but was captured by the Japanese on 7 December. Those Marines who had reached the Philippines were tasked with defending the naval stations, particularly Mariveles Naval Base.

Minefields

Manila Bay and

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Su ...

had Army-operated minefields as well as naval mines. The Army minefields were operated by the

Coast Artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays The Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays ("Coast Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays" until 1925) (a.k.a. CD/HD Manila Bay) were a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command, part of the Philippine Department of the U ...

. These minefields were designed to stop all vessels except submarines and shallow-draft surface craft. In Manila Bay, two controlled minefields were placed, one between Corregidor and

La Monja Island La Monja Island (also Monja Island; Spanish: "the nun") is a small, uninhabited island near the entrance to Manila Bay in the Philippines. It is located several kilometers southeast of Mariveles, Bataan, and west from Corregidor lighthouse. It ha ...

s, and the other between Corregidor Island and the

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...

Peninsula east of Mariveles Bay, both operated from Corregidor. Also, in mid-1941 US Navy minefields of contact mines were laid between Mariveles Bay and La Monja Island, and between Corregidor and Carabao Islands. The Subic Bay minefield was laid in July 1941 and operated from

Fort Wint Fort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the W ...

, with the controlled Army mines in the ship channel, and naval mines to the sides of the channel.Bogart, Charles M., ''Subic Bay and Fort Wint: Keys to Manila'', p. 2 at Corregidor.org
/ref>

Vessels of the Asiatic Fleet and the 16th Naval District: 8 December 1941

The Asiatic Fleet and the 16th Naval District possessed: (Losses noted below were during the Philippines campaign (1941-42) and the

Dutch East Indies campaign The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Forces from the Allies attempted ...

) *1 heavy cruiser ** (lost 1 March 1942) *1 light cruiser ** (heavily damaged 2 February 1942) *13 s: ** ** ** ** ** (lost 1 March 1942) ** (lost 2 March 1942) ** ** ** ** ** (lost 1 March 1942) ** (lost 19 February 1942) ** (lost 2 March 1942) *1

destroyer tender A destroyer tender or destroyer depot ship is a type of depot ship: an auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of ...

** *2 coastal gunboats: ** (lost 3 March 1942) ** *5

river gunboat A river gunboat is a type of gunboat adapted for river operations. River gunboats required shallow draft for river navigation. They would be armed with relatively small caliber cannons, or a mix of cannons and machine guns. If they carried mor ...

s: ** (lost 5 May 1942) ** (lost 6 May 1942) ** (lost 2 May 1942) ** ** (captured 8 December 1941) *4 patrol yachts ** **'' Maryann'' (lost 5 May 1942) **'' Fisheries II'' (lost 5 May 1942) **''Perry'' *29 submarines: ** ** ** (lost 11 February 1942) ** ** (lost 3 March 1942) ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** (lost 21 January 1942) ** ** ** ** ** ** ** (lost 25 December 1941) ** ** *1 submarine rescue vessel ** (lost 4 May 1942) *3 submarine tenders: ** ** (lost 10 April 1942) ** *6 minesweepers: ** (lost 10 April 1942) ** (lost 10 December 1941) ** (lost 4 May 1942) ** (lost 5 May 1942) ** ** *4

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

s: ** (lost 27 February 1942) ** ** ** in support of Patrol Wing 10 (VP 101 and VP 102) with 28 Consolidated PBY-4

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fuselag ...

s *1 Yard patrol craft **'' YP-97'' (lost March 1942) *6 motor

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

s ( Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three) **''PT-31'' (lost 20 January 1942) **''PT-32'' (lost 13 March 1942) **''PT-33'' (lost 15 December 1941) **'' PT-34'' (lost 9 April 1942) **''PT-35'' (lost 12 April 1942) **'' PT-41'' (lost 15 April 1942) *2 tankers: ** (lost 1 March 1942) ** *4 ocean-going

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s ** (lost 9 April 1942) ** (lost 5 May 1942) **'' Ranger'', commandeered by US Navy (lost 28 February 1942) **'' Trabajador'', commandeered by US Navy (lost 2 May 1942) *3 auxiliary yard ships **'' YAG-2'' (lost 10 December 1941) **'' YAG-3'' (lost May 1942) **'' YAG-4'' (lost 12 April 1942) *1 two-masted schooner ** *1

floating dry dock Floating may refer to: * a type of dental work performed on horse teeth * use of an isolation tank * the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched * ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes * Floating (psychological ...

**'' Dewey'' (lost 8 April 1942) *4

Harbor tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

s ** ''Banaag'' (lost 25 December 1941) ** ''Iona'' (lost January 1942) ** ''Mercedes'' (lost 2 January 1942) **''Vaga'' *8 ferryboats and launches **''Camia'' (YFB-683) ** ''Dapdap'' (lost 2 January 1942) **''Magdalena'' (YFB-687) **''Rivera'' (YFB-685) **''Rosal'' (YFB-682) ** ''San Felipe'' (lost 6 May 1942) **''Santa Rita'' (YFB-681) ** ''Yacal'' (lost 2 January 1942) *various other small ships US government /

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Phil ...

ships *2 survey ships ** USC&GS ''Fathomer'' (lost April 1942) ** USC&GSS ''Pathfinder'' (lost 30 January 1942) *2 customs inspection and enforcement cutters ** ''Arayat'' (lost 27 December 1941) **''Mindoro'' *2 lighthouse tenders ** USLHT ''Canlaon'' (lost 27 December 1941) ** USLHT ''Banahao'' (lost 28 December 1941) *Presidential yacht ** BRP ''Banahaw'' (lost 29 December 1941) U.S. Army Mine Planter Service ships *2

mine planter Mine planter and the earlier "torpedo planter" was a term used for mine warfare ships into the early days of World War I. In later terminology, particularly in the United States, a mine planter was a ship specifically designed to install control ...

s ** USAMP ''Col. George F. E. Harrison'' ** USAJMP ''Neptune''

United States Army Forces in the Far East United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) ( Filipino: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Estados Unidos sa Malayong Silangan/HKEUMS''; Spanish: ''Fuerzas del Ejército de los Estados Unidos en el Lejano Oriente'') was a military formation of the Uni ...

ships *2 transports **''General Miley'' ** USAT ''General John McE. Hyde'' (lost 26 December 1941) *2 chartered transports **USHB ''Mambukal'' **USHB ''Neptune'' The

Offshore Patrol The Offshore Patrol (OSP) also known as the Mosquito Fleet was a small naval branch of the United States Army, intended for inshore defense of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. It was active from February 9, 1939 to June 30, 1946. The OSP bec ...

(technically part of the

) *3 torpedo boats **'' Q-111 Luzon'' (lost 9 April 1942) **'' Q-112 Abra'' (lost 9 April 1942) **''Q-113 Agusan'' *2 gunboats (converted motor launches) **''Q-114 Danday'' ** ''Q-115 Baler'' (lost 29 December 1941) Civilian ships present *MV ''Aloha'' *''Anakan'' *SS ''Bicol'' *''Bisayas'' * SS ''Capillo'' (lost 29 December 1941) *SS ''Don Jose'' *MV ''Ethel Edwards'' * SS ''Corregidor'' (lost 17 December 1941) *''Henry Keswick'' (British tugboat later commandeered by the U.S. Army) *''Lanao'' *''LaTouche'' *SS ''Magallanes'' *''Marinduque'' *SS ''Mauban'' *SS ''Manatawny'' *SS ''Montanes'' *SS ''Paz'' (scuttled March 1942) * SS ''Marechal Joffre'' * SS ''Samal'' (lost 29 December 1941) *MV ''Si-Kiang'' *''Sagoland'' *''Tamaraw'' *SS ''Taurus'' *SS ''Vizcaya'' (scuttled December 1941)

Aircraft of the Asiatic Fleet: 8 December 1941

The aviation elements of the Asiatic Fleet comprised Patrol Wing 10 (Capt. Frank D. Wagner), with two patrol squadrons (VPs or PatRons), a utility unit, and the aviation units aboard the Fleet's two cruisers and the large seaplane tender ''

Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

''. Patrol Wing 10 had been commissioned in December 1940, and included Patrol Squadrons 101 ( VP 101) and 102 ( VP 102), each equipped with fourteen Consolidated PBY-4 Catalina

s. By Mid-1941, these 28 PBYs were numbered 1 through 14 for VP 101, 16 through 29 for VP 102. The Utility Unit included Grumman J2F Duck

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

(1 J2F-2 and 4 J2F-4s), as well as five new Vought OS2U-2 Kingfisher floatplanes, delivered in the late summer. Also, a number of

Curtiss SOC Seagull The Curtiss SOC Seagull was an American single-engined scout observation seaplane, designed by Alexander Solla of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation for the United States Navy. The aircraft served on battleships and cruisers in a seaplane configurati ...

floatplanes were present. ''Houston'' carried four, ''Marblehead'' two, and ''Langley'' two or three, and two more were under repair or in storage at the Aircraft Overhaul Shop (Shop X 34) at Cavite Navy Yard. As of 8 December, PBYs of Patrol Wing 10 patrolled the northwest and northeast of Luzon daily. These flights were based at either

NAS Sangley Point Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...

, the Navy's auxiliary seaplane station at Olongapo on

, or seaplane tender ''Childs'' in Manila Bay. Trios of PBYs rotated down to the southern islands to base on ''William B. Preston'' at

Malalag Bay Malalag, officially the Municipality of Malalag ( ceb, Lungsod sa Malalag; tl, Bayan ng Malalag), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 40,158 people. ...

Davao Gulf Davao Gulf is a gulf situated in the southeastern portion of Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of or about 520,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from the Philippine Sea. It is surrounded by all five provinces i ...

, Mindanao. These patrols over the Philippine Sea to the east bordered with similar patrols flown by Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service flying boats based in the Netherlands East Indies. Seaplane tender ''Heron'', with a detachment of four OS2U-2s from the Utility Unit, ran morning and evening patrols from

Port Ciego A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Balabac Island Balabac Island is the southernmost island of the Palawan province, and therefore the westernmost undisputed island in the Philippines, only about north from Sabah, Malaysia, across the Balabac Strait. Administratively, the island forms the main ...

, over the strategically important Balabac Straits from 4–13 December. Early in the morning of 8 December, ''Preston'' dispatched one aircraft on patrol and a short time later was attacked by aircraft from the small Japanese

carrier Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

, and her other two PBYs were sunk on the water. Patrol Wing 10 was ordered south into the

Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

on 12 December, when the collapsing defenses of the islands made further operations untenable. Within the first 90 days of the war, Patrol Wing 10 had fallen back to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, being reinforced by VP 22 from Hawaii but losing 41 of 44 PBYs to enemy action together with ''Langley''. Patrol Wing 10 also lost all but one utility aircraft. *PBY-4 (28. Added: 12 PBY-5s from VP 22 and 5 ex-Dutch Catalinas in January) *J2F-2 or -4 (4) *OS2U-2 (5) * SOC-1 or -2 /

SON A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...

(10-12)

Asiatic Fleet components: 8 December 1941

Asiatic Fleet Headquarters, ashore from mid-1941 at the Marsman Building on the Manila waterfront. The Fleet flagship, , was assigned to lead Task Force 5 (TF 5). TF 4, Asiatic Fleet: Patrol Wing 10, seaplane tenders, and aviation resources. TF 5, Asiatic Fleet: surface strike forces, including cruisers and Destroyer Squadron 29 (DesRon 29). TF 6, Asiatic Fleet: submarines force, including all submarines, tenders and rescue ships. TF 7, Asiatic Fleet: patrol force, including gunboats and . 4th Marine Regiment Commandant 16th Naval District (COM16): The Cavite Navy Yard and all the shore establishment on Luzon, including the radio station, ammunition depot, hospital, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron THREE, naval air station, mine depot, and similar facilities on Corregidor, at Mariveles, Bataan, and Olongpago, on Subic Bay. The historic

was concluded in early December 1941. Of the five remaining gunboats, remained at

Chungking Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...

, was in reduced commission at Shanghai as a radio station for the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, and ComYangPat sailed in with ''Oahu'' for Manila, joined by .

Battles fought by the Asiatic Fleet: early 1942

As the Japanese sought sources of oil and minerals in the Netherlands East Indies and Borneo immediately following Pearl Harbor, the only fleet available to defend against them was the Asiatic Fleet. Outnumbered, outgunned, outmanned, the U.S. Navy, part of the

ABDA The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II. The command consists of the forces of Austra ...

(American, British, Dutch and Australian) force was unable to stop the Japanese, and could only attempt to slow them down.

Battle of Balikpapan: 24 January 1942

Catching a Japanese invasion fleet of 16 transports, a cruiser and several destroyers anchored in Balikpapan Bay, four U.S. "four stacker" destroyers—, , and —attacked at night using torpedoes and gunfire to sink four transports and one patrol craft. The Japanese believed that the attack came from submarines, and sent cruiser and destroyers out to sea in pursuit, leaving the transports unprotected. This was the first American surface action of the Pacific War and the first since the Spanish–American War. Although it significantly boosted morale, it had a negligible effect on Japanese operations.

Battle of Flores Sea: 4 February 1942

Encouraged by the success of the Balikpapan raid, an attempt was made to break up another invasion when word was received that a Japanese force was planning a landing at Makassar on Celebes Island. Planning a night attack, the ABDA force had to sail some distance in open water in daylight. It was attacked by Japanese bombers which severely damaged the light cruiser and disabled turret No. 3 on the heavy cruiser . The force retreated to

Tjilatjap Cilacap Regency ( jv, ꦏꦨꦸꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦕꦶꦭꦕꦥ꧀, also spelt: Chilachap, old spelling: Tjilatjap, Sundanese: ) is a regency () in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Cilacap. ...

, Java, having failed to prevent the Japanese landing.

Battle of Badung Strait: 19/20 February 1942

In an effort to break up another invasion, a small force of ABDA ships arrived on the island of

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and N ...

after the Japanese had made their landing and had retired, leaving only four Japanese destroyers on station. This attack failed. Three Japanese destroyers were damaged by gunfire, but the Dutch destroyer ''Piet Hein'' was sunk and a Dutch and American destroyer were damaged.

Battle of Java Sea: 27 February 1942

This was the largest battle fought in the area. The ABDA force of five cruisers and 11 destroyers, led by Dutch Admiral Doorman sailed against a Japanese force of seven cruisers and 25 destroyers. The Japanese had air cover, while ABDA did not (nor in any of the other battles described here). It was a rout, fought during the afternoon and evening, a running gun battle with Japanese planes constantly dropping flares to illuminate the ABDA ships. The Dutch lost two cruisers and a destroyer, the British two destroyers. One Japanese destroyer was damaged.

Battle of Sunda Strait: 28 February 1942

Retreating south to Batavia after the Battle of Java Sea the day before, the U.S. cruiser ''Houston'' and the Australian light cruiser —while heading at high speed for Sunda Strait, between Sumatra and Java—came upon a Japanese invasion force making a landing in Bantam (now Banten) Bay. In a confused night battle, both ships were sunk inside the Bay and not in Sunda Strait as is usually written. The two Allied ships fought bravely, but were overwhelmed by superior numbers. Four of the Japanese transports were torpedoed, most likely by their own side. The Japanese fired 87 torpedoes in the first half-hour of the battle.

Battle of Java: 27 February 1942 to 3 March 1942

Eight U.S. Navy Asiatic Fleet ships were sunk by enemy warships or airplanes during the Battle of Java when the Japanese invaded the island of Java. This was the final battle of the

. The

(former aircraft carrier) was transporting 32 brand new

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

fighter planes from Australia to Java when she was sunk with 16 killed on 27 February. Hundreds more ''Langley'' survivors were killed when the other naval ships that rescued them were also sunk soon afterwards. The oil tanker was trapped and attacked by numerous Japanese ships and airplanes and was sunk on 1 March. 232 survivors were rescued and over 400 ''Pecos'' crew and survivors from ''Langley'' were left behind and drowned due to Japanese submarines threatening the U.S. ships that were rescuing the survivors. The destroyer was attached to an Allied fleet as the only U.S. vessel and was sunk in the

Second Battle of the Java Sea The Second Battle of the Java Sea was the last naval action of the Netherlands East Indies campaign, of 1941–42. It occurred on 1 March 1942, two days after the first Battle of the Java Sea. It saw the end of the last Allied warships operatin ...

. The destroyer was badly damaged and scuttled at Surabaya on 2 March 1942. On 3 March the submarine was sunk while attacking a Japanese convoy northwest of Surabaya. A major tragedy happened when three Asiatic Fleet warships (2 destroyers: and / 1 gunboat: ) were sunk on 1–3 March 1942 with no survivors while supporting the Allied forces during the Battle of Java. There were reports that there were prisoners-of-war from these 3 ships but none of them survived Japanese prisoner-of-war camps to tell their stories. No logs and no records of these three ships' final hours exist. The U.S. Navy didn't even know what happened to the ships and fallen sailors until after World War II. From these 3 ships approximately 450 crewmen and officers were killed or died while prisoners-of-war.

Half the U.S. Fleet lost

Of the 40 surface vessels in the Asiatic Fleet on Pearl Harbor Day, 19 were sunk by 5 May 1942, the day General Wainwright surrendered to the Japanese at Corregidor in the Philippines. Most of the surviving ships safely reached Australia.

Aftermath

After the defeats in the defense of the Philippine Commonwealth and the Dutch East Indies, the remaining vessels retreated to Australia. They would fall under the command of the

South West Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...

which would establish the

7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of t ...

in 1943.

Commanders-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet

The commanders-in-chief of the Asiatic Fleet were:

Notes

References

*Blair, Clay, Jr. ''Silent Victory''. New York: Bantam, 1976. *Gleaves, Albert. ''The Admiral: The Memoirs of Albert Gleaves, Admiral, USN''. Hope Publishing, 1985. * * *Winslow, W. G. ''The Fleet the Gods Forgot: The U.S. Asiatic Fleet in World War II''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1982.

External links

USS Houston WebsiteUSS Houston Blog

China Gunboatman BlogsiteThe United States Asiatic Fleet
{{Authority control Asiatic Military units and formations established in 1902 History of the Philippines (1898–1946)