Corsair on HMS Glory (R62) off Rabaul 1945

Operation Crimson was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-led naval operation in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the objective being simultaneous

naval bombardment Naval gunfire support (NGFS) (also known as shore bombardment) is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the ...

and aerial strikes on

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese airfields in the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

n cities of Sabang,

Lhoknga Lhoknga (pronunciation hoʔ-ŋa alternative names Lho'nga, Lho-nga, Lhok Nga), is a town within the district of the same name, in Aceh Besar Regency, Aceh Special Region, Indonesia, located on the western side of the island of Sumatra, 13 k ...

and Kutaraja,Patrick Boniface, HMS ''Cumberland'', page 86, 2006. to be launched from

aircraft carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a n ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

on 25 July 1944.

Plan

Unlike some earlier operations which had used small forces for harassment and diversion of the Japanese, Operation Crimson was "a full-blooded operation" designed to "make a mess of the air base and harbour installations and wreck any vessels found sheltering there."Malcolm H. Murfett, ''Naval Warfare 1919–45: An Operational History of the Volatile War at Sea'', page 357, 2008. Sailing from

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

, under the command of Admiral

James Somerville Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville, (17 July 1882 – 19 March 1949) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War as fleet wireless officer for the Mediterranean Fleet where he was involved in providing naval suppo ...

,Stanley Sandler, ''World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia'', page 729, 2001. were two aircraft carriers ( and '' Illustrious'') with four battleships , , , and the French battleship ''Richelieu'', as well as six cruisers (, , , , , ''

Tromp TROMP Percussion Eindhoven is a biennial percussion competition and festival held in Eindhoven, Netherlands since 1971. In 2012, TROMP will be organising its fourth percussion competition (twenty-first competition in total). It is scheduled to t ...

''), with ten destroyers (, '' Quickmatch'', , , , , , , , ) supported by two submarines (''

Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

'', '' Tantalus'').

Attack

The aircraft carriers launched 34–39

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...

fighters, under Lieutenant Commander Frederick Richard Arnold Turnbull. In spite of a five minute delay, it was too dark for the planes to accurately strafe the air fields, so instead they attacked large buildings within the vicinity. Japanese anti-air defences shot down a single Corsair, but the pilot was rescued. The battleships, aided by aircraft from ''Illustrious'', bombarded Sabang harbour installations and the local barracks from afar. The cruisers and destroyers spotted their own targets; the former attacked a wireless station and responding shore batteries, while the latter focused on a radar station. Following the main bombardment, ''Tromp'', ''Quality'', ''Quickmatch'', and ''Quilliam'' under Captain Richard Onslow entered the Sabang harbour, shelling Japanese positions and launching torpedoes. Return fire from

coastal 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 o ...

lightly damaged all of the ships but the ''Quickmatch'', causing some casualties and killing a war correspondent. As the task force withdrew, two Japanese reconnaissance aircraft tried to shadow it, but both were intercepted and shot down. Later in the afternoon, 9–10 Japanese A6M "Zero" fighters approached the force. They were engaged by 13 British Corsairs, which destroyed two Zeros and damaged two more.

Aftermath

The Allies lost a total of two Corsairs during the operation. A report of the raid states: British pilots reported that the Japanese airmen were not as skilled as they had been in 1942. Operation Crimson was the final event of Admiral Somerville's military command before concerns about his health forced his transfer to diplomatic duty. The British task force did not launch another strike until

Operation Banquet Operation Banquet was a British Second World War plan to use every available aircraft against a German invasion in 1940 or 1941. After the Fall of France in June 1940, the British Government made urgent anti-invasion preparations as the Royal ...

commenced in August.

References

Works cited

External links

Table of actions by Royal Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crimson, Operation World War II operations and battles of the Southeast Asia Theatre Naval aviation operations and battles World War II aerial operations and battles of the Pacific theatre Naval battles of World War II involving the Netherlands Naval battles of World War II involving France Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Naval battles and operations of World War II involving the United Kingdom July 1944 events