Kita was going to run right into them, and make the acquaintance of a new F6F Hellcat that day. He saw it up above, a blue speck descending on him like a hawk diving on its prey. Looking quickly over his shoulder for a place to hide, he finally saw where that plane had come from. There were a series of thin white wakes making a broad letter C turn on the sea, and right in the middle were those aircraft carriers.
With no clouds close enough to hide in, he had two choices. Dive his plane and head for the drink, hoping to save himself and evade that fighter, or instead use those precious few seconds to get on his radio and report this contact. That was why he was out there, and he had always accepted the potential hazards of his trade. So he took that right hand fork in the road, and began his radio signal. It would be received at his home base, and then passed on to Kwajalein—a small task force approaching the Marshalls, and with two aircraft carriers.
That was the last anyone would hear of Nabuo Kita, but his message would live on after his passing, lighting up the signals traffic airwaves and leaping from one island outpost to another, Kwajalein to Eniwetok to Ponape to Truk, a distance of over 1300 nautical miles. Those two words—American Carriers—immediately got the attention of Combined Fleet HQ Staff aboard Musashi. The big battleship was anchored in the main anchorage, its bow pointed at the bustling airfield that sat right on the northwest edge of that small islet.
The problem this message posed was now apparent. While Japan had occupied all the main islands and atolls in the Gilberts and Marshalls, many of those outposts were lightly held. The few aircraft assigned were mostly seaplanes, and a few Squadrons of A5M4 Fighters, the plane the Allies called “Claude.” There were no planes that could bother those carriers at all, which meant that if the Americans were coming to raid the Marshalls, they could feast on those islands at their leisure.
Even at Truk, the only strike capable aircraft based there at that moment was a single squadron of nine C3M2 twin engine Bombers. Called “Nell” by the Americans, they were capable of carrying torpedoes, but those nine planes would not make much of an impression on a carrier task force. What the Japanese needed to do was fight fire with fire, but Admiral Hara had his 3rd Carrier Division at Rabaul, and in fact, it had already moved into the Coral Sea on the mission Yamamoto had authorized to oppose the American landings on Efate.
The only other force capable of intervening was the Shadow Fleet, which was just 50 nautical miles north of Saipan at that moment. While the Japanese did not want this force put into combat so soon, they now had no choice. The Shadow Fleet was ordered to turn southeast to a position 500 miles east of Truk, as the American carriers had been reported as moving south.
In truth, after they got sniffed out, the man in charge had orders to be very cagey and avoid combat as well. He had two carriers to break in, and inexperienced pilots. It was not that he was faint hearted, for this was one Captain Clifton Sprague, recently transferred in from Naval Air Station Sand Point near Seattle to start drilling for carrier operations. Those that knew him well had come to call him by an odd nickname, because of the errant way he would sometimes walk, heading one direction, then quickly changing his mind and turning elsewhere.
They called him Ziggy.
Sprague had a few newly hatched eggs in Independence and Princeton, but instead of pressing on into the Marshalls, the he turned south for the Gilberts, where he had orders to scout out Makin and Tarawa, and send the photos back to Pearl. The Shadow Fleet would move southeast towards Ponape on a course to intercept, but it was taking them right across the path of another shadow, that of a sea monster they had come to call Mizuchi.
Admiral Chuichi Nagumo stood on the bridge of the battle carrier Ryujin, watching the planes being spotted for takeoff. Today’s drill was being led by Commander Amagai Takahisa, an able man with over 2500 flight hours at the start of the war. He led the strike off the Hiryu at Pearl Harbor, then transferred briefly to Kaga before being sent home to Japan to a classified assignment. The official orders were that he was to take charge of aircraft carrier flight deck installations for new construction projects. In that capacity, he would soon find himself at the heart of the Shadow Fleet.
Nagumo had also been asked to fly home to Japan after the fleet had returned to Rabaul. He initially believed it had been due to the damage the Americans put on Kaga and Soryu, but Yamamoto dispelled that notion immediately.
“No, Admiral, there is no shame in what happened. War is war. Thankfully, the damage to both carriers was not serious. Yet Admiral Nagano has asked me for a senior officer with carrier experience. Seeing that Carrier Division 1 will be laid up here at Rabaul for the next several weeks, I ask you to fly home and see to his concerns.”
At that time, Yamamoto was not even aware of the advanced state of readiness of the Shadow Fleet vessels. Nagumo was also quite surprised when he arrived at Sasebo and saw the cluster of many small carriers near the naval dockyard. Where did all these ships come from? He was soon briefed by Nagano and learned the truth, and now he was proud to be leading out this flotilla, and made sure he got the most experienced men he could find. There were many in Japan from the early loss of Hiryu, and most had been reassigned to local naval air stations to train new arrivals. Nagumo gathered a handful of the best men he could locate, personally asking Nagano to push through the transfer orders.
So he now had Torpedo Squadron Leader Heita Matsumura off the old Hiyo, and also Dive Bomber Squadron Leader Michio Kobayashi, and Fighter Operations Leader Kiyokuma Okajima. That group was here aboard his flagship Ryujin, the Dragon Lord. Trailing in its wake was the second battle carrier, Kinryu, the Golden Dragon; with the two smaller Kami Class escort carriers to port and starboard in the diamond pattern he was sailing. Far ahead, a pair of Gozo Class light scout carriers were in the vanguard, Kaya and Kiryu. The two super cruisers and five new destroyers were in a wide fan forward of his carriers.
The drill went off with expected precision, and in very good time. The orders Nagumo had just received had not been expected. This was to be a simple transfer operation, the inaugural cruise of the Shadow Fleet to Truk, where it would be formally received by Combined Fleet Headquarters, the Captains lining up to make their first deep bow aboard Musashi. Then these orders came to divert southeast towards the Gilberts to look for a pair of American carriers that had been snooping around the Marshalls off Marcus Island, and were now believed to be heading south.
The men are certainly ready, thought Nagumo. As for the planes, they look splendid. There will certainly be a few bugs to work out, but the pilots seem very pleased with these new aircraft, and the performance statistics on this new single engine recon plane are unbelievable. The Saiun truly gives us eyes at sea to find our enemy. They will soon be put to the test.
He had three of the new long range recon planes aboard each of the two battle carriers. So these were to be the two Kii Class Battlecruisers, he thought. I see they left me the two forward turrets, though I have no idea what I will do with them. They should have just removed them and extended the flight deck. In fact, I will recommend this if these ships ever return for a planned fleet upgrade.