The Doings of Sara

In 1853 the U.S.S. Saratoga, a sloop-of-war, sailed in Commodore Matthe-Perry's fleet which knocked on Japan door with gifts of stoves, clocks, perfume and whiskey. Last month another Saratoga, the oldest U.S. carrier (launche in 1925), knocked at another Jap door.* This time the gift was bombs. Her skipper, reedy, rugged Hoosier Captain John B Cassady, last week told her story:

Strike One. Late in October the Jap massed powerful naval units at Rabaul their Southwest Pacific fortress on New Britain Island. They had to be knocked out.

Under Rear Admiral Frederick Sherman the "Sara" and a sister carrier, two anti aircraft cruisers and a screen of destroyer raced up from a South Pacific base, jabbed Jap bases in the northern Solomons, swung wide of the range of Rabaul-based plane: until Nov. 4. That night they put on ful speed, by dawn stood within striking distance. But the Japs were alert: 75 to 100 fighters buzzed out to meet the U.S planes.

The defense of the task force surface vessels was left to their own ack-ack plus the help of land planes from the Solomons. The carrier fighters pushed off with the bombers. These unusual tactics were a huge success.

Because the carrier fighters refused to be drawn off in dogfights, the bombers got through. The raiders' score: five heavy cruisers torpedoed and bombed, a sixth heavy cruiser torpedoed, one light cruiser torpedoed and bombed, a second light cruiser torpedoed, two destroyers torpedoed, ten other destroyers strafed, 24 planes shot down.

Strike Two. The task force withdrew to base, replenished stores. On Nov. 11 it was back with a second task force for a second crack at Rabaul. This time weather conditions were bad: fog and low clouds. But the carrier raiders went in, lashed at Jap warships frantically trying to get out of the spacious, hook-shaped harbor into a rain-squall at sea. The enemy dispatched 200 dive-bombers and torpedo planes against the U.S. surface vessels, inflicted only minor damage, lost 60 to 65 planes. The Americans sank one light cruiser and one destroyer leader, damaged twelve other warships.

Captain Cassady's summary: the two blows against Rabaul forced the Jap fleet to fall back on Truk, 900 miles to the north in the Carolines. This did not mean that Rabaul was canceled; it might no longer serve as a major naval base, but it had strong ground defenses and airfields, was well supplied by barges, might take months of punishment before falling.

No Strike. The Saratoga had yet another mission: a "nose-thumbing" run along the approaches to the Truk bastion itself. She and her escorts dashed in close, but the enemy did not come out to fight. It was not yet time for that decisive cast of the dice. The "Sara" moved north to join in the capture of the Gilberts.

*There have been five U.S.S. Saratogas. The others: an 18-gun Revolutionary sloop-of-war; a 26-gun War-of-1812 corvette; a Spanish-American-War armored cruiser.

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