page_title: Operation Cockpit
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Cockpit / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: OCEAN PIER, HOBART, TAS. 1944-03-15. PORT BOW VIEW OF THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS SARATOGA
context_page_description: Operation Cockpit was an attack against the Japanese-held island of Sabang on 19 April 1944. It was conducted by aircraft flying from American and British aircraft carriers, which targeted Japanese shipping and airfields. A small number of Japanese ships and aircraft were destroyed, and one American aircraft was lost. While the attack was successful tactically, it failed to divert Japanese forces from other fronts as had been hoped.
  The attack on Sabang was the first of several carrier raids conducted by the British-led Eastern Fleet during 1944 and 1945. It was undertaken in an attempt to prevent the Japanese from transferring forces in the area to contest a planned American landing in New Guinea. The attack force encountered little opposition, as Sabang's defenders were taken by surprise. The Japanese did not react to the operation as the Eastern Fleet was not seen as a serious threat and their forces in the area were being preserved for use against an expected major American offensive in the Central Pacific. Nevertheless, the Allies were pleased with the results of the attack, including as it provided useful experience in carrier tactics for the British.
context_section_description: At the Cairo Conference held during November 1943, the Allied leadership agreed that "the main effort against Japan should be made in the Pacific", and that the Indian Ocean would be a subsidiary theatre. It was also decided that any offensive operations, including carrier raids, in the theatre would have the goals of "maintaining pressure on the enemy, forcing dispersion of his forces, and attaining the maximum attrition of his air and naval forces and shipping".
  In January 1944 the Admiralty, the British Government institution responsible for administering the Royal Navy, decided to substantially reinforce the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean. At this time the fleet, which was headed by Admiral James Somerville, was a weak force capable only of protecting Allied shipping in the area. The reinforcements which were scheduled to arrive over the next four months comprised 146 warships, which included three battleships, two aircraft carriers, fourteen cruisers and larger numbers of destroyers and other escort vessels. The first substantial group of reinforcements reached the Eastern Fleet's base at Ceylon on 27 January; these included the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and Valiant and battlecruiser HMS Renown.
  Also in early 1944, the Japanese military transferred its main naval striking force, the Combined Fleet, to Singapore. This change was made to evacuate the fleet from its bases in the central Pacific, which were now vulnerable to American attacks, and concentrate it at a location with good naval repair facilities and ready access to fuel. The Japanese did not intend to undertake any large-scale attacks into the Indian Ocean. Somerville believed that his force would be unable to counter the Combined Fleet if it entered the Indian Ocean, and additional air units were dispatched to protect Ceylon. The United States Navy also agreed to temporarily transfer the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and three destroyers from the Pacific to augment the Eastern Fleet; this was done to prevent the British from having to cancel the planned Operation Tungsten carrier raid on the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway in order to free up reinforcements for the Eastern Fleet.
  Sabang island lies off the northern end of Sumatra. The island was used as a base by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. Its location at the northern entrance of the Strait of Malacca made it strategically important. The IJN's 9th Base Force was the main unit stationed at Sabang, and was commanded by Rear Admiral Hirose Sueto from February 1944. The British believed that the island's garrison comprised 9,000 personnel.
caption: USS Saratoga at Hobart in March 1944 during her voyage to the Indian Ocean
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