More torpedoes blasted his force in a surprise attack from a second angle there was chaos. In just seven hours, five Allied warships were sunk, while only one Japanese destroyer sustained damage. Doorman himself was lost when his cruiser De Ruyter went down.
So far the Emperor’s fleet remained virtually unscathed by the ravages of war. During all its activities in the sea-borne invasions of Pacific and South East Asian islands only a total of four destroyers had been put out of action. Meanwhile, only four US destroyers had escaped to Australia from the treacherous waters around the Dutch East Indies. It seemed as if the Japanese navy was invincible.
Above, right, far right: The triumphant Doolittle raid on Tokyo. A B-25 comes under starter’s orders on its way to Japan. Doolittle is pictured later by his crashed aircraft in China.
At the time the US felt confident enough only to take pot shots at the Japanese. The first skirmish took place in January when two US task forces bombed Japanese bases on the Marshalls and Gilberts. It was a tame event but nevertheless proved a small boost for American morale, being the first strike back at the enemy.
In March US planes took off from the carriers Yorktown and Lexington to attack two ports on Papua New Guinea which had just been overrun by the Japanese. Again, the results were negligible.
World History
