Tokyo Express - Organization and History

Organization and History

Rat Transportation was necessary for Japanese forces due to Allied air superiority in the South Pacific that was established soon after the Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Henderson Field began operating as the "Cactus Air Force" in August 1942. Delivery of troops and material by slow transport ships to Japanese forces on Guadalcanal and New Guinea soon proved too vulnerable to daytime air attack. Thus, Japanese Combined Fleet commander, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, authorized the use of faster warships at night to make the deliveries when the threat of detection was much less and aerial attack minimal.

The Tokyo Express began soon after the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942 and continued until late in the Solomon Islands campaign when one of the last, large Express runs was interdicted and almost completely destroyed in the Battle of Cape St. George on November 26, 1943. Because the fast destroyers typically used were not configured for cargo handling, many supplies were simply pushed into the water, inside of sealed steel drums tied together with strings that floated ashore or were picked up by barge. A typical night in December resulted in 1500 drums being rolled into the sea, only to recover 300.

Most of the warships used for Tokyo Express missions came from the 8th Fleet, based at Rabaul and Bougainville, although ships from Combined Fleet units based at Truk were often temporarily attached for use in Express missions. The warship formations assigned to Express missions were often formally designated as the Reinforcement Unit, but the size and composition of this unit varied from mission to mission.