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 NATS 1945 |
Location Cebu Harbor borders Cebu (Cebu City) on the eastern side of Cebu Island in the Central Visayas (Region VII) in the Visayas (Visayas Islands) in the central Philippines. To the east is Mactan Island and beyond the Bohol Strait (Cebu Strait). Wartime History In early April 1942 occupied by the Japanese and used as an anchorage. On April 12, 1942 during the "Royce Mission" nine B-25s and a single B-17 from Australia flying via Mindanao bomb Japanese shipping in Cebu Harbor. On April 13, 1942 the nine B-25s repeated the attack. By late 1944 Cebu Harbor was part of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) 33rd Naval Special Base Force and included a submarine base. On September 12, 1944 and September 13, 1944 U.S. Navy (USN) Task Force 38 (TF 38) carrier planes destroyed the submarine base. During late October 1944, Landing Ships transport the midget submarines HA-81, HA-82, HA-83 and HA-84 to Cebu Harbor. By November 1, 1944 the submarine base is again operational to support midget submarine and later in the month are joined by HA-78 and HA-79 from Zamboanga. Operating from Cebu Harbor, the midget subs are ineffective due to the distance and travel time required to reach Leyte, but do target transports in shipping lanes. On December 9, 1944 Transport No. 9 delivers HA-69 and HA-76. On December 18, 1944 HA-82 ran aground in Cebu Harbor and is damaged and inoperable. On February 8, 1945 a midget sub departs for Dumaguete where a new midget sub base is established and arrives the next day. On February 23, 1945 the submarine base is targeted by Corsairs from VMF-115 that spot two surfaced submarines and drop bombs that score near misses. On March 19, 1945 PV-1 Ventura from VPB-128 bomb a midget submarine off Cebu. On March 22, 1945 two PV-1 Venturas from VPB-128 strike a midget submarine at a wharf with rockets, one shot down due to anti-aircraft fire. On March 26, 1945 American forces landed at Talisay. That same day, a midget sub on northern Cebu embarks Lt General Sosaku Suzuki and one of his staff and transports them to Cebu Harbor to take command of the defense of Cebu City. Before American forces arrive, the remaining midget subs including HA-69, HA-78, HA-79 and HA-81 are to be scuttled. On March 27, 1945 three PV-1s spot a midget sub with a float attached and make a rocket and strafing attack. On March 28, 1945 Cebu and Cebu Harbor were liberated by U.S. Army Americal Division. Immediately, facilities at Cebu and Cebu Harbor were repaired for use as an anchorage and base area to support the U.S. Army. Cebu was designated with U.S. Army Letter Base designation as "Base S" a sub-base controlled by Base M (San Fernando). By the middle of 1945, the U.S. Army planned to stage three infantry divisions at Cebu for Operation Olympic, the proposed invasion of Japan. References Combined Fleet - Midget Submarines Based in the Philippines 1944-1945 Contribute
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 Cebu Area Map Mar 26-April 18, 1945 Map Mapcarta  Photo Archive |
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