The Japanese stronghold on Rabaul, on the northeast corner of New Britain, remained a major thorn in the side of South Pacific Allied operations. In order to neutralize this threat, Task Group 50.3 (including the carriers Essex, Independence and Bunker Hill) launched a major strike on the morning of 1 November 1943.
While the carrier-based planes struck Rabaul, several land-based squadrons were assigned to CAP the task group. Fighting-17 joined VMF-212, VMF-221, the Hellcat-flying VF-33, and a squadron of New Zealand P-40s in this mission. The Jolly Rogers were to take off at 0400, CAP from dawn to 0900, refuel and (if needed) rearm on the carriers, and continue the CAP at 1030 until fuel/ammo/damage demanded they return to Ondongo.
After an hour of early-morning CAP, Blackburn flamed a lone incoming Tony which was detected by shipboard radar. There was no further action by 0900, when VF-17 and -33 landed to refuel. Blackburn noted that these landings proved to any skeptics that the Corsair was indeed carrier-worthy.
Morning faded into early afternoon, and the weather conditions over the task force began to degenerate. Puffy clouds developed into massive cumulous clouds; visibility shrank. At 1300, radar detected a large inbound Japanese strike, and the CAP was scrambled to intercept. A few minutes out from the carriers, the pilots of VF-17 sighted 65 Zekes escorting 25 Val dive bombers and 15 Kate torpedo bombers. The Hogs dove onto the Zekes with a considerable altitude advantage; Streig, Jackson, Hogan, Hedrick and Baker each bagged one, with Anderson and Chasnoff sharing the kill of a sixth Zeke. Burriss dove through the Zekes and flamed a Kate; Blackburn damaged a Zeke and followed it down to 2,500 feet, where he lost it in the clouds. The remainder of the Kates dodged into a nearby cumulous, and were temporarily lost from sight. Bell bounced the Vals, and flamed two. After searching unsuccessfully for the remaining Kates, Burriss sighted and downed a Betty twin-engined bomber. He then shared a kill of a Kate with one of VF-33's Hellcats.
The remainder of the Kates emerged from the protective cumulous and initiated a torpedo run on the Bunker Hill. They were quickly bounced by Kleinmann, Hill, Gile and Kepford. As the planes closed on the carrier, 40mm and 20mm AA erupted around them and sent huge plumes of water before and between the planes. Hill downed one of the Kates and pulled out to escape the AA; Kleinmann flamed a second, but was hit by an AA shell which shattered his windshield and peppered his face with broken glass. He disengaged and limped his Hog back to Ondonga. Gile came up on a Kate after it dropped its torp (fortunately from too high an altitude, causing the weapon to malfunction), and downed it after a prolonged hammering. Ignoring the Zeke cover which had materialized overhead, Ira Kepford dropped onto the tail of a Kate which had closed to 1,000 yards of the Bunker Hill. As the Japanese pilot closed his finger onto the release button, Kepford opened up . . . simultaneously, a Zeke dropped onto his six and started firing. The Kate burst into flames and crashed into the sea; before Kepford became aware of the Zeke, a Hellcat dropped behind it and blew it out of the air. Kepford successfully dodged the AAA, climbed to altitude, and spotted a flight of six Vals heading back to Rabaul. He zoomed up on their low 6, lined up, and flamed three in succession. As he opened up on the fourth, the last of his ammunition was expended.
For the day's action in what came to be called The Battle of the Solomon Sea, VF-17 was credited with 18.5 confirmed kills and 7 damaged Japanese planes. Two pilots, Baker and Hill, were forced to ditch their planes on-route to Ondongo; both were successfully rescued. The battle was a major strategic victory for the Allies, as the Japanese gave up all attempts to repel the invasion of Bougainville afterwards. Instead, they attempted whatever holding action they could in the Solomons while withdrawing their forces to the strongholds of Truk and Rabaul.
http://www.arrakis-ttm.com/warbirds/jr-old/jrhistory.html(Account is still active - I'll likely do whatever it takes to get ahead on my schoolwork to participate in this)
