US Aircraft operating off Saigon in 1945

Ian Burns · Mar 5, 2019

On 12 January 1945 the ex-WW1 seaplane carrier HMS Raven II was sunk by an unidentified American aircraft off the Mekong Delta.

Raven, which was ex-German Rabenfels, had been sold to Japan in 1923 operating under several names - Ravenrock, Heiyei Maru No.7 and, finally, Kenei Maru.

The ship was reportedly '15 nautical miles east of Gò Công near Saigon' when bombed and sunk.

The question I have is what US aircraft was operating in the area early in 1945 - Black Cat? or carrier aircraft?

GrauGeist · Mar 5, 2019

Kenei Maru was part of convoy SATA-05, being attacked by USN aircraft of Taskforce 38.

Other Japanese ships of SATA-05 sunk, were:
Ayayuki Maru - Tanker
CD-35 - C-class Escort
CD-43 - C-class Escort
CH-31 - Submarine Chaser
Eiho Maru - Tanker
Koshin Maru - Tanker
PB-103 - Patrol Minesweeper
Toyo Maru - Troopship
W-101 - Minesweeper
and several other ships.

Taskforce 38 was deployed under "Operation Gratitude"

Ian Burns · Mar 5, 2019

GrauGeist said:
Kenei Maru was part of convoy SATA-05, being attacked by USN aircraft of Taskforce 38.

Other Japanese ships of SATA-05 sunk, were:
Ayayuki Maru - Tanker
CD-35 - C-class Escort
CD-43 - C-class Escort
CH-31 - Submarine Chaser
Eiho Maru - Tanker
Koshin Maru - Tanker
PB-103 - Patrol Minesweeper
Toyo Maru - Troopship
W-101 - Minesweeper
and several other ships.

Taskforce 38 was deployed under "Operation Gratitude"

Thanks for this.
Some additional research before and after making the post suggests the Kenai Maru was actually in Saigon docks when sunk.
http://www.ddghansa-shipsphotos.de/ give a position inside the city on a waterway (also a photo of Kenei Maru), which is also mapped in https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?133794
Also a history of TF38 (http://pacific.valka.cz/forces/tf38.htm) states that the ship was sunk by planes from CV Enterprise and/or CVL Independence "at Saigon".

So, perhaps intelligence enabled Operation Gratitude to catch convoy SATA-05 after arrival, or before sailing.

Anyway, I have more than enough information to work with.
My thanks
Ian

GrauGeist · Mar 5, 2019

You're welcome!

In regards to SATA-05, it does seem that the bulk of the shipping attacked was in or near Saigon, with the others being strung out nearby.

I haven't seen a chronological order of the attacks, so it is difficult to determine of SATA-05 was staging or concluding.

nuuumannn · Mar 23, 2019

Ian Burns said:
Raven, which was ex-German Rabenfels,

Just as an aside, Rabenfels was the sister of Wachtfels, which was also impressed as a warship, the commerce raider SMS Wolf, which went on a rather lengthy cruise through the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans during the Great War and was equipped with a seaplane, named Wolfchen, or 'Little Wolf'. In an odd twist of fate, Raven II was at one stage tasked with hunting for her erstwhile sister while it prowled the Indian Ocean.

US Aircraft operating off Saigon in 1945

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