Operation Meridian facts for kids
During World War II, Operation Meridian was a series of important air attacks by the British. These attacks targeted Japanese-controlled oil refineries on the island of Sumatra. Oil was very important for planes and ships during the war.
Operation Meridian had two main parts: Meridian One on January 24, 1945, and Meridian Two on January 29. These attacks were very successful. They managed to cut down the production of aviation fuel (plane fuel) from the factories in Palembang by a huge 75 percent! This made it much harder for the Japanese to fly their planes.
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What Happened During the Attacks?
The planes for these attacks came from a group of British ships called Task Force 63. This group was on its way to Sydney, Australia. There, it would become part of the British Pacific Fleet. This fleet later helped in the Allied invasion of Okinawa.
The ships needed to refuel while at sea. Another group of ships, Task Force 69, helped with this. They had three special tanker ships that carried fuel.
Getting Ready for the Raids
Task Force 63 left a place called Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on January 13, 1945. They headed towards Sumatra. On January 20, Task Force 63 met up with Task Force 69 to refuel. This was quite difficult because of strong winds and rough waves. The fuel ships even reported that some of their pumping equipment got damaged.
Meridian One: The First Attack
The first attack, called Operation Meridian One, was planned for January 21. It was an air strike on the oil refinery at Pladjoe, north of Palembang, Sumatra. Bad weather delayed the attack, so the fleet waited near Enggano Island.
Finally, the attack was launched at 6 AM on January 24. There wasn't much wind, which made it a bit risky for the planes to take off from the aircraft carriers.
Many planes took part in this raid. There were 43 Avenger torpedo bombers, 12 Fairey Firefly fighter-bombers, and 50 Hellcat, Corsair, and Supermarine Seafire fighters. The planes flew towards the refinery with the sun behind them. They dove from 9,000 feet down to 3,000 feet to drop their bombs. Even though the Japanese had special balloons to stop planes, the refinery was hit successfully.
However, the British lost more planes in this raid than in earlier ones. Thirty-two aircraft were lost due to enemy action or crash landings.
Meridian Two: The Second Attack
The fleet refueled again on January 26 and 27. This was still tricky because of bad weather and the crews being new to refueling at sea. Some ships had trouble staying in position, and fuel hoses broke.
On January 29, the second raid, Operation Meridian Two, took place. This time, the target was the oil refinery at Soengei Gerong, Sumatra. Even though it was hard to see, the planes took off with only a small delay. The air strike hit the oil refinery.
Allied pilots said they shot down 30 Japanese planes in dogfights. They also destroyed another 38 planes on the ground. The British lost 16 of their own aircraft. The Japanese tried a small counterattack, but British fighter planes and anti-aircraft guns stopped it.
After the second raid, Task Force 63 refueled one last time from Task Force 69 on January 30. Then, Task Force 63 sailed towards Fremantle, Western Australia. Task Force 69 went back to Trincomalee.
Ships Involved in Operation Meridian
Many ships were part of Operation Meridian. They were divided into two main groups:
Force 63
This group was led by Rear Admiral Philip Vian. It included:
- Aircraft carriers: These are like floating airfields for planes.
- HMS Indomitable
- Illustrious
- Indefatigable
- Victorious
- Battleship: A very large and powerful warship.
- HMS King George V
- Anti-aircraft cruisers: Ships designed to protect against air attacks.
- HMS Argonaut
- Black Prince
- Euryalus
- Destroyers: Fast, smaller warships.
- HMS Grenville
- HMS Undine
- HMS Ursa
- HMS Undaunted
- HMS Kempenfelt
- HMS Wakeful
- HMS Whirlwind
- HMS Wager
- HMS Whelp
- HMS Wessex (joined on January 19, 1945)
Force 69
This group helped with refueling. It included:
- Light cruiser: A smaller type of cruiser.
- HMS Ceylon
- Destroyer:
- HMS Urchin
- Oilers: Tanker ships that carry fuel.
- Wave King
- Echodale
- Empire Salvage
See Also
