ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 206898
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| Date: | Sunday 1 March 1942 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Aichi D3A1 (Val) |
| Owner/operator: | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Indian Ocean, south of Java -
 Indian Ocean
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Hiryu |
USS AO-6 Pecos was the sixth and final member of the Kanawha class of fleet oilers built for the US Navy, laid down in June 1920 and commissioned into service in August 1921. Originally assigned to the US Atlantic Fleet, the Pecos and her crew would eventually operate with the US Pacific and Asiatic Fleets, providing fuel for both ships and shoreside installations for the next two decades without incident.
Assigned to the US Asiatic Fleet and moored in Cavite, Philippine Territory at the outbreak of the Second World War on 8 December 1941, the Pecos immediately departed for Borneo where she loaded oil and gasoline and began replenishment operations of US Navy and Allied ships fighting against the rapid advances of the formidable Imperial Japanese Navy across the Dutch East Indies. After depleting her load, she stopped briefly at Darwin, Australia at the end of December and reloaded before standing out for Soerabaja, Java in early January 1942. Anchored in Soerabaja over a month before Japanese air attacks made the port unsafe for fueling operations, Pecos shifted to Tjilatjap, Java to continue fueling until she was once again empty. With the port facilities of Darwin destroyed by Japanese air raids, the Pecos and her crew were forced to depart the front lines for India where she took on her next load of vitally needed fuel in late February. Steaming alone to the waters off Christmas Island, the Pecos waited for orders to join an Australia-bound convoy consisting of two destroyers, USS Whipple (DD-217) and USS Edsall (DD-219), and the seaplane tender USS Langley (AV-3), however the loss of Langley on 27 February saw the oiler steaming into the open sea to rendezvous with the two survivor-laden destroyers on the same day.
Later that day while attempting the transfer of survivors from Langley in the lee seas off Christmas Island, the Pecos and both destroyers came under sustained Japanese air attack by Japanese land and carrier-based bombers striking Christmas Island. Though the gunners aboard all three ships were able to fend off their attackers with no major damage to any of the ships, all three vessels were forced to depart calm waters for the open Indian Ocean where despite great difficulty the transfer was completed around 0800hrs on 1st March. With each ship receiving separate orders from ABDA Command shortly after completing their transfer, the group broke up and went their separate ways; Whipple heading for Cocos Island, Edsall for Java and Pecos making for Australian waters. Steaming alone through waters which were no longer friendly, the Pecos was sighted by a B5N Kate flying from the Kaga, that was one of the four Japanese aircraft carrier that left Sterling Bay on 25 February to cruise south of Java and support the invasion of this island. The course and speed were reported back to the aircraft carrier by the Japanese crew.
Electing to maintain radio silence and beginning evasive maneuvering, the Captain of Pecos spent the next hour fruitlessly attempting to escape the air attack he knew was on its way, but shortly after 1300hrs the Pecos came under attack by several dive-bombers, 9 D3A1 Vals that had taken off from the carrier Soryu ay 1206 hrs. The Pecos was heavily damaged by a direct hit and three near-misses in this engagement and began to sink, but her crew continued onward towards Australia after the Japanese aircraft withdrew, her crew effecting damage control measures to mitigate flooding caused by warped hull plating. With the Pecos now damaged and trailing a telltale oil slick behind her, her Captain sent out a distress signal to any friendly ships in the area hoping that the two destroyers could rejoin him before another Japanese strike materialized. Even though both the Edsall and Whipple were over 100 miles away, both ships diverted to assist the imperiled Oiler but were still too distant to assist when another wave of Japanese Carrier Aircraft, this time 9 D3A1 from the carrier Hiryu led by Chu-i (Lt(jg)) Ichiro Shimoda, began their attack on the Pecos shortly after 1500hrs.
Though her gun crews claimed two dive-bombers and her evasive maneuvering kept the ship undamaged for some time, the lumbering and lightly armed oiler was no match for the Veteran Japanese pilots. Within half an hour of the first shots being fired, Pecos was struck with several bombs, set aflame and dead in the water. As her crew and her load of survivors struggled to swim clear of the ship through oil-slicked waters, the Pecos slowly sank bow-first at 1548hrs. As a result of the attack on Pecos, Japanese aircraft strafing survivors and exposure, only 232 men of the crew of 317 and her load of over 300 survivors from Langley were rescued by the USS Whipple later that evening.
Despite the gunners claims, no Japanese aircraft was shot down during these attacks but several were damaged and one of these, hit during the final attack, took fire before landing back on the Hiryu and was evacuated by its crew, that was then rescued by the escort of the carriers.
Sources:
"Samouraï sur porte-avions. Les groupes embarqués japonais et leurs porte-avions. 1922-1944", by Michel Ledet. ISBN 2-914017-32-4
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AO/ao6.html
http://wikimapia.org/19097998/Wreck-of-USS-Pecos-AO-6
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Mar-2018 11:13 | Laurent Rizzotti | Added |
| 30-Nov-2021 00:16 | Ron Averes | Updated [Operator] |
| 05-Jun-2022 03:16 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 10-Jul-2022 22:26 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type] |
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