Task Force 17
Task Force 17 (TF17) was an aircraft carrier task force of the United States Navy during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. TF17 participated in several major carrier battles in the first year of the war.
| Task Force 17 | |
|---|---|
_during_the_Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea%252C_April_1942.jpg.webp) Yorktown and Task Force 17 operate in the Pacific Ocean in February or March 1942. | |
| Active | 1941–1942 ? |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Role | Seizing and maintaining Command of the sea |
| Size | Aircraft Carriers USS Lexington and Yorktown |
| Part of | United States Pacific Fleet |
| Garrison/HQ | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| Engagements | Marshalls-Gilberts raids Invasion of Lae-Salamaua Battle of the Coral Sea Battle of Midway Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Frank Jack Fletcher |
TF17 was initially centered around USS Yorktown. With Yorktown, TF17 engaged Imperial Japanese Navy forces in actions at the Marshalls-Gilberts raids, Invasion of Lae-Salamaua, Battle of the Coral Sea, and the Battle of Midway. Yorktown was sunk at Midway.
Reformed around USS Hornet and commanded by RADM George Murray, TF17 supported Allied forces during the Guadalcanal campaign. At the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, Hornet was sunk. After the battle the task force ceased to exist, the remaining ships (the cruiser and destroyer escorts) were then dispersed to other duties.
References
Books
- Cressman, Robert (2000). That Gallant Ship U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-5). 4th printing. Missoula, Montana, U.S.A.: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. ISBN 0-933126-57-3.
- Lundstrom, John B. (2006). Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-475-2.
- Lundstrom, John B. (2005). First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 (New ed.). Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-472-8.
- Lundstrom, John B. (2005). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway (New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-471-X.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001) [1958]. The Rising Sun in the Pacific 1931 – April 1942, vol. 3 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle Books. ISBN 0-7858-1304-7.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001) [1949]. Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942 – August 1942, vol. 4 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Champaign, Illinois, US: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06995-1.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943, vol. 5 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-58305-7.
- Rose, Lisle Abbott (2002). The Ship that Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War. Bluejacket Books. ISBN 1-55750-008-8.
- Stille, Mark (2007). USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific 1942. New York: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84603-248-6.
Web
- United States Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence (1943). "Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean: February 1 to March 10, 1942". Combat Narrative. Publication Section, Combat Intelligence Branch.