Operation Flintlock naval order of battle
This is the order of battle of the US naval forces deployed for Operation Flintlock, a phase of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Flintlock consisted of simultaneous landings by men of the United States Marine Corps and United States Army at Majuro Atoll and Kwajalein Atoll, both located in the Marshall Islands in the Central Pacific, on 31 January 1944.
Forces of Imperial Japan held several sites in the Marshalls.
- Majuro Atoll was targeted by US planners because it would provide an excellent fleet anchorage; its capture was the responsibility of the 2nd Battalion of the US Army's 106th Infantry Regiment plus a reconnaissance company of Marines. Because the Japanese had abandoned it over a year earlier, the atoll was declared secure at 0950 hours on D-Day.
- The Japanese command considered Kwajalein Atoll, unlike Majuro, to be vital to the defense of the Marshalls. and had heavily fortified both of its major islands.
- Eniwetok Atoll, being the furthest to the northwest, lay astride the air supply route for the Japanese, making it another objective for US planners. It was captured as the result of Operation Catchpole in February.
Naval command
The roles of Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas and Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, were both exercised by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz from his headquarters at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.Since the Marshalls lie in the Central Pacific, their capture was the responsibility of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, led by Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance from aboard his flagship, heavy cruiser.
The ships and troops of Operations Flintlock were under direct operational command of Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner aboard amphibious command ship.
Since the Japanese Combined Fleet had stripped most of its air power to defend the base at Rabaul, Admiral Mineichi Koga chose not to challenge the American operations in the Marshalls.