USS Melville (AD-2) in Balboa Harbor, Panama Canal Zone, 24 April 1934. From the bottom to the top of the photo several US Navy and British ships are present including USS Zane (DD-337) and another destroyer alongside Melville, USS Medusa (AR-1), USS Litchfield (DD-336), HMS Exeter and another destroyer nested with USS Truxtun (DD-229). US Navy photo # NH 60813 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command .
Commander Rob Welford, originally from Ilfracombe, on the bridge of the HMNZS Aotearoa. Credit: NZDF
Tony Gussin
22 Nov 2023 2:58 PM
A former Ilfracombe Sea Cadet is now sailing the South China Sea in charge of the largest ship in the Royal New Zealand Navy.
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Rob Welford learned to sail on the Bristol Channel, spent 37 years sailing the world with two navies and is now at the helm of HMNZS Aotearoa on a deployment to South East Asia.
Commander Welford took over the vessel in a change of command ceremony in Singapore late last month and sailed the ship into the South China Sea that same afternoon.
Commander Welford grew up in Ilfracombe and joined the Sea Cadets aged 12 as well as working on local fishing boats.
That naturally led to a 28-year career in the Royal Navy, where he logged operational service in the Adriatic, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Bosnia. He served as executive officer (second in command) on minesweeper HMS Arun and frigate HMS Campbeltown.
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After considering a career change, he decided to join the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2014 and emigrated with his family.
HMNZS Aotearoa, commissioned in 2020, is a 568-foot-long 26,000-ton polar-class maritime sustainment and replenishment vessel and is the largest ship ever built for the Royal New Zealand Navy.
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Cmdr Welford said: “Come onto the bridge first thing in the morning when we are at sea and you will see the big smile on my face as I drink my coffee. Quite simply, I can’t think of anything else I would rather be doing.
“I was fortunate enough to meet some Royal New Zealand Navy and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel through some multi-national engagements.
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“I also got to attend a couple of meetings in New Zealand, and through talking to people I thought that I might be able to put my knowledge and skills to some good use in the Royal New Zealand Navy.”
His son was eight at the time and New Zealand also looked like a good place for him to grow up.
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He has since deployed to Vanuatu following Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015 and was the executive officer to the Force Commander of the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai Peninsula in 2020, where he was awarded a Force Commander’s commendation.
More recently, he was involved in the planning and execution of operations such as the evacuation of New Zealand and Australian nationals from Afghanistan in 2021 and the NZDF’s contribution to Ukraine’s self-defence.
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HMNZS Aotearoa is on a South East Asia deployment and Commander Welford said fitting in to a well-established team part-way through was an interesting challenge, as well as being a new class of ship for him.
He said: “It’s a big challenge learning how it works and the only way to tackle that is to put the time in to learn, ask questions, walk the patch and get into the books.
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“I have a lot of experience but the crew haven’t seen that. So making sure I did a good job of ship-handling as we left port from Singapore only three hours after the change of command ceremony helped to start that impression.”
He described his leadership style as ‘enabling’ and he didn’t feel like he ‘leads’ the crew.
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“They know where they need to go and I see it as my job to help them to get there,” he said.
“Sometimes the directions might need to be quite clear, but I would prefer to give them a metaphorical map, to help them find their own way as most of the time they know their parts of the ship better than I do.”
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Cmdr Welford likes the ‘two Hs’ of leadership: Humanity and Humility.
He added: “You need to remember that your people are human and that you are too and that very few human beings are perfect.
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“If you then have enough humility to be able to admit you are not perfect, own your mistakes and apologise if you are wrong, then that will set a good climate from which to build your team, or in my case the crew.”
A P-8A Poseidon floating in Kaneohe Bay on Nov. 21, 2023.
The Navy will convene an investigation into Monday’s incident in Hawaii where a Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft overshot a runway and ended up in Hawaii’s Kaneohe Bay, officials said.
Three pilots along with a crew of two officers and four enlisted personnel were aboard the aircraft at the time, but no injuries were reported, officials said. The Poseidon belonging to Whidbey Island, Wash.-based Patrol Squadron 4 was landing to land at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay when, for undetermined reasons, the aircraft ran off the runway and went into the shallow bay just before 2 p.m. local Hawaii time. The weather at the time was cloudy and breezy.
The P-8A Poseidon, which is based on the Boeing 737 airplane, remained in the bay as of late Tuesday.
“The Navy will convene an investigation to determine the cause and contributing factors of the mishap,” San Diego-based U.S. 3rd Fleet officials said in a statement issued Tuesday night.
The aircraft ended up just offshore from the end of the runway, its fuselage seemingly floating in the sand and coral-covered bay. First responders and emergency crews who reached the scene set out floating barriers to contain any fuel to spread across the bay. “Divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1 worked overnight to help stabilize the aircraft,” officials said in the statement.
“Preliminary assessment indicates the aircraft is structurally intact, and there was no sign of fuel leaking from the aircraft,” they said. “More information will be released as it becomes available.”
A response team was formed to address aircraft recovery, force protection and environmental concerns, officials said.
Nafanua III is the 18th Guardian-class Patrol Boat to be delivered by Austal to the Australian Department of Defence under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project SEA3036-1. Photo: Austal.
The Australian federal government has officially handed over the Guardian Class patrol boat Nafanua III to Samoa in a formal ceremony this week.
Samoan Minister of Police and Prisons Faualo Harry Jeffrey Schuster and the Commissioner of Police, Auapaau Logoitino Filipo, received Nafanua III on behalf of the government of Samoa from federal member for Hasluck Tania Lawrence, who is representing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles.
Nafanua III is the 18th vessel delivered under the Australian government’s Pacific Maritime Security Program. The 30-year commitment by the Australian government to ensure uninterrupted engagement with Pacific partners aims to support of a stable, prosperous, and secure region by enhancing capability of Pacific partners to attain their security goals.
The newest Guardian Class will continue Samoa’s work in protecting its maritime sovereignty, enhancing its surveillance capability, supporting faster humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts when required.
“Defence shares a deep and enduring partnership with the Samoa Police Service, and it is fantastic to see Samoa receive Nafanua III, which will play a critical role in supporting regional maritime security efforts,” according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles.
“Austal’s continued commitment to building world-class capability right here in Australia will mean safer waters and stronger responses to shared maritime challenges for our Pacific partners.”
Nafanua III was initially accepted from shipbuilder Austal by representatives from the Department of Defence before being gifted by the Australian government at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia on 22 November 2023.
Austal Limited chief executive officer Paddy Gregg said Nafanua III is the third Guardian Class patrol boat delivered by Austal in 2023, and one of five vessels in total delivered by the company’s Western Australian shipyards this calendar year.
“The Austal team has yet again shown how capable, productive, and efficient they are with the delivery of this latest Guardian Class patrol boat. Nafanua III is the third Guardian we’ve delivered in 2023, in addition to two 58-metre Evolved Cape Class patrol boats to the Royal Australian Navy,” he said.
“Austal’s Western Australian shipyards, our skilled local workforce, and our valued supply chain partners continue to demonstrate a sovereign capability to design, build, and sustain naval vessels for Australia and export markets.”
The 39.5-metre steel monohull patrol boat, designed, constructed, and sustained by Austal Australia, is based on the 38-metre Bay Class, 56-metre Armidale Class, and 58-metre Cape Class patrol boats that are in service with the Australian Border Force and Royal Australian Navy.
The Guardian Class patrol boat, which includes an integrated RHIB stern launch and recovery system, provides Pacific partners with an improved naval asset to carry out border patrols, regional policing, search and rescue, and other operations domestically and internationally.
Since November 2018, Austal Australia has delivered a total of 29 ships; (including) 18 Guardians, six Evolved Capes, two Capes, and three large high-speed ferries.
The Royal Australian Navy’s second Arafura Class offshore patrol vessel, NUSHIP Eyre, has officially been launched at the South Australian Osborne Naval Shipyard.
In a major milestone for the embattled multi-billion-dollar SEA 1180 program, the Royal Australian Navy has welcomed the launch of the second Arafura Class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) currently being built by Luerssen Australia, in collaboration with local defence industry partners.
Named for the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, the OPV will be the first Royal Australian Navy ship to carry the name Eyre. NUSHIP Eyre is the second of two OPVs to be constructed at the Osborne Naval Shipyard and follows the launch of NUSHIP Arafura in December 2021.
Head Navy Capability, Rear Admiral Stephen Hughes, Royal Australian Navy, congratulated the defence industry workforce responsible for delivering NUSHIP Eyre, saying, “On behalf of the Chief of Navy, and the sailors and officers of the Royal Australian Navy, I congratulate the defence industry workforce at Osborne on the launch of Australia’s second OPV, NUSHIP Eyre.”
The Arafura Class OPVs are intended to replace the Armidale Class patrol boats and have been designed to perform maritime patrol and response duties for the Australian Defence Force.
“We look forward to accepting Eyre into service and thank the many skilled shipbuilders who contribute to ensuring the RAN continues to operate capable warships of the highest quality,” RADM Hughes added.
Deputy Secretary Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Jim McDowell expanded on the comments made by RADM Hughes, saying, “The launch of NUSHIP Eyre is a significant milestone for the Arafura Class OPV program, made possible by the commitment and cooperation [of] everyone here at the Osborne Naval Shipyard.”
“We look forward to continuing to work with Luerssen Australia to deliver these Arafura vessels,” McDowell added.
Luerssen Australia chief executive officer Jens Nielsen said the launch of the vessel is a testament to the hard work and cooperation of everyone at Osborne Naval Shipyard.
“We would not be launching this ship without the commitment and passion from our production and shipbuilding teams, including the naval construction branch and Navy,” Nielsen said.
SEA 1180 Phase 1 offshore patrol vessels (OPV) will replace and improve upon the capability delivered by the 13 Armidale Class patrol boats by acquiring 12 new vessels. The primary role of the OPV will be to undertake constabulary missions and the OPV will be the primary ADF asset for maritime patrol and response duties.
A competitive evaluation process (CEP) commenced in late 2015 and concluded with the signing of a contract with Luerssen Australia on 31 January 2018. The remaining vessels will be built by Luerssen Australia at the Henderson Maritime Precinct in Western Australia.
Luerssen Australia is the prime contractor working with key shipbuilding partners Civmec in Western Australia and ASC in South Australia to deliver the OPV capability for the Royal Australian Navy.
Pilots and gunners of Bombing Squadron 16 (VB-16) climb out of their Douglas SBD-5 bombers onto the flight deck of the USS Lexington after returning from the Tarawa-Makin raid, 18 September 1943.
NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND
Little has been written about the two-day attack against Tarawa that took place two months before U.S. Marines landed there, unleashing the Battle of Tarawa. It is now possible to reveal a fuller picture of the events of those two days by incorporating previously unavailable Japanese information. This information comes from some of the few Japanese survivors of the Battle of Tarawa and from members of the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces, who were stationed on Tarawa for many months but then were transferred from the island a month or two before the battle started. One new piece of information we learn is that, unknown to the U.S. military, the Tarawa raid also brought an end to the development of an important Japanese defense weapon that was under construction at the time—a weapon that would have made the Marines’ landing much more hazardous and been the cause of increased Marine Corps casualties.
The Gilbert Islands were a little-known British colony in the Central Pacific when Japan entered World War II. The islands came into world focus when, two days after their attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese captured the northern Gilberts and began building a seaplane base at Makin Island. Nine months later, in September 1942, Imperial Japanese Navy forces seized more Gilbert Islands, occupying the atolls of Tarawa and Abemama and the high coral island of Nauru, west of the Gilbert Group. They constructed an airfield on Nauru and a two-strip airfield and fortifications on Betio Island at Tarawa.
Pilots and gunners of Bombing Squadron 16 (VB-16) climb out of their Douglas SBD-5 bombers onto the flight deck of the USS Lexington after returning from the Tarawa-Makin raid, 18 September 1943. Naval History And Heritage Command
Central Pacific Counterattack
By staging through Funafuti in the Ellice Islands, it had been possible for the U.S. Army’s 7th Air Force to strike twice against Nauru and Tarawa in April 1943. U.S. offensive operations from Funafuti had commenced with a mission on the night of 21 April, when 22 B-24 bombers took off on the first strike against Nauru. Their commander, Major General W. H. Hale, had led them personally to Funafuti from Hawaii. It was a successful raid, and the planes returned safely to Funafuti.
But that night, the Japanese retaliated by bombing Funafuti airbase, damaging several of the B-24s parked on the airfield. For the attack on Tarawa two nights later, only 12 of Hale’s 22 planes were still capable of making the attack. However, it was a successful strike. They returned to Funafuti the next day and the same afternoon headed back to Hawaii via Canton Island.
A war correspondent and an ensign of Torpedo Squadron 16 (VT-16) examine an aerial photograph of Tarawa Atoll’s Betio Island in a ready room on board the USS Lexington, 17 September 1943. The carrier’s planes would raid the island the following day. Naval History And Heritage Command
In July, the Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered amphibious operations against the Gilbert Islands, with a target date of 1 December. This was to be followed in February 1944 with an assault against the Marshall Islands. It was decided to first stage a carrier strike against Tarawa in coordination with the U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) bombing attacks. For that purpose, the AAF supplied Task Force 15 (TF-15), under Rear Admiral Charles A. Pownall, with two squadrons of B-24 bombers.
The raid of 18–19 September 1943 was a combined attack by TF-15, a fast-carrier raid built around the carriers USS Lexington (CV-16), Princeton (CVL-23), and Belleau Wood (CVL-24), with a 7th AF heavy bomber attack using the B-24 Liberators.
From the AAF perspective, the attack was successful in destroying Japanese aircraft and airbase facilities at the time when the AAF was developing new bases in the northern Ellice Islands, closer to Tarawa. They wanted to minimize attacks from Tarawa against these bases, especially while they were under construction. The U.S. Navy judged its part in the TF-15 attack as a success in damaging the Tarawa defenses, destroying Japanese aircraft, and killing enemy soldiers. The most important prize of the raids was said to be the set of aerial photographs obtained of the lagoon coast of Betio Island. This was valuable in planning the Marines’ assault on Tarawa as well as any future AAF bombing attacks.
The B-24 Factor
The attack began before midnight on the night of the 18 September with an AAF raid. Twelve B-24 Liberator bombers were stationed at Canton Island under the command of General Truman H. Landon. As Canton is more than 1,000 miles from Tarawa, these planes were moved to Funafuti in the Ellice Islands to bring them within a roughly 700-mile range of Tarawa. There they joined the 12 B-24s of the Funafuti Air Group under Marine Corps Brigadier General Harold D. Campbell, making a total of 24 aircraft.
Of the 24 planes that set out to bomb Tarawa, only 18 managed to make it to the target and drop their bombs. Japanese records reveal that, on the ground, Japanese radar detected the B-24s approaching Betio over the ocean from the west, and a siren sounded to alert them for an air-to-ground combat situation. Their Southern High-Angle Battery counterattacked and shot down one B-24, which crashed into the northern waters of Tarawa lagoon, and another B-24, the crash site of which was not known. The Japanese also had 15 Zero fighters in the air above Betio, and these shot down a third B-24.
The Japanese estimate of damages was that approximately 100 bombs, including incendiaries, had fallen on the island. Buildings, including a food store, were destroyed or damaged. The airfield runway also received several bomb hits, and several fuel and ammunition dumps were blown up. The AAF lost a total of four planes in the attack, three of which are accounted for in the Japanese record. Another of the lost B-24s was a plane with the name “Wake Island Sleeper.” This aircraft had received damage from the Zero fighters over Tarawa and began to leak fuel. While attempting to make it back to Funafuti, it crash-landed 50 yards off the beach at Nanumea Island, where the Seabees had commenced building an airbase, in the northern Ellice Islands some 200 miles north of Funafuti. The crew escaped without injury, but the plane burst into flames and was destroyed.
TF-15 on the Attack
Rear Admiral Charles A. Pownall, pictured here in a photograph taken in October 1943, carried out the 18–19 September raid with the added benefit of two squadrons of B-24s, courtesy of the 7th Air Force. U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive
Approximately one hour after the AAF raid had ended, at 0500 on 19 September, Japanese radar again detected aircraft approaching Tarawa. These were from the carrier Lexington, which was 50 miles from Betio. The Lexington had launched 22 Hellcat fighters, 12 Dauntless dive-bombers, and 18 Grumman TBF Avengers against Tarawa. The aircraft were grouped into five or six small formations. The Japanese began firing at them with 13-mm machine guns and rifles. The air attack consisted of medium-altitude bombing, low-level torpedo bombing, and low-altitude fighter attacks, sweeping the ground with machine-gun fire. The fighting became a furious shootout between air and ground.
The Japanese claimed two American aircraft were shot down. Some of the Japanese barracks were burned down, as were some of their gun batteries. An arsenal of the Field Fire Artillery Base, in the northwest corner of Betio, received a direct hit and exploded, killing several men.
After one hour, the Lexington launched more planes—eight fighters and ten bombers. The Princeton also sent 15 planes to Tarawa; the Belleau Wood sent seven torpedo bombers. Throughout the morning of the 19th, more planes launched from all three carriers. The damage and casualties on the ground increased. Japanese witnesses say the total number of buildings destroyed or damaged rose to 33. The airfield, strewn with the dead, was bomb-damaged in six places, and the electricity supply on Betio was cut off. The Japanese guns now had to be operated manually, and it was impossible to track aircraft fast enough by hand.
The Japanese tally of plane losses on the ground was nine Nell bombers destroyed out of a total of 14. One of their Zero fighters crashed into a bomb crater when landing at Betio and was wrecked. U.S. estimates were that a total of ten Japanese aircraft were destroyed on the ground: eight Nell bombers, one Betty bomber, and a Val dive bomber. Around noon, five planes from the Lexington attacked Bairiki Island, two and a half miles east of Betio. They bombed the small island where drums of aviation gasoline were stored and set off a huge explosion.
Tarawa Atoll, with Betio Island in the foreground, as seen by the planes from the USS Lexington, 18 September 1943. Nine weeks later, U.S. Marines would be hitting the island en masse—and would have advanced right into a horrific “Sea of Fire” had the September raid not thwarted the Japanese defenders in setting the deadly trap. Naval History And Heritage Command
A Fearful ‘Sea of Fire’ in the Making
At the time of the raid against Tarawa, the Japanese had commenced work on constructing what they called their “Sea of Fire” defense weapon. Working at times of low tide, they had been burying drums of aviation gasoline below the high-water mark along the lagoon beaches of Betio. They planned to screen the lagoon landing beaches with a line of drums that would have covered the beaches that the Marines soon would be naming Red Beaches #1, #2, and #3. If a Marine landing was to take place on these beaches, the Japanese intended to release the fuel, which would float to the surface of the water; when ignited, it would turn into that “sea of fire.” It was hoped this would prevent Marines from landing on these beaches and seriously injure or kill any who were in the area at the time.
Obviously, this was a lethal weapon, potentially capable of inflicting a high number of casualties. Fortunately for the U.S. Marine landing, the construction of the Sea of Fire was never completed. Some of the fuel drums that were already in place were set on fire by the action of TF-15, and an area of fire on the lagoon water was seen around the Burns Philp Wharf area. The weapon was never completed, because the raid had destroyed the gasoline that was required for it.
Several small fuel dumps of gasoline stored in drums were destroyed by TF-15: one in the area west of the main runway (above the mass grave site where the New Zealand Coastwatchers and other executed Europeans were buried) and another located between the two runways. But the fuel dump on Bairiki Island was probably the most serious loss for the Japanese. It was set on fire by machine-gun strafing from the Lexington planes, and there was a huge explosion; a Japanese witness described it as if “the moon exploded.” He stated that thousands of drums of fuel were destroyed.
In addition to Tarawa, the Japanese bases at Abemama and Makin also were hit by TF-15, which succeeded in destroying aircraft and destroying or damaging facilities there.
Makin and Abemama
The attack against Makin was specifically directed at the seaplane base, to destroy patrol aircraft and any such installations as might be found there. Ten aircraft, Hellcat fighters and Devastator torpedo bombers, launched from the Princeton at 1530. Three flying boats were set on fire by strafing while they were on the water.
The damage suffered by the Japanese amounted to two Emily (Kawanishi H8K2) flying boats sunk at their moorings in the lagoon and a third one moderately damaged. Seventeen Japanese were killed, with another 11 missing in action and five seriously injured. A building at the foot of On Chong’s wharf, thought to be a radio station, also was bombed. Eight 500-pound bombs were dropped, but damage to the building was unknown. The attacking planes encountered only light antiaircraft fire, and none were damaged.
Pilots on the Abemama strike reported that the only damage inflicted was the destruction of a bridge connecting two of the islands within the atoll. There were no aircraft or marine vessels found there, and the Japanese had not constructed any airfields on Abemama.
After the raid the Japanese improved their defense procedures, including the decentralization of storage for ammunition, drinking water, and fuel. Additional training was undertaken in gun operation and repair procedures, and gun blind-spots were removed.
Overall, the TF-15 raid was judged a success by the Americans, even though it was realized that the Tarawa airbase would not be put out of service for any length of time. Now, with the additional knowledge that the “Sea of Fire” weapon also was destroyed by the raid, it must be considered a greater success than was known at the time.
Sources:
“Action Report, Task Force 15, October 3, 1943, US Pacific Fleet,” Record Group 313.5, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
William H. Bartsch, “Operation Galvanic,” After the Battle no. 15 (1977): 1–33.
Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate, The Army Air Forces in World War II, vol. 4, The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944 (University of Chicago Press, 1950).
Taniura Hideo, Tarawa, Makin no Tatakai: Kaigun Rikusentai Girubai Senki (Tokyo: Soshisya, 2000).
Peter McQuarrie, The Gilbert Islands in World War Two (Oakland, CA: Masalai Press, 2012).
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