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Old 05-14-07, 10:27 PM   #6
nematode
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There were quite a few 50-60 ship Japanese troop convoys in the first 6 months of the war, and these would have to qualify as their largest convoys.

The Japanese were indifferent to merchant ship escort coverage until mid-war, on the other hand, their early war troop convoys were well escorted with fleet destroyers, kaibokan, subchasers and minesweepers in close escort, frequently with seaplane tender, heavy cruiser and battleship groups covering at a distance.

The Western Invasion Force for Banten Bay Java in Feb 42 is pretty much the pinnacle of that activity. It consisted of 56 transports with numerous light escorts, an entire flotilla of fleet destroyers, and a division of heavy cruisers, even a light carrier as escort. There was an equally large Eastern Invasion Force for the Soerbaja area, and an appreciable chunk of the rest of the Japanese Navy within 700 miles or so, busily destroying anything Allied that they could lay their hands on. Although the Japanese never rolled out anything remotely approaching an Iwo Jima invasion convoy, the Java invasion was pretty impressive in its own right.
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