Operation Gratitude

South China Sea raid
Part of Pacific War, World War II
A Curtiss SB2C Helldiver flying near a burning Japanese tanker off the coast of Indochina
Date 10–20 January 1945 Location South China Sea Status United States victory
Belligerents
United States	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
William Halsey Jr. John S. McCain Sr.
Casualties and losses
Aircraft losses between 3 and 25 January: 98 aircraft, 136 aircrew (combat) 103 aircraft, 31 aircrew (operational)	Losses between 3 and 25 January: 300,000 tons of shipping 615 aircraft

Aircraft losses between 3 and 25 January:

Losses between 3 and 25 January:

The South China Sea raid (designated Operation Gratitude) was an operation conducted by the United States Third Fleet between 10 and 20 January 1945 during the Pacific War of World War II. The raid was undertaken to support the liberation of Luzon in the Philippines, and targeted Japanese warships, supply convoys and aircraft in the region.

After attacking airfields and shipping at Formosa and Luzon, the Third Fleet entered the South China Sea during the night of 9/10 January. Aircraft flying from its aircraft carriers attacked Japanese shipping off French Indochina on 12 January, sinking 44 vessels. The fleet then sailed north and attacked Formosa again on the 15th of the month. Further raids were conducted against Hong Kong, Canton and Hainan the next day. The Third Fleet departed the South China Sea on 20 January and, after making further attacks on Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands, returned to its base on 25 January.

During 1941 and the first months of 1942 Japan conquered or established de facto rule over almost the entire South China Sea region. Control of the sea was vital to the Japanese economy, as it was the conduit through which essential supplies of oil and other natural resources passed from occupied Malaya, Borneo and the Dutch East Indies. As the war turned against Japan, convoys of ships passing through the South China Sea frequently came under attack from Allied submarines and – by late 1944 – aircraft. These attacks were guided by information gained from signals intelligence and long-range air patrols, supplemented by reports from coast watchers along the Chinese coast and other observers in Asian ports. While losses of oil tankers and freighters were increasingly heavy, the Japanese Government continued to order ships to make the voyage. In an attempt to limit losses, convoys and individual ships took routes well way from the established sea lanes, or sailed close to the shore and operated only at night.

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