The Pensacola Convoy is a colloquialism for a United States military shipping convoy that took place in late 1941 as the Pacific War began. The name was derived from that of its primary escort ship, the heavy cruiser . Pensacola was officially designated Task Group 15.5 and Army sources may use the term Republic convoy for the senior convoy vessel. The convoy, dispatched in peacetime, was intended to reinforce the United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE), created to defend the U.S. Commonwealth of the Philippines and commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, with artillery, aircraft, munitions and fuel, as the threat of war with the Empire of Japan loomed. After war broke out, and Japanese forces attacked the Philippines, the convoy was diverted to Brisbane, Australia.
Background
The War Department on 16 August 1941 approved large-scale reinforcement of the Philippines. General MacArthur was notified that the first units would sail in September. When Chief of Staff George C. Marshall asked MacArthur if he needed a National Guard division for USAFFE, MacArthur declined the offer, stating: "Equipment and supply of existing forces are the prime essential. I am confident if these steps are taken with sufficient speed, that no further major reinforcement will be necessary for accomplishment of the defense mission." Marshall replied: "I have directed that United States Army Forces in the Philippines be placed in highest priority for equipment ... (and) ... men." Reinforcement convoys began in September and continued through November 1941, escorted from Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by a naval vessel.
Pensacolas convoy included the gunboat ; the U.S. Navy transports and USS Chaumont; the U.S. Army transport ships and ; the U.S. merchant ships and ; and the Dutch merchant ship .
The convoy was carrying a provisional brigade from the U.S. Field Artillery Corps, made up of 2,000 National Guard troops:
2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment (Texas National Guard) 1st and 2nd Battalions, 147th Field Artillery Regiment (South Dakota National Guard) 1st Battalion, 148th Field Artillery Regiment (Idaho National Guard)
2,600 U. S. Army Air Forces personnel were also on board, along with aircraft shipped disassembled in crates: Fifty-two Douglas A-24 dive bombers of the 27th Bombardment Group (Light) sent on the Meigs. Eighteen crated Curtiss P-40 fighter planes of the 35th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on the Bloemfontein. Forty eight pursuit pilots of the 35th PG traveled on the Republic and thirty-nine newly graduated but unassigned pilots were aboard the Holbrook.
Materiel transported included: 20 75 mm field artillery pieces, AA ammunition, 2,000 500 lb bombs, 3,000 30 lb bombs, 340 motor vehicles, 9,000 barrels of aviation fuel, 500,000 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition and 9,600 rounds of 37 mm anti-aircraft shells.
Convoy
The ships left San Francisco individually and arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 27 November to form the convoy. It sailed for Manila on 29 November by an indirect, southerly route. On 7 December, after news of the attack on Pearl Harbor reached the convoy, the crews and soldiers on board began to cover the civilian paint schemes of the ships with gray paint. Extra lookouts were posted to watch for Japanese planes, submarines and surface ships. All personnel were ordered to wear life jackets and carry full canteens of water. Life rafts were installed on deck. Japanese forces landed in the Philippines on 8 December and the convoy was ordered to put in at Suva, Fiji while its destination was debated.
It became clear over the following hours that the Japanese were rapidly overcoming Allied resistance in the Philippines and many other parts of Southeast Asia. On 9 December, at a meeting of the Joint Board, the chief planners of the respective services, Brigadier General Leonard T. Gerow and Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner agreed that the convoy should be recalled immediately. Turner wanted it to reinforce Pearl Harbor. Gerow agreed and added that if the convoy was not sent to Hawaii, it should be brought back to the continental United States.