Editing Tokyo Express (section)

==Organization and history== 
Night transportation was necessary for Japanese forces due to Allied [[air superiority]] in the [[Oceania|South Pacific]], established soon after the [[Guadalcanal campaign|Allied landings]] on Guadalcanal and the subsequent establishment of [[Honiara International Airport|Henderson Field]] as a base for the "[[Cactus Air Force]]" in August 1942.  Delivery of troops and material by slow [[Cargo ship|transport ships]] to Japanese forces on Guadalcanal and [[New Guinea campaign|New Guinea]] soon proved too vulnerable to daytime air attack.  The Japanese [[Combined Fleet]] commander Admiral [[Isoroku Yamamoto]] therefore authorized the use of faster warships to make the deliveries at night when the threat of detection was much less and aerial attack minimal.<ref>Coombe, ''Derailing the Tokyo Express'', p. 33.</ref>

The Tokyo Express began soon after the [[Battle of Savo Island]] in August 1942 and continued until late in the [[Solomon Islands campaign]] when one of the last large Express runs was intercepted and almost completely destroyed in the [[Battle of Cape St. George]] on November 26, 1943. Because the destroyers typically used were not configured for cargo handling, many supplies were sealed inside steel drums lashed together and simply pushed into the water without the ships stopping; ideally, the drums would float ashore or were picked up by barge. However, many drums were lost or damaged; a typical night in December 1942 resulted in 1500 drums being rolled into the sea, with only 300 recovered.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/I/USMC-I-VI-9.html |title=HyperWar: History of USMC Operations in WWII, Vol. I: Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal, Part VI [Chapter 9] |website=www.ibiblio.org |access-date=2024-12-26}}</ref>

Most of the warships used for Tokyo Express missions came from the [[IJN 8th Fleet|Eighth Fleet]], based at Rabaul and Bougainville, although ships from Combined Fleet units based at [[Chuuk State|Truk]] were often temporarily attached for use in Express missions.  The warship formations assigned to Express missions were often formally designated as the "Reinforcement Unit", but the size and composition of this unit varied from mission to mission.<ref>Frank, p. 559.</ref>