imported>Buckshot06: final fixes

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final fixes

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{{no footnotes|date=April 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= Task Force 16
|image=USS Enterprise (CV-6) under attack by dive bombers during the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942 (80-G-20989).jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption= Task Force 16 with [[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|''Enterprise'']] (center left) and [[battleship]] [[USS South Dakota (BB-57)|''South Dakota'']] (distant background) under Japanese carrier air attack during the great [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands]] on 26 October 1942.
|dates=
|country= United States
|allegiance= [[Allies of World War II]]
|branch= [[United States Navy]]
|type= Naval aviation unit
|role= [[Aircraft carrier]] support
|size=
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|garrison_label=
|equipment=
|equipment_label=
|nickname=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|colors_label= red
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=[[Marshalls-Gilberts raids]] [[Doolittle Raid]] [[Battle of Midway]] [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons]] [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands]] [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]] [[Battle of Rennell Island]]
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=

|current_commander=
|current_commander_label=
|ceremonial_chief=
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|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|colonel_of_the_regiment_label=
|notable_commanders= [[William Halsey, Jr.]], [[Raymond A. Spruance]] [[Thomas Kinkaid]]

|identification_symbol=
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}}
'''Task Force 16''' (TF 16) was one of the most storied [[task force]]s in the [[United States Navy]], a major participant in a number of the most important battles of the [[Pacific War]].

In July 1941, {{USS|Wasp|CV-7}} drew the assignment of ferrying army aircraft to Iceland because of a lack of British aircraft to cover the American landings. The American P-40s would provide the defensive fighter cover necessary to watch over the initial American occupying forces. ''Wasp'' slipped out to sea on 28 July, with the destroyers {{USS|O'Brien|DD-415|2}} and ''Walke'' as plane guards. The heavy cruiser {{USS|Vincennes|CA-44|2}} later joined the formation at sea.

Within a few days, ''Wasp''{{'}}s group joined the larger Task Force 16—consisting of the battleship {{USS|Mississippi|BB-41|2}}, the heavy cruisers ''Quincy'' and ''Wichita'', five destroyers, the auxiliary {{USS|Semmes|DD-189|2}}, the [[attack transport]] {{USS|American Legion|APA-17|2}}, the [[Combat stores ship|stores ship]] {{USS|Mizar|AF-12|2}}, and the [[amphibious cargo ship]] {{USS|Almaack|AKA-10|2}}. Those ships, too, were bound for Iceland with the first occupation troops embarked. On the morning of 6 August, ''Wasp'', ''Vincennes'', ''Walke'', and ''O'Brien'' parted company from Task Force 16 (TF 16). Soon thereafter, the carrier turned into the wind and commenced launching the planes from the 33rd Pursuit Squadron. As the P-40s and the trio of trainers droned on to Iceland, ''Wasp'' headed home for Norfolk, her three escorts in company. After another week at sea, the group arrived back at Norfolk on 14 August.

The Task Force was re-formed in mid-February 1942 around [[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|''Enterprise'' (CV-6)]], with Vice Admiral [[William F. Halsey]] in command of the force, and supported by [[cruiser]]s [[USS Salt Lake City (CA-25)|''Salt Lake City'' (CA-25)]] and [[USS Northampton (CA-26)|''Northampton'' (CA-26)]], along with a half-dozen [[destroyer]]s.

The task force's first mission was to shell [[Wake Island]] and [[Marcus Island]], then, joined by [[USS Hornet (CV-8)|''Hornet'' (CV-8)]] and the rest of [[Task Force 18]] (TF18), in April the force conducted the [[Doolittle Raid]] on Tokyo. In May Halsey was ordered to join [[Task Force 17]] (TF17) in the [[Coral Sea]], but the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] was over before TF 16 could join in.

Halsey was then hospitalized with a skin disease, so Rear Admiral [[Raymond A. Spruance]] took over TF 16 and along with TF 17, led it to victory in the [[Battle of Midway]].

In August, the task force supported the landings on [[Guadalcanal]], then fought in the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons]], followed by the great [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands]] in October, the [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]] in November, and covered the retreat of TF 18 after the [[Battle of Rennell Island]].

In March 1943, TG 16.6 fought the [[Battle of the Komandorski Islands]], then bombarded [[Attu Island|Attu]] in April, and the whole force supported the recapture of the [[Aleutians]] in the [[Battle of Attu]].

In 1944 and 1945, the task force was a refueling unit consisting of [[destroyer escort]]s and [[Oiler (ship)|oiler]]s.

==References==

===Books===
*{{cite book
| last = Lundstrom
| first = John B.
| year = 2006
| title = Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal
| publisher=Naval Institute Press
| location = Annapolis, Maryland
| isbn = 1-59114-475-2
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Lundstrom
| first = John B.
| year = 2005|edition=New
| title = First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942
| publisher=Naval Institute Press
| isbn = 1-59114-472-8
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Lundstrom
| first = John B.
| year = 2005|edition=New
| title = The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway
| publisher=Naval Institute Press
| location = Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A.
| isbn = 1-59114-471-X
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Morison
| first = Samuel Eliot
| author-link = Samuel Eliot Morison
| orig-year = 1958| year = 2001
| title = The Rising Sun in the Pacific 1931 – April 1942'', vol. 3 of ''[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]]
| publisher=Castle Books
| isbn = 0-7858-1304-7
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Morison
| first = Samuel Eliot
| author-link = Samuel Eliot Morison
| orig-year = 1949| year = 2001
| title = Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942 – August 1942, ''vol. 4 of ''[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]]
| publisher=University of Illinois Press
| location = Champaign, Illinois, US
| isbn = 0-252-06995-1
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Morison
| first = Samuel Eliot
| author-link = Samuel Eliot Morison
| year = 1958
| title = The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943'', vol. 5 of ''[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]]
| publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]]
| location = Boston
| isbn = 0-316-58305-7
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Stafford
| first = Edward P.
| year = 2002|edition=reissue
| title = The Big E: The Story of the USS Enterprise
| publisher=Naval Institute Press
| isbn = 1-55750-998-0
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Stille
| first = Mark
| year = 2007
| title = USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific 1942
| publisher=Osprey
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-1-84603-248-6
}}

===Web===
*{{cite web
| url= http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar//USN/USN-CN-Raids/index.html#CONT
| title= Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean: February 1 to 10 March 1942
| last= United States Navy
| first= Office of Naval Intelligence
| year= 1943
| work=Combat Narrative
| publisher=Publication Section, Combat Intelligence Branch}}

[[Category:United States Navy task forces]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the United States Navy in World War II]]
[[Category:Battle of Midway]]

Task Force 16 - Revision history

imported>Buckshot06: final fixes