Operation Meridian assembled a large carrier force against Palembang

The attack group combined Avengers, Fireflies, Hellcats, Corsairs, and Seafires with battleship, cruiser, destroyer, and replenishment support. Four carriers launched a force of more than one hundred aircraft against the Sumatran refineries on two January 1945 strike days. The reported 75 percent reduction in aviation-fuel output demonstrates the target's importance to Japan's ability to sustain air operations. Aircraft were also lost to enemy action and crash landings, so the strategic result came with an operational cost. Whelp joined the force on 19 January, only five days before the first strike, leaving little time for the ships to work up together. The destroyer screened this carrier-and-logistics system as part of the 27th Destroyer Flotilla.