Fear and Loathing in the Pacific (3x3 MPBEM)

[Cap Mandrake]

Redeployment of VMG 211 and 221 and the application of some Norden bombsights (with the loss of 5 B17's) to Kendari seems to have changed the tide. Quite possibly, some of the zeroes have been drawn into the big air battles over Palembang.

[Cap Mandrake]

A total of 23 b17's destroyed attacking Kendari from Darwin. Ouch! Still, at least 30-35 Jap planes were destroyed on the ground and at least that many damaged. Kendari is safe for now, but the Wildcats will be needed elsewhere soon.

[Cap Mandrake]

Without as much as even a single recon flight (as I recall) the Japs staged a pardrop on Kragen with a shock attack. Likely, they expected an engineer unit or friendly locals. Instead they found the 4th KNIL Regt in fortified positions. Ouch [8D]

[Cap Mandrake]

A surprise attack achieves complete surprise. The surprise is there is a KNIL Regt guarding the objective and they have a bunch of AAA[X(]

[Cap Mandrake]

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[Cap Mandrake]

You know, I am really getting tired of work. TGIF

[Cap Mandrake]

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[Cap Mandrake]

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[Alikchi2]

Bahahahaha

Poor, poor Yossarian!

[Cap Mandrake]

[font="Times New Roman"]In order to mine the collected wisdom of observers of the war in the Dutch East Indies, ABDA is conducting a public contest to guess the destination of the Japanese vessels North of Flores. The winner must predict a precise destination, not simply "Java" or "Asia". In the event of multiple winners, a geography and military history quiz of the Dutch East Indies will determine the final winner.

First prize: 25% ownership in the future "Kittyhawk Resort" on the lovely island of Bali
Second prize: 1 barrel of oil (courtesy of Royal Dutch Shell, Inc.)
Third prize: The world's biggest ball of latex (1m diameter)

Entries should be submitted to ABDA HQ, Djokarta. All entries must be postmarked before June 24, 1942.

NOTE: When the internet is invented by Sen. Gore, readers should NOT look at the enemy discussion section for clues[/font]

[Cap Mandrake]

From the ABDA Enquirer, June 24, 1942
[quote]
Contest Winner Announced
ABDA HQ wishes to announce a winner in the "where are the Japs headed?" contest. The winner is Staff Sargeant Milo Minderbinder of 90th Medium Bomber Squadron, 11th USAAF, now based in Cooktown, Australia. He is the only participant who correctly deduced the true destination of the Japanese transports, which, in the event, proved to be a remote area of Flores Is called Labao. SSgt Minderbinder declined the first prize but instead was granted a contract to employ, as mercenaries, a previously unkown local prehistoric people, who, according to SSgt Minderbinder call themselves the "!^ssoo-!^" The cave-dwelling residents of the East Floridian jungle have no written language. SSgt Minderbinder has commissioned a Professor Meade, of Colombia Univ., to develop a written language for the !^ssoo-!^ people. "!" denotes a curious clicking sound and "^" stands for a gutteral sound described that of a 3 pack per day smoker trying to clear mucus. Even more curious is the stature of the diminutive people. Adult males range between 3 ft 2 and 3 ft 6. ABDA did offer to supply 300 new Lee-Enfield rifles. These were declined in favor of the favored war club. Similarly, jungle fatigues were declined by the new additions to His Majesty's forces as the pants legs had to be rolled up too far. The men from Flores were quite keen on baseball style caps supplied by SSgt Minderbinder.




Cpl. ^!szululu, His Majesty's 1st Flores Volunteer Constabulary, brings provisions to the front lines after the Jap landing at labao

[Cap Mandrake]

I didn't make this up...well maybe part of it.


http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comm ... resiensis/

[Cap Mandrake]

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[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

I didn't make this up...well maybe part of it.


http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comm ... resiensis/

These are being called "hobbits" in the less-formal scientific discourse (and i am not making that up either....[:D])

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso



These are being called "hobbits" in the less-formal scientific discourse (and i am not making that up either....[:D])

Don't Hobbits have big feet? The feet aren't the only things small on these poor chaps. Still, over 1100 Japanese troops of the Labao landing force were "disrupted" during the landing. Apparently, this includes blows to the head with the tiny war clubs which are not usually fatal but can cause a nasty headache.

[Cap Mandrake]

I didn't know this:


After the RAF, the RCAF was the next biggest user of the PBYS, operating thirteen squadrons; five on the Canadian west coast, six on the east coast and two overseas. In the RCAF, the Catalinas first went into service in Eastern Air Command with No. 116 Squadron at Dartmouth on 28 June 1941. These first aircraft were ten Catalina Mk. Is diverted from an RAF contract to fulfil a request from the AOC, A/C A. E. Godfrey, to obtain long range aircraft to equip the anti-submarine squadrons. The Digbys, Bolingbrokes, Hudsons and Stranraers had insufficient range to cope with the marauding U-boats, and the Catalinas were the first really long-range aircraft to be used by the EAC. Overseas, the first Catalina squadron was No. 413, formed 1 July 1941 and later moved to Ceylon.

Later Catalinas ordered by the RCAF and built to RCAF specifications were called Cansos. At first the aircraft were supplied from Consolidated-Vultee through RAF contracts and Canadian orders. Besides the Catalinas mentioned earlier, another eight were obtained from an RAF order in 1942 and another 12 with modified armament were delivered to fill an RCAF order in early 1942. At the start of 1942, the RCAF had only 32 of these aircraft on strength. However, later in the year the Air Force began receiving Canadian built Cansos to replace the aging Stranraers in Western Air Command and to form new squadrons in Eastern Air Command. The two squadrons overseas were supplied by the RAF.

During early 1941, under an agreement between the U. S. and Canadian governments, Canadian Vickers Ltd., at Cartierville, Que., and Boeing Aircraft of Canada, at Vancouver, B C, began production of the PBY-5 and PBY-5A. During early 1942 Canadian Vickers began delivery of its first batch of Canso flying boats for the RCAF. However the first 36 aircraft were to go to the RAF,as Catalina IIAs to replace Catalinas the RCAF had received earlier from RAF contracts. Of these 36 aircraft, only 29 were actually delivered, the rest going to the RCAF. The first PBY-5A Canso A was completed on 3 April 1943. When production ceased on 19 May 1945, Canadian Vickers had built 369 aircraft of this type. The RCAF received 139 aircraft from Vickers and the USAAF took delivery of 230, designated GA-10A. Of these, 183 were to have gone to the U. S. Navy as the PBY-IA, but none were delivered to that service. In the USAAF the OA-10A was used mostly for search-and-rescue, although some saw service in North Africa as bombers.

At Vancouver, the Boeing plant on Sea Island produced 240 Catalinas designated PB2B-1, entirely for Lend-Lease. Of these, 193 went to the RAF as Catalina Mk. IVBS, 41 to the RNZAF and 6 to the RAAF, the first of these having flown on 12 May 1943. Later the company produced the PB2B-2 (based on the Naval Aircraft Factory's PBN-1 Nomad), of which 50 were built and supplied to the RAF as the Catalina Mk. VI. Also produced by Boeing were 17 flying boat and 55 amphibious Cansos for the RCAF to bring total production to 362 aircraft. During the peak of production, the two plants were producing 50 aircraft per month. Canadian Vickers also produced 119 hulls and 172 wing centre-sections for the Coisolidated-Vultee plant in New Orleans.

In Canada a total of 254 Catalinas and Cansos were used by RCAF units in the Home War Establishment. They served in both EAC and WAC and one squadron operated overseas for about a year-and-a-half from bases in Iceland and Scotland.



http://www.rcaf.com/archives/archives_a ... /index.php

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

These are being called "hobbits" in the less-formal scientific discourse (and i am not making that up either....[:D])

Don't Hobbits have big feet? The feet aren't the only things small on these poor chaps. Still, over 1100 Japanese troops of the Labao landing force were "disrupted" during the landing. Apparently, this includes blows to the head with the tiny war clubs which are not usually fatal but can cause a nasty headache.

Not sure hobbit feet were big. Sometimes the feet were called "prominent" but i think that was because they had hairy toes and did not wear shoes (had leathery soles on their feet). i guess SOME of them had feet more prominent than others (i.e. - The sub-race of Stoors, such as The Proudfoot clan) but i don't think it was actually stated there feet were large for their bodies (just finished re-reading LOTR about 2 months ago).

Also, of course, this is an artist's rendition, and they are not always accurate as to fine details (such as hair, etc.) i would guess their hair pattern would be more similar to chimps than shown here.

[Cap Mandrake]

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[Cap Mandrake]

It is spelled both ways in the game. [:)]

Hyuga and Fuso come back to administer the coup de gras on Koepang. The airfield is completely trashed but 251 Inf Brigade, an emergency reinforcement from India, it seems, is not ready to give up.

[Cap Mandrake]

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