The Shield or the Javelin

[Wirraway_Ace]

Now that my Stimulus project has leapt the hurdles of bureaucracy, I am ready to spend some more time in the evenings gaming (and writing about it).

New Game between Wirraway (IJN) and XJ (ANZAC)
Scenario 17, 140% commitment levels (both)
No auto-victory (although auto-victory bases must be defended properly)
No 4E under 15,000 on naval attack or naval search
No Marine Squadrons on carriers (unless transporting) unless generic (you could also argue the Victorius is a case as the FAA had Corsairs on carriers a year ahead of the USN, certainly by the latter half of ’43)
No Corsairs on CVE’s under any circumstances (the Corsair was too heavy to operate & also their flight-decks weren’t quite long enough).
6PTs per TF; 2 TFs per hex (max 12 PT boats a hex pre-planned)
No more than 2 separate CV TFs per hex
No use of multiple single ship TFs to invade/resupply in contested areas (although subs can be used normally)
Limit of level 5 forts on atolls
Reasonable stacking limits on atolls
Reasonable defensive mining (e.g. about 1,000 mines per hex max)
Japanese sub doctrine on
US advanced repair on
FOW on
Advance Weather on

[Wirraway_Ace]

This AAR is open for both sides

[Wirraway_Ace]

Separated my nearly 10,000 miles, Fleet Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku and Chief of Naval Operations Ernest King both stared at charts of the Pacific Ocean. Their thoughts were inextricably drawn to the South Pacific and the great arc of Papua New Guinea shielding the approaches to Northern Australian and the length of the Solomon Chain thrusting like a javelin towards the sea lines of communication between the United States and Australia. As if to their will, pieces began to move across the globe. In May of 1942 erupted a titanic struggle that would eventually embroil much of the Combined Fleet and U.S. Pacific Fleet on a battlefield unlike any other seen before. From Malaria infested jungles of the Solomons to the glittering blue waters of the Coral Sea, the battles raged for 18 months. Eventually, the forces of Imperial Japan were…well, read on and you shall see…

[xj900uk]

Meanwhile,  safely tucked away in his HQ in Brisbane,  General MacArthur studied the reports from his aircraft maintenance engineers.  In the past week no fewer than 27 planes, flying out of Cooktown or Cairns to PNG,  had been lost due to 'non-combat' reasons.  In fact, there had been not a single report of any agression by a single Japanese fighter to any of his transports or multi-engine bombers, the only few Jap planes spotted over PNG or along the eastern Australian coastline had clearly been LRA or naval search planes.  Nobody was yet to see a fighter,  and yet his LBA was almost a quarter down on strength.  What had been accomplished?  Supplies and a few troops moved to Port Morseby,  a few bombs dropped on Buna and Gili-Gili (both of which had fallen uncontested to advanced Japanese raiding parties) and several more on Lae - that was the only crumb of comfort to an otherwise depressing picture,  for teh Japanese were now being clearly stretched to operate any kind of air operations from that already battered base.
General MacArthur sat back in his easy chair - transported privately and at great expense (to the American taxpayer) over from the US to his own general headquarters, and chewed thoughtfully on his corncob pipe. 
Soon he had decided on a course of action - summoning his subordinate, second in command and all-round yes-man General Sutherland to his office,  he then proceeded to bawl the sycophant out with some very fruity language.
Sutherland wrung his hands, mopped his perspiring face,  and offered up an explanation - "It's the Australian mechanics,  you see, Sir...  I don't think they really understand anything complex or modern like our aircraft..."
When faced with any problem or crisis,  this is what Sutherland usually did - blame the primative and socially inferior Australians.
MacArthur thought carefully on Sutherland's comments.  Sutherland was the kind of man who would never dare to speak out of turn, in fact,  MacArthur postulated that he would request permission to breathe.  The fawning little creep had been around him for so long that MacArthur knew just about what he would say or do 99% of the time, which was to say exactly what MacArthur wanted to hear.  And right now yes the Australians were clearly to blame for everything - the bad weather, loosing Rabaul, the rapid Japanese advance south,  the terrain in New Guinea which the so-called 'diggers' were years behind in penetrating with decent roads.... yes, this was clearly all their fault!  Just another failure to add to their growing heap of incompetence.
The other top American brass in Brisbane,  General Westmoreland,  was due for imminent replacement,  a move that MacArthur both welcomed and feared.  Feared,  because he wonderred just whom the President would send out in his place, or, heaven forbid, allow an... Australian to join the inner circle of upper staff officers.  The last thing MacArthur wanted was one of those fly-swatters with jumped up ideas of his own importance!  Welcomed, because Westmoreland up until the end of 1941 had been head of Naval Intelligence,  a man who had dismissed the Japanese Naval Air Arm as little more than 'short-sighted be-spectacled pilots flying quaint old biplanes',  and a man who had been totally confident as to the impregnability of Pearl Harbor and its security to the Pacific Fleet.  In the inevitable cul of the top brass that had followed the debacles of both Pearl and the Phillipines - a campaign where he General MacArthur had been betrayed by just about everybody elses incompetence, an appallingly shoddy show which had required all of his political and social skills to maneouver out of taking any wrongly-directed blame - the Washington brass had seen fit to palm off Westmoreland to the SWPacific theatre.  And the last thing MacArthur wanted was another incompetent running around... 

[Wirraway_Ace]

2 May 1942: MAJOR ALLIED PORTS FALL – JAPANESE FORCES ADVANCE WITH IMPUNITY
The lead elements of a massive Imperial Japanese sea, land and air armada have freed the major colonial ports of Milne Bay and Tulagi. Native Islanders gratefully great their Japanese liberators (see picture below). Meanwhile, thousands of enthusiastic Asian Co-prosperity Sphere volunteers assist skilled IJN engineers in turning these rudimentary western colonial outposts into major Japanese military bastions. Advance Japanese bombers now prowl the coast of Australia and the US Navy base at Noumea.

[Wirraway_Ace]

5 May 1942: JAPANESE FORCES OBSERVE ALLIED ATROCITIES
Day after day, US and Australian bombers have attacked the small fishing village of Buna, killing local natives and destroying their fishing boats and piers—the source of their meager livelihood (see picture of aftermath below). Not a single Japanese soldier, sailor or airman has been killed or wounded in these seemingly arbitrary airborne atrocities. Allied aircraft have even strafed the fishing village after so recently forcing the inhabitants to labor on building an airfield nearby. Fate has had some retribution, however, as numerous allied bombers have crashed navigating the mist shrouded Owen-Stanley mountains loaded with their heavy munitions of cowardly destruction.

[Wirraway_Ace]

13 May 42: CARDIV 5 ENGAGES US CARRIERS NEAR SOLOMONS

Details are still coming in on a significant carrier action near the southern end of the Solomon chain. Intial reports indicate CARDIV 5 stalked, engaged and sunk 2 US Fleet Carriers attempting to raid Tulagi. One Lexington Class CV and one Yorktown Class CV with a heavy escort of cruisers and destroyers were reported involved in the tense action. RADM Yamaguchi's forces are pursuing the shattered remnants of the US fleet. The IJN also reports over a hundred cowardly enemy pilots have been captured after being shot down or forced to ditch when their carriers were sunk.

[xj900uk]

Chester Nimitz,  CinC Central Pacific,  looked at the combat report on his desk which detailed the short but furious battle that had taken place in the Southern Solomons on May 13th 1942.
Task Force 11, under the able but elderly Admiral Mitschner, had sallied forth from Noumea a few days before,  consisting of the carriers Lexington and the slightly smaller Yorktown, and an accompanyment of heavy cruisers and destroyers; their task, to inderdict and destroy the Japanese transports and accompanying escorts that were bringing men and materiel to the two latest additions to the Empire of the Rising Sun, namely Lunga and Tulagi.  Mitschner's brief had been simple - try to stop or at least stem the build-up by hitting as many transports as you can find,  but get out quick and get back to Noumea if substantial surface fleets appear.  There had been a couple of successes further north from the marauding US subs,  which had hit and sunk a couple of small transports in the past few days,  but so far the Solmons had been quiet other than for the ominous trickle of Japanese forces probing ever further south as they made their way insiduously down through the Island chain.  Unlike further west in PNG, where MacArthur's bombers had been busy dropping vast quantities of ordanance all over the jungle,  loosing several precious machines in the Owen Stanley's along the way,  and with only a perforated runway at Lae the only substantial crumb of comfort.

TF11 had taken up station just to the NNW of Irau on the evening of the 11th,  waiting for the next small fleet of Japanese transports to arrive at either Tulagi or Lunda,  screened by a blanket of cloud and rain,  a quiet day had passed on the 12th (mainly thanks to bad weather) but at daybreak on the 13th,  the American scout planes (a collection of float planes from the heavy cruisers checking out the many approaches and seas about the islands, plus a few SBD's from the two carriers that had been searching a huge arc just to the north of the contested islands) reported a large unknown force closing rapidly from the NNE, clearly visible in the morning sunshine.
Yorktown and Lexington immediately turned into wind to launch more aircraft,  and also to recover any returning SBD scout planes, but before the first strike could even trundle down the decks came the worst possible news :  'Unknown force is decidedly hostile and consists of at least two repeat at least two carriers'.
On board the two US carriers frantic preperations were made to try and get every available plane airborne, either as strike or as CAP.  The range was over 200 miles but closing rapidly,  technically beyond the age of the venerable TBD's,  but these were still loaded up and practically flung off the edge of the carrier decks.  Some Wildcats went on CAP,  others were assigned to offensive strikes, and on board the carriers AVGas lines were emptied and purged with CO2,  bombs and munitions hastily stashed into equipment lockers,  and all defensive AA guns primed and ready for combat.
As it was, the frantic and hasty US preparations only served to fragment and detach the strikes,  which became more or less formed into three separate formations,  but these in turn only confused the Japanese AA gunners.  More worrying were reports in plain radio language from several of the returning cruiser float planes in plain language : 'Large formation of aircraft heading your way'
In the end,  the US beat the Japanese to the punch by a full half hour,  attacking their larger force which consisted of the new large carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku,  the much smaller and older Shoho,  and an assortment of cruisers and destroyers of all shapes and sizes,  in three separate unco-ordinated waves
The first in were one SBD squadron from the Yorktown which had become detached from their own strike and instead joined up with the Lexington TBD's flying many thousands of feet below, mistaking them for their own Yorkie Devestators and trying to call them on the wrong radio frequency.  Fortunately most of the Japanese CAP descended on the lumbering Devestators,  shooting ten of them down very quickly and AA fire accounting for the remaining three before a single torpedo could be dropped.  Elsewhere the eighteen SBD's, forming up over the Japanese carriers,  were met by a handful of Zero's just as they began to wing over in their dives, two being quickly shot down and an intense AA barrage accounting for another six,  but the remaining ten Speedies concentrated upon the Zuikaku,  leading the trio of enemy carriers,  and were rewarded with at least two direct hits forward from the 1000-pounders and several near misses,  starting a huge fire and no doubt wrecking the carriers chances of launching any further strikes.
Just as the remaining SBD's were clearing the area,  the remaining Lexington planes arrived overhead, thirty six SBD's with an escort of six Wildcats.  By now many more Zero's were desperatly climbing to the SBD's height,  and in the dogfight that followed several were promptly shot down just as they were beginning their dives,  the Wildcats already short on fuel unable to protect their charges.  AA accounted for several more on their screaming near-verticle dives,  but the remaining SBD's concentrated on the smallest available target, namely the Shoho - hitting it twice at either end,  and also on the unfortunate destroyer Oite which,  in the speed of the attack was mistaken for the small carrier and also hit twice,  one bomb punching right through the decking into the boiler room where it exploded,  engulfing the small ship in a cloud of steam and smoke.
Finally,  the remaining Yorktown strike planes, one squadron of SBD's, the torpid Devestators and 9 Wildcats, which had initially got separated and flown to the wrong location,  only to espy the huge column of smoke rising from the well-aflame Zuikaku on the horizon, divert towards it on their own iniative and arrived several minutes after the remnants of the Lady Lex's air contingent had already left the area.  This time there were fewer Zero's airborne and those that were present were low both on ammunition and altitude, once again they concentrated on the hapless TBD's, promptly shooting down half of them but leaving the 18 SBD's completely unmolested and with time to form up properly over the Jap TF and prepare their dives.
Leaving the smaller Shoho which was clearly ablaze and hors de combat, the Speedies were able to concentrate at leasure on the two bigger carriers,  hitting the previously undamaged Shokaku twice - one bomb punching out the forward lift and throwing it bodily up into the air, and the already burning Zuikaku another three times,  the first bomb again hitting her forward, the second wrecking the deck park at the rear and blowing two Zero's that had just landed clean overboard, and the third punching through the flight-deck to burst in the hanger, starting huge fires there and also touching off some carelessly stacked munitions
But back at TF11, there was scant time to celebrate as the Japanese air attack was itself under way by now. A combined strike consisting of 13 Zero's, 18 Vals (half had gotten separated and failed to locate the American carriers) and 40 Kates winged in, opposed by about 20 Wildcats, all of which had been placed down low to oppose a wave-top torpedo strike.  If the IJN had been deploying similar tactics to the Americans then this mgiht have worked, but the Kates began their long, fast diving attack from about 25 miles out and at 5,000 feet,  with the Wildcats trying desperately to catch up.  A few Kates were shot down, Leut Baker accounting for two of them before the AA gun circle was reached,  and the awaiting AA accounted for many more, but most of the survivors then concentrated on the Lady Lex,  which was hit 5 times in rapid succession and rapidly lost her way, her hull completely punctured.  The Yorktown, with her smaller turning circle, was also attacked but managed to evade the three Japanese torpedo's fired at her,  her AA fire then shooting down all three of her attackers plus a pursuing Wildcat for good measure.
Then the remaining and unhindered Vals came screaming down,  the first being winged by AA fire and going straight into the water,  but not before its 250kg bomb hit the Yorktown right on the tail, temporarily jamming the rudder and causing it to vere to starboard at full speed.  Luckily this violent manouevere seemed to throw off the aim of most of the remaining Vals, although another three smaller 60kg bombs hit from a subsequent Val, none fortunately penetrating the flight-deck.  Elsewhere another Val concentrated on the nearby New Orleans,  hitting it with another two 60kg bombs, both of which fortunately failed to explode,  and the cruiser promptly splashed its assailant before it could make good its attack.
Good accurate AA fire having accounted for most of the remaining Japanese strike,  a smaller secondary one launched by the Shoho managed to sneak in completely undetected and put a torpedo into the burning Yorktown,  on the starboard side just below the island,  rupturing fuel tanks but not causing any critcial damage.  The CAP then arrived belatedly as the remaining Japanese planes attempted to flee,  Ensign May getting his third victim of hte day but loosing two of their number to the ever-present Zero's.
And that was the end of the days action.  The Lady Lex was way beyond saving and went down fast, finally going under around tea-time,  the Yorktown remained afloat but with an inoperable flight deck,  which caused the remaining returning strike planes and CAP to splash around the task force when their fuel ran out, most of the pilots and aircrews being picked up by the escorting ships.
Nimitz read the report again,  just to make sure he had understood everything clearly, then dashed off a number of important and immediate recommendations on his notepad which was quickly passed to his orderly.
(1).  AA gunfire appears to be more effective than CAP at present - draw up plans ASAP to increase the amount of light guns on all our ships, including more 40mm mounts were possible, and also increase size of ammunition lockers without compromising safety.
(2). Get more Wildcats on our carriers, the few we had were seriously outnumbered.  Hurry up and replace the F4F-3 with the mark 4, which comes with folding wings (so more can be carried) and six guns instead of four,  although range and fuel capacity would be slightly compromised.
(3). The TBD is obviously a complete turkey on combat.  Increase work on its replacement, the Grumman TBF,  and get it to front-line squadrons as soon as possible

Meanwhile, in Brisbane,  General MacArthur also read the report of the battle of the Southern Solomons, as it would come to be known, and drew slightly different conclusions.  The war was going badly,  true,  but the American people needed hope and they needed heroes.  Above all, they needed people like himself.  Cleaning out his beloved corncob pipe,  the General dashed off a quick memo ordering another artist out from the States to paint another picture of himself - the one he had currently in his boadroom simply wasn't good or dashing enough

[xj900uk]

[font=calibri]Memo from Admiral Chester Nimitz,  CinC Pacific Fleet, Hawaii,  to General Douglas MacArthur,  Commander-in-Chief of all Allied Forces,  SW Pacific Theatre,  Brisbane,  14th May 1942[/font]
[font=calibri] [/font]
[font=calibri]To facilitate control of the air assets currently or likely to become available in the SW Pacific Theatre,  the 5th Airforce,  U.S.A.A.F.,  is to come into being with effect from 1st June 1942,  to be based initially at Brisbane.  Major General George Kenney , U.S.A.A.F., is flying out from Pearl Harbor to take over this new command within the next two weeks.  [/font]
[font=calibri]General Douglas MacArthur is to facilitate the transfer of all air assets whether American or Commonwealth under his current control, whether based on the Australian mainland,  Papua New Guinea,  or the New Zealand enclaves at Luganville at Noumea,  to this new command,  except for certain search planes and other transport assets based within Australia that will still remain under MacArthur’s jurisdiction.[/font]
[font=calibri]It is the intention of CinC Pacific to create a separate subsequent SOPAC command for all land-based air-assets located at Noumea at Luganville,  although this is unlikely to occur before Autumn ’42.  For the time being such assets will remain under the control of 5th Airforce until the new command is established.[/font]
[font=calibri] [/font]
[font=calibri]General MacArthur looked down with disgust.  He had bitten his corncob pipe clean in two.  Why was everyone around here so damn incompetent?  And why couldn’t those well-meaning but ham-fisted bumbling amateurs running thing back in Washington or at Pearl either stay out of his business and let him get on with defeating those treacherous back-stabbing nips,  or else furbish him with the men and machines he needed to get the job done?   [/font]
[font=calibri]And why on earth was he still lumbered with those wretched,  uncouth,  loutish, ape-like Australians?  These were not the sort of people one would know socially,  of course – or else they would not be living in some uneducated stinking back-water like Australia!  Why,  he was here purely due to the incompetence  of those bungling cretins back in Pearl who promised him what he needed to defend the Philippines,  then let him and the Phillipinian people down when America needed to be strong and resolute![/font]

[xj900uk]

To : Admiral Chester Nimitz, C-in-C Pacific Fleet
Re : Combat Report, 4th June 1942

Sir, reconnaissance reports were received yesterday that the Japanese Navy has landed light forces on the undefended Woodlark Islands and presumably taken it. Strikes were launched today at day-break and again at lunchtime from Port Moresby by a mix of B25 and B26 medium bombers, which made their attacks at wave-top height to avoid flights of marauding Zero’s that were patrolling in the area. Although powerless to stop the island falling to the Japanese – the rising sun flag can clearly be seen flying from the highest point of the islands, the three Japanese transports that were completing unloading at the beach area were repeatedly straffed and bombed by our planes, all of which successfully returned, and all three set ablaze. Although none are reported to have sunk, it is assumed that all three are either severely damaged or else substantially damaged beyond economic repair.

Tucked away safe and sound in Brisbane, General MacArthur put down his copy of the battle report and stuffed a fresh wad of tobacco into his pipe. Hitting and hopefully sinking three small stinking, smelly Jap transports was poor recompense for loosing Woodlark to the Nips. He then made for the atlas to find out exactly where Woodlark was. Hmmm. Even to a person of MacArthur’s outstanding strategic foresight and genius a noose could be seen slowly tightening about Port Morseby. More worrying, he was concerned as to the fighting aptitude and morale of the Australian conscripts that were digging in to try and defend it, and as for the quality of their divisional commanders… This would never have deteriorated to this state if Washington had given him the men and materiel he had been demanding incessantly for several weeks. Where were all the long range bombers he had been crying out for and now looked as though he would have to hand over to that wretched Kenney fellow? Where were all of his crack American divisions? His fleets of battleships? All he had was one mixed Australian-American cruiser force under Grace which patrolled up and down the Queensland coastline trying to avoid being seen by the Nip long-range flying boats, and a load of leaky shabby Australian corvettes, sloops and transports which had clearly seen better days. He seriously doubted as to whether or not Port Morseby could be held, given the poor quality of the troops and their commanders that had been forced upon him with which to defend it. And, should that last bastion of western freedom fall, then the gates would no doubt be wide open for an assault on the NE coastline of Australia.
MacArthur picked up his gold-plated parker pen – one of England’s only two contributions to western civilization – and swiftly wrote out two orders. The first was to send his subordinate, Sutherland, on a fact-finding mission north to Port Morseby and to try and boost morale amongst the shoddy and socially inferior Australian troops that were up there. The second was to re-affirm his memo of two days ago that no more troops or vehicles should be sent or flown to New Guinea, no matter how insistent or plaintive the bleatings for reinforcements should become. Supplies, materiel, quartermaster stores and ammunition that could be spared by all means, but for the time being there were simply insufficient troops (and those that were present were of clearly inferior quality) to defend the Australian mainland as well.

Major-General George Kenney, en route from Hawaii to Brisbane to take command of the fledgling 5th Army Airforce, also read the memo of June 4th and reluctantly came to similar conclusions. There was a net being drawn tight around Port Morseby, it was only a matter of time before the hammer-blow fell and there were no guarantees that the last possession in New Guinea could be held, no matter how many further divisions, regiments or brigades were airlifted in. Also there was the added consideration that every soldier rushed to Morseby was one soldier less to defend the Australian mainland. However, he didn’t believe that MacArthur’s attitude, in particular his dealings with his Australian allies, were actually helping matters much.
One thing that Kenney and MacArthur both agreed on were that Washington needed to allocate more air resources to the theatre, and to do it quickly. The P-39 and P-400 Airacobra’s were fine ground attack aircraft, but quite inadequate for air-combat and the lack of turbosuperchargers (which idiot in Washington made the decision to drop them from the design?) made them virtually useless above 15,000 feet; however, it was all that had that were available at the moment, so they would have to make do until something better arrived. P40’s were in theory better, although combat-experience had shown just how pitifully inadequate they were against the Japanese Zero in a straight fight (although hadn’t he read something recently by Claire Chennault, that loud-mouth braggart who ha d commanded the Flying Tigers in China last year? He must remember to look it up) and were mainly used by Australian squadrons, who seemed permanently short of supplies to keep them airworthy. Here he did sympathise with his allies – none of the additional squadrons promised by Washington, or even basic spares and replacement parts, were yet to arrive. The twin-engined double-tail-boomed long-range fighter P-38 was streets ahead of anything he currently had out here, although getting any allocated to the SW Pacific theatre other than for a handful of unarmed F-5 recce planes was proving quite impossible. Lockheed were building the revolutionary design with amazingly torpid pace – didn’t they realise there was a war on – and all early models seemed destined for the European conflict.
Bomber-wise he had reasonable numbers of B25 Mitchells and B26 Marauders but no where near enough B17 long range bombers providing that he could prise them from MacArthurs fingers, however the SW Pacific was an unforgiving theatre, tough on men and tougher on machines – so far more had been lost through attrition and accidents than air-to-air combat. The B26 in particular seemed very vulnerable to accidents on take-off and landing, a ‘hot’ aircraft in every way it was over-powered yet prone to engine unreliability which seemed to always occur at the most inopportune of times. The delicate A-20 and Australian-operated Beauforts despite being twin-engined were more light than medium bomber and lacked sufficient range and payload to make much of an impression and weren’t really designed for the rough and rugged nature of the SW Pacific, although ‘Pappy’ Gunn and his team of sometimes eccentric but imaginative air-mechanics were itching to get their hands on the handful of A-20’s available on the mainland and convert them (i.e. refit them from the wheels up) to hopefully be something more useful. Kenney knew and respected Gunn – his family had been captured by the Japanese during the evacuation from the Phillipines, the man had a few scores to settle with Japs yet didn’t let his antipathy cloud his judgement; despite his sometimes-crude belt-and-braces approach, the man probably knew more about every airplane he had worked on than the designers and builders themselves.

[Wirraway_Ace]

15 June 1942. Intel and Ops summary. The enemy has been very aggressive. He brought in engineer and infantry units to Irau and Rossel Island by fast transport. Our response has been swift and decisive. CarDiv2 provided distant cover for an Invasion TF to Rossel Island. An IJA Rgt easily retook the island and put 1800 imperialists to the sword. BANZAI! While providing distant cover for the invasion TF, CarDiv2 intercepted 2 new USN carriers attempting to attack the landing: Enterprise and Hornet. Hornet was crippled and Enterprise hit. The enemy retreated to the southwest. Casualties among the Kankos were particularily high during these operations. Hiryu's Hikotaicho noted with distaste that his attack aircraft did not push their attacks with vigor on the 2nd day of the battle--the heavy losses on day one having sapped their martial spirit. His offer to commit seppuku was denied.

Operations continue against the American carriers off the coast of Australia. Operations against the beachhead on Irau are also underway by IJN aircraft.

The need for high performance Army Recon aircraft is becoming acute.

[xj900uk]

Hate to be a pain, but it's actually 'BANZAI!'
 
'Bonzai', on the other hand, is the ancient Japanese art of minature tree-growing...  Or are you telling me that this is what your troops have gone to Rossel to study?? 

[Wirraway_Ace]

A little miffed about the way the CV battle turned out I see...What do you imperialists care if we yell "miniature tree" instead of "10,000 [years]"?

Although, I thought it was anglicized "bonsai" for the miniature tree. From my foxhole, I got the "z' right but not the "a".

I will edit the post above for posterity.

[Wirraway_Ace]

Excerpt from Eliot Samuel Morrison’s, Disaster in the Solomons, Little Brown, 1953

The IJN was not intentionally risking its precious carriers in “penny packets”. The decision to send Soryu and Hiryu to cover the Rossel invasion was based on the firm belief by the Combined Fleet staff that the USN had only one operational carrier (Enterprise) in the South Pacific after CarDiv 5 had dealt with Yorktown and Lexington. The Combined Fleet staff and Yamamoto himself were surprised by the level of commitment both Adm King and Adm Nimitz had apparently made to the SOPAC. As it was, the Enterprise and Hornet were a bone to be chewed by the more experienced aircrews of the two smaller IJN carriers.
In the opening 6 weeks of the campaign, the USN lost Lexington, had Hornet and Yorktown crippled (with the loss of their airgroups) and Enterprise damaged. In return, they had damaged one enemy CV and one CVL. And these were even fights. Clearly, the Naval Aviators of the USN had much to learn…

[xj900uk]

Excerpt from Admiral King's Memoirs on 'The First Battle of Rossel Island, 16.06.42

From the American point of view, the battle was a bloody shambles from start to finish. The original premise was excellent though - interdict a small invasion force landing at Rossel to kick out our engineers who were workign fast to establish a port and airfield there. Under the cover of a rain front, Mitschener would lead his TF16 consisting of the Hornet & Big 'E' up from Noumea, whilst Grace's Australian/US cruiser force would approach at high speed from Cairns in the west.
At the last minute our search planes spotted the presence of two carriers (turns out it was the Hiryu and Soryu, their carrier Div 5 and a number of destroyers lurking out to the east, so Grace was temporarily recalled. Mitschner though requested permission to carry on with his strike in the hope of catching the Jap carriers in the poor weather, and we acquiesced.
In the end the constant squalls and thunderstorms only seemed to make matters worse. Our search planes were up before first light on the 16th, however it seems so were his and we more or less spotted one another simultaneously, each launching just about everything we had at the other. Half Hornets SBD contingent, I think it was VS-8, got separated en route to the NNE and were unable to locate the Japanese carriers. Turns out they couldn't even find their own way back to the Hornet & eventually splashed.
VB-8, however, escorted by a few Wildcats, actually found themselves over the Japanese task force judging from the large number of Zero's wheeling around - however it was impossible to see the surface from 18,000 and after some skirmishes with the Zero's, withdrew. The last three actually spotted a carrier through the clouds (turns out it was Soryu) and divebombed it, all missing hopelessly and suffering severe damage from the triple-A into the bargain.
In the meantime the Big E's SBD contingent, having flown to the wrong area, spotted the Zero's buzzing around to the west, turned, and ended up more by accident above the Jap carriers which they could barely see. In the meantime the TBD's, going in low, also had found the Jap task force but were so low on fuel they dropped their fish at maximum range and turned and ran for home, lossing a few of thei rnumber to the triple-A. Seems like through the murk Big E's guys spotted something big below and immediately went wing-over on it thinking it was a carrier, turns out it was a big fat Jap cruiser but no cigar for the flat tops. The first flight hit it (the Chokai) hard 'fore and aft, setting it ablaze, but then called up to the other guys above to abort. 'Cause by then it was far too late, they were already committed in their dives, but they dutifully aborted and pulled out midway in the clouds only to have loads of Zero's descend on them.
Mitschener and his boys back on the Big-E are of course shouting like crazy over the radio, but it's completely blocked with our boys fighting teh Japs, shooting at them, being shot down, and all control has like gone completely. We can't get in touch with our boys, and they are too busy shouting to even hear each other.
Turns out 1 speedie carries out a shallow dive on the Hiryu just before leaving the area and hits.. but guess what? The darned bomb doesn't go off! How about that?
Finally Waldron's Torpedo-8, they take off late and have come up from the south under the thunderheads, well it seems like he was in a good position to attack and then ran full into another gaggle of Zero's which tore his flight to shreds. We know where he is from his signal but can we vector in any Wildcats milling aroudn to support him above? No way they will shut up nor can hear us! He's on his own... and you know... Fifteen planes down in less than a minute! Not a single fish dropped...
{pause}
I think we lost a lot of good guys that day

Meantime the Japs turn up over TF16 a few minutes later so our ships have problems of their own. Seems like the bad weather has split up the Jap formations as they don't attack co-ordinated-like. Not that it matters much as TF16 has about 40 Wildcats overhead at various altitudes. However once the first Jap is spotted again all RT discipline goes out of the window and everyone heads for the first Jap flight. They can only get a few before their Val divebombers launch into their dives, they both hit Big-E and Hornet but not too bad, cruiser Phoenix takes no fewer than half a dozen hits from little bombs but she ain't too bad either. Down below the Kate torpedo bombers, they try but they can't get through the flak barrage which brings down several and drives the rest off.
But everyone' seeing off the first Jap flight so a second stream of Vals coming in after the first lot our planes miss, see? Ships don't because they can see another paint of aircraft coming in from the NNE but can we tell our 'Cat pilots? No siree, they're just hollering and shoutign ton one another like they're at some darn skittle alleyway
Hornet she gets hit four times, including twice by their big 250-bombs and she's burning brighter than a torch, no way is that flight-deck going to land any planes today!

Only crumb of comfor on the way back happens when Lieutenant Vraciu, a Cat pilot with the Big-E who was flying escort up to the NNE, turns around on his own and comes back early at about 8k feet with oxygen problems, when he sees what looks like a flock of big white birds flying towards him a few thousand feet lower. Then he sees the goddam meatballs - turns out its the remnants of the first flight of Kates going home after dropping their loads. Without thinking or even looking around for any escort, Vraciu goes straight in without thinking and he gets himself five of the little blighters - a one-flight Ace! - just doves and comes up underneath and opens up at the first one from underneath and she like goes and blows up, he kicks the rudder and he's shooting pieces off the next one before they even know he's there. in all he scatters them and brings down five inside a couple of minutes, he says afterwards that he would have got more but he ran plain out of ammo.
Bummer

What did we get out of the first Battle of Rossel? Not much other than a lot of dead good pilots! But we know now we gotta get in a new torpedo bomber - sorry but the Devestator she's a fine sturdy aircraft and everything... but... we're not sending our guys out in those death-traps any more. Sorry, no. And we gotta train our pilots not to start shouting and screaming the moment they see Nips. I guess everyone gets a bit excited but we gotta have some RT discpline out there