Aug 27 - Sept 2, 1942
Death of the Copahee - Congressional Investigation - Tanna Falls
The IJN will break the convoy lines between the West Coast and PH. PH is in no danger of running out of supply (a million or so) but fuel is down to a 3 month supply. CINCPAC will need to deeply consider how to handle this threat. It will be argued (at the investigation) that
the loss of the Pennsylvania and Copahee are due to faulty analysis of the available intelligence.
KB: The locations of the KB and mKB are unknown.
US CVs: Docked at Pago Pago.
AIR WAR:
SURFACE WAR: We catch another raider between Australia and New Zealand.
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Hobart at 87,192, Range 8,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
AMC Kiyosumi Maru, Shell hits 15, heavy fires, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CA Chester
CA Minneapolis
CLAA Atlanta
DD Laffey
DD Woodworth
DD Russell, Shell hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Walker
On 8/28 Japanese raiders in the NorPac kill another not-picket. At this rate - losing 5 in last 3 days - the allies will run out of xAKL before the end of '43. Another plan will be needed.
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Nagai Island at 184,66, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CL Yura
Allied Ships
xAKL Hamakua, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
SUB WAR:
On 8/27 SS Guardfish torpedoes a xAK near Port Moresby.
On 8/28 SS S-31 shells a xAK near Arorae.
On 8/29 SS Albacore hits an AO near Efate.
On 8/31 SS S-47 kills a PB in a ASW TF near Isle of Pines and SS Guardfish gets a SC off Port Moresby.
On 9/1 IJN SS I-168 puts a torpedo into CL Java off Wellington. There are several convoys of empty transports that would like to get back to PH that are afraid to jump that NZ-Tahiti gap.
MALAYA:
BURMA:
DEI:
PHILIPPINES:
SOPAC and SWPAC: On 8/29 the Japanese figure that their forces at Tanna ready and assault and receive a 1:2 reduce the fort level to 2 (286:309 adjusted, 418:112 raw, 638:287 casualties).
On 9/2 additional forces have disembarked and the Tanna garrison is overwhelmed.
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Ground combat at Tanna (120,157)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 17934 troops, 169 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 534
Defending force 5703 troops, 69 guns, 140 vehicles, Assault Value = 86
Japanese adjusted assault: 382
Allied adjusted defense: 53
Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Tanna !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
373 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Allied ground losses:
2811 casualties reported
Squads: 56 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 697 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 124 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 71 (71 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 205 (205 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 5
Assaulting units:
1st Formosa Inf. Regiment
12th Engineer Regiment
79th Infantry Regiment
20th Infantry Regiment
Guards Mixed Brigade
21st Ind. Engineer Regiment
62nd Naval Guard Unit
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
43rd JNAF AF Unit
Defending units:
102nd Combat Engineer Regiment
2nd RNZAF Base Force
106th USN Base Force
33rd Medium Regiment
N Force Detachment
AUSTRALIA: The Japanese take Lord Howe Is on 9/2. Along with Norfork Is and Raoul Is it looks like they are trying to break the PH-Aus convoy lines.
PH and points east: To try and catch the pesky Japanese raiders sitting on the convoy lines between SF and PH the
newly commissioned CVE Copahee, embarking 2 sections of fighter and one of dive bombers is sent on her maiden voyage. The 1st swing south from SF spots a submarine and the SBDs are put on ASW patrol. Then the CVE and her 4 DD escorts run into a
heavy SCTF in broad daylight. Later that day Japanese aircraft appear over the already doomed TF (note the 20 Vals - is this more than 1 CVE/CVL?).
The Copahee will never launch a single aircraft in anger. The level of incompetence of the West Coast USN commander leads to a Congressional Investigation.
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Day Time Surface Combat, near San Francisco at 209,79, Range 24,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Aoba
DD Murasame, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Hatsuharu
Allied Ships
CVE Copahee, Shell hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Farenholt, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Ward, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Banckert
DD Kortenaer
DD Piet Hein
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Morning Air attack on TF, near San Francisco at 209,79
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 49 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 18 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
D3A1 Val x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged
Allied Ships
CVE Copahee, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Banckert
DD Farenholt, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
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Morning Air attack on TF, near San Francisco at 209,79
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2
D3A1 Val x 8
No Japanese losses
Allied Ships
CVE Copahee, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near San Francisco at 209,79
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
D3A1 Val x 20
Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged
Allied Ships
DD Ward, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Kortenaer
DD Banckert, Bomb hits 1, on fire
On 8/31 a convoy running from the Copahee debacle finds another raider well south of the SF to PH convoy route.
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Night Time Surface Combat, near San Clemente Island at 220,90, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
AMC Awata Maru, Shell hits 2
Allied Ships
CL Perth
DD Evertsen
SC-705
TK x 7
PG Yarra
PG Clive
One convoy close to Copahee encounter starbursts with one of the tankers falling to a different raider.
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Day Time Surface Combat, near San Luis Obispo at 214,88, Range 17,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
AMC Hokoku Maru, Shell hits 1
Allied Ships
TK Mobilstation, Shell hits 18, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
The next day (8/31) the Japanese CV TF pursues the DD escorts.
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Eureka at 207,73
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4
B5N2 Kate x 5
D3A1 Val x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged
Allied Ships
DD Banckert
DD Farenholt, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Eureka at 207,73
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid spotted at 37 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes
Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 7
No Japanese losses
Allied Ships
DD Banckert, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
On 9/1 one of the SS prowling around West Coast gets into the action.
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Submarine attack near San Francisco at 206,96
Japanese Ships
SS I-30
Allied Ships
TK California Standard, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
