Rumble in the N. Pacific. Kaleun vs Alex L

[kaleun]

Somewhere in Russia I believe. He might be partying with Snowden.

[kaleun]

August 4th
Batavia falls and with it the 27th Australian infantry brigade, stuck there after being evacuated from Singapore.
Enemy carriers approaching Pago Pago.

August 5th.

At Pago Pago, Kate bombers sink AVP Teal and AC Curtis.

In the North Pacific the allied carrier force goes to maximum speed to close on the Aleutians. Meanwhile, an amphibious force of engineers and AAA assets departs from Kodiak Island bound for DH.

August 6th.

Pago Pago comes under naval attack. An enemy SNLF enters Exmouth that now sports an operational fighter strip.

[kaleun]

August 8th.
Magwe airfield continues to come under air attack from Chittagong. To date, no enemy response.
The reinforcements arrive at Dutch Harbor. An engineer unit to help with the airfield and a coastal AA unit. The soldiers and equipment have debarked and the task force now unloads supplies for the garrison.

August 10th
Off Newcastle SSI-172 and SSI-3 are attacked by ASW task forces and take 3 and one depth charge hits respectively.
The allied carriers refuel prior to returning to Pearl Harbor. Formidable detaches to return to SFO as it must be withdrawn to assist in the battle of the Atlantic.
Over Magwe, the air battle continues to rage.

August 12th.
A suspicious enemy force is approaching Baker Island. AVP Pecos ordered to leave and proceed to Canton.
A relief task force composed of small xAKLs approaching Darwin comes under attack by carrier based airplanes. DD Arrow takes 2 bomb hits.

[kaleun]

August 15th 1942

An enemy cruiser force, Haguro, Mikuma, Suzuya and Kusumo, bombards Exmouth. An invasion force follows. It seems Japan is not content with its current borders and wishes to expand them further.

August 16th.

Yamashiro and others bombard Exmouth’s defenders while the cruisers sink a small xAKL at Carnavon. Carnavon based Beauforts attack the enemy cruisers but fail to hit anything.

In the Gulf of Sitka, off the Canadian West Coast, 25 B5N2s and 27 AGMs sink xAK American Leader and PG Morris. The Allied response is automatic. “Clean Seas” Allied shipping heads for the nearest safe harbor. The enemy carriers can waste fuel but they shall soon find an empty ocean with nothing to attack.

At Pearl Harbor a new worry plagues Nimitz: Will the enemy invade Attu now?

[kaleun]

August 17th

CL Nashville, DD Crosby and a couple of other minor escorts cannot get out of the enemy torpedo bombers fast enough and succumb to the Kate bombers.
HMS Formidable departs San Francisco to rejoin the Royal Navy in the Atlantic.

Lexington, Hornet, Wasp and Illustrious disband in Pearl Harbor and begin repairs.

August 19th.
All the elements of the 2nd Marine division finally arrived at Pearl Harbor and the Division is reconstituted. The 1st Marine Division is unloading at Perth.
The enemy carriers appear to begin withdrawing from the West Coast.

August 20th.
Two merchants and two escorts that were unable to clear the North Pacific fast enough fall to the enemy Kates near Kodiak. The airfield at Dutch Harbor is 95% complete. Illustrious and Lexington are three days from completing their repairs, Hornet 5 days away.

[kaleun]

August 21st.

Things are heating up on several fronts:

At Exmouth, enemy surface forces bombard the base. During the day, 12 Banshee dive bombers escorted by 10 P40Es hit Yokosuka 2nd SNLF. They find 27 AGM2 on CAP and suffer the loss of 7 bombers and one fighter.

Near Anchorage, 28 AGM2 escort 75 B5N2 bombers attacking an oiler task force. Despite the lack of CAP, all the bombers miss their targets. Later in the day, near Kodiak, 14 Zero and 12 Kate bombers hit shipping. This time they were met by 7 P400 and 16 P40E. 2 Zero fighters and 3 Kate bombers were destroyed at a cost of only one P40E. The airfield at Dutch Harbor is 98% complete.

In the South Pacific, an enemy carrier force is spotted south of Rarotonga.

[kaleun]

August 22nd.

An enemy cruiser force bombards Kodiak Island, Mogami, Tone and Chokai hit the base without much effect.

Enemy carrier airplanes hit Anchorage in the morning. This time they get a warm welcome from 21 P40 E fighters. The 49 Kate bombers get through escorted by 47 Zero fighters. All the bombers miss their targets and they return to their carriers leaving behind 5 Zero fighters and one bomber. Only 3 P40 E airplanes were lost.

In the South Pacific, enemy carrier airplanes hit shipping off Tahiti. The first wave of 42 Zero and 31 Kate bombers fails to score but the second 42 fighters and 43 bombers sink DD McCall with one torpedo and leave xAP Glenorchy on fire after another, single, torpedo hit.

A Catalina reports hitting BB Kongo with a bomb south of Dutch Harbor.

At the end of the day, Dutch Harbor has an operative airfield and the 58thFG/67FS with their P400 fly in.

At Pearl Harbor Illustrious and Lexington are 2 days away from finishing their repairs. Wasp and Hornet are ready to go.

[kaleun]

August 23rd
BB Yamashiro, CA Takao, Atago, Aoba and Kinugasa hit amphibious landing force unloading artillery at Exmouth. Aside from transports, DD Piet Hein, KV Hollyhock and two patrol craft were sunk. The capital ships then proceeded to blast the base.

Kongo bombards Dutch Harbor destroying 2 Catalinas and damaging 2 others and 2 P400.

Anchorage hit by 73 Zero and 52 Kate bombers. The base can only scramble 8 P40 E that prove unequal to the task. 1 Kate damaged and 2 P40 destroyed. The light cruiser Trenton takes two bomb hits and DM Ramsay one.

Air one task force formed at Pearl. Wasp and Hornet, led by V Adm Marc A. Mitshcer await Lexington and Illustrious. The four carriers plan to sortie and attack the enemy carriers in the North Pacific.

“They don’t seem to have the Varsity on those flattops,” Mitscher said, “They are tired and far from home. Probably low in ammo too.”

In the south, enemy carriers close on Tahiti. An invasion of this important strategic island is feared.

[kaleun]

August 24

Kirishima, Hiei, Haruna, Nachi and Myoko hit Tahiti hard. 24 F4F damaged, 3 destroyed, 6 SBD-1 damaged, 1 destroyed. 45 hits on the runway, 18 on the airbase, 12 supply hits. 3 port hits, 2 fuel and 2 supply.

Yamashiro et al hit Exmouth again while Furutaka, Kumano, Mikuma and Haguro bombard Carnavon.

Over Magwe 10 oscars and 54! Nick meet 9 Blenheim with 10 Hurricanes and 12 P40 E with predictable results.

Later in the day 12 Hudson and 7 Wellington attempt to bomb the airfield. 6 Hudsons and 2 Wimpeys fail to return.

In the North Pacific, his carrier aircraft re-visit Anchorage. The reinforced Cap of 24 P40 E claimed 1 Zero and 1 Kate at a cost of 7 P40s. The pilot’s inexperience shows. Trenton took 3 bomb hits, AO Guadalupe 1.

At Pearl Nimitz ponders: Will Tahiti be invaded now or is this just a raid? Was all the northern operation just a fake to distract from a massive Tahiti invasion? There is only one freshly arrived marine regiment at Tahiti. It will have to hold until reinforcements can come in. The closest being the 1st Marine Division at Perth.

August 25th

Lexington and Illustrious join Air 1 and the task force leaves Pearl Harbor. Ahead of the carriers, two ASW forces attempt to clear the sea lanes and prevent prowling subs to warn the enemy. On the carriers, all the torpedo bombers US and British, as well as the dive bombers are set on ASW patrol.

Tahiti is hit by 34 AGM2 and 59 B5N2s. DD Larden takes 3 bombs, AGP Jameston 3 and DD Landsowne 1. The enemy carriers are seen (withdrawing?) NW of Tahiti.

[kaleun]

August 26th

With the allied carriers, hopefully undetected, transiting north, the seas heat up around the Aleutians.
Near Agattu SS Greenling misses on DD Minazuki but spots AO Akebono Maru. Later, near Amtchika SS Flying Fish misses on Minazuki again.

Near Kodiak, SS I-4 launches on DD Vampire and is depth charged in the bargain. One hit claimed.

In the south, Rarotonga is hit by 32 Kates.

In Australia a cruiser task force near Exmouth comes under attack by 33 Zero and 23 Kates. All torpedoes miss and the 4 Hurricanes on CAP achieve absolutely nothing.

The 1st Marine division loads up at Perth.

August 27th

Yamashiro with 9 heavy cruisers hits Exmouth again.

32 Kate bombers hit Rarotonga.

30 Oscar 1c sweep over Cox’s Bazaar. They meet 12 Hurricanes and lose one Oscar to 3 Hurricanes.

The allied carriers steam north, as yet undetected.

[kaleun]

August 28th

A day for submarine action:

Off Newcastle an ASW group reports a depth charge hit on SSI-16.

SS Sturgeon misses DD Fubuki and duds on E Mamazuru.

SS I-4 in the gulf of Alaska takes a depth charge hit from DD Tenedos but the destroyer runs out of ammo.

Off Sidney, SSI-24 is forced to surface after 15 DC hits and is sunk by surface gunfire.

SS I-166 misses CA Dorsetshire off Carnavon.

SS I-153 scores two torpedo hits on CA San Francisco.

The enemy carrier force continues to strike at shipping in the Gulf of Alaska. This time 75 B5N2 score on TK Camden (THx3, sinks) xAKL Colorado, TH 2, sinks, TK Eidscold BH 1.

7 Kate and 19 zero score 1 TH on CL Honolulu.

A sub sighting by one of the carrier bombers may mean that the carrier force has been detected by the enemy. In his cabin on Lexington, Adm Sherman smiles.

“Set new course, 035”

[kaleun]

August 29th

CA San Francisco is again the target of a submarine attack, this time it is SS I-162 that scores three hits.

Rarotonga hit again by 39 B5N2.

Near Alliford Bay 20 B5N2 and 19 Zeros hit a TK task force that was not able to leave the area in time. Several ships sunk. The carriers also attacked ships near Sitka where CL Honolulu sunk after 5 torpedo hits!

August 30th

The enemy carriers continue to wreak havoc off the coast of Alaska. The allied carriers have just finished a high speed dash to the north seeking a reported replenishment task force spotted south of DH. They failed to find this force but are now located between the enemy fleet and their home waters. All divebombers go on naval attack and 20% search. The British biplanes will initially be used for search purposes due to their longer range.

The carriers return to normal speed and turn East.

“They shall not escape,” Sherman says.

The enemy carriers have been operating in the Gulf of Alaska for 2 weeks, fighting the seas and the enemy. Supplies must be low and men and machines tired.

[kaleun]

August 31st
Near Trivandrum BB Valiant is hit by two torpedoes.

Everything is eerily quiet.

Patrol planes search the North Pacific.

[Sangeli]

Good luck with your impending carrier battle! If you win this it would be a huge coup. Do you have intel about the size of the carrier task force? Which carriers are involved?

[kaleun]

September 2nd.

Exmouth falls!

In the north Pacific both task forces fail to engage.

Sturgeon duds again on DD Uruyoke at Port Hedland.

AO Tippecanoe sunk by SS I-9 near Coos Bay.

A patrol aircraft reports the enemy carriers South of Dutch Harbor.

Sherman orders his carriers to head West at full speed. How they got through he cannot imagine. If he cannot force a battle on the morrow he will have to head back to Pearl.

[kaleun]

Do you have intel about the size of the carrier task force? Which carriers are involved?

I am not sure now which carriers are in the northern task force.
Sherman is outnumbered, that's certain, but he is counting on fatigue and dwindling supplies to help him.
He has not counted on an imponderable[:-]

Thank you for reading and commenting.

[kaleun]

September 4th.

Reluctantly, Sherman orders his carriers to return to Pearl Harbor. His enemy got away scot free and he dares not come closer to the size 5 airfield at Adak.

Heavy air battles continue over Magwe where P38Es make an appearance but prove themselves unequal to the enemy Nicks and Tojos. The air struggle continues on the 5th.

September 9th

Coded messages fly from Carrier 1 to Pearl Harbor. The carriers’ needs for repairs are flashed to the shipyards. The high speed run chasing the enemy fleet was costly.

Minneapolis accumulated 8% damage on her systems. Lexington only 2 but one on the engine. Hornet 3, Wasp 4 and one engine, Illustrious 2 and one engine, North Carolina 5, and so on. Not battle threatening damage by any stretch of the imagination but the next deployment of the carrier force will be far from friendly shipyards big enough for capital ships.

[kaleun]

September 10th

Soerabaja falls.

13 A24 Banshees from Carnavon hit enemy shipping at Exmouth. APD Narukawa is hit by 4 bombs and APD Nokura by one. Only 2 Banshees are damaged in the raid.

At Pearl Harbor the carriers begin repairs. Wasp, Illustrious, Hornet and Lexington, all at pierside will be ready in 4 days.

September 11th.

Banshees try a repeat of yesterday’s raid, escorted by 16 Kittyhawks however they meet stiff opposition in the form of 32 Zero fighters and 2 Oscars. After losing 5 Kittyhawks and 2 Banshees they return to base having missed CVE Uryo.

A large carrier force, 3 CV, 2CVE and 3 CS is reported at Exmouth.

The 7th Australian division that was bound for Carnavon will now unload at Geraldton as the ships cannot proceed against carrier opposition.

September 12th.

As expected, the enemy carriers strike the task force carrying 7th Australia. The combat elements had, fortunately, unloaded already, so most losses were only equipment. 28 Zero fighters escorted 21 torpedo bombers against an ineffective CAP of 9 P40E that splashed a single Zero at a cost of 3 P40E.

However, not all the news is bad.

Near Geraldton, 13 Banshees hit a cruiser force. CA Kumano was left on fire after 3 bomb hits, two of which were observed to penetrate the carrier’s armor. A subsequent attack by 9 B26 Marauders missed both Takao and Kumano.

Near Tahiti SS I-25 is reported sunk after a string of 18! Depth charge hits.

September 13th

CA Takao y others attack transports near Geraldton sinking many.

Near Ulak SS Flying Fish launches 6 torpedoes at CV Akagi missing. Kongo, Mogami and Nishin were also spotted.

12 Kate bombers with 21 Zero fighters hit shipping at Geraldton. 8 P39D and 7 P40E rise to fight destroying 1 enemy fighter and 4 Kate bombers at a cost of 1 P39 and 2 P40.

The same task force hit Perth with 14 A6M2 and 9B5N2. Met by 24 P39D they lost 3 fighters and one bomber at a cost of a single P39. The fighters disrupted the attack enough that DD Van Ness escaped damage.

[kaleun]

September 14th

BB Kongo et al hit shipping at Dutch Harbor. Three destroyers 2 xAK and an xAP are sunk. The surface task force then bombards the harbor. Near Cold Bay 78 Zero fighters escort 48 Kate bombers that attack and sink 3 xAKs.

Trying to resupply the Aleutian base requires an almost exquisite sense of timing.

September 15th.

400 Nautical Miles north east of Tahiti a small carrier heads into the wind. On her cramped flight deck a small group of SBD-3 bombers, their engines already warm, line up for takeoff. They fly to Tahiti. On the way they cross a formation of SBD-1 bombers heading for their carrier. They will ride to the vicinity of Pearl Harbor to upgrade their machines.

An enemy submarine hits a mine at Dutch Harbor.

In the Indian Ocean, Christmas Island is occupied by the Yokosuka 1st SNLF.

[kaleun]

September 20th.

Hurry up and wait. The allied carriers have been sitting at anchor at Pearl since September 16th. They await troop transports to arrive for the next operation. And an ambitious operation it is, even though its target is not.

The problem here is that the allies have just a few carriers, 4 to be exact, and these must be everywhere at once. Not only that but they will face a superior force almost everywhere they go. Waiting for additional carriers to become available starting in 1943 is also not an option. Gallups pollsters predict a victory for the “Peace Now” party candidates in the general elections in November. Only a few victories, a credible turning back the tide would convince the newly elected Congress to continue to fund the war.

Thus the plan evolves to use the available carrier force as aggressively as possible and casting the widest possible net.

The 2nd Marine Division and the 119th USAAF base force will load up on the invasion fleet. A bombardment force with BB Ramillies and some heavy cruisers, yet to be assigned, will accompany the invasion force to the first target. The carriers will stand off behind the invasion and covering force, ready to pounce on enemy surface ships.

The target is small and thought to be weakly held. Baker Island.

The marines will hit the target and, if everything goes according to plan, take it. As soon as the island is secured, they will reload on the same fleet that brought them in and depart for their next objective while a second wave will bring in a regiment sized force to garrison the island. The surface force will return to Pearl while the carriers will accompany the Marines to their next area of operations.

In a different topic, an enemy carrier force was detected approaching Darwin.