Bring me the head of Diego Garcia...and the Mayor of Addu Atoll too!

[Disco Duck]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

I realize this may seem a bit OCD but this is how all the **** is getting to Formosa. Most of the fuel is transiting across Northern Oz from DG. Most of the damaged vessels have to go back to Sydney or the CONUS.

It is very inefficient but it is working. We are just now (last two weeks) getting fuel to Luzon. Before this we have been living on fuel in the bunkers of ported transports.

Now you know why MacArthur wanted to hold Port Moresby.

[Cap Mandrake]

*****************May 29, 1943(c)***************

Formosa: Crevah inscrutaburh baastards get in among our ASW groups on the route from Batan Is. to Karenko. They miss Massachusetts and the CL/DD group nearby. The ASW groups are on patrol routes but they all show up at the same prace to see what all the noise is.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Taichu at 87,66, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Takao
CA Ashigara, Shell hits 1
DD Arare
DD Shirakumo
DD Oite

Allied Ships
DMS Hamilton
DMS Boggs
DMS Chandler, Shell hits 7, and is sunk

And

Night Time Surface Combat, near Taichu at 87,66, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Takao
CA Ashigara, Shell hits 2
DD Arare
DD Shirakumo
DD Oite

Allied Ships
AM Cairns, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
AM Cessnock, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
AM Launceton, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
AM Wagga, Shell hits 16, and is sunk

And

Night Time Surface Combat, near Taichu at 87,66, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Takao
CA Ashigara
DD Arare
DD Shirakumo
DD Oite

Allied Ships
SC-706, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
SC PC-579, Shell hits 4

And

Night Time Surface Combat, near Taichu at 87,66, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Takao
CA Ashigara
DD Arare
DD Shirakumo
DD Oite

Allied Ships
SC-522, Shell hits 2, and is sunk

[Cap Mandrake]

Payback, of sorts. North Carolina finds the target her sister ship was denied yesterday.

Night Naval bombardment of Takao at 84,65

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 43 damaged
A6M5 Zero: 8 destroyed on ground
G4M1 Betty: 19 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 4 destroyed on ground
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 10 damaged
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 2 destroyed on ground
Ki-61-Ia Tony: 13 damaged
Ki-61-Ia Tony: 4 destroyed on ground
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 21 damaged
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 6 destroyed on ground
A6M2 Zero: 6 damaged
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed on ground
J2M2 Jack: 4 damaged
J2M2 Jack: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
BB North Carolina

Japanese ground losses:
330 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 22 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 10 (5 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 17

Effective bomber raid over Taihoku. Once the two big airfields on Formosa are shut down, there should be less of the sneaking around at night business by Takao and friends.

Afternoon Air attack on Taihoku , at 87,63

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 29 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 18
P-40K Warhawk x 12

No Allied losses

Airbase hits 9
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 32

[Cap Mandrake]

HUGE convoy near Okinawa. That must have 50,000 troops embarked. <drools>

Sub attack near Amami Oshima at 97,64

Japanese Ships
PB Seki Maru #2
PC Nire
PB Eiko Maru
SC Ch 11
SC Ch 8
AMC Nosiro Maru
AMC Akagi Maru
DMS W-23
DMS W-7
LSD Akitsu Maru
AK Tosan Maru
AK Sagami Maru
AK Hirokawa Maru
xAP Koronado Maru
xAP Yasaka Maru
xAP Tango Maru
xAP Buenos Aires Maru
xAP Kashima Maru
xAK Alaska Maru
xAK Oita Maru
xAK Koho Maru
xAK Kiyozumi Maru
xAK Zuisyo Maru
xAK Nittai Maru
xAK Yuri Maru
xAK Nitian Maru
xAK Tokusima Maru
xAK Okuyo Maru
xAK Hokuroku Maru
xAK Hakkai Maru
xAK Amagisan Maru
xAK Arima Maru
E W-26
E Matsuwa
E Kiku
PB Takunan Maru #5

Allied Ships
SS Cabrilla

[Cap Mandrake]

Hawaii (you know, the place where it all started): First LYB sub spotted there in months. They take a shot at the convoy with Colorado. Perhaps they have spotted the shipping traffic at Hawaii in preparation for the Kuriles? Of course, they can't know where we are going yet.

ASW attack near Kona at 180,112

Japanese Ships
SS I-21, hits 2

Allied Ships
DMS Lamberton
DD Gillespie

[Cap Mandrake]

There is also this. The tour guide in the crazy Beefeater costume at the Tower of London pointed to the hill where Guy Fawkes "was hung". I believed it. It's not true. I want my pounds stirling back.


Even so, it is a very cool tour. The oldest building around here is the San Juan Capistrano Mission. I don't think they even have tours but if they did it would go something like this: "This is where Father Serra directed the Juaneno indians, working as virtual slaves in the name of the Saviour, to make the highest quality adobe bricks out of donkey dung and clay. And if you come with me you will see the archeological site of one of the first organized latrines in Alta California. Last month alone, archeologists recovered a brass button, a portion of a clay pipe and ELEVEN coproliths!.............."

[FOW]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

... and ELEVEN coproliths!.............."

that would be Coprolites not coproliths - unless they are Paleofaeces - depends on the age [;)]

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: FOW

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

... and ELEVEN coproliths!.............."

that would be Coprolites not coproliths - unless they are Paleofaeces - depends on the age [;)]

What if they didn't have enough fiber in their diets (because of the evil European influence, I mean)?

Would those qualify as coproliths? Right out of the shoot, I mean?

[Cap Mandrake]

I think this is what Mr. FOW means when he says "paleofaeces". It's from Latin. "Paleo=old", "Faeces=faces"

Here is a really old one. I haven't worked out why she would be in a Mission San Juan Captistrano latrine but I can't figure out half the things the Engrish are talking about, even on a good day.

[Lecivius]

OMG!!! [X(]

[poodlebrain]

I think everyone's morale just dropped into the single digits. It's going to take more than a USO tour to recover from that setback.

[FOW]

ORIGINAL: poodlebrain

I think everyone's morale just dropped into the single digits. It's going to take more than a USO tour to recover from that setback.

Not even a seasonally themed USO tour?

[FOW]

My bad - should have been a WWII(c) USO tour (The Rockettes at Guam)



Oh wait !!! you haven't retaken Guam have you [&:]

[poodlebrain]

I must be doing something wrong when I take photographs. It is the eyes that glow red in my photographs.

ORIGINAL: FOW

ORIGINAL: poodlebrain

I think everyone's morale just dropped into the single digits. It's going to take more than a USO tour to recover from that setback.

Not even a seasonally themed USO tour?

[Cap Mandrake]

I don't remember Santa being that...what's the word....athletic-looking when I was a kid.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: FOW

My bad - should have been a WWII(c) USO tour (The Rockettes at Guam)



Oh wait !!! you haven't retaken Guam have you [&:]

We are bypassing everything that does not already have a golf course development planned.

[poodlebrain]

Do some of those golf courses have holes with windmills and other obstructions?

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: poodlebrain

Do some of those golf courses have holes with windmills and other obstructions?

Don't tell anyone but these are "special" golf course. The money is made by NOT building them. Oh sure, there are some drawings and maybe a model or two showing the beautiful 15th hole fronting the Gulf of Leyte or the Aru Sea but you don't actually need a contractor or even an architect. You just need a couple of aliases, some lawyers and a chaotic transnational conflict where everyone longs for tranquility and some way to launder some of the Firripino gord they stole.

[dcpollay]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

I don't remember Santa being that...what's the word....athletic-looking when I was a kid.

That's not Santa....That's Santa Maria!

[Lecivius]

Can I get one for Christmas?