28 October 1942
Sangeli, I officially apologize for doubting you...
KB did show. And what a show it was.
Day Time Surface Combat, near Howland Island at 149,134, Range 26,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CV Kaga, Shell hits 2
CV Hiryu, Shell hits 2
CV Soryu, Shell hits 1
CV Shokaku
CV Zuikaku, Shell hits 1
CV Akagi
CVL Ryujo, Shell hits 1
BB Kongo, Shell hits 3
BB Haruna, Shell hits 7, heavy fires
CA Chikuma, Shell hits 2
DD Samidare, Shell hits 1
DD Yugure, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
DD Ariake, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
Allied Ships
BB Washington, Shell hits 7, on fire
BB South Dakota, Shell hits 12, on fire
CA Indianapolis, Shell hits 1
CA Northampton, Shell hits 1
CA Chester, Shell hits 1
CA Chicago, Shell hits 1
DD Fanning, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
DD Mahan, Shell hits 1
DD Preston
DD Drayton, Shell hits 1
DD Lamson
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions: 30,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 26,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 26,000 yards
--------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Howland Island at 147,133, Range 26,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CV Kaga, Shell hits 6, on fire
CV Hiryu, Shell hits 4
CV Soryu, Shell hits 1
CV Shokaku, Shell hits 3
CV Zuikaku
CV Akagi
CVL Ryujo, Shell hits 1, on fire
BB Kongo, Shell hits 1, on fire
BB Haruna, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Chikuma, Shell hits 31, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Samidare, Shell hits 27, and is sunk
DD Ariake, Shell hits 19, and is sunk
Allied Ships
BB Washington, Shell hits 9, heavy fires
BB South Dakota, Shell hits 11, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Indianapolis, Shell hits 1, on fire
CA Northampton, Shell hits 2, on fire
CA Chester, Shell hits 1, on fire
CA Chicago, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Mahan
DD Preston
DD Drayton, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Lamson, Shell hits 1, on fire
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions: 30,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 26,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 26,000 yards
The fights worked their way down to 6,000 and 8,000 yards, respectively.
It looks like all his DDs are dead.
Chikuma took a lot of penetrating hits. I don't see her making it back, either.
Haruna ate some penetrating 16" shells and had a good fire going. At a minimum, she'll be in the yard a long time.
Kongo got off fairly lightly. None of my battleships landed hits on the carriers, cruisers and destroyers doing most of the work. Even
Hiryu was shrugging off 8" shells to the hull.
Kaga's probably in the worst shape with fires going.
South Dakota and a cruiser succumbed to their wounds after the battle.
I thought I was going to get away. No CV strikes in the morning, but later in the afternoon, it started.
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Howland Island at 148,132
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 30 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 50
A6M5 Zero x 54
B5N1 Kate x 17
B5N2 Kate x 117
D3A1 Val x 134
Allied aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 4 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 9 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
SOC-1 Seagull: 1 destroyed
OS2U-3 Kingfisher: 2 destroyed
Allied Ships
BB Washington, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 6, and is sunk
CA Chicago, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CA Northampton, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
CA Chester, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Mahan, Bomb hits 1
DD Lamson
CA Indianapolis, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
DD Drayton, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
Aircraft Attacking:
10 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
24 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
13 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
25 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
8 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
17 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
13 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
8 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
25 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
1 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
25 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
17 x B5N1 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
9 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
10 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
7 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
19 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
15 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
3 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
5 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CA Chicago
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Washington
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CA Chester
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring an Allied CA
---------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Howland Island at 148,132
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 17
Allied aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 5 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
SOC-1 Seagull: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
CA Northampton, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
DD Lamson
DD Preston
Aircraft Attacking:
17 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
In the end, only
Indianapolis and three destroyers came out of it alive. The upside is that my other invasion forces are probably clear now.
Lexington,
Saratoga,
Hornet and three CVEs are heading that way to help cover things. I should have got them out yesterday, but forgot. I don't think they would have made it in time anyway.
Was it worth saving the invasion group. I don't really know at this point. I guess better to lose two BBs than three, plus the troops and valuable transports. I'm very disappointed in the gunnery on my ships. My battlewagons engaged the CVs several times to no avail. They should have been dead to rights. At this point, it's most likely KB is headed to Singapore or Japan. Some of his carriers did take some island hits, though I don't know how that translates, damage-wise.
Elsewhere, quiet in India, due to weather.
