May 11, 1945
It is only fitting that the carriers who started the war END IT.
North of Midway Island:
Five carriers spot the normal American pickets in an arc in the NE and SE. Orders are to attack anything spotted. These are strange orders since until yesterday they were supposed to not fly until safely past these pickets. It is not to reason why--RIGHT? Carriers Shokaku and Soryu contribute 21 Fighters and 29 Judy to a strike that kills yet another YMS that the Americans, seemingly, have in endless supply. No Japanese losses during the strike.
NW of Addu Atoll:
The original Flagship of Kido Butai, IJN Akagi, turns its bow into the wind for the last time and flings 15 Sam and 18 Jill at a carrier target near Addu. These planes are joined by another 16 Sams and George-4 as well as 4 more TB (Grace). Amazingly, the Japanese encounter no fighter opposition as they line-up for torpedo runs against an Allied carrier! It turns into a horrific day for HMS Arbiter as five TTs slam into the small carrier. It sinks with great loss of life. Japanese losses are just two Jill.
A weak but well heard
BANZAI peels from the Indian Ocean.
That these two raids in the Northern Pacific and Indian Ocean are allowed at all is testiment to a fuel surplus throughout the Empire. How and why the Allies did nothing to stop the flow of oil will be a foremost question after the war.
In a worrisome development communications appear to be out with the Fleet HQ in Tokyo...
