21 January 1943
PACIFIC
Morning Air attack on TF, near Eniwetok
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty-Rikko x 17
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty-Rikko: 5 destroyed
No Allied losses
Training flight from 8th FG/36th FS has been caught up in attack
Training flight from 70th FS' has been caught up in attack
Morning Air attack on TF, near Marcus Island at 119,82
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 34 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero-Reisen x 11
A6M3a Zero-Reisen x 76
A6M5 Zero-Reisen x 23
B5N1 Kate-Kankoh x 11
B5N2 Kate-Kankoh x 74
D3A1 Val-Kanbaku x 70
Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 18
F4F-3 Wildcat x 18
F4F-4 Wildcat x 173
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero-Reisen: 1 destroyed
A6M3a Zero-Reisen: 7 destroyed
A6M5 Zero-Reisen: 1 destroyed
B5N1 Kate-Kankoh: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged
B5N2 Kate-Kankoh: 19 destroyed, 8 damaged
B5N2 Kate-Kankoh: 2 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val-Kanbaku: 21 destroyed, 12 damaged
D3A1 Val-Kanbaku: 3 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed
Allied Ships
CVE Altamaha*, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
CVE Suwannee, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVE Copahee*, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CVE Nassau*, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVE Prince William*, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CV Yorktown
CV Lexington, Bomb hits 1
DD Gwin
BB North Carolina
DD Nicholas
CVE Chenango, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
Ammo storage explosion on CVE Altamaha*
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVE Altamaha*
Ammo storage explosion on CVE Prince William*
Fuel storage explosion on CVE Prince William*
Fuel storage explosion on CVE Suwannee
Ammo storage explosion on CVE Chenango
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVE Nassau*
Ammo storage explosion on CVE Copahee*
Allied morning Air attack on TF near Marcus Island at 120,76
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 66 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero-Reisen x 168
A6M3a Zero-Reisen x 30
Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 17
F4F-3 Wildcat x 18
F4F-4 Wildcat x 25
SBD-3 Dauntless x 39
TBF-1 Avenger x 39
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero-Reisen: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3A Wildcat: 3 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 6 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 19 destroyed, 6 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 3 destroyed by flak
TBF-1 Avenger: 13 destroyed, 5 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed by flak
Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku
CV Junyo
CV Akagi
CVE Unyo, Torpedo hits 1
CVE Hosho
CVL Ryujo
CV Hiryu
CV Shokaku
CVL Shoho
1 bomb did hit (either Shokaku or Zuikaku but I can’t remember which now) and fortuitous luck or what… it was a dud!!
Allied morning Air attack on TF near Marcus Island at 120,76
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 68 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 32 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero-Reisen x 144
A6M3a Zero-Reisen x 27
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 18
TBF-1 Avenger x 15
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed
TBF-1 Avenger: 10 destroyed
Allied morning Air attack on TF near Marcus Island at 120,76
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero-Reisen x 128
A6M3a Zero-Reisen x 27
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 8
TBF-1 Avenger x 9
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
TBF-1 Avenger: 5 destroyed
Japanese Ships
CVE Hosho
Allied morning Air attack on TF near Marcus Island at 120,76
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 17 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero-Reisen x 122
A6M3a Zero-Reisen x 27
Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 18
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 5 destroyed
Allied morning Air attack on TF near Marcus Island at 120,76
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 48 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero-Reisen x 117
A6M3a Zero-Reisen x 27
Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 18
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 3 destroyed
Allied morning Air attack on TF near Marcus Island at 120,76
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 28 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero-Reisen x 112
A6M3a Zero-Reisen x 27
Allied aircraft
SBD-4 Dauntless x 18
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
SBD-4 Dauntless: 5 destroyed
Japanese afternoon Air attack on TF near Eniwetok at 127,108
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty-Rikko x 6
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty-Rikko: 1 destroyed
No Allied losses
Japanese afternoon Air attack on TF near Marcus Island at 119,82
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 34 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero-Reisen x 12
A6M3a Zero-Reisen x 66
A6M5 Zero-Reisen x 22
B5N2 Kate-Kankoh x 38
D3A1 Val-Kanbaku x 22
Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 23
F4F-3 Wildcat x 11
F4F-4 Wildcat x 24
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero-Reisen: 1 destroyed
A6M5 Zero-Reisen: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate-Kankoh: 4 destroyed, 12 damaged
B5N2 Kate-Kankoh: 3 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val-Kanbaku: 2 destroyed, 11 damaged
D3A1 Val-Kanbaku: 3 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3A Wildcat: 2 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
CA Wichita
CV Lexington
CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 1
BB North Carolina, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
Magazine explodes on BB North Carolina
Allied afternoon Air attack on TF near Marcus Island at 120,76
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 57 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero-Reisen x 164
A6M3a Zero-Reisen x 28
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 11
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13
SBD-3 Dauntless x 3
TBF-1 Avenger x 5
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 5 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed
TBF-1 Avenger: 3 destroyed
CHINA
Japanese morning Air attack on 83rd Chinese Army* Corps at 79,58.
Japanese morning Air attacks on Chengchow – 3 airbase hits, 3 airbase supply hits and 33 runway hits.
Japanese afternoon Air attack on 84,53 – 1 airbase hit, 2 airbase supply hits and 16 runway hits.
BURMA
Japanese morning Air attack on 104th RAF Base Force at 54,50 – 9 casualties.
Japanese morning Air attack on 108th RAF Base Force at 54,50 – 11 casualties.
Allied morning Air attack on Moulmein
Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 14
Allied aircraft
Liberator II x 6
B-24D Liberator x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
Liberator II: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
Allied morning Air attack on Moulmein – 1 port fuel hits
Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 10
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 23
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 1 destroyed, 8 damaged
Allied morning Air attack on Moulmein.
Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 2
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 18
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
CM Tatsuharu Maru, Bomb hits 1
DEI
Japanese deliberate attack at Weston/Beaufort.
Attacking force 2549 troops, 24 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 118
Defending force 1816 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 30
Japanese adjusted assault: 35
Allied adjusted defense: 28
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), morale(-), experience(-)
supply(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
75 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Allied ground losses:
85 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Assaulting units:
15th Naval Guard Unit
16th Naval Guard Unit
Defending units:
VII KNIL Battalion
Tarakan Base Force
Tarakan Defenses
Civilians
Repairs completed on DD Makinami at Kobe=, ship returned to service
H8K1 Emily-Seiku from 801 Ku T-2 has spotted DD Lardner at 123,85
Search B5N2 Kate-Kankoh destroyed by CAP at (119,82)
Search B5N2 Kate-Kankoh destroyed by CAP at (119,82)
Search D3A1 Val-Kanbaku destroyed by CAP
Search B5N2 Kate-Kankoh destroyed by CAP at (119,82)
PO2 Nishiura, K. of 251 Ku S-1 Det B' is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Nishiura, K. of 251 Ku S-1 Det B' attains ace status!!
PO1 Sakai R. of Akagi-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO1 Sakai R. of Akagi-1 attains ace status!!
PO1 Sakai R. of Akagi-1 is credited with kill number 6
PO1 Sakai R. of Akagi-1 is credited with kill number 7
PO2 Kasai E. of Zuiho-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Kasai E. of Zuiho-1 attains ace status!!
PO2 Kasai E. of Zuiho-1 is credited with kill number 6
PO2 Nagano H. of Shoho-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Nagano H. of Shoho-1 attains ace status!!
CPO Maki M. of Zuiho-1 is credited with kill number 10
PO2 Nakano, K. of 202 Ku S-1 Det B' is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Nakano, K. of 202 Ku S-1 Det B' attains ace status!!
PO1 Hirusawa W. of Akagi-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO1 Hirusawa W. of Akagi-1 attains ace status!!
PO2 Matsumura H. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C is credited with kill number 4
PO2 Matsumura H. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Matsumura H. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C attains ace status!!
PO2 Kanda, S. of 251 Ku S-1 Det B' is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Kanda, S. of 251 Ku S-1 Det B' attains ace status!!
PO2 Matsuo P. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Matsuo P. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C attains ace status!!
PO2 Oyama K. of 251 Ku S-1 Det A' is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Oyama K. of 251 Ku S-1 Det A' attains ace status!!
PO2 Yamagami, T. of 251 Ku S-1 Det A' is credited with kill number 4
PO2 Yamagami, T. of 251 Ku S-1 Det A' is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Yamagami, T. of 251 Ku S-1 Det A' attains ace status!!
2LT Hidaka E. of 1st Sentai/C is credited with kill number 5
2LT Hidaka E. of 1st Sentai/C attains ace status!!
PO1 Muto R. of Akagi-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO1 Muto R. of Akagi-1 attains ace status!!
PO2 Muranaka G. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Muranaka G. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C attains ace status!!
PO2 Kanda G. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Kanda G. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C attains ace status!!
PO1 Bando B. of Shoho-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO1 Bando B. of Shoho-1 attains ace status!!
PO1 Bando B. of Shoho-1 is credited with kill number 6
PO1 Kawasaki P. of Shoho-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO1 Kawasaki P. of Shoho-1 attains ace status!!
Temporary flotation repairs failing aboard SS I-6
Temporary flotation repairs failing aboard SS I-6
G4M1 Betty-Rikko from 753 Ku K-1' attacking a Porpoise class SS at 107,94
G3M2 Nell-Chukou from Chitose Ku K-1 Det has spotted DD Lansdowne at 123,85
DD Lansdowne is reported HIT
Search D3A1 Val-Kanbaku destroyed by CAP at (119,82)
Search B5N2 Kate-Kankoh destroyed by CAP
Search B5N2 Kate-Kankoh destroyed by CAP at (119,82)
PO2 Hamano T. of Soryu-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Hamano T. of Soryu-1 attains ace status!!
PO2 Bando N. of Akagi-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Bando N. of Akagi-1 attains ace status!!
PO2 Hori V. of Ryujo-1 is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Hori V. of Ryujo-1 attains ace status!!
PO2 Minami K. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C is credited with kill number 5
PO2 Minami K. of Yokosuka Ku S-1/C attains ace status!!
Eureka expands airfield to size 2
Padang expands fortifications to size 2
Ansi expands airfield to size 4
54/49 expands fortifications to size 1
Repairs completed on DD Yayoi at Hiroshima/Kure+, ship returned to service
Previous report of sinking of SS Blackfish incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
CVE Chenango is reported to have been sunk near Marcus Island on Jan 21, 1943
CVE Copahee* is reported to have been sunk near Marcus Island on Jan 21, 1943
CVE Prince William* is reported to have been sunk near Marcus Island on Jan 21, 1943
BB North Carolina is reported to have been sunk near Marcus Island on Jan 21, 1943
DD Fortune is reported to have been sunk near Cox's Bazar on Dec 25, 1942
I have waited so patiently to manufacture this result. The fuel situation on my carriers is precarious which was part of the reason I decided last turn to move to this position. The other reason was the location of the Allied carriers last turn (just to the north east of Marcus Island – strangley they were on a north west bearing – as it now turns out they appear to have been part of a larger fleet intent on moving to Iwo Jima or other islands in that group).
So, having made the decision to commit I spent a good while configuring CAP and escort. The combined Japanese carrier fleet was down on strike planes but beefed up on fighters. I was surprised to see that the Allied carriers (as explained above) had moved rather closer to the Japanese carriers than I had wanted. No doubts now. Blows were about to be traded.
It would be wrong of me not to admit a sinking feeling as the American CAP burst through the escorting Zeros and got amongst the Alpha strike. For a good while I thought I would be seeing the whole strike wiped out. In the end enough got through to demolish the escort carriers. I would have preferred the fleet carriers to have been targeted but the removal of 6 escort flight decks is a good thing too.
Then came the invetiable response. The CAP did a sterling job and of the strike that got through only 1 dive bomber and 1 torpedo bomber scored. So amazed was I to see that bomb strike one of the Shokakus and then fail to explode. What a reprieve. As for the Unyo her damage is 03(00) 28(23) (00) (00), which in terms of the tally for the day (being the only Japanese ship damaged), was more than I could have hoped for at the beginning of the day.
After the first American strike the rest came in dribs and drabs and were summarily executed. I think 1 torpedo bomber made a run on Hosho and that was it.
As for the final Japanese strike it got well chopped up by flak. I was happy to see that 1 single torpedo hit Yorktown and then came the awful finale. It may have been the last Japanese torpedo run for the day. A lone Kate singled out battleship North Carolina. The pilot, a seasoned veteran no doubt, steady on the run in. The torpedo ran true and a hit. A satisfying mountain of water towering along the side of the graceful warship. North Carolina raced on looking to any observer to have brushed off the sting. And then a fearsome explosion and her heart was stilled in an instant. A broiling black cloud suffused with the angry red of internal fire and all around the innards of a once intricate warship jetting into the sky soon to come lancing down ocean bound. Mighty chunks of metallic hail and woe betide anything or anyone unlucky enough to be caught by one. If ever there was a time of an unnatural quiet over a battlefield this was it. The engines of the enemy bombers quietly receding into the distance and all around a strange silence. What the eyes had seen could not be unseen. For many, many minds around the Allied fleet, though, comprehension of what had happened was beyond their grasp. So many souls struck down in an instant.
My strike planes are shredded. Many pilots left but precious few planes. Luckily, I am close enough to the Home Islands to fly in new units of torpedo and dive bombers. If the fuel holds out the Japanese carriers will be hunting tomorrow.
Kido Butai, although powerful, was a raiding force, and this is exactly how the Japanese understood its usage. 'Shattered Sword'
" - BBfanboy
