I-80 border war: Condor vs. TabPub

[neuromancer]

One of those see-saw battles.

I think the USN failed to capitalize on the damage done to the IJN carrier planes. Once those planes are replaced, that temporary advantage is gone.

[Shadow of the Condor]

ORIGINAL: neuromancer

One of those see-saw battles.

I think the USN failed to capitalize on the damage done to the IJN carrier planes. Once those planes are replaced, that temporary advantage is gone.

Agree wholeheartedly. I had, however, no combat worthy squadrons left. All the squadrons were about half strength, and the highest morale I had among the naval attack squadrons was about 35 - 40. And on top of all of that, I was really surprised by the enemy's actions - first, that he came after me at all, second that he ate up so much distance, and third that he pushed the attack through thunderstorms. Give the man credit - the gamble was the same one I took pushng my carriers north earlier in the game.

Saratoga might not make it home. The storms are really piling on the damage. [:(] If she does go under, I hope that Hiei and Kongo are at least out of the game for a long time if not outright sunk. Looks like Pye was right [;)]

[tabpub]

08/12/42

Weather: Thunderstorms

Truk Combined Fleet HQ

The reports were still coming in. Mopping up actions around Port Moresby continued today. Kusaka thinks that resistance shall totally end in under a week; perhaps less.

Ground combat at Port Moresby

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 39677 troops, 501 guns, 34 vehicles

Defending force 11410 troops, 88 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 210

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 908
Guns lost 2

Admiral Roboya put that report aside, thinking, “I hope that Kusaka is not being too optimistic….
The next flash was from 6th Fleet (Submarine HQ in Kwalajein)

I-16 Reports sinking Large AP class, presumed to be Leonard Wood, target had been previously engaged a few days prior to this. Heavy transport operations sighted off Townsville harbor.

Sub attack at 10,61

Japanese Ships
SS I-16

Allied Ships
AP Leonard Wood, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage

Just then, an ensign burst in to the room; apologizing for the interruption.

“Sir, another 6th Fleet report, just in!
“Just put it on my desk, Ensign.”
“Sir, you WILL want to read this before your meeting with Nagumo later, I assure you.”
“Very well…”<after quickly reading the report, the Admiral stood, smiled an enigmatic smile and dismissed the Ensign, telling him to send in Nagumo>

Nagumo entered the office, looking shell-shocked, but defiant

“Sir, I did EVERYTHING that I could. We were chasing them in high seas; I was barely able to launch planes and the gaijin were waiting for us with over a 100 fighters! I could do no…”<Admiral Roboya waved him to silence>

“I know I know…I have read everything that was reported already. Your situation was extreme, but I have to relieve you of command of the carrier force. I have NO choice. You lost over a 100 of my first line attack bombers and their crews. The remaining air groups have lost confidence in you and your ability to command. I must have someone that can inspire the men; Ozawa has been re-assigned to the carrier group command, as of today.”

Nagumo spluttered “But what is to become of me!”

“Well, before I got this report, you were heading to Saipan to oversee the base and defenses there. But, you are fortunate; the 6th Fleet, specifically the I-17 under Commander Nishino has changed all that. After the carrier strikes, 4 I Boats were ordered to the point where your air groups had reported hitting a carrier. Arriving there, they found the oil slick that she was trailing heading to the SE. Spreading out and following the trail, they proceeded for the next 2 days. Then, a sighting report was relayed to them from 11th Air Fleet in Rabaul; a G3M Nell had sighted what appeared to be a capital ship with an escort. They had also sighted 2 carriers with heavy escort over 500 km further SW. The sub commanders presumed that the crippled carrier was the small group reported by the Nell and plotted various intercepts based on various speeds potentials of the targets. I-17 sighted the Saratoga that next morning making 5 knots with a single DD escort circling her. She intercepted and struck her with one torpedo. The DD attempted to depth charge her unsuccessfully and returned to the stricken carrier. The I-17 attempted two more salvoes at the DD, but missed. Commander Nishino then broke off and left the immediate area, surfacing in a rainsquall 10 km away. He observed the Saratoga heel over, suffer a large explosion and sink at 1600 local time. So, your losses were not in vain, as it turned out. Fortunately, the 6th Fleet was able to capitalize on your men’s’ valor in hitting the Saratoga earlier.”

“So… I am sending you to Formosa to oversee the 1st ASW fleet that is forming there now.” <Nagumo takes on a pained expression> “ I know that this is a demotion for you, but I urge you to accept and not get all bushido on me here. Our experience is that the American submarines can be effective and we fear that they will only get more effective in the future. We need someone to provide necessary experience and leadership to this new formation. I have chosen you; do not fear; if you do well here, the fortunes of war change daily and I may have need of you again, so be ready to take a blade again in the future. Dismissed.”

Sub attack at 34,59
Japanese Ships
SS I-17
Allied Ships
CV Saratoga, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Sub attack at 34,59
Japanese Ships
SS I-17
Allied Ships
DD Gwin

Sub attack at 34,59
Japanese Ships
SS I-17
Allied Ships
DD Gwin

[Shadow of the Condor]

16 Aug 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy

1200L...Base Operations building...Noumea, New Caledonia...

"Welcome back, Admiral."

The Admiral returned the salute of the Marine guard and entered the building.

In ten minutes, the entire staff was assembled, and looking expectantly at their commander.

"Gentlemen, Washington sends its greetings."

The men in the room could not suppress the laughter but did compose themselves. Everyone knew the Admiral would have to answer for what had happened to Saratoga only a few days before, and the trip to Oahu was hastily arranged. The Admiral was to meet with members of a special Senate sub-committee at the intelligence gathering station near Kunia. The location of the meeting was chosen for its role in a pointedly lack of intelligence about the IJN carriers. No one was really sure if the Admiral would be back in Noumea anytime soon.

Once the laughter died down, the Admiral continued.

"As you know, we were all caught unaware about the speed the IJN displayed when they responded to our attack on the battleships. We thought we were outside their effective range to respond. We were wrong."

"I want to emphasize that the blame and responsibility of sending the carriers on that attack is mine alone. I greatly underestimated the ability of the enemy commander to respond."

"That said, we are committed to the safety of the Australian homeland as well as the Southwest Pacific theater of operations."

"While we are going to fight a more defensive operation that had originally been anticipated, there is good news. We did manage to badly damage two of their battleships. We also destroyed a very large number of their carrier trained pilots during the attack on our carriers. Reports from intelligence sources indicate that the replacements on their carriers were taken from their flight schools - some prior to completing their schooling. So while the enemy does have more carriers, it is believed that their pilots are not experienced in actual combat. And that may well work to our advantage."

He concluded, "But it won't work for us right away. We must hold what we have, and allow reinforcements to arrive for our offensive to begin. We can't pose much of an offensive threat right now. But rest assured, gentlemen. We will be back."

[neuromancer]

ORIGINAL: Shadow of the Condor
Agree wholeheartedly. I had, however, no combat worthy squadrons left. All the squadrons were about half strength, and the highest morale I had among the naval attack squadrons was about 35 - 40.

Ah yes, ouch.

I've seen that myself, in that case even a small attack group could slip through the fighter screen and do serious damage to your carriers.

Saratoga might not make it home. The storms are really piling on the damage. [:(]

Or as it turns out, she catches a torpedo.

If she does go under, I hope that Hiei and Kongo are at least out of the game for a long time if not outright sunk. Looks like Pye was right [;)]

Look like.

[tabpub]

It was a nice rainy week in the South Pacific, until this occurred:

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 08/22/42

Weather: Rain

Air attack on TF, near Buna at 12,38

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 42
SBD Dauntless x 65
TBF Avenger x 27

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 destroyed
TBF Avenger x 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Unkai Maru #3, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Yamafuku Maru, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

I think they got sunk right off the anchorage, as the men onboard, the 8th Area HQ, didn't seem to be hurt and were ashore afterwards. I would have included a picture of a water-logged Gen. Imamura, but he was so enraged, he attacked the photographer and broke his camera!

Truk - after receiving the report of the strike.
Admiral Roboya:
I am glad that Imamura-san is all right. He must be like a soaked rooster right now, as the Americans would say...<chuckle>. Be that as it may, we know that he was not the target of this raid. They are trying to get the Hiei, so that the round eyes can save some face from the loss of their carrier. How is she doing?

Lt. Hoaudu:
Facilities there are not the best. They are pumping at full capacity and not making progress. I would hazard 50/50 chance right now of saving her. Her sister is fine and reports the weather is fine where she is. She will wait for an opportune time to return home.

[Shadow of the Condor]

29 Aug 42
Wx: Overcast

0144L…Australian coastwatcher station near Boreo, New Guinea…

The native made his way back to the encampment. He was helping the man who he had known for the past three months as “Charlie”. The native was one of only a handful of villagers who had escaped the invading Japanese Army who had either killed or pressed into service natives to the island. “Charlie” was a planter in the pre-war days, and politely declined when he was advised to leave by the men who ran the coastwatchers (codenamed “Ferdinand”). One of over 60 stations in New Guinea, they were ruthlessly hated and hunted by the enemy. Although in a dangerous area, the men of “Ferdinand” were trained and intelligent. The enemy would have a better chance of finding an individual grain of sand on the beaches they now occupied.

So when the native made his way back to the “camp” – little more than a piece of tarpaulin stretched between a tree trunk and the ground – he relayed his sighting of a ship now in the harbour at Buna, some 4 kilometers to the northwest. The coastwatcher was ideally sited between Buna and Dobadura – to the east. But he relied on his natives – three of them – to assist with spotting the enemy ships. They had worked out an ingenious system of identification. Holding out a spear meant the native had seen a ship with guns. Pointing to a basket meant some type of supply ship. This time, the native held up one finger (they understood one, two, and “many”) and pointed to the basket on the ground. Finally, he pointed to himself.

“Charlie” got on the teleradio and made his report. Yet another transport was delivering men and material to the northern coast.

0912L…30 miles east of the Shortland Islands…onboard US submarine S-46…

Commander Lynch had enough. The Mavis patrol aircraft had forced him under for the second time already today. It was time to move to a new location. This neighborhood was going downhill, fast…

1100L…35,000 feet over Lunga harbour…onboard B-17 “Canned Ham”…

Lt. Walter Stoltz was along for the ride, for the next two minutes. He had handed his aircraft off to the bombardier, who now was attempting to release his bombs at the right moment. Bombing from this altitude was considered speculative, at best. In reality, the forward speed of the bombs combined with the velocity and direction of wind currents (that petulantly changed from the last estimated observation after the planes were airborne) made the attempt an exercise in higher order mathematics. By the time the bombs hit the planes would already be headed back to their new base at Luganville. Flying at this altitude also meant oxygen masks and suit heaters. Dexterity was at a premium. So the crew had no way of knowing the results of their mission until they returned home. Today’s mission, however was escorted by four PBY Catalinas of VP-9 acting as reconnaissance and damage assessment, who flew at the “reasonable” altitude of 6000 feet.

Flying at 35,000 feet did offer one comforting advantage – the bombers would be safe from enemy anti-aircraft gunners on the ground. And that made the challenges of high altitude bombing worthwhile indeed.

1459L…Dobadura harbour…New Guinea…onboard US submarine S-43…

There were exactly 42 men onboard the submarine. Exactly 41 of them didn’t have much faith in their commanding officer. Commander Hannon had made no secret of his desire to be on a “real” submarine, such as one of the new Gato or Tambor class boats. As such, he had little faith in the first world war relic he was now lining up on the Japanese freighter. And his lack of faith had been reciprocated by the crew. Perhaps now, however, the situation would change. They had just fired on the ship, who was alone in these waters. There could not be an easier attack plot. The ship was barely making steerage. The torpedoes were running straight. The chief of the boat moved his lips as the secondhand of the stopwatch swept past the marks on the dial. He was more and more audible as the time counted down..

“…four…three…two…one…mark!…”

Everyone waited for the rumble that would be transmitted in the water…

And waited…

But nothing happened.

They had missed.

But that would have been impossible…ninety degrees onto the target, less than 1200 yards away…unless…

“Down scope. Ahead slow…left to 285…”

Commander Hannon seemed unfazed. It almost seemed as if the miss vindicated his view of the boat and its crew.

The chief of the boat had rechecked with the torpedo room and confirmed. “Sir, depth was set to 2 meters. I saw the settings myself.”

Hannon faced the chief. “Chief, the torpedoes missed. They didn’t go left, or right. They went under. What the settings were doesn’t matter. What does matter is we now have only eight torpedoes left, and it seems the only was we will score a hit on the enemy is if we ram it.”

“Of course, we would probably miss it.”

Having said his piece, the commander walked past the chief towards the head.

Yes, it was safe to say the commander and his crew were probably the most mismatched group in the war.

1735L…Archerfield Aerodrome…near Brisbane…

Captain John Benner and the newly arrived “Screamin’ Demons” of the 7th Fighter squadron were currently in the field’s Hangar No. 2. The men had received their billets, and would be in Brisbane for a couple of days, at least. All Brisbane had for CAP at the moment were three Wirraway squadrons, and the arrival of the new fighters from America were a definite improvement in the ability of the base to repel an air attack. Benner and his wingman would fly the first CAP mission in the morning. A deal had been struck between the two countries allowing the Australians to get their own versions of the P-40s for their own squadrons.

For now, though, Benner and his wingman would be the only P-40s in the sky over Australia’s Northern Territories tomorrow…

The CR:

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 08/29/42

Weather: Overcast

Air attack on Lunga , at 38,40


Allied aircraft
PBY Catalina x 4
B-17E Fortress x 20


no losses

Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x B-17E Fortress at 35000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 35000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 35000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 35000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 35000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 35000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Dobadura at 13,38

Japanese Ships
AP Toyo Maru #2

Allied Ships
SS S-43


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Alikchi2]

Idle question - are either of you planning to continue with AARs in WITP? I for one would be interested..[:)]

[Shadow of the Condor]

originally posted by Alikchi...
Idle question - are either of you planning to continue with AARs in WITP? I for one would be interested..

Well, first I would have to get the game, (on the to do list) and then get over the fear of a four year time period, (on the to do list); but yes I do look forward to writing AARs with the same general context I've done for UV and HttR (only one there so far).

Off the subject a bit, writing these AARs means keeping a list of characters and doing a bit of research to fill out the stories, but it's something I enjoy. With the expanded universe offered in WitP, it would probably be a "bit" ( [:'(] ) more involved.

Thanks for asking, it's nice to hear from the community!

[Shadow of the Condor]

7 Sep 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy

0610L…onboard B-17 “Silky”…near active runway…Noumea, New Caledonia

Captain Harris hardly had a full night’s rest at his South Pacific stop. He and the rest of the 72nd Heavy Bomb Squadron had only arrived yesterday. The 72nd had been assigned to Pearl Harbor flying patrol missions. “Silky”, however, was one of the latest replacements from the assembly plant in Wichita. She had arrived in theater in virtually pristine condition.

This morning, “Silky” and her crew were getting to know their new home. The South Pacific was another world from the wheatfields where the bomber had been born. Harris had another duty today, checking out a new co-pilot, a Brooklyn native named Tommy Beaumont. And they were at the edge of the active runway, warming “Silky” up as Harris ran through the checklist and Beaumont replied…

“Tail wheel?”
“Locked.”
“Set trim tabs to zero.”
“Set.”
“Check oil temperature.”
“40.”
“Exercise turbos…throttles to 1500”

Harris knew in the heavy air at sea level they wouldn’t need turbos to get airborne, but everything needed to be checked…

And so it continued. Generators, mags, manifold pressure, waste gates; all of the intricacies that made the Wright engine go. And the process was repeated for the other three engines. Finally, they radioed in and received clearance from the tower to start their run.

Lining up on the active runway, they made sure the gyro compass heading matched the runway heading they were facing. Once lined up, Beaumont advanced the two throttle levers at once and “Silky” started to roll.

At 50 mph, the rudder started to respond to the foot pedals. At 100mph, the big bomber left the ground. Beaumont tapped the brakes to stop the wheels from spinning and then called out.

“Gear up.”

Over the interphone, the tail gunner confirmed the tail wheel was up and locked, and the engineer confirmed the two main wheels were also.

At 135 mph, the co-pilot eased the manifold pressure back to 35 inches, then slowly reduced the RPM back to 2300. Next, the engine cowling flaps were closed.

At 1000 feet, the fuel boost pumps were shut off. 7 minutes after take-off, the plane passed through 5,000 feet. At 8,000 feet, the carburetor air filters were closed and it was again time to ease up on the plane. Manifold pressure was reduced to 28 inches, and the RPMs slowed to 1600. By this time, the airspeed had reached 150 mph. Harris flipped the toggle switch to set the fuel mixture to “auto-lean”, and the plane reached its cruising altitude for today, 11,000 feet. For the next two hours, the plane and its crew circled New Caledonia while they got to know each other.

Harris wondered how long they would have to do just that before both plane and men counted on each other for their mutual survival.

1800L…Camp Stoneman, California…

Louis Randall looked up and saw the blimp. He had never seen one before – except in the newsreels in the picture shows. The airship was headed south back to Moffett Field after patrolling the bay for Japanese submarines. Randall was from Indiana – Fort Wayne, to be specific. He worked for the city building roads when he answered the voluntary call up for workers in the Navy’s construction battalions. At 42 years old, he was a rarity among combat forces but not among his own unit. Almost everyone in the 15th SeaBees was over 25 – most were in fact over 30. And all had experience in some field of construction. Subway diggers, pipefitters, longshoremen, and heavy equipment operators – all were given the basic military training (albeit abbreviated in some cases) and sent to war.

Tomorrow at this time, Randall and the rest of the men would be out to sea. Their destination was “classified”, but you didn’t need to be a genius to figure out a destination when a ship sailed from San Francisco, and there sure were a lot of ships...

[Shadow of the Condor]

(What follows is a narrative of a destroyer turning the tables and launching torpedoes against a surfaced submarine who launched theirs against the transport. All missed, but it was my first experience in UV of this occurrance)

11 Sep 42
Wx: Clear

0144L…210 miles SSW of Luganville…onboard the destroyer Woodworth...

Lt. Anderson was just looking at the clock again – for the thirtieth time since his watch started 104 minutes ago. He didn’t like the night watch, but he took his turn. He had 136 minutes to go until he was relieved. He was in charge of the ship – one of two assigned to escort the troop transport Calvert bringing home the first group of SeaBees who spent the better part of a month getting Luganville ready for the Japanese attack everyone was sure had to come. Woodworth was port of Calvert, and the other Bristol class destroyer, the Laffey was guarding her starboard side. Both had the best sonar gear the Allies had to offer, and the technicians were graduates of the West Coast sonar school in San Diego. Their mission was simple – keep the shipping lane clear for Calvert and her passengers. They would arrive at their destination by tomorrow night and Anderson would be able to spend a night ashore. But that would have to wait. At least for another 135…no; 134 minutes.

“Bridge… radar. Unknown contact at 4000 yards … bearing 022 … speed 3 knots… heading 180…”

Woodworth was also headed almost due south, and the sub paralleling rather than closing meant one thing…

Anderson grabbed the microphone for the ship’s TBS and sent the warning.

“Cowboy…cowboy…come right headed 225!!”

Onboard Calvert the message got home loud and clear. There was a sub in the area and it had probably fired already. Already zigzagging, Calvert was on the way to 190 and continued over to course 225.

Back on the Woodworth, Anderson had already called the captain to the bridge. The ship’s radar still plotted the small target, now 3000 yards ahead of them. Information was already being fed into the ship’s fire director. The 8-man crew of forward gun mounts could get the 5-inch shells loaded and ready to be fired electronically every 6 seconds.

But the sub’s tactics were puzzling. They attacked on the surface, and had not dived afterwards. Which meant they didn’t suspect the transport was escorted, or they thought the escorts hadn’t seen them. When no torpedoes exploded, the sub turned to move ahead of the transport as best it could to get another shot off. Anderson decided to not wait for the captain when he gave the next order.

“Torpedo mount, stand by to fire half-salvo. Mount 53 and 54 stand by to engage target…”

Engaging a submarine with torpedoes was a bit of a stretch, but Anderson reasoned they were close to home, and perhaps the magnetic detonators would get close enough to the hull of the sub to explode underneath it. And, if the sub didn’t see a gun flash in the night, they might just think they were alone on the water with their transport…

“Torpedoes…fire one!… Fire two!!”

The 21 inch torpedoes leapt off of the deck and sped towards the radar contact.

The captain made his way into the CIC and reviewed the plot. He nodded to Anderson who waited…

The contact was still there. The torpedoes had missed, and the time had come to let the sub know what it was dealing with.

“Forward mounts…open fire…!”

In the fire director, the gunnery officer pressed two buttons one after another and the two five inch guns sent the 50 pound projectiles arcing towards the blip on the radar screen. A small explosion was observed in the distance, but the continued firing did not bring any more successes. A minute later, the blip was gone…apparently submerging and escaping.

Anderson thought a minute before what to do next. The captain had merely stood by while he executed the attack. He was pleased the senior officer had allowed him to do that, but he felt a bit ashamed he didn’t get more spectacular results.

But the crew of his ship, the transport, and the SeaBees on board Calvert, (and probably asleep) were all safe. It was a success.

Of course, Anderson also got the privilege of writing up the action report. Something he would look forward to in… he looked up… 117 minutes.

He almost groaned.

The CR:

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/11/42

Weather: Clear

Sub attack at 53,57

Japanese Ships
SS I-28, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
AP Calvert
DD Woodworth


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Shadow of the Condor]

19 Sep 42
Wx: Overcast

The war in the South Pacific has definitely quieted down. Both sides have reorganizing. Tabpub has probably been running his replacement carrier pilots into the ground getting them trained and I (of course) have lost a majority of my carriers. The situation has developed into one where my opponent had the carriers but no trained pilots, where I had no cariers.

Two IJN ships of note have been added to the sunk list. Fisrt, the IJN sub I-29 - noteworthy because it was damaged by a B-17 on ASW patrol near Noumea. The sub made it to Irau, but sunk there.

And a big shot of confidence as the IJN BB Hiei sunk from carrier air attack damage in Lae harbor. Saratoga now has cost the IJN one battleship and 100+ carrier pilots.

So the IJN supply barges and Allied supply convoys plod on. Destroyer vs. sub actions predominate the scene now. Tabpub has almost all of his LBA on ASW. Two of my Gato class subs have been harassing Truk, prompting an IJN ASW TF of almost 15 ships to hunt down Grayling NE of Truk. Grayling escaped the ad hoc force and is somewhere deep waiting for the beehive she kicked over to settle down. B-17 replacements starting to roll in, and whispers of P-38G upgrades are being heard... Stay tuned.

[Shadow of the Condor]

23 Sep 42
Wx: Rain

0345L…***CLASSIFIED***… loading docks…

The 7th Calvary of the 7th Australian Infantry Division was loading onto three of their country’s troop ships, with American destroyers and even an anti-aircraft cruiser sent to escort them. Someone wanted this mission to be successful to provide this much protection. The commanding officer, LTC Harrington, had been briefed on their destination, and had also been briefed on what he was supposed to do when he got there. That, to him, was the most puzzling part. He was supposed to do nothing. Arrive…off-load as fast as possible, and…wait. Whatever the plan was, he hadn’t been included. That chafed at him a bit, but he knew better than to raise the point. He would receive further instructions when he got to his destination. He wondered if he believed that.

0430L…Noumea harbor…onboard the destroyer Farenholt…

Rear Admiral Callaghan was anxious to clear harbor. His small surface force wasn’t impressive in terms of striking power – unless you happened to be aboard a submarine. His force consisted of six Bristol class destroyers that were the best ASW platforms fielded by the Navy to date. Officially, he was “escorting” the Australian destroyer Arunta back to Brisbane, but he viewed the sortie as a hunting mission. Arunta was not lacking when it came to hunting subs either. So the task force commander had in fact seven hunters at his disposal. And he was not going to be shy about using them.

1800L…briefing room…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia…

The Admiral was eating his dinner, but was doing so mechanically. His mind was on the latest observation reports from New Guinea. Interspersed among the hundreds of barge reports were two reports of a battleship at Lae. He knew it wasn’t the ghost of the IJN battleship Hiei, and was wondering if the Japanese had finally had enough training to contemplate a move into Allied held territory. Air search was ever-flying from bases in both SOPAC and SWPAC. His own capital ships were beginning to arrive. He figured the enemy knew this – he wasn’t fool enough to believe spies for the enemy weren’t on New Caledonia – and they might be contemplating a strike against him before the Allied build-up gave them the men and material to strike north on their own.

He blinked and looked at his empty plate, wondering what in fact he had just eaten…

[Shadow of the Condor]

28 Sep 42
Wx: Clear

1100L…10 miles northwest of Sag Sag beach…onboard USS Tautog…

Commander Willingham counted his blessings. They had just survived another air attack. It seemed the entire Jap air force was hunting him down – and they almost were successful. Yesterday, at Kavieng, a dive bomber actually hit his sub with a small bomb. Fortunately, the curved shape of his ship helped deflect the blast, but not before the blast of the 120 pounds of explosive rendered his deck gun useless. It did rupture a few seals, but the flooding was under control. Now he was headed back to port, and probably back to Pearl. Fine enough with him – the sooner his ship was out of the shooting gallery, the better.

1412L…30 miles south of Rabaul…onboard submarine S-46…

Commander Lynch slid the periscope down into its housing.

“Make your depth 150. Come to course 165. Speed 2 knots.”

Having just fired four torpedoes at the transport, Lynch now had the unenviable task of sitting out the fury of the escorts. He would have liked to clear the area completely, but the air attacks in Rabaul yesterday had forced his ship to use the little diesel fuel they carried. His ship’s ability to fight, move – even survive was all on the capabilities of the ship’s batteries.

In the distance, two rumbling explosions meant the troop ship was probably out of the war for a while, and that cheered everyone up instantly. Until the yeoman on the hydrophones took off his headset and whispered to the bridge.

“Splashes.”

They hadn't even heard the destroyer approach. That meant they fired almost when they were directly under the surprised escort captain. But the surprised captain had apparently recovered quick enough...

1600L…at sea…onboard USS Albacore…

Commander Lange re-read the message decoded and handed to him. It gave a set of coordinates, and noted that it superseded the general recall order among the submarines in the area. He headed to his “stateroom” and tapped his second in command on his shoulder.

“Come with me, Walt, and bring the codebook. I need you.”

At least the weather was supposed to worsen. That should help keep the air attacks down.

2100L…74 miles south of Rabaul…onboard submarine S-46

The situation was not looking good at all. The depth charge had exploded just above the ship. Fortunately, it was the only one that hit. Seals were broken throughout the ship, and maintaining trim was a constant challenge with the changing center of gravity as the flooding continued. Men everywhere were soaked, and had stopped the intake of water – finally – but they may have already taken too much onboard.

Lynch looked to the seaman before him – soaked with seawater and oil as well as being physically spent – who tried to give his report to his commander as calmly as he could.

“Sir, Chief Jenkins says the forward torpedo room is flooded. 5 men killed. Engine room is also partially flooded. Battery power is down to twelve percent. We have stopped the leaking, but he says we need to find a port fast, sir.”

Lynch’s own feet were also standing in four inches of water. He had no doubt they needed to find a refuge, and find it now.

[Shadow of the Condor]

29 Sep 42
Wx: Thunderstorms

0312L...120 miles South of Rabaul...onboard USS Albacore...

The sea wasn't helping matters much, but then again, it was. The swells had been nearly 8 feet, and the rain had been pouring down in sheets when they surfaced. Commander Lange was in the conning tower, and was thoroughly soaked. His signalman by his side, along with two more lookouts - they scanned the darkness.

Down below, the XO was flipping open to the correct page for today's authentication. "There's no way," he thought, "this can work..."

0313L...120 miles South of Rabaul...onboard USS S-46...

Commander Lynch had been running on the surface as long as he dared. His ship was precariously close to swallowing even more water, and it seemed another gallon was all that was necessary to send them to the bottom. But he had to vent the battery gasses, and get some fresh air into the ship. Miraclously, the crew had patched all the leaks, and were using their only working pump to get rid of some of the water while on the surface. Lynch had his lookouts in their own tower - in their condition a barge load of old fishermen would pose a serious threat...

0315L...onboard Albacore...

"Walt...you got it yet?" Lange was waiting for the day's authentication code... and peered down into the ship to wait for his answer.

Suddenly, the lookout yelled over the rain.

"Sir!! On the port bow sir!!!"

Lange looked up and saw the dark patch on the dark water. The seas were calming a bit...but the rain continued. A dark night to help hide them and their target.

"Skip..? Got the code...it's X-ray Tango."

Lange knew the hard part was coming. There hadn't been time to contact the other sub, and absolutely no way to know if she received the message if she tried. All he could do was hope the other boat had the right code book.

"Okay...send 'X-ray Tango'"

The signalman began to flash the light...

0315L...onboard S-46...

The lookouts were scared. Not about being up here in the rain and wind...but they knew they would eventually have to climb back into the steel tube they called home and try to limp to a friendly port. And there wasn't one of those for almost 900 miles. The fact they were alive at all was beyond their comprehension. Then, blinking twice to be sure of what he saw...one of the lookouts grabbed his buddy and pointed aft.

"Look!!!"

Aft of them was a light blinking in the darkness. Obliterated by the occasional lightning flash, but it was there.

"Sir! Contact aft! Lights sir!!"

Lynch froze in his tracks as he looked up, then scrambled up the ladder. Sure enough, there was a blinker light being operated. It kept flashing out code for a minute, and then stayed dark for a couple of minutes, then started again. Lynch had no idea who it was, but also knew he could do nothing about it. The contact was aft of him, behind his deck gun. His torpedo rooms were in no condition to attack anything. Finally, one of the lookouts produced a blinker light and the chief below called up the authentication...

0317L...onboard Albacore...

The signalman tried again. Maybe that patch of darkness was just a patch of darkness, and not a ship after all. Distances were hard to judge, and it might ...

Suddenly, a light started to blink back at them...

"X-ray Golf...."

Lange called down and waited...

"Correct, sir!! It's them!!"

Lange looked to the signalman.

"Send - arriving starboard...request status..."

And so began the unlikely meeting of two US submarines in the Solomon Sea. Most of the crew of S-46 were transferred aboard the Albacore once the S-boat's situation was made known. Albacore actually got a fuel line into S-46 and passed half of their own diesel oil to the little sub, almost filling her oil tanks completely. This also had the benefit of providing a bit of stability to the keel of the boat. Both commanders talked for a while, both wanting the two boats to stay together, but both knowing they would simply be easier to spot that way. They agreed it was best Albacore get the crew to safety, while Lynch and his skeletal crew tried to save the S-46. By the time the sky was lightening, the two subs had separated, and headed off their separate ways. Each wondered if they would see the other again...

[Shadow of the Condor]

11 Oct 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy

0515L…180 miles SW of Efate Port Vila…onboard USS Monssen…

Yeoman Smith worked the headphones a bit on his ears…trying to get them to sit a bit more comfortably while he had his eyes screwed tightly shut…trying to project himself into the water where the noise had been first heard. It sounded low and regular. He had alerted the bridge, and they had dropped a pattern of depth charges onto the contact, but no hits were reported. If there was a sub down there, it had been badly shaken up; but their commander was being very cagey and may have shut down his engines. Initially, it seemed a foolhardy thing to do, but it probably saved the sub’s life. Monssen couldn’t just start laying patterns indiscrimately, and after almost an hour of drifting and listening, the captain ordered the ASW task force back to Efate.

“Next time….” Smith whispered to no one in particular…

1011L…hill 101…Luganville airbase…Station Kiowa

The truck sat just off of the road. Next to it was a second vehicle, and dominating the entire area on top of a hill was an antenna, which looked for all the world like a gigantic square tennis racket. In truth, it was the business end of the SCR-270 radar set. Inside the first truck an operator was seated directly in front of the controls for the unit. The chair was mounted to a bar connected to the frame of the set, and gave the operator the sense of “riding” rather than sitting at the unit. The scope was a mere 5 inches in diameter, but showing up on the scope right now was blip almost three-quarters of the way across the scope display. For the past month, the operators had nothing much to do besides routine maintenance and taking their turns in the chair. Today’s contact raised excitement at the site. Even the man in charge of the 15,000 volt generators poked his head out of the tent for a looksee. The lieutenant in charge of the site started cranking the phone to alert the airbase…

1013L…Luganville airbase…

Already flying CAP were four fighters from VMF-121. When the alert from the radar station was passed on, Major Davis recommended that both his and the second fighter squadron get half of their aircraft in the air immediately. The net result was when the air raid klaxon went off, 28 F4F-4 Wildcats, were orbiting at 3000 feet to meet the intruders…

1020L…3000 feet over Luganville…

The fighter pilots didn’t have long to wait. Approaching from the northwest were enemy aircraft. Davis and his fighters sped off to intercept them.

1021L…Luganville harbor…

The last of the Marines had already unloaded, and supplies were being off loaded when the air raid alert was given. General Quarters alarms were heard throughout the convoy, and men raced across the decks to man their guns. In just under 3 minutes, the convoy was as ready as it could be.

1022L…Luganville harbor…

The PT boats turned their engines over and moved as one out of the harbor. They broke into three groups, and each boat stayed close to the others in their own group. They did have .50 caliber machine guns for defense, but their main asset was speed.

1024L…3000 feet over Luganville…

The F4F-4s had made contact and reported intercepting enemy fighters. The Zeroes were escorting twin engine planes that were recognized as Betty bombers. That made the target for today the ships in the harbor. Davis then joined into the dogfight that ensued.

1026L…3000 feet over Luganville…

By the time the Zeroes and Wildcats broke off, only 25 pilots reported in. The debriefing later in the day would confirm only 2 enemy fighters destroyed. The Wildcats pressed into the torpedo bomber formation. They had precious little time to engage, as the Bettys were approaching the harbor, and anxious anti air gunners on the ships wouldn’t take the time to try and differentiate between a fighter and a bomber. The bombers, flying low, had no real chance of evading the American fighters, but only two were shot down by the Marines before they too had to return to base.

1028L…Luganville harbor…

The bombers broke into 4 plane flights and each flight picked out a different target. The transports Pierce and Feland were targeted by one flight each, with the destroyers Maury and Lamson also being targeted. The largest ship on the task force, the light cruiser Nashville, drew two flights bearing down on her. The gun crews on board the ships claimed hits on almost every plane that attacked them, with Maury, Nashville, and even the transport Feland claiming one kill each.

None of the torpedoes found targets.

1042L…3000 feet over Luganville…

Major Davis was about to order his planes to start landing when one of the pilots called out contacts at 10 o’clock low. Six more bombers were headed towards the harbor. They were apparently late due to navigation error, or perhaps mechanical error, or pilot error. Whatever the reason, they approached without fighter escort, and the 25 fighters immediately dived onto them.

1044L…outside Luganville harbor…

Men on the deck of the PT boats watched the bombers approach the harbor…watched the fighters intercept them…saw three planes splash into the water, and saw three more planes turn – towards them…

The PT boats in the last group drew the attention of the bombers. Sailing in an offset line at almost 40 knotts, the captains watched the planes approach at only 200 feet. They could clearly see the torpedoes drop away from the planes. One gunner on a PT boat hit one of the bombers as it climbed away. As soon as the torpedoes dropped, the PT boats as one executed a 90 degree turn away from the torpedoes. It was generally accepted the PT boats didn’t set low enough in the water to be hit by a torpedo, but no one was taking any chances. None of the torpedoes hit anything but the bottom.

1200L…base operations…Luganville…

Major Davis counted noses and indeed, three pilots were missing. The remainder had grabbed a sandwich and began their debriefs with the intelligence officers. The Japanese had flown a long way and came up empty. As a result of the debrief, the estimated loss to the enemy was two fighters and 11 bombers. The Americans had lost three fighters.

As he returned to his quarters, Davis looked across the runway to a small hill about half a mile away, at what looked for all the world like a gigantic square tennis racket.

“Thanks, buddy.”

The CR:

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/11/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Sub attack at 54,59

Japanese Ships
SS I-31

Allied Ships
DD Monssen


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Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 53,53

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
G4M1 Betty x 25

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 28

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 4 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 24 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 3 destroyed

ENS I.Mikami of F1/253rd Daitai is credited with kill number 2

Allied Ships
AP Pierce
DD Maury
CL Nashville
DD Lamson
AP Feland

Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
2 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet

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Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 53,53

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 4 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 3 damaged


MAJ L. Davis of VMF-121 is credited with kill number 3

Allied Ships
PT 46

Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet

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[tabpub]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/18/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 84

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6

no losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged


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Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 93

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 3 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged

LTJG N.Murakami of F2/1st Daitai is credited with kill number 2


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14th Air Brigade (commanding air operations Lunga Field), embarrassed over the G4M1 fiasco days before, had requested 2 additional A6M2 squadrons from 11th Air Fleet. As you can see, an entire air wing of Zeros went aloft to contest the skies over Espiritu. While the air to air results were...encouraging....the operational losses were not...14 were lost. Fortunately, pilot loss was not severe and Combined Fleet has assured that sufficient replacement airframes are available; especially as the M3 version is coming online in greater numbers. 14th Air Brigade has been chastised and shall be seeking to revamp its operations.

[Shadow of the Condor]

29 Oct 42
Wx: Thunderstorms

0221L...onboard DMS Hovey...120 miles from point Quebec...

Lt. Jamison listened intently from his station on the bridge. As second in command, he theoretically had a say in the decision making process for the operation of the ship, but today wasn't one of those days. He was new, and the men of Hovey were here in the South Pacific when this whole area blew up into a full fledged conflict with the Japanese. He had sense enough to keep his mouth shut as the debate went back and forth about continuing to their destination - and arriving in the daylight. They would be well within range of the Japanese land based bombers, and they would not have the luxury of their own fighter cover. The safe move was to stand off and wait for the next night, but time wasn't on their side. The decision was made, and transmitted via the TBS system to the other ships in what had been affectionately referred to as the "Gravy Train". They were going to make the run into their destination and arrive at dawn, and hope the Japanese aircraft were too busy hunting subs or dodging the thunderstorms that offered tantalizingly short periods of cover.

Operation Canadian Pacific was underway

0601L...onboard DMS Hovey...at point Quebec...

The minesweeper began her familar routine of steaming ahead of the others and searching for mines. None had been found, and she then retraced her route and circled while the other ships entered the shallow waters. Enemy subs were always a distinct possibility, but Hovey, and even some of the other ships were able to provide a decent ASW capability. Once in posiition, however, the offloading began according to the prearranged schedule. With this load, however, it would take longer than usual to unload completely and return to friendly waters. And that couldn't happen too soon for Jamison. The weather officer said the storms would clear later that day. That news was totally unexpected, but - Jamison reasoned - something always turned up unexpectedly.

He was learning.

[Shadow of the Condor]

30 Oct 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy

0412L…Point Quebec

LCDR Emerson was pleased – so far. The men and equipment of had all made it ashore with no losses. Today, the work would begin. Equipment was being checked and rechecked. Sgt. Ames was also busy. He had become something of a legend. His foresight while allowed him to convert a trailer into a mobile kitchen – allowing him to bring the food to the men rather than having the men come back to a camp area to eat. This greatly improved the morale of even these “old-timers”. It also meant that Ames and his assistants would join in with the others once the kitchen was secured. Right now, however, the men were serving a traditional Navy breakfast – coffee and bacon sandwiches.

So there they were - Emerson and his officers with clipboards and coffee, reviewing the tasks to be completed. Other men checking equipment and trading jokes or grousing about the Navy’s penchant for starting days at the oddest times. A surreal image that would lead one to believe this land would remain untouched by the war.

That image would, in all likelihood, be shattered.

0928L…20,000 feet over Luganville…

Lt. Walter Haynes and eight others were patrolling the skies that morning. There were supposed to be twelve aircraft, but three didn’t get off the ground. The men in the maintenance squadrons were still new to working on the P-38G Lightning, so mistakes were bound to occur. Haynes hoped they learned fast. Having only 75% of your assets was not a way to start a patrol.

He had not flown yesterday, when three of the new Lightnings reported encountering 24 Zeroes. No attacks were made. No doubt the Japanese airmen were taken aback for a moment by the new shapes winging up towards them, but the truth of the matter was the Americans got their planes off the ground too late. Today, however, the Americans were waiting for the enemy when he came back. And he did.

Haynes counted 27 enemy planes winging below him. The Zeroes were too low, having encountered opposition at 3000 feet and below during the last month.

When the call to scramble was made over the planes’ radios, the pilots banked their aircraft over and dove into the startled enemy – who didn’t expect fighters to be above them. The silver paint scheme of the Lightnings
made them difficult to see and going close to 400 MPH didn’t help the enemy see their attackers too well either.

1800L…Luganville airbase…67th FS headquarters…

The claims for the day from the euphoric pilots were 6 Zeroes killed. After debriefings, the unit’s intelligence officer rounded that down to three. One enemy aircraft was trailing smoke as it headed north, and was counted as a probable kill. But one fact emerged...the Zeroes were constantly finding these new fighters on their tails, and only their skill and experience as pilots in a war zone prevented more planes from being shot down. But both sides now knew that the Allies now, at least, had a fighter plane every bit as good, and maybe a bit better, than the Japanese Zero.



AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/30/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning x 1 damaged


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Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 21

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning x 1 damaged


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[Shadow of the Condor]

5 November 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy

1700L…briefing room…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia

The staff officers sat around the table while the lieutenant commander delivered the summary of the day’s events. He paused while Admiral lit up one of his infamous cigars and looked around the table. The Admiral waved a hand and motioned for the briefing to continue. This is what they were waiting for.

The commander cleared his throat before continuing the briefing.

“Sirs, phase one of Operation Canadian Pacific is completed. Our forward base at Wunpuko - known as Point Quebec - is now operational. Following up yesterday’s raid on the base, the Japanese sent two more raids this morning and another raid three hours ago. No substantive damage was reported to the base or it’s personnel. If you’ll refer to your briefing notes, sirs, you’ll see we are one day ahead of schedule and phase two has begun as of 0600 today.”

“There was also a PBY Catalina report of a Japanese submarine approximately 60 miles west of Luganville. Intelligence concluded that it was trying to either reinforce the minefield out sweeper is clearing or the sub had the sweeper assigned as a priority target. Either way, our TF 204 - Monssen and Stack leading partol craft and sub chasers - reports one hit with a depth charge on a submerged contact. They are moving thirty miles northwest anticipating the sub will try to run for home.”

“Enemy air patrols continue to overfly Efate and Luganville. Finally, sirs, intelligence reports no Japanese air or naval losses during the past 24 hours.”

The commander looked once around the room for questions. None were posed, and the Admiral dismissed the man.

After exiting the room, the lieutenant commander met up with his own adjutant, who had been seated in the main office of the building.

“Good briefing, sir?”

The commander smiled a bit and responded, “Good news I don’t mind sharing with the command staff.”

As they walked out the building, the adjutant bit his tongue, knowing that commanders usually had something else to do when a briefing for bad news was required.



AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/05/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27

no losses


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Air attack on 15th Naval Construction Battalion, at 51,51

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
G4M1 Betty x 10

no losses

Attacking Level Bombers:
6 x G4M1 Betty at 6000 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 6000 feet

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Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 25

no losses


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Sub attack at 51,53

Japanese Ships
SS I-16, Shell hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
DD Stack
SC 643
SC 644


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