November, 1942
Status Report to Imperial GHQ
Honored Colleagues:
You and I both had great hopes for this offensive when I undertook command here in the South Seas area. The initial carrier battle was almost perfect, with 3 enemy losses vs. one permanent loss of our own. The 2nd and 38th IJA divisions were able to overwhelm the Port Moresby garrison and bring that base under the Rising Sun of Nippon.
Unfortunately, that was when our best-laid plans started to come awry. First, in the Battle of the Northern Coral Sea, American raiders hit several of our capital ships heavily, eventually leading to the sinking of the HIEI. Then, during the counterstrike against the American carriers, over 100 of my finest airmen were killed while striking the SARATOGA. Fortuitously, we were able to sink the SARATOGA with an I boat attack, but the losses in airmen quality might never be made up again.
But, even with these losses, the main reason for the cessation of our advance I lay at the feet of the IJA command! My carriers, while lacking experienced pilots, still existed and could overwhelm their American counterparts. My surface forces had undoubted superiority and were sufficient for the job at hand. Transports for troops and supplies I had in abundance. The only things that I lacked to do the job right were TROOPS! Divisions that had been promised were MONTHS late in arriving. The 2nd and 38th Divisions were exhausted after the Port Moresby campaign and could not be used offensively. The scattered regiments that I had available were only good for garrison duty.
Now I have the sufficient Divisions to deal with the enemy formations, but with the loss of time the favorable situation that existed this winter has passed. Reports that the enemy has 3 CV, 2 BB and innumerable escorts in the area are crossing my desk as I dictate this report. Additionally, the US has not only expanded their existing base in Luganville to the size of Rabaul, they have started work on a subsidiary base in Northern Espirtu known as Wunpunko. Efforts are in the works on the feasibility of neutralizing this new base, but prospects are not good.
On the positive side of the equation lay these factors; Fortress New Guinea nears completion, Lunga is a significant base of its own with subsidiary facilities planned/nearing completion, our land based bomber and fighter wings are fully staffed and well trained, our naval air contingent is competent and numerous and our surface forces stand ready to deal with the enemy. Our bases threaten the US shipping lanes and they will come to try to move us out of them.
Therefore, I have resolved to cease any more planning for major offensive efforts in the South Seas. In accordance to the original operational plan developed last year, this is the line that we shall hold in this theater. Since you don’t feel it necessary to send me the additional ships/planes that would be required to overcome the enemies’ current defenses, I shall let them come to me. Recent encounters with the enemy air units indicate that they have new equipment that rivals ours in ability. We will let them use them over our territory for a while and see who comes out ahead.
Of course, if you of the GHQ acting on behalf of the Emperor order me to continue the Southerly campaign, I shall; but, I will warn you that I don’t believe that any achievable objective can be worth the losses that we would SURELY sustain.
Your servant,
Roboya
CinC Combined Fleet, Truk
I-80 border war: Condor vs. TabPub
Quarterly Status report to the Emporer
Sing to the tune of "Man on the Flying Trapeze"
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Patience is a virute
17 Nov 42
Wx: Rain
0644L…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia
The Admiral sat in his chair, staring out the window at the rain, whose pace had lessened – almost as if daring the man to turn away so it could intensify again.
But turn away he did, and burped slightly as his breakfast settled. Of course, no one was in the room. That would be unseemly – the great Admiral a mere man? No, we couldn’t have the men who served under him have their illusion popped by something as innocuous as unsettled gas. He reflected a bit before considering his next move. The Battle of the Coral Sea had been a loss as far as he was concerned. Lexington, Yorktown, and Hornet lost for a single Japanese carrier called Zuikaku. But they had returned. Enterprise, with the assistance of Wasp returned to the Coral Sea when the enemy hadn’t expected and had chipped away at the IJN. Then, of course, the gambit with Saratoga which cost the carrier her life, but ultimately taking the battleship Hiei with her, along with over 100 highly trained Japanese pilots with their aircraft. He had lost Port Moresby, but held onto the greater prizes in Australia.
No, that wasn’t quite correct. He hadn't "held" Australia. The IJN hadn’t even made a move towards Australia. Now, of course, he understood. Last night, his intelligence staff had handed him what they claimed was a briefing intercepted from Truk to the mainland of Japan. If he could believe what he read, the Japanese Army had fallen flat on its face – unable to provide the promised manpower to exploit the gains their Navy had made. Which is why there was never a move south of New Guinea.
Now, the theater commander – a man named “Roboya” was recommending a defensive posture along their newly gained territories of New Guinea and Guadalcanal.
If he could believe what he read, that is…
He also thought back to that day in May, when he first learned of the Japanese codeword assigned to him. “Condor”. He called it some kind of half-assed vulture. He had someone in his staff find a picture of the bird and had it on his desk. It really wasn’t that ugly, he surmised. He looked at the caption under the photo. It read, “California Condor”. He thought about that…
He was startled out of his reverie when his orderly announced that the staff officers were assembling for the morning briefing.
Wx: Rain
0644L…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia
The Admiral sat in his chair, staring out the window at the rain, whose pace had lessened – almost as if daring the man to turn away so it could intensify again.
But turn away he did, and burped slightly as his breakfast settled. Of course, no one was in the room. That would be unseemly – the great Admiral a mere man? No, we couldn’t have the men who served under him have their illusion popped by something as innocuous as unsettled gas. He reflected a bit before considering his next move. The Battle of the Coral Sea had been a loss as far as he was concerned. Lexington, Yorktown, and Hornet lost for a single Japanese carrier called Zuikaku. But they had returned. Enterprise, with the assistance of Wasp returned to the Coral Sea when the enemy hadn’t expected and had chipped away at the IJN. Then, of course, the gambit with Saratoga which cost the carrier her life, but ultimately taking the battleship Hiei with her, along with over 100 highly trained Japanese pilots with their aircraft. He had lost Port Moresby, but held onto the greater prizes in Australia.
No, that wasn’t quite correct. He hadn't "held" Australia. The IJN hadn’t even made a move towards Australia. Now, of course, he understood. Last night, his intelligence staff had handed him what they claimed was a briefing intercepted from Truk to the mainland of Japan. If he could believe what he read, the Japanese Army had fallen flat on its face – unable to provide the promised manpower to exploit the gains their Navy had made. Which is why there was never a move south of New Guinea.
Now, the theater commander – a man named “Roboya” was recommending a defensive posture along their newly gained territories of New Guinea and Guadalcanal.
If he could believe what he read, that is…
He also thought back to that day in May, when he first learned of the Japanese codeword assigned to him. “Condor”. He called it some kind of half-assed vulture. He had someone in his staff find a picture of the bird and had it on his desk. It really wasn’t that ugly, he surmised. He looked at the caption under the photo. It read, “California Condor”. He thought about that…
He was startled out of his reverie when his orderly announced that the staff officers were assembling for the morning briefing.
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Raid warning: Wunpuko
18 Nov 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy
Wunpuko airbase…0712L…Station Osage…
The alarm had been raised, and there was little else the operators in the radar van could do. 8 minutes ago, the blip on the right side of the horizontal line across the 5-inch display was almost an inch high. It was getting perceptibly higher as the enemy planes approached. The new Lightnings of the 35th fighter squadron had already gotten what planes they could airborne, and would intercept the attackers within minutes. The pilots were warned that this was a very large raid – estimated at over 100 planes. The air raid sirens were warbling, and men everywhere were heading for the relative safety of their trenches. The radar operators headed for their trenches as well. Around the airfield, men on anti-aircraft batteries trained their weapons northwest and began the torturous process of waiting for the attack.
1800L…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The briefing was short, and to the point. The Japanese had launched their first major strike on Wunpuko, and various offices provided various estimates – from base damage to fighter losses to probable enemy losses.
First, the base had been damaged, but nothing that would affect operations. The enemy knew he didn’t close the airbase, and the discussion was on as to their intentions. Would the enemy send another raid tomorrow? Others saw the raid as mostly a fighter sweep, with over 80 per cent of the planes being fighters.
Enemy loses for the day were estimated at ten Zeroes and two of their Irving recon aircraft, while the Americans had only five air-to-air losses from the action.
The Admiral sat quietly while the debate continued. He tried to put himself in the enemy commander’s place. Wunpuko was a major threat to Japanese control of the Solomons. If the Americans could ever base heavy bombers there Lunga would be under constant threat of bombardment. But was the price of attacking the forward Allied base proving too costly? It was estimated the enemy had lost almost 50 planes in the past two weeks in and around the Luganville area. How much longer could those losses be absorbed…?
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/18/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 94
G4M1 Betty x 21
J1N1-R Irving x 4
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 18
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 5 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning x 5 destroyed
P-38G Lightning x 3 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged
1LT R. Parker of 35th FS is credited with kill number 2
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 11
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 13
Attacking Level Bombers:
6 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
15 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45
J1N1-R Irving x 2
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 13
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning x 2 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Partly Cloudy
Wunpuko airbase…0712L…Station Osage…
The alarm had been raised, and there was little else the operators in the radar van could do. 8 minutes ago, the blip on the right side of the horizontal line across the 5-inch display was almost an inch high. It was getting perceptibly higher as the enemy planes approached. The new Lightnings of the 35th fighter squadron had already gotten what planes they could airborne, and would intercept the attackers within minutes. The pilots were warned that this was a very large raid – estimated at over 100 planes. The air raid sirens were warbling, and men everywhere were heading for the relative safety of their trenches. The radar operators headed for their trenches as well. Around the airfield, men on anti-aircraft batteries trained their weapons northwest and began the torturous process of waiting for the attack.
1800L…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The briefing was short, and to the point. The Japanese had launched their first major strike on Wunpuko, and various offices provided various estimates – from base damage to fighter losses to probable enemy losses.
First, the base had been damaged, but nothing that would affect operations. The enemy knew he didn’t close the airbase, and the discussion was on as to their intentions. Would the enemy send another raid tomorrow? Others saw the raid as mostly a fighter sweep, with over 80 per cent of the planes being fighters.
Enemy loses for the day were estimated at ten Zeroes and two of their Irving recon aircraft, while the Americans had only five air-to-air losses from the action.
The Admiral sat quietly while the debate continued. He tried to put himself in the enemy commander’s place. Wunpuko was a major threat to Japanese control of the Solomons. If the Americans could ever base heavy bombers there Lunga would be under constant threat of bombardment. But was the price of attacking the forward Allied base proving too costly? It was estimated the enemy had lost almost 50 planes in the past two weeks in and around the Luganville area. How much longer could those losses be absorbed…?
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/18/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 94
G4M1 Betty x 21
J1N1-R Irving x 4
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 18
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 5 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning x 5 destroyed
P-38G Lightning x 3 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged
1LT R. Parker of 35th FS is credited with kill number 2
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 11
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 13
Attacking Level Bombers:
6 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
15 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45
J1N1-R Irving x 2
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 13
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning x 2 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
RE: Raid warning: Wunpuko
11/23/42 Status report to Imperial GHQ
14th Air Brigade continues the harrassment campaign against the developing Allied position on Wunpuko. Our fighters seem to be gaining the upper hand for now, as more Allied fighters appear to contest the airspace. Urgent need for more bombers is requested by 14th AB.
Additionally, the Allied submarines seem to be contenting themselves with nuisance mining operations; none have been contesting several resupply convoys that have been active in the last 2 weeks. Suspect that they are being conserved to be used "en masse" in concert with some future Allied offensive operation.
Along those lines, we are as well prepared as can be for any action in the future. If whatever is "sucking" my Val replacements away from the theatre would cease, I could not be more happy.
Commander CL Tatsuta has been relieved of command and reassigned to the barge AG1101. Reason - he transmitted a clear broadcast to an associate in the Harbormaster's Office in Truk, indicating that he was returning to the theatre and requesting a special favor be done on his arrival in 5 days. This breach of security led to the Allies being aware that we are still receiving reinforcements.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/23/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 51
G4M1 Betty x 18
J1N1-R Irving x 3
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2
P-40E Warhawk x 14
P-38G Lightning x 2
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty x 1 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged
P-40E Warhawk x 8 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk x 1 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 1 destroyed
ENS U.Hirano of F1/3rd Daitai is credited with kill number 2
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 4
Runway hits 3
Attacking Level Bombers:
7 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
10 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 42
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 17
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 41
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 14
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14th Air Brigade continues the harrassment campaign against the developing Allied position on Wunpuko. Our fighters seem to be gaining the upper hand for now, as more Allied fighters appear to contest the airspace. Urgent need for more bombers is requested by 14th AB.
Additionally, the Allied submarines seem to be contenting themselves with nuisance mining operations; none have been contesting several resupply convoys that have been active in the last 2 weeks. Suspect that they are being conserved to be used "en masse" in concert with some future Allied offensive operation.
Along those lines, we are as well prepared as can be for any action in the future. If whatever is "sucking" my Val replacements away from the theatre would cease, I could not be more happy.
Commander CL Tatsuta has been relieved of command and reassigned to the barge AG1101. Reason - he transmitted a clear broadcast to an associate in the Harbormaster's Office in Truk, indicating that he was returning to the theatre and requesting a special favor be done on his arrival in 5 days. This breach of security led to the Allies being aware that we are still receiving reinforcements.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/23/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 51
G4M1 Betty x 18
J1N1-R Irving x 3
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2
P-40E Warhawk x 14
P-38G Lightning x 2
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty x 1 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged
P-40E Warhawk x 8 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk x 1 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 1 destroyed
ENS U.Hirano of F1/3rd Daitai is credited with kill number 2
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 4
Runway hits 3
Attacking Level Bombers:
7 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
10 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 42
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 17
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 41
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 14
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sing to the tune of "Man on the Flying Trapeze"
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: I-80 border war: Condor vs. TabPub
24 Nov 42
Wx: Overcast
0811L…Wunpuko airbase…
Captain Anderson of the 44th Fighter Squadron couldn’t believe it. Yet another raid on the base from Guadalcanal, and the Allies were moving their best aircraft out of the combat zone! The last of the P-38Gs left earlier today. Meanwhile, as he climbed to altitude, all that was left to defend the base was a conglomeration of Navy Wildcats orphaned from the sunk carrier Yorktown and a bunch of new Army pilots still trying to figure out the best way to fly the P-40. Those pilots who flew P-39D Airacobras before the upgrade to the newer fighter complained about not having the power of the P-39D, as well as a definite lack of armor protection. The Warhawk was, in fact, armored; just not to the extent of the heavier Airacobra. It was like trying to adapt from driving a bulldozer to a sports car. And it was about to show in yet another engagement with the young, but fast learning pilots of the Japanese empire…
2330L...Moffett Field Naval Air Station...Mountain View, California...
Inside the next oversized hangar, the technicians were performing routine maintenance on the blimps used for patrolling San Francisco Bay. Inside their own office of Hangar #3, representatives of the United States Senate Appropiations Committee were confering with members of Boeing and Lockheed corporations. It was a unique site, where, inside one office 9 men sat around a conference table, elegant and stately - and definitely out of place in the bare bones environment of a military hangar. Next door to the men was a Navy ensign, copying coded messages from the island of New Caledonia, and transmitting them back to both Washington and a B-17 assembly plant in Kansas.
The last message went into the office full of men. Heads nodded, hands were shaken, and the senators left with their entourage of bodyguards. The new Lightnings had proved their worth, and were now being husbanded in preparation for America's first major offensive since Peral Harbor. Operation Pacific Fury was about to be approved - and only 20 men in the country even knew of its existence...
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/24/42
Weather: Overcast
Sub attack at 36,39
Japanese Ships
DD Makinami
Allied Ships
SS Trout
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 15
G4M1 Betty x 21
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2
P-40E Warhawk x 13
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 1 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
P-40E Warhawk x 1 destroyed
PO2 A.Ikeda of F1/3rd Daitai is credited with kill number 2
Runway hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
8 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
12 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Overcast
0811L…Wunpuko airbase…
Captain Anderson of the 44th Fighter Squadron couldn’t believe it. Yet another raid on the base from Guadalcanal, and the Allies were moving their best aircraft out of the combat zone! The last of the P-38Gs left earlier today. Meanwhile, as he climbed to altitude, all that was left to defend the base was a conglomeration of Navy Wildcats orphaned from the sunk carrier Yorktown and a bunch of new Army pilots still trying to figure out the best way to fly the P-40. Those pilots who flew P-39D Airacobras before the upgrade to the newer fighter complained about not having the power of the P-39D, as well as a definite lack of armor protection. The Warhawk was, in fact, armored; just not to the extent of the heavier Airacobra. It was like trying to adapt from driving a bulldozer to a sports car. And it was about to show in yet another engagement with the young, but fast learning pilots of the Japanese empire…
2330L...Moffett Field Naval Air Station...Mountain View, California...
Inside the next oversized hangar, the technicians were performing routine maintenance on the blimps used for patrolling San Francisco Bay. Inside their own office of Hangar #3, representatives of the United States Senate Appropiations Committee were confering with members of Boeing and Lockheed corporations. It was a unique site, where, inside one office 9 men sat around a conference table, elegant and stately - and definitely out of place in the bare bones environment of a military hangar. Next door to the men was a Navy ensign, copying coded messages from the island of New Caledonia, and transmitting them back to both Washington and a B-17 assembly plant in Kansas.
The last message went into the office full of men. Heads nodded, hands were shaken, and the senators left with their entourage of bodyguards. The new Lightnings had proved their worth, and were now being husbanded in preparation for America's first major offensive since Peral Harbor. Operation Pacific Fury was about to be approved - and only 20 men in the country even knew of its existence...
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/24/42
Weather: Overcast
Sub attack at 36,39
Japanese Ships
DD Makinami
Allied Ships
SS Trout
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Wunpuko , at 51,51
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 15
G4M1 Betty x 21
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2
P-40E Warhawk x 13
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 1 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
P-40E Warhawk x 1 destroyed
PO2 A.Ikeda of F1/3rd Daitai is credited with kill number 2
Runway hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
8 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
12 x G4M1 Betty at 9000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE:Pacific Fury
26 Nov 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy
1800L…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The Admiral was working through dinner. Washing and their ever-present contingent of officials were demanding almost hourly updates. He had put them off and let them know that once he got the information, he would forward it to them. And he was reviewing the information now. First up were the transcripted copies of aircrew debriefs from the raids on Buna and Rabaul:
msg DTG 1511L24NOV42:
re: Operation Pacific Fury
debriefing report
Raid Hershey One
Target Buna
B-24 crews confirm 3 (three) explosions of a Japanese ship, most likely the seaplane tender Kimikawa Maru. One explosion reported to be massive, most probably a hit on the ship’s fuel stores. Three hits observed with 500lb GP ordinance. Estimate heavy to irreparable damage to the tender. Minor to negligible damage to port facilities. No CAP or AA observed.
Raid Hershey Two
Target Rabaul
B-17 crews report navigation information incorrect, and only 3 (three) planes arrived over target. Light enemy CAP observed. Crews report CAP largely ineffectual. Conclude the planes were flown by pilots on training missions. Anti-air batteries were effectual and all planes over target took damage. Crews recommend not, repeat not, attempting raid again due to prohibitive distance to target.
msg ends
The Admiral pushed away his plate and lit up a cigar. His staff was similarly pushing theirs’ away as well, regardless of how far they were through the dinner.
“Stroke of luck getting that tender at Buna, sir” was the observation many had made to him when word first reached them about the success of the mission’s opening salvo. The Japanese had responded when they saw the transports headed into Cairns, but only sent 4 of their Betty torpedo bombers against the Australian port. They had massive fighter escort, and 5 pilots lost their lives defending the port and the minesweepers anchored there.
“Gentlemen,” the Admiral began, “there is only one reason the Japanese had a tender at Buna.” He let the words hang a minute. “They’re using their air support at Dobadura. The base there has been classified as a level six, and is the source of the raids into Australia. That, gentlemen, is our next target. Close New Guinea, and Japan will have only one source of airpower in the Coral Sea.”
He knew it. His staff knew it. And there was absolutely no doubt the Japanese knew it as well. But the time was fast approaching. The Allies were coming.
2245L…Convoy Routing office…base operations building…Noumea, New Guinea…
The commander just looked again at the manifests, and the dates…and muttered to himself as he took a long drag off of his unfiltered Lucky Strike.
“Impossible…”
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/26/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on Rabaul , at 21,28
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
A6M3 Zero x 3
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 3
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 3 damaged
Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Buna , at 12,38
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 11
no losses
Japanese Ships
AV Kimikawa Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
Port hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
8 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Cooktown , at 6,53
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 21
no losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Cairns at 7,56
Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 42
G4M1 Betty x 4
Allied aircraft
P-40E Kittyhawk x 18
P-40E Warhawk x 23
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 2 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Kittyhawk x 5 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk x 3 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk x 3 damaged
Allied Ships
MSW Toowoomba
Attacking Level Bombers:
2 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Partly Cloudy
1800L…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The Admiral was working through dinner. Washing and their ever-present contingent of officials were demanding almost hourly updates. He had put them off and let them know that once he got the information, he would forward it to them. And he was reviewing the information now. First up were the transcripted copies of aircrew debriefs from the raids on Buna and Rabaul:
msg DTG 1511L24NOV42:
re: Operation Pacific Fury
debriefing report
Raid Hershey One
Target Buna
B-24 crews confirm 3 (three) explosions of a Japanese ship, most likely the seaplane tender Kimikawa Maru. One explosion reported to be massive, most probably a hit on the ship’s fuel stores. Three hits observed with 500lb GP ordinance. Estimate heavy to irreparable damage to the tender. Minor to negligible damage to port facilities. No CAP or AA observed.
Raid Hershey Two
Target Rabaul
B-17 crews report navigation information incorrect, and only 3 (three) planes arrived over target. Light enemy CAP observed. Crews report CAP largely ineffectual. Conclude the planes were flown by pilots on training missions. Anti-air batteries were effectual and all planes over target took damage. Crews recommend not, repeat not, attempting raid again due to prohibitive distance to target.
msg ends
The Admiral pushed away his plate and lit up a cigar. His staff was similarly pushing theirs’ away as well, regardless of how far they were through the dinner.
“Stroke of luck getting that tender at Buna, sir” was the observation many had made to him when word first reached them about the success of the mission’s opening salvo. The Japanese had responded when they saw the transports headed into Cairns, but only sent 4 of their Betty torpedo bombers against the Australian port. They had massive fighter escort, and 5 pilots lost their lives defending the port and the minesweepers anchored there.
“Gentlemen,” the Admiral began, “there is only one reason the Japanese had a tender at Buna.” He let the words hang a minute. “They’re using their air support at Dobadura. The base there has been classified as a level six, and is the source of the raids into Australia. That, gentlemen, is our next target. Close New Guinea, and Japan will have only one source of airpower in the Coral Sea.”
He knew it. His staff knew it. And there was absolutely no doubt the Japanese knew it as well. But the time was fast approaching. The Allies were coming.
2245L…Convoy Routing office…base operations building…Noumea, New Guinea…
The commander just looked again at the manifests, and the dates…and muttered to himself as he took a long drag off of his unfiltered Lucky Strike.
“Impossible…”
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/26/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on Rabaul , at 21,28
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
A6M3 Zero x 3
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 3
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 3 damaged
Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Buna , at 12,38
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 11
no losses
Japanese Ships
AV Kimikawa Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
Port hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
8 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Cooktown , at 6,53
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 21
no losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Cairns at 7,56
Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 42
G4M1 Betty x 4
Allied aircraft
P-40E Kittyhawk x 18
P-40E Warhawk x 23
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 2 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Kittyhawk x 5 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk x 3 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk x 3 damaged
Allied Ships
MSW Toowoomba
Attacking Level Bombers:
2 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: RE:Pacific Fury
0311L…Noumea harbor…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The bombers had been making occasional nuisance raids for the past month, and when the Admiral was awoke and hustled into the basement of the operations building by his orderly, he knew this was another. He didn’t actually dislike these raids, since they usually damaged nothing, and cost the enemy 2 or 3 bombers that didn’t make the long flight back to Lunga. This morning, the Admiral received news that one of the many ships in the harbor did take a bomb hit. In his already sour mood from being awoke ninety minutes early, he didn’t take kindly to the commander’s aside remark that, “it had to happen sooner or later..”
0811L…6000 feet over Dobadura, New Guinea…
The 42 heavy bombers approached the Japanese base. It was the prime suspect for the point where the raids against Australia where originating from. The bombers had no fighter escort, and the 21 Japanese Zeroes who rose up to meet them were glad of that. They were less glad, however, when they engaged the “defenseless” bombers. Flying in their characteristic box formations, each bomber had 12 machine guns for defense, and forty two of them flying in formation meant that the attacking fighters had a chance of being fired on by over 100 machine guns at once. This fact was pointedly made clear to the startled fighter pilots when, again and again, their attacks were driven off by the interlocking fire from the bomber crews. To their credit, however, the fighters did inflict damage on two of the lumbering giants, but the bombers actually shot down one fighter and damaged four more. All forty-two bombers reached the target and, flying through anti-aircraft fire, dropped twelve 500lb bombs each. All forty two bombers then left the base and headed home. The damage estimate to the base was officially classified as “significant”, but a reconnaissance mission was already slated for the next day to confirm this.
0900L…Cairns, Australia…
Almost at the same time as the American bombers were bombarding Dobadura, the Japanese sent over 90 bombers to Cairns, in an attempt to close the base there. The Japanese bombers also were unescorted. When the American P-40 Warhawk fighters met them, however, the results were vastly different. The Japanese bombers flew almost in straight line formations, and each bomber basically defended itself. The result was fifteen enemy bombers were shot down by the fighters, yet over seventy rolled on to bomb the base. The fighters simply ran out of ammunition. Cairns was alerted, and they got ready to withstand the bombardment as best they could.
0911L…Cooktown, Australia…
A second bombing force was attacking the Australian base here. The Japanese figured out it was the source of the impudent raid on Rabaul. But the Americans had already moved the heavy bombers out of there. The base ground force was there, but they were well protected in their bunkers. The B-26 Marauders, who were now the residents of the base, had taken off earlier. The Japanese bombers, with their escorting fighters, approached the largely abandoned base…
0922L...Port Moresby, New Guinea...
The Marauders approached what was once an Allied base and waited for the enemy CAP to show up. They were actually under orders to disperse if intercepted, but none met them. The bombers pressed on, and found no anti-aircraft fire met them either. They unloaded their bombs onto the Japanese base and left...
1900L...base operations building...briefing room...Noumea, New Caledonia...
The Admiral listened intently to the damage reports from both New guinea and Australia. Both sides of the conflict were trying to deny the use of airbases to the other. if it came to a straight race to see who would be closed first, the Japanesewould lose that race. The Allies had significantly more capabilities to repair bases in shorter time periods than the Japanese could. The Admiral was counting on that time lag to draw out the enemy carriers and finally get an idea of where they were. They were the last worry on his mind. They still had the power to sink ships - and the Admiral needed to pin them down...somewhere.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/27/42
Weather: Clear
Air attack on Noumea , at 52,67
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 9
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged
Allied Ships
DD Morris, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Dobadura , at 13,38
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
A6M3 Zero x 14
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 30
B-24D Liberator x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 damaged
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 6 damaged
B-24D Liberator x 1 damaged
Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 35
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
12 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
7 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 15
no losses
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 11
Attacking Level Bombers:
12 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
3 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Cairns , at 7,56
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 93
Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 18
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 10 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk x 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk x 1 damaged
P-40E Kittyhawk x 2 destroyed
FO W. Linder of 8th FS is credited with kill number 3
Airbase hits 8
Runway hits 26
Attacking Level Bombers:
6 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
15 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
7 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
13 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
2 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
2 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Cooktown , at 6,53
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
A6M3 Zero x 35
G4M1 Betty x 38
no losses
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 9
Attacking Level Bombers:
0 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
0 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
0 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
6 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
19 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The bombers had been making occasional nuisance raids for the past month, and when the Admiral was awoke and hustled into the basement of the operations building by his orderly, he knew this was another. He didn’t actually dislike these raids, since they usually damaged nothing, and cost the enemy 2 or 3 bombers that didn’t make the long flight back to Lunga. This morning, the Admiral received news that one of the many ships in the harbor did take a bomb hit. In his already sour mood from being awoke ninety minutes early, he didn’t take kindly to the commander’s aside remark that, “it had to happen sooner or later..”
0811L…6000 feet over Dobadura, New Guinea…
The 42 heavy bombers approached the Japanese base. It was the prime suspect for the point where the raids against Australia where originating from. The bombers had no fighter escort, and the 21 Japanese Zeroes who rose up to meet them were glad of that. They were less glad, however, when they engaged the “defenseless” bombers. Flying in their characteristic box formations, each bomber had 12 machine guns for defense, and forty two of them flying in formation meant that the attacking fighters had a chance of being fired on by over 100 machine guns at once. This fact was pointedly made clear to the startled fighter pilots when, again and again, their attacks were driven off by the interlocking fire from the bomber crews. To their credit, however, the fighters did inflict damage on two of the lumbering giants, but the bombers actually shot down one fighter and damaged four more. All forty-two bombers reached the target and, flying through anti-aircraft fire, dropped twelve 500lb bombs each. All forty two bombers then left the base and headed home. The damage estimate to the base was officially classified as “significant”, but a reconnaissance mission was already slated for the next day to confirm this.
0900L…Cairns, Australia…
Almost at the same time as the American bombers were bombarding Dobadura, the Japanese sent over 90 bombers to Cairns, in an attempt to close the base there. The Japanese bombers also were unescorted. When the American P-40 Warhawk fighters met them, however, the results were vastly different. The Japanese bombers flew almost in straight line formations, and each bomber basically defended itself. The result was fifteen enemy bombers were shot down by the fighters, yet over seventy rolled on to bomb the base. The fighters simply ran out of ammunition. Cairns was alerted, and they got ready to withstand the bombardment as best they could.
0911L…Cooktown, Australia…
A second bombing force was attacking the Australian base here. The Japanese figured out it was the source of the impudent raid on Rabaul. But the Americans had already moved the heavy bombers out of there. The base ground force was there, but they were well protected in their bunkers. The B-26 Marauders, who were now the residents of the base, had taken off earlier. The Japanese bombers, with their escorting fighters, approached the largely abandoned base…
0922L...Port Moresby, New Guinea...
The Marauders approached what was once an Allied base and waited for the enemy CAP to show up. They were actually under orders to disperse if intercepted, but none met them. The bombers pressed on, and found no anti-aircraft fire met them either. They unloaded their bombs onto the Japanese base and left...
1900L...base operations building...briefing room...Noumea, New Caledonia...
The Admiral listened intently to the damage reports from both New guinea and Australia. Both sides of the conflict were trying to deny the use of airbases to the other. if it came to a straight race to see who would be closed first, the Japanesewould lose that race. The Allies had significantly more capabilities to repair bases in shorter time periods than the Japanese could. The Admiral was counting on that time lag to draw out the enemy carriers and finally get an idea of where they were. They were the last worry on his mind. They still had the power to sink ships - and the Admiral needed to pin them down...somewhere.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/27/42
Weather: Clear
Air attack on Noumea , at 52,67
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 9
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged
Allied Ships
DD Morris, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Dobadura , at 13,38
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
A6M3 Zero x 14
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 30
B-24D Liberator x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 damaged
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 6 damaged
B-24D Liberator x 1 damaged
Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 35
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
12 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
7 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 15
no losses
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 11
Attacking Level Bombers:
12 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
3 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Cairns , at 7,56
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 93
Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 18
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 10 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk x 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk x 1 damaged
P-40E Kittyhawk x 2 destroyed
FO W. Linder of 8th FS is credited with kill number 3
Airbase hits 8
Runway hits 26
Attacking Level Bombers:
6 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
15 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
7 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
13 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
2 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
2 x G4M1 Betty at 7000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Cooktown , at 6,53
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
A6M3 Zero x 35
G4M1 Betty x 38
no losses
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 9
Attacking Level Bombers:
0 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
0 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
0 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
6 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
19 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty at 11000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: The End of the Beginning
4 Dec 42
Wx: Thunderstorms
1007L…onboard PBY Catalina callsign ‘Butcher Four’…
Ensign Denny King was starting to think of the new base at Wunpuko as home. He was making his fifth search flight from there in the past week. “Home” was, of course, what you made of it. If you can call a few tents and a couple of huts “home”, then Wunpuko was your place. The fighter pilots there were like fighter pilots everywhere – cocky, brash and invincible. Diametrically opposed to the rashness of young fighter pilots were the almost fatherly engineers of the SeaBees who were turning the hunk of coral into a respectable base. Of course, the “fatherly” SeaBees had their own brand of invincibility – the kind that comes from having experienced much of what the world has to offer, and not having missed out on any of it. King wasn’t happy about being away from his family, but if he had to be in the war, at least he was in the company of good men. He smiled a moment, and was looking forward to the continuation of the acey-deucy tournament set up amongst the three groups of men. King was in second place, and supposed to play a representative from the Marine Wildcat pilots.
Back to the task at hand, King was navigating from thunderhead to thunderhead as he headed north by northeast. The Japanese had been very cagey in the past couple of months, with only the odd cruiser or transport being reported at Lunga. They had not tried to sail south of Irau with anything but submarines. A couple of bombing missions – but that was it.
“Sir…behind us…five o’clock…”
Jenkins had been watching out of the starboard waist bubble and had spotted ships just as the plane was being obscured again by clouds.
King cursed the weather and began to turn back south and try to find a patch of clear sky. Suddenly, a hole seemed to open above him and brilliant sunlight flooded the pilot compartment. And below them…
1012L…Operations section…Luganville airbase…
The radio operator copied the Morse code message while his assistant began deciphering it from today’s codebook. Finished, he handed it to the Army major standing over his shoulder.
Major Jefferies was a former P-39D pilot until he had taken a piece of shrapnel in a “dogfight” with a Zero pilot back at Port Moresby. That Zero pilot was a little bit better than Jefferies that day, and Jefferies wore a red patch over his eye to remind him all it took was to be just a little bit better than your enemy. Now attached to Army intelligence, he was the liaison between the Navy’s base at Luganville and his senior on the Condor’s staff. Jefferies read the message and had it transmitted back to Noumea. He watched the operator key the original coded message back over the airwaves…
“Butcher Four…Zebra Quebec…Enemy vessels…map 0501…195…12…repeat…”
Jefferies had plotted the ships’ position on the map reference overlay of the area. Two Japanese warships…210 miles east of Tulagi…headed south. Jefferies had considered that the ships might be a ruse, but he doubted the Japanese would try a ruse during bad weather. Better to try it when the clear skies would almost guarantee a sighting contact. No, Jefferies had a feeling that the two ships were part of an end run around the outside of the Solomons, hoping to be covered by the weather. He wasn’t sure, of course, but better safe than sorry…
1700L…Noumea harbor…alongside South Dakota…
The yeoman blew the shrill whistle in the oft-heard tune, and Admiral Kinkaid climbed aboard the flagship of task force 215. He dispensed with the formalities and met the captains of the individual ships in the force. Along with him were both heavy and light cruisers, anti-aircraft support, and the new Fletcher class destroyers screening the capital ship. He had put it simply to captains of the ships assigned to task force 215 – keep up, or I’ll leave you for the fish. The hunt would begin at 1900L…
Wx: Thunderstorms
1007L…onboard PBY Catalina callsign ‘Butcher Four’…
Ensign Denny King was starting to think of the new base at Wunpuko as home. He was making his fifth search flight from there in the past week. “Home” was, of course, what you made of it. If you can call a few tents and a couple of huts “home”, then Wunpuko was your place. The fighter pilots there were like fighter pilots everywhere – cocky, brash and invincible. Diametrically opposed to the rashness of young fighter pilots were the almost fatherly engineers of the SeaBees who were turning the hunk of coral into a respectable base. Of course, the “fatherly” SeaBees had their own brand of invincibility – the kind that comes from having experienced much of what the world has to offer, and not having missed out on any of it. King wasn’t happy about being away from his family, but if he had to be in the war, at least he was in the company of good men. He smiled a moment, and was looking forward to the continuation of the acey-deucy tournament set up amongst the three groups of men. King was in second place, and supposed to play a representative from the Marine Wildcat pilots.
Back to the task at hand, King was navigating from thunderhead to thunderhead as he headed north by northeast. The Japanese had been very cagey in the past couple of months, with only the odd cruiser or transport being reported at Lunga. They had not tried to sail south of Irau with anything but submarines. A couple of bombing missions – but that was it.
“Sir…behind us…five o’clock…”
Jenkins had been watching out of the starboard waist bubble and had spotted ships just as the plane was being obscured again by clouds.
King cursed the weather and began to turn back south and try to find a patch of clear sky. Suddenly, a hole seemed to open above him and brilliant sunlight flooded the pilot compartment. And below them…
1012L…Operations section…Luganville airbase…
The radio operator copied the Morse code message while his assistant began deciphering it from today’s codebook. Finished, he handed it to the Army major standing over his shoulder.
Major Jefferies was a former P-39D pilot until he had taken a piece of shrapnel in a “dogfight” with a Zero pilot back at Port Moresby. That Zero pilot was a little bit better than Jefferies that day, and Jefferies wore a red patch over his eye to remind him all it took was to be just a little bit better than your enemy. Now attached to Army intelligence, he was the liaison between the Navy’s base at Luganville and his senior on the Condor’s staff. Jefferies read the message and had it transmitted back to Noumea. He watched the operator key the original coded message back over the airwaves…
“Butcher Four…Zebra Quebec…Enemy vessels…map 0501…195…12…repeat…”
Jefferies had plotted the ships’ position on the map reference overlay of the area. Two Japanese warships…210 miles east of Tulagi…headed south. Jefferies had considered that the ships might be a ruse, but he doubted the Japanese would try a ruse during bad weather. Better to try it when the clear skies would almost guarantee a sighting contact. No, Jefferies had a feeling that the two ships were part of an end run around the outside of the Solomons, hoping to be covered by the weather. He wasn’t sure, of course, but better safe than sorry…
1700L…Noumea harbor…alongside South Dakota…
The yeoman blew the shrill whistle in the oft-heard tune, and Admiral Kinkaid climbed aboard the flagship of task force 215. He dispensed with the formalities and met the captains of the individual ships in the force. Along with him were both heavy and light cruisers, anti-aircraft support, and the new Fletcher class destroyers screening the capital ship. He had put it simply to captains of the ships assigned to task force 215 – keep up, or I’ll leave you for the fish. The hunt would begin at 1900L…
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: I-80 border war: Condor vs. TabPub
8 Dec 42
Wx: Rainy
0700L…30 miles SW of Kourouratopo…onboard USS Libra…
Commander Fletcher watched the little ships depart. His escort, 10 sub chasers, was headed for Luganville while he was continuing on his own. He didn’t like being unescorted even for this short distance, but the escorts were needed back for another task force that was ready to leave. Fletcher gave a last look at the charts and went to lie down for a bit, already feeling the headache creeping up on him.
1003L…Wunpuko airbase…Operations area…
Major Hawthorne was making his own mental notes about the upcoming mission. His 12 B-17s of the 65th Bomb Squadron had arrived yesterday and they were already designated for a mission. One that had been in planning since the early days back in May. His was only the tip of the vengeful spear about to be thrust into the Japanese controlled waters and islands. He was a bit concerned about the reception they would get, as the enemy knew this had to come sooner or later. But Hawthorne didn’t concern himself much with that. He had mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was glad his crews would be getting off of those interminable search missions, but – on the other hand…on search missions, nobody usually shot back. And he knew the Japanese would shoot back tomorrow.
1100L…Noumea harbor…
Nicholas limped into the harbor, with fires still burning – albeit greatly reduced. Truth be told, her captain, Commander Brett Turner was chagrined about hitting the mine in the first place, but his damage control teams had virtually eliminated all fires and flooding within twenty-four hours of the explosion. They were now working to get the ship’s systems back on line. They estimated 22% damage to the ship, and promised they could repair it while still at sea. But the captain overrode that sentiment, knowing there were more destroyers at Noumea and Nicholas could dry-dock and get her repairs done in the safety of the base.
Turner thought about it while the tug pushed them into their berth.
“It could have been worse…”
1300L…onboard USS South Dakota…
Rear Admiral Kinkaid signed off on the housekeeping traffic presented to him by his staff officer. The tanker Pecos was already en route to them, and he knew the second hunting party was leaving Noumea tonight. He was even getting word that bombers would be making their first strike against Guadalcanal. The Allies were beginning to flex their muscle in this theater, and Kinkaid wouldn’t have traded his current situation for anything in the world.
1448L…Cairns, Australia…
“…and that was it. No AA, no fighters, just a standard run against an undefended target. Good luck tomorrow!”
“Thank you, Captain Ames.” Captain Ron Taylor of the newly arrived 320th Bomb Squadron had asked that a pilot from the 63rd Bomb Squadron brief his pilots about what they had encountered on the Port Moresby raid earlier in the morning. Taylor’s pilots had absolutely zero combat experience, and were part of the flood of men and equipment engulfing the southwestern Pacific area. Taylor hoped that the talk from a pilot who had just come back from a mission against the Port would relieve his own pilots of most of their fears.
Taylor walked outside at the end of the briefing and looked over the 12 shiny new B-24D Liberators and then back at the young men filing out of the briefing room onto the tarmac, and silently wondered if the Port would still be “undefended” tomorrow.
Suddenly, a young airman rushed up to Taylor, saluted, and gave him a message. Taylor read the short note and smiled. A squadron of new Lightnings that everyone was raving about would escort the even newer pilots. He called out to the men, and waved them over, saying he had some news for them…
2111L…Wunpuko harbor…onboard USS American Legion…
Captain Warner was pleased at the progress of the unloading. Seven of the twelve 155mm howitzers of the 259th coastal defense battalion were ashore. With luck, the ship would be empty by tomorrow before the noon hour. And then he and his transport could get out of here. Yesterday, the destroyer Nicholas hit a mine and had to detach. The task force’s minesweeper, Hovey, had alerted the ships to the presence of the mines, but it was just one of those things. Warner didn’t need another “one of those things.”
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/08/42
Weather: Rain
Sub attack near Shortland Island at 29,34
Japanese Ships
CA Kako
Allied Ships
SS S-43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 12
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 37
Port hits 4
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Rainy
0700L…30 miles SW of Kourouratopo…onboard USS Libra…
Commander Fletcher watched the little ships depart. His escort, 10 sub chasers, was headed for Luganville while he was continuing on his own. He didn’t like being unescorted even for this short distance, but the escorts were needed back for another task force that was ready to leave. Fletcher gave a last look at the charts and went to lie down for a bit, already feeling the headache creeping up on him.
1003L…Wunpuko airbase…Operations area…
Major Hawthorne was making his own mental notes about the upcoming mission. His 12 B-17s of the 65th Bomb Squadron had arrived yesterday and they were already designated for a mission. One that had been in planning since the early days back in May. His was only the tip of the vengeful spear about to be thrust into the Japanese controlled waters and islands. He was a bit concerned about the reception they would get, as the enemy knew this had to come sooner or later. But Hawthorne didn’t concern himself much with that. He had mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was glad his crews would be getting off of those interminable search missions, but – on the other hand…on search missions, nobody usually shot back. And he knew the Japanese would shoot back tomorrow.
1100L…Noumea harbor…
Nicholas limped into the harbor, with fires still burning – albeit greatly reduced. Truth be told, her captain, Commander Brett Turner was chagrined about hitting the mine in the first place, but his damage control teams had virtually eliminated all fires and flooding within twenty-four hours of the explosion. They were now working to get the ship’s systems back on line. They estimated 22% damage to the ship, and promised they could repair it while still at sea. But the captain overrode that sentiment, knowing there were more destroyers at Noumea and Nicholas could dry-dock and get her repairs done in the safety of the base.
Turner thought about it while the tug pushed them into their berth.
“It could have been worse…”
1300L…onboard USS South Dakota…
Rear Admiral Kinkaid signed off on the housekeeping traffic presented to him by his staff officer. The tanker Pecos was already en route to them, and he knew the second hunting party was leaving Noumea tonight. He was even getting word that bombers would be making their first strike against Guadalcanal. The Allies were beginning to flex their muscle in this theater, and Kinkaid wouldn’t have traded his current situation for anything in the world.
1448L…Cairns, Australia…
“…and that was it. No AA, no fighters, just a standard run against an undefended target. Good luck tomorrow!”
“Thank you, Captain Ames.” Captain Ron Taylor of the newly arrived 320th Bomb Squadron had asked that a pilot from the 63rd Bomb Squadron brief his pilots about what they had encountered on the Port Moresby raid earlier in the morning. Taylor’s pilots had absolutely zero combat experience, and were part of the flood of men and equipment engulfing the southwestern Pacific area. Taylor hoped that the talk from a pilot who had just come back from a mission against the Port would relieve his own pilots of most of their fears.
Taylor walked outside at the end of the briefing and looked over the 12 shiny new B-24D Liberators and then back at the young men filing out of the briefing room onto the tarmac, and silently wondered if the Port would still be “undefended” tomorrow.
Suddenly, a young airman rushed up to Taylor, saluted, and gave him a message. Taylor read the short note and smiled. A squadron of new Lightnings that everyone was raving about would escort the even newer pilots. He called out to the men, and waved them over, saying he had some news for them…
2111L…Wunpuko harbor…onboard USS American Legion…
Captain Warner was pleased at the progress of the unloading. Seven of the twelve 155mm howitzers of the 259th coastal defense battalion were ashore. With luck, the ship would be empty by tomorrow before the noon hour. And then he and his transport could get out of here. Yesterday, the destroyer Nicholas hit a mine and had to detach. The task force’s minesweeper, Hovey, had alerted the ships to the presence of the mines, but it was just one of those things. Warner didn’t need another “one of those things.”
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/08/42
Weather: Rain
Sub attack near Shortland Island at 29,34
Japanese Ships
CA Kako
Allied Ships
SS S-43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 12
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 37
Port hits 4
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Ambush at Kourouratopo
10 Dec 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy
0048L…1 mile west of Kourouratopo…onboard USS Bache…
Commander Farley had detached from his escort duty earlier in the evening and had made almost 25 knots in trying to get into the position he was in. The rest of Admiral Kinkaid’s strike force was about 3 miles behind him. Bache was acting as sentry. Her SG radar was supposedly able to locate targets up to 14 miles away, but the operators on board rarely trusted returns from that distance. Besides, there were a plethora of little islands out here – and the return of a low island caused more than one ship to fire onto a coral reef. And that’s where South Dakota was lying in ambush. All Kinkaid needed was a radio signal from Bache.
It had all started the day before when a PBY from Luganville spotted four destroyers NNW of Kourouratopo. The plane reported that the ships were not moving, and that got everyone’s attention. The ships were going to make a classic nighttime sprint. The only question was whether it was to bombard the base or to land troops and wipe out two “undefended” SeaBee battalions – which had been spotted for almost three days by level bombers and recon planes from the Japanese base at Lunga.
And now, the time was right. If the Japanese had indeed begun a nighttime sprint into Kourouratopo, they should be arriving somewhere around midnight. True to form, they were on their way.
Bache’s radar had picked up the incoming ships when they were still twelve miles away. When they closed to 11 miles, Commander Farley sent the message back to Admiral Kinkaid that the enemy had indeed taken the bait. South Dakota and her escorts came to life, and began to steam into the harbor to meet the ships.
At 10 miles, Bache had worked up a course and speed on the contacts. They were closing on the SeaBee positions at over 30 knots.
As the enemy approached to five miles from the island, the American ships, along with the Australian light cruiser Leander, were in position. Kinkaid had deployed his destroyers fore and aft of his cruisers. South Dakota would lay back and not expose herself to the Japanese Long Lance torpedoes. Kinkaid had been told to expect a FT force of destroyers rather than a cruiser bombardment force. His own cruisers were parallel to the island. Intelligence estimated the Japanese ships would not be equipped with radar, but Kinkaid’s ships would blend in with the coastline scatter if the enemy proved the intelligence estimates wrong.
At four miles out, Bache formed up at the end of the line, and South Dakota illuminated the sea with her own radar. She began to track the enemy and direct the operation.
At three miles out, the enemy began to radically reduce speed. They were too far out to unload, so that meant they had detected Kinkaid’s force. But it was too late. At 5000 yards, the cruisers opened fire.....
0130L…3 miles west of Kourouratopo…
By the time it was over, the cruiser Leander had been damaged the most of all, having had an entire four-inch gun mount destroyed, along with the crew inside it. The destroyer Beale also took damage, and a few fires were burning. In return, the Japanese force of five destroyers and two fast transport ships was almost completely obliterated. One ship, the Hokaze exploded after taking a third volley of eight-inch shells from Portland. Two more ships, the Nokaze and Tachikaze, exploded and sunk after breaking off from the conflict. But, to the Japanese credit, they still landed almost 1000 combat troops and 10 guns on Kourouratopo. They would no doubt exact their revenge on the American engineers.
Except that the American engineers were no longer there.
And this is the situation at a small island known as Kourouratopo. Brave Japanese sailors and officers battled through heavy odds and almost certain death and landed troops on an island that two days ago, held some of Americas best engineers and construction equipment. As soon as the battle was over, seven destroyers were making their way to the beach to pick up the last of the Americans and leave the island in the hands of almost 1000 Japanese combat troops with 10 guns.
0310L…base operations building…briefing room…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The Condor was halfway into his third cup of coffee when Kinkaid’s action report was delivered to him.
…Signal Green…enemy forces ashore…three…repeat…three enemy vessels sunk…four…repeat…four enemy vessels burning out of control…enemy departing north by northwest…two..repeat…two friendly vessels sustained minor damage…returning to base…
He read the signal again, and lit up a cigar. He looked over at Admiral Pye, and then to a Navy lieutenant commander who was told to stand by the phone with a predetermined list of units to call. Looking at the aide, the Condor blew out the wooden match and moved the cigar to the corner of his mouth.
“Execute.”
0330L…Noumea harbor…
Lieutenant Colonel Carlson of the 2nd Marine Raider battalion was glad to be onboard. His battalion was dispersed among six fast transport destroyers. They had actually loaded the night before, and the transports were now steaming out of the protected waters. Within thirty-six hours, they would be at their destination…
0745L…240 miles NNW of Kourouratopo…
The Marine SBD and TBF pilots were already over the damaged Japanese task force. The pilots, however, were young, inexperienced, and hampered by the tendrils of black smoke that effectively shielded the ships from attack. Reluctantly, they turned back to base to try again later in the day. The ships weren’t in any kind of shape to escape.
0912L…20,000 feet over Lunga airbase…
The B17s had fought through the fighters, and dropped their bombs on the base. Minor damage was noted – nothing that even the Japanese couldn’t easily fix. The Japanese, however, did accomplish something very important. As the bombers turned to leave, a Zero got onto the tail of a B-17 in the trail position. The tailgunner’s machineguns had jammed, and the Zero started to shred the rudder and control surfaces of the tailplane. Within a minute, the B-17 was trailing smoke, and started a shallow dive from which it would not recover. The Japanese had finally shot down a B-17…
1307L…240 miles NNW of Kourouratopo…
Once again, the Maring attack aircraft orbited the stricken ships, looking for an opening in the smoke and haze to pick out a target. Some SBDs dropped bombs blindly, trying to anticipate where the ships would be. One plane did score a hit, however. A TBF pilot was able to line up on the destroyer Hakaze and a 22 inch torpedo exploded into what was left of the hull of the ship. The ship broke in half and slipped beneath the waves.
2000L…base operations building…briefing room…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The operation had been almost textbook in its success. Landing engineers on an island, and then pulling them out just as the enemy arrived to attack them. The ambush at Kourouratopo couldn’t have been better executed. And now, every A-20 and B-26 in range was lining up on the enemy ground force at Kourouratopo. The enemy ships were limping away, but already six submarines were closing on them from the north and west. The Marine pilots would add their attacks onto the enemy ground troops if the ships got out of range.
To finish off the operation, 48 C-47 transport aircraft would fly over the island at approximately 6000 feet, dropping the 1st Parachute Battalion who would mop up what was hoped to be a surprised, bewildered, and shellshocked enemy.
The Admiral nodded a bit and announced to all he was retiring for the evening, but he wanted the logistics requirements for Operation Kangaroo on his desk by 8am.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/10/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kourouratopo at 52,48
Japanese Ships
DD Hagikaze, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hakaze, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hokaze, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
DD Tachikaze, Shell hits 22, on fire, heavy damage
DD Nokaze, Shell hits 17, on fire, heavy damage
APD 31, Shell hits 2
APD 39, Shell hits 5, on fire
Allied Ships
BB South Dakota, Shell hits 1
CA Portland, Shell hits 1
CA Northampton
CL Leander, Shell hits 1
CLAA San Diego
DD Beale, Shell hits 1
DD Bache
DD Aaron Ward
DD Laffey
DD Buchanan
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 655
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 22
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 1 damaged
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Lunga , at 38,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 8
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 2 damaged
Runway hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 20000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 50,46
Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 25
TBF Avenger x 13
P-38G Lightning x 3
Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless x 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Hagikaze, on fire, heavy damage
APD 39, on fire
DD Hakaze, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Partly Cloudy
0048L…1 mile west of Kourouratopo…onboard USS Bache…
Commander Farley had detached from his escort duty earlier in the evening and had made almost 25 knots in trying to get into the position he was in. The rest of Admiral Kinkaid’s strike force was about 3 miles behind him. Bache was acting as sentry. Her SG radar was supposedly able to locate targets up to 14 miles away, but the operators on board rarely trusted returns from that distance. Besides, there were a plethora of little islands out here – and the return of a low island caused more than one ship to fire onto a coral reef. And that’s where South Dakota was lying in ambush. All Kinkaid needed was a radio signal from Bache.
It had all started the day before when a PBY from Luganville spotted four destroyers NNW of Kourouratopo. The plane reported that the ships were not moving, and that got everyone’s attention. The ships were going to make a classic nighttime sprint. The only question was whether it was to bombard the base or to land troops and wipe out two “undefended” SeaBee battalions – which had been spotted for almost three days by level bombers and recon planes from the Japanese base at Lunga.
And now, the time was right. If the Japanese had indeed begun a nighttime sprint into Kourouratopo, they should be arriving somewhere around midnight. True to form, they were on their way.
Bache’s radar had picked up the incoming ships when they were still twelve miles away. When they closed to 11 miles, Commander Farley sent the message back to Admiral Kinkaid that the enemy had indeed taken the bait. South Dakota and her escorts came to life, and began to steam into the harbor to meet the ships.
At 10 miles, Bache had worked up a course and speed on the contacts. They were closing on the SeaBee positions at over 30 knots.
As the enemy approached to five miles from the island, the American ships, along with the Australian light cruiser Leander, were in position. Kinkaid had deployed his destroyers fore and aft of his cruisers. South Dakota would lay back and not expose herself to the Japanese Long Lance torpedoes. Kinkaid had been told to expect a FT force of destroyers rather than a cruiser bombardment force. His own cruisers were parallel to the island. Intelligence estimated the Japanese ships would not be equipped with radar, but Kinkaid’s ships would blend in with the coastline scatter if the enemy proved the intelligence estimates wrong.
At four miles out, Bache formed up at the end of the line, and South Dakota illuminated the sea with her own radar. She began to track the enemy and direct the operation.
At three miles out, the enemy began to radically reduce speed. They were too far out to unload, so that meant they had detected Kinkaid’s force. But it was too late. At 5000 yards, the cruisers opened fire.....
0130L…3 miles west of Kourouratopo…
By the time it was over, the cruiser Leander had been damaged the most of all, having had an entire four-inch gun mount destroyed, along with the crew inside it. The destroyer Beale also took damage, and a few fires were burning. In return, the Japanese force of five destroyers and two fast transport ships was almost completely obliterated. One ship, the Hokaze exploded after taking a third volley of eight-inch shells from Portland. Two more ships, the Nokaze and Tachikaze, exploded and sunk after breaking off from the conflict. But, to the Japanese credit, they still landed almost 1000 combat troops and 10 guns on Kourouratopo. They would no doubt exact their revenge on the American engineers.
Except that the American engineers were no longer there.
And this is the situation at a small island known as Kourouratopo. Brave Japanese sailors and officers battled through heavy odds and almost certain death and landed troops on an island that two days ago, held some of Americas best engineers and construction equipment. As soon as the battle was over, seven destroyers were making their way to the beach to pick up the last of the Americans and leave the island in the hands of almost 1000 Japanese combat troops with 10 guns.
0310L…base operations building…briefing room…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The Condor was halfway into his third cup of coffee when Kinkaid’s action report was delivered to him.
…Signal Green…enemy forces ashore…three…repeat…three enemy vessels sunk…four…repeat…four enemy vessels burning out of control…enemy departing north by northwest…two..repeat…two friendly vessels sustained minor damage…returning to base…
He read the signal again, and lit up a cigar. He looked over at Admiral Pye, and then to a Navy lieutenant commander who was told to stand by the phone with a predetermined list of units to call. Looking at the aide, the Condor blew out the wooden match and moved the cigar to the corner of his mouth.
“Execute.”
0330L…Noumea harbor…
Lieutenant Colonel Carlson of the 2nd Marine Raider battalion was glad to be onboard. His battalion was dispersed among six fast transport destroyers. They had actually loaded the night before, and the transports were now steaming out of the protected waters. Within thirty-six hours, they would be at their destination…
0745L…240 miles NNW of Kourouratopo…
The Marine SBD and TBF pilots were already over the damaged Japanese task force. The pilots, however, were young, inexperienced, and hampered by the tendrils of black smoke that effectively shielded the ships from attack. Reluctantly, they turned back to base to try again later in the day. The ships weren’t in any kind of shape to escape.
0912L…20,000 feet over Lunga airbase…
The B17s had fought through the fighters, and dropped their bombs on the base. Minor damage was noted – nothing that even the Japanese couldn’t easily fix. The Japanese, however, did accomplish something very important. As the bombers turned to leave, a Zero got onto the tail of a B-17 in the trail position. The tailgunner’s machineguns had jammed, and the Zero started to shred the rudder and control surfaces of the tailplane. Within a minute, the B-17 was trailing smoke, and started a shallow dive from which it would not recover. The Japanese had finally shot down a B-17…
1307L…240 miles NNW of Kourouratopo…
Once again, the Maring attack aircraft orbited the stricken ships, looking for an opening in the smoke and haze to pick out a target. Some SBDs dropped bombs blindly, trying to anticipate where the ships would be. One plane did score a hit, however. A TBF pilot was able to line up on the destroyer Hakaze and a 22 inch torpedo exploded into what was left of the hull of the ship. The ship broke in half and slipped beneath the waves.
2000L…base operations building…briefing room…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The operation had been almost textbook in its success. Landing engineers on an island, and then pulling them out just as the enemy arrived to attack them. The ambush at Kourouratopo couldn’t have been better executed. And now, every A-20 and B-26 in range was lining up on the enemy ground force at Kourouratopo. The enemy ships were limping away, but already six submarines were closing on them from the north and west. The Marine pilots would add their attacks onto the enemy ground troops if the ships got out of range.
To finish off the operation, 48 C-47 transport aircraft would fly over the island at approximately 6000 feet, dropping the 1st Parachute Battalion who would mop up what was hoped to be a surprised, bewildered, and shellshocked enemy.
The Admiral nodded a bit and announced to all he was retiring for the evening, but he wanted the logistics requirements for Operation Kangaroo on his desk by 8am.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/10/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kourouratopo at 52,48
Japanese Ships
DD Hagikaze, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hakaze, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hokaze, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
DD Tachikaze, Shell hits 22, on fire, heavy damage
DD Nokaze, Shell hits 17, on fire, heavy damage
APD 31, Shell hits 2
APD 39, Shell hits 5, on fire
Allied Ships
BB South Dakota, Shell hits 1
CA Portland, Shell hits 1
CA Northampton
CL Leander, Shell hits 1
CLAA San Diego
DD Beale, Shell hits 1
DD Bache
DD Aaron Ward
DD Laffey
DD Buchanan
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 655
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 22
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 1 damaged
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Lunga , at 38,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 8
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 2 damaged
Runway hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 20000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 50,46
Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 25
TBF Avenger x 13
P-38G Lightning x 3
Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless x 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Hagikaze, on fire, heavy damage
APD 39, on fire
DD Hakaze, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Kourouratopo: Aftermath
11 Dec 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy
2000L…base operations building…briefing room…Noumea, New Caledonia…
Condor sat back and read the prepared summary report for the day.
Operations briefing – 11 Dec 42
1. Bombing missions against Port Moresby are improving unit effectiveness as they gain experience. Inclusion of P-38G Lightning fighter support with Hudson and Liberator bomb squadrons results in two (2) enemy fighter kills. Port damage to base estimated at negligible. Anticipate enemy basing of AA unit or possibly fighters within one (1) week.
2. Bombing missions against Lunga are taking a small toll on enemy fighters as a result of air-to-air losses against the B-17s. One (1) fighter shot down today – no damage to base reported. B-17s are starting to be lost due to combination of air-to-air damage and length of return flight. Three (3) Fortresses lost today. Recommend cessation of nuisance strikes against Lunga.
3. Enemy ground forces at Kourouratopo bombed by SBD, B-26 and A-20 aircraft from LV and EPV. Intelligence confirms the remnants of two (2) enemy “naval garrison units” were landed during the enemy fast transport operation. Estimate less than 700 enemy combat personnel on the ground. Paramarine insertion successful, and enemy shock attack neutralized. Estimate sixty (60) enemy KIA during attack. Major Miller reports he will attack the remaining ground forces tomorrow. Anticipate 75% probability of eliminating enemy ground forces.
4. Enemy surface forces attacked and damaged have not been intercepted by submarines in area. Due to damage sustained by the ships, recommend submarines abandon chase and resume normal patrols.
5. Base construction at Gavigamana is complete. Base considered self-sufficient for fighter cover.
6. All Mahan class destroyers returned to Pearl Harbor for rest and refit.
7. Weather forecast for 13 Dec 42 include thunderstorms throughout the operations area.
Condor initialed off on the summary and put it with the approval of Operation Kangaroo. It was about time to get the P-39s back into the war…
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/11/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 15
Allied aircraft
PBY Catalina x 3
Hudson x 10
P-38G Lightning x 24
B-24D Liberator x 10
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
Hudson x 1 damaged
Port hits 2
Port supply hits 2
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
7 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
10 x Hudson at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Lunga , at 38,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 10
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 4 damaged
Runway hits 4
Attacking Level Bombers:
7 x B-17E Fortress at 20000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 25th Naval Garrison Unit, at 52,48
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 16
B-26B Marauder x 9
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 22
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 25th Naval Garrison Unit, at 52,48
Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 33
A-20B Havoc x 13
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 55
Guns lost 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
6 x A-20B Havoc at 6000 feet
9 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
11 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
7 x A-20B Havoc at 6000 feet
1 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
12 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 26th Naval Garrison Unit, at 52,48
Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 76
P-38G Lightning x 13
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Kourouratopo
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 674 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 1263 troops, 12 guns, 1 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 66
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Partly Cloudy
2000L…base operations building…briefing room…Noumea, New Caledonia…
Condor sat back and read the prepared summary report for the day.
Operations briefing – 11 Dec 42
1. Bombing missions against Port Moresby are improving unit effectiveness as they gain experience. Inclusion of P-38G Lightning fighter support with Hudson and Liberator bomb squadrons results in two (2) enemy fighter kills. Port damage to base estimated at negligible. Anticipate enemy basing of AA unit or possibly fighters within one (1) week.
2. Bombing missions against Lunga are taking a small toll on enemy fighters as a result of air-to-air losses against the B-17s. One (1) fighter shot down today – no damage to base reported. B-17s are starting to be lost due to combination of air-to-air damage and length of return flight. Three (3) Fortresses lost today. Recommend cessation of nuisance strikes against Lunga.
3. Enemy ground forces at Kourouratopo bombed by SBD, B-26 and A-20 aircraft from LV and EPV. Intelligence confirms the remnants of two (2) enemy “naval garrison units” were landed during the enemy fast transport operation. Estimate less than 700 enemy combat personnel on the ground. Paramarine insertion successful, and enemy shock attack neutralized. Estimate sixty (60) enemy KIA during attack. Major Miller reports he will attack the remaining ground forces tomorrow. Anticipate 75% probability of eliminating enemy ground forces.
4. Enemy surface forces attacked and damaged have not been intercepted by submarines in area. Due to damage sustained by the ships, recommend submarines abandon chase and resume normal patrols.
5. Base construction at Gavigamana is complete. Base considered self-sufficient for fighter cover.
6. All Mahan class destroyers returned to Pearl Harbor for rest and refit.
7. Weather forecast for 13 Dec 42 include thunderstorms throughout the operations area.
Condor initialed off on the summary and put it with the approval of Operation Kangaroo. It was about time to get the P-39s back into the war…
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/11/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 15
Allied aircraft
PBY Catalina x 3
Hudson x 10
P-38G Lightning x 24
B-24D Liberator x 10
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
Hudson x 1 damaged
Port hits 2
Port supply hits 2
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
7 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
10 x Hudson at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Lunga , at 38,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 10
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 4 damaged
Runway hits 4
Attacking Level Bombers:
7 x B-17E Fortress at 20000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 25th Naval Garrison Unit, at 52,48
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 16
B-26B Marauder x 9
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 22
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 25th Naval Garrison Unit, at 52,48
Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 33
A-20B Havoc x 13
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 55
Guns lost 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
6 x A-20B Havoc at 6000 feet
9 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
11 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
7 x A-20B Havoc at 6000 feet
1 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
12 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 26th Naval Garrison Unit, at 52,48
Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 76
P-38G Lightning x 13
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Kourouratopo
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 674 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 1263 troops, 12 guns, 1 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 66
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Cardale's Bluff
12 Dec 42
Thunderstorms
0441L…Kourouratopo Island…Staging Area Viceroy
Sgt. Cardale gathered third squad on the beach as the last of the destroyers were headed back out to sea. The company staff officers had already briefed the platoon leaders, and Cardale’s squad was the platoon’s heavy weapons attachment. The “heavy” weapons normally consisted of two 60mm mortars, one 82mm mortar as well as two .50-caliber machine gun teams. They were part of Able Company, of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion. On this trip, they traded the two 60mm mortars for two more .50-caliber machine guns. The squad kept the 82mm mortar and had brought 60 rounds for the gun – 15 smoke and 45 high explosive rounds. They had just landed in support of the 1st Paramarine battalion, who only yesterday, repulsed what amounted to a last, desperate suicide attack by the Japanese infantry troops who, ostensibly here to trap American civil engineers, but now found themselves trapped by two elite combat units. Major Miller, in charge of the paramarines was already reporting to Lieutenant Colonel Carlson, who would assume command of the operation. According to scuttlebutt (even this early in the morning), the bombing done by the Army and Navy planes had really worked the Japanese over. The attack launched yesterday was seen to be a move of desperation rather than tactical advantage. The Japanese were holed up in the center of the island, and the Marines would have been more than happy to leave them there, except the Allies may want to develop this place into a base after all.
So 20 minutes after landing, Cardale’s men had checked their equipment and headed inland. There was a bluff about half a mile in from the beach where the mortar would be set up. The machine guns would be set up and provide cover for what was to be a very short mop-up operation against a demoralized enemy. All the better, thought Cardale, as it began to rain yet again.
1212L…along Cardale’s Bluff…Kourouratopo
“…Viceroy three, this is Viceroy two-able…drop 10 and fire three HE for effect…”
The attack had started, but the Japanese had reformed and were putting up quite a credible defense for “trapped, demoralized troops.” Demoralized my arse, thought Cardale…
He was about to relay the message to the pit crew when he yelled out and fell behind a sandbag, a nickel-sized hole through his left arm. He instinctively rolled further away and clamped his teeth shut against the pain. A Japanese sniper had found the someone talking into a radio in his scope sight and that was that. Worst of all – the Japanese had their own mortars with them, and they were finding the range of third squad’s mortar and machine gun teams.
Up ahead, the first two squads of Able company were being pinned down, and cursing Cardale and the lazy bastards of the weapons squad when the recall order came through on the battalion radio network. The Japanese were not going to be as easy to eradicate here as originally thought. A medic had responded to the shouts of the weapons squad members, and had dumped a packet of sulfa into the ergeant's wound and field dressed it on the spot.
The story was the same on the other side of the encircled Japanese – resistance had increased significantly. Without relief, the Japanese would surely lose, but the Americans belatedly realized their piecemeal attacks were being repulsed.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/12/42
Weather: Thunderstorms
Ground combat at Kourouratopo
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 1203 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 626 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 38
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thunderstorms
0441L…Kourouratopo Island…Staging Area Viceroy
Sgt. Cardale gathered third squad on the beach as the last of the destroyers were headed back out to sea. The company staff officers had already briefed the platoon leaders, and Cardale’s squad was the platoon’s heavy weapons attachment. The “heavy” weapons normally consisted of two 60mm mortars, one 82mm mortar as well as two .50-caliber machine gun teams. They were part of Able Company, of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion. On this trip, they traded the two 60mm mortars for two more .50-caliber machine guns. The squad kept the 82mm mortar and had brought 60 rounds for the gun – 15 smoke and 45 high explosive rounds. They had just landed in support of the 1st Paramarine battalion, who only yesterday, repulsed what amounted to a last, desperate suicide attack by the Japanese infantry troops who, ostensibly here to trap American civil engineers, but now found themselves trapped by two elite combat units. Major Miller, in charge of the paramarines was already reporting to Lieutenant Colonel Carlson, who would assume command of the operation. According to scuttlebutt (even this early in the morning), the bombing done by the Army and Navy planes had really worked the Japanese over. The attack launched yesterday was seen to be a move of desperation rather than tactical advantage. The Japanese were holed up in the center of the island, and the Marines would have been more than happy to leave them there, except the Allies may want to develop this place into a base after all.
So 20 minutes after landing, Cardale’s men had checked their equipment and headed inland. There was a bluff about half a mile in from the beach where the mortar would be set up. The machine guns would be set up and provide cover for what was to be a very short mop-up operation against a demoralized enemy. All the better, thought Cardale, as it began to rain yet again.
1212L…along Cardale’s Bluff…Kourouratopo
“…Viceroy three, this is Viceroy two-able…drop 10 and fire three HE for effect…”
The attack had started, but the Japanese had reformed and were putting up quite a credible defense for “trapped, demoralized troops.” Demoralized my arse, thought Cardale…
He was about to relay the message to the pit crew when he yelled out and fell behind a sandbag, a nickel-sized hole through his left arm. He instinctively rolled further away and clamped his teeth shut against the pain. A Japanese sniper had found the someone talking into a radio in his scope sight and that was that. Worst of all – the Japanese had their own mortars with them, and they were finding the range of third squad’s mortar and machine gun teams.
Up ahead, the first two squads of Able company were being pinned down, and cursing Cardale and the lazy bastards of the weapons squad when the recall order came through on the battalion radio network. The Japanese were not going to be as easy to eradicate here as originally thought. A medic had responded to the shouts of the weapons squad members, and had dumped a packet of sulfa into the ergeant's wound and field dressed it on the spot.
The story was the same on the other side of the encircled Japanese – resistance had increased significantly. Without relief, the Japanese would surely lose, but the Americans belatedly realized their piecemeal attacks were being repulsed.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/12/42
Weather: Thunderstorms
Ground combat at Kourouratopo
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 1203 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 626 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 38
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Cardale's Bluff
13 Dec 42
Wx: Rain
1219L...base operations facility...Noumea, New Caledonia...
The operation at Kourouratopo had finally been a success. The combined weight of the Raider Batalion and the Paramarines eliminated the two Naval Garrison Units trapped on the island. Only one prisoner had been taken, and he was unconscious. As Condor, Admiral Pye, and two other staff officers were about to go to lunch, a naval ensign all of 22 years old came into the room with a message in his hand, and abruptly snapped to attention. Admiral Pye took the message and the ensign left the room. Pye read it, and handed it to the Condor. While Condor read it, Pye walked over to the Perspex plotting board. Condor handed it to an enlisted man who kept the plot up to date. The man read it and wrote in red 240 miles northwest of Nevea. Condor and Pye then left to eat and the other officers glanced at the plot board before following. As they focused on the area, they read two letters...
CV
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/13/42
Weather: Rain
Ground combat at Kourouratopo
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 2272 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 596 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 7 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 733
Guns lost 10
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 33
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Rain
1219L...base operations facility...Noumea, New Caledonia...
The operation at Kourouratopo had finally been a success. The combined weight of the Raider Batalion and the Paramarines eliminated the two Naval Garrison Units trapped on the island. Only one prisoner had been taken, and he was unconscious. As Condor, Admiral Pye, and two other staff officers were about to go to lunch, a naval ensign all of 22 years old came into the room with a message in his hand, and abruptly snapped to attention. Admiral Pye took the message and the ensign left the room. Pye read it, and handed it to the Condor. While Condor read it, Pye walked over to the Perspex plotting board. Condor handed it to an enlisted man who kept the plot up to date. The man read it and wrote in red 240 miles northwest of Nevea. Condor and Pye then left to eat and the other officers glanced at the plot board before following. As they focused on the area, they read two letters...
CV
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/13/42
Weather: Rain
Ground combat at Kourouratopo
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 2272 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 596 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 7 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 733
Guns lost 10
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 33
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Tailgunner
15 Dec 42
Wx: Clear
0812L…onboard B-17E “Silky”…6000 feet over Port Moresby…
Captain Harris was flying Silky in what was characteristically the most vulnerable position of the box formation – top tail. The Zeroes were learning that approaching the rear of the formation put them in range of fewer guns than any other approach. And approaching the top squadron from the “6’o clock level” position did put the in the sights of the twin .50-caliber machine guns in the tail, the other guns of the bomber couldn’t fire at the fighter. The odds were effectively even – the fighter pilot against the tail gunner. The tail gunner was better protected than the fighter pilot, but the fighter pilot had the initiative. The fighters were seen to be bobbing up and down while approaching the tails of the bombers, trying to throw off the aim without being in range of the other guns on the bombers. Since the Zero was a light, unarmored fighter whose main advantage was its ability to outturn any enemy fighter, it had to give that up to attack a large, slow target like a bomber. It wasn’t the best of options for the fighters, but it was the best they could manage.
Tailgunners were alone for most of the flight, their only link to the rest of the crew was a headset connected by two slim wires into a panel. It was a demanding job – not necessarily for its physical requirements, but for its mental drain on the men who were vulnerable by their isolation for the duration of missions – especially long ones.
Sergeant Anthony Micelli was such a man. Five foot four inches high, the native from New York was a natural for the position. B-17 crews generally kept to themselves after missions, but Micelli rarely was seen with anyone while on the ground. Usually, he would spend his time on the ground still inside the tail checking and rechecking his guns, ammunition lockers, fire extinguisher, oxygen and suit heater connections – so much so that Harris had actually had the psychiatrist at headquarters review the man’s file. All that changed, however, when Micelli was credited for two Zero kills in one day. That was over a month ago, when Silky and her crew joined the 63rd bomb squadron at Cairns, but Harris knew enough to accept the eccentricities of a man who could do his job so well.
And today, Harris, Micelli, the rest of Silky’s crew, and 52 other bombers were on the job. Their target was the docks at Port Moresby. Not the first time that they flew into New Guinea, but this was by far the largest commitment of bombers against the target. Along with the B-17s were a squadron of B-24 Liberators, and the slower two-engine Australian Hudsons. The Hudsons didn’t have the firepower of either the Liberators or the Fortresses, so they were in the lead position of the formation. The formation had 24 “little friends”; P-38G Lightning fighters flying escort. The fighters were the first over the target, and were intercepted by 16 of the new A6M3 Zeroes. In the ensuing dogfight, two Zeroes were shot down while one Lightning took damage. The Lightnings then banked away from the target as the bombers approached. All 53 bombers put bombs on target, and they too, turned away. The Zeroes did damage one of the Hudsons, but that was all as the planes began the long overwater trip back to Australia.
Micelli, in the tail, then called out over the intercom that Silky was being engaged by a lone Japanese fighter. Other bombers warned Harris of the fighter, but they couldn’t help defend the bomber. It was Micelli against the unseen enemy pilot who was making a last attempt at hurting the giant planes attacking his base and friends.
As the Zero closed the distance chasing the bomber, Micelli let out a burst of almost 3 seconds. He basically spray fired the area. Spray fire wasn’t encouraged, since it wasted ammunition and increased the probability of a gun jamming. It did, however, get the attention of the fighter and sometimes chased it away. This time the pilot pressed in closer, firing as he did. Bullets actually struck the canopy surrounding the tailgunner and shot away pieces of the tailplane assembly. As the plane got closer, it was jinking less and Micelli, cursing the pilot in his best Flatbush accent, caught the fighter with a burst. The bullets struck the port wing of the fighter and it started to shear away from the fighter under the torque of driving through the air at high speed. Within seconds, a portion of the wing actually split off, and the fighter began to cartwheel down to the surface of the water.
Micelli craned his neck to watch the fighter for as long as he could. As he watched, his attention was caught by a larger aircraft, also smoking and spinning into the sea. The damaged Hudson had caught fire and trying to stay aloft, but it was fighting a losing battle. Micelli actually saw the plane hit the water, marked where the smoke trailed into the sea. He called the event into his intercom and then began to recheck his guns. When they landed, and after they had been debriefed, Micelli would be back in the tail of Silky, going over everything again for the thousandth time…
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/15/42
Weather: Clear
Sub attack at 41,38
Japanese Ships
DD Hagikaze, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS S-43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 16
Allied aircraft
Hudson x 8
P-38G Lightning x 24
B-17E Fortress x 36
B-24D Liberator x 9
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 3 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
Hudson x 1 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 1 damaged
B-17E Fortress x 1 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 26
Port hits 8
Port supply hits 4
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
8 x Hudson at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
10 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Clear
0812L…onboard B-17E “Silky”…6000 feet over Port Moresby…
Captain Harris was flying Silky in what was characteristically the most vulnerable position of the box formation – top tail. The Zeroes were learning that approaching the rear of the formation put them in range of fewer guns than any other approach. And approaching the top squadron from the “6’o clock level” position did put the in the sights of the twin .50-caliber machine guns in the tail, the other guns of the bomber couldn’t fire at the fighter. The odds were effectively even – the fighter pilot against the tail gunner. The tail gunner was better protected than the fighter pilot, but the fighter pilot had the initiative. The fighters were seen to be bobbing up and down while approaching the tails of the bombers, trying to throw off the aim without being in range of the other guns on the bombers. Since the Zero was a light, unarmored fighter whose main advantage was its ability to outturn any enemy fighter, it had to give that up to attack a large, slow target like a bomber. It wasn’t the best of options for the fighters, but it was the best they could manage.
Tailgunners were alone for most of the flight, their only link to the rest of the crew was a headset connected by two slim wires into a panel. It was a demanding job – not necessarily for its physical requirements, but for its mental drain on the men who were vulnerable by their isolation for the duration of missions – especially long ones.
Sergeant Anthony Micelli was such a man. Five foot four inches high, the native from New York was a natural for the position. B-17 crews generally kept to themselves after missions, but Micelli rarely was seen with anyone while on the ground. Usually, he would spend his time on the ground still inside the tail checking and rechecking his guns, ammunition lockers, fire extinguisher, oxygen and suit heater connections – so much so that Harris had actually had the psychiatrist at headquarters review the man’s file. All that changed, however, when Micelli was credited for two Zero kills in one day. That was over a month ago, when Silky and her crew joined the 63rd bomb squadron at Cairns, but Harris knew enough to accept the eccentricities of a man who could do his job so well.
And today, Harris, Micelli, the rest of Silky’s crew, and 52 other bombers were on the job. Their target was the docks at Port Moresby. Not the first time that they flew into New Guinea, but this was by far the largest commitment of bombers against the target. Along with the B-17s were a squadron of B-24 Liberators, and the slower two-engine Australian Hudsons. The Hudsons didn’t have the firepower of either the Liberators or the Fortresses, so they were in the lead position of the formation. The formation had 24 “little friends”; P-38G Lightning fighters flying escort. The fighters were the first over the target, and were intercepted by 16 of the new A6M3 Zeroes. In the ensuing dogfight, two Zeroes were shot down while one Lightning took damage. The Lightnings then banked away from the target as the bombers approached. All 53 bombers put bombs on target, and they too, turned away. The Zeroes did damage one of the Hudsons, but that was all as the planes began the long overwater trip back to Australia.
Micelli, in the tail, then called out over the intercom that Silky was being engaged by a lone Japanese fighter. Other bombers warned Harris of the fighter, but they couldn’t help defend the bomber. It was Micelli against the unseen enemy pilot who was making a last attempt at hurting the giant planes attacking his base and friends.
As the Zero closed the distance chasing the bomber, Micelli let out a burst of almost 3 seconds. He basically spray fired the area. Spray fire wasn’t encouraged, since it wasted ammunition and increased the probability of a gun jamming. It did, however, get the attention of the fighter and sometimes chased it away. This time the pilot pressed in closer, firing as he did. Bullets actually struck the canopy surrounding the tailgunner and shot away pieces of the tailplane assembly. As the plane got closer, it was jinking less and Micelli, cursing the pilot in his best Flatbush accent, caught the fighter with a burst. The bullets struck the port wing of the fighter and it started to shear away from the fighter under the torque of driving through the air at high speed. Within seconds, a portion of the wing actually split off, and the fighter began to cartwheel down to the surface of the water.
Micelli craned his neck to watch the fighter for as long as he could. As he watched, his attention was caught by a larger aircraft, also smoking and spinning into the sea. The damaged Hudson had caught fire and trying to stay aloft, but it was fighting a losing battle. Micelli actually saw the plane hit the water, marked where the smoke trailed into the sea. He called the event into his intercom and then began to recheck his guns. When they landed, and after they had been debriefed, Micelli would be back in the tail of Silky, going over everything again for the thousandth time…
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/15/42
Weather: Clear
Sub attack at 41,38
Japanese Ships
DD Hagikaze, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS S-43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 16
Allied aircraft
Hudson x 8
P-38G Lightning x 24
B-17E Fortress x 36
B-24D Liberator x 9
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 3 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
Hudson x 1 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 1 damaged
B-17E Fortress x 1 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 26
Port hits 8
Port supply hits 4
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
8 x Hudson at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
10 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Operation Shimmer
17 Dec 42
Wx: Thunderstorms
0630L…Command Staff Billet Area…Noumea, New Caledonia…
Colonel Edson still wasn’t sure why he was here. As commanding officer of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, he was not in a good mood. First, the operation to rid Kourouratopo went to that glory-hound Carlson who, along with his 2nd Marine Raiders, were still in Noumea. An extra day’s sailing, when he and his men could have relieved the paramarines within 12 hours. Now, summoned back to Noumea, he was to “review tactical operation doctrine” for Raider unit employment. Which was a load of horse-dung. He knew it was simply a cover. He didn’t actually know what he was doing back here, but it had to be one of two possibilities. He was getting some kind of special-operatoins assignment, or he was going to be relieved of command. He doubted the latter was true, as his unit hadn’t actually been ordered to do anything he might have screwed up on. He would find out, however, in about an hour – when he was scheduled to appear at base operations and “review tactical operation doctrine.”
At 0712, a knock on the door announced that his driver was ready to take him to the meeting. After returning the salute, he got into the jeep and the ride began.
Edson had been to the operations building a few months ago, and was surprised when the driver made an unfamiliar turn.
“Isn’t operations that way, son?”
The driver never took his eyes off of the road. “Yes sir,” came the reply over the sound of the engine. “But we aren’t going there, sir.”
Edson had just about enough of this cloak and dagger business when the jeep stopped at the edge of the flight operations area. On the tarmac, a C-47 was parked, engines running. At the wingtip of the plane, Edson saw two MPs, two civilians, and Lieutenant Colonel Carlson; and groaned inwardly.
“Oh, crap…”
2200L…Combined Operations Intelligence Center…Townsville, Australia…
Major Kellog looked one last time at the weather reports for the Gili Gili area. Storms would hamper their efforts, but his twelve aircraft would be flying from Australia in 20-minute intervals. He would be first, of course. If the weather would allow them, they should have a better picture of what was going on in New Guinea.
18 Dec 42
Wx: Thunderstorms
0600L...Townsville COIC...
His name was Stephen Laidlaw Byrne, Captain, United States Army. The US Army uniform even seemed too big for him, and it had been somewhat of a misnomer for combat soldiers who saw him to refer to him as "sir" - regardless of the captain's bars on his shoulders. The man was a collection of mistakes - barely five foot tall, one hundred and ten pounds soaking wet, and wearing glasses so thick that they were probably bulletproof. He never went anywhere without a military police escort - not that he ever went anywhere. He would be in his office in the bowels of the hill the COIC was built into for days at a time.
Today, he was hunched over the latest roll of film from a place called Gili Gili. He didn't know where it was - somewhere in New Guinea he was told once. His sole interest was the pieces of information he could glean from the pictures under his lighted magnifying glass mounted to the desk. His eyes never left the photo as he made notations onto a blank sheet of paper. He worked alone, although on more than one occasion he was assigned an "assistant" - who usually was ignored by Byrne. It wasn't really Bryne's fault, his entire world had been focused on 8x11 glossy prints and the secrets he could tease from them. The rest of the world simply didn't exist for him.
Byrne finished the roll of pictures, and began to translate his notations into something resembling a report. He opened the handle to the room and stepped outside. The Military Police corporal escorted him to the duty office, where the captain signed over his report. The two men then went back to Byrne's "quarters" - an alcove within the Center, and took up his post outside the doorway, waiting for his relief. He smirked when he pictured little Captain Byrne inside a glass case with the words BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF PHOTOGRAPHS painted on the glass. He didn't dislike the captain. It's just that he didn't seem...well.... real.
Meanwhile, the analyst's report was coded, and transmitted to Brisbane and Noumea, and relayed to Pearl Harbor:
dtg18Dec420655L
msg follows
NOU BRI OPA de TVL
shimmer one golf golf
estimate one battalion strength infantry unit 5000 men 60 guns
estimate one headquarter unit 500 men
estimate one antiaircraft unit 500 men 24 guns
estimate one base force unit 700 men
probablity estimate 80 percent
msg ends
Wx: Thunderstorms
0630L…Command Staff Billet Area…Noumea, New Caledonia…
Colonel Edson still wasn’t sure why he was here. As commanding officer of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, he was not in a good mood. First, the operation to rid Kourouratopo went to that glory-hound Carlson who, along with his 2nd Marine Raiders, were still in Noumea. An extra day’s sailing, when he and his men could have relieved the paramarines within 12 hours. Now, summoned back to Noumea, he was to “review tactical operation doctrine” for Raider unit employment. Which was a load of horse-dung. He knew it was simply a cover. He didn’t actually know what he was doing back here, but it had to be one of two possibilities. He was getting some kind of special-operatoins assignment, or he was going to be relieved of command. He doubted the latter was true, as his unit hadn’t actually been ordered to do anything he might have screwed up on. He would find out, however, in about an hour – when he was scheduled to appear at base operations and “review tactical operation doctrine.”
At 0712, a knock on the door announced that his driver was ready to take him to the meeting. After returning the salute, he got into the jeep and the ride began.
Edson had been to the operations building a few months ago, and was surprised when the driver made an unfamiliar turn.
“Isn’t operations that way, son?”
The driver never took his eyes off of the road. “Yes sir,” came the reply over the sound of the engine. “But we aren’t going there, sir.”
Edson had just about enough of this cloak and dagger business when the jeep stopped at the edge of the flight operations area. On the tarmac, a C-47 was parked, engines running. At the wingtip of the plane, Edson saw two MPs, two civilians, and Lieutenant Colonel Carlson; and groaned inwardly.
“Oh, crap…”
2200L…Combined Operations Intelligence Center…Townsville, Australia…
Major Kellog looked one last time at the weather reports for the Gili Gili area. Storms would hamper their efforts, but his twelve aircraft would be flying from Australia in 20-minute intervals. He would be first, of course. If the weather would allow them, they should have a better picture of what was going on in New Guinea.
18 Dec 42
Wx: Thunderstorms
0600L...Townsville COIC...
His name was Stephen Laidlaw Byrne, Captain, United States Army. The US Army uniform even seemed too big for him, and it had been somewhat of a misnomer for combat soldiers who saw him to refer to him as "sir" - regardless of the captain's bars on his shoulders. The man was a collection of mistakes - barely five foot tall, one hundred and ten pounds soaking wet, and wearing glasses so thick that they were probably bulletproof. He never went anywhere without a military police escort - not that he ever went anywhere. He would be in his office in the bowels of the hill the COIC was built into for days at a time.
Today, he was hunched over the latest roll of film from a place called Gili Gili. He didn't know where it was - somewhere in New Guinea he was told once. His sole interest was the pieces of information he could glean from the pictures under his lighted magnifying glass mounted to the desk. His eyes never left the photo as he made notations onto a blank sheet of paper. He worked alone, although on more than one occasion he was assigned an "assistant" - who usually was ignored by Byrne. It wasn't really Bryne's fault, his entire world had been focused on 8x11 glossy prints and the secrets he could tease from them. The rest of the world simply didn't exist for him.
Byrne finished the roll of pictures, and began to translate his notations into something resembling a report. He opened the handle to the room and stepped outside. The Military Police corporal escorted him to the duty office, where the captain signed over his report. The two men then went back to Byrne's "quarters" - an alcove within the Center, and took up his post outside the doorway, waiting for his relief. He smirked when he pictured little Captain Byrne inside a glass case with the words BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF PHOTOGRAPHS painted on the glass. He didn't dislike the captain. It's just that he didn't seem...well.... real.
Meanwhile, the analyst's report was coded, and transmitted to Brisbane and Noumea, and relayed to Pearl Harbor:
dtg18Dec420655L
msg follows
NOU BRI OPA de TVL
shimmer one golf golf
estimate one battalion strength infantry unit 5000 men 60 guns
estimate one headquarter unit 500 men
estimate one antiaircraft unit 500 men 24 guns
estimate one base force unit 700 men
probablity estimate 80 percent
msg ends
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Operation Shimmer
22 Dec 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy
0331L...at sea...onboard USS Silversides...
Seaman Jake Whittier was used to sleeping in confined spaces. But this was getting a bit ridiculous. Aboard a submarine, space is indeed at a premium, and the loading of extra cargo didn't sit too well with the young seaman, who was just now finding a comfortable spot on the floor of the forward torpedo to try and get some sleep. Worst of all, he was part of the gang that helped contribute to loading the boxes into the crew's sleeping area. All told, four other seamen were out of a home as well. They would get their space back when the cargo was off-loaded at who-knows-where, but for now, the men simply made do. The manifest had, of course, food and ammunition. Somewhere, a recon unit was being sent into enemy held territory. There were also a crate full of batteries as well as another complete radio set.
Whittier closed his eyes, and was drifting off to sleep finally when a foot stepped on his leg. His head jumped up, but his ears were immediately greeted with profuse apologies from the offender.
Cursing under his breath, Seaman Jake Whittier tried to curl himself into a ball and forget his current situation...
Wx: Partly Cloudy
0331L...at sea...onboard USS Silversides...
Seaman Jake Whittier was used to sleeping in confined spaces. But this was getting a bit ridiculous. Aboard a submarine, space is indeed at a premium, and the loading of extra cargo didn't sit too well with the young seaman, who was just now finding a comfortable spot on the floor of the forward torpedo to try and get some sleep. Worst of all, he was part of the gang that helped contribute to loading the boxes into the crew's sleeping area. All told, four other seamen were out of a home as well. They would get their space back when the cargo was off-loaded at who-knows-where, but for now, the men simply made do. The manifest had, of course, food and ammunition. Somewhere, a recon unit was being sent into enemy held territory. There were also a crate full of batteries as well as another complete radio set.
Whittier closed his eyes, and was drifting off to sleep finally when a foot stepped on his leg. His head jumped up, but his ears were immediately greeted with profuse apologies from the offender.
Cursing under his breath, Seaman Jake Whittier tried to curl himself into a ball and forget his current situation...
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Surprises
24 Dec 42
Wx: Overcast
0718L…6000 feet over Dobadura…onboard B-17E ‘Empress of the North’…
The plane droned on, oblivious to the chaos around it. It was part of the classic box formation driving off the fighters trying to defend their base. The Allies had found the main Japanese airbase through their reconnaissance aircraft, but the bomber pilots were wide-eyed in amazement when they confirmed that over 200 planes were on the ground before them. The enemy CAP charged furiously, and did inflict damage – some severe – on the huge four-engine bombers, but all twenty-seven aircraft made it through the air screen. Then, as if on a command, nearly every fighter vanished from the sky. The pilots were very concerned now, since the lack of fighters meant only one thing. Although the recon photos didn’t show them, the Japanese had anti-aircraft guns neatly camouflaged and they were about to open up onto the bombers. Flying this low, the bombers were literal sitting ducks, but they had already committed to the bombing run. “Empress of the North” was second to approach the target, right behind their squadron leader flying his beloved “Silky”. As “Silky” began to drop her bombs, the bombardier in “Empress” was ready to trigger his own bombs to fall when an anti-aircraft shell hit and exploded among the twelve five-hundred pound bombs lined up neatly on their racks. Within a microsecond, they also exploded and “Empress” disintegrated in a massive fireball. Other bombers in the formation sustained damage from the debris that was once a heavy bomber and ten human beings…
1800L…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia…
Condor inhaled the smoke he drew through the fat cigar. He was watching the young man briefing him on the day’s events.
“The base is estimated to be almost 50% damaged, sir. The pilots report many fires were burning along their flight line. The only surprise we had were the anti-aircraft guns. We lost a total of three heavy bombers today, sir. One was from the AA guns and two didn’t make the overwater flight and had to ditch in the Coral Sea. PBY pilots rescued one crew, but one crew is unaccounted for…”
Condor thought that one over. The presence of the AA guns at Dobadura was surprising. The photo interpretation didn’t show any, but they were there, just the same. He vocalized his next thought.
“Nobody ever accused the Japanese of being stupid.”
But the word was out. A major Japanese base had been located and attacked. Supposedly, Port Moresby hadn’t returned to full operations yet and now Dobadura was also badly damaged. The enemy would have their hands full getting New Guinea back in business.
2300L…intelligence office…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The Japanese, would, of course have both of their bases back in operation as soon as they could. The advisor had been waiting for a damage report on a major Japanese installation, and now he had one. His job was to review intelligence photographs, and see how long it would take the enemy to return their base to full operations after the strike…
2312L…onboard USS Amberjack…
The men were gathered on the deck and slipping rubber boats into the water. Faces painted black and green, they piled into the boats almost as soon as they hit the water. Amberjack had slipped undetected to within half a mile of its target before surfacing. She actually got within a quarter-mile before the Marines shoved off for the beach. As the men paddled – eight men to a boat, Amberjack quietly and very slowly backed away from the shore. Two minutes after the boats slipped away, she very quietly began to slip under the waves. The overcast sky and high tide were aligned almost perfectly. They would land the beach unobserved…
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/24/42
Weather: Overcast
Air attack on Dobadura , at 13,38
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
A6M3 Zero x 31
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 15
B-24D Liberator x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 5 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 7 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 1 destroyed
B-17E Fortress x 9 damaged
B-24D Liberator x 5 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 33
Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 33
Attacking Level Bombers:
2 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
12 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Overcast
0718L…6000 feet over Dobadura…onboard B-17E ‘Empress of the North’…
The plane droned on, oblivious to the chaos around it. It was part of the classic box formation driving off the fighters trying to defend their base. The Allies had found the main Japanese airbase through their reconnaissance aircraft, but the bomber pilots were wide-eyed in amazement when they confirmed that over 200 planes were on the ground before them. The enemy CAP charged furiously, and did inflict damage – some severe – on the huge four-engine bombers, but all twenty-seven aircraft made it through the air screen. Then, as if on a command, nearly every fighter vanished from the sky. The pilots were very concerned now, since the lack of fighters meant only one thing. Although the recon photos didn’t show them, the Japanese had anti-aircraft guns neatly camouflaged and they were about to open up onto the bombers. Flying this low, the bombers were literal sitting ducks, but they had already committed to the bombing run. “Empress of the North” was second to approach the target, right behind their squadron leader flying his beloved “Silky”. As “Silky” began to drop her bombs, the bombardier in “Empress” was ready to trigger his own bombs to fall when an anti-aircraft shell hit and exploded among the twelve five-hundred pound bombs lined up neatly on their racks. Within a microsecond, they also exploded and “Empress” disintegrated in a massive fireball. Other bombers in the formation sustained damage from the debris that was once a heavy bomber and ten human beings…
1800L…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia…
Condor inhaled the smoke he drew through the fat cigar. He was watching the young man briefing him on the day’s events.
“The base is estimated to be almost 50% damaged, sir. The pilots report many fires were burning along their flight line. The only surprise we had were the anti-aircraft guns. We lost a total of three heavy bombers today, sir. One was from the AA guns and two didn’t make the overwater flight and had to ditch in the Coral Sea. PBY pilots rescued one crew, but one crew is unaccounted for…”
Condor thought that one over. The presence of the AA guns at Dobadura was surprising. The photo interpretation didn’t show any, but they were there, just the same. He vocalized his next thought.
“Nobody ever accused the Japanese of being stupid.”
But the word was out. A major Japanese base had been located and attacked. Supposedly, Port Moresby hadn’t returned to full operations yet and now Dobadura was also badly damaged. The enemy would have their hands full getting New Guinea back in business.
2300L…intelligence office…base operations building…Noumea, New Caledonia…
The Japanese, would, of course have both of their bases back in operation as soon as they could. The advisor had been waiting for a damage report on a major Japanese installation, and now he had one. His job was to review intelligence photographs, and see how long it would take the enemy to return their base to full operations after the strike…
2312L…onboard USS Amberjack…
The men were gathered on the deck and slipping rubber boats into the water. Faces painted black and green, they piled into the boats almost as soon as they hit the water. Amberjack had slipped undetected to within half a mile of its target before surfacing. She actually got within a quarter-mile before the Marines shoved off for the beach. As the men paddled – eight men to a boat, Amberjack quietly and very slowly backed away from the shore. Two minutes after the boats slipped away, she very quietly began to slip under the waves. The overcast sky and high tide were aligned almost perfectly. They would land the beach unobserved…
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/24/42
Weather: Overcast
Air attack on Dobadura , at 13,38
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
A6M3 Zero x 31
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 15
B-24D Liberator x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 5 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 7 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 1 destroyed
B-17E Fortress x 9 damaged
B-24D Liberator x 5 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 33
Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 33
Attacking Level Bombers:
2 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
12 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Surprises
25 Dec 42
Wx: Rain
0211L...Beach Alpha-One...Irau...
Seaman Whittier had left Silversides behind him as he paddled to shore. Or rather, Silvesides had left him. Both he and the civilian coastwatcher who was returning to Irau were paddling for all they were worth. The civilian was to stay and report any enemy activity, but Whittier had been tasked to deliver the supplies Silversides carried and the sub would "return tomorrow to pick him up." Whittier distinctly remembered hearing the XO speak with the captain while the sub was surfaced about enemy carriers being spotted, and hoped his sub thought it more important to pick him up rather than chase after enemy carriers that were probably fishing trawlers anyway.
Somewhow, he doubted he would leave the island soon...
0800L...Station Cheyenne...Gavigamana airbase...
The radar operator had found the incoming planes. There were a lot of them, and the order to scramble was passed to the F4F-4 Wildcat pilots who had just made Gavigamana their home. It seemed the PBY search report of "carriers to the northwest" had been accurate.
0802L...gun pit one...Gavigamana airbase...
Sergeant Hickerson looked along the ridge where his M1A1 90mm anti-aircraft gun was positioned. His gun was flanked by two smaller 37mm guns. Each crew had a supply of ammunition on hand, and runners from ammunition crews were already headed back to the supply dump to get more. In the case of the 90mm gun, the shells weighed about 20lbs each and were fired one at a time. The 37mm gun fired ten round clips of ammunition before having to be reloaded. Both were formidible weapons, but there was a slight problem. Their presence was the only AA defense. The rest of their unit was still en route to Gavigamana. Worse than that was the lack of ammunition. The 37 mm guns had to split twenty clips between them, and the 90mm gun had only about a dozen shells it could fire. Still, Hickerson thought, it was better than nothing...
0804L...radio shack...Luganville airbase...
The Army corporal copied the message, and handed it to his lieutenant. Moments later, the lieutenant had base operations on the phone, and a message had been relayed to Noumea. The Japanese were attacking the new base at Gavigamana, and were using their carriers to do so...
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/25/42
Weather: Rain
Air attack on Gavigamana , at 51,47
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 28
A6M3 Zero x 13
D3A Val x 47
B5N Kate x 41
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 24
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
D3A Val x 1 destroyed
D3A Val x 2 damaged
B5N Kate x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 7 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 5 damaged
PBY Catalina x 1 destroyed
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 57
Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 36
Attacking Level Bombers:
11 x B5N Kate at 20000 feet
12 x B5N Kate at 20000 feet
18 x B5N Kate at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Rain
0211L...Beach Alpha-One...Irau...
Seaman Whittier had left Silversides behind him as he paddled to shore. Or rather, Silvesides had left him. Both he and the civilian coastwatcher who was returning to Irau were paddling for all they were worth. The civilian was to stay and report any enemy activity, but Whittier had been tasked to deliver the supplies Silversides carried and the sub would "return tomorrow to pick him up." Whittier distinctly remembered hearing the XO speak with the captain while the sub was surfaced about enemy carriers being spotted, and hoped his sub thought it more important to pick him up rather than chase after enemy carriers that were probably fishing trawlers anyway.
Somewhow, he doubted he would leave the island soon...
0800L...Station Cheyenne...Gavigamana airbase...
The radar operator had found the incoming planes. There were a lot of them, and the order to scramble was passed to the F4F-4 Wildcat pilots who had just made Gavigamana their home. It seemed the PBY search report of "carriers to the northwest" had been accurate.
0802L...gun pit one...Gavigamana airbase...
Sergeant Hickerson looked along the ridge where his M1A1 90mm anti-aircraft gun was positioned. His gun was flanked by two smaller 37mm guns. Each crew had a supply of ammunition on hand, and runners from ammunition crews were already headed back to the supply dump to get more. In the case of the 90mm gun, the shells weighed about 20lbs each and were fired one at a time. The 37mm gun fired ten round clips of ammunition before having to be reloaded. Both were formidible weapons, but there was a slight problem. Their presence was the only AA defense. The rest of their unit was still en route to Gavigamana. Worse than that was the lack of ammunition. The 37 mm guns had to split twenty clips between them, and the 90mm gun had only about a dozen shells it could fire. Still, Hickerson thought, it was better than nothing...
0804L...radio shack...Luganville airbase...
The Army corporal copied the message, and handed it to his lieutenant. Moments later, the lieutenant had base operations on the phone, and a message had been relayed to Noumea. The Japanese were attacking the new base at Gavigamana, and were using their carriers to do so...
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/25/42
Weather: Rain
Air attack on Gavigamana , at 51,47
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 28
A6M3 Zero x 13
D3A Val x 47
B5N Kate x 41
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 24
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
D3A Val x 1 destroyed
D3A Val x 2 damaged
B5N Kate x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 7 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 5 damaged
PBY Catalina x 1 destroyed
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 57
Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 36
Attacking Level Bombers:
11 x B5N Kate at 20000 feet
12 x B5N Kate at 20000 feet
18 x B5N Kate at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Interruptions
26 Dec 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy
0911L…Beach Alpha One…Irau…
Seaman Whittier was having a smoke. He was leaning against the trunk of a palm tree. The Marines were busy distributing the supplies he had brought onto the island. Whittier was looking forward to a day in the fresh air. Initially, the prospect of a day ashore was unnerving – alone and without protection – but it wasn’t going to be all that bad. At least he could get a decent nap in before the sub would return.
Whittier was going to do just that. Taking a final drag on his butt, he flicked it towards a crab on the sand. He watched it land about an inch from the crab, and it dashed away from the intrusion. Whittier grinned, pleased with his marksmanship. “Stupid crab,” he thought.
Whittier stood up and started to head towards the Marines to help them when the planes appeared from the other side of the island. Bullets and bombs tore up the beach and men. Whittier was frozen with fear when the concussion of a bomb blast knocked him off of his feet and he landed face first into the sand. He heard himself screaming and his body acknowledged a very sharp pain in his back. He still had the sensation of falling for a very long time.
Ten agonizing minutes later, it was over. Most of the Marine recon team was dead, as was the Australian civilian who was to operate the radio station when the soldiers left. Those that remained took note of Japanese ships approaching the beach. They knew the sub would be back that night and hoped they could evade the enemy long enough to be recovered.
After the surviving Marines made their way into the treeline, a silence pervaded the beach where bodies and equipment were strewn. Next to a body in a sailor’s uniform, a small crab emerged from the sand and continued on its way…
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/26/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on 1st Marine Raider Battalion, at 42,43
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 39
A6M3 Zero x 16
D3A Val x 58
B5N Kate x 45
no losses
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 60
Attacking Level Bombers:
20 x B5N Kate at 10000 feet
12 x B5N Kate at 10000 feet
13 x B5N Kate at 10000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 21
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 7 damaged
Japanese Ships
AP Tarushima Maru
AP Shoho Maru, Shell hits 4
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 100 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 100 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Irau
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 14 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Allied forces CAPTURE Irau base !!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wx: Partly Cloudy
0911L…Beach Alpha One…Irau…
Seaman Whittier was having a smoke. He was leaning against the trunk of a palm tree. The Marines were busy distributing the supplies he had brought onto the island. Whittier was looking forward to a day in the fresh air. Initially, the prospect of a day ashore was unnerving – alone and without protection – but it wasn’t going to be all that bad. At least he could get a decent nap in before the sub would return.
Whittier was going to do just that. Taking a final drag on his butt, he flicked it towards a crab on the sand. He watched it land about an inch from the crab, and it dashed away from the intrusion. Whittier grinned, pleased with his marksmanship. “Stupid crab,” he thought.
Whittier stood up and started to head towards the Marines to help them when the planes appeared from the other side of the island. Bullets and bombs tore up the beach and men. Whittier was frozen with fear when the concussion of a bomb blast knocked him off of his feet and he landed face first into the sand. He heard himself screaming and his body acknowledged a very sharp pain in his back. He still had the sensation of falling for a very long time.
Ten agonizing minutes later, it was over. Most of the Marine recon team was dead, as was the Australian civilian who was to operate the radio station when the soldiers left. Those that remained took note of Japanese ships approaching the beach. They knew the sub would be back that night and hoped they could evade the enemy long enough to be recovered.
After the surviving Marines made their way into the treeline, a silence pervaded the beach where bodies and equipment were strewn. Next to a body in a sailor’s uniform, a small crab emerged from the sand and continued on its way…
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/26/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on 1st Marine Raider Battalion, at 42,43
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 39
A6M3 Zero x 16
D3A Val x 58
B5N Kate x 45
no losses
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 60
Attacking Level Bombers:
20 x B5N Kate at 10000 feet
12 x B5N Kate at 10000 feet
13 x B5N Kate at 10000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 21
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 7 damaged
Japanese Ships
AP Tarushima Maru
AP Shoho Maru, Shell hits 4
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 100 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 100 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Irau
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 14 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Allied forces CAPTURE Irau base !!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
-
Shadow of the Condor
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:11 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
RE: Interruptions
1 Jan 43
(HAPPY NEW YEAR!!)
Article excerpt from the Chicago American newspaper...
Turning our attentions to the war with Japan, the battle for the South Pacific seems to have stabilized, with the enemy reportedly consolidating his gains and preparing for a counterstroke from the Allied forces in the region. New Allied equipment is being delivered to the area from factories here at home, and improvenemts in scientific technology bode well for the promise of better equipment still to come. The enemy will, however, be tough to dig out of their holes, and the campaign to reclaim the South Pacific for the peace-loving peoples in the region appears to be just getting started.
(HAPPY NEW YEAR!!)
Article excerpt from the Chicago American newspaper...
Turning our attentions to the war with Japan, the battle for the South Pacific seems to have stabilized, with the enemy reportedly consolidating his gains and preparing for a counterstroke from the Allied forces in the region. New Allied equipment is being delivered to the area from factories here at home, and improvenemts in scientific technology bode well for the promise of better equipment still to come. The enemy will, however, be tough to dig out of their holes, and the campaign to reclaim the South Pacific for the peace-loving peoples in the region appears to be just getting started.
"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"