Tristanjohn vs ChezDaJez: Lemur's Scen 15

[Tristanjohn]

One squadron of heavy bombers in yesterday's raid was detailed to attack any Japanese shipping which they might find in the Rabaul area.

[Tristanjohn]

They did not come away empty-handed.

[Tristanjohn]

"Actually, that same bomber squadron went out in the afternoon and bagged another Jap," said the 5th Air Force spokesman. "This time our boys were scouting up to the north of Rabaul in the Bismarck Archipelago, and found their prey near a small outcrop called New Hanover, just off the western tip of New Ireland Island. Did real good for themselves, too. Lit up a troop transport this time!"

[Tristanjohn]

When asked if that was a confirmed sinking, the official said, "No, but from the report I read they hit her with at least three bombs and left her adrift and on fire. She's a goner all right."

[ChezDaJez]

6/1/1942 Imperial Navy Headquarters, Tokyo

The Americans returned to Rabaul today with another large strike of 123 B-17s. They were not expecting any opposition and were sadly mistaken.

Yamamato, anticipating the American switch to daylight bombing, had ordered reinforcements in the form of an additional 6 AA units along with other military forces to join the considerable number of brave Japanese soldiers already in place. The ships carrying these units were in the process of offloading when the first daytime airstrike occured. Some ships have been damaged but they bravely completed their task before limping away.

Yamamto also ordered additional fighter units to the area. These units, consisting of the most highly qualified fighter pilots in the Empire, have just arrived. The pilots are said to be rejoicing after having sat out the war so far in the home islands and are eager to face the American B-17s.

Chez

[Tristanjohn]

1 June 1942

In the aftermath of yesterday's raid on Rabaul harbor, an official said that according to Intelligence the Japanese patrol craft Hachijo was sunk. "Well, whatever it was it's blown to smithereens now," said the source at headquarters. "We're guessing it was one of their patrol vessels, but to be truthful, and considering the godawful shape it was in when we did the flyover, it might have been just about anything."

[Tristanjohn]

Koepang on Timor Island received more attention from the bombers based on Derby, yesterday. An official said the installations at this enemy base are completely closed, but continuous attacks are nevertheless scheduled in the foreseeable future. "It's been decided to use this base as a kind of static target," he said. "And then one never knows when the enemy might try to slink back in there and open shop again. In this case we just feel it's best to err on the side of caution."

[Tristanjohn]

Another large raid by the 5th Air Force struck hard at the port and airfields of Rabaul, yesterday, and claimed two more enemy transports had been hit. Details were scarce, though a spokesman at headquarters did remark, "We ran into a stiffer enemy CAP today than we did the day before. But our planes still got through and did a a job."

[Tristanjohn]

"We're quite pleased so far with the results this offensive has produced," said the 5th Air Force liaison officer. "Viewed strategically, Rabaul is pretty much a dead end for the enemy, and every unit he continues to reinforce that base with is, from our point of view, just one more Japper in the bag. In the meantime, for us the shipping losses he will inevitably continue to suffer in the course of this exercise is so much icing on the cake."

[Tristanjohn]

2 June 1942

The Papuan port of Lae was hit yesterday by mixed flights of bombers flown out of Port Moresby.

[Tristanjohn]

According to 5th Air Force reports, the attack was moderately successful, and was described as a logical follow-through to the overall air campaign to isolate and reduce the Japanese primary base in the region at Rabaul.

[Tristanjohn]

Military authorities in Townsville said yesterday that Japanese troop transport Kyuden Maru sank about 100 miles northeast of Emirau, a small island in the St. Matthias Group.

[Tristanjohn]

3 June 1942

Military authorities at Darwin confirmed that four British destroyers were involved in a naval action yesterday evening inside the harbor at Amboina Island. The enemy suffered the loss of freighter Toyooka Maru.

[Tristanjohn]

"Unfortunately, three of our ships involved in that raid, His Majesty's destroyers Hotspur, Nizzam and Parkenham, were lost afterward when they were attacked by enemy bombers about 150 miles south of Amboina," a naval spokesman said. When queried for further details, the official said "I'm sorry, but I can't say any more on that just now."

[Tristanjohn]

Heavy bombers out of Port Moresby continued their air blockade of the region, attacking and hitting at least one Japanese auxiliary vessel in the Solomon Islands.

[ChezDaJez]

State of the War from the Japanese Perspective:

The date is now 6/3/1942. The last two months have seen a clear shift in strategy from offensive to defensive operations once it became clear that the IJ air forces were losing air superiority over their targets. The loss of air superiority over Akyab and New Guinea areas is primarily due to the rapidly increasing strength the Allies are now benefitting from. Aircraft pools are increasing every day but the drain of trained pilots necessitated the scaling back of operations. It takes a minimum of 30 days to increase the training of a squadron to where they have a chance of surviving the combat and another month or two before they are fully combat ready.

Japan instituted a policy of rotating low quality land based squadrons back to the home islands about 3 months ago and this decision is now beginning to pay off as several squadrons are available to supplement front line units. There is a price however and that means reducing frontline strength in areas that have seen little action recently. However, these air units are available for surge operations if necessary.

KB has continued its policy of intense training and now boasts several squadrons above 90 experience with the rest being around 85. KB upgrades to the A6M3 is now complete. The A6M3 is a faster, more manueverable version of the A6M2 however it does have less range, which is not considered an impediment to carrier operations as the A6M3 still has the range to escort its attack groups on all missions.

The Japanese Navy is at full strength and upgrades of major units are occurring as scheduled. Fewer than 10 naval ships, excepting submarines, are in port for any type of repair with only 1 CL still having more than 50 pts of damage. The Japanese submarine force has been hard hit with at least 19 having been sunk and many more having over 30 sys damage on arrival in port. In one notable voyage, the I-156 made it back to port with 92 sys damage and 79 flot damage after a severe depth charging. Several merchant hulls are undergoing intensive repair. At last report, more than 30 AKs and APs were in various ports repairing damage.

The majority of Japanese land forces are once again at full TO&E. Only those units currently engaged are somewhat below strength. Japanese medical precautions have greatly reduced the impact of malaria for those units serving in malaria prone zones. So far, it has only had a moderate affect on fatigue and disruption recovery.

Production has run at full bore until recently. IJHQ has had to scale back production due to the high stock levels of replacement pools. This has resulted in a huge surplus of supplies. It is now estimated that Japan has supply reserves in the home islands totaling nearly twice what the country had when the Americans treacherously forced Japan to attack. This does not include the supply currently with frontline units. Fuel reserves now equal more than 4 million tons spread throughout the far reaches of the Pacific. Tojo estimates that were supply and fuel production to be totally lost, Japan has enough to last for 2 years. He indicated the single biggest problem with supply right now is spoilage. Aircraft production is in full swing with more and more production points being steered towards R&D. The pools are full and several new aircraft have been already scrapped due to overproduction.

Pilot losses have been the critical factor to date. Pilot pools are slowly recovering since switching to the defensive but it will be some time before the military is comfaortable with their levels.

Area Operations and Status:
CBI: Operations have been scaled back considerably due to the abortive attempt to attack Akyab. Many aircraft squadrons have been sent to Singapore for rest and refit and troops are returning to their bases. Rangoon still maintains considerable airpower in case the British decide to make a move. A Japanese BB bombardment recently raided Andaman Island inflicting moderate losses to the Swordfish and Hudsons located there and closed the airfield. Unfortunately, a follow up air strike was delayed a day otherwise the base might well have been destroyed for all intents and purposes. A few days ago, the MSW Romney struck mines at Akyab and sank 2 days later. Several small British TFs, believed to be carrying supplyes and troops, have been observed moving in and out of Akyab. Naval traffic appears to have increased in the Chandpur area but its implications are currently unknow. Fortification construction continues in full swing throughout the region. The Chinese theater has cooled considerably as it appears both nations have come to the realization that neither can conquer the other's territory.

SRA:
Koepang continues to be used as an Allied bombing range as all forces have been withdrawn. The only remaining item there is a single Dinah that has managed to escape the rain of destruction from the Australian terraforming. Amboina and Kendari have greatly increased their defensive levels, brining in extensive AAA and engineering capabiliy. It is estimated that the Allies will need to commit a full division to either place in order to have a reasonable chance of success due to the fortifications and airpower in the area. Yesterday, the Allies sent 4 destroyers on a death run to bombard Amboina for zero results. Coastal defenses and massive response from LBA resulted in the sinking of 3 of the 4. The surviving DD was last seen at full speed making a beeline for Darwin. What appears to be a second bombardment force from Darwin consisting of a CL and 5 destroyers received a setback when the I-30 put a torpedo into the CL Emerald causing extensive damage.
Soerabaja and Batavia are now virtual fortresses having been substantially reinforced.

SE Pacific Command:
Until recently, Rabaul was the target of nightly B-17 attacks. These attacks, which produced little damage, were seen as the forebearer of an increasingly aggressive Allied command. On May 31st, the American high command switched to day attacks on Rabaul and encountered extremely heavy and accurate AAA fire. Of the 173 bombers participating, AAA gunners claimed 4 shot down and 76 damaged. B-17s also managed to damage a couple of transports enroute Rabaul with additional AAA. All ships made it to port safely and offloaded their cargoes. Having anticipated the switch to daylight bombing, the Japanese High Command responded promptly with effective aircover. This, when combined with the newly arrived AAA reinforcements, wrought death and destruction on the impudent Americans. Of the 123 B-17 bombers that took part, AAA and aircrews claimed 44 shot down with another 92 damaged. While the attack did manage to further damage the runways and hit 2 ships, the Japanese High Command is said to be extremely pleased with the result. As only 42 B-17s participated in the attack on Lae, it is thought that the Allied 5th Air Force chose this target as their were insuffficent B-17s available to maintain its attack on Rabaul. Indeed, the Allies attempted a night attack on Rabaul with only 3 B-17s.
So far only one transport has been lost with 3 others suffering varying degrees of damage during the recent attacks. One humerous note was when the PG Hayakafuku Maru was struck by a bomb which failed to explode. Attached to the tail of the bomb was a very nice picture of Betty Gable along with some souvineer medals. The crew is planning on mounting the now deactivated bomb in their wardroom as a lucky charm against further bombs. Damage was so slight as to be nearly invisible. Betty's picture has mysteriously disappeared but the crew believes that captain secretly mounted it above his bunk for his personal pleasure.

Overall:
It is becoming more apparant with each passing day that the Allies may attempt an offensive in the Solomons/New Britain area within the next few weeks due to the increased air activity. While this is not conclusive evidence and it is thoroughly recognized that these attacks may represent a diversion, it should be noted that no matter where the Allies choose to begin their attack, the Japanese High Command fully intends to meet the barbaric Allied forces head on and defend their lands to the last man if necessary.

Long live the Emporer!

Chez

[Tristanjohn]

4 June 1942

Another bomber strike out of Port Moresby did more damage to the airfield at Lae yesterday, officials said.

[Tristanjohn]

A spokesman for 5th Air Force also noted that the constant B-17 patrols over the shipping lanes into and out of Rabaul are paying dividends. "Our bombers are up there from dawn to dusk," said the liaison officer. "Our boys have an eye on everything that moves. Today's bag includes a hit on a good-sized freighter that was caught inside Simpson Harbor. The extent of the damage is unknown, but they hit it good all right."

[Tristanjohn]

5 June 1942

The airfield at Japanese-held Lae on New Guinea was hit again yesterday by bombers of the 5th Air Force command. No details were available, but a source said the attack was "productive."

[Tristanjohn]

Bombers out of Derby continued to maul the airfield and port at Koepang. Both these facilities remain totally incapacitated, officials said.