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May 15, 1945 San Marcelino

Intel

Mongol Army is located at Sasebo.
5th AA Regiment is located at Gumma.
13th Division is located at Hong Kong.
52nd Heavy AA Battalion is located at Harbin.
25th Division is located at Harbin.
120th IJNAF Base Force is located at Takamatsu.
31463 men are based at Chiamussu.
68th Construction Battalion is located at Hamamatsu.
9th Engineer Regiment is located at Changkufeng.
17th Construction Battalion is located at Mutanchiang.
Home Defense Force is located at Tokyo.
43rd Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Sapporo.
44th Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Kadina.
27th Air Flotilla is located at Toyohara.
19th Army is located at Lingayen.

Recon

F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Tavoy 8 LCUs 30960/267/6
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Brunei 2 X CA, 2 LCUs 6680/101/1
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Babo vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 98140/976/8
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30840/19/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Vigan 6 LCUs 22060/226/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Marcus Island 6 LCUs 5580/20/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Toyohara 5 LCUs 1820/2/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Takao 2 LCUs 3220/21/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Pescadores 2 X AP, 18 bombers, 2 aux, 2 LCUs 4880/50/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Tainan 1 X AP, 1 X DE, 5 fighters, 15 bombers, 11 aux, 2 LCUs 1940/27/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Wuchow 4 LCUs 13720/93/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Siemrem Reap vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Samarinda vacant
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Naha 1 X SS, 12 LCUs 6820/38/0

Combat

A Coronado spotted a PC 22 miles NW of Taipei and reported a hit, sinking it.

A Dauntless attacked a sub near Batan Island, claiming a hit.

An ASW attack 27 miles N of Taichu by the CV TF escorts pounded an IJN sub. Many hits were claimed.

Allied troops unloading over beach at Taichu suffered extremely heavy casualties.

Nanning was raided by 76 X B-25J and 56 X P-38J were escorting them when 6 X Zeke, 5 X Oscar, 4 X Tony and 22 X Frank tried to repel them. A Lightning was damaged in the furball and all of the Japanese fighters save 1 of the Franks were destroyed. The airfield sustained moderate damage, there were many secondary explosions reported, 6 Peggys and 8 Helens were burning wrecks and personnel losses were moderate.

Bangkok was bombed by 155 X Liberator VI (1 downed, 13 damaged), 47 X B-24J (1 downed, 2 damaged) and 64 X B-25J (8 damaged) who did very heavy damage to the airfield, moderate damage to the port, triggered a staggering number of secondary explosions, destroyed 3 Topsys and a Tabby and inflicted extremely heavy casualties.

Manila was struck by 31 X B-17E (1 downed, 8 damaged) and 60 X P-38J for moderate port damage, a few secondary explosions and moderate troop losses. Another strike of 95 X B-24J (9 damaged) and 4 X P-38J arrived and hit the port for moderately heavy damage and many secondary explosions, some of which were fuel tanks. Another formation of 38 X B-24D (2 damaged), 83 X B-24J (3 damaged) and 72 X P-38J dumped their loads on the airfield doing very heavy damage there, igniting many secondary explosions and causing heavy casualties.

Clark Field was hit by 75 X B-24D (16 damaged) and 28 X P-38J for heavy damage to the airfield, a Jack and 2 Bettys were destroyed and personnel losses were heavy.

Rabaul was visited by 11 X Liberator VI for very light damage to the airstrip.

At Gili Gili the IJA 21st Division had heavy casualties from Allied planes.

At Naga the IJA 55th Ind. Mixed Brigade was pounced on by 8 X B-25J (6 damaged) and 18 X P-38J for light losses. The unit was struck again by 31 X A-26B (2 damaged), 38 X B-25J (2 damaged) and 24 X P-38J who added heavy casualties to the toll. Artillery exchanges did no harm to the Allies and the Japanese had heavy losses.

The IJN ships about 195 miles S of Okinawa were attacked by 125 X SBD, 158 X SB2C, 150 X TBF, 87 X TBM, 12 X F4U-1D and 200 X F6F and the CAP of 136 X Zeke and 1 X Zero tried in vain to turn them away. The Allied fighter escorts splashed all of the Japanese fighters at a cost of 2 Corsairs and 47 Hellcats destroyed and 18 Hellcats damaged. The AA fire from the ships damaged 1 SBD and a TBM. The Japanese ships were then clobbered by the USN pilots who did the following:
CV Junyo 16 bomb hits, 3 torpedo hits, sunk
CV Hiyo 8 bomb hits, 2 torpedo hits, sunk
CVL Hosho 2 torpedo hits, sunk
CL Yura 3 bomb hits, on fire, heavy damage
Another strike of 15 X TBF and 12 X F6F arrived and the flak shot down 4 Avengers and damaged 7 others while the planes missed with their torpedoes.

16 miles N of Laoag 9 X Judy attacked and hit the AK Leslie M. Shaw with a bomb. As the Japanese planes departed 2 were damaged by 6 Mustangs that arrived at the scene to late to be a factor.

The Allied TF 21 miles W of Sakashima was approached a little to closely by 2 X Jake who were blasted from the sky by the CAP of 16 X F4U-1D and 299 X F6F.

An Allied artillery bombardment at Batan Island inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese defenders.

At Tuguegarao an Allied ground assault gained some ground while dishing out heavy losses on the Japanese and having light casualties of their own.

At San Marcelino the Allied troops took the base, sweeping aside the token resistance offered by the few Japanese there.

Ed's Old Gals have sailing orders and he's taking 5 BBs with him on a run north to try and pick off what the fly boys miss. The fast BBs are replenishing and they'll be sailing also and Ed knows that they'll pass his lumbering ladies before he reaches the comat zone. Privately he longs to unleash his big guns on the IJN, but he doubts if the chance will ever present itself.

Sam has heard the scuttlebutt that replacements are on their way, but he doubts it. Nope, the war has passed them by and there's nothing left for him to do except occasional patrols, drink and play fetch with Frankie.

Jay sits in his hole getting soaked by another rain storm in what seems like an endless stream of them. He stares at the wall of the hole thinking that he can't wait to become a civilian once again. He swears that he'll never dig another hole in his life once the war ends and that a dry location to work will be just fine. Just then some incoming artillery rounds come in, doing no damage. Once the rain finally stops planes begin to pound the Japanese positions along with the artillery that never seems to stop. He thinks that as bad a he's got it the Japanese are suffering much worse.

Victory Points Allied 69690 (5870 Strategic) Japanese 41646

May 16, 1945 NW Of The Philippine Islands

Intel

61st Air Flotilla is located at Tokyo.
77 aircraft are based at Changchun.
1507 men are based at Kratie.
23rd Division is located at Harbin.
6th Construction Battalion is located at Harbin.
North China Area Army is located at Wuchow.
20th Army is planning for an attack on Tsitsihar.
Shobu Force is located at Singapore.
55938 men are based at Nagoya.
74 ships are based at Sasebo.
Nakajo-wan Fortress is located at Kadina.
Yokosuka Reserve Coastal Artillery Regiment is located at Tokyo.
56th Heavy AA Battalion is located at Harbin.
52nd Construction Battalion is located at Changchun.
57th Division is located at Changchun.
14th Area Army is located at Truk.

Recon

Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Kweilin 7 LCUs 24040/240/84
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Luang Prabang vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Miri 4 X AP, 1 LCU 1460/6/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Samarinda vacant
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Babo vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 97780/1005/10
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 29680/17/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Vigan 6 LCUs 27900/269/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Marcus Island 6 LCUs 5800/21/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Toyohara 5 LCUs 3280/0/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Tavoy 8 LCUs 48280/465/10

Combat

Allied troops continued unloading over beach at Taichu taking extremely heavy casualties.

The SS Golet attacked 2 CLs and 3 DDs 91 miles S of Sakashima hitting a DD with a torpedo that did heavy damage and triggered a fire.

The SS Nautilus, 12 miles SE of Ominato, was hunted by 3 DDs, but she evaded them and continued to her destination to seed her mine field.

The SS Dorado, near Muntok, tried and failed to get an attack in on an unescorted AE.

A pair of IJN MSWs located and started sweeping a mine field at Teloekbetoeng.

Niigata's oil facilities were bombed by 103 X B-29 who did moderate damage to their target. 5 of the big birds were damaged by AA fire.

Nanning was raided by 73 X B-25J and 52 X P-38J who ran into a pair of Franks. The Lightnings made short work of the Japanese fighters, losing 1 bird themselves. The airfield was moderately damaged, a secondary explosion was seen, 3 Franks, 8 Helens, 8 Peggys, 1 Zeke and 4 Nicks were trashed on the ground and personnel losses were moderate.

Bangkok's port was hit by 62 X Mosquito FB.VI (7 damaged) and 55 X B-25J (1 downed, 10 damaged) for moderate damage, a very large number of secondary explosions were seen about half of which were fuel and casualties were heavy.

Kendari was visited by 31 X B-24J and 6 X P-38J with the flak damaging 8 of the bombers who caused light damage to the airstrip and negligible troop losses.

Amboina was raided by 121 X A-26B (1 downed, 9 damaged) and 58 X P-38J. The airfield took heavy damage, there were a large number of secondary explosions reported and casualties were placed at moderately heavy.

Manila was struck by 20 X B-24J (2 damaged) and 34 X P-38J for light port damage and a few secondary explosions, one of which was a fuel tank. As soon as the dust settled 40 X B-24D (1 damaged), 67 X B-24J and 71 X P-38J came on and added heavy damage to the port, a large number of secondary explosions, some of which were fuel and moderately heavy personnel losses.

Clark Field was hit by 63 X B-24J who inflicted heavy damage on the airfield, caused a secondary explosion, destroyed a Frank and there were moderate casualties.

Rabaul was raided by 14 X Liberator VI for light airstrip damage.

At Gili Gili the IJA 21st Division had heavy casualties from an air raid.

At Naga the IJA 55th Ind. Mixed Brigade absorbed moderate losses from 12 X A-26B (4 damaged), 30 X B-25J (6 damaged) and 23 X P-38J.

The IJN TF 83 miles NW of Lingayen was attacked by 28 X SB2C (3 downed, 22 damaged), 15 X TBF (3 downed, 9 damaged), 18 X TBM (1 downed, 9 damaged), 14 X F4U-1D and 31 X F6F who targeted 4 CVs doing the following harm:
CV Ikoma 5 bomb hits, 2 torpedo hits, on fire, heavy damage
CV Aso 3 bomb hits, on fire
Another strike of 37 X B-25J (2 downed, 33 damaged), 15 X P-51D, 23 X P-47D, 31 X P-38J and 13 X F4U-1 added:
CV Aso 2 bomb hits, on fire
CV Amagi 3 bomb hits, on fire
CV Kasagi 1 bomb hit, on fire
Like sharks smelling blood in the water another attack was made by 55 X PB4Y (1 downed, 7 damaged), 33 X B-25J (8 damaged) and 69 X P-51D resulting in:
CV Ikoma 20 bomb hits, sunk
DD Arashi 1 bomb hit
CV Kasagi 4 bomb hits, on fire, heavy damage
CV Amagi 1 bomb hit, on fire, heavy damage
CV Aso 17 bomb hits, sunk

The Allied TF 89 miles NW of San Marcelino was attacked by 38 X Grace, 13 X Jill, 79 X Judy and 3 X Zeke. Radar watched and vectored the CAP of 45 X F6F and 19 X F4U-1D who shredded the Japanese planes. Between the fighters and AA fire 29 X Grace, 8 X Jill, 63 X Judy and 3 X Zeke were splashed. 2 Hellcats and a Corsair were damaged , but the Japanese managed to deliver ordinance on target:
CV Ticonderoga 1 bomb hit
CV Hornet 1 bomb hit, 1 torpedo hit, on fire
Then 7 X Irving arrived and were shot down by the CAP. Another 3 Irving arrived and died as 21 Hellcats and 19 Corsairs jumped them before they could get close to the ships. Later 3 X Irving arrived and were splashed by the CAP. The Hornet has moderate systems damage, light flooding and moderate fires so she'll need to return to a port and then it'll be off to a yard for repairs.

Near Aparri 2 X Betty met their doom in a futile attempt to attack the Allied ships as the Allied fighters biggest problem was to not get in one another's way.

Near San Marcelino 37 X Grace, 5 X George and 5 X Zeke attacked the Allied ships. 7 Hellcats managed to intercept the attackers and 3 Graces (18 damaged), 2 Georges and 2 Zekes were destroyed by the fighters and flak though 2 LSTs each ate a fish that did heavy damage and caused fires to break out on each of them. The good news was that the LSTs had already unloaded. Then 6 X Peggy and 9 X Frank arrived and 5 Hellcats and the AA fire damaged 6 Peggys and killed 4 of the Franks. 2 Hellcats were destroyed and another was damaged, but no ships were harmed.

Ed's Old Gals, 132 miles N of Legaspi, were attacked by 3 X Bettys which the ships splashed with their AA batteries.

17 miles N of Vigan 4 X Frances and 9 X George tried to attack the Allied ships, but failed to score any hits. A Frances was shot down and 2 others were damaged by the flak. An attack by 5 X PB4Y (3 damaged) failed to do any harm to the Japanese DDs. An attack on the Japanese ships was made by 17 X PB4Y (11 damaged), 5 X B-25J (4 damaged), 49 X P-51D and 13 X F4U-1D and the following happened:
BB Ise 1 bomb hit
BB Fuso 1 bomb hit
DD Momi 1 bomb hit, on fire
5 IJN DDs and 6 USN DDs tangled in broad daylight with 1 Japanese DD being hit by a shell while the USN didn't fare so well.
DD Johnston 1 torpedo hits, on fire, heavy damage
DD Laws 2 shell hits
DD Luce 1 shell hit
Then the USN DDs were engaged by the IJN TF made up of 2 BBs, 1 CA, 2 CLs and 6 DDs. Neither side scored any hits as the IJN commander never pressed his advantage and the USN DDs used their speed and smoke generators to confuse their larger opponents.

The Allied ships 21 miles S of Wenchow were attacked by 3 X Grace and the CAP of 151 X FM-2 and 19 X F4F-4 made short work of them long before they could even see their targets. Within a few minutes 23 X Judy arrived and they too were splashed at the cost of 2 damaged FM-2s. Then another raid of 12 X Grace, 3 X Betty and 41 X Frances tried to penetrate the Allied fighters losing all but 1 Frances who managed to launch a fish wildly off target and then fled. 22 X FM-2 and 2 X F4F-4 were damaged in the fight. The Japanese then threw 6 X Betty and 18 X Peggy into the fight only to lose all but a single Betty who missed with her fish. 23 X FM-2 and 2 X F4F-4 were damaged. Next up were 18 X Grace and 3 X Frances who ran afoul of the CAP that was down to 72 X FM-2 and 9 X F4F-4. 3 Graces and a Frances survived while a Frances hit the AK Floridian with a fish that caused a fire just before being shot down.

18 X Grace attacked the Allied ships 18 miles SE of Taipei and 18 X FM-2 and 3 X F4F and the AA fire splashed 13 of them. 2 FM-2s and 3 F4F-4s were damaged. No ships were ever threatened.

Tokyo was swept by 64 X P-51D who attacked 45 X Zeke, 13 X George, 41 X Frank and 25 X Tony. 18 Zekes, 5 Georges, 35 Franks and all of the Tonys were shot down at the cost of 9 Mustangs lost and 1 damaged.

142 miles NW of Legaspi 3 X PB4Y missed an already damaged IJN DD.

The IJN ships 93 miles E of Batan Island were attacked by 112 X SBD (2 damaged), 108 X SB2C, 114 X TBF (1 damaged), 68 X TBM and 139 X F6F with the following results:
DD Yanagi 4 bomb hits, sunk
CL Natori 1 bomb hits, 4 torpedo hits, sunk
DD Satsuki 8 bomb hits, 1 torpedo hit, on fire, heavy damage
CL Naka 11 bomb hits, 1 torpedo hit, sunk
DD Hagi 5 bomb hits, sunk
Another strike was made by 3 X PB4Y, 26 X SBD, 15 X TBF, 10 X F4U-1D and 18 X F6F who missed with their bombs and fish. Then 49 X SB2C, 32 X TBF, 18 X TBM (2 damaged) and 20 X F6F tried and failed to hit anything.

An IJN CL thought to be the Agano was attacked 207 miles S of Hong Kong by 3 X B-25J who missed and all were damaged by the AA fire.

The IJN CL Oyodo 22 miles N of San Marcelino was attacked by 3 X PB4Y (3 damaged), 5 X P-51D and 2 X F4U-1D, but the ship escaped harm.

The Allied ships 30 miles N of Batan Island were attacked by 3 X Grace, 3 X Frances, 16 X Peggy, 8 X George and 6 X Frank. The CAP of 251 X F6F and 13 X F4U-1D acted as a buzz saw by downing all of the planes except for 8 of the Peggys while a Hellcat was lost and 5 were damaged. No ships were ever in danger. Then 3 X Grace and 10 X Betty attempted to pierce the umbrella of fighters and they were all splashed with 2 Hellcats sustaining damage. Another ill fated strike of 8 X Frances and 13 X Peggy were killed with 2 Hellcats lost and 12 damaged. Again no ships were considered in danger. Still not giving up 13 X Judy and 7 X Dinah joined their ancestors with a Hellcat taking damage. Next up were 4 X Grace who tried to run when they were intercepted so 2 lived to tell of the uber CAP.

16 miles N of San Marcelino the IJN and USN tangled despite the Americans trying to flee behind the screen of the escorts with the following results:
Japanese Ships
CA Mogami 9 shell hits
CL Oyodo 10 shell hits
CL Sendai 11 shell hits
DD Hayanami 1 shell hit
DD Okinami 2 shell hits, on fire
DD Oyashio
DD Natsushio 1 shell hit
DD Isokaze 1 shell hit, on fire
Allied Ships
DD Wallace Lind 18 shell hits, sunk
DD Maddox 37 shell hits, sunk
DD Moale 26 shell hits, sinks
DD John W. Weeks 25 shell hits, sinks
DD Henley 56 shell hits, sunk
MSW Tanager 20 shell hits, sinks
AP Catron 2 shell hits, on fire
AP McCawley
AP Crescent City
AP President Adams
AP William Ward Burrows 2 shell hits, on fire
AP John Penn
AP Calvert
AP William P. Biddle
AP Ormsby
AP Feland
AP Monrovia
AP President Polk
AP Sumter
AP Katoomba
AP Adair
AP St. Mihel
AP Telfair
AP Thomas Jefferson
AP Henderson
AP Pinkney
LSD Casa Grande
LSD Epping Forest
LSD Lindenwald
LSD Rushmore
LSD Shadwell
LSD White Marsh
AP Taiyuan
AP Buyskens
AVD Corson
AVD Duxbury Bay
The escorts valiantly did their job protecting the transports.

At Naga artillery exchanges resulted in no Allied losses and heavy Japanese casualties.

On Batan Island Allied artillery inflicted moderately heavy losses on the Japanese.

At Tuguegarao an Allied attack swept away the defenders, destroying a Dinah and a Judy and inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese while suffering moderate losses of their own. The Japanese were retreating towards Lingayen.

Taichu fell to the Allied assault.

Gil and the rest of the Lucky 11 are to tired to feel anything after another long mission over Japan. After the debriefing they were given their usual shot of whiskey and Gil tossed his back quickly. “To bad they don't just hand over the whole bottle,” he said. They learned later that the planes from Tinian and Guam didn't fly as planned and of course make remarks about them being chickens.

Ed quietly is fuming as he knows that IJN BBs weren't that far away from his Old Gals and with a little luck they might've had an old fashioned slug fest that he knows deep down that the Japanese couldn't win. He sighs and goes back to his cabin to get some sleep. He has left orders that if anything pops up he's to be awakened.

Admiral King confers with Truman and says that this Japanese surge will be a short lived bump in the road. He tries to paint a picture of opportunity to destroy what remains of the Japanese Navy, but Harry is concerned about the losses that are mounting. “We need to always remember that these are people, not numbers,” the President said. King goes on to say that the IJN has 2 choices to make, either return to Japan or make for Singapore if they are to operate out of major bases. The British are more than able to take care of themselves with all of the ship transfers to the Far Eastern Fleet now that they aren't needed in Europe anymore.

Victory Points Allied 71309 (6020 Strategic) Japanese 41741

May 17, 1945 Near Taichu

Intel

1722 men are based at Fushan.
Iki Fortress is located at Ikitsuki.
17th Reserve Coastal Artillery Regiment is located at Niigata.
23rd Engineer Regiment is located at Inch'on.
Peng Hu Fortress is located at Pescadores.
12th AA Regiment is located at Peking.
10th Hvy Gun Regiment is located at Harbin.
6th Division is located at Hong Kong.
46th Road Construction Battalion is located at Changkufeng.
2935 men are based at Nagato.

Recon

PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Toyohara 7 LCUs 10500/81/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Hong Kong 1 X SS, 11 LCUs 119220/1361/11
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Victoria Point 7 LCUs 22660/118/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Pisanuloke 4 LCUs 10780/118/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Kendari 4 LCUs 4260/22/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 98140/981/5
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30760/13/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Vigan 4 fighters, 17 bombers, 4 aux, 6 LCUs 30520/313/2
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Marcus Island 6 LCUs 5800/21/0

Combat

Bataan was occupied by the Allies.

The mine field at Teloekbetoeng continued to be swept by a pair of IJN MSWs.

Near Taichu the IJN appeared in the darkness with 2 X BB, 1 X CA, 2 X CL, 6 X DD and caught the Allied ships unloading. Considering that they were sitting ducks without any warships present things could have been much worse. An IJN DD was hit by a lucky shell while the Allies suffered:
AP Banner 10 hell hits, sunk
AP Chaumont 3 shell hits
AP Westralia 1 shell hit
AP John Land 2 shell hits
AP Rixey 3 shell hits
AP Hercules 21 shell hits, sunk
LSD Cabildo 1 shell hits, on fire
It is unknown why the Japanese didn't press their advantage more aggressively. Mid morning 4 X Peggy arrived and 34 X FM-2 downed all of them having 2 fighters take damage. No ships were ever in danger. A couple of hours later 6 X Betty ran afoul of the CAP and all were splashed. A fighter was damaged and again the ships weren't harmed. A short time later 3 X Frances tried and died while 2 more FM-2s were damaged. 3 X Judy attacked and were destroyed by the CAP.

The SS Redfin tried to attack a CL and 4 DDs 33 miles NW of Laoag, but failed to achieve a favorable position.

The SS Tilefish was hunted and attacked by 4 DDs 27 miles NW of San Marcelino, but luck was on the sub's side today.

Bangkok's port was blasted by 144 X Liberator VI (15 damaged) and 55 X B-25J (9 damaged) for heavy damage, a very large number of secondary explosions many of which were fuel and heavy casualties.

Amboina was struck by 91 X A-26B (13 damaged) and 57 X P-38J for heavy airfield damage, some secondary explosions and moderate personnel losses.

Clark Field was hit by 28 X B-24J (7 damaged) who did light damage to the airfield and caused moderate casualties.

Rabaul was raided by 10 X Liberator VI for extremely light damage to the airstrip and a couple of secondary explosions were reported.

At Gili Gili the IJA 21st Division was jumped by 33 X Mosquito FB.VI, 50 X A-26B, 3 X Kittyhawk III and 9 X Spitfire VIII for heavy troop losses.

At Naga the IJA 103rd Division sustained moderate casualties from 15 X A-26B (5 damaged), 14 X B-25J (3 damaged) and 30 X P-38J. The IJA 55th Ind. Mixed Brigade was targeted by 9 X A-26B, 9 X B-25J (5 damaged) and 15 X P-38J who inflicted moderate losses. The usual artillery exchanges produced the usual results as the Japanese had heavy casualties and the Allies none.

The Japanese ships 84 miles SE of Hong Kong were attacked by 2 X B-25J, 2 X P-51D and 3 X P-38J. A DD absorbed 2 bomb hits which caused heavy damage and fires to erupt.

202 miles SE of Hong Kong 2 X B-25J (2 damaged), 13 X P-51D and 27 X P-38J attacked what was thought to have been the CV Amagi, hitting it with a bomb. The vessel was heavily damaged and burning. A short time later 6 X B-25J (1 damaged) and 5 X P-51D hit the carrier with 3 bombs. An hour later 11 X B-25J (1 downed, 7 damaged) and 33 X P-51D arrived and attacked 3 DDs, but failed to score as the nimble ships twisted and turned at high speed while throwing up a heavy barrage.

About 76 miles W of Bataan 16 X SB2C (5 damaged), 13 X TBF (1 downed, 5 damaged), 15 X TBM (1 downed, 12 damaged), 12 X F4U-1D and 28 X F6F struck the Japanese ships hitting a CA with a bomb and a DD with 4 bombs that did heavy damage and triggered fires. As soon as the Navy planes departed 8 X B-25J (8 damaged) arrived, but they failed to score any hits. In the afternoon 3 X B-25J and 5 X P-38J attacked an IJN DD, hitting it with 3 bombs that caused heavy damage and fires. Later 12 X SB2C (2 damaged), 4 X TBF (2 damaged), 2 X TBM (1 damaged), 12 X F4U-1D and 26 X F6F arrived and a DD ate 3 bombs sending her to the bottom. A half an hour later 4 X B-25J (2 damaged) and 3 X P-38J attacked and a CA was struck by a bomb and another CA was hit by 2 bombs.

The Allied ships 18 miles NW of Taichu were attacked by 10 X Frances and the AA fire knocked down 3 and damaged 4. The AP Westralia was battered by a torpedo and she was burning.

18 X Betty and 12 X Frank attacked the Allied ships 31 miles SE of Taipei, but the CAP of 64 X FM-2 and 7 X F4F-4 along with the AA fire downed 7 Bettys (4 damaged) and 5 Franks (1 damaged). 3 FM-2s and an F4F-4 were lost and 8 of the former and 1 of the later took damage. Of the 11 Ohka bombs released there were no hits scored. This was the first known usage of this new weapon.

197 miles E of Aparri 3 X Grace, 3 X Frances and 4 X Irving attacked the Allied ships who threw up a fearful amount of flak that downed 1 Grace (1 damaged), 1 Frances (1 damaged) and 4 Irvings. No ships were struck by the errant torpedoes dropped.

3 X Peggy attacked the Allied ships 34 miles N of San Marcelino and despite the 7 X P-51D and 14 X P-38J and the flak 1 of the Kamikazes hit the AP William Ward Burrows doing heavy damage and causing a fire. The Allied fighters flew into their own flak in their desperation to stop the Japanese planes and 1 of each type was damaged as a result.

69 miles SE of Batan Island 2 Franks died trying to stop 3 X B-25J (3 damaged), 11 X P-51D, 19 X P-47D and 24 X P-38J. The DD that was targeted avoided being hit.

On Batan Island Allied artillery inflicted moderate losses on the Japanese.

“Did they really expect the Japanese just to roll over and allow us to stroll in and take Formosa without a fight?” asks Ed to his assembled staff. He then goes on to say that from now on the load out for the Old Gals' big guns will be 50/50 AP/HE. “This is not open to discussion and unless I get countermanded by a higher authority I want it done as soon as we return to port for replenishment” All the officers on Ed's staff know better than to argue a point when his mind is made up. They also know that he hasn't been wrong yet in this war.

Jay has heard the scuttlebutt about the naval battles going on for the past couple of days. He figures that this one time he prefers to be safe in his hole. Some mortar rounds impacted in his company's area today, but they didn't hurt anybody. One of his pals told him of a dud than landed a few feet from his hole and when Jay heads back to his position he wonders if somebody's luck can last long enough to see them home in the future.

Gene is a little uncomfortable with his new position, but his boss told him to relax and kick people in their bottoms when needed to prod them into exploring new ideas. He actually has an office that is large enough for a desk and 3 chairs. He shares a girls from the secretarial pool when he needs to dictate a letter. This certainly is a far cry from when he first started working at the yard in Brooklyn.

Victory Points Allied 71438 (6020 Strategic) Japanese 41780

May 18, 1945 Near Batan Island

Intel

7th Division is located at Sapporo.
Yura Fortress is located at Takamatsu.
21st Air Flotilla is located at Rabaul.
Kembu Force is located at Kadina.
25841 men are based at Paramushiro Jima.
12th Heavy AA Battalion is located at Nagoya.
6th Construction Battalion is located at Harbin.
81st Division is located at Tokyo.
103rd Division is located at Naga.
94th Division is located at Singapore.
120th Division is located at Tokyo.
1st Mortar Battalion is planning for an attack on Chungking.

Recon

PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Toyohara 7 LCUs 1660/0/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Camranh Bay 8 X CA, 2 X APD, 92 fighters, 49 bombers, 161 aux, 5 LCUs 32320/359/4
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Pisanuloke 4 LCUs 13600/32/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 98360/1013/8
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 31840/15/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Vigan 6 LCUs 56360/657/4
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Marcus Island 6 LCUs 4960/21/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Luang Prabang 1 LCU 540/0/0

Combat

3 IJN MSWs were sweeping a mine field at Ominato.

The SS Lancetfish was hunted by 3 X PC 24 miles SE of Kagoshima, but she gave them the slip before they could mount an attack.

On patrol 241 miles NW of San Marcelino the skipper of the SS Barbero called for the bearing and ordered a course change and after taking another peek a spread of torpedoes was launched at a CV thought to have been the Kasagi. This was a submariner's dream and 2 of the fish detonated on impact sending the carrier to the bottom. The DD escorting the stricken ship never found the sub.

The SS Runner, 97 miles NW of Taytay, hit a DD with 3 torpedoes that tore gaping holes in the stricken ship's side and fires erupted that were extinguished when she went down.

Niigata was bombed by 239 X B-29 and they were attended by 108 X P-51D. 30 X Frank attempted to penetrate the fighter escorts and get at the bombers, losing 19 planes. 2 Mustangs were downed and AA fire damaged 15 of the bombers. The oil facilities took heavy damage.

Bangkok's port was moderately damaged by 50 X Mosquito FB.VI (2 downed, 8 damaged). There were a couple of secondary explosions 1 which was a fuel tank and casualties were moderate.

Amboina was struck by 86 X A-26B (1 downed, 9 damaged) and 59 X P-38J for moderately heavy airfield damage, a few secondary explosions and light personnel losses.

Naga had heavy damage done to it's airfield by 36 X B-24D (1 damaged), 92 X B-24J, 24 X P-51D and 64 X P-38J. There were reports of numerous secondary explosions and casualties were heavy. Artillery exchanges raged throughout the day with the Allied having no losses and the Japanese had heavy casualties.

Manila was hit by 40 X B-17E (2 damaged), 38 X B-24D (4 damaged) and 92 X P-38J for moderate airfield damage, heavy port damage, a couple of secondary explosions and moderate troop losses. Another strike of 46 X B-24J (3 damaged) and 57 X P-38J added moderate damage to the port, there were a few secondary explosions and casualties were moderate.

The Allied ships 32 miles NW of Batan Island were the intended target for 3 X Frances but the 356 X F6F and 16 X F4U-1D on CAP were up to the task of splashing them. Another try was made by 3 more Frances with the same results except that a Hellcat was damaged A strike of 2 X Betty, 9 X Peggy and 8 X Frank were all destroyed in their attempt to pierce the CAP and 7 Hellcats were damaged. Still not giving up 7 X Frances tried to make an attack, losing 4 planes before turning tail and running away, 3 Hellcats were damaged. Next up were 9 X Grace and they ran when the Allied fighters appeared. A Grace was downed and another was damaged at the cost of a damaged F6F. Then 5 X Grace tried and died. Another attack package of 5 X Frances appeared and ran at the first sign of trouble losing a plane and another damaged. In the afternoon 5 X Frances, 3 X Peggy, 8 X Betty and 3 X Grace tried to penetrate the umbrella only to be splashed by the CAP before they could even spot the ships, 9 Hellcats were damaged. At the same time 25 X Helen were destroyed at the cost of 9 damaged F6Fs at another location, again long before any ships were threatened. The next attack was made by 7 X Grace and 6 X Betty. They ran when the fighters showed themselves and 6 Graces survived by playing hide and seek in the clouds, a Hellcat was damaged.

The Allied ships unloading at Taichu were attacked by 3 X Frances and they were shot down by the 23 X FM-2 on CAP, 2 Wildcats were damaged. Later 7 X Peggy made an attempt and the AKs Poelau Tello (on fire) and Panaman (on fire, heavy damage) were hit by a Kamikaze each. 5 X FM-2 were damaged by friendly fire as they had entered the AA envelope trying to stop the Japanese attack. The fighters had downed 5 planes, but it wasn't enough.

Vigan was attacked by 5 X B-25J, 9 X P-51D, 20 X P-47D and 26 X P-38J. The Japanese attempted to repel the attack with 3 X Zeke and 9 X George all of whom were shot down. 3 Mitchells were damaged as they caused negligible damage to the airstrip.

The Allied ships near Koepang were attacked by 15 X Frances, 1 downed, but all of the bombs fell harmlessly into the water.

At Batan Island the Japanese sustained moderate losses from the Allied artillery fire. The Allies are sending 2 Marine Raider Bns as reinforcements to help out the Kiwis.

18 miles W of Tuguegarao the Allied attack forced the Japanese to retreat towards Lingayen with moderate casualties while the attackers had extremely light losses. The way across the river has now been secured.

Chris wearily gets out of the cockpit of his Hellcat and stretches. Today's CAP mission was one of frustration as his flight would be vectored to intercept an incoming raid only to arrive to find out that the Japanese had already been splashed or had fled. He supposes that it beats the hell out of flying lazy racetracks for hours on end, but as long as the ships are protected that's all that matters. It seems so long since the Japanese posed a real threat in an air battle, yet they continue to throw themselves into the meat grinder. He wonders why there are so many small strikes that are uncoordinated and not more large attacks. Are the Japanese that battered?

Sam reads a letter from home and while it's nice to hear from his folks it irks him that they don't seem to understand that he could care less about hearing that this or that is in short supply and is rationed. How do they think he's doing? He tosses the stick again and Frankie takes off after it as a Mustang roars over the spot where he likes to sit.

“Formosa, who'd every have thought that we'd literally fought our way clear across the Pacific?” asks one of the lads. Slim nods and thinks about it. The 2nd Marine Division has certainly done it's share and then some.

Victory Points Allied 71940 (6074 Strategic) Japanese 41704

“Did they really expect the Japanese just to roll over and allow us to stroll in and take Formosa without a fight?” asks Ed to his assembled staff. He then goes on to say that from now on the load out for the Old Gals' big guns will be 50/50 AP/HE.

Can't complain about the lack of action! But I think this time the barn door is being locked after the horses have been stolen.

It might very well be that the barn door is being locked to late to have a real effect on the war, but actually things are pretty much going according to plan.

May 19, 1945 Batan Island

Intel

3992 men are based at Osumi.
Hainan Base Force is located at Kiungahan.
81st Division is located at Tokyo.
109th Division is located at Alor Star.
80th Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Tokyo.
3362 men are based at Akita.
44544 men are based at Arshaan.
452166 men are based at Tokyo.
Combined Fleet is located at Tokyo.
4th AA Regiment is located at Gumma.
41st AA Regiment is located at Changchun.
2nd Construction Battalion is located at Ichang.
13th Ind. Brigade is located at Ichang.
123rd Division is located at Harbin.

Recon

PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Toyohara 7 LCUs 5100/1/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Saigon 5 X AP, 2 X BB, 5 X CA, 1 LCU
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Bangkok 4 aux, 30 LCUs
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Alor Star 5 LCUs 13300/135/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 97080/923/5
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30740/20/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Vigan 6 LCUs 55540/593/2
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Marcus Island 6 LCUs 6940/19/0

Combat

Allied reinforcements unloading over beach at Batan Island took heavy casualties. The Allied assault on the Japanese positions forced the defenders to fall back with moderately heavy losses and by some miracle none of the Allied forces were harmed.

The sweeping of the mine field at Ominato was continued by 3 MSWs.

The 16th Group Army, near Kweiyang, was being snooped on by a Dinah when 24 X P-51D arrived and chased it off, damaging the lucky craft. Another Dinah was damaged by the Allied fighters who drove it off.

Balikpapan was swept by 6 X P-38J who encountered 8 X Zeke and 3 X Tony. In a fight that the Japanese didn't seem to relish a Zeke was flamed.

Rabaul was raided by 10 X Liberator VI for extremely light damage to the airstrip.

At Gili Gili the IJA 21st Division had heavy losses from an air raid.

93 miles N of Kweilin the 16th Chinese Corps had light casualties from 11 X Ann, 9 X Sonia, 6 X Oscar and 6 X Nick.

The Allied ships 88 miles N of San Marcelino were attacked by 3 X Grace who were executed for their transgression by the CAP of 19 X F4U-1D and 21 X F6F. A short time later 23 X Grace appeared and 2 were damaged as they turned away when the Allied fighters intercepted them. At around noon 11 X Grace were attacked by the CAP and they ran, having a Grace destroyed.

3 Graces tried to attack the Allied ships 24 miles NW of Laoag, but the CAP of 21 X P-51D and 4 X F4U-1D destroyed 2 of them and the third ran.

22 miles N of Batan Island 3 X Betty tried to pierce the Allied CAP of 305 X F6F, 16 X F4U-1D, 71 X FM-2 and 7 X F4F-4. All of the Bettys were shot down and a Hellcat was damaged. Later 11 X Judy made a suicidal attempt to attack the Allied ships and all of them were splashed long before they even got sight of their target. A Hellcat was damaged. Then 2 X Grace were destroyed by the CAP. Another attack was attempted by 6 X Betty and they were all downed while 5 Hellcats were damaged. Then 3 X Frances tried and died a short time later.

Near Bataan 5 X Grace attacked the Allied ships unloading there. A Grace was shot down and 3 took damage from the AA fire, but they pressed home the attack with the following results:
AP Pierce 1 torpedo hit
AP James O'Hara 1 torpedo hits, heavy damage
Allied soldiers went into the water to escape the carnage.

The SS Grouper, 80 miles SE of Kagoshima, was hunted by 3 PGs, but she evaded them.

On the way to drop her mines the SS Narwhal, 197 miles E of Camranh Bay, crossed paths with a CV thought to have been the Amagi and a DD. The sub's skipper carefully maneuvered his lumbering boat into position and then let loose with torpedoes, 2 of which struck the carrier sending her to the bottom.

At Naga Japanese artillery continued to futilely bombard the Allied positions and the Allied artillery inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese.

Chris was scheduled to fly today, but his plane wouldn't start so he's taking it easy and wandering around the ship. After a while he finds himself in the engineering spaces and marvels at the massive machinery that powers the ship.

Phil's condition has improved greatly, but he still gets horrible headaches that the doctors can't seem to explain with anything other than, “With the shot you took you're lucky that's all you have.” No comfort in answers like that he silently thinks to himself.

Sam stares off into space with his mind wandering. It's the same old same old and he's convinced that before he ever gets to leave Tori Shima he'll be an old man. The brass in the meantime is cooking up other ideas for what to do with him and his fellow soldiers.

Victory Points Allied 72273 (6074 Strategic) Japanese 41823

May 20, 1945 Batan Island

Intel

4318 men are based at Kyoto.
7th AA Regiment is located at Gumma.
19th Engineer Regiment is located at Ichang.
57th Division is located at Changchun.
1st Aviation Rgt is located at Georgetown.
Yokosuka 4th SNLF is located at Pakhoi.
7th Mixed Brigade is located at Mutanchiang.
5th Engineer Regiment is located at Changkufeng.
24th Engineer Regiment is planning for an attack on Chiamussu.
10th Hvy Gun Regiment is planning for an attack on Tsitsihar.
75 aircraft are based at Changchun.
16076 men are based at Kitakyushu.

Recon

Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Camranh Bay 1 X BB, 18 X CA, 1 X DD, 1 X AP, 1 X DE, 1 X AK, 1 X APD, 122 fighters, 44 bombers, 207 aux, 5 LCUs 44440/441/10
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Kratie 1 LCU 1020/0/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Kuala vacant
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Soerabaja 3 X CA, 9 X AP, 5 X DE, 1 X APD, 1 X TK, 55 bombers, 26 aux, 14 LCUs 16420/159/1
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Bali vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 98940/991/5
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Toyohara 7 LCUs 3000/0/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Victoria Point 7 LCUs 22900/119/0
Catalina I takes recon photos of Sabang vacant
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30800/19/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Marcus Island 6 LCUs 4800/22/0

Combat

The SS Pompano tried to attack an unsuspecting DD 84 miles E of Camranh Bay, but the DD was traveling to fast and zigged where it was thought that she would zag.

The SS Strongbow loitered near Batavia after dropping her load of mines at Teloekbetoeng and was rewarded with a pair of MSWs appearing. She hit 1 of them with 2 torpedoes, sinking it. The sub's skipper decided to hang around and was rewarded once again by the other MSW attempting to rescue the survivors from the water. A torpedo slammed home sinking it that ship also.

The SS Lancetfish, 29 miles SE of Kagoshima, was hunted by 5 IJN DDs, but they were never able to accurately pin her location down. In the afternoon the DDs still hadn't given up the hunt and they got a sniff, but the Lancetfish evaded them again. At dusk almost the same script played out again with the same results or lack of depending on your point of view. The only difference was that the sub was the hunter this time around.

A Dinah was snooping on the 16th Group Army at Kweiyang, and was damaged as it was forced to flee when 24 X P-51D appeared.

3 X Judy tried to attack the Allied ships 31 miles SE of Takao, but the CAP of 20 X F4U-1D, 267 X F6F, 53 X FM-2 and 9 X F4F-4 splashed them thanks to being vectored out for an intercept by the radar controllers.

Near Taichu 3 X Betty and 7 X Peggy had a go at the Allied ships unloading there. 23 X P-51D and 23 X FM-2 shot them all down. 3 Mustangs and a Wildcat were damaged. Another strike of 6 Bettys was greeted by the CAP and again 3 Mustangs and a Wildcat were damaged. The difference was that only 5 Bettys were shot down and the other dove into the AP Empire Tamar causing heavy damage and fires.

3 X Grace tried to attack the Allied ships 24 miles NW of Vigan, but they were destroyed by 7 X P-51D, 17 X F4U-1D and 21 X F6F before they came within sight of the ships. 2 more Graces made a half hearted attempt on the ships, but when 1 of them was flamed the other turned tail and ran. 45 minutes later 14 X Grace appeared and they were driven off after the loss of 2 planes.

At Naga the Japanese artillery continued to be noisy and ineffective. The Allied guns inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese.

On Batan Island the Kiwis and the Americans attacked the Japanese positions and took the base. The Japanese suffered extremely heavy losses rather than surrender and the Allies had none.

Still stuck on Zero Stick has all but given up hope of ever scoring a kill. On ground support missions he always tries to put his ordinance on target and he sticks like glue to his lead, but as far as air combat goes he has no luck other than surviving.

Chris chalked up kill number 13 today as he splashed a Grace. He couldn't believe that the pilot never jinked, nothing, he just flew straight and level. What kind of pilot flies like that? A dead one he reminds himself and he begins to wonder if the Japanese have hit a new low and are using virtually untrained pilots. If that's the case his job will become much easier and safer.

Dave and Sandy broke their routine and went to church today. On the way back home Dave asks her if she wants to go into town tomorrow and she jumps at the chance. It'll give her the opportunity to see a couple of her friends, stop at the Post Office and who knows what else.

Victory Points Allied 72424 (6074 Strategic) Japanese 41813

May 21, 1945 Washington DC

Intel

Northern Area Force is located at Etorofo Jima.
11th AA Regiment is located at Osaka/Kobe.
48th Road Construction Battalion is located at Mutanchiang.
8th Heavy Artillery Brigade is located at Mutanchiang.
53rd Air Flotilla is located at Tokyo.
11th Army is located at Canton.
8th Construction Battalion is planning for an attack on Chungking.
31st Road Construction Battalion is located at Changchun.
94th Division is located at Singapore.
111th Division is located at Mutanchiang.
143rd IJA Base Force is located at Alor Star.
88023 men are based at Pescadores.

Recon

PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Toyohara 7 LCUs 8140/57/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Pescadores 2 X AP, 2 fighters, 49 bombers, 39 aux, 2 LCUs 4900/46/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Tainan 1 X SS, 1 X AP, 1 X DE, 6 fighters, 24 bombers, 17 aux, 2 LCUs 1720/21/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Georgetown 2 LCUs
Catalina I takes recon photos of Sabang 1 LCU
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Banjarmasin vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Lombok vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 100780/946/11
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30680/8/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Vigan 2 LCUs 11340/168/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Marcus Island 6 LCUs 4980/24/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Hong Kong 3 X SS, 2 X CA, 3 X PT, 3 aux, 11 LCUs 89820/1047/6
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Saigon 5 X AP, 2 fighters, 1 aux, 1 LCU 4660/25/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Phnom Penh vacant

Combat

The SS Hake hunted and attacked an AK 79 miles SE of Shanghai, hitting it with 2 torpedoes that caused heavy damage and fires to erupt.

The SS Sealion attacked a TK being escorted by 4 DDs 31 miles S of Camranh Bay. The sub hit the TK with 2 fish for heavy damage and fires.

At Kweiyang the 16th Group Army was being observed by a Dinah that got chased away trailing smoke by 15 X P-40N. Later another Dinah was chased off by the Warhawks.

Rabaul was raided by 3 X Liberator VI for negligible airstrip damage.

The Allied ships 28 miles E of Takao were attacked by 3 X Judy. A CAP of 20 X F4U-1D, 259 X F6F, 60 X FM-2 and 11 X F4F-4 was enough to shoot them down. A Hellcat was damaged. A short time later 3 X Betty attempted to make an attack and they too were destroyed.

Kendari was hit by 11 X PB4Y (1 damaged) for negligible airfield damage and extremely light casualties.

At Naga the Japanese had very heavy losses from the Allied artillery and the Japanese once more expended munitions and achieved nothing.

Although he flew 2 CAP patrols today Chris never saw a Japanese plane and his flight was never vectored for an intercept. He walks to the fantail of the ship and just stares at the ocean and all of the stars. He finds this very relaxing and then he heads off to his cabin for some much needed sleep. Tomorrow promises to be another busy day.

Stalin is fuming as he's told that his army needs a rest before being thrown at the Japanese. He rages, “You tell me that the machines are worn and the men are tired? We are going to miss retaking what was taken from us because of tired soldiers and machines? Get out, all of you!”

Truman looks at the reports placed on his desk and wonders how Roosevelt managed the pressures of the job being in such a poor state of health.

Victory Points Allied 72467 (6074 Strategic) Japanese 41820

May 22, 1945 Saipan

Intel

10th Mortar Battalion is located at Harbin.
1st Mixed Brigade is located at Mutanchiang.
2nd Air Division is located at Harbin.
105 aircraft are based at Mutanchiang.
13th AA Regiment is located at Maizuru.
67th Construction Battalion is located at Gumma.
Hensui Construction Battalion is located at Sasebo.
93rd Division is located at Nagoya.
Home Defense Force is located at Tokyo.
China Expeditionary Army is located at Wuchow.
19th Army is located at Lingayen.
Arshan Garrison Regiment is located at Changchun.
Sasebo 7th SNLF is located at Victoria Point.
13685 men are based at Matsuyama.
12167 men are based at Niigata.

Recon

F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Hanoi 4 aux, 6 LCUs 11920/32/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Haiphong 1 X AG, 1 X SS, 1 X CA, 2 X DE
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Kompong Trach vacant
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Malang 8 LCUs 13680/23/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Kendari 4 LCUs 3640/23/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 100700/974/8
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 31460/19/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Vigan vacant
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Toyohara 7 LCUs
Catalina I takes recon photos of Sabang vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Medan vacant
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Marcus Island 6 LCUs 5560/13/0

Combat

The SS Runner ran into 2 AKs and 2 MSWs 98 miles S of Taan. The sub immediately pressed home an attack, hitting 1 of the AKs with 2 torpedoes that caused a fire to break out.

Toyama was attacked by 130 X B-29 who attacked the Mitsubishi engine factory doing light damage to it. The 4 Franks that were in the area made a weak attempt to attack the bombers and 1 of the fighters was damaged and then they retired. A reinforced CAP of 19 X Frank and 19 X Tony attacked the next strike that was comprised of 142 X B-29. Between the fighters and AA fire 17 bombers were destroyed and 51 damaged. 7 Franks (5 damaged) and 2 Tonys (15 damaged) were shot down. The heavy industry was lightly damaged.

Nanning was hit by 52 X B-25J and 37 X P-40N. A Zeke and a Frank were up and they downed a Warhawk and then departed. The airfield was moderately damaged, there were a few secondary explosions claimed, 5 Helens and 3 Peggys were trashed on the ground and casualties were moderate.

Balikpapan was swept by 6 X Lightning and they attacked 8 X Zeke and 3 X Tony. 2 Zekes were destroyed and commanders want to know where the rest of the fighter group was.

Vigan's airstrip was launching Kamikaze strikes and today the punishment arrived. First 45 X B-17E and 93 X B-24D hit the airfield for heavy damage, many secondary explosions were seen and 5 Graces were left burning. Next up were 112 X B-24J who plastered the field for heavy damage, some secondary explosions and a Grace was destroyed. Then 42 X B-24D and 82 X B-24J arrived and they added very heavy damage to the airfield and a couple of secondary explosions were reported.

Rabaul was raided by 11 X Liberator VI for extremely light damage to the airfield.

At Gili Gili the IJA 21st Division was struck by 48 X A-26B, 45 X Mosquito FB.VI, 4 X Kittyhawk III and 9 X Spitfire VIII for moderately heavy losses.

The Allied TF 34 miles N of Batan Island was the intended target for 3 Bettys who were destroyed by the CAP of 15 X F4U-1D, 21 X F6F (1 damaged), 93 X FM-2 and 11 X F4F-4 long before they spotted any ships.

At Kweiyang the 16th Group Army was under the watchful eyes of 18 X P-40N who chased away a Dinah.

Tokyo had 61 X Zeke, 16 X George, 32 X Frank and 23 X Tony aloft when 111 X P-51D arrived. The furball claimed 30 Zekes (1 damaged), 2 Georges, 28 Franks and 18 Tonys destroyed. 8 Mustangs were lost and 5 took some damage.

The Allied ships 27 miles SE of Taipei were the targets for a strike of 27 X Mary, but the CAP of 255 X F6F and 19 X F4U-1D destroyed 10 of the intruders and the rest turned tail and ran for home. The next to try and die were 3 Bettys and 2 Hellcats were damaged.

At Naga the Japanese artillery continued to be a joke among the Allied forces while the Japanese sustained heavy casualties from the Allied barrages.

The Hornet is departing Cagayan for Pearl Harbor now that the fires and leaks have been taken care of. A couple of DDs are escorting her, one of which is the Benham.

As soon as Jake's Jalopy rolled to a stop Gil felt a wave of exhaustion hit him. It was a long mission to Toyama and he's glad it's over. Later they got word that the groups that flew out of Tinian that hit Toyama after their outfit did took heavy losses. Relief is a word that fit Gil's feelings, but later it turned to guilt as he's fine through nothing more than luck. Then the Lucky 11 learn that the groups out of Saipan never even flew and the other emotions were pushed aside by anger. “Now we'll have to go back there again,” says Donny.

Another day in the PIs and finally Jay's outfit has been pulled off the line. The conditions are still primitive, but at least there's hot chow, showers and the promise of new gear if they need it.

LT Robert Cage had been stuffed into the hold of many different freighters by his Japanese captors, but this time was different as the ship was struck by what must've been a pair of torpedoes. There are screams to be heard and suddenly sea water starts rushing in. There's nowhere to go and the water just keep rising. Nobody comes to let them out and the men start trying to climb higher over their fellow POWs. Not that long ago Robert was flying his P-38 and killing Japanese and now his struggle to survive takes on a new and deadly meaning for him. He collapses under the weight of others and is repeatedly stepped on. Gradually he begins to lose consciousness and things go black.

Victory Points Allied 73032 (6476 Strategic) Japanese 41879

May 23, 1945 Batan Island

Intel

4th Air Division is located at Malang.
40189 men are based at Gumma.
1st Reserve AA Regiment is located at Kyoto.
19th Division is planning for an attack on Mishan.
6031 men are based at Pusan.
6th Reserve AA Regiment is located at Wonsan.
3rd Construction Battalion is located at Ichang.
Arshan Garrison Regiment is located at Changchun.
72nd Ind. Mixed Brigade is planning for an attack on Rangoon.
56018 men are based at Nagoya.
Yokosuka Reserve Coastal Artillery Regiment is located at Tokyo.
104th Division is located at Hong Kong.

Recon

F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Pescadores 1 X SS, 1 X AP, 37 bombers, 14 aux, 2 LCUs 8620/66/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Swatow 6 X PT, 19 bombers, 2 LCUs 7480/81/2
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Luang Prabang vacant
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Malang 8 LCUs 16280/21/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Kendari 4 LCUs 4020/27/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 96740/946/6
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30440/19/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Naha 1 X SS, 12 LCUs 17280/183/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Taan 1 LCU 1720/1/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Tavoy 8 LCUs 32080/313/3

Combat

A Japanese convoy of an AK and 2 MSWs encountered a mine field at Camranh Bay and reports indicated that the AK was sunk.

Toyohara was hit by 9 X A-26B Invader and 19 X P-51D

Takao was hit by 47 X B-25J (2 destroyed, 10 damaged) and 11 X P-51D who dealt with the 3 Jacks in the area by shooting down 1 and chasing the others off. The airfield was lightly damaged and casualties were light. Then 30 X B-25J (3 damaged) and 15 X P-51D arrived and the Mustangs splashed the 2 remaining Jacks. The airfield was subjected to negligible damage.

Vigan was struck by 30 X B-24D who did very light damage to the abandoned airfield and there were 2 secondary explosions. A short time later 44 X B-24D and 82 X B-24J caused heavy airfield damage and many secondary explosions.

Rabaul was visited by 13 X Liberator VI who did light damage to the airstrip.

At Gili Gili the IJA 21st Division had moderate losses from 43 X A-26B, 41 X Mosquito FB.VI and 4 X Kittyhawk III.

The Allied ships unloading at Taichu were targeted by 7 X Betty and 6 X Peggy, but the CAP of 51 X F6F splashed all of them. 11 Hellcats took damage in the battle. Then 2 X Frances tried to sneak in and were shot down. Another strike was attempted by 13 X Judy and 3 X Grace and a Hellcat was damaged as all of the Japanese planes were destroyed. Another attempt was made by 2 X Frances who were downed at the cost of a pair of damaged Hellcats.

The SS Hake, 89 miles NE of Shanghai, spotted and attacked 4 PGs. She hit 1 of them with a torpedo and made good her escape.

At Naga the Japanese artillery was a lesson in futility while their Allied counterparts inflicted very heavy casualties on the Japanese.

“Batan Island, that's the name of this place?” asks one of the Flying Deuces. Stick doesn't care where it is as long as it's where the action is. Their CO later told them not to get to comfortable as they'd be moving to a base on Formosa, once it was operational. “That's us, the Flying Deuces, the first into the most forward areas and our secret weapon, Stick, who keeps us all safe from the bad guys.” Even Stick has a laugh at this. Being so close to to the heart of the Japanese Empire he just knows that he'll get his chances.

After flying a CAP mission Chris is done for the day. The rotation considers a normal day 2 CAPs flown and a day off is flying only 1. He grabs a mug of Joe and heads off to the fantail and gazes at the phosphorescent wake that the ship churns up as she continues on her way. After standing there for a while he realizes that his coffee has gone cold.

Jay has a new pair of boots and helmet liner, a full belly and he's clean shaven. This is almost heaven he thinks, knowing that it won't be long before they move back into the line. He wonders why the brass seems to be content with just holding the Japs in place, but hey, he thinks, it's better than trying to slug their way forward. That's going to happen sooner or later.

Victory Points Allied 73099 (6476 Strategic) Japanese 41787

May 24, 1945 Vigan

Intel

Nakajo-wan Fortress is located at Kadina.
2nd Mixed Regiment is located at Hangchow.
124th Division is located at Mutanchiang.
Elements of the 5th Mongolian Cavalry Division are located at Peking.
11th AA Regiment is located at Osaka/Kobe.
5th AA Regiment is located at Gumma.
49th Construction Battalion is located at Changchun.
8th Division is located at Harbin.
85th Naval Guard Unit is located at Kusaie Island.
113th IJN Base Force is located at Sapporo.
1st Reserve Tank Regiment is located at Kitakyushu.

Recon

F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Amoy 20 bombers, 15 aux, 2 LCUs 7200/39/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Canton 10 fighters, 18 bombers, 14 aux, 16 LCUs 24760/260/60
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Luang Prabang 1 LCU 1080/0/0
Catalina I takes recon photos of Sabang vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Kuala vacant
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Soerabaja 2 X BB, 12 X CA, 5 X AP, 1 X DD, 4 X AK, 4 X APD, 7 X DE, 2 X MSW, 1 X PC, 129 bombers, 50 aux, 14 LCUs 32520/299/6
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Pamakasan vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 77200/811/3
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 31500/15/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Kadina 13 LCUs 5140/32/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Okayama 2 X AP, 2 X DE, 1 LCU 480/13/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Kiungahan 2 X BB, 3 X CA, 1 LCU, 1180/2/0

Combat

Vigan was occupied by the Allies

The SS Shad tried to attack a TK 78 miles SW of Pontianak, but the escorts detected and drove her off.

The SS Angler, 84 miles NW of Hakodate, was attacked by 3 PCs after the sub obliterated a PC with 3 torpedo hits. Later 4 X PC tried to locate the sub, but failed to do so. The Angler has been beat up enough to call an end to her patrol and now with light systems damage she'll make for a yard for repairs.

The SS Sealion hit an AK with 2 torpedoes 97 miles SE of Saigon. The target sank and the 2 MSWs escorting the stricken vessel couldn't locate the sub.

Toyama was bombed by 240 X B-29 and 2 Franks and 6 Tonys tried to stop them. A Frank and 4 Tonys were damaged and the AA fire along with the fighters damaged 4 bombers. The heavy industry was extremely heavily damaged.

Niigata's heavy industry took extremely heavy damage from 190 X B-29. 15 X Frank and the flak damaged 23 of the big birds while 3 Franks were destroyed and 9 damaged.

Toyohara was hit by 11 X A-26B, 22 X P-51Dand 40 X P-38J for light port damage.

Takao was targeted by 22 X B-25J (1 downed, 11 damaged) for moderate airfield damage, a secondary explosion and moderate casualties.

Rabaul was hit by 5 X Liberator VI for extremely light airfield damage.

At Gili Gili the IJA 21st Division had moderate losses from and Allied air raid.

The IJN DD near Hong Kong was targeted by 3 X PB4Y who ran into 15 X Zeke, 1 X George, 13 X Jack and 3 X Tony. All of the bombers were damaged and a Jack was downed 1 damaged and a Zeke was also damaged. The ship was unharmed. Another strike came on made up of 20 X PB4Y and 20 X P-51D. 5 Zekes (1 damaged), 7 Jacks and 2 Tonys were splashed in return for a Mustang lost and 1 damaged. AA fire damaged 11 bombers who attacked 3 DDs, hitting 1 with a bomb that started a fire.

A Mary tried to attack the Allied TF 23 miles E of Taipei, but 241 X F6F and 19 X F4U-1D were on station and the Mary blew up in midair. Then 11 X Mary tried and lost 4 planes with the rest of them running. Next up were 3 X Judy who were splashed. In the afternoon 24 X Grace tried to penetrate the CAP and all were shot down with 4 Hellcats being damaged. 5 X Mary tried and 3 were downed with 2 running.

The Allied ships unloading at Taichu were under a CAP of 49 X F6F and 10 X P-38J when 7 Bettys appeared. The Bettys were all destroyed and a pair of Hellcats were damaged.

At Naga the usual results from the artillery barrages were on order. The Allies had no losses and the Japanese had heavy casualties.

“Jay get your tail moving, unless you want to walk to our new area of responsibility,” says Sarge. Like all good soldiers Jay grumbles as he collects his gear , walks over to the waiting deuce and a half, tosses his gear up to his waiting squad members and climbs up. He flops down on the bench looking across at a smiling pal who says something about how Jay's ass will be numb from the comfortable bench before they arrive at wherever it is the Army wants them.

Chris flew a CAP patrol in the morning and another one in the late afternoon. He doesn't mind the patrols, but he hates it when his plane is spotted on the carrier and he's waiting to race to the cockpit and takeoff as fast as he can for the emergency that never seems to come. He knows that it's the smart thing to do, but the Japanese haven't been able to penetrate the CAP yet, or at least as far as he knows.

“So I've got it on good sources that this man's war will never end,” says Brownie. He continues with, “The Japanese won't surrender and we can't fly because of all of the lousy weather so an invasion of Japan will be needed. I took us almost 4 years to advance half way across the Pacific and the Japanese still hold most of China, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. That means that in about 10 years we should be able to control Japan, after having to kill them all.” The Lucky 11 look at one another laugh and throw stuff at Brownie who screams, “WHAT?”

Victory Points Allied 74112 (7386 Strategic) Japanese 41915

May 25, 1945 Saipan

Intel

15th AA Regiment is located at Sapporo.
57th Construction Battalion is located at Maizuru.
Rashin Base Force is located at Changkufeng.
34th Division is located at Kweilin.
51st Road Construction Battalion is planning for an attack on Chungking.
3rd FF Construction Battalion is located at Anshan.
2nd Air Division is located at Harbin.
9th Aviation Rgt is located at Changchun.
59th Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Changchun.
Elements of the Mongol Cavalry Division are located at Linhsi.
Elements of the 6th Mongolian Cavalry Division are planning for an attack on Tabun-Nur.
51st Division is located at Hong Kong.
22nd Engineer Regiment is planning for an attack on Mishan.
25th Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Palembang.
105th IJA Base Force is located at Mukden.
52nd Division is located at Hamamatsu.
45th Construction Battalion is located at Harbin.

Recon

PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Okayama 12 X AP, 1 X TK, 2 X DE, 1 X SS, 1 X CA, 6 aux, 1 LCU 960/4/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Luang Prabang 1 LCU 162/0/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Kendari 3 aux, 4 LCUs 6960/24/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Waingapu vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 79360/776/8
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 31800/13/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Kadina 13 LCUs 11740/131/0
Catalina I takes recon photos of Sabang vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Kuala vacant
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Lingayen 1 LCU 14760/208/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Clark Field 16 LCUs 87520/681/0

Combat

Toyohara was attacked by Allied planes, 1 A-26B damaged, who missed the target.

Takao was hit by 7 X B-25J (1 downed, 3 damaged) for very light airfield damage and light casualties.

Tavoy was visited by 64 X Mosquito FB.VI (1 damaged), 59 X B-25J, 25 X Thunderbolt II and 7 X Spitfire VIII who did heavy damage to the airstrip, triggered a large number of secondary explosions and there were light personnel losses. Another raid made up of 44 X B-25J (9 damaged) and 19 X Spitfire VIII added moderate damage to the airfield, some secondary explosions and light casualties.

Bangkok was bombed by 106 X Liberator VI (1 downed, 24 damaged). A Zeke was in the air, but the pilot decided, wisely, not to try his luck today. The port was heavily damaged, there were many secondary explosions, some of which were fuel and casualties were extremely heavy.

Manila was bombed by 121 X B-24J (2 damaged) for very heavy airfield damage, a secondary explosion and heavy troop losses.

Clark Field was identified as being active so 94 X B-24D (19 damaged), 48 X B-17E (9 damaged) and 86 X P-38J came a calling. The airfield was very heavily damaged, there were a few secondary explosions, 11 X Grace, 3 X Betty, 1 X Helen and 1 X Frank were destroyed and casualties were heavy. Another wave of bombers arrived with 72 X B-24J adding heavy damage to the airfield, a Betty and a Helen were trashed and losses were moderately heavy.

Rabaul was visited by 9 X Liberator VI who did negligible damage to the airstrip.

At Gili Gili the IJA 21st Division suffered moderately heavy losses from an air raid.

The 16th Chinese Corps, 89 miles NW of Hengchow, was jumped by 10 X Ann, 9 X Sonia, 9 X Nick and 5 X Oscar for very light casualties.

The Japanese ships near Tainan were attacked by 3 X PB4Y, but 9 X George and 9 X Frank were there. A Liberator went down and 1 was damaged while a George was damaged. The ships weren't harmed. Later 11 X PB4Y and 42 X P-51D attacked the Japanese ships. 5 X George and 4 X Franks tried to stop the attack only to lose 3 Georges and 2 Franks. 9 X bombers and a Mustang were damaged. A DD was hit by a bomb.

The Japanese ships near Wenchow were attacked by 26 X SBD, 18 X TBF, 21 X F4U-1D, 83 X F6F, 48 X FM-2 and 3 X F4F-4. A PG was hit by 7 bombs and that doomed the vessel.

The Japanese ships near Hong Kong were attacked by 20 X PB4Y and 40 X P-51D. 1 X George, 12 X Jack and 1 X Tony gave battle and lost 9 Jacks. 11 bombers and a Mustang were damaged while what was thought to have been the CL Jintsu was hit by a bomb.

The Allied ships 31 miles SE of Wenchow were attacked by 3 X Grace and the CAP splashed them. Then 11 X Judy, 3 X Grace and 5 X Peggy tried to reach the carriers. A Judy lived to tell of the carnage and a Hellcat was damaged. Later 2 Judys appeared and ran when the Allied fighters arrived. A Judy died and the other survived somehow.

35 miles W of Manila 4 X Betty, 17 X Zeke and 29 X Frank attacked the Allied ships only to see all of the Bettys destroyed by AA fire.

The Allied ships near Bataan were under the cover of 12 X Mustang when 3 X Betty, 3 X Zeke and 3 X Frank showed up. 3 Bettys, a Zeke and 2 Franks were flamed in return for a damaged Mustang.

At Naga the Japanese artillery was ineffective and the Allied shellings inflicted heavy casualties.

Chris lets them know that his engine was running hot and the mechanics tell him that they'll check it out. He wonders if the poor mechanics ever get any sleep as the aircraft operations have been relentless.

Another mission, weather permitting, will be flown over Japan tomorrow. Gil spends time writing letters home and to Elaine after chow. After that he takes a walk with the rest of the guys and their sister crew.

Despite it being Friday Gene knows that he'll be lucky to leave the office by 8 or 9 tonight and that maybe, with luck, he'll take off on Sunday. He finally shook things up a bit by letting go 2 engineers who only knew how to say “that won't work” without even giving it a go. Now the rest of the people on the project realize that even if they're leery of some idea they had better investigate further and if it shows the least bit of promise they'll try it out. Gene doesn’t care that he's not liked. Maybe in the future when the others are more into the project things will change, but for now at least he's gotten the message through to them.

Victory Points Allied 74223 (7386 Strategic) Japanese 41944

May 26, 1945 Near Pescadores

Intel

12th Army is located at Hanoi.
14506 men are based at Hanoi.
AK Nittetsu Maru is located at Hakodate.
2943 men are based at Nagato.
35th Division is located at Hengchow.
25th Division is located at Harbin.
48th Division is located at Brunei.
126th Division is located at Mutanchiang.
Soya Fortress is located at Wakkanai.
Keelung Fortress is located at Taipei.
12th AA Regiment is located at Peking.
21st AA Regiment is planning for an attack on Chungking.
21st Engineer Regiment is located at Pakhoi.
36th Construction Battalion is located at Georgetown.
24549 men are based at Seoul.
76 aircraft are based at Changchun.

Recon

F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Pisanuloke 4 LCUs 4700/6/0
Catalina I takes recon photos of Sabang vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Kuala vacant
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Macassar vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Lombok vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 97060/958/9
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 32240/19/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Saigon 3 X AP, 1 LCU
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Lingayen vacant
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Clark Field 17 LCUs 114020/972/9

Combat

The SS Runner, hit a TK with a torpedo that started a fire and then the 5 PCs escorting the tanker pounded the sub 26 miles SE of Haiphong. The sub now has moderate systems damage and heavy flooding. She will try to make it to a friendly port, but all depends on some luck.

In an attempt at a night time raid 5 IJN PTs were intercepted 27 miles E of the Pescadores by an Allied TF of a BB, CA, CL and 6 DDs. One of the USN DDs was the O'Bannon, who acquitted herself well. A PT got away and the others were sunk. No harm befell the Allied ships thanks to their radar. The other PT was caught and destroyed once the sun came up and it couldn't hide in the ground clutter that confused the radar.

34 miles W of the Pescadores the SS Redfin was attacked by 4 IJN DDs who managed to do no harm to the sub.

Toyohara was raided by 12 X A-26B, 3 X P-51D and 12 X P-38J who caused a couple of secondary explosions, one of which was fuel and there were negligible casualties.

Sapporo was bombed by 61 X B-24D (1 downed, 4 damaged), 19 X P-51D and 35 X P-38J for light damage to the heavy industry.

Tavoy was tagged by 62 X Mosquito FB.VI, 60 X B-25J (4 damaged), 24 X Thunderbolt II and 7 X Spitfire VIII for heavy airfield damage, a few secondary explosions and light personnel losses. Another strike of 47 X B-25J (4 damaged) and 21 X Spitfire VIII added moderate damage to the airstrip and a couple of secondary explosions.

Bangkok's port was hit by 134 X Liberator VI (29 damaged) for very heavy damage, a very large number of secondary explosion, many of which were fuel and heavy casualties.

Clark Field was struck by 15 X B-17E (7 damaged), 35 X B-24D (1 downed, 11 damaged) and 8 X P-38J. The airfield was heavily damaged, a secondary explosion was seen, 5 Bettys, 3 Franks and 12 Graces were destroyed and troop losses were moderate.

10 X Ann, 9 X Sonia, 5 X Oscar and 4 X Nick hit the 16th Chinese Corps, 90 miles NW of Hengchow for moderate casualties.

The IJN TF near the Pescadores was attacked by 14 X TBM (10 damaged), 6 X F4U-1D, 24 X FM-2 and 3 X F4F-4. A DD was hit by 2 torpedoes, sinking it. Another attack was made by 10 X TBF (10 damaged), 9 X TBM (9 damaged), 9 X F4U-1D, 13 X F6F Hellcat, 54 X FM-2 and 7 X F4F-4 and they hit nothing.

5 Bettys tried to attack the Allied ships near Taichu and the CAP splashed them all while 4 Hellcats were damaged. Another 3 Bettys tried and died and a Hellcat was damaged. Then 3 Peggys were shot down in a vain attempt and 2 Hellcats were damaged.

39 miles E of Taipei 3 Graces tried to attack the Allied ships only to be destroyed by the CAP which had a Hellcat damaged.

28 miles SE of Hong Kong 14 X B-25J (2 downed, 5 damaged), 4 X P-51D and 2 X P-38J fed 2 DDs a bomb each that caused fires on both ships. The SS Steelhead was alert and managed to hit a DD with a fish that caused a fire to erupt. After reloading the sub tried and failed to hit another DD.

An IJN BB thought to be the Fuso was attacked 227 miles NW of San Marcelino 18 X B-25J (1 downed, 13 damaged), 25 X P-51D and 17 X P-38J Lightning. Pilots claimed 4 bomb hits.

The SS Hake hit a TK with 3 torpedoes 78 miles W of Masan. There were fires and heavy damage and the 3 PCs hunted in vain for the sub.

At Naga Japanese artillery continued to fail in it's mission. The Japanese did have very heavy losses from the Allied artillery.

Jay squats down in his new hole quickly learning that the Japanese shellings in this area are as ineffective as they were in his last spot on the line. He tries to take some comfort from this, but between the constant being wet and the awful lack of sleep he knows that he's back in hell again.

Frank was very pleased with the O'Bannon's performance today against the enemy PT boats. His ship threw out a curtain of shells and was credited with a kill and a partial on another boat. The radar man confided in him later that he had one hell of a time trying to pick the Japanese craft out from the land mass behind them. Frank patted the man on the shoulder and told him to keep up the good work.

LT Kurt Wirth quietly watches the boisterous card game going on and swings his head to the other side of the hold that is crammed with stacks of racks for the men and sees a crap game going on. Of course the crap game is much noisier, but he's not a gambler so he just lays back in his rack and reads a book. It's been a while since he actually had the joy of flying a plane and he misses time aloft in a Mustang. Eventually he'll reach his unit as a replacement.

Chris flew a couple of CAPs today and once more didn't see a Japanese plane. Landing was an adventure due to lousy weather, a pitching and rolling flight deck and strong, gusting cross winds. He managed to catch the 2 wire and everybody is figuring that any wire is a good wire on a day like today. Sadly more that one plane managed to have an accident on landing.

Victory Points Allied 74367 (7442 Strategic) Japanese 41878

May 27, 1945 Not Far From Taichu

Intel

140 aircraft are based at Mukden.
58th Construction Battalion is located at Takamatsu.
4th Reserve AA Regiment is located at Kagoshima.
50th Division is located at Krung Thep.
Elements of the 58th Division are planning for an attack on Chungking.
Southwest Fleet is located at Singapore.
269323 men are based at Harbin.
49th Heavy AA Battalion is located at Mukden.
10th Construction Battalion is located at Harbin.
110th IJA Base Force is located at Haichow.
38th Road Construction Battalion is located at Singapore.
15th Engineer Regiment is located at Amboina.
87th Naval Guard Unit is planning for an attack on Eniwetok.
52nd Heavy AA Battalion is located at Harbin.

Recon

PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Wenchow 1 X AK, 2 LCUs
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Krung Thep 8 LCUs 25000/234/0
Catalina I takes recon photos of Sabang 1 LCU 860/0/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Kuala vacant
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30620/12/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Okayama 5 X AP, 6 X AK, 1 X SS, 1 LCU 1020/7/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Hong Kong 4 X SS, 6 X CA, 2 X AK, 10 fighters, 12 aux, 11 LCUs 131840/1461/12
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Camranh Bay 2 X AP, 23 fighters, 21 bombers, 56 aux, 5 LCUs 28700/309/5
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Balikpapan 7 fighters, 12 aux, 5 LCUs 3520/58/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 98240/1034/9
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Clark Field 17 LCUs 130040/1126/7

Combat

The SS Grayback was attacked by 4 DDs 26 miles E of the Pescadores, but she avoided any damage by diving deep.

The SS Harder, 92 miles S of Hungnam, attacked and hit a lone AK with a torpedo setting it on fire and the ship suffered heavy damage. Hours later the Harder attacked another unescorted AK and hit it with the deck gun 5 times and with 3 torpedoes, sinking her.

About 22 miles N of Taichu 4 Japanese DDs tangled with a CA and 7 DDs with the following results.
Japanese
DD Chidori 11 shell hits, sunk
DD Manazuru 7 shell hits, sunk
DD Otori 1 shell hit, 1 torpedo hit, sunk
DD Kamo 12 shell hits, 1 torpedo hit, sunk
DD Ammen 1 shell hit
Allied
DD Capps 1 shell hit
The Allied TF was attacked by 6 X Frances and flak claimed 3 of them and the survivors' fish missed. Then another raid of 17 X Frances came on and 1 was downed, 15 damaged. Once again the torpedoes dropped missed the twisting and turning ships.

Allied troops unloading over beach at Sabang sustained extremely heavy casualties.

An ASW attack 14 miles E of Takao on an IJN sub claimed a couple of hits and drove the sub off before she could launch any fish on the ships. Another ASW attack on a sub was mounted later and another hit was claimed. It was unknown, but suspected that this was the same submarine. What might have been the same sub mounted an attack in the afternoon and hit the CVE Hollandia with a torpedo that caused a fire. The escorts attacked the contact and claimed many hits. 2 X Grace were destroyed by the CAP covering the Allied TF. Another attack by 14 X Grace had 9 aircraft destroyed and the rest ran, an FM-2 was damaged. The CVE Hollandia has moderately heavy systems damage, moderate flooding and of the utmost concern moderate fires that must be brought under control. A DE was detached to escort the stricken ship to the closest available port, Taichu. Members of the crew were taken off and only volunteer damage control parties remain aboard. Of note all of the damage control personnel were volunteers and other crew members filled the gaps left by the dead and wounded. Captain A E Minyard noted in the log book that his crew has never made him prouder than today by their heroic actions under such adverse circumstances. There is no mention of the fact that despite his wounds Hollandia's skipper has stayed with her.

Hamamatsu was swept by 71 X P-51D who jumped 27 X Zeke. In the lopsided fight 18 Zekes were shot down. Then 30 X B-29 (2 damaged) appeared and hit the Nakajima engine factory for light damage. Another strike of 141 X B-29 (2 damaged) arrived and they did moderate damage to the heavy industry.

Toyohara was hit by 14 X A-26B (2 damaged), 22 X P-51D and 39 X P-38J for a couple of secondary explosions and very light personnel losses.

Aomori had it's heavy industry take moderate damage from 177 X B-29 (7 damaged).

Rabaul was struck by 12 X Liberator VI for light airfield damage.

At Gili Gili the South Seas Det. Suffered very heavy losses from an Allied air attack.

The IJA 54th Ind. Mixed Brigade at Clark Field was pounded by 32 X B-24J (11 damaged) for moderate casualties.

The 16th Chinese Corps 88 miles NW of Hengchow had moderate losses from a Japanese air attack.

The Japanese ships near Hong Kong were being protected by 15 X Zeke, 1 X George, 7 X Jack and 1 Tony when 22 X PB4Y and 54 X P-51D arrived on the scene. 3 Zekes, 1 George and 7 Jacks were splashed while a Mustang went down. The AA fire damaged a Liberator while they dropped their loads on 2 DDs.
DD Fujinami 6 bomb hits, on fire, heavy damage
DD Tamanami 5 bomb hits, on fire, heavy damage

The Allied TF near Sabang was under a CAP of 18 X Hellcat II and 37 X Corsair IV when 6 Bettys arrived and they were promptly shot down. Then 8 X Peggy and 2 X Zeke arrived on the scene only to be destroyed. A Corsair went down and 6 were damaged. 31 Bettys then attacked and 29 were splashed as 2 Hellcats, 9 Corsairs (1 destroyed) were damaged and a Firefly went down. Another 3 Bettys were then caught and killed. In another raid 3 X Betty had 1 destroyed and the others ran. A Hellcat was damaged, a Corsair went down and another was damaged. Next up were 18 X Frances and 9 X Betty who were all downed save 4 of the Frances who ran. A Hellcat, 4 Corsairs and a Firefly were damaged. 5 X Betty then tried and 1 was downed and another damaged as was a Hellcat before the survivor ran.

The Allied TF 17 miles N of Sabang was attacked by 15 X Peggy and 4 X Zeke who ran into 32 X Hellcat II, 55 X Corsair IV and 15 X Firefly. All of the Japanese planes were destroyed at a cost of 6 Hellcats, 2 Corsairs and 4 Fireflys damaged. 3 X Betty then made the attempt and were killed with 2 Corsairs taking damage. An attack was then made by 36 X Frances, 12 X Betty and 16 X Zeke and the CAP downed all of the Japanese planes while 2 Hellcats (4 damaged) were shot down and 13 Corsairs and 2 Fireflys were damaged.

The Allied ships 88 miles S of Tainan were attacked by 2 Bettys who were both shot down by AA fire.

3 X Grace attacked the Allied TF 24 miles E of Taipei and were all splashed by the 12 X FM-2 on CAP.

3 X Peggy tried an attack on the Allied ships near Taichu and were destroyed by the CAP of 53 X F6F and 25 X P-38J.

The Allied TF 29 miles E of Wengchow was attacked by 14 X Judy and all were splashed by 23 X P-38J. 6 X Frances then tried and 2 died while the others turned tail and ran. Then 18 X Helen tried to pierce the CAP and were destroyed. Another strike of 9 X Frances and 3 X Peggy came on and 2 X Frances (5 damaged) and 3 X Peggy were shot down. 2 Lightnings were damaged in the fight.

The SS Moray, 78 miles SE of Hue, attacked a TK and hit it with a fish setting it on fire. The PG and 6 PCs then found her and attacked. The sub will now curtail her patrol as she has light systems damage and very light flooding.

The Allied troops had extremely light losses from the Japanese artillery barrage at Naga while they suffered heavily from the Allied shelling.

Truman puts down the report, takes off his glasses and rubs his temples. He has made up his mind and the A-bomb will be used. Although there isn't one deployed yet it's only a matter of time. Everything he's been told points that this weapon could actually save live, both American and Japanese.

Stalin demands that the units redeployed to the East be moved as quickly as possible to where they will do the most good. Harbin sticks out like a sore thumb and he wants to be able to deal with it when the time comes. He wonders if the Japanese will attack him before he's ready. He feels that the conflict is inevitable.

Sam has managed to muddle through another day. He looks at Frankie and says, “If it weren't for you I don't know what I'd do.” The dog sits there looking at him and Sam wonders if dogs can really understand people.

Sandy got some letters from Bill today and she's reading through them a second time when Dave comes into the house. During dinner the talk about post war and what changes it'll bring.

Victory Points Allied 74873 (7634 Strategic) Japanese 41913

May 28, 1945 Sabang

Intel

58 aircraft are based at Arshaan.
296013 men are based at Osaka/Kobe.
11th Heavy AA Battalion is located at Osaka/Kobe.
Nagasaki Fortress is located at Nagasaki.
6th Field Artillery Regiment is located at Sian.
7129 men are based at Toyama.
261587 men are based at Sasebo.
13th AA Regiment is located at Maizuru.
18th Reserve Coastal Artillery Regiment is located at Toyama.
Home Defense Force is located at Tokyo.
Mongol Army is located at Sasebo.
39th Division is located at Sining.
47th Road Construction Battalion is located at Changkufeng.
1st Aviation Rgt is located at Georgetown.
15538 men are based at Hakodate.

Recon

F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Hong Kong 4 X SS, 3 X CA, 15 fighters, 25 aux, 11 LCUs 139220/1528/13
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Haiphong 2 X AG
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Krung Thep 8 LCUs 63300/629/5
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Kuala vacant
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Banjarmasin vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 98640/989/6
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Clark Field 17 LCUs 130360/1236/9
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Naha 1 X SS, 12 LCUs 13960/133/9
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Tavoy 8 LCUs 69340/673/17
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30760/16/0

Combat

Allied troops continued unloading over beach at Sabang taking heavy casualties. The RN bombarded Sabang with 3 X BB, 2 X CA, 1 X CL and 5 X DD who inflicted moderate damage to the airfield, heavy damage to the port, an extremely large number of secondary explosions were observed and personnel losses were placed at moderate. The 81st Naval Guard Unit was struck by 34 X Barracuda, 13 X Hellcat II, 21 X Corsair IV and 14 X Firefly for light casualties. Sabang was captured when the Allied assault swept the Japanese defenders away with heavy losses while taking moderate casualties themselves. The defeated Japanese retreated towards Kuala.

27 miles NW of Sakashima an IJN sub was attacked by a DD and 3 DEs who claimed many hits and a kill was awarded when an oil slick and debris was spotted.

Taytay was bombarded by the IJN with 2 X BB, 1 X CA and 2 X CL. The airstrip had negligible damage, the port had moderate damage and there were some secondary explosions. The AVD and PBMs that were there had departed last night as this TF had been tracked by recon planes and subs.

Toyohara suffered light port damage from 8 X A-26B and 17 X P-51D.

Gili Gili was hit by 12 X Liberator VI, 4 X Kittyhawk III and 9 X Spitfire VIII for light airstrip damage and a secondary explosion.

At Clark Field the IJA 54th Ind. Mixed Brigade was bombed by 18 X B-24J (10 damaged) for light losses.

The 16th Chinese Corps 91 miles NW of Hengchow had negligible casualties from an air raid.

A pair of Japanese AKs 251 miles SW of Hong Kong were attacked by 7 X PB4Y and 16 X P-51D. 1 AK was hit by 3 bombs for heavy damage and fires.

At Naga the Allies had negligible losses due to Japanese shellings while the Allied artillery dished out moderate casualties to the Japanese.

At Dadjangas the Palawan rides at anchor awaiting orders.

Rain and tiredness are keeping the Lucky 11 grounded for now. The mechanics are busy trying to get the planes ready for the next attack and the big machines are showing fatigue.

Bill reads the reports from all of the sections and engineering is worrisome. After a couple of high speed runs the ship's engines are in need of work that can't be done at sea. This is nothing new as the Navy expects the difficult to be done as a routine and the impossible with a little extra effort. He knows that his crew are doing all they can and then some and that will have to do for now.

Jay is in a state of shock. The next hole to his right took a direct hit today and the men were torn to shreds. The Japanese never hurt anybody with their artillery and now this happened. He ponders his luck thinking how close he came. Slowly he becomes aware that nothing is protecting him except for luck and that eventually it'll run out. He becomes resigned to the fact that if the war doesn't finish soon they'll all be dead.

Victory Points Allied 74954 (7634 Strategic) Japanese 42030

May 29, 1945 Lingayen

Intel

178983 men are based at Mutanchiang.
38th Construction Battalion is located at Toyohara.
Yokosuka Reserve Coastal Artillery Regiment is located at Tokyo.
Arshan Garrison Regiment is planning for an attack on Arshaan.
2nd AA Regiment is located at Tokyo.
49th Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Kadina.
147th Division is located at Tokyo.
354th Division is located at Tokyo.
58560 men are based at Tori Shima.
1st Reserve AA Regiment is located at Kyoto.
36th Construction Battalion is located at Georgetown.
3rd Mortar Battalion is located at Balikpapan.
13th Air Fleet is located at Truk.
16th Army is located at Rabaul.

Recon

F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Hong Kong 2 X SS, 4 X CA, 19 fighters, 17 aux, 11 LCUs 148660/1680/17
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Saigon 5 X AP, 1 fighters, 2 aux, 1 LCU 4800/26/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Victoria Point 7 LCUs 8540/38/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Soerabaja 14 X CA, 2 X APD, 2 X AP, 2 X AK, 2 X DE, 89 bombers, 44 aux, 14 LCUs 37240/204/2
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 96860/992/7
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 29920/16/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Clark Field 17 LCUs 127800/1135/9
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Naha 1 X SS, 12 LCUs 17200/139/7
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Truk 11 LCUs 24540/11/0

Combat

A Dauntless spotted an AK about 82 miles E of Wenchow and claimed a hit.

The SS Tautog was patrolling 238 miles E of Camranh Bay when she encountered 2 AKs and 5 MSWs. She hit an AK with a torpedo that caused a fire to start.

152 NW of Jesselton the SS S-42 stumbled across the path of a CL and 5 DDs which she managed to evade before their attack could result in fatal damage.

The SS Stingray, 21 miles E of Camranh Bay, discovered a lone TK and raked it with no less that 10 hits from the deck gun and 2 torpedoes that combined to inflict heavy damage.

Gumma was targeted by 50 P-51D on a sweep and 21 X Zeke, 15 X Shinden and 30 X Tony were up for a fight. 6 Mustangs were shot down and 14 Zekes, 6 X Shinden and 23 Tonys were splashed. The strike of 214 X B-29 arrived under escort by 32 X P-51D and 7 X Zeke, 9 X Shinden and 1 X Tony tried to turn the attackers away. 2 Zekes (2 damaged), 2 Shindens (1 damaged) and the Tony were shot down at the cost of the loss of 3 Mustangs and another damaged. AA fire damaged 12 of the bombers who did very little damage to the armaments factory.

Kendari was raided by 143 X A-26B (6 damaged) and 30 X B-24J (1 downed, 1 damaged) for heavy airfield damage, moderately heavy port damage, a very large number of secondary explosions were claimed and casualties were placed at moderate.

Naga was struck by 50 X A-26B (2 downed, 10 damaged), 49 X B-25J (12 damaged) and 67 X P-38J for heavy airfield damage, a very large number of secondary explosions and moderately heavy personnel losses. Another strike of 42 X A-26B (2 damaged) and 54 X P-38J arrived and added moderate damage to the airstrip, a few secondary explosions were observed and casualties were moderate. The IJA 55th Ind. Mixed Brigade had moderate losses from 11 X B-25J (3 damaged) and 20 X F4U-1D. Artillery exchanges left the Allied forces unharmed and the Japanese absorbed very heavy casualties.

Manila was hit by 29 X B-24D and 17 X P-38J for light port damage, some secondary explosions and moderate troop losses. Afterward another 96 B-24J (1 damaged)) arrived and they did light damage to the port, some secondary explosions and casualties were moderate.

Clark Field was attacked by 33 X B-24J (1 downed, 14 damaged) for moderate airfield damage and heavy losses. Another 15 X B-24D (7 damaged) arrived and they added light damage to the airfield and moderate casualties.

At Gili Gili 12 X Liberator VI and 9 X Spitfire VIII did moderate airstrip damage and a couple of secondary explosions. Then the South Seas Det. Suffered very heavy losses from 52 X A-26B, 44 X Mosquito FB.VI and 4 X Kittyhawk III.

The Allied ships unloading at Sabang were under a CAP of 28 X Hellcat II, 15 X Corsair IV and 8 X P-47D when 3 Peggys and 2 Zekes appeared. All of the Japanese planes were shot down.

The Allied ships 24 miles N of Sabang were attacked by 3 X Peggy who were destroyed by the 28 X Hellcat II, 118 X Corsair IV, 10 X Firefly and 5 X P-47D on CAP duty. A Thunderbolt was damaged. 6 X Peggy and 12 X Zeke then tried and were splashed with a Hellcat and 2 Corsairs being damaged.

An attack 97 miles SW of Hong Kong was made by the SS Haddo on a lone AK. She hit her target with 2 fish causing the ship to break up and sink.

Allied forces attacked and captured a vacated Lingayen.

“So after slogging our way over half the island of Formosa the ever loving Corps is going to allow us to use our unique skills to assault and capture Takao tomorrow,” says Slim to his lads. He didn't mention that there are additional units involved besides the 2nd Marine Division.. An Army Infantry Division, 2 artillery units and a tank destroyer Bn are joining in the attack.

Jay listens to the distant rumble of artillery, happy in the knowledge that today nobody seems interested in his little corner of hell. As a precaution the platoon shifted it's position during the night and the guys didn't mind having to dig new holes at all.

Ed and his staff are going over plans for the next operation and the focus is on munitions and fuel. It always come down to the logistics, thinks Ed. Only a fool would ignore this and leave it totally to the whims of others. “I don't want enough for the anticipated demands that will be made on us. I want more. Lots more. If there's one thing we can count on it's that plans will swiftly change once things begin to roll.

Victory Points Allied 75120 (7682 Strategic) Japanese 42067

Sorry for dropping from sight for a bit, but I was very sick.

May 30, 1945 Naga

Intel

120527 men are based at Changchun.
14th Field Artillery Regiment is located at Canton.
Elements of the 8th Mongolian Cavalry Division are planning for an attack on Tabun-Nur.
Elements of the 26th Division are located at Chengting.
36th Division is planning for an attack on Kweiyang.
Arshan Garrison Regiment is planning for an attack on Arshaan.
16th Army is located at Rabaul.
8th Construction Battalion is located at Sining.
8th Tank Regiment is located at Songkhia.
2nd Aviation Rgt is located at Mutanchiang.
122nd IJN Base Force is located at Nagasaki.
Nagasaki Fortress is located at Nagasaki.
Najin Fortress is located at Changkufeng.

Recon

Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Saigon 5 X AP, 1 LCU 7300/26/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Victoria Point 7 LCUs 15280/90/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 98320/1005/12
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30000/13/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Truk 11 LCUs 31360/20/0
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Soerabaja 1 X CV, 1 X BB, 19 X CA, 5 X AP, 2 X APD, 2 X AK, 2 X DE, 1 X TK, 1 X MSW, 85 bombers, 43 aux, 14 LCUs 36480/301/4
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Kadina 13 LCUs 2060/25/0

Combat

The SS Stingray ventured into the waters of Camranh Bay and was rewarded with an attack on an unescorted TK, which she hit with a torpedo that sank it.

Naga was bombed by 34 X B-17E (2 damaged) and 79 X P-38J for light airfield damage and a secondary explosion. Another raid of 22 X B-25J (6 damaged), 18 X A-26B (3 damaged) and 26 X P-38J did moderate airfield damage, a couple of secondary explosions and light casualties. Artillery barrages from both sides produced no Allied losses and heavy Japanese casualties.

Manila's port was targeted by 29 X B-24D (4 damaged) and 9 X P-38J for moderate damage, a couple of secondary explosions were observed and personnel losses were moderate.

Clark Field was hit by 19 X B-24J (2 downed, 14 damaged) for light airstrip damage, a secondary explosion, a Zeke and a Frank were trashed and casualties were light.

Gili Gili had light airfield damage from an air raid.

An Allied assault on Takao's defenses cost both sides very heavily and the attackers gained some ground. Bill stares at his orders and is dumbfounded that they will move to a smaller sized port without a yard. How the hell is he ever going to get the Mighty Mo back in fighting shape?

Dave and Sandy go into town for a solemn observance of Memorial Day. Sandy finds it very unsettling, especially with Bill somewhere doing whatever the Navy bids.

Pete and Sylvia left the doctor's office having had good news that Pearl is a “healthy young lady.” As they walk back to the hotel to prepare for the evening's customers Pearl starts crying and Syl laughs saying, “A real live Princess, she is. A demanding little so and so.” Pete has a chuckle and gives Syl a peck on her cheek telling her that's for the Queen.

Elaine complains about the war taking forever to end and her father says if she thinks that's bad he's suffering because his beloved Bucs had a 9 game winning streak snapped by the Brooklyn Dodgers on the back end of a double header in Brooklyn. “Even when they do good it's never enough for you dad,” she says to him. He'll do just about anything to distract Elaine from getting into a tizzy over the war and Gil not being able to visit her.

Jay huddles uncomfortably in his hole eating some soggy something or other. “The can didn't say mix with water and that about all that's in there,” he mutters as the rain continues to make life miserable for everyone. He wonders when the next attack will be attempted and why they just sit here like this. “They must want us to drown,” he says and his pal asked who “they” were.

Victory Points Allied 75149 (7682 Strategic) Japanese 42089

May 31, 1945 Takao

Intel

45th Construction Battalion is located at Harbin.
7th Engineer Regiment is located at Mutanchiang.
79th Division is planning for an attack on Chiamussu.
26th Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Palembang.
Kwantung Area Army is located at Harbin.
3rd Guards Division is located at Shimuzu.
Elements of the 10th Ind. Brigade are located at Yenen.
278571 men are based at Changkufeng.
112th Division is planning for an attack on Mishan.
143rd Division is located at Nagoya.
8894 men are based at Mukden.
9th Engineer Regiment is located at Changkufeng.

Recon

Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Saigon 7 X AP, 2 X AK, 4 fighters, 2 aux, 1 LCU 7000/38/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Victoria Point 7 LCUs 22680/119/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Johore Bahru 1 X AP, 3 X AG, 1 X DE
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Soerabaja 14 X CA, 1 X CL, 9 X AP, 3 X APD, 2 X AK, 2 X DE, 1 X TK, 161 bombers, 58 aux, 14 LCUs 45700/387/8
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30460/12/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Truk 11 LCUs 35520/12/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Hong Kong 2 X SS, 4 X CA, 11 LCUs 148120/1744/8
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 99160/987/8

Combat

The SS S-43, 26 miles NW of Singkawang, hit a TK with a torpedo that did heavy damage to the target and triggered a fire. Then the 7 PCs on the scene found and attacked the sub. The sub has moderately light systems damage and light flooding so her patrol is over.

The SS S-46 tried to attack a TK 21 miles W of Pontianak, but the 4 PCs escorting the tanker detected and attacked the sub, sinking it.

93 miles SW of Vladivostok the SS Bonefish found numerous ships and hit an AK with a fish that started a fire. The DDs, PCs and MSWs located and attacked her then. A couple of hours later the Bonefish was driven off as she tried to stage another attack. This didn't deter her skipper and the escorts dropped depth charges on her again a short time later. The Bonefish has light systems damage and moderate flooding so she'll make for port, get patched up and live to fight another day.

Nagasaki was attacked by 38 X B-24J (1 downed, 9 damaged and 32 X P-38J based out of Formosa. The armaments factory sustained moderately light damage.

Gili Gili had light airfield damage and very light casualties from an air attack. Later the IJA 21st Division was struck by Allied planes for heavy losses.

The 16th Chinese Corps, 88 miles NW of Hengchow, was attacked by 10 X Ann, 9 X Sonia, 3 X Nick and 3 X Oscar for light casualties. The LRCAP never materialized to protect the Chinese troops.

The Allied ships 84 miles SE of Taipei were attacked by 23 X Grace and 31 X Sonia and 16 X Hellcat intercepted them. A Hellcat was damaged in the melee and 4 Graces (15 damaged) and 22 Sonia were splashed. The AP Dardanus was struck by a bomb and the AP Empire Trooper was hit by a torpedo. Some Allied troops were fished out of the water after the attack.

Allied artillery inflicted heavy personnel losses on the Japanese at Naga and the Japanese shells did no harm.

The Allied attack at Takao swept the defenders aside and the base was taken. The Japanese had very heavy casualties and the Allies lost heavily in the fighting. Some of the Japanese are now surrounded and others were retreating towards Tainan.

Stalin looks at the copies of the orders that were issued yesterday and asks if this will be enough support to start an air war with the Japanese. He's told that when all of the units have be repositioned things will look more favorable. Nobody wants to be the one to tell him that more support is needed to sustain an attack on the Japanese. What they don't know is that for now Stalin is content with his recent bloodless gains.

“Wonderful, the weather is breaking and that means tomorrow we get to visit Kitakyushu,” says Brownie to Gil. Gil and the others just file out of the briefing and head to the mess hall for some chow. Somebody jokingly said something about being fattened up for the slaughter. What's on their minds is a new type of Japanese plane appearing in growing numbers called Shinden. It's supposed to be a hot fighter and in capable hands a real killer. In the briefing somebody had said that they thought all of the good Japanese pilots were dead and somebody else replied that the only good Japanese pilot was a dead one. The major conducting the briefing ordered silence and continued without further interruption. The Lucky 11 all wonder to themselves if their escorts will be there, if a prior fighter sweep is scheduled and if they're really lucky there will be no Japanese planes or AA.

Victory Points Allied 75632 (7730 Strategic) Japanese 42102

June 1, 1945 Tori Shima

Intel

53rd Division is located at Osaka/Kobe.
17th Reserve Coastal Artillery Regiment is located at Niigata.
21st Mortar Battalion is planning for an attack on Kweiyang.
10th Division is located at Harbin.
27th Engineer Regiment is located at Mutanchiang.
9th Fleet is located at Bangkok.
8071 men are based at Matsue.
20th Division is located at Changkufeng.
64th Division is located at Nanning.
60th Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Kadina.
Ryojun Fortress is located at Port Arthur.
23rd Engineer Regiment is located at Pisanuloke.
73rd Division is located at Nagoya.
26th Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Palembang.
Elements of the1st Mongolian Cavalry Division are located at Paotang.
24908 men are based at Paramushiro Jima.

Recon

F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Hong Kong 2 X SS, 3 X CA, 11 LCUs 152300/1669/11
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Camranh Bay 2 X AP, 34 fighters, 20 bombers, 62 aux, 5 LCUs 18080/227/7
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Bandou vacant
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Johore Bahru 3 X AG, 1 X AP, 1 X DE
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Soerabaja 14 X CA, 1 X CL, 2 X DD, 7 X AP, 6 X DE, 1 X AK, 1 X MSW, 3 X APD, 161 bombers, 61 aux, 14 LCUs 47300/375/8
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 99400/935/13
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30280/12/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Clark Field 17 LCUs 128780/1162/6
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Truk 11 LCUs 33960/14/0

Combat

Near Hong Kong the SS Haddo tried to attack a damaged AK, but failed. In the late afternoon the Haddo spotted and hit an AK with 2 torpedoes that sank the ship.

The SS Harder, 77 miles S of Hungnam, surprised a lone AK in the predawn by hitting it with 3 shells from the deck gun and a pair of torpedoes. The victim was sinking as the sub moved off. Then the Harder reloaded her tubes and spotted and attacked a pair of TKs under heavy escort. She scored a hit with a fish on a tanker that did heavy damage and a fire started. A quick reload was being done when the busy sub attacked an AK, hitting it 4 times with her deck gun. In the early evening the sub tried to attack another passing convoy, but was driven off by the vigilant escorts.

Nagaoka was bombed by 192 X B-29 for moderately light damage to the Mitsubishi engine factory. No planes were harmed.

Asahigawa was targeted by 61 X B-24D, 20 X P-51D and 46 X P-38J and suffered light damage to the Mitsubishi engine plant.

Kitakyushu was hit by 141 X B-29 who did moderately heavy damage to the Nakajima engine factory. Another strike of 132 X B-29 then arrived and did moderate damage to the heavy industry. Within the hour another attack was made by 207 X B-29 who heaped on very heavy damage to the heavy industry.

Tokyo was swept by 68 X P-51D who dove out of the sun into a gaggle of 57 X Zeke, 24 X George, 10 X Shinden, 44 X Frank and 40 X Tony. The Japanese and American planes fell from the sky like rain as 25 Zekes (1 damaged), 17 Georges, 2 Shindens (1 damaged), 27 Franks and 40 Tonys were splashed. 10 Mustangs were lost and 3 others took damage.

Bangkok's port was hit by 144 X Liberator VI and the heavy AA fire downed 3 bombers and damaged 22. The target took very heavy damage, there were a very large number of secondary explosions (including some fuel) and casualties were placed at very heavy.

Gili Gili had it's airstrip very lightly damaged by an air raid. The South Seas Det. absorbed heavy casualties from an air attack. Then the IJA 21st Division took light losses from Allied aircraft.

The Karafuto Mixed Brigade at Toyohara was hit for moderate losses by Allied planes. 3 Mitchells and an Invader were damaged in the attack.

At Tavoy the IJA 37th Division was jumped by Allied planes and the unit had moderate losses while a Mosquito FB.VI was destroyed and 6 more were damaged.

At Kunming the 47th Chinese Corps was attacked by 3 X Helen and 4 X Peggy who inflicted very light casualties at the cost of a Helen downed (1 damaged) and a Peggy destroyed (2 damaged).

The 16th Chinese Corps, 91 miles NW of Changsha, was under a LRCAP of 13 X P-40N when 10 X Ann, 9 X Sonia, 3 X Oscar and 3 X Nick arrived. The unit had light losses, 2 Warhawks were shot down and the Japanese lost 4 Anns, 2 Sonias and a Nick.

The Allied ships near Taichu were attacked by 3 X Judy who were all destroyed trying to penetrate the CAP of 35 X P-38J and 22 X F6F. A Lightning was damaged.

The Allied TF 82 miles NW of Puerto Princesa was attacked by 6 X Betty and 5 were shot down by the AA fire. The lone fish dropped missed by a wide margin.

At Naga the 2 sides exchanged the usual artillery bombardments with the usual results. The Japanese did no harm while they took heavy casualties.

Happy to be back on the ground on Saipan Gil tiredly slips out of his flight gear and just stretches out on the apron. Gel pulls him arm grunting, “Let's go get our shot and chow.” Gil drags himself up and the Lucky 11 are off to the debriefing.

Stick is forever stuck in the same rut. Some people fear that they won't survive the next minute and here is is paid to fly a plane he loves, but only rarely into any danger. One of these days he figures that when he least expects it he'll get his kill.

Sandy sits in her favorite spot gazing out at the panorama displayed before her that seems to stretch out forever. She thinks of Bill and reaches into he pack for a pencil and paper.

Sam is up to his usual stuff after another boring patrol with his squad the guys drifted off and he took Frankie to their favorite spot. Sam now has a ball to throw for Frankie, but the dog brings back a stick. Sam throws the stick and gets up to go and get the ball. As he does a Mustang roars by low over his head and Sam instinctively ducked. His eye caught the flash of sunlight off of some thing and he proceeds to investigate. He is now in possession of a Japanese sword so he continues to look around for the scabbard, but finds nothing. He heads off to the Sea Bees to do a little business and by the time he returns to his squad he is loaded down with enough whiskey to last them for a while.

Victory Points Allied 76877 (8812 Strategic) Japanese 42027

June 2, 1945 London

Intel

3rd Construction Battalion is planning for an attack on Chungking.
22nd Aviation Unit is located at Brunei.
71st Ind. Mixed Brigade is located at Balikpapan.
148th IJNAF Base Force is located at Ominato.
152nd Division is located at Tokyo.
24755 men are based at Paramushiro Jima.
Tsushima Fortress is located at Masan.
91st Naval Guard Unit is located at Hanoi.
1st Mixed Regiment is located at Amoy.
4th Aviation Rgt is located at Nanning.
15th Army is located at Pisanuloke.
12922 men are based at Aomori.
6901 men are based at Inch'on.
Kitachishima Fortress is located at Paramushiro Jima.
122nd IJA Base Force is located at Victoria Point.
Elements of the 4th Mongolian Cavalry Division are located at Paotang.
87936 men are based at Pescadores.
46th Road Construction Battalion is located at Changkufeng.

Recon

F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Hong Kong 3 X SS, 3 X CA, 22 fighters, 28 aux, 11 LCUs 156500/1807/16
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Malacca vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Medan 1 LCU
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Balikpapan 20 fighters, 13 aux, 5 LCUs 3780/19/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 97560/951/9
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 30340/12/0
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Clark Field 2 bombers, 17 LCUs 129500/1144/5
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Songkhia 1 LCU 0/5/92
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Alor Star 6 fighters, 14 bombers, 13 aux, 4 LCUs 7340/28/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Truk 11 LCUs 34520/22/0

Combat

The SS Rock attacked a TK under escort by 4 DDs 17 miles NW of Brunei, hitting her target with 2 torpedoes that caused heavy damage and fires. In the afternoon the sub was still being hunted by the destroyers when 1 of them ate 2 fish that caused the DD to disappear in a huge explosion. The other 3 DDs dropped depth charges on the sub before she managed to elude them.

The SS Cisco was patrolling 24 miles NW of Wakkanai when radar picked up 4 approaching ships. The sub planted herself in the anticipated path of her intended victims. When the ships got closer they turned out to be 4 X DD and they zigged where it had been thought they would zag, ruining the sub's hoped for setup.

At Kunming the 16th Group Army was under the watchful eye of a Dinah when 20 Warhawks appeared and the Dinah ran. Another Dinah was chased away in the afternoon.

Naga was bombed by 130 X B-24J (4 damaged), 44 X B-24D and 72 X P-38J who did very heavy damage to the airfield, light damage to the port, triggered a huge number of secondary explosions (some fuel) and there were moderately heavy casualties. The IJA 55th Ind. Mixed Brigade was attacked by 9 X B-25J and 12 X P-38J for moderate losses. Japanese artillery was useless and the Allied barrage inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese.

Manila was struck by 28 X B-17E (6 damaged) and 59 X P-38J for light port damage, a secondary explosion and moderate personnel losses. While that was happening another raid of 44 X B-24J (2 damaged) and 54 X P-38J hit the airfield for moderately heavy damage and moderate casualties.

Clark Field was hit by 81 X B-24D (1 downed, 22 damaged) and 27 X P-38J for very heavy damage to the airfield, a few secondary explosions were seen, a Frank was left burning and troop losses were heavy. The 23rd Special Base Force was jumped by 42 X B-25J (1 downed, 14 damaged) and 18 X P-51D for heavy losses. Another attack came on and the IJA 58th Ind. Mixed Brigade was pounced on by 33 X B-25J (7 damaged) and 11 X P-51D for heavy casualties.

Gili Gili's airstrip was moderately damaged by an air raid. The IJA 21st Division was struck by Allied planes for heavy casualties.

At Tavoy the IJA 37th Division took moderate casualties from 57 X Mosquito FB.VI (2 downed, 7 damaged) and 11 X Thunderbolt II.

The 16th Chinese Corps, 88 miles NW of Changsha, was attacked by 7 X Ann (1 downed), 5 X Sonia (1 downed), 3 X Oscar and 3 X Nick. There were 10 X P-40N on a LRCAP and they lost a plane in the fight, but the LCU escaped harm.

The British continued to amass everything necessary to make Operation Swift Sword a success. Churchill is fretting over it like a mother hen and he's driving the staff officers crazy with his constant questioning. The whole thing has a new nickname of Winnie's Warriors. Of course this is behind Winston's back.

Bill has submitted a request to have the Mighty Mo relocated to a proper port where her needed repairs can be readily facilitated. He figures that he'll hear something eventually. In the meantime his ship and her sister, the New Jersey sit with ARs busily attending to them while they await sailing orders. Everybody is on edge as the Japanese situation continues to deteriorate. Bill knows that sooner or later the IJN will come out a do their damnedest to go out in a blaze of glory.

Slim sits eating some warm food for the first time in a while. He jokes that his stomach is confused as it's used to cold and wet food. The 2nd Marine Division still needs time to refit, but it's doubtful that it'll happen. Slim wonders if they'll be seeing Manila before the end of the war.

Gene looks at the files in front of him and he decides that he's not qualified for this job. He takes the files with him into the meeting and forms the people into groups and drops a file for each group. They will now be exploring if the idea set forth in their file is feasible or not. Just before he leaves for the day Gene's boss stops by his office and tells him that he knew Gene was the right guy for the job and that he's very happy with the way things are proceeding.

Victory Points Allied 76911 (8812 Strategic) Japanese 42153