The KB "stepped on" PT boat formations in the middle of the ocean between Johnston and Palmyra not once, but twice today!
I know that we've probably sunk the PT boat tender but I really don't like to encounter PT boats in this fashion.
3 enemy destroyers (same as yesterday) raided Christmas Island; the brave little Karii fended them off and saved a handful of ships.
In return we torpedoed a large AMC loaded with troops.
Naval attack against TFs around Palmyra and in port hit a large number of smaller cargo ships, minesweepers etc.
Our LRCAP over Palmyra also intercepted Catalina transports, not sure if we shot any down but we will continue with our CAP.
This turn enemy carriers were observed entering Pearl Harbour; if the KB had moved east we could have engaged but with fuel in the red, 50 Judy's still in conversion training
and the Junyo damaged we did the right thing by staying close to Palmyra. Had Andy spent 2 more turns on capturing the atoll we would have seen a major carrier battle; it would actually have been
possible to sortie 2 days earlier but it disrupted with the Val to Judy conversion process at Truk, bah.
Over the next couple of turns we will replenish, remove all enemy ships in the area and establish a strong naval presence in the Line Islands.
The question now is which tactic to use;
Situation: With the KB present and supported by LBA at Christmas and Fanning Islands we have air and sea supremacy in the region.
There are 15000 Marines of the 3rd Marine Division stuck at Palmyra and a huge enemy fleet replenishing at Pearl.
- If and when we retire our carriers Andy will be back in force and "upgrade" Palmyra, extract the Marines and replace them with base forces, engineers and a garrison.
Here we got several options and I would appreciate advice from all you Admirals out there [:)]
1. Keep KB around and build up Fanning Island and reinforce Christmas Island to enable LBA to truly threaten the enemy when he returns supported by all his carriers and capital ships.
1.1. If we chose this strategy how many fighters and bombers will we then need? Christmas Island is currently a size 5(5) airfield while Fanning Island is 1(3). Total aviation support is ca 160
but another Air Divisions with support for another 72 ac is being lifted into the area. Support for 220 LBA is not enough to face 500 enemy carrier ac. Bringing in yet another Air Division and some
aditional base forces will however bring us to 320 and then we're starting to pose a serious threat.
2. If we can discourage an enemy expedition to Palmyra we can then deal with the 3rd Marines in due time.
There are several options here as well; I'm currently prepping 2 crack divisions and 1 Amph bde for Palmyra but it will take another 90 days to get them to 100.
I truly don't want to invade Palmyra and the 3rd Marines with anything less than fully prepped invasion forces. If the Marines run out of supplies it's another matter, but how can we know if and when they do run out of supplies? If we wait 3 months before invading Palmyra it's very likely that Andy will try to occupy Fanning Island as well - unless we manage to implement scenario 1 that is.
3. A last option is to do nothing but sit back and snipe at Palmyra and the efforts made by the Allies to support their troops there.
This option is probably best combined with scenario 1. We can base the Combined Fleet at Kwajalein after replenishing at Truk; then we can be at Palmyra in 4 days.
- If I bring in more fuel and another Naval HQ to Christmas Island it will also be possible to replenish carrier sorties.
A truly interesting situation and I don't think the most important thing is to recapture Palmyra but to delay the enemy for as long as possible and in the process inflict as many casualties as possible
while taking as few as possible in return.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Feb 26, 43
Surface Combat
Night Time Surface Combat, near Palmyra at 167,125, Range 12,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CV Hiryu
CV Soryu
CV Shokaku
CV Zuikaku
CV Akagi
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
CA Maya
CA Haguro
DD Susuzuki
DD Hatsuzuki
Allied Ships
PT-148
PT-149
PT-150
PT-151
PT-152
PT-153
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Palmyra at 166,128, Range 9,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CL Agano
CL Isuzu
DD Shiratsuyu
DD Yudachi
DD Tadeshiwa
DD Katsutade
Allied Ships
PT-148
PT-149
PT-150
PT-151
PT-152
PT-153
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Christmas Island at 174,141, Range 7,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Karii, Shell hits 1, on fire
Allied Ships
DD Ralph Talbot
DD Tucker
DD Downes, Shell hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Palmyra at 168,131, Range 23,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CV Kaga
CV Junyo
CVL Shoho
CVL Ryuho
CS Nisshin
BB Hiei
BB Kirishima
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya
DD Akizuki
DD Teruzuki
Allied Ships
PT-148
PT-149
PT-150
PT-151, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
PT-152, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-153, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions: 30,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 23,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 23,000 yards
CV Junyo , CV Kaga , CVL Ryuho ,
CVL Shoho screened from combat
- escorted by DD Teruzuki
BB Kirishima engages PT-152 at 23,000 yards
CA Mikuma engages PT-150 at 23,000 yards
Range closes to 18,000 yards
DD Teruzuki engages PT-150 at 18,000 yards
Range closes to 15,000 yards
CV Junyo , CV Kaga , CVL Ryuho screened from combat
- escorted by DD Teruzuki
PT-153 sunk by BB Kirishima at 15,000 yards
CA Mikuma engages PT-152 at 15,000 yards
Parish, H.F. orders Allied TF to disengage
Range closes to 14,000 yards
BB Hiei engages PT-151 at 14,000 yards
CA Mikuma engages PT-152 at 14,000 yards
DD Teruzuki engages PT-151 at 14,000 yards
Range increases to 19,000 yards
BB Kirishima engages PT-152 at 19,000 yards
PT-152 sunk by BB Hiei at 19,000 yards
Range increases to 24,000 yards
Range increases to 30,000 yards
BB Kirishima engages PT-151 at 30,000 yards
Task forces break off...
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Sub Attacks
Submarine attack near Palmyra at 171,131
Japanese Ships
SS I-28
Allied Ships
AMC Hector, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
Allied ground losses:
36 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
AMC Hector is sighted by SS I-28
SS I-28 launches 6 torpedoes
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ASW attack near Pearl Harbor at 179,109
Japanese Ships
SS I-22, hits 8
Allied Ships
CA Australia
CA Astoria
CLAA Oakland
CLAA San Juan
CLAA San Diego
DD Thracian
DD Scout
DD Voyager
SS I-22 is sighted by escort
DD Thracian fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Scout attacking submerged sub ....
DD Voyager fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Scout attacking submerged sub ....
DD Scout attacking submerged sub ....
DD Scout cannot reach attack position over SS I-22
DD Scout is out of ASW ammo
DD Scout fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Scout fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Scout attacking submerged sub ....
DD Scout is out of ASW ammo
DD Scout is out of ASW ammo
DD Scout is out of ASW ammo
DD Scout attacking submerged sub ....
DD Scout is out of ASW ammo
DD Scout is out of ASW ammo
DD Scout is out of ASW ammo
Escort abandons search for sub
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air Combat
Morning Air attack on TF, near Palmyra at 170,133
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid spotted at 45 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
B5N2 Kate x 8
No Japanese losses
Allied Ships
AM Daring, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
AM Chignecto, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
Aircraft Attacking:
8 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 6000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AM Daring
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AM Chignecto
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Palmyra at 172,129
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 5
No Japanese losses
Allied Ships
xAK Allara, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Arkaba
Aircraft Attacking:
5 x G3M2 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Palmyra , at 170,133
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 29
A6M3a Zero x 16
B5N2 Kate x 11
D3A1 Val x 19
Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
Allied Ships
AM Adroit, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AM Swallow, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AM Robin, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
Port hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Palmyra , at 170,133
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid spotted at 22 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
G3M2 Nell x 6
No Japanese losses
Allied Ships
AM Heed, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AM Herald, Bomb hits 1
LCT-66, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AM Conflict, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
LCT-67, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
LCT-63, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
LCT-62, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AM Dash, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
Aircraft Attacking:
6 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Palmyra at 172,129
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid spotted at 21 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged
Allied Ships
xAKL Tennessean
xAK Arkaba, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
Aircraft Attacking:
6 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Palmyra at 170,133
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid spotted at 29 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 19
No Japanese losses
Aircraft Attacking:
8 x A6M2 Zero bombing from 100 feet *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Palmyra at 172,129
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 5
No Japanese losses
Allied Ships
xAKL White Wing, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Tennessean
Aircraft Attacking:
5 x G3M2 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Palmyra
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