From here to...well...it SEEMS like an eternity

[DuckofTindalos]

Ooops![:D][:D][:D]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

*********Captured Japanese Ammunition Depot, Nandi, Fiji, 07:15, December 14, 1942*********

Lt. jg, Manuel Mota, USN, takes in a small gasp of air when the light from the open door catches the row upon row of massive artillery shells sitting neatly upright in open wooden crates. He quietly says a Santa Maria when he considers what might have happened had these shells been used on the landing forces near Nandi.

By his estimate, there were no Japanese guns larger than 6 inches in use during the landing. These were more than twice that caliber. He approached the nearest pallet and shone his flashlight on one of the rounds. He drew in another breath. The letters were clearly in English. It read "356mm/45/HE" and underneath "Property of USN". At at angle over the lower inscription was stamped the message, "M&M Enterprises,importers of fine naval ammunition since 1941".

He called out to his crew, "better get Cmdr. Alston in here pronto..he is not going to believe this!"

Was Mr. Mota carrying a baseball, or perhaps a bat?? [:D]

[BrucePowers]

Could the jib be up for M&M Enterprises?[:)]

[witpqs]

It's the magical supply system - capture the base then pull right in and top up on your favorite ammo! As Ron says "Add water and stir." [:D]

[tabpub]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

It's the magical supply system - capture the base then pull right in and top up on your favorite ammo! As Ron says "Add water and stir." [:D]

[Cap Mandrake]

***********Recently captured Jap airfield, Nandi, Fiji, 13:20, December 15, 1942*********

Captain Drysdale, USMC, surveys his F4F, which is still without its propeller, but the engine has already been re-lubed and a crew are working on his guns. As he looks down the flight line he can see already over a hundred SBD's and F4F's in various stages of reassembly. Another crew has already added 200 ft of emergency runway. The place is almost ready for the 17's.

He swats a bug on his neck. "Shit howdy! How did y'all get so much done in less than 24 hrs?"

******************************

BTW...that Mull chap in the ETO is quite the glory hound.

[BrucePowers]

Gotta love them Seabees[:D]

[witpqs]

On the bridge of the USS [REDACTED FOR NATIONAL SECURITY] the helmsman hung on to the wheel to steady himself after the unexpected bump and following vibrations. Another mine! Sending the first officer to investigate, the captain rattled off a signal for the convoy's commodore.

Back in record time, the first officer fought off labored breathing from running up from the depths of the forward cargo hold. "Good news, sir!"

"Oh, let's have it then."

"The mine must have detonated from turbulence without getting too close to the hull. We have a minor puncture and two small ruptures in a seam a short distance away."

"Thank the heavens! Was any cargo destroyed? What about the cargo, man?"

"No, sir. The cargo is all intact. While the DC party went to the site of the flooding I went straight to the high priority cargo and inspected it closely."

The captain gave into a sigh of relief and dropped his head as he felt the tension ebb away. His eyes settled on the first officer's pant legs and shoes. His gaze became icy and his voice carried a troubled edge. "You were standing right next to it?"

"Yes, sir. It's fi..." The first officer froze as his eyes locked with the captain's gaze. He followed it down to his own feet. They were soaking wet. As they looked up, each man looked directly into the other's soul as they donned masks of horror.

Before either could speak, there was a deep rumble, so intense it was more felt than heard.

At the bottom of the forward cargo hold a crate burst as a wing sprang forth, its dive break ripped off as it drove into the hull. Flying debris tore through the damage control party, wrecking their efforts as timbers were swept aside. A second crate ruptured into a tank and an artillery piece competing for the same space. As crates on the bottom row burst, those higher up crashed downward, into the rising water. Jeeps, tents, radar sets, bombs, infantry squads appearing in the maelstrom. All at once it was too much and with a mighty groan the hull blew out like a nautical popcorn kernel.

The USS [REDACTED FOR NATIONAL SECURITY] went down faster than a governor in a scandal. Fortuitously in shallow waters, the deck remained awash allowing much of the crew to escape the ship's speedy demise. Tragically, as the captain and first officer made their escape they were both crushed when the crated cargo lashed to the deck exploded into a field of martson mats...

[Moondawggie]

Man---I had no idea that adding salt water to all those supplies could be so thermodynamically active. I thought that stuff only worked for minature dinosaurs and zoo animals. Go figure....[:'(]

[BrucePowers]

I have a question that's been bothering me for quite some time. Does M&M Enterprises sell chocolate candies?[:D]

[Cap Mandrake]

"The USS [REDACTED FOR NATIONAL SECURITY] went down faster than a governor in a scandal..."


It is probably the official mine magnet of operation Akron, USS Le Maire.

If those guys block the Beqa Passage, Adm Smith is not going to be a happy Admiral.

[Cap Mandrake]

************University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Chicago, Illinois, 13:20, December 15, 1942**************


A crowd of dignitaries which includes the Deputy Secretary of the Navy, a number ofAdmirals of both the Rear and Vice variety and a few Congressmen gather near the rusty hull of a retired 90 ft fireboat which has been hauled out of the water and is suspened on wooden supports all fitted with wooden dowels. There are no metal fasteners to be found.

Prof. Fermi: Gentleman, I give you the new University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory 200 ampere NAMICLOD, the Naval Mine Cloaking Device. The 100 ampere version has already been deployed for Operation Akron, but this version will defeat even the most sophisticated detectors yet in use. <he nods his head toward a young, enthusiatic engineer with impossibly heavy glasses. The young man smiles broadly and throws a huge hand switch. A bright arc of electricity is seen in broad daylight as the switch closes. The crowd reacts with alarm as a dozen wrist watches leave their owners and impale themsleves on the hull>

Prof. Fermi: You IDIOT! I said DEgauss!

[Cap Mandrake]

*********HQ of Armada Ecuatoriana, Quito, Ecuador, 12:25, December 15, 1942*******

Mr. I. Dunn Cheatham, Esq. of DC&H, LLC: Superb! It appears we have reached an understanding. Let me review to confirm. <a translator begins translating into Spanish as he speaks> M&M Enterprises agrees to deliver one Gore-class icebreaker to the Ecuadorian Navy on or before May 15, 1943. My client also agrees to supply a technical support crew of 6 descendants of the famous sea Captain, Mr. Fletcher Christian to provide technical support during the vessels shakedown period of 4 months after delivery. In addition, my client grants first right of refusal option on the delivery of a second Gore-class icebreaker to be exercised on or before June 15, 1943. In return, the Government of Ecuador agrees to supply 4000 metric tons of grade 1 cocoa powder to M&M Entperprises Confectionary Division in monthly 1000 metric ton aliquots beginning on the 15th day of the month after the keel of said vessels is laid. <he sits straight up and smiles broadly> Please tell the Admiral I believe he has made a very wise decision as it would be a castrophy for the Ecuadorian Armada if her warships were to be ice-bound when the ships of the Peruvians or Chileans were operating freely. The Armada simply cannot allow an icebreaker gap.

Admiral Mundofrio, CIC Amrada Ecuadoriana: <as he listens to the translation, a big smile comes over his face. He stands to shake hands, an ample midsection displaces the desk a bit as he stands> Fantastico! Estoy de acuerdo, Senor Chay-at-AHM!

Mr. I. Dunn Cheatham, Esq. of DC&H, LLC: Please, please, Admiral, just call me Che. Ask the Admiral if he liked the original Gaugin's from Mr. Minderbinder.....

[tabpub]

Christ, I think Mandrake has broken into the Mescaline cabinet again......

Can someone please put a stronger lock on the door? I know the downtime we are having is excruciating, but the use of psychotropics is not recommended, ole chum....

[BrucePowers]

Sorry, I think I caused that one[:D]

Ok I admit it. I am not really all that sorry.[:D]

[Cap Mandrake]

Anonymous Editor's Note:

A number of readers have wondered if a certain contributor to the narrative may have indulged in the use of hallucinogens to aid in manufacturing story ideas. The Board has taken this question seriously and has commissioned a secret sub-committee to investigate under the moral turpitude clause of the Particpant's Contract (Sec 22-A.

After a careful review, the Sub-Committee has ruled by split decision that there is insufficient evidence at this time to eject the contributor in question. The majority offered these observations:

1) One of the characters nearly perished when his B-25C developed severe icing during a blizzard in the middle of July. He and his crew were only saved by the intervention of a 5000 ft cloud shaped like an Armenian Orthodox priest. Against their instincts, they survived by flying North to escape the blizzard. This was taken by the majority to be evidence that global cooling may be real. The committee also felt unanimously that a 5000 ft cloud shaped like an Armenian Orthodox priest was a very curious weather phenomenon.

2) The threat of a Japanese landing on the South Island of New Zealand earlier in the war was very real. Had they succeeded then Allied convoys trying to reach Australia from the US would have been required to transit the Antarctic. This would have required a surge in icebreaker construction. M&M Shipbuilding gambled heavily on this possibility, cornering the world market and laying keels for new construction without orders.

3) The Battle of the Alphabet Sea and the Japanese debacle at Perth made a landing in New Zealand very unlikley. This was a big blow to profit-making opportunities for M&M Enterprises because the color of scarcity is green.

4) M&M Enterprises developed a new strategy to "move some merchandise" by "co-marketing" the global cooling concept with Mr. Minderbinder's Presidential campaign. The key seems to be to generate irrational fears among potential consumers. This has already borne fruit in the "Winterized Quonset Hut" marketing campaign.

5) The sale of icebreakers to Ecuadorian Navy seems to fall into this category.

6) Altough the committee was unable to ascertain the value of 4000 metric tons of cocoa, they agreed to defer action at this time.

[Cap Mandrake]

An interesting turn of events has taken place in the SEAC area of command. 10th Air Force, USAAF have been hatching a plan to raid the Jap airfield s at Rangoon for over two months. The Japs routinely have up to 40 Tonys and several dozen Zeroes in the air every day over Rangoon. Generally there are 150+ transport aircraft and 60-70 bombers based at Rangoon as well. This makes the airfields there a tempting target but a formidable one as a daylight raid, even with the heavies, would likely be very costly in unescorted Allied bombers (the P-40 E's are out of range). Enter the P-38, which has begun to arrive in India. Over time, all 4 P-40E squadrons in the CBI were converted to P-38. These are the most experienced USAAF pilots int he Pacific Theater. One squadron began escorting Wellington raids in Northern Burma, but the other three were purposely kept out of the air to achieve surprise.

As Dacca is too far for P-38 use over Rangoon, Chandpur was reinforced with ground support elements sufficient to service all the P-38's and all the heavies of 10th AF. Rangoon was reconned daily for months to condition the Japs to the regularity. Imphal was built to level 5 and reinforced with supplies and ground support elements so that all the 10th AF B-25's could reach Rangoon. Almost all the RAF bombers were converted to Wellys to aide on the follow-on attacks. By the first week of December, the P-38's were ready, the Wellys were ready, most of the heavies were ready and the B-25's were ready. 90% were pulled out of air ops over Northern Burma to rest up and the heavies and P-38's were secretly moved to Chandpur. The B-25's moved to Imphal. All that was needed was a break in the weather and a smaller CAP over Burma to open the door.

Curiously, that opening came from the Royal Navy feint toward Sumatra to draw Jap resources away from the South Pacific for the Allied landing at Fiji. That may have worked, it may have not, but it certainly did cause a big surge in fighter strength out of Rangoon to Sabang and Andaman. When the weather cleared the next day, nealry 100 P-38's appeared in the morning over Rangoon, encountering only 16 Tonys. 14 Tonys were shot down to 2 P-38's. In the afternoon, all the heavies in 10th AF went in unescorted over Rangoon and plastered the place, causing > 50% runway damage. The weather held on day 2 and the B-25's and Wellys went in with a small P-38 escort after a morning sweep. Bingo! Many Jap aircraft were destroyed on the ground and the CAP is non-existent. Essentially, now, there are no operational Jap combat aircraft in Burma (though Andaman apparently has quite a few bombers ..? Sallys?)

The trick now will be to keep up the pressure on Rangoon so that he cant move fighters back in. Also, Lord Admiral Tabpub is getting a bit cranky about CBI and Australia hogging all the P-38's [:)] He will need some soon as well.

[Cap Mandrake]

The first coordinated attack by I Corps at Suva encounters a still potent Jap infantry brigade and substantial fortifications (level 5). The Nandi force clearly has the upper hand.

[Cap Mandrake]

*********Captured Jap. Ammo Bunker, Nandi, Fiji, 08:20, December 16, 1942*********

Lt. Beckham, RN: Right, so I am particularly looking for 356mm/45 main gun ammo for Prince of Wales.

Lt. jg Mota: Got that, sir. I have 46 pallets of HE, 22 of AP and even 10 of something called GR.

Lt. Beckham, RN: GR? I'm afraid I've not heard of it.

Lt. jg Mota: Here is the information that came with the packing slip. It reads, "Green ammunition is a patented product of M&M Enterprises which seeks to limit global cooling by dispersing fewer sub 5 micron dust particles into the atmosphere. For best results, the use of delayed contact fuses is NOT advised. Please enjoy the product safely."

Lt. Beckham, RN: Well, I'll be damned. Let us have then 200 rounds of HE, 50 of AP and let's have 50 of the GN. The Captain is quite keen on running a green ship. Perhaps we can save a bit on the purchase of 'dust credits'. Prince of Wales and Oklahoma will be rearranging the furniture at Suva for a bit.

Lt. jg Mota: Great! This stuff is really starting to move.

Lt. Beckham, RN: Splendid! What do I owe you then? Can we put it on the Lend Lease card? This thing has a great interest rate.

Lt. jg Mota: Oh no, it's on the Japs.

Lt. Beckham, RN: Go on! You are having sport with me.

Lt. jg Mota: No, no I'm not kidding. We just found all this shit, err, sorry sir, I mean stuff......

[Cap Mandrake]

********Australia Command HQ, Derby, 10:20, December 16, 1942*******

Gen. Blamey: Splendid! And the situation at Perth?

Aide: Yes, there are now four full divisions in the line, 1st, 3rd and 5th Australian and the American 32nd. In addition, there are 4 independent Australian brigades, including the partly reconstituted 22nd and 27th from the fight in Java and Malaysia. There are also 2 British brigades and some 50 Stewarts of 3rd Tank Regt. There are nearly 180 Commonwealth and USAAF aircraft flying Tac Air and just this week a number of damaged Royal Navy light cruisers are providing naval bombardment. Just today USAAF flew in two squadrons of B-24's to soften them up. We have been attacking daily for over two weeks. Estimates of enemy strength run as high as 100,000 men. They seem, to a man, to be willing to die for the Emperor and are, to this point, inflicting as many casualties as they are taking. Where they are getting their food and ammunition is beyond me. A number of local Abos have complained about a shortage of bush meat.

Gen. Blamey: Bush meat? Probably making sashimi out of them the uncivilized little yellow bastards.