Hi String,
Well the Yamato and Musashi operated also together on the night of the 11th-12th when they sank with their escorts 2 AP, 3 DD, 1 DE and.... 2 CVL and a British CV ESE of PJ after the first battle of Paramushiro Jima.
But today (or more precisely last night) they ran into much fierce opposition but still won. Please note that I manually chosed the two best available captains for both super-battleships.
25 July 1943
Northern Pacific
During the night, as ships from both sides sailed to Paramushiro Jima, they both met enemy submarines patrolling in the area.
The SS USS Balao saw 2 CA and 2 CL 180 miles west of PJ but was then chased by 7 DD. She escaped unhurt, and later surfaced and sent a sighting report, but it got lost in administrative delays at Attu and never reached in time the Allied naval commanders around PJ. What she saw was the Musashi & and Yamato TF.
The Japanese submarines had better connections with their warships. 120 miles east of PJ, the RO-60 first reported being chased by 4 DD and be lightly damaged by 4 near-misses, and then being again chased by 4 SC and escaping again after a near-miss.
But the most interesting reports came from the RO-61 patrolling off PJ. Her crew knew that it was a suicidal job they had to do, but did it well. She first saw the BB Maryland and evaded her escort (7 DD). Then she reported a big convoy (at least 4 AK, 1 LSD, 3 LST, 5 LCI escorted by 1 DD, 2 DD, 2 DMS, 3 MSW) but was then detected and heavily damaged by 2 hits and 5 near-misses scored by the 3 destroyers. She slipped away and saw another convoy, at least 9 AK escorted by 4 DD, before sending a full report.
So the Admiral Hashimoto aboard the Yamato knew that rather than intercepting a bombardment TF he will meet head-on a major invasion fleet supported by BB. He nevertheless sailed on after a last martial message that was cheered by all crews.
The Allied commanders on the contrary were mainly “in the blue”. The last reports they received showed no nearby Japanese ships, but repeated contact with submarines that increased the nervousness of the ships captains and disrupted a little the order of the various TF. The fact that there were several surface TF in the area from different countries didn’t help either, while the radar had not been working well in the area and sea haze was surrounding the island.
The result of all these factors was that the main Allied BB TF (BB Maryland, West Virginia, California, Idaho, New Mexico and Mississippi and 7 DD) didn’t react when the Japanese strike force (BB Yamato and Musashi, CA Chikuma, Aoba, Kinugasa and Furutaka, CL Oyodo and Kitakami, 7 DD) approached it, thinking it was another Allied TF. And suddenly the Japanese opened fire!
In the minutes it took for the Allied crew to return fire, 6 of their 7 had been hit, two of them by torpedoes, while the New Mexico had been hit by a torpedo and the West Virginia had received a 18in shell from the Musashi. The Allied ships then opened fire at 5000 yards on the incoming Japanese ships and began to score. Five Japanese DDs were hit by one or more 5in shells but the Minegumo torpedoed the DD USS Lardner twice and she capsized the first loss of the night. The West Virginia continued her duel vs the Musashi and took another 18in shell. The Allied TF had no time to fully react and its line was broken when the Japanese ships cut into it and the battle turned to a close-range melee.
The Yamato pummeled the Maryland with 18.1in shells, scoring 17 hits with such shells, and the devastated American battleship sank without having scored any important hit on her opponent. This loss proved to be a disaster for the Allied as she was the flagship of the main Allied TF in the area and as such carried the staff charged of coordinating all naval groups protecting the convoys. After this brutal loss, all coordination was lost.
At the same time the New Mexico took another torpedo but the last American BB in the line managed to get out of the scrap and opened fire on radar plots. They didn’t fire on BB or DD-sized targets by fear of hitting friends but had several CA-sized targets and the CA Aoba took two 14in shells and the Furutaka one. Inside the melee Japanese DD and CL were fighting the American DD and sank the Aaron Ward and the Laffey (that fell to a volley of torpedo launched by the Kitakami) and crippled the Buchanan with gunfire, but also suffered. Before sinking the Aaron Ward managed to hit the CL Oyodo with a torpedo and the DD Onami and Urakaze both were badly damaged by a dozen 5in shells.
After seeing his flagship sink the Maryland, Hashimoto thought that he had well used the initial advantage of surprise and rather than continue to fight the remaining 5 BB ordered his ships to continue to reach the convoys signaled by the RO-61. Both sides continued to exchange shells where they separated and the BB West Virginia and California were both hit by a 18in shell fired respectively by the Yamato and Musashi, while the CA Chikuma, Kinugasa and Aoba were all hit by a 14in shell. The CA Furutaka saw the burning DD Buchanan and sank her with a volley of 8in shells. And then both TF lost contact in the haze.
Result of round one:
Allied side (6 BB, 7 DD)
Sunk: BB California, DD Aaron Ward, Buchanan, Laffey, Lardner
On fire: BB West Virginia, California, DD Lawsdon (sp?), McCalla
Japanese side (2 BB, 4 CA, 2 CL, 7 DD)
Heavily damaged: CL Oyodo, DD Onami, Urakaze
On fire: CA Chikuma, DD Suzuzuki, Minegumo
Hashimoto didn’t find the convoys as Japanese lookouts reported ships forward closing rapidly in the haze. It was another surface TF, made of four British cruisers (CA Devonshire and Dorsetshire, CL Birmingham and Newcastle) escorted by 6 US DD. One again the Allied side was plagued by communication problems as the communication of the British Admiral aboard his CA had to pass to the leading US DD before reaching the united (American) command, and so in the other way. So all that he knew what that the BB TF had been scattered by a powerful Japanese TF and its BB were cut in two groups of 3. So he wasn’t sure if the ships approaching his ships were Japanese or American BB and ordered ships to hold their fire, but be ready. So Japanese opened fire first (surprise again in game) but Allied replied some seconds later and only two 6in shells had hit in the mean time a CA and a DD. The battle was then fought at 6-7000 yards (in 3 rounds).
The initial reports he had received were showing the British Admiral that his small TF will be overwhelmed but his reaction was to plan for a quick torpedo attack before retreating. Brave Allied crews followed the plan despite the rain of heavy fire falling on them and sank the damaged DD Urakaze with 2 torpedoes and hit with one torpedo each the BB Musashi and the CA Kinugusa and Furutuka. And the CL HMS Newcastle won a gunnery duel with the CA Aoba, hitting her with 3 penetrating hits without being hit in return. But she was the only Allied cruiser to escape lightly. THE CA Devonshire was hit by two 18in and six 6in shells from the Musashi, the CA Dorsetshire by two 18in and three 6in shells from the Yamato and the CL Birmingham by eight 8in shells and one torpedo sent by the CA Chikuma. During this time there were also the usual hits on destroyers of both sides but without too heavy consequences. The British ships finally retired while the Japanese ships that turned north to avoid most of the torpedoes were now sailing away from the convoys.
Result of round two:
Allied side (2 CA, 2 CL, 6 DD)
Heavily damaged: CA Dorsetshire, Devonshire, CL Birmingham, DD Dyson
On fire: DD O’Brien
Japanese side (2 BB, 4 CA, 2 CL, 7 DD)
Sunk: DD Urakaze, Onami (Onami sank in fact some hours later off Paramushiro, where her crew managed to land, but took no more part in the action that night and sank due to damage taken during both clashes above)
Heavily damaged: CA Aoba, Kinugasa, CL Oyodo, DD Minegumo
On fire: BB Musashi, CA Chikuma, DD Akebono, Susuzuki
At this stage, with more than half of his ships damaged and one of two super battleships having been hit, Hashimoto decided it will not continue towards the convoys. Rather than turn back and escape south of the island by the same way the TF arrived he decided to sail north of it. And by doing that he met his third Allied surface TF of the night. This time it was a 100% USN TF (CA San Francisco, Quincy and New Orleans, CL Boise II and 5 DD) tasked to patrol north of the convoy zone. Sadly for the American sailors the Japanese ships came from their rear and were guessed to be friendly, as at this stage most of the Allied communication network had broken down as everybody was trying to reach the united command staff (lost with the Maryland) or someone else.
And once again Japanese ships opened fire first while the surprised American ships turned their guns as fast as possible towards them. Before they fired back, the San Francisco had been hit by 2 18in and 2 6in shells fired by the Musashi and the DD Farenholt had been hit by a 8in shell from the CA Furutaka that detonated her ammunition. When the smoke cleared there was no more trace of the ship or her crew (sea off the Kurils during a hazy night will not be very warm, even in July. By the way I started to wonder by writing this if there is a night phase in PJ in July. I had no idea, except that I supposed if to be in the far north. So I searched the sunrire and sunset hours for the place. I found them for Attu (that is actually more north) and discovered that on 27 July the night there will last 8 hours. By the way at latitude 50° N, Paramushiro is more south than London, so even if the climate is far more rough there is never artic full day or night).
The Allied ships began to return fire at 4000 yards, then both TF closed at 3000 before separating and the last shells were fired at 7000 yards. Some minutes after the Farenholt the CA Quincy also took a 8in shell in her ammunition chamber and exploded. And the San Francisco ws thoroughly pounded by the Musashi during all the exchange and sank after taking a total of 8 18in shells and 8 6in shells. The most successful Allied ship was the Boise that escaped all damage and hit several times two Japanese CAs. The destroyer USS Bailey was heavily damaged by a torpedo and shells fired a four or five Japanese ships, and sank some hours later.
Result of round three:
Allied side (3 CA, 1 CL, 5 DD)
Sunk: CA Quincy, San Francisco, DD Farenholt, Bailey
On fire: CA New Orleans, DD Welles and Barcroft
Japanese side (2 BB, 4 CA, 2 CL, 5 DD)
Heavily damaged: CA Aoba, Kinugasa, Chikuma, CL Oyodo, DD Minegumo, Akebono, Susuzuki
On fire: BB Musashi, CA Furutaka, DD Arakaze
OK: BB Yamato, CL Kitakami, DD Oboro
As the BB TF retired the damaged SS RO-61 tried to escape also but was chased by 5 DD escorting a convoy. She escaped again in a fog bank, only to be detected just before dawn by 4 MSW and sunk with depth charges by the MSW Ungawa.
And then the Japanese TF sailed to the NW and escaped. It met a total of 6 BB, 5 CA, 3 CL and 18 DD during the night, and sank 1 BB, 2 CA and 6 DD and damaged 2 BB, 3 CA, 1 CL and 6 DD for the loss of 2 DD and 1 SS, and damage to 1 BB, 4 CA, 1 CL and 4 DD. But now Japanese sailors had to return to base…
Behind them the Allied fleet reorganized and at dawn started to land more troops on PJ. Three TF were involved. Two were in range from Japanese guns that fired 700 shells on them during the day, setting a DD and an AK on fire and hitting more slightly 3 DD, 1 AK and 4 LCI. Allied losses during the landing were 3419 men and 5 guns, while Allied counter-battery fire hit 100 men and 2 guns. This landing took place under a heavy rain that cancelled all flying in the immediate area. Clouds also closed Toyohara airfield, the main Japanese base, and no raid was launched from here.
But the main Allied CV TF was on a clear spot 60 miles east of PJ and launched patrols to search for the damaged Japanese warships. If the main body of the Japanese TF was 240 miles WNW of PJ, covered by Oscar II flying from Toyohara (two were lost in accidents) and out of range all heavily damaged ships except the Chikuma were more closer, at 60 miles NW of PJ. The two biggest, the CA Aoba and Kinugasa, were close to each other and were attacked by 99 SBD, 75 TBM and 17 Barracuda escorted by 28 F4F-4, 25 F6F and 9 Wildcat V. Each cruiser sank after a torpedo hit. 13 B-24D and 6 PB4Y had also been dispatched from Attu to chase these ships but got lost in bad weather and turned back.
14 F4F-4 flew CAP over PJ and shot down during the day a Emily getting too close of the Allied ships but were only defending the fleet and the beach and didn’t manage to shot down any of the Japanese transport aircraft still flying to the base.
In the evening the SS RO-60 was again chased 120 miles east of PJ, this time by 3 SC, and damaged by 4 more near-misses. With damage 28/14, the submarine sailed in the evening SW to return to the Japan.
On the ground at PJ, both sides continued to exchange shells. Japanese guns failed to hit anything but allowed to count the reinforced Allied forces (88 920 men (+17 978), 720 guns (+136), 191 vehicles (+1), 1804 AV (+638)). Japanese forces (34 921 men (+65), 156 guns (+6), 4 vehicles, 642 AV) lost 242 men and 1 gun. The evening report in PJ reported damage of 68/61/90 (airbase/runways/port), 198 available engineer squads (+9 in two days) and 47 809 supplies (-2006 in two days). A new air bridge will begin tomorrow, flown by 30 Topsies from Ominato to carry the 3rd South Seas Detachment. 21 tranport Mavis also reached this base in the evening but needed reast after flying from Suva in two days.
The BB TF will sail to Toyohara and be LRCAPed by 36 Ki-61 based in Wakkanai. More east the four surviving crippled ships (CL Oyodo and 3 DD) NW of PJ were scattered and will sail individually to the SW or W. One DD may survive if weather forbids Allied air attacks.
The main Japanese reaction to the new landings in PJ (that no patrol saw coming…) was to send the Kido Butai. It was still a powerful naval force, now with 10 CV, 6 CVL, 4 BB, 5 CA, 6 CL and 40 DD. But the air groups were less impressive and had only 548 aircraft (while the total capacity of the fleet was 849…): 257 fighters (246 available), 137 dive bombers (137) and 154 torpedo bombers (153). The TF was organized in a surface TF, 3 CV TF and an ASW DD TF. Also 3 CL and 5 DD escorting a convoy coming from Tokyo were detached from their TF and will join the KB.
Tomorrow the only Japanese force that will attack ships off PJ will be the Toyohara airmen. The small CAP should allow the bombers based here (86 G4M1 and 9 G4M2 with 68 Oscar II available to escort them) to reach the Allied ships, especially the CVE(s) probably sailing just off the beachhead. To do that their range was limited to 9, so allowing them only to reach the island and not the Allied CV farther to the east.
The last unit flying operational training in China, an A6M3a Daitai with 68 exp, flew from Wuhan and arrived in Sapporo in the evening.
The convoy bringing two Eng Rgt in Wakkanai reached this base. One will be unloaded here, the other will remain aboard ships that will sail to Toyohara.
Southern Pacific
During the day, Emilies from Norfolk Island flew recon of the Australian city of Newcastle. The 1st Eng Rgt had finished to build fort in this base (level 9) and 4 AK left Noumea and 2 more Auckland to pick it up and bring it more north.
Also the two ML based in Auckland sailed north to Noumea. With other ML that left some time ago, they had laid minefields off the various NZ cities. At this date, 11 000 mines were off Auckland, 2000 off Wellington and 1000 off Christchurch.
A convoy bringing a Naval Guard Unit, an Eng Rgt and a Const Bn from NZ arrived in Saipan and will reinforce the garrison and build defenses here.
New Guinea-New Britain- Solomon Islands
During the night the airfield of Kiriwima Island was bombed and missed by 4 Betties from Truk. Allied AA fire shot down one of these bombers. In the morning 13 A6M2 flew a sweep from Rabaul to this base. 2 F4F-4 were flying in the area but were not engaged.
During the day Allied airmen launched no raid but patrolling B-25 hit the AK Noriso Maru off Rabaul and the SS I-10 SW of Woodlark Island. The AK (damage 27/11/5) will remain off Rabaul and continue to unload much need supplies, while the submarine (damage 39/71) will return to Lunga.
In the evening, both Rabaul and Kavieng were again evacuated (except some floatplanes). 15 A6M2 flew from Rabaul to Lunga and 31 Nick from Kavieng to Truk.
A convoy with 21k fuel and two ML left Truk for Lunga.
Timor-DEI-Australia
In the morning a PBM Mariner was shot down by AA fire during a recon of Kendari. In the afternoon, Allied airmen launched again two raids on Timor, and one was intercepted. Koepang was attacked by 80 B-25C and 59 B-25J from Derby but 5 Tojo from 70 Sentai flying LRCAP from Maumere intercepted them and shot down 5 B-25C and 3 B-25J for one loss to return fire and another in an accident. 36 B-25J and 24 B-25C turned back under these attacks but the other reached the target and scored 3 hits on the airbase, 1 on supplies and 27 on runways, doing 42 casulaties. Dili was bombed by 7 PB4Y from Wyndham, and reported 1 hit on the airbase and 2 on runways, and 12 casualties.
The evening area report listed the airfield status as: Koepang 79/99 (system/runway), Dili 95/90, Lautem 72/58/38, other bases undamaged. All Tojo left in the evening Maumere for Kendari.
In Sorong supplies rose over 10k (because an AK was unloading in the port) and repairs were done, bringing the working centers to 8 (1 oil, 7 resources). A small AK started to load supplies in Palau and will also bring them here.
SRA
In the evening, the SS USS Finback attacked the Manila-based ASW group 180 miles WNW of Lingayen and missed the DD Oshio with her torpedoes. She was then depth charges by the PC Ch 15 and the MSW W.14 and lightly damaged by a hit and a near-miss scored by the first.
In Palembang the TK convoy had finally finished to load oil and merged with the AK convoy that came from Singapore. The new super-convoy sailed for Japan (via Legaspi) with 133k resources and 112k oil aboard.
Burma
Bad weather again limited Allied sorties over Burma. Myitkyina airfield was attacked by 9 B-25J from Ledo escorted by 19 P-40E and reported 1 hit on the airbase and 13 on the runways. In the jungle SE of Imphal, the 11th NLF was attacked by 39 Hurricane II from this base escorted by 6 Spitfire Vb and SW of Kohima the 12th NLF was attacked by 13 Hurricane from Kohima escorted by 7 Spitfire Vb. The only Allied loss was a P-40E in an accident.
The Burma Naval Force (still 2 CA, 1 CL, 3 DD) will bombard Trincomalee tomorrow evening. As it will be in range of Ceylon tomorrow 16 Oscar II were sent from Rangoon to Andaman Islands airfield (that Japanese engineers expanded to level 2 today) to fly LRCAP over the TF.
Japanese troops in Myitkina were still bombarded by the Allied troops and lost 136 men and 5 guns. The report showed 2831 Allied AV (+41) and 1956 Japanese AV (+3) here.
The evening report gave the airfield status as: Mandalay 7/0 (system/runway), Myitkyina 36/7.
Bad others also grounded the Rangoon bomber force (67 Betties, 6 Nells) and didn’t allow recon to take good picture of Jorhat (where 3 Spitfire Vb were flying CAP). The bombers were given the same orders as yesterday: to bomb the resources centers of Asansol tomorrow. Jorhat may be a good target too with at least two squadrons of Beaufighter based here and few if any local defense.
China
Two of the four Chinese units reported yesterday in Hengchow left the town. One went to the country NW of the city, the other followed the railway and reached the positions of the 11th Japanese Army west of Changsha and will be attacked tomorrow by these units. The weakened Chinese garrison was no more a threat for Kweilin and the 116th Div that was holding this city was divided in 3 parts. A regiment will hold the city, the two other will march to Hengchow and occupy the rail line and the city.
Other than that there was no change today to the known Chinese positions.
The operational training Daitai in Wuhan sent 25 A6M3a against the 50th Chinese Corps NW of Changsha and hit 58 men without loss. In the evening this unit was flown to Sapporo (see the Northern Pacific part to know why).
