AE Tourney II/Chickenboy PROHIBITED!!!/If you are Penelope Cruz my number is 714 287-4297

[Cap Mandrake]

**********Taffy 3 Might Have Been, June 22/23************

Captain Iamazato stood on the bridge of his flagship, destroyer Nowaki, confident in his newly purchased Hara-kiri insurance. Of course, given his poor Engrish skills, he had failed to notice that the policy did not cover "Suicidal attacks where actuarial information predicted a better than one in 100,000 chance of survival". As there had not been 100,000 suicidal attacks in the history of warfare, this clause was designed to limit payouts.*

Nowaki cut through the heavy seas at 28 kts. At dusk she was still nearly 250 miles from her target, the American transports off Guam. Nowaki was in the van. Behind him steamed Hamakaze and Hibiki in line ahead.

"No radars!", he ordered.

He had heard rumors that the American wizards had equipment that could detect Japanese radar from 100 miles away. With frequent thunderstorm activity and a new moon he wasn't going to give away the advantage of surprise if he could help it. Plus, he never really trusted the infernal machines.....



* Don't you just hate ******* insurance companies?

[Cap Mandrake]

...

[Cap Mandrake]

Night Time Surface Combat, near Guam at 106,95, Range 1,000 Yards

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
DD Hamakaze
DD Nowaki, Shell hits 6, on fire
DD Hibiki, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CVE Sangamon
CVE Chenango, Shell hits 6, on fire
CVE Santee
CVE Anzio, Shell hits 32, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVE Kalinin Bay, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CVE Gambier Bay, Shell hits 23, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD McKee
DD McNair
DD Melvin
DD Mertz
DD Miller
CA Canberra



Low visibility due to Thunderstorms with 0% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms and 0% moonlight: 2,000 yards
Range closes to 25,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 25,000 yards
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
Range closes to 10,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 10,000 yards
Range closes to 7,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 7,000 yards
Range closes to 5,000 yards...
Range closes to 3,000 yards...
Range closes to 1,000 yards...
DD Hibiki engages CVE Gambier Bay at 1,000 yards
DD Nowaki engages CVE Gambier Bay at 1,000 yards
DD Nowaki engages CVE Anzio at 1,000 yards
Range increases to 2,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages CVE Anzio at 2,000 yards
DD Nowaki engages CVE Kalinin Bay at 2,000 yards
DD Nowaki engages CVE Anzio at 2,000 yards
DD Nowaki engages CVE Sangamon at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 3,000 yards
DD Nowaki engages CVE Kalinin Bay at 3,000 yards
DD Nowaki engages CVE Anzio at 3,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages DD McKee at 3,000 yards
Range closes to 2,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages CVE Gambier Bay at 2,000 yards
CVE Gambier Bay sunk by DD Nowaki at 2,000 yards
DD Nowaki engages CVE Anzio at 2,000 yards
DD Nowaki engages CVE Chenango at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 3,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages CVE Kalinin Bay at 3,000 yards
Allied Task Force Manages to Escape
Task forces break off...

[Cap Mandrake]

Then there is this insult. A wounded Anzio is found by a minisub who puts two torps into her then gets away. DOH!

Even worse, the three DD appear to have made a safe escape to the West (one is out of gas and will have to go to Uhiliti)

Poor Chicken is going to pass a brick when he gets this turn. I almost feel sorry for him. [:)]

Sub attack near Guam at 106,95

Japanese Ships
SSX Ha-28

Allied Ships
CVE Anzio, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Miller



SSX Ha-28 launches 2 torpedoes at CVE Anzio
DD Miller fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub

[witpqs]

They did better than Kurita did!

[rtrapasso]

This should at least tie the score up  - especially if a lot of planes are destroyed with those CVEs!

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Poor Chicken is going to pass a brick when he gets this turn. I

[:D][:D][:D]

[Blackhorse]

The CO of V Corps is Gen. Howling Mad Smith It's not even in parentheses, which must mean it is his given name. He has started his training diet of ground glass and kerosene.

The number of letters is limited in the "name" field in the editor. We couldn't make him 'Howling Mad', just Howling Mad. Him and 'Bull' Halsley, 'Skip' Lockwood, 'Chesty' Puller and a couple of others take their nicknames to war. 'Dugout Doug' MacArthur is too long, alas, and Mac's other nicknames were not suitable for publication in a game sold to minors.
[:)]

[rtrapasso]

So, when are you going to send this result to the Chickenboy??? He claimed he hadn't seen it yet... [&:]

[Cap Mandrake]

Air losses for the me as IJN game. "Ground" losses in FM-1 and TBF are entirely consistent with two CVE's sinking (Gambier Bay and Anzio). Looks like Kalinin Bay is pretty badly hurt and has been detached.

I expect his strike carriers, which are now headed NW near Pagan, will turn back and cover the wounded CVE's. He already has enough combat power ashore at Guam to take it after my disastrous shock attack on day 2 of the landing. The IJN BB's are refueling at Iwo and are being covered by the carriers. He might attack but I doubt it. If he does, it will be about as good odds as I can get. I doubt any Jap carriers will survive this game or the mirror game. Their real purpose is to take at least one US carrier with them or harry the landings and delay capture of one of the islands.

Of course, subs will try to catch the crippled Kalinin Bay on her likely trip back to Eniwetok. I moved some Bettys to Truk to try to hit his transports moving back to Eniwetok.

[Cap Mandrake]

Air losses for the me as IJN game. "Ground" losses in FM-1 and TBF are entirely consistent with two CVE's sinking (Gambier Bay and Anzio). Looks like Kalinin Bay is pretty badly hurt and has been detached.

I expect his strike carriers, which are now headed NW near Pagan, will turn back and cover the wounded CVE's. He already has enough combat power ashore at Guam to take it after my disastrous shock attack on day 2 of the landing. The IJN BB's are refueling at Iwo and are being covered by the carriers. He might attack but I doubt it. If he does, it will be about as good odds as I can get. I doubt any Jap carriers will survive this game or the mirror game. Their real purpose is to take at least one US carrier with them or harry the landings and delay capture of one of the islands.

Of course, subs will try to catch the crippled Kalinin Bay on her likely trip back to Eniwetok. I moved some Bettys to Truk to try to hit his transports moving back to Eniwetok.

[Cap Mandrake]

The imaginary list of sunk ships. I'm not sure I can really blame a couple of guys in a minisub with a 5% chance of survival for confusing one of the CVE's [:)] Bunker Hill is now reported to have been sunk in about 5 different places. The claim has waning credibility.

[Cap Mandrake]

The me as USN game is one day ahead of the mirror game.

The Saipan Landing Group is 5 days out. I am behind schedule on attriting the Jap defences on Saipan. I gave the carrier aircraft the day off and moved the carriers 300 mi E of Pagan. It is mainly the fighter jocks who get fatigued. One day off helped a bit but it is time, after refueling, to get back to work. The TBF/M will head back over Saipan at 13,000 today. I keep moving up the altitude because they seem to be flak attractors. In the day off, the port damage at Saipan went down almost to zero again. Uggh. The slow BB's (and Indiana) will bombard Saipan tonight if they dont get cold feet. The place is crawling with minsubs so I am sending in 3 ASW groups again today. A group of four fast BB's are detached from the carriers to bombard Saipan as well, perhaps in daytime. The will follow some DE's.

The Jap carriers are marked at Palau. 20+ B-24's from Pagan will hit Guam airfield again today.

[Cap Mandrake]

Heap big fight near Iwo. I didnt really think he would pull the trigger. I was wrong

[Cap Mandrake]

And here is what 273 angry USN bombers can do in 1944

[Cap Mandrake]

In the afternoon, two large and one small strike from Iwo fail to get through past a CAP that grows to nearly 300 fighters. Oddly, there is no USN counterstrike.

In other news, Calfiornia is torpedoed by a sub on her way back to Eniwetok and a DE is wrecked or sunk by Jills from Truk. Galant Hibiki, out of fuel after her suicide attack the night before is sunk near Uhiliti.

Guam falls. Uggh.

[Cap Mandrake]

The Arries can't take much more of this! [;)]

[Cap Mandrake]

3 Jap carriers sunk. Amazingly Taiho is still afloat

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

The Arries can't take much more of this! [;)]

Wow!! You are really beating the heck out of his fists by bludgeoning them with your head!!! [X(]

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

The Arries can't take much more of this! [;)]

Wow!! You are really beating the heck out of his fists by bludgeoning them with your head!!! [X(]

Yes, Gojira head rearry, rearry sore.

This means, of course, that I will have to go hunting for his carriers if he won't come to me in the mirror game. This would entail taking on his land based air from Pelielu and Beazelbob