herbiesan vs Cantona!!!

[1275psi]

The radio was doing well.

The news this evening opens with reports from the Navy -where it reports that the carriers of the Mobile fleet continue to enforce a blockade to the south of singapore - reporting 3 enemy warships and numerous other vessels sunk today by the brave flyers of the navy corp.

(martial music plays)

Army bombers again attacked tagets in the phillipines, and troops continue to pour ashore in davao.
Army fighters today attcked and shot down several fighters over Rangoon.
Our Chinese army reports a successful attack north west of Canton.

In entertainment news.............

[1275psi]

herbiesan note

Cantona was a bit cranky over the para drop to lashio -calling it a suicide mission.
Normally Im totally against para "stunts" -but I explained that I did not think this attack a stunt
We are playing with a house rule of airfield size = number of transports -so a lot of planning and effort is going into gathering the transports and the troops at the various fields -lashio has been siezed -and if the weather clears -a lot, and I mean a lot of effort is going into a air bridge to there -I hope to get a full regiment, a base force, and fighters based at lashio by the end of the week.

Of course -the weather is to clear first!!!

[1275psi]

Maj Takenaka's "target" on liason duty near Canton

[1275psi]

Operations diary
47th sentai -Canton

13/12/41
Weather: Am - heavy fog, low cloud, PM - driving rain
Sorties flown 0
Total 22
Sorties flown today (Totals since war began in ())


LT Hyakute 0 (2)
Juni V 0 (1)
Juni B 0(3)
Inoute 0(1)
Iwaya 0 (2)
izumuda 0 (1)
takenaka 0( 2)
Kuroe 0 (3)
inoue 0 (0)

LTCOL kanabayashi 0(2)
terrible weather prohibits any flying today
Nil Incidents today

Comments: A/C available 9
damage -nil - nil damage to enemy

[1275psi]

Diary of COL Kanbayashi

13/12/41

Another long and frustrating day.
In the end gave up and took the horse for a long ride -weather too bad for flying, good enough for a lap or two around the field
The horse is very useful for this -the field is very large of course -and at this time the surrounds are very boggy - fortunately drainage about the field is good enough to allow flying -most of the time.
Used the ride as an excuse to inspect the field defences -they seem good.

No sign of any local chinese -although Im told -and well believe it -that to travel outside the field with less than 100 men is very dangerous!

Orders for tomorrow remani the same -a sweep with 64th sentai to hunt the AVG there. I hope we do better tomorrow!

[1275psi]

As usual the radio news bulletin burst open with martial music - this time the navy song led the bulletin

" Ahh" commented Kuroe " a Naval Victory coming up "
He was not dissapointed. The Navy it seemed -had sunk "a large warship -possibly a battleship" at rabual -where a successful landing was apparently underway"against heavy shore gunfire"
"I wonder just how many battleships the enemy has in the pacific?" Commented Inoue" we seem to be sinking an awful lot of them this week"
The room laughed.
WO Inoue was a popular man -and all in the room admired his steady manner. All too were very aware that his son was somewhere to the north, deep inside burma -where the paratroops would surely be preparing to hold against the coming counter attack at laishio.

Already it semd that a classic encounter was developing here -as the Army fighter unit that had apparently just moved in, fought to keep the air bridge open.

[1275psi]

64th sentai - "The falcons" move into Canton
Objective -to engage the AVG

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Operations diary
47th sentai -Canton

14/12/41
Weather: Am -Light rain, clearing showers PM -clear skies

Sorties flown today (Totals since war began in ())
total 31

LT Hyakute 1 (3)
Juni V 1(2)
Juni B 3(4)
Inoute 1(2)
Iwaya 2(3)
izumuda 1 (2)
takenaka 2( 3)
Kuroe 2 (4)
inoue 1 (1)

LTCOL kanabayashi 1(3)
Combat sweep with 64th sentai
64 th sentai - 4 kills - our sentai unable to engage before combat broken off by enemy


Comments: A/C available 9
damage -nil - nil damage to enemy

[1275psi]

Diary of COL Kanbayashi

14/12/41
Finally contact with the enemy!
I was very pleased with the following:
Formation discipline was good, and wingmen did stick with there leaders.

What I was very displeased with - look out -64th sentai ahd been engaged for at least 1 minute before we saw them -and that was too long!
pretty ironic that 2Lt inoute (the 64th was his old unit -he was very pleased to see them!) should have gotten closest to a kill - the AVG certaintly did not live up to there reputation -but the falcons did!
I must get a name for this unit!

news from the war very interesting - quite a battle over lashio - WO Inoue has a Son there -I hope he wins glory for him!

[1275psi]

Wo Kuroe was -as was usually the case at this time of the evening -with the lead mechanics.
The day had been frustrating - the flight had been good -and to see 4 enemy fighters go down -if not to their guns but to another units - was very satisfactory. But it could have been better.
Today he felt that the mechanics must know that the miss was not their fault - so far availability had been fantastic - they would have better luck tomorrow.
Still -we should have been down with the falcons -he thought -not stooging around at 20000 feet like lords of the air. tomorrow was going to be a repeat - tomorrow hieght for the sweep ordered was 15000 -better -but still too high in his opinion.

[1275psi]

and the news for for the 14th day of this month opens with further success for our Imperial forces.
The Navy opened the action today with heavy carrier air strikes launched by the mobile fleet against the oil centre of palembang.
In addition naval landing troops captured miri on the north coast of davao -and also took the town of davao -effectively isolating the phillipines from the east.

In Burma , fighting centered over Lashio -where allied air forces again attempted to interdict the air drops occuring there.
Commander of Burma campaign today declared that "lashio is now secure" and that this blow must severly test the British troops in the area.
Burma army reported"steady progress" North towards rangoon and lashio.

Army bombers continue to pound targets in the Philipines, and the thrust south in malya is reported'to have begun positevely".
In further news.........

[1275psi]

Wo Kuroe departs for our firts engagement with the enemy -14/12/41

Unfortunately the cowardly dogs fled before we arrived!!!

[1275psi]

Operations diary
47th sentai -Canton

15/12/41
Weather: Am -Light rain, clearing showers PM -clear skies

Sorties flown today (Totals since war began in ())

LT Hyakute 1 (4)
Juni V 0(2)
Juni B 1(5)
Inoute 1(3)
Iwaya 1(4)
izumuda 1 (3)
takenaka 2( 4)
Kuroe 1 (5)
inoue 1 (2)

LTCOL kanabayashi 1(4)


There has been confusion on what constitutes "a sortie" COL Kanabayashi has declared that from this point on only missions with a combat nature are to be counted.


Combat sweep with 64th sentai
64 th sentai - 0 kills - our sentai unable to engage before combat broken off by enemy
Juni V failed to sortie -engine failure on start up.

Comments: A/C available 8
damage -nil - nil damage to enemy

[1275psi]

To My Son
Col Kanibayashi

Greetings Son, from your once prosperous merchant ship Father!
well the navy has confinscated all our ships -and much to my dread -placed them all into one big tanker convoy -I don't know whether to laugh or cry!
On one hand -being tankers they will probably get a pretty good anti submarine protection - on the other -heaven help us if they get caught all our eggs in one basket by some sort of surface ship -or air attack.

Just so you can keep track of what i fear will be a rapidly reeducing in heritance Son -here are the ships.
Tonan Maru 3#
Nisshin Maru2#
Nishan maru
San Luis
San Diego
Sacramento
Rikko
Nissho
Nisshin Maru2#
Nissan -our latest ship.

At the moment they are all here in tokyo -in ballast -waiting for orders.
I think we are waiting for you to capture stuff to cart!

Good luck son. remember these ships can be replaced if lost -you cannot be
Your Father.

[1275psi]

The announcer could barely contain her excitement this day -as the further exploits of the Japanese war machine were exulted to the world

..........."and the battleship bombardment was followed up by rapid landings at the port of palembang.
Further reports of the port of Miri -Singkawang and rabual falling to our troops have been received.
Our Army is now reported to be attacking Hong Kong, and pushing steadily south in malaya.

The goverment promised today -an early solution to the china problem - as now being at hand, and..............

[1275psi]

Juni V was a little pissed - both in temper and in spirits.
It has been a bad day.
As much as he liked the KI 44 -(but not nearly as he liked the oscars) its 1440HP Nakajima HA 109 engine could be a barsted at times to start -and today he fluffed it -flooding it terribly in his haste to get away.

So he'd missed take off -and watched his brother get another mission under his belt, and almost a shot at a fleeing P 40e!
Damination -what if he'd actually shot one down!
There was monet riding on this -a lot of money.
damination -tomorrow he'd do better!

[1275psi]

preflight preps, canton field
15/12/41

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A herbiesan note

Im having all sort of descrepancies between the number of planes reported as flying CAP -those engaged in combat -and the fatigue shown

Will have to just report the mission totals as given by the game now -they are not accutrate though!

[1275psi]

Operations diary
47th sentai -Canton

16/12/41
Weather: Am -clear, PM -Clear


reported mission totals

LT Hyakute 5
Juni V 4
Juni B 5
Inoute 3
Iwaya 4
izumuda 4
takenaka 4
Kuroe 5
inoue 2

LTCOL kanabayashi 5

CAP flown over Hong Kong as troops disembark
A/C available 9

damage nil damage inflicted nil

[1275psi]

extract of letter from Col Kanbayashi to his Father


.............and the luck continues to elude us -very frustrating!
The "falcons" had another encounter today - engaging the Chinese in combat to the north -while we spent the day freezing our Butts off doing endless laps over hong kong/canton.
One of my men, WO Inoue has a son in the paratroopers -and as you have undoubtably heard by the time you recieve this -is right in the thick of it up in northern burma.
cannot imagine what it is like up there -a lot warmer i would think at least!...........