CapAndGown
Posts: 3206
Joined: 3/6/2001
From: Virginia, USA
Status: offline
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Oct. 26, 1943
There were so many titles I could think of for this post: JFB wet dream; decisive battle in technicolor; now witness the power of this fully armed and operational battle station; death from above, and below; restricted to mature audiences. I believe allied offensive potential, except of 4E bombers, has been set back at least 6 months.
I will cover this action and its outcome in several posts, but here is the initial report everyone has been waiting for.
I am sorry about the length of this post. I have edited out lots of the CR. But there were critical portions I wanted to keep in to provide both you an myself with vital intelligence.
Contrary to expectations, the allies decided to press ahead with their invasion of Ponape. They have landed two divisions and numerous supporting troops and will have no problem taking the place. But at what cost!
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Invasion Support action off Ponape - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force
723 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
CL Trenton, Shell hits 8
CL Detroit, Shell hits 8, on fire
CL Richmond, Shell hits 7, on fire
DD Meade, Shell hits 5, on fire
DD Kalk, Shell hits 3, heavy fires
DD Lansdowne, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Duncan, Shell hits 6, on fire
DD Renshaw, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Radford, Shell hits 5, on fire
DD Kimberly, Shell hits 6
DD Kidd, Shell hits 11, heavy fires, heavy damage
AKA Betelgeuse, Shell hits 4
LST-482
LST-483, Shell hits 4, on fire
LST-479
LST-481
This was during the night phase. Also during the night phase, our subs apparently sank two allied CVEs that were being moved in to support the invasion. (judging by the fact that a sinking sound occured after each attack, though that could have been some other ship sinking.)
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Sub attack near Ponape at 121,115
Japanese Ships
SS I-22, hits 6
Allied Ships
CVE Breton, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DE Rathburne
SS I-22 launches 8 torpedoes at CVE Breton
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Sub attack near Ponape at 121,115
Japanese Ships
SS I-26
Allied Ships
CVE Copahee, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
DE Rathburne
SS I-26 launches 6 torpedoes at CVE Copahee
When the sun came up, the slaughter from yesterday resumed.
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 120,114
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 18
A6M5 Zero x 45
A6M5b Zero x 12
B6N1 Jill x 17
B6N2 Jill x 22
D4Y1 Judy x 68
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 7
FM-1 Wildcat x 21
F4U-1 Corsair x 27
F4U-1A Corsair x 1
F6F-3 Hellcat x 73
Allied Ships
CL Denver
BB Indiana, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
BB Washington
CV Bunker Hill, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CV Pago Pago, Torpedo hits 1
CV Essex, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Montpelier
BB Massachusetts, Bomb hits 1
BB North Carolina, Torpedo hits 1
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 119,113
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 52
A6M5c Zero x 7
B6N1 Jill x 21
B6N2 Jill x 53
B6N2a Jill x 13
D4Y1 Judy x 44
Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 46
Allied Ships
CVE Corregidor, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CVE Anzio, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CVE Santee, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3
BB Colorado, Torpedo hits 4
CL Richmond, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CLAA San Diego
AKA Jupiter, Torpedo hits 1
CLAA Atlanta
CVE Natoma Bay, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
CLAA Juneau
CL Detroit, on fire
CLAA San Juan
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVE Anzio
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVE Corregidor
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Maryland
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB West Virginia
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVE Natoma Bay
Allied Return Strike
this was coming from his carriers. Strikes originating out of Kusaie were tiny and ineffectual. I will not list those here. Also, witpqs set some B-24s at Alinglaplap to naval attack at 10k feet. They did not hit anything, though they seemed to have inflicted damage on my fighters.
This strike is from the fleet carriers
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 118,112
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 44 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 26
A6M5 Zero x 151
A6M5b Zero x 17
A6M5c Zero x 35
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 36
Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 44
SBD-5 Dauntless x 144
TBF-1 Avenger x 54
Japanese Ships
I will post a screen shot of the damage later. Shoho is fairly heavily damaged, the others could all make it if not for allied subs, which will probably find some of them.
CV Taiho, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CV Kasagi
CV Ikoma, Bomb hits 1
CV Zuikaku, Torpedo hits 1
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 2
CVL Chiyoda, Bomb hits 1
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
CVL Chitose, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVL Zuiho
CVL Ryujo
CL Kitakami
DD Fumizuki
DD Hatsukaze
DD Kuroshio, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Makigumo
DD Takanami
DD Onami
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Taiho
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Shoho
This strike is from the CVEs
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 118,112
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 57 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 21
A6M5 Zero x 116
A6M5b Zero x 13
A6M5c Zero x 28
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 19
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6
FM-1 Wildcat x 19
F6F-3 Hellcat x 27
TBF-1 Avenger x 33
Japanese Ships
CVL Ryujo
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 118,112
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 14
A6M5 Zero x 86
A6M5b Zero x 12
A6M5c Zero x 24
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 14
Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 6
Japanese Ships
CV Taiho, on fire
CV Ikoma, on fire
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Taiho
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 118,112
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 6
A6M5 Zero x 47
A6M5b Zero x 7
A6M5c Zero x 20
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 12
Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 8
Japanese Ships
CV Taiho, heavy fires
CV Kasagi
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Taiho
Goodbye cripples
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 120,117
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 10
A6M5c Zero x 17
B6N1 Jill x 12
B6N2 Jill x 13
D4Y1 Judy x 11
D4Y3 Judy x 22
Allied Ships
CV Wasp, Bomb hits 8, and is sunk
CV Lexington, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Beale, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Bache
DD Charles Ausburne
DD Aulick
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Lexington
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring an Allied CVL
Afternoon
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 120,114
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 12
A6M5 Zero x 54
A6M5b Zero x 7
B6N1 Jill x 13
B6N2 Jill x 26
D4Y1 Judy x 62
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 Spill Over CAP
FM-1 Wildcat x 11 Spill Over CAP
F4U-1 Corsair x 18 LRCAP
F4U-1A Corsair x 1 LRCAP
F6F-3 Hellcat x 52 Local CAP
Allied Ships
BB North Carolina, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Columbia
BB Washington, Bomb hits 3, on fire
CV Bunker Hill, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
BB Massachusetts, Bomb hits 3
CV Essex, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
CV Pago Pago, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1
CL Denver
CL Cleveland, Bomb hits 1
CV Google
CL Montpelier
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Essex
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 119,113
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 20
A6M5c Zero x 20
B6N1 Jill x 5
B6N2 Jill x 22
B6N2a Jill x 11
D4Y1 Judy x 34
D4Y3 Judy x 35
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 27
Allied aircraft
FM-1 Wildcat x 5
F6F-3 Hellcat x 9
This is the group the Breton and Copahee were with
Allied Ships
BB Colorado
BB West Virginia, heavy damage
APA Henderson, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVE Altamaha, Bomb hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVE Nassau, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DE Rathburne, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AKA Alcyon, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DE Kennison
APA U.S. Grant, Bomb hits 2, on fire
APA Hunter Liggett, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APA Henderson
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring an Allied AO
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring an Allied CVE
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DE Rathburne
 Attachment (1)
< Message edited by cap_and_gown -- 10/15/2010 8:27:18 AM >
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Printable Version
RE: Hitting the sweet spot - 
At the moment, I am transferring CV AC groups from my slow carriers, such as the CVEs, the Hiyo/Junyo pair, and the Ryuho onto my fast carriers. Since my air groups have been thinned out, I have room on the faster carriers to fit additional AC. So the groups from the slower CV/E/L's are transferring and those slower ships will exit the battle while the faster carriers press on to strike the cripples. 
though it is there indeed it seems... 
and being followed "later" by the SC TF if you set the SC TF following the CV TF. 
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