1275psi
Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline
|
Dusk of the 27th
Nakamura calls all the pilots of Dobodura into the mess.
The Wooden Hut is not large enough to fit them all in, and many spill out into the gathering dusk, onto the crude veranda, the flattened dirt outside.
The pale lamps give Nakamura and his fellow Sentai leaders a horrid hue in the half light, but his face is hard and firm as he addresses the men.
“Gentlemen, the Admiral is wrong. We are here to fight. So we will fight. All planes be ready to go, 0400 hrs. Flight leaders, briefing 20000 hours. I think we have a solution for those barsteds of the 331st.” he smiles .’if it goes right, even you Iwaya might get a kill or two”
The men laugh, even new comers of the 22nd sentai have heard already of the Allies secret weapon.
28/3/43
Just before dawn the bombers come, low level – the big 4 engined jobs, the older 2 engined ones, and today torpedo bombers lugging bombs as well.
They bomb from very low, and the fighters accompanying add to the mayhem and carnage.
The coral dust has barely settled, when the human wave again surges forth.
There is little resistance –no ammunition, no room to move, no hope.
By dawn Majuro is once again fully Japanese –and the 1st marines glorious resistance comes to a terrible end.
The weather breaks stunningly clear to the west of Port Moresby, and the radar operators there have little trouble detecting the incoming hunters – 331st –as predicted, coming to catch any poor fool wandering into what they now believe is their sky.
The radar plotters calculate, and then the airwaves are filled – a single message – ‘rat trap’
‘rat trap’
Nakamura smiles. For once he has guessed right.
He looks around, and notes with pride that all players are exactly where they should be.
Ahead by some 5 kilometres, 22nd sentai –the bait
Out to his right –again barely in sight –the navy fighters flying parallel to his packed sentai. Behind, again at max visibility –85th following
He reaches for his Radio
“Its on”
Port Moresby begins to slide underneath his right wing tip –a small slash of brown nestled between shining ocean, dark green sea.
‘”Catcher to net –confirm position!”
‘This is net –we have you in sight!”
He looks up –up into the sun ahead of him. He cannot see anything. Good, very good.
Then he sees them – the packed dots –out to his right, and high, so much bloody higher than him, than the 22nd ahead at 10000 feet.
He rocks his wings.
“ here they come 22nd –good luck!”
Battle.
It is 331st now standard approach to battle –the great dive from height, the boom and zoom. Whoever leads the p38’s can see clearly that the Japanese fighters below can be hammered, and they can be gone before the following formations can arrive.
Eagerly they nose down, and dive into the heart of 22nd.
Juni winces. Throttle to the wall again, they cannot make it in time…..
“Come on guys –do your stuff.’
Plummeting dots.
Scattering dots, now crosses, 22 nd trying to turn up and in, trying to fight.
Bright blooms of fire, black streaks of death.
One, two, three, four, five.
The big 38’s, killing done, begin to zoom back towards the heavens, the pursuing Ki 44’s too late again.
Japan has twin engined fighters too.
Nicks the allies call them.
Two squadrons worth, 21st and 45th
They have been called down by Nakamura today –to be the net – and even as the 38’s begin to climb –they find themselves confronted by 21sts flock of cannon firing beasts .
Two 38’s fall, the climb is abandoned, the sky bursts into a wheeling mass of fighters.
Dogfight
Now it is all about energy, and skill, and numbers, and maneuverability, and anger and hate and coldness
Hyakutake swings in hard on the tail of his target, hard , hard, range closing –tracer slashes past his wingtip
He wrenches back on the stick, increases the turn even harder, almost inverting.
Normally a fatal move, to try to dive away under his protagonists guns, who too turns, begins to dive, to cut the inevitable corner.
Hyakutake does not even think about it –almost inverted now, he outside loops –and almost laughs as the great big 38 lumbers past underneath him –looking up through his canopy he sees the bewildered Americas face for but a moment –and now he HAS HIM –and death fires out -, Hyakutake rolls the right way up –the American shovels smoke – and Nakamura is there –and takes the kill
Juni too swings into the battle, now a gigantic mess of fighters, a broken 38 flutters down in front of him, a blazing Japanese fighter too.
Something hits him hard, where?, where the truk?
Two big barsteds bearing down, - just like on you brother – he’s dead, oh hell, he’s –
And the first 38 explodes as a Nick nails him, the other swings away……….
Dog fight
And now, just 3 minutes into the fight, the zeros join in.
Truly now it is all about maneuvering, all about energy, as the fight congeals into a great turning match –the 38’s unable to climb away, for 45th are there above the fight –the net.
Iwaya too is in the fight –he will again spray the sky with lead, and hit nothing, but it does not matter today.
Hyakutake laughs.
The 38’s fall
It is over 3 minutes later –the surviving Americans break free – and now the sky is clear.
Miyazaki pulls his canopy back. sucks in desperately needed air
Looks around.
“Nakamura here –make rendezvous please”
He counts the fleeing Americans –one, two, three, a smoking fourth. From twenty four.
Good. Very good
28/3/43
Combat report 47th sentai
Conducted offensive operations against American 331st unit, in conjunction with
85th sentai
22nd sentai
F/2/3 fighter
F2/6 fighter
21st sentai (from Lae)
45th sentai (from lae)
21 enemy fighters confirmed shot down
losses
10 KI –44 (mainly 22nd sentai)
1 AM3
losses Lae forces known to be light.
47th, 2 kills , now a total of 32 ( COL Nakamura one)
I consider enemy formation 331st destroyed
We washed their clock.
< Message edited by 1275psi -- 8/29/2009 1:39:02 AM >
|
Printable Version
RE: herbiesan vs Cantona!!! - 
RE: herbiesan vs Cantona!!! - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread