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May 16, 1945 NW Of The Philippine Islands
Intel
61st Air Flotilla is located at Tokyo.
77 aircraft are based at Changchun.
1507 men are based at Kratie.
23rd Division is located at Harbin.
6th Construction Battalion is located at Harbin.
North China Area Army is located at Wuchow.
20th Army is planning for an attack on Tsitsihar.
Shobu Force is located at Singapore.
55938 men are based at Nagoya.
74 ships are based at Sasebo.
Nakajo-wan Fortress is located at Kadina.
Yokosuka Reserve Coastal Artillery Regiment is located at Tokyo.
56th Heavy AA Battalion is located at Harbin.
52nd Construction Battalion is located at Changchun.
57th Division is located at Changchun.
14th Area Army is located at Truk.
Recon
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Kweilin 7 LCUs 24040/240/84
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Luang Prabang vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Miri 4 X AP, 1 LCU 1460/6/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Samarinda vacant
Mosquito PR.IX takes recon photos of Babo vacant
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Naga 9 LCUs 97780/1005/10
F-5C Lightning takes recon photos of Manila 7 LCUs 29680/17/0
PBM Mariner takes recon photos of Vigan 6 LCUs 27900/269/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Marcus Island 6 LCUs 5800/21/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Toyohara 5 LCUs 3280/0/0
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Tavoy 8 LCUs 48280/465/10
Combat
Allied troops continued unloading over beach at Taichu taking extremely heavy casualties.
The SS Golet attacked 2 CLs and 3 DDs 91 miles S of Sakashima hitting a DD with a torpedo that did heavy damage and triggered a fire.
The SS Nautilus, 12 miles SE of Ominato, was hunted by 3 DDs, but she evaded them and continued to her destination to seed her mine field.
The SS Dorado, near Muntok, tried and failed to get an attack in on an unescorted AE.
A pair of IJN MSWs located and started sweeping a mine field at Teloekbetoeng.
Niigata's oil facilities were bombed by 103 X B-29 who did moderate damage to their target. 5 of the big birds were damaged by AA fire.
Nanning was raided by 73 X B-25J and 52 X P-38J who ran into a pair of Franks. The Lightnings made short work of the Japanese fighters, losing 1 bird themselves. The airfield was moderately damaged, a secondary explosion was seen, 3 Franks, 8 Helens, 8 Peggys, 1 Zeke and 4 Nicks were trashed on the ground and personnel losses were moderate.
Bangkok's port was hit by 62 X Mosquito FB.VI (7 damaged) and 55 X B-25J (1 downed, 10 damaged) for moderate damage, a very large number of secondary explosions were seen about half of which were fuel and casualties were heavy.
Kendari was visited by 31 X B-24J and 6 X P-38J with the flak damaging 8 of the bombers who caused light damage to the airstrip and negligible troop losses.
Amboina was raided by 121 X A-26B (1 downed, 9 damaged) and 58 X P-38J. The airfield took heavy damage, there were a large number of secondary explosions reported and casualties were placed at moderately heavy.
Manila was struck by 20 X B-24J (2 damaged) and 34 X P-38J for light port damage and a few secondary explosions, one of which was a fuel tank. As soon as the dust settled 40 X B-24D (1 damaged), 67 X B-24J and 71 X P-38J came on and added heavy damage to the port, a large number of secondary explosions, some of which were fuel and moderately heavy personnel losses.
Clark Field was hit by 63 X B-24J who inflicted heavy damage on the airfield, caused a secondary explosion, destroyed a Frank and there were moderate casualties.
Rabaul was raided by 14 X Liberator VI for light airstrip damage.
At Gili Gili the IJA 21st Division had heavy casualties from an air raid.
At Naga the IJA 55th Ind. Mixed Brigade absorbed moderate losses from 12 X A-26B (4 damaged), 30 X B-25J (6 damaged) and 23 X P-38J.
The IJN TF 83 miles NW of Lingayen was attacked by 28 X SB2C (3 downed, 22 damaged), 15 X TBF (3 downed, 9 damaged), 18 X TBM (1 downed, 9 damaged), 14 X F4U-1D and 31 X F6F who targeted 4 CVs doing the following harm:
CV Ikoma 5 bomb hits, 2 torpedo hits, on fire, heavy damage
CV Aso 3 bomb hits, on fire
Another strike of 37 X B-25J (2 downed, 33 damaged), 15 X P-51D, 23 X P-47D, 31 X P-38J and 13 X F4U-1 added:
CV Aso 2 bomb hits, on fire
CV Amagi 3 bomb hits, on fire
CV Kasagi 1 bomb hit, on fire
Like sharks smelling blood in the water another attack was made by 55 X PB4Y (1 downed, 7 damaged), 33 X B-25J (8 damaged) and 69 X P-51D resulting in:
CV Ikoma 20 bomb hits, sunk
DD Arashi 1 bomb hit
CV Kasagi 4 bomb hits, on fire, heavy damage
CV Amagi 1 bomb hit, on fire, heavy damage
CV Aso 17 bomb hits, sunk
The Allied TF 89 miles NW of San Marcelino was attacked by 38 X Grace, 13 X Jill, 79 X Judy and 3 X Zeke. Radar watched and vectored the CAP of 45 X F6F and 19 X F4U-1D who shredded the Japanese planes. Between the fighters and AA fire 29 X Grace, 8 X Jill, 63 X Judy and 3 X Zeke were splashed. 2 Hellcats and a Corsair were damaged , but the Japanese managed to deliver ordinance on target:
CV Ticonderoga 1 bomb hit
CV Hornet 1 bomb hit, 1 torpedo hit, on fire
Then 7 X Irving arrived and were shot down by the CAP. Another 3 Irving arrived and died as 21 Hellcats and 19 Corsairs jumped them before they could get close to the ships. Later 3 X Irving arrived and were splashed by the CAP. The Hornet has moderate systems damage, light flooding and moderate fires so she'll need to return to a port and then it'll be off to a yard for repairs.
Near Aparri 2 X Betty met their doom in a futile attempt to attack the Allied ships as the Allied fighters biggest problem was to not get in one another's way.
Near San Marcelino 37 X Grace, 5 X George and 5 X Zeke attacked the Allied ships. 7 Hellcats managed to intercept the attackers and 3 Graces (18 damaged), 2 Georges and 2 Zekes were destroyed by the fighters and flak though 2 LSTs each ate a fish that did heavy damage and caused fires to break out on each of them. The good news was that the LSTs had already unloaded. Then 6 X Peggy and 9 X Frank arrived and 5 Hellcats and the AA fire damaged 6 Peggys and killed 4 of the Franks. 2 Hellcats were destroyed and another was damaged, but no ships were harmed.
Ed's Old Gals, 132 miles N of Legaspi, were attacked by 3 X Bettys which the ships splashed with their AA batteries.
17 miles N of Vigan 4 X Frances and 9 X George tried to attack the Allied ships, but failed to score any hits. A Frances was shot down and 2 others were damaged by the flak. An attack by 5 X PB4Y (3 damaged) failed to do any harm to the Japanese DDs. An attack on the Japanese ships was made by 17 X PB4Y (11 damaged), 5 X B-25J (4 damaged), 49 X P-51D and 13 X F4U-1D and the following happened:
BB Ise 1 bomb hit
BB Fuso 1 bomb hit
DD Momi 1 bomb hit, on fire
5 IJN DDs and 6 USN DDs tangled in broad daylight with 1 Japanese DD being hit by a shell while the USN didn't fare so well.
DD Johnston 1 torpedo hits, on fire, heavy damage
DD Laws 2 shell hits
DD Luce 1 shell hit
Then the USN DDs were engaged by the IJN TF made up of 2 BBs, 1 CA, 2 CLs and 6 DDs. Neither side scored any hits as the IJN commander never pressed his advantage and the USN DDs used their speed and smoke generators to confuse their larger opponents.
The Allied ships 21 miles S of Wenchow were attacked by 3 X Grace and the CAP of 151 X FM-2 and 19 X F4F-4 made short work of them long before they could even see their targets. Within a few minutes 23 X Judy arrived and they too were splashed at the cost of 2 damaged FM-2s. Then another raid of 12 X Grace, 3 X Betty and 41 X Frances tried to penetrate the Allied fighters losing all but 1 Frances who managed to launch a fish wildly off target and then fled. 22 X FM-2 and 2 X F4F-4 were damaged in the fight. The Japanese then threw 6 X Betty and 18 X Peggy into the fight only to lose all but a single Betty who missed with her fish. 23 X FM-2 and 2 X F4F-4 were damaged. Next up were 18 X Grace and 3 X Frances who ran afoul of the CAP that was down to 72 X FM-2 and 9 X F4F-4. 3 Graces and a Frances survived while a Frances hit the AK Floridian with a fish that caused a fire just before being shot down.
18 X Grace attacked the Allied ships 18 miles SE of Taipei and 18 X FM-2 and 3 X F4F and the AA fire splashed 13 of them. 2 FM-2s and 3 F4F-4s were damaged. No ships were ever threatened.
Tokyo was swept by 64 X P-51D who attacked 45 X Zeke, 13 X George, 41 X Frank and 25 X Tony. 18 Zekes, 5 Georges, 35 Franks and all of the Tonys were shot down at the cost of 9 Mustangs lost and 1 damaged.
142 miles NW of Legaspi 3 X PB4Y missed an already damaged IJN DD.
The IJN ships 93 miles E of Batan Island were attacked by 112 X SBD (2 damaged), 108 X SB2C, 114 X TBF (1 damaged), 68 X TBM and 139 X F6F with the following results:
DD Yanagi 4 bomb hits, sunk
CL Natori 1 bomb hits, 4 torpedo hits, sunk
DD Satsuki 8 bomb hits, 1 torpedo hit, on fire, heavy damage
CL Naka 11 bomb hits, 1 torpedo hit, sunk
DD Hagi 5 bomb hits, sunk
Another strike was made by 3 X PB4Y, 26 X SBD, 15 X TBF, 10 X F4U-1D and 18 X F6F who missed with their bombs and fish. Then 49 X SB2C, 32 X TBF, 18 X TBM (2 damaged) and 20 X F6F tried and failed to hit anything.
An IJN CL thought to be the Agano was attacked 207 miles S of Hong Kong by 3 X B-25J who missed and all were damaged by the AA fire.
The IJN CL Oyodo 22 miles N of San Marcelino was attacked by 3 X PB4Y (3 damaged), 5 X P-51D and 2 X F4U-1D, but the ship escaped harm.
The Allied ships 30 miles N of Batan Island were attacked by 3 X Grace, 3 X Frances, 16 X Peggy, 8 X George and 6 X Frank. The CAP of 251 X F6F and 13 X F4U-1D acted as a buzz saw by downing all of the planes except for 8 of the Peggys while a Hellcat was lost and 5 were damaged. No ships were ever in danger. Then 3 X Grace and 10 X Betty attempted to pierce the umbrella of fighters and they were all splashed with 2 Hellcats sustaining damage. Another ill fated strike of 8 X Frances and 13 X Peggy were killed with 2 Hellcats lost and 12 damaged. Again no ships were considered in danger. Still not giving up 13 X Judy and 7 X Dinah joined their ancestors with a Hellcat taking damage. Next up were 4 X Grace who tried to run when they were intercepted so 2 lived to tell of the uber CAP.
16 miles N of San Marcelino the IJN and USN tangled despite the Americans trying to flee behind the screen of the escorts with the following results:
Japanese Ships
CA Mogami 9 shell hits
CL Oyodo 10 shell hits
CL Sendai 11 shell hits
DD Hayanami 1 shell hit
DD Okinami 2 shell hits, on fire
DD Oyashio
DD Natsushio 1 shell hit
DD Isokaze 1 shell hit, on fire
Allied Ships
DD Wallace Lind 18 shell hits, sunk
DD Maddox 37 shell hits, sunk
DD Moale 26 shell hits, sinks
DD John W. Weeks 25 shell hits, sinks
DD Henley 56 shell hits, sunk
MSW Tanager 20 shell hits, sinks
AP Catron 2 shell hits, on fire
AP McCawley
AP Crescent City
AP President Adams
AP William Ward Burrows 2 shell hits, on fire
AP John Penn
AP Calvert
AP William P. Biddle
AP Ormsby
AP Feland
AP Monrovia
AP President Polk
AP Sumter
AP Katoomba
AP Adair
AP St. Mihel
AP Telfair
AP Thomas Jefferson
AP Henderson
AP Pinkney
LSD Casa Grande
LSD Epping Forest
LSD Lindenwald
LSD Rushmore
LSD Shadwell
LSD White Marsh
AP Taiyuan
AP Buyskens
AVD Corson
AVD Duxbury Bay
The escorts valiantly did their job protecting the transports.
At Naga artillery exchanges resulted in no Allied losses and heavy Japanese casualties.
On Batan Island Allied artillery inflicted moderately heavy losses on the Japanese.
At Tuguegarao an Allied attack swept away the defenders, destroying a Dinah and a Judy and inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese while suffering moderate losses of their own. The Japanese were retreating towards Lingayen.
Taichu fell to the Allied assault.
Gil and the rest of the Lucky 11 are to tired to feel anything after another long mission over Japan. After the debriefing they were given their usual shot of whiskey and Gil tossed his back quickly. “To bad they don't just hand over the whole bottle,” he said. They learned later that the planes from Tinian and Guam didn't fly as planned and of course make remarks about them being chickens.
Ed quietly is fuming as he knows that IJN BBs weren't that far away from his Old Gals and with a little luck they might've had an old fashioned slug fest that he knows deep down that the Japanese couldn't win. He sighs and goes back to his cabin to get some sleep. He has left orders that if anything pops up he's to be awakened.
Admiral King confers with Truman and says that this Japanese surge will be a short lived bump in the road. He tries to paint a picture of opportunity to destroy what remains of the Japanese Navy, but Harry is concerned about the losses that are mounting. “We need to always remember that these are people, not numbers,” the President said. King goes on to say that the IJN has 2 choices to make, either return to Japan or make for Singapore if they are to operate out of major bases. The British are more than able to take care of themselves with all of the ship transfers to the Far Eastern Fleet now that they aren't needed in Europe anymore.
Victory Points Allied 71309 (6020 Strategic) Japanese 41741
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