obvert
Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011 From: PDX (and now) London, UK Status: offline
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21 - 22 November 1944 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SUBS: RO-108 is sunk by the SS Golet as it tried to limp back from the Balikpapan area. DEI: Allied troops invade Tarakan. No opposition here. I've got bigger fish to fry right now. S DEI: I move the J2M5 groups out of Lomblen and back to Java. I'm sensing things are winding down here for the Japanese as the first DA against Dili gets a 1:1. The air HQ is also removed safely and I'll try to come back for some of the base forces with radar using LSTs if time permits. A George and a Frank group hold the fort here for the next week or so. BURMA: This is it now. The tension is building. It is a good two turns for the Japanese, but if the troops don't make it through all of that will be forgotten. They're still moving in jungle territory but should begin going at clear hex pace after the next turn. On the 21st the Allies again lose big numbers as they attack after supply gets to the AA units. Looks like about 10 4E lost. A lot more 4E and 2E are damaged. Then on the 22nd a very strange thing happened. We swept the Allied troops in preparation for the bombing runs and were met by P-47s set high at 42k and 35k. Judging by detection times (from 2 to 10 minutes) there is no radar here either, and thats not surprising for Infantry and armor units. The first two groups of Georges got only 1:3, but then the 16 Ki-100 sent in at 15k bring everyone down apparently and the next few sweeps have a field day! Around 44 P-47s are downed on the day for only 28 Japanese fighters lost. (Just got a note from Jocke saying his groups on LR CAP were at 40 fatigue. That's probably after th turn though. Still think we would have done well here with these settings and groups flying, regardless. Guess it's good I waited a day though between bombing missions to get some help from the fatigue). After all of this the strikes come in and we lose 15 DBs to flak but get a few decent runs, and the 2E Peggys at least get enough to make sure most of these are in combat mode. By the losses it looks like they were before the strikes anyway. Fingers crossed our troops moving in a faster mode can get through. CENTRAL PACFIC: Finally the Graces flew and it was worth the wait. A tanker TF is hit by 21 DBs and it's likely 2 TK and a PF are sunk. Fuel burning is a good sign! The next day I sent the Graces to Rota in the likelihood that the TFs would move away from Truk, but restricted their searches to stay outside of the CAP area of the nearby bases. It worked, and three more TK are hit plus another PF. Their work done, these planes will move back to Chichi-Jimi now, although long-range search from marcus will be watching to send them in if another big TF comes through. I'm going to fly in some A6M5 to escort as I think some CVE might find their way out here soon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR November 21, 44 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amphibious Assault at Tarakan (67,91) TF 357 troops unloading over beach at Tarakan, 67,91 Allied ground losses: 295 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 45 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 82 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 43 (0 destroyed, 43 disabled) Vehicles lost 44 (1 destroyed, 43 disabled) not prepped? 13 troops of a USA Rifle Squad 44 lost overboard during unload of 112th Cavalry Rgt Motorized Support lost in surf during unload of 147th(Sep) Infantry Rgt /2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Provisionl Tank Brigade, at 55,61 , near Bangkok Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 4 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 0 minutes Japanese aircraft B7A2 Grace x 18 No Japanese losses Allied ground losses: Vehicles lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 4 x B7A2 Grace releasing from 2000' Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 10 x B7A2 Grace releasing from 3000' Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 4 x B7A2 Grace releasing from 1000' Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Tinian at 112,100 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 33 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Japanese aircraft B7A2 Grace x 21 Japanese aircraft losses B7A2 Grace: 4 damaged B7A2 Grace: 2 destroyed by flak Allied Ships TK Kishwaukee PF Pueblo TK Muskogee, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage TK Watertown, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires PF El Paso, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 12 x B7A2 Grace releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb 6 x B7A2 Grace releasing from 1000' Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring TK Watertown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 18th Division, at 55,59 , near Tavoy Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Allied aircraft B-17F Fortress x 10 B-24J Liberator x 37 B-25D1 Mitchell x 16 B-25H Mitchell x 45 PBJ-1D Mitchell x 24 Allied aircraft losses B-17F Fortress: 2 damaged B-24J Liberator: 7 damaged B-25D1 Mitchell: 1 damaged B-25H Mitchell: 7 damaged B-25H Mitchell: 1 destroyed by flak PBJ-1D Mitchell: 1 damaged Japanese ground losses: 30 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Aircraft Attacking: 13 x PBJ-1D Mitchell bombing from 15000 feet Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 33rd Division, at 55,59 , near Tavoy Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 41 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 14 minutes Allied aircraft Liberator B.III x 7 Liberator B.VI x 14 B-24D1 Liberator x 3 B-24J Liberator x 47 B-25C Mitchell x 14 PB4Y-1 Liberator x 6 Allied aircraft losses Liberator B.III: 1 damaged Liberator B.VI: 2 damaged B-24J Liberator: 6 damaged B-24J Liberator: 1 destroyed by flak B-25C Mitchell: 2 damaged PB4Y-1 Liberator: 1 damaged Japanese ground losses: 53 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Aircraft Attacking: 6 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 15000 feet Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 33rd Division, at 55,59 , near Tavoy Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 41 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 14 minutes Allied aircraft Liberator B.III x 7 Liberator B.VI x 14 B-24D1 Liberator x 3 B-24J Liberator x 47 B-25C Mitchell x 14 PB4Y-1 Liberator x 6 Allied aircraft losses Liberator B.III: 1 damaged Liberator B.VI: 2 damaged B-24J Liberator: 6 damaged B-24J Liberator: 1 destroyed by flak B-25C Mitchell: 2 damaged PB4Y-1 Liberator: 1 damaged Japanese ground losses: 53 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Aircraft Attacking: 6 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 15000 feet Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 33rd Division, at 55,59 , near Tavoy Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 23 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Allied aircraft Liberator B.VI x 14 Wellington B.X x 13 B-24J Liberator x 14 Allied aircraft losses Liberator B.VI: 1 damaged Liberator B.VI: 1 destroyed by flak Wellington B.X: 2 damaged B-24J Liberator: 3 damaged Japanese ground losses: 19 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 13 x Wellington B.X bombing from 15000 feet Ground Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 981 troops, 6 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 47 Defending force 4018 troops, 133 guns, 97 vehicles, Assault Value = 116 Assaulting units: 455th Ind.Infantry Battalion 35th Fld AA Gun Co 134th JAAF AF Bn Defending units: 147th(Sep) Infantry Regiment 112th Cavalry Regiment 109th Tank Attack Regiment 131st Field Artillery Battalion II Aus Corps Engr Bn /5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Dili (71,115) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 24908 troops, 402 guns, 646 vehicles, Assault Value = 1081 Defending force 11545 troops, 77 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 367 Allied adjusted assault: 679 Japanese adjusted defense: 643 Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 5) Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 4 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1241 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 23 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 14 destroyed, 25 disabled Guns lost 6 (3 destroyed, 3 disabled) Allied ground losses: 378 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 59 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Guns lost 12 (2 destroyed, 10 disabled) Vehicles lost 24 (1 destroyed, 23 disabled) Assaulting units: 2/6th Armoured Regiment 2/5th Armoured Regiment 1st Army Tank Regiment Americal Infantry Division 7th Australian Division 97th Field Artillery Battalion 223rd Field Artillery Battalion I Australian Corps 134th Field Artillery Battalion Defending units: 43rd Engineer Regiment 72nd Infantry Brigade III/66th Naval Guard Unit 3rd Raiding Regiment 124th Infantry Regiment Sasebo 3rd SNLF 9th Field AF Construction Battalion 35th JNAF AF Unit 4th Tank Regiment 65th JNAF AF Unit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR November 22, 44 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub vs Sub: SS Golet attacking SS RO-108 at 62,102 - near Bandjermasin Japanese Ships SS RO-108, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage Allied Ships SS Golet SS Golet launches 2 torpedoes at 3,000 yards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Iba at 75,71 Japanese Ships E No.46 E No.10 E No.34 Allied Ships SS Blower, hits 1 SS Blower launches 2 torpedoes at E No.46 Blower diving deep .... E No.46 fails to find sub, continues to search... E No.46 fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Hong Kong at 75,68 Japanese Ships E Hirado E Shonan E Iki Allied Ships SS Kraken, hits 7 Two direct critical hits SS Kraken launches 2 torpedoes at E Hirado Kraken diving deep .... E Shonan fails to find sub, continues to search... E Iki fails to find sub and abandons search E Shonan fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Southeast Asia , at 56,60 , near Ayuthia Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 36,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K1-J George x 35 Allied aircraft P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 33 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 39 Japanese aircraft losses N1K1-J George: 4 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed CAP engaged: 49th FG/7th FS with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 11 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 42000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes 51st FG/16th FS with P-47D25 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 13 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 35000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes 51st FG/26th FS with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 11 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 42000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes 348th FG/340th FS with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 11 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 42000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 41 minutes 348th FG/341st FS with P-47D25 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 13 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 35000 Raid is overhead 51st FG/449th FS with P-47D25 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 13 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 35000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 3 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Southeast Asia , at 56,60 , near Ayuthia Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 32,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K2-J George x 35 Allied aircraft P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 33 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 36 Japanese aircraft losses N1K2-J George: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 6th Australian Division, at 56,60 , near Ayuthia Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 24 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. This is the key! Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-100-I Tony x 16 Allied aircraft P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 30 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 32 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-100-I Tony: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 2 destroyed And they actually do well at this lower altitude agains the beasts! CAP engaged: 49th FG/7th FS with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 42000 , scrambling fighters to 28000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes 51st FG/16th FS with P-47D25 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 35000 , scrambling fighters to 31000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes 51st FG/26th FS with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 10 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 42000 , scrambling fighters to 27000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 104 minutes 348th FG/340th FS with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 42000 , scrambling fighters to 27920. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes 348th FG/341st FS with P-47D25 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 35000 , scrambling fighters to 28000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes 51st FG/449th FS with P-47D25 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 10 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 35000 , scrambling fighters to 28000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 346 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Southeast Asia , at 56,60 , near Ayuthia Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 30 NM, estimated altitude 37,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-84r Frank x 19 Arriving at 35k Allied aircraft P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 30 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 29 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 4 destroyed P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 2 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Southeast Asia , at 56,60 , near Ayuthia Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 11 NM, estimated altitude 36,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 2 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-84a Frank x 36 Allied aircraft P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 7 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 25 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 5 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 254th Armoured Brigade, at 56,60 , near Ayuthia Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft B7A2 Grace x 18 D4Y1 Judy x 34 D4Y4 Judy x 49 J2M3 Jack x 45 N1K2-J George x 15 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 79 Ki-49-IIb Helen x 4 Ki-67-Ia (T) Peggy x 38 Japanese aircraft losses B7A2 Grace: 5 damaged B7A2 Grace: 3 destroyed by flak D4Y1 Judy: 11 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 2 destroyed by flak D4Y4 Judy: 10 damaged D4Y4 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak Allied ground losses: 99 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 16 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Vehicles lost 12 (2 destroyed, 10 disabled) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Tinian at 108,95 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 51 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 13 minutes Japanese aircraft B7A2 Grace x 21 Japanese aircraft losses B7A2 Grace: 6 damaged Allied Ships PF Van Buren, Bomb hits 1, on fire DM Robert H. Smith TK Pat Doheny, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires TK Coulie, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires TK Caliche, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires Aircraft Attacking: 8 x B7A2 Grace releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb 7 x B7A2 Grace releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb 6 x B7A2 Grace releasing from 1000' Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at 55,59 (near Tavoy) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 48660 troops, 757 guns, 551 vehicles, Assault Value = 2145 Defending force 201718 troops, 2606 guns, 3063 vehicles, Assault Value = 6448 Japanese ground losses: 46 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reinforcements: 1st Indpt SNLF Coy arrives at Tokyo E No.144 arrives at Tokyo ML G-431 arrives at Shimonoseki Losses: Loss of SS RO-108 on Nov 22, 1944 is admitted Ships Sunk: SS Cavalla is reported to have been sunk near Zamboanga on Aug 02, 1944 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Supply is a problem at Truk and most places that have been cut off in the Cent and South Pac areas. Some bases do have a bit more, and I might begin flying some of that back to keep these kinds of strikes viable. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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< Message edited by obvert -- 9/22/2013 9:35:33 PM >
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"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
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