IdahoNYer
Posts: 2616
Joined: 9/6/2009 From: NYer living in Boise, ID Status: offline
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24-25 May 43 Highlights – Troops ashore at Woodlark Is and Paras take Namorik; US Fleet sails Jpn ships sunk: PB: 1 xAKL: 1 Jpn ships unsunk: DD:1 (Yamagumo) Allied ships sunk: None Air loss: Jpn: 50 Allied: 27 Subwar: Jpn: 0 Attacks, 0 ships hit Allies: 6 Attacks, 1 ship hit (xAKL sunk) Jpn Amph Inv: None Allied Amph/Airborne Inv: Woodlark Is (SOPAC) Namorik (CENPAC) Bases lost: None Bases Liberated: Namorik (CENPAC) SIGINT/Intel: NSTR West Coast/Admin: CV Lexington takes on 34 F6Fs without any delays, finishing out the conversion of the Wildcat to the Hellcat on the US CVs. Slow convoy departs LA for Auck. In NOPAC, CL TF (2CL, DDs) finds and sinks another picket line PB in the North Pacific. With the “eyes” gone, the CL TF will head to disrupt any shipping in the Kuriles. Will be a short raid as the TF has no AO support. In CENPAC, USMC Paras land unopposed on Namorik and take the base. Two engineer battalions, still loaded on transports for Ailinglaplap, will be brought in to Namorik escorted by the usual CVE and CA TFs. While I don’t expect a major response, this is well within Betty/Zero range out of Kusaie. Once the engineers are brought in, will focus on Ailinglaplap. In SOPAC, Arleigh Burke’s DDs (5DD) actually missed one of two barge convoys this trip, the 5 barges at Feni Is avoiding the DDs, but did engage and sink 4 barges off Shortlands and a straggler off Buka. Troops put ashore at Woodlark Is, defended only by an SNLF Co. The only response is a night time Betty raid which hit nothing but lose 7 Bettys to Flak. So far, so good. Troops should easily secure the island next turn. The Amph TF cuts loose its empty transports which head back to Luganville with 2DDs. The Flag, CA Minneapolis, along with the minesweepers and other escorts covering an AK, will rendezvous with the Kiriwina Amph TF heading to its target from Rossel Is, as does the BB Washington TF. Like Woodlark, I don’t expect much ground defenses on Kiriwina, but I do expect a more robust air attack. LRCAP again being provided from Deboyne and Rossel. Once troops are ashore at Kiriwina Is, the TFs will retire towards Luganville to replenish and begin preparations for the Bouganville operation. Will rely on landing craft to bring in further engineers to build up Woodlark and Kiriwina. In SWPAC, recon continues to report no defenders in Katherine or Fenton along the route to Darwin. So while Allied LBA focuses on the IJA in the desert, US Paras will be brought in to take Fenton. Darwin still appears to be heavily garrisoned, the question is whether to try and take it from both land and sea. Still have time to make that decision, and before any troops are brought in by sea, Bathurst Is needs to be secured - and that will be the subject of focused recon in the coming days. I still think L_S_T is waiting with the CVs to crush any Allied troop movement in the Timor Sea. In WAUS, Corunna Downs is still the focus of fighter sweeps, and again, Allied fighters meet the threat, and are ground down by numbers. The 16 newly arrived Kittyhawks do well, and after two days 17 Zeros and 8 Oscars are lost in exchange for 5 Kittys, 4 Spits and 2 F4Fs. Not much left of the Spit and F4F squadrons, and I pull out the flyable aircraft to refit the squadrons at Meekathara. My last fresh squadron, P-40Ks this time, are brought in to Corunna to meet the next threat. Meanwhile Corunna Downs AF continues to slowly expand towards AF level 2, but supplies are still barely climbing. Carnavon is packed with ships vying for dock space offloading supplies, and somehow this is making its way across the desert to keep the troops fed. In China, pounding of Chungking continues. In India/Burma, its quiet over Akyab for a change, and another convoy arrives to drop supply without interference. US night bombing strikes at Rangoon and British night bombing at Magwe, each with two squadrons at 2000ft, do well in largely avoiding CAP and hitting the AFs - destroying 16 a/c of various types from the packed fields. But the big story is the Allied Fleet sortie. Finally, now that the Hellcat is fielded, transports depart Cape Town with the USMC 3rd Div and support elements aboard. Carrier TFs will follow next turn. After linking up with further ships and troops loaded aboard transports out of Ceylon, the combined might of the Allied Fleet (7CV, 7BB, 25+CA/CL, 50+DD) will land troops on the Andaman Islands! The goal here isn’t just to secure the Andamans, but to bring the KB out to battle.
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