Panjack
Posts: 401
Joined: 7/12/2009 From: Southern California Status: offline
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March 11-13 ---------------------- A large Japanese transport TF is moving up the Bay of Bengal towards, I guess, Madras (still in Allied hands) or Vizagapatnam (occupied by Japan). At the same time, a group of TFs are moving west along the top of Oz and are about to turn the corner at Exmouth. Q-Ball has been reconning Carnarvon so I suppose he might be landing there and then moving down to Perth by land. Perth is only lightly defended and, according to intel, a handful of Japanese units are planning to attack that city. I don’t know for sure where the KB is, but on March 11 all subs in the Oosthaven area suddenly reported being sighted from the air (having previously been unsighted), and in one case a sub reported being sighted by a dive bomber. The next day all subs again reported being sighted. But on the following day, March 13, the sub I had move further north was the only sub to report being sighted while the ones in the south were not sighted. So my guess, based on this flimsy evidence, is that this carrier(s) is moving north and is moving fairly slowly perhaps as it is escorting an invasion taskforce. Perhaps it is headed toward the Bombay/Karachi area trying to beat the deadline for the Japanese invasion bonus. The first significant surface battle of the war occurred up in the Aleutians, of all places. For quite a long time my Alaska navy has harassed the Japanese-held islands from Attu to Adak. Allied DDs have sunk transports and CLs have been regularly bombarding the islands. Q-Ball retaliate a couple of weeks ago by sinking two DDs. Making a long story short: both Q-Ball and I decided to send more firepower to the Aleutians and so on March 12 we had: Night Time Surface Combat, near Adak Island at 162,52, Range 2,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Jintsu, Shell hits 1 CL Isuzu, Shell hits 5, and is sunk CL Kuma DD Michishio DD Arashio, Shell hits 1 DD Shiratsuyu DD Shigure, Shell hits 1 DD Yugure, Shell hits 1, on fire DD Fubuki Allied Ships BB Idaho BB New Mexico BB Mississippi, Shell hits 2 DD Bagley, Shell hits 1 DD Mugford DD Jarvis DD Smith DD Worden DD Gilmer, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
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