apbarog
Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002 Status: offline
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8 Dec 41 Bataan was mined by enemy subs. I anticipated this and sent 4 AMs from Manila at full speed, and they got there before the great Manila exodus occurred. All mines swept. Near Malacca on the west side of Malaysia, I-121 spots AMC Kanimlba fleeing at high speed from Singapore. One torpedo hits. Then I-121 reengages and gets another hit with a torpedo, sinking the AMC. Subs on the west side now, good to know. I just dropped some mines in the area. Could get a sub. Mersing is invaded, as expected. Mersing starts with 2 units, but neither has any combat value. Nothing can be done with this opening gambit. Singapore will be cut off and eliminated quickly, having no chance to even build any fort levels. Clark is effectively swept by Zeros again. Air defense is just about gone. Bettys and Nells attack Singapore's airfield and port. No CAP flew. Allied aircraft losses Vildebeest III: 4 damaged Buffalo I: 15 damaged Buffalo I: 2 destroyed on ground Hudson I: 1 damaged Blenheim IV: 1 damaged Blenheim IV: 1 destroyed on ground Allied Ships DD Encounter, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage TK British Judge, Bomb hits 1 xAK Silverbeech, Bomb hits 1, on fire AMC Manoora, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage AG Pangkor, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage AMc Rahman, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk Airbase hits 4 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 16 Port hits 1 Clark is then bombed by Bettys and Nells. Zeros escorted, but they weren't needed. Almost all B-17s are damaged and will remain so. I take a chance and rail transfer one squadron to Batangas, hoping to fly out a few after repair, if Aurorus doesn't catch on. I disbanded the other squadron. Some Allied ships fled Singapore to Bengkalis, but didn't get away. Nells flew a long sortie and sank a few ships. Then lots of Kates from KB hit Singapore's port. All ships other than the tiny ones were already damaged. Allied Ships ML No. 311, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk ML No. 310, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk xAK Silverbeech, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Demodocus, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires AMC Manoora, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Wulin, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage AG Vyner Brooke, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage DM Stronghold, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk TK Mobilfuel, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage AM Ballarat, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk DD Encounter, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage TK British Judge, Bomb hits 1, on fire MMS-51, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk The Allies did have one positive combat today. B-17s from Mindanao hit Babeldaob's port. There was no CAP and there were ships in port. Japanese Ships AD Gyoko Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire DMS W-7, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAKL P-11, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk CM Yaeyama, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires CM Itsukushima, Bomb hits 1, on fire ARD Meyungs ARD, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage Japanese Ships PB Edo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAK Macassar Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire DMS W-8, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAK Shinsei Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires AO Iro, Bomb hits 1 CM Itsukushima, Bomb hits 1, on fire The B-17s will try again today. Aurorus has been so aggressive with his moves, he may not be able to backfill Babeldaob with fighters in one day. If he even trys. The B-17s will probably evacuate after this repeat attempt. Bettys, Vals and Kates then sank more ships near Singapore. Allied Ships xAKL Pahang, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAKL Circe xAKL Lipis, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk Allied Ships CM Willem v d Zaan, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk Allied Ships CM Kung Wo, Bomb hits 13, and is sunk xAP Hong Kheng, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAKL Marudu, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage AG Ban Hong Liong, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk TK Spirilla, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAP Klang, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage TK Pleiodon, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage PG Herald, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAKL Kuala, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk xAK Zannis Cambanis, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires TK Pinna, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk Allied Ships AMc Klias, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AMc Jarak, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk Allied Ships AMc Gemas, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk My plan for today was to have all remaining fighters escort bombers from Singapore to hit shipping that would undoubtedly go to Mersing. Everything was set to range 2. This worked. KB was at range 3. However, no fighters flew, but the bombers did. Enemy CAP may not have been enough if 20 or so Allied fighters would have helped, but the Zeros were more than enough for Vildebeest, Hudsons and 139WH-3s. No bombers made it to target, and most if not all were shot down. More KB bombers hit more shipping near Bengkalis. Allied Ships TK Spirilla, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Matang, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Zannis Cambanis, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage PG Herald, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk Allied Ships xAKL Circe, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk Then Kota Bharu was captured. About 55 Allied ships have been sunk so far, with another dozen or so stuck at Singapore, too damaged to move. Repulse and a light cruiser. Nothing significant beyond that. Just most of what starts at Singapore and Hong Kong. The positive spin is that KB did not go south toward Java. The Allied big tankers are making it to safety. Many are loading up at Java. The other spot of interest is near Ambon, where many enemy task forces approach. None have arrived yet, and they may be going somewhere else, like Kendari. With carrier support, I decided not to risk combat shipping. BB Prince of Wales joined with 4 US destroyers and will eventually join up with a carrier task force. Nice AAA. It is worth noting that there has been no Philippine landing so far. Nothing at Wake, nor Tarawa. I wonder where those troops are headed. It does look like the northwestern corner of Borneo is about to be invaded.
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< Message edited by apbarog -- 8/22/2017 3:32:12 AM >
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