Part 395: Operational Report: 05/01/43

Our fleet carriers run into those cruisers during the night, but the Japanese don't fancy their chances against our forces, and flee.



The Avengers from the escort carriers have what may be the most cost effective torpedo ever constructed – one torpedo is thought to have netted us a freighter and two and a half thousand men!



The afternoon sees the first response to our attack by Japanese forces, as a combination Kate and Betty raid goes after our fleet carriers.



This one Wildcat takes out two Betty's and and a Kate before any of the rest of the CAP arrives and chases off the Japanese bombers with their tails between their legs.
Another wave comes in, and is butchered by the now massed fighters of the carriers.



A group of Lily's are spotted, but half of them turn around and flee before our planes can get into range, and the ones that attempt their attack wish that they hadn't.



Our bombers take another crack at those cruisers, but are unable to land any bombs onto them.



Others bomb the runway at Wotje, trying to render them useless.







Are BurOrd sure they have the new torpedoes in stock? I'm wondering if another round of cuts down there is needed.



The Shanghai express makes an attack on the Naval Shipyards of Hiroshima, causing some minor damage.



There is a unit of 13 Nate's trying to protect the city, but the combination of bombing height and massed fire from the bombers prevent them from causing and real problems for our bombers,







The Japanese decide that they have not lost enough planes today, and launch another attack on Darwin.







The Finscahhfen reinforcements are attacked today, but take no damage.



Then disaster strikes, the Japanese carriers find our battleships that are returning to Sydney for repairs.



Oh dear, I'm going to get it in the neck for this. I'm going to blame this one on the spies.
We get a small measure of revenge at Lunga, but its not going to make up for this loss.







We attack another Japanese force near Chuhsien, battering them quite successfully.



To the south, we do the same to another force.



We continue to fight a good rearguard action at Nanning, holding out despite the Japanese forces crushing advantages in numbers and AV.









Well, Bollocks.
Two battleships should not be lost on their way home, that's my fault for not checking the route they would be using, and sending them to close to an area where I should have known a Japanese carrier would be prowling. - It would be the bloody Prince of Wales, wouldn't it.



Apart from that we had a cracking day, that troop transport was a good hit, it must have been packed to the gills with troops, and then there are the 66 enemy planes we downed today. Tomorrow should see the next wave of troops landing in the area, and the airfields should, hopefully, soon be no longer a problem.



I'm going to go hide now, anyone who wants me can hunt me down on BC-Vietnam.