April 1942 Alternate Indian Ocean
- Thread starter Zheng He
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2200 Hours, 14 December 1942, Ramree Island, Burma – Commander Bach-Koling of the Dutch submarine O-19 was as nervous as he would ever get. Navigating the treacherous waters at the southern end of Ramree Island was hard enough. On top of natural navigation hazards, he had to be mindful of the mines already deposited by HMS Manxman, patrolling Allied ships and aircraft that might be in the area and could easily mistake him for a Japanese submarine, as well as the hulks of wrecked ships from earlier actions. It was with a profound sense of relief that Bach-Koling ordered his boat to retreat into the deeper waters of the Bay of Bengal, another mission complete.
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Yes and that is why a few will be along but the cruisers all carry floatplanes and the task force will probably get a Hudson permanently assigned to it once it is in the area.
0600 Hours, 15 December 1942, Iliomar, Timor – Choppy surf meant things took longer than the destroyer skippers wished and with the sun rising, lookouts scanned the skies for Japanese reconnaissance planes. Fortunately, no Japanese aircraft appeared and by 0700 hours over 1000 Australian and Dutch troops and a few Portuguese civilians were safely aboard the Australian, French, and American ships and the task force was underway for Darwin by 0730. The only Allied troops remaining on Timor were the commandoes of Lancer Force and the few that were on the beach supporting the departure of Lancer Force melted back into the forest to prepare for another mission. They were not done making life hard on the Japanese just yet.
0800 Hours, 15 December 1942, Colombo Harbor, Ceylon – The eight-ship convoy escorted by USS Copahee and the destroyers USS Patterson, USS King, and USS Alden and the merchant cruiser HMS Alaunia arrived in Colombo on the heels of Copahee’s small air group already safely bedded down at Ratmalana Airfield. Copahee’s skipper Captain Farrell and her air group commander Lieutenant Commander Tucker had flown to Colombo the previous afternoon in a Dauntless at Admiral Somerville’s request so they could start advanced preparations for the Eastern Fleet’s upcoming deployment to the Bay of Bengal. Somerville wanted to the fleet to sortie the next day and Copahee’s presence was a necessity. Another convoy was due in later that day and some of that convoy’s escorts were needed for the upcoming operation as well meaning the port’s logisticians were going to be busy turning the ships around.
0900 Hours, 15 December 1942, Fremantle, Australia – The empty RFA British Sergeant got underway for Colombo after delivering fuel to Exmouth Gulf and Fremantle. She was accompanied by six loaded freighters and the convoy was escorted by the corvettes HMAS Kalgoorlie and HMAS Dubbo.
1200 Hours, 15 December 1942, Colombo Harbor, Ceylon – During the afternoon of 15 December, several important convoys arrived at their destinations. At Colombo, the light cruiser HMS Gambia and the destroyers HMAS Nestor, HMAS Nepal, and HMAS Nizam pulled into the harbor with 10 freighters they picked up in the Seychelles after escorting the carrier HMS Indomitable on the first leg of her journey to the United States and making stops at Diego Garcia and Port T. The crews of the warships immediately set about replenishing their ships as they were all slated to depart the next morning as part of the task force headed for the Bay of Bengal. There would be no shore leave for the foreseeable future.
At Port C, the merchant cruiser HMCS Prince David and the light cruisers HMS Enterprise and USS Richmond dropped anchor in the lagoon after their latest run to Christmas Island. The cruisers were going to spend several days at anchor conducting maintenance while Prince David was taking on high priority cargo, mostly classified intelligence reports detailing Japanese movements in the area and personnel transfers. She was due to sail solo for Colombo in the morning.
Finally, a supply convoy of four freighters arrived at Diego Garcia escorted by the sloops HMS Falmouth and HMIS Jumna and the merchant cruiser HMS Carthage. The freighters would all sail independently for South Africa after they were unloaded while the warships were scheduled to depart for Port C the next morning to pick up another convoy.
At Port C, the merchant cruiser HMCS Prince David and the light cruisers HMS Enterprise and USS Richmond dropped anchor in the lagoon after their latest run to Christmas Island. The cruisers were going to spend several days at anchor conducting maintenance while Prince David was taking on high priority cargo, mostly classified intelligence reports detailing Japanese movements in the area and personnel transfers. She was due to sail solo for Colombo in the morning.
Finally, a supply convoy of four freighters arrived at Diego Garcia escorted by the sloops HMS Falmouth and HMIS Jumna and the merchant cruiser HMS Carthage. The freighters would all sail independently for South Africa after they were unloaded while the warships were scheduled to depart for Port C the next morning to pick up another convoy.
1500 Hours, 15 December 1942, Headquarters First Southern Area Expeditionary Fleet, Singapore – The destroyers Akatsuki, Sazanami, and Inazuma arrived in Singapore after making successful supply runs to Sabang, Great Nicobar, and Port Blair. All three ships were getting three weeks in port to make repairs.
1600 Hours, 15 December 1942, Bassein River Delta, Burma – With their tails between their legs, the Japanese light cruiser Kinu, the destroyers Matsukaze, Hatsushimo, and Mikazuki, the second line destroyer Kuretake, and the seaplane carrier Sanyo Maru departed the forward support base in the Bassein River Delta. Sanyo Maru was headed for Penang while the other ships were going to Singapore. Kinu and Matsukaze both needed repairs for battle damaged sustained during their recent action in the Bay of Bengal.
Unknown to the Japanese their movements were tracked by the submarine S-33 that have moved into the northern reaches of the Andaman Sea in search of targets. Lieutenant Schoeni had not had any luck on this patrol so far but his observations of Japanese traffic in the area led him to conclude the mouth of the Bassein River was being used as a forward support base. He decided that information might be useful and after night fell, he surfaced his boat to recharge its batteries and sent a report back to Colombo.
Unknown to the Japanese their movements were tracked by the submarine S-33 that have moved into the northern reaches of the Andaman Sea in search of targets. Lieutenant Schoeni had not had any luck on this patrol so far but his observations of Japanese traffic in the area led him to conclude the mouth of the Bassein River was being used as a forward support base. He decided that information might be useful and after night fell, he surfaced his boat to recharge its batteries and sent a report back to Colombo.
Errolwi
Monthly Donor
0800 Hours, 16 December 1942, Simon’s Town South Africa – The escort carriers HMS Dasher and HMS Avenger arrived in Simon’s Town, South Africa as part of a Cape Town bound convoy from Gibraltar. Both carriers had their small air groups onboard along with additional planes for the RAF and FAA replacement pools on Ceylon. They were going to be in port for three or four more days, waiting for escorts from the Eastern Fleet to arrive and take them the rest of the way. This gave the crews opportunities for shore leave as well as time to perform maintenance on both ships. Dasher’s skipper Commander Charles Lentaigne was eager to speak with repair experts at the naval base. During the transit from Gibraltar, a number of his men complained about gas fumes below decks and there was some evidence the storage tanks for the aviation fuel were leaking. One officer even suggested that a carelessly lit cigarette could cause the entire ship to blow up. Lentaigne was becoming increasingly concerned that his aircraft carrier, built on a commercial hull with all of the haste of wartime imperatives in mind had design flaws that needed fixed before she was ready to fight.
1300 Hours, 16 December 1942, Colombo Harbor, Ceylon – The fleet was a few hours late in departing due the need to load additional engines and spare parts on the aircraft carriers at the last minute but that was a minor setback and Admiral Somerville was happy to be back at sea with his fleet, flying his flag on the battleship HMS Valiant. Once again, Force A of the Eastern Fleet was going into battle, this time to cover offensive operations along Burma’s coast. In addition to HMS Valiant the task force was built around the aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and USS Copahee, and the light cruisers HMS Gambia, USS Phoenix, and HMNZS Achillies, escorted by the destroyers HNLMS Isaac Sweers, HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes, HNLMS Van Galen, HMAS Norman, HMAS Napier, HMAS Nestor, HMAS Nepal, HMAS Nizam, and USS Patterson.
As soon as the fleet was in open ocean flight operations commenced. Hermes recovered her air group of 16 Martlets and four Swordfish while Copahee landed 12 US Navy Wildcats, six FAA Seafires, and six FAA Sea Hurricanes. The addition of the FAA fighters to Copahee meant that she was leaving her unit of 12 SBD Dauntless dive bombers on the beach, much to the chagrin of their crews. However, with only two small carriers at his disposal, Admiral Somerville wanted fighter heavy air groups due to the need to provide air defense for Force A and the Allied bridgehead on Ramree Island. His carriers would not be responsible for conducting strike operations and anti-submarine patrol duties fell to Hermes’ contingent of Swordfish and the floatplanes from the cruisers, supplemented by land based Hudsons from No. 453 Squadron. Operating FAA fighters from Copahee meant cross decking LSOs due to similar but different procedures between the RN and USN but this was probably necessary regardless as Somerville did not have trouble envisioning scenarios where one of his flight decks was not able to recover aircraft. Once the air groups were on board their carriers, the task force turned south for Dondra Head at 1500 hours.
Departing Port C on 16 December was the merchant cruiser HMCS Prince David. She was making a solo run to Colombo to drop off cargo and there she would load up on additional supplies and construction personnel and then head to Ramree Island to drop off the airfield construction company from the US Army’s 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion. Departing Diego Garcia were the sloops HMS Falmouth and HMIS Jumna and the merchant cruiser HMS Carthage. Their destination was Port C where they would pick up a convoy from Fremantle for the run to Colombo.
As soon as the fleet was in open ocean flight operations commenced. Hermes recovered her air group of 16 Martlets and four Swordfish while Copahee landed 12 US Navy Wildcats, six FAA Seafires, and six FAA Sea Hurricanes. The addition of the FAA fighters to Copahee meant that she was leaving her unit of 12 SBD Dauntless dive bombers on the beach, much to the chagrin of their crews. However, with only two small carriers at his disposal, Admiral Somerville wanted fighter heavy air groups due to the need to provide air defense for Force A and the Allied bridgehead on Ramree Island. His carriers would not be responsible for conducting strike operations and anti-submarine patrol duties fell to Hermes’ contingent of Swordfish and the floatplanes from the cruisers, supplemented by land based Hudsons from No. 453 Squadron. Operating FAA fighters from Copahee meant cross decking LSOs due to similar but different procedures between the RN and USN but this was probably necessary regardless as Somerville did not have trouble envisioning scenarios where one of his flight decks was not able to recover aircraft. Once the air groups were on board their carriers, the task force turned south for Dondra Head at 1500 hours.
Departing Port C on 16 December was the merchant cruiser HMCS Prince David. She was making a solo run to Colombo to drop off cargo and there she would load up on additional supplies and construction personnel and then head to Ramree Island to drop off the airfield construction company from the US Army’s 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion. Departing Diego Garcia were the sloops HMS Falmouth and HMIS Jumna and the merchant cruiser HMS Carthage. Their destination was Port C where they would pick up a convoy from Fremantle for the run to Colombo.
I pity those Seafire and Sea Hurricane pilots if their previous landings were all on longer deck carriers. The Seafire was a tricky beast to land in that time period. If I was a pilot, I would be tempted to land on Hermes regardless with that extra 100+ feet of deck.
Plenty of Seafire and Sea Hurricane pilots landed on escort carriers, these guys can learn too...
I hope he sends his concerns up the chain of command or multiple chains of command (given that not just the USN are using such ships, that would be prudent and would expedite any refitting that has to be done).
1800 Hours, 16 December 1942, 330 Miles Northeast of Reykjavik, Iceland, North Atlantic Ocean – The combined British and American task force was approximately halfway to its launch position since departing Reykjavik 30 hours earlier and skirting north of Iceland after transiting the Denmark Strait. The aircraft carriers USS Ranger, HMS Victorious, and HMS Formidable and the battleships USS Alabama, HMS Anson, and HMS Howe formed the center of the powerful task force. The capital ships were screend by the heavy cruisers USS Augusta, HMS Norfolk, and HMS Suffolk, the light cruisers HMS Glasgow, HMS Belfast, USS Brooklyn, and USS Cleveland, and 22 destroyers. So far, their luck had held. There was no indication the Germans had the slightest idea of what they Allies were up to. Days that constituted almost 20 hours of darkness helped conceal their movements making the increased risks to the air crews of executing such a challenging mission at this time of the year worth the hazards.
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