0800 Hours, 3 February 1943, Colombo Harbor, Ceylon – The light cruisers HMS Gambia, HMNZS Achilles, and USS St. Louis departed Colombo and accelerated to 16 knots heading southeast. Gambia was bound for Port C to take up patrol duty with the minelayer HMS Manxman while Achilles and St. Louis were heading first for Christmas Island to offload aviation spirits and then they were bound for port calls in Fremantle and Sydney before continuing on to New Caledonia to join the Allied fleet operating in the Solomon Islands. Once again the Eastern Fleet was getting stripped of key assets in favor of other theaters.
April 1942 Alternate Indian Ocean
- Thread starter Zheng He
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hang in there!!!! remember the old Army saying, life sucks and then you die 
...that being said, things will get better!!!!!
...that being said, things will get better!!!!!So they are offloading Aviation Spirits at Christmas Island, why is it just Aviation don't the rest of them get any booze to drink or is that the brand name of the booze?
1500 Hours, 3 February 1943, China Bay Airfield, Ceylon – Led by a single Hudson patrol bomber, the eight Fulmars from No. 800 Squadron landed safely at China Bay after making a direct flight across the Bay of Bengal from Akyab. Long overwater flights in fighter planes were both boring and dangerous but they had the benefit of being quicker than stage flights down the Indian coast. The squadron’s tour of duty in Burma was complete and the remaining Fulmars were rejoining the Eastern Fleet. The flight crews were looking forward to some time off at a rear area field as the fleet prepared for its next mission.
The adult beverages are getting flown in on LB-30 transport flights directly from Australia and I imagine when P-40s and Battles get swapped out, the pilots of the new planes probably bring some stash along with them as well.
Nothing really, just busy as all hell and all sorts of little things - death by a thousand cuts and all that nonsense.
0800 Hours, 4 February 1943, Near Akyab, Burma – The weather front was rolling in as predicted and the low-lying clouds promised to have a significant impact on Allied air operations. Major General Koga would have preferred a few more days to prepare but Lieutenant General Iida who had conveniently taken up residence in his divisional command post made it clear that was not an option.
The 65th Infantry Brigade had successfully extracted itself from the vise that was closing on it between the British and the Indian troops and with the brigade joining the 55th Infantry Division, Koga now had the equivalent of a full-strength division for the upcoming attempt to break the Allied lines around Akyab. The attack was scheduled to begin at sunset. The more lightly armed troops from the 65th Brigade were tasked with the initial assault with lead battalion primarily composed of the grounded IJN sailors who had been drafted into the IJA on Ramree Island. There was nothing particularly sophisticated about Koga’s plan. Send in the lightly equipped second line troops against the dug in East Africans in rushes. While there was no doubt many of these men would die for the Emperor, if they could punch enough holes in the East Africans’ lines, the 55th Division could break through and drive toward Akyab.
The 65th Infantry Brigade had successfully extracted itself from the vise that was closing on it between the British and the Indian troops and with the brigade joining the 55th Infantry Division, Koga now had the equivalent of a full-strength division for the upcoming attempt to break the Allied lines around Akyab. The attack was scheduled to begin at sunset. The more lightly armed troops from the 65th Brigade were tasked with the initial assault with lead battalion primarily composed of the grounded IJN sailors who had been drafted into the IJA on Ramree Island. There was nothing particularly sophisticated about Koga’s plan. Send in the lightly equipped second line troops against the dug in East Africans in rushes. While there was no doubt many of these men would die for the Emperor, if they could punch enough holes in the East Africans’ lines, the 55th Division could break through and drive toward Akyab.
I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I hope whatever is wrong is slowly resolving itself. If it isn't, you should always put your mental health before this timeline. It's a great read but don't sacrifice yourself on the altar of story as it's just a path to madness.
April-May 1942, IIRC. Churchill wanted Ranger to go to the Indian after the Japanese carrier raid, King refused, but the ferry missions were on for the 10th AF. I think the first went to the Gold Coast or Ivory Coast.
Heh, I love that one!
I STILL have the old "Star Trek Inspirational Posters" website bookmarked, but I can only access it now via webarchive
This one always cracked me up!
And something a little more 'alternate history' themed....
AIGF,
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April-May 1942, IIRC. Churchill wanted Ranger to go to the Indian after the Japanese carrier raid, King refused, but the ferry missions were on for the 10th AF. I think the first went to the Gold Coast or Ivory Coast.
Just a minute, Chief. Are those planes loaded with .50 caliber for Brownings? No sir, they're loaded with 70mm for Lucky Strikes.
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