Disaster in New Guinea

Hyperion

Banned
1203 Hours, March 10, 1942

Coral Sea south of New Guinea

Vice Admiral Wilson Brown stood on the flag bridge of the Lexington reading a report on damage from the strike on Japanese ships off northern New Guinea. Initial reports indicated a number of ships sunk, but from his experience reading various intelligence reports over the last few months, he had a feeling that some of the damage was exagerated, or outright inaccurate.

Rear Admiral Fletcher had just sent a message from his flagship, the USS Yorktown, reporting that all aircraft from the strike on Lae and Salamuana where back aboard, and that he was preparing his aircraft again in case of a second strike. Brown was more cautious than Fletcher, and now that surprise had been lost, was somewhat hesitant to launch a second strike, though he had to admit, the idea of picking off several of the Japanese cripples was tempting.

"To hell with it" Brown decided, and then turned to Captain Frederick Sherman, the commander of the Lexington. "Order a second strike, every aircraft available. I don't like the idea of risking ourselves again, but we have no reports of enemy carriers in the region aside from a light job the pilots reportedly damaged, and we may not get another chance to hit the Japanese again anytime soon".

1349 Hours, March 10, 1942

Brown quietly watched as the first planes lifted off from the Lexington, on their way north to bomb the Japanese ships, knowing full well that this attack could either end in disaster, or one of the biggest victories of the war to date. "Lord, I hope I haven't made the wrong decision" thought Brown.
 

Hyperion

Banned
1535 Hours, March 10, 1942

North coast of New Guinea, off Lae and Salamaua

Japanese ships slowly patrolled the waters off the New Guinea coastline, lookouts watching for any sign of approaching aircraft. Other crewmen looked across the waters for signs of any of their fellow sailors who may have survived from the three ships sunk in the American air raid. Rear Admiral Kununori, the commander of the invasion force, was thankful that more of his ships had not been lost, and that none of his cruisers or destroyers had been sunk, though some had taken light damage.

Four AM6 Zero fighters circled overhead. A squadron had been dispatched from Rabaul earlier, though most of them had either returned after running low on fuel, and several had been held back in case the Americans attempted an attack on the Japanese base, however remote the possibility.

Kununori had not expected the Americans to interfere with his invasion force, let alone that their aircraft carriers would be in the region. He desperately hoped that after their first attack, they would not return to attack a second time. Unfortunately, his hopes soon came to a swift and deadly end.

101 Wildcats, Dauntless dive bombers, and Devastator torpedo bombers arrived over the fleet at that time, and proceeded to unleash their deadly ordnance on the Japanese. To maximise their effectiveness for the second strike, the US squadrons coordinate against a small number of targets, as opposed to each squadron attacking seperately.

The four Zero fighters overhead immediately turned to engage the Wildcat fighters, and despite managing to shoot down one Wildcat, all four Zeros where soon overwhelmed and shot down themselves.

Of the ships in the invasion force, one of those most targeted was the seaplane tender Kiyokawa Maru. A number of pilots mistook the ship for a light aircraft carrier, as mentioned in their after action reports, and it was only later that her true nature was learned. It did not matter. Two dozen Dauntless bombers attacked the Kiyokawa Maru. Only three bombs, two 500lb and a single 1,000lb bomb, hit the ship, but it was enough. Massive fires broke out across the ship, and the explosions from the bombs ripped large sections of the ship apart. The fires where soon out of control, and the ship, having been hit by a bomb during the first air raid, will sink three hours later, taking 41 of her crew with her.

The troop transport China Maru was also singled out for attack as well. Again, half a dozen bombs and nine torpedoes missed, but one torpedo and a single 500lb bomb managed to hit the ship. The torpedo failed to detonate, as did a number of US torpedos early in the war, but the impact nonetheless ripped a hole in the side of the ship, causing flooding. The China Maru would sink shortly after dusk, though fortunately for the Japanese, most of the troops that where carried onboard had already been put ashore. Nonetheless, a dozen sailors and one unlucky army soldier where lost in the sinking.

The worst, and most unexpected event of the battle fell upon the cruiser Kinugasa. Attacked by close to thirty US bombers, the ship takes two 500lb bomb hits. One bomb hit explodes on the aft deck of the ship, starting a fire and injuring several crewmen, but otherwise does not compromise the safety of the cruiser. The second bomb is a different matter. Exploding near the torpedoes, numerous secondary explosions are triggered when the torpedoes oxygen and warheads are triggered. In less than three minutes, the Kinugasa is literally torn in half and both halves of the once powerful cruiser soon sink. Of her crew of 625, only 24 of them are pulled from the water later.

Several bombers attack other Japanese ships, but no noteable damage occurs, though of some mention, one of the final achievements for the US pilots of the battle, which actually occurs several days later, is credited with the pilots of Wildcat fighters from the Lexington. A straffing run in the cruiser Tenryu injures Read Admiral Kuninori. Though the admiral will survive long enough to return to a hospital at Rabaul, he will die of his injuries 5 days later.

So ended the battle of Lae and Salamaua. Though the Americans had failed to stop the Japanese from gaining a beachhead in New Guinea, they had nonetheless achieved a great victory, claiming to have sunk 12 ships, including a light carrier and a battleship. Although intelligence gained after the battle would indicate the Japanese had suffered fewer losses than reported, the battle of Lae and Salamaua was at the time seen by many as a sign that the allies in general, and the US in particular might finally be coming to a position where they could fight and hold the Japanese, instead of constant retreat.
 
Interesting. I suppose the butterflies from this might be enough to butterfly away Coral Sea and Midway, or at least alter them. Naturally this affects the New Guinea campaign and also the Solomons.

I look forward to more of this.
 

Hyperion

Banned
Interesting. I suppose the butterflies from this might be enough to butterfly away Coral Sea and Midway, or at least alter them. Naturally this affects the New Guinea campaign and also the Solomons.

I look forward to more of this.

None of the ships involved, either in OTL, or here, where involved in the Midway or Aleutians operations.

That being said, every ship involved in the landings was involved in the Coral Sea campaign, or in the case of the Kiyokawa Maru, some of her pilots and airgroup where involved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Lae-Salamaua

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea_order_of_battle

In OTL, Admiral Brown was hesitant to launch a second wave, despite the urgings of Admiral Fletcher. Here, Brown decides that a second wave is worth the risk, and launches another strike.

Kiyokawa Maru was damaged in OTL, and here they finish her off. China Maru was a transport ship, not a warship, and wouldn't be able to survive damage that a warship could.

As for the Kinugasa exploding, a golden BB scenario. Something that could happen, but not very often. Here, the US dive bomber squadrons got lucky, and the crew of the Kinugasa where unlucky.

In OTL, this attack and the loss of auxiliary ships forced the Japanese to delay Coral Sea a couple of weeks, and forced them to commit two of their big fleet carriers. Here, they will likely commit the two carriers, but due to other losses, a further delay of the Coral Sea campaign, possibly a week, is likely.

This may not allow the Enterprise and Hornet to arrive before the battle begins, but if they are lucky, they might arrive near the end, and have a chance to catch the Japanese carriers while they are withdrawing.

As for this effecting Midway, not directly, though there could be some indirect effects.

It will probably be a while, but now that I've done this much, I will try to do a setup for the Coral Sea. Beyond that, I really haven't decided.
 
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