That's actually just Japan having more resources in general to use on them, since by now they've mostly given up on revuilding the carrier fleet.
At the runways/planes. I figure a big bomb is a big bomb, it'll do something.
Getting Ahead of Ourselves: A B-29 TL
- Thread starter Parmenion
- Start date
Yeah, Ohkas or Baka Bombs had something like 500-kilograms of explosive in them. That's a big boom that will do extremely unpleasant things, particularly if it hits something that will fly apart with a great energy amid a loud noise.
EDIT: Also, I don't think that this Timeline has actually taken into account the fact that the R-3350 Wright Duplex Cyclone Engine that powers the B-29 is a complete turd.
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Part 92-Planning Armageddon
Saipan, August 9th, 1945
"So uh, you clearly put a lot of thought into this." "Yes sir." Replied General LeMay "I think this gives us the best shot of getting through, plus it maximizes the destructive factor." General Marshall nodded, not paying him much mind as he stared at the spreadsheet, a look verging on horror plastered across his face. Marshall hadn't come all this way for just to look at this, but figured this was worth taking a look at while he was here. Morganthau had asked him to take a tour of the largest Pacific facilities to raise morale, as well as to see if anything could be improved.
"How many aircraft is this?" "Well..." Replied LeMay nonchalantly "860 bombers, at least on paper, plus another 200 Mustangs out of Iwo." "Jesus, so that's-" "8,600 tons of incediaries, plus the gadget." "You know General, you scare me sometimes. Back in my day, we spent time planning how to kill men who were trying to kill us just as hard. You spend all your time planning on how to shoot fish in a barrel." "That's war sir, no use being sad about it" "Maybe so, but you and Himmler might get along." "Noted."
Both men turned back to business "How many bombers do you expect to lose?" "That's hard to say. We took out a least a third of their modern planes this week, maybe more. Tokyo does have a lot of the Kraut AA batteries set up though, that's why we haven't tried this before. I'd say perhaps as high as 10 percent, I'd be surprised if we made it to 15." "I see, I suppose that's worth it for wiping a city off the map." "Yes sir, are you sure it'll arrive as planned?" "Yes, I've been assured the Midway will arrive on the 21st, and it will have its cargo."
"Thank you sir, where are you off too next?" "Oh god" Marshall sighed "First Okinawa, apparently a bunch of the men are getting some odd fever of some kind, so Eichelburger wants me to see what's up with that. Then I'm paying General Slim a visit, assuming India doesn't go up in flames before then." "Fever?" LeMay asked, his interest piqued "What's that about?" "Oh, probably some jungle bug that's going around, Stilwell said he's heard of the same thing in China, but he's probably looking for some excuse to get more aid."
Indeed, the truth was likely worse, but LeMay had no need for any of that information. If what the whispers were saying was true, things might be about to go South. Marshall was at least hoping Eichelburger and Turner would greenlight the Shanghai proposal, but even if he did it would be good news on a heap of bad. The attack on the Marianas, even if it was recoverable, had been a fiasco in the papers. A lot of airmen were dead, and their families couldn't be notified right away due to censorship. People were asking questions, and the subversion act meant those people often disappeared, which didn't stop the questions.
"Well General, not that you need it, but I have full confidence in your plan, I'm sure the boys will pull through." "Thank you sir, that means a lot from you, best of luck." "And to you." Marshall replied as he shook his hand and left. As he was led to his plane, he heard a conversation between two marines that for some reason, gave him a chill despite the tropical humidity "We found another bomb while we were digging up the runway." "Oh yeah?" "Yeah! Weird too, smelled like-" "Wet dog? Yeah they all did."
Spherical_light
Kicked
Well, fun times ahead... LeMay's planning fire while Japan is doing the chemical thing....
Oof, thats going to be a bloodbath once things are figured out.
Oof, thats going to be a bloodbath once things are figured out.
Not chemical, biological actually. I am betting that this might be Bubonic Plague, maybe Anthrax. Everyone on that island is going to be very sick, if not dying in two weeks.
That's going to suck for USS Midway, they arrive, only to discover corpses.
Okay, that's good. Because if Japan had used Anthrax, there wouldn't be a Japan left.
Frankly, though, the problem will be getting the vaccines out there, as once symptoms set in, the mortality rate is damned near 100% and that's before Unit 731 went and weaponized the shit, so everyone who gets infected on those islands is a dead man walking and that's not even a question, the vaccines work if you get them before symptoms set in, but after its pointless. This could frankly kick the United States Army Air Forces Pacific right in the balls, utterly devastating their ability to launch strikes for months and frankly putting the nuclear strike into serious jeopardy.
I have a feeling this will totally backfire on the Japanese....what happens when a few infected bomber crews are captured alive? Not for long...but are the Japanese equipped to handle this? I think not...Halsey's statement that when this is finished, the Japanese language will only be spoken in Hell may be extremely accurate.
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Combining incendieries and a nuke? Seems rather redundant.
But oh boy Japan is unleashing something horrible. Is there any particular bioweapon that smells like wet dog?
But oh boy Japan is unleashing something horrible. Is there any particular bioweapon that smells like wet dog?
This was foreshadowed all the way back in Part 68. It's Weaponized Rabies.
There is a vaccine, unfortunately, once symptoms set in, it has a mortality rate of almost 100% and that's before Japan went and weaponized the shit. The only good news is that it can't really spread which is a cold comfort, but with an incubation period of roughly two weeks, around the time that USS Midway will be arriving, it's plausible that they won't be able to launch the nuclear strike as the island could very well be quarantined. Symptoms are already setting in at Okinawa and in China, a lot of people are going to die.
This means that this bought a full month at minimum, quite possibly more than that before the damn thing is lifted and depending on the state of Midway's stores. It's quite plausible that she will have to head back to Pearl Harbor to restock her supplies before the Quarantine is over without ever unloading her cargo.
I have a feeling that whatever treaty ends this war will make the Morgenthau Plan look like a love tap.
Oh dear.
In other news, has the extremely ugly fatal flaw in the B-29 been corrected yet? You know, the one where an engine fire can burn so hot it can literally cause a wingspar to melt?
The Japanese, especially, will probably resemble Carthage, post 3rd Punic War. The USSR won’t be able to invade a special needs kindergarten class after this, mostly because the response to any reference to the USSR will be “USSR? What’s that?”
I'm gonna be totally honest, I didn't even realize that was a thing until now. I'm not the most technically minded, especially in this period, so I don't put too much thought into stuff like this unless I have to, and even then it's more of a random ballpark. But to answer your question, probably for the most part.
Japan using anthrax would mean the U.S. will literally rain Hell on them. There won't be the Japan of OTL with anime and electronics after this alternate World War II.
That was fixed in our timeline--among other things, Wright added direct fuel injection to the R-3350 engine. Those fixes are why why all those Lockheed Constellation and DC-7 airliners didn't go down from engine fires.
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With the Western Allies now fighting a full scale war with the Soviets in Europe is an invasion of Japan still on the cards or have the Allies decided to go with a "No Japan no need to invade" approach?