Getting Ahead of Ourselves: A B-29 TL

[CountDVB]

Oooh, thank you for the credit! Glad I was able to help.

 

[Parmenion]

On the afternoon of July 8th, 86 B-29 Superfortresses took off from Tinian. As they flew Northwest, they were spotted by the famished Japanese garrison on Aguijan, whose radio transmitter continued to function despite the island being turned into an imprompt bombing range by training bomber crews. The message was passed up the chain of islands occupied by lonely garrisons, reaching Japan 150 minutes ahead of the aircraft. An hour later, a picket boat off Kyushu gave more a precise bearig. The Japanese correctly identified Nagasaki as the target.


12 Bombers either got lost or had to abort due to mechanical issues, three of which were lost or crashed on return. As Sasebo Naval Arsenal was also nearby, the Navy would primarily lead the cities defense. While nearly 200 aircraft were scrambled that night, only half would actually find the enemy and take part. The first attack caught the attackers off guard, as 36 Gekko heavy fighters met them while they were still 50 miles out to sea. The planes were equipped with an older airborne radar, good enough at least to find the bombers.


The night fighters again surprised the superforts with their method of attack. Each of them carried three 20mm upward firing cannons, which allowed them to aim at the bombers despite being 500m below them. Panic and profanity filled the radios as the bombers swerved to avoid them, with little success. Ventral gunners landed several hits, but the twin engined planes could take more punishment than a Zero. The fighters were too slow at altitude to catch the bombers again, but the continued to shadow them to report their position and harrass stragglers.

Minutes later, the bombers reached the blacked out city, full of civilians who anxiously huddled in shelters. Nagasaki didn't have a single heavy flak gun, those having been reserved for Tokyo and the other largest cities. The lighter flak was little more than an aid in finding the dark city, as the bombers prepared their run. Each plane released 4,000 pounds of high explosive bombs, which plunged into the darkness below. Sasebo was also hit by a portion of the bombers. As the bombers began the long floght home, more trouble appeared.

62 Shiden interceptors from a few local Kōkūtai appeared. Without radar they usually would have been of little help, but the clear sky and nearly full moon made the bombers easier to spot. A furious running battle lasted several minutes, the Shidens maneuvering recklessly between the formation, casuing some collisions. The gunners fought back, inflicting many losses on the fighters and forcing more to fall back. Among the pilots was famous ace Saburō Sakai, the one eyed lieutenant managing to down three B-29's on this night despite being wounded again. As they flew out over south Kyushu, the bombers faced another pass by the Irvings, who targeted the most damaged bombers.

71 bombers would return to Tinian, more than half damaged to some degree. A follow up recon mission that morning revealed dissapointing results. Most factories had not been hit, some bombs seemed to miss by miles doing little more than shredding cattle. Sasebo was even worse, not a single target being hit. The best results of the raid were the destruction of 23 Japanese fighters and the loss of 16 pilots, including many well trained Shiden pilots. Both sides would reevaluate their startegies after the raid.

 

[Parmenion]

Imperial General Headquaters, July 10th, 1944​

The Emperor did not look pleased, and nobody could blame him. The situation these past two months had taken a turn for the worse. Japan was once again under threat, and this time there was no easy fix. Hideki Tojo sat in contemplation a moment after The Emperor motioned for him to procede.

"This newest development is not the most promising" He said, the understatement not being lost on him. "Our current positions make attacking the Marianas all but impossible, and thanks to the performance of the navy we can no longer even keep our own soil safe." Naval Minister Shimada stood "The debut of the American chemical weapons was not anticipated, our forces were not prepared properly, something we've fixed. We've given orders for all frontline units to have gas masks available at the individual level at all times." Tojo nodded "As have we." The men may have hated eachother, but that they could agree on.


Shimada continued "Unryu and Amagi have begun shakedown trials in the Sea of Japan..." "because the waters south of Japan are no longer safe because of your incompetence" Prince Naruhiko said. Shimada dared not insult The Emperor's uncle, but Hirohito cleared his throat as a message for both men to move on. "Either way we now have five fleet carriers operational, seven once Shinano and Katsuragi are ready by November. "And what of supporting carriers?" Tojo asked "We have four light carriers operational, with none under construction, as well as four escort carriers with four more under construction, though that later are not fit for regular fleet service"

Tojo raised an eyebrow "How soon can more light carriers be contructed" "We have some preliminary designs, but they won't be aboe to begin contruction until at least next summer, they likely wouldn't be in seevice until early 1947. Tojo let out a sigh "It's not all bad news though" Shimada continued "The Unryu class is versatile, it will be an invaluable support asset once more of them enter service" "Next Spring or Summer, Yes" "...Unfortunately"

"So admiral, what is your suggestion?" Tojo said coyly "The Americans have shown no sign of ceasing their Northward advance, so an attack on the Indies or Southern Phillipines is unlikely. We predict their next strike will be somewhere between Manilla and Pusan, likely one of the major islands. Therefore we recommend the Combined fleet move to Naha, where it can properly ane swiftly respond to an attack in this area. Okinawa will serve as the Navy's fortress, the Army can have Formosa as theirs. The decisive battle will be fought at the very gates of Japan themselves. " So you recommend whatever can be spared to defend this region be sent there?" "Indeed" Tojo thought for a moment. As much hlas he hated the sea dogs, he could not argue with much of what he said. "Very well. I'll begin Soldiers from Indochina and the south Phillipines to these areas at risk, I'll also pull some units from the Kwangtung army away, they're some of our last high quality reserves, I reccomend you do the same" "Yes Prime Minister." As the meeting ended, both men felt that a storm was coming.

 

[Parmenion]

Atsugi Airfield, July 15th, 1944​

A Zero carrying a lopsided armament gracefully touched down on the runway. As soon as tye plane had stopped, a frustrated Saburō jumped out and threw off his helmet. Running up to the Kōkūtai commander and giving a brief salute, he began his report "As I warned you this wasn't going to work." The base commander seemed puzzled "What? Does the configuration really make it that hard to fly?" "No, the altitude makes it hard to fly. Two cannons, one cannon" he pointed to his plane "hell send it up empty, these bombers simply fly too high for the Zeros to operate properly. They should not be used for such purposes." "I'll let my superiors know" The commander said, ignoring Sakai's tone.

The ace had every reason reason to be upset. This was his 8th sortie today. He had been asked to test some new configurations for the fighters assigned to defending Japan, and had flown half a dozen plans to report on their effectiveness. He even became the first sailor to fly the Ki-84. All but the latest planes were so slow at the heights that they could barely keep up, let alone shoot anything down. The need for planes was pressing though, the past week had seen three more raids, each of which shot down more fighters than were destroyed themselves. The only consolation was the Americans aim having improved little.

The commander spoke again "There's just one more thing we need to test, then you can help yourself to the finest whorehouse in Tokyo. It's a new rocket we're fitting to the Shiden." Sakai perked up at the mention of the rocket "When was that designed?" "It still is, this is just a prototype, and a neurotic one at that. It's based on something the Germans sent us last month." Sakai looked at the Shiden they now approached, and at the massive protrusion under the fuselage. "The Type 3 heavy anti-aircraft rocket. It's designed to break up a formation of heavy bombers." "Looks heavy itself" Sakai commented "180kg in the rocket, plus another 90 in the tube yes. The idea is to get within about a kilometer of the formation and fire, It will explode either on impact or when it's fuze detonates. It's based on the principal of a beehive shell, and has a similar filling." Sakai suddenly seemed apprehensive "

You mentioned... reliability problems" "That's one way of putting it. The warhead has to be thin enough to go off when it hits a bomber, but thick enough not to go off when it launches. This requires a degree of precise manufacturing that our facilities currently lack. I've been told their using an old miso plant as a factory for these things. They have a premature detonation rate of seven percent in ground tests." Sakai paled "And you want me to launch it!!" his voice cracking slightly. "...yes" "The things I do for this great nation" Sakai moaned as he climbed into the plane.

 

[Ramontxo]

Oh yes, open the Pandora's box and experience what Tabun tastes like... Depending if the Germans start using gas given that the US started doing it so it might as well put a hold on any Soviet offensive. (They had no gas protection)

Gas warfare would have been an game changer in the European Theatre. The German Army with its massive use of animal transport would be in for a lot of pain

 

[Parmenion]

10 Downing Street, July 17th, 1944​

Winston Churchill finally arrived in the already crowded office, eager to hear more of the whispers and hearsay he'd picked up. Already present were three different Władysław's, President and Prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile Raczkiewicz and Sikorski respectively, and General Anders. Also attending were General Spaatz and Air Marshal Lord Porter, who commanded the lions share of the allied air forces in Europe. Churchill lit a cigar and said "It seems the Poles have come up with a rather nifty plan of theirs" and motioned for Anders to begin "Yes Prime Minister. The Polish Government has it on good authority from sources in the Home Army that Operation Tempest is imminent." Raczkiewicz jumped in "And of course the government is eager to make sure our Soviet 'Friends' are not too overzealous in their assistance in rebuilding Poland. Hence it is imperative that Warsaw be retaken by Poles.

Churchill sat up "What are you suggesting." "Our freedom fighters will need all the aid we can possibly send them, homemade machine guns won't stop panzers. Of course, with the Soviets likely to drag their feet on allowing us use of their airspace to resupply, our capacity to do this is limited." "But" Anders said "The new American Superfortress can change that." Spaatz raised a hand "Hold on, you're suggesting we use the B-29 to deliver supplies?" "I am. The Liberators and B-17's don't have as great a capacity when operating out of Italy, and our heavy transports are too fragile and undefended to be sent in alone. The B-29 has the range, capacity, and defensive abilities needed to ferry large quantities of supplies to Warsaw." Spaatz waved at him to pause "Vlad, hold on a moment, this isn't as simple as you're making it out to be. The B-29's we have are configured for anti-submarine service, and that's what the crews are trained to do. Even if we started prep work now, we'd still need weeks to get the suitable airfields and support in Italy for them."

"All the more reason to start now. Your pilots are some of the best in the world, I'm sure they can do it. But there is another proposal we have." "Let's hear it" Churchill said, cleary entranced by the idea. "Once the P-51 escorts can be made available, Italy to Warsaw is far but they can do it, Then we send in the Skytrains. But these won't carry supplies, they'll carry elements of the 1st Parachute brigade. Regular troops will provide invaluable support to the fighting. If we do this we can practically liberate West Poland ourselves."

Churchill stood with uncharacteristic swiftness "I like it. I'll talk to Ike and work out the details, Spaatz, I may need your help with that. I'll also provide you with whatever Logistical support you may need in Italy. We can get this done, we're in the home stretch."

 

[mattep74]

Intresting scenario

 

[Sekhmet_D]

The Army sharing their Ki-84 Hayate with the Navy? Sun's going to rise in the west next.

 

[Parmenion]

The Army sharing their Ki-84 Hayate with the Navy? Sun's going to rise in the west next.

Haha, desperate times and all, but to be clear they just let Sakai take it for a spin.

 

[Sekhmet_D]

Around the same time, the pilot of that final Frank hit the ground not far from the naval arsenal, thankful for not having been blown out to sea, but little else. A few sailors on shore duty ran over to meet the man, already in a spurt of profanities, "Are you alright?" one sailor asked "Did you get that bomber?" asked another. "I'm alright, but no, this one got away, those American planes are monsters" "We'll call the army and have them pick you up, what your name?" an ensign asked "Lieutenant Nishizawa, tell them to send me some liqour."

Just to clarify - is this THE Nishizawa? Calling the Army to pick him up doesn't tally given that the one I have in mind was the Navy ace.

 

[Parmenion]

Just to clarify - is this THE Nishizawa? Calling the Army to pick him up doesn't tally given that the one I have in mind was the Navy ace.

Oh you're right, I'll fix that thanks a ton for catching that. I'll make him Anabuki so he's in the right plane.

 

[Sekhmet_D]

62 Shiden interceptors from a few local Kōkūtai appeared. Without radar they usually would have been of little help, but the clear sky and nearly full moon made the bombers easier to spot. A furious running battle lasted several minutes, the Shidens maneuvering recklessly between the formation, casuing some collisions. The gunners fought back, inflicting many losses on the fighters and forcing more to fall back. Among the pilots was famous ace Saburō Sakai, the one eyed lieutenant managing to down three B-29's on this night despite being wounded again. As they flew out over south Kyushu, the bombers faced another pass by the Irvings, who targeted the most damaged bombers.

Amusing to see the Japanese using Wilde Sau tactics (in real life, they were nowhere as bold as this). Also relieved to know that Sakai survived Iwo and doesn't appear to have lost his touch one bit.

 

[Parmenion]

Amusing to see the Japanese using Wilde Sau tactics (in real life, they were nowhere as bold as this). Also relieved to know that Sakai survived Iwo and doesn't appear to have lost his touch one bit.

Yeah, admittedly there isn't much to go on for Japanese interceptor tactics OTL so I kinda had to wing it. A full moon and so help locating them with the night fighters makes this kind of think easier.

 

[generalurist]

Heh, a fun little timeline! Seems I've caught up with it just as the titular B-29 starts really having its (mis)adventures. The alternate course of the Pacific War is also interesting.

 

[vl100butch]

Does Cornelius Ryan write the history of the operation in Poland as "A Bridge Way, Way Too Far"?

 

[Parmenion]

Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, July 25th, 1944​

Naval Minister Shimada tried to contain his bewilderment as he walked alongside Admiral Miwa at the docks "You want to attempt what?" he asked, failing at his task. "I want to use our submarines to launch an air attack on the Marianas" Miwa repeated "You are aware of how many reasons that's ridiculous." Shimada said plainly, we need a new submarine commander, this one's gone mushy he thought. "The islands are constantly patrolled by flying boats and land based aircraft, not to mention carrier forces and an armada of destroyers. The odds are any submarines would be spotted well before they got in range. Request denied."

Miwa continued "but consider the army for a moment, they plan to launch a large bomber raid on Guam out of Palau on the night of August 15th. When they do, they'll doubtless attract attention to West, and I doubt the Americans are expecting an attack out of East." "Even so, the E14Y is designed for reconnaissance, not attack. it's ability in combat is limited." "And that can be changed, some of my engineers have made a swift albeit crude modification. By removing the rear gunner seat and designing the floats to jettison after launch, as well as removing some componants and with a minimal fuel load, the plane can carry 350kg of bombs and two 20mm cannons."

Shimada paused, maybe this plan wasn't complete lunacy "How many submarines to you intend to send?" he asked "four of the six remaining B1's and both AM's, for a total of eight planes." "Our submarine force is staggered as it is you know" "Yes sir, but we'll hopefully get most of them back, and if not there are older models that will serve for now." "Are the modifications ready?" "They will be tomarrow. The pilots have been selected on a volenteer basis, they know they aren't coming back. We need to leave by the 1st at the latest, do we have your approval sir?" Shimada looked at oneof submarines for a moment, would this really work? "Request approved. Use your personnel and equipment at your discretion." "Thank you sir." Miwa said and saluted before returning to his office. Desperate times, he thought to himself.

 

[Parmenion]

On August 4th, 1944, following coded messages sent out to inform people of the specific time, The Warsaw uprising began. Despite the number of gun wielding Home army soldiers being outnumbered eight to one by the German garrison, several large pockets of the city are quickly secured. Within a few days however, the arrival of German reinforcements causes the fighting to bog down. The Red Army, despite being mere miles away across the Vistula, declines to intervene. The reasons for the Soviets lack of aid to Poles were likely not purely political, Operation Bagration had depleted their reserves and left their supply lines fragile and overstretched.

Nonetheless on the night of the 6th 80 B-29's took off from Southern Italy, laden not with bombs but crates of supplies. The aircraft climbed to high altitude, browning the trousers of several German radar operators in the process, before decending to just 7,000 feet to drop the payload. Flak was light, and the nearest German fighters were either defending Berlin from a British raid, or were tied up on the front. 400 tons of supplies were dropped on Warsaw, with only two bombers being damaged. The process was releated thrice over the next week, German fighters were only able to intercept once to little effect. The supply drops gave the Poles access to thousands of Sten guns, PIAT's, anti-tank rifles, and millions of rounds of ammo. This allowed thousands of Home Army soldiers to join the front lines.

With the Soviets continuing to drag their feet on direct support, but the skies of Warsaw relatively clear, another group of planes took off from Italy on the night of the 10th, 50 C-47 Skytrains, escorted by 20 P-51's. The aircraft passed over southern Poland unmolested, in large part due to B-25's carrying out support missions to the West of Warsaw. As the aircraft approached and no sign of the enemy was seen, the Mustangs pulled away to perform some strafing attacks. They may have been five years late, but the West had finally come through to help the Poles retake their home.

 

[Parmenion]

Somewhere Above Warsaw, August 10th, 1944​

Corporal Grabowski grimaced as the fragile cargo plane was rocked by a nearby flak shell, the German's had started to learn the folly of leaving Warsaw open to the air. Too fucking late you kraut bitches Grabowski thought to himself. He was one of a number of Polish soldiers who had tried and failed to defend warsaw half a decade ago. In fact, several of the soldiers here were Warsaw residents, eager to come home and take revenge at the same time. He gazed of of the aircraft at the blacked out city, lit only by a few fires and the red flares that indicated the their drop zones.

"I think I can see my neighborhood!" a Private with the star of david proudly painted on his jacket said with exitement. "Oh yeah?" said the sergeant "Well Biterman, we'll give your mother a call and tell her to get diner ready for us." The privates face fell. In all likelihood his mother was either dead, or on her way to being so. The American pilot shouted to the back "30 seconds! get ready!" As some men translated for those who hadn't picked up much english, the rest of them hooked up their static lines. Grabowski took a breath. While he had seen combat at Normandy, they had merly fought as regular infantry, this was everyone's first combat jump. He watch as the men in front of him disappeared one by one into the dark, before his turn came up. He crossed himself quickly, and stepped forward.

A brief and terrifying moment of weightlessness ended as his parachute deployed, and Grabowski opened his eyes. In the dim light of the half moon he could see other parachutes around him, and his plane already turning for home. Thanks for ride Yankee he thought to himself as he looked down. The wind was light, and surprised at how close to the flares he ended up. After a small eternity his feet touched solid ground, a few of his comrades landing nearby. Several others landed on the rooftops, looking confused as they searched for a way down. He heard Biterman swearing and looked up, the man was stuck dangling from a lampost.

He saw several dark figures approach, and quickly raised his rifle "Wait! Wait!" one of the cried in Polish "We're friends." Grabowski sighed ran up to one of them. "I'm Corporal Nowak." the lead soldier said "And you gentlemen are about five years late. Fighting's about three blocks down, follow us." "Wait, give us a hand cutting that moron down first." He poined to Biterman still swearing in three different languages. It was good to be home.

 

[Parmenion]

Off the Coast of Guam, August 15th, 1944​

The journey had been arduous and tedious. It had been decided to have the submarines travel to the redevous point seprately, fearful of all of them being lost on the way here. Every possible moment had been spent submerged, only surfacing at night to recharge the batteries. By now the men were eager to get to work, and were hopeful that the Army would provide a proper distraction.

This distraction came in the form of 60 Ki-49 heavy bombers. The aircraft had flown out of Manilla, stopping at Palau to refuel. The bombers had taken off at dusk to attack at night, each one loaded with four 100kg fragmentation bombs. They were spotted with advanced warning by picket destroyers, but in the dark the American responce was limited to several squadrons of Corsair night fighters. Nonetheless the inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese bombers, only 16 would return to Manilla. While they managed to destroy just six superforts and damage another dozen, the airfields ln Palau were struck numerous times by air and naval attacks, making future operations difficult.

The night fighters decision to pursue the Japanese bombers far over the sea would prove unwise, 40 minutes later, many were still far from their bases, and many more had to return anyway due to lack of fuel or ammo. This left the flak of Guam as the only defense left for the two bases in the North of the island. The distraction had worked like a charm.

Just 30 miles East of Guam, six submarines congregated at the meeting point. Using a short ranged radio to coordinate, and pleasently surprised that every boat had made it, the commander of the operation ordered the attack to begin. In just 12 minutes, the first six planes were launched, the last taking off just 90 seconds after the first. The other two planes on the AM submarines would launch just 10 minutes later. Meanwhile as the first wave got into formation, dropping their floats and flying at wavetop height to avoid radar detection, the pilots steeled their resolve.

Climbing only as the cliffs of Guam came into view, there was little warning on the base as the floatplanes screamed overhead. Fragmentation bombs were dropped on the rows of bombers parked below, strafing runs were made on barracks and fuel silos. When the flak damaged a plane, it would simply nosedive into one final target. Finally as the last planes ran out of ammo they turned themselves into another bomb, the shear ferocity of the attack stunning the Americans

Just as things began to settle down, the final two floatplanes arrived, causing yet more chaos. In the end 13 bombers were destroyed and another 40 damaged. More concerning however were the 50 pilots and co-pilots killed and another 103 wounded when their barracks was struck. These losses ultimately led to six different raids scheduled for the next two weeks being canceled or pushed back, a respite that didn't go unnoticed in Japan. The destroyer screen around the Marianas was reinforced, as was the night fighter screen. All but one of the submarines would return to Japan (Though one was damaged) and the crews were commended. This respite however, would not last.

 

[vl100butch]

Well, can the Poles seize enough territory to open up an airhead out of artillery range? Can more reinforcements and equipment be airlifted once a forward airfield is established?