HMS Invincible

[Tannenberg]

Russia
The German 4th Panzer Army and the 6th Army were completely cut off from the Don and Caucasus fronts. Soviet air forces and heavy artillery bombarded the 6,000 square mile enclave. The Caucasus front now extended from Achuyevo to Novorossiysk.

"Twice the pride, double the fall"

 

[Lord Wyclif]

Sunday February 13th - Saturday February 20th

Brigadier Orde Wingate took a force of 3,000 Commandoes into north eastern Thailand and western Laos to conduct a guerrilla-style campaign behind Japanese lines.

The first Stronghold was Golan on a hill 45 miles east of Uttaradit and 12 miles west of the Thai-Loas border at 17.547 North 100.74 East in remote jungle far away enough from roads to prevent the enemy bringing up tanks or heavy artillery to attack it. There were only two ways to reach Golan, one was by hiking and it wasn't an easy trek. Soldiers have to carry their heavy backpacks with food provision, ammunitions and their weapons. The other was via an airstrip for Fairy FC1’s to bring in supplies, reinforcements and to fly out the sick and wounded. Within the Stronghold perimeter there was also a good water supply and supply-dropping zone with a Eureka locator. A battery of six 25 pounders, 3 in a central zone and 3 at the corners of the triangular fortifications. Barbed wire and mines surrounded the camp.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

Operation Catherine

Lt R Boyd’s submarine H43 surfaced at 01:30 on the 19th two miles from Wangeroo island. A team of six men from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines beach reconnaissance unit swam ashore to begin a survey of the area. Four hours later the submarine surfaced again, this time to permit another six man team to swim to the island of Neuwerk. Collectively the teams stayed for two weeks recording the following:-

The Elbe estuary North Sea coast line devoid of cliffs wide expanses of sand, marsh and mud flats. West of Cuxhaven there were mud flats between small islands and the main shore. The mud and sand was constantly shifting and exposed at low tide. The mud flats were crossed by innumerable channels daily varying in size thus restrict the movement of large vessels and protecting the area from any hostile surface actions. The area was heavily mined and patrolled by E-boats. False buoys were in place to navigate intruder vessels to shallow waters.

Elbe estuary though, was still very busy with coastal shipping to Scandinavia. There were large numbers of small boats involved in shrimp fishery activity, operating night and day therefore causing a hazard to any landing operation.The beaches were backed up by a large number of sand dunes which would have to be traversed before any vehicles could reach good ground.

Tidal range was recorded as 10 feet at Cuxhaven with full tide twice daily. Flood period 5hrs 5 min. Ebb 7hrs 20 min.

SOE reports that the entire Fatherland and now only one regular army Infantry division based there.

Three other possible landing sites underwent similar reconnaissance. The Americans were pushing for an invasion of ‘Fortress Europe’ in March, preferably as soon as possible after the equinox storms. The British, who had now been planning such an expedition for almost three years, knew there was still more work to be done before a successful return could be arranged.

British XVI Corps became operational, centred on Catterick barracks in Yorkshire and III Corps based at Fort George near Inverness. Units known to be involved were the British 8th Armoured Division, the 4th Commando Division, the 5th Airborne Division and the 15th Mechanised Division.

Loch Ewe

With air operations postponed, the 4 aircraft carriers spent the week at anchor and the crews were given a weeks pass, with most of the men ending up in Glasgow and Edinburgh, though some went home to visit family.

 

[diestormlie]

Now taking bets on how real British XVI and III Corps actually are.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

North Sea
The cargo ship Othmarschen along with the naval whaler Coronel were torpedoed and sunk by the submarine HMS Turbulent of the Norwegian coast. Further north two German submarine chasers were sunk by the Russian submarine L-20 and a naval whaler by the M-172.

The German cargo ship Grundsee and the V-1602 were sunk byRAF Mosquito aircraft in the Skeggerak.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

Battle of the Atlantic
Only 20 % of the 180 trans-Atlantic convoys sailing from the end of July 1942 had lost any ships to U-boat attack.

During this week there were 106 merchant ships sailing east from Nova Scotia along with 22 warships. Increased vigilance and improved air surveillance and an increase of anti-submarine warships forced Admiral Karl Dönitz to shift focus back to the mid-Atlantic. He had planned to have 100+ U-boats at sea at any given time, but with the construction yards being constantly bombed by the Allies and the North Sea effectively blockaded he had less than 60 vessels to work with.

On February 14th the U-456 sank three eastbound cargo ships. The loss of 5,000 tons of AVGas and 120 Sentinel tanks would electively put the invasion of mainland Europe back by several months.

The tanker British Harmony struck an iceberg and the Canadian corvette HMCS Louisburg drew along side to give aid. With daylight on the 16th a hull inspection gave the ok to sail again. An RNAS Sunderland from Iceland located a surfaced U-boat five miles ahead. As the corvette accelerated to intercept two torpedoes struck her starboard side. The small warship tolled over an sank. She was however the U-456 last victim as she in turn was sunk with all hands by the Sunderland.

Throughout the day and following night the convoy steamed through a Wolfpack of another 8 U-boats. A further 13 merchant ships were sunk, but it cost the Germans dearly. As well as loosing the U-456 they also lost the U-255, U-217, U-265, U-187 and U-609. Only 3 boats U-402, U-262 and U-266 returned to the U-boat pens in western France.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

Sunday February 21st - Saturday February 27th.

Western Pacific
Over 250 US carrier aircraft, from the USS Enterprise, USS Essex, USS Ranger and USS Saratoga operating under Spruance's Fifth Fleet, attacked Japanese installations in the Mariana Islands for three days running. The cargo ships Mogamigawa Maru, Kuwayama Maru and Kuroshio Maru were all sunk.

Monday afternoon a Japanese convoy consisting of 6 transports carrying 6,000 troops and supplies, 1 old navy supply ship carrying 600 Special Naval Landing Force troops and 1 small freighter carrying 1,650 drums of aviation gas escorted by 8 destroyers was picked up on the radar of an RNAS Oxford 70 miles west of the island of Manus.

After dark Rutland sent 18 Sea Mosquitos from 806 and 810 squadrons to intercept. Ninety minutes later HMS Britannia sailed into the wind and 16 Sea Mosquito aircraft from 832 and 884 followed after them.

Guided by the ASV equipped Oxford the eight aircraft of 806 RNAS raced in at full throttle 75 feet above the waves. The first the Japanese knew of the attack was when five of the lead plane’s eight rockets drilled their way through the soft skin of the Hyuga Maru. The majority of the rockets from the 2nd and 3rd Sea Mosquitos also exploded into the Hyuga Maru reducing her to a burning hulk.flames quickly spread engulfing the vessel. Troops ammunition began to go off ricocheting around the ship cutting the trapped soldiers down without mercy. The remains aircraft of 806 carried out a similar assault on the Akagane Maru.

810’s aircraft were armed with two 500lbs bombs each. There were three near misses on the Hyuga Maru before two direct hits put her into Davy Jones locker.

The escorts had now gone to action stations and traces streaked upwards into the darkness of the night sky. AA rounds riddled two of the Mossies, but the aircraft took the hits in their stride.

The Amari Maru was struck twice and immediately began to take on water. The Somedono Maru was also hit once and received three near misses which popped her rivets along the starboard side.

The whole attack lasted less than 15 minutes and then the British were gone. Rescue missions were carried out, 73 out of over 1,000 were plucked from the sea near to where the Hyuga Maru went down. The number of dead onboard the was almost as horrendous with 146 men rescued before she too went down.

The destroyer Oshio came along side the stricken Somedono Maru and began to transfer the soldiers unto the warship. It was at this moment when 832 Squadron appeared. All nine aircraft were carrying two 500 lbs bombs. The very first Mossie hit the cargo ship twice splitting her into three separate sections. Panic broke out amongst the Japanese ranks as men scrambled to get onto the destroyer. All their efforts were however in vain as the Oshio was hit five times as the remaining aircraft of 832 dropped their deadly load. The heart and soul was ripped out of the Japanese ship as the boiler room and aft magazines erupted with a fireball that was seen on Manus.

While all this was going on the seven aircraft of 884 RNAS bombed the Hirtama Maru and the Hitachi Maru. Both ships also received direct hits that would cause them to sink just before noon for the Hirtama Maru and sundown for the Hitachi Maru.

On the return leg an aircraft from 806 developed engine trouble and had to ditch twelve miles out from the Illustrious. Both crewmen were rescued by a Walrus from the cruiser HMAS Australia shortly after sun rise. One of the two damaged aircraft was unrepairable so she was stripped of all her vital equipment, including engines and dumped overboard.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

Russia
The Red Army of the Soviet Union celebrated its 25th Birthday on the 21st, however a German counter attack by Armeegruppe Mitte between the Dneiper and Donets Rivers destroys 100 tanks, 55 heavy guns, and 80 trucks.


Germany
RAF Mosquito aircraft attack Fort Kugelbake on the Elbe Estuary on Monday morning and again on Thursday evening.

On Friday USAAF heavy bombers made a daylight attack on the shipyards at Wilhelmshaven. The U-205, U-268, U-443 and U-522 were destroyed in the attack.

SS Obergruppenfuhrer Theodor Eicke was killed in an SOE ambush, along with two members of his staff, his driver. Two SS motorcyclists and four SS troopers in a following vehicle were also killed in the attack outside Munich. The perpetrators managed to evade the follow up search and reached the British Embassy Zurich on the 1st of March.


Mediterranean
HMSubmarine Torbay sunk the Italian auxiliary minesweeper Monte Argentario, the German merchant ship Mariaeck and the Spanish merchant vessel Juan de Astigarraga as thy approached Corsica to evacuate German troops there.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

London
The Red Army's 25th anniversary was celebrated in London, with a massed gathering at the Albert Hall. Prime-Minister Anthony Eden represented the government along with the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, while other notable celebraties present included Dame Sybil Thorndike and Commander Ralph Richardson RNVR.

In the House of Commons 312 Members of Parliament including former prime minister David Lloyd George supported the implementing of the Beveridge Report.

The Report offered three guiding principles to its recommendations:

1 Proposals for the future should not be limited by "sectional interests". A "revolutionary moment in the world's history is a time for revolutions, not for patching".

2 Social insurance is only one part of a "comprehensive policy of social progress". The five giants on the road to reconstruction were Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness.

3 Policies of social security "must be achieved by co-operation between the State and the individual", with the state securing the service and contributions. The state "should not stifle incentive, opportunity, responsibility; in establishing a national minimum, it should leave room and encouragement for voluntary action by each individual to provide more than that minimum for himself and his family".

Air Marshall Sir Arthur Harris chief of RAF Bomber Command wanted to abandon attempting to hit specific military and industrial targets in favour of the most densely built-up areas of German cities. The area bombing directive essentially said that if the RAF cannot destroyed the factories it should destroy the homes and the morale of the workforce. However with the Minister for the Coordination of Defence Winston Churchill absent with a severe fever the Cobra committee turned him down. The Government again stating the prime objective of Britain’s policy was the destruction of the Nazis war machine and, if possible, the arrest and trial of Hitler and his henchmen for crimes against humanity. Not the terrorising and murder of civilians.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

Scotland
Monday saw HMS Invincible again operating in the Hebridean Sea. Exercises involved the operation of a full carrier air group. To this extent 800, 827 Thunderbolts, 820 and 825 Aces were all onboard. Limited room in the hanger necessitated the parking of aircraft on fly 1. Earlier practice and combat operations saw aircraft parked here before being removed to the hanger via the forward lift.

What started as a moderate breeze by Wednesday had become a near gale. Captain Grantham knew these conditions were quite common on the Russian and Atlantic convoy routes so there was no cause for alarm. On his mind was the accident involving the Curaçao, something he personally didn’t want to experience again, so the screening vessels were kept at a minimum of two miles distance. Eight aircraft were successfully launched and conducted a bombing run at Benbecula. Using the Rebecca and Eureka radar guidance system the aircraft were guided by an RNAS Forward Aircraft Controller, they were able to hit marked targets reasonably accurate at high speed and in foul weather.

It was just getting dark as the aircraft returned to the carrier. The aircraft gathered in a 2 mile radius orbit five miles astern the Invincible. One by one the first six aircraft landed averaging a 50 second gap between traps. As practice the fighter-bombers were moved to fly 1 in preparation for storage. As the bows of the ship raised and fell almost 20 feet at a time, the deck crews struggled with their tasks. The seventh aeroplane approached at 135 knots but the ship pitched and rolled resulting in her missing the trap. The pilot, Flying Officer Jim Smith, hit full throttle as his aircraft bolted and returned back to her waiting position. Less than a minute later the eighth aircraft touched down and proceeded to fly 1. Flying Officer William Logan disembarked and entered into a shouted conversation with the aircraft handlers. The topic was Smith’s Bolter and how he just missed striking the parked aircraft. Three minutes later Smith again approached the carrier. He got a red over white and 12 seconds later his landing gear touched the deck, and the arrestor gear caught the fourth of the five wires. Due to the constant operations of powerful jet aircraft in stormy winter weather the wire suffered from fatigue and snapped. With an over deck speed of almost 90 knots the Ace covered the 500 feet to fly 1 in 4 seconds. The first two aircraft had completed their de-fuelling and removal of unused ordnance’s. Fiver were in the process and Logan’s aircraft had yet to begin, when Smith tore through the net smashing into the parked aircraft. The resultant fire ball rose above the cloud line and could be seen as afar away as Rathlin Island. All eight aircraft were destroyed. Five very experienced pilots were killed along with nine deck crew. A further twelve men were seriously injured.

Invincible returned to Loch Ewe. All jet propelled aircraft were grounded and an immediate investigation got underway. In less that a month 25 men had been killed and 114 injured. 15 aircraft had also been destroyed.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

Bay of Biscay
The German submarine U-562 was sunk by RNAS Wellington and the U-623 was sunk by RAF Liberator.

Battle of the Atlantic
A total of 15 cargo ships were sunk during the week for the loss of the U-69 sunk by HMS Fame.

United States
On Monday 22nd the battleship USS Iowa was commissioned into service at Brooklyn Naval Shipyard in New York, with Captain John L. McCrea in command.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

At this point in time, one of the greatest humanitarian crisis occurred: - The Bengal Famine.

All I’m going to say regarding it is : -

1 / the weather conditions and it consequences remain the same as it OLT.

2 / Anthony Eden is Prime-Minister, not Churchill.

3 / Singapore did not fall, therefore there was less Japanese maritime activity in the Indian Ocean.

4/ The Japanese advance through Bruma and into India was checked resulting in less of a refugee crisis.


How these changes would play out, I can’t decide. The crop damage following the cyclone would still happen. The spread of Malaria would still occur. But I would like to think that almost 3,000,000 innocent, and vulnerable persons would not be left to die as they were OLT.

 

[diestormlie]

How much of the Burmese rice harvest can still be collected? How much of a scorched earth policy was undertaken? Because, from memory, these two questions (or rather, their OTL answers) had a large impact on the course of the famine.

 

[PMN1]

Scotland
Monday saw HMS Invincible again operating in the Hebridean Sea. Exercises involved the operation of a full carrier air group. To this extent 800, 827 Thunderbolts, 820 and 825 Aces were all onboard. Limited room in the hanger necessitated the parking of aircraft on fly 1. Earlier practice and combat operations saw aircraft parked here before being removed to the hanger via the forward lift.

What started as a moderate breeze by Wednesday had become a near gale. Captain Grantham knew these conditions were quite common on the Russian and Atlantic convoy routes so there was no cause for alarm. On his mind was the accident involving the Curaçao, something he personally didn’t want to experience again, so the screening vessels were kept at a minimum of two miles distance. Eight aircraft were successfully launched and conducted a bombing run at Benbecula. Using the Rebecca and Eureka radar guidance system the aircraft were guided by an RNAS Forward Aircraft Controller, they were able to hit marked targets reasonably accurate at high speed and in foul weather.

It was just getting dark as the aircraft returned to the carrier. The aircraft gathered in a 2 mile radius orbit five miles astern the Invincible. One by one the first six aircraft landed averaging a 50 second gap between traps. As practice the fighter-bombers were moved to fly 1 in preparation for storage. As the bows of the ship raised and fell almost 20 feet at a time, the deck crews struggled with their tasks. The seventh aeroplane approached at 135 knots but the ship pitched and rolled resulting in her missing the trap. The pilot, Flying Officer Jim Smith, hit full throttle as his aircraft bolted and returned back to her waiting position. Less than a minute later the eighth aircraft touched down and proceeded to fly 1. Flying Officer William Logan disembarked and entered into a shouted conversation with the aircraft handlers. The topic was Smith’s Bolter and how he just missed striking the parked aircraft. Three minutes later Smith again approached the carrier. He got a red over white and 12 seconds later his landing gear touched the deck, and the arrestor gear caught the fourth of the five wires. Due to the constant operations of powerful jet aircraft in stormy winter weather the wire suffered from fatigue and snapped. With an over deck speed of almost 90 knots the Ace covered the 500 feet to fly 1 in 4 seconds. The first two aircraft had completed their de-fuelling and removal of unused ordnance’s. Fiver were in the process and Logan’s aircraft had yet to begin, when Smith tore through the net smashing into the parked aircraft. The resultant fire ball rose above the cloud line and could be seen as afar away as Rathlin Island. All eight aircraft were destroyed. Five very experienced pilots were killed along with nine deck crew. A further twelve men were seriously injured.

Invincible returned to Loch Ewe. All jet propelled aircraft were grounded and an immediate investigation got underway. In less that a month 25 men had been killed and 114 injured. 15 aircraft had also been destroyed.

So does this bring forward the angled flight deck?

 

[Zheng He]

How much of the Burmese rice harvest can still be collected? How much of a scorched earth policy was undertaken? Because, from memory, these two questions (or rather, their OTL answers) had a large impact on the course of the famine.

Yeah, this is probably a big part of it, you don't have the loss of local food production through the Japanese not getting all of Burma and the Allies not employing scorched earth tactics that led to a decrease in crops grown and hit the fishing and animal husbandry industries as well.

Lack of Japanese maritime activity in the IO means convoys in the Bay of Bengal are not disrupted as well.

 

[Lord Wyclif]

Sunday February 28th - Saturday March 6th.

South-West Pacific
General MacArthur acting on aerial reconnaissance reports showing no signs of enemy activity on the Admiralty Islands presumed that they had been evacuated.

The six cruisers HMS Bedford, HMS Essex, HMNZ Achilles, HMS Argonaut, HMS Manchester and HMAS Perth anchored off Buna on Tuesday before setting sail after dark towards the Admiralty Islands with just under 2,000 extra passengers.

Thursday morning Australian and Royal Marine Commandoes assaulted a small, isolated beach on Los Negros at Hyane Harbour near the Momote airstrip, achieving a tactical surprise. The islands proved to be far from unoccupied and a furious battle ensued. There was fighting throughout the night as small groups of Japanese attempted to infiltrate the Commandoes beachhead.

At first light the Japanese launched another attack on the perimeter, but made little progress in the face of overwhelming firepower and close air-support. By lunchtime Friday the airfield was in Allied hand and 469 Japanese troops were killed. Of the commando force 47 men were killed, but those wounded approached the 600 mark.

On March 1st and 2nd, the US Pacific Fleet's Task Force 58, USS Enterprise, USS Essex, USS Ranger and USS Saratoga, attacked the main Japanese base at Truk. During the two day battle 30 Japanese aircraft were shot down and 50 were destroyed on the ground. Ships sunk were the cruisers Katori and Naka. The destroyers Maikaze, Fumizuki, Oite and Tachikaze. Other vessels also lost were the Hoyo Maru, Shonan Maru, Katori and Akagi Maru.

 

[Unknown]

Yeah, this is probably a big part of it, you don't have the loss of local food production through the Japanese not getting all of Burma and the Allies not employing scorched earth tactics that led to a decrease in crops grown and hit the fishing and animal husbandry industries as well.

Lack of Japanese maritime activity in the IO means convoys in the Bay of Bengal are not disrupted as well.

The more interesting part is how does this affect the Bengal region and Burma postwar; India will become independent, IMO, but, without the Bengal famine and the Japanese not conquering as much of Burma, Burma probably avoids its OTL fate...

 

[Zheng He]

The more interesting part is how does this affect the Bengal region and Burma postwar; India will become independent, IMO, but, without the Bengal famine and the Japanese not conquering as much of Burma, Burma probably avoids its OTL fate...

Yes and will there be a partition of India?

 

[Coulsdon Eagle]

Sunday February 28th - Saturday March 6th.

The six cruisers HMS Bedford, HMS Essex, HMNZ Achilles, HMS Argonaut and HMS Manchester anchored off Buna on Tuesday before setting sail after dark towards the Admiralty Islands with just under 2,000 extra passengers.

Slight correction or addition required - one cruiser missing?

 

[Lord Wyclif]

India

With the growing crisis in Bengal, Stafford Crispp arrived in India along with Reginald Dorman-Smith. Smith commented “Neither our word nor our intentions are trusted.”

General Slims reform of the army had resulted in the pursuit of the Japanese forces back into Thailand. Along with Briggs and Templar, reiterated that the job of the military was primarily to protect the civil population.

Many of the medical profession had been conscripted to tend those wounded on the battlefield. However with food merchants who could afford to wait for higher prices were reluctant to sell, reports of malnutrition and malaria were now becoming common place. The Army, with its now vast logistics organisation, now took responsibility for the distribute of food rations. They also, as of March 1st, began providing shelter, controlling financing, removing corrupt or arbitrary officials, cleaning up fraud, building a better civilian infrastructure. The only offensive operations that would be conducted for the foreseeable future would be through Wingate guerrilla campaign. This in turn lead to a heated confrontation with Lord Lithgow.