The IJN has the same fundamental problem as at Midway and during the Indian Ocean Raid OTL. Unable to understand the airspace around the fleet beyond eyeball range, it was inevitable that, once located, attacks would get through. Given the sheer numbers of Allied aircraft and the restricted waters, this will not end well for the Japanese carriers. The skill of their aircrews may exact a toll in exchange, but their inability to engage in effective fleet defence is a crippling weakness.
Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
- Thread starter fester
- Start date
- Status
formion
Banned
An overlooked issue in TTL is the status of KNIL. The Dutch lost only battalion level formations in Borneo, Celebes and Ambon, while getting a bloody nose in Java and Timor. I think that the core of the old colonial army survived in the last year. Traditionally, the majority of the recruits was from Java ( if I remember correct around 40% of the total force). the Bandas and Timor. Java and Timor remain in dutch hands to provide a great number of recruits. Furthermore, unutilized sources of manpower such as the Java Chinese can be used (and it will be in line with the Dutch policy to recruit from different ethnicities and religions). Last but not least, there are 2 Free Dutch Brigades in the theater. If they are not earmarked to return in the ETO, then they can provide the European NCO and officer pool for the formation of more KNIL units if they are incorporated in the KNIL.
After more than a year since the start of the war and with increasing american material resources reaching the DEI, I think it would not be ASB to have everything needed for the formation of a sizeable dutch colonial army around 5 or even 6 divisions worth of troops. This is a huge butterfly, since almost an Army-worth number of troops are avaiable ITTL that were totally absent in OTL. They can be utilized in secondary operations, such as containing and/or reducing IJN pockets and garrisons, while the US Marine and Army divisions continue their advance in Celebes and Borneo.
After more than a year since the start of the war and with increasing american material resources reaching the DEI, I think it would not be ASB to have everything needed for the formation of a sizeable dutch colonial army around 5 or even 6 divisions worth of troops. This is a huge butterfly, since almost an Army-worth number of troops are avaiable ITTL that were totally absent in OTL. They can be utilized in secondary operations, such as containing and/or reducing IJN pockets and garrisons, while the US Marine and Army divisions continue their advance in Celebes and Borneo.
Last edited:
Story 1750
Near Parepare, Celebes DEI 0440 January 2, 1943
The sky was still almost pitch dark. The small seaplane tender had half a dozen red lamps on inside the superstructure, and her crew carefully untied the bights that anchored a Catalina to her. Inside the flying boat, final checks were being completed before the big radials dragged them into the air The pilot was satisfied with everything and then the flight engineer reported that everything was at least tolerable if not ideal. Several days of intensive operations had brought the plane’s status down from perfect to just more than functional enough. The engines whirled.
A moment later red hooded flashlights signalled that the tender was ready to release the plane from her care. The navigation lights briefly flicked on and off in acknowledgement. A minute later, the pilot lined the big, awkward bird up and then he pushed the throttles forward and the propellers began to bite into the morning air. Bump, bump, bump, the scout gained speed and fought the wind and the waves until the pilot pulled back slightly on the stick and the boat became an aircraft. He allowed the patrol bomber plenty of time to get to cruising height and as he circled the landing support force of three escort carriers, three light cruisers and dozens of lesser ships, the radar operator warmed up the set and confirmed that it work. Eleven minutes after take-off he headed north to join the other seven Catalinas from the squadron on their pre-dawn patrol.
The sky was still almost pitch dark. The small seaplane tender had half a dozen red lamps on inside the superstructure, and her crew carefully untied the bights that anchored a Catalina to her. Inside the flying boat, final checks were being completed before the big radials dragged them into the air The pilot was satisfied with everything and then the flight engineer reported that everything was at least tolerable if not ideal. Several days of intensive operations had brought the plane’s status down from perfect to just more than functional enough. The engines whirled.
A moment later red hooded flashlights signalled that the tender was ready to release the plane from her care. The navigation lights briefly flicked on and off in acknowledgement. A minute later, the pilot lined the big, awkward bird up and then he pushed the throttles forward and the propellers began to bite into the morning air. Bump, bump, bump, the scout gained speed and fought the wind and the waves until the pilot pulled back slightly on the stick and the boat became an aircraft. He allowed the patrol bomber plenty of time to get to cruising height and as he circled the landing support force of three escort carriers, three light cruisers and dozens of lesser ships, the radar operator warmed up the set and confirmed that it work. Eleven minutes after take-off he headed north to join the other seven Catalinas from the squadron on their pre-dawn patrol.
Last edited:
Story 1751
West northwest of Makassar 0515, January 2, 1943
Admiral Somerville turned his head slightly. Off in the distance he could see the flashing signal lamp. A moment later, the relay destroyer started to send the message to HMS Ark Royal, the fleet flag. It probably was coming from USS Enterprise although there was a non-zero chance that the battle line commanded by the American admiral Lee had an urgent message. His six battleships and escorts were scheduled to head north of the carrier groups to act as a gigantic flak trap for any incoming strikes and perhaps he had one last request to make.
The fleet had been patrolling in a box north of Makassar and just south of Parepare for over twelve hours. HMAS Norman had claimed a submarine overnight. The intercepts teams had heard nothing from that location. They had been busy enough. Air raids were expected from Borneo and northern Celebes while some chatter had been picked up as the Japanese were heading over the submarine patrol lines to the north.
Four Seafires were warming up on deck. They would have the morning CAP. A dozen more fighters had their pilots talking to ground crews. They were the alert and replacement flights. A few hundred yards to port, HMS Victorious was launching Albacores for the anti-submarine patrols. Her strike squadrons were the least capable in the daylight. Admiral Somerville had briefly thought about a high speed dash to the north to launch a strike that would arrive just about now but he rejected that option last night. He knew that there were dragons out there, but the spotting was not good enough to harry about in restricted waters.
Instead, he had ordered the Americans to launch a full dawn patrol as they had more than enough scouts aboard their five carriers. USS Saratoga was committing her entire Dauntless allotment. The dive bombers would soon be taking off, sixteen pairs where they all lugged a 500 pound bomb on a search and attack profile to 200 miles. 5th Air Force was covering his rear, they would see any ships trying to sneak around the eastern edge of the Celebes. His worry was the north.
The Seafires began their run and soon the quartet was circling. He knew they the dawn patrol would have plenty of traffic as Japanese snoopers had to be out and about this morning. Half a dozen had reported rough locations on at least one of his task forces yesterday afternoon. Four had been splashed, but a kill did not pay for the information transfer.
The admiral turned and spoke quietly with Ark Royal’s senior flying officer:
“You’re ready for today?”
“Yes sir; bomber crews are waking up, fighters are eating and ready for anything. As soon as we are told where the enemy is, we’ll launch.”
“Good, make sure your boys are well rested. Any comments on the fighter allocation?”
“Keeping most of the Spits and Hurricanes for task force defense plays to our strength; the Martlets have the range and their fifties are enough to splash a Zero chasing a bomber but they can’t force a fight unlike the Spits… might lose a few kills but keeps us floating… I’m a miserable swimmer, so I’m good with that. Some grumbling from the young men who want glory instead of just worrying about their missions, but we were both young once sir”
“Aye we were… very well, continue….”
The admiral looked once more before heading back inside to the flag bridge. As soon as he entered, his flag lieutenant handed him the message that he had seen. Saratoga was launching in fifteen minutes and all was well.
Admiral Somerville turned his head slightly. Off in the distance he could see the flashing signal lamp. A moment later, the relay destroyer started to send the message to HMS Ark Royal, the fleet flag. It probably was coming from USS Enterprise although there was a non-zero chance that the battle line commanded by the American admiral Lee had an urgent message. His six battleships and escorts were scheduled to head north of the carrier groups to act as a gigantic flak trap for any incoming strikes and perhaps he had one last request to make.
The fleet had been patrolling in a box north of Makassar and just south of Parepare for over twelve hours. HMAS Norman had claimed a submarine overnight. The intercepts teams had heard nothing from that location. They had been busy enough. Air raids were expected from Borneo and northern Celebes while some chatter had been picked up as the Japanese were heading over the submarine patrol lines to the north.
Four Seafires were warming up on deck. They would have the morning CAP. A dozen more fighters had their pilots talking to ground crews. They were the alert and replacement flights. A few hundred yards to port, HMS Victorious was launching Albacores for the anti-submarine patrols. Her strike squadrons were the least capable in the daylight. Admiral Somerville had briefly thought about a high speed dash to the north to launch a strike that would arrive just about now but he rejected that option last night. He knew that there were dragons out there, but the spotting was not good enough to harry about in restricted waters.
Instead, he had ordered the Americans to launch a full dawn patrol as they had more than enough scouts aboard their five carriers. USS Saratoga was committing her entire Dauntless allotment. The dive bombers would soon be taking off, sixteen pairs where they all lugged a 500 pound bomb on a search and attack profile to 200 miles. 5th Air Force was covering his rear, they would see any ships trying to sneak around the eastern edge of the Celebes. His worry was the north.
The Seafires began their run and soon the quartet was circling. He knew they the dawn patrol would have plenty of traffic as Japanese snoopers had to be out and about this morning. Half a dozen had reported rough locations on at least one of his task forces yesterday afternoon. Four had been splashed, but a kill did not pay for the information transfer.
The admiral turned and spoke quietly with Ark Royal’s senior flying officer:
“You’re ready for today?”
“Yes sir; bomber crews are waking up, fighters are eating and ready for anything. As soon as we are told where the enemy is, we’ll launch.”
“Good, make sure your boys are well rested. Any comments on the fighter allocation?”
“Keeping most of the Spits and Hurricanes for task force defense plays to our strength; the Martlets have the range and their fifties are enough to splash a Zero chasing a bomber but they can’t force a fight unlike the Spits… might lose a few kills but keeps us floating… I’m a miserable swimmer, so I’m good with that. Some grumbling from the young men who want glory instead of just worrying about their missions, but we were both young once sir”
“Aye we were… very well, continue….”
The admiral looked once more before heading back inside to the flag bridge. As soon as he entered, his flag lieutenant handed him the message that he had seen. Saratoga was launching in fifteen minutes and all was well.
Last edited:
No way - the Spit cannot turn with a Zero
(Checkout OTL at Darwin. Effectively 100% loss of any RAF plane that tried it, let alone a Seafire which is worse)
Boom and Zoom is the order of the day - especially with 4 working 20mm Hispanos
Story 1752
Makassar Strait 0551 January 2, 1943
The submarine shook. That last depth charge attack was close. The damnable Japanese destroyer had spotted USS Gato an hour ago as she was motoring to a new positions. A crash dive had saved the submarine as the keel of the destroyer missed the aft portion of the pressure hull by no more than a dozen feet in an attempted ramming. Since then the destroyer had been like a terrier trying to shake a rat to death; persistent and frightening as depth charge patterns rolled off her stern every few minutes.
Inside the submarine, men were silent and still except for the dozen who were isolating damaged pipes and stuffing leaky seams. The skipper looked at the charts, the straits were deep enough for a maximum depth dive but if they went deep, the destroyer would win. The sonar shack had reported plenty of contacts thundering down from the north. If they stayed shallow, the submarine could pop up quickly enough to pursue the enemy fleet if they survived. Surviving was the challenge though.
Another half a dozen depth charges detonated. The closest was fifty feet away and ten feet above the submarine. Every man felt the boat shake and moan like an arthritic miner waking up for a Sunday shift.
Gato descended deeper as the Japanese destroyer probed the depths for the interlocutor. She was protected and defeated by the thermocline.
Even as the American submarine slowly tried to break contact at three knots, four carriers turned into the wind. Scouts had reported the previous night that the Americans were holding their three fleet carriers close to the landing zone. One hundred and twenty bombers escorted by thirty six Zeros would be in the air by the time dawn fully broke. They had a two hour flight to the American fleet carriers that were supporting the landing operations for the past two days; their crews and pilots must be tired and their aircraft diminished by combat losses and mechanical challenges.
They would have the advantage as they hit their enemy well before their enemy could even find them.
The submarine shook. That last depth charge attack was close. The damnable Japanese destroyer had spotted USS Gato an hour ago as she was motoring to a new positions. A crash dive had saved the submarine as the keel of the destroyer missed the aft portion of the pressure hull by no more than a dozen feet in an attempted ramming. Since then the destroyer had been like a terrier trying to shake a rat to death; persistent and frightening as depth charge patterns rolled off her stern every few minutes.
Inside the submarine, men were silent and still except for the dozen who were isolating damaged pipes and stuffing leaky seams. The skipper looked at the charts, the straits were deep enough for a maximum depth dive but if they went deep, the destroyer would win. The sonar shack had reported plenty of contacts thundering down from the north. If they stayed shallow, the submarine could pop up quickly enough to pursue the enemy fleet if they survived. Surviving was the challenge though.
Another half a dozen depth charges detonated. The closest was fifty feet away and ten feet above the submarine. Every man felt the boat shake and moan like an arthritic miner waking up for a Sunday shift.
Gato descended deeper as the Japanese destroyer probed the depths for the interlocutor. She was protected and defeated by the thermocline.
Even as the American submarine slowly tried to break contact at three knots, four carriers turned into the wind. Scouts had reported the previous night that the Americans were holding their three fleet carriers close to the landing zone. One hundred and twenty bombers escorted by thirty six Zeros would be in the air by the time dawn fully broke. They had a two hour flight to the American fleet carriers that were supporting the landing operations for the past two days; their crews and pilots must be tired and their aircraft diminished by combat losses and mechanical challenges.
They would have the advantage as they hit their enemy well before their enemy could even find them.
Last edited:
The Seafire has the speed to force a fight if it wants to. The Martlet/Wildcat can't really force a fight if the Zero pilots don't want to fight (assuming no significant positional advantage of course)
The big part of my thinking on the fighter allocation is the second part of your reply --- the 4x20mm is one hell of a punch as a fleet defense fight. The Wildcats/Martlets will be able to achieve their mission as escort fighters if they merely keep the Japanese fighters busy and well aware of their 6x.50s. A good escort mission might result in no kills as long as the enemy fighters can't bother the bombers. The defending fighters for the RN need to get hard kills and they need to get them fast as they don't know how many good passes they will get against the Japanese strike aircraft.
All good points - no problem with any of that
my post was about the "dogfight" element of killers post
That is a recipe for disaster.
Let the seafires boom and zoom versus the Zero escort ... even a short burst on target will be a kill or CTL
and the slower, more stable Sea Hurricanes go for the strikers ... they have 4 Hispanos as well
(in fact OTL the Hurri IIc on land and Sea H Ic were "early adopters" of that fit)
Story 1753
Off Parepare 0600 Janaury 2, 1943
USS Bogue turned into the wind. Two Wildcats and a trio of Avengers were spotted. They soon took off as soon as they could get the steady southwest breeze over their wings. The other two escort carriers of the landing support force were also conducting flight operations. USS Copahee had a dozen Avengers allocated to a strike against a secondary Japanese airfield north of the landing zone. No aircraft besides a few hacks had been spotted there, but it was still useful and it had a working radio. USS Suwanee was responsible for on-call air support so four Dauntlesses lugged thousand pound bombs up to support the five regiments of Marines ashore.
Forty miles to the east, the assault ships and half a dozen cargo ships pulled up their anchors. Four destroyers were escorting these empty vessels as they made fourteen knots to the south. The LSTs and the cargo ships were still unloading. The LSTs had beached themselves to land two tank companies and a fully equipped heavy construction SeaBee battalion. The engineering vehicles were far more important than the tanks. They could have headed south at dawn as well but their slow speed would have impeded the flight of the fast assault transports. Instead their crews were manning the anti-aircraft guns or helping the beach master sort out the incredible array of choices he to make.
USS Bogue turned into the wind. Two Wildcats and a trio of Avengers were spotted. They soon took off as soon as they could get the steady southwest breeze over their wings. The other two escort carriers of the landing support force were also conducting flight operations. USS Copahee had a dozen Avengers allocated to a strike against a secondary Japanese airfield north of the landing zone. No aircraft besides a few hacks had been spotted there, but it was still useful and it had a working radio. USS Suwanee was responsible for on-call air support so four Dauntlesses lugged thousand pound bombs up to support the five regiments of Marines ashore.
Forty miles to the east, the assault ships and half a dozen cargo ships pulled up their anchors. Four destroyers were escorting these empty vessels as they made fourteen knots to the south. The LSTs and the cargo ships were still unloading. The LSTs had beached themselves to land two tank companies and a fully equipped heavy construction SeaBee battalion. The engineering vehicles were far more important than the tanks. They could have headed south at dawn as well but their slow speed would have impeded the flight of the fast assault transports. Instead their crews were manning the anti-aircraft guns or helping the beach master sort out the incredible array of choices he to make.
Mostly airfield construction with some cargo piers slotted in for the end of the first month ashore.
Oh I'm not saying the spits mix it up with the zeros in their arena. More that thanks to the Spits being a new for the Zeros may struggle to counter them. That combined with the Seafires performance is just another advantage the Allies have.
Story 1754
Straits of Makassar, 0730 January 2, 1943
Banjo-4’s radio was heating up. The operator had been slamming his key for the past four minutes once a call from the cockpit hammered his ear drums with excitement and urgency. First it was a destroyer’s wake and then a coterie of radar contacts and then a dozen large ships were seen below. Even as the sighting report grew, almost every eye was looking for fighters. By the time the radioman finished the second repeat of the message, a trio of Zeros were spotted. The lumbering amphibian ducked into the clouds and edged east towards land, hoping to come around the flank of the Japanese fleet.
“2 CV 4 BB 4 CA, 1.66S by 119.3E Speed 20 Course 200”
The report was finally acknowledged as the machine gunners in the blister turrets were running out of ammunition. None of the Zeros had gotten close enough to seriously harm the amphibian. A few shells had exploded into empty space but no serious damage nor wounds were known.
Now Banjo-4 could fight for its life as the crew had done their job. Now they could worry about surviving as the amphibian headed back for the enemy occupied island and its relative safety.
Banjo-4’s radio was heating up. The operator had been slamming his key for the past four minutes once a call from the cockpit hammered his ear drums with excitement and urgency. First it was a destroyer’s wake and then a coterie of radar contacts and then a dozen large ships were seen below. Even as the sighting report grew, almost every eye was looking for fighters. By the time the radioman finished the second repeat of the message, a trio of Zeros were spotted. The lumbering amphibian ducked into the clouds and edged east towards land, hoping to come around the flank of the Japanese fleet.
“2 CV 4 BB 4 CA, 1.66S by 119.3E Speed 20 Course 200”
The report was finally acknowledged as the machine gunners in the blister turrets were running out of ammunition. None of the Zeros had gotten close enough to seriously harm the amphibian. A few shells had exploded into empty space but no serious damage nor wounds were known.
Now Banjo-4 could fight for its life as the crew had done their job. Now they could worry about surviving as the amphibian headed back for the enemy occupied island and its relative safety.
Last edited:
Story 1755
Near Parepare, 0755 January 2, 1943
The alarm gong was sounding. Men were scurrying to their anti-aircraft positions. The radar atop the light cruiser Tromp had detected a large raid coming from the northwest. Four Wildcats orbiting overhead soon were heading straight to the enemy sixty miles away. A minute later, the three escort carriers turned into the wind and slowly accelerated to fly off as many more fighters as possible in the next ten minutes. Radio calls were being made to scream for assistance from the fleet carriers that were further south and west of the landing support group.
Fourteen more Wildcats were able to scramble before the carriers closed their decks. Two other Wildcats that had been patrolling over the landing forces had been diverted. They all streamed north as fuel lines were purged, bombs and torpedoes brought below and hatches dogged. Ammunition parties aboard the cruisers and the carriers brought up more Bofor clips and men huddled in the multi-purpose gun turrets waiting for direction and order.
The first four Wildcats called their Tally-ho at 31 miles from the carrier. They had spotted a gross of Japanese carrier planes and the four fighters dove from 20,000 and the east into the first squadron of dive bombers. Zeroes from Akagi spotted the Wildcats from Bogue. They did not rise up to meet them, but waited for them to come through and then pounce before they could re-attack. That first slashing attack brought down a pair of Vals at the cost of the tail end charlie. Rear gunners flung thousands of bullets at the pilot and three ripped open the twenty one year old. The Zeroes that were waiting claimed another two while the lead Wildcat tipped over and fled for safety forty feet above the ocean.
The other Wildcats never had the advantage of diving out of the sun. They could not position themselves far enough to the east nor climb high enough. Fourteen attackers were greeted by twenty seven defenders. The initial head on pass sent seven aircraft spinning and burning into the sea. Ten Wildcats began beam defenses that the Zeroes could not readily break but losses did not matter. Every second the massive strike was seventy five yards closer to their target. Delay was defeat. The last two Wildcats managed to slip into a torpedo squadron unseen until a Kate caught on fire. The defensive fire scared the attackers away until they could attack from behind and below, claiming another two bombers before the last free Japanese fighters were able to chase them off.
The attack groups had split. Dive bombers were climbing high while the torpedo bombers had descended and slowed. The fighters had failed to break up the raid and the reinforcements from the fleet carriers were arriving just as the bombers were entering the outer anti-aircraft artillery zone. It did not matter. A mixed dozen Seafires and Sea Hurricanes used their heavy cannons to destroy a torpedo squadron from Hiryu. Two Kates escaped after they dropped their torpedoes in order to accelerate. The interveners were jumped by Zeroes flying low and slow. The British pilots knew enough not to fight that fight so they opened up their throttles and ran away.
Three squadrons of torpedo bombers split into six elements. Hammers were matched with anvils as the four dive bomber groups overhead became the drop forge. The Dutch cruiser captains had to make choices; which threat to honor? They chose to honor the torpedo bomber threats. Dual purpose guns fired as soon as a gunner closed the breech. Ugly black pox scars ripped open the horizon. Bofor crews were automatons. Clips were fed faster than they ever had been. American and Dutch destroyers added their fire to the maelstrom and then the three escort carriers started to fire. The carriers split their fire; light auto-cannons and heavy anti-aircraft guns focused on the torpedo bombers while their medium batteries reached up into the sky for the descending dive bombers.
USS Bogue was the first carrier to be hit. A trio of armor piercing bombs went through her. The delayed fuse on two of the bombs were overkill. Holes were punched in the deck and then out of the hull before exploding. No armor was present to slow the bombs' descents. The third bomb detonated just above the engine room. Power went out due to shock. She slowed even as she was trying to dodge a dozen torpedoes. At four spots along her port side and one in her stern, she shuddered as water entered through the newly created holes in the hull. The captain had enough time to collect his wits and look at the rapidly developing list to call for the crew to abandon ship. Four minutes after the first bomb struck, men were in the water. Eleven minutes after the first attack, the escort carrier turned turtle.
The converted oiler Suwanee's bulk allowed her to linger. Seven torpedoes and four bombs created a rapidly listing ship and a funeral pyre for over five hundred men. Her hull did not fail for half an hour. Copahee was there for a moment and then after a tremendous explosion, she was descending like a submarine on a crash dive. Twenty six men were picked out of the water by the escorting destroyers. Four did not survive the afternoon.
Even as the jeep carriers were getting destroyed by the Japanese Sunday punch, the light cruiser De Ruyter was fighting for her life. A dive bomber squadron that had been held in reserve was re-allocated from attacking the obviously dying carriers and they tipped over on the light cruiser. By now her guns had shifted from defending the task force to self-defense. Several pilots dropped but they were dropping while being aware of the tracers and bursting shells that they were flying through. The light cruiser twisted and turned at thirty one knots and dodged the first set of bombs; all near misses. The next trio of bombs went wide. The cruiser then had a pause as her guns brought down two of the next three bombers and the surviving pilot bombed early and in a hurry to evade, flinging his bomb half a mile wide. Her luck almost held for the last string of bombs. The first bomb missed short and to port. The next bomb hit her seaplane launcher and tunnelled into the engine room. The final bomb ripped open the forward turret before exploding in the magazine. Half a ship remained afloat as the Japanese attackers headed north.
The alarm gong was sounding. Men were scurrying to their anti-aircraft positions. The radar atop the light cruiser Tromp had detected a large raid coming from the northwest. Four Wildcats orbiting overhead soon were heading straight to the enemy sixty miles away. A minute later, the three escort carriers turned into the wind and slowly accelerated to fly off as many more fighters as possible in the next ten minutes. Radio calls were being made to scream for assistance from the fleet carriers that were further south and west of the landing support group.
Fourteen more Wildcats were able to scramble before the carriers closed their decks. Two other Wildcats that had been patrolling over the landing forces had been diverted. They all streamed north as fuel lines were purged, bombs and torpedoes brought below and hatches dogged. Ammunition parties aboard the cruisers and the carriers brought up more Bofor clips and men huddled in the multi-purpose gun turrets waiting for direction and order.
The first four Wildcats called their Tally-ho at 31 miles from the carrier. They had spotted a gross of Japanese carrier planes and the four fighters dove from 20,000 and the east into the first squadron of dive bombers. Zeroes from Akagi spotted the Wildcats from Bogue. They did not rise up to meet them, but waited for them to come through and then pounce before they could re-attack. That first slashing attack brought down a pair of Vals at the cost of the tail end charlie. Rear gunners flung thousands of bullets at the pilot and three ripped open the twenty one year old. The Zeroes that were waiting claimed another two while the lead Wildcat tipped over and fled for safety forty feet above the ocean.
The other Wildcats never had the advantage of diving out of the sun. They could not position themselves far enough to the east nor climb high enough. Fourteen attackers were greeted by twenty seven defenders. The initial head on pass sent seven aircraft spinning and burning into the sea. Ten Wildcats began beam defenses that the Zeroes could not readily break but losses did not matter. Every second the massive strike was seventy five yards closer to their target. Delay was defeat. The last two Wildcats managed to slip into a torpedo squadron unseen until a Kate caught on fire. The defensive fire scared the attackers away until they could attack from behind and below, claiming another two bombers before the last free Japanese fighters were able to chase them off.
The attack groups had split. Dive bombers were climbing high while the torpedo bombers had descended and slowed. The fighters had failed to break up the raid and the reinforcements from the fleet carriers were arriving just as the bombers were entering the outer anti-aircraft artillery zone. It did not matter. A mixed dozen Seafires and Sea Hurricanes used their heavy cannons to destroy a torpedo squadron from Hiryu. Two Kates escaped after they dropped their torpedoes in order to accelerate. The interveners were jumped by Zeroes flying low and slow. The British pilots knew enough not to fight that fight so they opened up their throttles and ran away.
Three squadrons of torpedo bombers split into six elements. Hammers were matched with anvils as the four dive bomber groups overhead became the drop forge. The Dutch cruiser captains had to make choices; which threat to honor? They chose to honor the torpedo bomber threats. Dual purpose guns fired as soon as a gunner closed the breech. Ugly black pox scars ripped open the horizon. Bofor crews were automatons. Clips were fed faster than they ever had been. American and Dutch destroyers added their fire to the maelstrom and then the three escort carriers started to fire. The carriers split their fire; light auto-cannons and heavy anti-aircraft guns focused on the torpedo bombers while their medium batteries reached up into the sky for the descending dive bombers.
USS Bogue was the first carrier to be hit. A trio of armor piercing bombs went through her. The delayed fuse on two of the bombs were overkill. Holes were punched in the deck and then out of the hull before exploding. No armor was present to slow the bombs' descents. The third bomb detonated just above the engine room. Power went out due to shock. She slowed even as she was trying to dodge a dozen torpedoes. At four spots along her port side and one in her stern, she shuddered as water entered through the newly created holes in the hull. The captain had enough time to collect his wits and look at the rapidly developing list to call for the crew to abandon ship. Four minutes after the first bomb struck, men were in the water. Eleven minutes after the first attack, the escort carrier turned turtle.
The converted oiler Suwanee's bulk allowed her to linger. Seven torpedoes and four bombs created a rapidly listing ship and a funeral pyre for over five hundred men. Her hull did not fail for half an hour. Copahee was there for a moment and then after a tremendous explosion, she was descending like a submarine on a crash dive. Twenty six men were picked out of the water by the escorting destroyers. Four did not survive the afternoon.
Even as the jeep carriers were getting destroyed by the Japanese Sunday punch, the light cruiser De Ruyter was fighting for her life. A dive bomber squadron that had been held in reserve was re-allocated from attacking the obviously dying carriers and they tipped over on the light cruiser. By now her guns had shifted from defending the task force to self-defense. Several pilots dropped but they were dropping while being aware of the tracers and bursting shells that they were flying through. The light cruiser twisted and turned at thirty one knots and dodged the first set of bombs; all near misses. The next trio of bombs went wide. The cruiser then had a pause as her guns brought down two of the next three bombers and the surviving pilot bombed early and in a hurry to evade, flinging his bomb half a mile wide. Her luck almost held for the last string of bombs. The first bomb missed short and to port. The next bomb hit her seaplane launcher and tunnelled into the engine room. The final bomb ripped open the forward turret before exploding in the magazine. Half a ship remained afloat as the Japanese attackers headed north.
- Status