15 August 1943
Meet the new CVBG, same as the old CVBG....
SouthPAC
The Yorktown II battlegroup relieved Essex, and did send a sweep I ordered over Ponape (no Zeroes came out to play) but once again did not launch a strike against any of the nearby transports. The thought occurs that maybe selecting drop tanks on the SBD-5 is responsible, but the Essex was using drop-tank-less SBD-3s, and I thought I tested the SBD-5 earlier to make sure its strike mission is compatible with drop tanks. The -5 won't make the trip without drop tanks unless I also bring the battle group within torpedo-carrying range of the Betties on Truk.
Avengers from VT-23 (Princeton) claimed to hit a sub shadowing the Yorktown CVBG, twice, with 500 lb bombs.
USS Gar laid a minefield at Ponape, then surfaced to engage a docked cargo ship, expending all of its reduced Mk14 load to get 1 detonating Mk14 hit along with several gun hits. Safe to say it's going down. Gar received several gun hits in exchange, but mostly from AA guns with no serious damage caused.
9th Marines took another 150+ casualties today as the enemy reinforcements continue to hit us hard.
Lexington-II is probably 2-3 days out. I'll probably reorganize York/Lex into 2 task forces that travel together. A replenishment group that had refueled the Essex group is nearly done refilling their tanks at Noumea and will soon be in position to support the 2 CVBGs.
Burma
An enemy sub attempted to interfere with my nearly-complete amphibious landing. It was engaged by DD Racehorse and DE Arrow, who had no trouble scoring multiple depth charge hits, forcing it to surface, and gunning it down.
Beaufighters attacked a pair of cargo ships at Rangoon, which thanks to the P-38 and P-40 sweeps at adjacent Pegu, had no air cover. Both ships were strafed, but we only scored bomb hits on one--10 250-pounder hits--definitely enough to sink the one.
The surrounded 7th Royal Thai Army division at Tuang Gyi has been eliminated.
DEI
The surface activity at Ambon was a bunch of transport barges; I chased them away with a pair of destroyers. I'm disappointed the destroyers didn't actually engage them as they might have had troops aboard. It appears rain hampered the intercept: visibility was just 2,000 yards.
USS Finback torpedoed and sank (2 hits) a troop-carrying cargo ship in the straits south of Makassar.
Solomons
I think the enemy garrison at Guadalcanal is finally out of supplies, as the enemy airfield doesn't appear to be getting repaired anymore. I imagine their morale sucks, too, after being cut off for months and being bombed almost daily during that time. It may be time to eliminate them. I think my best bet to do this will be to land on the opposite side of the island, set up a small supply base, and attack overland.
Reinforcements
SS Bonefish arrives at Balboa
AO Neshanic arrives at Balboa
APA Calvert arrives at Eastern USA
632nd Tank Destroyer Battalion arrives at San Francisco (probably a unit destroyed on Java being reformed)
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