27 February 1944
RAF loses another air battle against the Kido Butai
Philippines
USS Sargo managed to find the cargo ship (3675 tons) it damaged yesterday and put her out of her misery with 2 more Mk14 hits.
The daily B-24 raid hit the cruiser Yura with another bomb, I swear that ship is going to stay alive for the whole war at this rate. 29 airbase hits with 2 Judies destroyed on the ground, 5 port hits.
Despite the extra troops landed on Iloilo, we failed to take the base today. Casualties 330(J) to 45(A).
I'm not waiting for Iloilo to fall. The first units intended to take Luzon are now en route to Legaspi, the southernmost point of Luzon.
China
Air raids:
near Hwainan (ground forces): 67 casualties
Land combat:
near Hwainan, Allied deliberate attack, 37k vs 2255 troops, casualties 1914(J) to 21(A), enemy survivors retreating
Hangchow, Allied deliberate attack, 108k vs 4k, casualties 4074(J) vs 172(A). This unit just arrived and was probably intended to reinforce the enemy we defeated 2 days ago. Looks like my opponent forgot to turn them around after Hangchow fell. On the negative side, the supplies expended from this additional fight need to be replenished, so we need to pause our advance to Shanghai.
near Kiukang, Allied bombardment attack, casualties 35(J) to 64(A).
DEI
Air raids:
Surabaya (port and airbase): ACM hit and sunk, 4 casualties, 11 airbase hits, 2 port hits
Kendari (ground forces): 5 casualties
Burma and Thailand
The KB appeared along the eastern Malay coast, close enough to Tavoy to pull an airstrike. Coordination was a problem and we ended up attacking in 4 separate waves instead of en masse, which made the problem easier for the enemy to solve:
Wave 1: 10 Spitfires and 16 Vengeances vs 17 Zeroes. All 16 Vengeances shot down along with 2 Zeroes and 3 Spitfires. 2 bombers made attacks, 1 on Shinyo, 1 on Zuikaku, both missed.
Wave 2: 8 Spitfires and 13 Vengeances vs 15 Zeroes. 3 Zeroes and 10 Vengeances shot down, plus an 11th lost to flak. 3 bombers made attacks on Zuikaku, all missed.
Wave 3: 10 Spitfires with 16 Vengeances vs 1 Zero. Only one shootdown-a Vengeance by flak. Bombers attacked Hiyo, Kaiyo, Unryu, and Shokaku (and also heavy cruiser Maya). The only hit was on the Kaiyo, which appeared only moderately damaged.
Wave 4: 13 Spitfires and 9 Vengeances vs 16 Zeroes. 8 Vengeances shot down, the last one made a run for it.
It's interesting that despite the massive number of carriers present, the CAP was so weak. Were fighters being held in reserve for a long-range CAP, or for an airstrike?
Other air strikes:
Southeast of Bangkok (ground forces): 142 casualties
Reinforcements
PF Rockford arrives at Mare Island
RAF 231 Group Base Force arrives at Aden
Forgot to mention this "yesterday"--USS Yorktown CV-10 has completed its torpedo damage repairs at Alameda and is headed back to Pearl under heavy escort.
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