Sorry I've been too busy to do the AARs last week. Will try to get caught up. Lots going on.
21 March 1943
CENTPAC
USS Lapon, already damaged from a mine at Marcus, was essentially run over by an enemy surface action task force headed east towards Midway or Wake. Lapon was spotted and depth charged relentlessly, forced to surface, and gunned down. At least we got a contact report out of it: 2 CA, 2CL, 9 DD.
The Wasp is nearby escorting an amphibious task force to the Marianas. Looks like it has a new job to do...
Burma
We lost 2 P-40s to a sweep by Tojos near Tuang Gy. Our retreating armies near Lashio suffered a land attack, but inflicted 949 casualties while sustaining only 153.
Indian Ocean
The KB launched a strike on Colombo: 47 Zeroes, 48 Kates, 34 Vals. They got 3 hits on the Royal Sovereign in port, damage appears minimal. They also hit the destroyer Van Galen, which is severely damaged. Our CAP took out 2 Zeroes on the way in but never got to the bombers. Fortunately Colombo's flak was impressive, causing at least 10 Vals and 5 Kates to fail to return. Our Beaufort torpedo bombers tried to attack smaller enemy task forces, but failed to score any hits.
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22 March 1943
The surface action group was actually a CVBG--USS Wasp lost
CENTPAC
Remember how I said the enemy sub in the Indian Ocean spotted our British CVBG without actually spotting the carriers? Well... USS Lapon didn't spot theirs..the Junyo, Taiho, and Ryhuo. So I just put my last American flattop into a fight with multiple enemy carriers, and it went like every other carrier vs carrier fight has gone so far...
The enemy strike arrived first: 27 Zeroes with 22 Kates, 9 Jills, 37 Vals, and 27 Judies. We had just 18 Wildcats on defense. The Zeroes splashed 5 of them while losing just 1 Zero and 1 Val. Flak got another 5 Vals and 2 Kates.
CV Wasp, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Massachusetts, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
CA Indianapolis, Bomb hits 1
DD Mugford, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
Our strike was 18 Wildcats and 27 SBDs; they had 19 Zeroes on CAP, which shot down 5 Wildcats while suffering 2 losses. 1 SBD was lost to flak, leaving 26 SBDs to have a go at their carriers...leading to one single hit on the Taiho, which did not incapacitate it.
The returning aircraft diverted to Wake, as the Wasp was a blazing inferno at this point. And Wake already had too many planes due to a squadron-swapping evolution being delayed by the enemy activity in the area.
An enemy follow-up strike finished off the Massachusetts with 2 bomb and 6 torpedo hits. A pair of Wildcats made it from Wake, enough to shoot down 1 Zero. They also sent a strike to hit ships at Wake itself. A P-40 on CAP shot down 1 of the Vals (out of 57 total attack planes); the strike sank a cargo ship and damaged a destroyer.
Burma
A more even fight when the enemy swept our P-40 CAP: 2 P-40s lost, but they gook 2 Tojos and an Oscar with them.
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