from Brooke, CO, IJAF, and pilot in A3 Squadron
9 bomber aircraft dropped on target.
8 bomber aircraft made it back and 10 were shot down.
5 allied squadrons lost more than 50% of their planes, and 4 IJAF squadrons lost more than 50% of their planes.
Estimated score:
-10 for 10 bombers shot down
+9 for 9 bombers dropping on target
-2 for 4 IJA squadrons decimated
+5 for 5 allied squadrons decimated
----
+2 = total for this mission
This is an excellent, well-fought result for this mission.
We took off from Bangkok, with the Strike Group (made of B1, B2, A2, A3, N1, N2, HQ, and LR squadrons, all Zeros as A6M5b's for range) heading SW and the Sweep Group (made up of A1 and N3 squadrons, outfitted in A6M2's) heading toward Rangoon.
Once Strike group hit the boundary south of Bangkok, we headed west, hoping to squeeze past Tovay before scouts found us. About this time, I heard from ROC, N3 Squadron Leader, in the Sweep Group that they had found a flight or more of P-40's and were engaging. That was excellent news -- for us to be able to thin out the deadly P-40's early was better than I had hoped. "Go, ROC, go!" was shouted over the radio.
As the Strike Group got near Tovay, we could see the familiar field warnings going off there, first at the northern-most base, then at the middle base, then at the southernmost shipping. Damn. The allied scout was pressing south. I called for the Strike Group escorts to come in close on the bombers, and we continued west to see if we could make it by before the scout got far enough south to spot us. We started to scoot by Tovay -- I was scanning north of us for any bogie the whole time. Nothing. I started to feel better.
Then a report came in from Newman's N1 Squadron: A-20's NE of the bombers. Damn. The enemy now saw that we were sending a force west from Tovay. I called for Ramzey's LR Escorts to send Bf100c's to go get the A-20's, and N1 pressed on trying to catch. N1 pushed the A-20 (or A-20's -- I'm not sure if there was one or more) away from the bombers. I was right near the bomber formation, and I didn't get any visual ID on A-20's, so I don't think they got a visual on our bombers. Newman couldn't catch them, and Ramzey's Bf100's (although our fastest planes) couldn't either, but the LR Escorts pushed those A-20's far from the bombers, out of bogie range, and out of any ability to attack.
Now, the enemy knew where we were. I ordered all escorts to take their planned escort positions. Now that the enemy spotted us, we could fan out as normal.
Now it was time for me to consider what to do. We could continue west as was the original plan. We could cut north and hit Rangoon from the south. We could cut NE and try the land route again. We didn't have enough fuel to turn back east all the way to Bangkok, then north, and so on. I had already thought about all of these options should we be spotted near Tovay, but didn't pick one option beforehand as I wanted to be able to factor in information gained in battle up to that point. Heading NE would put us potentially into enemy aircraft early, as the Sweep Group was finding and fighting enemies in that direction. Heading north would mean that, if the enemy was vectoring fighters to our location (especially those fighters that originally had headed from Rangoon to Bangkok), the enemy would have an easier time getting at us. They would have less far to fly. If we continued west, those A-20's behind us, and the P-40's and whatever else was to the NE of us, would have a long tail chase at high speed, and our bombers were faster this time. (Speed is why I wanted the bombers to load only internal bombs this time, no external load.) I decided that we'd continue west as was our plan.
We did so and were unmolested on the way. ROC was reporting that Sweep Group was continuing to push toward Rangoon and was spotting enemy squadrons pushing SE, rushing past Sweep Group. The enemy was thinking we did have another bomber group taking the route we took in mission 3. This was excellent news. It was giving me hope that the enemy was at least splitting his forces. We got to column 7 and headed north, still unmolested and with no enemy bogies in sight.
Our pilots were doing a great job of altitude discipline, staying under the radar cap. This was helping us immensely.
We got visibility on land, still unmolested. I was starting to hope that we'd gotten lucky and that the enemy had lost us. Then, about two 40 miles SW of Rangoon, I saw a lot of bogies NE of the bombers. Our detached escort in that direction shortly reported enemy P-40's. Ah, well. It was too good to be true. Two P-40's were able to get through the detached escort on that side and come in to ID and then attack the bombers. Our bomber gunners and our close escort were able to keep them busy without loss to the bombers. Of course, now they really knew where all the bombers were, now that they got visual ID.
From this point forward, we had quite a fight to target. Every minute or two from then on, more enemies came in on the bombers, and a lot of the Zeros that started nearby the bombers (within about 8000 yards) got stripped away quickly or outpaced by the bombers. Here's a rundown to get a feel for it. Let "W" be when those first two P-40's were ID'ed by detached escort. Here is every minute from then through drop.
W+2: 18 bombers, 18 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby, 2 P-40's attack.
W+3: 18 bombers, 16 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby, the 2 P-40's are still around, but not able to attack all that well thanks to gunners and close escort.
W+4: 18 bombers, 8 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby, the 2 P-40's are still around not really in a position to attack, but the detached escort has been stripped, perhaps in a fight with P-40's that didn't get through, or just outdistanced by bombers travelling under full power.
W+5: 18 bombers, 8 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby, the 2 P-40's are still around, but not in position to attack. Detached escort is calling out more P-40's on the way in. I am calling for all detached escort to get to bombers if they can.
W+6: 18 bombers, 8 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby, the 2 P-40's have repositioned and managed another pass or two. Close escort is working hard, but sticking with the bombers and not getting drawn off by the P-40's. Consequently, the P-40's are able to dive out, move off, climb, and come back this way. This is probably better than Zeros getting diluted (since we only have 8 for all bombers currently).
W+7: 18 bombers (although some have now taken enough damage to begin smoking), 8 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby. One P-40 has been driven off or destroyed. 2 new P-40's are coming in from higher altitude.
W+8: 18 bombers (more smoking, amazing formation -- so close together!), 8 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby. 3 P-40's have done more attacks. Two are still in good position, but one is low. 7 Spitfires now nearby coming in from up high. Bombers are calling for help verbally.
W+9: 17 bombers (lost one, more smoking, still great formation), 8 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby. 3 P-40's in the fray. The Spits are just entering combat. More P-40's on the way. I am radioing that bombers need help urgently, calling in all available aircraft, and getting out typed reports of bomber position.
W+10: 16 bombers (Snak is down to 1 left, others have smoking aircraft, still great formation), 8 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby. 4 P-40's working the bombers. 7 Spitfires working the bombers. Close escort working hard. Gunners working hard. 4 more P-40's on the way up high. I continue to call for all available escorts to get to bombers and giving position. I am thinking we are screwed and will lose all our bombers short of target. There are so many enemies around.
W+11: 13 bombers (Snak is dead, Leigh is down 1, LilDawg is down 1, more smoking, formation has been disrupted and spread out a little finally by all the attacks), 12 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby. HQ flight has come in and joined the fight, mixing it up with Spits. 8 P-40's are in the fight now. 2 are driven low. 7 Spits are in the fight, and have done damage, but many are being driven off or driven low. Some are still in position for attacks. I continue to radio for help.
W+12: 10 bombers (Snak dead, LilDawg down 2, Flossy's plane is on fire, Leigh is down 1), 12 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby. 8 P-40's are nearby, but only 3 are in any position to attack anymore. 5 Spits are nearby, but only 1-2 are in a position to attack anymore. There is an F4F in the fray, but not in a position to attack.
W+13: 10 bombers (Snak dead, Flossy has 1 left, LilDawg down to 1 damaged bomber, Leigh lost one, Bino and Seeker have all 3). 12 Zeros and 1 Bf110 nearby, working hard. 4 more Zeros are on the way, 7000 yards out. 6 P-40's are in the area, with 2 in position for attacking. 3 Spits are left nearby, none really in attacking position. 1 F4F is around, but low. Zeros are getting a bit pulled behind the bombers, but are working hard on the enemies.
W+14: 10 bombers. 18 Zeros and 1 Bf110 near bombers. 4 P-40's, 3 Spits, and 2 F4F's in the area, but none any longer in position to attack bombers. The escorts are now mostly behind the bombers, with a few escorts slightly behind the bombers. But they have cleared the area out, so the bombers look safe for now. I am happy the area around bombers looks clear, but worried that we have so few fighters close with them. I continue to call on radio for fighters to get with bombers. We are now about half a sector west of target, and bombers are lining up and getting ready for the drop.
W+15: 10 bombers. 16 Zeros and 1 Bf110 near bombers. 6 P-40's, 3 Spits, and 1 F4F in area. Most are not in attack position, but one P-40 is. I am asking fighters to get forward to and in front of the bombers. Bombers are starting their calibration procedure, opening doors, getting ready for drop.
W+16: 9 bombers. 26 Zeros and 1 Bf110 near bombers. 2 P-40's nearby, but not in attack position. The one P-40 that was in attack position last time did its final pass and killed Flossy. We have run into the group that was racing east from Phitsanulok to cap Rangoon towns (the replacements for Sweep Group). The area looks clear. Still, we need fighters farther forward on and ahead of the bombers. I'm calling for that. The bombers have target in sight.
W+17: 9 bombers. Lots of escorts. 1 F4F is coming in high, in a position to attack bombers. Some escorts have gotten forward and on the bombers and are working to intercept the F4F. Bombers are in bombsights nearly ready to drop. I'm thinking, "Crap! If we lose any bombers while they are in sights, this it going to suck!" I'm over the bombers, except for LilDawg who is down to one bomber and who is ahead of the others and ahead of me. Two of our fighters are trying for the F4F, and the F4F seems like it might be going for LilDawg.
W+18: 9 bombers. Lots of escorts. The F4F did seem to get a run on someone. As I go in to help, I notice LilDawg's last plane is smoking. Flak bursts pop up all around. As I overfly the town on my way to the F4F, I look down to see numerous flashes and hear the "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM" of lots of bombs going off. The F4F is driven off for good. I call for bombers to head SE out of the area. LilDawg's engines finally quit as we exit the area, and he drifts farther and farther back. I stay with the other bombers, who have managed to form back up pretty well.
We fly SE for a while, and I ask for the bombers to head S -- we are getting too close to the Moulmein radar radius. The bombers do so. I am also calling for fighters to hurry up and get forward of the bombers. But now the bombers are without bombs and pretty fast compared to our Zeros. I'm with them, and I range ahead a bit. About 1.5 sectors SE of the target, I see bogies ahead. I go to full power and go ahead to check. A-20's! Three of them! Damn! I'm thinking we'll lose a bunch of bombers after all that -- A-20's are fast and have lots of firepower. I call it out and try to intercept. The other Zeros were able to move forward enough to get with the bombers, and they get on the A-20's as they attack the bombers. But there is one thing I forgot. A-20's don't have the amazing roll response of the P-40's, and so we are able to get on those A-20's. They can't roll and jink and evade us nearly as well on their way in. Also, they are bigger targets. The A-20's each got about one pass on the bombers before they were all killed or driven off. Gunners on the bombers might have gotten one, and the escorts handled the rest. I was pissed off at myself at one point for blowing a couple good shot opportunities on an A-20, but someone with better gunnery polished him off shortly after I stopped cursing anyway. :)
Now more Zeros caught up to us, and we had a very good escort group on and around those bombers as we headed back to Bangkok to land. A sector out, some of the rear guard spotted P-40's about 40 miles behind us and chasing and attacked them. As we got to Bangkok, I released all fighters to go tangled with the enemy P-40's that were chasing. The enemy had some other fighters show up there after a while, too, more P-40's and perhaps some other aircraft.
Many of the Zeros, though, were very low on fuel, and so a lot of pilots landed instead of heading back for a fight. I was thinking of a second bombing run for the day, but the allies were without their normal CO, many allies had left for the day, and many allies were committing to dogfights with Zeros thinking the day was nearly done. I figured we could have done a second bomber strike and creamed them, but it didn't seem like a sporting thing to do, so I declined.
I had a wonderful time in this scenario. It takes a lot of work to put one of these things together and pull it off. In Dok's case, he doesn't even get to fly in it and has to put up with complaining at times. Many thanks to Dok for this fine scenario and for his hard work on it. Thanks also to the CM's and other people who helped make it happen. I thank our opponents for the excellent and challenging fights.
Lastly, I thank the pilots of the IJAF, for without participation, these things don't work. Especially thanks to Newman, our XO, to ROC for his help, and to the squadron leaders. Being in those positions entails added responsibility and often entails paying more attention to directing activities than to flying, which is a sacrifice for our benefit that I truly appreciate.
-- Brooke, CO, IJAF