17 March 1942
Java
Raids at Surabaya cost him a lot of bombers today as my airbase is recovering from the earlier bombardments and we're getting more fighters up--we managed 24 fighters up at our peak. 1 P-39 lost vs 15 Sallies.
Our bombers returned to Kalidjati to bomb land forces, now that we know their ships are already empty. He reinforced his CAP so this was a tougher fight than yesterday. We lost 5 P-40s and 1 P-400 without shooting down any enemy fighters, but the bombers got through and hit their troops pretty hard.
That's really all that happened today, weather was bad over Thailand so no flights flew, all the ground "battles" were just artillery exchanges, subs fired at cargo ships and missed, etc.
18 March 1942
Java
A pair of our destroyers found 2 subs near Batavia and lightly damaged one with depth charges.
Day 3 of our strike at Kalidjati resulted in 2 P-40s, a P-400, and 3 139Ws shot down. But once again, we hurt their troops pretty badly.
Our 2 surviving Swordfish torpedo bombers flew a rare sortie and hit a cargo ship on the Borneo side of the Java Sea.
Timor
I've got a pair of minesweepers working on the minefield at Koepang. I'd rather have them on ASW duty but I have reinforcements to land and I'd rather not lose a portion of them to mines.
To the south, at Darwin, a pair of seaplane-tender-destroyers on ASW where those minesweepers would otherwise be found a sub and caused some light damage with depth charges.
Thailand
Strikes resumed on the retreating 7th Royal Thai Army and we caused significant troops casualties. Enemy fighter resistance was stiffer this time as they shot down 3 Hurricanes and 1 Blenhiem bomber at the cost of 1 Oscar.
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