15 August 1942
Loose lips sink enemy troop ships
Marshall Islands
Three days ago, we received SIGINT indicating elements of the 4th Division were loaded on a ship headed to Kwajelein in the Marshalls. The 4th Division was previously known to be deployed to Lihue and Johnston, and we were monitoring an evacuation of Johnston at the time. So, assuming the report was accurate, I might have had both a point of origin and a destination for this ship. I already had subs in the Marshalls patrolling as a KB-early-warning network. Looking at the reefs and shallows and the likely direction of approach, I thought it likely the incoming transport would pass north of Wotje, so I placed 2 of 3 subs in that corridor, with the 3rd playing goalkeeper closer to Kwaj.
Today, a troop-carrying Aden class cargo ship was intercepted in that corridor by USS Saury. The cargo ship was unescorted, allowing Saury to attack on the surface. It hit the transport with 9 Mk14s (of 12 fired), 3 of which actually detonated, for a confirmed kill.
That looks like a rare intelligence success in this game. I don't actually know for a fact that the ship is the same one from the report, but the odds are pretty likely since it definitely came from the east.
Sumatra
Sweeps over Palembang eventually cleared the skies of my CAP, but enemy bombers didn't exploit that. 2 Oscars and 1 P-40 were lost.
Thailand
At Tavoy, our bombers hit the enemy troops in a thunderstorm, unmolested by fighters as they were sweeping Pisanoulke aggressively instead. The bombing was mostly ineffective due to the weather. We lost 2 bombers to flak. The enemy base forces shelled our troops, causing light casualties but enough to eliminate an infantry squad, which is discouraging.
The sweeps at Pisanoulke cost a Mohawk and a Zero.
Solomons
Our B-17s severely damaged an enemy sub in port at Guadalcanal.
Hawaii
Kingfishers reported another hit on an enemy submarine. We had a few engagements by surface ships as well, but no successful attacks. I thought I'd have taken care of this problem by now. We've detected 8 subs this turn, that's down from a peak of 10 a few days ago, but even without damage they have to return to port sometime.
Reinforcements and refits
The second Canadian squadron being deployed to Thailand has arrived in Calcutta, India, to have its planes assembled to fly to Rangoon.
SS Sturgeon taken out of commission to begin refit at Pearl Harbor (yes, I still have subs that haven't completed their 4/1942 radar installation. 5 left after this one.)