Well, you certainly can't be accused of evincing too much concern...nevertheless, take care and come back for more...So...I was hoping to ride the momentum and get Part 3 up ASAP, but my lung just collapsed (don't worry, it happens...been happening for nigh 20 years) and I think I am going to finally go get it fixed once and for all (minorly invasive, thorascopic pleuradesis not a huge deal) as of tomorrow expect 3-4 days of silence from me. I'm not ignoring you all, and once I am back I'll be sure to respond to any questions and comments.
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Regarding what is about to happen in the TL: yes, this particular butterfly is like Mothra. I won't bog everything down with the naval action but we will see some of its result after the fact. One thing to keep in mind is that with TF 34 not arriving on scene untill 1000, Kurita's Center Force will still hit the Taffys and Lee's battleline will catch it as it is withdrawing. Also, ITTL there is a lot more awareness around Center Force so Taffy-3 will know they are coming and can prepare accordingly.
The last update will hold me (I've gotten a bit behind), so no worries. Get well soon.So...I was hoping to ride the momentum and get Part 3 up ASAP, but my lung just collapsed (don't worry, it happens...been happening for nigh 20 years) and I think I am going to finally go get it fixed once and for all (minorly invasive, thorascopic pleuradesis not a huge deal) as of tomorrow expect 3-4 days of silence from me. I'm not ignoring you all, and once I am back I'll be sure to respond to any questions and comments.
Thx for the thought. You do recall correctly. It's not about the search engine, it's about the age of the Mac I'm using, which in computing terms qualifies as a museum piece by now.if memory serves, you tend to have problems following many of the links I provide so if you (or anyone else having trouble with the above link) want to find it, a web search for "US night fighter radars of wwii" should go right to that page (at least in Google it does, I haven't tested other engines).
I hate to start with a complaint, but that's what it is. Halsey didn't answer to or even recognize that nickname; I suspect it was a misprint in a news story, & it stuck."Bull"
Excellent work, as always. (Does that get old? ) I like the insights into radar intercepts, & radar operations. I'm going to echo tomo pauk: good information, easily understood because it was so well-presented--but more than that, it didn't feel like a textbook: it felt real.24 October 1944
Commander THIRD Fleet
BB-62 New Jersey, BATDIV 7, TG 38.2
East of Luzon, Philippines
What he did know, based on a captured plan (provided to him by ONI), was that Ozawa's CVs were nothing but a decoy. He fell for it.what Halsey did not know was that Nimitz and Kinkaid both thought Task Force 34 was already formed and waiting at the exit of San Bernardino.
I think this is quite likely in the "mop-up" attacks that will make up Part 3. With the Navy being largely spent (in fuel and ordnance) by the battles of Oct 24/25 I think it is very likely that Mac and Kenny will use the Lightnings long legs to keep the pressure on. This is made even more plausible by the fact that IOTL Tacloban AF was opened to the AAF by Oct 27, after landing many of Taffy-3's Aircraft during the 25th. ITTL It is very possible that the increased air support and shift in patrol load could help move the timetable for fully securing the area by a day or even two, meaning the P-38s may be able to make a one-way, heavily laden trip from Morotai to attack the fleet and land on Leyte as early as evening of the 25th but more likely morning of of the 26th. After which, they can take over much of the patrol and CAS from the Navy for a time.Hopefully we'll see some skip- or mastheight-bombing..
I was aware of that, actually. I included the one reference to "Bull" in the narrative during his introduction because that is how many of the average readers would know him. As far as I recall, I did not ever use the nickname again and he is never addressed as such in any way in the story. Please, though, if you find a second use of the name--outside his narrative introduction--let me know so I can clean it up!Halsey didn't answer to or even recognize that nickname;
Well, I haven't worked out the full details of the full effect of the change quite yet (i.e. which ships are lost/damaged and to what extent, etc) but have a vague idea--which may be sufficient for our needs from the Lighting pilots' point of view.it's been too long since I read an account of the TF34 fiasco to know, so let me ask: how much changed is the outcome?
Using MacArthur as a solution is a bit like using malaria as a cure for plague
Seconded.Glad to hear you got through your procedure OK.
I'd agree, it was well-handled, & IMO (as Draconis says), reasonable & plausible. (Which isn't something I ever expected to say in ref MacArthur. )While I would generally agree, I hope my in-narrative solution from this latest chapter was plausible and acceptable. The basic idea was to prompt Nimitz to contact Halsey early enough to a) keep TF34 within an adequate striking range to intercept Center Force, b) have the message be sent and/or received by different radio operators (due to a change of Watch) thereby changing the likely selected padding and its proper removal (i.e. get rid of "The World Wonders"); and c) give Halsey no choice but to appease his superiors in such a way that he would be able to spin any failure as theirs and not his.
I think I achieved what I set out to in an acceptably convincing way.
The narrative doesn't seem to allow for it (unless I've missed something), but it might be enough to overcome the confusion resulting from the sub reports, which (IMO) misled Halsey OTL. Enough (maybe) to pesuade him to take another option: wait for the Japenese to come to him, defeat both forces in detail, & then go after Ozawa. (That does seem to run contrary to Halsey's nature, & to his OTL actions: he had the intel to suggest this was the correct call, & he didn't make it.) Do P-38 reports TTL "tip the balance"?I see that you have used the greater utility of TTLs' P-38s and their longe range to provide a couple more sighting reports of the IJN Centre Force. .
I sholuld have known better.I was aware of that, actually.
I take the view perpetuting falsehoods or mistakes, however common, is a bad idea: better to try & stamp them out where possible. (And I found no more Bull, of any kind. {Bet you didn't know he had two ships named for him, didja? })I included the one reference to "Bull" in the narrative during his introduction because that is how many of the average readers would know him.
Well, my original hope was that, yes, the P-38 contact reports would "tip the balance." But the more research I did the more I discovered that elements of 3rd Fleet were well aware of Center Force's position and disposition through most of the relevant time period and that all of the needed information was already being fed to New Jersey's CIC but that Halsey was either not receiving all of them (he later claimed the messages were all coming in "at random" and "out of order") or was was ignoring. My interpretation after reading several contemporary accounts and after action reports, etc. is that Halsey did, indeed, know about Center Force but chose to completely ignore it for the greater glory of destroying the last the IJN Carriers. His later claims that the damage reports from 10/24 led him to conclude that this force was essentially combat ineffective, to me, read more like "CMA" excuses than anything.Do P-38 reports TTL "tip the balance"?
Yeah, I see your point and don't disagree. But the truth is that although he never used the nickname "Bull" doesn't make it any less an appropriate moniker for him. We would still introduce Thomas J. Jackson as "Stonewall" even though he never used the name for himself.I take the view perpetuting falsehoods or mistakes, however common, is a bad idea
It took a good five minutes for his rage to calm, then he gave the most difficult order of his life—to form TF 34, to be constituted as per the message at 24/I 1512 with the addition of the rest of the Battleships and their escorts from TG 38.3.
If the cruisers and destroyers he was leaving in the Carrier Task Groups were too thin to protect his carriers, he would blame Nimitz and Mac for forcing his hand. It would not be his fault if a CV goes down.FORM TF 34 PER INSTRUCTION 241512I PLUS MASSACHUSETTS, SOUTH DAKOTA, SANTA FE, MOBILE, DESRON 55 FROM TG 38.3. TF 34 TO MAKE COURSE 180, SEEK AND ENGAGE ENEMY BATTLE LINE DECISIVELY AT LONG RANGES.
Slight nitpick, but in the WW2-era phonetic alphabet, "E" would be "Easy", not "Echo"IFF gave no indication if it was friendly but they had learned that IFF was not completely reliable, especially at longer ranges, so the 421st had developed a way of naming the contacts: ABLE--or Allied-- identifies friendly contacts, ECHO for Enemy contacts, and BAKER for unknown Bogies. Flicking the light off, he continued on his current heading and kept an eye on the indistinct return to get an idea if it was moving and how fast. For all he knew it was a flock of birds or a false return from some atmospheric anomaly.
I'd consider that a legitimate flaw and worthy of correction--more than a nitpick in any case. Brain-fart I guess. I'll go fix it tomorrow.Slight nitpick, but in the WW2-era phonetic alphabet, "E" would be "Easy", not "Echo"
Don't apologize. I like the insight into your thinking. Yes, Bull would be apt (& your characterization of him fits my view, too: he didn't let the facts get in the way); your comparison to Jackson is interesting, & a view I hadn't considered. Bravo for making me think again. (I still wouldn't use Bull, myself. I'm also bullheaded. )Sorry if this post was a little rambley, it is my first day back at work and I am more worn out than I thought I would be.