Friday, May 31, 2019

Sign Art

On the side of a building on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art campus.
Context:
Nostalgia & reminiscence:

Nature Study: Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii)

Extreme southeast corner of The Tar Pits.
Little (& literal) shit-eater w/ an almost-prehensile nose.

Today's Un-Earthly Activities

U.S. Navy chopper, judging from the gray.
Giant Meteor/Asteroid coming for a palm tree.

Roky Erickson Into Oblivion At 71

A Month Passes Like Nothing

WED 31 MAY 1944
Pacific
Operations against the Japanese NA line continue: destroyer escort England (DE-635), assisted by destroyers McCord (DD-534) and Hazelwood (DD-531) and destroyer escorts George (DE-697), Raby (DE-698), and Spangler (DE-696), sink submarine RO-105 200 miles north-northwest of Kavieng, 00°47'N, 151°30'E.

Submarines Barb (SS-220) and Herring (SS-233) rendezvous in Sea of Okhotsk about 150 miles west of Matsuwa Island, Kurils, to plan operations against Japanese shipping in the vicinity. Subsequently Herring attacks convoy NE, sinking escort vessel Ishigaki and army cargo ship Hokuyo Maru west of Matsuwa Island, 48°00'N, 153°00'E' (see 1 June 1944); Barb comes across convoy NE and sinks army cargo ship Madras Maru 48°21'N, 151°20'E, and transport Koto Maru southwest of Paramushiro, 47°55'N, 151°42'E.

Japanese river gunboat Kotaka is sunk by Chinese aircraft in the Yangtze River.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

House Of Cards/Whole Shithouse About To Fall Down/Go Up In Flames

Down Down Down Down Down!

John Bowden / The Hill:
Dow futures plummet after Trump announces new Mexico tariffsPhilip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Daniel Moritz-Rabson / Newsweek:
U.S. economy slips from first to third place in global competitiveness ranking amid Trump's tariffs  —  The United States lost its spot as the world's most competitive economy amid an ongoing trade war with China, according to an annual ranking from the IMD World Competitiveness Center.
Thanks, Trump, you fat brain-dead lump!

Today In Zero-Tolerance

Off w/ their fucking heads!
Joyce Lee / Reuters:
North Korea's Kim Jong Un carrying out purge after Hanoi summit collapse: Chosun Ilbo  —  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea executed Kim Hyok Chol, its special envoy to the United States, and foreign ministry officials who carried out working-level negotiations for the second U.S.-North Korea summit in February …
Julia Arciga / The Daily Beast:   North Korea Executes Its Special Envoy to U.S., Officials Involved in Trump-Kim Summit: Report
Aaron Colen / TheBlaze:   North Korea has executed officials involved with Hanoi summit between Kim Jong Un and Pres. Trump
Shinhye Kang / Bloomberg:
North Korea Executed Envoy Over Trump-Kim Summit, Chosun Reports  —  North Korea executed its former top nuclear envoy with the U.S. along with four other foreign ministry officials in March after a failed summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in Vietnam, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported.
John Bowden / The Hill:   North Korea envoy executed over failed Trump-Kim summit: report
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:   Top North Korean Official in Charge of Kim-Trump Nuclear Summit
Frank Miles / Fox News:   North Korea executes 5 officials over failed Kim-Trump summit: South Korean media
Taegan Goddard / Political Wire:   North Korea Envoy Executed Over Trump-Kim Summit
We don't necessarily oppose this approach to governmental malfeasance & misdemeanors, if you know what we mean.

Subs Still Sinking Ships

TUE 30 MAY 1944
Pacific
Submarine Guitarro (SS-363), despite proximity of at least three escort vessels, sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Shisen Maru 60 miles southeast of Keelung, Formosa, 24°32'N, 123°24'E.

Submarine Pompon (SS-267) sinks Japanese merchant passenger/cargo ship Shiga Maru off Murotosaki, Japan, 33°15'N, 134°11'E.

Submarine Rasher (SS-269) continues attack on Japanese convoy in the eastern Celebes Sea, sinking gunboat Anshu Maru about 110 miles north-northwest of Halmahera, 03°40'N, 126°58'E.

USAAF B-25s (11th Air Force) sink Japanese guardboat Shinyo Maru northeast of Paramushiro, Kurils, and damage guardboat No.3 Showa Maru east of the Kurils.

USAAF B-25s damage Japanese cargo vessel Nansei Maru west of Manokwari.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Block Island (CVE-21) Sunk

MON 29 MAY 1944
Pacific
Destroyers (Destroyer Squadron 41) bombard Japanese installations on northern coast of New Ireland, shelling the Medina Plantation area.

Submarine Rasher (SS-269) attacks Japanese convoy in the eastern Celebes Sea, damaging gunboat Anshu Maru about 110 miles north-northwest of Halmahera, 03°32'N, 127°07'E (see 30 May 1944).

Submarine Silversides (SS-236), despite the proximity of four escort vessels and aircraft, sinks Japanese transports Horaisan Maru and Shoken Maru about 100 miles north-northwest of Saipan, 16°23'N, 144°59'E.

Japanese convoy no. 3530 sails from Yokohama, bound for Saipan. The seven transports/cargo ships carry men and equipment of the Japanese Army's 118th Infantry (see 4-7 June 1944).

Atlantic
German submarine U-549 sinks escort carrier Block Island (CVE-21) and damages destroyer escort Barr (DE-576) but is sunk by destroyer escorts Ahrens (DE-575) and Eugene E. Elmore (DE-686) northwest of Canary Islands, 31°13'N, 23°03'W. [Read all the reports you can stand.]

Lock Her Up Too!

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Kellyanne Conway dismisses Hatch Act violation: ‘Let me know when the jail sentence starts’
The Dep't. of Justice must be corrupt if this self-admitted crook is still free. What more will it take to slap the bracelets on & charge her?

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Friendly Fire

SUN 28 MAY 1944
Pacific
Destroyer Stockton (DD-646) is damaged by shore battery, Biak Island, Schouten Islands, New Guinea, 01°00'S, 136°00'E.

PV-1 (VB 148) accidentally bombs submarine Permit (SS-178) off Truk, 06°45'N, 151°52'E, but the damage sustained by Permit does not prevent her from continuing her war patrol.

Mediterranean
U.S. motor torpedo boats sink German corvette UJ.2210 in Ligurian Sea.

Monday, May 27, 2019

Bus Bench

Operation HORLICKS

SAT 27 MAY 1944
Pacific
TF 77 (Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler) lands U.S. Army 41st Division (Major General Horace H. Fuller, USA) on Biak in the Schouten Islands off New Guinea, in Operation HORLICKS.
Heavy and light cruisers and destroyers of TG 77.2 (Rear Admiral Victor A.C. Crutchley, RN) and TG 77.3 (Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey) provide gunfire support.

Motor torpedo boat PT-339, damaged by grounding off Pur Pur, western New Guinea, 04°01'S, 144°41'E, is scuttled by her crew to prevent capture.

Submarine chaser SC-699 is damaged by crashing Japanese plane off western New Guinea, 01°12'S, 136°13'E.

British submarine HMS Templar sinks Japanese cargo ship Tyokai Maru in Strait of Malacca.

Mediterranean
U.S. motor torpedo boats attack three German F-lighters in vicinity of Vada Rocks, sinking two and damaging one; PTs also attack an enemy motor vessel.

Whoops!!

Haw Haw. Fuck You, America!

What the hell did the moron military expect? This rank stupidity & ignorance goes a long way toward explaining why these United Snakes have been bogged down in a land war in Asia for the past 18 yrs. Fucking losers.
Mihir Zaveri / New York Times:
Jesus Gawddamn Christ. Don't think that this reporter hasn't seen the effects of military service on human beings in the homeless shelters he's spent time in, or right fucking now on the streets of this city, where your former baby-killers are sleeping on the sidewalks. Fuck this country. Fuck all countries, nations & tribes, & the idiot jerks who serve them.

Not To Be Construed In Any Way As An Endorsement Of Whole Foods Or Any Other Corporate Entity

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Stupid Wires!

There's always something.

Gravity's

Yes, this Andre's Restaurant.

U.S.S. England Sinks Another Sub

FRI 26 MAY 1944
Pacific
Destroyers (TG 57.8) bombard Japanese shore batteries and installations on Mille Atoll, Marshalls.

Operations against NA line continue; destroyer escort England (DD-635) sinks Japanese submarine RO-108 110 miles northeast of Manus, 00°32'S, 148°35'E.

Submarine Cabrilla (SS-288) sinks Japanese transport (ex-seaplane carrier) Sany_ [sic] Maru about 80 miles north of Mendao, Celebes, 02°40'N, 124°35'E.
[Again, Combined Fleet w/ the full name & further info: "NNW of Mendao, Celebes. At 1500, LCDR William C. Thompson's submerged USS CABRILLA (SS-288) begins an attack on SANYO MARU. At 1642, she is hit by four of the five torpedoes Thompson fires. One torpedo hits the starboard No. 4 hold, another hits No. 6 hold. 35 men of the AA unit are KIA. At 1732, she is abandoned. At 1940, SANYO MARU sinks at 02-46N, 124-22E."]

Submarine Permit (SS-178) torpedoes and damages Japanese submarine I-44 west-southwest of Truk, 07°05'N, 152°00'E.

Submarine Tambor (SS-198) sinks Japanese stores ship Chiyo Maru west of the Marianas, 20°40'N, 141°50'E.
THE CHIYO MARU, A JAPANESE MERCHANT SHIP, SINKING AFTER THE SUBMARINE USS TAMBOR
ENGAGED IT IN A GUN ACTION. SURVIVORS ARE CLAMBERING TO SAFETY IN THE SHIP'S RIGGING.
(NAVAL HISTORICAL COLLECTION)

Read Time For Last Round-Up

Read time: 1 minute

Get Off The Air!

I bitterly resent that orange rat bastard Trump interrupting my zen while I'm watching sumo wrasslin' live. Fuck off.

Saturday, May 25, 2019

"... shore battery fire improved ..."

THU 25 MAY 1944
Pacific
Submarine Flying Fish (SS-229) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking guardboat Daito Maru and merchant cargo ship Osaka Maru north of Palau, 11°14'N, 135°12'E.

Mediterranean
Destroyer Kendrick (DD-612) shells German positions in the Ardea, Italy, area; enemy shore battery fire improved but inflicts no damage.

Open Streets Part II: Papers Please

Oh, the irony. Even as the bicyclists were opening the streets a month ago, the police were on the same corner checking papers. At least the police haven't expanded this to checking transit passengers (except for fares) & pedestrians.
The bicyclists are massing just to the right.
Police Porta Potty.
++irony: Memorial Day wknd., honoring "those who died for freedom, yada", is used to trample on the freedoms for which the dead allegedly sacrificed themselves. On the other hand, people who drive cars shouldn't have any rights. Those things are dangerous!

Nex' 2 Last 1

Read time: 0 minutes
You'll spend a min. contemplating the image, however.

Friday, May 24, 2019

"Andy"

VR Experience

I cannot fucking imagine anything in which I could possibly be less interested than a "team-based VR experience",
other than a hot-lead enema.

A Star Is Born

"... premature explosion of own torpedo ..."

WED 24 MAY 1944
Pacific
Operations against the Japanese NA line continue; destroyer escort England (DE-635) sinks submarine RO-116, 225 miles north-northwest of Kavieng, 00°53'N, 149°14'E.

Submarine Flying Fish (SS-229) is damaged by premature explosion of own torpedo, Philippine Sea, 12°54'N, 134°52'E, but remains on patrol.

Submarine Gurnard (SS-254), in attack on Japanese convoy in the Celebes Sea, sinks fleet tanker Tatekawa Maru just off the coast of Mindanao, 05°45'N, 125°43'E.

Submarine Lapon (SS-260), in South China Sea, sinks Japanese cargo ship Bizen Maru 07°20'N, 109°20'E and merchant cargo ship Wales Maru, 07°16'N, 109°04'E.

Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) lands men and supplies on Samar, P.I.

Submarine Perch (SS-313) attacks Japanese convoy no. 88 in South China Sea, 22°15'N, 118°05'E, but without success. It is the convoy's last adventure with U.S. forces.

Submarine Raton (SS-270) attacks Japanese convoy about 220 miles east of Singapore and 150 miles west of Sarawak, sinking escort vessel Iki and damaging escort vessel Matsuwa, 01°17'N, 107°53'E.

Japanese transport Taichi Maru is sunk in collision near Chinhai, China, 30°00'N, 116°48'E.

Mediterranean
U.S. motor torpedo boats PT-202, PT-213 and PT-218 (Lieutenant Commander Robert A. Allan, RNVR) sink German corvette UJ.2223 (ex-Italian Navy corvette Maragone) and damage corvette UJ.2222 (ex-Italian Navy corvette Tuffeto) off Vada Rocks.

Ride 'Em Cowboy

Why bother?

A Taco Truck On Every Corner

Pikers. We have three per block.

Who Died, Mickey D's?

No other flags we saw were at half-staff. Not the big "Look at this, we love America, please don't kill us" flag at the Islamic Center,
NB: Decommissioned police car (We looked, no devil-box or anything else inside.) protecting the Islamic Center.
nor those atop the Wilshire Royale.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Off W/ Their Heads, & Puck Fence!

Saved from the enforced consumption of the K.C. Star's no ad-blocking policy.

Former GOP Rep. Tom Coleman: Trump, Pence are illegitimate. Impeach them.

According to the redacted Mueller report, candidate Donald Trump, along with members of his team, on multiple occasions welcomed Russian interference on his behalf during the 2016 presidential campaign. For example, the report details a meeting between the Trump campaign chairman and a Russian intelligence asset where polling information and campaign strategy were shared.

While Mueller did not find sufficient evidence that Trump or his campaign had violated a criminal statute, the net effect was that the Trump campaign encouraged a foreign adversary to use and misrepresent stolen information on social media platforms to defraud U.S. voters. Because the presidency was won in this way, the president’s election victory brought forth nothing less than an illegitimate presidency.

Mueller presents a strong case that in addition to receiving campaign help from Russian operatives, the president obstructed justice — a crime in itself. Mueller declined to charge the sitting president because of current Department of Justice regulations that prohibit it. That policy is wrong in my opinion, and must be changed in the future when reason and rationality return to our politics.

What should be done now? There are some Democratic members in the House majority who want to put off any discussion of impeachment until after the 2020 election. They believe it will only strengthen the hand of the president, who will claim he is a victim and will respond with his mantra of, “No collusion, no obstruction, case closed.” Other Democratic members of Congress want impeachment proceedings to begin.

The political calculus not to pursue impeachment is understandable. Current polls show a majority of voters do not favor it. But critical times require exceptional leadership. Lawmakers of both parties should not blindly follow the polls but instead follow the evidence and their conscience. Politics should not rule the day. Partisan politics is what got us to this dangerous place — so dangerous, I believe, that the survival of our democracy is at risk.

Contemplate the possible behavioral problems of a Trump untethered from the law and who is frequently untethered from reality. Would we be surprised if he were to repeatedly brandish his get out of jail card while breaking, at will, democratic norms, presidential precedents and criminal statutes? Trump said early in his campaign that he “could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” Are we now at that point?

Because DOJ regulations put a president above the law while in office, I believe the only viable option available is for the House of Representatives, under Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution, to open its own investigation, hold public hearings and then determine if they should pursue removal of the president through impeachment. There is a trove of evidence in the Mueller report indicating Trump has committed multiple impeachable offenses, including abuse of power and lying to the American public. Both were part of the articles of impeachment brought against President Richard Nixon. This process would allow a full public review of wrongdoing, while providing Americans an opportunity to obtain a better understanding of the consequences to our national security and the lingering threat to our democracy.

If this process leads to impeaching Trump in the House of Representatives and also results in convicting him in the Senate, his illegitimacy would survive through Vice President Mike Pence’s succession to the presidency. Because the misdeeds were conducted to assure the entire Trump-Pence ticket was elected, both former candidates — Pence as well as Trump — have been disgraced and discredited. To hand the presidency to an illegitimate vice president would be to approve and reward the wrongdoing while the lingering stench of corruption would trail any Pence administration, guaranteeing an untenable presidency. If Trump is impeached, then Pence should not be allowed to become president. The vice president should resign or be impeached as well if for no other reason that he has been the chief enabler for this illegitimate president.

Alternatively, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution provides for the removal of a president. It sets forth a cumbersome procedure requiring the vice president to convince a majority of the Cabinet to recommend removal to Congress because the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office. By a two-thirds vote, Congress could then end a presidency. The removal of the president and replacement with the vice president would have the same result as if the president had been impeached. The vice president would succeed to the presidency.

In addition to these constitutional provisions, the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 sets the order of officials who are in line to succeed a president, regardless of the reason. The first three officials listed are the vice president, the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate. If the vice president were unable to ascend to the presidency for whatever reason — for example resignation or impeachment — then the speaker would become president. Today that individual is Rep. Nancy Pelosi. It is unknown whether she would agree to serve as president or that the majority of the House would want her to do so.

The Constitution does not require the speaker of the House actually to be a member of the House of Representatives. Under these circumstances, with the specter of a national crisis looming over the vacancy of the presidency and vice presidency simultaneously, consideration should be given by House members to draft a nationally-known individual for speaker who would appeal to the vast majority of Americans. That person, after being sworn in as speaker, would ascend to the highest office in the land. Under the provisions of the 25th Amendment, the new president would nominate a vice president, who would take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both chambers of Congress.

What if House Democrats decide not to embark on impeachment? If that were the case, I believe the public would conclude Democrats are no better than the Republicans who have enabled Trump for the past two years, putting party above country. It could hand Trump a second term. Failure to pursue impeachment is to condone wrongdoing. To condone wrongdoing is to encourage more of it. To encourage wrongdoing is to give up on the rule of law and our democracy. To give up on the rule of law and democracy invites autocracy and eventually dictatorship. History has taught us this outcome. In my lifetime, it has occurred in other places including the Soviet Union and Germany, as well as in Russia and Venezuela today.

Tom Coleman is a former Republican U.S. representative from Missouri. He has served as an adjunct professor at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and at American University.
At last, someone dragged that bastard Pence in. Achomlices are no less guilty.

Scooter Trash

Hollywood, Jesus & 24 Hr. Dope!

ROAD ENDS 150 FT

Auto Spa

Car culture.

Prisoners Taken

TUE 23 MAY 1944
Pacific
TG 58.3 (Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery) planes bomb Japanese installations on Wake Island.

Destroyer escort England (DE-335) sinks Japanese submarine RO-104, 250 miles north-northwest of Kavieng, 01°26'N, 149°20'E.

Submarine Cero (SS-225) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taijun Maru and teams with Ray (SS-271) to torpedo and damage army tanker Kenwa Maru off Halmahera Island, 02°42'N, 128°08'E.

Submarine Raton (SS-270) sinks Japanese merchant vessel Koshin Maru west of Borneo, 00°25'S, 107°34'E.

PB4Y damages Japanese cargo vessel Hakko Maru near Helen Reef, 00°25'S, 107°34'E.

Mediterranean
Light cruiser Brooklyn (CL-40) and destroyers Kearny (DD-432) and Ericsson (DD-440) shell enemy positions in vicinity of Ardea, Italy, with good results. The three ships repeat bombardment of troop concentrations and supply dumps on 24 and 26 May with equal success.

Light cruiser Philadelphia (CL-41) and destroyer Laub (DD-613) are damaged in collision 20 miles southwest of Nettuno, Italy, 41°11'N, 12°30'E.

Submarine chaser PC-626 captures German speedboat off Anzio and takes crew prisoner.

FYC

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/05/mikes-blog-round-20

50 Yrs. Ago

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Loony Tune

No link because fuck Raw Story & their shitty, ad-choked & literally unreadable website. Glibertarian phony leftist pigs! Also, we only arsed ourself for the embedded musical selection.

Trump ‘is really coming unglued’: Conservative worries the president seems more ‘unhinged’ every day

Damn album's 33 yrs. old. An entire generation passes like nothing.

Sunset w/ Concertina Wire

Today's Effort

And it is an effort. (Nice pic posted in the comments, however.)

Destroyers & Destroyer Escorts
Do Stuff

MON 22 MAY 1944
Pacific
Destroyers Bancroft (DD-598) and Edwards (DD-619) bombard installations at Wotje Atoll, Marshalls.

Destroyer escort England (DE-635) sinks Japanese submarine RO-106, 250 miles north of Kavieng, New Ireland, 01°40'N, 150°31'E.

Submarine Bluegill (SS-242) is damaged by aerial bombs off Halmahera, 04°00'N, 128°06'E, but remains on patrol.

Submarine Picuda (SS-382), patrolling the South China Sea, comes across Japanese gunboat Hashidate towing crippled merchant passenger/cargo ship Tsukuba Maru (the latter had been damaged by USAAF B-24s [14th Air Force] on 20 May 1944), accompanied by salvage vessel Sonju Maru. Picuda sinks Hashidate and Tsukuba Maru off Pratas Island, 21°08'N, 117°20'E; Sonju Maru flees in haste and reaches Hong Kong without further incident.

Submarine Pollack (SS-180) attacks Japanese convoy, and sinks destroyer Asanagi, 180 miles west-northwest of Chichi Jima, Bonins, 28°19'N, 138°54'E.

Submarine Ray (SS-271) attacks same Japanese convoy sought by Cero (SS-225) the day before, and sinks army cargo ship Tempei Maru off south coast of Mindanao, 05°42'N, 127°37'E.

British submarine HMS Sea Rover sinks Japanese gunboat Koshu Maru off southern entrance to Penang harbor, Malaya, in Strait of Malacca, 04°52'N, 100°18'E.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Today In Romance: Elected Republican Official S-E-X & Assault

LUCEDALE, Miss. (AP) — A police report says a south Mississippi lawmaker punched his wife in the face after she didn't undress quickly enough when the lawmaker wanted to have sex.

Republican state Rep. Doug McLeod of Lucedale was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

The Sun Herald reports the document was filed with the George County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies report McLeod was drunk and holding a glass of alcohol when they arrived. Deputies report McLeod punched his wife and bloodied her nose. When officers told McLeod a domestic assault had been reported, they say he replied "Are you kidding me?"

McLeod is free on bail. He didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The 58-year-old McLeod has represented George and Stone counties since 2012. He's unopposed for re-election this year.

Clusterfuck At Pearl

SUN 21 MAY 1944
Pacific
In a reprise of the type of raid conducted on Jaluit on 13-14 May, Navy F4Us and PV-1s and USAAF B-24s and B- 25s bomb Japanese positions on Wotje atoll. Navy PB2Ys had harassed the atoll the previous night.

Accidental explosion occurs in tank landing ship LST-353 as she is being loaded with mortar ammunition at West Loch, Pearl Harbor. The cataclysmic blasts result in the loss of LST-39, LST-43, LST-69, LST-179, LST-353, and LST-480; tank landing craft LCT-961, LCT-963, and LCT-983; 17 tracked landing vehicles (LVT); and eight 155-millimeter guns. LST-205 and LST-225 are damaged. During firefighting efforts, big harbor tugs Osceola (YTB-129) and Hoga (YTB-146); medium harbor tug Geronimo (YTM-119); little harbor tugs YTL-233, YTL-306, YTL-307, YTL-308, YTL-309, and YTL-339; net tender (tug class) Tamaha(YTM-12); and Navy-chartered tug Mikioi suffer varying degrees of damage.

Oiler Neches II (AO-47) is damaged by mine about 630 miles west of Los Angeles. [Quoth the Wiki: She was once again en route to San Pedro when, at 18:15 on 21 May 1944, she struck a mine off the California coast. The explosion tore a 22-foot (6.7 m) by 15-foot (4.6 m) hole in her port side, necessitating a week of drydock repairs at San Pedro. Final repairs were completed in two months, and she was back at Pearl Harbor on 27 July. Images from 17 July & 30 November 1944, & bonus footage of Neches II some 20 yrs. later.]

Submarine Billfish (SS-286) damages Japanese cargo ship Bokuy_ [sic] Maru west-southwest of the Marianas, 13°42'N, 140°41'E; Coast Defense Vessel No.12 counterattacks unsuccessfully. [Combined Fleet has the full name (& differing minutes of latitude & longitude): "At 0925, LCDR Vernon C. Turner's (USNA ’33) USS BILLFISH (SS-286) torpedoes BOKUYO (MUTSUYO) MARU at 13-44N, 140-46E. CD-12 remains with BOKUYO MARU. Later, TENRYUGAWA MARU takes the ship in tow."]

Submarine Cero (SS-225) attacks, unsuccessfully, Japanese convoy, and survives enemy antisubmarine efforts conducted by Anshu Maru, No.5 Takunan Maru, and No.17 Shonan Maru, 05°15'N, 128°55'E.

Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) attacks, unsuccessfully, 12-ship Japanese convoy en route from Cebu to Wasile, 08°15'N, 127°15'E.

Goose Eggs

Today's apparently futile effort.
Why bother indeed?

Monday, May 20, 2019

Routine Continues

SAT 20 MAY 1944
Pacific
TG 53.18 (three light cruisers and eight destroyers) bombards Japanese shore installations on Alu, Poporang, and Morgusia Islands, Shortlands. Enemy return fire damages light cruiser Montpelier (CL-57) and straddles light cruiser Cleveland (CL-55).

Submarine Angler (SS-240) sinks Japanese transport _tori [sic*] Maru (ex-Panamanian Boyaca), 05°57'N, 105°12'E, and survives depth-charging by escort ship.

Submarine Bluegill (SS-242) despite presence of two escort vessels, sinks Japanese army cargo ship Miyaura Maru in the narrow passage between Halmahera and Morotai, 02°14'N, 128°05'E.

Submarine Picuda (SS-382) is damaged by depth charges, Luzon Strait, 19°00'N, 120°45'E, but remains on patrol.

Submarine Silversides (SS-236) sinks Japanese gunboat Shosei Maru off Saipan, 13°32'N, 144°36'E.

Planes from small carrier San Jacinto (CVL-30) sink guardboat Yawata Maru 150 miles north of Marcus Island, 31°22'N, 154°59'E.

USAAF B-24s (14th Air Force) bomb Takao-bound Japanese convoy No. 88 in South China Sea south of Hong Kong, sinking army cargo ship Shinju Maru, 21°20'N, 117°10'E, and damaging Tsukuba Maru and Kori Maru. Gunboat Hashidate takes the crippled Tsukuba Maru in tow; Kori Maru reaches Takao unaided. Salvage vessel (ex-Chinese) Sonjo Maru is dispatched to aid Hashidate (see 22 May 1944).

Other USAAF B-24s (14th Air Force) attack Japanese warships sent to aid convoy No. 87, attacked the previous day, damaging auxiliary submarine chaser Kinsui Maru in the South China Sea, 22°00'N, 118°25'E.

*Apparently the Otori Maru.

Links

Great liberal blog posts.

(I'm a radical anarcho-nihilist. Why am I promoting "liberals"?)

Sunday, May 19, 2019

U.S.S. England (DE-635) Begins Reign Of Anti-Submarine Terror

FRI 19 MAY 1944
James V. Forrestal of New York, Under Secretary of the Navy since 1940, becomes Secretary of the Navy. [Will not end well for Mr. Forrestal.]

Pacific
Aircraft from TG 58.6 (Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery) bomb Marcus Island; attacks continue on 20 May.

Japanese radio traffic intercepted by U.S. Navy intelligence allows deductions to be made as to where the new submarine cordon established to intercept American carriers (see 16 May 1944) will be; consequently, destroyer escort England (DE-635) sinks Japanese submarine I-16, on a resupply run to Buka, 140 miles northeast of Cape Alexander, Solomon Islands, 05°10'S, 158°10'E. I-16 is the first of five Japanese submarines that England will sink in a week's time as U.S. antisubmarine forces work their way down the NA line (see 22, 23, 24, 26, and 31 May 1944).

Submarine Skate (SS-305) sinks Japanese guardboat Meisho Maru off Ogasawara-Gunto, 28°56'N, 141°38'E.

USAAF B-24s (14th Air Force) on antishipping sweep of the South China Sea bomb Japanese convoy no.87, but only succeed in inflicting minor damage upon cargo ship Yamadori Maru (see 20 May 1944 et.seq.).

Mediterranean
Light cruiser Brooklyn (CL-40) shells German supply dumps at Terracina, Sperlonga, and Ganta, Italy.

Motor torpedo boat PT-204 is mistakenly torpedoed and damaged by PT-304 off Vada Rocks, Corsica.

Destroyers Niblack (DD-424) and Ludlow (DD-438) and British aircraft sink German submarine U-960, western Mediterranean, 37°20'N, 01°35'E.

Words On The Street

They write 'em, we shoot 'em!

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Objet Trouvé Du Jour

Today's Close Encounter

Fairfax Ave. south of Third St.
Guy in lower right: You appear to have a very shitty attitude. Try smiling once in a while, sunshine.
It is entirely possible this is the same ossifer we shot yesterday on Hollywood between Vine & Argyle, unless that light blue do-rag he was sporting under his helmet is L.A.P.D. under-helmet issue.

Andy's Blue Period

War Continues Dull

THU 18 MAY 1944
Pacific
Naval base and Naval Air Station, Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, are established.

Submarine Puffer (SS-268) attacks Japanese convoy in Java Sea, sinking army cargo ship Shinryu Maru about 40 miles east-southeast of Surabaya, 07°33'S, 113°16'E.

Japanese merchant tanker Nichiyoku Maru is sunk by mine (laid by British submarine HMS Tally Ho on 14 May), 03°41'N, 99°04'E.

Japanese army cargo ship Fukko Maru sinks as the result of damage inflicted by submarine Sand Lance (SS-381) the previous day.

USAAF B-25s damage Japanese cargo ship No.3 Shinnan Maru.

Another Of These