Il-2 Sturmovik 1946

Raid on Malalag 
7.12.41
-----------------
The ship's assignment at the beginning of the Pacific War was to support the 

invasion of the Philippines, initially by attacking the American naval base at 

Davao, Mindanao on the morning of 8 December. Her air group had not 

changed, but four of each type of aircraft were spares. Ryūjō '​s initial airstrike 

consisted of 13 B5Ns escorted by nine A5Ms with a smaller, follow-on airstrike 

later in the day by two B5Ns and three A5Ms. They accomplished little, 

destroying two Consolidated PBY seaplanes on the ground for the loss of one 

B5N and A5M. The ship covered the landing at Davao on 20 December and her 

B5Ns attacked a British oil tanker south of Davao. In January 1942 her aircraft 

supported Japanese operations in the Malay Peninsula

Target: 
The war began. The enemy has his troops in the Gulf Malalag, unfortunately we 

do not know what awaits us here. Explore with your squadron area and destroy 

everything you can find.

Raid on Davao 
7.12.41
------------------------

Target: 
The second wave of bombers destroyed the fuel tank in Davao

Raid on radio station
19.12.41
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Target:
Destroy radio station on cape of San Augustin

Raid on tanker near Mindanao 
20.12.41
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Target
search and destroy enemy tanker sailing from Davao

Raid on Singapore airfield 
18.1.42
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In mid-February 1942, Ryūjō '​s aircraft attacked ships evacuating from Singapore, 

claiming eight ships damaged, three burnt, and four sunk. They also covered 

convoys carrying troops to Sumatra. The ship was unsuccessfully attacked by 

several Bristol Blenheim light bombers of No. 84 Squadron RAF on 14 February. 

The following day two waves of B5Ns, totaling 13 aircraft, attacked the British 

heavy cruiser Exeter, but only managed to damage the ship's Supermarine 

Walrus seaplane. Follow-on attacks later that day were also unsuccessful. Two 

days later, B5Ns destroyed HNLMS Van Ghent, a Dutch destroyer that had run 

aground in the Gaspar Strait and been abandoned on 14 February. The carrier 

sailed to Saigon, French Indochina the next day and arrived on 20 February. A 

week later she was assigned to cover the convoy taking troops to Jakarta, Java. 

Her aircraft participated in the Second Battle of the Java Sea on 1 March and six 

B5Ns sank the American destroyer Pope after it had been abandoned by its 

crew. Six other B5Ns bombed the port of Semarang, possibly setting one 

merchantman on fire.

Target:
Destroy enemy equipment on airfield

Raid on Pelembang 
10.2.42
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Target:
Destroy train station in Pelembang city

Raid on Singapore port  
13.2.42
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Target:
Destroy enemy equipment  or ships in Singapore port

Raid on ships escaped from Singapore 
14.2.42
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Target:
British troops cowardly retreat from Singapore. Destroy fleeing ships.

Raid on ABDA squadron 
15.2.42
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Target:
Search and destroy enemy group of war ships

Raid on USS Pope 
29.2.42
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Target:
Search and destroy enemy destroyer retreating from battle.

Raid on SS Sinabang 
2.3.42
---------------------------
Target:
Search and destroy enemy cargo ship

Raid on enemy forces in Burma 
20.3.42
---------------------------------
Ryūjō arrived in Singapore on 5 March and the ship supported operations in 

Sumatra and escorted convoys to Burma and the Andaman Islands for the rest of 

the month. On 1 April, while the 1st Air Fleet was starting its raid in the Indian 

Ocean, Malay Force, consisting of Ryūjō, six cruisers, and four destroyers, left 

Burma on a mission to destroy merchant shipping in the Bay of Bengal. B5Ns 

damaged one freighter on 5 April before the force split into three groups. Ryūjō

'​s aircraft bombed the small ports of Cocanada and Vizagapatam on the 

southeastern coast of India the next day, doing little damage, in addition to 

claiming two ships sunk and six more damaged during the day. The carrier and 

her escorts, the light cruiser Yura and the destroyer Yugiri claimed to have sunk 

three more ships by gunfire. All together, Malay Force sank 19 ships totaling 

almost 100,000 gross register tons (GRT), before reuniting on 7 April and arriving 

at Singapore on 11 April. A week later, her B5Ns were detached for torpedo 

training and the ship arrived at Kure on 23 April for a brief refit.

Target:
Support our ground troops. Destroy the enemy defensive positions

Raid on convoy near India 
5.4.42
--------------------
Target:
Sink enemy ships

Raid on convoy near India 
6.4.42
--------------------
Target:
Sink enemy ships

Raid on Visakhapatnam 
7.4.42
-------------------------------
Target:
Destroy enemy equipment  or ships in Visakhapatnam port

Raid on Dutch Harbor 
3.6.42
-------------------------
The newly commissioned carrier Jun'yō joined Carrier Division 4, under the 

command of Kakuta, with Ryūjō on 3 May 1942. They formed the core of the 2nd 

Carrier Strike Force, part of the Northern Force, tasked to attack the Aleutian 

Islands, an operation planned to seize several of the islands to provide advance 

warning in case of an American attack from the Aleutians down the Kurile 

Islands while the main body of the American fleet was occupied defending 

Midway. Ryūjō '​s air group now consisted of 12 A6M2 Zeros and 18 B5Ns, plus 

two spares of each type. The ship transferred to Mutsu Bay on 25 May and then 

to Paramushiro on 1 June before departing the same day for the Aleutians.

At dawn on 3 June, she launched nine B5Ns, escorted by six Zeros, to attack 

Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. One B5N crashed on takeoff and only six of 

the B5Ns and all of the Zeros were able to make it through the bad weather, 

destroying two PBYs and inflicting significant damage on the oil storage tanks 

and barracks. A second airstrike was launched later in the day to attack a group 

of destroyers discovered by aircraft from the first attack, but they failed to find the 

targets. One Zero from Ryūjō from the second strike was damaged by a Curtiss 

P-40 and crash landed on the island of Akutan. The aircraft, later dubbed the 

Akutan Zero, remained largely intact and was later salvaged and test-flown. 

Another airstrike was launched on the following day by the two carriers that 

consisted of 15 Zeros, 11 D3As, and 6 B5Ns and successfully bombed Dutch 

Harbor. Shortly after the aircraft were launched, the Americans attacked the 

carriers, but failed to inflict any damage. A Martin B-26 Marauder bomber and a 

PBY were shot down by Zeros, and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber was 

shot down by flak during the attack.

Ryūjō arrived back at Mutsu Bay on 24 June, but departed for the Aleutians four 

days later to cover the second reinforcement convoy to Attu and Kiska Islands 

and remained in the area until 7 July in case of an American counterattack. She 

arrived at Kure on 13 July for a refit and was transferred to Carrier Division 2 a 

day later.

Raid on Dutch Harbor II. 4.6.42

Raid on Lunga Point 
24.8.42
------------------------------

The American landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi on 7 August caught the 

Japanese by surprise. The next day, Ryūjō was transferred to Carrier Division 1 

and departed for Truk on 16 August together with the other two carriers of the 

division, Shōkaku and Zuikaku. Her air group consisted of 24 Zeros and nine 

B5N2s. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, 

ordered Truk to be bypassed and the fleet refueled at sea after an American 

carrier was spotted near the Solomon Islands on 21 August. At 01:45 on 24 

August, Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, commander of the Mobile Force, 

ordered Ryūjō and the heavy cruiser Tone, escorted by two destroyers, 

detached to move in advance of the troop convoy bound for Guadalcanal and to 

attack the Allied air base at Henderson Field if no carriers were spotted. This 

Detached Force was commanded by Rear Admiral Chūichi Hara in Tone.

Ryūjō launched two small airstrikes, totaling six B5Ns and 15 Zeros, beginning at 

12:20 once the Diversionary Force was 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) north 

of Lunga Point. Four Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters from Marine Fighter 

Squadron VMF-223 on combat air patrol (CAP) near Henderson Field spotted 

the INCOMING Japanese aircraft around 14:20 and alerted the defenders. Ten 

more Wildcats from VMF-223 and VMF-212 scrambled, as well as two United 

States Army Air Corps Bell P-400s from the 67th Fighter Squadron in response. 

Nine of the Zeros strafed the airfield while the B5Ns bombed it with 60-kilogram 

(130 lb) bombs to little effect. The Americans claimed to have shot down 19 

aircraft, but only three Zeros and three B5Ns were lost, although another B5N 

was forced to crash-land. Only three Wildcats were shot down in turn.

Around 14:40, the Detached Force was spotted again by several search aircraft 

from the carrier USS Enterprise, although the Japanese ships did not 

immediately spot the Americans. They launched three Zeros as CAP at 14:55, 

shortly before two of the searching Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers 

near-missed Ryūjō 150 meters (490 ft) astern with four 500-pound (230 kg) 

bombs three minutes later. Two more Zeros reinforced the CAP shortly after 

15:00, just in time to intercept two more searching Avengers, shooting down 

one. In the meantime, the carrier USS Saratoga had launched an airstrike 

against the Detached Force in the early afternoon that consisted of 31 Douglas 

SBD Dauntlesses and eight Avengers; the long range precluded fighter escort. 

They sighted the carrier shortly afterward and attacked. They hit Ryūjō three 

times with 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs and one torpedo; the torpedo hit 

flooded the starboard engine and boiler rooms. No aircraft from either Ryūjō or 

Saratoga were shot down in the attack.

The bomb hits set the carrier on fire and she took on a list from the flooding 

caused by the torpedo hit. Ryūjō turned north at 14:08, but her list continued to 

increase although the fires were put out. The progressive flooding disabled her 

machinery and caused her to stop at 14:20. The order to abandon ship was 

given at 15:15 and the destroyer Amatsukaze moved alongside to rescue the 

crew. The ships were bombed several times by multiple B-17s without effect 

before Ryūjō capsized about 17:55 with the loss of 7 officers and 113 crewmen.

Mission UPDATED to 1.1

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