WesWorld

January 1, 1948
Today construction started on submarines IN-1 and IN-2. The submarines of the IN-1 class are expected to replace the old submarines of the Shinobi classes.


January 2. 1948
With the completion of the control facilities, the rocket center at Tanegashima was declared operational. While various parts still need to be built or completed, Tanegashima is now capable of launching rockets. As the Tanegashima Rocket Center has a much more terrain available for expansion than the Mageshima Rocket Center, the plans as indicated in Japan's new Space Development Program is to turn the Tanegashima Rocket Center into the main launch site for Japanese Rockets in the next few years.

The plan is to launch the first rocket from Tanegashima about 2 to 3 weeks from now.


January 7, 1948
Today, a Yokosuka MXY9 test aircraft flown by experienced pilot, Colonel Oonishi Manzo, broke the sound barrier. The rocket-powered aircraft was carried to a great altitude and drop launched by a modified Nakajima G10N1 bpmber. The rocket plane reached a speed of about 1375 km/h at an altitude of about 16000 meters. After the flight, as expected, Manzo managed to land in the wrong field. He was last seen running for his life being chased by infamous farmer "Old Man" Satake and his angry cattle.


January 15, 1948
Yesterday, China's Prime Minister invited representatived of the Russian Federation and the Philippines to Beijing in an attempt to expand economic relations. While the Russian ambassador accepted the invitation, the Philippine Government has shown no interest.

According to analysts, this so-called first step towards "relaxation" is obviously an attempt by China to get the Philippines to let their guard down so it would be vulnerable to a Chinese attack and Russia is being used as a pawn to get the Philippine government to trust China and its intentions.


January 22, 1948
Today was the first launch of a rocket using the new launch facilities at Tanegashima. The Hibari II rocket's launch was successful and the rocket reached an altitude of 159 kilometers. However a payload separation failure meant that the scientific instruments aboard were lost as the rocket came down.

The Hibari Project has been a mixed bag so far. Of the 45 Hibari I rockets launched, 37.8% of the flights were successful while with the Hibari II, 31.3% of the 32 flights so far were successful. The smaller, less complex Tsubame is more successful with 14 of its 18 flights being successful. Some also blame the mass-production aspect of the Hibari to be an aspect in its low success rate.

Despite the low success percentage of the Hibari rockets, scientists at the Tanegashima Rocket Center have indicated that they plan to keep on using the Hibari II rocket for the moment and even indicated the plan to launch it with a Tsubame I rocket on top as a "second step" a few months from now with which they hope to attain velocities and altitudes higher than ever reached before.


Also today, submarines I-312 and I-313 were completed.


January 27, 1948
Today saw the completion of the small experimental submarine I-314. It is equipped with an H2O2 propulsion system which is believed to give it better underwater speeds than any other submarine.



February 6, 1948
Reports have come of an incident in the Bering Strait of a Chinese warship being fired upon by Russian coastal batteries as the vessel violated Russia's area of authority by attempting to sail through Russian territorial waters.

The vessel in question is the Zhuhai, a vessel the Chinese claim to be a civilian ship but which is clearly beyond a doubt a military vessel. Therefore Russia was well within its rights to fire upon the Zhuhai which was a threat to its sovereignty.


February 7, 1948
Many Japanese politicians speak positively about expelled Russian Ambassador Grigori Adamov who bravely stond his ground in the face of Chinese political bullying. China should know that many a nation will not cave in under the pressure of this kind of bullying and it will only serve to make their position in this world more difficult.


February 14, 1948
Today was the first flight of a new jet design of Mitsubishi for the Army Air Force. The flight went without any incidents and with the current situation in the region, it is expected that the first operational jets will be delivered to squadrons next year.


February 17, 1948
There is a lot of talk about the incident in Cam Ranh Bay a few days ago where a local fisherman discovered a severed human leg with a swimfin attached to it. While some experts believe it is no doubt the work of the Chinese who are trying to blame some other nation for the incident, others say that in reality the incident is not an incident but the cold-blooded murder of an innocent tourist who was kidnapped, forced to dress up as a frogman, tied up and then lowered into the water and into the screw of the Russian Naval Vessel Stavropol.



March 7, 1948
During one of its test runs, experimental submarine I-314 reached a speed in excess of 25 knots.


March 19, 1948
With the approval of the sales plan by the Filipino Senate yesterday, the purchase of the Filipino Aircraft Carrier Linguyen by the Imperial Navy seems to be a fact.

When asked about the purchase, Marshal-admiral Yamamoto Isoroku told AWNR that he felt that there was still a lot of potential in the carrier despite its size and that it would be a waste if the Philippines were to scrap the vessel. With this move, Japan also prevents the carrier from falling into the hands of any would-be buyers who would immediately sell it on to China.


March 25, 1948
The light cruisers Abashiri and Akan were completed today and will soon leave to commence their shakedown cruises.

Nice to see Manzo is still alive!

He seemed like the perfect Guinea Pig to use for supersonic flight.

April 5, 1948
As part of their shakedown cruise, submarines I-402 and I-403 launched a total of a dozen MXY7B guided rockets at targets on the Okino Kita Iwa Firing Range with decent results. As expected, targets beyond visual range pose a problem making the MXY7B pretty much a fire-and-forget weapon for such targets.


April 20, 1948
Today, more MXY7B guided rockets were launched by submarines I-402 and I-403 at targets on the Okino Kita Iwa Firing Range.


April 30, 1948
Another big step in anti submarine warfare as the Kaibokans Miyake, Mikura, Awaji, Kurahashi, Nomi, Chiburi, Yashiro, Kusagaki and Uku of the Miyake class were all completed today and will commence their shakedown cruises next week.

Also the largest warship in the world, the Battleship Oshima, was launched today.



May 1, 1948
Ninja submarines IN-1 and IN-2 were launched today.


May 13, 1948
Today was a rather unsuccesful launch of the first Hibari/Tsubame 2-stage rocket combination. The separation was at 112 kilometers altitude but a premature engine cut-off of the Tsubame stage meant that the maximum altitude reached by the rocket was only 127 kilometers.



June 11, 1948
Today was another less than successful flight of a Hibari II rocket. There was a premature engine cut-off which meant the rocket only reached an altitude of 91 km. The rocket was carrying a special passenger in the form of a a rhesus monkey called Haruto (大翔= Great Flight). Unfortunately Haruto did not survive the trip as he died during the flight due to suffocation.


June 28, 1948
An earthquake rocked Fukui Prefecture late in the afternoon. The earthquake, recorded as 6 on the seismic intensity scale of the Central Meteorological Observatory, struck at about 5:13 p.m.

Shaking was felt as far as Mito in the east (~380 km), and Saga in the west (~630 km). As many people were cooking when the earthquake struck, many fires have broken out and fire departments are working hard to get them under control.



The Daiwa department store, one of many building damaged by the earthquake.


The collapsed Kuzuryu-gawa railway bridge.

July 1, 1948
A total of 22 coastal submarines of the new I-350 class were laid down today. Also started today were the construction of the Umi II Deep Sea Research Vessel and the conversion of the Nisshin Maru to turn it into a research vessel.

Also made today was an emergency payment by Argentina to correct the mistake in their calculations for the payment of their submarines being constructed by Japan.


July 4, 1948
The 24 hours of Fuji took place today. A team sponsored by Osato Chemical & Engineering Company driving a Mitsubishi came in fist with drivers Mori and Yamazaki.


July 8, 1948
Thanks to the completion of the payment at the beginning of the month, Argentine Submarines Spiro, San Rafael, Santa Rosa and Sante Fe were completed today.


July 12, 1948
Final report indicates that during last month's earthquake 3,769 people were killed and 22,203 injured. Due to damage to roads and waterworks, it took 5 days to extinguish the many fires that had broken out.


July 30, 1948
Today, the large hunter submarines I-315 and I-316 were completed. They will start their shakedown cruises next week.



August 1, 1948
A deadly crash today during the Fuji Grand Prix claimed the life of Ueno Shiro. While on the start-finish straight, his Nissan N-6 hit another car and became airborne, flying over the barricade at turn one. After landing, Ueno's car hit and went over the outer wall at Turn Four of the Fuji 200 part of the Fuji Race Park, sending it into a high-speed cartwheel outside the track. His car clipped a couple of spectators' vehicles and eventually came to rest upside down and in flames. Ueno died of a basilar skull fracture.

The race was won by Frenchman Henri Louveau driving a Mitsubishi 150 in his first race in Japan, beating Ueno's team mate Chiba Ryota by about a second.

Today's race was the first race at Fuji using the new regulations of Formula 1, first defined by the Commission Sportive Internationale back in 1946.


August 2, 1948
The Umi II Deep Sea Research Vessel, competed yesterday, is being prepared to be loaded onto its mother ship, the Nisshin Maru, once the conversion of that vessel is completed.


August 19, 1948
Today, an interruption of the fuel flow in the Hibari stage meant that the second flight of the Hibari/Tsubame rocket only reached an altitude of 13 kilometers.


August 26, 1948
The 22 submarines of the I-350 class were launched today.



September 2, 1948
A Hibari II rocket reached an altitude of 150 kilometers today. A rhesus monkey called Haruto II was its passenger and he survived most of the flight but due to parachute problems he was killed on impact.


September 5, 1948
Another accident at the Fuji Race Park claimed two lives today.

During the second lap of the Fuji 200 Race, Hayashi Akio's Mazda 4M spun coming out of turn four while he was trying to overtake two other drivers. The Mazda slid across the track and hit the inside wall which caused the gasoline in the tank to ignite, resulting in a massive fire as the burning Mazda slid back across the track. Seven more cars got involved in the crash, including last year's winner Yamaguchi Akira, who spun in the flames and hit the pit wall but was lucky enough to get out with only minor burn injuries. Toyota driver Tamura Hideo was less fortunate. With the chaos, he aimed for an opening along the outside wall, but Hayashi's burning Mazda slid into his path and Tamura's Toyota S slammed into Hayashi's car broadside, causing a second explosion. Tamura was killed instantly of blunt force injuries.

Hayashi was pulled from the wreckage of his Mazda and taken into the infield hospital. Though very badly burned, he was alive. His lungs were seared from flame inhalation though, causing acute pulmonary edema. He died at 15:40 after being taken to Fuji Hospital.

After a delay, the race was restarted and eventually won by Maruyama Kazuki in a Toyota.


September 18, 1948
The Japanese Motorsports Racing Organization had a meeting today. Various things were discussed including the recent accidents. Plans were made to make both the track and the cars more safe as well as upgrading the facilities of the infield hospital to match that of hospitals around the country.

Another decision made, due to the successes of the 24 hours of Fuji, the Fuji Grand Prix and the Fuji 200 and their positions on the calendar this year is to stick to the schedule to hold the 24 hours of Fuji on the first Sunday of July, the Fuji Grand Prix on the first Sunday of August and the Fuji 200 on the first Sunday of September.


September 26, 1948
Conversion of the Nisshin Maru was completed today.


September 30, 1948
Another partial unsuccessful launch of the Hibari/Tsubame rocket today. A failure in the Tsubame stage caused it to explode prior to separation at an altitude of about 160 km.

Plenty of crashes, blowups and deaths in the news!
Japan is gonna have to work harder on those tourist brochures to entice holidaymakers to the Land of Death by a Thousand Multitudes of Doom!

Earthquake deaths are to be expected with big earthquakes and can happen in many regions of the world. Looking at wiki, a bigger one may probably occur later in the year (though that depends on the player controlling the nation in question).

Motorsports is a dangerous sport and deaths are to be expected (and it will only get worse). As indicated in the past, we are in the 1946-1949 period where 1 driver was killed every 70 days. Looking at wiki, 9 people were killed in motorsports OTL in 1948. Japan has races that it did not have OTL and then there is Atlantis which probably has races as well and probably a few more Wesworld nations that have races that did not exist OTL so it is to be expected that a lot more people will be killed in motorsports than OTL and you probably have 1 driver killed every 60 or even 50 days for the 1946-1949 period. For the 1960-1969 period, 1 driver was killed every 40 days. In Wesworld, it is going to be a lot worse than that.

Monkeys dying while being shot into space... well it is not like we are kidnapping tourists and shooting them into space to see what happens to the human body....

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

Earthquake deaths are to be expected with big earthquakes and can happen in many regions of the world. Looking at wiki, a bigger one may probably occur later in the year (though that depends on the player controlling the nation in question).

You refer to the Ashgabat Earthquake in October, I presume? Or another one?

Well the OTL one at least. Whether it happens in Wesworld depends on the player.

October 7, 1948
Takayanagi Masao looked around the bridge of his current ship. For the 44 year old captain from Osaka, Yamato was quite different from his previous command, the battleship Nagato. It had been about a week since he had taken over command of the Yamato from Aruga Kōsaku who had been promoted to Rear Admiral last month. Aruga was familiar with Takayanagi's work aboard the Nagato and was confident that the new skipper would have no problems with the new ship under his command.

"Beware of the Admiral, though," Aruga had warned him.

From his position on the bridge, Takayanagi looked to his right where Admiral Togo Ryoko was sleeping in her chair on the bridge. He knew that Admiral Togo had made the Yamato her flagship for a mission back in 1945 which, at least according to her, had been completed back then. Regardless, she was still using the Yamato as her flagship and he was told by other members of the crew that she could be a real pain at times, although one would not guess that seeing her sleep like this.

The Yamato had come to the Okino Kita Iwa Firing Range for some gunnery exercise. As it was the closest firing range to China, being less than 100 miles from Formosa, Yamato's presence here was seen by some as a statement to China that Japan was always watching them, ready to jump in should they try something foolish again.

Takayanagi was listening in on the radio operator who was trying to get things sorted out with the Kita Kojima communications post. Takayanagi always found it amusing whenever he heard radio telephony messages being relayed that made use of the Phonetic Alphabet as used by the US Navy as those words stuck out like a sore thumb among all the Japanese that was being broadcasted. It worked and many in the Navy agreed that if it wasn't broken, there was no need to fix it. Especially the 'King King' part which was Kita Kojima's call sign made the captain smile.

"Yoke-Mike-Tare to Sector Zero Four," the soft crackling from the radio then announced.

"Sir. We are cleared to enter the range," the radio operator told. "Kita Kojima informed that we are to proceed to Sector 04 where a target is ready for us."

Takayanagi gave a nod and the radio operator relayed the acknowledgement back to the communications post on Kita Kojima.

"Change heading to 2-1-0," Takayanagi relayed to the conning tower through the speaking tube that connected the battle bridge with the Conning tower.

"2-1-0. Roger," was the reply.

As the large battleship slowly turned to its new heading, Takayanagi noticed from the corner of his eye that Ryoko stirred and woke up. "Admiral. We have arrived and are currently moving into position for the firing exercise," Takayanagi told her.

"Good," Ryoko replied as she got up. "I guess I will go up to take a look at the proceedings." She then proceeded to the back of the combat bridge and took the ladder up to the air defense command station.

(proceed to firing exercise)