Speedy vs Fabertong: Death to the Penguin!

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: Speedy

Chinese = forget it. With Zero's, Tony's and Tojo's in China P40N's are no good against them. British Spits and US P38's keep China safe.

CW = main reason being anywhere within Spitfire VIII/Thunderbolt II range has been evac'd by Faber.

That's interesting, Speedy. My Tonys and Tojos are shooting down Spitfires in droves. No P-38s in action in the CBI yet so I'm not sure what'll happen then.

[DuckofTindalos]

Have you managed to preserve some experienced Sentais to get that sort of performance, Major Mike?

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Have you managed to preserve some experienced Sentais to get that sort of performance, Major Mike?

Yeah, their avg experience is about 80. It's only Oct 42, so the experience erosion hasn't happened yet. It'll happen soon though. The replacements are typically in the mid-70s so the erosion has begun. [:(]

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Hi Mike/T - well the thing to keep in miond is this: no FREE trainign bases for Faber = no uber experience Japanese. When he moved masses of Tony and Tojo into China it was time to meet fire with fire. With either 50ish Spits or 50+ P38 at Kunming, Yunan and Chungking = he can't sustain a mass fight in the long run.

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No subs contacts today......

Air sightings = 13
Air attacks = 0

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The Darwin bound forces are 3/4 days out. I am waiting for 1 more Tank Rgt at Karachi before moving out there.

All combat forces are at Midway and refuelled. As such they are moving out to Wake tomorrow. I'll post a breakdown then...............

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3 x DD arrive tomorrow.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

As promised here's the breakdown of the Wake Hammer - Operation Peregrine Falcon:

CV 1 - Lexington/Saratoga + 2 x CVL
CV 2 - Enterprise/Hornet + 2 x CVL
CV 3 - Essex/Wasp + 1 x CVL
CV 4 - Franklin + 3 x CVL

CV Bunker Hill and Intrepid are still repairing at PH - 16 and 18 SYS respectively.

3 x BB Divisions = 7 BB's
2 x CVE TF = 7 x CVE = c.200 aircraft

Screenshot below.

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SS Rock missed AK Narita Maru 360 miles WNW of Iwo Jima.

SS Gunnel moving on station 120 miles east of Tarakan blew up MSW W.14 with a torpedo.

Air sightings = 12
Air attacks = 0

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Lots of air attacks against LCU's in Burma and against Tarawa, Maloelap and Kwajalein.

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2 x DD, an AK and an LST arrive in theatre tomorrow as does 4th USMC Division[8D]

[DuckofTindalos]

To quote Bart Simpson: "Smashy-Smashy!"[:D]

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

That's the plan T..............

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SS Cero was attacked by 2 x MSW craft for no damage 120 miles SE of Cagayan.

SS Snook missed AK Nozima Maru with 6 torpedoes 600 miles SE of Okinawa[:-]

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Faber's recon spotted the Death Star approaching Wake. No problem. He has evac'd all planes from the atoll. Tomorrow all being well all DB's will hit the airfields and TB's will hit the port.

The BB divisions have been ordered to move in and shell the place.

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The Darwin bound convoy has arrived! All troops and 2 x Dakota TCG squadrons will disembark. We then move out for the sourthern SRA!

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CL Houston, SS Flier, 2 x AK and DD Quickmatch arrive in theatre tomorrow as does a Kittyhawk III Squadron.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Well the initial bombarding of Wake has begun but not as well as I expected.....bad weather prevented any CV ops. Accordignly i'm splitting my force in 1/2 between 60 miles to allow a greater chance of attack.

Only 1 BB division bombarded. The Capitol ships were subjected to heavty CD fire which caused between 5-10 SYS and Fire damge on each Cruiser and BB. Little damage was sustained by Wake it seems. Just the beginning..............

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SS Devilfish sank PG Seisho Maru with her last 6 torpedoes 120 miles SE of Shanghai. She is to return to Darwin.

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Almost all troops disembarked at Darwin. The Dakota's have been replaced with Commando's.

8 more days until the 'final' Tank Rgt arrives in Karachi for my SEAC op.

4 x AK, 1 x LCI, 1 LST, 1 x DE, 1 x DD and SS Stonehenge arrive in theatre tomorrow.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

A VERY interesting day.............

Firstly, Wake:

The Atoll was subjected to an immense smashing today. Throughout the night 7 x BB and 13 x Cruiser shelled the place. DD Bennett hit a mine as did CA Australia. Australia should make Midway but Bennett is 50/50.

Also frustratingly the 2 x DMS I has with my BB's were blown to pieces after clearing some mines[8|]

The only way in the future to avoid this is to bomb the place for weeks and THEN shell the place so that fewer CD's remain.

During the day 1/2 of my CV's attacked Wake with 220 DB/TB adding to the carnage.

Interestingly the last of the BB forces encountered far less CD return fire. I wonder if i'm having an effect already. Anyhow we remain on schedule and the place will be bombed for at least another 1-2 weeks.

Recon indicates 7 units and 20,000 men remain on Wake. A nice little scalp[:)]

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Interesting developments here:

SS Rock blew up the large AP Izumo Maru with 2 torpeodes 360 miles SE of Okinawa. The interesting part is the AP was carrying FUEL! Must be short on Tankers.........

SS Silversides spotted a convoy NE of San Marcelino but the large number of escorts kept her at bay. She will hopefully track to the west.

This is interesting also. A lot of my submarines around Menado/Wasile have reported being spotted by Jake/Pete/Dave/Judy/B5N aircraft. In summary with the sheer number of sightings by these planes I think he has some CV's in that region. Maybe to oppose the Darwin based force he spotted via PM?!? Either way interesting. I have shed loads of fighters in Australia which will be used to cover Timor and then garrison it.

Air sightings = 15
Air attacks = 2
Air hits = 1 - Grampus returning to Darwin already.

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96 x B24J and 62 x P38J have been ordered to strike PM from Cooktown before re-deployment to Darwin.

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1 x LST, 1 x DE, 1 x DD and 3 x SS arrive in San Francisco tomorrow as does a SeeBee unit.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Wake was again subjected to sea and air bombardment.

The heavy ships caused another 300 enemy casualties before retiring to re-arm at Midway

During the day 230 DB/TB destroyed further enemy supply depots, support stations and killed more men.

The CV's remain on station to punish the defenders whilst the BB divisions re-arm.

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A spectacle took place over PM:

62 x P38J escorted 93 x B24J to the airfields. 108 x enemy CAP was present. The P38J's performed fantastically as they tore into the enemy. 52 enemy planes were reported shot down for 15 friendly. A further 28 enemy fighters were reported destroyed on the ground.

My men rest now before moving to Darwin.

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SS Stingray moderately damaged the empty AP Yasukuni Maru wiith a torpedo 120 miles east of Tarakan.

SS Darter evaded 4 x light ASW craft 180 miles west of Sasebo.

Air sightings = 13
Air attacks = 1

I have looked at the submarine situation again today. A new plan is underway now. I am still achieving contacts but only about 33-50% as effective as before. This is despite me moving my subs around still.

I conclude that Faber has done much better in moving his convoys around and in particular I think he is massing his convoys. That coupled with increased air search has led to fewer attacks.

I still think i'm doing pretty well but rather than 25-30 ships being sunk it's more likely to drop to 10-15 ships a month If I keep things as they are.

Due to me moving my subs constantly VERY few are detected and hit by ASW TF's. Planes have caused some damage but i've only lost 1 sub over the past 3 months.

The new slightly ammended Modus Operandi is:

I will concentrate 90% of new submarine operations around oil centres in the SRA. With Amboina/Sorong taken out by LRB from Darwin it really only leaves: Palembang/Batavia/Soerabaja/Balikpapan/Tarakan/Miri/Brunei. Submarines will focus around these centres.

This does NOT affect current dispositions since all current areas will still have subs on patrol it's just that NEWLY commissioned subs will move to these areas and see how it affects things.

As such 6 Submarines left Darwin (Tarakan/Miri/Brunei regions), 4 from san Francisco (Flier and Bluegill to Darwin. Lancetfish and Golet to Brunei region), 9 from Midway to form a barrier around the Mariana's.

Very soon 4-6 British subs will leave Columbo for Palembang/Malacca Straits.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Here's a true Death Star and the LARGEST raid I have seen:

Day Air attack on Wake Island , at 82,63


Allied aircraft
F6F Hellcat x 32
SB2C Helldiver x 185
TBM Avenger x 252


Allied aircraft losses
SB2C Helldiver: 1 destroyed, 12 damaged
TBM Avenger: 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
22 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 42
Port hits 6
Port fuel hits 5
Port supply hits 7

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SS Tuna evades 3 x MSW NE of Taytay.

Air sightings = 15
Air attacks = 1

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Plans are being made in Darwin for the forthcoming offensive. Since my CV's and main power is in the Central Pacific I am assuming to meet opposition. As such I will move under LBA cover. 3rd Marine Para Bn is preparing for Lautem (which is reported unoccupied). 4th RCT is preparing for Koepang (which will move AFTER Lautem is captured and is active.

I have several BF and Av. Rgt in place as well as other Para/Raider Bn's. Also marching from the south (Brisbane area) are 2 x Divisions + support.

We'll move off soon.

32 x Commando flew in to Darwin over night. 32 x Dakota were unloaded via train overnight.

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1 x DMS and 1 x MSW arrive in theatre tomorrow.

[DuckofTindalos]

And they only inflicted 22 casualties...[:D][:'(]

[Speedysteve]

Look at the supply hits though..........[;)]

[stldiver]

Does anyone have an average idea of how much supply is destroyed in a port supply hit or airfield supply hit? Are they different?
Nice invasion, something I follow as my campaigns are about 7 months behind

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: stldiver

Does anyone have an average idea of how much supply is destroyed in a port supply hit or airfield supply hit? Are they different?
Nice invasion, something I follow as my campaigns are about 7 months behind

for every hit 1% of supply is destroyed!

[Mike Solli]

It's 1% of what's there, but each % is subtracted separately, so the "12%" is actually:

100%*.99*.99*.99*.99*.99*.99*.99*.99*.99*.99*.99*.99=88.628% remaining.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Thanks for the comments guys. In general if I can achieve 100-110 Supply hits i'm pretty happy. I think i'm upto 40-50 now at Wake. A further 6 depots were smashed today by Helldivers and Avengers.

My BB's have re-fueled and re-armed and are moving back towards Wake today. Good news both Australia and Bennett have made Midway. Bennett may survive. Australia will.

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A good day for my subs..........

SS Swordfish unfortunately missed the prize ML Okinoshima with 4 torpedoes in the Sulawesi-Borneo strait[:-]

SS Cero probably sank the empty AK Ryua Maru with 3 shells and 2 torpedoes SE of Legaspi.

SS Billfish sank the empty freighter Hamburg Maru with 2 torpeodes in the starboard 60 miles SW of Saigon.

Air sightings = 18
Air attacks = 1
Air hits = 1 - SS Amberjack near Iwo Jima. Will return to Midway

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Heavy air attacks over Mandalay and the Marshalls.

[Mike Solli]

100 supply hits leaves 36.6% supply.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Hi Mike - thanks. Maybe 150 supply hits then? Today a further 11 depots were blown up by 400 bombers over Wake.......the preparation continues........

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SS Billfish continued to track the enemy convoy east past Saigon. She managed to achieve firing position and hit AK France Maru with a torpedo.

The irony.......ML Wakatake hit a mine laid by O-19 at Saipan. She sank within minutes.........oh the irony..........We hates Japanese mines so a welcome addition to Davy Jones.

Air sightings = 13
Air attacks = 0
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The next clear day over Darwin will launch Operation Kingfisher. This is the invasion of Timor. The exact timetable will depend on enemy reaction. Initially Marine Paratroopers will drop on Lautem and secure the base. Then aviation support will follow and supply by AK's. Then air groups. If this is accomplished unmolested then we move 4th RCT to Koepang with support to take the base.

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An AK and DD arrive in theatre tomorrow as does a SeeBee unit.

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: Speedy

Hi all,

Hi Mike - thanks. Maybe 150 supply hits then? Today a further 11 depots were blown up by 400 bombers over Wake.......the preparation continues........



The next clear day over Darwin will launch Operation Kingfisher. This is the invasion of Timor. The exact timetable will depend on enemy reaction. Initially Marine Paratroopers will drop on Lautem and secure the base. Then aviation support will follow and supply by AK's. Then air groups. If this is accomplished unmolested then we move 4th RCT to Koepang with support to take the base.

Nice planning . . . distract him at Wake, and then launch a second op. I assume there's not much in the way of naval support for your Timor invasion -- how's the bomber support?