Helpless (Allied) vs Castor Troy (Jpn) / BigB 1.3

[castor troy]

Very active round again...



AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 02/05/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 48 encounters mine field at Singapore (23,50)

Japanese Ships
MSW W.5
MSW W.4
MSW W.3

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Night Time Surface Combat at 66,117


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
Walrus: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CV Kaga
CV Hiryu
CV Soryu
CV Shokaku
CV Zuikaku
CV Akagi
BB Hiei
BB Kirishima
CA Tone
CA Chikuma
CA Ashigara
CA Mogami
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya
CA Kumano
DD Akigumo
DD Yukikaze
DD Hayashio
DD Maikaze
DD Amatsukaze
DD Tokitsukaze

Allied Ships
CA Australia, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

I must admit I had a little heart attack when this one popped up! You never know what a lucky shot could inflict on one of your precious ships! When I was thinking about pursuing the fleeing cruisers I was not thinking about something like this:





My surface TF also ended up in the same hex as an enemy cruiser in the afternoon but the cruiser was sunk by bombers before the surface combat went off...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 15 encounters mine field at Singapore (23,50)

Japanese Ships
PG Tamo Maru #7
PG Yachiyo Maru
PG Hashidate
PG Saga

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Day Air attack on Soerabaja , at 22,65

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27

Allied aircraft
Hawk 75A x 14
CW-21B Demon x 14
Brewster 339D x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hawk 75A: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged
CW-21B Demon: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged
Brewster 339D: 10 destroyed, 2 damaged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Koepang , at 28,77

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 43
B-17E Fortress x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
E7K2 Alf: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 1 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
28 casualties reported

Runway hits 40

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 8
Ki-21 Sally x 77
Ki-48 Lily x 34
Ki-49 Helen x 26
Ki-15 Babs x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 5 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 1 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
172 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 92

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 66,120

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 25

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Ise
CA Furutaka

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Hudson I bombing at 5000 feet
2 x Hudson I bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 68,107


Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 6


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Meigen Maru
AK Ganges Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

another time when the bombers attacked my cargoes... the AK went down...


Aircraft Attacking:
2 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
4 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Port Moresby , at 53,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 35
G4M1 Betty x 50
Ki-21 Sally x 83

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 37
Port supply hits 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Koumac , at 67,111


Allied aircraft
A-20B Boston x 14


No Allied losses

Runway hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 66,118

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 45
B5N Kate x 41

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CL Achilles, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 66,120

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
D3A Val x 20
B5N Kate x 20

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CA Houston, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 66,119

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 21
B5N Kate x 24

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CL Leander, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 66,118

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 20
B5N Kate x 19

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CA Canberra, Bomb hits 13, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 66,119

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 24
B5N Kate x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
CL Boise, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


The Boise is sunk without doing any damage! She never shot with her main guns... [&o] Helpless´ completely scattered his TF knowing how bad the game handles attacks on single ship TFs normally concentrating on one TF. A little bit gamey IMO but we don´t have a HR on that and if needed I will use it too. In this case the game handled the attacks very well! [&o]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 68,107

Japanese Ships
AP Somedono Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Triton


of course the lonely US sub in the area ends up in the same hex as my already damaged AP and fires a salvo of MK14 torps... once again the explode... ship sunk...[8|]

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TF 5 troops unloading over beach at Woodlark Island, 59,94


Japanese ground losses:
58 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Clark Field

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 6008 troops, 126 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2027

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Japanese max assault: 82 - adjusted assault: 92

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 92 to 1 (fort level 4)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Clark Field base !!!


it seems my constant air attacks have paid off. Helpless retreats all his troops to Manila. We will shift our airattacks on Manila out of the big airfield of Clark in a few days. The ground troops are ordered to march on Manila! When I will be able to defeat the US troops there, will they be able to retreat to Bataan when I hold Clark?????


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Tarakan

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5326 troops, 29 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 164

Defending force 20 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

Japanese max assault: 129 - adjusted assault: 76

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 76 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Tarakan base !!!



Allied ground losses:
151 casualties reported
Guns lost 2


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

No damage to the oil field or ressource center but strangely the Dutch units retreated towards Samarinda which is already Japanese (as is Balikpapan)... great... [8|]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 23,47

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 6193 troops, 24 guns, 238 vehicles, Assault Value = 271

Defending force 3964 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 5

Japanese max assault: 194 - adjusted assault: 81

Allied max defense: 3 - adjusted defense: 16

Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1



Allied ground losses:
31 casualties reported




A big ship concentration was spotted at Norfolk Island, North of New Zealand. The surface TF will sprint in as well as the CVs (which are low on fuel...).

[castor troy]

The Boise went down with a lot of other Allied cruisers this turn! [&o][&o] When she escaped from the DEI I thought I wouldn´t get her... [:D]


Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS Boise (CL-47), 1938-1951
USS Boise, a 9700-ton Brooklyn class light cruiser built at Newport News, Virginia, was commissioned on 12 August 1938. She made her shakedown cruise to Liberia and South Africa, then transferred to the Pacific to become part of the U.S. Fleet's Battle Force. For nearly three years, she participated in exercises and operations off the west coast and in Hawaiian waters. In late 1941, as tensions intensified with Japan, she escorted a convoy to the Philippines and remained in the area when the Pacific War began in December. However, on 21 January 1942 Boise was damaged in an accidental grounding and had to return to the U.S. for repairs.

In June and August 1942, Boise escorted convoys to the south Pacific, making a raiding cruise into Japanese waters between these operations. During September and early October, she supported the campaign to hold Guadalcanal. Heavily damaged by Japanese shells and a resulting ammunition fire during the 11-12 October Battle of Cape Esperance. Boise once again needed major repairs, which were done at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, in November 1942 - March 1943. From June through October 1943, the cruiser was active in the Mediterranean, providing bombardment support for the Sicily invasion in July and August and the Salerno landings in September. She was transferred back to the southern Pacific war zone late in the year.

Boise took part in operations along the northern coast of New Guinea during the first eight months of 1944, bombarding Japanese positions on several occasions and participating in landings at Humboldt Bay in April, Wakde-Toem and Biak in May-June, Noemfoor in July and Cape Sansapor in July and August. In September and October, she supported the invasions of Morotai and Leyte. On 25 October 1944, during the Leyte Operation, she helped defeat a Japanese surface force in the Battle of Surigao Strait. Boise continued her work in the Philippines in December, with landings on Mindoro, and into the first three months of 1945 with operations to liberate Luzon and Mindanao. In April and May she participated in the invasion of Borneo.

Returning to the U.S. in July, Boise spent the last two months of World War II undergoing overhaul in California. She then shifted to the Atlantic, where she helped transport of American service personnel home from Europe. Decommissioned in July 1946, Boise spent nearly five years in "mothballs" before being sold to Argentina in January 1951. Renamed Nueve de Julio, the cruiser was an active unit of the Argentine Navy until 1978 and was sold for scrapping in 1981.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Big B

Hi Castor,

I am going to follow your AAR with interest [:)].

As you know I am in the process of getting ver.1.4 done, and I am interested in refining it further - I'll be reading and taking your observations into account. [;)]

Good luck - and have fun!(the both of you)

Brian

thanks! At the moment it´s a lot of fun... [;)] This will change sooner or later I fear! [:D]

[castor troy]

quick overview of the ships sunk so far:

The New Caledonia adventure of the Allied cruiser force came to an abrubt end me thinks! [:D] The Japanese Empire is further working on building coral reefs in the South Pacific.

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 02/06/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 42 encounters mine field at Tarakan (33,61)

Japanese Ships
MSW W.19
MSW W.10
MSW W.7

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TF 48 encounters mine field at Singapore (23,50)

Japanese Ships
MSW W.5
MSW W.4
MSW W.3

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Sub attack near Pago Pago at 98,110

Japanese Ships
SS I-8

Allied Ships
TK Republic, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

I-8 hits a big fuel loaded tanker with only one torp out of its salvo... probably not enough to sink it... fuel cargo burning...

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Day Air attack on TF at 57,117

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 62
B5N Kate x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
DD Pope, Bomb hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
AK Fairfield City, Bomb hits 4, on fire
DD Stuart, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AP Camphuys, Bomb hits 1
AP Rooseboom, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Memphis City, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Herstein, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

The fast move to the West near Norfolk island paid off and we encounter two cargo TFs and a ML TF fleeing to the West towards Aussieland.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 57,117

Japanese aircraft
B5N Kate x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
DD Stuart, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AP Camphuys, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Fairfield City, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 57,116

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 24
B5N Kate x 47

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AP Largs Bay, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Modjekerto, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Siberoet, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Silindoeng
AK Montanes, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Mauban, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AP William Ward Burrows, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

More target practice

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Day Air attack on TF at 55,119

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22
D3A Val x 24
B5N Kate x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
B5N Kate: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
ML Rigel, Bomb hits 1
ML Krakatau, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
ML Gouden Leeuw, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
ML Prins van Oranje, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
PG Yarra

this is a high value target for me as mines have been sinking and damaging a lot of Japanese ships so far (a new experience for me in WITP)

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Day Air attack on TF at 55,119

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
D3A Val x 24

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
ML Krakatau, on fire, heavy damage
ML Prins van Oranje, on fire, heavy damage
ML Gouden Leeuw, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
ML Rigel, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 55,119

Japanese aircraft
B5N Kate x 24

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
ML Prins van Oranje, on fire, heavy damage
ML Gouden Leeuw, on fire, heavy damage
ML Krakatau, on fire, heavy damage
ML Rigel, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

The Dutch minelayers all sink [&o]

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Day Air attack on Koumac , at 67,111


Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 2
A-20B Boston x 19
P-40B Tomahawk x 7


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
8 casualties reported

Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 1

Tomahawks are now at Noumea. My recon tells me Noumea airfield is still 48% damaged, but it seems no problem for the squadrons there. Launching without problems and no op losses are reported... [8|] Won´t send in another bombardment as I don´t want to tangle with the mines (am I playing UV????)

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Day Air attack on TF at 57,117

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
D3A Val x 60
B5N Kate x 57

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
DD Stuart, on fire, heavy damage
DD Pope, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Memphis City, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AP Camphuys, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Herstein, on fire, heavy damage
AK Fairfield City, on fire

Those two DDs didn´t have enough AA guns to cover the cargoes nor themselves... The attacked cruiser TFs in the last two days was different as it nearly shot down as many planes as I lost in the PH attack



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Day Air attack on TF at 57,116

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 21

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Mauban, Bomb hits 8, on fire, heavy damage
AP Largs Bay, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Modjekerto, on fire, heavy damage

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Day Air attack on TF at 57,116

Japanese aircraft
B5N Kate x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate: 4 damaged

Allied Ships
MSW Bunbury, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Van Ghent, Torpedo hits 1, on fire


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Ground combat at 23,47

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 6211 troops, 24 guns, 238 vehicles, Assault Value = 272

Defending force 3952 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3

Japanese max assault: 195 - adjusted assault: 106

Allied max defense: 2 - adjusted defense: 16

Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
44 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


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Ground combat at Woodlark Island

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 502 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 15

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Japanese max assault: 11 - adjusted assault: 4

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Woodlark Island base !!!



USS Pope (i) (DD 225)
Destroyer of the Clemson class







USS Pope being sunk by the Japanese



Navy: The US Navy
Type: Destroyer
Class: Clemson
Pennant: DD 225
Built by: William Cramp and Sons (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)
Ordered:
Laid down: 9 Sep, 1919
Launched: 23 Mar, 1920
Commissioned: 27 Oct, 1920
Lost: 1 Mar, 1942
Loss position: 04.00S, 111.30E (See a map)

History: USS Pope (Lt.Cdr. W.C. Blinn) departs Surabaya, Netherlands East Indies on 28 February 1942 together with the British heavy cruiser HMS Exeter and the British destroyer HMS Encounter. The ships are ordered to try to escape through the Sunda Strait to Tjilatjap. Unfortunately they are spotted by Japanese warships and the Exeter and Encounter are sunk during the following engagement. Pope manages to escape only to be bombed by Japanese aircraft which leaves her unmanouverable after a near-miss. She is finally sunk by gunfire from Japanese warships in position 04º00'S, 111º30'E on 1 March 1942.

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 02/07/42

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TF 48 encounters mine field at Singapore (23,50)

Japanese Ships
MSW W.5
MSW W.4
MSW W.3

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TF 48 encounters mine field at Singapore (23,50)

Japanese Ships
AP Somedono Maru, and is sunk this ship sinks near New Caledonia... not at Singapore...[8|]
MSW W.5
MSW W.4
MSW W.3

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TF 19 encounters mine field at Singapore (23,50)

Japanese Ships
PG Kamitsu Maru
PG Shoei Maru
PG Hong Kong Maru, Mine hits 1, on fire


next victim to mines...

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Sub attack at 68,103

Japanese Ships
AP Meigen Maru

Allied Ships
SS Triton


Triton attacks once again but misses

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Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,34

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 72
Ki-21 Sally x 107

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 3 damaged


Allied ground losses:
77 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 15
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 93

This airfield has to be closed as two turns ago 40 enemy fighters (Hurris and AVG Curtis) were spotted there

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Day Air attack on 89th Regional Army Corps, at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
B5N Kate x 9
Ki-27 Nate x 258

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
43 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

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Day Air attack on Port Moresby , at 53,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 35
G4M1 Betty x 49
Ki-21 Sally x 83
Ki-46-II Dinah x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 2 damaged


Allied ground losses:
28 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 72

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Day Air attack on TF at 59,118

Japanese aircraft
B5N Kate x 21

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Fairfield City, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

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Day Air attack on TF at 59,118

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 21

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Fairfield City, on fire, heavy damage

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Day Air attack on TF at 59,116

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 21

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
MSW Bunbury, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 59,116

Japanese aircraft
B5N Kate x 19

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Montanes, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 59,116

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 16
B5N Kate x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Montanes, on fire, heavy damage

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Day Air attack on TF at 58,117

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 23
D3A Val x 23
B5N Kate x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
PG Yarra, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PG Isabel
PG Warrego, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

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Day Air attack on TF at 58,117

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4
D3A Val x 24

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PG Isabel, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PG Warrego, on fire, heavy damage
PG Yarra, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

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Sub attack at 67,46 couple of hexes south of Tokyo

Japanese Ships
PC Ishigaki, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PC Kunashiri
PC Hachijo
PC Shimushu
DD Wakaba
DD Hatsushima

Allied Ships
SS Gato

[:@][:@][:@] This sub was spotted two turns ago and even once attacked by an Alf. I sent out the best ASW TF that I have with those high endurance and high ASW value PCs and promptly the SS Gato puts an.... YES.... MK14 torp into Ishigaki that immediately sinks her... [:@][:@][:@] All vessels fail to find the bastard...


SS 212 Gato




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TF 5 troops unloading over beach at Kiriwina Island, 57,93


Japanese ground losses:
24 casualties reported


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Ground combat at 23,47

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8865 troops, 48 guns, 238 vehicles, Assault Value = 271

Defending force 3830 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese max assault: 253 - adjusted assault: 225

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 10

Japanese assault odds: 22 to 1



Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 02/08/42

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ASW attack at 65,46

Japanese Ships
PG Kanko Maru
PG Nanpo Maru
MSW Yoshino Maru
MSW Toshi Maru #8
MSW Toshi Maru #1
MSW Tokuho Maru #5

Allied Ships
SS Finback

not just SS Gato patrols south of Tokyo but also SS Finback. An ASW TF hunting for SS Gato stumbled over Finback but not surprisingly doesn´t find her...


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Day Air attack on Moulmein , at 29,35

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 62

Allied aircraft
LB-30 Liberator x 28

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed, 18 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
LB-30 Liberator: 6 destroyed, 16 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
58 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x LB-30 Liberator bombing at 28000 feet
10 x LB-30 Liberator bombing at 28000 feet

from the op report, this happened over Moulmein:

LTJG Chiyoshima H. of F2/3rd Daitai is credited with kill number 3
MAJ Keith B. of 7th BG bails out WOUNDED and is RESCUED ... hope he´s severly injured...


When I look at the battles so far against those LB-30s then I have really concerns about the one and a half years from mid 42 until late 43. Until late 43 I won´t have a fighter with a gun value higher than 12!!!! [8|] From mid 42 B24 in bigger numbers will join the smaller numbers of B17E and then I fear I will have to retreat from everywhere they can reach... 14 hexes... would be the first time in all my PBEMs so far. While it´s surely realistic that those monsters are hard to down it will be a severe problem for me with the undergunned fighters available. First better armed fighter will be the Navy fighter Jack (gun value 16) which appears in late 43. A6M5 Zeke comes in fall 43 but has also only a gun value of 13. The first better armed Army fighter will be the FrankIa!!! Gun value 14!! Appears in mid 44!!! [8|] I´m in real trouble me thinks. Normally I rely on bigger numbers of Tonies that have a gun value of 14. They appear in mid 42. In Brian´s mod they have the right armament of only MGs instead of cannons stock or other mods give them.

So far I´m more or less trading a 4E bomber shot down for a Zero lost against them A2A

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Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
Ki-21 Sally x 81
Ki-48 Lily x 34
Ki-49 Helen x 26
Ki-15 Babs x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48 Lily: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
944 casualties reported
Guns lost 14
Vehicles lost 5

Airbase hits 17
Airbase supply hits 8
Runway hits 70
Port hits 16
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 12000 feet

the ground losses are really always very high and I have seen this only in the Philipines so far. Result of many eng stacked in one base perhaps. When there´s a nuke naval bombardment then my bombers are doing nuke air attacks at the moment (for Japanese standards [:D]). Supplies are hit hard again... [:D]


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Day Air attack on Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion, at 19,59

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21 Sally x 42

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
131 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 10000 feet
27 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 10000 feet

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Ground combat at 23,47

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8866 troops, 48 guns, 238 vehicles, Assault Value = 271

Defending force 3780 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese max assault: 253 - adjusted assault: 257

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 10

Japanese assault odds: 25 to 1



Allied ground losses:
59 casualties reported

it will take forever to get this damned base force to surrender! [8|]


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Ground combat at Noumea

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8853 troops, 78 guns, 18 vehicles, Assault Value = 215

Defending force 9766 troops, 101 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 222



Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported

Two NZ brigades and a USN base force are already at Noumea. They will be met by one brigade, a naval guard unit, a full division and a big IJN base force. I hope it will be enough. Wooded hex and I have no idea about the forts so far. If needed I could bring in another brigade within 10-12 days. Though I have to say I expect the base to fall as I´m not really prepared to fight for long. Construction battailons already on the way to New Caledonia to build up Noumea to af size 4 and port (don´t know how far at the moment, but probably to full size 9). Noumea is out of heavy bomber range as well as Luganville. Those bases will be my strongholds while Efate won´t be built up (4Es can reach it from the Fidjis).


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Ground combat at Kiriwina Island

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 469 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 14

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Japanese max assault: 11 - adjusted assault: 4

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Kiriwina Island base !!!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Noumea

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 9752 troops, 100 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 222

Defending force 15276 troops, 107 guns, 18 vehicles, Assault Value = 215


Japanese ground losses:
265 casualties reported
Guns lost 12
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Guns lost 1



Picture of the LB30. "One of the earliest LB-30's became Sir Winston Churchill's personal transport."

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 02/09/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Noumea, at 68,113


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless: 3 destroyed
PBY Catalina: 3 destroyed
Hudson I: 1 destroyed
A-20B Boston: 3 destroyed
B-26B Marauder: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CL Kiso
CL Tama
CL Abukuma
CA Kako
CA Furutaka
CA Kinugasa
CA Aoba
BB Hyuga
BB Ise


Allied ground losses:
1128 casualties reported
Guns lost 11
Vehicles lost 3

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 11
Runway hits 62
Port hits 2
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 4

Nevertheless that mines are present I decided to send in my battlewaggons and they did a good job as Dinahs out of Koumac reconned the base for days already. I thought I have to disrupt the two brigades there so my ground attack would perhaps be succesful tommorow!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Luganville, at 72,107

Allied Ships
CA Astoria
DD Aylwin
DD Dale
DD Selfridge
DD Reid
DD Ellet
DD Benham
CA Chicago
CA Salt Lake City

Japanese ground losses:
58 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Runway hits 1

Another surprising move by Pavel! He already bombarded Efate a couple of turns ago with DDs only but with KB present I thought he wouldn´t try it again. Definetely a bold move again. He doesn´t know that KB only has fuel for 5 hexes left [8|] and is 2 hexes away from Koumac where I have stored some fuel (not enough for all TFs though, the CV TF has priority one). He will definetely be surprised later this replay.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack at 94,113

Japanese Ships
SS I-1, hits 2

Allied Ships
DD Hull
DD Porter
DD Phelps
DD Worden
DD MacDonough

surprised my sub wasn´t sunk like most of the times a sub met DDs so far...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,34

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 72
Ki-21 Sally x 116

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged


Allied ground losses:
52 casualties reported

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 49

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Balikpapan , at 31,64

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 38

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 1 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed


Japanese ground losses:
72 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 6

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 12000 feet

B17 are at Soerabaja now. They must have come from Darwin. My Zeroes at Balikpapan were set to sweep Soerabaja but didn´t fly for unknown reasons. Of course then the bombers come in... [8|]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
Ki-21 Sally x 80
Ki-48 Lily x 36
Ki-49 Helen x 27
Ki-15 Babs x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 4 destroyed, 10 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 3 damaged
Ki-15 Babs: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
380 casualties reported
Guns lost 4
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 97

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 12000 feet


first time I really suffered flak losses bombing Philipine bases...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 83rd Regional Army Corps, at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 326

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
22 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion, at 19,59

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21 Sally x 51

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
58 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 10000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Batavia at 19,59

this TF is headed for Merak, one hex west of Batavia. Batavia is evacuated, only the static CD unit there.


Allied aircraft
Martin 139 x 16


Allied aircraft losses
Martin 139: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Mexico Maru
PC Ch 32
AP Nichiren Maru
AP Manzyu Maru
AP Sakido Maru
PC Ch 22

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Martin 139 bombing at 3000 feet

Martins are surprisingly not hitting anything. They did far better earlier on!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 72,107

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20
G3M Nell x 18
G4M1 Betty x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 3 destroyed, 10 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 14 damaged

Allied Ships
CA Salt Lake City
CA Astoria, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CA Chicago, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Now that should have been surprising for Pavel! I first built up Guadalcanal to a size 4 airbase to place Nells, Betties and Zeroes there and then advanced further with some cover from that base in the North. I was twice surprised! Surprised that Pavel ordered his TF to patrol do not retire after the bombardment (for what reason ever) but what surprised me even more (or should I say what made me angry) was the fact that 3!!!!!! torps were duds!!! Wth?? [:@][:@] If the dud rate of Type 18 torps is 30% then what kind of BS die rolls do I hit all the time... [:@] 5 torps hit, 3 are duds = 60% [8|]

It´s a pity KB has to refuel, otherwise it could pursue the damaged cruisers.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Port Moresby , at 53,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36
G4M1 Betty x 49
Ki-21 Sally x 63
Ki-46-II Dinah x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 4 damaged


Allied ground losses:
29 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 46

Aircraft Attacking:
21 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Batavia at 19,59


Allied aircraft
Martin 139 x 15


Allied aircraft losses
Martin 139: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Sakido Maru
AP Ryujo Maru
PC Ch 23
PC Ch 22

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Martin 139 bombing at 3000 feet

all Martins miss again. I fear B17s will attack my ships tomorrow and expect losses...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 72,107

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
G4M1 Betty x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 6 damaged

Allied Ships
CA Astoria, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 23,47

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8885 troops, 48 guns, 239 vehicles, Assault Value = 271

Defending force 3680 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese max assault: 254 - adjusted assault: 178

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 10

Japanese assault odds: 17 to 1



Allied ground losses:
29 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Noumea

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8645 troops, 64 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 751

Defending force 8425 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 207


a deliberate attack is ordered for next turn, I hope to take the base after the heavy naval bombardment this turn



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Manila

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 75742 troops, 678 guns, 116 vehicles, Assault Value = 2116

Defending force 114715 troops, 1201 guns, 41 vehicles, Assault Value = 2034



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Noumea

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8135 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 207

Defending force 45869 troops, 338 guns, 23 vehicles, Assault Value = 751


Japanese ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

[castor troy]

Helpless just asked me if I replenished my BBs at Koumac (size 1 port) and I told him I did. I had two AEs there that came with my replenishment TF. Would it be possible to fill up the main gun ammo from a size 1 port? If so then this is surely strange and I won´t do that. Just leads to another problem: When I refuel at a size 1 port then the ammo is filled up also... [8|]

[anarchyintheuk]

I don't think Helpless is going to be invited to any cruiser reunions anytime soon.

[ny59giants]

What do you see as the Pro's and Con's of Big B's Mod do date??

[Cathartes]

castor troy-
The dud rate on the japanese torpedoes is not good.  I wonder if 20% (vs 33%) might be a bit more balanced.  But... don't know what the historical data is if there is any.  BigB would be the source.

Also, the pic you had in a couple of posts ago looks like a much later B-24 variant, and not a LB-30.  It could be a retrofit, and looks like a very old plane that may have had a turret field-installed. 

Thanks for the AAR!

[Big B]

ORIGINAL: Cathartes

castor troy-
The dud rate on the japanese torpedoes is not good. I wonder if 20% (vs 33%) might be a bit more balanced. But... don't know what the historical data is if there is any. BigB would be the source.

I know it's an unhappy subject - but the idea came from a lively debate about Torpedo plane effectiveness last year:
Wierd Results: tm.asp?m=1059966&mpage=6&key=torpedo%2Cdud

There is more info out there, but this was what I was able to find quickly...

ORIGINAL: Demosthenes

ORIGINAL: Drongo

ORIGINAL: spence
Every once in a while I revisit this thread to see if anybody can cite any additional instances in 1941-42 (subsequent to Dec 7th at PH) where Kates scored torpedo hits on ships at sea.

Such patient effort should be rewarded, even if the reward is a small one.

I had a look through various sources and was not able to identify any more than what you mentioned previously other than:-

Zuikaku strike vs Meredith 15th Oct '42. Accounts differ but generally indicate that 27-30 strong force of bombers (Vals and Kates) from the Zuikaku attacked the USS Meredith (DD-434) at sea, hitting her with bombs and torps and sinking her in 10 minutes. Exactly how many torps hit cannot be confirmed but the one of the officers reported that she was hit by 7 torps of which 3 definitely detonated (to his knowledge). If you don't have any sources on hand that mention it, check the net and the details should be readily available.

Unfortunately, there appears to be very few encounters overall in '42 where the Kates were used to deliver torpedo attacks (I counted only a total of 8 examples where strikes by torpedo armed Kates contacted Allied TFs at sea during '42). Compared to other aircraft such as the Val, the opportunities to assess the Kate's performance (when armed with the torp) appears fairly limited.....
Cheers

This is interesting. This is the second incident cited that suggests that multiple Japanese aerial torpedos malfuntioned in an attack. Adding the Meredith incident (4 duds 3 good) with the Portland incident (3 - all duds) is 7 duds out of 10 hits on 2 ships. Of course to make it meaningful, you would have to go back and balance those 7 duds against all the others that did not malfunction, but it appears that Japanese aerial torpedos suffered more than the games (10%?) dud rate.

EDIT: Also, you could not count the three dud hits on Portland as 'hits' for the sake of torpedo plane accuracy, as it appears that they were all aimed at Enterprise - which they missed, and Portland ran in to them due to a steering malfunction...so I would not count those as hits well aimed 'hits'

So that woul leave your score card as:

2 hits on Yorktown
2 hits on Lexington
3 hits on Hornet


And just to refresh peoples memory re TBD/TBF hits in the same period:

5-7 hits on Shoho
1 hit on Ryujo
2 hits on Hiei

D

[Cathartes]

1. I'm playing BigB Mod as Japan for first time via PBEM, so I'm disgruntled about having 1/3 of all my torpedo planes rendered statistically impotent.  I learned after I started the game and I have to get over it.
2. In the interest of science, and history, I trust there is substantial information that further supports the anecdotal observation above.  If not, that's why it's an unhappy subject.
3.  Other than this murky ripple I'm really enjoying the mod (air combat is tops, seems very realistic thus far!).
4.  I'm sorry to hijack this great AAR!

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: anarchyintheuk

I don't think Helpless is going to be invited to any cruiser reunions anytime soon.

[:D] I think so too!

He´s really pushing his cruisers hard, but I think the patrol do not retire was an accident as I can´t see why he really wanted to do that. I´m surprised he even does a bombardment without recon before (so bombardments won´t achieve much anyway) and besides that there´s only a naval guard unit at Luganville and Efate at the moment and bombardments mostly hit eng units... An IJN base force is on the way to Luganville to support a float plane daitai soon.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

What do you see as the Pro's and Con's of Big B's Mod do date??

Pro´s

Better situation in China. While I also "exploited" the stock situation in China by often wiping most of China out (if my opponent let´s me to do so), now it´s hard. As said before there are so many Chinese (with supply) that this isn´t possible.

Better A2A than stock

Ships revised

slightly different ressource deployment on the map


Con´s

I haven´t encountered any so far that I would call a con. There are things that you don´t like as Japanese for example. Higher dud rate of Type 18 torps (30% compared to 10% in stock) - will be changed to 25% in version 1.4 IIRC.

No high gun value fighter for the Japanese until late 43, so 4E bombers will be a big problem from mid 42 (arrival of the B24 in numbers).

both things are what the Japanese faced in real life also (they had severe problems with 4E bombers - perhaps not severe as in WITP though[:D]) so that´s why I wouldn´t call it a con.


Mmmm, a little con came to mind. More of the Chinese LCUs should be static perhaps. As said before in two tests against a friend of mine I was able to drive through China to Shanghai and through the North to Korea when you mass your not static Chinese LCUs. I think you can mass like 10.000 assault points - and all of those get supplies, so they are a threat. That´s why we have a house rule on no major Chinese offensives until mid 44.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Cathartes

castor troy-
The dud rate on the japanese torpedoes is not good.  I wonder if 20% (vs 33%) might be a bit more balanced.  But... don't know what the historical data is if there is any.  BigB would be the source.

Also, the pic you had in a couple of posts ago looks like a much later B-24 variant, and not a LB-30.  It could be a retrofit, and looks like a very old plane that may have had a turret field-installed. 

Thanks for the AAR!

While (as a Japanese player) I don´t like a higher dud rate, I think it is good to have it nevertheless. It´s only annoying when you hit bad die rolls and the dud rate is then 60% like in my last attack on Helpless´ cruisers. It won´t annoy you much perhaps on an attack on AKs but at a target like those CAs... [8|]

One of the two cruisers hit with one torp was actually hit three times with two duds and another one that is now undamaged was hit with one dud. A CA hit with three (exploding) torps would be in severe problems now. As it is now I expect to all cruisers escape.


Regarding the picture, I´m sorry to post a wrong one. I have to say while I´m very interested I have also to admit that I´m not an expert (no matter if planes, ships, tanks...). I know how a B17 looks like but I can´t tell if it´s a D or E model for example. Same goes for this Liberator pic.

All I did was googling for a nice pic of a LB-30 Liberator and the site (which looked really serious) I found one was telling me that this is an early model of the Liberator a so called LB-30. Many other pics with B24 of different version.

I may apologize if I´m posting wrong pics as this is not my intention! [;)] Nevertheless I hope you like some pics and datas on the pics (which I can also not guerantee 100% for the right information) in the AAR! It´s always impressing for me when there´s a pic and people here can tell that this or that isn´t right and it should be that way, if you know what I´m trying to say with my handicapped English!

So don´t hesitate to tell me if there´s something wrong with a pic or information on it!

[Big B]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Cathartes

castor troy-
The dud rate on the japanese torpedoes is not good. I wonder if 20% (vs 33%) might be a bit more balanced. But... don't know what the historical data is if there is any. BigB would be the source.

While (as a Japanese player) I don´t like a higher dud rate, I think it is good to have it nevertheless. It´s only annoying when you hit bad die rolls and the dud rate is then 60% like in my last attack on Helpless´ cruisers. It won´t annoy you much perhaps on an attack on AKs but at a target like those CAs... [8|]

One of the two cruisers hit with one torp was actually hit three times with two duds and another one that is now undamaged was hit with one dud. A CA hit with three (exploding) torps would be in severe problems now. As it is now I expect to all cruisers escape.

...

Hi guys, Torpedoes;

First of all yes - I am lowering the dud rate to 20%-25% in 1.4, mainly because of the frustration level it's causing - not what I intended.

As the previous thread I quoted from presented, it turns out that duds (even multiple duds) where not unknown, so it seemed like a good idea to try. It looks like, in reality, US aerial torpedoes produced about the same amount of duds as Japanese - and about the same number of good hits (even though the US dud rate in WitP is and remains a whopping 50%).

In stock WitP, Kates ( and LBA) usually produce an amazing amount of torpedo hits (at least 6 to up to 15 per raid with a couple of squadrons) and this is pretty far off the historical statistical average achieved in the war. What I was trying to do was bring the curve down a bit to produce results at a more historical rate. The results being produced in Castors' game (even though it's frustrating to see "dud" flashed across the screen) shows that the net effect of live hits achieved is actually pretty close to historical rates - so I'm happy with the end result.
But again, I don't want players to get frustrated either - so perhaps a better way to go to keep the ulcers down but the combat results in the realistic neighborhood, would be to lower accuracy a bit (something I didn't touch) and bring the dud rate down.


As for China, I think a redeployment of some units, and making a few more static may be a good idea.

I am taking into consideration for improvement any and all of your comments.

Brian

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Big B

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Cathartes

castor troy-
The dud rate on the japanese torpedoes is not good. I wonder if 20% (vs 33%) might be a bit more balanced. But... don't know what the historical data is if there is any. BigB would be the source.

While (as a Japanese player) I don´t like a higher dud rate, I think it is good to have it nevertheless. It´s only annoying when you hit bad die rolls and the dud rate is then 60% like in my last attack on Helpless´ cruisers. It won´t annoy you much perhaps on an attack on AKs but at a target like those CAs... [8|]

One of the two cruisers hit with one torp was actually hit three times with two duds and another one that is now undamaged was hit with one dud. A CA hit with three (exploding) torps would be in severe problems now. As it is now I expect to all cruisers escape.

...

Hi guys, Torpedoes;

First of all yes - I am lowering the dud rate to 20%-25% in 1.4, mainly because of the frustration level it's causing - not what I intended.

As the previous thread I quoted from presented, it turns out that duds (even multiple duds) where not unknown, so it seemed like a good idea to try. It looks like, in reality, US aerial torpedoes produced about the same amount of duds as Japanese - and about the same number of good hits (even though the US dud rate in WitP is and remains a whopping 50%).

In stock WitP, Kates ( and LBA) usually produce an amazing amount of torpedo hits (at least 6 to up to 15 per raid with a couple of squadrons) and this is pretty far off the historical statistical average achieved in the war. What I was trying to do was bring the curve down a bit to produce results at a more historical rate. The results being produced in Castors' game (even though it's frustrating to see "dud" flashed across the screen) shows that the net effect of live hits achieved is actually pretty close to historical rates - so I'm happy with the end result.
But again, I don't want players to get frustrated either - so perhaps a better way to go to keep the ulcers down but the combat results in the realistic neighborhood, would be to lower accuracy a bit (something I didn't touch) and bring the dud rate down.


As for China, I think a redeployment of some units, and making a few more static may be a good idea.

I am taking into consideration for improvement any and all of your comments.

Brian

Brian,

I agree totally. While it´s somewhat frustrating to watch a combat replay when you get 60% duds (in that particular case) on enemy CAs I have to say that once again it seems I have hit bad die rolls. If the dud rate is set to 30% then I hope to have a dud rate of 30% (+/- one or two percents [:)]) in the whole game during the years. Perhaps I will hit some major ships in the future with only a dud rate of 10% to equal out those 60% on the CAs[:D].

We are always crying for a bit more realism and while WIPT was, is and will be more of a Fantasy War in the Pacific we´re getting frustrated if the side we play is penalized by something. [:D] I don´t think you should lower the accuracy, people playing your mod have just to accept that torps weren´t exploding all the time in real life! While a lower accuracy produces the same amount of hits as a result people only wouldn´t know what´s happening but they get "more realistic" results with "more unrealistic" dud rates... [;)]

Regarding China, I don´t know if redeployments will help as in a couple of weeks the player can still transfer all non static troops to where he wants and begin the steamroll. I haven´t made any notes in my land war test against the friend I mentioned but I had a three or four time assault value advantage when my attack began at the base I decided to take first. When this base falls before a couple of thousand assault points can be brought to the defender then it´s like Domino. Retreat, hold, try to defend, already weakend, retreat,..... then you end up in Shanghai or Port Arthur. What I´ve seen in those tests was the opposite of what happens normally when the Japanese drive to Chungking. While this is surely not happening 100% all the time (I wonder how often it really happened) the odds for kicking around the enemy are now completely on the Chinese side IMO, due to the masses of LCUs AND the supply. I´m not the expert at all but what I thought to know was that not manpower, say troops were a problem for the Chinese but the supply. Now the Chinese have the troops (which they should have) and so much supply that they seem to be able to do whatever they want. I didn´t encounter any supply shortages on my assault test. There´s enough on hand and you get more if the first bases fall. Of course a wrong decision of the enemy commander always helps and a war is always lost due to your enemy´s errors... But that´s just one of my smart ass statements! [:D]

[Q-Ball]

I personally really like Big B's mod, even though I am suffering some of it's consequences...

Namely, CHINA is a quagmire. It's a completely different game for JFB's like myself, though probably more realistic.

I have just reached 5/42 and Hong Kong still holds; the increased power there is very frustrating. But that's life!