AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jan 17, 43
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ASW attack near Tandjoengbalai at 48,78
Japanese Ships
DD Michishio
DD Kuroshio
DD Oshio
Allied Ships
SS KVII, hits 7, heavy damage
SS KVII launches 2 torpedoes at DD Michishio
KVII bottoming out ....
DD Michishio attacking submerged sub ....
DD Oshio fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Michishio fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Michishio fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Michishio fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Michishio fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub
Malaya strait stays a death trap, the four enemy DDs operating there are nothing worse than my British DDs it seems... that´s the next sub in sinking condition... if it´s not happening by a strange accident then there must be a trigger that considerable increases IJN ASW in 1/43... seems like I´m in the process of losing more subs in 1/43 than in the whole year of 42...[&:] enemy ASW has been 100% useless in 42, now that it´s 1/43 I´ve already got a dozen subs being severly damaged...
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!!! D I S A S T E R !!!
Morning Air attack on TF, near Gove at 84,128
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 60 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 109 [X(]
A6M3a Zero x 30 [X(]
B5N1 Kate x 24 [X(]
B5N2 Kate x 189 [X(]
D3A1 Val x 94 [X(]
D3A2 Val x 59 [X(]
Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 22 [8|]
F4F-3 Wildcat x 22 [8|]
F4F-4 Wildcat x 200 [8|]
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 7 destroyed [8|]
A6M3a Zero: 2 destroyed [8|]
B5N1 Kate: 5 destroyed, 7 damaged [8|]
B5N2 Kate: 36 destroyed, 76 damaged [8|]
D3A1 Val: 22 destroyed, 48 damaged [8|]
D3A2 Val: 15 destroyed, 27 damaged [8|]
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 13 destroyed
Allied Ships
BB New Mexico, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
CVE Sangamon, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Mississippi, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
CVE Copahee, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CVE Altamaha, Torpedo hits 6, and is sunk
BB Warspite, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CV Enterprise, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
BB North Carolina, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 5, and is sunk
CV Yorktown, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
CV Lexington, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
DD Lansdowne, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA Portland, Torpedo hits 5, and is sunk
CVE Nassau, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CVE Prince William
CA Minneapolis, Bomb hits 1
CLAA Juneau
CL Columbia
CA Northampton
CLAA Atlanta, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
DD Farenholt
CL Honolulu, Torpedo hits 1
DD Patterson
CVE Chenango, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
DD Bagley
CA Indianapolis
DD Dunlap
CA Chicago, Bomb hits 1
DD Ralph Talbot
DD Helm
DD Blue, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA New Orleans
Aircraft Attacking:
14 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
17 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
17 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
4 x D3A2 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
16 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
2 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
15 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
6 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
17 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
7 x D3A2 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
3 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
11 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
9 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
6 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
1 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
1 x D3A2 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
8 x D3A2 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
3 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
9 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
7 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
7 x D3A2 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
23 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
14 x B5N1 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
10 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
12 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
5 x B5N1 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
3 x D3A2 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
7 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
8 x D3A2 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
CAP engaged:
VF-2 with F4F-3A Wildcat (0 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes
VF-42 with F4F-3 Wildcat (0 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes
VF-6 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-8 with F4F-4 Wildcat (3 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes
VF-71 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 12 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes
VF-35 with F4F-4 Wildcat (4 airborne, 9 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes
VF-37 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 50 minutes
VRF-1F with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 12 on standby, 11 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 5 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes
VRF-2F with F4F-4 Wildcat (4 airborne, 12 on standby, 11 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes
VRF-3F with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 12 on standby, 11 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 55 minutes
VRF-5F with F4F-4 Wildcat (1 airborne, 12 on standby, 11 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Yorktown
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Lexington
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CLAA Atlanta
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVE Sangamon
Nearly the whole USN was covering a big troop transport going to Groete Island, dot base West of Horn Island, a potential threat to Darwin.
I was shocked and suprised when I first got Val destroyed by Cap, Val destroyed by Cap, Val destroyed by Cap, Val destroyed by Cap,... as this meant KB would be near my carriers when it was my nav search time and got SBD destroyed by Cap, SBD destroyed by Cap, SBD destroyed by Cap, SBD destroyed by Cap, ... Seagull destroyed by Cap, Seagull destroyed by Cap, ... and I saw my carriers reacting... what a great feature, the carriers were set to follow the BBs North of Groete Eylandt and set to 0 react but that of course doesn´t help. It never helped in WITP, why should it help in AE? If you want to see something positive, at least all three TFs reacted to the same hex. If that was an advantage, well, more about that later on.
Now following is the history of my thoughts... Still during the search phase, "well, I´ve got 600 carrier based aircraft and a lot of bombers at Merauke (all set to nav attack), so what should go wrong?". This was my first thought and I guess that´s what you could think about such an engagement. I´m obviously facing the same number of enemy carrier based aircraft, with us having about 100-150 more fighters, due to our CVEs being loaded up with Wildcats (every of my pilots is skill 70 or better). Not just can we rely on at least 100 fighters more than the enemy, our fighters got a harder punch and all our aircraft are sturdier than the enemy ones. We´ve got a couple of times better flak (the CV TFs got flak values of around 11.000!) and we´ve for sure got far more ships in the area so the damage should be dispersed more than within the enemy´s TFs. Add in the fact that KB obviously moved at least two hexes too far to the East, now also being in range of my bombers (Mitchells on low nav and torp carrying Beaufort VIII, all set to eight hexes) and you should have a situation that is definetely not nice for KB. With that conditions to start the fight, the shock quickly changed into a confident feeling of having the upper hand, slightly being concernced of seeing a strike of no less than 505 aircraft. [8|] At the same time I noticed the 244 Allied fighters on Cap being tasked to meet the enemy though. Thinking about the 244 fighters, I expected to take out something like 250 enemy aircraft before they reach my ships, if I would be lucky, this number could go up to 300. While being sure that it would be 100% impossible to stop them all, I was of course prepared to take a punch, probably losing some ships. The next moment I looked at the combat animation window, seeing only 22 Wildcats there, facing the 505 enemy aircraft. That was kind of concerning but not worth panicking as I´ve thought a minute later I would see the 220 missing fighters engaging the enemy...
so this was the history of my thoughts during the first 20 seconds...
now the reality that followed: I got messages of my fighters scrambling in bits and pieces and my fighters were reinforced over time by groups of a couple of fighters, never more than 4 joining the fight. We had the dive right from the beginning but the Wildcats performed awfully and for every Zero shot down, we suffered at least three Wildcats being either damaged or turning back due to technical defects (note, once again, not a single IJN fighter turned back due to defects, only damage sent them home - which is one of those strange happenings again). I got impatiently because the maximum number of fighters we reached was around 70-80 when my fighters suddenly started attacking the enemy bombers. Knowing how the AE airbattles turn out, I now was really shocked, as I was sure that we wouldn´t see more of our fighters engaging the enemy! [X(][X(][X(] So while we´ve got reported 244 fighters being on Cap, all we´ve get is some 80 (in the best case) engaging the incoming strike of 505 (in words: fivehundredandfive !) enemy aircraft. I guess the people knowing my and my temperament can imagine to what colour my face changed... [:@]
our couple of dozen fighters engaging the enemy bombers nevertheless took out a good number of bombers (considering the low number of fighters engaging them) but no less than 266 enemy bombers engaged our ships. This means that our fighters and flak took out exactly 100 enemy bombers before they could drop their load, which is roughly 1/4 of the incoming bombers. And this of course means it will more or less whipe out most of our carriers, that was clear to me when the first bomber screamed down on our first carrier (the first Val attack already scored a hit on Enterprise)... I was screaming and spitting blood in front of my PC and it was just yet another moment when my girl friend thought I must have gone totally nuts. It´s no surprise to me that 266 bombers attacking my ships would cause immense damage to my fleet, that´s a no brainer. What totally made me insane was the fact that I field some 330 fighters in total, 244 are on Cap and only some 80 engage the incoming super strike. The fact alone that the enemy Zeroes shot down more of our Cap than they lost escort pretty much says all about our Cap I guess. We had the dive but that didn´t help. These pilots have been the creme de la creme of Allied aviation on the map but that means nothing. Shot out of the sky by the enemy on escort, being tactically disadvantaged and being the replacements of the the original cadre of KB´s air wings.
So what to say? The conclusion for me is going into the same direction as it usually goes. They´ve changed land based strike "coordination" to something that is plain wrong, not realistic, not historic correct and )§/%"/§. They´ve also changed the way Cap works, which I agree to some extend. What they haven´t changed in the process is the fact that carriers obviously still can do a mega strike (or what else would you call a 505 aircraft strike?). Changing Cap and changing land based strikes perhaps goes together, but keeping carrier based strikes untouched is something I don´t understand. The biggest airfields on the map can´t launch 50 fighters together on one sweep, but a mixed force of Japanese carriers can launch a strike of 505 aircraft that all arrive over the target at the same time? Sorry, but how ridicoulos is this? Then such a mega strike is met by 1/3 of the available Cap because of the new Cap model, that isn´t able to adequately engage such a mega strike when the strike is detected 1 hour before the enemy reaches our ships. Sorry, but that has long passed the state of being funny...
at this point, I saw me losing my complete fleet to one single strike from a Japanese carrier task force that couldn´t be resembled in the 21st century... if you think about the all out effort of the PH strike and count up the total Japanese aircraft in TWO waves and see 505 Japanese aircraft in one strike in the morning phase, what does this have to do with reality, or historical correctness? Sorry, that´s just plain stupid. It´s not the point of asking for the enemy strike being obliberated by my fighters, it´s the point of saying: yes, changing how the Cap works is a good idea. Yes, how Cap behaves is surely more realistic than in WITP. But then seeing a 505 aircraft strike coming in is just plain stupid. If you think about those numbers being split up in two strikes in the morning phase, being both times met by the more realistic Cap model would also bring up a more realistic outcome.
After having more or less sunk my fleet, the enemy strike then was engaged by the majority of my fighters in the post air attack phase, losing more bombers in the post air attack phase to my fighters than before they engaged my fleet. And all this, when I´ve got 244 fighters on Cap and an hour pre warning time. If you go the way of making one aspect more realistic, then it´s just a shame to 100% forget about the corresponding aspect.
How many Japanese aircraft were in the PH attack? 350-360? And those had to attack in two waves, with over an hour in between the two waves. And here we see 505 aircraft attacking in one wave (no problem to launch two or three waves in the whole morining phase) from a reinforced KB which is totally unrealistic while they are met by around 80 Wildcats (out of some 330 fighters in total) from a more realistic Cap model. That this leads to a complete whipeout isn´t surprising then. The conclusion of this attack is that this is nothing but a Command & Conquer style result, with one major problem... I miss the factory to click on and order 5 new carriers that pop up on the map 3 minutes later.
Repeat mode: trying to make land based strikes and Cap (for land bases and carriers) more realistic but forgetting about what carriers can and can not is off IMO.
This strike ends all my real offensive capabilities for at least the next 7-8 months.
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and here comes the USN answer:
Morning Air attack on TF, near Gove at 82,126
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 47 minutes
the enemy´s pre warning seems to be not really worse to the US one...
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 74
A6M3a Zero x 21
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 2
Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 14
F4F-3 Wildcat x 14
F4F-4 Wildcat x 56
SBD-3 Dauntless x 144
TBF-1 Avenger x 87
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3A Wildcat: 3 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat: 3 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 9 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 17 destroyed, 35 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 19 destroyed, 39 damaged
Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 4, on fire
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 2
CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
BB Hiei, Bomb hits 4
CV Junyo, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Hiyo, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Kaga, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Agano
CLAA Tenryu
DD Murasame
DD Shigure
DD Hatsuharu
CV Zuikaku
DD Nenohi, Bomb hits 1
DD Makinami
DD Samidare, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Yamakaze
[&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o]
Aircraft Attacking:
3 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
7 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
11 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
6 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
6 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
3 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
10 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
17 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
6 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
11 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
14 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
1 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
13 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
9 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
11 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
3 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
CAP engaged:
253 Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 32810
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 47 minutes
1 planes vectored on to bombers
251 Ku S-1 Det B with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 30000
Raid is overhead
202 Ku S-1 Det A with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 30000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 2 minutes
Akagi-1 with A6M3a Zero (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 36750 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 36000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes
Kaga-1 with A6M3a Zero (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 36750 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 36000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 48 minutes
7 planes vectored on to bombers
Soryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 47 minutes
3 planes vectored on to bombers
Hiryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (3 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes
3 planes vectored on to bombers
Shokaku-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters to 6000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
Zuikaku-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
Ryujo-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 23 minutes
Junyo-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes
3 planes vectored on to bombers
Hiyo-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes
6 planes vectored on to bombers
Shoho-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 6000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes
Zuiho-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 41 minutes
5th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 38500
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 43 minutes
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Ryujo
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Junyo
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Kaga
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Samidare
and here´s my "return nuke"...
we launch a near complete strike of 305 aircraft (one TBF squadron got lost) from 5 CVs plus 6 CVEs. Now the funny thing about this strike is that it is met by the full enemy Cap. While I only got 80 out of 240 of my Cap fighters engaging the incoming strike, the Japanese managed to engage my strike with their full Cap. Having 150 fighters less, a shorter pre warning time, they still manage to get the same (or even slightly higher) number of fighters than us to engage the incoming strike. Same as us, the Japanese having the dive. Unlike us, the Japanese got an endless number of shooting from behind, taking out aircraft after aircraft, finally managing to get to our bombers, also shooting them up. The fact that the enemy got "partial cloud" and we got "moderate rain" only makes the disaster complete. When you look at the aircraft loss list later on, you will also notice that while the enemy got fewer fighters with less punch and more or less paper aircraft (compared to the Allied ones), the Japanese never the less shot down more or less the same number of aircraft A2A than we did.
Not one enemy ship is reported sunk during the combat replay (we suffered 2 BB, 1 CV, 2 CVE and 1 CA outright sunk during the replay). We´ve got more ships sinking right after the attack or being scuttled during the next order´s phase. When looking at the hits on the enemy carriers, I expect CV Hiyo to be sunk, with Junyo being in trouble. Kaga and Shokaku will both spend some time in the shipyard, while Shokaku seems not to be impressed by two 1000lb bomb hits at all. My stupid SBDs kept attacking two of the enemy BBs, both hitting with 4x1000lb bombs, which does no damage at all, but could have put down another two carriers. This leaves the Japanese with Akagi, Zuikaku, Hiryu, Soryu, and two or three CVLs. We can "counter" this with Hornet, Wasp, Saratoga, a CVE and a British CV (with 30 capacity) that is available in the next weeks. Having at least parity in carriers until today, the enemy now has a clear superiority again (while I just have to accept that 1:1 means total superiority for the Japanese anyway). The enemy can easily field 400 carrier based ac while we field some 300. As it was in WITP already, compared to the Kate, the Avenger is just a wet fart, I would give three Avengers for 1 torp carrying Kate, the SBD clearly is superior to the Val IMO, due to it´s bigger bomb and harder to down.
This battle was lost hard due to two main reasons: my Cap was 100% useless (while having 150 fighters more than the enemy) and the second reason probably was the weather. And an old truth shows itselve: no matter what you field, you can not go with KB one on one because if you go one on one you will lose hard.
Date is 1/43 and five months ago, I whiped out 3/4 of KB´s air arm over Sydney. So much about how hard it is for the Japanese to replace losses, definetely not nearly as hard as to replace a dozen SBDs if you lose them from flying nav search over two weeks. And this also makes the IMO stupid comments about the Japanese "inabilities" totally obsolete. I´m a Japanese fanboy and I sure am glad how it is as soon as I can motivate myselve to play the "transport tycoon of the Pacific" side, but that doesn´t make it better when you really think about it. KB in real life never suffered what KB suffered over Sydney in one day in this game but KB in real life more or less all of the time was going around with an incomplete air arm, let alone thinking about the decrease of experienced pilots. In this game, Rainer proves that it´s a) no a problem to replace 3/4 of KB´s air arm in a couple of months and b) also replace all the pilots with perfectly skilled pilots.
While I find these things pretty much borderlined I have to admit that it´s good for the game. Would Rainer have shown up with an incomplete air arm and inexperienced pilots (as he would have to in real life due to the complete slaughter over Sydney a couple of months ago) and would he more or less be unable to whipe out my carriers but his would get trashed in return, it would mean that the game would be over in max 12 months because without carriers, the Japanese are toast. In this case, he sinks a dozen capitol ships for the loss of probably only one carrier, he can easily repair the other ones with the ability to expand shipyards (something the Allied miss too, therefore they can´t repair BBs and more or less none of the carriers in Sydney) also outside of Japan (Singapore got room for two of them for example) and I bet the enemy will show up with a brand new force of fighters and bombers, all piloted by excellent pilots the next time the enemy carriers show up.
All in all, it was a disastrous attack, but that´s only the morning phase... [8|]
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Morning Air attack on 12th Division, at 99,126 (Lae)
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes
Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 34
B-26 Marauder x 43
P-39D Airacobra x 9
P-40E Warhawk x 19
P-40K Warhawk x 12
Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 3 damaged
B-26 Marauder: 11 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Aircraft Attacking:
13 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
14 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
14 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
15 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
Also attacking 89th Naval Guard Unit ...
Also attacking 38th JNAF AF Unit ...
Also attacking 38th Field AA Battalion ...
Also attacking 12th Division ...
Also attacking 89th Naval Guard Unit ...
Also attacking 38th JNAF AF Unit ...
Also attacking 38th Field AA Battalion ...
Also attacking 89th Naval Guard Unit ...
Also attacking 38th JNAF AF Unit ...
Also attacking 38th Field AA Battalion ...
Also attacking 12th Division ...
Also attacking 89th Naval Guard Unit ...
Also attacking 38th JNAF AF Unit ...
Also attacking 38th Field AA Battalion ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 3rd Naval Construction Battalion, at 99,126 (Lae)
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes
Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 21
B-26 Marauder x 13
P-40K Warhawk x 12
Allied aircraft losses
B-26 Marauder: 1 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Aircraft Attacking:
9 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
13 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
Also attacking 2nd Naval Construction Battalion ...
Also attacking 12th Division ...
Also attacking 3rd Naval Construction Battalion ...
Also attacking 2nd Naval Construction Battalion ...
Also attacking 12th Division ...
Also attacking 2nd Naval Construction Battalion ...
Also attacking 12th Division ...
Also attacking 3rd Naval Construction Battalion ...
Also attacking 2nd Naval Construction Battalion ...
Also attacking 12th Division ...
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Morning Air attack on 19th Naval Guard Unit, at 99,126 (Lae)
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes
Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 2
B-25C Mitchell x 9
Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 2 damaged
Aircraft Attacking:
9 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Gove at 82,126
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 17 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45
A6M3a Zero x 12
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 1
Allied aircraft
TBF-1 Avenger x 18
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
TBF-1 Avenger: 7 destroyed
CAP engaged:
253 Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 32810
Raid is overhead
251 Ku S-1 Det B with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 30000
Raid is overhead
Akagi-1 with A6M3a Zero (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
5 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 36750
Raid is overhead
Kaga-1 with A6M3a Zero (7 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
7 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 36750
Raid is overhead
Soryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Raid is overhead
Hiryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Raid is overhead
Shokaku-1 with A6M2 Zero (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 6000
Raid is overhead
Zuikaku-1 with A6M2 Zero (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 6000
Raid is overhead
Ryujo-1 with A6M2 Zero (9 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
9 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 6000
Raid is overhead
Hiyo-1 with A6M2 Zero (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
Shoho-1 with A6M2 Zero (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 6000
Raid is overhead
Zuiho-1 with A6M2 Zero (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
5 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 6000
Raid is overhead
5th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 38500
Raid is overhead
Junyo-1 with A6M2 Zero (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
that´s the rest of the Avengers attacking KB, all were shot down... all of them...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
here comes the afternoon strike... [>:]
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Gove at 84,128
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 60 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 83
A6M3a Zero x 29
B5N1 Kate x 5
B5N2 Kate x 77
D3A1 Val x 37
D3A2 Val x 19
Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 3
F4F-3 Wildcat x 18
F4F-4 Wildcat x 55
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 5 destroyed
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N1 Kate: 2 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 10 destroyed, 32 damaged
D3A1 Val: 6 destroyed, 25 damaged
D3A2 Val: 7 destroyed, 6 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed
Allied Ships
BB Indiana
BB South Dakota, Torpedo hits 2
CV Wasp
CV Hornet, Bomb hits 1
CA Vincennes
CV Lexington, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CL Leander
BB New Mexico, heavy damage
CLAA Juneau, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CVE Sangamon, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Astoria, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
Aircraft Attacking:
8 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
11 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
3 x D3A2 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
11 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
3 x D3A2 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
12 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
8 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
5 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
15 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
4 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
5 x B5N1 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
2 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
6 x D3A2 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
2 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
CAP engaged:
VF-2 with F4F-3A Wildcat (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 23 minutes
VF-6 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
VF-35 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes
1 planes vectored on to bombers
VRF-3F with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes
1 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-37 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 55 minutes
1 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-6 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 9 minutes
VRF-1F with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 23 minutes
VRF-3F with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 58 minutes
VRF-3F with F4F-4 Wildcat (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Raid is overhead
VRF-5F with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes
VF-42 with F4F-3 Wildcat (2 airborne, 12 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes
6 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-8 with F4F-4 Wildcat (1 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes
1 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-71 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
VRF-2F with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 5 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 55 minutes
1 planes vectored on to bombers
there´s nothing left I could call Cap, it was of course even worse than in the morning... only very few enemy aircraft were shot down, the only thing that "saved" us were thunderstorms... but that only means we don´t have all carriers sunk immedietely, even with thunderstorms, the uber Kates achieve crippling hits...
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Gove at 82,126
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 47 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 57
A6M3a Zero x 18
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 2
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 12
F4F-4 Wildcat x 29
SBD-3 Dauntless x 62
TBF-1 Avenger x 25
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 4 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 17 destroyed, 10 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 4 destroyed, 16 damaged
Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku
CVL Ryujo, on fire
BB Kirishima
CV Shokaku
BB Hiei
Aircraft Attacking:
6 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
5 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
2 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
5 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
10 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
6 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
2 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
1 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
1 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
CAP engaged:
253 Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 32810
Raid is overhead
251 Ku S-1 Det B with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 30000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes
1 planes vectored on to bombers
202 Ku S-1 Det A with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 30000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes
1 planes vectored on to bombers
Akagi-1 with A6M3a Zero (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 36750 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 36000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 41 minutes
6 planes vectored on to bombers
Kaga-1 with A6M3a Zero (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 36750 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 36000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes
3 planes vectored on to bombers
Soryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes
7 planes vectored on to bombers
Hiryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (3 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes
3 planes vectored on to bombers
Shokaku-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 7000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
5 planes vectored on to bombers
Zuikaku-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes
2 planes vectored on to bombers
Ryujo-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes
7 planes vectored on to bombers
Shoho-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 41 minutes
3 planes vectored on to bombers
Zuiho-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 11000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes
5 planes vectored on to bombers
5th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 38500
Raid is overhead
and here is our return strike... and that´s what I will call stupid on and on and on... why on Earth are the Japanese always coming out better than the Japanese in such carrier engagements... yeah, we had thunderstorms too... and that´s the reason we don´t score a single hit? And the Japanese got "all weather paper fliers" or what? The result from the morning attack was ridicoulos enough, it´s getting even "better" with the afternoon strike...
while we scratch the paint on the enemy´s fleet, our fleet was whiped out... it was a 1 one 1, both sides spotted each other... that´s not a Midway reversed, both sides were out for a naval engagement, not one side attacking a land target... the result is one of those stupid one sided results that are just off...
but hey, once again all I can say is that it´s good for the game... in real life, such a force and both sides launching full strikes at each other that all find their target would have been disastrous... disastrous for BOTH sides, not the one sided BS you see all the time in this game... the JFB playing the Allied... it´s as off as String´s encounter with Andy Mac´s carriers and many more of those examples. For what reason ever, if you go one on one with KB you lose in 8 out of 10 times and usually you lose hard. Something is wrong here, the "decisive carrier battle" of real life could not be expected for sure to be a Japanese win, especially not when the Japanese fly paper fliers and the Allied fly tanks, with the Japanese having pop guns on their ships and the Allied having floating flak bunkers...
at the end of the turn, I was completely pissed off, but that´s not something I´ve got to mention I guess... I probably was more pissed off with myself than with the game... why? Because would the question come up on the forum if you would engage KB one on one in early 43 then I would answer: "hell, no!" Exactly due to the fact that I would expect to see the Allied running into a disaster, even if they in total have the better odds. They would have it in real life and they´ve got it theoretically in the game. But it usually plays out totally different.
I did not know where KB was, I knew it wasn´t at Truk. I wanted to reinforce Grote Eyland and I not really would have thought about KB engaging in range or Merauke´s airfield (that didn´t launch anything of course), nor attacking all my carriers put into one basket directly. I was sure that Rainer also sees the path from Darwin into the SRA as the main threat so I was sure he would have strongly reacted if I would go North from Merauke, but I didn´t expect KB to react onto my operation actually South of Merauke.
The end result of this battle is totally off to me, it doesn´t change the fact that it was an excellent move by my opponent. He could have made it an even bigger victory if five dozen Betties would have launched with some Zeroes from Darwin, but thank god they didn´t. Kudos to my opponent, he really smacked us hadr here.
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Groote Eylandt at 82,130
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 21 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B5N1 Kate x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N1 Kate: 6 damaged
Allied Ships
xAP Maori, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
xAK Aroona
xAP Changte, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DE Chew
Allied ground losses:
36 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B5N1 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
and a small strike even attacked our transports...
clearly can be seen that this "strike (stupid) pack" is made up of fighters from both squadrons, that´s why you see 5 and 4 Ligthnings sweep...
