AEHGP2 Traskott (A) vs. Seydlitz (J) Japanese side AAR

[crsutton]

Just be aware that the one asset the East Coast has is loads of AA units. It could be expensive in navy aircraft if he has placed them well.
 
 

[seydlitz_slith]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Just be aware that the one asset the East Coast has is loads of AA units. It could be expensive in navy aircraft if he has placed them well.

Thanks for the heads up. I was not aware of that.

[seydlitz_slith]

Turn 46 21 January, 1942

Pretty slow turn overall.
The KB had no encounters and continued to move SE off California.
The Kaga and Akagi continued unmolested through the central Coral Sea.

In Malaya, my forces took Temuloh.

Weather was bad in many places so not too many air units flew.

Off Flores, I-155 shelled a small freighter until she was out of ammo. The freighter fled to the NW straight into the clutches of I-156, who sent her to the bottom with two solid torpedo hits.

[seydlitz_slith]

Turn 47 22 January, 1942
Relatively slow turn. The only significant action was by the I-21 off the California coast. During the night, the lookouts spotted a large ship on the horizon. I-21 conducted a surface approach and put two torpedoes into the liner Republic. Amazingly, the liner was sailing without escort.

Before the liner could sink, the crew spotted the shape of another vessel on the horizon coming to the Republic's rescue. It was the transport Bloemenfontein. The I-21 closed on the second vessel and opened fire with her deck gun scoring 4 hits. I-21 was completely out of torpedoes after her attack on Republic. However, the crew of the Bloemenfontein surprised the submarine by unlimbering a deck gun and placing the third round through the conning tower fairwater. I-21 dived immediately and broke off the action. The shell carried away part of the fairwater and caused serious flooding in the conning tower which had to be abandoned and sealed off.

I-21 is now slowly making her way back to Kwajalen with 30 floatation damage.

[seydlitz_slith]

Damage to I-21

[seydlitz_slith]

Turn 48 23 January, 1942

Nothing important happened this turn. No planes were even shot down. Only losses were 4 ops losses.

On a positive note, next turn zeroes will be doing fighter sweeps over Los Angeles and San Diego next turn. Maybe "Wild Bill Kelso" will turn out to dogfight over Hollywood.

My Luzon troops entered the Bataan hex and will attack next turn.

I have a cruiser force that penetrated the Makassar strait and is going to hook around Kendari where they will meet up with a battleship task force that is coming down past Ternate towards Kendari. I am trying to locate ABDAFLOT if it is in the area.

[seydlitz_slith]

Turn 49 24 January, 1942

One significant thing happened this turn......

I-171 put a torpedo into a Yorktown class carrier about 80 miles west of Oahu.

I also had several subs fire at and miss destroyers acting in task forces with cruisers west of Oahu.

I think that he is (or was) planning to bring his carriers together at pearl and then head east and try to catch my carriers while they were busy striking land targets. With one of his carriers damaged, I don't know if he will do this now or not. If I was him I would run away quickly. It is fairly obvious that the Yorktown limped into Pearl and I could come and kill it there if I want.

However, next turn I plan on bombing San Diego port in the afternoon if my planes don't do a naval attack. This turn I did zero sweeps over Los Angeles, March Field, and San Diego. No fighters present over any of them.

[offenseman]

FWIW I would have tried to head you off at the pass as well.  Low on ords, some aircraft in the shop. Would have been a good time.  But with 3 CVs and so early that he might not have been able to get a lot of F4Fs in play yet, it would be a big risk.  My money would be on your group in that encounter.  If however that hit on Yorktown was FOG, and he has 4 CVs, that is another matter. If I were him, I'd it in a heartbeat. 

You know, I should shut up. We don't need certain people to find out how both of us think. lol  eh, I'll risk it. 

[seydlitz_slith]

I seriously doubt it was fog of war. I'd wage even money that I hit the girl.[:D]

I have pretty much full ordnance loads since my vals have dropped a few bombs on yachts, but I have all of my torpedoes.

I am operating under the assumption that he is going to try the attack and that he would like to pin me between the carrier air to the west and the LBA based in California.

Rest assured I have enough subs positioned that I have a good chance of detecting his approach and maybe even at getting another shot off.

Most of his fighters are still bresters at this stage. As far as I recall, he left the marine wildcats on Wake where they did when I took the place. Any combat at all and he won't have enough fighters to do anything until at least May.

I have been wondering if I can bomb and damage his aircraft factories on the west coast just for the terror effect.[X(]

[Rob Brennan UK]

ORIGINAL: offenseman

FWIW I would have tried to head you off at the pass as well.  Low on ords, some aircraft in the shop. Would have been a good time.  But with 3 CVs and so early that he might not have been able to get a lot of F4Fs in play yet, it would be a big risk.  My money would be on your group in that encounter.  If however that hit on Yorktown was FOG, and he has 4 CVs, that is another matter. If I were him, I'd it in a heartbeat. 

You know, I should shut up. We don't need certain people to find out how both of us think. lol  eh, I'll risk it. 

Who me ?

[crsutton]

Yep, if I were him, I would just huddle up and take my lumps on the East Coast. Hide my carriers and hope that you raid Pearl where your losses would most likely be very high from AA alone. To move against you in the open sea would be a disaster. If he just pulled his fighters and SBDs off the carriers at Pearl, I don't think you could get at that hurt carrier without some risk to serious damage to your own.

[offenseman]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

ORIGINAL: offenseman

You know, I should shut up. We don't need certain people to find out how both of us think. lol  eh, I'll risk it. 

Who me ?

ummm no not you at all or LoBaron either!

[seydlitz_slith]

Turn 50 25 January, 1942

More sub action during this turn. All RO boats this time.

Off Brisbane, RO-68 sank AKL Karuah with two torpedo hits.

[seydlitz_slith]

Meanwhile, 40 miles away, RO-63 put two torpedoes into AKL Mulubinda, sinking her.

[seydlitz_slith]

A few hours later, RO-63 happened upon the small freighter Sjobris. The ship wasn't worth a torpedo, so RO-63 expended all of her gun ammo on the vessel scoring 21 hits, leaving her burning from stem to stern and down by the stern.

[seydlitz_slith]

Off the coast of California, the zeroes of the Kido Butai performed sweeps over the port of San Diego.

[seydlitz_slith]

This was followed in the afternoon by a second zero sweep then a raid on a convoy that was docked in the port loading.

BTW, that is the first time that I have ever encountered T-6 Texans on the air combat screen. They were on a training mission evidently.

[seydlitz_slith]

I pretty much sunk everything in the harbor that was in a task force.

BTW, I do not believe for a minute that the Yorktown was sunk. Normally if a carrier goes down due to a sub attack, you will see the aircraft lost on the ac loss summary. I haven't seen a spike in carrier plane losses that would indicate he lost a ship.

[seydlitz_slith]

Here are the aircraft losses for the turn.

[seydlitz_slith]

The port also seems to be fairly empty of shipping and is not worthy of another day's strike.