The Hive - Cruft PBEM (Japan, Scen 2 Beta + Stacking Limits)

[Captain Cruft]

Here's the next day, with the remaining CV plus 3 CLAAs being despatched at a cost of another 43 planes.


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 05, 45
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Amami Oshima at 98,64
 
Weather in hex: Overcast
 
Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes
 
Japanese aircraft
      Ki-43-IIIa Oscar x 142
 
Japanese aircraft losses
      Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 5 destroyed, 35 damaged
      Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 15 destroyed by flak
 
Allied Ships
      CV Bunker Hill, Bomb hits 9, Kamikaze hits 3,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
      CLAA San Diego, Bomb hits 11,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
      CLAA San Juan, Bomb hits 14,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
      CLAA Reno, Bomb hits 8,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
      DD Bennion
      DD Beale, Bomb hits 4,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
      DD Black
      DD Bearss
      DD Bell
      DD Bennett, Bomb hits 1
 
Aircraft Attacking:
      30 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
      33 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
      28 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
      28 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
 
Carrier support unable to supply air cover..
Kawai H. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Bunker Hill
Fuel storage explosion on CV Bunker Hill
Ishihara R. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Bunker Hill
Kado U. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Bunker Hill
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Bunker Hill
Banzai! - Degawa J. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Mori H. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CLAA Reno
Massive explosion on CLAA Reno
Banzai! - Kagawa P. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Suzuki V. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Hasegawa U. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor

[Captain Cruft]

Finally, a test with CAP. I sent some very mediocre Franks along as escort, otherwise the Oscars wouldn't fly.

The result - one CV down and one crippled, at a cost of 115 planes. Not so good as without CAP, but still very effective.


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 04, 45
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tokara Retto at 99,63

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
     Ki-43-IIIa Oscar x 171
     Ki-84a Frank x 30

Allied aircraft
     F4U-1D Corsair x 71
     F6F-5 Hellcat x 144

Japanese aircraft losses
     Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 27 destroyed, 29 damaged
     Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 50 destroyed by flak
     Ki-84a Frank: 3 destroyed

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
     DD Bennett
     CV Randolph, Bomb hits 4,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
     CV Intrepid, Bomb hits 1,  on fire
     CV Franklin, Bomb hits 7, Kamikaze hits 1,  heavy fires
     CV Hancock, Bomb hits 8, Kamikaze hits 2,  on fire
     CLAA Flint, Bomb hits 1,  on fire
     CLAA Reno

Aircraft Attacking:
     29 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
              Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
     18 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
              Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
     25 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
              Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
     34 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
              Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
VF-7 with F6F-5 Hellcat (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 25 scrambling)
     3 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 37300.
     Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes
     16 planes vectored on to bombers
VBF-7 with F4U-1D Corsair (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 12 scrambling)
     1 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 39300.
     Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes
     4 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-10 with F6F-5 Hellcat (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 25 scrambling)
     3 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 37300.
     Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes
     20 planes vectored on to bombers
VBF-10 with F4U-1D Corsair (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 13 scrambling)
     1 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 39300.
     Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes
     14 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-12 with F6F-5 Hellcat (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 25 scrambling)
     3 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 37300.
     Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes
     19 planes vectored on to bombers
VBF-12 with F4U-1D Corsair (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 13 scrambling)
     1 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 39300.
     Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes
     4 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-13 with F6F-5 Hellcat (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 25 scrambling)
     3 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 37300.
     Time for all group planes to reach interception is 43 minutes
     13 planes vectored on to bombers
VBF-13 with F4U-1D Corsair (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 13 scrambling)
     1 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 39300.
     Time for all group planes to reach interception is 39 minutes
     4 planes vectored on to bombers

Banzai! - Goto R. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Futagami B. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Gushi R. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Hancock
Banzai! - Futagami K. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Futagami K. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Franklin
Banzai! - Kikuchi V. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Azusa S. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Franklin
Banzai! - Miyajima C. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor

[obvert]

Interesting results. Looks like CAP still can't keep the pests away.

The low strikes should get through unless the CAP is layered all over the place from 20k on down to 5k.

[Captain Cruft]

If the CAP is low you could mix in some conventional torpedo/dive bombers or level bombers at height to break things up.

I think it's basically unstoppable on a standalone basis. However, there are counters which are a) to have some BBs in the Air Combat TFs and b) have lots of TFs in the vicinity to split up the attacks. The latter will always be the case if you are invading somewhere anyway.

Also it won't work with crap pilots.

[Captain Cruft]

I've now done a lot more testing of this and associated matters, with very interesting results.

As a result I will make it a policy for all fighters and fighter-bombers of both arms to train up on LowN when not otherwise occupied.

More generally, the Naval Attack at 1,000ft with Bombs will become the standard way of doing things as the Allies get nearer to Japan.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 8 1943

Stasis continues. The AVG boys in their P-38s shoot down a few Todgers over Pegu, which matters not a jot in the scheme of things unless it's followed up by some actual bombing. He continues to be very reluctant to commit his 4Es anywhere.

I received a nice unexpected present today, in the form of the first of the Shimakaze DDs. These ships (8 or so?) will just form up at Kure and do nothing until the end-game and Torpedo Avalanche beckons.

However, I changed my mind about the Kitakami and Oi, which I was initially intending to preserve in their original torpedo-festooned state. Instead these have now been upgraded to the first level of their troop transport upgrade path. For some reason these ships never seem to do well as they ought to in surface battles, but having some tooled up ships which can fight troops through to or from a place ought to be very useful.

The whole idea of fighting troops through at sea is very important to my long-term plans. One of Japan's few advantages is in raw LCU numbers, so the ability to deposit this where it might be needed as quickly as possible is vital.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 9 1943

Recon shows that there are now around 140 fighters and 140 bombers at Rabaul. This is about a 100% increase from last turn. Perhaps he is going to have another go at Truk soon? Let's hope so ...

There is also a lot of what looks like Allied assault shipping moored at the port. I am going to see if I can degrade this slightly this using night attacks out of Ponape.

The other bases in the New Guinea area still look like they are in defensive outpost mode.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 12 1943

Stasis.

Along with the airpower and shipping there is a whopping big stack of LCUs at Rabaul. I wonder what he intends to do with them?

Hollandia is now a size 3 airbase. There has been no sea traffic there recently, so it's building up relatively slowly.

I am thinking of a possible Swarm attack on Magwe. I think he has bombers there now, but I have deliberately not been flying recon in order to create complacency.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 14 1943

Stasis continues.

The Swarm is partially targeted for Magwe next turn. Doubtless the weather will prevent anything happening though ...

Now, a random thought on the Super-Es, or Japanese Es in general. I do not have any Super-Es yet, but the existing fleet of Es is mostly in the process of receiving significant upgrades.

I have decided that I will not generally use these ships for convoy escort, with the exception of the long-range ones. Instead they will be used as surface combatants as part of Torpedo Avalanche. This seems fair to me, since it un-nerfs the USN sub fleet to an extent, and I believe that the ships can be effective in surface combat given the right circumstances.

Given that we are playing stock Scen 2, it probably matters little that stuff from the SRA gets sunk in transit, but it does matter if the Allied navies have total control of the landing beaches on the Home Islands or other important places.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 15 1943

The Swarm in Burma was grounded by the weather, as usual ...

Today was a good day though. There are now no active Ki 43-1c airgroups on the map. The final stragglers in China have been upgraded to the IIa.

[Captain Cruft]

I've just been fooling around with Downfall again.

The Ki-83 is an awesome beast when piloted well. B-29s fall out of the sky at it's touch. I could conceivably field thousands of these planes for the end game, but I won't. Oscars, Tojos and Zeroes will always be the mainstay. This is only fair.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 18 1943

Burma - Following a series of losing fighter-fighter air battles over Pegu, massed Tojos actually managed to shoot down a few P-38s thus turn. Getting CAP into this hex from nearby bases seems rather difficult for some reason (possibly lack of radar?). He is still not committing his bombers though. I doubt he will advance on the ground beyond Prome and Toungoo until he feels he has air superiority, but he could certainly destroy all my Burmese airfields right now if he were prepared to take a few losses.

New Guinea - The level of Allied recon all over the map has increased greatly recently. One base that is getting attention is Manokwari in Dutch New Guinea. This is the next semi-developed airfield along the coast from Hollandia. In response to this I have moved an elite SNLF unit there along with an eng unit to build forts. This is intended to be a roadblock around which the IJN can do its thing should he commits his navy in a serious manner.

Sub war - Lots of USN subs have recently appeared around Hokkaido and Sakhalin, where they are having fun with the unescorted Resource convoys in the area. I would estimate having lost between 5 and 8 xAKs in three days. This is good since a) it reflects reality somewhat and b) it may encourage him to devote more undersea vessels to a relatively unimportant purpose rather than supporting invasions and fighting the "Decisive Battle".

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 19 1943

A very quiet day.

One strange thing: Recon over Kwajalein. As a result the DL of the base is now at 9/10, so these were no numpties.

There are two possibilities as to the origin:-

1) CVs in the vicinity. Naval Search is showing nothing though.
2) PBYs out of one or more dot bases in the Tabituea region which have remained in Allied hands.

Definitely intriguing. I would relish a fight in the Marshall Islands at this point, even though I would probably lose.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

I've just been fooling around with Downfall again.

The Ki-83 is an awesome beast when piloted well. B-29s fall out of the sky at it's touch. I could conceivably field thousands of these planes for the end game, but I won't. Oscars, Tojos and Zeroes will always be the mainstay. This is only fair.

May as well go for the Karyu ... same armament and manouver, but a lot faster ...

[Captain Cruft]

There are no jets on the menu. This is one of the balancers I am playing with.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 20 1943

The Swarm finally managed to have a go at Magwe. It was rather strange though, with morning and afternoon attacks like you get with Naval Attack. Never seen that before for an Airfield Attack ...

Approximately 16 P-38s were destroyed on the ground, with many more damaged, at a cost of 54 Oscars. A great result IMO.

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Morning Air attack on Magwe , at 57,47

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
     Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 60
     Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 67

Allied aircraft
     Hurricane IIb Trop x 7
     Hurricane IIc Trop x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
     Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 2 destroyed
     Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 2 destroyed, 17 damaged
     Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 14 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
     Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 damaged
     Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed on ground
     P-38G Lightning: 5 destroyed on ground
     F-4 Lightning: 2 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 20
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 42

Aircraft Attacking:
     16 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
              Airfield Attack:  2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
      3 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
              Airfield Attack: 1 plane(s) with no ordnance
              Airfield Attack:  2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
      8 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar sweeping at 1000 feet
      1 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
              Airfield Attack: 1 plane(s) with no ordnance
     20 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar sweeping at 1000 feet
     20 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
              Airfield Attack:  2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.17 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIb Trop (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
     (6 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
     6 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 18000
     Raid is overhead
No.67 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
     (6 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
     6 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 19000
     Raid is overhead
No.14 Sqn RNZAF with Hurricane IIb Trop (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
     (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
     1 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 15000
     Raid is overhead

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Magwe , at 57,47

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
     Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 56
     Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 27

Allied aircraft
     Hurricane IIb Trop x 6
     Hurricane IIc Trop x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
     Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed
     Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 1 destroyed, 9 damaged
     Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 7 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
     Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed
     Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed
     P-38G Lightning: 2 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 21

Aircraft Attacking:
      2 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
              Airfield Attack: 1 plane(s) with no ordnance
              Airfield Attack:  2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
     28 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar sweeping at 1000 feet
     16 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar sweeping at 1000 feet
     20 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
              Airfield Attack:  2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.17 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIb Trop (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
     (5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
     5 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 18000
     Raid is overhead
No.67 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
     (4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
     4 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 19000
     Raid is overhead
No.14 Sqn RNZAF with Hurricane IIb Trop (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
     (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
     1 plane(s) intercepting now.
     Group patrol altitude is 15000
     Raid is overhead

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 21 1943

A very successful Sweep over Darwin using the very long-range A6M3a Zero flying out of Ambon. Actual losses were higher for both sides.

The idea was to discourage him a bit from immediately advancing in this area, where his recon has recently become rather active.

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Morning Air attack on Darwin , at 76,124

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 42 NM, estimated altitude 29,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 45

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk III x 16
P-39D Airacobra x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk III: 4 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra: 8 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
27 x A6M3a Zero sweeping at 25000 feet *

CAP engaged:
No.76 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk III (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 11 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 18000 , scrambling fighters between 18000 and 30000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes
12th FS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 17 scrambling)
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 30000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes

[Captain Cruft]

Also today ...

Manila won the race to become the first base with size 7 forts. I intend to build several key places to size 9 if time and supplies allow:-

Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Nagasaki
Shanghai, Nanking, Hankow
Port Arthur, Mukden, Harbin, Fusan
Manila, Clark Field
Singapore
Saipan, Guam, Tinian
Truk, Babeldoab

There are also several places which are at size 6, but where I will not attempt to build any further. It seems possible to me that I may become somewhat supply-constrained later on so I am being a bit prudent.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 22 1943

Nothing happened today.

I now have 349 Nicks training up in LowN, with another two groups (63 planes) in the queue, which makes for 412 total. It would be nice if I could get up to 500 aircraft by the time he eventually tries to land somewhere.

Along with this, Mindanao is very near to having aviation support at every base that is on the road network.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 23 1943

Three or four Japanese xAKs were sunk by subs as per usual, otherwise nothing happened.

There will now be a week's hiatus due to my opponent taking a vacation. This gives me a space in which to either a) come up with some plans which are even more cunning than the existing very cunning ones or b) totally forget WTF I am doing [8D]