Continental Clash - Cuttlefish (J) vs castor troy (A)

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 25, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Coffs Harbour at 95,163

Japanese Ships
SS I-22, hits 3

Allied Ships
DD Downes
DD Tucker

another round against I-22, another failure...

SS I-22 launches 2 torpedoes at DD Downes
DD Tucker fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Tucker fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Tucker fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Tucker fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Tucker attacking submerged sub ....
DD Tucker is out of ASW ammo
Escort abandons search for sub


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Coffs Harbour at 95,163

Japanese Ships
SS I-22

Allied Ships
DD Cassin



SS I-22 launches 2 torpedoes at DD Cassin
DD Cassin fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 118 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 37 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 24
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 43



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 damaged
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 18

Aircraft Attacking:
19 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb
24 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
24 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Medan Coastal Gun Battalion, at 46,74 (Langsa)

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 16
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 24



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
24 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 100 kg GP Bomb
16 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Medan Coastal Gun Battalion, at 46,74 (Langsa)

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 10



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
10 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 26, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Bataan at 78,77

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 30 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 9



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
MTB 12
MTB 8
MTB 7



Aircraft Attacking:
9 x D3A1 Val bombing from 9000 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Medan Coastal Gun Battalion, at 46,74 (Langsa)

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 16
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 23



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
23 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 100 kg GP Bomb
16 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Medan Coastal Gun Battalion, at 46,74 (Langsa)

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 10



No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Aircraft Attacking:
10 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking Korps Marechausee Battalion ...
Also attacking Medan Coastal Gun Battalion ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 66063 troops, 707 guns, 612 vehicles, Assault Value = 2037

Defending force 72790 troops, 971 guns, 675 vehicles, Assault Value = 2607

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 1868

Allied adjusted defense: 11563 [:D]

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 6 (fort level 2)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
7867 casualties reported
Squads: 86 destroyed, 432 disabled [:D]
Non Combat: 38 destroyed, 45 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 115 disabled
Guns lost 91 (1 destroyed, 90 disabled)
Vehicles lost 133 (92 destroyed, 41 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
1455 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 170 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 28 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 16 disabled
Guns lost 28 (1 destroyed, 27 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (2 destroyed, 8 disabled)


Japanese High Command orders another attack at Clark Field and once more the attack fails miserably... our units are fully supplied, 100% prepped, are sitting in jungle/rough terrain behind level 3 forts and the constant enemy artillery bombardment also caused their experience going up slightly... we only lose 7 combat squads while the enemy has another division nearly completely disabled plus he suffered far more losses in terms of KIA...

Clark Field turns out to be the grave of IJA divisions and it will be a tough fight if Cuttlefish really wants to keep up fighting here, no chance to achieve anything as long as our troops are fully supplied and if he really decides to keep attacking here then our disablements will be combat ready by the time the enemy shows up again in front of our guns...

if the IJN naval blocade of Luzon would have worked our troops would have long surrendered but due to the blocade being a total failure we will be able to hold a couple of months longer from now on, probably lasting until the end of 42... [:D]


Assaulting units:
4th Tank Regiment
48th Division
65th Brigade
16th Division
11th Division
38th Division
2nd Tank Regiment
3rd Ind. Engineer Regiment
7th Tank Regiment
21st Ind. Engineer Regiment
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
3rd Mortar Battalion
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
14th Army
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
61st PA Infantry Division
71st PA Infantry Division
21st PA Infantry Division
41st PA Infantry Division
194th Tank Battalion
26th PS Cavalry Regiment
81st PA Infantry Division
14th PS Engineer Regiment
57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team
51st PA Infantry Division
1st PA Infantry Division
31st Infantry Regiment
91st PA Infantry Division
4th Marine Regiment
11th PA Infantry Division
31st PA Infantry Division
45th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team
192nd Tank Battalion
2nd PA Constabulary Division
Far East USAAF
USAFFE
200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment
Clark Field USAAF Base Force
PAF Aviation
II Philippine Corps
Provisional GMC Grp
88th PS Field Artillery Regiment
Asiatic Fleet
I Philippine Corps
1st PI Base Force
Manila USAAF Base Force
86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion
301st PA Field Artillery Regiment



Akyab reached lvl 9 airfield today which is another milestone in the buildup of our most important bases... Cox Bazar is a lvl 7 airfield too as well as Chittagong... the Chinese aren't in need of help at the moment so there is no hurry in driving into Burma but if we need to do so, the area around Akyab will be perfectly suited to support such an attempt...

I am not sure what is going on North of New Caledonia, we spot another enemy TF today, again no ships identified... while I thought the enemy convoy spotted earlier so far could be KB it now seems it's a SAG but the other TF showing up North of Espiritu Santo wasn't identified as KB either with a small convoy spotted being unloading... I am sure KB has to be in the area, it would be more than careless to operate major naval assets without having the support of KB as Cuttlefish just has to be aware I could send in my carriers and lots of other stuff...

as you can see I have sent out my carriers and a cruiser SAG to be stationed off New Caledonia to react but am not keen to send in my carriers if I don't even got a clue of what I might be facing... to me it looks like an upcoming invasion of New Caledonia but I once more wonder about the way it is carried out as I would keep my TFs together and would move them straight to the target without giving the enemy more time than needed to react on my move...

we'll see how that's going to work out...

[EUBanana]

[&:]

Surely a couple of IJN rowboats with 3 inch guns would stop lone freighters sneaking in to Clark Field.

Is his naval search that lacking?

I'm gonna have to bear this in mind I must admit, I usually have naval search as a fairly low priority in my games, which is still enough to pick up taskforces and convoys no problem.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: EUBanana

[&:]

Surely a couple of IJN rowboats with 3 inch guns would stop lone freighters sneaking in to Clark Field.

Is his naval search that lacking?

I'm gonna have to bear this in mind I must admit, I usually have naval search as a fairly low priority in my games, which is still enough to pick up taskforces and convoys no problem.

he had nav search as well as enemy SAGs plus probably some bombers South of Luzon as he caught some of my freighters earlier but my first attempt to sneak in a freighter coming in on the "Northern route" was succesfully which was then followed by more than a dozen more single freighters leaving Hawaii four to five days in between them bringing probably a total of 70-80,000 tons of supply IIRC... two freighters were redirected to China when the enemy finally noticed what we were doing...

there was no nav search South of Japan, no nav search around Okinawa, no nav search on Formosa and no nav search on Luzon which enabled us to pull this off... at some point he must have moved in some aircraft or just increased nav search as he then picked up the first freighters but it took a while until he investigated his sightings as he sure might have thought he has spotted a sub now and then as he didn't engage my freighters until he really identified one of my freigthers... by then, it was pretty much too late and the IJA forces at Clark now pay for it... perhaps his nav search just failed, I don't know...

all a Japanese player has to do is have some nav search on Luzon and a couple of bombers... if you want to make sure, blocade Bataan with two or three second class DD and you are fine, not a single ton of supplies will reach the cut of Allied troops...

I have to admit though that while I have tried to sneak in a freighter now and then in every of my games, I was never able to really bring one to it's destination, most often close but never reaching Bataan... now in this game, more than a dozen freighters full of supply reached Bataan

[paullus99]

MacArthur and troops dining on caviar and steak while the Japanese starve on 1/2 rice rations in the opposite trenches, I love it!

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: paullus99

MacArthur and troops dining on caviar and steak while the Japanese starve on 1/2 rice rations in the opposite trenches, I love it!

yeah, kind of. But ultimately, we will run out of supply nevertheless at some point as we won't liberate our Army within the end of 42 but holding out that long will be a real success.

[EUBanana]

Are you able to base aircraft at Clark Field still?

Surely if there are no Allied bombers there, he could just park a couple of PBs on the Clark Field hex itself, who would be enough to see off a freighter.

I suppose if he's not seeing them though he has no idea, and supply being burned up is very hard to gauge. He probably assumes you managed to slip a bunch in earlier, not that you're still doing it now.

[jeffk3510]

Great results at Clark. Holding out this long and longer is wonderful. I am very curious to see what happens in New Caledonia...

[Capt. Harlock]

But ultimately, we will run out of supply nevertheless at some point as we won't liberate our Army within the end of 42 but holding out that long will be a real success.

A success indeed. But what are the chances of getting transport aircraft close enough? And do you have any submarines that could make supply runs?

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: EUBanana

Are you able to base aircraft at Clark Field still?

Surely if there are no Allied bombers there, he could just park a couple of PBs on the Clark Field hex itself, who would be enough to see off a freighter.

I suppose if he's not seeing them though he has no idea, and supply being burned up is very hard to gauge. He probably assumes you managed to slip a bunch in earlier, not that you're still doing it now.

no aircraft at Clark Field. I could of course fly in B-17 (guess they can hop from Darwin to Clark) and I could fly other stuff out of China too (flew in transports earlier) but I don't intend to do so. CF bombs the airfield literally daily and my B-17 are just too valuable while I can't see much they could achieve at Clark. Not sure if I could fly in fighters from China, might be possible or just slightly too far.

oh, I am not moving in freighters anymore. After CF finally engaged the first freighter he replied "You, Sir, are a very sneaky man" and he had bombers, nav search and several SAGs taking out every freighter except two which could be diverted to China. CF stated he wonders if any freighter managed to get to Luzon but as of now, he must be sure that I've managed to bring in more than just some supplies. [:D]

At this stage of the AAR, we had roughly 70.000 supplies on Luzon IIRC, with the game being one month ahead of the AAR at the moment.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: jeffk3510

Great results at Clark. Holding out this long and longer is wonderful. I am very curious to see what happens in New Caledonia...

I can already tell you that it will become a little more interesting...

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

But ultimately, we will run out of supply nevertheless at some point as we won't liberate our Army within the end of 42 but holding out that long will be a real success.

A success indeed. But what are the chances of getting transport aircraft close enough? And do you have any submarines that could make supply runs?

getting DC-3 close enough to reach Luzon would mean we would have to take Mindanao I guess. Don't have the game in front of me but I think that would be the minimum. It's only end of May so speaking about taking Mindanao back at this stage of the war would be a little like A. Hitler in his bunker in April 45 talking about destroying Soviet Armies around Berlin. I think I am doing quite good in this game without doing anything crazy but planning to retake Mindanao at this stage would be a little too much I guess. All my planning and operating is still more or less purely defensively. Now if I would be able to hold at Clark Field and liberate my Army there at some point I think that would be a new milestone in my PBEM history, especially as CF has been playing this game for quite some time too and this is not an AI game.

As to subs, we have been using all our fleet subs from day one to move in supplies. My sub transport fleet can carry roughly 2000 tons of supply in total (split into three TFs) and is moving at 8 hex per day. As soon as a sub drops to 3 hex per phase it is split off and sent for repairs. Over time this pays off just like the single freighters as my subs surely have moved in tens of thousand supplies so far.

I have only be using fleet subs that carry the defective Mk-14 and which can move at 4 hexes per phase. Those fleet subs moving only at 3 per phase are on combat mission but had no success in all the months so I should have put them together to be used as another transport TF too. The Dutch, British and US S-class subs are all on combat mission, roughly 50% of the S-class have undergone their radar upgrade so far, with the rest being upgraded as they return from their patrols. The long range Dutch subs are on offensive missions, the S-class and shorter ranged Dutch and Brits are mostly on defenisve missions in areas around my most important bases. With the recent development around New Caledonia I have ordered more than halve a dozen subs around PM to move South into the theatre where it seems to heat up now.

I will continue to use the US fleet subs on transport duty until September, then they will head back to Australia for their radar upgrades and R&R and they will then be sent out on offensive missions against the enemy's merchant Marine to be in their patrol areas in 10/42 when the Mk-14 dud rate will go down for the first time.

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 27, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Bataan at 78,77

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 101 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 37 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 9



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT-33
PT-31



Aircraft Attacking:
9 x D3A1 Val bombing from 9000 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Bataan at 78,77

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 6



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT-41



Aircraft Attacking:
2 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Asiatic Fleet , at 79,76 (Clark Field)

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 111 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 35 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 23
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 44



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 damaged
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Aircraft Attacking:
20 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb
23 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
24 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion ...
Also attacking 11th PA Infantry Division ...
Also attacking 2nd PA Constabulary Division ...
Also attacking 51st PA Infantry Division ...
Also attacking 61st PA Infantry Division ...
Also attacking Asiatic Fleet ...
Also attacking 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion ...
Also attacking Asiatic Fleet ...
Also attacking 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion ...
Also attacking 11th PA Infantry Division ...
Also attacking 2nd PA Constabulary Division ...
Also attacking Asiatic Fleet ...
Also attacking 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Medan Coastal Gun Battalion, at 46,74 (Langsa)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 16
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 22



No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Aircraft Attacking:
22 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 100 kg GP Bomb
16 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking Korps Marechausee Battalion ...
Also attacking Medan Coastal Gun Battalion ...
Also attacking Korps Marechausee Battalion ...
Also attacking Medan Coastal Gun Battalion ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on West Sumatra Base Force, at 46,74 (Langsa)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 10



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
10 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking Medan Coastal Gun Battalion ...
Also attacking West Sumatra Base Force ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Lae , at 99,126

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 42


No Allied losses



Airbase hits 24
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 58

the B-17 work over Lae's airfield once more doing some nice damage... I always have to remind myself that the hits actually have to be divided by 2 due to the reduced bomb effect compared to stock so with 12 airbase/29 airfield hits it's not that dramatic damage...


Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Lae , at 99,126

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 16 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 12


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled



Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 18

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I changed my decision of sending the carriers South to be on station near New Caledonia and instead I ordered them to attack the TF that was sitting North of New Caledonia for the last couple of turns as it was never identified as KB and usually if a TF gets spotted three times it would be clear if it was a carrier TF... this is the result of my move:




Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Belep Islands at 113,152

Weather in hex: Partial cloud


Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes


Allied aircraft
Martlet II x 8
F4F-3A Wildcat x 16
F4F-3 Wildcat x 21
F4F-4 Wildcat x 36
SBD-3 Dauntless x 83
TBF-1 Avenger x 10


Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 7 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso, Bomb hits 10, on fire
BB Mutsu, Bomb hits 14, on fire
DD Shigure
BB Nagato, Bomb hits 9, on fire
DD Hayashio, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Shiratsuyu
DD Asashio
CA Takao, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
DD Hibiki, Bomb hits 1

the TF that was spotted the last several days was this one, consisting of several battlewaggons, a heavy cruiser and the destroyer escorts... while I didn't expect CF to move such a TF into the area having it sit there for days without cover from his carriers this is what Cuttlefish actually did it seems...

now while we ordered our carriers to go in to engage the enemy SAG at it's position of the last days, CF ordered his TF at the same moment to move South towards New Caledonia, leaving his SAG six hexes South of my carriers now, instead of 2 or 3 to the North East... I thought the enemy SAG would be bombed to hell and finished by my Swordfish and Albacores (got three RN carriers moving together with the USN) but guess what, not a single British bomber took off! [:@] Why should they launch against such a target? This once more is perfectly realistic... They did not take off!

So it was up to the SBD to score two dozen 1000lb bomb hits on the battlewaggons causing not much, once more, these hits are comparable to 500lb stock bombs... really would like to see a survey how a BB would look like after being plastered by a dozen 1000lb bombs, several scoring near misses having a mining effect... this is the afternoon phase already, we didn't launch any strike in the morning and there won't be a strike consisting of my British torp bombers...

if you look at the screenshot you will notice several more enemy TFs being spotted today and it turned out my move was an absolutely high risk move as one of the TFs has been identified as KB... while Cuttlefish didn't pay the price he should have paid, his decision to operate his task forces spread out over hundreds of miles instead of moving under the cover of KB meant our strike going in unopposed while our carriers can move away unharmed next turn, which is what they are going to do of course...



Aircraft Attacking:
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
13 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
10 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
11 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
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
9 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
5 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
1 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 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 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Fuso
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Hayashio
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CA Takao
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Mutsu


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Belep Islands at 113,152

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes


Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 17


Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato, Bomb hits 2, on fire
BB Mutsu, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
BB Fuso, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
DD Asashio, Bomb hits 1, on fire

this wave was split off the main strike, scoring another 6 1000lb bomb hits with heavy fires reported on two enemy BB now... my opponent seems to be doing lots of things I wouldn't do that way, now this can either result in bad losses for him (as seen with his cruisers and CVL that were sunk early on and to some extent today) or it will result in some bad outcome for me when I run into something I don't expect at all... so far, only the enemy paid for this unconventional approach...


Aircraft Attacking:
5 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
12 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Nagato
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Mutsu
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Fuso

[castor troy]

KB was identified today, ending up 500 miles away of my carriers further SE with the enemy BB SAG ending in between our carrier TFs... it is really beyond me why his SAG was parked for a couple of days SW of the Solomons and why he isn't moving under the cover of KB... he got away lightly so to say as the British torp bombers attacking could have resulted in two or three IJN BB sunk today but with no strike in the morning and the Brits not flying at all in the afternoon the game engine saved the IJN's day... in real life, I can see no reason why three RN carriers wouldn't launch any bombers against three IJN BB that are spotted, identified and attacked...

I am not sure if this is the upcoming invasion of New Caledonia but with the number of enemy TFs scattered over the area I think it is... we'll see soon as he probably will land on the Northern tip of the island if this really is an invasion...

we have 600 av sitting at Noumea so I am not really afraid at this point as terrain is favouring us and we also do have lvl 4 forts already and a level 6 airfield... there is an Australian div plus a coule of US tank rgts, a US combat eng unit plus support units... the plan was to have another Aus div here which is on the move at the moment (planned arrival in about 10 days) but the appearance of KB will postpone it's arrival now of course...

if this is really an invasion then I am already sure that CF isn't able to bring in enough when I look at where the IJA is currently fighting with it's divisions and what CF doesn't know, we have a big convoy coming into the area tasked to bring two USMC divisions plus other units to Australia which can easily be diverted to New Caledonia as soon as KB has to turn around again which would bring our total av at Noumea to roughly 2000... this wouldn't only mean we could hold the base easily, but we could destroy everything on the island up to something like 1000av... experience of playing CF so far tells me there will not be anything close to 1000av and probably no or nearly no support troops at all... let's see how this will go on...

[Capt. Harlock]

by my Swordfish and Albacores (got three RN carriers moving together with the USN) but guess what, not a single British bomber took off!

You indeed have something to complain about. For once the British stringbags could have flown with no defending CAP to worry about. The one thing you can say is that your victory in this game will not be "mere luck".

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

by my Swordfish and Albacores (got three RN carriers moving together with the USN) but guess what, not a single British bomber took off!

You indeed have something to complain about. For once the British stringbags could have flown with no defending CAP to worry about. The one thing you can say is that your victory in this game will not be "mere luck".

the engine is absolutely frustrating at times. One time you see more than a hundred bombers being sent after two freighters, when you spotted, identified and attacked high value targets you end up with no or not enough bombers being sent out for a reason only the game engine knows

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 28, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Palembang at 49,90

Japanese Ships
TB Hatsukari

Allied Ships
SS O21, hits 6, heavy damage

Hatsukari heavily damages O21 in shallow waters, the sub tries to make Darwin...

SS O21 is sighted by escort
TB Hatsukari fails to find sub, continues to search...
TB Hatsukari fails to find sub, continues to search...
TB Hatsukari attacking submerged sub ....
TB Hatsukari fails to find sub, continues to search...
TB Hatsukari fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Lae , at 99,126

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 53


No Allied losses



Airbase hits 22
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 75

one of the rare times when our bombers seem to do some damage... again, this is only like achieving 37 stock 500lb bomb hits on the airfield so far from being heavily damaged...

the longer I play, the more I start to think that changing the bomb effects wasn't a real good idea as everything else related to it wasn't touched so this probably will turn out to be a problem in the long run...


Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
5 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Bataan at 78,77

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 109 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 9



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT Q-112
PT-41



Aircraft Attacking:
9 x D3A1 Val bombing from 9000 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Asiatic Fleet , at 79,76 (Clark Field)

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 115 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 36 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 15
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 28



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 2 damaged


Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Aircraft Attacking:
13 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb
15 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
15 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion ...
Also attacking Asiatic Fleet ...
Also attacking 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion ...
Also attacking Asiatic Fleet ...
Also attacking 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion ...
Also attacking Asiatic Fleet ...
Also attacking 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Medan Coastal Gun Battalion, at 46,74 (Langsa)

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 16
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 15



No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
20 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 100 kg GP Bomb
16 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amphibious Assault at Koumac (113,156)

TF 163 troops unloading over beach at Koumac, 113,156

Japanese ground losses:
421 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 28 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


and here we go, as expected, the enemy lands on New Guinea...

17 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad accidentally lost during unload of 20th Div /1
17 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad accidentally lost during unload of 20th Div /1
17 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad lost in surf during unload of 20th Div
17 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad lost overboard during unload of 20th Div
17 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad lost overboard during unload of 20th Div /4
17 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad lost from landing craft during unload of 20th Div /5


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Batavia (49,98)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12157 troops, 106 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 428

Defending force 1272 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 55

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 192

Allied adjusted defense: 75

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

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker: fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
28 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled


Allied ground losses:
149 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 30 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

our static CD unit was able to fend off the first assault of Imperial Guards div but the enemy hasn't suffered any losses and will easily take the base on the next attempt...


Assaulting units:
Imperial Guards Division

Defending units:
Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 47,91 (near Palembang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 719 troops, 8 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 30

Defending force 2976 troops, 14 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 77

Japanese adjusted assault: 4

Allied adjusted defense: 73

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 18

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: leaders(+), leaders(-), fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
61 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Allied ground losses:
68 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Assaulting units:
Yokosuka 1st SNLF

Defending units:
Zuid KNIL Battalion
So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion
Teloekbetoeng Base Force
Palembang Base Force

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 29, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Naval bombardment of Noumea at 115,160

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso
BB Nagato


Allied ground losses:
205 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled)


Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 14
Port hits 2

BB Fuso firing at Noumea
BB Nagato firing at Noumea

the enemy obviously isn't impressed by the appearance of our carriers and bombards Noumea, this time his BB are kept closer to KB... two of the BB in the original SAG that was attacked by our carriers are split off and are probably out of reach already, guess they are going back to Truk... the bombardment doesn't do any notable damage and our defense at Noumea should be easily able to handle the enemy division that landed at Koumac... recon indicates no other unit there so once more Cuttlefish does an invasion with a single combat division without any further support... to be honest, this really looks crazy to me, this is not the same as taking an empty base in the SRA with an unsupported SNLF, this is the attack on a major target and we are nearly in June 42 so what does CF expect to meet at Noumea?

in the meantime my carriers are on standby, ready to strike if we get the possibility to do so and my reinforcement convoys are closing in on New Caledonia too, ready to bring in the troops as soon as KB has to move North... if we are lucky, one of our subs may hit a carrier as they are running back and forth over my subs...



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Palembang at 49,90

Japanese Ships
PB Shonon Maru #10

Allied Ships
SS O16

our subs operate against the tanker convoys around Palembang but they are utter useless...

SS O16 is located by PB Shonon Maru #10
PB Shonon Maru #10 fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Shonon Maru #10 fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Shonon Maru #10 fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Shonon Maru #10 fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Shonon Maru #10 fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 105 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 33 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 22
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 43



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 damaged
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 64

Aircraft Attacking:
20 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb
22 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
23 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Damar at 74,115

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-26 Marauder x 6


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
DD Natsugumo
DD Minegumo



Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 1000 feet
Naval Attack: 3 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

bad weather and destroyers as targets means literally no chance to hit something... as usual, 80-90% of my available bombers don't launch at all or fail to locate the enemy TF...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Lae , at 99,126

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 47


No Allied losses



Airbase hits 18
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 42

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
5 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Lae , at 99,126

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6


No Allied losses



Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 8

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Bataan at 78,77

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 112 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 9



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT-33
PT-31
PT-32



Aircraft Attacking:
9 x D3A1 Val bombing from 9000 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Bataan at 78,77

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 95 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 35 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 6



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT Q-112



Aircraft Attacking:
6 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Medan Coastal Gun Battalion, at 46,74 (Langsa)

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 16
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 15



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 8000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 100 kg GP Bomb
16 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Batavia (49,98)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12136 troops, 106 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 425

Defending force 1128 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 33

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 197

Allied adjusted defense: 9

Japanese assault odds: 21 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Batavia !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(-)
Attacker: leaders(+), leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
60 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Allied ground losses:
1274 casualties reported
Squads: 57 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 64 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 14 (14 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1


Assaulting units:
Imperial Guards Division

Defending units:
Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion

that's it for Batavia's defenders, they managed to destroy one enemy combat squad in the two days of fighting...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Koumac (113,156)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3486 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 156

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

Japanese adjusted assault: 4

Allied adjusted defense: 1

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

Japanese forces CAPTURE Koumac !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker: leaders(-), disruption(-)



Assaulting units:
20th Div /2


hmm, that's only roughly 1/4 of an enemy div...

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

by my Swordfish and Albacores (got three RN carriers moving together with the USN) but guess what, not a single British bomber took off!

You indeed have something to complain about. For once the British stringbags could have flown with no defending CAP to worry about. The one thing you can say is that your victory in this game will not be "mere luck".

the engine is absolutely frustrating at times. One time you see more than a hundred bombers being sent after two freighters, when you spotted, identified and attacked high value targets you end up with no or not enough bombers being sent out for a reason only the game engine knows

Frustrating but wonderful at the same time. A botched coordinated effort in 5/42 between Allied carriers of differing nations was entirely possible and rather likely considering the lack of experience on the American side. Considering the trouble that the Americans had getting all of their own planes to the target in 42, there should be no surprise if the Brits got the wrong information or none at all. I find the result to be very historical. The game will throw you some odd things at times but I in no way find this one out of line.



In my opinion what makes AE perfect is its lack of predictability. Quite frankly, if my forces did what I expected or planned all the time, the game would quickly grow boring and tedious.

This is coming from an Allied player who just had his carriers split up and react towards an intact KB in late 44 and got a severe pasting as a result....[X(]

[castor troy]

as you can see, the Brits had info to strike, other the Martlets would not have launched. I am not asking for a coordinated strike, I am asking for ANY strike. The British bombers did nothing even that their own aircraft spotted the enemy battlewaggons (both their bombers and their floatplanes from British ships). We spotted the enemy already several times in the morning, a USN sailer could have informed the RN ships nearby by using a rowboat going from the Saratoga to one of the British carriers to launch some bombers in the afternoon.

If we go as far as to say it's due to operating ships of different Navies against the enemy, then I claim the Japanese should be a hundred times more handicapped due to the internal war the IJA had with the IJN, something none of the Allied nations came even close to when operating with each other.

I can see no real life explanation why the British shouldn't launch a single bomber. If they would have flown alone or failed to find the target then be it, but as so often in the game, the bombers just sat there doing nothing at all. Add in that I need roughly 4 or 5 times more 1000lb bombs to actually sink a BB in the game than in real life this is not something that really amuses me.