Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, Docup(A)-Koniu(J)

[koniu]

ORIGINAL: obvert
What are the CV counts now, based on losses and new builds?

I made this some time ago but it is still 100% accurate.
I only waiting for last CVE in 20 days to build and then i am done.
I not building Shinano and small late war CVEs.
I also convert one CS to CVL

[JocMeister]

Cool chart Koniu! Really shows how big impact the Allied CVEs have!

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: koniu

ORIGINAL: obvert
What are the CV counts now, based on losses and new builds?

I made this some time ago but it is still 100% accurate.
I only waiting for last CVE in 20 days to build and then i am done.
I not building Shinano and small late war CVEs.
I also convert one CS to CVL

Cool. I'd say you have a god chance to come out ahead even into the early months of 44. The CVEs are fragile and if you get a fight that goes in the morning phase you could knock a bunch out before the afternoon. Also they are more susceptible to subs, so using a massive sub screen in front will really help in the stages before a battle. I mean massive. How many subs do you have? Yeah, use all of those. [;)]

If you can win another CV engagement you are sitting pretty.

[koniu]

I can concentrate with KB ~25 subs.
Another 10 if i retreat FP equipped subs from deep ocean where they are on search mission
In next few months few more will join navy.

I am building 15 subs currently but i am not 100% sure they are wort of all that HI spend.
I have mixed fillings about it.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: koniu

I can concentrate with KB ~25 subs.
Another 10 if i retreat FP equipped subs from deep ocean where they are on search mission
In next few months few more will join navy.

I am building 15 subs currently but i am not 100% sure they are wort of all that HI spend.
I have mixed fillings about it.

As I see it, any chance to hit CVs is worth it. You will most likely have more HI than you need in the end anyway.

[koniu]

ORIGINAL: obvert

ORIGINAL: koniu

I can concentrate with KB ~25 subs.
Another 10 if i retreat FP equipped subs from deep ocean where they are on search mission
In next few months few more will join navy.

I am building 15 subs currently but i am not 100% sure they are wort of all that HI spend.
I have mixed fillings about it.

As I see it, any chance to hit CVs is worth it. You will most likely have more HI than you need in the end anyway.

You are right. Probably.[8D]
I currently have 2,2M HI. Even when i am building all those subs i will have ~3,5M in
June next year. More if i manage to hold HI-DEI rout open longer. Canceling those subs will save me ~300k HI.

[koniu]

We are now in 19 Oct 43
Last turn we upgraded to latest "s" patch.

Day earlier i set another CAP trap in Salomon's. 50 enemy bombers shot down.[:)]
Transport interception work perfectly. Last turn 16 C-47 shot down above Lasio.
I send 27 Tojos to intercept them. I use 50XP pilots, half of them after last turn is 60 XP[:D]

I see two TFs between Johnston Islands and Marshals. One look like CVE TF.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: koniu

We are now in 19 Oct 43
Last turn we upgraded to latest "s" patch.

Day earlier i set another CAP trap in Salomon's. 50 enemy bombers shot down.[:)]
Transport interception work perfectly. Last turn 16 C-47 shot down above Lasio.
I send 27 Tojos to intercept them. I use 50XP pilots, half of them after last turn is 60 XP[:D]

I see two TFs between Johnston Islands and Marshals. One look like CVE TF.

An underused tactic, I feel. You can really boost your pilots that way obviously. In my Historiker game he lost about 6-7 a turn for a while sending in PBY to pick up troops, and the Rufes pilots stationed at base went from 50/65 to 65/70 as a group with some pilots flirting with gold status. Those are rare for the Japanese after the beginning crews are lost, so any way to build them up like this is great.

[koniu]

21 Oct 43

Burma
In few days allies will open north supply path to China. I have only one IR East of Lashio and that unit will retreat to Lashio in few days. Today that ubit was bombed from air.
Another important new is that Lashio was shock attacked today with good result. Burma map in next post.

Ground combat at Lashio (62,46)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 1982 troops, 6 guns, 17 vehicles, Assault Value = 540

Defending force 4271 troops, 72 guns, 34 vehicles, Assault Value = 105

Allied adjusted assault: 34

Japanese adjusted defense: 217

Allied assault odds: 1 to 6 (fort level 5)

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

Allied ground losses:
147 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 40 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
84th Indian Brigade
255th Armoured Brigade
75th Indian Brigade
26th Indian Brigade
86th Coast AA Regiment

Defending units:
143rd Infantry Regiment
23rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
26th Fld AA Gun Co
1st JNAF AF Unit

Timor/Arafura Sea
5 days ago my subs detect enemy Cargo TF sailing from East coast of OZ north toward Darwin. TF was moving steady 5 hex per day.
All calculation where telling me that today he will be in range for Bombers flying from Saumlaki. I adjusted search ranges to avoid detecting ships in Darwing hex. Action end with full success. Enemy cargo ships where transporting fuel. Tomorrow i will abandon Saumlaki as i expecting heavy sweeps and Ki-45 will have no chance against P-47, also base have no radar. Biggest gain for me is that Docup know that he can surprise me in that area and any enemy ship will be detected fast enough to give me time to react.

I have also secondary plan to stop that cargo TH i send some cruisers they where detected today and attacked from air byt lacky CAP manahe to disturb attackers and they all miss. In proces we shot down 9 enemy bombers.

Combat rapport is summary of multiple attacks.

Air attack on TF, near Wessel Islands at 83,122

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 22 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 20
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 50

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 11 damaged
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
AM Heed, Bomb hits 5, on fire, and is sunk
xAK Starr King, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Nicholas J. Sinnott, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK John Hart, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Samuel Gompers, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Moses Rogers
xAK R. C. Brennan, Shell hits 2
xAK Philip Doddridge, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Margaret Fuller, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
xAK Owen Summers, Bomb hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK William E. Channing, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Peter Donahue, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK John C. Calhoun, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK John Page, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK William B. Ogden, Bomb hits 6, and is sunk


Aircraft Attacking:
20 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
50 x Ki-45 KAIa Nick bombing from 100 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

[koniu]

Burma Map

[koniu]

3th Tank Division

I totally forgot about that unit. It is currently in China under restricted HQ.
I have 4 options to that unit.

1. Spend 1250 PP and move it to Burma (Burma already have 1300 armored AV)
2. Spend 1250 PP and move it to DEI (Java or Sumatra)
3. Spend 1250 PP and move it Marians, where i split it and hide behind forts lvl 7-8
4. Leave where is right now and spend PP to buy another Inf ID

Any advice??

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: koniu

3th Tank Division

I totally forgot about that unit. It is currently in China under restricted HQ.
I have 4 options to that unit.

1. Spend 1250 PP and move it to Burma (Burma already have 1300 armored AV)
2. Spend 1250 PP and move it to DEI (Java or Sumatra)
3. Spend 1250 PP and move it Marians, where i split it and hide behind forts lvl 7-8
4. Leave where is right now and spend PP to buy another Inf ID

Any advice??

These tank divisions have a lot of AT guns and arty as well as the tanks, and I find that behind forts they do really well. I wouldn't split it though.

If you think Java will be a focus that is a great spot for it as it could move quickly to reinforce an area. On a single island it might just be by-passed but it'll be hard to take that island. Saipan would be my choice if you do place it there. One he definitely wants. You could also put it in Formosa or Luzon, again where it's mobility could be of use.

[JocMeister]

As Erik says they need to be behind forts. Marianas is probably best. I´m not sure trying to use their mobility is a great idea. One Allied ID or two tank BTLs will wreck a Japanese tank div even in x2 terrain. In the open its almost obliterated. So its probably almost impossible to put their mobility to good use.

[koniu]

22 Oct 43

DEI
As suspected Saumlaki was bombed and closed. I lost 15 planes on ground that i was not able to retreat to different AF during last turn.

Eniwetok
Enemy TF that look like CV TF was detected 24 hexes from island. TF direction West.
KB is warming engines. If tomorrow naval search confirms that those are enemy carriers I will seek for battle.
Why Eniwetok. Because it is only island on Marshals reckoned by enemy continuously from weeks

[koniu]

23 Oct 43

Usual day. 4E visit Lashio, Saumlaki, Madang, Manus


Fighter pools.
I start thinking that i can slowdown with production of some fighters.

[obvert]

My advice? Keep building them. All of those you have now you'll be able to keep using until the end. If anything shut the Tojo. Even that can be an escort for kamis though. You rest strikes will launch within 8 hexes anyway. You can close the Oscars down of course, but why not build more kamis? You have less than a year until you'll start really needing them.

Your HI is great. If anything save up supply.

[SqzMyLemon]

I think having large pools of aircraft for later use is a good idea. The trick is to have big pools of your best aircraft left when you need it. I understand the need for Kami's, but I'm not sure I'd want to use too much HI having 800 A6M2's in the pool for example.

Considering production is going to suffer at the hands of Allied bombing at some point, I'd want those better airframes already built and pooled for the late game. I think producing as many late 43 and early 44 fighters as possible the way to go. Whatever you can get in 45 is a bonus.

Of course, never having reached the late game I most likely have no idea what I'm talking about. [:D]

[koniu]

I was worried that i overproduced Tojo, but i forgot that i can escort kamis also It would be nice if Ki-44 have at lest one 250kg bomb.
As for Oscars they are produced as pure kamikaze plane. I am building also Ki-45 for kami role (i know they are expensive). Later when Ki-84r arrive Ki-84a will be also used as kami. 392mph speed will give them decent chance to get trough CAP.
Right now for kamikaze attack i have ~1500 army planes in pool. So probably one or two kamikaze attacks. Navy unit will fly standard missions as long as pilots pools allow that. In next month i will start training first kamikaze navy pilots. Army have right now 1500 kami pilots in ppol (LNav skill 60)

I have no units currently flying Oscar IIa/b and Ic is only training plane. For front service i am using only Ki-44c, Ki-84a, N1K2 and A6M5 for KB.
N1K1 is used by Home Island squadrons. Those squadrons are currently training units but if i need i can in 1 day change them to good combat units.

Here You have plane pools.

[obvert]

You're going to like the Frank r.

A LOT. [;)]

[koniu]

Frank "r" will enter production in 67 days. Plane is planed as New Year gift. I will produce 295 Franks

I read in modding forum discussion about Japanese gas quality.
Some time ago i read about tests US Army was making in late 1945 on Japanese fighters.
Discussion was focusing on N1K1/2 and Ki-84.

When US start tasting they found that both planes where capable for over 400mph flight.
If i remember correctly George was able to keep in horizontal flight 403mph and Ki-84 over 430mph.
They fight some simulated battles against P-51, P-47 and P-38. When fighting on low or medium attitudes Frank where able to fight equal battle with all those planes and when initial hit and run phase was end and classic dogfight begin Frank and George where able to dance around US fighters using wining that 50% of duels.

They also do some modifications to Frank engine (i think it was something with supercharger) and they found that plane is also deadly on high altitudes as well.

I need to find that article.