Turnaround? Lowpe (J) vs Tiemanj (A) Stock

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: String

Do you know what he has in Tijijijijijijijijaljjijip?

A timely question, as events will bear out.

[Lowpe]

Nov 18, 1942

IJN High Command cannot let the Allies ship into Tabiteuea uncontested, and if planes can't get the job done, then the IJN decided to try a small night time raid with the Chokai:

[Lowpe]

Allied bombers take the day off...

and the peerless IJA launches a devastating attack at Batavia, overrunning the outlying forts, breaking into the city, and ABDA commences a full surrender![:D]

Now, only Tjilatjap remains!

[Lowpe]

Not to be outdone, the 5th Fleet orders a general advance in the snowy north, and tankers lead the way and force the entire surrender of the joint American and Canadian invasion force.

[Lowpe]

Over 50,000 supplies are taken, while Batavia industry is pristine.

Total IJA losses in the two major attacks are 2 squads and 1 afv.[:D]

[String]

Hm that 4th aussie cav brigade could have over 170 tanks by now, most of them heavies such as Matildas or M3 Grant/Lee types. He also has a lot of AT weapons there. I don't think you can take that base by brute force alone but must instead starve them out.

[mind_messing]

Tjilatjap is a coastal base with only 150mm guns. Get the battleships set to hammering it!

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

Tjilatjap is a coastal base with only 150mm guns. Get the battleships set to hammering it!

I have had 2-3 battleships hitting it for a while now...today's bombardment.

[Lowpe]

I think this is a first!

[Lowpe]

Nov 19,1942

Allied submarines are effective today hitting a CL, and sinking an xak in the PI, and a tanker (28vp) near Naha. I need to reorganize my convoys...and perhaps take the northern China coastal route.

Allied bombers are back in force this time over Raheng again there is no opposition except for AA.

The move on Tjilatjap will start today.

[Lowpe]

Nov 20, 1042

Back from a long trip to visit graduation on the Hudson River...and I will have time to give to the game and the AAR more regularly in a couple of days. Luckily, no great mistakes were done over the last week as I hurried to do turns here and there between events.

Allied bombers hit Ramree, and again no opposition put up by the Japanese.

The Tone, which has been raiding in the Indian Ocean lately, moved past Diego Garcia, and approached Karachi undetected. A CVE, and tankers were spotted and a night time raid on Karachi was given the green light.

Sneaking into Karachi's port, the Tone achieved operational success and promptly sunk two rather large xAKs, and then fled back to sea...missed the CVE.[:(]

However, the goal was not to wreak a lot of damage, but to scare the Allies into devoting resources in time and ships to the rear areas, and hopefully this raid will achieve that over the short term.

Also, intelligence received by this mission lead me to believe the Allies are very sloppy at rear area security.

[Lowpe]

Nov 21, 1942

24 Fighters lost versus 2 Lightnings in 5 sweeps over Roi Namur, where he also started up the night time bomber sweeps this time to no opposition or I would have lost 4 more fighters. I had 60 of my best experienced fighters here, stacked, in severe storms no less.

I am tempted to CAP at 5000 feet, this should shorten the engagement times if he sweeps at 36K, but still allow for a chance of a bomber intercept at 10K to 12K? Don't know, but I believe I will give it a go.

Can't fight another day in the Marshalls, I have moved almost all fighters to Rabaul, and hope he doesn't start night bombing there.

I am moving all AA units not previously bought out of China to Fusan where I will buy them and send them out. I have decided to not even try to defend against the night bombing except with AA, centralize all fighters only at oil and industry if even there, and move everything else back. I don't see the point in even trying to contest the air.

Allied 4Es hit Burma bases again unopposed.

I have troops moving towards Rabaul to strike at Port Moresby, and I am probably 6 days away from the first ART bombardments at Tjilatjap. I am using subs to gather intel on Ceylon...

I moved the last of the A6M3 and Rufe factories to the A6M5c to speed up that plane which now stands at 10/43 and seems to advance every 4-5 days prior to the addition of these last two factories.

A mini sub in the Kuriles can't take the cold, the battery explodes while charging, promptly sinking the submarine. I wonder if it is a cold related accident or just random chance...

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Nov 21, 1942

24 Fighters lost versus 2 Lightnings in 5 sweeps over Roi Namur, where he also started up the night time bomber sweeps this time to no opposition or I would have lost 4 more fighters. I had 60 of my best experienced fighters here, stacked, in severe storms no less.

I am tempted to CAP at 5000 feet, this should shorten the engagement times if he sweeps at 36K, but still allow for a chance of a bomber intercept at 10K to 12K? Don't know, but I believe I will give it a go.

Can't fight another day in the Marshalls, I have moved almost all fighters to Rabaul, and hope he doesn't start night bombing there.

I am moving all AA units not previously bought out of China to Fusan where I will buy them and send them out. I have decided to not even try to defend against the night bombing except with AA, centralize all fighters only at oil and industry if even there, and move everything else back. I don't see the point in even trying to contest the air.

Allied 4Es hit Burma bases again unopposed.

I have troops moving towards Rabaul to strike at Port Moresby, and I am probably 6 days away from the first ART bombardments at Tjilatjap. I am using subs to gather intel on Ceylon...

I moved the last of the A6M3 and Rufe factories to the A6M5c to speed up that plane which now stands at 10/43 and seems to advance every 4-5 days prior to the addition of these last two factories.

A mini sub in the Kuriles can't take the cold, the battery explodes while charging, promptly sinking the submarine. I wonder if it is a cold related accident or just random chance...

I'm thinking that stacked CAP against Lightnings doesn't really work, because you don't draw them down. And you need to draw them down where the only advantage they have on you is the dive bonus (initially) and speed. Your planes should be similarly armed and more maneuverable, in some cases with the same armor of 1.

[Lowpe]

The IJA moves on Tjilatjap! Hopefully, this won't take too long, but some will depend upon what the Allies reinforced Tjilatjap with. I know of at least three full divisions (2 Aussie and one American) plus lots of vehicles.

Regular bombardments should keep the Allies from using the air base to pester me too much, so maybe I can lighten the defenses around Balikpapen and Palembang. Or at least use those squadrons to train more pilots.

All roads on Java lead to Tjilatjap...probably 6000 assault value. Stacking limits would make the ground game more interesting and less the bigger wrench philosophy. But it is what it is.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna
I'm thinking that stacked CAP against Lightnings doesn't really work, because you don't draw them down. And you need to draw them down where the only advantage they have on you is the dive bonus (initially) and speed. Your planes should be similarly armed and more maneuverable, in some cases with the same armor of 1.

I think you are right. In my case, the upper altitude for my CAP was 21,000 feet. I simply refuse to fly at 30,000 feet in 1942.

I am flying CAP to prevent his bombers, I could care less about his fighters. Enemy bombers are more accurate the lower they fly, so if I set up a low, low CAP hopefully this can minimize his sweep damage, but still give me a chance to deter his bombers or force them to fly high enough where the damage is minimal? Plus, more fighters will get into the battle because of the lower altitude. Perhaps even less op losses, plus the maneuver bonus most Japanese planes get should help too.

Can't hurt to try. Grasping at straws here...

[Lowpe]

Nov 21, 1942

Allied bombers hit Mandalay again unopposed. Magwe still keeps pumping the oil. Not sure why, really. There are 12 AA units there, all big gun ones, but they don't seem to ever shoot down more than 1 plane out of a 100.[&:]

Both sides lose 3 planes today.

Tjilatjap bombarded by two battleship groups scoring hits a plenty with one each on both the Canberra and the DeRuyter who are both listed with heavy damage.

An American sub hits an empty xAP (8vp) in the Kuriles, which sinks, while the escort manages to hit the sub causing severe damage.

[Lowpe]

As the Allied bombers have been hitting various bases in Burma, they have somewhat neglected Magwe. The busy construction engineers there have managed to fully repair the runway, and service is around 20+ percent.

I managed to fly in 90 fighters: Nicks, Tojo's, and some Oscars. CAP is staggered between 7000 to 11000 feet with the Nicks set highest and the Oscars the lowest. I have an additional 75 Tojo's on the way.

As the Allies have had total success in Burma, the air attacks have naturally fragmented and the big sweeps are mostly gone, so there is a chance for a nasty surprise here for the Allied bombers. It would be nice to redevelop Magwe and defend it, but he moonlight is 100% and night bomber sweeps might chew me up if I decide to contest the night attacks.

[Lowpe]

My current night fighter r&d.

I will also build some of the single engine night fighters. Plus, I probably will also add some Nick factories and expand the Peggy and the P1Y2-s too. I am debating about putting a big effort into the Randy, and I have probably about a month to decide about that frame.

The Peggy is an interesting plane with a big, big gun (that misses). In studying Obvert's AAR, night fighters are really poor plane killers except for the P1Y2-s which seemed pretty darn effective with radar and 20 mm cannons. The Peggy lacks the radar, but might be able to actually kill a 4e. Also, the Peggy is the most durable night fighter there is. She might be a diamond in the rough, or at least one can hope.[:)]

The Dinah needs to be built to convert some recon squadrons to night fighter use. I think then they can only upgrade to the Randy, so they will be built for quite a long time.

In my rough counting, there are 22 or so squadrons that can be converted to the early night fighters or come on as reinforcements. Most are sized 18. I plan to staff every one of them, and save the Tracom pilots for the armored, radar squadrons.

I hope to win the Night War, or at least not make it easy. I most likely will overproduce night fighters, but I would rather spend too much on them, than sit back helplessly each night phase.

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

My current night fighter r&d.

I will also build some of the single engine night fighters. Plus, I probably will also add some Nick factories and expand the Peggy and the P1Y2-s too. I am debating about putting a big effort into the Randy, and I have probably about a month to decide about that frame.

The Peggy is an interesting plane with a big, big gun (that misses). In studying Obvert's AAR, night fighters are really poor plane killers except for the P1Y2-s which seemed pretty darn effective with radar and 20 mm cannons. The Peggy lacks the radar, but might be able to actually kill a 4e. Also, the Peggy is the most durable night fighter there is. She might be a diamond in the rough, or at least one can hope.[:)]

The Dinah needs to be built to convert some recon squadrons to night fighter use. I think then they can only upgrade to the Randy, so they will be built for quite a long time.

In my rough counting, there are 22 or so squadrons that can be converted to the early night fighters or come on as reinforcements. Most are sized 18. I plan to staff every one of them, and save the Tracom pilots for the armored, radar squadrons.

I hope to win the Night War, or at least not make it easy. I most likely will overproduce night fighters, but I would rather spend too much on them, than sit back helplessly each night phase.

It might be worth considering night defence as a two-stage defensive process rather than just depending on night fighters.

Japan's AA might not be up to Allied standards, but as the war progresses, you get a fair number of AA guns. On top of that, a lot of the static base forces in the Home Islands get a TOE upgrade to get some DP 12.7cm guns (the Yokohama base force gets 96 of them!).

I'd start looking at how you'd deploy those AA guns in relation to your night fighter deployment. What would be better than night fighters disrupting the strike on the way in, and then having a flak trap inflict a heavy toll? Limit the damage and keep the 4E attrition rates high!

[Lowpe]

Great point, and I am relying upon heavy concentrations of AA right now.

At a minimum, you will want to have 3 of the AA Rgts at critical locations since they have the best radar.

I will have to start looking at searchlight concentrations, too. AA Rgts have 12, JNAF eng units have 2, while the JAAF eng units have radar.

I am curious, has anyone swapped out the leaders of the AA units with better ones? I assume Land would be the skill of choice, and a quick glance shows a lot of poor leaders in the AA units.

Is it worth swapping them out?