::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

[obvert]

Finally some of the port strikes came through and three AKE were hit and set on fire, but unless the perils of Japanese damage control take over I don't think any will sink.

[obvert]

At last a DB group gets through, but sadly the ONLY one set from 8 hexes! [:@]

Fuso took 4 x 500lb and Yamashiro took 1 x 500lb bombs. Moslt damage to topside stuff I'm sure.

[obvert]

Sadly, of the 2Es set to hit the airfields only two groups of ten flew, so in spite of the success with the 4Es the field swill be open. He'll have a tough choice on whether to stay and defend there though, as with the listed damage of 37, another day of strikes that get through, and possibly with better weather, would almost certainly close Rabaul leaving anything there in peril. It's expensive to have to disband air groups, and even more to lose naval assets if CAP isn't able to fly during the afternoon phase.

[obvert]

I had three Lightning groups set to sweep and ALL of them came in after 90% of the strikes! [:@]

They did clean up some of the remaining CAP with no losses to themselves, so the silver lining is they are fresh for tomorrow and there are a few less Georges around. [:)]

[obvert]

The Allies secure Green Island by paradrop and Buka now has a full US regiment plus a few smaller engineer units. A DA will follow directly.

[obvert]

At Arawe the Cavalry have landed and will attack tomorrow. Interestingly another piece of the 53rd division from Kaveing is here. I don't think he'll fly more in but either way it's good to have this weakened and split around to several bases right now. I have troops fully propped for Namatami and if we can close Rabaul the plan is to immediately load up and swing to invade there, threatening to encircle Rabaul and move North to the Islands above.

My feeling is that the KB may be put into play at any moment, and that is in fact the hope, as other plans would benefit in the near future from knowing its exact location. [:)]

[obvert]

The losses are severe on the day for both sides but luckily the heaviest losses for the Allies are from some of the deepest pools, including the naval strike DB and TBs. I've got a ton of those now.

The P-47s didn't fare as well in a LR CAP role and I am thinking they'd be better used simply sweeping. My thoughts were to have them more involved throughout the day, but maybe they're just best as a solid right hook.

although we didn't achieve a 2:1 the oases on the Japanese side have to be crippling to any future defense of the area. The notable absence are the Franks, which swept Lae, so they could be used tomorrow. almost a full George group could be fielded as well, but the A6M and Ki-43 groups have to be hurting, and lower on the morale I'm guessing too.

My Hellcats are halved, but I'm landing a few groups from the CVEs that are retiring to Tulagi and I'll post those forward to keep fresh groups in the mix. Everything will sweep tomorrow with a very small LR CAP, and ALL strike planes remain set.

I noticed that those at Vella Lavella didn't fly either, so about 250-300 planes are set to go that didn't take part at all during this turn. Actually more, if you count my unintended surprise. [;)]

[Lowpe]

Nick has done well with plane r&d, you are up against some pretty good frames there![X(]

[obvert]

The surprise is that the CVs didn't take part on the 15th! They didn't make it their assigned 10 hexes to the launch zone, surprisingly to me. They also ended up under a cloud with NO detection level showing, and from Nick's response to the turn, he doesn't seem to know they are there. Maybe this is a blessing, maybe a curse, but I've decided to send them North deep into IJN territory either way!

The goal is to prevent a retreat of his surface forces from Rabaul to Truk and to hit anything still there if they chose to stay. The Hellcats are set to 40% CAP and strike range of 7 all at 10k so this will be tough if the KB shows up, with a less than ideal defensive setting, but for offense it should be solid. There are a LOT of TBs in the strike mix thanks to the CVLs here. It's a gamble, but at this point I think a good one. We'll see!

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Nick has done well with plane r&d, you are up against some pretty good frames there![X(]

Yep. He has prioritized the A6M and Ki-43 lines and of course gotten the George and Frank as early as possible. I'm a bit worried about the future as the end of the lines for all of these groups is something very good, so eventually he'll field a more than capable defensive air force.

[Drakanel]

That was a wonderful turn coverage. I love waking up to something like this, lots of screenshots and you can really feel the tension [8D]

Ouch for the bad weather messing with your plans, and for the sweeps going in last. But I'd still call the day a moderate success. Your main problem is that he may decide to pull out, thus avoiding more losses, but the campaign for Rabaul seems to go quite well.

Actually, perhaps the strikes that didn't go in might be a blessing, and the undetected CVs even more so. If he doesn't have a good recon of the area, he might think you do not have that many planes ready to strike, and so he MIGHT decide to stay and fight another day. Hopefully so!

And if he brings in the KB.... the fact he does not know of yours CVs could be a really nasty surprise! Really looking forward to next turn now [:)]

[obvert]

[font="Times New Roman"]August 15th, 1943[/font]

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[font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]SO PAC: [/font] Just the essential strikes listed below.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR August 15, 43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on TF, near Buka at 109,128

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 67 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 36
D4Y1 Judy x 58
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 18

Allied aircraft
P-39N1 Airacobra x 10
P-40E Warhawk x 6
F4F-4 Wildcat x 47
FM-1 Wildcat x 11
F6F-3 Hellcat x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 5 destroyed
D4Y1 Judy: 17 destroyed, 12 damaged
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 5 destroyed

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
LST-460, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Ralph Talbot
LST-457
LST-464
DD McCall
LCI-221, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
LST-462
LST-461
LST-458, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
LST-447, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Henley

Allied ground losses:
261 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 19 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 9 (4 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x D4Y1 Judy releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Buka at 109,128

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 72 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 9
Ki-48-IIb Lily x 34

Allied aircraft
P-39N1 Airacobra x 4
P-40E Warhawk x 4
F4F-4 Wildcat x 30
FM-1 Wildcat x 6
F6F-3 Hellcat x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-48-IIb Lily: 10 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-48-IIb Lily: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
YMS-290
PC Wanaka
LCT-370
LST-464
LST-342, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AM Conflict
LCT-379, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Ki-48-IIb Lily releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 2 x 100 kg SAP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Buka at 109,128

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 30 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 9
Ki-48-IIb Lily x 22

Allied aircraft
P-39N1 Airacobra x 3
P-40E Warhawk x 4
F4F-4 Wildcat x 21
FM-1 Wildcat x 3
F6F-3 Hellcat x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 2 destroyed
Ki-48-IIb Lily: 6 destroyed, 5 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
xAKL Argus, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PC Wanaka, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAKL Minnipa, Bomb hits 2, on fire

Allied ground losses:
112 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x Ki-48-IIb Lily releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 2 x 100 kg SAP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 41 NM, estimated altitude 29,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 29
A6M5c Zero x 65
A6M8 Zero x 66
N1K1-J George x 41
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 69
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 31

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 20
F6F-3 Hellcat x 48

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M5c Zero: 6 destroyed
A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed
Ki-43-IV Oscar: 2 destroyed
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 4 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
16 x F6F-3 Hellcat sweeping at 25000 feet *

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 35 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 23
A6M5c Zero x 46
A6M8 Zero x 56
N1K1-J George x 34
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 49
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 26

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M5c Zero: 6 destroyed
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed
Ki-43-IV Oscar: 3 destroyed
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x F4U-1 Corsair sweeping at 25000 feet *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 73 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 25 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 11
A6M5c Zero x 16
A6M8 Zero x 10
N1K1-J George x 15
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 11
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 8

Allied aircraft
Boomerang C-12 x 18
B-24D Liberator x 3
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 39

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5c Zero: 1 destroyed, 9 damaged
A6M5c Zero: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-43-IV Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-57-II Topsy: 1 destroyed on ground
H8K2 Emily: 2 destroyed on ground
G3M3 Nell: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-57-I Topsy: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 3 destroyed on ground
Ki-48-IIb Lily: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
Boomerang C-12: 3 destroyed
B-24D Liberator: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 2 destroyed, 6 damaged

Airbase hits 6
Runway hits 9

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 7
A6M5c Zero x 10
A6M8 Zero x 4
N1K1-J George x 13
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 8
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 7

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6
P-39D Airacobra x 25
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed
Ki-43-IV Oscar: 2 damaged
Ki-43-IV Oscar: 1 destroyed on ground
G3M3 Nell: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-57-II Topsy: 1 destroyed on ground
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed on ground
H8K2 Emily: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-57-I Topsy: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 2 damaged

Airbase hits 5
Runway hits 9

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 50 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 1

Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-46-III Dinah: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-57-II Topsy: 5 destroyed on ground
Ki-57-I Topsy: 4 destroyed on ground
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-48-IIb Lily: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 1 destroyed on ground
J1N1-C Irving: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 1 destroyed on ground

No Allied losses

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 11

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 65 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 18 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 1

Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 11

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-26B Marauder: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
AKE Izan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AKE Nisso Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Port hits 2
Port fuel hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x B-26B Marauder bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Rabaul at 106,125

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 19

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso, Bomb hits 4
BB Yamashiro, Bomb hits 1
DD Ushio

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' *
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 60 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 5
A6M5c Zero x 9
A6M8 Zero x 9
N1K1-J George x 10
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 12
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 8

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 16
F6F-3 Hellcat x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5c Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed
Ki-43-IV Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-57-I Topsy: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged

Runway hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Rabaul at 106,125

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 67 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 62
FM-1 Wildcat x 11
F6F-3 Hellcat x 11
TBF-1 Avenger x 23

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso
APD Hagi
DD Nenohi
CL Isuzu
BB Yamashiro
DD Oboro
DD Ayanami

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 6000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
4 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 6000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
14 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 6000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

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

Ground combat at Hansa Bay (97,121)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 508 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 47

Defending force 277 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 12

Japanese adjusted assault: 23

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 23 to 1

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

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

Assaulting units:
3rd Raiding Rgt /1
53rd Div /3
44th Naval Guard Unit
4th Ind.Mixed Rgt /1
81st Nav Gd /1

Defending units:
1st Australian Para Bn /1


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

Ground combat at Green Island (108,127)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 330 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 21

Defending force 501 troops, 0 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 16

Allied adjusted assault: 5

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Green Island !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-), fatigue(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
254 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
116 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
3rd USMC Parachute Bn /1

Defending units:
Maizuru 2nd SNLF /3


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

Ground combat at Arawe (102,126)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 126 troops, 6 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 11

Defending force 849 troops, 1 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 56

Assaulting units:
53rd Div /2
Maizuru 3rd SNLF /1
18th Garrison Unit /6

Defending units:
112th Cavalry Rgt /1
7th USN Naval Const Rgt /1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/font]

---

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Drakanel

That was a wonderful turn coverage. I love waking up to something like this, lots of screenshots and you can really feel the tension [8D]

Ouch for the bad weather messing with your plans, and for the sweeps going in last. But I'd still call the day a moderate success. Your main problem is that he may decide to pull out, thus avoiding more losses, but the campaign for Rabaul seems to go quite well.

Actually, perhaps the strikes that didn't go in might be a blessing, and the undetected CVs even more so. If he doesn't have a good recon of the area, he might think you do not have that many planes ready to strike, and so he MIGHT decide to stay and fight another day. Hopefully so!

And if he brings in the KB.... the fact he does not know of yours CVs could be a really nasty surprise! Really looking forward to next turn now [:)]

Me too!!!

He's been busy this week so the turn should come in today or tomorrow. Yikes! This is the first time I've used the CVs this far forward in a striking role, and it's not the whole meal deal, so it's a bit of a risk. The lack of DL is the ONLY reason I'm even trying this.

[Lokasenna]

I'm not surprised the CVs didn't go 10 hexes. I only count on 2x Cruise speed movement, and never more. If I need them to go more, I change them to full speed. Yes, they CAN move at 2x Mission on Mission Speed but don't often. Most times, they move at some mix of the two. Only when there is a threat, or in rare cases, will they go faster than 2x Cruise. I had thought you only had 8 hexes to move, not 10, to get within 6-hex range.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

I'm not surprised the CVs didn't go 10 hexes. I only count on 2x Cruise speed movement, and never more. If I need them to go more, I change them to full speed. Yes, they CAN move at 2x Mission on Mission Speed but don't often. Most times, they move at some mix of the two. Only when there is a threat, or in rare cases, will they go faster than 2x Cruise. I had thought you only had 8 hexes to move, not 10, to get within 6-hex range.

I've always had good luck getting ships into position without using flank and moving 10-12 hexes. As Japan I almost never used flank speed, but had been setting patrol sots at the destination. This time I used a stationary point for the SCTF with two CV TFs following. I may have to play with this in my test game for a bit to get used to the different options again. I want to know absolutely what will move where each day as much as humanly possible.

[obvert]

Just got back from Belgium. No turn back yet. I'm chomping at the bit for this one, but completely understand this is not an easy time for Nick and I will have to be patient. It is a big one!

Went to the Ardennes for a school trip these past four days. Got a lot of chances to wander and staying in La Roche en Ardennes managed to see a bit of history while I was there. The pace was flattened to destroy the remaining bridge during the Battle of the Bulge, but didn't see a lot of actual fighting on the ground like many of the surrounding towns and villages, apparently.

There was a Sherman and an M10 TD on the roads into town. I also went to a small Museum dedicated to the battle. I love hearing the small stories, like a Tavern owner who delayed a German Panzer advance by telling them the road was mined ahead for miles (though she knew only the small section around her crossroads was actually mined). The Panzers turned around in that case, maybe letting the Allies move in further and dig, thus saving lives.

It's an amazing area, and very beautiful in the sunshine now. I'd love to go back to explore some more.

[obvert]

Also saw this Gloucester Meteor in Dinant at the Citadelle there. Very cool!

[BBfanboy]

What's a Meteor doing on display in Belgium? Did the RAF have a base near there during the Cold War?

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

What's a Meteor doing on display in Belgium? Did the RAF have a base near there during the Cold War?

I wondered the same, and looked it up. The Meteor was a big export model post WW2 and Belgium got a bunch of them, apparently. Note the markings.

[obvert]

Since I haven't gotten a turn since last week I'll do some updating on the campaign so far. I'm hoping Nick and his family are okay.

Here is the info screen from the most recent turn. Inching closer.