Jorge's(A) crusade to the fabled kingdom of PresterJohn(J) DBB-C --- Allied AAR

[Jorge_Stanbury]

The first day of invasion went as expected.

- 1st Gloucestershire Bn and some leftover cadres from the main invasion start the diversionary invasion of Koggala. Base was empty and there were no mines.


- 1st USMC Para succesfully captured Jaffna, this is where the main invasion will arrive next turn. Why Jaffna?? two main reasons:
1) Port size 3: this is important because the invasion fleet is mainly xAPs and xAKs. Port size 3 should speed up a bit unloading.
2) Close to mainland: I have fighters and naval bombers on Tanjore, Madras or Cochin. Transports are all at Cochin. Jaffna is a lot closer to support than far away Koggala

What else?
- Significant Japanese submarine attacks yielded only one xAK, better yet, it was carrying supplies and not troops.

- Mini KB is coming... I thought it was parked in Calcutta, but looks it was at Pt Blair.

- Heavy Volume of Radio transmissions detected at Singapore (50,84)... is he bringing reinforcements??

- Nells attacked one of the convoys (I didn't see it in the replay!), but anyway, no losses. And from tomorrow onwards they will have CAP cover


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 18, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Colombo at 27,48

Japanese Ships
SS I-30

Allied Ships
xAP Maori

xAP Maori is sighted by SS I-30
SS I-30 launches 2 torpedoes at xAP Maori


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Colombo at 27,47

Japanese Ships
SS I-155

Allied Ships
xAK Industria

xAK Industria is sighted by SS I-155
SS I-155 launches 2 torpedoes at xAK Industria


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Koggala at 28,50

Japanese Ships
SS I-123, hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Exeter
DD Isaac Sweers
DD Norman
DD Napier
DD Nestor
DD Isis
DD Griffin
DD Encounter

SS I-123 launches 4 torpedoes at CA Exeter
I-123 diving deep ....
DD Isis attacking submerged sub ....
DD Griffin fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Encounter attacking submerged sub ....
DD Isis fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Encounter fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Encounter fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Encounter attacking submerged sub ....
DD Encounter fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Encounter fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Encounter fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amphibious Assault at Koggala (29,50)

TF 29 troops unloading over beach at Koggala, 29,50

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



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Colombo at 27,48

Japanese Ships
SS I-155

Allied Ships
xAK Fultala, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

xAK Fultala is sighted by SS I-155
SS I-155 launches 2 torpedoes at xAK Fultala


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Koggala at 28,50

Japanese Ships
SS I-123

Allied Ships
xAK Trevilley

xAK Trevilley is sighted by SS I-123
SS I-123 launches 2 torpedoes at xAK Trevilley

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Trincomalee at 32,49

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 23 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 13

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAK Weltevreden
xAP Santa Paula
xAP Maui
DM Thracian

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 6000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

Carrier support unable to supply air cover..


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amphibious Assault at Koggala (29,50)

TF 212 troops unloading over beach at Koggala, 29,50

Allied ground losses:
Guns lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (0 destroyed, 5 disabled)

15 Support troops accidentally lost during unload of 160th Infantry Rgt /5


Ground combat at Jaffna (31,45)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 729 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 28

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

Allied adjusted assault: 23

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 23 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Jaffna !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(+), leaders(-)

Assaulting units:
1st USMC Parachute Bn /1

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Now as predicted, a carrier battle looks imminent

I don't know if I am looking forward to it!! I have 2 options basically:

- Charge heads on trying to predict where he will position his carriers. If I win then the invasion will succeed, If not then it will be a massacre

- Keep close to the main invasion, sacrifice the diversionary invasion at Koggala if needed. By keeping closer to Jaffna I can delay things a bit and remain under some air cover. Problem is he most likely will be positioning his carriers at perfect range (7 hexes.. outside fighter cover).

thoughts???

[jwolf]

Did you know via recon that Jaffna was empty?

Regarding the tactical situation, disclaimer: I am very inexperienced and know basically nothing. But here goes anyway. OK the Japanese have a range advantage, under normal conditions, in a potential carrier fight. But ... 7 hexes from where? Jaffna? Current location of your CVs? How will he know where you will move your CV TF during the turn?

Your CV TF that is currently near Trincomalee would appear to be already committed. They can't flee the area without going into range of his forces coming from the SE. That's the tactical difficulty with invading at Jaffna: all your ships are pretty much trapped unless you win.

What is your top priority: saving ships or liberating Ceylon? I would guess that Ceylon is worth some significant losses, but just how much is debatable.

Has his air been cleared from the Ceylon bases? And how confident are you that your LBA can maintain superiority?

Well, mostly I just have more questions and no answers. Sorry. [:(] Good luck!

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Yes of course; from time to time I sent recon missions to both Koggala and Jaffna. I have a Dutch recon squadron at Tanjore for that specific purpose (short range FK-51 biplane... no range for anything else really). I could have done daily recons, but I prefer to make it less obvious. by the date of the invasion, DL was 7/10. I also sent a submarine to look for mines...

Neither he nor I will know what the other one will be doing... so it is a guessing game. I will certainly not flee, but I might move into a better defensive position.

Jaffna has its disadvantages, sure... but also significant advantages:
- port level 3,
- airbase level 1, where I already rebased 2 fighter and 2 patrol squadrons
- close to Tanjore, only 3 hexes, where I have a level 2 airbase, with more than 100 planes, mostly fighters
- close to Madras, 6 hexes, where I have a level 8.81 airfield and 6.93 port. There are more than 400 planes in Madras and once it reaches level 9 there won't be any penalty for launching all together. Also, as soon as the port reaches level 7, then I can rearm anything there... so yes, my fleet is isolated but I won't consider it trapped.

Ceylon bases are craters: Colombo is 87 airbase damage, Trincomalee 95... no planes at all... Bombing stopped a couple turns ago, but I will restart Colombo... not Trincomalee as I want to capture in a better shape

I am expecting significant losses, but also Japanese losses, There are only around 27 Kates in the KB, I have more than 60 ships at sea near Ceylon.. even if all score hits, I can keep going. I am really more afraid of the surface forces coming later. Again Madras level 7 port with significant LBA support is what can make me sustain the campaign.

By the way, I have 113 transports at Madras, all except 3 Dutch Lodestars are DC-3s/ C-47... even if there is a disaster at sea, I am confident I can keep an air bridge to reinforce any survivor.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Forces (LCUs) committed:

Main forces
27th USA Inf Div
40th USA Inf Div (3 regiments)
145th USA Inf Reg
148th USA Inf Reg

Amphibious/ Para
1st Gloucestershire battalion diversionary invasion at Koggala, half still embarked... at high risk
1st USMC Para succesfully landed at Jaffna

Artillery
30 FA regiment
1st USMC Field Artillery

Second line:
51 Base group
308 Base group
23 Base group at Koggala, very high risk of annihilation tomorrow

Others:
HQ Eastern Army at Tanjore. command radious = 5 hexes
221 Group RAF HQa to be transported by air
IV Indian Corps HQc to be transported by air

[IdahoNYer]

You're off to a great start!

You've shut down his LBA capability on Ceylon and have established an airbase to protect your initial landings at Jaffna. With your own LBA providing cover over Jaffna (can LRCAP range from India to augment?), you can focus on supporting Koggala and the Mini-KB. I'd hang around the invasion, hoping the IJN air hits the transports instead of your CVs. Your challenge will be providing some type of sufficient CAP over both your CVs and the invasion TF, AND having enough escorts for a strike. But if you stay close to the Koggala invasion, my bet is he'll come to you...

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Thanks a lot!!

I think I will keep the CVs close to Jaffna instead of Koggala invasion. I will explain why:

- There is really no invasion fleet at Koggala, he might be seeing one when he reads in the the replay: " TF 212 troops unloading over beach at Koggala, 29,50; 15 Support troops accidentally lost during unload of 160th Infantry Rgt /5"
and he might think that the 160th infantry regiment is unloading there, but that is not true, the real 160th is moving to Jaffna in a fast convoy. When I loaded the amphibious TFs, there were some leftover troops that didn't embark because the TF run out of space, these troops are mostly "support" or "motorized support" that missed the boat, and were loaded in tiny ships to follow up... this is why they are a day later.
The only real troops that can be destroyed if KB attacks are :
23 Base force --> I have plenty of base forces now
maybe 1/3 of 1st Gloucestershire battalion --> half already disembarked, at least another 1/3 will unload in the earlier phases before air attack

- The ships at risk are as irrelevant as the LCUs. I have:
12 "Strait KPM" class xAPs both small and medium --> capacity around 350 to 500 troops + 567 cargo, not a big loss
2 "Maori/ Union" class xAPs --> these are nice little xAPs, but I will survive without them
AO Cimarron --> OK this one will be a great loss, but the APDs needed fuel and I had no choice but to put it on risk.
12 APDs --> I doubt they will be targeted as they are not high priority, can easily dodge torpedoes, so good chance of surviving
3 KVs --> disposable, and low priority target, will most likely survive
6 slow xAKs (12 knots) --> disposable
2 CMs --> I can live without them
1 PG --> Erebus.. I would try to save it but it is leaving in 90 days, so no big loss

So... 39 ships.. he has at most 27 Kates.. some will survive


if he wants to strike that TF... let him have it... let him waste his torpedoes while the real invasion unloads and his DL goes up

[IdahoNYer]

makes sense, protect your main effort.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

As predicted, today I had a carrier battle near Trincomalee; results were great:

- Allied CAP stopped all Japanese strikes, with heavy bomber losses
- CVL Zuiho: 4 bombs, heavy fires, heavy damage, heavy smoke obscuring carrier
- CVE Unyo: 3 bombs, on fire, ammo storage explosion, heavy smoke obscuring carrier
- CVE Taiyo: 1 bombs, 2 torpedoes, on fire, heavy damage

Air losses
Allies: 11 Dauntless, 10 Martlets, 7 Wildcats, 3 Swordfish
Japan (FOW): 34 Kates, 24 Zeroes, 9 Vals

More to follow

I have 3 more carriers to add to my collection!!

[jwolf]

Fantastic! Can you follow with surface ships to finish the job? And if so, safely? But in any case this looks very good for the operations at Ceylon. Congratulations!

[Jorge_Stanbury]

These are the morning strikes;

turn basically started with some failed submarine strikes; followed by an attack to my diversionary invasion at Koggala by LBA from Pt. Blair. Losses were surprisingly low:

LBAs over Koggala
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Koggala at 29,50

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 76 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 14
G4M1 Betty x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
xAK Jalapalaka
CM Gouden Leeuw, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PG Erebus, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Texan
xAK Shinkuang, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x G3M3 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
7 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 6000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

Massive explosion on CM Gouden Leeuw


Then an uncoordinated strike from Vals; this likely a squadron from CV Junyo.
Junyo was torpedoed some months ago, so makes totally sense he rebased the Vals into an available CVE
19 arrived, but most left due to unescorted raid... 7 shot down

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Trincomalee at 32,48

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 30 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 19

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 15
P-38E Lightning x 4
F4F-4 Wildcat x 36

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 4 destroyed

No Allied losses

CAP engaged:
VF-71 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 24 on standby, 0 scrambling)
12 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes
No.880 Sqn FAA with Sea Hurricane Ib (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling)
5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes
23rd FG/74th FS with P-38E Lightning (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Raid is overhead
23rd FG/75th FS with P-38E Lightning (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 10 minutes

Then the main Japanese morning strike; I counted 11 Zeros and all 19 Kates shot down by CAP [;)]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Trincomalee at 32,48

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 33 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
B5N1 Kate x 19

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 15
P-38E Lightning x 3
F4F-4 Wildcat x 35

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 8 destroyed
B5N1 Kate: 8 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

CAP engaged:
VF-71 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 16 on standby, 0 scrambling)
19 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes
8 planes vectored on to bombers
No.880 Sqn FAA with Sea Hurricane Ib (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
6 planes vectored on to bombers
23rd FG/74th FS with P-38E Lightning (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 7 minutes
2 planes vectored on to bombers
23rd FG/75th FS with P-38E Lightning (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 9 minutes


Then the main Allied attack; CAP did surprisingly poor, 13 Dauntlets and 11 Swordfish penetrated it
As you can see, CVE Taiyo and CVE Unyo ended heavily damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Trincomalee at 34,53

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 27 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24

Allied aircraft
Martlet II x 10
Swordfish I x 13
SBD-3 Dauntless x 17

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Martlet II: 3 destroyed
Swordfish I: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVE Taiyo, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CVL Zuiho
CVE Unyo, Bomb hits 2, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
11 x Swordfish I launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
Zuiho-1 with A6M2 Zero (4 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 6 minutes
Hosho-1 with A6M2 Zero (4 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 7 minutes


Then 11 Kates come unescorted, 5 decided to keep going and were shot down
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Trincomalee at 32,48

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 17 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 11

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 10
P-38E Lightning x 3
F4F-4 Wildcat x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed

No Allied losses

CAP engaged:
VF-71 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
19 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes
23rd FG/74th FS with P-38E Lightning (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
23rd FG/75th FS with P-38E Lightning (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
No.880 Sqn FAA with Sea Hurricane Ib (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes

Then Dauntless went unescorted, 5 decided to press on and were shot down

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Trincomalee at 34,53

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 45 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 17

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 3 destroyed

CAP engaged:
Zuiho-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes
Hosho-1 with A6M2 Zero (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Afternoon strikes


This started with Japanese LBAs bombing Koggala invasion forces, minor losses

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Koggala at 29,50

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
xAP Van Heemskerck
xAP Le Maire, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Paul Jones

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x G3M3 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp

Then the main afternoon Japanese strike... smaller numbers [:D]
I counted 6 Zeros and 8 Kates shot down

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Trincomalee at 32,48

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 69 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
B5N1 Kate x 8

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 11
P-38E Lightning x 4
F4F-4 Wildcat x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
B5N1 Kate: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

CAP engaged:
VF-71 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 16 on standby, 0 scrambling)
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes
15 planes vectored on to bombers
No.880 Sqn FAA with Sea Hurricane Ib (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
23rd FG/74th FS with P-38E Lightning (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Raid is overhead
2 planes vectored on to bombers
23rd FG/75th FS with P-38E Lightning (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 9 minutes
2 planes vectored on to bombers

Then afternoon main Allied attack; CVE Taiyo is unaccounted... did it sink?
CVL Zuiho got four 1,000 pounders hits, Unyo one, but with ammo storage explosion

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Trincomalee at 34,53

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7

Allied aircraft
Martlet II x 16
SBD-3 Dauntless x 23

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Martlet II: 1 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVE Unyo, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Ashigara
DD Uranami

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
2 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
5 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
3 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
Zuiho-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes

Ammo storage explosion on CVE Unyo
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVE Unyo
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Zuiho

[Jorge_Stanbury]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Fantastic! Can you follow with surface ships to finish the job? And if so, safely? But in any case this looks very good for the operations at Ceylon. Congratulations!

Thanks, I don't know yet if I will send the carriers to follow, but I certainly won't detach surface forces, I don't have enough, he has plenty. I need to avoid surface combat unless he is threatening the main invasion fleet

[BBfanboy]

Well done! [&o]

Even though all three enemy carriers are sunk or hors de combat, the aircraft may have transferred to Ceylon. Are any of the runways there functional, bearing in mind that the airfield damage reported by Recon is airfield service damage, not runway damage?

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Colombo is still functional; as of last turn 32 Oscars surprised my B-17s, inflicting 5 losses.

I am not too concerned about Kates transferring to Colombo or Trincomalee; as most where destroyed

This is the recon status:

[Jorge_Stanbury]

By the way... I reinforced my carriers to be ready for some serious hunting next turn [;)]

As you can see I added No.818 FAA to Wasp and No.820 to Illustrious.. both are now slightly over capacity

You might also noticed no USN torpedo bombers... I don't have any faith on them, not even for Avengers; so they are at Madras now... I preferred to bring more CAP instead (Sea Hurricanes), and that paid very well yesterday

[jwolf]

Those Oscars at Colombo should be lost very soon as they are all too far away from any other base -- correct? And it looks like he has just one division at Colombo and a small unit at Trincomalee; looking very good for the liberation of the whole island. [:)]

[Jorge_Stanbury]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Those Oscars at Colombo should be lost very soon as they are all too far away from any other base -- correct? And it looks like he has just one division at Colombo and a small unit at Trincomalee; looking very good for the liberation of the whole island. [:)]

No the transfer range of Oscars (of most Japanese airplanes really) is enormous.. He can bring them back and forth from the mainland. Still some will die!

I am now a lot more confident on the success of the main objective, which is liberation of Ceylon... the second objective, the destruction of the garrison, might be a little harder to achieve... this because my submarines saw KB leaving the Home islands... if he comes in force, he can certainly evacuate it and there will be very little I can do about it. KB still rules

[BBfanboy]

Well, Columbo should be easy to take with only 18,000 "potted troops"! [:D]

I think he made a mistake pulling everything back to Columbo. It is a clear hex and on the Allied side of the seas around the island. Trincomalee has a good port, is in terrain with some defensive advantage and is a more direct route for him to support or evacuate.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

He doesn't have enough troops to defend all Ceylon, that is certain.
I think one advantage of Colombo is the big port... it should be easier to evacuate once the island is no longer sustainable