Great Tides that Ebb and Flow: Apbarog (A) vs Walker (J) DBB-B Scen 28

[Walker84]

Sept 9 - 13

India / Burma Headline - Diamond Harbour is back in business

Sporadic bombing attacks at Diamond Harbour, some being directed at the port, fails to prevent my engineers progressively to repair the airfield damage to the extent that I am able to fly two full-strength fighter units back in on the 13th. I expect this will attract stronger attacks over the next few days but, with a bit of luck, I may be able to keep the base open long enough to allow the evacuation to continue.

More laborious movement takes place along the Burmese border but no attacks yet as, apart from the Ledo salient, the opposing forces have still to come into contact.

DEI

Massive shipments of fuel and oil have been leaving the DEI for some months now. There have been remarkably few attempts to interdict my convoys here, although some mines were swept recently, just outside Palembang.

Mopping up of isolated bases such as Iloilo and Zamboanga continues.

[Walker84]

SW Pacific

No major activity for the last few days. An Allied convoy turns up at Lunga, likely to resupply or land more troops so I send a SCTF nearer in order to sabre rattle but decide against sweeping the base given plenty of Allied fighters have suddenly arrived and are no doubt set to max CAP.

Base building in the Solomons is accelerating and Tarawa is going to see an influx of LBA soon which will help to protect assets in the vicinity of Ocean Island, Makin and Tabiteau.

[Walker84]

Sept 14th, 1942

As expected, multiple Allied air attacks hit the newly-reinforced airbase at Diamond Harbour. The Allies lose 26 planes to 15 defenders. Most importantly, the base only has runway damage of 2 and port damage of 43 after repairs have taken place.

In a novel development, LB-30s bomb Hong Kong which is devoid of CAP, although a training flight of Nates try to intercept and lose two of their number in the process.

Morning Air attack on Hong Kong , at 77,61

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
LB-30 Liberator x 11

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
LB-30 Liberator: 8 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x LB-30 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet *
Port Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x LB-30 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet *
City Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
77th Sentai with Ki-27b Nate (33 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
33 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 100 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 100.
Raid is overhead

Training flight from 77th Sentai has been caught up in attack

[jwolf]

Heh. I read about the planned bombing raid on Hong Kong in the Allied AAR and I was curious how that would play out. Looks like little if any result but it was a cool idea (of course not so cool for the Japanese side).

It seems really hard to keep an airfield suppressed. It wasn't that long ago that Diamond Harbor was a totally cratered mess and you got it fixed up amazingly quickly.

[Walker84]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Heh. I read about the planned bombing raid on Hong Kong in the Allied AAR and I was curious how that would play out. Looks like little if any result but it was a cool idea (of course not so cool for the Japanese side).

Yes, the raid caused no real damage - I think Roger is just keeping me on my toes. In practical terms, I can't use modern fighters to defend every base in reach of the Allied 4es, and I had already decided not to use HK's port facilities for repair purposes for this reason. It was quite funny as the Nates were practising at 100 feet to improve their low level and defence capabilities when the raid came in at 10,000. Makes one wonder if the planes lost were actually hit by falling bombs!

It seems really hard to keep an airfield suppressed. It wasn't that long ago that Diamond Harbor was a totally cratered mess and you got it fixed up amazingly quickly.

I was quite surprised - and greatly relieved - that my opponent failed to keep DH suppressed for long. I have a lot of engineers in the hex and it is eating up a lot of supply to keep it open, but I have an improved range of options as long as he doesn't throw in the kitchen sink to shut it down again. One of the fighter units I have moved back there is 3rd KuS-1 with 281 Allied kills. With any luck their stats will get even better...

[Walker84]

3rd KuS-1

[Lowpe]

From what base do you think those LB30s came from?[&:] Ledo or China?

[Walker84]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

From what base do you think those LB30s came from?[&:] Ledo or China?

LB-30s have an extended radius of 24 which means Ledo is the only possible base in Burma. I could try and shut it down but there's no reason he can't fly bombers from a closer base in China. Note that at the start we agreed a restriction on early war strat bombing (date to be negotiable as war progresses) so I don't see this as an all-out risk currently.

Btw, he also has nearly 100 transports based at Ledo, shifting supplies over the hump no doubt, so it is a tempting target once I manage to build up closer airfields enough to accommodate my crappy bombers.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Walker84

Btw, he also has nearly 100 transports based at Ledo, shifting supplies over the hump no doubt, so it is a tempting target once I manage to build up closer airfields enough to accommodate my crappy bombers.

If the bombers are based in China, then that is an expensive raid! Plus his bombers most likely are vulnerable, very vulnerable.

You could try a night raid with Nells or Betties on Ledo. They drop lots of bombs per plane and can do pretty well. But if there hasn't been any night bombing so far or agreed to yet, then don't you be the first one to pursue a night bombing campaign.[:)]

Transports die real easy to aerial bombing.

You might want to bomb the bases you think those transports are flying to in China. If you can reach them.

[Walker84]

Thanks for the ideas - we are not doing much night bombing right now but I will definitely try to bomb those transports to hell as soon as the opportunity presents itself!

[Yaab]

ORIGINAL: Walker84

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

From what base do you think those LB30s came from?[&:] Ledo or China?

LB-30s have an extended radius of 24 which means Ledo is the only possible base in Burma. I could try and shut it down but there's no reason he can't fly bombers from a closer base in China. Note that at the start we agreed a restriction on early war strat bombing (date to be negotiable as war progresses) so I don't see this as an all-out risk currently.

Btw, he also has nearly 100 transports based at Ledo, shifting supplies over the hump no doubt, so it is a tempting target once I manage to build up closer airfields enough to accommodate my crappy bombers.

Maybe you could renegotiate the strat bombing rule? I think both manpower and HI should in China should be bombed at all times, while LI (the real bottleneck in the China's supply production) should never be bombed no matter how far into the war.

HI really represents the arsenals producing weapons for the Chinese. Several such arsenals were in Chungking itself, and as specialised, localised factories they should be bombed from air.

Bombing manpower is just terror bombing, aiming at rising fires to such a level that it destroys both manpower, LI and HI. Since Jap bombers do not carry enough bombs, the manpower bombing is just a historical flavor.

[Walker84]

ORIGINAL: Yaab


Maybe you could renegotiate the strat bombing rule? I think both manpower and HI should in China should be bombed at all times, while LI (the real bottleneck in the China's supply production) should never be bombed no matter how far into the war.

Thanks Yaab, I will mention this to my opponent as its probably a good time now to review the HR.

[Walker84]

Sep 15, 1942

One piece of good news, I-27 limps in to Sabang harbour after hitting a mine days ago at Diego Garcia. Temporary repairs will be made to allow the sub to reach the dock at Singapore.

India

Well, I guess this was the kitchen sink round... ten waves of Allied planes attack Diamond Harbour throughout the morning. Twenty-five Allied air-to-air losses reported versus 7 Japanese. The airfield has just 3 runway and 14 service damage at the end of the day.

Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 30 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 28
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 11

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 14
P-39D Airacobra x 24
P-40E Warhawk x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 11 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 2 - throughout this entire action the defending fighters do a sterling job of putting the bombers off target even if relatively few are shot down

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (6 airborne, 12 on standby, 9 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 29070.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes
14 planes vectored on to bombers
1st Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (6 airborne, 12 on standby, 10 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (2 airborne, 5 on standby, 4 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes
3 planes vectored on to bombers

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Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 21 NM, estimated altitude 24,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 21
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed

CAP engaged:
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 9 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
1st Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (4 airborne, 2 on standby, 0 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 25000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes

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Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 20
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 9
Wellington Ic x 7

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIc Trop: 4 destroyed
Wellington Ic: 3 destroyed
Wellington Ic: 1 destroyed by flak

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x Wellington Ic bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
15 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 25000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 144 minutes
9 planes vectored on to bombers
1st Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 5 scrambling)
8 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 7 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 25000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes
12 planes vectored on to bombers
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 25000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
5 planes vectored on to bombers

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Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 17
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 4

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed

CAP engaged:
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 5 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 25000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 43 minutes
1st Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
12 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 11000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes

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Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 13
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 1

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 21
P-40E Warhawk x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 damaged
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 2 damaged (two B-17s are subsequently reported shot down)
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

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

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 8

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
10 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 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 8000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 39 minutes
5 planes vectored on to bombers
1st Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
5 planes vectored on to bombers
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (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 20000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes
1 planes vectored on to bombers

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Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 9
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 1

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 3 damaged

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (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 20000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
1st Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
5 plane(s) intercepting now.
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 104 minutes

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Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 23 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 2
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 1

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 3 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 5

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (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 20000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
1st Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (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 20000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes



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Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 26 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 2
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 1

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Runway hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (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 20000 , scrambling fighters to 6000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes
1st Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 6000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 12 minutes

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Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 1

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 10

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
10 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (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 20000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes

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Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 32 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 1 - Running out of planes now!

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 25

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x P-39D Airacobra sweeping at 11000 feet

CAP engaged:
47th I.F.Chutai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (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 20000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes

[Lowpe]

You need more radar there...if possible? Not sure you want more troops there though....

What does your plane r&d look like?

Nicks?

Get used to being bombed, and they will get nastier!.

[Walker84]

There are a couple of air support units with Ta-Chi 2 radars in the hex. One more can upgrade.

As far as R&D is concerned we are playing PDU off so I am going with historical build-out to a large extent, albeit increasing production of key airframes. I have 48 Nicks spread around Burma guarding my air bases against potential bombing raids. I figured they would perform badly against Allied fighters at DH and I can only support 3 x air units there.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Walker84

There are a couple of air support units with Ta-Chi 2 radars in the hex. One more can upgrade.

As far as R&D is concerned we are playing PDU off so I am going with historical build-out to a large extent, albeit increasing production of key airframes. I have 48 Nicks spread around Burma guarding my air bases against potential bombing raids. I figured they would perform badly against Allied fighters at DH and I can only support 3 x air units there.

It takes many radars to work...you can tell from the warning times you get rather they are effective or not.

PDU off should slow down the air war for both sides, a good thing. Mr. Kane likes using Nicks in a sweep mode, especially now in 42. Give that a try if you wish.

Not many Georges and Jacks, but I believe you get some decent Tonies. The 61d has cl cannons and SR 2 and will probably be very strong until late in the game.

Oscars will never really be good bomber killers...Zero will do better as they all have cannons.

Conversely, Allies will be restricted/limited too.

[Walker84]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions - I'll certainly look into using my Nicks more effectively.

I know its not everyone's cup of tea but, so far, I'm enjoying the slower air war with PDU off. As you say, it works both ways...

[Walker84]

Sept 16, 1942

India

I was expecting the hammer to fall at DH for a second successive day but there were no further Allied attacks and the airbase is fully repaired again. The port is also nearly back to full capacity, and I have rotated some pilots in and out of group reserves to reduce the fatigue levels somewhat.

My troops at Calcutta have been subjected to daily bombardment attacks for several months now and casualties have been rising slowly: this is fairly typical...

Ground combat at Calcutta (52,37)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 33354 troops, 536 guns, 378 vehicles, Assault Value = 1320

Defending force 34260 troops, 353 guns, 228 vehicles, Assault Value = 943

Japanese ground losses:
179 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled

Assaulting units:
43rd Cavalry Regiment
7th Indian Division
Fort William
9th Indian Division
20th Indian Division
Waziristan Division
85th British AT Gun Regiment
94th Coast AA Regiment
2/11th Fld RAA Regiment
224 Group Base Force
2/9th Fld RAA Regiment
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
21st Light AA Regiment
AHQ Bengal
Eastern Command
XV Indian Corps
6th Heavy AA Regiment
6th Medium Regiment
7th US Naval Construction Battalion

Defending units:
5th Division
18th Division
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Mortar Battalion
25th Army
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
11th RF Gun Battalion

My plan is to see if I can extricate another division from DH by sea under my restored air cover, then fall back on DH in a fighting withdrawal. If this doesn't work, my brave forces will just have to tough it out to the bitter end.

Solomon Is

Something is brewing down here but I don't know what - an increase in Allied TF activity has been observed and 95 fighters now in place at Lunga. I have 1/2 of the KB at Truk, the remainder of the carriers are completing their June upgrades and will be back in theatre in a week or so.

Aleutians

I have landed a unit of Dinahs attached to 5th Fleet at Attu that had spent a couple of months training in naval search as well as recon. These will act in an early warning capacity. So far, sweeps of Atka and Adak have revealed no Allied ground presence which is good news as it will take Roger a while to develop bases here if he has any future plans in this theatre. I can't reach Umnak but it is now a level 3 airbase so I assume it is being developed.

[Walker84]

Sept 17 - 20, 1942

This will be the last update for a couple of weeks as this game goes into hibernation for the holiday season.

The main focus continues to be Diamond Harbour, with the Allies flying multiple raids most days. I have been rotating fighter units in and out of the base and airfield and service damage have been kept down so far. I have been micromanaging each fighter unit, placing pilots into group reserve when they reach 25+ fatigue. The main concern is the shortage of airworthy planes - replacements can take 3-5 days to arrive and damaged aircraft mean that I rarely have the full complement in the air. Pilot losses are low however and so far the Allies are suffering a higher rate of attrition, per the next screenshot...

[Walker84]

Other updates

In SW Pac, my opponent has plenty of TFs plying between Lunga, Tulagi and Rennell Island but so far he seems to be juggling his forces rather than launching a new offensive. F4Fs swept the dot hex at Munda on the 20th but I suspect this was an error as they were flying at 10k and lost one of their number for a single Zero shot down.

My solitary base in the Aleutians has been recce'd by Allied aircraft for the first time.

The portion of KB that was refitting is almost ready to depart again for the war zone...