Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy(A) vs KenchiSulla (J)

[Mundy]

Don't want to slip off the page. [:)]

I'm not trying to neglect this. Turns have just been uneventful lately.

Lots of convoys have been arriving on map from Cape Town. Supply at Karachi is starting to spike a bit. Three are inbound to Karachi right now, as well as a task force full of battleships.

Currently at Karachi are 3 CVs and 3 CVLs. Another CVL is enroute to the map from Cape Town. A further CVL and CV are due at Cape town within a week or so. 3 CVEs are also arriving on map pretty soon. Not counting the jeep carriers, 4 CVs and 5 CVLs are nothing to sneeze at. That's 6.5 carriers worth of fighters, anyway.

One IJN sub has been eluding me near Karachi, and I have two ASW TFs full of destroyers seeking her out. I think I'll have better results when some of my DEs arrive.

A new USA infantry division arrived at San Francisco. They're being packed up for shipment to Pearl Harbor. Some VMFs and VPs have arrived, too. I'm training them for Tarawa. Should the Baker Island event kick off at some point, Tarawa will be next. I've had them under recon from Canton also, and it doesn't look to be that formidably held. I've kept just enough assault transports at Christmas Island to handle these jobs. The rest are going to India. Two battleships at Pearl will be out of the yard after their upgrade in about 4 days to support Baker.

[BBfanboy]

My experience with sub-hunting DDs is that the optimum TF size is 3. When I put four in the TF they seem less adept at detecting the sub and even worse at attacking. It's like they are getting in each other's way! Don't know how the game engine is handling this - it could be using the TF commander's stats to determine how well he coordinates, and maybe four is too many for most of them?

[Mundy]

My experience is that one of the ships becomes the "alpha male" and winds up making all the attacks over several turns.

I have one with 3 and one with 4 right now. This last sub has been good at evading me, even though my TFs are reacting to them turn after turn.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Mundy

My experience is that one of the ships becomes the "alpha male" and winds up making all the attacks over several turns.

I have one with 3 and one with 4 right now. This last sub has been good at evading me, even though my TFs are reacting to them turn after turn.

Right - part of the reason I like to have 3, is that after one expends most of its DC, I send it back to replenish and the other 2 continue the hunt.
When I get down to one DD on ASW, the sub usually gets the first attack [:(], so I don't keep the single DD on station unless the sub is already heavily damaged.

[Mundy]

07 October 1943

Cannonfodder's showing some action in India lately, starting at night.

Night Air attack on Nagpur , at 44,28

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 68 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 31

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 4 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
P-40N1 Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground

Runway hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 11000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
11 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 11000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.67 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (3 airborne, 7 on standby, 2 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes

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

Night Air attack on Nagpur , at 44,28

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 69 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 9

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIc Trop: 4 damaged
Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed on ground

Runway hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 11000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.67 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 6 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 12000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 52 minutes

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

Night Air attack on Nagpur , at 44,28

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 17 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 9

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 11000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.67 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (10 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling)
10 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 12000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes

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

Night Air attack on Nagpur , at 44,28

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 34 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 8

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 11000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.67 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (8 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling)
8 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 12000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes

I don't remember setting those Hurricanes to night duty. It must have been in response to raids some time ago, and then forgotten. They did turn away some bombers in the first wave.

After this, I dealt with sweeps over Tanjore. I moved some Jugs there after the last one, and they didn't disappoint. I had the 47s at max height, which helped.

Afternoon Air attack on Tanjore , at 32,42

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 45 NM, estimated altitude 35,514 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84a Frank x 34

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 7
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84a Frank: 7 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Sea Hurricane Ib: 1 destroyed
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 2 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 31514 feet

CAP engaged:
No.79 Sqn RAF with Sea Hurricane Ib (0 airborne, 3 on standby, 3 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 30300.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 11 minutes
311th FBG/529th FBS with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 10 scrambling)
10 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 37000 , scrambling fighters between 25000 and 37000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes

Some more at Madras.

Morning Air attack on Madras , at 35,40

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 35,514 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84a Frank x 36

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 8
F4U-1 Corsair x 27

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84a Frank: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 31514 feet *

CAP engaged:
VMF-123 with F4U-1 Corsair (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 9 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 32600.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes
VMF-213 with F4U-1 Corsair (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 24000 and 26000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes
No.17 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (0 airborne, 6 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 between 10000 and 31550.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 23 minutes

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

Morning Air attack on Madras , at 35,40

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 155 NM, estimated altitude 33,514 feet.
Estimated time to target is 38 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84a Frank x 3

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 4
F4U-1 Corsair x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed

No Allied losses

CAP engaged:
VMF-123 with F4U-1 Corsair (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 34514.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes
VMF-213 with F4U-1 Corsair (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes
No.17 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 33514.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes

.

Checking on Hornet in New Zealand, she's down to about 20 sys. Unfortunately, she did start an upgrade which will delay things. I don't think this will be a real long one. Either way, she'll be better sys wise when I pull her out. I need to remember to load her air group back on when she departs. I doubt she'll make the Ceylon festivities, but she can still cover the Baker Island adventure.

[Sangeli]

Would be great if you could turn this Japanese air offensive on its head by launching your own strikes against the depleted Japanese fighter groups. Though it seems like only the IJA is getting its hands dirty offensively and I know the IJN fighters are ready in CAP.

[Mundy]

This turn, it looks like IJNAF took over defenses at Lord Howe from IJAAF.

10 October 1943.

Jugs eats Zekes for lunch.

Morning Air attack on Lord Howe Island , at 100,169

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 30 NM, estimated altitude 40,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 44

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 15 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x P-47D2 Thunderbolt sweeping at 37000 feet *

CAP engaged:
201 Ku S-1 with A6M5 Zero (4 airborne, 15 on standby, 22 scrambling)
19 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 33220.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes



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

Morning Air attack on Lord Howe Island , at 100,169

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 38,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 9

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 3 destroyed

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x P-47D2 Thunderbolt sweeping at 37000 feet *
1 x P-47D2 Thunderbolt sweeping at 37000 feet *

CAP engaged:
201 Ku S-1 with A6M5 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 38220.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes



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

Morning Air attack on Lord Howe Island , at 100,169

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 40,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 2

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
22 x P-47D2 Thunderbolt sweeping at 37000 feet *

CAP engaged:
201 Ku S-1 with A6M5 Zero (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 between 23000 and 25000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes

The summary screen shows something like 35 Zekes dead this turn -- all but two in air combat. I've figured the 47 is my best sweeping unit by far.

Apart from that, I'm in building and growing mode yet. In addition to three CVs and 4 CVLs at Karachi, I have six battleships there. (Maryland, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Arizona and Massachusetts. Alabama just arrived on map. I've been routing the big warships from Cape Town south, about 6 hexes below Karachi all the way to the Indian coast and then hugging the coast north. That seems to dodge all his subs that hang out. He tends to keep them 4-6 hexes due west of Karachi. All my warships arrive secretly. The cargo ships, I'm less worried about him discovering. The escorts usually do a number on him anyway.

At Pearl, Tennessee and California are out of the yard for their upgrade and enroute to Christmas Island. I'll have a decent little force ready for Baker when I kick that off. If I don't get definite intel on KB out of reach, I'll probably kick this off concurrent with the Ceylon deal.

CVL Monterey arrived at Cape Town and is enroute to India.

It's been about 10 days, so I'm doing a massive airfield raid on Port Moresby again, with more Jugs sweeping.

[Capt. Harlock]

10 October 1943.

Jugs eats Zekes for lunch.

How is the Victory point situation looking? Will Cannonfodder be able to rack up another auto-victory, or do you expect to claw back enough points by the end of '43?

[Mundy]

I'll fill you in next turn. At this point, VPs are the least of my worries, since we're playing through anyway. Looking at one of the VP maps, taking Ceylon will more likely lose him VP more than gain me any. My next jump to Calcutta may help things a bit more.

11 October 1943

As soon as you look the other way, the rats are building their nest again...

Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 26 NM, estimated altitude 39,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 22
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 17
Ki-84a Frank x 16

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed
Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed

CAP engaged:
70th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (1 airborne, 12 on standby, 0 scrambling)
13 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 32540.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes
282 Ku S-1 with N1K1-J George (0 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
15 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters between 25000 and 33800.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 39 minutes
265th Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (0 airborne, 11 on standby, 0 scrambling)
11 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 31514 , scrambling fighters between 31000 and 31514.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes



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

Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 58 NM, estimated altitude 38,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 15
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 10
Ki-84a Frank x 8

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed
Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed

CAP engaged:
282 Ku S-1 with N1K1-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 8 scrambling)
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters between 18000 and 33800.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes
265th Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 7 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 31514
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes
70th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 10 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 32540.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes



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

Afternoon Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 73 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 17
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 35
Ki-84a Frank x 11

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 16
B-24J Liberator x 11
B-25D1 Mitchell x 12
B-25G Mitchell x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed, 10 damaged
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-84a Frank: 11 damaged
Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 3 damaged
B-24J Liberator: 3 damaged
B-25D1 Mitchell: 5 destroyed, 2 damaged
B-25G Mitchell: 4 destroyed

Airbase hits 30
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 82

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B-25G Mitchell bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
5 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
8 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
8 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
70th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 21 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes
282 Ku S-1 with N1K1-J George (5 airborne, 12 on standby, 0 scrambling)
5 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 25000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes
265th Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 31514 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 31000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes



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

Afternoon Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 4
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 10
Ki-84a Frank x 2

Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D1 Liberator: 2 damaged

Airbase hits 4
Runway hits 3

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
70th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling)
6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 94 minutes
282 Ku S-1 with N1K1-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 70 minutes
265th Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (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 31514 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 67 minutes



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

Afternoon Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 29 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84a Frank x 1

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84a Frank: 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Airbase hits 4
Runway hits 11

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
265th Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 31514 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Raid is overhead

I clobbered PM good, but recon shows only about 25% damage. Must be FoW. I'll probably leave the Mitchells out next time. The Jugs don't really run roughshod over the IJA planes either like they do Zeroes.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Mundy
I clobbered PM good, but recon shows only about 25% damage. Must be FoW. I'll probably leave the Mitchells out next time. The Jugs don't really run roughshod over the IJA planes either like they do Zeroes.

Well that's probably more to do with the fact the recon planes are flying over PM BEFORE the bomber attacks. If you recon the next day it will show the updated dmage.

Well honestly I think the George outclasses the Tojo or Frank in almost every way. So this is probably just an anomaly.

And yea, I'd avoid sending the B-25 into any place where you might find CAP. Not like you get a whole lot of them and there's nothing better coming along; keeping a decent stockpile of them will help later when you have a stronger control over the air space.

[Mundy]

I agree that Tojo is probably second tier. Franks and Georges seem fairly even in my fights with them. My heavy bombers can still bring them down. [:)]

I'm trying to figure out how to disperse my paras in India for "the event". I was originally looking at Madras, but I'm dealing with the occasional bombardment by his light forces. I have a number of factors to deal with for this.

1) Range to that non-coastal base on Ceylon -- need to stick within 10-12 hexes.
2) Supply sufficient from where I launch the paras from. Some of my interior bases in the south are at around the 12,000 mark right now.

I'm thinking about putting all my transports at somewhere like Hyderabad on the buildup and then surging them on D-Day to Madras to make the haul. Either that or run the drops from a number of in-range bases. I think I have roughly half a dozen units making the drop.

Would LRCAPping the drop zone help with transport security? CAP from Trincomalee may bleed over the zone. It appears nothing is actually based where I'm dropping.

I'm looking at the Mother of All Airbase Raids on the turn this kicks off -- preferably with sweeps ahead of this.

Another thing to consider is my carrier support for the invasion. Should I just up the CAP on the ships and keep the bombers quiet? My history with base raids with naval aviation hasn't been good. Bombers could be set to antiship, since he's got some small scale SCTFs at Colombo. I'm hoping my accompanying SCFTs to the invaders will deal with these. I'll have lots of TFs involved with the landings:

1) Amphibs
2) Minesweepers
3) ASW
3) Surface combatants
4) Bombardment, remaining on station
5) Fleet carriers, one hex away to stay off the base hex.

I'm not sure whether to put the CVEs with the invaders themselves or keep them in a separate group. Battleships will accompany the amphibs, with fast BBs joining the carriers.

So many things to cover. I'll probably be purging the leadership beforehand also. I have something like 3,500 PPs in the bank right now. I haven't had the need to flip any large unit anymore.

[BBfanboy]

Unless you want them shot at by CD guns, CVEs should NOT be embedded with the amphib TF, but should be in the same hex as it is during the approach. In the Marianas scenario I kept mine one hex back of the actual landing site and they still provided good CAP. I think I had CAP set at range 2.

[Mundy]

Thanks for that.

Yeah, 1 hex is still decent CAP. I'll probably wind up with four separate CV TFs, including the CVEs.

I am worried about the CAP at the dropsite. Maybe I'll hit a road away from the two bases and hike them.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Mundy

Thanks for that.

Yeah, 1 hex is still decent CAP. I'll probably wind up with four separate CV TFs, including the CVEs.

I am worried about the CAP at the dropsite. Maybe I'll hit a road away from the two bases and hike them.

There is NO PREP for non-base hexes, so if you land on a shoreline hex expect 50% casualties or more - as much as 20% destroyed when I have tried it, depending on weather and maybe terrain type. I think the naval skill of the transport ship captain also plays a part in calculation of off-load losses, but have not tested that. I give my AP types the captains who have 55+ naval skill but low aggression around 30-35. Most can be swapped at no PP cost.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Mundy

I agree that Tojo is probably second tier. Franks and Georges seem fairly even in my fights with them. My heavy bombers can still bring them down. [:)]

I'm trying to figure out how to disperse my paras in India for "the event". I was originally looking at Madras, but I'm dealing with the occasional bombardment by his light forces. I have a number of factors to deal with for this.

1) Range to that non-coastal base on Ceylon -- need to stick within 10-12 hexes.
2) Supply sufficient from where I launch the paras from. Some of my interior bases in the south are at around the 12,000 mark right now.

I'm thinking about putting all my transports at somewhere like Hyderabad on the buildup and then surging them on D-Day to Madras to make the haul. Either that or run the drops from a number of in-range bases. I think I have roughly half a dozen units making the drop.

Would LRCAPping the drop zone help with transport security? CAP from Trincomalee may bleed over the zone. It appears nothing is actually based where I'm dropping.

I'm looking at the Mother of All Airbase Raids on the turn this kicks off -- preferably with sweeps ahead of this.

Another thing to consider is my carrier support for the invasion. Should I just up the CAP on the ships and keep the bombers quiet? My history with base raids with naval aviation hasn't been good. Bombers could be set to antiship, since he's got some small scale SCTFs at Colombo. I'm hoping my accompanying SCFTs to the invaders will deal with these. I'll have lots of TFs involved with the landings:

1) Amphibs
2) Minesweepers
3) ASW
3) Surface combatants
4) Bombardment, remaining on station
5) Fleet carriers, one hex away to stay off the base hex.

I'm not sure whether to put the CVEs with the invaders themselves or keep them in a separate group. Battleships will accompany the amphibs, with fast BBs joining the carriers.

So many things to cover. I'll probably be purging the leadership beforehand also. I have something like 3,500 PPs in the bank right now. I haven't had the need to flip any large unit anymore.

Interesting questions and points. My thoughts are that paratroopers are not suitable for all OPs. I think in the Ceylon OP if you could grab some very lightly held bases (no LCUs, only one or two base units) with paras it could pay off. Having 100 prep would be beneficial as well.

You don't need to LRCAP the drop zone for security since its only CAP that can get you. Use sweeps to clear off potential fighters instead.

Don't you have any level 9 bases very close to Ceylon? I'd think you'd want one really big base where you can just about everything except the shortest ranged fighters. That's where I'd put my paras, transports, and bombers.

I'd definitely keep your CV based bombers quiet for at least the first few days of the operation. When you have 4E LBA on hand there's no no real pressing need to use 1E bombers. Maybe after you've landed and the Japanese CAP threat has been dealt with then you could use them as air support for ground assaults. Every little bit of suppression helps in reducing the casualties on your ground units.

[Mundy]

My India bases (supply):

Level 9: Madras (27k), Tanjore (14k), Hyderabad (14k)
Level 8: Bangalore (14k)
Level 7: Cochin (0)
Level 5: Trichinopoly (6k)
Level 4: Salem (6k)

Paras are mostly at around 90 prep right now. I had been spreading them out, but I'll probably go with Madras. I don't want to put a bunch of planes there right now, as I'm getting bombardments once in a while. A big chunk of my bomber presence in India right now are B-24s, so I have plenty of range to work with.

If you sweep a hex 2-3 hexes from a base, will it fight the CAP that may bleed over? I'm wondering if a sweep would create a local "clear" spot near a base, or if you just have to go directly after the CAP at its base to wear it down.

The Royal Navy CVE Battler showed up at Aden. 12 Swordfish, 6 Seafires and 5 Wildcats. That'll punch through anything.

[Sangeli]

Yea, you need better supply before launching this OP. I know this sounds like a broken record but you're going to likely have some serious issues trying to do this operation until you have at least one 50k+ supply base in India. Probably see some low supply warnings in places like Madras if you try to put a bunch of planes there. Just imagine what would happen if come invasion day suddenly you can't fly your fighters with drop tanks due to supply problems thus leaving your invasion fleet to rely only on naval air cover. Could be the difference between a successful invasion and an outright disaster.

[Mundy]

Yeah, I know. I'm thinking of sending more cargo ships from the west coast to help yet. I've been worried about getting caught short there, but it does seem that I'm getting an xAK a day anyway.

Karachi's sitting at 216,000 right now, but it doesn't seem to be moving much.

Going to Tracker, the daily supply production rate:

Karachi: 100
Madras: 380
Delhi: 160
Bangalore: 80
Trichinopoly: 20
Hyderabad: 180
Nagpur: 40
Bombay: 760
Ahmedabad: 120
Lahore: 160

It doesn't help that some backwoods spots like Lahore are sitting on over 20k in supply. Bezwada's at 71,000 with a level 6 airbase, so I'm favoring running bombers from there when it starts. (13 hexes to Trincomalee, 15 to Colombo)

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: Mundy

Yeah, I know. I'm thinking of sending more cargo ships from the west coast to help yet. I've been worried about getting caught short there, but it does seem that I'm getting an xAK a day anyway.

Karachi's sitting at 216,000 right now, but it doesn't seem to be moving much.

Going to Tracker, the daily supply production rate:

Karachi: 100
Madras: 380
Delhi: 160
Bangalore: 80
Trichinopoly: 20
Hyderabad: 180
Nagpur: 40
Bombay: 760
Ahmedabad: 120
Lahore: 160

It doesn't help that some backwoods spots like Lahore are sitting on over 20k in supply. Bezwada's at 71,000 with a level 6 airbase, so I'm favoring running bombers from there when it starts. (13 hexes to Trincomalee, 15 to Colombo)

Check to see if Lahore has a Command HQ in it. They increase supply draw, which is also a very good reason to move one to a locale you want to increase the supply level at.

[Mundy]

I wasn't aware or that. Thanks.

I'll see what HQs I can move to the southern bases.

Bezwada probably has one there, which would explain the supply surplus there.