To Young to Die, To Old to Rock and Roll

[zuluhour]

yes PDU on, and I checked about everything but the PBYs. Figures. To be honest, I think I need the PBYs more.
I was just attacked by a fast BB force south of Raul Island. Glad it was an old DD on the way back to Pearl. Two crippled
carriers just ran the same course. Only the Big E is combat ready. I can see exactly where he could have slipped through my
patterns. I will have to buy out two or three short legged FP squadrons and close the gap. I am searching out to 240nm at night
and 480nm by day from the larger bases, but have an obvious hole between Pago and New Zealand.

[zuluhour]

another night

[ny59giants]

Time to allow the newer American class of warships to carry the surface action burden. Mr Fletcher teamed up with the 28 knot BBs or with Cleveland Class CLs is the way to go, IMO. I divide up the Bristol Class DDs in my CV TF and then fill out with the pre-war class DDs.

Note - as Lowpe learned from me, the AI will have those TF with lower numbers go first when it comes to combat. Form your SC TF in order you want them to actually engage in combat. Get your CVs in the highest TF number possible.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: zuluhour

yes PDU on, and I checked about everything but the PBYs. Figures. To be honest, I think I need the PBYs more.
I was just attacked by a fast BB force south of Raul Island. Glad it was an old DD on the way back to Pearl. Two crippled
carriers just ran the same course. Only the Big E is combat ready. I can see exactly where he could have slipped through my
patterns. I will have to buy out two or three short legged FP squadrons and close the gap. I am searching out to 240nm at night
and 480nm by day from the larger bases, but have an obvious hole between Pago and New Zealand.

Those USN 4EB are naval search planes, not bombers. They are much more survivable vs fighters than the PBY.

[kaleun]

Great AAR. Like the style.

[zuluhour]

Thank you sir.

[zuluhour]

Here is the quandary:




**ps quiet day in the Pacific, IJN fast BBs vanish (I hope), and a small CL SAG spotted SW of Christmas Island.

[witpqs]

Your search groups out of Hawaii should use these planes, not PBY. Any place that you have a good enough air base and air support. Most especially for searches that you fly near enemy bases with strong CAP.

You said you have PDU=On, so you have to choose which PBY group(s) you want to upgrade to these.

[zuluhour]

Can't find a damn squadron to take the upgrade. Some USN Ventura arrive soon, I'll check them. Strange because I have used
navy liberators in my prior three games.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: zuluhour

Here is the quandary:




**ps quiet day in the Pacific, IJN fast BBs vanish (I hope), and a small CL SAG spotted SW of Christmas Island.

The pool starts filling with these several months before squadrons equipped with them start appearing.

Look ahead in your air squadron reinforcement list to see when the first squads equipped with them start arriving.

[witpqs]

Even if you can't find any on the board at the moment that upgrade to them, you can still do it manually because you have PDU=On.

[zuluhour]

I hope you are correct Herr Bolter, I searched it all, none of the current squadrons can
take delivery of the Navy Liberator bombers yet. As January draws to a close it has been
all logistics, planning, and refitting. This should continue through April. Lars is waiting
for me and I am coming. I am doing a lot of maps with updated IJ positions to plan by.
I have some decent recon assets now is Australia and I am sweeping across bases adding
information to that gathered by Intell Monkey. Here is southern New Guinea below. Recon
flights over Milne Bay are scheduled for tomorrow. Over flights today confirm two units but
the DL is very low.

[witpqs]

none of the current squadrons can
take delivery of the Navy Liberator bombers yet.

I really don't get this? You said that you are playing with PDU=On, which means you can have any PBY squadron take Navy Liberators.

[zuluhour]

Ill show example when the turn comes back to me.

[zuluhour]

here is the upgrade list for the Cats



There are some other oddities I should post in the Mods section. The Torres Straight Bn reappeared (R) in the USA etc.

Today well trained B25s fly over Milne Bay and get a 9/10 DL and show three units.
3600T 23G AFV3. useful for later. One more day and I'll move them over PM and Buna.
I know Gasmata has fighters and possibly Lae.

[witpqs]

Well that's a surprise.

[zuluhour]

Not a pleasant one either, like fart in an elevator.
I put recon flights over Milne Bay today show an increase in troops to 5440 and guns to 30. That's all for
awhile here, they are ordered up the coast tomorrow.

[witpqs]

I just looked at my current 1x1. It's a nearly 4 year old version of Babes 28-C so any comparison has to be taken carefully.

We're in August of 1944. I looked at a couple of PBY squadrons, including the same one you show above (it withdrew and returned already, I think), and they also do not show an upgrade path to the Liberator. However, I have plenty of Liberator squadrons in play. So, you will get them. You might also get some PBY squadrons that can upgrade to them. Patience! [:D]

[zuluhour]

Well I am close to deciding the axis of attack. Most of the combat units are prepping in the right direction. Large numbers
of support units are at sea and I'll have to review them on arrival in forward areas. The destroyer upgrades are in full swing
and all the attack transports are together awaiting April and June. I can't risk losing them now. The first LSTs have reached CenPac
and more are expected in the next 48 hours on the coast. They have a long sea voyage ahead of them. Transports, I should have sent
weeks ago arrive Australia with badly needed transport a/c. I have gotten a little supply into Darwin, but I'm going to need some
weeks to push more in with them. Horn Island and Merauke will have to be taken. I just can't waltz in with what amphibious assets
are available at present. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about Port Moresby. I think that it would require 3 heavily reinforced
divisions. That kind of sea lift is just not there now. There are four US divisions in the CBI theater reinforced with armor, but with
all but Changsha gone, I don't see a push in Burma soon. I'm facing off against stacks 25+ high without air superiority. The P38s
are in Burma but not enough to take down 250 plane CAPS. The last daylight raid in December netted a butchers bill in B17s and B24s
I am not going to repeat (I hope).

[witpqs]

With that long sea voyage, just keep in mind that troops aboard LST (and certainly smaller landing ships/boats) suffer much greater disruption and fatigue than on AP/AK or APA/AKA.