Sqz stands down. The AAR is now concluded. Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

[SqzMyLemon]

Aug. 30/44:

Extremely frustrating day in the air today. I order large scale bombing raids against Manokwari and Noemfoor today and not a single bomber flew in any of the air phases, including four squadrons set to night bomb Noemfoor. These bases had no Japanese CAP present. Sweeps did fly against Biak though and the results were confusing for me. I just don't get why my sweep results are always so poor. In this case, considering what I was up against I expected far better. I faced a lone Sentai of Tojo IIc fighters on CAP and I couldn't trade better than 1:1. The CAP arrived in driblets and yet most Japanese fighters were at a tactical advantage via radar. I don't understand why my first sweep of P-47s indicates only 4 aircraft 'sweeping' when there are 19 present, or the other instances of far less aircraft 'sweeping' than are indicated in the report. I had no aircraft set to escort, these were all individual squadrons set to sweep at 10% rest. My first sweeps get crushed and account for 95% of my losses. I just don't understand why my fighters with a 50+ mph advantage and more durability can't sustain better than 1:1 against the Tojo. The specs of the Allied aircraft manned by experienced pilots have to count for something...don't they?

NOTE: I forgot to mention losses. I lost 12 P-38s and 9 P-47D25s against 23 Tojos. Against non-layered CAP this is probably one of my worst results.

AARs follow:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 23 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 49

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38J Lightning: 5 destroyed

CAP engaged:
20th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 20 on standby, 20 scrambling)
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 27000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 29 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 38

Allied aircraft
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 6 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 2 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x P-47D25 Thunderbolt sweeping at 20000 feet *

CAP engaged:
20th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 6 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
23 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 24000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 10 NM, estimated altitude 32,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 18

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 3 destroyed

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x P-38J Lightning sweeping at 31000 feet *

CAP engaged:
20th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
16 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 19000 and 25000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 24,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 6

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 3

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x P-38J Lightning sweeping at 20000 feet

CAP engaged:
20th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling)
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 18000 and 33000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 5

Allied aircraft
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x P-47D25 Thunderbolt sweeping at 20000 feet *

CAP engaged:
20th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 28000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 23 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 3

Allied aircraft
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
19 x P-47D25 Thunderbolt sweeping at 20000 feet *

CAP engaged:
20th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 24000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 62 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 2

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x P-38J Lightning sweeping at 31000 feet

CAP engaged:
20th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (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 7000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 24000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 23 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 63 NM, estimated altitude 33,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 3

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x P-38J Lightning sweeping at 31000 feet *

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 36,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 3

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x P-38J Lightning sweeping at 31000 feet *

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 22 NM, estimated altitude 37,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 20

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
20 x P-38J Lightning sweeping at 31000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 25 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 20

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
20 x P-38J Lightning sweeping at 31000 feet *

After all these years, I just don't understand the air model.

[SqzMyLemon]

Tomorrow's another day. I'll keep trying to put pressure on Erik, but whenever I try to conduct offensive air missions I'm left baffled and frustrated. I just don't see how I can make a dent when my best aircraft perform like this against a relatively weaker aircraft, let alone the best Japanese fighters.

[SqzMyLemon]

I have a serious question about the above air combat. Look at the first sweep against Biak. Of 49 Japanese aircraft on CAP, how is it possible that they are all being sortied? Would this mean this Sentai is set to 100% CAP or as low as 10%? For some reason, I think this is the key to trying to understand what Erik is doing with his CAP settings. How is it possible to achieve total unit participation on CAP without incurring high fatigue? Also, the fact that there is little warning of the raid, how is it the CAP isn't shot down in droves as it climbs arriving piecemeal to the battle?

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Nice strike Japan put together there, whenever you can get double the escorts/bomber ratio that is pretty good. Didn't do them any good though.[;)]

It did do well. At one point I thought my CAP would never get to the bombers, even then seven bombers still got through. I kind of dislike the fact that when there are only a few remaining escorts, despite there being more Allied fighters present they aren't vectored onto the bombers sooner.

[SqzMyLemon]

Aug. 30/44 continued:

Allied forces land at Esperance against no opposition. I knew the base was empty and the only threat was air attack. No Japanese naval air strikes appeared. The presence of the British Fleet may have been overkill, but I take no chances anymore. I wonder if Perth only has a garrison for VP purposes and no aircraft. I may lose a valuable AKA with 83% flotation damage that ran aground during the landings. 8th Australian Division is ashore and will take the base tomorrow. Then on to Kalgoorlie.

The British Fleet will deploy back to Sydney prior to supporting the big push in the Pacific in October.

[Aurorus]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

I have a serious question about the above air combat. Look at the first sweep against Biak. Of 49 Japanese aircraft on CAP, how is it possible that they are all being sortied? Would this mean this Sentai is set to 100% CAP or as low as 10%? For some reason, I think this is the key to trying to understand what Erik is doing with his CAP settings. How is it possible to achieve total unit participation on CAP without incurring high fatigue? Also, the fact that there is little warning of the raid, how is it the CAP isn't shot down in droves as it climbs arriving piecemeal to the battle?

A few observations that may help (or may not).

1) The 20th sentai is a 30-plane squadron, so another group of Tojos was covering the base, probably as LRCAP, other than the 20th. These planes would have been airborne and on station when your first sweep arrived.

2) Because there was already a group on station, this group probably engaged the first sweep, as the 20th Sentai climbed. Because the raid was detected late, most of the scrambling planes probably did not see action in the first engagement.

3) Since it appears that most of the 20th was on the ground, I suspect his actual CAP settings for the 20th were pretty low: maybe 50%.

3) The Tojo IIc is pretty good plane, much better than many give it credit. It is contemporary to the Frank, outclimbs Frank by a large amount, is almost equal in manueverablity to the Frank, and has 4 good and accurate machine guns.

4) Because the raid is detected late, his on-station planes are at 7K, and your planes are coming in at 26K, which means that the battle probably takes place at under 20K, which is in the best manuever band for the Tojo.

5) His pilots probably have very high defense and are often avoiding the initial dive. I do not know for certain, but if you see a lot of "avoids" on the replay, then this is probably the case.

The only suggestion that I can give is to bring your Lightnings in a little higher to try to bring the initial battle above 20K.

[Kofiman]

Alternatively, maybe a little lower can allow you to continue to get the dive and give them less time to spot the incoming raid, due to the lower altitude, and get fewer planes on hand for the initial round of combat.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

I have a serious question about the above air combat. Look at the first sweep against Biak. Of 49 Japanese aircraft on CAP, how is it possible that they are all being sortied? Would this mean this Sentai is set to 100% CAP or as low as 10%? For some reason, I think this is the key to trying to understand what Erik is doing with his CAP settings. How is it possible to achieve total unit participation on CAP without incurring high fatigue? Also, the fact that there is little warning of the raid, how is it the CAP isn't shot down in droves as it climbs arriving piecemeal to the battle?

Looking at it, in the initial combat only 1/3 of them were up to start with but the rest scrambled. The group size is probably 49. It looks like 29 out of 49 were set to CAP as it was 9 airborne/20 standby/20 scrambling, so the settings were 60% CAP at 7000 feet. Without many air combats taking place, these settings at range 0 would not fatigue the pilots at all.

Your first sweep got a little torn up, which is what I would expect if it was P-38s with your second-rate pilots instead of first-rate (which are presumably in the P-47s). By second-rate, I mean something like 70ish instead of 80ish XP/Air/Defense. The P-38 is unfortunately nowhere near as good of a plane in the game as it was historically, and this would be amplified if his Tojo-c's were filled with good to great pilots.

I think another key is that the Tojo has an amazing climb rate (3830), and was set so low - so your P-38s were diving on Tojos that were somewhere between 7K and 27K feet in the initial combat (note the "between 7000 and 27000"). It only takes a Tojo 7 minutes to climb to 27000, and note that all of the Tojos were not even in combat until about 22 minutes in. That's plenty of time for them to climb that high.


This is why you should sweep with multiple groups, which you did - you cleared the skies by the end of the phase. That Sentai is almost certainly about 90% gutted in terms of planes. It looks like you shot down 20+ given that 14 were reported. That said, I never sweep with P-38s unless I just need numbers. If your P-47s had been your initial sweep here, you'd have lost a few more P-47s but none of those initial P-38s.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Aurorus

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

1) The 20th sentai is a 30-plane squadron

By this date I am sure it resizes to 49.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Looking at it, in the initial combat only 1/3 of them were up to start with but the rest scrambled. The group size is probably 49. It looks like 29 out of 49 were set to CAP as it was 9 airborne/20 standby/20 scrambling, so the settings were 60% CAP at 7000 feet. Without many air combats taking place, these settings at range 0 would not fatigue the pilots at all.

Your first sweep got a little torn up, which is what I would expect if it was P-38s with your second-rate pilots instead of first-rate (which are presumably in the P-47s). By second-rate, I mean something like 70ish instead of 80ish XP/Air/Defense. The P-38 is unfortunately nowhere near as good of a plane in the game as it was historically, and this would be amplified if his Tojo-c's were filled with good to great pilots.

I think another key is that the Tojo has an amazing climb rate (3830), and was set so low - so your P-38s were diving on Tojos that were somewhere between 7K and 27K feet in the initial combat (note the "between 7000 and 27000"). It only takes a Tojo 7 minutes to climb to 27000, and note that all of the Tojos were not even in combat until about 22 minutes in. That's plenty of time for them to climb that high.


This is why you should sweep with multiple groups, which you did - you cleared the skies by the end of the phase. That Sentai is almost certainly about 90% gutted in terms of planes. It looks like you shot down 20+ given that 14 were reported. That said, I never sweep with P-38s unless I just need numbers. If your P-47s had been your initial sweep here, you'd have lost a few more P-47s but none of those initial P-38s.

You are right again, Lok![&o]

P38 should be used as LRCAP on fleets, etc at this date. P38s and wandering Fletchers...a match made in heaven.[:)] Perhaps to escort naval strikes too.

[Aurorus]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: Aurorus

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

1) The 20th sentai is a 30-plane squadron

By this date I am sure it resizes to 49.

Lowpe is probably right, and having looked at Obvert's comments on Japanese air doctrine, it appears that he does something similar to what I do. You are not just going to have the same level of success against Obvert in the air war as you see in some other AARs. It is mostly a matter of his pilot quality and plane selection.

There is a drawback to this approach, however, and that is that Obvert probably has more "excellent" pilots than most Japanese players, but fewer "good" pilots overall. You will not destroy as many planes as you see in other AARs, but each pilot killed depletes his airforce by a greater portion than another Japanese player who does not spend as much time training each pilot.

As to Tojo, you really have 2 options. The first is to come in very high and use its good climb against it to draw it out of its best maneuver band. This is OK if your only plan for the day is a fighter sweep only. If you also intend to bomb the airfield, however, then you are probably better served coming in lower and abandoning the attempt to draw the Tojo upwards. Then bomb the airfield from a higher altitude, trying to keep your bombers above the Tojo. The Tojo is tricky to combat because of it very good climb. This is the case from the very first model.

[SqzMyLemon]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Good advice and information on interpreting the combat report and some tactics to try. I definitely am developing a healthy respect for the Tojo IIc. In all honestly, I think it is Erik's most effective fighter. It's proving an elusive target and with the great climb rate the bounce opportunities against my fighters appears endless.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Aurorus

Lowpe is probably right, and having looked at Obvert's comments on Japanese air doctrine, it appears that he does something similar to what I do. You are not just going to have the same level of success against Obvert in the air war as you see in some other AARs. It is mostly a matter of his pilot quality and plane selection.

There is a drawback to this approach, however, and that is that Obvert probably has more "excellent" pilots than most Japanese players, but fewer "good" pilots overall. You will not destroy as many planes as you see in other AARs, but each pilot killed depletes his airforce by a greater portion than another Japanese player who does not spend as much time training each pilot.

As to Tojo, you really have 2 options. The first is to come in very high and use its good climb against it to draw it out of its best maneuver band. This is OK if your only plan for the day is a fighter sweep only. If you also intend to bomb the airfield, however, then you are probably better served coming in lower and abandoning the attempt to draw the Tojo upwards. Then bomb the airfield from a higher altitude, trying to keep your bombers above the Tojo. The Tojo is tricky to combat because of it very good climb. This is the case from the very first model.

A great post and I think you nail it. I am comparing my results against other AARs and get frustrated when I can't duplicate the results. I'm up against a different monster here.

[SqzMyLemon]

Aug. 31/44:

A good day in the air for the Allies, or at least one I can stomach. I was torn on whether to commit to my previous bombing missions from the 30th that were scrubbed due to weather, or ground everybody and try another day. I decided to go ahead with the planned missions knowing that Erik most likely added more fighters around Biak. He did. However, my sweeps performed ok and achieved roughly 2:1 today. I am still disappointed with the seeming lack of durability of the Allied fighters. I watched the replays thoroughly and counted outright Allied fighters shot down at 5 Corsairs and 1 P-38J. However, on the day I lose 18 Corsairs and 9 P-38Js. I am flying at long range so I understand that will increase my losses, but it seems my damaged aircraft just aren't making it home. Anyway, considering the way things have been going I'll take 2:1 anytime I can get it!

First up was Noemfoor. I assigned a P-38J squadron to sweep the base and was convinced it was going to get ugly. It did as I lost 50% of my sweep, but they whittled down the CAP enough to help the bombers. I was impressed how the P-38s handled the Frank Ki-84b. AAR follows:

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Morning Air attack on Noemfoor , at 86,110

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 16 NM, estimated altitude 32,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 26
Ki-84b Frank x 40

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IV Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-84b Frank: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38J Lightning: 2 destroyed

CAP engaged:
71st Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (1 airborne, 9 on standby, 13 scrambling)
10 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 34000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 12 minutes
72nd Sentai with Ki-84b Frank (3 airborne, 14 on standby, 20 scrambling)
17 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 34440.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes

Then the bombers were up and I was impressed with their performance, especially considering their overall low experience right now. I lost only 2 B-29s on the day, however the damage to the airbase was negligible. AARs follow:

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Morning Air attack on Noemfoor , at 86,110

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 23 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 17
Ki-84b Frank x 28

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 36

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84b Frank: 4 damaged
Ki-84b Frank: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-29-1 Superfort: 6 damaged

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

Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 20

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 20000 feet
Airfield Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 20000 feet
Airfield Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 20000 feet
Airfield Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 20000 feet
Airfield Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 20000 feet
Airfield Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 20000 feet
Airfield Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
72nd Sentai with Ki-84b Frank (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 16 scrambling)
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters between 13000 and 34440.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes
71st Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 10 scrambling)
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 36000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes

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Morning Air attack on Noemfoor , at 86,110

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 34 NM, estimated altitude 24,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 14
Ki-84b Frank x 22

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84b Frank: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-29-1 Superfort: 2 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 20000 feet
Airfield Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
72nd Sentai with Ki-84b Frank (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 16 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 34440.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 43 minutes
71st Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 13 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 26000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes

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Morning Air attack on Noemfoor , at 86,110

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 24 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 10
Ki-84b Frank x 17

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IV Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-84b Frank: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-29-1 Superfort: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged

Runway hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 20000 feet
Airfield Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
72nd Sentai with Ki-84b Frank (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 7 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 27000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes
71st Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 7 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 24000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes

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Morning Air attack on Noemfoor , at 86,110

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 23 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IV Oscar x 6
Ki-84b Frank x 8

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IV Oscar: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-29-1 Superfort: 4 damaged

Runway hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 20000 feet
Airfield Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
72nd Sentai with Ki-84b Frank (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
71st Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 13000 and 23000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes

I decided to sweep Biak again and knew I'd be up against a tough CAP, but I committed my best Corsair squadrons. Erik had his go to settings this time with layered CAP, as opposed to yesterday's single Sentai. AARs follow:

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Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 24 NM, estimated altitude 33,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 43
N1K2-J George x 34
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 9

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 29

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 2 destroyed
N1K2-J George: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1A Corsair: 2 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
23 x F4U-1A Corsair sweeping at 31000 feet *

CAP engaged:
S-303 Hikotai with N1K2-J George (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 17 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters between 22000 and 35300.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes
S-312 Hikotai with A6M8 Zero (3 airborne, 6 on standby, 12 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 35000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes
331 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 31000 and 37000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes
20th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (1 airborne, 3 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 33000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 37,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 33
N1K2-J George x 28
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 8

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 32

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 4 destroyed
N1K2-J George: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1A Corsair: 2 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
16 x F4U-1A Corsair sweeping at 36000 feet *

CAP engaged:
S-303 Hikotai with N1K2-J George (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 9 scrambling)
13 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters between 27000 and 39900.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes
S-312 Hikotai with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling)
19 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 39900.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes
20th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 31000 and 40900.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes
331 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 31120 and 36900.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes

Radar put most of the CAP above me, but that isn't anything new. I did get a fair number of dive/bounce attacks in for a change.

On the day, I lose 27 fighters from all causes against 55 Japanese. The Ki-84b made its combat debut today and didn't do well against the P-38s or B-29s. 17 Franks were destroyed. Other Japanese losses consisted of 14 George, 14 Zero and 9 Oscar fighters. Of note, only one Tojo IIc was shot down. These fighters seem to be able to cherry pick targets with the bounce while avoiding becoming one themselves. A frustrating adversary.

In other news. Esperance auto-flipped to Allied control. I screwed up my naval orders and my task forces did not withdraw as planned. I had them set to follow a task force that was still unloading. A dumb mistake and hopefully one that won't cost me tomorrow.

In New Guinea, I order a deliberate attack against Vanimo against a skeleton garrison and capture the base. I had been night capping this base for weeks, but the one day I don't appears to be the day Erik pulls out half the troops. There were double the amount of troops present yesterday according to recon. I did destroy 9 KI-46-III on the ground that Erik left in place. A nice bonus. AAR follows:

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Ground combat at Vanimo (93,117)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 4137 troops, 34 guns, 49 vehicles, Assault Value = 130

Defending force 1477 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 7

Allied adjusted assault: 123

Japanese adjusted defense: 11

Allied assault odds: 11 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied forces CAPTURE Vanimo !!!

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-46-III Dinah: 5 destroyed

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

Japanese ground losses:
350 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 23 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 16 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units retreated 3

Assaulting units:
30th Australian Brigade

Defending units:
Ikaiei SNLF
107th JAAF AF Bn
39th JNAF AF Unit /3

[SqzMyLemon]

I'm chipping away, trying new things and gaining some confidence back. I have one month left to get my ducks in order, because come October I have to kick some serious butt if I'm going to achieve anything in this one.

[Aurorus]

Most player play only PDU:on and tend to go by an aircraft production framework for Japan that was established long ago (when people were flying every plane at max altitude and generally practicing poor air doctrine). They play with the "established" model: Frank, Nick, George, et al., and never really try out the other planes. It was in the those days that the Tojo got a bad reputation, mostly because players were flying it far too high and not taking advantage of its best characteristics. I have tried to explain that the Tojo is a good plane, but no one really takes me seriously. I suppose you do, however.

There is a reason that the Japanese continued to work on this model and support it throughout the war, even though their best early war pilots did not like the plane. They had grown accustomed to the Oscar's maneuverability, but the Tojo was, by every metric, including war-time success, the far better plane.

[SqzMyLemon]

A new month, the turn for Sept 1 is away.

The air force gets the day off, or at least it should unless I've missed changing orders for all air units.

All CVEs should begin their 21 day upgrades today. CV Hancock should rendezvous with the main fleet within a week. I have roughly 30 days to get all the amphibious shipping in place prior to loading. I've got a combined million fuel and supply between Tulagi and Rabaul with more arriving daily.

30 days to plan out the initial landings, the follow up support task forces and all the other details.

[SqzMyLemon]

Sept. 5/44:

The pace of the game has slowed but we're still moving forward. Not much to report other than a decent bombardment against Sarmi today. I had tried to hit the base the day before, but didn't set my bombardment TF properly and it was spotted at Aitape. Despite thinking Erik might withdraw his aircraft from Sarmi, I decided to go ahead with the bombardment mission anyway. Turns out to have been the right decision. AAR follows:

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TF 27 encounters mine field at Sarmi (91,114)

Allied Ships
DD Grayson, Mine hits 1, heavy damage

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Night Naval bombardment of Sarmi at 91,114

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-100-I Tony: 41 damaged
Ki-100-I Tony: 3 destroyed on ground
N1K2-J George: 46 damaged
N1K2-J George: 6 destroyed on ground
B6N2 Jill: 2 damaged
B6N2 Jill: 1 destroyed on ground
J2M3 Jack: 20 damaged
J2M3 Jack: 5 destroyed on ground
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 39 damaged
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 6 destroyed on ground

Japanese Ships
SSX Ha-43, hits 1

Allied Ships
BB Tennessee
BB California

Japanese ground losses:
433 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 24 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 19 disabled
Guns lost 13 (4 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Vehicles lost 9 (2 destroyed, 7 disabled)

The DD Grayson has 49 flotation, but appears to be in no danger of sinking. For the price of one mine hit, 34 Japanese aircraft are recorded destroyed. There were 200 aircraft at the base the day before, but now there is only 88. Perhaps some were re-deployed, but hopefully more were destroyed than was indicated in the intelligence report.

Darwin has remained in Allied control since I last took it back, but with no garrison. Erik had moved the remaining portion of IJA 15th Army into the base some time ago, but it just sat there doing nothing. I had hoped there was the possibility of the base auto-flipping to Japanese control to cause a 1 VP loss daily due to the lack of a garrison, that didn't happen. I moved in Australian troops to finally wipe out the enemy fragment. Darwin is now garrisoned with the 2nd Australian Division. I plan on now trying to bring in supply by sea since Gove and Wessel are built and can provide extra LBA coverage.

In other news, the Allies continue preparations for the upcoming offensive in the Central Pacific. Seventeen more days until CVE upgrades are complete. This is going to be a massive undertaking and it's already overwhelming just trying to get everything ready, let alone actually implementing the operation.

[crsutton]

I always set LRCAP over the target that I am sweeping. Say two or more sweeping units combined with two units on LRCAP over the target. P38s should eat Tojos though. The big factor is speed and it is plenty quicker than the Tojo. With LRCAP you get two advantages. One, if a single unit sweeps it will be supported by extra fighters, and LRCAP fighters linger over the target and can participate in multiple rounds of combat-unlike your sweeping units. This method is the best for reducing a base with lots of fighters.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

I always set LRCAP over the target that I am sweeping. Say two or more sweeping units combined with two units on LRCAP over the target. P38s should eat Tojos though. The big factor is speed and it is plenty quicker than the Tojo. With LRCAP you get two advantages. One, if a single unit sweeps it will be supported by extra fighters, and LRCAP fighters linger over the target and can participate in multiple rounds of combat-unlike your sweeping units. This method is the best for reducing a base with lots of fighters.

My experience so far is that the low CAP settings Erik uses puts my aircraft at a distinct disadvantage. So far the speed, firepower and durability of the Allied fighters doesn't appear to be a factor, unless in terms of reducing the already high loss rate of my fighters.

That's why I've resorted to the navy to soften up the targets for me. Without these bombardments my air units would continue to get slaughtered. The BB's are my sweeps now, the P-38's, P-47's and Corsairs just aren't getting it done. My fighters perform exceptionally well when on defence, but on offensive missions against a strong Japanese CAP at low altitude, Japanese radar and the Tojo rule.

I'm just trying to counter the reality that is this game. The Allied fighters are having to earn every kill and they are not performing as I've come to expect from seeing other AARs. My best sweepers in this game are the 14" and 16" shells from the big boys.