ORIGINAL: Panther Bait
Is the Amoy-to-Foochow region close enough to Formosa to realistically sweep with Spitfire VIII's, assuming that they can stage there through Luzon or Indochina/China?
I don't know what the Spit pools look like, but from other AARs, I think they are stout enough to hold their own against the late-war Japanese fighters. I don't think they get much use that way normally due to a lack of range.
If you could get the RAF on the front lines, that might take some pressure off your T-bolt squadrons.
Mike
Foochow is easily within range of Spit VIIIs. Aparri is within extended range.
I'm using Spit VIIIs, British Thunderbolts, and Commonwealth Corsairs as part of the mix in the sweeps against Formosa. The VIIIs are doing "okay," but the extended range isn't advantageous for them. So I'll stand them down until I can use them from Foochow.
To this point, P-47D2s and P-47D25s haven't been doing all that well in sweep role (the latter is a real surprise). Oddly, the Mustangs and Lightnings have performed well. The Corsairs always do fine, but aren't present in huge numbers.
We're still in the early stages of the Formosa sweep campaign. It's too early to say definitively who's winning, but I'm encouraged. Part of that optimism is knowing that Foochow will be added to the mix of close-in airfield, and that I can bomb and bombard to help.
