LST vs. IdahoNYer (DBB-C, A AAR) 6 yrs and done! VJ Day!

[jwolf]

Calcutta's shipyard is pretty small, just 10 in stock. Won't the Dorsetshire take forever to get repaired there?

[IdahoNYer]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Calcutta's shipyard is pretty small, just 10 in stock. Won't the Dorsetshire take forever to get repaired there?

Initially Calcutta, trying to avoid the subs potentially near Ceylon. Will do what can be done at Calcutta for a bit - then maybe Bombay. Colombo is not an option anyway with Lex right now.

But for now, just to get it to a port, avoiding subs and LBA.

[IdahoNYer]

27-28 Jun 43

Highlights – You GOT to be KIDDING ME!!!! - Golden opportunity missed as the IJN enter the Indian Ocean

Jpn ships sunk: None

Jpn ships unsunk:
DD: 1 (Arashio)

Allied ships sunk:
CA: 1 (Dorsetshire)
AM: 2
LSI (L): 1
LST: 1
KV: 1
PT: 12
MGB: 6
AMc: 2

Air loss:
Jpn: 138
Allied: 62

Subwar:
Jpn: 0 Attack, 0 ship hit
Allies: 4 Attacks, 0 ships hit

Jpn Amph Inv: None

Allied Amph Inv: None

Bases lost: None

Bases Liberated:
Treasury Is (SOPAC - flipped)

SIGINT/Intel: IJN definitely in the IO; KB composition confirmed as: 5CV (Kaga and Junyo missing), CA (Tone) CLAA, 8DD. Assume Junyo and Kaga w/CVL Zuiho and CVEs? as the “mini KB”

West Coast/Admin: NSTR

In NOPAC, NSTR.

In CENPAC, NSTR.

In SOPAC, I am a bit surprised when Rabaul air attacks Allied TFs in daylight - first off Buin (due to Torokina being socked in) which sink 2AM with little loss. The next three attacks come in against shipping off Torokina as the clouds part and are mauled by heavy CAP with no ships hit. 26Z and 35V lost in exchange for 4F4F, 2P-39 and 2Boomerangs. A good two days work! With IJN air heavily attritted over Torokina, will send in the P-38s to sweep Rabaul. At sea, still shuttling transports around to pull troops off Torokina and prepare to land on New Guinea.

In SWPAC, with the IJN confirmed in the IO, picking up the pace to reinforce Bathurst Is with engineers. So far, so good.

In WAUS, an IJN CL TF (CL, 3DD) sweep through Port Hedland sinking a lone LST and an LCT just off the coast. Will need to bring in some naval support - but they are enroute to Exmouth and will take some time arrive. But it does look though Port Hedland is finally NOT the main effort for the IJN. We should be able to make our first attack on Port Hedland in a week.

In China, the noose around Chungking continues to get tighter with IJA tank units attacking from the SW to isolate the city. Unsupplied Chinese Corps are just a speedbump to slow, but won’t stop this effort. So, what can we do? Well, I’ll set the P-38s out of Kumning for a LRCAP Trap over Chungking next turn - a lot of luck will have to come together for this to work - 1)weather needs to cooperate, 2)IJA bombers need to fly, 3) IJA fighters need not to fly in numbers, and 4) supply at Kumning needs to support two days of the LRCAP. Fingers crossed.

In India/Burma, a busy bad and frustrating two days. Starts off a CL TF (3CL, 6DD) engaging and sweeping the PTs clear of Port Blair, followed by the expected heavy BB bombardment TF (5BB, 3CA, CL, 6DD) plastering the AF, destroying 10F4U, 4F4F, 7Spit on the ground and shutting down the field. Another BB TF (2BB, 3CA, 8DD) bombard Little Andaman with little effect. Local shipping in the area scatters, but 2AMc enroute to Port Blair are caught and sunk. Those 3xAK evade after offloading half their cargoes and will head to Akyab. The ships sent out of Port Blair to avoid the bombardment (LSI(L), CA Dorsetshire), I had set to keep away from enemy air in Burma - so they sailed right into the waiting arms of the marauding KB which caught and sunk the CA, LSI(L) and a KV. The KB attacked, but failed to score a hit on the withdrawing Brit CA bombardment TF (2CA, 3CL, 2DD) heading back to Ceylon from Little Andaman. Surprisingly only two small strikes were launched and failed to score (25Z, 13J and 12Z, 9J). Have no explanation why a larger strike wasn’t launched. The big surprise was that same CA Bombardment TF running across and engaging the KB mid ocean! Of course, post bombardment the British were low on main gun ammo, and after a very BRIEF round of gunfire and torpedo where the Brits landed one 8” round on CA Tone, the British Admiral (later to be flogged, drawn and quartered in proper British naval tradition) chose to withdraw and end the engagement! Amazing! What an opportunity lost! That said, it is interesting to see the KB’s 5 premier CVs (Akagi, Zui twins, Hiryu, Soryu) sailing without ANY BB protection to soak up bombs. Just off Little Andaman, is another IJN CV TF - I’m assuming it’s the Mini-KB with Kaga, Junyo, Zuiho and perhaps CVEs - likely providing CAP to the bombardment runs. In any case, the Allied fleet will depart Colombo and attempt to engage. I’m foregoing with my usual multiple 2-3 CV sized TFs, and this time, Spruance will have all 6CVs in a single 25 ship TF, screened by a CA TF and ASW TFs. Even without Lex, I’m confident if I can engage the KB, I can be successful. The question is of course will the KB remain in the IO or pull back to safer waters. And what exactly is his intent here? Counter invasion? Or protect a troop pullback out of Rangoon? No idea yet. Lastly, it looks like L_S_T is making use of the Andaman Sea ports to refuel and rearm his bombardment and CL TFs - Tavoy and Victoria Point look to be likely harbors which I suspect have the AE/AKE fleet train in. So, I’m going to focus some recon, and use my Heavies to mine the ports all along the coast. Yes, they can be swept, but maybe they can hit a ship or two returning from a bombardment run.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Well, Adm Younger might argue he was not paid enough as to ram his ships to the KB.. cruisers without ammo are not very useful [:D]

Looking at the positive, you got the best possible naval search in case you want to strike him with the Allied carriers; the TF looks vulnerable by the way.

[Bif1961]

I would rush the Allied carriers in a hit the lightly escorted KB, as you have BBs to catch bombs and he does not. Also you have 525 AC and he with only 5 CVs has approx 360 AC, unless he combines with the other carrier TF you will have him outnumbered. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

[IdahoNYer]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

I would rush the Allied carriers in a hit the lightly escorted KB, as you have BBs to catch bombs and he does not. Also you have 525 AC and he with only 5 CVs has approx 360 AC, unless he combines with the other carrier TF you will have him outnumbered. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

If he stays out in the IO, will press hard to engage. But I figure he'll drop back into the Andaman Sea - and I don't want to get in range of his LBA. At least not yet....

[IdahoNYer]

29-30 Jun 43

Highlights – Aerial mines “claim” CVL Zuiho; Port Blair pounded again

Jpn ships sunk:
CVL: 1 (Zuiho - I doubt it)
SS: 1 (I-37)

Allied ships sunk:
PT: 4

Air loss:
Jpn: 44
Allied: 32

Subwar:
Jpn: 0 Attack, 0 ship hit
Allies: 1 Attack, 0 ships hit

Jpn Amph Inv: None

Allied Amph Inv: None

Bases lost: None

Bases Liberated: None

SIGINT/Intel: Tavoy and Victoria Point look like the major naval anchorages being used by the IJN in their shuttle runs to Port Blair and Little Andaman

West Coast/Admin: NSTR

In NOPAC, NSTR.

In CENPAC, NSTR.

In SOPAC, its pretty quiet. A P-38 sweep over Rabaul downs 8 fighters and loses three in return. Will sweep again next turn with some additional airframes. Bombers rest as the New Guinea invasion troops begin loading at Lunga. Other transports continue to shuttle Marines off Torokina and bring in engineers. The challenge now is to put the Marines in staging bases to prepare for future operations to isolate Rabaul while most of the Amphib shipping is going to be occupied in the New Guinea operation. So again, I’m slowed more by logistics than enemy troops or airpower.

In SWPAC, no interference with pushing more troops and supplies to Bathurst, so that will continue, with DDs, PTs and LBA in support and cover. I’m fairly convinced that L_S_T has only light naval forces remaining in Theater - fingers crossed as my naval cover is fairly weak. A Cleveland Class CL is enroute to join CL Hobart in Horn Island to provide some firepower for operations against Darwin - I’m going to have to bring troops and supplies via sea to take Darwin. Bombers begin hitting targets in Darwin which promises to be a tough nut to crack.

In WAUS, support troops close on Port Hedland, supplies are still good, so will launch the first attack on the base next turn. Two Aussie Bdes plus support. Another Bde is enroute from Corunna Downs. Air will continue to hit ground targets and landing craft will continue to bring in supplies over the beach. As with SWPAC, Allied naval force is slim here, and I’m starting to bring in some APAs and a CL/DD TF to provide cover for the eventual naval landing that will have to take place to secure Broome. The key for me is, and always has been Port Hedland. Once Port Hedland is secure, Allied airpower will range over Broome in strength.

In China, the Kumning P-38s fly only once, with 8xP-38s engaging a sweep over Chungking, downing 5 fighters for 2 lost to ops. Most of the IJA air is focused on hitting Chinese troops south of the city that are trying to stem the armor heading SE to close the noose on Chungking. Will re-focus the P-38s to this area next turn and see what they can accomplish. Will only be able to provide the P-38s for a couple more turns at most due to both supply and I want them back in Burma for operations against Magwe in July.

In India/Burma, the IJN returns to Port Blair with a BB TF (3BB, 3CA, CL, DDs) keeping the field closed and destroying 6 more planes on the ground. The CV TFs also look to have gone to port (Victoria Point I think), where my hunch paid off and dropped M13 mines score against CVL Zuiho - claimed sunk, but no a/c were lost “on the ground” in tracker, so I figure she’s still in port - will try a night time strike with Brit Heavies at long range to see if they can get lucky. Despite the bombardment, if the BB TFs stay away for a turn, the AF should be back in operation. I will need to swap out squadrons though as their morale has taken a big hit. At sea, Spruance’s CV TF is approaching the Andamans from Ceylon - hopefully avoiding subs. The question is whether or not the KB will come back out to engage. Will be interesting!

[BBfanboy]

Good time to have a mine take out Zuiho, with a carrier engagement possible soon.

[IdahoNYer]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Good time to have a mine take out Zuiho, with a carrier engagement possible soon.

Very true! Good to see the Mk13 aerial mine actually find a victim too.

Of course, I would have preferred what I saw in the replay - CV Kaga taking a torp from a sub. But that was just synch bug disinformation!

I'll take the mine hit...

[IdahoNYer]

Jun 43 Summary

A successful month, but not without cost. The highlight of course was the seizing of both Port Blair and Little Andaman Island, which seems to have been a solid surprise for the good guys. But there was cost, and I managed to lose the initiative in the IO at month’s end due to the Medan Massacre. Still, continued advances highlight the month, with logistics slowing advances more than enemy opposition in a few Theaters. Again, no major naval engagements, but that looks to change in Jul with both side’s CV fleets in the same ocean for the first time since mid ‘42. The primary goal for Jul remains engaging the KB and destroying it as a viable force, regaining the initiative in the India/Burma Theater, and continued advancement in Theaters the KB is not in. Naval losses for the month were in the IJN’s favor, the IJN losing a CVL (doubtful) and 6 SS as compared to the Allies losing a CA, 3DD, 3SS and 25(!!) PT. In the air, even with Medan, it was a fairly good month for the Allied Cause, 973 for Jpn to 667 Allied.

INTEL: Well, not just the KB, but it looks like the entire IJN is in the IO. While this will prove a tough fight in the IO, it does open the door in CENPAC, SOPAC and Australia where operations will try to take advantage of the lack of a significant IJN presence.

SUBWAR: While Allied subs continue to not have much success, the IJN subs got energized in Jun damaging a CV and two CAs in quick succession in the IO. Hopefully we can turn that around in July.

West Coast/USA/Rear Areas: Fighter production will climb to 593 in July due to the P-40 surge, but that will tail off in August. The best news is July means the P-47 comes on line which should allow the Allied LBA to challenge the Jpn around Magwe on good terms. Even with the losses at Medan, pilot pools are fairly solid, although USMC and British pools remain low. At sea in Jul, Fletcher DDs undergo a short but important refit, as does BB South Dakota, taking it out of any action in the IO. Lastly, the one major disadvantage to having the Fleet operating in the IO is that it isn’t a “central” location - so committing to the IO requires a long haul from the States, and once there, the ships are committed. That said, a number of ships will be transiting to the IO via the Med in Jul (roughly 2CV, CVL, CA, 4CVE and DDs).

NOPAC. Remains a backwater, and a place to train fighter pilots in restricted P-38 squadrons.

CENPAC. Ailinglaplap and Maloelap were secured without any issues, and will continue with Roi-Namur in July. Other advances will likely be limited to clearing out some remaining atolls in the Marshals - shipping limiting advance as much as a lack of flight decks (2CVEs) with the Essex and consorts going to the IO.

SOPAC. Bougainville was secured easier than expected, minimal resistance at Buin and nominal at Torokina. With Torokina secured, Rabaul has tasted the initial fighter sweeps that will only intensify. July will see focus shift to New Guinea, with landing at Oro Bay to begin the overland campaign to secure Buna, Moresby and then grind towards Lae. Once secure on New Guinea, will look at bringing back transports to continue up the Solomons by landing at Buka, shutting down Rabaul as a major base, and mopping up bypassed outposts that have been largely evacuated like Munda.

SWPAC. Bathurst proved challenging to establish, but with the IJN going to the IO, the danger seems well past by month’s end. The base is growing and Darwin is isolated. Darwin will be the focus in July; attempt to maintain CAP over the base to prevent troops from being airlifted out, and bring both troops and supply in via sea to attack the base from both the landward and seaward sides. Troops will also slowly slug towards Wyndham overland. Once Darwin falls, will look towards jumping north to the islands in the Banda Sea.

WAUS. Well, it has been a long, bitter campaign to take Port Hedland, but it finally looks like the end is in sight. With the IJN pulled to the IO, it’s only a matter of time before the troops can take the base. Beginning in Jul should see the first ground assault - with well supplied troops. Broome will be next once Port Hedland airbase is up and running and some assault shipping can be brought in - that is the long pole in the tent right now.

Burma/India. The Port Blair invasion was the needed game changer in Theater, and looks to have broken the deadlock. Although I muffed the execution with the Medan raid, the gaining of both Port Blair and Little Andaman has pulled away LBA from Magwe, begun the withdrawal of IJA troops from Burma, and last, but not least, brought what looks to be the entire IJN into the Indian Ocean. Will continue the pressure, both at sea with the CV TF out looking for, instead of running from, the KB. Once Port Blair is built up a bit more, it’s LBA will shut down naval traffic to Rangoon - that is the goal. With the KB in Theater, future landings are on hold until the KB can be dealt with, with the possible exception of Car Nicobar. On the land front, Allied troops will begin pressuring IJA troops along the India frontier - a landing at Ramree is not out of the question if conditions can be met. And that condition is the Magwe air armada is neutralized. To that, two squadrons of P-47s will land shortly in India, and once positioned forward, the renewed air campaign will begin. With both a busy air and ground campaign in Burma, and a naval/air campaign in the Indian Ocean/Andaman Sea, I’m going divide this Theater into two Commands starting in July - Burma and Indian Ocean.

China. Unfortunately, L_S_T has begun the drive to cut off Chungking with a massed armored attack. I don’t think I can directly stop this attack with the current supply situation. Best I can do is delay and hopefully managed a good CAP trap before the curtain falls. I hate China.

[Macclan5]

Great to see the update - thanks [8D]

[IdahoNYer]

1-2 Jul 43

Highlights – Battle of Little Andaman as US CV air crushes a counter landing; Port Hedland taken.

Jpn ships sunk:
BB: 1 (Fuso)
AK: 8

Jpn ships unsunk:
DD: 1 (Hatsukaze)

Allied ships sunk:
PT: 5

Air loss:
Jpn: 122
Allied: 97

Subwar:
Jpn: 1 Attack, 0 ships hit
Allies: 1 Attacks, 0 ships hit

Jpn Amph Inv: Little Andaman (IO)

Allied Amph Inv: None

Bases lost: None

Bases Liberated:
Port Hedland (WAUS)
Ontong Java (SOPAC)

SIGINT/Intel: IJN is in fact fully committed to the IO

West Coast/Admin: P-47 production begins! Will be short DDs for a while across the Fleet as the Fletchers begin a short refit.

In NOPAC, NSTR.

In CENPAC, continued troops shuttling to get troops off Maloelap to prepare for future operations.

In SOPAC, Oro Bay invasion troops complete loading at Lunga, and will depart for New Guinea next turn, supported by BB Washington TF and LBA. APDs land parts of a USMC Raider Bn on Ontong Java, seizing the undefended rock. In the air, fighters sweep Rabaul once again, with mixed results, and will repeat with F6Fs next turn - then the focus will shift to New Guinea. Not sure if I can maintain pressure on Rabaul, provide cover for shipping off Bougainville, AND cover the New Guinea operations simultaneously.

In SWPAC, quiet at Bathurst and it should reach AF level 2 next turn. Darwin Flak still heavy, and will need to rest the bombers. Ground troops moving north to Darwin, and once they reach the base, will bring in an infantry regiment via sea - primarily with landing craft. Seventh Fleet is stood up with a CL TF forming at Horn Island, and another CA TF in WAUS also forming. Will slowly add cruisers and additional DDs to the Seventh Fleet as I can free up assets.

In WAUS, Port Hedland falls in the first attack!! The long, long campaign to take the base finally ends - retaken 11 months to the day it was taken by the IJA! Spitfires are flown in for CAP, and will continue to build up the base. One Bde will begin an overland pursuit of the withdrawing IJA troops towards Broome. P-38s are being recalled back from SWPAC, and once arrived, will begin gaining air superiority over Broome.

In China, the threat to Chungking from the west continues to worsen, not much can be done. Looks to be a wide attempt at encirclement, aimed all the way to cut off the rail just north of Kweiyang. The P-38s at Kumning are withdrawn back to Burma for the upcoming air offensive against Magwe.

In Burma, the P-47 has arrived! Two squadrons are landed at Cochin, India and will rail up to Calcutta. Once these squadrons are fully operational - maybe a week - will begin full press operations against Magwe. To that, other than mining operations in support of fleet operations in the Indian Ocean against Tavoy and Victoria Point, as well as the usual night time raids against Magwe, the bomber fleet will rest and refit.

In the IO, Spruance’s CV TF arrives off the Andamans just in time to catch the IJN - not the expected bombardment run or the KB venturing in the IO, but a counter landing at Little Andaman Island. Truthfully, I’m caught flat-footed at the prospect of a counter landing - and as usual, L_S_T has brought the entire IJN with him to support the estimated 2 Regiments and support troops trying to land. But this time, the naval forces aren’t as synchronized as normal, and the amphibious TF, with plenty of BBs in support (all but Nagato, Mutsu and Kongo are accounted for) are caught by the US CVs landing troops at Little Andaman. The first day, there is no CAP, and the US CVs launch strikes both AM and PM. The 2nd day, the KB arrives to the SE and provides LRCAP, but again, both AM and PM strikes are launched. The strikes go in with minimal fragmentation, and the escort was sufficient to get the bombers through on the second day. Biggest issue was the BBs present, as they “ate” most of the SBD’s bombing of course - bouncing 1000lb bombs off the armor. TBFs pretty much ran out of torps by the afternoon of the second day, and only managed 4 torp hits on the BBs - three on Fuso. The only attack on the US CVs was an unescorted strike of 5 Jills, which met a wall of CAP. By the end of the two days, the counter landings were crushed - two IJN IN regiments, the 74th and 78th plus some support were caught mostly on the ships and any troops landed were eliminated by ground troops. Fuso is reported sunk, and might just be, but the other BBs were likely just dented. 8 big AKs were sunk, and perhaps a few more might not make it. Perhaps CL Katori and CA Myoko are damaged heavily and perhaps a DD as well. On the debit side, the US planes are pretty exhausted, CVs are pretty much out of torpedoes and half the sortie allowance expended. CV air losses were about half replaced by the CVE Repl - works great, but need more CVEs. That all in mind, I figure the IJN to withdraw - although, the KB is fairly fresh, and might come out for a fight, although I don’t think that’s likely. With the KB untouched, I’m pulling the CVs back to Ceylon to rearm - any counter landing ideas have been thwarted, and I’d rather engage the KB with a full tank of gas - full complement, torps, and sorties avail. I may be missing an opportunity here, but I’m in no real rush, the Port Blair position will just get stronger.

Below is a role up of the damage inflicted at Little A:

Japanese Ships
BB Haruna, Bomb hits 21, on fire, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 22, on fire
BB Hiei, Bomb hits 14
BB Fuso, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 18, on fire
BB Ise, Bomb hits 20, on fire
CA Takao, Bomb hits 2
CA Myoko, Bomb hits 4, on fire
CL Katori, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Oyodo, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Akikaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Arimasan Maru, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
AK Azuma Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
AK Tokyo Maru, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
AK Kashii Maru, Torpedo hits 1, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Kano Maru, Torpedo hits 1, Bomb hits 8, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Arizona Maru, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Kinai Maru, Torpedo hits 2, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Myoko Maru, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Goyo Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AK Kansai Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage, heavy fires, heavy damage
AK Atutasan Maru, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
AK Hawaii Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy fires, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
1243 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 36 destroyed, 26 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Japanese ground losses:
5053 casualties reported
Squads: 79 destroyed, 62 disabled
Non Combat: 88 destroyed, 112 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 59 (46 destroyed, 13 disabled)

Japanese ground losses:
735 casualties reported
Squads: 21 destroyed, 29 disabled
Non Combat: 33 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 10 (6 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (10 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Japanese ground losses:
844 casualties reported
Squads: 17 destroyed, 64 disabled
Non Combat: 30 destroyed, 52 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 25 (13 destroyed, 12 disabled)

[BBfanboy]

Serendipity! You didn't plan on such a huge engagement but you did plan on using your CVs to clear that corner of the IO, so you set it up and your opponent obliged! Well done!

[Jorge_Stanbury]

What a juicy convoy!!! you certainly eliminated any chance of counter invasion now... EDIT Actually you annihilated the Japanese amphibious fleet!!!! 12 AKs (probably AK-ts) sunk or under heavy fire/ damage means that he has simply lost the capability to counter invade... there are no replacement APAs/ AKAs coming for Japan [&o]

of course the question now is, what is the KB going to do? I would max search and take a very cautious approach, as the enemy landing is already defeated, your DL is high and you are low on ammo

Have you thought about flank speed withdrawal? 2-day turn game really help in that regard

[Dirtnap86]

Man, 1000lb bombs are no joke though. And the Kongous have less armor than the rest of the IJN BB fleet. 21 and 22 hits, if accurate, can be quite painful. Haruna might be in real trouble and the closest repair yard is...Singers? I can't remember if Rangoon has one. Katori is probably a goner, an obsolete training CL that he should have used as a resource convoy escort since shes rather slow for a warship (18.5 knots!)

I'd full speed the CVs out of there, he's got to be smarting after that.

[BBfanboy]

+1 Dirtnap86! I have seen several times where 30 or more bomb hits (not even all 1000 pounders) can cause so much system damage and fires that the IJN BB ends up sinking a day or so later. Even if some of those 1000 pounders hit belt armour, that can cause some minor float damage. Combined with a torpedo hit, system damage and fires, Haruna could be in trouble.

Flank speed for the CVs should be considered if the DDs have enough fuel to handle it. Otherwise, the TF has to pause to fuel the DDs and it will take two days to get to Colombo/Trincomalee anyway.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

I would do the math: basically to define the likely hex at which they would be on the 1st of 2 turns. I would even detach the DDs if that helps, and run the carriers alone.. or maybe have some DDs from Colombo meeting the carrier TF. Running without DDs is risky, but I would be more worried about LST also running flank speed, and intercepting on the 1st turn

Once it reaches Colombo and rearms, then it is gloves off [;)]

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury

I would do the math: basically to define the likely hex at which they would be on the 1st of 2 turns. I would even detach the DDs if that helps, and run the carriers alone.. or maybe have some DDs from Colombo meeting the carrier TF. Running without DDs is risky, but I would be more worried about LST also running flank speed, and intercepting on the 1st turn

Once it reaches Colombo and rearms, then it is gloves off [;)]

No math required. Set the TF to flank speed and if the DD fuel range stays green, they can make it without stopping. If it turns red, they would need to refuel.

Flank speed is 16X normal fuel usage, so another way to do this is look at the individual DD ship screen and see what their range is with current fuel, then divide by 16 and see if it is enough to get to base.

[jwolf]

BBfanboy: kind of funny how you said "no math required" but then proceeded to ... do the math. [:)]

On topic: I'm intrigued by the comments about possible flank speed withdrawal and/or enemy pursuit. Will be watching anxiously for updates!

[IdahoNYer]

Thanks for all the comments! Kinda surprised to see the "full speed outa there". Never considered full speed, nor detaching DDs in sub infested waters. To me, subs were, and are, the bigger threat right now.

As for the KB, while I thought they may come out to engage, I wasn't too concerned - maybe I should have been....but an engagement in the IO off Ceylon would not have been too bad. Close to friendly ports, and the KB hanging out well outside of friendly support. Also, although the KB didn't get directly engaged, his Zeros did provide some LRCAP - around 90 fighters were engaged over Little A. So I also figured that his fighters were fatigued a bit, probably as much as mine.

In any case, my CVs and the rest of the fleet made it to Trimcomalee unscathed....more to follow!