Quisling! An AFB does Japan (No PanzerKat)

[John B.]

In the good news/bad news category, my little assault on Aparri went very well. I retook the base and killed some american support squads (plus 3 air frames). The bad news is that I did such a good job blowing up the airbase that it's at 99 level damage and thus, I suspect, my tabbies can't fly these boys home. They're running for rough terrain to prevent annihilation from the air.

A squadron of early model corsairs did not get the order to stand down and lost 5 planes over Manila but otherwise the air war was quiet. The bombardment battle of Manila continued. Scott lost 12 squads devices and I lost 3. There was not a huge reduction in supply so I'll keep this up for awhile before I stop shooting my own guns.

[John B.]

This was not a good turn in the air over Manila. 4 of the top fighter fighter losses were mine. So, I'm pulling back to Clark for a turn in hopes Scott wastes another sweep over Manila and gets his boys just a little more tired. The heavy losses of Franks has been the most surprising in this series of combats. That and delay that seems to come with reinforcing other squadrons. All of the squadrons set to withdrawal on July 10th will take replacements but none of the other ones will.

[John B.]

Meanwhile, the American KB has moved off of Manila. There are no transports here so I"m not 100% sure what is going on. The KB itself moved out of Hong Kong to patrol between Hong Kong and Canton so that it's fighters are not reduced, but I don't know if he's heading up there. Maybe he's going to hit Cam Ranh Bay? Who knows? I don't see any transports in here.

The Manila bombardment went well. 12 more American casualties against 4 Japanese. And, my Manila supply level went up thanks to a fast transport convoy and the start of the airbridge from Taiwan.

It looks like I was able to pick up my paratroop boys after all. That's a bit puzzling since I've been unable to fly Tabblies into Singapore. Oh well. I'm flying AA units out of Singapore now so that they can reconstitute on the mainland.

[John B.]

And, I have a Kamikaze attack slated for Kota Baru. Those ships have been there for awhile and part of me suspects a trap. But, I've done recon for two turns and have an 8 out of 9 so there are no planes on the airbase and no ground troops. Still, it is a bit odd. On the other hand, these Kamikaze squadrons are not going to slam into ships if I don't use them and if it's not an ambush it looks like I have a good chance to kill some allied shipping and DDs.

Oh, a Japanese sub did sink a DD near Babledaob and make it out alive!

[John B.]

July 3rd is in the books and it was not a good turn for the Empire of Japan. Scott hit Clark Field with limited fighters and a lot of B-24s and my CAP was pathetic. Scott was shot me down at about a 3-1 ratio or worse. He also sank a CL and two DDs that had run out of Manila with excellent leadership. But, none of my torpedos hit home and I went down to superior allied shells and fire control.

My Kamikaze strike went in at Kota Bahrue and I lost 65 planes! There was no CAP just kamikazes and AA. I have a confirmed kill on a DD and an AM so that is a very bad VP ratio. I did get multiple hits on two AKs that were reported with heavy fires and heavy damage and another hit on an AK that was burning. If they go down it was probably worth it but, if not, then it was a failed strike.

I'm also pulling back from Rangoon. Singapore is about to fall and that will free Scott up for more adventures. In Manila proper, I did kill 17 squads/devices with my bombardment to a loss of none and I wiped out an allied base force so it's not all gloom and doom.

[tarkalak]

ORIGINAL: John B.

In the good news/bad news category, my little assault on Aparri went very well. I retook the base and killed some american support squads (plus 3 air frames). The bad news is that I did such a good job blowing up the airbase that it's at 99 level damage and thus, I suspect, my tabbies can't fly these boys home. They're running for rough terrain to prevent annihilation from the air.

A squadron of early model corsairs did not get the order to stand down and lost 5 planes over Manila but otherwise the air war was quiet. The bombardment battle of Manila continued. Scott lost 12 squads devices and I lost 3. There was not a huge reduction in supply so I'll keep this up for awhile before I stop shooting my own guns.

Aparri is a coastal hex, right?

You should be able to evacuate them with flying boats.

[John B.]

Tarkalak, the tabblies were actually able to fly in and evacuate them. And, they were able to fly and drop again. I should be able to post an update later on today.

[John B.]

It's July 6th and there have been a couple of significant moves. First, I stopped fighting the airwar over Manila. I started losing planes at a 2-1 ratio and Scott now is running 300+ fighters over there every turn. So, this turn he had some nice losses to flak and ops losses. And, I'm able to rebuild my fighter squadrons.

[John B.]

The flak losses were over Manila but I'm a bit surprised there were not more. My flak level is at 72 (with a number of 88 mm) but his B-24js coming in at 15,000 feet were not affected. Hopefully he stops with the medium bombers or he goes to higher altitude but that does not seem to have too much effect on bombing accuracy.

As you can see, Manila is still doing pretty well in supplies at 183,000 so, if I continue to burn 1,400 per day I can last about 120 days at the current level of expenditure. I've got all my Tabbies flying supplies in and I think they manage 5 per plane, plus light industry and Emilies.

Does anyone know how I can find other squadrons to upgrade to Tabbies? I've only been able to find three and they are great supply transports!

[John B.]

My bombardments at Manila have been pretty consistent with Scott losing 10 squads/devices per turn. I lost 1 or zero to his bombardment so the ratio is in my favor. I'm not sure if it's worth my supply expenditure, but, on the other hand, at least I'm hitting back a little bit and picking up 3 VP per turn is not a bad thing.

[John B.]

In other news, I'm giving up Rangoon. I have 5 divisions there holding up 4 allied divisions and I'm too vulnerable to an end run around Indochina. But, I'll continue to hold the Moulmein bottleneck with a couple of divisions for as long as I can.

[John B.]

the KB is kind of frozen in place in Hong Kong. Up there it helps prevent Scott from anything too adventurous and there is not really much it can do anyway.

Again, anyone know how I can find other squadrons to convert to Tabbies?

[BBfanboy]

I don't understand the issue - does Japan have so many transport squadrons that you can't scroll through them and check their upgrade possibilities?

[John B.]

I've only been able to identify five squadrons that can upgrade to the Tabbies and went through all the ones that appear to be transport squadrons. But, many squadrons seem to be able to be more than one type so I was wondering if there was quick way to check.

[John B.]

I love the smell of burning B-29's in the morning. It smells like victory. [:D] Scott's B-29's periodically roam over my airfields and ports causing havoc and this time they must have assumed the KB wasn't there as they ran into a storm of CAP. With the 2 ops losses it looks like a 50% loss rate for the big bombers and I suspect that most of the rest took some serious damage.

[John B.]

We don't give much of a write up to the army units that have been destroyed at Singapore. Lot's of VP gone, let's just hope that the delay made their sacrifice worthwhile.

[John B.]

But, still picking away at him in Manila. Most of the losses my artillery has caused has been vehicles and that may be because Scott has armor and TD units in the city and I have some guns with very high anti-armor ratings. In any event, I continue to pluck away at him. Scott ran a bunch of sweeps over Manila but I just used the opportunity to get more repaired fighters out of there.

[John B.]

Last but not least, I have not opposed his bombing in Burma for a long long time. So, I flew three squadrons into Pegu to see if I can catch his bombers on the bounce and shoot a few down. I don't know how many ops points I'll have since there is no radar in the hex and I just flew in this turn but I may get a few of his bombers which would be nice.

[John B.]

I did find out that the large emilys can carry 6 supply points per turn. [X(] But, they are four engines and thus may be worth two VP for each one he brings down. I'll build a few to keep the airbridge to Manila open. I'm really hoping that city can last a long time.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: John B.

I did find out that the large emilys can carry 6 supply points per turn. [X(] But, they are four engines and thus may be worth two VP for each one he brings down. I'll build a few to keep the airbridge to Manila open. I'm really hoping that city can last a long time.

Emilys are great for retrieving cut-off troops because of their range. And don't they carry the Okha, or is that role just for Bettys?