IJ commander resurrected - Mundy (A) vs. Castor Troy (IJ) - restricted AAR

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: WriterNotViking


Thanks for the updates, and congratulations on another confirmed carrier kill. It's not unreasonable to assume Mundy's B-29 night raid has its roots somewhere in the frustration he must be feeling with his progress. Regardless, goodwill between opponents is essential, and I hope the situation is resolved to mutual satisfaction.

More emphatically, I sincerely hope that the next time a reader feels the need to discuss a topic in detail or engage at length with another poster, they will exercise the common courtesy of doing so in a different thread.

Thanks! There were no follow up tactical night raids, guess the insane damage done has just confirmed what we have both been thinking about it

[29000Kevin]

So the Japanese have lost 3,500 planes of all shapes and sizes against the Allied Submarine threat roughly eliminating 150 deadly Submarines from the allies.

Now I know that the results are bad but the Allies in the Battle of the Atlantic lost 741 RAF aircraft against the U-Boats although with the aid of breaking the broken Enigma codes and the deadlier Escorts with state of the art ASW and hedgehog depth Charge launchers.
Oh and the Allies sunk 780 U-Boats in the end...

Meanwhile the Japanese version of the Battle of the Atlantic had a lot of fragile Japanese planes being shot and ruined by 50.cal MG's or at least something like that to explain the horrendous loses, maybe it's the Factories fault or sabotage by Japanese pilots who hate flying over the ocean to find a boat that can hide underwater.

The early Hunter Killer TFs attempted and completely failed against the Submarine threat, instead the policy was just to place as many escorts as possible to guard transport ships, which hasn't failed Japan much.

I also noticed that the big expensive long range H8K2 Emily isn't being used much during the Operations report, a lot of the long range G3M3 activities though.

Also for some reason I've forgotten what I was going to say beyond this point so I'll just comment here

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: 29000Kevin

So the Japanese have lost 3,500 planes of all shapes and sizes against the Allied Submarine threat roughly eliminating 150 deadly Submarines from the allies.

Now I know that the results are bad but the Allies in the Battle of the Atlantic lost 741 RAF aircraft against the U-Boats although with the aid of breaking the broken Enigma codes and the deadlier Escorts with state of the art ASW and hedgehog depth Charge launchers.
Oh and the Allies sunk 780 U-Boats in the end...

Meanwhile the Japanese version of the Battle of the Atlantic had a lot of fragile Japanese planes being shot and ruined by 50.cal MG's or at least something like that to explain the horrendous loses, maybe it's the Factories fault or sabotage by Japanese pilots who hate flying over the ocean to find a boat that can hide underwater.

The early Hunter Killer TFs attempted and completely failed against the Submarine threat, instead the policy was just to place as many escorts as possible to guard transport ships, which hasn't failed Japan much.

I also noticed that the big expensive long range H8K2 Emily isn't being used much during the Operations report, a lot of the long range G3M3 activities though.

Also for some reason I've forgotten what I was going to say beyond this point so I'll just comment here

There isn't a single Emily unit not flying long range naval search. All the sub sightings from Nells are coming from two highly experienced and skilled units (36 bombers + 4 reserve each) that are set to 20 hexes ASW at two jokepoints where Allied subs are going like flies to poo.

Main losses on nav search / ASW are Jakes and Helen IIa as these types were also flying the majority of the missions. In places where they have never spotted a single sub or ship I have never suffered a single op loss with the same settings and aircraft types.

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Feb 18, 45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Kavieng at 105,123



Japanese Ships
E No.138
E No.74
xAK Kinmon Maru
xAK Genbu Maru
xAK Surakaruta Maru
E No.186
E No.156
E No.150
E No.144

Allied Ships
SS O19, hits 29, and is sunk


big convoy going to Rabaul runs into a Dutch sub... amazing to see the Dutch still operating subs in the Pacific... our escort was missed and in return the sub was a confirmed kill...


SS O19 launches 2 torpedoes at E No.138
E No.186 attacking submerged sub ....
E No.156 fails to find sub and abandons search
E No.150 attacking submerged sub ....
E No.144 attacking submerged sub ....
SS O19 forced to surface!
E No.144 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.186 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.156 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.150 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.144 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.186 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.156 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.150 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.186 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.156 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.150 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.144 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.186 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.156 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.150 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.144 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.186 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.156 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.150 firing on surfaced sub ....
E No.144 firing on surfaced sub ....
Sub slips beneath the waves

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Mar 07, 45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Shanghai at 96,56



Japanese Ships
E Hodaka
E Amami

Allied Ships
SS Pilotfish, hits 10, heavy damage


nearly three weeks of a big lull later we catch another sub in shallow water and hit the bugger with four Type 2 depth charges... pretty sure the sub is dead...


SS Pilotfish is sighted by escort
E Hodaka fails to find sub, continues to search...
E Amami fails to find sub and abandons search
E Hodaka fails to find sub, continues to search...
E Hodaka attacking submerged sub ....
Debris floats to surface in area of attack!
Escort abandons search for sub

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Mar 15, 45

looks like something is incoming as we have spotted a carrier group and what looks like to be an amphib task force moving through the Bay of Bengal... only spotted these two task forces but a carrier group that small wouldn't be able to fend of my LBA let alone KB... hmmmm...

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Mar 18, 45

The British fleet has been spotted daily and while it first seemed to be an attempt to invade Northern Sumatra the two task forces are now moving South West away from Sumatra... no idea what Mundy is planning or if he's trying to lull me into something... this fleet movement isn't big enough to make me react in any decent way so we will just have an eye on them and have the airforce ready if needed...

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Mar 20, 45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Soerabaja at 56,103

Japanese Ships
PB Zuiko Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PB Fuji Maru #3
xAK Ryoyo Maru
xAK Nissen Maru
xAK Hakodate Maru
PB Heizan Maru
PB Hitora Maru
PB Takunan Maru
PB Minowa Maru

Allied Ships
SS Loggerhead, hits 3


the escort was sunk and Loggerhead only took some near misses...


SS Loggerhead launches 2 torpedoes at PB Zuiko Maru
PB Heizan Maru fails to find sub and abandons search
PB Hitora Maru fails to find sub and abandons search
PB Takunan Maru fails to find sub and abandons search
PB Minowa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Minowa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Minowa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Minowa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Minowa Maru attacking submerged sub ....
PB Minowa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Minowa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125



Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 19 NM, estimated altitude 37,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84r Frank x 88
Ki-94-II x 88

Allied aircraft
P-51D Mustang x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 4 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-51D Mustang: 3 destroyed


while the British fleet West of Sumatra was moving around like in circles I decided this would be clearly a feint the enemy suddenly showed up over Rabaul with a squadron of P-51D... needless to say the enemy was incoming at max alt and the resulting dive trashed my defenders... even was too lazy to stagger my CAP as the difference is meh and all my squadrons would be bounced anyways until number come into play... same happened here, we lost like nearly a dozen fighters during the P-51 dive and when the dive ended our fighters shot them up in return but there were only a handful left to be shot at...


CAP engaged:
11th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (0 airborne, 30 on standby, 0 scrambling)
14 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 33910.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes
24th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (0 airborne, 30 on standby, 0 scrambling)
14 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 33910.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes
59th Sentai with Ki-94-II (0 airborne, 30 on standby, 0 scrambling)
14 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 37370.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
87th Sentai with Ki-94-II (0 airborne, 30 on standby, 0 scrambling)
14 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 37370.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 40,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84r Frank x 81
Ki-94-II x 83

Allied aircraft
P-51D Mustang x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-51D Mustang: 3 destroyed


oh boy, looks like this could be the start of an air offensive as another squadron shows up over Rabaul but this time the dive ends after just three or four firing passes... so funny, the result surely isn't obvious...


Aircraft Attacking:
5 x P-51D Mustang sweeping at 37000 feet *

CAP engaged:
11th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (3 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
20 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 41000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes
24th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 0 scrambling)
25 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 40000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes
59th Sentai with Ki-94-II (0 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
23 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 37370.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
87th Sentai with Ki-94-II (3 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
21 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 38000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 76 NM, estimated altitude 41,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84r Frank x 76
Ki-94-II x 79

Allied aircraft
P-51D Mustang x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-51D Mustang: 1 destroyed

CAP engaged:
11th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (0 airborne, 3 on standby, 5 scrambling)
26 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 41000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes
59th Sentai with Ki-94-II (2 airborne, 9 on standby, 3 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
17 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 39000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes
87th Sentai with Ki-94-II (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 0 scrambling)
26 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 16000 and 39000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
24th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 2 scrambling)
27 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 41000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 38,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84r Frank x 74
Ki-94-II x 74

Allied aircraft
P-51D Mustang x 3

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses


like all the time each sweeping squadron loses 3 of their own on the way in that then show up later... never understood that feature either, it's been there since release...


CAP engaged:
11th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (3 airborne, 3 on standby, 17 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 40000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
59th Sentai with Ki-94-II (0 airborne, 3 on standby, 9 scrambling)
16 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 39000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes
87th Sentai with Ki-94-II (4 airborne, 9 on standby, 6 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
10 plane(s) not yet engaged, 10 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 16000 and 39000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes
24th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 3 scrambling)
11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 9 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 41000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 66 NM, estimated altitude 41,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 18 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84r Frank x 70
Ki-94-II x 66

Allied aircraft
P-51D Mustang x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-51D Mustang: 1 destroyed


the next three...


CAP engaged:
11th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (6 airborne, 3 on standby, 17 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 40000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes
59th Sentai with Ki-94-II (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 9 scrambling)
10 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 39000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes
87th Sentai with Ki-94-II (0 airborne, 3 on standby, 6 scrambling)
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 12 being recalled, 6 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 16000 and 41000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes
24th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (4 airborne, 9 on standby, 3 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 10 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 41000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 38,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84r Frank x 64
Ki-94-II x 60

Allied aircraft
P-51D Mustang x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 3 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-51D Mustang: 3 destroyed


and as there were 3x3 P-51D coming in there must be a third 22 plane strike incoming and here it is... [8|] these Mustangs had a longer dive period and our fighters are hit hard right away... nearly all dives resulted in outright kills, the following air engagement mostly resulted in damaged enemy fighters but they've got a loooong way home so the kill rate might be looking better than the combat report in the end...

I was expecting 4E bombers showing up too but we only faced these three Mustang squadrons on their sweep... we still had at least 100 fighters left in the air after the sweeps so any incoming 4Es would have been hit hard and there are only fighter units at the airfields of Rabaul so ground losses should have been limited...




CAP engaged:
11th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (1 airborne, 3 on standby, 17 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 40000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes
59th Sentai with Ki-94-II (1 airborne, 6 on standby, 9 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 39000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
87th Sentai with Ki-94-II (2 airborne, 6 on standby, 6 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 19000 and 41000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 39 minutes
24th Sentai with Ki-84r Frank (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 3 scrambling)
10 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 41000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes

[castor troy]

like I've already mentioned there were really a lot of damaged Mustangs during the battle and while most of them would have made it home to a nearby base the USAAF staged these sweeps out of Australia at 19 hexes range... [X(]

the result were lots and lots of damaged Mustangs being lost on their way home and in the end the kill ratio even slightly favours our defenders with a handful more Mustangs lost than IJAAF fighters... we did lose two dozen highly experienced and skilled pilots though which is quite a loss... losing over 50% of the involved sweepers sure isn't nice either though...

unfortunately the British carrier group came closer to Sumatra again (still like going in circles) which resulted in lots and lots of Dinah-III being shot down on nav search as the carrier group turned into a vaccum cleaner again and way more search aircraft being over that fleet than what would be even possible considering numbers and a 360 degree search area...

[Alpha77]

PB Fuji Maru #3

SS Loggerhead, hits 3

P-51D Mustang: 3 destroyed

P-51D Mustang x 3

Ki-84r Frank: 3 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-51D Mustang: 3 destroyed

[:D]

Seems this turn liked the "3" quite a bit


Btw. how do you know where the sweeps came from (followed the red line I guess??).

This was a decent result for you considering your fighters were all at 15k, if the Franks would have been down low it might been better.

Set a "sweep trap" if he wants to come again, the better mvr planes at eg. 5k and teh Ki94 HIGH up... that might be funny..[;)]

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Alpha77

PB Fuji Maru #3

SS Loggerhead, hits 3

P-51D Mustang: 3 destroyed

P-51D Mustang x 3

Ki-84r Frank: 3 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-51D Mustang: 3 destroyed

[:D]

Seems this turn liked the "3" quite a bit


Btw. how do you know where the sweeps came from (followed the red line I guess??).

This was a decent result for you considering your fighters were all at 15k, if the Franks would have been down low it might been better.

Set a "sweep trap" if he wants to come again, the better mvr planes at eg. 5k and teh Ki94 HIGH up... that might be funny..[;)]

"closest" base they could come from is in North Eastern Australia, North of Townsville and the red line is pointing right there, Port Hedland IIRC

[Alpha77]

Oh you still have PM and Terapo etc. then ?

Then this is even more funny cause these sweeps make no sense, only if massive bomber sorties follow.
But at that range?

Sweeps alone only make sense if the sweepers have a massive advantage both in quality and quantity. Naturally most pilots of downed planes are lost for the sweepers while many of the CAP might survive..and this is true for the sturdier Allied fighters too.

I believe (sorry if this is offending anyone) your opp has lost the overview of the game or has no real time to play/plan his moves - most of his actions point to this conclusion..

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Alpha77

Oh you still have PM and Terapo etc. then ?

Then this is even more funny cause these sweeps make no sense, only if massive bomber sorties follow.
But at that range?

Sweeps alone only make sense if the sweepers have a massive advantage both in quality and quantity. Naturally most pilots of downed planes are lost for the sweepers while many of the CAP might survive..and this is true for the sturdier Allied fighters too.

I believe (sorry if this is offending anyone) your opp has lost the overview of the game or has no real time to play/plan his moves - most of his actions point to this conclusion..

yup, all of New Guinea is in Japanese hands, the enemy only attempted a landing at Milne Bay very early and after the disastrous carrier engagements over the years they never came back to New Guinea.

Agree, without the bombers also going for Rabaul it wouldn't make much sense but in this case he was lucky there were none because he wouldn't have done a lot of damage on the ground (in terms of destroyed aircraft) and 100 Franks/Ki-94 left would have meant a lot of dead bombers.

I guess he was just keen to see the performance of his P-51. They weren't doing all that bad, from 6-8 hexes they would have most likely achieved a 3:1 but the range killed them. I have done the same in the game and many others too. You get a new fancy airframe and want to test it, so you do. In this case, the closest base for his test was Rabaul as all other airfields that are closer are empty. But closest means 19 hexes in this case.

Would love to test my Shindens but they just don't reach Australia from Rabaul. [:D]

[Alpha77]

Ah YES trying out new toys... we are mostly still lil boys, right ? I know that, too. [;)]

And it is just a game, if your pixels are shot down in 100s what does it really matter..

I do not know the replacement rate of the P51D from memory, but guess also a lot come with filled up units (like P47). However sometimes it is better in the game to do nothing and collect your resources even taking a few punhces from the opponent but conserve certain important assets..

But lets see what this CV fleet does you reported above, maybe this time a cunning and working move?[:)]

Maybe the adviser of your opp is named "Baldrick" ??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsXKS8Nyu8Q

[:D]

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Mar 21, 45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lae at 99,126



Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K2-J George x 41
Ki-94-II x 41

Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIc x 24
B-25D1 Mitchell x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 5 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufighter VIc: 8 destroyed
B-25D1 Mitchell: 13 destroyed


after yesterday's USAAF sweeps against Rabaul I felt relatively safe today and around 100 fighters were transferred to Lae to cover a convoy there... have to say I didn't expect an attack, if I had, I would have flown in double the number of fighters as there are plenty of fighter units at Truk...

well, first wave sees bomb carrying Beafighters tangling with our escorts, first dropping their loads, then the Beaufighters dropped out of the air not able to even damage one of our fighters... was quite confident to maul the Mitchells too which is what we did but at what cost? We down all 19 Mitchells as well but lost a dozen fighters in return to those idiotic attack bombers and their design in the game... was like 90% of the firing passes against the front of the bombers, resulting in only a 1.5:1 kill rate of my fighters vs these bombers... that's way better than a wave of 4E would do... [8|]


CAP engaged:
721 Ku S-1 with N1K2-J George (13 airborne, 28 on standby, 0 scrambling)
13 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 11000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
31 planes vectored on to bombers
70th Sentai with Ki-94-II (13 airborne, 28 on standby, 0 scrambling)
13 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes
22 planes vectored on to bombers

Banzai! - Higashiyama U. in a Ki-94-II rams a B-25D1 Mitchell for the Emperor


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lae at 99,126

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 47 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K2-J George x 25
Ki-94-II x 29

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 5 destroyed


another smaller wave incoming, all being down, again a good number of fighters lost and even more being damaged...


CAP engaged:
721 Ku S-1 with N1K2-J George (13 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(6 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
13 plane(s) intercepting now.
12 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 7848.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes
70th Sentai with Ki-94-II (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(14 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
26 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lae at 99,126

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K2-J George x 20
Ki-94-II x 22

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 4 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 8 destroyed, 4 damaged


what the hell!!! [:@] wave after wave is coming in and this one nearly got a 1:1 kill rate against our fighters and fighter numbers dropping dramatically now... first hit on a freighter...


Japanese Ships
xAK Tensyo Maru, Bomb hits 1
xAK Kazan Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
721 Ku S-1 with N1K2-J George (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling)
(5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
14 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 60 minutes
70th Sentai with Ki-94-II (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 5 scrambling)
(10 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes

Banzai! - Muranaka B. in a N1K2-J George rams a B-25D1 Mitchell for the Emperor


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lae at 99,126

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K2-J George x 8
Ki-94-II x 10

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged


oh boy, this seems not to stop and now the Mitchells start killing more fighters than they lose bombers... our fighters are helplessly trying to defend the convoy now...


Japanese Ships
xAK Kazan Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
721 Ku S-1 with N1K2-J George (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes
70th Sentai with Ki-94-II (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes



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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lae at 99,126

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K2-J George x 5
Ki-94-II x 4

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 2 destroyed
Ki-94-II: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged


3:1 kill ratio for the bombers now, first freighter going down... our fighter pilots now start ramming bombers, but that doesn't even result in downed but only damaged bombers... [:(]


Japanese Ships
E No.82, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Kazan Maru, Bomb hits 1
xAK Tensyo Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
721 Ku S-1 with N1K2-J George (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes
70th Sentai with Ki-94-II (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 5000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes

Banzai! - Matsuyama M. in a N1K2-J George rams a B-25D1 Mitchell for the Emperor


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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lae at 99,126

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 57 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K2-J George x 1
Ki-94-II x 1

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 3 damaged


that's the last incoming wave, sinking both freighters that were sent to Lae... the dozen bombers easily dispatched the last two fighters, downing one and sending the second home in damaged state... was really hard to watch, these Mitchells were doing better than the P-51 on their sweep yesterday which speaks for the design of attack bombers in AE, no idea why this was included halve grown as it is... 90 Georges and Ki-94 engaging roughly the same number of B-25, I wouldn't want to be the real life Allied commander sending them in without decent escorts but the way it works in the game the ingame Allied commander losing less aircraft in total NOT having escorts for these attack bombers as the escorts would be just sitting ducks being bounced by my higher positioned CAP...

it was a blood bath for both sides and it was a mission kill as our convoy was destroyed...


Japanese Ships
xAK Tensyo Maru, Shell hits 2, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Kazan Maru, Shell hits 25, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
721 Ku S-1 with N1K2-J George (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 5000.
Raid is overhead
70th Sentai with Ki-94-II (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 5000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes

[castor troy]

we lost 50% of our fighters over Lae against the attack bombers, nearly all of the rest was damaged which means two totally trashed fighter units (both are flying circuses)... the Beaufighters were all shot down for not even a single damaged IJ fighter...

the way attack bombers work in the game I'm only glad that there aren't hundreds of them...

[castor troy]

here's the British fleet, still no idea what Mundy is doing... to me it just looks like a bluff at the moment, that fleet is way too small to do anything... pity KB isn't stationed at Singapore, I could easily take the chance to pummel a couple of CVE/CVL without being in danger of taking damage in return...

the British doing their feint near Sumatra we have alerted all units on all other fronts being prepared for an offensive move of the enemy, most likely in the Pacific again... around 200 additional fighters have been transferred from Japan to the frontlines...

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Mar 24, 45
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Sub attack near Balabac at 71,84

Japanese Ships
SC Ch 43
SC Ch 18
SC Ch 14
TK Tsurushima Maru
TK Noshiro Maru
SC Ch 35
SC Ch 31

Allied Ships
SS Sea Cat, hits 2


the subchaser was missed and scores two near misses on the sub... well, the escorts did their jobs at least...


SS Sea Cat launches 2 torpedoes at SC Ch 43
Sea Cat diving deep ....
SC Ch 43 attacking submerged sub ....
SC Ch 35 fails to find sub and abandons search
SC Ch 31 fails to find sub, continues to search...
SC Ch 43 fails to find sub and abandons search
SC Ch 31 fails to find sub, continues to search...
SC Ch 31 fails to find sub, continues to search...
SC Ch 31 fails to find sub, continues to search...
SC Ch 31 fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


the Royal Navy is moving away from Sumatra, now being around Cocos Island...

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Mar 31, 45
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Sub attack near Port Moresby at 98,130

Japanese Ships
APD T-5

Allied Ships
SS S-28

not much happening other than a fast transport tangling with a sub that has been sitting in PM's hex all the time...



SS S-28 launches 2 torpedoes
S-28 bottoming out ....
APD T-5 fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


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ASW attack near Moulmein at 54,55

Japanese Ships
E Shirakami
xAK Eihuku Maru
E Takashima
E Ishizaki
E Hoko

Allied Ships
SS Piper

SS Piper is sighted by escort
Piper bottoming out ....
E Takashima fails to find sub, continues to search...
E Ishizaki fails to find sub, continues to search...
E Hoko fails to find sub and abandons search
E Takashima fails to find sub and abandons search
E Ishizaki fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


thought I'd post the victory point screen today as the reported Allied ships sunk have passed 2000... BANZAI! BANZAI! BANZAI! Every day we still get confirmed sinkings of ships that were sunk in the operations around Calcutta, the Marshalls and Marcus Island...

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Apr 01, 45

looks like I know the reason for the Royal Navy cruising around near the SRA, being a feint to draw super KB into the region as it seems like the enemy is finally going to invade New Guinea, most likely a landing at PM incoming as we have spotted this today: