Gensui jdsrae (J) vs SolInvictus (A). IJ War Council room

[mind_messing]

That’s not a bad trade so I am definitely a card carrying member of the low layered CAP fan club now.

It's an excellent trade, and welcome to the club! Really changes how you approach the late game air war, and makes it much more nuanced than who can fly the most aircraft higher than the other side!

On your Philippines dispositions, some further reflections from me on seeing what you have in mind.

- The two divisions in Bataan can be changed out for the 60th & 68th IMB's. Those two units, plus CD guns (you need the Wake CD unit and friends here!!), should be sufficient, and it will help beef up beach defence in a pretty exposed sector.

- Don't forget that Lingayen is a coastal hex also, so probably merits a token garrison.

- I adopted a broadly similar plan to you, and the Allies did a two-stage operation, landing at Legaspi and then Appari. The Appari landing unhinged my plans to funnel additional troops and supply into Luzon and put Formosa under some threat before I was quite ready for it. I don't think you can defend Appari, but one possible solution is to develop Tuguegarao into a moderate airbase to make that a more risky proposition. Turning Luzon into as much of a stalemate as possible depends on your ability to infiltrate troops and supplies in once the landings have occurred, and I think you need to keep Appari to do so.


I'd also give some thought to bulking up the Clark and Bataan forts as well, but not to the same level as Manila. In an ideal world, you stall for a considerable length of time at Manila, then get pushed back to Clark and then Bataan before Manila can be useable, but a clever Allied player will focus Clark first, split the defence, clear Bataan and open Manila to bombardment.

That, however, requires a northern landing, so I think you need to consider that as the worst-case scenario for you. A southern landing is fine - it will run into the Manila line and give you options, but a northern landing turns Luzon into a giant holding camp for the IJA and put Manila on a timer.

[jdsrae]

These SSTs will come in handy in SEAF and 4th Fleet areas

[jdsrae]

Unlike the IJNAF, the IJAAF has no shortage of quality Air HQ commanders. They are sorted here by Air skill.
LGEN Yamamoto will keep command of 8th Air Division but it will move to Taihoku.
Takao is primarily an IJN base and HQ 29th Air Flotilla will arrive there in Dec 1944.
HQ 5th Air Army is at Nanking, with 13th Air Div to also report to it (on paper) once it arrives in March 1945 at Shanghai.

[jdsrae]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 07, 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Cox's Bazar , at 54,43
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Ki-45 KAIc Nick x 5
Ki-45 KAIc Nick: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 5
B-24J Liberator: 1 damaged
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Cox's Bazar , at 54,43
Ki-45 KAIc Nick x 2
Ki-45 KAIc Nick: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 5
B-24J Liberator x 9
Airbase hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Puerto Princesa at 72,84
E Karii
E Yanagi
Allied Ships
SS Piranha, hits 1
SS Piranha launches 2 torpedoes at E Karii
Piranha diving deep ....
E Yanagi attacking submerged sub ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Oosthaven at 46,97
xAKL Tokiwasan Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PB Musashi Maru
xAKL Miyako Maru
PB Rokko Maru
SS Dragonet launches 2 torpedoes at xAKL Tokiwasan Maru
Dragonet diving deep ....
PB Rokko Maru attacking submerged sub ....
SS Dragonet eludes PB Rokko Maru by diving deep
PB Rokko Maru cannot reach attack position over SS Dragonet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Jesselton at 68,85
TK Okigawa Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
TK Marifu Maru
E Yanagi
Allied Ships
SS Flasher, hits 1
SS Flasher launches 2 torpedoes at TK Okigawa Maru
Flasher diving deep ....
E Yanagi attacking submerged sub ....

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Jun 07, 44
SS I-183 terminates patrol and enters Rabaul for repairs
SC CHa-61 hits reef at 90 , 97
E13A1 Jake from 902 Ku T-2 attacking an Allied SS at 111,94
a 'S' 1942 and 1943 class SS is reported HIT
E13A1 Jake from Aoba-1 attacking SS Surf at 49,67
SS Surf is reported HIT
Mosquito PR.XVI sighted over Mandalay
F-5A Lightning sighted over Kalemyo
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 46th JNAF AF Unit to Marcus Island
22 x H8K2-L Emily transporting 8th Exped. Force from Ponape
6 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 41st Naval Guard Unit from Kusaie Island
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 7th JNAF Coy from Iloilo
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 7th JAAF AF Coy from Warazup
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 37th Const Co from Babo
6 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 36th Const Co from Boela
Uttaradit expands airfield to size 6
22nd Tank Regiment - some devices have been upgraded at Port Moresby
Previous report of sinking of SS Flying Fish incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
SS I-56 arrives at Shimizu – to SWAF
Loss of xAKL Tokiwasan Maru on Jun 07, 1944 is admitted
SS Stonehenge is reported to have been sunk near Akyab on Jan 21, 1944

[jdsrae]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 08, 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Cox's Bazar , at 54,43
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Ki-45 KAIc Nick x 5
Ki-45 KAIc Nick: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 5
5 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Cox's Bazar , at 54,43
Ki-45 KAIc Nick x 4
Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 12
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Cox's Bazar , at 54,43
B-24J Liberator x 4
B-24J Liberator: 1 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Cox's Bazar , at 54,43
B-24J Liberator x 4
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Cox's Bazar , at 54,43
B-24J Liberator x 6
Runway hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Phuket at 48,69
PB Kasyu Maru
xAK Amagi Maru
xAK Natisan Maru
PB Mikage Maru
SS Surf launches 2 torpedoes at PB Kasyu Maru

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Jun 08, 44
F-7A Liberator sighted over Prome
D4Y4 Judy from K-102 Hikotai attacking a Triton class SS at 124,48
an Allied SS is reported HIT
F-5A Lightning sighted over 15th Army
Mosquito PR.XVI sighted over 21st Fld AA Gun Co
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 46th JNAF AF Unit to Marcus Island
5 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting Bandasan SNLF to Kendari
20 x H8K2-L Emily transporting 8th Exped. Force from Ponape
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 41st Naval Guard Unit from Kusaie Island
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 7th JNAF Coy from Iloilo
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 15th Const Co from Kalemyo
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 7th JAAF AF Coy from Warazup
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 36th Const Co from Boela
Kamloops expands airfield to size 8
26th Tank Regiment - some devices have been upgraded at Mutankiang
343 Ku S-1 attains carrier trained status on Shinyo
ML G-307 arrives at Hakodate
28th Fld AA Gun Co arrives at Tokyo – bought back assigned to Kwantung Army. Transferred to Southern Army and will fill out with 6x 75mm AA guns before moving somewhere.

[jdsrae]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 09, 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Iwaki at 117,61
PB Marei Maru
SS Tunny is located by PB Marei Maru
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50 – awful scenes at Toungoo as the Allies send a huge raid against the airfield with no defensive night fighters overhead. The Franks were set to LRCAP Magwe as a guess that the Allies would attack there during the day. The Allies can flatten any airfield that they want to with this sort of force, so the IJAAF will just need to pick when and where to defend and not try to defend all bases.
Total aircraft losses due to the massed Allied heavy bombers were 54x Frank-R and 32x Helen transports. Luckily, pilot casualties to all causes today were only 4xKIA and 1xWIA, so as bad as the aircraft losses are they can be replaced. The factories just can’t replace that many per day.
The Frank units were ordered by train to a couple of different air bases that don’t have any recon over them, so fingers are crossed that the Allies give them time to take replacements and get them back into service.
I will need to check that each airfield that has Franks present has at least some Nick-C on night CAP from now on. Toungoo also doesn’t have an AA Regt or similar, so there was no AA fire. There are quite a few large AA units in Burma but Toungoo was missing one… More AA units will take some time to move back along jungle tracks from around Akyab and Imphal, so as the IJA concentrate back in Burma the AA defences will improve.
Seeing the B29s still in India maintains the impression that this is the primary theatre for the Allies, as they could also be used from Australian bases to target PNG. The Allied SWPAC, SOPAC and CENPAC remain very quiet, but 2x SIGINT pings show lots of merchant shipping at Albany in Western Australia.
Weather in hex: Severe storms – severe storms didn’t seem to reduce the bombing accuracy, or maybe it was just the sheer number of bombs dropped that meant it was always going to trash the airfield.
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. 2x radars are present with 2nd JAAF Base Force, but the lack of AA guns and night fighters are errors that need to be fixed.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes
Japanese aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft
Liberator B.VI x 16
B-24D1 Liberator x 15
B-29-1 Superfort x 8
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 5 destroyed on ground
Ki-49-II KAI Helen: 5 destroyed on ground
Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
Liberator B.VI x 5
B-24J Liberator x 5
B-29-1 Superfort x 32
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-II KAI Helen: 5 destroyed on ground
Ki-84r Frank: 12 destroyed on ground
Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 28
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
Liberator GR.III x 9
B-24J Liberator x 9
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-49-II KAI Helen: 1 destroyed on ground
Airbase hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
Liberator B.VI x 9
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed on ground
Runway hits 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
Liberator B.VI x 7
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-II KAI Helen: 1 destroyed on ground
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
B-24J Liberator x 15
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed on ground
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
Liberator GR.VI x 5
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
Liberator B.VI x 7
7 x Liberator B.VI bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
Liberator B.VI x 5
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed on ground
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
B-29-1 Superfort x 5
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-II KAI Helen: 1 destroyed on ground
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
B-29-1 Superfort x 7
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 2 destroyed on ground
Ki-49-II KAI Helen: 1 destroyed on ground
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
B-29-1 Superfort x 5
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-II KAI Helen: 1 destroyed on ground
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
B-29-1 Superfort x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-49-II KAI Helen: 1 destroyed on ground
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
B-29-1 Superfort x 3
Runway hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
Liberator GR.VI x 7
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
Liberator GR.VI x 5
5 x Liberator GR.VI bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 250 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50
B-24J Liberator x 5
Runway hits 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Balabac at 71,84
AK Hitati Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage – loaded with resources, fires are about 20 but flood damage is about 80. Low chance of it making port…
CL Yubari
E No.1
AK Johore Maru
AK Onoe Maru
E No.6
E No.5
E No.4
SS Piranha launches 2 torpedoes at AK Hitati Maru
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Sendai at 119,58
PB Kunitu Maru
PB Marei Maru
SS Tunny launches 2 torpedoes at PB Kunitu Maru
Tunny diving deep ....
PB Marei Maru attacking submerged sub ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Bengkalis at 48,80
E Saga
E Uji
SS Dorado launches 4 torpedoes at E Saga

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Jun 09, 44
F-7A Liberator sighted over Magwe
Mosquito PR.IX sighted over Taung Gyi
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 46th JNAF AF Unit to Marcus Island
6 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting Bandasan SNLF to Kendari
22 x H8K2-L Emily transporting 8th Exped. Force from Ponape
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 41st Naval Guard Unit from Kusaie Island
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 7th JNAF Coy from Iloilo
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 15th Const Co from Kalemyo
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 36th Const Co from Boela
Repairs completed on SS I-52 at Singapore, ship returned to service
Attu Island expands port to size 2
San Fernando expands airfield to size 4
Ace pilot Kimiyama B. of 11th Sentai is promoted to CPT
Ace pilot Mitsumori M. of 16th Sentai is promoted to 1LT
Previous report of sinking of SS Bream incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
Previous report of sinking of SS O21 incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
E Yasoshima arrives at Hiroshima/Kure – ex-Chinese “cruiser” or gunboat/sloop Ping Hai. I’ve assigned her to the China Area Fleet but will wait until her sister Ioshima (ex-Ning Hai) arrives before using them as a convoy escort pair probably based out of Sasebo.
DD Momo arrives at Nagoya – with enough Escort ships for convoy duty at the moment, the Matsu class DDs are probably of most use as ASW screens for the Combined Fleet. They will form 3 ship ASW Divisions and hunt subs.

[jdsrae]

I’m starting to think that these single xAK are auxiliary patrol boats that are being sent out on suicide missions to probe air search arcs and submarine patrols.
I have recently completed a reorganisation of the IJN Medium Bomber and Patrol force who are all conducting naval search missions, but this contact looks to be a chance encounter.

The IJN submarine force could also do with a review / reorganisation, as they have taken heavy losses.
The review will check that submarines are still available to provide early warning in each of SWAF, SAF, SEAF, 4th and NEAF areas.



AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 10, 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Sabang at 45,67
DD Hibiki
DD Inazuma
SS Sturdy launches 2 torpedoes at DD Hibiki
Sturdy diving deep ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Balabac at 71,84
TK Ekisan Maru
TK Tokuhei Maru
TK Kinshu Maru
PB Nako Maru #2
SS Grayling is sighted by escort
Grayling diving deep ....
PB Nako Maru #2 attacking submerged sub ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Ulak Island at 158,69
SS I-6
Allied Ships
xAK Steel Mariner
xAK Steel Mariner is sighted by SS I-6
SS I-6 launches 2 torpedoes – 2 misses, but there was a follow up attack
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Ulak Island at 158,69
SS I-6
Allied Ships
xAK Steel Mariner, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Steel Mariner is sighted by SS I-6
SS I-6 attacking on the surface

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Jun 10, 44
Temporary flotation repairs failing aboard AK Hitati Maru
SC CHa-73 runs aground at 103 , 55
Spitfire PR.XI sighted over Imphal
G4M1 Betty from K-707 Hikotai attacking SS Surf at 49,72
SS Surf is reported HIT
F-7A Liberator sighted over Akyab
F-5A Lightning sighted over Kalemyo
6 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 46th JNAF AF Unit to Marcus Island
5 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting Bandasan SNLF to Kendari
21 x H8K2-L Emily transporting 43rd JNAF AF Unit from Ponape
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 41st Naval Guard Unit from Kusaie Island
Taung Gyi expands fortifications to size 1
Comilla expands airfield to size 9
8th Tank Regiment - some devices have been upgraded at Guam, recently relocated from TImor
343 Ku S-2 attains carrier trained status on Nisshin
DD Fanning is reported to have been sunk near Ponape on Mar 26, 1944
xAK Steel Mariner is reported to have been sunk near Ulak Island on Jun 10, 1944

[mind_messing]

I will need to check that each airfield that has Franks present has at least some Nick-C on night CAP from now on.

Don't be afraid to use regular fighter squadrons on night CAP. Nowhere near as effective as the dedicated NF squadrons, but better than nothing.

Even the presence of night CAP (irrespective of if they engage or not) seems to have an impact. Lowpe has experimented with Petes (of all things) on a night CAP role, and I think had promising results.

[Q-Ball]

IMO, the best early Night Fighter is the Pete. Not because it shoots down anything, but because it's climb rate is so terrible it is at little risk of taking damage from the bombers.

The point is just to disrupt bombers aim; any NF will do that and the bombers will take a penalty

The problem with using "real" fighters is that they actually try to shoot down the bomber, and more often than not it's the fighter that comes off worse

[jdsrae]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

IMO, the best early Night Fighter is the Pete. Not because it shoots down anything, but because it's climb rate is so terrible it is at little risk of taking damage from the bombers.

The point is just to disrupt bombers aim; any NF will do that and the bombers will take a penalty

The problem with using "real" fighters is that they actually try to shoot down the bomber, and more often than not it's the fighter that comes off worse

I've not tried Pete's but I did read that Lowpe had done that in his AAR.
All my floatplanes are busy training up IJN pilots in NavS and ASW.

I've been using the Nick-C FB as a pseudo night fighter, on the assumption that the combo of reasonable durability could help them survive and the cannons could shoot down the odd bomber.
In practice, about 1x Nick-C is lost per raid and they rarely shoot a bomber down, although they do damage some.
I have noticed that they disrupt the bombers. I will probably just split some of the Nick-C Sentai into thirds and spread them out a bit.

I only have 2x Sentai of Nick-D Nightfighters and they are both in Burma with 70+ experience pilots.
They also take losses from 4E bomber defensive fire, but are a bit more effective at hitting bombers in return.
They even shot down a B24J outright a few weeks back, which was encouraging.

There are 8x IJN night fighter units on the map right now, but they are either training in Japan or flying night CAP over Fleet HQ Bases in the Pacific.
Two of them withdraw on 10 Jul 44 when the big IJNAF re-organisation happens.
I'm keeping the IJNAF mostly in the Pacific so it can react to the next time the USN CVs make an appearance.

[jdsrae]

For every unit currently training pilots that I switch back to night CAP duty I will need to change a fighter unit from day CAP back to training, to try and keep the pilot training pipeline flowing steadily.

I could buy out the 12 plane Nick-C IF Chutai and send them towards Burma/Thailand/Malaya as that would cover 7 more bases within the next week.
Two more IF Chutai are due to arrive shortly as well, which I will convert from Light Bombers to Fighter Bombers, so that would make 9.

Some of the IJN night fighters could also move to IJNAF Bases like Rangoon, Bangkok, Port Blair, Victoria Point and Georgetown.
When I get the next turn back I will put this plan into action.

[Q-Ball]

That's alot of Nick-c; why so many? That plane is inferior to the Nick-a version.

The big cannon is an illusion; with an Accuracy of 2, it's rarely going to hit anything. As a result, the -a has more usable firepower.

The -c version does have one advantage: It uses the Ha-31 engine, which you have plenty of surplus of, vs. the Ha-35 which has competing uses

Why make the -c? Engines?

[jdsrae]

I've read some discussion about accuracy of the larger IJ aircraft cannons on the forum, but I don't rate them as completely useless.
I don't know how that accuracy number is used by the game, but any number >0 has to have a chance of scoring a hit.
Any assessment of how useful those weapons are also needs to compare the other stats against the enemy aircraft they are going to be used against.

The main combat role for the Nick in this game is to be a stop-gap night fighter against Allied heavy bombers.
Earlier in the war I also used them for day CAP in support of Oscars/Tojos, but that's not a good idea inside Allied fighter escort range now.
The Randy FB will take over this role when it starts building next month (July 44). It has a 57mm cannon (Eff8,Pen8,Range600,Acc8).

I've picked the B24J in this example, just to show the range of the defensive MGs = 400.
I picture an effective defensive fire bubble around the 4E bomber formation out to range = 400.
Any attacking weapon with range = or less than 400 is unlikely to be effective in return, evidenced by all the "driven off by defensive fire" messages I am seeing in the combat replay.
I didn't see the Nick-A getting many chances to even fire it's 12.7mm MG in return against that .50cal MG defensive bubble.
My thinking is that if those weapons don't even get a chance to fire, the accuracy rating of those weapons doesn't matter.

Then if the aircraft cannons do score a hit, the higher effect and pen ratings should make them do more damage.

Also, the pilots know that they need to get within effective defensive fire range to the target before firing their 12.7mm MG, so when they get closer they are at higher risk of being shot down.

What I've seen with the Nick-C is that despite having effective ranges of the attacking weapons > 400, the pilots still get within 400 range and are often "driven off by defensive fire". They do sometimes get to fire their longer range weapons first, before passing through the defensive fire bubble and getting shot up. I'm ok with that, as the B24s aren't flying in isolation, so I assume that the bomber formation has aircraft supporting each other, based on messages like "bomber forced out of formation".

So in summary, my main reason is to put anti-bomber aircraft into the air with weapons that have a range over-match compared to the defensive weapons of the bombers.
I prioritise the range stat over accuracy, on the basis that the accuracy stat only matters if the weapon gets to fire in the first place.

[mind_messing]

So in summary, my main reason is to put anti-bomber aircraft into the air with weapons that have a range over-match compared to the defensive weapons of the bombers.
I prioritise the range stat over accuracy, on the basis that the accuracy stat only matters if the weapon gets to fire in the first place.

I see your logic in this, but I think the overall approach is off somewhat.

I've came to the view that trying to kill 4E's outright at night is an exercise in frustration.

Instead, my approach is all about making them accumulate damage. It might cause them to crash on the way home, or be written off on landing, and will certainly keep them in the hanger for some time for repairs. That then opens the scope for hitting them on the ground, but generally just makes it harder for the Allies to keep 4E's in the air in an extended campaign.

In reference to this discussion, I'd be inclined to agree with Q-Ball and take the Nick A as better accuracy equals more holes in Allies 4E's, which hopefully would equate to more Ops losses and greater repair times. Add in flak and hope you're doing enough to force the Allies to take squadrons off the offensive on a regular basis.

I don't think it makes too much difference in the long run, just so long as the night CAP is there to interfere, any damage that the NF can do is a bonus

On a slightly different note, those experience levels look amazing, but I'd say pump them higher for the Home Islands air defence. I keep all my 80+ EXP pilots around for NF duty in the late game, and they leave their cushy TRACOM billets once the Home Islands industry is threatened to fly NF missions only.

[jdsrae]

I'm happy to take a different approach to others and persist with the Nick-C for the reasons stated.
They will soon start to be replaced by the Randy FB which is a bit faster and has an even bigger main cannon, to add to the 20mm CL cannon.
I am looking forward to seeing if the 57mm cannon can score some hits!

[jdsrae]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 11, 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Sabang at 45,71 – cat and mouse continues in this area with lots of RN, Dutch and USN subs spotted each day, including in the shallow waters of the Sabang hex. Defensive mines there haven’t hit anything so the Allies must know where the minefield is.
DD Akatsuki
DD Inazuma
Allied Ships
SS Dorado, hits 7
SS Dorado is located by DD Akatsuki
DD Inazuma attacking submerged sub ....

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Jun 11, 44
TF 154 sighted by Allied Float Plane at 118,113 near Ponape – as the combat report is so short, this is just to show where the Allied patrol and recon aircraft are flying. Only CENPAC and Burma/India.
TF 245 shadowed by Allied Patrol at 112,108 near Truk
TF 227 detected by Allied Float Plane at 54,53 near Rangoon
F-5A Lightning sighted over 15th Army
Allied Torpedo Bomber sighted over Cox's Bazar
Allied Aircraft sighted over Toungoo
Allied Aircraft sighted over Imphal
Spitfire PR.XI sighted over 11th Army
Allied Fighter Bomber sighted over Taung Gyi
Allied Recon sighted over Meiktila
Allied Fighter sighted over Shwebo
Allied Fighter Bomber sighted over Akyab
F-5A Lightning sighted over Magwe
Allied Torpedo Bomber sighted over Kalemyo
Allied Aircraft sighted over Katha
Spitfire PR.XI sighted over 15th Army
Mosquito PR.XVI sighted over Mandalay
F-7A Liberator sighted over Magwe – the recon Liberators have a max normal range of 25, so they could be looking a lot further into IJ territory than this.
F-7A Liberator sighted over Toungoo
6 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 46th JNAF AF Unit to Marcus Island
5 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting Bandasan SNLF to Kendari
21 x H8K2-L Emily transporting 43rd JNAF AF Unit from Ponape
6 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 41st Naval Guard Unit from Kusaie Island
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 37th Const Co from Babo
Sapporo expands fortifications to size 6
Wuchang expands fortifications to size 6 – stopped.
Dimapur expands airfield to size 4 – Allied engineers are wasting no time improving the infrastructure to support a potential advance towards Imphal.
Silchar expands airfield to size 9
SS RO-49 arrives at Hiroshima/Kure
Loss of xAK Zuiko Maru on May 27, 1943 is admitted
PT-40 is reported to have been sunk near Wotje on Mar 29, 1944
58th Ind.Mixed Brigade arrives at Hirosaki/Aomori – to Surigao on Mindanao.
9th Ind.Mixed Regiment arrives at Tokyo – to Naga on Luzon.

[jdsrae]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 12, 44
No combat to report.
I asked the Allied CIC if that just means the heavy bombers are repairing for the next attack and got an interesting reply. He said they aren’t repairing so probably won’t fly more than once a week.
That’s encouraging information as I had forgotten that the B29s have a service rating of 5, and the B24s have a SR4. That might give the IJAAF airfield engineers just enough time to fill in the holes in the runway before the bombs start dropping again!

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Jun 12, 44
Repairs completed on SS I-27 at Tokyo, ship returned to service
D4Y4 Judy from K-103 Hikotai attacking an Allied SS at 65,99
an Allied SS is reported HIT
F-5A Lightning sighted over 15th Army
F-5A Lightning sighted over Cox's Bazar
F-7A Liberator sighted over Toungoo
F-7A Liberator sighted over Shwebo
Spitfire PR.XI sighted over Imphal
Mosquito PR.IX sighted over Taung Gyi
F-5A Lightning sighted over Magwe
F-5A Lightning sighted over Kalemyo
Mosquito PR.XVI sighted over 21st Fld AA Gun Co
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 46th JNAF AF Unit to Marcus Island
3 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 85th JAAF AF Coy to Vientiane
5 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting Bandasan SNLF to Kendari
22 x H8K2-L Emily transporting 43rd JNAF AF Unit from Ponape
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 41st Naval Guard Unit from Kusaie Island
6 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 37th Const Co from Babo
3 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 30th Engineer Regiment from Vientiane
Repairs completed on SS I-171 at Georgetown, ship returned to service
Chichi-jima expands fortifications to size 6 – stopped
Rahaeng expands fortifications to size 2
Kendari expands fortifications to size 6 – stopped
Okinoshima-1 at Maizuru takes E13A1 Jake replacements
Previous report of sinking of SS Puffer incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
SST I-362 arrives at Osaka/Kyoto
Loss of xAK Akagisan Maru on Apr 17, 1944 is admitted
ML G-308 arrives at Sapporo
81st JAAF AF Bn arrives at Changchun – will move to Harbin. 

[jdsrae]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 13, 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Puerto Princesa at 72,84
PB Nanpo Maru
TK Ekisan Maru
TK Tokuhei Maru
TK Jinju Maru
PB Nako Maru #2
SS Skipjack launches 2 torpedoes at PB Nanpo Maru

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Jun 13, 44
D4Y4 Judy from K-102 Hikotai attacking an Allied SS at 124,48
an Allied SS is reported HIT
D4Y4 Judy destroyed by flak – it looks like the Judy hit the sub but was then shot down on the way out
F-5A Lightning sighted over Cox's Bazar
Mosquito PR.XVI sighted over Mandalay
E13A1 Jake from Suzuya-1 attacking a Triton class SS at 42,69
a Triton class SS is reported HIT
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 46th JNAF AF Unit to Marcus Island
5 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 85th JAAF AF Coy to Vientiane
6 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting Bandasan SNLF to Kendari
22 x H8K2-L Emily transporting 4th South Seas Gsn from Ponape
5 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 1st Amphibious Brigade from Kusaie Island
3 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 30th Engineer Regiment from Vientiane
Repairs completed on SS I-183 at Rabaul, ship returned to service
Aircraft Ki-94-II advances R&D – to 11/45 currently +4/day. Factories are 30,30,26,24,12,11
LST T-132 arrives at Maizuru
MGB G-875 arrives at Nagoya
2nd Air Fleet arrives at Kanoya – to Manila
111th AA Regiment arrives at Tokyo – 12cm guns and radars. It could be bought out to move to Burma for only 28 PP, but I need to keep some AA Regts at home in case the Allies invade the Kuriles/Sakhalin. I need to check where all the AA Regts are and see if I can slide a few towards Burma.
454th Ind.Infantry Battalion arrives at Balikpapan – will move to Bandjermasin
455th Ind.Infantry Battalion arrives at Tarakan – will move next door to Tandjoengselor
553rd Ind.Infantry Battalion arrives at Miri – will stay there
554th Ind.Infantry Battalion arrives at Sandakan – will move to Brunei
774th Ind.Infantry Battalion arrives at Jesselton – will stay there
25th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion arrives at Singapore – stays there
76th Infantry Brigade arrives at Nagoya – to Luzon, with lots of reinforcements for 14th Area Army arriving today.
78th Infantry Brigade arrives at Kumamoto – to Luzon
80th Infantry Brigade arrives at Kumamoto – to Luzon
82nd Infantry Brigade arrives at Hiroshima/Kure – to Luzon
54th Ind.Mixed Brigade arrives at Sendai – to Mindanao
55th Ind.Mixed Brigade arrives at Hirosaki/Aomori – to Mindanao
56th Ind.Mixed Brigade arrives at Osaka/Kyoto – to Mindanao
57th Ind.Mixed Brigade arrives at Kanazawa – to Mindanao
Tesseki Infantry Brigade arrives at Changchun – to Chihfieng in NW Manchukuo, as it is currently vacant
Tesseki Cavalry Brigade arrives at Changchun – to Linhsi in NW Manchukuo, as above.
Shikoku Naval Base Force arrives at Takamatsu – static restricted, so will fill out and the engineers will keep building the airfield and forts.
15th Special Base Force arrives at Yokohama/Yokosuka – to Nago, Okinawa.

[mind_messing]

111th AA Regiment arrives at Tokyo – 12cm guns and radars. It could be bought out to move to Burma for only 28 PP, but I need to keep some AA Regts at home in case the Allies invade the Kuriles/Sakhalin. I need to check where all the AA Regts are and see if I can slide a few towards Burma.

I normally keep the AA regiments with the 12cm guns earmarked for the Home Islands.

The ubiquitous IJ 8cm gun does well enough for frontline work, but the big 12cm guns I feel are needed in Japan. There are several key bases which comprise most of your supply production that are very poorly served with high calibre flak - Tokyo, Osaka/Kyoto and Nagoya are the worst offenders in this respect - a sizeable chunk of daily supply production but nowhere near enough guns.

Not sure what your AA dispositions are, but I'd certainly recommend concentrating around the major supply producing cities as at the end of the day that's really the keystone to IJ resistance. You can make do with aircraft and engine factories getting bombed, but no supply and the entire thing grinds to a halt...

[jdsrae]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

111th AA Regiment arrives at Tokyo – 12cm guns and radars. It could be bought out to move to Burma for only 28 PP, but I need to keep some AA Regts at home in case the Allies invade the Kuriles/Sakhalin. I need to check where all the AA Regts are and see if I can slide a few towards Burma.

I normally keep the AA regiments with the 12cm guns earmarked for the Home Islands.

The ubiquitous IJ 8cm gun does well enough for frontline work, but the big 12cm guns I feel are needed in Japan. There are several key bases which comprise most of your supply production that are very poorly served with high calibre flak - Tokyo, Osaka/Kyoto and Nagoya are the worst offenders in this respect - a sizeable chunk of daily supply production but nowhere near enough guns.

Not sure what your AA dispositions are, but I'd certainly recommend concentrating around the major supply producing cities as at the end of the day that's really the keystone to IJ resistance. You can make do with aircraft and engine factories getting bombed, but no supply and the entire thing grinds to a halt...

IGHQ are not overly concerned about AA defence of the Home Islands yet, as the Allies need to capture airfields within B29 range first.
The pre-war assessment was for AA units to defend the most likely Allied heavy bomber targets, so they were deployed forward to be within range of Allied heavy bombers (eg: B17 and B24D = 17 hexes; now the B29 = 28 to 32 hexes)
In priority order:
1. Oil and Fuel production centres
2. Major Airfields
3. Fleet Bases
4. Field Armies, to provide their radar support to tactical air defence over those Army hexes.
The above assessment led to the current friendly AA deployments.
The principle until arrival of the B29 was that any AA unit further than 17 hexes from an Allied air base is wasted.
With the B29-1 now on the map, any AA unit further than 28 hexes from an Allied size 7 air base is wasted.

The IJA AA Bns were left in Japan as "garrison" AA units in case the Allies tried something fancy, with all AA Regts bought out and moved to the front lines in Jan 1942.

The Army General Staff have prepared an image to show current dispositions for Army AA units, which are mostly separate land combat units in the game.
The Navy Staff have also prepared an image to show current dispositions of their AA units, which unlike the Army, are embedded within the TOE of the various types of IJN Base Forces.
IGHQ staff then identified some areas that are covered by both Army and Navy AA guns, and have proposed a few redeployments.
Generally, the responsibility for AA defence in the Pacific (except the Marianas) will be handed over to the Navy, allowing IJA AA units currently in the South Seas to redeploy to Burma and the Philippines.
I should be able to post those images this evening, unless a turn arrives first as playing the game is more important!

I've asked the staff to prepare an image to show the potential enemy targets to capture airfields that will support B29 operations against Japan, but they might need 7+ days to prepare it. From memory they need airfields in either China, the Philippines, the Marianas or the Kuriles.