I need all the help I can get 1st ever PBEM Guadal Campaign (J)

[Derfflinger13]

Well for the 100th post in this AAR I have been severely told off for my I’ll considered adventures.

I do however really appreciate all of the advice and I will learn from it and like I said in my first post it’s all about learning for a grand campaign so it’s all worth while.

I would’ve consulted you guys on the assault but We were flipping turns so I didn’t have time. I thought that was the fastes way to get troops in there but I’m outnumbered nowso I’ll see how we get on.
I’ll update you all this evening with the situation but all I can say is that it did attract his carriers north, and yes, there was a carrier battle, and yes, it was messy...

Over and Out.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13

Well for the 100th post in this AAR I have been severely told off for my I’ll considered adventures.

I do however really appreciate all of the advice and I will learn from it and like I said in my first post it’s all about learning for a grand campaign so it’s all worth while.

I would’ve consulted you guys on the assault but We were flipping turns so I didn’t have time. I thought that was the fastes way to get troops in there but I’m outnumbered nowso I’ll see how we get on.
I’ll update you all this evening with the situation but all I can say is that it did attract his carriers north, and yes, there was a carrier battle, and yes, it was messy...

Over and Out.

Actually, fast transport deliveries are an effective way to get units ashore where air superiority is in doubt.

It worked for the Japanese in the real campaign.

The point is that one delivery is never going to be enough to lay serious siege to the defenders.

Unlike the Japanese, you have the benefit of historical hindsight in knowing NOT to attack piecemeal with the first delivery.

You need about 3-4 more deliveries of troops equal to first to get sufficient strength in place to take the base.

Whether, or not, you have those forces available is another question.

[DanSez]

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13
Well for the 100th post in this AAR I have been severely told off for my I’ll considered adventures.

You are, in effect, recreating the failed attempts of Japan to retake Lunga.
Depending upon speed instead of intel, they underestimated the (AV) strength of the US forces.
Historically they hit the base in splintered and rushed assaults.
Each of which was destroyed by the forces on hand.

A good lesson for you about Prep, supply and applying pressure.
If you are going to attack Lunga now, you should unload all the force you can at Trassafalgar (sp?) and together, march across the hex to assault Lunga after thoroughly bombarding and bombing it unmercifully.

Otherwise, feint attacking with the goal to catch or lure Allied ships (hopefully carriers) into traps and sink them.

[Derfflinger13]

ORIGINAL: DanSez

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13
Well for the 100th post in this AAR I have been severely told off for my I’ll considered adventures.

You are, in effect, recreating the failed attempts of Japan to retake Lunga.
Depending upon speed instead of intel, they underestimated the (AV) strength of the US forces.
Historically they hit the base in splintered and rushed assaults.
Each of which was destroyed by the forces on hand.

A good lesson for you about Prep, supply and applying pressure.
If you are going to attack Lunga now, you should unload all the force you can at Trassafalgar (sp?) and together, march across the hex to assault Lunga after thoroughly bombarding and bombing it unmercifully.

Otherwise, feint attacking with the goal to catch or lure Allied ships (hopefully carriers) into traps and sink them.

It certainly it is a lesson. I am not quite ordering a banzai and I didn't think 8000 troops was a splintered assault, given the AV I have around I thought it was a decent figure, clearly it needs to be more. I have the same AV again already marching down from Tassafaragona so I am hoping It will be sufficient. You're certainly correct about the amount of intel I had, which was insufficient. Is there a stage in the Detection levels where I know the AV?

Thanks for your comments DanSez

[Derfflinger13]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13

Well for the 100th post in this AAR I have been severely told off for my I’ll considered adventures.

I do however really appreciate all of the advice and I will learn from it and like I said in my first post it’s all about learning for a grand campaign so it’s all worth while.

I would’ve consulted you guys on the assault but We were flipping turns so I didn’t have time. I thought that was the fastes way to get troops in there but I’m outnumbered nowso I’ll see how we get on.
I’ll update you all this evening with the situation but all I can say is that it did attract his carriers north, and yes, there was a carrier battle, and yes, it was messy...

Over and Out.

Actually, fast transport deliveries are an effective way to get units ashore where air superiority is in doubt.

It worked for the Japanese in the real campaign.

The point is that one delivery is never going to be enough to lay serious siege to the defenders.

Unlike the Japanese, you have the benefit of historical hindsight in knowing NOT to attack piecemeal with the first delivery.

You need about 3-4 more deliveries of troops equal to first to get sufficient strength in place to take the base.

Whether, or not, you have those forces available is another question.

Thanks HansBolter. I will try to get more troops in place asap. I have 340 AV marching down from Tassafaragona, which should get there in 10-11 days. I have 1000 supply in fast transport due to come in, and I can keep that up regularly from Rabaul which is sitting on 12,000 fuel and 30,000 supplies.
I have more troops preparing in Rabaul and Truk so I should be able to increase it again. I have all my subs in place to try and halt further reinforcement of Lunga.

I have 100+ Betty's at Rabaul - I will now put them on a bombing campaign against Lunga to keep the pressure up.

[Derfflinger13]

So I have made my ill-advised landing at lunga and I had been covering it from the south with my carriers to prevent further reinforcement and with LRCAP from Buin and Shortlands. I had no intel on where his carriers were but I had a line of subs to the south which hadn't picked anything up and I'd seen shipping activity up the coast Australia so I thought perhaps he could be coming through the Coral Sea. Being South of the island gave me a chance to strike both directions and, if I am honest, I was also hoping to catch the allied carriers to see what a carrier battle played out like. I am very concious, however, of earlier advice given to me not to attack for the sake of attacking, that my carriers are like eggshells armed with hammers and that I should preserve my carriers. These are all lessons given to me by experienced players, which I appreciate, still... Always interesting to run a test experiment myself so I know whether to ever chance such moves in a GC or not...

What follows are the lessons learned on September 12th, 1942...

[Derfflinger13]

Turn 39 back

Septeber 12th 1942

It started out so well... When the screen popped up I felt the thrill, the excitement, the hope.... the disappointment:

***
Sub attack near Lakatoro at 118,151

Japanese Ships
SS I-168, hits 4

Allied Ships
CV Hornet
CA Canberra
CA Australia
CLAA San Juan
DD Sterett
DD MacDonough
DD Worden
DD Dale

SS I-168 launches 4 torpedoes at CV Hornet
***

At this stage though I knew his carriers were inbound...

Meanwhile I tried to keep Henderson Field out of action from any upcoming duels:

***
Night Naval bombardment of Lunga at 114,138 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3P Wildcat: 6 damaged
F4F-3P Wildcat: 1 destroyed on ground
SBD-2 Dauntless: 4 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 damaged

6 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
CA Furutaka
CA Aoba
DD Kawakaze
DD Harusame

Allied ground losses:
157 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 9
Runway hits 16
Port hits 5
Port supply hits 2

E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for CA Aoba
***

Unfortunately my landing craft, still getting supplies onto the beaches get hit again by the huge number of CDs the americans have got onto GC (Are the americans able to field this amount of men and material at both PM and GC - or it is a one or the other for them like it is for Japan?)

***
Invasion Support action off Lunga (114,138)
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force

71 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
xAK Boston Maru, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Takao
CA Kako
***

And then it happens!

***
Morning Air attack on TF, near Kirakira at 116,143
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13
B5N1 Kate x 51
D3A2 Val x 44

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 32

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
B5N1 Kate: 6 destroyed, 2 damaged
B5N1 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
D3A2 Val: 3 destroyed, 6 damaged
D3A2 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Hornet, Bomb hits 3, on fire
DD Worden
CLAA San Juan
CA Australia, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Dale
DD MacDonough, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA Canberra
DD Sterett
DD Farragut
DD Stack
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Hornet
***

It is at this stage that I realise I must've left some of my Zeros on LRCAP over Lunga... The pitiful escort sees my bombers mauled.. Sorry chaps [:(]

Then the experienced old hand sends in a well coordinated strike...

***
Morning Air attack on TF, near Rennell Island at 114,142
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 67

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 60
SBD-3 Dauntless x 72
TBF-1 Avenger x 30

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 8 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 10 destroyed, 5 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed by flak
TBF-1 Avenger: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 2
DD Ushio
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 3, on fire
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 1
BB Hiei
BB Mutsu, Bomb hits 2
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 2
CL Sendai, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Sazanami
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Ryujo
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Zuikaku
***

This wasn't pleasant viewing as you might imagine! It also raised two points for me. Firstly, had I really stripped the carriers bare of that many escort ships? I think that was a big error. Secondly, I had all 4 of my carriers in one task force... My opponent clearly did not. Do people have a view on what is best? Should I have had four separate task forces, one for each carrier? Also, any typical advice of how many supporting ships a carrier should have?


There are then a series of actions attacking my landing fleets at Tassafaragona and Lunga


***
Morning Air attack on TF, near Tassafaronga at 113,137
Weather in hex: Light cloud

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 14

Allied aircraft
F4F-3P Wildcat x 8
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13
SBD-2 Dauntless x 14

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3P Wildcat: 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed
SBD-2 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Sasako Maru
xAK Brisbane Maru, Bomb hits 1
xAK Matsukawa Maru
DD Ariake
***
Morning Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 114,138

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13
SBD-3 Dauntless x 30

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
xAK Boston Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Aoba
CA Kako, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA Takao
CA Furutaka
***

Then the PM phase goes in and another woefully supported bomber run get mauled by Michael's CAP:


***
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kirakira at 116,143
Weather in hex: Severe storms

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
B5N1 Kate x 34
D3A2 Val x 36

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N1 Kate: 3 destroyed, 4 damaged
B5N1 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
D3A2 Val: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged
D3A2 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Hornet, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CA Australia
CA Canberra
DD Stack
DD Farragut
DD Worden
DD Sterett
CLAA San Juan
DD MacDonough, on fire
Ammo storage explosion on CV Hornet
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Hornet
***

And the counter punch! (This turn felt like it was going on for hours! The emotion!! [X(]


***
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Rennell Island at 114,142
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 62

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 38
SBD-3 Dauntless x 69
TBF-1 Avenger x 31

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 9 destroyed, 10 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
TBF-1 Avenger: 5 destroyed, 9 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu, Bomb hits 1
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 4
CV Zuikaku, on fire
DD Tokitsukaze
CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVL Zuiho
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 2
CL Sendai, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Hiei

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Ryujo
***

There are then some non carrier actions... The first I believe coming from Henderson field- still operational!!![:@]

***
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tassafaronga at 113,137
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12

Allied aircraft
F4F-3P Wildcat x 2
F4F-4 Wildcat x 4
SBD-2 Dauntless x 8

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
SBD-2 Dauntless: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
xAK Matsukawa Maru
***
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tulagi at 114,137

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 12 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 11

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 6 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Yamato, Bomb hits 5, on fire
***

ASW attack near Kirakira at 116,143

Japanese Ships
SS RO-33, hits 1

Allied Ships
BB North Carolina
CLAA Juneau
DD Cushing
DD Conyngham
DD Mahan
***

Then, Worryingly, I see the Horent is still afloat... So RO-33 sees to it that it she will really struggle to get home...

***
Sub attack near Kirakira at 116,143

Japanese Ships
SS RO-33

Allied Ships
CV Hornet, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA Canberra
CLAA San Juan
DD Worden
DD Dale
***

Wow - what a turn.

The Imperial Japanese Navy strikes Ryujo from the Navy List. [:(]

[L0ckAndL0ad]

Carrier battles are always fun to read about!

I think your plane losses weren't that big. USN clearly lost more a/c destroyed. But the reports leave out ops losses, including possible ditching.

As for carrier task forces, USN early war used 1 carrier per group (1 CV 2-3 CA 5-6 DD, later adding fast BB into the mix instead of CA and occasional CLAA added on top of all), with multiple groups per force. I dunno that much about IJN, but from the USN Combat Narratives that I read, they used more numerous groups. I'm sure JFBs will provide more concrete info. [8|]

[HansBolter]

And the dynamic of the campaign changes entirely in one afternoon.

Gotta love this game.....


Oh, and recon will never give you assault value, just a heavily fog of war influenced troop count that can be very misleading.

A huge troop count can sometimes be a single front line combat unit and a huge stack of base forces and engineers.

Bombing and bombarding can give more detailed information as the targeted unit is listed, but the intel is limited to one or two targeted units.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13
I have 100+ Betty's at Rabaul - I will now put them on a bombing campaign against Lunga to keep the pressure up.

Be careful with these. Unescorted Betties are easily shredded by CAP. Make sure that either the Lunga airfield is CLOSED for business before using these or that they are escorted (drop tanks on Rabaul A6M2s can reach). Expect heavy OPS losses even for 'successful' missions. Don't forget that you have sizeable reserves of Nells that can be swapped out for Betties in a squadron or two if losses mount above replacement value.

IMO, Betties are better employed as torpedo bombers at moderate ranges (where they can be escorted).

[Derfflinger13]

ORIGINAL: L0ckAndL0ad

Carrier battles are always fun to read about!

I think your plane losses weren't that big. USN clearly lost more a/c destroyed. But the reports leave out ops losses, including possible ditching.

As for carrier task forces, USN early war used 1 carrier per group (1 CV 2-3 CA 5-6 DD, later adding fast BB into the mix instead of CA and occasional CLAA added on top of all), with multiple groups per force. I dunno that much about IJN, but from the USN Combat Narratives that I read, they used more numerous groups. I'm sure JFBs will provide more concrete info. [8|]

Glad you enjoyed it! It’s been really enjoyable writing the AAR and having so much input from you guys!

[Derfflinger13]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13
I have 100+ Betty's at Rabaul - I will now put them on a bombing campaign against Lunga to keep the pressure up.

Be careful with these. Unescorted Betties are easily shredded by CAP. Make sure that either the Lunga airfield is CLOSED for business before using these or that they are escorted (drop tanks on Rabaul A6M2s can reach). Expect heavy OPS losses even for 'successful' missions. Don't forget that you have sizeable reserves of Nells that can be swapped out for Betties in a squadron or two if losses mount above replacement value.

IMO, Betties are better employed as torpedo bombers at moderate ranges (where they can be escorted).

Thanks Chickenboy. How do I determine the replacement value and how do I switch them out? I’ve had Betty’s on Naval attack since day one, rather sensibly he’s not gone anywhere near to Rabaul. Where should they be based? Also what range should I have them set to if they can be escorted be A6M2? Max range for the A6M2 or a little less to give them some air time at the end point? I don’t want them to go wandering into PM unnecessarily either...

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13
At this stage though I knew his carriers were inbound...

Meanwhile I tried to keep Henderson Field out of action from any upcoming duels:

***
Night Naval bombardment of Lunga at 114,138 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3P Wildcat: 6 damaged
F4F-3P Wildcat: 1 destroyed on ground
SBD-2 Dauntless: 4 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 damaged

6 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
CA Furutaka
CA Aoba
DD Kawakaze
DD Harusame

Allied ground losses:
157 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 9
Runway hits 16
Port hits 5
Port supply hits 2

E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for CA Aoba
***

Not bad, but IMO, BBs make much better bombardment platforms. The Japanese CAs are deadly night fighters and can more than hold their own against the Allied CAs at this stage of the war. If you have BBs for bombardment, I would save CAs for SCTFs.

It is at this stage that I realise I must've left some of my Zeros on LRCAP over Lunga... The pitiful escort sees my bombers mauled.. Sorry chaps [:(]

Yes. A significant error. When a CV battle is a possibility, avoid alternative missions for your fighters (e.g., LRCAP or sweep missions). Similarly, don't use your CV DBs for airfield attacks when you are in proximity to enemy ships. When time comes for a coordinated strike, you don't want any disadvantages in your numbers of anti-shipping attackers.

This wasn't pleasant viewing as you might imagine! It also raised two points for me. Firstly, had I really stripped the carriers bare of that many escort ships? I think that was a big error. Secondly, I had all 4 of my carriers in one task force... My opponent clearly did not. Do people have a view on what is best? Should I have had four separate task forces, one for each carrier? Also, any typical advice of how many supporting ships a carrier should have?

The escort ships (particularly Yamato) would have helped soak off enemy attackers and also provided some valuable AAA. Having 3-4 CVs in a Japanese carrier TF isn't a big deal. It was unlikely that you were over the coordination threshold and accrued coordination penalties. This can be found in the manual for more detail.

Also, it looks like you are very close to the enemy carriers. By my rough math either 2-3 hexes? The Allied TBs are limited to 5 or 6 hexes for their torp loads. While the Allied DBs can fly 7 hexes, they can't be escorted that far. It would have been a lot easier to shred incoming DBs that were unescorted had you been at least 6 (and better yet 7) hexes distant.

***
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Rennell Island at 114,142
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 62

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 38
SBD-3 Dauntless x 69
TBF-1 Avenger x 31

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 9 destroyed, 10 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
TBF-1 Avenger: 5 destroyed, 9 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu, Bomb hits 1
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 4
CV Zuikaku, on fire
DD Tokitsukaze
CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVL Zuiho
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 2
CL Sendai, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Hiei

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Ryujo
***

Not too bad. Yeah, you'll lose Ryujo (Were any of her planes diverted to fields in range or other flattops? Look around), but Hornet is in a bad way and a mission kill most likely.

On a related note, I've found that having my submarines south and southwest of Lunga, along the retreat path to either Noumea or Brisbane is a much more fertile ground for picking off cripples. You mentioned a sentry line far to the North. Move them down where they can put some real hurt on the Allied fleet! It's much better than acting as a picket (which they don't do particularly well).

Wow - what a turn.

So I can safely assume that you're hooked now? [;)] Go ahead and get the number of a good divorce attorney, babysitter and pizza delivery service. You're going to need them all with this game. [;)]

[HansBolter]

You switch airframe types in a squadron by using the Upgrade function.

Even is sometimes it turns out to be a downgrade [:)]

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13
I have 100+ Betty's at Rabaul - I will now put them on a bombing campaign against Lunga to keep the pressure up.

Be careful with these. Unescorted Betties are easily shredded by CAP. Make sure that either the Lunga airfield is CLOSED for business before using these or that they are escorted (drop tanks on Rabaul A6M2s can reach). Expect heavy OPS losses even for 'successful' missions. Don't forget that you have sizeable reserves of Nells that can be swapped out for Betties in a squadron or two if losses mount above replacement value.

IMO, Betties are better employed as torpedo bombers at moderate ranges (where they can be escorted).

Thanks Chickenboy. How do I determine the replacement value and how do I switch them out? I’ve had Betty’s on Naval attack since day one, rather sensibly he’s not gone anywhere near to Rabaul. Where should they be based? Also what range should I have them set to if they can be escorted be A6M2? Max range for the A6M2 or a little less to give them some air time at the end point? I don’t want them to go wandering into PM unnecessarily either...

On the "Intelligence Report" tab, click on the button (right hand side) that says 'aircraft replacement pool'. This will tell you how many you have in the pools and how many you'll be getting on a monthly basis. In addition to the Betty / Nell interchangeability, note that you have some pools of D3A1/D3A2 that can be swapped if necessary and B5N1/B5N2 that can be used interchangeably. About the only thing that you'll be really sucking wind on is your fighter pools. A6M3 for your land-based (they can't be used on carriers) and A6M2 for the others-LBA and carrier replacements.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

You switch airframe types in a squadron by using the Upgrade function.

Even is sometimes it turns out to be a downgrade [:)]

Do it at a base where you have an HQa and >20,000 supply and AF> size 5.

Hans is right-sometimes you are so short on top notch airframes that you have to 'upgrade' to a lesser airframe. There's not too many negative comparative differences between the Betty/Nell; B5N1/B5N2 and D3A1/D3A2 (actually, I prefer the D3A1 better for it's slightly longer 'normal' range). So these can be exchanged without too much operational setback. The same cannot be said for the A6M2/Claudes-there's a major performance difference here...

[Chickenboy]

By the way, you know you have to 'buy' torpedoes at the HQa for the Betties to use them properly, right? This takes supply.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Derfflinger13

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: inqistor

I think, that you should put one submarine directly into Guadalcanal port, unless US have there mines (are there mines in this Scenario?).

There are mines in this scenario. For the Japanese at least. Quite a few submarine-delivered mines in the inventory to be used. I honestly haven't checked the other two ship-based mines yet. Guess what I'll be doing next turn? [:)]

How do i use mines? Ship or sub based...

For submarine mines, select a submarine (or several) to be in one TF. Bring them to a port with ample supply (Rabaul works). Select the TF and change its mission to "Submarine Minelayer". It will automatically load the mines onto the subs in the TF. Then select the hex you want to mine (e.g., Lunga), put the TF on 'retire' and select the pathway to and from the objective. Make sure the 'lay mines' on the TF screen in yellow is toggled, as opposed to 'do not lay mines'.

[GetAssista]

Screenshot with ship damage, we need screenshot with ship damage, cause you had so many smaller bombs hitting your CVs, plus fires. Condition of your main ships is the single most important info after the battle. And Aircraft losses statistics for the day would be telling to

[inqistor]

Not bad results, despite lack of escort.

First thing - if you have fire on ANY ship, immediately disband it in nearest base (even dot). Japanese ships tend to be bad at putting fires out at open sea.

This scenario is too short, to make repairs, so you will not see Hornet again, but you probably should vector all submarines into area to catch them withdrawing. All your CVs, with combined damage less, than 50 are still able to make strikes. You can also try to intercept his CVs with your Combat TFs. Quite risky, but two good hits, and planes will not fly.


And as for BETTYs - don't. If there are sizeable CAP, your loses will be horrendous, and you will not close airfield anyway. You can eventually try night attack, but not too low, or AA will eat you. Your level bombers should fly from lvl 4 airfield, to carry full bombload (or torpedoes). You can try with lvl 2 airfield, but you can then use only normal range, with half bombload.