Matrix Games Forums

I would guess Darwin would work better as a transit node but maybe Dobo would be more direct, good point.

I consider Taberfane to be important because it has more than a division's worth of enemy troops. I'll take Dobo and isolate these troops. That's more important to me than the actual base.

Walker reports no turn today, so we must wait till tomorrow for the invasion results.

Running a cruiser with 32 points of float damage at high speed won't cause just system damage - the float damage will become catastrophic!

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Those Brit CVs just don't carry enough torpedoes; it's kind of frustrating. I guess they were designed for operations close to the UK where they could rearm quickly and easily if needed?

Regarding Taberfane and Dobo, do they really matter anymore? If you have any success at all in the area just east of Java, then the islands much farther east become backwaters with little if any significance.

Looking forward to the fireworks next turn! [8D]

Not just Britain - the British Empire had bases scattered all over the world so their design for their ships included smaller fuel bunkers and ammo bunkers than most USN ships.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Not just Britain - the British Empire had bases scattered all over the world so their design for their ships included smaller fuel bunkers and ammo bunkers than most USN ships.

Kind of ironic that they didn't consider the danger or consequences if some of those bases were lost ...

Again no turn from Walker today. He says it will happen tomorrow. Bad luck that my invasions came during his busy part of the week.

I'm hoping for the best for running the Brit cruiser at full speed. I'm only doing it for one day. I expect some additional damage, but nothing catastrophic. If the FLOT damage was over 50, I wouldn't be running full speed. It's a risk, but so is taking my time to exit the danger area. And there are a lot of enemy subs prowling.

19 Jun 43

First the less consequential action.

Near Puerto Princesa, sub Tautog spots an xAK task force that also contains a AKV. Tautog gets a torpedo hit on xAK Hokumai Maru. There are ground troops on the ship. I am guessing that the troops are headed to Singapore. I recently got SigInt of a division headed that way. Just a guess here though.

During the night, 5 of the 6 invasion targets are invaded. It is notable that no troops unloaded at Denpassar, although I thought that they would. Watching the replay, I feared that I had mistakenly set the Denpassar task force to "Do Not Unload" when I saw this result. As it turned out, they started to unload in the afternoon.

US DMSs at Denpassar start to sweep mines at adjacent Banjoewangi, on the eastern tip of Java. This might have raised a bit of alarm for my opponent, seeing possible preparation for landing on Java itself. I noticed that there are now troops headed out of Soerbaja, headed to some beach hex, no doubt.

My big strikes at Kendari took place in the desired order, but results were not as good as expected. 3 squadrons of P-38s swept from Lautem, one squadron at a time. The first lost about 8 P-38s, downing about 6 Zeros. The second lost about 4 P-38s, shooting nothing down. The third downed about 8 Zeros for the loss of a couple of P-38s. I've been careful with the P-38s, using them in situations that I deemed critical. The pool of P-38Gs is empty. P-38Hs are being built, I think, but not all of these squadrons will use them. (Remember, this is PDU OFF).

Many B-24s then hit Kendari's airfield and port. An ACM was sunk in port. The airfield took moderate damage, and a handful of Bettys were destroyed on the ground.

19 Jun 43 (continued)

Enemy carriers appeared and reacted toward the US carriers. They ended up 5 hexes away. I don't like copy and paste battle reports, but these actions were long and involved, and the reports tell the story.

The first enemy strike on the US carriers:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Denpasar at 58,109

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 117 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 36 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 48
A6M5 Zero x 14
B5M1 Mabel x 6
B5N2 Kate x 46
B6N1 Jill x 18
D3A1 Val x 63
D4Y1 Judy x 39

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 142

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 4 destroyed
B5M1 Mabel: 3 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 23 destroyed, 4 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed by flak
B6N1 Jill: 3 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 2 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 16 destroyed, 7 damaged
D3A1 Val: 8 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 17 destroyed, 7 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 4 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Enterprise
CV Wasp
BB Prince of Wales
BB Massachusetts
CV Yorktown
CV Saratoga, Bomb hits 1, on fire
BB North Carolina, Bomb hits 3
BB South Dakota, Bomb hits 1
CA Astoria

19 Jun 43 (continued)

Next, the US carriers strike back:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kangean at 59,103

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 32
A6M5 Zero x 9

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 18
SBD-3 Dauntless x 72
TBF-1 Avenger x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 5 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 9 destroyed, 19 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
TBF-1 Avenger: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVL Ryujo
BB Musashi, Bomb hits 1
CV Soryu
CV Shokaku
BB Kirishima
CV Hiryu
CV Kaga, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires

Ammo storage explosion on CV Kaga

19 Jun 43 (continued)

Then another US strike. The enemy CAP is dwindling.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kangean at 59,103

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 37 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 21
A6M5 Zero x 5

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 18
TBF-1 Avenger x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed
TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed, 12 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CV Kaga, heavy fires
CVL Ryujo
CV Soryu
CV Shokaku
BB Kirishima

No hits.

Another AM strike arrives, with decent escort, and few Zeros left on CAP.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kangean at 59,103

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 75 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 10
A6M5 Zero x 1

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 36
SBD-5 Dauntless x 36
TBF-1 Avenger x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Kaga, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
CVL Ryujo
DD Teruzuki
CV Soryu
CV Shokaku
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Takanami
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 1
BB Musashi
DD Wakazuki

Then another fragmented US strike.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kangean at 59,103

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 47 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
TBF-1 Avenger x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CV Shokaku
CL Noshiro
CV Hiryu, on fire
CV Soryu

And another.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kangean at 59,103

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 14 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
TBF-1 Avenger x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
TBF-1 Avenger: 5 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CV Hiryu, on fire
CV Kaga, heavy fires
CVL Ryujo
CV Soryu

And another, this time divebombers. No CAP to be seen.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kangean at 59,103

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 35 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 36

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 4 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
BB Musashi, Bomb hits 1
CV Shokaku
CVL Ryujo
CV Hiryu, on fire
BB Kirishima
CL Sendai, Bomb hits 1, on fire

It is important to note that the US carriers were sitting in "Heavy Cloud" weather in the AM, while the Japanese carriers were sitting in "Thunderstorms" in the AM.

19 Jun 43 (continued)

In the afternoon, the Japanese start by striking the transport force at Denpassar. A force that hasn't started unloading yet, which wasn't part of the plan. The weather here is better for the enemy bombers.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Denpasar at 58,108

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 23
A6M5 Zero x 16
D3A1 Val x 9
G3M3 Nell x 13

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 32

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 4 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 4 destroyed
D3A1 Val: 4 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak
G3M3 Nell: 4 damaged
G3M3 Nell: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CA San Francisco
CA Sussex
APA Zeilin, Torpedo hits 1
LST-461
CLAA Prince Robert
DD Lang

Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

19 Jun 43 (continued)

In heavy rain now, the enemy strikes the US carrier fleet again. The strike is weak.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Denpasar at 58,109

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 37 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 19
A6M5 Zero x 8
B5M1 Mabel x 12
B5N2 Kate x 7

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 82

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 3 destroyed
B5M1 Mabel: 5 destroyed
B5M1 Mabel: 2 destroyed by flak
B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Yorktown

19 Jun 43 (continued)

The next enemy strike is back at the Denpassar landing ships. The strike is from Soerbaja. The weather is now partial cloud.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Denpasar at 58,108

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2
D3A1 Val x 9
G4M1 Betty x 16
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 25

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 3 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 4 destroyed

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
DD Redoubt
DD Relentless
LSI(L) Manoora, Torpedo hits 1
LSI(L) Dunedin Star, Torpedo hits 1

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Then another raid here:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Denpasar at 58,108

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 33 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
B5N2 Kate x 18

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 5 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
CA Sussex
DD Lang

19 Jun 43 (continued)

The US carriers now reply in the afternoon. The attack is now overwhelming.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kangean at 59,103

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
A6M5 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 30
F6F-3 Hellcat x 14
SBD-3 Dauntless x 68
SBD-5 Dauntless x 35
TBF-1 Avenger x 50

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 6 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 3 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 2
CV Soryu, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
BB Musashi, Bomb hits 11, on fire
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
DD Natsushio
CL Noshiro, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
DD Oyashio
DD Kagero, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage

Ammo storage explosion on CVL Ryujo

The battleships soak up some of the bombs, but Musashi did have at least one big gun put out of action.

Then followup raids:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kangean at 59,103

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 75 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 35 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
A6M5 Zero x 2

Allied aircraft
TBF-1 Avenger x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Hiryu, heavy fires
BB Kirishima
CV Soryu, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

And another:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kangean at 59,103

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 65 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 25 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 1

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 1
BB Musashi, on fire
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Kaga, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

Ammo storage explosion on CV Kaga

19 Jun 43 (summary)

The exchange turned out to be a success for the Allies. Watching the replay, the carrier Zeros are still performing like they are manned by elite pilots. They were a match for the Wildcats, even when escorting. But they were overwhelmed over time.

The only "for sure" sinking was Soryu. Plane losses show that more than just Soryu sank, probably the CVL.

Total air losses for the day, including carrier battles, strikes on US carriers from Soerbaja, and my separate raids on Kendari were: (in parentheses are losses on the ground)

73 Vals (24)
61 Judys (18)
49 Kates (9)
37 A6M2 Zeros (18)
22 Mabels
22 A6M5 Zeros (4)
16 A6M3a Zeros
13 Jills
10 Oscars
7 Bettys
3 Nells

29 F6Fs
27 SBD-3s
20 TBFs
16 P38Gs
8 F4Fs
2 B24s

One US carrier was hit, but damage is not too bad. Saratoga is SYS 15, FLOT 6, ENG 1. Still operational.

I have 2 LSILs with moderate damage, as well as an APA. All will survive as is, and move to the carriers, along with everything else in the area. A damaged LST remains at Denpassar, continuing to unload supply. It wasn't worth trying to run with it.

Sub Pike, badly damaged awhile ago north of Borneo, is now just north of the enemy carriers. Pike needs a nearby base and soon. Its damage has been slowly increasing, and is now SYS 66, FLOT 75, ENG 11. It will duck into Denpassar or Mataram after a base is captured. If the sub makes it that far.

Note that I see a cruiser TF at Kendari now.

Here's what I think Walker will do today. He will not risk whatever carriers are still operational. I don't think his damaged ships will go to Soerbaja. It's too close to me. He'll run to Singapore if he can, or hide in a nearby base on Borneo if he has to. I think that he'll try to get some bit of revenge, and will break off his battleships and run them into Denpassar to get at all my juicy transports. Because of this thought, I'm pulling out my ships, and moving them with my carriers a bit to the east. Then I plan on running them back into Denpassar and Mataram to continue unloading.

I had loaded my combat troops onto APAs, and 95% of the combat units were completely unloaded. But I had a lot of support loaded for Denpassar, and they are on xAPs. Only about 20% of those units unloaded. So I need to go back to unload. I just think that I need to leave for a day.

We had discussed cruiser Shropshire, the damaged Brit cruiser that I ran at full speed overnight. The damage went from SYS 13, FLOT 32, ENG 1 to SYS 15, FLOT 32, ENG 2. Maybe I had luck with that. Shropshire will head to Perth to repair the SYS damage, then on to Capetown for more extensive repairs.

It was a great result. I wasn't seeking a carrier battle, but I wasn't trying to avoid one either. My objective was, and is, to protect the landings, and then escort the transports back to safety.

I am running a group of Fletcher destroyers at high speed from south of Denpassar up along the coast of Borneo toward Balikpapan. Maybe Walker will detach some damaged carriers and head to Balikpapan.

I've moved replenishment squadrons for the F6Fs and SBDs to Timor. I should have done so earlier. They should reinforce my carriers somewhat.

Wow, that was a knife-fight! KB was too agressive, tried to cover too much area. Looks like Soryu & Ryujo are sunk, Kaga is in extremis, Hiryu & Shokaku are non-operational. You've got 3-4 landing ships w/ hvy damage, but only minor losses to embarked LCUs, & some damage to CV Saratoga.

Looks like a great victory - assuming you take 4 of the 6 amphib target hexes immediately, I'll guess you've got follow-up engr & base-force LCUs ready to take immediate advantage.

Based upon the heavy fires, heavy damage statements, these carriers may be toast.

CV Soryu, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage - subsequently Sunk message
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Kaga, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

Ammo storage explosion on CV Kaga (x2) - I'd surmise definitely a goner.

I think you may have a Midway victory a year later than the historical event.

Even more impressive were the landings, Java and the Celebes are in immediate peril with Borneo and Singapore not far behind.

Flawless Victory even if you only scored 1-2 carriers!

So much attention detail, and I miscounted the number of hexes on the map! The enemy carriers reacted to a range of 6 from the US carriers. Makes me wonder how if no reaction could have meant a one-sided carrier strike.

Things did work out. The bases should be taken today. I should get the turn later today.

Very very impressive apbarog! Was surprised to see the KB still using A6M2s, no chance against the Hellcat!