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5/5/44

Celebes: Dave sends a two-DD TF to Ternate, where the merchantmen have already bugged out. The enemy destroyers engage rearguard ASW.

5/5/44

Celebes: Things are going smoothly and favorably for the Allies when suddenly....

5/5/44

Celebes: Yikes. CAP doesn't do all that well!

5/5/44

Celebes: Ooph. Lots of damage to the fleet. Lots of damage to good ships. Lots of enemy aircraft knocked down.

This was p.m. (no a.m. strike). There was a second, smaller strike that got chewed up.

5/5/44

Celebes: While DS is getting molested, her strike aircraft toy with this little TF. (There are troops here, and I think the four-DD TF also killed a bunch of troops earlier in the day.)

5/5/44

Celebes: Japan loses a lot of aircraft, naturally, but the Allies only lose 9 on the ground? Something's weird about that.

5/5/44

Celebes: Just 2 Hellcats and 7 Avengers lost on the ground. That's somewhat encouraging but could well be flattery only to deceive.

KB's aircraft should be gutted for awhile, although Dave's had plenty of time (as have I) to train up legions of pilots and accumulate lots of aircraft. So perhaps this isn't such a biggie, given that it's almost mid '44.

5/5/44

Celebes: The first victim I find among the legions of DS TFs is Suwannee. She's actually accompanied by a solo DD. She's basically toast. I detach the DD and order it to reverse course about four hexes tonight, hoping to interdict enemy vessels Dave may send in pursuit. There's an Allied dot hex two hexes NW of Suwannee. She'll steam there and, if she survives, disband forever. Odds of survival probably 1%.

5/5/44

TF 540: Damage to these carriers is moderate. They can make good speed and all but Independence can launch.

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TF 390: These guys: ditto.

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CV Intrepid: You gotta be kidding. After taking four TTs, she can make ten knots and has a chance of surviving.

Early in the war, CV Lexington took major damage near Wake Island. The only way to try to save her was to send her at flank speed, knowing FLT would get her. I did, and it didn't.

A similar course of action will be taken here.

5/5/44

Celebes

ORIGINAL: Gridley380

94 flot? Where's your nearest ABSD?

Okay, I'll give it a shot: Auxiliary- Bathtub Ship - Dock?

Wow, your 2 PFs (Eugene and Orange) must have used up all their depth charges/hedgehog bombs. Do you have an AE at sea to replenish them or do they have to head for a port?

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

What's an ASBD?

While I don't wish to distract from the carrier fight, an ABSD is an Advanced Base Sectional Dock - the biggest ARD class in the game.

I don't know if I have an ABSD, but I do know that it wouldn't be forward enough to help Pensacola. Those things are too valuable and slow to send anywhere close to the front lines. If the CA somehow survives, eventually the front lines will pass her, at which time an ARD can come to her aid.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Wow, your 2 PFs (Eugene and Orange) must have used up all their depth charges/hedgehog bombs. Do you have an AE at sea to replenish them or do they have to head for a port?

AEs don't replenish at sea until 1945 (or have I once again forgotten a rule?). I have lots of AEs at ports not too far distant.

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I don't know if I have an ABSD, but I do know that it wouldn't be forward enough to help Pensacola. Those things are too valuable and slow to send anywhere close to the front lines. If the CA somehow survives, eventually the front lines will pass her, at which time an ARD can come to her aid.

By May '44 you should have five of 'em. I tend to push them fairly far forward myself (for exactly this purpose - getting cripples into condition to sail for a real shipyard). For a CVE I'd risk one.

Edit: I'm now thinking of your probably-will-sink CVE and getting that confused with the CA that started the discussion...

I have five ARDs. They pretty far forward - Darwin is the closest one. I've never heard of anyone sending them beyond the front lines!

5/6/44

Celebes: The new day immediately opens with a clash. It looks like the Allied TFs are heading the right way and that a lot of the enemy subs are behind.

Will KB close? Will Altamaha somehow survivie? Will Intrepid's highspeed dash prove fatal?