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Good suggestions, Loka.

I'm going to give Lex one more turn of flank speed. She'll be following the DMS ASW TF, which is set at normal speed. I hope to get eight more hexes in. If things go okay, then Lex will change to cruise speed and head for Gardner Island (Dave's had a sub at Baker and may also have one at Canton, though all his subs may have moved north to what he thought was the most likely area.

The TFs will only be about 11 hexes from Tarawa. It doesn't have an airfield yet, but it may have patrols. That's the last enemy land outpost.

12/14/41

CenPac: The wild goose chase continues, KB is off the scent, and Lex's chances of making it improve dramatically.

12/14/41

Downs vs. KB: Confirmation that KB is intact and location of the AO TF (as of start of the turn).

12/14/41

BB Mutsu: Dave is bringing stronger forces to deal with raiding Allied combat ships that have done some modest work in the area.

50/50 that Dave has also sent Mini KB this way. She recently disappeared from the Sorong region.

12/15/41

The Wild Goose Chase: In an unbelievable turn of events, Dave turns KB about and steams it due south at flank speed - aimed right for Canton Island. KB ends up just seven hexes NE of Lexington and in closer proximity to DD Tucker (just arriving from Pearl), CA Indianapolis, and the xAP that refueled Lex yesterday.

I'll post an image shortly, but the end result is that KB launches against Tucker and a nearby xAK (inbound to lend a hand with refueling) and gets high detection on Indianapolis, which trails Lex by a hex, but no detection or strikes against Lex.

Yesterday's warm and fuzzy optimism have vanished....

Wow, small blessings that he didn't actually detect Lex despite it definitely being in nav search range.

Pucker factor intensifies.

FYI on the oilers: I think their full speed and cruise speed are not much different from each other. I think it is 5/4.

12/15/41

Wild Goose, Part II: I keep hoping to turn Lex east, where she can eventually make map's edge. Instead, she's now moving towards Fiji (known location of an enemy sub) or points SW. This is the craziest, longest lasting pursuit I've ever seen.

To summarize: KB refueled a day or two after December 7, near French Frigate and before all this started. At about that time, Lex took two torpedoes up near Wake. KB made a flank-speed run in that direction. Then, for several turns, KB slowed down to regular speed. Lex eluded her by going north but then turning due south, steaming right past KB. I think that KB then refueld again, making a 13-hex run (flank speed, almost surely) immediately thereafter. Then, today, Half KB South made full-speed run (17 hexes). If that half can make another high speed run, the jig is probably up. If it's limited to regular speed, I think it's likely Lex eludes it (but subs, and possibly combat ships, if those have enough fuel to run fast) are still a threat, though the sub presence is probably fairly low this far out and down.

Lex's condition improved during the turn, which was at normal speed. FLT dropped 2 points to 47, and speed increased one to 16. She has 8k fuel and can probably make Full Speed runs for four to six turns. There are additional merchantmen to the south and SW that can top her off, if necessary.

Placeholder for update (and to redact poorly-worded post, because I strive to not post anything that isn't grammatically correct and otherwise error free).

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

12/15/41

The Wild Goose Chase: In an unbelievable turn of events, Dave turns KB about and steams it due south at flank speed - aimed right for Canton Island. KB ends up just seven hexes NE of Lexington and in closer proximity to DD Tucker (just arriving from Pearl), CA Indianapolis, and the xAP that refueled Lex yesterday.

I'll post an image shortly, but the end result is that KB launches against Tucker and a nearby xAK (inbound to lend a hand with refueling) and gets high detection on Indianapolis, which trails Lex by a hex, but no detection or strikes against Lex.

Yesterday's warm and fuzzy optimism have vanished....

[:D]

12/15/41

SoPac: Correction - DD Tucker fought a surface engagement with KB rather than being sunk by an air strike. That's the second lone US DD to duke it out with KB in the past few days. The other, DD Downes, lived to fight another day.

Man, tough to say that I'd have done it for sure, but I think I'd have taken the opportunity to disband at Howland and hope he thought Indianapolis was Lex and keep running SW until he has to turn for home.

Hi CR,

You really should ask the Penguin to stop pressing the Esc key during the replays and instead click the Done button to speed things up. It will cure your Sync bug issues. Because we were facing sync issues fairly regularly, witpqs wrote a handy Sync Bug detector into Intel Monkey. During the first couple of months or so, I was an avid Esc key presser. We had many Sync issues. After I stopped pressing the Esc key and switched to clicking the Done button, we have only encountered a hand full of sync issues. We are currently in Sept 42. It is not urban legend. It really does make a difference.

Wa

The escape key doesn't seem to have anything to do with sync bugs. They're just random-ish.

I push (and have held) the escape key for almost 1500 turns as Japan at this point. I've experienced less than a dozen sync bugs. As mentioned, they're random-ish.

Loka, you might be exactly right.

I have just a tinge of uncertainty about whether there's a possibility Lex might hang up and not disband, just long enough for Dave to get detection. So I prefer to keep running, like some REO Speedwagon song.

I press the escape key 50 times each turn. I might be the issue, if that's an issue. But I can't stop doing it, because most animations I care nothing about but some I do, occasionally.

I'll try to work with Dave to reconcile the issue as soon as possible, but that might be a few days.

12/15/41

CenPac: The situation with Half KB North. It can make a full speed run to rejoin the chase for Lex, but Dave has a replenishment TF out here somewhere, I think. He's got to protect it.

Good work with the Lex - it was a real nail-biter there for awhile!

If you can bag a couple replenishment ships in the next turn or two, then you'll be way ahead. Obviously an AO or TK would be really nice, but any logistics hull out of commission (sunk or otherwise) dents his war economy. As long as the Lex makes it back to a shipyard, her deck will still count towards the 'critical mass' of CV capability once the Essex class begins to come on-line. You've also put Dave on notice that he better devote combat ships to escorting vulnerable hulls as you're willing to make attempts on them even in the presence of the KB.

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Loka, you might be exactly right.

I have just a tinge of uncertainty about whether there's a possibility Lex might hang up and not disband, just long enough for Dave to get detection. So I prefer to keep running, like some REO Speedwagon song.

That's the risk. When you're 2 hexes away, she should disband after the first movement phase. But what if she doesn't? If it were a CA, I'd definitely risk it. A CV is a much more agonizing decision.