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Is there anything to get really excited about on this list?

J1N1-S, your first night fighter!

N1K1-J or J2M2, massive improvement in IJN land-based fighters.

Ki-43-IIb and later Ki-43-IV, armoured fighter for the IJA. However, Ki-43-IIc is already beginning to look a bit obsolete in April.

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

New planes for the rest of 1943.

Is there anything to get really excited about on this list?

The George is an insane bomber killer and decent fighter.
Jack is a very good fighter compared to the Zero. Can sometimes climb over incoming sweeps. Even P47 sweeps.
The Emily means you can pretty much no longer get cut off. Just airlift everything out.
Irwing is the best NF until the very last models arrive.
Isn´t the Oscar IIb the first armored one?

So I would say you have lots of things to look forward too. [:)]

March 16, 1943

No night attacks.

No day air attacks.

Several ineffective ASW attacks.

Bombardments go Allies way: Japan loses 9 lcu vp, Allies 6. Not too bad.

Boring turn.[:D]

Burma: The Magwe push is facing off against 6 units now in the nasty jungle ridge terrain. I doubt I will be successful in gaining control of the hex, even with reinforcements, but I will try perhaps his units are the Railroad security forces and other small units of no worth...

100+ fighters at Prome so some supply has gotten thru. There is so much nasty AA there even flying high will cause losses. Night bombing attempts at high altitude fail because of the weather constantly.

So my guess is that the Allies are here to stay, unfortunately. I will pursue a grinding war of attrition but don't have that many more reinforcements I can send here...perhaps a division here and there, but I think that is it for this theater.

I will take the jungle ridge terrain threatening the coastal road and perhaps find a soft spot to weaken his supply.

Simply took too long in taking Java, and couldn't move on Burma fast enough.

ORIGINAL: Spidery

Is there anything to get really excited about on this list?

J1N1-S, your first night fighter!

N1K1-J or J2M2, massive improvement in IJN land-based fighters.

Ki-43-IIb and later Ki-43-IV, armoured fighter for the IJA. However, Ki-43-IIc is already beginning to look a bit obsolete in April.

I am excited to the Night fighter, and allocated four factories to get them early, but they are taking forever to repair. I really want the radar version, but you can't speed up the radar date.

N1K1-J I am looking forward too. I am a firepower flunky when it comes to Japanese planes! Unfortunately, hard to get excited when it doesn't come 6 months early. At best I will get it one month early.

I will build small numbers of each Oscar model until the IV comes along, which, despite the low overall gun strength does sport dual cannons which I like. I inherited a lot of factories for this plane so there will be some insane numbers of them flying around for the rest of the game.

I think you mean the Ki-44 IIc is looking obsolete in April of 43, but it will be the best Army fighter I have until Oscar IV and Ki-100I. Got to make do with what you have, and it will be a huge step up from what the Army is flying now.

New Allied planes are filtering in, and it won't be long until the F4U1 shows up in Burma or the Marshalls...

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Jack is a very good fighter compared to the Zero. Can sometimes climb over incoming sweeps. Even P47 sweeps.

I think I am going to skip the Jack.[:(] I inherited no research, haven't put in any to it, and will instead focus on George then Sam.

Really, it is the end war uber planes I am resting a lot of hope on. I hope I get there to see them in action.

March 17, 1943

Allies night bomb in Magwe. Once again the Dinah raises to the challenge and disrupts the attacks. The Dinah is not perfect, bombers often hit the runway, but it is only 1-2 hits, and they occasionally get a plane on the ground, but normally the Dinah suffers no loss, and the fields aren't closed, and 20 planes aren't torched on the ground. So far this is the best solution to early night bombing I have come across.

Other than that, nothing exciting.

A squadron of 4 destroyers rounds Ceylon heading for Madras. I think he may be thinking of sending the Prince of Wales out...I will see if I can surprise him there.

March 18, 1943

Sloppy play on my part dooms these PBs, I diverted them and then forgot about them. So they just sat at port doing nothing...

Those destroyers then bombard Ailinglap, so it was just bad luck I diverted the fast transports there.[:(]

Magwe push probing bombardment results:

Heavy AA yuck.[:(] Well, it is jungle ridge pretty bomber resistant anyway. Interesting that british paratroops are there.

Prome now houses 166 fighters and 24 bombers at a lvl 7 af.

Fletcher Class DDs - Your PBs were sunk by a TF made up of them. They can do 38 knots and can go Full Speed 11 hexes at night, attack a TF or two, and get most of the way home so they are under LRCAP in daylight. They will then need about a week disbanded in port to get rid of damage. I've done this many times myself. I've had them 2 or 3 hexes off Cooktown and then do this to Milne Bay or Port Moresby. [:)]

Dive bombers are your best counter for the Fletcher's - fighting them with your own destroyers is a losing proposition: you can trade 3 Fletcher's for one Japanese DD, and they'll still come out well ahead.

Get some high EXP dive bomber units on night naval attack. They won't hit much in low-moonlight, but every little bit of damage and attrition helps.

I have sunk one Fletcher so far. The Obannon. Darn thing needed torpedo hits after punishing damage before she would go down.[:)]

Countering Fletchers is a huge concern. Night dive bombing attacks sounds good. How about some kind of low level attack? Unfortunately, FB can't do night naval attacks. So that leaves Jakes and Rufes. No armor and small bombs against armored Fletchers? Anyone try this?

Obviously minisubs won't do much. They never do.[:D]

Fletchers are really good at night naval bombardment. All the radar?

Anti Fletcher forces...

I have scattered across the Empire several HelenIIa squadrons that have trained in naval bombing. Although, I probably should have trained the in low nav.

I put some divebombers, and also this squadron as a test in the Marshalls. Perhaps this will be a good role for Army bombers, the bombing force is the one area where my air force is strong. Moonlight is 92 percent.

Nothing really great going on this turn...I have bad habits from playing strictly against the AI as usually each turn I focus on one area and kind of gloss over the others, and just rotate thru several days across the Empire. I worked on the Kuriles & HI today...one of these days I will have to wade thru the Russian border.

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

Dive bombers are your best counter for the Fletcher's - fighting them with your own destroyers is a losing proposition: you can trade 3 Fletcher's for one Japanese DD, and they'll still come out well ahead.

Get some high EXP dive bomber units on night naval attack. They won't hit much in low-moonlight, but every little bit of damage and attrition helps.

Thanks, I put some LillyIIb on night naval attack from rear fields less likely to get bombarded or bombed. I don't know what a 100kg bomb will do, maybe we will find out.

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Fletcher Class DDs - Your PBs were sunk by a TF made up of them. They can do 38 knots and can go Full Speed 11 hexes at night, attack a TF or two, and get most of the way home so they are under LRCAP in daylight. They will then need about a week disbanded in port to get rid of damage. I've done this many times myself. I've had them 2 or 3 hexes off Cooktown and then do this to Milne Bay or Port Moresby. [:)]

Yeah, Fletchers stink. Well, at least America doesn't get that many. Not.[:D]

Mmmm...Fletchers...mmmm

Too funny. We don't have TV at our house, but I heard that a station is going to play every Simpsons episode ever in order...500+ I gather. What a marathon.[:)]

The last episode I watched was with my son 4+ years ago at a motel room the day before the US Army took him...a Gilbert & Sullivan song and dance Cape Fear takeoff. Who could think these things up?

Here is my group of Lilly IIb's. I wonder if having Helens trained would have been better and easier? Not as flavorful though. I need to finish training some, and straighten out the pilots...

March 19, 2014

No night bombing.

Allies sweep in Burma. 15 Tojo IIa lost to 11 Allied fighters P40K, Airacobras, and Hurricanes.

Other than that really quiet. A submarine off Ceylon gets a juicy shot, but misses.

Incredible amount of allied units south of Akyab. Flying offensive fighter sweeps out of Prome.

Personally rather than the Lilly I would train up pilots in LowNav skill and use the Oscar or Nick for low level attacks as they carry a heavier load and are more likely to survive in the process if enemy CAP shows up.

ORIGINAL: Miller

Personally rather than the Lilly I would train up pilots in LowNav skill and use the Oscar or Nick for low level attacks as they carry a heavier load and are more likely to survive in the process if enemy CAP shows up.

I have both low nav Oscar and Nicks, but they cannot pull off night time attacks. They get chewed up just fine on their own if caught by CAP, better to split sentai into 1/3s and attack with dedicated CAP if they fly together.

Plus, I am, deliberately, very very low on fighters. They have to fight! I am waiting on better planes...