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My information for the raids against Northern Japan only lasting for a few weeks at a time came from this book, , this book all of which talk about how the Fleet Air Wing 4 operating out of the Aletuian Islands and 11th AF were decimated during the first few massive raids as the Japanese shifted forces north to deal with the threat. After Fletcher canceled the raids, FAW4 shifted to having smaller raids of aircraft that became more successful in ability to get in and get out. However, on a whole during this shift these raids were more along the lines of similar raids flown in backwater portions of the Pacific. Nothing more then harrassment raids to remind the Japanese that they were there but not really doing any major damage.

Well that was the webpage I had seen. I never said the bombers should be able to carry 3000 lbs of bombs from Attu to Paramushiro and maintain a 33% reserve. I'll also admit to not being entirely sure of what all the stats depicted in the charts and tables mean in so far as the operation of the aircraft.

It would seem flawed logic to say first; that the aircraft can not conduct the raids because all they can carry that far is some leaflets and then go on to say that the raids (that couldn't happen anyways) were called off/changed because the Japanese moved a bunch of defenses to the region. That movement of defensive assets would also seem to suggest that the threat as perceived by the Japanese was a good deal more important to them than you are giving FAW 4/11th USAAF credit for. But calling off or making raids depending upon the nature of the enemies defenses is a tactical/operational/strategic decision. As the game stands now the Japanese Player will never have to worry about any Allied medium bomber (B-25s of some model made these raids too) coming at him from Attu and thus will be handed the ability to meet other threats with greater forces. He should have to make a choice as to where those forces are to be employed; not just be allowed to ignore a "theater of war" for so called technical reasons.

ORIGINAL: Erkki

OK, Ventura range fix for D4Y range fix, deal? [8D]

PzB would be all over this one!

[:D][:D][:D]

My information for the raids against Northern Japan only lasting for a few weeks at a time came from this book, , this book all of which talk about how the Fleet Air Wing 4 operating out of the Aletuian Islands and 11th AF were decimated during the first few massive raids as the Japanese shifted forces north to deal with the threat. After Fletcher canceled the raids, FAW4 shifted to having smaller raids of aircraft that became more successful in ability to get in and get out. However, on a whole during this shift these raids were more along the lines of similar raids flown in backwater portions of the Pacific. Nothing more then harrassment raids to remind the Japanese that they were there but not really doing any major damage.

According to what may be an incomplete listing of CINCPAC Communiques Fleet Air Wing 4 (apparently "the 10% who never get the word") carried out bombing raids on Paramushiro and surrounding areas in their Venturas flying from Attu on the following dates:

1944:
February 19&20; March 2,5,13,16,17,25; April 4,11,12,13,14,23,24,29; May 3,5,6,13,18,25,21,24,27,29,30,31; June 1,2,4,14,17,23,24,25,26,29; July 10,22,23; August 4,11,19,20,26,27; September 5,9,10,11,12,14,19,24; October 2,12; November 4,6

1945:
January 25; February 3,8; March 18,19,27; April 7,11,16,29; May 1,11,15,18,20

These bombing raids were carried out with from 1 to 12 aircraft. Many of them were in support of or coincident with 11th Air Force raids (I will add that the very same communiques cited mention that "Mitchells": B-25s of some model from 11th Air Force also participated in these raids on Paramushiro regularly).
. I'm quite sure that the Japanese did not surrender because of these raids[;)].

The fact remains however that PV-1 Venturas carried bombs from Attu to Paramushiro and vicinity on a fairly routine basis.

Artifacts and personal histories and other entries in the squadron histories for VB-135, VB-136, VB-131 and VB-139 and Fleet Air Wing 4 at the VPNAVY website strongly support more than the occasional overflight. The fact that the Japanese sent large numbers of fighters to "the edge of nowhere" at times when they were dearly pressed elsewhere strongly suggests the same.

The PV-1 (and some model(s) of the B-25) deserve a bit more range.

Air strikes continued throughout 1944-45 and Ventura's largely led the way.  The first USAAF strike against the Kuriles was a high altitude affair at night and caught Japan sleeping.  They tried again on Sept 11th, 1943 but the Japanese were quite prepared and dealt the strike of B-24's and B-25's a heavy defeat over Shimushu, shooting down half of the attackers.  Night time Ventura raids continued until mid-June 1944 when they moved to daylight raids and used NOE at full speed on approach to limit exposure to radar.

Perhaps the biggest issue is that the paper stats most often quoted are for the B-34 while the PV-1 had an increased fuel capacity from 1,345 gals to 1,607 gals, lessened forward armament and the addition of an ASD-1 search radar.  The PV-2 had somewhat less range as I understand it as it had additional forward armament and bomb payload with the same engines and fuel capacity (though they also had enough range to raid the Kuriles).

Interesting story about a PV-1 found on the Kamchatka peninsula and a bit of history about the Empire Express.

Fire and Ice  

From Joe Baugher

http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b34_4.html

The PV-1 was quite similar to the B-34, differing from it primarily in the inclusion of special equipment to adapt it to the maritime reconnaissance role. The PV-1 differed from the B-34 in having its maximum fuel capacity increased from 1345 US gallons to 1607 gallons, including 807 gallons in permanently-installed wing and fuselage tanks, two 155-gallon underwing drop tanks, and 490 gallons carried in two ferry/long range patrol tanks that could be installed the bomb bay. The engines remained a pair of 2000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-31s. The defensive armament was reduced to two fixed forward-firing 0.50-in machine guns in the upper fuselage decking, twin 0.50-in guns in the dorsal turret, and two flexible 0.30-inch machine guns in the ventral position. The bomb bay was modified so that it could carry 3000 pounds of bombs, six 325-lb depth charges, or one torpedo. The PV-1s were also fitted with certain Navy-specified equipment such as an ASD-1 search radar with a radome installed in the extreme nose.

Specification of Lockheed PV-1 Ventura:
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-31 air-cooled radial engines rated at 2000 hp for takeoff, 1600 hp at 11,900 feet. Performance: Maximum speed 322 mph at 13,800 feet, 296 mph at sea level. Cruising speed 170 mph. Landing speed 91 mph. Initial climb rate 2230 feet per minute. Service ceiling 26,300 feet. Normal range 1360 miles with one torpedo, 1660 miles with six 325-lb depth charges. Dimensions: Wingspan 65 feet 6 inches, length 51 feet 9 inches, height 11 feet 11 inches, wing area 551 square feet. Weights: 20,197 pounds empty, 31,077 pounds loaded, 34,000 pounds maximum. Armament Two fixed forward-firing 0.50-in machine guns, twin 0.50-in guns in dorsal turret, and two flexible 0.30-inch machine guns in the ventral position. A pack containing three 0.50-inch machine guns could be added underneath the nose. 3000 pounds of bombs, six 325-lb depth charges, or one torpedo could be carried in the internal bomb bay.

The Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon (Model 15-27-01) was a major redesign of the PV-1 Ventura to optimize it for the maritime reconnaissance role. The redesign turned out to be so major that it was assigned a new basic model number of Vega Model 15. Like its predecessors, the PV-2 Harpoon was built by Lockheed's Vega subsidiary, which by now had been absorbed into the Lockheed complex as Plant A-1.

When carrying a maximum fuel load, the PV-1 Ventura had proven to exhibit only a marginal takeoff performance. In order to improve the takeoff performance, new enlarged outer wing panels were installed on the PV-2. These increased the overall wingspan by 6 feet 6 inches to 75 feet and wing area from 551 to 686 square feet. Integral fuel tanks were installed in the outer wing panels to bring maximum fuel capacity to 1863 US gallons when bomb bay tanks and underwing drop tanks were used. The twin vertical tail surfaces were increased in area to improve the stability. The armament standardized on two fixed 0.50-inch machine guns in the upper nose decking plus three fixed 0.50-inch machine guns in an undernose pack. The bombardier's position on the early PV-1s was finally deleted. Two 0.50-inch machine guns were carried in the dorsal turret, and two 0.50-inch machine guns were installed in the rear ventral position. Eight 5-inch HVAR rockets could be carried underneath the wings. The internal bombload was increased to 4000 pounds.

What are the distances involved??

I get roughly 630 nautical miles, only 16 hexes at 40nm per hex.
Map has 17 hexes.

Quoted range carrying just under 2000lbs of depth charges of 1660 miles / 1.15 = 1443 nm or 36 hexes, divide by 2 to get a range of 18 hexes.
As it happened IRL, some extra checking should be done. Throw out max combat loads, bombers regularly flew at weights above these.

I might do some digging to see what other figures are out there.

PS  To resolve (and the PV-1 wasnt the only bomber to use bomb bay tanks), for extended range can you add a bombay tank as a device which adds X gals to extended range?   Will the game engine only pick this device when the target is at this extra extended range??