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Double post

Admiral Scott wrote: Fri May 17, 2024 4:49 pm The British effectively used swordfish torpedo bombers at night, does the game accurately reflect that?

In most of the official scenarios two betty groups based in Saigon are set to night naval. I have seen them successfully attack allied TFs, specically Force Z (Repulse and PoW) but not often.

There was this Catalina night torpedo attack in Midway that actually scored a hit:

https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Online ... mid-1m.htm

During the evening, four PBY-5A amphibians took off to make a night torpedo strike. Encountering the Japanese transport force in the early hours of 4 June, the slow patrol planes hit the oiler Akebono Maru with one torpedo, the only successful U.S. aerial torpedo attack of the entire battle. However, the damaged Japanese ship was able to keep up as the formation continued on.

Scen001v5

Wow, this was unexpected. A night torpedo attack on a river by Betty bombers (Japanese AI)!

To carry out an attack on a TF at sea is not easy, But you have to find it first and there are many factors invloved in preventing you doing that. It's moving to start with then visiblity plays a major part and the mark one eye ball is good but it can't see though cloud, fog, rain etc and it sure has hell can't see at night unless the target is lit up like a christmass tree or moon (or you eat lots of carrots ). Radar help but when you get it but it's not perfect. Stationary targets at known locations are reletively easy to find as in the example above. The attacks not so much.

Just look at all the real life battles, many include air groups that never found the target or found it late.

There is the possibility of spotting a TF at night by its phosphorescent wake. The range of spotting would not be great. I search at night at 3000 feet max.

BBfanboy wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2024 12:06 pm There is the possibility of spotting a TF at night by its phosphorescent wake. The range of spotting would not be great. I search at night at 3000 feet max.

As I said spotting yes, hit maybe. Anyway that only works if there's a moon.

Chris21wen wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2024 5:26 am Stationary targets at known locations are reletively easy to find as in the example above. The attacks not so much.

Just look at all the real life battles, many include air groups that never found the target or found it late.

Two caveats:
-my DD was moving, sailing on the river to bombard Canton
-the early Japanese Nell/Betty units have 70 AVERAGE exp in stock scens, as far as I remember

I have replayed December 1941 dozens of times and I don't recall having seen a single night torpedo attack. BTW, I guess the Japanese AI has 9/10 detection on everything in Hong Kong hex at all times this early in the war.

It maybe moving but it's an enemy base and moved up a river from a well detected enemy base that is under the gaze of coastwatchers. The detection level is not surprising in anyway and either is the failed attack.