The Hive - Cruft PBEM (Japan, Scen 2 Beta + Stacking Limits)

[Captain Cruft]

Regarding anti DD measures, I have now converted 6 LB airgroups over to Nicks which are all training up in LowN then Staf. A total of 171 planes.

Should be ready to go in about 6 months.

[Captain Cruft]

Dec 17 1942

Banzai!

I decided to stage a little disuasion raid at Hollandia, just to take the edge of his enthusiasm for advancing.

The 4 fast CVs of the KB sortied from Ulithi and did the business, with a bit of help from long-range Nells at Ambon ...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Hollandia at 93,116

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 24

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 2 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
APD Manley, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Little
xAP John Adams, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Kota Agoeng
xAP John C. Fremont, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
APD McKean

Aircraft Attacking:
24 x G3M3 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo

CAP engaged:
VMF-121 with F4F-4 Wildcat (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(7 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 22000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 7 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Hollandia at 93,116

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 110 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 46 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 68
B5N2 Kate x 68
D3A1 Val x 80

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
D3A1 Val: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
YMS-114, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP John C. Fremont, Bomb hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Kota Agoeng, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
APD Little, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
APD McKean, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Colhoun, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Lamson, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
YMS-113, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Gregory, Bomb hits 7, and is sunk
DD Drayton, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP John Adams, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Kota Baroe, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
YMS-133, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
9 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
15 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
17 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
7 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
13 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
18 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
12 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
18 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
3 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
9 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
2 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
7 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
12 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
8 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
8 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
12 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
VMF-121 with F4F-4 Wildcat (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 22000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 10 minutes

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APD Gregory
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP John Adams
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APD Little
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP Kota Baroe
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Drayton
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Lamson

[Captain Cruft]

I was particularly pleased with how effective the 60kg bombs were, since this is the same weapon that the Zero deploys on naval attack.

Meanwhile, over in the fantasy world of the Japanese economy, as of today there are over 1 million HI points in the pool. Enough for some 27,000 single engine fighters.

[Captain Cruft]

Preview of next turn ...

There is a whole bunch of shipping at Akyab, "DDs" and "APs" again. This is also where the P-38s live. So, as an experiment I have put the entire Swarm on naval attack at 100ft with a 8 hex range. Assuming the weather plays ball, let's see what up to 500 x 30kg bombs can do to this agglomeration of shipping. The airfields involved are Rangoon, Pegu & Chiang Mai, which are all 8 hexes from Akyab.

This is definitely a high risk operation. I am possibly slightly gung ho after last turn's very successful attack at Hollandia, but at the very least it ought to prove a couple of negatives

[Captain Cruft]

Two days later and the blooming weather has prevented any attacks at all in Burma. Arse ...

Otherwise not much happening except Rangoon and Truk have received some ineffective night airfield attacks by 4Es.

Upon perusing the Ground Reinforcement list I see that I soon start to receive some militia units in Malaya, Luzon and Java. This means that I can free up a few real ground units for Mindanao and the vicinity, which I increasingly believe is where the first Decisive Battle will be fought. This is due to both the shape of the battlefield and my opponent's actions and occasional comments. A whole bunch of IJAAF Bns will also arrive over the next month or so, which is very necessary.

Luzon is already reasonably well-garrisoned, with a full division at Manila (Port 7+, AF 5, Forts 6+) and the 65th Brigade at Clark Field (AF 8, Forts 5+), plus base forces, arty, eng, flak etc. This provides a reasonable backstop for a substantial naval commitment, the missing bit is the av support and combat LCUs on Mindanao itself. I cannot Swarm there, yet.

In about two month's time I should be able to deploy around 200 ship-killing Nicks, and if necessary I will augment this with currently idle Oscar swarmers from northern China. They can be in the Philippines in two days.

[Captain Cruft]

Dec 23 1942

We are currently in stasis mode i.e. not much happening.

Here is the Nick Swarm training up at Clark Field.

[Captain Cruft]

Dec 24 1942

Stasis continues. Perhaps the Allies are doing Christmas or something ...

Looking at the production stats, I feel it is ungentlemanly to keep more than 1m HI points in the pool, so I have decided to increase Naval Shipyards a bit in order to consume some of the excess. Contrary to what I said earlier the Yamatos might even get built, but purely as a vanity project and only to be used in the Home Islands during the end-game. They are not being constructed yet though, the current priorities are the Akitsuki and Shimakaze class DDs, which are on accel.

Ki-43 IIb Oscar production is now going full tilt. I received 12 today, which was nice. This aircraft really is the most important thing in the arsenal, at least until it becomes superceded by the Ki-43 IIIa, but that is a long way off.

The A6M3a Zero is also ramping up too now, albeit at a slower pace. This is also a superb plane, since it can combine drop tanks with ordnance and as a result is able to deliver 2 x 60kg bombs out to 12 hexes. The only problem is the paltry number of IJN airgroups that you get in comparison to the IJAAF.

[Captain Cruft]

Dec 25 1942

Happy Christmas to all!

Now, an aside about small bombs ...

There is no such thing as a small bomb - 60kg is 134lbs and 30kg is 62lbs. Try hefting that sort of weight around for a few hours and see how you feel.

This game is all about targeting, or perhaps a better word is "delivery". Every single weapons system can be effective in the right circumstances.

[Captain Cruft]

Dec 29 1942

Stasis continues.

I have noticed that Port Hedland is being built up, so some Glen-equipped subs have been despatched to take a look. This area is my weak spot so I must be careful.

[Captain Cruft]

Dec 31 1942

Happy New Year!

I have just started using Tracker again. It informs me that the Home Islands industry has stockpiles as follows:-

Resources - 99 days
Oil - 262 days
Fuel - 264 days

This is quite surprising, since I have been rather lax at shipping Fuel and Oil back but neurotic when it comes to Resources. Indeed more fuel has gone to the Pacific islands than to Japan.

A bit of an Achilles heel perhaps? His subs have sunk several Resource-carrying xAKs since I stopped escorting them, and as of next turn their torpedoes will start working much better.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 1 1943

It's 1943. My opponent and I have agreed that this year is likely to see more action, the only question is where. China and Burma certainly, elsewhere who knows ...

There are loads of DDs and Es to upgrade. Some of these are stuck out in the Pacific at various places, so I have sent them to Manila to do the business. It's probably not as close as Yokohama or Nagoya but I don't need to set waypoints and it also means I can re-direct them to the DEI or Singapore if necessary.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 3 1942

A nice day. Two old British CLs and a DD turned up at Rangoon, presumably to bombard.

This is what happened ...

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Morning Air attack on TF, near Rangoon at 54,53

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 36 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 90

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 5 damaged
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
CL Capetown, Shell hits 3, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Caradoc, Shell hits 3, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Inconstant, Shell hits 5, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
41 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
36 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Both cruisers went down.

The LowN skill of the pilots is around 20-30 and the exp is 60-70.

This basically means that without a CAP any ship which isn't a battleship can be sunk or disabled by the Swarm. So, very good news.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 4 1943

Things are hotting up ...

In Burma, a large armour-heavy stack is moving out from Toungoo. I would guess that Pegu is the destination, being a clear hex. Therefore I am moving in some AT guns from Moulmein and Rangoon to bolster the defence.

Let's see how the Swarm deals with these cheeky intruders in the meantime.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 4 1943 (cont.)

There is also a Chinese offensive in the North. Both Loyang and Nanyang are infested with hordes, which I am bombing. A DA at Nanyang failed with 1-2 odds.

[Captain Cruft]

Jan 5 1943

Ouchie. The Swarm loses 54 planes and 45 pilots for essentially no result.

While painful, this has not dented the Swarm in a meaningful way. There are now 540 fighters in the Burma/Thailand area, all with trained pilots. I will just wait until the Britishers venture into an unfortified clear hex before pulling the trigger again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on 50th Tank Brigade, at 57,50 (Toungoo)

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 78
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 36
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 30

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 47 damaged
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 9 destroyed by flak
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 9 damaged
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 11 destroyed by flak

Allied ground losses:
29 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
36 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
28 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
30 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking 24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment ...
Also attacking 50th Tank Brigade ...
Also attacking 24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment ...

[Captain Cruft]

The Swarm in 1945

I ran some tests using Downfall with Oscars on low-level Naval Attack against some Essex class CVs.

OK so there is no CAP, but even so I think this is quite encouraging. You don't need to throw away entire airgroups by converting them to Kamikaze, just let the individual pilots decide if and when they want to die for the Emperor.

Over the subsequent two days the entire CV task force was sunk, with about a 60% loss rate to the Oscar airgroups.


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 04, 45
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Amami Oshima at 98,64
 
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
 
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes
 
Japanese aircraft
      Ki-43-IIIa Oscar x 98
 
Japanese aircraft losses
      Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 3 destroyed, 36 damaged
      Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 33 destroyed by flak
 
Allied Ships
      DD Crane, Shell hits 3, Kamikaze hits 1,  on fire
      DD Kane, Bomb hits 1,  on fire
      CV Essex, Bomb hits 6, Kamikaze hits 2,  heavy fires
      CV Franklin
      DD Humphreys, Shell hits 1, Bomb hits 2,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
      DD Hatfield
      CV Bunker Hill, Shell hits 2, Bomb hits 2,  on fire
      CV Intrepid, Kamikaze hits 2,  on fire
 
Aircraft Attacking:
      37 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
      37 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
 
Carrier support unable to supply air cover..
Hida R. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming DD Crane
Banzai! - Hida D. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Hidaka O. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Hidaka O. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Essex
Banzai! - Kaguyama P. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Miyauchi G. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Kabase E. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Hyakutake C. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Intrepid

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

Jan 5 1943

Ouchie. The Swarm loses 54 planes and 45 pilots for essentially no result.

While painful, this has not dented the Swarm in a meaningful way. There are now 540 fighters in the Burma/Thailand area, all with trained pilots. I will just wait until the Britishers venture into an unfortified clear hex before pulling the trigger again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on 50th Tank Brigade, at 57,50 (Toungoo)

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 78
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 36
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 30

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 47 damaged
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 9 destroyed by flak
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 9 damaged
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 11 destroyed by flak

Allied ground losses:
29 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
36 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
28 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
30 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking 24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment ...
Also attacking 50th Tank Brigade ...
Also attacking 24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment ...

Did you set the fighters to 100ft or did they voluntarily drop down? 1000ft would still give you good bombing results but maybe fewer losses if they stay at that height.

[Captain Cruft]

I always manually set them to 100ft. You may have a point though.

The other post is much more significant BTW

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

The Swarm in 1945

I ran some tests using Downfall with Oscars on low-level Naval Attack against some Essex class CVs.

OK so there is no CAP, but even so I think this is quite encouraging. You don't need to throw away entire airgroups by converting them to Kamikaze, just let the individual pilots decide if and when they want to die for the Emperor.

Over the subsequent two days the entire CV task force was sunk, with about a 60% loss rate to the Oscar airgroups.


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 04, 45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Amami Oshima at 98,64

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
     Ki-43-IIIa Oscar x 98

Japanese aircraft losses
     Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 3 destroyed, 36 damaged
     Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 33 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
     DD Crane, Shell hits 3, Kamikaze hits 1,  on fire
     DD Kane, Bomb hits 1,  on fire
     CV Essex, Bomb hits 6, Kamikaze hits 2,  heavy fires
     CV Franklin
     DD Humphreys, Shell hits 1, Bomb hits 2,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
     DD Hatfield
     CV Bunker Hill, Shell hits 2, Bomb hits 2,  on fire
     CV Intrepid, Kamikaze hits 2,  on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
     37 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
              Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
     37 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet
              Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Carrier support unable to supply air cover..
Hida R. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming DD Crane
Banzai! - Hida D. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Hidaka O. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Hidaka O. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Essex
Banzai! - Kaguyama P. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Miyauchi G. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Banzai! - Kabase E. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Hyakutake C. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Intrepid

It's great to see they'll hit the CVs and other ships WITHOUT being set to kami as groups. I wonder how many Oscars you'll build (and lose) for the war? Quite a few I'm thinking! [:)]

I'd be interested to se this test at 1,000ft as well. I'm not sure but it seems like you might get fewer flak losses and maybe just as many or more hits as a result. But I am just guessing, so it would be great to see actual tests. And then with CAP as well. I know Nemo in his late war AAR had some good results with Oscars as dedicated kami groups.

[Captain Cruft]

Here you go. A test at 1,000ft ...

I doubled the number of Oscars but reduced their exp/skill from around 80 to between 60 and 75. The CVs also got some proper CLAA and Fletcher class DDs as escorts in a full 15 ship TF.

The results are interesting. Three CVs down for 70 planes lost. Not a bad trade at all.


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 02, 45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Amami Oshima at 98,64
 
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
 
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes
 
Japanese aircraft
      Ki-43-IIIa Oscar x 189
 
Japanese aircraft losses
      Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 9 destroyed, 31 damaged
      Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 27 destroyed by flak
 
Allied Ships
      CV Essex, Bomb hits 8, Kamikaze hits 1,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
      CV Intrepid, Bomb hits 12,  heavy fires
      CV Franklin, Bomb hits 7, Kamikaze hits 5,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
      CV Bunker Hill, Bomb hits 4,  on fire
      CLAA San Juan, Bomb hits 2,  on fire
      DD Black
      CLAA Oakland, Bomb hits 5,  heavy fires,  heavy damage
      CLAA San Diego, Bomb hits 1
      DD Bennion, Bomb hits 1,  heavy fires
      DD Beale
 
Aircraft Attacking:
      39 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
      36 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
      41 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
      44 x Ki-43-IIIa Oscar bombing from 1000 feet
               Naval Attack:  2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
 
Carrier support unable to supply air cover..
Ammo storage explosion on CV Franklin
Gushi K. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Franklin
Massive explosion on CV Franklin
Hidaka F. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Franklin
Ammo storage explosion on CV Franklin
Ammo storage explosion on CV Bunker Hill
Banzai! - Shibayama A. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Shibayama A. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Essex
Ryuzaki F. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming CV Franklin
Banzai! - Ginowa H. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Intrepid
Fuel storage explosion on CV Essex
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring a Indomitable class CV
Ammo storage explosion on CV Essex
Banzai! - Ban S. in a Ki-43-IIIa Oscar is willing to die for the Emperor