Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Another storm headed here....will be in western VA today and back in Philadelphia for following round. Or perhaps I will be simply travel with the storm.

It is interesting watching all the forecasters, who have gotten burned badly on the first storm, did better on the 2nd storm and are very nervous about predicting this one with lots of caveats. Rain, snow, and mixed precip...they are calling for it all!

Play this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu2pVPWGYMQ

Kill the ground hog, kill the ground hog, kill the ground hog!

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

Kill the ground hog, kill the ground hog, kill the ground hog!

huh?

It's a reference to Groundhog Day, February 2, and a supposed "prediction" of the end of winter in 6 weeks. In other words, kill the messenger. It's an admittedly silly American tradition.

And if you haven't seen the film, you are seriously missing out.

Since the ground hog predicted 6 more weeks of winter, now into the 6th week since and New England is about to have their 3rd Nor'Easter since.

Waiting on a turn...June 1st brings in much strength:

Tojo IIa starts production at a healthy 100 plane per month build, will up that to 120.

Type 1 Medium Tanks arrive...and later in the month the 1st and 2nd Tank Divisions will be able to form up.

June 1st, 1942

Last day of May, and there is a small action at Ambon. That ship fought off a surface sub action in the prior days...but sinks today.

Up in the Aleutians...a little disappointed here, as the light cruisers were supposed to hit the Allied ships, and Allied I mean with Soviet, American and New Zealand ships all in one task force, several days ago. That they didn't go in led me to believe that a strong air threat was present.

I had to use a waypoint, 0 reaction, direct, absolute to get them to move in with the destination and based port right next door.

The expected aerial counter attack.

I used really odd settings, because I was concerned that the task force might not make port. I splintered the sentai into thirds. I flew layered altitude, and two splinters had a 40% CAP, 40% LRCAP, and 0 range setting, while the lowest altitude splinter had a 30% CAP, 40% LRCAP, 10% rest setting. Altitudes were 2,000 feet, 12,000 feet, and 16,000 feet.

I was worried about 1,000 foot attacks, a tactic the Allies use a lot, and worried that the ships would divert somewhere unexpected.

I would have been arguably better off with 80% CAP, 0 Range, which probably meant 24 planes would have intercepted, but in this fight for whatever reason the Zeroes simply flew thru the escorting P40's very quickly and downed quite a few of the SBDs.

Reported sunk ships...interesting that Soviet ships can task force with all other Allied ships.

Air losses for the day.

Absolutely no Allied night bombing this day. A few Kates sortie at night but they never hit any ships.

Pescadores port, 90 Naval support present, save this cargo ship...hit by a Soviet torpedo the previous day.

Soviet subs are literally everywhere.

June 2, 1942

No night bombing.

I boat surge around Singers....

A lone destroyer finds another lone cargo trawler in the SRA.

IJN strikes ships by their lonesome....there is a ton of Allied mines around...

We miss the xakl Oklahoman, hit the xakl Katong destroying two guns, and damage this big girl.

Sallies strike a small runway above Singers, escorted by some Oscars...catch a few Australians on the ground.

8 P38s sweep looking for bleeding cap, but there is none.

I foolishly left a glen on search near Singers.

First full day of new production and upgrades for Japan. June is such a good month with new radars and the Type 1 Medium Tank. A partial list of the upgrades.

Beaufort V compared to a Sally, the IJA workhorse this game.

So, I have never really had success in using the miniKb, so what I am doing in this game is using them at port size 3 or larger bases, having them docked, and using them to bolster either the CAP or ASW search from such bases. When I have the fighters, I will form them back up to use offensively, but not there yet.

I have been doing the ASW portion for a while, and I am just now starting to use them to bolster the CAP.

I am not sure how the planes launch and land without the carrier moving...I am going to conclude they do it from within the port safe behind the submarine nets.[;)] I am not even sure the CAP will fly...but the ASW does seem to fly -- for example Kates are flying from a CVE docked, in an escort task force at Cam Ranh Bay, and a Kate detected radio transmissions in the operations report...no other Kates are flying in the area.

There were 5 Allied sub encounters first thing on this day...but four out of five where clashes with ASW groups, and the 5th the escort was attacked. So I am doing somewhat better at countering Allied subs...just can't sink or damage them yet-- although Tracker tells me I have destroyed 18 (only 2 IJN subs lost so far although 8 midgets gone). Most days there will around a dozen Allied sub encounters per day...