Matrix Games Forums

Nov 1, 1943

NY59 Giants is right: QBall is ready to invade towards Taberfane.
A huge fleet of APA/LSTs popped up 1 hex east of Saumlaki, covered by the CVs and by LRCAP from Molu. He sent 2 big TFs of Fletchers to sweep Boela, where they found 5 of my DDs...my guys fought well at night, but the next morning another DDTF arrived and simply annihilated my 5 DDs...sinking 3 of them right away, while 2 more will sink tomorrow.

Now I have to decide what to do... his targets may be Taberfane, Dobo or Kai-enlanded. They all are possible 8 level AF and they all are guarded by small garrisons... should I commit all my reserves or should I simply let him land, avoiding another blooth bath of my shattered air armies and trying to keep my strengths? I know I won't stop him whatever I do and I know I cannot statlemate him once he is landed... is it worth to send hundreds of planes to die? Maybe just to sink a couple of transports?...
Hard call indeed...

The KB is replenishing...but it's too far away to arrive in time anyway... now the strategical consequences of the Darwin raid are being shown... I let an open window for him and he is fast in exploiting it.

ORIGINAL: inqistor

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

I truly think we could have made a perfect PH this turn. We had 250 zeros on escort, with 300 Jills and 250 Judys, plus some 80 Frances and more 90 Jills from LBA.

Was those CVs in TFs in base hex, or disbanded in port? If disbanded it is better to set planes on port attack only, as they tend to waste their attacks on unimportant pickets instead of coordinate.

Anyway, against such CAP, you should have send Surface TF first there. It would probably engage CVs, which will retreat on nearby hexes. That would cause chaotic bloodbath!
Or... you could try night attacks (OK, you still can, just use submarines for detecting). I think they have some max range (like 6 hexes), but should be pretty safe (and not very accurate), but against such number of ships, they would hit something.

They were not disbanded, but sitting in the base hex. It was impossible for me to engage with my SAGs. First of all we were too far away. When I ordered the attack my KB was at 20 hexes from Darwin...
Secondly he had his whole fleet there. Even if i'd won a couple of engagements, none of my surface ships could have escaped from there.

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
However i'm not forgetting Thailand. Slowly i'm garrisoning and fortifying the bases there. Now, with some newly arrived Bdes i'll be able to create a solid perimeter in northern Thailand. The goal is to be able to retreat in good order from Burma when the THAI divisions will start to be withdrawn. By that time the allies will be pushing hard in the DEI and Burma will become strategically useless, just like in RL

By the same token GreyJoy, I love the "Garrison" units that I can buy out of Manchuko for much the same reason. They can serve to Garrison locations on the periphery of my sphere of control. When they disappear (poof!) they cannot be cut off. In this case, the withdrawal date can be used to the IJ benefit in terms of strategic deployment.

With the Thai, I'd have them fight forward as much as possible. Let them get "cut off" in Burma or N. Thailand. Unless they're liquidated, they can't be their own prisoners. [8D]

Yup, doing the same here. I have already used 2 withdrawing garrisons at Lunga and Munda... while my Thai units are doing their job exactly like that. They will be sacrificed in order to cover my retreat once we abandon Burma

Oh well... the americans landed another full Corp (the I Aus Corp) with 2 reinforced divisions at Kai Enlanden. We decided to try to use our LBA against them.... man...that was another BIG mistake. I committed 820 planes... 545 of them never got back and we scored almost no hits... his LRCAP simply ate alive my upcoming strikes...which, as usually, arrived in dribs and drabs... 10 of my subs were in action...2 got sunk and 8 more got damaged for not a single fired torp....
I have 200 AVs at Kai... Brad in a single night landed 800...

the total score in the air was 550 to 30... [X(]

Say what you want, but DBB + Beta patch really makes japanese life so much harder than in stock... coordination is now almost impossible (both for the beta and for the reduced AVs) and allied flak is so effective that even when you make through the cap screen, very few of your bombers will be able to arrive on target....

MUCH much more close to reality...unfortunately...

Even if i hate being on the recieving side, gotta admit that this game rapresents much better what happened in RL than stock. Kudos to the DBB guys...

But tears for me... my LBA is now annihilated. Got no reserves. Lost so many pilots that it will take months to rebuild my pools... and the yankees have now an open door towards Mindanao...

Moreover....more bad news.... Hollandia fell. After a great resistance, the 17th Army got pushed back to Vanimo, overstacking that hex and condemning 50,000 men to a slow starvation.... 2 full divisions (the 51st Div and the 1st Guards) are now out of action forever... and the allies now have an open door to the Mariannas...


However, the only bright thing is that i'm pretty confident to say that i couldn't do much more and much better. I've done what i could to stop and slow them down... both in NG and in southern DEI... but now, by 2 Dec 1943, they have so much toys that it's getting impossible to stop the steamroller....

Ouch......now you know how the Japanese High Command felt after the "Marianna's Turkey Shoot."

ORIGINAL: paullus99

Ouch......now you know how the Japanese High Command felt after the "Marianna's Turkey Shoot."

I think every player on the Japanese side in this game gets to experience that feeling more than once! The difference in game is that we are able to repair that stuff and train up more pilots. Not quite historically accurate, but makes for a better game.

Gotta say the results you are seeing are not reflective of real life results. The qulaity/quantity differences between your pilots (well trained!) and planes (all modern variants!) compared to what was the real situation makes it silly that you are suffering such terrible casualties with no results.

ORIGINAL: Saros

Gotta say the results you are seeing are not reflective of real life results. The qulaity/quantity differences between your pilots (well trained!) and planes (all modern variants!) compared to what was the real situation makes it silly that you are suffering such terrible casualties with no results.

Disagree with you, sorry. At this point, the IJ doesn't have an escort fighter that will match up to any first line allied fighter. Thus, he is likely having to use his Tojo/Franks at extended range which operate at a penalty. Oscar/Zero simply are exp's for the allies now, particularly on offense. Even Tojo/Frank on offense are not comparable to F4U/P47/P38/Spit on defense, they are about even with the F6F though.

The lesson here is one that the Germans learned at BoB: you cannot expect unarmored (meaning anything less than a B17 type) bombers to be able to repeatedly make their strikes until you have established control of the air. Every CV vs CV combat in the game confirms this; they are crap shoots unless you have overwhelming odds.

So, what GJ did may or may not have been a good choice, buit the result is well within what should be expected results (anything from successful to a disaster that ocurred). To ensure success: sweep, sweep, sweep, then bomb. Understood that here that wasn't an option due to timing, but that doesn't negate the requirement.

Problem is GJ can't sweep his own base.

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

Problem is GJ can't sweep his own base.

Correct, as I stated above. It does not negate the requirement of air superiority prior to using bombers. It meant he needed to sweep the allied bases which he couldn't do due to range/timing. This means he took a big chance. As long as the risk was recognized, not an issue. That some feel the game borked because of the outcome, no. My opinion is that the outcome is well within the expected range of outcomes, just not a desired one here.

I don't disagree entirely, but I do have a concern that there were no or few leakers from the numerous unco-ordinated strikes. In other words, I fear that the leaker code assumes the large strikes of stock. In DBB, I would like to see several of the small strikes get through entirely to simulate one or more raids that came at an altitude or angle that the CAP couldn't get to. It seems like GJ gets numerous small strikes, each of which is slaughtered by the CAP. Not sure what the answer is.

GJ, what was your hit %age? It would be interesting to compare to RL to see how the model is holding up. That said, with better trained pilots than RL, I would expect a slightly better than RL hit rate. My concern is we may be seeing significantly less (although I could be wrong).

Cribtop - good question, though if you look at the Battle of Santa Cruz, which saw a good number of the elite KB pilots used, the hit rate was awful (due to extremely effective flak & CAP).

Sorry for the delay guys. Having some harsh problems at work...cops etc... it's one of those aspects of being a lawyer that i really hate.

However...don't have time to comment deeply... i'll just copy the combat report for you.... I tried to slow him down and catch him offguard...boy i was wrong.
The IJNavy is basically halved now, with 1 more BB sunk, 2 in sinking conditions, 4 CAs on the bottom and something like 15 modern DDs that are now coral reefs...
The KB, once again, didn't perform well, avoiding any decent strike against his surface fleet... while his APA/AKAs managed to escape right under Tanaka's nose...
The usual strikes, coming in dribs and drabs, to the enemy's CVs... not a single hit and 450 more planes downed....[:o]

Well, anyway, it was real fun to watch this turn!

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 03, 43
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Amphibious Assault at Kai-eilanden (81,115)

TF 338 troops unloading over beach at Kai-eilanden, 81,115



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Night Time Surface Combat, near Kai-eilanden at 81,115, Range 29,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei
BB Yamato
CA Atago
CA Myoko
CA Nachi
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya
DD Sagiri
DD Oboro
DD Ushio
DD Arikaze
DD Susukaze
DD Benigumo

Allied Ships
APD Manley
APD Waters
APD Herbert
APA Bolivar
APA Callaway
APA Custer
APA Du Page
AKA Titania
AKA Alcyon
AKA Thuban

Japanese Ships Reported to be Approaching!
Allied TF begins to get underway
Low visibility due to Thunderstorms with 39% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms and 39% moonlight: 2,000 yards
Range closes to 27,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 27,000 yards
Allied Task Force Manages to Escape
Allied Amphibious TF evades combat

Due to the very low visibility the allied TF detected Tanaka way before he could detect them and managed to escape [:@]
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
E13A1 Jake: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CL Naka, Shell hits 36, and is sunk
CL Jintsu, Shell hits 2
CL Nagara, Shell hits 3
CL Natori
CL Abukuma, Shell hits 3
DD Yugumo
DD Hagikaze
DD Hatsushima
DD Shikinami, Shell hits 10, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

Allied Ships
BB Washington, Shell hits 4
BB Massachusetts
DD Bullard, Shell hits 29, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Chevalier
DD Barton, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Warrington, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Low visibility due to Thunderstorms with 39% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms and 39% moonlight: 2,000 yards
Hashimoto, Shintaro crosses the 'T'
Despite the "T", not a single Torp hit the enemy's BBs....[:-]


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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 3,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato, Torpedo hits 1
BB Mutsu, Shell hits 5
BB Hyuga
CA Chokai
CA Kumano
CA Aoba
CA Kinugasa
CA Furutaka
CA Kako
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Tamanami
DD Onami
DD Hamanami
DD Asashimo
DD Hayashimo
DD Akishimo
DD Arashi
DD Tanikaze

Allied Ships
CA Minneapolis, Shell hits 4, on fire
CA Sussex, Shell hits 9, on fire
DD Anthony
DD Duncan, Shell hits 5, on fire
DD Frazier, Shell hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

These guys put up a great fight here

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TF 254 encounters mine field at Molu (79,116)

Japanese Ships
DD Tanikaze, Mine hits 1
DD Tamanami, Mine hits 1, heavy damage
CA Kinugasa, Mine hits 1
[:o]...how many damned mines does he have there?!?!?!


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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 3,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato, Shell hits 1
BB Mutsu, Shell hits 4
BB Hyuga
CA Kumano
CA Aoba
CA Furutaka
CA Kako
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Onami
DD Hamanami
DD Asashimo
DD Hayashimo, Shell hits 1
DD Akishimo
DD Arashi

Allied Ships
DD Bailey
DD Henley
DD Warramunga, Shell hits 2
DD Kortenaer, Shell hits 1

They slowed us down again...
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 3,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato
BB Mutsu, Shell hits 6
BB Hyuga, Shell hits 3, on fire
CA Kumano
CA Aoba
CA Furutaka
CA Kako
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Onami, Shell hits 6, on fire
DD Hamanami
DD Asashimo
DD Hayashimo
DD Akishimo
DD Arashi

Allied Ships
BB Washington
BB Massachusetts, Shell hits 14, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Chevalier, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Barton, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Reduced visibility due to Thunderstorms with 50% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms and 50% moonlight: 2,000 yards

CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 24,000 yardsWOW!|!!!!

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 3,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato
BB Mutsu
BB Hyuga, Shell hits 1, on fire
CA Kumano
CA Aoba
CA Furutaka
CA Kako
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Onami, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Hamanami
DD Asashimo
DD Hayashimo, on fire
DD Akishimo
DD Arashi, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
DD Fletcher, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Abbot
DD Brown, Shell hits 4, and is sunk

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato, Shell hits 9
BB Mutsu
BB Hyuga, on fire
CA Kumano, Shell hits 3
CA Aoba
CA Furutaka, Shell hits 4
CA Kako, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Hamanami
DD Asashimo
DD Hayashimo, on fire
DD Akishimo, Shell hits 3

Allied Ships
CL Honolulu, Shell hits 3, on fire
CL Montpelier, Shell hits 3, on fire
CL Birmingham, Shell hits 1
CL Mobile, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Chauncey
DD Cotten
DD Kidd, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Gansevoort, Shell hits 1

These bastards were brave
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato, Shell hits 16, heavy fires
BB Mutsu, Shell hits 13, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
BB Hyuga, on fire
CA Kumano
CA Aoba, Shell hits 2
CA Furutaka
CA Kako, on fire
DD Fuyuzuki, Shell hits 1
DD Hamanami, Shell hits 1
DD Asashimo
DD Hayashimo, on fire
DD Akishimo

Allied Ships
BB South Dakota
BB Alabama, Shell hits 25, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Aulick, Shell hits 3
DD Bache, Shell hits 1
DD Beale
DD Brownson

Reduced visibility due to Thunderstorms with 50% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms and 50% moonlight: 1,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 18,000 yards[:D]


Mutsu was left more or less sinking....while I hope the Alabama is in the same situation...but I doubt
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 4,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Hyuga, on fire
CA Kumano
CA Aoba
CA Furutaka
CA Kako, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Hamanami
DD Hayashimo, on fire
DD Akishimo

Allied Ships
PT-132
PT-133
PT-135
PT-138
PT-320, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-321
PT-324
PT-325, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-326, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 4,000 yards

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Kumano
CA Aoba
CA Furutaka
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Akishimo

Allied Ships
AM Swallow
AM Turkey
LST-16
LST-17
LST-21, Shell hits 2
LST-26
LST-448
LST-452, Shell hits 2, on fire
LST-465, Shell hits 17, and is sunk
LST-466, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
LST-467, Shell hits 17, and is sunk
LCI-328
LCI-329
LCI-336
LCI-400, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
LCI-402

And we pressed on! This was a bombardment TF...a bombardment that never was...simply too many ships at Molu
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Kumano
CA Aoba
CA Furutaka
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Akishimo

Allied Ships
SC-709, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
xAKL Nevadan, Shell hits 17, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Prusa, Shell hits 12, and is sunk




DAYLIGHT

When the day arrived our ships were still at Molu...fighting their way out among not less than 10 allied TFs....
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Day Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,116, Range 4,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Hyuga, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CA Kako, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Hamanami
DD Hayashimo

Allied Ships
CA Sussex, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
DD Duncan, Shell hits 1

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Day Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,115, Range 4,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Onami, Shell hits 25, and is sunk
DD Arashi, Shell hits 23, and is sunk

Allied Ships
DD Bailey
DD Henley, Shell hits 2
DD Warramunga, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Kortenaer, Shell hits 2, heavy fires

And the damaged ships that were detached from the main TF did not have any safe way to get out of that mess

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Day Time Surface Combat, near Molu at 79,115, Range 6,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
E7K2 Alf: 2 destroyed
E13A1 Jake: 3 destroyed

Japanese Ships
BB Hyuga, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
CA Kako, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
DD Hamanami, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Hayashimo, Shell hits 2, heavy fires

Allied Ships
BB Washington
BB Massachusetts, Shell hits 8, on fire
DD Chevalier, Shell hits 2


Lee, Willis "Ching crosses the 'T'
BB Massachusetts engages BB Hyuga at 6,000 yards

Hyuga and Kako were immediately engaged at close range... my ships were already slowed down and out of ammo...an easy prey for Lee Ching




Several sweeps at Selaroe were ordered...hoping to divert some of his leaky CAP...no joy
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Morning Air attack on Selaroe , at 78,118

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 37,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 25
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 36

Allied aircraft
P-40K Warhawk x 25
F6F-3 Hellcat x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40K Warhawk: 3 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed


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Morning Air attack on Selaroe , at 78,118

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 45 NM, estimated altitude 35,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 27
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 36

Allied aircraft
P-40K Warhawk x 15
F6F-3 Hellcat x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40K Warhawk: 3 destroyed


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Morning Air attack on Selaroe , at 78,118

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 24 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84a Frank x 43

Allied aircraft
P-40K Warhawk x 5
F6F-3 Hellcat x 5

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed



Then the usual slaughter in the air... the KB, positioned south of Ambon launched a series of aenemic and uncoordinated strikes... and my LBA did the same from Biak against his CVs positioned near Taberfane....

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Morning Air attack on TF, near Molu at 80,116

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
P1Y1 Frances x 12

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 51

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 6 destroyed
P1Y1 Frances: 6 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CL Montpelier


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Morning Air attack on TF, near Taberfane at 81,119

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 101 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 30 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
A6M3a Zero x 15
P1Y1 Frances x 4
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 28

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 34
F6F-3 Hellcat x 147

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M3a Zero: 10 destroyed
P1Y1 Frances: 1 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 9 destroyed

No Allied losses

CAP engaged:
VRF-7F with F6F-3 Hellcat (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Raid is overhead
2 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-3 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes
8 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-9 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-23 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 7000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-24 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-35 with F6F-3 Hellcat (3 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
VMF-225 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes
VF-1 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 22 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes
14 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-8 with F4U-1A Corsair (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 22 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
20 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-16 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 20 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes
27 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-25 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 18000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 20 minutes
5 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-2 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 20 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 13000 and 18000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 41 minutes
12 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-22 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-30 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
VC(F)-63 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
VRF-4F with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 20 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Taberfane at 81,119

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 110 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 36 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 10
A6M3a Zero x 10
B6N2 Jill x 27

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 33
F6F-3 Hellcat x 134

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
A6M3a Zero: 6 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 4 destroyed

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Morning Air attack on TF, near Hollandia at 93,116

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 73 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
P1Y1 Frances x 6

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk III x 3
P-40K Warhawk x 7
P-40N5 Warhawk x 7
F4F-4 Wildcat x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
P1Y1 Frances: 3 destroyed



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Taberfane at 81,119

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 100 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 33 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B6N2 Jill x 5

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 27
F6F-3 Hellcat x 117

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2 Jill: 1 destroyed

No Allied losses



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Taberfane at 81,119

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 100 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 30 minutes

Japanese aircraft
P1Y1 Frances x 9

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 19
F6F-3 Hellcat x 86

Japanese aircraft losses
P1Y1 Frances: 2 destroyed


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Morning Air attack on TF, near Hollandia at 93,116

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 71 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
P1Y1 Frances x 9

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk III x 1
P-40K Warhawk x 7
P-40N5 Warhawk x 7
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
P1Y1 Frances: 4 destroyed

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
APD Dent



Always dribs and drabs...even without escort[:(]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Molu at 79,115

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 76 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
P1Y1 Frances x 5

Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 5
P-38H Lightning x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
P1Y1 Frances: 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
DD Chevalier
BB Massachusetts, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk[:D][:D] FINALLY!!!

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x P1Y1 Frances launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Taberfane at 81,119

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 109 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 32 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 2
P1Y1 Frances x 12

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 15
F6F-3 Hellcat x 166

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed
P1Y1 Frances: 7 destroyed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Taberfane at 81,119

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 106 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Japanese aircraft
P1Y1 Frances x 14
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 4

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 14
F6F-3 Hellcat x 151

Japanese aircraft losses
P1Y1 Frances: 3 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 3 destroyed

No Allied losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Molu at 79,116

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 41 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D4Y1 Judy x 10
J2M3 Jack x 27
N1K1-J George x 61

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 17
P-38H Lightning x 8
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 23
F4U-1 Corsair x 10
F6F-3 Hellcat x 37

Japanese aircraft losses
D4Y1 Judy: 4 destroyed

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
AKA Titania, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x D4Y1 Judy releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb

YOU SEE!? This was a bomber group belonging to the KB...arrived with no KB escort...just with the LBA...and 10 judys??!?!? com'on!!!


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

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 76 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 25 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B6N2 Jill x 21

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk III x 2
P-40K Warhawk x 6
P-40N5 Warhawk x 6
F4F-4 Wildcat x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2 Jill: 3 destroyed

No Allied losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Taberfane at 81,119

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 108 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 32 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 8
B6N2 Jill x 4
P1Y1 Frances x 6

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 14
F6F-3 Hellcat x 135

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 3 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 1 destroyed
P1Y1 Frances: 3 destroyed
P1Y1 Frances: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CV Hornet
CV Congress

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x P1Y1 Frances launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Molu at 79,115

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 56 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 18 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 5
B6N2 Jill x 16

Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 3
P-38H Lightning x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 2 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 9 destroyed, 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
DD Kortenaer, on fire
DD Warramunga


Another ridiculous KB strike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Molu at 79,115 From the KB!

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
A6M3a Zero x 4
A6M5 Zero x 12
B6N2 Jill x 6
D4Y3 Judy x 9

Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 1
P-38H Lightning x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 1 damaged
D4Y3 Judy: 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-38F Lightning: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
BB Alabama, Bomb hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
DD Chevalier

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x D4Y3 Judy releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb
6 x B6N2 Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
4 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
4 x D4Y3 Judy releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Molu at 79,116

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 94 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 1
A6M5 Zero x 1
B6N2 Jill x 13
D4Y3 Judy x 9
Ki-84a Frank x 42

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 17
P-38H Lightning x 7
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 23
F4U-1 Corsair x 10
F6F-3 Hellcat x 37

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 9 destroyed
D4Y3 Judy: 5 destroyed
Ki-84a Frank: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 2 destroyed
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 3 destroyed
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 7 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAP Wanaka, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
xAP Koolama, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
744 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 44 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 11 (11 destroyed, 0 disabled)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Molu at 79,115

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20
A6M5 Zero x 104
B6N2 Jill x 25
D4Y3 Judy x 44

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 2
P-38H Lightning x 1
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 2
F4U-1 Corsair x 7
F6F-3 Hellcat x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 2 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 4 damaged
D4Y3 Judy: 11 damaged
D4Y3 Judy: 3 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
BB Washington, Bomb hits 5, on fire
CA Sussex, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
DD Fletcher, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Duncan, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Abbot, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
23 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
12 x D4Y3 Judy releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb
25 x B6N2 Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
4 x D4Y3 Judy releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb
16 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
1 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
17 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
6 x D4Y3 Judy releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb
12 x D4Y3 Judy releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb
19 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
8 x D4Y3 Judy releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb
1 x D4Y3 Judy releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb


Still too aenemic!1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Boela at 78,113

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 16
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 3
Ki-84a Frank x 9

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 18
F6F-3 Hellcat x 58
SBD-5 Dauntless x 26
TBF-1 Avenger x 8
TBM-1C Avenger x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84a Frank: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed by flak
SBD-5 Dauntless: 3 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 2 damaged
TBM-1C Avenger: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
DD Hayashimo, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Hamanami, on fire
BB Nagato, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage


And then the allied DS pounded my wounded ships...Mutsu has 80 flt and 50 fires... Nagato 70 flt and 30 fires...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Kai-eilanden (81,115)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 22790 troops, 347 guns, 302 vehicles, Assault Value = 732

Defending force 8096 troops, 79 guns, 13 vehicles, Assault Value = 280

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Allied adjusted assault: 1078

Japanese adjusted defense: 757

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1018 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 64 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
387 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 25 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled

Assaulting units:
754th Tank Battalion
9th Australian/A Division
Americal Infantry Division
II Aus Corps Engineer Battalion
9th Australian/B Division
I Australian Corps

Defending units:
15th Garrison Unit
1st Indpt SNLF Coy
32nd Nav Gsn Unit
20th/C Division

The island is doomed

Massive carnage, but my first impression on reading this was that either side can come away feeling good. You related the heavy damage you suffered, but man, Q-Ball took some too.

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Sorry for the delay guys. Having some harsh problems at work...cops etc... it's one of those aspects of being a lawyer that i really hate.

It's OK, GreyJoy. You can tell us-your loyal readers-the truth though. Was it Berlusconi? [;)]

So, the butcher's bill of the day is:

Japan: 1 BB with 2 more left in sinking conditions
4 CAs with 2 more damaged
3 CLs with 1 more damaged
10 DDs with 3 more heavily damaged
460 planes and 350 pilots lost.

Allies: BB Massachusset (with Alabama in sinking conditions and hopefully Washington needing some repair)
1 CAs
Maybe 1 CL
some 8 DDs...
70 planes

No, sorry...I must say this is a clear allied victory[:-]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Sorry for the delay guys. Having some harsh problems at work...cops etc... it's one of those aspects of being a lawyer that i really hate.

It's OK, GreyJoy. You can tell us-your loyal readers-the truth though. Was it Berlusconi? [;)]

LOL...well, if Silvio was one of my client...you can be sure that, by now, I would have sponsored the publishing of WITP II and given Michealm a farm in Australia big as the Maine [:D]

It's OK, GreyJoy. You can tell us-your loyal readers-the truth though. Was it Berlusconi?

[:D][:D]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Massive carnage, but my first impression on reading this was that either side can come away feeling good. You related the heavy damage you suffered, but man, Q-Ball took some too.

Sure, but he has more material than me, so my losses weight much more than his.
And, above all, my real goal were his APA/AKAs...and Takana left them slip right under his nose... and they were without any cover!!!

The good news is that 3 of his fast BBs are now out of action for some time... but his modern CLs can easily do that job.

Anyway...stormy weather played a big part in those naval battles I think. I tried to wait for this particular condition in order to avoid the massive allied radar advantage...and I think I was right

The idea was to bombard Molu, while my sweeping CLs were supposed to drive out the enemy SAGs present there...bombard Molu so to give the KB a free shot to all those APAs or, eventually, to his CVs... but simply there were too many SAGs there...and too powerfull...so we never managed to reach the coast of that damned island.