Guadalcanal and The Aleutian Islands: A prelude (Japanese and Allied Sides)

[SierraJuliet]

Lost shipping to the end of August. Enterprise still on the list but this should be Wasp. Apart from the 4 merchants I foolishly lost a most satisfactory start to the Japanese bid to win back Lunga.

[SierraJuliet]

The force situation currently at Tassafaronga. Prepping for Lunga going ahead and supplies starting to be acceptable.

[SierraJuliet]

Here is the list of damaged ships currently at Rabaul. Maikaze survived the surface engagement at Lunga but her Major Damage is too much for the facilities so she still in the game but no longer a full strength destroyer.

[SierraJuliet]

Here is the situation at Truk. You can see the effect that over stacking of units is having on the supply level.

[SierraJuliet]

1 September 1942

At Port Moresby 9 Zero do a sweep and find a CAP of 26 Airacobra. 1 Zero and 1 Airacobra destroyed. A second sweep pits 1 Zero against 17 Airacobra. In the circumstances and somewhat predictably 1 Zero destroyed. A third sweep sees 7 Zero against 16 Airacobra and this time 2 Zero lost and 4 Airacobra downed.

The bettys bombing Lunga achieve 8 casualties, airbase hits 1, airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 13.

WO Asada H. of 2nd Ku S-1 is credited with kill number 5. WO Asada H. of 2nd Ku S-1 attains ace status!! First Japanese pilot to achieve this status in this game.

PO2 Tokuda L. of Tainan Ku S-2 is credited with kill number 5. PO2 Tokuda L. of Tainan Ku S-2 attains ace status!! Two on the same day.

[SierraJuliet]

2 September 1942

Bettys are doing their daily run over Lunga. Airbase hits 3, airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 12. BB Kirishima is back in service after some minor repairs at Rabaul.

SS I-157 arrives at Truk.

3 September 1942

Bettys at Lunga score 6 casualties, airbase hits 2, airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 9.

Shokaku, Zuikaku and Ryujo take on plane replacements at Rabaul prior to heading back out. There is every expectation in the fleet that the American fleet will be back to support resupply at Lunga and the opening of Henderson Field. After their earlier success the IJN pilots are itching for another shot at the Americans.

4 September 1942

A quiet day with nothing to report…. For sure a lull before the next storm.

[LoBaron]

SJ, just chiming in to say welcome to AE, and it is great to see a small scenario AAR again. Guadalcanal was and is one of my favourites.

Good luck on your voyage, and congrats on your progress so far.



PS: I assume you have found this out by now, but just in case not, referring to your posts 26&27 showing the search arcs:
If you press the 'z' key the map shows all set search arcs. Equally useful is the '6' key, showing all set patrol areas based on the filters set in the Task Forces screen (e.g. if you set the filter there to SubOps, the '6' key displays all sub patrol areas). Very handy.

[SierraJuliet]

5 September 1942

Sweeps over PM. 16 Zero v 26 Airacobra. 1 Zero lost for 3 Airacobra. Next sweep has 12 Zero v 10 Airacobra. No Zero lost for 2 Airacobra destroyed. Third sweep has 11 Zero v 2 Airacobra and everyone goes home.

The American Fleet has been sighted moving up from the south towards Guadalcanal. The Japanese carriers are also a sea with orders to move south and look to force another engagement.

Kongo and Haruna have arrived at Truk.

Thanks for chiming in LoBaron. I've very much enjoyed this scenario and have learnt a lot from doing so. It is a very worthwhile training ground prior to taking on a GC.

Thanks too for the tips. I had read about the 'z' key showing all arcs and the filed it away in the back blocks of my mind. I will be adding this to my bag of knowledge. I didn't know about the very handy view of SubOps patrol areas. This will certainly be going onto my pre turn list of things to do.

[SierraJuliet]

Here we go again. The American Fleet is back in the picture.

[SierraJuliet]

One of my new tricks.... All patrol arcs displayed and a search line neatly intersecting with the American Fleet.

[SierraJuliet]

This I do like a lot. A moving mine field of submarines for the American Fleet to wade through.

[SierraJuliet]

6 September 1942

16 Betty bomb Lunga and reports received of 13 Allied casualties, airbase hits 2, airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 17.

Above Lae 12 B-17 are engaged by 12 Zero. 1 Zero is lost on the ground and bombers manage to score 3 Japanese casualties, airbase hits 5, airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 9 from a bombing height of 8000 feet.

12 B-17 make their run in at Buna and I have no CAP to contest the skies. Also bombing from 8000 feet these bombers score airbase hits 1 and runway hits 1. The afternoon strike sees another 7 B-17 home in on Buna and they score airbase hits 3 and runway hits 8.

Those Allied ships which had been sighted one day ago to the south of Guadalcanal have disappeared.

[SierraJuliet]

7 September 1942

Near Rabaul SS Albacore shots at PB Tama Maru #8 and misses and then eludes the search.

16 Betty over Lunga report 5 Allied casualties, airbase hits 2, airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 50.

3 Beaufort and 8 Kittyhawk IA make nuisance bomb runs on the Japanese Kokoda Track troops.

Allied ships have again been located to the south of Guadalcanal.

[SierraJuliet]

8 September 1942

Near Rabaul SS Albacore launches torpedoes at PB Toshi Maru # 3, misses and then eludes the Japanese response.

Near Kirakira SS I-168 launches 8 torpedoes at CV Enterprise. The carrier evades and the escort then score 8 hits on the submarine and cause heavy damage (49 59 03 00).

The morning air raid on Lunga by 16 Betty reports 8 Allied casualties, airbase hits 2, airbase supply hits 2 and runway hits 31.

Near Kirakira Yamaguchi launches a full strike at the Allied fleet in heavy rain. 24 Kate and 49 Val, escorted by 30 Zero face off against a CAP of 36 Wildcat. The fighters can’t hold off the CAP which makes some inroads into the bombing force. Nevertheless enough bombers get through to make their runs and reports coming in of 1 bomb and 1 torpedo hit on CV Enterprise, 1 bomb hit on CA Vincennes and 1 bomb hit on CA Quincy. Reports are received of a fuel storage explosions on the carrier after the detonation of the torpedo. The bomb is reported to have penetrated the flight deck after which another fuel storage explosion is reported. The carrier is reported to be fighting heavy fires and the ship is obscured by heavy smoke.

The raid has been costly on the Japanese air fleet with 4 Zero, 4 Kate and 17 Val reported destroyed against 1 Wildcat destroyed. An inspection of the Japanese carriers finds the following in relation to their air groups. Shokaku has 14 Zero and 15 pilots, 11 Val and 18 pilots plus 9 Kate and 10 pilots. Zuikaku has 25 Zero and 27 pilots, 5 Val and 17 pilots plus 5 Kate and 9 pilots. Ryujo has 25 Zero and 23 pilots plus 8 Kate and 6 pilots. The offensive capability of the Japanese carriers has been badly shredded. On the bright side I do have plenty of surviving pilots but a bad shortage of airframes…. I scurry to look at how many airframes are being produced. Another drawback in this scenario (and a good learning experience) is the limited amount of replacement airframes entering the fray. I shall have to think about what to do about this. My carriers are unscathed and have for a second time hit the American Fleet without retaliation. I expect that Enterprise has been dealt a strong enough blow to knock her out of the scenario (Todd confirms this) but there is still Saratoga to contend with and Hornet is not far away.

Above the Kokoda Track 2 Zero battle against 5 Beaufort and 8 Kittyhawk. There is a trade of 1 Zero for 1 Kittyhawk and the bombs cause 8 Japanese casualties.

[SierraJuliet]

The positions of the two fleets when Yamaguchi lets loose his hunters.

[Cribtop]

Banzai!

[tocaff]

It's been a very frustrating run for the USN. If the IJN CVs don't kill you the swarms of subs surely will. The USN's air and ASW have come up as no shows so far.

[Cribtop]

It's amazing how historically the Guad scenario can play out. IJN subs are good, IJN air arm decimated, hard to supply Tass. I am intrigued with the strategy to keep Lunga 50% damaged permanently. That could work well, but it's just so hard to eject the US Marines & Army from Lunga no matter how many ships you sink.

[SierraJuliet]

9 September 1942

After the excitement of carrier combat the fleets move away from each other and today sees submarine action.

Near Kirakira SS I-175 is hunted by destroyers guarding transports. Diving deep protects I-175. I-175 then finds a surface action group and launches torpedoes and scores 1 hit on CA Minneapolis. The cruiser is reported to be on fire. The submarine sustains 1 hit from the ASW response. SS RO-33 then gets in on the act and targets the burning cruiser. RO-33 reports 1 torpedo hit on the cruiser and she is now reported as being on fire and suffering heavy damage. RO-33 reports 2 hits. SS 157 is in the same area…. Can’t find a target but gets attention herself and sustains 3 hits.

SS I-10 tries her luck near Luganville and finds a bunch of ships including CLAA San Juan. An inconclusive encounter for both sides.

In the morning 19 Betty attack Lunga and record 3 Wildcat destroyed on the ground plus 5 casualties, airbase hits 4, airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 15.

Over in NG above the track 5 Beaufort and 7 Kittyhawk tangle with 10 Zero. 3 Kittyhawk are destroyed and the bombers drop their bombs to no effect.

Ens Kanzaki W. of Tainan Ku S-1 is credited with kill # 5.

Todd is right about the USN fly boys being no shows.... but that doesn't mean I don't hold them in high regard.... get the right situation and my carriers (my only insurance policy to keep Tassa in supply) could easily be wiped out... so far so good.

As for keeping Lunga interdicted... that too is working out well. I figure that while it is down I had better keep it down.... let Todd get a fighter presence there and I can look forward to being on the wrong side of the attrition war.

[SierraJuliet]

10 September 1942

Submarine action again. Near Kirakira SS I-157 and escorts looking after transports go at it for nothing more than experience gained. SS I-169, in the same area, finds a surface action group containing CAs San Francisco and Chicago and she takes aim at DD Helm and misses before eluding the escorts. Near the Torres Islands SS I-10 finds transports and has a go at DD Clark. The fish miss and I-10 eludes the escorts.

CAs Kako, Furutaka, Haguro and Myoko launch a night time bombardment of Lunga. 2 Wildcat damaged plus 104 casualties reported and airbase supply hits 1, runway hits 9, port hits 7 and port supply hits 7. The morning air attack on Lunga, by 19 Betty, reports 3 Wildcat destroyed on the ground, 7 casualties, airbase hits 1 and runway hits 18.

Lae receives the attention of 44 B-17 and 17 Zero are poised to greet them. 1 Zero is lost and 2 bombers are believed to have been damaged. The bombers achieve airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 3.

Buna is hit during the afternoon by 6 Airacobra. A CAP of 4 Zero is available. 1 Airacobra is reported destroyed and port fuel takes 1 hit. A second strike on Buna, made up of 5 Beaufort escorted by 18 Airacobra, meets a CAP of 4 Zero. 1 Zero is lost to 1 Beaufort and 1 Airacobra destroyed and 1 Airacobra lost to flak. 13 casualties lost on the ground plus 1 port hit.

In the afternoon and to the west of Lunga the Americans let me know that they still have a naval aerial potency when a battleship task force is jumped by 30 Dauntless and 15 Avenger escorted by 18 Wildcat. 1 Dauntless and 1 Avenger are reported destroyed by flak. BB Yamato is hit by 2 bombs and BB Mutsu is hit by 3 bombs. Thankfully the ships avoid the torpedoes. Todd responds “so it looks like a few 1000 lbers bouncing off of BB armour”. Maybe so as Yamato is at 00 01 00 00. Mutsu, though, is at 16 00 05 00 and she is going back to Rabaul for repair… fortunately no major damage sustained.