Japan ASW assets

[davidgillsol]

As I keep track in my PBEM game of the reported sinkings of various categories of vessels ( so subject to FOW) I can say that my reported US sub sinkings are 18 at end 42, 36 at end 43, 133 at end 44, and currently at 186 at end April 45.The E boats make a huge difference.
I would say I spent some time on ASW, routing convoys as far as possible in shallow waters, ensuring floatplane searches over main routes and having some hunter killer groups of 2-3 ASW vessels to speed to any detected submarine, with experienced and highly rated commanders virtually from the start of the war. Helps my opponent has been very aggressive too.
However to those who would say thats unrealistic, I would say I have been trying to follow what the allies tactices were against the German U boats. Who's to say what US sub losses would have been if the Japanese had treated this element seriously.

(Just to counter all the above my Japanese sub fleet is non existent now and has virtually not sunk anything during the course of the war!)

[Sardaukar]

I think historically USN lost 52 subs in war, so that is way above.

[Platoonist]

I think historically USN lost 52 subs in war, so that is way above.

And 11 of those losses weren't due to enemy action but training accidents, misidentification by friendly forces and stranding. The USS Darter probably being the most famous example in running aground on a reef while in pursuit.

[PaxMondo]

...
However to those who would say thats unrealistic, I would say I have been trying to follow what the allies tactices were against the German U boats. Who's to say what US sub losses would have been if the Japanese had treated this element seriously.
...

Which is accurate. IJ was NEVER serious about ASW; low investment in terms of assets, RnD, crews, etc. These are all things that a player can address.

You don't have to. Run an H2H scen 1 on auto and check it tomorrow to see what you have in '45. I can tell you my results from several years back: 12 or so allied subs lost against like 60 IJ subs lost. Not exactly historical, but directionally not bad. Meaning, Andy has the AI dialed in pretty good on ASW to reflect history.

That suggests the difference is tactics and focus.

[Platoonist]

Frequently, Japanese escort captains would haphazardly drop a few DCs and then steam away while chalking up a kill regardless of evidence. In the postwar period while reviewing Japanese naval records it was found that the IJN had claimed sinking 468 Allied submarines during the war. Over twice as many subs as the Allies eventually built. I'm glad the fog of war in the game isn't quite that dense.

[PaxMondo]

Frequently, Japanese escort captains would haphazardly drop a few DCs and then steam away while chalking up a kill regardless of evidence. In the postwar period while reviewing Japanese naval records it was found that the IJN had claimed sinking 468 Allied submarines during the war. Over twice as many subs as the Allies eventually built. I'm glad the fog of war in the game isn't quite that dense.

And some of that is simply due the (lack of) quality of the personnel assigned to ASW duty. It wasn't considered prestigious, so the personnel in it were not the sharpest knives in the drawer. No budgets for training, no tactics worked out, etc, etc, etc.

The reason we play the game is "What if", not to reenact history. PH is the only historical fact quasi set in stone. Midway is not coded into the game. Nor is the success of the USN SS fleet. Nor is the abyssmal performance of the IJ ASW efforts.