AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Nov 03, 43
Espiritu Santo Turkey Hunt
Kido Butai is still 2 days away and maybe Hongye San think it will too late. So the Empire sent out a major strike from Guadalcanal Island.
However, it's 12 hexes from Lunga to Luganville, the furthest place N1k1 George can go even with drop tanks. The escort is extremely ineffective at this distance and just a few planes penetrated the Allies' defense but scored zero.
More then 400 Japs Naval fighters and torpedo bombers were shot down and Allies only lost less than 25 Hellcats. It's reported that the Empire lost more than 150 experienced pilots in this attack while Allies had dozens of pilots promoted to aces.
It's just like a Mariana Turkey Hunt except that it's half a year earlier. I guess it's a good lesson for the Japanese that only keep land base naval attack within the standard range of their fighters.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 117 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 34 minutes
Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 52
P1Y1 Frances x 33
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 52
F6F-3 Hellcat x 634
Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 14 destroyed
P1Y1 Frances: 23 destroyed
No Allied losses
Allied Ships
CA Suffolk
Aircraft Attacking:
1 x P1Y1 Frances launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 115 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 38 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B6N2 Jill x 44
N1K1-J George x 75
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 51
F6F-3 Hellcat x 631
Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2 Jill: 26 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 2 destroyed by flak
N1K1-J George: 39 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 3 destroyed
Allied Ships
CV Lexington II
Aircraft Attacking:
1 x B6N2 Jill bombing from 6000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 119 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 18
G4M1 Betty x 31
N1K1-J George x 19
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 51
F6F-3 Hellcat x 616
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 8 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 21 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak
N1K1-J George: 8 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
CVE Anzio
Aircraft Attacking:
1 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 112 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 37 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B6N2 Jill x 33
N1K1-J George x 28
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 51
F6F-3 Hellcat x 606
Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2 Jill: 18 destroyed, 2 damaged
B6N2 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak
N1K1-J George: 12 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 6 destroyed
Allied Ships
CVL Cowpens
Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B6N2 Jill bombing from 6000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B6N2 Jill x 15
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 50
F6F-3 Hellcat x 585
Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2 Jill: 9 destroyed
No Allied losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 115 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 34 minutes
Japanese aircraft
P1Y1 Frances x 20
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 44
F6F-3 Hellcat x 527
Japanese aircraft losses
P1Y1 Frances: 7 destroyed
No Allied losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 116 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 34 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 6
N1K1-J George x 26
P1Y1 Frances x 22
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 52
F6F-3 Hellcat x 571
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 4 destroyed
N1K1-J George: 11 destroyed
P1Y1 Frances: 10 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B6N2 Jill x 10
N1K1-J George x 5
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 52
F6F-3 Hellcat x 568
Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2 Jill: 3 destroyed
N1K1-J George: 2 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6
N1K1-J George x 14
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 52
F6F-3 Hellcat x 562
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 3 destroyed
N1K1-J George: 8 destroyed
No Allied losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 116 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 34 minutes
Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 7
P1Y1 Frances x 6
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 50
F6F-3 Hellcat x 546
Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 3 destroyed
P1Y1 Frances: 1 destroyed
No Allied losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 2
B6N2 Jill x 9
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 49
F6F-3 Hellcat x 537
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 6 destroyed
No Allied losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Vanua Lava at 121,148
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B6N2 Jill x 12
N1K1-J George x 2
Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 46
F6F-3 Hellcat x 522
Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2 Jill: 7 destroyed
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed
No Allied losses
同时盟军在7级机场Vanua Lava和卢干维尔同时登陆。远渡重洋千里迢迢从印度赶来的印度第八师和32nd坦克旅登陆了Vanua Lava,不过没有发现日军;登陆卢干维尔则是解放了瑙鲁岛,歼敌过万的美军43师和澳9师,双方战力差距悬殊,预计两地可以迅速拿下,成为盟军的桥头堡。
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amphibious Assault at Vanua Lava (121,148)
TF 129 troops unloading over beach at Vanua Lava, 121,148
Allied ground losses:
199 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 36 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 70 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 28 (1 destroyed, 27 disabled)
Vehicles lost 62 (4 destroyed, 58 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amphibious Assault at Luganville (120,150)
TF 175 troops unloading over beach at Luganville, 120,150
Allied ground losses:
539 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 112 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 104 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 70 (1 destroyed, 69 disabled)
Vehicles lost 84 (2 destroyed, 82 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Luganville (120,150)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 1465 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 61
Defending force 25532 troops, 479 guns, 618 vehicles, Assault Value = 790
Japanese ground losses:
64 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Assaulting units:
85th Naval Guard Unit
44th JNAF AF Unit /2
Defending units:
43rd Infantry Division
9th Australian Division
Thirteenth USAAF
209th Field Artillery Battalion
