Check your stocks - I think if you don't have any replacement radar units the ship is going to sit and wait until one becomes available. I've seen this mostly as a problem around June and Oct. '42 when tons of ships are getting a radar upgrade.
According to the inventory list, there are something like 60 SC radars in stock. My guess is that the BB has to repair down to some "magic number" - maybe "3" as with upgrades.
The BB finally went down to sys dam "10" this turn, so maybe by mid-to-late January I'll find out my answer. (And no - I have no intention of putting any of my ships into battle against PzB's torpedo-killer flotillas unless all of my ships are radar-equiped.)
There was an OOB bug in early versions with respect to repairing the radar on US BBs. Certainly in vs. 1.0 at least.
--
I have been wondering about your comment that the land-based SBDs "didn't fly" (to paraphrase). To my mind these are the most important weapon you have, especially in the NG, Solomons and Marshalls areas. Could you briefly describe how many groups you have and where they are please? Also, is it possible that they have fallen victim to the "Get New Pilot" Naval Attack bug?
I remember that bug. AFAIK it was fixed a couple of revs back. (We are both running at rev 1.50.)
I've got around 12 groups of land-based SBDs - about half in the Gilbert/Marshalls and the other half in the PNG-to-Lunga strip. I regularly fly them on naval attack with port or airbase attacks as secondary attacks. They fly quite regularly on the secondary roles. But they have never flown against a naval target. Now, to be fair, PzB rarely presents naval targets for me to go after with my planes, but when he has, my SBDs haven't flown for the usual reasons (clouds at their bases, clouds over the enemy TFs, etc.) I leave the SBD squadrens at 10% patrol just-in-case that improves their changes at finding targets.
BTW - I have almost as many patrol planes in those regions as I do dive bombers. Oh yes, and where ever I have SBDs I have plenty of escorts with equivalent ranges.
BTW II - I checked all of my air groups a while back and other than a couple of big bomber groups, all of them were fully equiped with pilots. But now that you've reminded me I'll check them again next turn.
PzB mentioned in his latest email that he was starting to get concerned that "...the game will evolve into a large air campaign." Well, as of December 31, 1942 it sure is looking that way. We both continue to pound undefended targets while waiting for the "other guy" to make a bad move. (I've made my share - now it's PzB's turn...[;)])
To give you some ideas, here is PzB pounding Mandalay followed by me pounding Koepang:
Day Air attack on Mandalay , at 33,30
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 23
Ki-21 Sally x 132
Ki-48 Lily x 35
PzB has been doing this daily for the past couple of game weeks, so it's not surprising that the casualty numbers are slowly going down - there aren't that many troops left to be bombed. Now for my best "kill rate" of the day:
Day Air attack on 4th Mixed Brigade, at 28,77
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 63
No Allied losses
Japanese ground losses:
204 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
This was a "pure" ground attack - I had other groups from other bases going after the airfields and so on as secondary missions. Most of my other attacks score fewer casualties. I haven't been getting any air base results to match what PzB has been getting with that monstrous horde of Sallys.
In non-air news, PzB hit another of my subs just north of Rabaul. I also spotted a sub of his just off of Gili-Gili so I'm sending some ASW TFs into the air to try to catch it before it causes more of a nuisance.
There was an OOB bug in early versions with respect to repairing the radar on US BBs. Certainly in vs. 1.0 at least.
--
I have been wondering about your comment that the land-based SBDs "didn't fly" (to paraphrase). To my mind these are the most important weapon you have, especially in the NG, Solomons and Marshalls areas. Could you briefly describe how many groups you have and where they are please? Also, is it possible that they have fallen victim to the "Get New Pilot" Naval Attack bug?
I remember that bug. AFAIK it was fixed a couple of revs back. (We are both running at rev 1.50.)
Since it is an OOB bug I think it's the version you started with that matters.
I've got around 12 groups of land-based SBDs - about half in the Gilbert/Marshalls and the other half in the PNG-to-Lunga strip. I regularly fly them on naval attack with port or airbase attacks as secondary attacks. They fly quite regularly on the secondary roles. But they have never flown against a naval target. Now, to be fair, PzB rarely presents naval targets for me to go after with my planes, but when he has, my SBDs haven't flown for the usual reasons (clouds at their bases, clouds over the enemy TFs, etc.) I leave the SBD squadrens at 10% patrol just-in-case that improves their changes at finding targets.
BTW - I have almost as many patrol planes in those regions as I do dive bombers. Oh yes, and where ever I have SBDs I have plenty of escorts with equivalent ranges.
BTW II - I checked all of my air groups a while back and other than a couple of big bomber groups, all of them were fully equiped with pilots. But now that you've reminded me I'll check them again next turn.
Thanks -
Dave Baranyi
Good, sounds like the SBDs are configured correctly, as it were.
I must confess to slipping into "UV mode" with my comments on this. Unfortunately the new "explicit flank speed" feature of WitP allows TFs to move much faster, which can mean that they never appear within 4 hexes of a base. By which I mean Fast Transport, Surface Combat or Bombardment TFs.
If you can't enforce a "naval exclusion zone" with the dive bombers I would try and do it with the numerous US tac bombers.
Since it is an OOB bug I think it's the version you started with that matters.
Ouch! In that case I'm scr*wed because IIRC, PzB and Wobbly started this game at a very early version, maybe v1.0.
Good, sounds like the SBDs are configured correctly, as it were.
I must confess to slipping into "UV mode" with my comments on this. Unfortunately the new "explicit flank speed" feature of WitP allows TFs to move much faster, which can mean that they never appear within 4 hexes of a base. By which I mean Fast Transport, Surface Combat or Bombardment TFs.
If you can't enforce a "naval exclusion zone" with the dive bombers I would try and do it with the numerous US tac bombers.
I know what you mean about "UV Mode"...remembering UV rules instead of WitP rules has cost me a couple of times. [:(]
Good, sounds like the SBDs are configured correctly, as it were.
I must confess to slipping into "UV mode" with my comments on this. Unfortunately the new "explicit flank speed" feature of WitP allows TFs to move much faster, which can mean that they never appear within 4 hexes of a base. By which I mean Fast Transport, Surface Combat or Bombardment TFs.
If you can't enforce a "naval exclusion zone" with the dive bombers I would try and do it with the numerous US tac bombers.
BTW - I forgot to mention before, I have a fair number of tac bombers in both PM, Lunga and in the Gilberts. I've also got several more of the bases in the PM-to-Lunga strip almost at level 4, and once they reach 4 I'll put some tac bombers in those bases too. Unfortunately, Allied tac bombers just don't do quite the same job as Dauntlesses do, but never-the-less they still do keep PzB a bit "honest".
I believe any Engineer unit with engineers has a chance of lowering fortifications.
Regards,
Steven
Great! Thanks for the confirmation. I'm hoping that by the time I get my troops to Buna my bombers will have reduced the Japanese base force there to "sashimi"...[:D]
I believe any Engineer unit with engineers has a chance of lowering fortifications.
Regards,
Steven
Great! Thanks for the confirmation. I'm hoping that by the time I get my troops to Buna my bombers will have reduced the Japanese base force there to "sashimi"...[:D]
Thanks again -
Dave Baranyi
You need combat engineers to reduce forts, plain engineers wiil not do so. (most inf divisions will have a couple of squads, there are a few dedicated combat engineer units in the Allied oob as well)
Yes it is the device called "ABC Engineer Squad" that reduces forts, as opposed to the generic device "Engineers", which builds things. These Engineer Squads can exist within any type of LCU.
What annoys me is that the base screen counts these guys as construction engineers but they can't actually build anything.
December 31, 1942 brought an expected turn of events. PzB is a very good player and he uses every nuance of WitP very well. For example, now that I am no longer able to realistically threaten his larger air bases with my heavy bombers, PzB has moved some of his short range "bomber killers" forward and is using them as LR CAP to disrupt my attacks on his small forward most bases:
Day Air attack on Majuro, at 83, 83
Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 7
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 4
Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 11
P-40E Warhawk x 13
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 1 damaged
So, with the current aircraft designs, I have nothing to effectively counter this other than to throw all my air forces at his bases and "hope for the best". But PzB has too many mutually-supporting bases in the Marshalls so this does not appear to be a good strategy for me at that location. PzB also appears to have a carrier force sitting in the middle of the Marshalls just in case I try to send some ships into his territory.
It also seems likely that PzB has done the same thing at Lae because an "aircraft" sign has appeared there for the first time in quite a while. My guess is that PzB has put some of his short range fighters into Lae in the hopes of surprising the tac bombers that I have been sending there while I have been using my heavy bombers to hammer the Japanese base force at Buna. This time I have decided that I am not going to "roll over dead" because Lae is harder for PzB to support at a distance. Therefore, I am throwing all of my heavy bombers along with my best tac bombers and my P-38s from PM at Lae. I intend to crush the air field again.
In the meanwhile I am starting off an invasion TF for Buna. The air field at Goodenough has just gone up to level 2, so I've put a torpedo bomber group into there along with the existing fighters, and I will be landing a big armed base force in Kiriwina next turn. I intend to have eastern PNG swarming with forces. Will that be enough to counter the advantage that PzB has in his air craft? I don't really know, but I don't see what other choice I have other than to build up as many mutually-supporting bases as I can so that I can at least match him in numbers if not in airplane quality.
Otherwise, PzB caught and hit a couple more of my subs, and my sub's torpedoes continue to be duds. I still don't know how long it will be until the effect of the pre-1943 torpedoes goes away. And in other news, my minesweepers finally cleared Gili-Gili while at the same time the damaged culprit sub slowly continued to escape despite my attempts to find it with my ASW forces.
PzB wrote to me that he is now converting a couple of his CS ships to CVLs. Lucky man - I would be happy enough if the air conversion option worked in this upgraded game. I have P-35s sitting in the West Coast that are waiting for P-40Ns in order to be able to upgrade. But I do get the Essex in a couple of weeks. I just hope that it doesn't come with prototype Hellcats because I won't get replacement Hellcats until the Fall.
January 1, 1943 brought one very small "moral victory" for me - PzB didn't achieve his automatic 4:1 win. Now what can I do to keep him from achieving that win this year, and in the longer run, to keep him from achieving a 3:1 win on January 1, 1944?
Well, it turns out that PzB had put a patrol planes into Lae on January 1, 1943, not fighters:
Day Air attack on Lae, at 54, 87
Japanese aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 17
Kittyhawk I x 8
P-38G Lightning x 33
B-26B Marauder x 60
B-17E Fortress x 31
B-24D Liberator x 44
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-46-II Dinah: 1 destroyed
But that's okay, air field damage went up to 100 and my pilots got some easy practice. I'm sending some of them back in again, but I'm putting the P-38s back on to LR CAP over Dobodura to protect against PzB's renewed "interest" in my shipping in the region:
Day Air attack on TF, near Dobodura at 55, 91
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 4 damaged
Allied Ships
AK George Vancouver
And:
Day Air attack on TF, near Goodenough Island at 56, 93
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 3
Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 6
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
Allied Ships
AK John C. Calhoun
And finally more seriously:
Day Air attack on TF, near Kiriwina Island at 57, 93
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
G4M1 Betty x 30
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 6
Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 5
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
AK Lew Wallace, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
SC SC-641
AK Starr King, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AK Peter H. Burnett, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
The attacks on Dobodura and Goodenough were at very long distances; the attack on Kiriwina came from Rabaul. My TF with the base force hasn't reached Kiriwina yet so there is no way for me to bring any local CAP in yet.
In a few days there will be an Air HQ in PM. That ought to help things out a bit.
PzB is obsessed w/ getting the auto victory. Use that to your advantage. Where can he get victory points quickly? You're in the driver's seat at this point, think of it as Japan's attempt to get the Allies to sue for peace. As long as you achieve 2:1 loss ratios, he's losing (at least in his mind). The drive to achieve auto-victory may cause him to make a mistake, the only problem is trying to decide where that mistake will occur...
PzB is obsessed w/ getting the auto victory. Use that to your advantage. Where can he get victory points quickly? You're in the driver's seat at this point, think of it as Japan's attempt to get the Allies to sue for peace. As long as you achieve 2:1 loss ratios, he's losing (at least in his mind). The drive to achieve auto-victory may cause him to make a mistake, the only problem is trying to decide where that mistake will occur...
I suspect he is going to try to capture my troops in Burma or start another offensive in China. He has gone from pure "training" attacks to attacks on specific locations. And he has really increased his attack rate in both theaters. Man, if I tried to send as many planes out as often as he does I'd have them all in repair with morale in the teens in no time.
The other thing he is hoping for is for me to commit some major combat TFs outside of my land-based air strength. I'm not buying...[:D]
