Turnaround? Lowpe (J) vs Tiemanj (A) Stock

[Lowpe]

Turn is away, they are getting better, not so many long, long clickfests. Thank goodness.

Today, I am trying 3 strikes at the Allied shipping around Kushiro all at around 30K.

Strike 1: Ominato: 33 Myojo escorted by 84 Oscars.
Strike 2: Akita: 27 Helens escorted by 78 Oscars.
Strike 3: Hachinoe: 27 Myojo escorted by 84 Oscars.

Both Kushiro and Shikotan will be swept by Georges hopefully diverting, wearing out some CAP.

It will be a lot of lost planes since each attack is a Kamikaze, but CVEs and BB and Oilers are in the area. Something should get thru.

Over in Singers I flew a large 45 plane Betty squadron in and additional 50 Vals (best I could do, they were a training squadron) at the two destroyer task forces coming down the straits. I also sortied my remaining surface ships in the area, led by the Tone (which just this day finished an upgrade at Singers or she wouldn't be here).

I flew another squadron of Irving Sa into Tokyo, plus several more AA units arrived there today. Still need much more...and I need the heavy independent 12cm guns. Everything is on its way...

Franks are rolling off the production lines in satisfying numbers. With them I hope to contest the air over Ominato once again.

Subs are laying minefields at Muroran...we shall see if they can hit something, and I will be happy if it allows the CD guns to nails a few DMS.

Working on wiping out a surrounded 18 unit Chinese Army.

Allies are making a mistake not hitting my night fighter production I think.

A division is yanked off Yap, another of Mindanao, and I am loading at Truk, plus large numbers of troop ships headed back from Singers, Hanoi, Cam Ranh Bay, Luzon, and outer Japanese Islands (what I can safely strip).

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

I also wanted to mention that troops going to Hokkaido have to be bought out. It is General Reserve, but there are only two divisions that belong to General Reserve and can be flown in, the rest are East, West, etc. So getting troops to Hokkaido isn't all that easy. You can't change one of the bases to Eastern Command for example.

Yes, you can!!

Changing base commands - OK, here is how to do it.
1) Get a small LCU like a very small AA into the base you want to change the command. Used to reduce PP cost vs a larger LCU.
2) Change this small LCU to the command you eventually want to change the base to. This will allow the base to change to that new command.
3) Change the base to the command you just changed the small LCU to. Now you should be able to fly in those restricted troops.

You can ONLY change command at a base to what commands are available via the LCUs that are already there (click on a base that has lots of different commands to see that the choices are restricted to just those commands present).

When I play Japan, I often do this to a base in eastern Kuriles to allow transfer of Betty/Nell early in game to prevent Allied CV raid up here. You can also do it south of Japan at game start to base Vals or Kates there to hit any fleeing Allied ships from Philippines headed east.

I can change the base to General Reserve (no point, it already is), but I cannot change to Western Army, or Eastern Army. I have checked and tried. Now, admittedly, I am a boob, but it doesn't come up as one of the choices no matter that there is AV troops present in the hex that belong to East Army.

So you have to spend PP to convert East, West, etc to General Reserve and then fly them or convert them to the 11th Air Flotilla (which isn't a restricted HQ under General Reserve). I held off doing this until several days ago, and was paying full PP to get units off the HI -- a mistake I guess since I was paying enormous PP -- but it just didn't seem right putting land units under an Air Flotilla's HQ).

[Lowpe]

Here you can see the Allied subs making their way to catch my convoys. So far he has had no luck, and most of the convoys go north to the China coast, to Shanghai and then across to Fusan and down to the HI.

I now have 3 task forces of super Es out and about hunting, a couple of hits, but no kills yet. I have changed the Captains in most of them.

[Olorin]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe
I can change the base to General Reserve (no point, it already is), but I cannot change to Western Army, or Eastern Army. I have checked and tried. Now, admittedly, I am a boob

I'm confused! [:D]

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: Olorin

ORIGINAL: Lowpe
I can change the base to General Reserve (no point, it already is), but I cannot change to Western Army, or Eastern Army. I have checked and tried. Now, admittedly, I am a boob

I'm confused! [:D]

Something you want to tell us Lowpe? [:D]

[Lowpe]

Feb 4, 1944

16 Nick Ds are shot down over Tokyo, the Irving Sa squadron doesn't fly (not surprising since it just transferred in) and 8 B24J and 3B24D1 are shot down. Tokyo burns. Fires get to 109K, and drop after the bombing to 20K. Fire is fickle, the size 30 Irving Sa factory is untouched, but others aren't so lucky.

[Lowpe]

Over Hokkaido, the Georges sweep. The CAP over Kushiro is pretty big, doesn't bode well for the coming Kamikaze strikes.

The Georges drop another 15 Hellcats, losses are approaching 900, but he has over 1500 I believe.

[Lowpe]

The first squadron of Myojo's go flying in...escorted by 80 Oscars. Only a few fighters get thru to attack the Myojos, and most get to scream down below into the waiting Allied armada.

[Lowpe]

23 Myojo strike, all decent Kamikazes all above 55 LowN, most above 60 and some at 70. Experience wasn't great, but we get only one hit.

[Lowpe]

The second wave of Myojo get chewed up before making their one way runs. Allied CAP is adjusting to the high attacks. All miss.

Really good targets, I had visions of those 800kg slamming into the Essex.

[Lowpe]

No joy for the final wave of Helens. [:(]

A good shot, we penetrated, but simply couldn't hit. Perhaps in these kind of contested strikes, Kamikazes with better experience would make a better impact?

[Lowpe]

The Marines make a probing attack north of Muroran...

[Lowpe]

Over in Indochina, the Allies attack again on the JR road hex west of Rahaeng.

[Lowpe]

And finally the Tone, 2 CL and 3 Destroyers tangle with a Fletcher task force during the day, losing one IJN Destroyer, the other two a flame, and one more might sink. A second engagement by the Tone and now two CL on a different Destroyer force leaves two of the Allied destroyers burning.

Vals strike at the destroyers, but only hit twice, and Betties fly both morning and afternoon but fail to score any hits. They were using torpedoes.

The first of the 12cm guns shows up in Tokyo, with more on the way.

[Encircled]

Not too shabby though, as that hit will probably put the Wasp back to a yard for a good while.

He can't keep up those losses

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

ORIGINAL: Olorin

ORIGINAL: Lowpe
I can change the base to General Reserve (no point, it already is), but I cannot change to Western Army, or Eastern Army. I have checked and tried. Now, admittedly, I am a boob

I'm confused! [:D]

Something you want to tell us Lowpe? [:D]

boob 1 (bo͞ob)
n. Slang
A stupid or foolish person; a dolt.[:D]

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

Not too shabby though, as that hit will probably put the Wasp back to a yard for a good while.

He can't keep up those losses

Maybe, but it is too little too late. The BB Mass was smoking; if I can keep whittling down his forces. Debating about striking with a sentai of 42 Kamikaze Oscars today or tomorrow.

[Andav]

Hi Lowpe,

I follow along regularly and appreciate the work you put into your AAR. I am wandering through this same time period with witpqs (Rumble in the Southwest AAR). I have had limited success with kamikaze attacks. I think the low hit rate is probably the result of damage from flak on the way in disrupting the attack and causing misses. With pilots at those skill levels, they should have pretty good chance of hitting unless their planes are falling apart around them. The destroyed by flak numbers are very low in the combat reports. It is just a theory and probably wrong.

I think Wasp will be just fine. Without a on fire message, she might need a little time in the yard or she might not even leave the front. For the most part, damage from kamikazes seem to be fairly light considering a plane with fuel and a bomb is crashing through the deck. Again, this is my opinion and witpqs will probably tell me they hurt a lot more then I think they do.

Keep up the good work!

Wa

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Andav


Hi Lowpe,

I follow along regularly and appreciate the work you put into your AAR. I am wandering through this same time period with witpqs (Rumble in the Southwest AAR). I have had limited success with kamikaze attacks. I think the low hit rate is probably the result of damage from flak on the way in disrupting the attack and causing misses. With pilots at those skill levels, they should have pretty good chance of hitting unless their planes are falling apart around them. The destroyed by flak numbers are very low in the combat reports. It is just a theory and probably wrong.

I think Wasp will be just fine. Without a on fire message, she might need a little time in the yard or she might not even leave the front. For the most part, damage from kamikazes seem to be fairly light considering a plane with fuel and a bomb is crashing through the deck. Again, this is my opinion and witpqs will probably tell me they hurt a lot more then I think they do.

Keep up the good work!

Wa

Thanks, Andav, and I agree with you. From my testing in Downfall with mind-messing I do know that Kamikazes seem to do less damage than a normal hit with the same ordinance, but they have a better chance of getting thru CAP and also are supposed to hit more often.

My guess is Wasp has 20 system damage.

I looked at the Helen Kamikaze Sentai, and 11 pilots didn't fly, 9 of them with LowN skill at 70.[:(]

I have seen other battle reports where the hit rate is 50 percent -- no enemy CAP, not much in flak (cargo convoy).

One of the Myojo Squadrons lost every plane in the Squadron, by flying again in the afternoon. Even though it is at 0 planes, the unit wasn't destroyed. I have had this happen before, and sometimes the air squadron is destroyed. I would hate to have to buy back a Kamikze squadron.

Would the squadron have been destroyed if it had 0 pilots left? Anyone know?

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Andav


Hi Lowpe,

I follow along regularly and appreciate the work you put into your AAR. I am wandering through this same time period with witpqs (Rumble in the Southwest AAR). I have had limited success with kamikaze attacks. I think the low hit rate is probably the result of damage from flak on the way in disrupting the attack and causing misses. With pilots at those skill levels, they should have pretty good chance of hitting unless their planes are falling apart around them. The destroyed by flak numbers are very low in the combat reports. It is just a theory and probably wrong.

I think Wasp will be just fine. Without a on fire message, she might need a little time in the yard or she might not even leave the front. For the most part, damage from kamikazes seem to be fairly light considering a plane with fuel and a bomb is crashing through the deck. Again, this is my opinion and witpqs will probably tell me they hurt a lot more then I think they do.

Keep up the good work!

Wa

Sounds about right with what I've seen so far!

Limited experience with it yet, though.