Dutch AVP Arend: Scenario 1 Exploits

[Platoonist]

I believe when a pilot is moved from a float plane squadron to the reserve pool, he is added to the "Patrol" category. There actually is no "float plane" separate category. Am I correct?

It would seem to make sense since seaplanes and floatplanes are mostly used for naval patrol and ASW.

[BBfanboy]

I never look at those pools but Patrol seems to be the right category. The point is, when you ask for a veteran to fill a FP or Patrol Plane slot or let the AI transfer in pilots when others leave the FP squadron, it is going to draw from that Patrol pool.

[WEXF]

19Aug found the air base at Geraldton 66% > L6. About 4 more days will complete the work. On Arend PO Caruthers saw his low naval skill rise to 64. No significant enemy activity was detected on the west coast. In the northeast there were significant air attacks against Horn Island and reports from Port Moresby are not good, but no new activity has been noticed in the Timor region.

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Carnarvon's forts are now 27%>L2. However, the most interesting development in the region was the completion of the new airfield at Meekatharra in the middle of the desert about 80 miles northeast of Cue. This new ABDA base has the ability to enlarge to level 9 and is located centrally to allow fighter and bomber coverage, if needed, to almost all of the bases on the west and north coast of Australia. Time will tell if a decision is made on how to use this new base.

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[BBfanboy]

The challenge at Meekathera is to keep it supplied. You can only do that by sea. That means control of air and sea at Port Hedland.

[WEXF]

The challenge at Meekathera is to keep it supplied. You can only do that by sea. That means control of air and sea at Port Hedland.

I believe Meekathera is on the RR that connects through just about all of Australia. It is at the end of the line but it is on the supply route.

[BBfanboy]

OK - I misunderstood which base you were referring to - I thought Meekathera was the one connected with only Port Hedland but I guess it is the one with the big arrow pointing to it on your map. My goof!

[WEXF]

20Aug found the AF at Geraldton 75%>L6 and the forts at Carnarvon 40%>L2. No significant enemy activity had been noticed on the west or north coasts of Australia. Air activity had intensified over Horn Island and Port Moresby.

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On Arend training of the pilots had been shifted to the "recon" skill based on recommendations of a staff officer (this forum). So far no improvement has been recorded but it is expected that will change shortly as the recon skill levels of both pilots are quite low.

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Command was continuing to assess whether it was time to transfer one or both pilots on Arend. In reviewing the available 13 reserve British patrol pilots, it was clear that both WO Hazard and PO Caruthers were better trained than almost all of the reserve patrol pilots. The thought was that as soon as the recon skill of the Arend pilots reached around 50, a change would be made.

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[WEXF]

21Aug found the airfield at Geraldton 85%>L6. Only 2 more days will be needed to complete the work. Command is now considering how much of the engineering force at Geraldton can be shifted to other work. The 68 engineers and 11 engineering vehicles currently on base are far more than is needed going forward. Surely a good part of them will go to Carnarvon but other possibilities are being considered. At Carnarvon the work on L2 forts is ow more than half done.

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On Arend PO Caruthers saw his recon skill rise from 18>19. However, both he and WO Hazard have been informed that due to fortunate timing, No. 700 Squadron FAAS-13 is going to be transferred immediately. Details were not provided for security reasons, but both pilots bought rounds of drinks for the Arend crew that night and said their farewells. A meeting was expected shortly where the rest of the command at Geraldton would likely be informed of the details of the transfer.

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[WEXF]

Everyone knew something important was going on. Many of the pilots at Geraldton had noticed the presence of TF 330 just off the coast and couldn't believe what they saw. Quite a few large ships were in the TF. One, CL Birmingham, a Southampton Class CL, was the topic of conversation at the club because everyone had seen the arrival of No. 700 Sqn FAAS-15 at Geraldton early that morning. It had been stationed on CL Birmingham, and although the CL could carry 3 aircraft, only 1 Walrus II was in the unit. Before transferring to Geraldton the unit had been re-sized to 3 aircraft and was in the middle of that process as it sat in the harbor at Geraldton. The paperwork was about complete.

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[bobsteele]

Really enjoy your AAR. You4 micro focus on small units and their evolution is, I think, nearly unique in WITPAE AARS. The only parallel I can think of is the Hibiki AAR, but that was preAE. The only quibble I have is that we, the reader, have no real sense about what is happening in the war at large. Clearly, this is a conscious choice of yours, but even a monthly “rumors from high command” with some suitably vague details would be interesting, at least to this reader. Thanks again for the AAR.

[WEXF]

Really enjoy your AAR. You4 micro focus on small units and their evolution is, I think, nearly unique in WITPAE AARS. The only parallel I can think of is the Hibiki AAR, but that was preAE. The only quibble I have is that we, the reader, have no real sense about what is happening in the war at large. Clearly, this is a conscious choice of yours, but even a monthly “rumors from high command” with some suitably vague details would be interesting, at least to this reader. Thanks again for the AAR.

Thanks for the comment. I certainly can do that.
WEXF

[WEXF]

Really enjoy your AAR. You4 micro focus on small units and their evolution is, I think, nearly unique in WITPAE AARS. The only parallel I can think of is the Hibiki AAR, but that was preAE. The only quibble I have is that we, the reader, have no real sense about what is happening in the war at large. Clearly, this is a conscious choice of yours, but even a monthly “rumors from high command” with some suitably vague details would be interesting, at least to this reader. Thanks again for the AAR.

Thanks for the comment. I certainly can do that.
WEXF

As a first step I will post the "Intel" Screen with all of the numbers the first of every month. Here are the numbers as of 21Aug42. I would be interested in comments on how you think the game is going. On September 1, I will post a "status" in each of the major regions: Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Burma, DEI as well as some comments on the status of various Pacific Ocean regions. Hope this is enjoyable to all who have been following this AAR.

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[WEXF]

22Aug found the airfield at Geraldton 94%>L6. Just one more day is needed to complete the work.

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Command now has to decide how to relocate the engineering assets at Geraldton. There are currently 11 different engineering units on the base. They vary widely as to their "devices". Two are US Navy and 9 are assigned to ABDA HQ. Some are potentially part of larger units (*). Many are Dutch remnants. The decision will not be easy but it has to be made.

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At Carnarvon the forts are now 68% >L2. It is looking like the fort work will be complete about the time that new engineering assets could be transferred from Geraldton, if Command issues the orders promptly. Time will tell!

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[WEXF]

23Aug found the air field at Geraldton at L6. All priority engineering work at the base has been completed. The decision has been made to transfer the two US Navy engineering units to Carnarvon. The remaining Dutch engineers at Geraldton will rest and await further orders.

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At Carnarvon forts have reached 81%>L2. When the newly assigned engineers arrive work will be shifted to get the air field to L4 and the Port to maximum size 3.

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On Arend the newly arrived No, 700 Sqn FAAS-15 pilots were settling in and starting their "naval search" training. FO Ainsworth, K. and FLT Young, E. W. have some interesting skill numbers already and have experience and defensive numbers already in the 60s. It is clear that FLT Young has had some previous experience in naval search likely evident by his 41 missions flown and NS skill level of 61.

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The crew of Arend was glad to hear that FAAS-13 under command of WO Hazard, had made the move to the cruiser Birmingham and had been resized to have 3 aircraft. It was expected that additional aircraft and pilots would be assigned shortly. Everyone on Arend hoped they would continue to hear about the activities of the men they had spent so much time with.

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[WEXF]

At Geraldton a decision was made to utilize the "pool" of TIVa Float Patrol airframes by converting two of the Dutch patrol squadrons, GVT 8 and GVT 16. This change will allow for some flexibility in the airframes available to the Dutch patrols. It was not an easy decision as the TIVa was slower and had much shorter range than other patrol aircraft. It did carry 3 x 250kg bombs that were certainly large enough to damage or sink an enemy submarine.

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The 2 TIVa squadrons would be sent by RR to Portland on the south coast of Australia which has been established as an ABDA base.

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From Portland the planes would be assigned to patrol the western approaches to the Bass Strait between Melbourne and Tasmania.

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[WEXF]

Word was received that 3 additional pilots had been assigned to FAAS-13 under the command of WO Hazard. They were raw replacements that had not flown a single mission. It was clear that Hazard had a lot of training to do with his new men. Unfortunately he still had only a single plane.

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The scuttlebutt was that PO Caruthers had been transferred to the Patrol Reserve. Of all the reserve patrol pilots he had the most missions under his belt. Everyone expected that he would be given a command shortly.

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[WEXF]

24Aug found the forts at Carnarvon 95%>L2. Work will be complete in just 1 more day and engineering will be shifted back to improving the port to L3. Not much progress is expected but the work is already 13% complete and will speed up once the engineers being transferred from Geraldton arrive in about 2 weeks.

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At Geraldton, the crew of Arend were re-united with WO Hazard, commander of No. 700 Sqn FAAS-13 assigned to CL Birmingham but currently in Geraldton where 2 additional Walrus II float planes were assigned to the squadron. WO Hazard would be returning to his ship as soon as the new planes were ready, about 2 days.

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Hazard filled the men of Arend on the latest great news about PO Caruthers, V. the other pilot that had trained so successfully on their ship. Caruthers had just been transferred to Madras, India where he was promoted to Squadron Leader of No. 240 Sqn RAF. He was now in command of 6 Catalina I Float Patrol planes. His promotion was somewhat of a surprise as there were quite a few other available officers that were more aggressive.

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Caruthers was considered a "promising and cautious" officer and was selected because of his high skill ratings for "Naval Search", "ASW" and "Low Naval" attacks. It was hoped that his skills would help the 7 other pilots in 240 Squadron as they prepared for an anticipated Japanese invasion of India.

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[WEXF]

As expected, 25Aug found the forts at Carnarvon at L2 and 2%>L3. Work was halted and shifted to working to get the AF>L4. This was a change from previous plans. It was felt that since the expected new engineers would not arrive for almost 2 weeks, the existing engineering force could be well on the way to completing a L4 AF, that would allow medium bombers to operate efficiently.

All of the components of the Celebes Base Force were either already in Carnarvon or at Geraldton and under orders to move to Carnarvon. All were assigned to ABDA HQ.

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[WEXF]

The three components of the Celebes Base Force are in many ways similar but there are differences in their current strength and TOE.
The Kendari BF is at 82% TOE and is not able to add additional devices because of the non-availability of KNIL Rifle Squads and Bren AAMG. This screen shows that there is only a single AV for the unit. It only has a single infantry squad. The unit has just arrived in Geraldton and is unloading from the RR to start its 2-week road move to Carnarvon. It has been ordered to move initially 80 miles to 49-139.

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The Makassar BF currently is only at 67% of TOE. It is missing the bigger 3.7" MKII AA guns as well as the infantry squads and AAMG. It has a TOE identical to the Kendari BF.

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[WEXF]

(continued from previous screen)
The Monado BF, already at Carnarvon, is at 66% of TOE. It has 0AV.

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At full TOE it is similar to the other units except it contains 2 75mm CD guns.

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It will be interesting to see what the TOE of the combined Celebes BF will be in a few weeks.
Here is the listing for the Celebes Base Force in the Editor.

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