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Here’s a Tracker shot of my bases – looking at the history, Saipan and Tinian should both increase forts in about 15 days at current pace of construction. That depends on bombardment repair, but so far there hasn’t been too much damage. Guam is only going up 1%/day, so I am going to turn off construction there, it won’t finish before the end of the scenario.

With two landings going on, I think there should be an opportunity to strike again. His CVs seem to be focused on the northern group, so I am bringing the KB down to a position just in range of Tinian. I also mass my DBs at Guam (a relative term, there’s only about 30 total in 3 squadrons). I am also bringing my BBs closer, the northern group will be in range for a quick night run at Pagan if I see an opportunity next turn.

Meanwhile, my CVL strike force sails further south. I got several spottings of the TF on the map, showing a single LST, maybe a damaged one headed back for repair? No strikes take off against it, though. My TF shows no DL, but if Al saw the spotting reports, he will know there are carriers in the area. I continue a little further south, to see if I can find something worth attacking. I also have a Glen sub south of Wake scouting as well.

18 JUNE
Landings continue at Pagan, Tinian, and Ponape. Actually, at Ponape, I’m going to see if I can do something about it! CA Takao sprints in at night, and in the bad conditions (7% moonlight, overcast), surprises his landing force. Unfortunately, she spends most of her ammo trying to sink one determined destroyer, but does sink a transport, and in the confusion the Allies have a collision as well. The aftermath was strange, my Captain ordered the disengagement, but then we had about 5 rounds of reacting to each other, then evading combat.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Ponape at 119,113, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Takao, Shell hits 4
Allied Ships
DD Halligan
DD Haraden
DD Harrison
DD McDermut
DD McGowan
DD McKee
DD McNair, Shell hits 31, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk - Tough ship!
xAK Golden Gate, on fire
xAK Cape Fear
xAK Dorothy Philips, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
xAK Nathaniel Ingersoll
xAK Ambrose Bierce
xAK Anthony Ravalli
xAK Antoine Saugrain
xAK Benjamin H. Grierson

Allied ground losses:
199 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 13 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Japanese Ships Reported to be Approaching!
Allied TF begins to get underway
Reduced sighting due to 7% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 7% moonlight: 1,000 yards
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 18,000 yards
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 12,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 12,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 7,000 yards
DD Harrison collides with xAK Benjamin H. Grierson at 119 , 113 [:D]
Asakura, Bunji orders Japanese TF to disengage

At Tinian, my assembled Judy’s go in first. He has some CAP this time, but between my land-based Judys and then multiple waves of CV planes, they get worn down. Target rich environment, CA San Francisco soaks up a lot of hits, but plenty of transports get hit. I tried to edit the combat reports from all the waves, and created the image below.

No ground casualties listed, so I assume most of the forces are already ashore, but it should affect their supplies, and most of these ships can’t be used in future waves.

My CVL strike force finally finds a couple targets! Morning sortie goes against the BB New Jersey, and misses, but in the afternoon I finish off the wounded LST I spotted, and get a torp into the New Jersey. Hopefully carrier sorties in his rear areas will through off Al’s decision cycle, and getting a hit on his home state’s namesake doesn’t hurt! [:D] The CVLs pull back a bit, now that he knows they are there I’m sure he will scatter any convoys in the area, and probably send some real CV TFs to hunt them. I have no refueling TF, so I can’t risk full speed, we will see what happens.

Of course, any of these deep raids are a gamble, and I come up on the short end on one of them today also. The CA Maya was originally headed toward Ponape, but I spotted what looked like a Rep TF yesterday, several AOs, so I nudged a little further north, to get in range for an intercept. Unfortunately, it appears at least one of his CVTFs picked today to refuel, and caught me. Maya didn’t make it…. [:(]

Overall, a lot of reported sinkings of his transports. I know the Allies have an enormous amount of shipping in this scenario, but I have to hope that by hitting some of his specialized landing ships, I’m making a dent in his ability to mount the follow-on waves. Pulling the CVs back this turn, I am going to loop south and try to rearm. He has some CVs/CVEs near the landings at Tinian, but at least two groups seem to be back near his rep TFs, so I don’t think he can catch me this turn. I am adding some CAP at Yap to cover as they pass by.

I decided not to commit my BBs, I have to believe he will at least attempt to beef up his coverage at the landing site. I did split a couple CAs and DDs from the BB group in the north to try a night run into Pagan, my sub spotted several APAs in the landing group, and there was a TF of APDs nearby as well.

19 JUNE
Landings continue at Ponape. My CD guns get a few more licks in (ended up w/5 hits total on the Cape Fear, including a couple penetrating), but by the end of the day, they can’t hold out without any infantry to defend the guns. Brave warriors lived up to the spirit of Bushido [&o] They definitely made him pay a price, and tied up resources (including 4th Marine Rgt) from the main fight.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 19, 44
Invasion Support action off Ponape (119,113)
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force
11 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
xAK Cape Fear, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD McDermut
DD Haraden
xAK Benjamin H. Grierson
Japanese ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

In the east, my sub at Wake lines up on two targets, and puts 2 torps in a TK [:D] (missed an LSD later in the turn). My CVL TF is edging back NW, and launches a couple light strikes (total of 8 Kates) against a DD, all missing. Based on my recon at Wake, though, it appears he has several small TFs there, so I am angling to pass by just in range to see what I find next turn.

Quiet turn otherwise, he has pulled most of his TFs back from the Marianas, so my CA TF at Pagan finds nothing. He bombards at Tinian, and tries a deliberate assault at Pagan, odds are heavily in my favor but I still take some disablements as casualties, and don’t seem to do anything to him. That doesn’t bode well, too much armor, I think...

Ground combat at Tinian (108,94)
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 10649 troops, 264 guns, 249 vehicles, Assault Value = 311
Defending force 20955 troops, 202 guns, 93 vehicles, Assault Value = 694
Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Assaulting units:
305th Regimental Combat Team
27th Infantry Division
5th Amphib Tractor Battalion
III US Amphib Corps
773rd Amphib Tractr Battalion
Defending units:
56th Naval Guard Unit
50th Infantry Regiment
I./135th Infantry Battalion
18th Indpt Tank Co
14th Division
20th JAAF AF Bn
11th JNAF AF Unit
7th Naval Construction Battalion
23rd Air Flotilla
233rd Construction Battalion
12th JNAF AF Unit

With no ready targets, I decide to pull the CAs back from Pagan and refuel. I have been worried about being unable to rearm my BBs (except Truk) and where I can rearm my CVs (Peleilu, and Iwo for non-torp sorties). But I didn’t realize until now that Iwo can’t rearm my CAs. [:'(]

According to the manual, a level 4 port needs 88 Nav Spt, and I only have 80! [X(] Time for Operation Roundabout. I search my ENG units, and find a small shipping engineer unit on Saipan – 36 Nav Spt. Too far for my transport aircraft to fly from Iwo to there. So, I am flying them out to Yap, then they will board some Fast Transport DDs for the run up to Iwo! I should have realized this sooner, too fixed on the big ships and didn’t realize even the CAs would be a problem.

20 JUNE

Well, I think it’s time to change the name of my AAR… [8|]
I just walked (flew) into the Turkeyshoot. Al had been holding his CVs back, so I decided to let a couple small squadrons of land-based Judys and Jills hit the landings at Tinian. Well, he had (smartly) moved some CVEs into the hex, and I got a good demonstration of Hellcats vs Zeroes. Hint- Zeroes don’t do so well. [:(]

When the screen popped up, I thought “Oh, I have nearly twice as many escorts, it won’t be too bad…” I had altitude, and numbers, but nowhere near the quality in aircraft or pilots, and it showed. Over the course of several waves (only showing 2 below), I lost nearly 70 aircraft to 6 Hellcats… [X(]

I did get a couple hits, on the CVE Sangamon and the CA Louisville, but this cripples my land-based air for a while. I have several more Zero squadrons training at Iwo and Babel, but I don’t have many DBs or TBs left.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Tinian at 108,94
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 119 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 30 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
A6M5 Zero x 29
B6N2 Jill x 14
D4Y1 Judy x 8
Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 34
F6F-3N Hellcat x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 10 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 4 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 3 destroyed
D4Y1 Judy: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
CVE Sangamon, Bomb hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x D4Y1 Judy releasing from 10000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb
4 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
3 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 20000 feet
2 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
2 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
4 x D4Y1 Judy releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
VF-14 with F6F-3 Hellcat (9 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(6 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
9 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 2 minutes
VF(N)-77 Det 1 with F6F-3N Hellcat (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 5 minutes
VF-37 with F6F-3 Hellcat (11 airborne, 5 on standby, 5 scrambling)
11 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tinian at 108,94
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 86 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4
A6M5 Zero x 11
D4Y1 Judy x 3
Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 27
F6F-3N Hellcat x 1
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 2 destroyed
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CA Louisville, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x D4Y1 Judy releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
VF-14 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes
VF(N)-77 Det 1 with F6F-3N Hellcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 12 minutes
VF-37 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 4 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 11 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 19000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes

In the North Pacific, I had a little happier hunting, as my CVLs found a couple troop convoys. Several sorties were wasted chasing AMs at Wake (got one, anyway), and torps seem a bit of overkill for LCIs, but every bit helps, and at least these don’t appear to be empty. Looking at the intel after the turn, there’s a lot of unescorted transports here, so I am shifting NE to see if I can catch a few more before I have to return home.

After pulling the remnants of my DB and TB squadrons back to regroup, I only left a couple Zero squadrons for local CAP. Looking at the map, it shows a half dozen CVEs, but 0 fighters. Based on the CAP I ran into, I’m not sure how many are actually there, the combat report only shows the same 3 VF squadrons on CAP (VF-14, VF(N)-77, and VF-37), I’m not sure but I think VF-14 is LRCAP from one of his CVs. I had moved a small SCTF (2CAs, 2 DDs) in range last turn, and I’m going to gamble and have them run in to Tinian at night and see what trouble they can cause. I have them on full speed, patrolling into the hex and then back about 8 hexes away, to avoid a counterstrike in the morning. I am also going to go ahead with a small 2xAKL TF bringing about 3K supplies to Guam.

In the south, CA Takao has refueled/rearmed at Truk, and is planning another high-speed run at Ponape to catch some APDs that still seem to be there. In other good news, KB has refueled/rearmed at Pelielu (using most of their Ops points) and will head back out tomorrow. And the Junyo made port at Babel. Unfortunately, at 24,140 tons, it’s too big to dock at Babel or Pel, so I still can’t unload the fighters. But I will disband and let the repairs begin. Can’t fix the holes in the hull, but if I can reduce system damage I should be able to get the fighters off. [:)]

ORIGINAL: Justus2

CAP engaged:
VF-14 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes
VF(N)-77 Det 1 with F6F-3N Hellcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 12 minutes
VF-37 with F6F-3 Hellcat (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 4 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 11 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 19000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes

I thought about this some more, and looking back at the combat report, I'm trying to understand the difference between the reports for VF-14, VF(N)-77 and VF-37? The first two show none on standby or scrambling, and instead says "# plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex". Meanwhile, VF-37 shows a/c on standby and srambling, and then some being recalled.

I assume this means VF-37 (potentially from the Sangamon) was on CAP mission in the hex. For the other two, does this mean they were on LRCAP? They are bleed-over from normal CAP over their own TF (there is a CV TF a few hexes away)? He doesn't have any airbases in the area.

Based on the time to reach intercept, though, VF(N)-77 is the shortest at 12 minutes, so that would seem to indicate they were already in the hex? Or just because there was only one aircraft diverted? Very confusing!

21 JUNE

Al bombards Saipan with the BB Alabama. CD guns get some hits, which usually just scratch the paint on the BBs. But one did say it took out a radar mount. [;)] Not much else happening in the Marianas, he continues with ground bombardments at the end of the turn, but still doesn’t have enough AV to make an assault at Pagan or Tinian.

He has pulled most of his ships back from what I can tell, some small DD TFs (ASW) nearby but nothing in any of the island hexes. His CVs appear to be headed east to deal with my raids, or escort the next waves in. I have two xAKLs that made it into Guam and are unloading, about 3K in supply. I also have a couple CA/DD TFs that I am loading as Fast Transport to sneak some supplies into Tinian in a few turns. CVs are refueled and will be heading out to sea again next turn, looking for opportunities.

At Ponape, CA Takao surprises a transport TF, and leaves all five xAKs burning. One sinks in the battle, all five showed ‘FUEL CARGO BURNING’ messages, which usually don’t end well. I’m guessing he’s trying to establish Ponape as a forward refuel stop, or a sub base?

Meanwhile, his bombing run at Truk takes some hits (the Air Losses for the day show a total of 10 Liberators destroyed). I rotate a Zero squadron out, and send a new one in (only 12 planes, just don’t have many). I do have a couple subs repairing there now, will still have 5-6 major damage but otherwise will be able to go back out in a few days.

Meanwhile, my CVL raiders have a quiet day, no sorties. DL dropped (2/7), I am avoiding Wake but may get a shot at the small TF to the north. One of his CVTFs may be trying to intercept near Marcus. Based on our email traffic, he mentioned sending his CVs to track me down.

I still hope to avoid them, but if they are chasing me they are leaving the Marianas alone, and that may give me a chance to push some supply. I need to get to Iwo to get fuel, but I won’t be able to reload torps, I may have to swap my TBs for DBs at that point, and use the TBs at one of my islands with an Air HQ.

22 JUNE

The Alabama attempts to bombard Saipan again, but only a few rounds, as I’m sure it’s out of ammo. One of my subs takes a shot at one of the escort DDs and is sunk for her trouble. But I did hear a mine explosion, so hopefully one of his ships found my welcome mat.

I mentioned last turn I had snuck a couple xAKLs into Guam to drop off some supplies. Apparently they weren’t sneaky enough, and they were caught by his Helldivers. Looking at Tracker afterward, it appears they unloaded most of the supply (over 2K). I am using my remaining xAKs to shuttle supply to Ulithi, and starting to use Fast Transport CAs and DDs from there, to try and get in and out at night.