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Mississippi shrugged off hits from 18" rounds? Yikes - maybe the IJN ran out of AP and switched to HE instead.[X(]

Well, if they impacted at range, on the turrets or the citadel, it's not totally unfeasible...

Impressive naval battle. [&o]

ORIGINAL: niceguy2005

Impressive naval battle. [&o]

Also, I love the maps. Simply fantastic.

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Well, if they impacted at range, on the turrets or the citadel, it's not totally unfeasible...

Well, since it's a night battle (as Capt. Mandrake stated, they need to get out of range of the Beauforts before daylight), i can't see them fighting at more than about 8000 yards, and i would expect that an 18" round would have defeated anything on an old boat like the Mississippi at that range (at least in WITP).[X(] i remain rather surprised...

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

Mississippi shrugged off hits from 18" rounds? Yikes - maybe the IJN ran out of AP and switched to HE instead.[X(]

Right, I was going to write into the story that the Yamato had expended her AP rounds and had switched to HC rounds for shore bombardment....but then I found a source which suggested Yamato didn't have any HC rounds for her 18.1 in guns.

As it is, Mississippi is going to be in drydock for a while.

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Well, if they impacted at range, on the turrets or the citadel, it's not totally unfeasible...

Well, since it's a night battle (as Capt. Mandrake stated, they need to get out of range of the Beauforts before daylight), i can't see them fighting at more than about 8000 yards, and i would expect that an 18" round would have defeated anything on an old boat like the Mississippi at that range (at least in WITP).[X(] i remain rather surprised...

Well, this was 1 week ago (in game time), so it is possible I confused it with a Furutaka round, but I do remember being a bit surprised myself. Perhaps it hit a 5 inch battery sticking up somewhere and carried it away to land somwhere near the Kittyhawk Resort on Bali. It will make a nice fairway hazard.

I could look at the replay again...but I think I wold have to take a week off work [:)]

I frequently see large caliber rounds -not- penetrate at range (usually a daylight attack). At ranges > 14,000 yds, you're talking about plunging fire vs. (thinner) deck armor. I've always thought the daylight routines were a little wonky. But if you say this was a night action, I couldn't explain it.

-F-

The white whale!

Overanxious recon pilot? More BB's headed Surabaya?

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

The white whale!

And not QUITE 250 miles away... thar she blows!!

guesstimation of damage - not doing 28 kts to escape, loss of about 1/3 of speed, so maybe about 33 sys??

Pilots Briefing Room
Bomber Aerodrome, South of Surabaya
09:30, July 13, 1942

Wing Commander Davis: Gentlemen, we believe we have Yamato in our sights. I'm sure I dont have to tell you that many hundreds of men from the the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Netherlands Navy and the US Navy made the ultimate scarifice last night to slow her down. She is making perhaps 20 kts. She is therefore hurt. We are going to hit her with everything we have. All serviceable aircraft from No.1 and No.14 Squadrons will attack together. You will have top cover from the Spits out to about 100 miles. Our reports indicate no CAP over the Yamato herself.
Men, you have the weapon and the aircraft to sink her. See that is done. Sqd. Leader Wilson will give you the details. God speed you all.


.....

..

Mutsu and Fuso crush the RN and somehow avoid USS Idaho and New Mexico. In a surprise, they are followed by a second Jap. bombardment group of Hyuga, Yamashiro, Kako, Kinugasa, and Aoba which arrive at Surabaja unmolested.

The damaged ships trapped in Surabaja harbor pay the price:

Warspite...........5 large caliber hits
Resolution.........6
Revenge...........6
Mississippi.........1
Glasgow............1
Cornwall...........1

But the airfields are largely spared (only 4 planes lost)

Great AAR Cap.Mandrake!!

BTW, What a massacre!!![X(]

Bye, bye Yamato...

..

Good thing for Yossarian he didn't get the part

OOOPS!

July 15, 1942
Townsville, Queensland
Australia

Recent training missions for the 11th Air Force have culminated in the first substantial raid versus Japanese held New Guinea. 3 Liberator Bomb Groups, led by a B17 pathfinder squadron hit the Lae aerodromes at dawn on the 15th. General Enis Whitehead said “This is the first step in reducing the Jap air strength in the New Guinea – Solomons operational area; based on the results that I am seeing from the BDA, we succeeded beyond our initial expectations”. 11th Air Force based out of Cairns/Cooktown runs the strategic campaign currently operating; 5th Air Force continues to train its tactical bombers and fighters for the second stage of this campaign.


07/15/42
Day Air attack on Lae , at 54,87
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
A6M3 Zero x 2
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 15
LB-30 Liberator x 111
B-24D Liberator x 28
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 16 destroyed
A6M3 Zero: 8 destroyed
Ki-49 Helen: 6 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 4 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 7 destroyed
G3M Nell: 7 destroyed
H6K2-L Mavis: 2 destroyed
H6K4 Mavis: 1 destroyed
A6M2-N Rufe: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged
LB-30 Liberator: 6 destroyed, 18 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 2 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
856 casualties reported
Guns lost 14
Airbase hits 22
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 136
Aircraft Attacking:
Bombing at 7000 feet

These initial damage assessments appear low, based on later recce flights, over 100 enemy a/c were destroyed in this raid.

General MacArthur commented, “Now we are getting into this fight! With the ABDA commands success in holding the Jap advance in the East Indies, it looks like we can start on the way back to the Philippines; and from there, Tokyo. I think that the taxpayers are going to start seeing some tangible results from their sweat, blood and money.”


BDA picture of Lae aerodrome complex post-mission