Matrix Games Forums

November 5, 1943

Xargun was not feeling good yesterday so no turns.

Today, not much, some bombing at Truk and a little in Burma, seems most flights grounded, probably due to weather.

Cold here in West Yellowstone last night, -42 F, but not a record, it has been colder.

November 6, 1943

Not a lot. Bombers hit Truk and troops in and around Pegu.

November 7, 1943

Bombing is all, tomorrow a DA at Pegu.

November 8, 1943

Some good, some so-so, and a bit of ugly mixed in.

The good. Pegu has been liberated

Ground combat at Pegu (55,53)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 68276 troops, 1154 guns, 1918 vehicles, Assault Value = 3348

Defending force 23774 troops, 217 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 749

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Allied adjusted assault: 1390

Japanese adjusted defense: 92

Allied assault odds: 15 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied forces CAPTURE Pegu !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), disruption(-), preparation(-), fatigue(-)
morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
11065 casualties reported
Squads: 233 destroyed, 275 disabled
Non Combat: 315 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 82 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 76 (74 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 32 (32 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 3

Allied ground losses:
549 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 50 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 6 disabled
Vehicles lost 13 (1 destroyed, 12 disabled)
Units pursuing 8

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
2nd British Division
7th Australian Division
26th Indian Division
Gardner's Horse Regiment
255th Armoured Brigade
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
50th Tank Brigade
6th Australian Division
43rd Cavalry Regiment
268th Motorised Brigade
42nd Cavalry Regiment
14th Indian Division
7th Armoured Brigade
9th Australian Division
1st West African AA Regiment
2/13th Field Regiment
28th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
2/9th Field Regiment
6th Medium Regiment
20th Indian Heavy AA Regiment
25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
29th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
XXXIII Indian Corps
2nd Indian Heavy AA Regiment
4th Heavy Mortar Regiment

Defending units:
116th Division
42nd Division
6th RTA/C Division

More good

Morning Air attack on TF, near Biak at 87,110

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 9 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 18

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 7
F4U-1 Corsair x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 12 destroyed

No Allied losses

CAP engaged:
33rd PS (P) with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 19000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 57 minutes
3rd PS (P) with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (25 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
25 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 1000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 1000.
Raid is overhead
VMF-112 with F4U-1 Corsair (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 11000 , scrambling fighters between 18000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 64 minutes

Training flight from 3rd PS (P) has been caught up in attack


---------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on TF, near Biak at 87,110

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 13

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 29
F4U-1 Corsair x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 8 destroyed

No Allied losses

CAP engaged:
3rd PS (P) with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
24 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 1000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes
33rd PS (P) with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling)
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 19000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 49 minutes
VMF-112 with F4U-1 Corsair (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling)
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 11000 , scrambling fighters between 18000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 52 minutes



---------------------------------------------

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Biak at 87,110

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 12 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 13

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 3
F4U-1 Corsair x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 6 destroyed, 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
LCT-62

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x G3M3 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo

CAP engaged:
VMF-112 with F4U-1 Corsair (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 11000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 11000.
Raid is overhead
33rd PS (P) with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (1 airborne, 2 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 20000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes

The so-so

Morning Air attack on Biak , at 87,110

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 42 NM, estimated altitude 36,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84r Frank x 41

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 25
F4U-1 Corsair x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 7 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 5 destroyed
F4U-1 Corsair: 5 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Ki-84r Frank sweeping at 31000 feet

CAP engaged:
VMF-112 with F4U-1 Corsair (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 13 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 11000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
33rd PS (P) with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 12 scrambling)
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes

The ugly, two medium bomber squadrons did not get the right orders.

Morning Air attack on Guards Tank Division, at 55,55 (Moulmein)

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 63 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84r Frank x 57

Allied aircraft
B-25B Mitchell x 12
B-25C Mitchell x 15

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-25B Mitchell: 8 destroyed
B-25C Mitchell: 8 destroyed
B-25C Mitchell: 1 destroyed by flak

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 4000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
999th Ku T-1 with Ki-84r Frank (19 airborne, 38 on standby, 0 scrambling)
19 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 11000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 38270.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes

The air losses, not terrible, but not all that good. Losing 26 B-25B/Cs was not good.
The Corsairs and Thunderbolts did not do as good as I think they should have. But, I do not have
radar at Biak yet, I could not unload it earlier but now I have a size 2 port so I sent the radar on some
LCTs.

At Biak your fighters were sucked down low to attack those torpedo bombers so the Frank sweepers had a big advantage when they arrived last.

November 9, 1943

Bombing at Truk by me. Xargun tried night bombing a number of bases, but he did no damage.

All of my bombers are stood down for maintenance. More troops moving into Rangoon for an attack tomorrow.

I forgot about this, A-20Gs flying from Liuchow

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Hong Kong at 77,61

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Allied aircraft
P-43A-1 Lancer x 6
A-20G Havoc x 4

Allied aircraft losses
A-20G Havoc: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
TK Gen'yo Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire
AO Shinkoku Maru, Shell hits 9
TK Nissyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x A-20G Havoc bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 4 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

November 10, 1943

A Japanese sub hanging around Ramree Island

Submarine attack near Ramree Island at 54,48

Japanese Ships
SS I-166, hits 1

Allied Ships
xAK Shillong, Shell hits 12, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

xAK Shillong is sighted by SS I-166
SS I-166 attacking xAK Shillong on the surface


---------------------------------------------

Submarine attack near Ramree Island at 54,48

Japanese Ships
SS I-165

Allied Ships
xAK Samarinda

xAK Samarinda is sighted by SS I-165
SS I-165 launches 2 torpedoes at xAK Samarinda

A DD force sank a YMS and did a bombardment of Biak

Night Time Surface Combat, near Biak at 87,110, Range 7,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Shiokaze
DD Yakaze
DD Yukaze
DD Hokaze
DD Nokaze

Allied Ships
YMS-287, Shell hits 3, and is sunk

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 96% moonlight: 8,000 yards
Range closes to 25,000 yards...
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
Range closes to 10,000 yards...
Range closes to 7,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 7,000 yards
Japanese open fire on surprised Allied ships at 7,000 yards
Range closes to 4,000 yards
DD Nokaze engages YMS-287 at 4,000 yards
YMS-287 sunk by DD Yakaze at 4,000 yards
Combat ends with last Allied ship sunk...
======================================
Night Naval bombardment of Biak at 87,110

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
PBY-5 Catalina: 7 damaged
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 44 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair: 15 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 destroyed on ground

Japanese Ships
DD Nokaze
DD Hokaze
DD Yukaze
DD Yakaze
DD Shiokaze

Allied ground losses:
53 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 14
Runway hits 39

DD Nokaze firing at Biak
DD Hokaze firing at Biak
DD Yukaze firing at Biak
DD Yakaze firing at Biak
DD Shiokaze firing at Biak

No real damage, some port and airfield damage, and 2 aircraft destroyed on the ground

His night bombing in Burma did a bit of damage, clear skies helped. I have put some day fighters on night duty
He did incur some flak losses, but not enough.

BBfanboy wrote: Fri Dec 23, 2022 2:07 pm At Biak your fighters were sucked down low to attack those torpedo bombers so the Frank sweepers had a big advantage when they arrived last.

Actually, no, the Franks sweeping were the first thing to happen. Bad for me that I had my Corsairs on CAP at 11,000 feet and my Thunderbolts at 20,000.
His sweep was at 31,000 so he got the dive bonus on me. But they still shot down 10 Franks for 17 Corsairs and Thunderbolts. He also had 5 ops losses.
Combined with his Nell losses, not too bad at all, just not as good as it could have been if I had had one squadron up on high CAP.
I think I had the 3rd PS on high CAP earlier, but I put them on training low ground to help reduce the airframe fatigue. The new patches exe seems to
raise the airframe fatigue accumulation.

November 11, 1943

I knew Rangoon would probably be a tough base to take and it will be.

Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 70330 troops, 1094 guns, 1720 vehicles, Assault Value = 2992

Defending force 46325 troops, 566 guns, 261 vehicles, Assault Value = 1409

Allied adjusted assault: 1032

Japanese adjusted defense: 6413

Allied assault odds: 1 to 6 (fort level 9)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
742 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 49 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled

Allied ground losses:
4950 casualties reported
Squads: 71 destroyed, 334 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 50 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 93 disabled
Guns lost 107 (10 destroyed, 97 disabled)
Vehicles lost 163 (16 destroyed, 147 disabled)

Assaulting units:
7th Armoured Brigade
6th Australian Division
19th Indian Division
5th Indian Division
18th British Division
50th Tank Brigade
9th Indian Division
Provisionl Tank Brigade
9th Australian Division
2/13th Field Regiment
6th Medium Regiment
IV Indian Corps
26th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
21st Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
1st RM Heavy AA Regiment
2/9th Field Regiment
6th Mixed A/T Mtr Regiment
1st West African AA Regiment
23rd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
3rd (Special Force) Division

Defending units:
55th Division
38th Division
6th Guards Division
48th Field AA Battalion
20th AA Regiment
47th Field AA Battalion
44th Field AA Battalion
34th Field AA Battalion
Burma Area Army
40th Field AA Battalion
16th AA Regiment
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion
1st RF Gun Battalion
53rd JNAF AF Unit

I will have to do massive bombing for the next few weeks to reduce supply and increase fatigue and disruption.
Not all of my 2992 AV attacked this turn, some just moved in. I was a bit dismayed that my combat engineers did not
reduce the forts, but I will have to deal with that. I have 3 Combat Engineer Regiments that are still recuperating at
back bases. And I still need to build airbases in Burma. I have enough supply to support a large air assault, but I need
some size 9 airbases. The largest I have now are size 7 and building.

The 19th Indian Division took a huge part of the losses and is on the road to Prome to recover. There is a Command HQ there and lots and lots of supply.

November 12, 1943

An xAK hit a mine and sank at Ramree Island.
Losing an xAK with supply on board at this time of the game is not really a concern.

The bombing campaign starts at Rangoon.
As expected there are and will continue to be flak and ops losses.
There is nothing I can really do about those, as can be seen in the ground combat report
from last turn, Xargun has 5 AA Battalions and 2 AA Regiments in Rangoon. But, they are trapped
there so in a few weeks when I have made them ineffective my bombing campaign will suffer lower
losses.

Can you show us your Intel screen?

deaniks wrote: Sat Dec 24, 2022 11:53 pm Can you show us your Intel screen?

Of course I can

Nomad wrote: Sun Dec 25, 2022 12:36 am

deaniks wrote: Sat Dec 24, 2022 11:53 pm Can you show us your Intel screen?

Of course I can

431113 intel.png

it seems you've done well on all fronts allied army points are small air losses and ship losses wow this is like a great allied game

November 13, 1943

Not much, bombing of Rangoon. It will be expensive, lost about 15 bombers to flak and ops writeoffs. It is a price I have to pay.

November 14, 1943

Another bloody day over Rangoon for the Allies. I lost 20 Wellington 1cs today, more than I can afford
I am not completely sure why I am losing so many Wellingtons to flak and ops losses, they had basically the
same durability as B-25B/Cs. I will try them up higher and see if that helps.

Xargun made a move that I thought he might do and really thought he should be doing.
He moved KB off the shore of New Guinea and struck three small TFs at Biak and Sarmi. I lost a number of
small ships, some small xAPs, a couple of AMs, etc. At his point of the game, not a big loss. I lost 16 P-40E( 16 air-2-air and 4 ops )
while downing 18 D4Y4 Judy ( 13 air-2-air, 2 flak, 3 ops ), 9 B6N2a Jill( 5 air-2-air, 2 flak, 2 ops) and 7 A7M2 Sam( 4 air-2-air, 3 ops )

I lost a P-47D25 Thunderbolt to ops somewhere, I have no idea where.

Not a good day, but I lost nothing that will delay anything I have in mind. But, the ops losses over Burma are a problem and I am
moving things into place to try and reduce that problem. I have British Coastal Defense equipped bomber units moving into place,
Minesweeper TFs and Bombardment TFs moving in to position. I can only use CAs and smaller to bombard Rangoon, no BB/BCs can make the trip.
I am sure there are mines there and recon/naval search has shown TFs there that I am sure are either SS or SSX. I will have to deal with them,
but my DA showed that there are no CD units in Rangoon so minesweepers may be able to operate there.

The CR excerpts

Morning Air attack on TF, near Biak at 87,110

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 127 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 42 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B6N2a Jill x 19
D4Y4 Judy x 22

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 24
F4U-1 Corsair x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2a Jill: 3 destroyed, 9 damaged
B6N2a Jill: 1 destroyed by flak
D4Y4 Judy: 8 destroyed, 5 damaged
D4Y4 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
DD Abbot
DD Beale
xAK Woolgar, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Izard, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
xAK Liran, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Moonta
DD O'Bannon

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x B6N2a Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
10 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
6 x B6N2a Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
2 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb

CAP engaged:
VMF-123 /C with F4U-1 Corsair (4 airborne, 16 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 36000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 36000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes
3rd PS (P) with P-47D2 Thunderbolt (4 airborne, 16 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 42000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 42000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes
============================================================
Morning Air attack on TF, near Sarmi at 91,114

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 48 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A7M2 Sam x 94
B6N2a Jill x 59
D4Y4 Judy x 48

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
A7M2 Sam: 3 destroyed
B6N2a Jill: 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 7 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAP Minnipa, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
xAP Kota Inten, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
YMS-388, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
YMS-134
SC-639
LCT-157, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AM Bengal, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Kota Agoeng
xAP Kota Pinang, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Katoomba
YMS-114, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AM Punjab, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Orfor
xAP Macdhui
YMS-386
SC-640
SC-518
xAP Nova Scotia, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Ping Wo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Forafric, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
SC-645, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
LCT-155
xAKL Don Jose, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAP Kooyong
SC-638
YMS-387
LCT-162, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg GP Bomb
10 x B6N2a Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
9 x B6N2a Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
9 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
24 x A7M2 Sam sweeping at 17000 feet
10 x B6N2a Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
9 x A7M2 Sam sweeping at 17000 feet
10 x B6N2a Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
16 x A7M2 Sam sweeping at 17000 feet
4 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
10 x B6N2a Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
26 x A7M2 Sam sweeping at 17000 feet
5 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
10 x B6N2a Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
3 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg GP Bomb
3 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
7 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
4 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
4 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg GP Bomb
4 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb

CAP engaged:
20th PS (P) with P-40E Warhawk (4 airborne, 17 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 8000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 21000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP Minnipa
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP Nova Scotia
================================================
Morning Air attack on TF, near Sarmi at 90,113

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A7M2 Sam x 14
D4Y4 Judy x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AM Igonish, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
4 x D4Y4 Judy releasing from 10000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb

Igonish dead in the water ...
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AM Igonish

The ships in the red box are the ones I lost today. None of them had any troops loaded, all were empty and returning to Rabaul

November 15, 1943

Where to start. Some bad, some disappointing, and a lot of good.

I am disappointed, my losses trying to bomb Rangoon are not sustainable. I was hoping to increase fatigue and disruption with air bombing, but it is not
going to happen. I have stood down all my bombers in Burma/India and will reassess my options.

Some bad, not too terrible, Xargun did a Naval bombardment of Biak

Night Naval bombardment of Biak at 87,110

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair: 87 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair: 2 destroyed on ground
PBY-5 Catalina: 54 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 1 destroyed on ground
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 83 damaged
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 3 destroyed on ground

Japanese Ships
CA Chikuma
CA Tone
DD Nokaze
DD Hokaze
DD Yukaze
DD Yakaze
DD Shiokaze
DD Hatsuzuki
DD Susuzuki
DD Teruzuki

Allied Ships
DD Beale, Shell hits 2
DD Izard, Shell hits 2, heavy damage
DD O'Bannon, Shell hits 1

Allied ground losses:
435 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 42 disabled
Engineers: 6 destroyed, 19 disabled
Vehicles lost 7 (2 destroyed, 5 disabled)

Airbase hits 53
Airbase supply hits 16
Runway hits 68
Port hits 5

CA Chikuma firing at Biak
Massive explosion on DD Beale
CA Tone firing at Biak
DD Nokaze firing at Biak
DD Hokaze firing at Biak
DD Yukaze firing at Biak
DD Yakaze firing at Biak
DD Shiokaze firing at Biak
DD Hatsuzuki firing at Biak
DD Susuzuki firing at Biak
DD Teruzuki firing at Biak

It looks like the TF made a high speed run from Babeldaob.

Now the good part. I really expected Xargun to retire KB, it has been what he has done in the past. But I set up some Attack Bombers just in case

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sarmi at 92,111

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A7M2 Sam x 294

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 36
P-38G Lightning x 18
P-38H Lightning x 42

Japanese aircraft losses
A7M2 Sam: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 3 destroyed, 30 damaged
B-25D1 Mitchell: 5 destroyed by flak
P-38G Lightning: 7 destroyed
P-38H Lightning: 12 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CVL Ryuho, Bomb hits 3, on fire
DD Saheita Kuranaga, Shell hits 18
CVL Kasigi, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Kasumi, Shell hits 3
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 2
CV Junyo
DD Amagiri, Shell hits 5
CV Hiyo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
DD Rebecca Jean, Shell hits 27
CV Kaga, Bomb hits 1
DD Arare
CV Shinano, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CVL Omi, Bomb hits 1
CV Katsuragi, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
DD Akebono, Shell hits 14
DD Diamante, Shell hits 9
DD Isokaze, Shell hits 1
DD Ushio, Shell hits 9

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
9 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
2 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
2 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
2 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
Kaga-1 with A7M2 Sam (0 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 7 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 35760.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
Hiryu-1 with A7M2 Sam (7 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
7 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 17000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 7 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
Zuikaku-1 with A7M2 Sam (12 airborne, 26 on standby, 0 scrambling)
12 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes
14 planes vectored on to bombers
Shoho-1 with A7M2 Sam (12 airborne, 26 on standby, 0 scrambling)
12 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 35760.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes
10 planes vectored on to bombers
Katsuragi-1 with A7M2 Sam (7 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling)
7 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 17000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 10 minutes
7 planes vectored on to bombers
Kasigi - 1 with A7M2 Sam (4 airborne, 26 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 8 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 35760.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes
16 planes vectored on to bombers
Omi - 1 with A7M2 Sam (4 airborne, 26 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 8 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 11000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 11000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
18 planes vectored on to bombers
Akechi - 1 with A7M2 Sam (8 airborne, 26 on standby, 0 scrambling)
8 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
26 planes vectored on to bombers
Yedo - 1 with A7M2 Sam (8 airborne, 26 on standby, 0 scrambling)
8 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 17000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes
12 planes vectored on to bombers

Fuel storage explosion on CV Katsuragi


---------------------------------------------

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sarmi at 92,111

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A7M2 Sam x 277

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 6
P-38G Lightning x 17
P-38H Lightning x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 5 damaged
B-25D1 Mitchell: 1 destroyed by flak
P-38G Lightning: 8 destroyed
P-38H Lightning: 8 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CV Kaga
DD Ushio, Shell hits 4
BB Yamato 2, Bomb hits 3, on fire
DD Amagiri, Shell hits 6
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DD Rebecca Jean, Shell hits 4

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
Kaga-1 with A7M2 Sam (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling)
13 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 11000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes
13 planes vectored on to bombers
Hiryu-1 with A7M2 Sam (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 17000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 13780.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes
15 planes vectored on to bombers
Zuikaku-1 with A7M2 Sam (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
30 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 79 minutes
26 planes vectored on to bombers
Shoho-1 with A7M2 Sam (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
19 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 35760.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
19 planes vectored on to bombers
Katsuragi-1 with A7M2 Sam (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling)
15 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 17000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes
11 planes vectored on to bombers
Kasigi - 1 with A7M2 Sam (0 airborne, 12 on standby, 0 scrambling)
22 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 26100.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
16 planes vectored on to bombers
Omi - 1 with A7M2 Sam (0 airborne, 16 on standby, 0 scrambling)
20 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 11000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 11000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
14 planes vectored on to bombers
Akechi - 1 with A7M2 Sam (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
35 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes
27 planes vectored on to bombers
Yedo - 1 with A7M2 Sam (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
36 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 17000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes
22 planes vectored on to bombers



---------------------------------------------

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sarmi at 92,111

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A7M2 Sam x 265

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 18
P-38G Lightning x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
A7M2 Sam: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 7 destroyed, 2 damaged
B-25D1 Mitchell: 1 destroyed by flak
P-38G Lightning: 7 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CV Katsuragi, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Akebono, Shell hits 8
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
DD Isokaze, Shell hits 4
CVL Yedo, Bomb hits 1
DD Falco, Shell hits 15
CV Shinano, on fire
CV Hiyo, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
BB Yamato 2, on fire
CV Kaga, Bomb hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
4 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
5 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
Kaga-1 with A7M2 Sam (10 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling)
10 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 6 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 7000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
Hiryu-1 with A7M2 Sam (13 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
13 plane(s) intercepting now.
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 17000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 13780.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
Zuikaku-1 with A7M2 Sam (24 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling)
24 plane(s) intercepting now.
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes
10 planes vectored on to bombers
Shoho-1 with A7M2 Sam (17 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
17 plane(s) intercepting now.
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 9 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes
Katsuragi-1 with A7M2 Sam (10 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
10 plane(s) intercepting now.
8 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 17000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
8 planes vectored on to bombers
Kasigi - 1 with A7M2 Sam (16 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
16 plane(s) intercepting now.
12 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 11000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
3 planes vectored on to bombers
Omi - 1 with A7M2 Sam (17 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
17 plane(s) intercepting now.
6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 11000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 11000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes
11 planes vectored on to bombers
Akechi - 1 with A7M2 Sam (23 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
23 plane(s) intercepting now.
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 8 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 9000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
Yedo - 1 with A7M2 Sam (14 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling)
14 plane(s) intercepting now.
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 16 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 17000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
10 planes vectored on to bombers

Pictures, first a shot of the area, with range circle for my B-25D1s. The red box is KB and the Yellow box is what I think was the bombardment TF that hit Biak Here is the flyout for KB Now the air losses for both sides
I lost a number of USAAF and a few USMC aircraft, but look at the IJN losses
According to the in game sunk ship list, only the CVL Kasigi was confirmed sunk. But the Days Ground losses tell a different
story. I think that a CVL and a CV were sunk and possibly more. The large number of Sam ops losses tell me that there are CV/CVLs
that can not conduct air ops. I have more Attack Bombers and some Australian Beaufort VIII bombers with torpedoes now in range with more
fighters to escort. Another strike would be amazing and could really tip the balance of power in the Pacific. I also have 2 BB and 2 CL based TFs that
will move to Hollandia this turn, in the following days I will see if I can get a mid ocean intercept.

As can be seen in the Allied air loss screenshot, I lost 14 bombers over Rangoon today. That is not something I can continue.

I honestly would be pissed by this result over 300 sams show up on cap and you had at least less then 50 planes going in and are able to get in so many planes that caused that much damage

November 16, 1943

A disappointing but interesting turn. Nothing really happened. KB moved 12 hexes to the NW and out of range.
The interesting item is that my VPs increased by 505 points, but there is nothing that says why that is. No new ships
are on the sunk ship list, no ground losses of aircraft, etc. I wonder if he scuttled the worst hit ships?

For the first time since the start of the game, I now have more VPs than Xargun.

deaniks wrote: Mon Dec 26, 2022 11:09 pm I honestly would be pissed by this result over 300 sams show up on cap and you had at least less then 50 planes going in and are able to get in so many planes that caused that much damage

There seems to be a limit on how many air-2-air passes that can occur. My P-38 pilots are well trained and highly experienced. Most of the time the Sams, even with a dive bonus, did not score a kill.
On the first combat my 60 Lightnings held off the CAP almost completely. The CAP only got one B-25 kill before the other 35 made bomb runs. They go 2 more when the bombers exited the area.
I am convinced that having more bombers and less fighters on CVs is the way to go. But, the fighter pilots have to be well trained, well led, and have high experience.

November 17, 1943

Not a lot. Swept some mines at Akyab.

Xargun did a naval bombardment at Rangoon, not much damage