Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Barb

How many B-25 versions are in the game?

Uh, B-25B, -C (Dutch/RAAF), -C (strafer), -D (CAF), -G, -H, -J, -J (VVS), -J (strafer), PBJ-1D, -H, -J, F-10, Mitchell II (PR)

ORIGINAL: Barb

Are there Strafers converions included? If yes at what rate and at what date on?

Enough, beginning Feb '43 [;)].

Terminus,

I saw the same AAR mentioned by m10bob and there was mention of SNJ Texan. That is a trainer, not a combat plane. I believe this was the context he mentioned.

Jmsimer,

I think you missed my point. I was playing Jap v AI US. My flying boats spotted US TF not far from the Marshalls. I had Bettys available. TF was easily within torpedo range. Nonetheless, when I began the action phase, no air strikes were done and the US TF blithely passed to the SW, staying maybe 8 hexes from Jaluit. They were spotted several times, but no strikes were flown. The Betty group had an experience level in the 80s and no fatigue.

doc

Anyone,

Re: B-29 missions: XX Bmbr Cmd (China) made 528 sorties, XXI Bmbr Cmd made 9751 sorties during which they dropped mines in coastal waters of Japan.  Will the B-29s in AE be able to make such sorties?  Overall, that isn't many planes flying that mission; be interesting to see what happens if one ramps that OpTempo up, though. 

ORIGINAL: doc smith

Terminus,

I saw the same AAR mentioned by m10bob and there was mention of SNJ Texan. That is a trainer, not a combat plane. I believe this was the context he mentioned.

Doc, the SNJ is in use by a Marine Observation squadron on the west coast. We also have Stearmans in the game equipping a similar unit in the PI.

Termi was referring to the actual plane "type", as in Fighter, DB, TB, Recon. There is no Trainer "type".

Not sure if it's been asked in all the pages of AE but is the pilots getting reassigned to pool problem fixed if a unit has more pilots assigned than planes assigned when it comes available. In current version of WITP if a unit has say 24 pilots assigned in the db yet only has 22 planes assigned regardless of readiness of a/c when it comes available the extra pilots are then transferred to pilot pool even though it'll fill out the extra missing planes. This only applies to new units arriving w/ more pilots than planes in the db setup.

ORIGINAL: doc smith

Anyone,

Re: B-29 missions: XX Bmbr Cmd (China) made 528 sorties, XXI Bmbr Cmd made 9751 sorties during which they dropped mines in coastal waters of Japan.  Will the B-29s in AE be able to make such sorties?  Overall, that isn't many planes flying that mission; be interesting to see what happens if one ramps that OpTempo up, though. 

The airborne mine offensive put paid to the Japanese merchant marine--it was much more effective than the submarine campaign. The game needs to model that.

ORIGINAL: herwin

ORIGINAL: doc smith

Anyone,

Re: B-29 missions: XX Bmbr Cmd (China) made 528 sorties, XXI Bmbr Cmd made 9751 sorties during which they dropped mines in coastal waters of Japan.  Will the B-29s in AE be able to make such sorties?  Overall, that isn't many planes flying that mission; be interesting to see what happens if one ramps that OpTempo up, though. 

The airborne mine offensive put paid to the Japanese merchant marine--it was much more effective than the submarine campaign. The game needs to model that.

This was OTS for this iteration. Something like this is even low priority for patch 1.1. Sorry.

Here is one I have not seen asked........when your CV goes down, will the parent go down too like stock, or will the saved fragments actually convert to the parent?
 
Nice to be able to use another full unit of a/c with good pilots, other than disbanding them into another.

ORIGINAL: herwin

ORIGINAL: doc smith

Anyone,

Re: B-29 missions: XX Bmbr Cmd (China) made 528 sorties, XXI Bmbr Cmd made 9751 sorties during which they dropped mines in coastal waters of Japan.  Will the B-29s in AE be able to make such sorties?  Overall, that isn't many planes flying that mission; be interesting to see what happens if one ramps that OpTempo up, though. 

The airborne mine offensive put paid to the Japanese merchant marine--it was much more effective than the submarine campaign. The game needs to model that.

It was only done in the last 3 months of the war. Why? Probably because there wasnt any remaining significant bombing targets for all the planes and it was something for them to do. Prior to 45 the air mining campaign was mostly ineffective (according to the USSBS anyways) because the Japs were clearing the mines as fast as they were laid. Overall impact to the war effort: little more than nil.

The submarine service did at least 5 things that airborne mines cant do: 1) rescue pilots 2) transport UDTs / commandos 3) report shipping movements 4) transport supplies 5) report weather data on future landing targets. Probably a lot more than this but its 5am and its time for bed.

The impact of a torpedo against a ships hull is not the limit to the "effectiveness" of a submarine.

ORIGINAL: Yamato hugger

It was only done in the last 3 months of the war. Why? Probably because there wasnt any remaining significant bombing targets for all the planes and it was something for them to do. Prior to 45 the air mining campaign was mostly ineffective (according to the USSBS anyways) because the Japs were clearing the mines as fast as they were laid. Overall impact to the war effort: little more than nil.

The submarine service did at least 5 things that airborne mines cant do: 1) rescue pilots 2) transport UDTs / commandos 3) report shipping movements 4) transport supplies 5) report weather data on future landing targets. Probably a lot more than this but its 5am and its time for bed.

The impact of a torpedo against a ships hull is not the limit to the "effectiveness" of a submarine.

I found this to be illuminating: Link

Interesting link Iridium, details a lot of the problem the japanese had in supplying their empire in late war. Its a pity it doesnt include details of how many sorties the Allies spent on these missions.

Another reason for the late mining campaign, IMHO, is that as the empire contracted to the home islands, the submarines found it harder to be effective in the shallower waters.

I read an excerpt from the US Strategic Bombing Survey (posted on this forum a few months ago) an interview with the Japanese admiral in command of all naval forces in the Java / Borneo area and later in the Tokyo area and according to him keeping the ports they wanted to keep open was no problem at all until the end of the war around Japan.

He explained rather matter of factly that they watched the mines being dropped and went out to clean them up.

[:D]

Yamato,

I read in an article, I think on Hyperwar, about the accuracy of many of the post war interrogations of both japanese and german commanders.

Many of their claims have been proven wrong or exaggerated depending on threats held against them for war crimes.

They make an interesting base to work from, but should be checked against other information.

Here is the RAND report on Operation Starvation
http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/2006/R1322.pdf
Here is the released Pentagon report (Declassed 2002)
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:3XkenoPVnrIJ:https://www.afresearch.org/skins/rims/q_mod_be0e99f3-fc56-4ccb-8dfe-670c0822a153/q_act_downloadpaper/q_obj_a35064cc-af2e-4a35-9175-c5e5e1c22de1/display.aspx%3Frs%3Denginespage+operation+starvation&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us
Both show a compelling argument of why you don't want B29's in range of the HI at any date
Around 1250000 tons of shipping sunk( that # does not included damaged) in 5 months for about the loss of only 15 B29's
About 13000 mines laid on the inner perimater of the home islands ..... more tonnage than was sunk by any other one factor during the previous years of the war
if anyone has any other references I would be interested in reading them

ORIGINAL: Menser

Here is the RAND report on Operation Starvation
http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/2006/R1322.pdf
Here is the released Pentagon report (Declassed 2002)
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:3XkenoPVnrIJ:https://www.afresearch.org/skins/rims/q_mod_be0e99f3-fc56-4ccb-8dfe-670c0822a153/q_act_downloadpaper/q_obj_a35064cc-af2e-4a35-9175-c5e5e1c22de1/display.aspx%3Frs%3Denginespage+operation+starvation&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us
Both show a compelling argument of why you don't want B29's in range of the HI at any date
Around 1250000 tons of shipping sunk( that # does not included damaged) in 5 months for about the loss of only 15 B29's
About 13000 mines laid on the inner perimater of the home islands ..... more tonnage than was sunk by any other one factor during the previous years of the war
if anyone has any other references I would be interested in reading them

Which is EXACTLY what I said earlier:

ORIGINAL: Yamato hugger

Prior to 45 the air mining campaign was mostly ineffective (according to the USSBS anyways) because the Japs were clearing the mines as fast as they were laid. Overall impact to the war effort: little more than nil.

And, since you seem to be forgetting the original purpose of this statement it was:

ORIGINAL: herwin

The airborne mine offensive put paid to the Japanese merchant marine--it was much more effective than the submarine campaign. The game needs to model that.

Air dropped mines were NOT "much more effective than the submarine campaign".

As far as I was aware, the minelaying campaign was not a major effort by XX Air Force.  Wasn't almost all of the minelaying done by 313th Bomb Wing?

LeMay didn't want to divert his bombers from the incendiary campaign.

I've just re-read Capt. Eric Brown's "Wings of the Weird & Wonderful", and in the section about the carrier testing of the Sea Mosquito he recounts how he taught the pilots of 618 Sqn how to land arrester hook equipped Mosquito B IV on a carrier. He later found out that this was in preparation of Operation Highball which would have had Mosquitoes equipped with bouncing bombs attacking major IJN units in harbor. The bombs in question were developed by Barnes Wallis of Dambusters and Grand Slam fame. 27 modified Mossies sailed aboard HMS Striker from the Clyde on Oct. 31, 1945, after the pilots had done one landing each on HMS Rajah. The Japanese surrendered before the operation was launched.

Now I'm pretty sure that neither 618 Sqn nor those aircraft are included in AE stock, but what would be the best way to mod the weapons, as torpedos? or guided missiles?

The things were ball-shaped, and if I remember correctly, two were carried in tandem in the open bomb bay of the Mosquito. If you have watched the original "Dambusters" movie, there was a sequence actually showing a test where one of those bombs was dropped from a Mosquito and bounced across the waves.