Well my problem does seem to be that your medium and heavy airforce is being quite effectively destroyed on the ground... I won't disguise the fact that you've got the better of it in the air, simply because my escorts seem to get lost half the time and the rest turn up over the wrong targets...
Anyway, now to the recent Battles that have taken place either side of the Owen Stanley mountains. For the past week, my mobile carrier group (Shokaku, Zuikaku and the light carrier Shoho) have been pottering around just east of Buna, looking for cowardly convoys trying to sneak into Port Morseby, and because they keep on scuttling back to the Australian coast, have been busily bombing PM back to the stone age, ably assisted by my 'heavy' bomber force of Nells and Beattys (yes, the Japs did refer to these as 'heavy' bombers!) who have been turning PM runway into a rock garden but failing to attack any of the convoys trying to sneak in (spotted loads but seem curiously reluctant to attack them, possibly because there arn't enough escorts and therefore not a worthy challenge...)
Eventually, the US carriers were spotted to the SE of Port Morseby, t he Japanese closed for battle.. and the weather turned really bad and most planes weren't even able to fly. By the time the weather improved for some action, the Japanese carrier screen was running low on fuel and had to retire towards Rabaul and the attentions of a gratefully received tanker.
Once topped up, the Japanese turned south-west again rounding the tip of Gili Gili, once again searching for his prized carriers and actually spotting them at maximum range. (23.05.42) However, faced with the chance to hit the US hard whilst out of retaliatory range, the Vals and Kates instead once more headed for Port Morseby, ignoring the convoys and US carrier group and made merry hell with that once again, other than one unescorted Val sentai who bravely made contact with the US carriers, only to loose 16 out of 22 and pull out without launching a single attack
Which brings me to the current events which have just transpired.. (25.05.42).
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/25/42
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Sub attack at 10,34
Japanese Ships
AP Meiyo Maru
Allied Ships
SS S-40
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Air attack on TF at 13,37
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 28
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 11
SBD Dauntless x 30
TBD Devastator x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 3 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat x 1 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat x 1 damaged
SBD Dauntless x 8 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 22 damaged
TBD Devastator x 4 damaged
Japanese Ships
CV Shokaku
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 1, on fire
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Air attack on TF at 13,37
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22
Allied aircraft
TBD Devastator x 11
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
TBD Devastator x 6 destroyed
TBD Devastator x 4 damaged
PO2 K.Morita of EI-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 2
Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku, on fire
CV Shokaku
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Air attack on TF at 13,37
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 9
SBD Dauntless x 34
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat x 1 damaged
SBD Dauntless x 7 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 25 damaged
ENS W. Barnes of VF-42 is credited with kill number 4
Japanese Ships
CVL Shoho, on fire, heavy damage
CV Shokaku
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 1, on fire
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Air attack on TF at 14,42
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
D3A Val x 22
B5N Kate x 37
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 16
P-40E Kittyhawk x 4
Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val x 5 destroyed
D3A Val x 5 damaged
B5N Kate x 25 destroyed
B5N Kate x 16 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat x 2 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat x 1 damaged
P-40E Kittyhawk x 1 destroyed
P-40E Kittyhawk x 1 damaged
PO1 J.Nishiura of EIII-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 2
Allied Ships
CV Lexington, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
CA Astoria, Bomb hits 1
CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Anderson
CA Portland, Bomb hits 1, on fire
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Air attack on TF at 14,42
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
B5N Kate x 9
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 14
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate x 3 destroyed
B5N Kate x 5 damaged
Allied Ships
CV Yorktown, on fire
DD Hammann, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
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Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 23
G4M1 Betty x 18
Allied aircraft
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-25D Mitchell x 3 destroyed
B-25D Mitchell x 2 damaged
B-26B Marauder x 2 destroyed
B-26B Marauder x 2 damaged
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 54
Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 17
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x G4M1 Betty at 6000 feet
4 x G3M Nell at 6000 feet
3 x G3M Nell at 6000 feet
3 x G3M Nell at 6000 feet
6 x G3M Nell at 6000 feet
3 x G3M Nell at 6000 feet
6 x G4M1 Betty at 6000 feet
4 x G3M Nell at 6000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 6000 feet
6 x G4M1 Betty at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 13,37
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 21
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 11
SBD Dauntless x 8
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat x 1 damaged
SBD Dauntless x 2 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 7 damaged
Japanese Ships
CVL Shoho, on fire, heavy damage
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 2, on fire
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 14,42
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
D3A Val x 14
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 3
P-40E Kittyhawk x 4
Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val x 2 destroyed
D3A Val x 1 damaged
LTJG R. Plott of VF-42 is credited with kill number 2
To cut a long story short, the Japanese carrier group were heading north towards Lae to give support to a convoy arriving with much-needed supplies but fought a criss-cross battle over the Owen Stanley mountains with the US carriers, which were still SW of PM.
To cut a long story short, the US got in their attack first and hit the Shoho hard with 4 1000lb bombs, and the Zuikaku with a lucky hit. Some TBD's then showed up late but the Zero's, after their recent dogfight with the main US thrust, were low on fuel and ammo and only succeeded in shooting down 6 out of 11 - an admittedly poor showing. Both carriers were attacked by the remaining TBD's, and although fish were dropped the Japanese were able to outrun the torpidly defective US torps
The Japanese did not respond to this strike, I presume the Vals and kates were geared up for another attack on PM, so needed to be rearmed with AP bombs and torpedos.
In the afternoon once again the US got their attack in first, a big cloud of SBD's escorted by a few Wildcats turned up, yet despite being unarmed the Zero's managed to fight most of them off and although the Japanese carriers were all attacked (Shoho burning brihgtly like a torch) only the Zuikaku was hit, the bomb failing to explode (suggest the US player speaks to his armourers)
In retaliation the long-awaited Japanese strike hit the US carriers about an hour later, timed precisely to arrive at the moment the US planes were starting to return to their own carriers in order to cause maximum confusion amongst the decadent Westerners.
Despite heavy losses, the Kates and Vals wheeled in and as usual it was the torpedo bomber who got the measure of the Americans, hitting the Lady Lex twice and the Yorkie once (Vals failed to hit anything, but at least most of them weren't shot down this time). A Heavy Cruisers (the Portland) blocked another fish, taking it neatly amidships.
A second strike of Kates came in hard on the heels of the first, hoping and succeeding that the Wildcats were out of position and scythed through the defences with minimal losses, aiming for the Yorktown but instead deciding to take it all out on the Hammann, hitting it with two fish and sending it straight to the bottom. Nice aiming but would have preferrred most of it to go at his CV's!!!
Faced with US ships and convoys scattered all across the approaches to Port Morseby, once again the Nells and Beatty's at Rabaul decided to hit PM airfield hard, destroying another 5 of the US medium bombers on the ground
Finally, a few more SBD's turned up late and attacked the Japanese fleet, loosing a couple and several damaged although managing to hit the Zuikaku again (the Shoho seemed to be bearing something of a charmed life, I guess so much smoke was eminating from it that it made an ideal smokescreen)
In return a few Vals tried to get through over the scattered US carrier fleet but the exhausted pilots were forced to withdraw, unable to make any attacks
So, overall I would say that battle went tactically to the Americans, despite the heavy damage Port Morseby continues to receive... [:(]
