The Jap CV Trap

[Firebomber47]

After the dismal performance of the F4F's operating off American CVs led to yet another CV on the bottom during the 1942-43 campaign game, I found a (nearly) foolproof trap for Jap CV's. Begin by taking your US CV's down south of Port Moresby and, if the Japs hold Gili Gili, have your CV's launch airstrikes against the base there. This will draw the Jap CVs down to challenge you. Fly off your carrier aircraft to Port Moresby and move every plane you can to that base as well. Be sure to set your P-39 and P-400 aircraft for an altitude of 100 feet and set for Naval Attack. Break up any AP/AK task forces into one-ship TFs that are used to run supplies back and forth between Port Moresby and any of the Australian ports. This is the flypaper to the trap. The Jap CVs will swing south of Gili Gili in pursuit of the US CV's (which are fleeing for the extreme western edge of the map along the New Guinea coastline - minus all their aircraft). The Jap CV's will pause to feast on the tempting transport stream, probably sinking several (the most I've lost is six), but come within range of even the P-39s at Port Moresby. The resulting airstrikes are nothing less than stupendous, with swarms of fighter/bombers and medium/heavy bombers decimating the Jap TFs. The P-39s have particular success landing shell hits on everything in sight (no wonder the Russians loved this plane when it first arrived on the Murmansk convoys), and the Beauforts can also launch torpedoes if their altitude is set at 1000 feet or below. And even the nearly-useless TBDs get in a few good licks. Using this strategy, I managed to send every Jap CV and a couple of CVLs to the bottom in this, my second run-through at the campaign game without them so much as scratching my CV's. Once the Jap flattops are gone, I can decide whether to pursue the surviving surface ships, though I usually don't because of the danger of the Bettys and Nells from Rabaul (which I defang a few months into the game with land-based bombers flying from Finschafen anyway). This also worked after I activated the air base on Gili Gili later in the game, then drew the last of the Jap CV's south again to where they were in range of aircraft on Gili Gili. Another slaughter of Jap CVs and no damage to the American CV's. I plan to try refining the trap with cheaper bait on succeeding runs of the campaign (will they pause to pound single-ship SC TF's, for instance?) At the moment (8/20/42), there are no Jap CV's in the game, though the last fleet flattop will show up within the next few weeks, but I have an operational group of five fleet CV's that just decimated Jap shipping off of Rabaul, brushed off the feeble airstrikes mounted from Kavieng and Rabaul, and covered a landing force of Aussies and Marines that will invest Kavieng. To date, the Japs have lost 268 ships, including 7 CV's, 3 CVL's, 4 BB's, and 17 cruisers for a total of 5,462 points just from shipping losses!

[borner]

Against the AI that approach could be very effective. The AI does some very questionable things in regards to the PM area, including non stop convoy runs to Lea and G-G even though US airpower can smash them at will. I have never seen this tried, but given how the AI operates, yes, I can see where this would be very effective. Against other players, I have learned that transfering carrier air groups to land bases is often frowned upon. I tried it on a few occasions and my opponents often took offense to this. Still, congradulations! 268 ships sunk 5 months in is quite good.