Kamikazes

[Shannon V. OKeets]

I have just added the optional rule for Kamikazes.

It has passed my Alpha testing and the beta testers now have it to test. In a couple of days I'll upload a new Hot Patch which includes it.

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November 18, 2019 - Added the Kamikaze optional rule. This can be turned on when selecting optional rules at the beginning of a game. Alternatively, it can be toggled On/Off during a game - except during a naval combat. Use the Optional Rule Help form to toggle it On/Off by right clicking on the optional rule.

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Kamikazes [RAW option 60 section 14.8]

This optional rule adds the famous/infamous kamikaze air units the Japanese employed towards the end of
the war. It increases the effectiveness of the air unit's bombing but is certain to destroy both the air unit and
its pilot.

The Japanese player can declare a kamikaze attack in any naval air combat after air-to-air combat but
before anti-aircraft fire. He can nominate any or all of his bombers as kamikazes (even those with a death's
head as described in the optional rule Flying bombs).

The air-to-sea factors of kamikaze bombers that survive anti-aircraft fire is doubled. After the air-to-sea
attack is resolved, all kamikazes and their pilots are destroyed. Unless the Carrier Planes optional rule is used,
any carrier that flies its air units as kamikazes results in the carrier being damaged.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

I'll run through the process of using kamikazes with a series of 5 screenshots.

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Here is a naval combat in the Bay of Bengal (Guadalcanal scenario). The Axis gets 2 surprise points.

You can see the Japanese bombers on the right side of this screenshot.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

2nd in a series of 5.

Here is the form for selecting which air units fly as bombers. Since there are no Allied fighters, all the Japanese planes that can, fly as bombers. There is a fifth air unit which has no bombing factors.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

3rd in a series of 5.

Here is the new form for selecting which bombers will be kamikazes. It is pretty simple. Just select which units will be kamikazes. Here I selected the 3 on the left with the fourth bomber not selected. You can toggle your selections On/Off. Most of the time the Japanese player will select no bombers to fly as kamikazes.

Once you click on the OK button, there is no going back.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

4th in a series of 5.

The kamikaze decisions are made after air-to-air combat but before anti-aircraft fire.

The is the anti-aircraft fire form, with 8 damage point to be inflicted on the Japanese bombers.

Japan gets to choose how the damage points are applied. I used 5 to destroy the weak D3A1 and reduced the B5N2 by 3 points. The damage reductions are applied before the doubling of the bombing factors by the kamikaze attack.

So, 11 kamikaze bombing factors are getting through. They will be doubled to 22 air-to-sea factors for the naval combat results table.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

5th and last in a series of 5.

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Here is the result of the kamikaze attack. At the bottom you can compare the effect of 22 air-to-sea factors against 23 targets (4X, 1D, 2A) versus not using kamikazes - 11 air-to-sea factors (2X, 2D, 3A).

Of course the other major difference is that all the Japanese kamikazes bombers are destroyed, while the non-kamikaze bombers would return to their carriers safely.