Back again: Shadow of the Condor vs. Sneaky Jap

[Shadow of the Condor]

Well, hello again for those readers still perusing this forum. Another Scenario 17, this time with both sides at 180% and all other normal options selected. I do plan to provide an AAR here hopefully readable and not too boring. I'm not sure if my opponent will participate (we hadn't discussed this) but I certainly encourage him to do so. [:)]

Anyway, first turns have been exchanged, and I'm putting together the first day's entry for here (which will actually start on 29 April 42). I do like to do a bit of research into the storylines, and please accept this blanket apology if I get a squadron nickname or location incorrect. Don't look for a return of "Admiral Condor" as I grew a bit tired of him and his quirky behavior. Others you may remember from the past (I have a feeling the bladder-challenged mascot "Hell Hound" may make another appearance), and hopefully the creation of a few new personas will help keep the story entertaining.

Happy hunting to my opponent and happy reading to you folks out there.

Phil

[Shadow of the Condor]

29 Apr 42
2119L…Noumea, New Caledonia…Base Operations Building…radio room…

The technician waited while the teletype continued to print out its coded message. All he knew is that the message was for Noumea alone, as the three bells that rang on the teletype had announced. Earlier, an “all stations” message had been broadcast over the teletype for the entire southern and southwestern Pacific areas.

As soon as the message ended, the man pressed the line feed key and the paper advanced enough to where he could tear it off. He took the little stamp and pressed it onto the message, where it left the word SECRET in fresh red ink on the top and bottom of the message. He then placed a cover sheet over the printout and put them both in an envelope.

Sitting down at the regular typewriter, he typed the event into the daily station log and then took the envelope to the coding room, where it was signed for and would be decoded by the next morning…

30 Apr 42
1001L…onboard USS Greenling…at sea…

Commander Brunson read the message again and looked over the conning tower. The submarine was running on the surface, headed north. In about 4 hours, the ship would dive and hopefully remain submerged for the duration of their patrol, surfacing only at night to exchange air and let their batteries recharge. His crew was completing preventative maintenance on the systems. Some were on deck, watching for aircraft or simply taking their “30 minutes” in the fresh air. The officers were also busy, looking through the ship identification manual, paying particular attention to the destroyers…

1400L…approaching Port Moresby…

Major Jacobs and four B-17s from the 30th Bomb Squadron were scheduled to land in 15 minutes. Their new home was the “Seven mile drome” near Port Moresby. Two more B-17s – still at Rockhampton - would join them once they had been repaired, and they would provide long-range air search capability around New Guinea. Teamed with the venerable PBY Catalinas, it was hoped any move towards New Guinea would be spotted as soon as possible…

1610L…Jackson Field…Port Moresby, New Guinea…

Captain Brown of the 36th Fighter Squadron had just finished the briefing for the next day’s mission. Although the squadron was still under strength, and over the objections of his crew chiefs who pointed out they were to have two more days to get the planes ready (they had, after all, only arrived four days earlier), the “Flying Fiends” of the 36th were striking as soon as they could. And that meant tomorrow…

[Shadow of the Condor]

1 May 42
Wx: Overcast

0618L…approaching Lae…

The P-39s formed into elements of four, and began their attack. Their target was one of the coastal gun batteries intelligence had informed them were there. Ten minutes earlier, the Australians in their Hudsons had attacked the ports and were ambushed – not by fighters, but by what had to be over 30 anti-aircraft weapons scattered around the base that nobody knew about. Earlier reconnaissance flights did not provoke a response from the AA guns, or perhaps the guns had just arrived, just like the Americans. Either way, the price for gaining that information was expensive.

Captain Brown shook those thoughts from his head as he began to lead the attack. He automatically reached for the bomb release handle with his left hand…

The shell left the gun barrel and sped toward the plane. It hit the plane almost square in the nose and continued inside at 1400 feet per second. The plane was accelerating at almost 300 feet per second in the opposite direction. The combined speed meant that the shell had tumbled inside the fuselage of the plane, missing the gear box oil tank, punctured and passed through the oxygen tank, 37 mm ammunition rack, and finally into the pilot compartment, in less than 1/200th of a second. By the time any pain registered into the mind of Captain Brown that his left shin had been shattered by the projectile, the oxygen tank in the nose had ignited and burned into the 37 mm ammunition rack. The resulting explosion literally encased the diving plane in a ball of flame in the blink of an eye.

On their first combat mission, the men of the 36th had just seen their leader vaporized right before their eyes. Those pilots who did drop their bombs did so with expediency, and the shaken men turned their planes out over the Huon Gulf and headed for home…

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/01/42

Weather: Overcast

Air attack on Lae , at 9,33


Allied aircraft
Hudson x 15


Allied aircraft losses
Hudson x 4 destroyed
Hudson x 3 damaged

Port hits 1

Attacking Level Bombers:
10 x Hudson at 6000 feet
2 x Hudson at 6000 feet

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Air attack on Maizuru 2nd Coastal Gun Battalion, at 9,33


Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 23


Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra x 1 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra x 4 damaged


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Air attack on Lae , at 9,33


Allied aircraft
A-24 Dauntless x 9


Allied aircraft losses
A-24 Dauntless x 4 destroyed
A-24 Dauntless x 7 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 42

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 1


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[Shadow of the Condor]

3 May 42…Wx: Rain
0323L…Milne Bay…New Guinea…

Arthur Scott James’ legs were cramping. The squatting position he was in was taking its toll on his calf muscles, and he considered standing up and stretching out for a moment. He decided, instead to simply sit on his backside and stretch out his legs. He heard a plane’s engine overhead out over the bay. It droned on and finally faded away, only to be replaced with a deeper rumble coming from out to sea. The weather was bad and no moon was out, but James could make out dark shapes on the water. A native of the New Guinea Constabulary came out of the nearby cave that was their makeshift base and both men ducked into the kunai grass, while James trained his binoculars out into the bay.

The Japanese were landing on the northern side of Milne bay, at a place known as Waga Waga. James knew the Allies had plans for the bay and its airstrip about a mile inland, but those plans would have to be changed. Both men stayed for a while, while James made a count of trips back and forth to the ships at sea, and then they gathered what they could and headed for another of the numerous caves to report the Japanese had landed at a place called Gili Gili.

1102L…Townsville Combined Operations and Intelligence Center...(Readers of my AAR vs. LordHawke will remember Major Jefferies…)

Major Jefferies put his cane against the desk and looked at the Perspex plotting board. Not too long ago, they had run an exercise simulating an attack against Townsville resulting in the invading Japanese forces being narrowly defeated and forced to return north. One of the “variables” that had made its way into the “game” was a freak occurrence where two American carriers managed to seriously wound almost half of the IJN carrier force and escaping with no damage to themselves. The final report made it seem plausible enough, as the Japanese aircraft were supposedly concentrating on defeating the Allied surface forces who were sortied to oppose the Townsville invasion. Jefferies had his doubts.

A former P-39 pilot whose knee had been shattered when the nose wheel of his plane blew its tire during take-off, he was now assigned to US Army intelligence, as an air liaison officer. Up to now, his duties included a bit of gladhanding, sightseeing and the occasional wargame exercise. Today’s messages from New Guinea and the Solomons changed all of that.

The presence of anti-aircraft guns at Lae was considered “minimal” when the target intelligence estimate was sent to the squadrons at Port Moresby. Jefferies had not agreed with that estimate, and wondered if he had objected more strenuously to the estimate if more pilots would be alive.

His job was to provide an estimate of intentions, especially airpower. The Japanese had landed at gili Gili, and a B-17 search aircraft had also located an AP TF steaming south from the Japanese base at the Shortland Islands. His recommendation of moving B-17s north to Port Moresby was paying dividends and his opinion was being more and more respected by those in the hole deep under Castle Mountain.

[wobbly]

The condor returns - Chicago must be waking up out of winter!

[Shadow of the Condor]

3 May 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy

0718L…Near Milne Bay, New Guinea…

With daylight, James was able to get a better look at the invaders. Earlier, he had heard a few gunshots, and had stayed hidden until now. From his vantage point, he could look almost straight down on the Japanese, as the hill he was on rose from sea level to almost 2200 feet in the span of less than ¼ of a mile. The small barges were still in the bay, but the larger ships were gone. James estimated there were about 3,000 troops on the island. He also saw a few anti-tank guns, but the force was mostly combat troops and no tanks or heavy guns. He got on the teleradio and made his report, crossing off today’s frequency from his notebook as he did so..


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/03/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Sub attack at 36,38

Japanese Ships
AP Azumasan Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Kikuzuki

Allied Ships
SS S-44, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 23


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Ground combat at Gili Gili

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2823 troops, 18 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 48 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Gili Gili base !!!



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[Shadow of the Condor]

(Congratulations to the Kikuzuki for spanking S-44. [:(] )

(And yes, Wobbly, winter is finally on it's way out and road construction is now back in full swing [:'(] )

7 May 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy

1900L...Townsville COIC...

Major Jefferies was a bit perplexed. The Japanese had been searching the Coral Sea area and spotting contact after contact, but weren't making any attacks. They had taken Gili Gili in the west, and also had taken Lunga in the Solomons. B-17 sighting reports were dropping off, although a tanker force had been spotted at Kavieng.

The Allies were also starting to get a few replacements for the planes lost during the Lae raid last week. Still, it would be nice to have a better handle on the IJN fleet...

[Shadow of the Condor]

8 May 42
Wx: Overcast

0711L...Cairns Harbor...

The air raid warning sounded. Onboard HMAS Demodocus the men were sure they had brought the attack on. They had been spotted in the middle of the Coral Sea, and had been forced to return to the mainland. That was two days ago. Feeling naked in the middle of the ocean for the entire two days, they were again spotted yesterday - most thought by the exact same pilot who had made them his personal target. Late last night, they breathed a collective sigh of relief when they docked at Cairns and thought their troubles were over. P-40E Kittyhawks were providing CAP, but were in the process of relieving the planes in the air when the attack came.

The cargo ship's luck held, however, as the little ships known as sub chasers - the same ones scoffed at less than twelve hours ago by the seasoned merchantmen - raced out into the harbor's mouth and took up positions screening the cargo ships. The Japanese bombers dropped their torpedoes; not against Demodocus - but rather against the small ships, each with a very formidible, but single anti-aircraft gun.

Two of the bombers were seen to be hit and trailing smoke, but the Australians also watched three of the little ships explode as the Type 18 torpedoes found their marks.

Later, after rescuing the survivors from the water, the sub chasers docked near the bigger ship, transferred the wounded to waiting ambulances, reloaded, refueled and resumed their patrol in the harbor.

It was some time after that the men onboard Demodocus were able to resume their own cargo operations...



AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/08/42

Weather: Overcast

Air attack on TF, near Cairns at 7,56

Japanese aircraft (from Rabaul)
G3M Nell x 13
G4M1 Betty x 13

Allied aircraft
P-40E Kittyhawk x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell x 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty x 1 damaged


Allied Ships
SC 521
SC 520, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
SC 518, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
SC 522
SC 517, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)

Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
1 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
1 x G3M Nell at 200 feet
4 x G3M Nell at 200 feet
4 x G3M Nell at 200 feet
4 x G3M Nell at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet

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[Shadow of the Condor]

18 May 42
Wx: Thunderstorms

0449L...Koumac airfield...New Caledonia...

Private Moses Sanborn was awake. He listened to the sound of the rain pouring on the roof of the "hootch" where he and nineteen other men slept. Work on the airfield had been stopped by the weather for the first time since they received their orders to turn the abandoned French airfield into an "all-weather" strip. Since then the orders were changed and now the base had to be large enough for a squadron of B-17 bombers.

He stood and again looked outside as others inside the building began to stir. Another flash of lightning, followed by the inevitible thunderclap brought a smile to the man's face. There would be a lot of clean-up after the skies had cleared, but today, at least; the culvert he and two others had been working at would be on its own.

0942L...Townsville COIC...plotting room...

Major Jefferies sat quietly as the presentation went on for another five minutes. The daily briefing had provided the best avaialabe estimation of Japanese forces on their newly captured bases at Tulagi, Russell Island, Wooslark Island, and Buna. Jefferies knew what the phrase "best avaialabe estimation" meant - he had used it before when he briefed his own people. In his flying days, the term was more accurately referred to as a "wild-assed guess," but the two had the same meaning.

What he did know was they had enjoyed unusually good weather for about two weeks, and Jefferies knew both sides had used it to their benefit with search missions to find the opposing navies. Then the weather had changed and the past four days were rainy, with the only differentiation being from hard rain to harder rain. Jefferies knew both sides would use the cover to move their navies and make them again disappear from the prying eyes of the search planes, now grounded. All of which meant that the information they had was only a "best available estimation."

Fnally, Jefferies knew somewhere, in Truk or perhaps Tokyo there was a Japanese officer briefing his staff on the "best available estimation" of the Allied forces...

1400L...VMF-212 operations room...

First Lieutenant Terry Walton shifted in his folding chair as the 8mm film droned on about fighter pilots not leaving formation chasing after damaged enemy aircraft (especially the "enemy" AT-6 trainer in this particular film; Walton wondered who the poor slob was that was flying that old crate). A growl from his feet told him that "Hell Hound", the company's unofficial mascot didn't appreciate being moved while he slept. Nearly all of the pilots had seen this film more times than they could count, but with the day's flying grounded, there just wasn't much else to do...

[Shadow of the Condor]

27 May 42
Wx: Rain

Admittedly, it's getting a bit harder to keep the narrative coming, so today's entry is just an update.

The watchword for the past 10 days has been rain. Thunderstorms or just rain, methinks the Pacific Ocean must have risen at least an inch with all of the water falling from the sky. I've been averaging just about 20 flights a day in the entire theater during this stretch.

That sneaky jap has all but sewn up the Solomons, and has also been overflying PM. Troop ships have been spotted by my PBYs flying from Koumac, and one of them spotted a sub about 150 miles north of New Caledonia. Whether it's coming or going we'll have to see.

Phil

[wobbly]

I'm with you on the narrative. I found it very hard to keep coming up with interesting anecdotal stuff to write about. You do it well though...

[Shadow of the Condor]

(thanks Wobbly - much appreciated [:)] )

2 Jun 42
Wx: Partly Cloudy

0319L...Noumea Harbor...onboard USS Tautog

Commander Watkins was in the control room, while his exec was topside. The men on the anti-aircraft detail had just secured their weapons and were clambering down the hatch located towards the rear of the ship. No one expected an air attack at night, but one didn't take chances with a cunning and - for now - stronger enemy. Watkins reflected on the small miracle that the Japanese hadn't pushed hard during the first month of the campaing in the southwest Pacific. Strategists with lots of credentials by their name theorized the Japanese would only have a chance of winning if they struck hard and fast, disabling the Allies before they could out-produce the Japanese.

His exec was climbing down the ladder and reported a clear board and that the ship was ready to dive. Daylight would be arriving soon and Watkins wanted his boat safely under the surface. He was a bit disappointed that his men couldn't stay ashore at least one more day, but his boat was needed now. The Tambor class was no pushover - able to manuver well in shallow water and she was capable of defending herself from air attack - as a last resort, but the capability was there, nonetheless.

"Chief, make your depth sixty feet." As the air blew out of the ballast tanks and was replaced with seawater, Watkins again thought back to the theorists and pondered if they had ever been to sea...

0400L...Koumac airfield...New Caledonia...onboard B-17 Louies Loonies

Major Lewis had just taken off and joined the formation orbiting the airfield. Last to leave the base, the formation began the trip to the northwest. Today's target was the former Allied base at Lunga, on Guadalcanal. Almost 750 miles away, the force would arrive in about five hours. Lewis would like to have arrived earlier, but that wasn't an option today...

[Shadow of the Condor]

2 Jun 42
Wx: Partly Coludy

1811L...Koumac airbase...New Caledonia

Major Lewis had finished the debrief, had something to eat and even managed to get cleaned off with a shower rigged by the engineers. He was now stopping by the operations hut to confirm tomorrow's flight schedule. His reconnisance mission had gone off perfectly, even with the last minute addition of two PBYs to shoot film at lower altitude. He was about to propose another mission when he caught sight of tomorrow's weather report.

More thunderstorms were forecast, and his precious B-17s were grounded once again...

[Shadow of the Condor]

The days reel by as we get turns going back and forth. We're now at 17 Jun 42, and here's a few updates...

The IJN lost their first (confirmed) ship, as an SBD from a carrier raid on Lunga spotted the IJN tanker Toho (?) Maru unloading oil and dropped a bomb, hitting it. It was only one bomb hit, but it must have caused uncontrollable fires as the was confirmed to have sunk abour 2/3 of the way back to the Shortland base. No new Allied ship losses after the 4 SCs were sunk at Cairns. The Allies have lost one sub and 4 SCs for a total of 9 points lost, while the single IJN tanker cost 12 points.

My opponent has taken PM and all NG bases except Wau. In the Solomons, Irau and now Nevea are under new ownership.

My sub performance - usually one of the things I've been able to count on early on in the game has been abyssmal. Only 3 attacks I can recall, and all misses, with S-37 getting herself sunk along the way.

Allied army loss points are at 6, while IJA losses count for 7 points. No doubt malaria taking a bit of a toll in those jungle bases.

And the air loss totals are almost even. I ran my transports into the ground early, but operational losses are starting to affect the JapaneseVP total as well. Allied VP losses = 27, while Japan VP losses = 22 for the aircraft.

More to come...

[Shadow of the Condor]

22 Jun 42
Wx: Clear

After what seems an eternity, my subs finally score a hit. S-46 puts one torpedo into a Japanese tanker identified as the Toei Maru. This occurs during the day 30 miles east of the Russell Islands. According to dated recon, the closest size three port the ship could dock would be Lunga, with Russell being a size 1 and Tulagi a size 2. I dont know if it was full or empty, and it would have been nice to see a second fish hit, but one is better than none.

Tha tanker was escorted, and two PCs searched for the S-boat, but she was in deep water and evaded them both. We'll keep an eye on the intelligence and see if the second tanker shows up on the sunk list.

Getting the hit on the tanker was indeed lucky. The salvo could have easily been wasted against a PC, but the watchwords in the Allies camp in regards to the tanker are Burn, baby, burn....

[Shadow of the Condor]

26 Jun 42
Wx: Thunderstorms

A one-two punch against yet another tanker task force gets a confirmed tanker sinking, and two escort vessels also slide beneath the waves. This time, it's Toho Maru, sunk with 1400+ gallons of fuel oil in her bunkers. She was transferring the oil to Irau when Lee's fast strike force caught her at night, and aircraft from the carrier Hornet (led by Mitscher - who woouldn't dare let thunderstorms interrupt flight operations) finished the job. If Toei Maru sucuumbs to her torpedo hit, that'll make three tankers scratched off of the IJN inventory. Not a death blow by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a start...

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/26/42

Weather: Thunderstorms

Night Time Surface Combat, near Irau at 42,43

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 10, Shell hits 1, on fire
PC Ch 11
PC Ch 12, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
PC Ch 32
TK Hoyo Maru

Allied Ships
CA Louisville
DD Sims
DD Hughes
DD O'Brien
DD Blue
DMS Southard


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Sub attack at 36,38

Allied Ships
SS S-46


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Air attack on TF, near Irau at 42,43


Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6
SBD Dauntless x 30
TBD Devastator x 14


no losses

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 10
PC Ch 32, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PC Ch 11, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
TK Hoyo Maru, Bomb hits 8, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)


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[Shadow of the Condor]

3 Jul 42
Wx: Thunderstorms

S-47 gets in on the act, and this time her victim is a IJN troop ship at Irau, apparently unloading when attacked. Only one torpedo hit, but it should (hopefully) send the AP back to the barn.

After Lee's night raid into Irau and Mitscher's follow-up air strike that netted two PCs and a tanker, IJN CVs were reported at Lunga. A B-17 bombing raid against the ports there was a long shot (from Koumac) in more ways thatn one, but a hit on a carrier would have been nice. Instead, I lost 2 of the 10 B-17s that went. Both were hit by flak - impressive since the bombing run was from 20,000 feet. Both failed to return.

Next, two subs made a trip to Lunga, but very heavy air activity limited their effectiveness, and neither got a shot off against a carrier. Tautog did, however, get six fish off at a fourth tanker, but all missed.

No more carrier sightings at Lunga, and the question is now whether they've sailed south or north. I've never played my opponent before, nor have a read on his other games, but he seems to have played cautiously to this point. All early moves (grabbing the Solomons and PM) were almost obligatory, but no forays south with anything other than subs have been observed. Doesn't mean they haven't happened, however.

At least my subs are starting to shake the cobwebs off and get in the game...

The CR:

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/02/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Sub attack near Irau at 42,43

Japanese Ships
AP Kembu Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
SS S-43

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 27


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[Shadow of the Condor]

3 Jul 42
Wx: Thunderstorms

S-43 scores again on consecutive nights. Shame she only carries three loads - with only one salve left in her tubes, I've ordered her home to refuel and reload. She's a hot boat, and I want her back in action as soon as she can. From the damage report, it seems the unloading is either finished or has been stopped.

Coastwatchers reported two carriers still at Lunga...

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/03/42

Weather: Thunderstorms

Sub attack near Irau at 42,43

Japanese Ships
AP Tenzan Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
SS S-43


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[Shadow of the Condor]

6 Jul 42
Wx: Rain

Intelligence confirmed the sinking of the transport Kembu Maru and the patrol craft PC Ch 32. 9 IJN vessels now sunk. The IJN has now lost more aircraft than the Allies. All in all, I've had worse starts to the first three months of the conflict. Some activity in the Coral Sea, supply ships at PM. My subs have been on a roll...let's hope they stay lucky...