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Molon Labe · 01-03-22, 12:51 PM

October 2 1942
Luganville D-day -1, surprise lost to submarine picket, 3 enemy submarines severely damaged, 1-2 believed sunk

Burma
The light cruiser task force continues to bombard Tavoy--and our squadrons at Moulmein haven't recovered enough to do anything about it.

We're bombing the enemy army south of Raheng quite hard, I don't normally report routine bombing missions but this resulted in 123 enemy casualties, and they're in contact with my armies, so this sort of loss could help our troops beat them.

Luganville Operation/Solomons
The heavy covering force for the invasion fleet was nearly attacked by an enemy sub as it headed north past Efate, but was spotted before it was able to fire. Three destroyers (Nizam, Stuart, Reid) split off the prosecute it, with Stuart and Reid taking turns attacking, and their accuracy was solid. The sub was forced to surface after sustaining severe damage and was gunned down.

Destroyers escorting the amphibious group spotted a sub and engaged before it could present a threat. It managed to dive and evade the destroyers for a bit, but eventually one of my older tin cans--USS Ward of minor Pearl Harbor fame--reacquired it, but wasn't able to score any hits. The Wickes class only has 2 aft depth charge launchers, compared to 4 launchers (Mahan class) and 5 launchers (Admiralty-leader class) on the 2 destroyers that attacked the first sub. So I think pattern size is making a big difference.

After that sub gave us the slip, it spotted the covering force and took a shot at the destroyer Stuart, missing it. The same 3 destroyers from before broke off and prosecuted this sub, this time Nizam connecting solidly. The enemy sub got away, but was badly damaged.

Yet another sub was badly damaged near Noumea, as once again our Wirraways successfully bombed a surfaced sub--getting two hits this time. Intel reported an enemy sub was scuttled near Efate, it doesn't appear to have been either of these two subs that were damaged, but maybe another one that was recently bombed went down. I'm impressed with the accuracy of this Wirraway squadron, and I really think I need to get these guys better planes with something bigger than 100lb bombs so that the subs they're hitting start going down more. So, I'm transitioning a Port Moresby Hudson squadron to Mitchells. Once things around Noumea calm down, they'll inherit the Hudsons. So we'll get more range, radar, and a bombload of 4x250lb instead of 2x100lb.

A B-26 was lost to flak over Luganville. Not a good sign--logistically, they're probably ready for us.

On the other end of the Solomons, a few P-38s strafed a subchaser at the Shortlands, causing minor damage.

China
We had a coordination SNAFU and the Hudson bombers ended up over Chenchow unescorted. One was lost to Oscars.

To the east, near Foochow, the Liberator and Wellington bombers interdicting the approaching army ran into 8 Zeroes on CAP, but there were no losses on either side. I'm going to reassign some commands down here to try to make sure we get some fighter escorts tomorrow. Regardless, the bombers did great--over 240 enemy casualties reported on the ground.

I might have mentioned this before, but in case I didn't--when I moved the Lysanders into Amoy, I noticed that these seemingly useless bombers are equipped with recon cameras. And I know I've mentioned more than once that I wish I had more recon in China. So I've moved another squadron into the central region, and I've made training recon a new priority for British bomber training.

Reinforcements and logistics
TK William Strachan arrives at Abadan - 12 knot slowpoke, will be assigned to Colombo route when the convoy returns
165 Wing arrives at Aden - full strength aviation support--headed to India once escort available

The F4F-4 is now capable of carrying drop tanks.
The P-38G is now in production--only 20 per month, though. Clearly a better model than the E or Fs currently in service--Es have too high a service rating (lots of maintenance needed) and the Fs have less range.

I've noticed that I have an abundance of cargo ships and a shortage of troop transports as I'm surging troops from the west coast, so I'm converting a few cargo ships to transports at Alemeda, CA.

Capetown, South Africa is ceasing to be a reliable source of off-map fuel, as the reserves don't seem to be getting replenished by the automatic supply convoys. Fuel shipments from Captetown to Australia have stopped, and I may rebase the tankers here to Colombo or Abadan. At this time, the fuel situation in Australia is fine so this is not an immediate problem. He can cut off Colombo/Abadan shipments to Perth pretty much any time he wants, though. US shipments to Sydney may have to resume--but all my escorts are busy with the troop surge for the moment.

01-03-22, 12:51 PM	#423
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	October 2 1942 Luganville D-day -1, surprise lost to submarine picket, 3 enemy submarines severely damaged, 1-2 believed sunk Burma The light cruiser task force continues to bombard Tavoy--and our squadrons at Moulmein haven't recovered enough to do anything about it. We're bombing the enemy army south of Raheng quite hard, I don't normally report routine bombing missions but this resulted in 123 enemy casualties, and they're in contact with my armies, so this sort of loss could help our troops beat them. Luganville Operation/Solomons The heavy covering force for the invasion fleet was nearly attacked by an enemy sub as it headed north past Efate, but was spotted before it was able to fire. Three destroyers (Nizam, Stuart, Reid) split off the prosecute it, with Stuart and Reid taking turns attacking, and their accuracy was solid. The sub was forced to surface after sustaining severe damage and was gunned down. Destroyers escorting the amphibious group spotted a sub and engaged before it could present a threat. It managed to dive and evade the destroyers for a bit, but eventually one of my older tin cans--USS Ward of minor Pearl Harbor fame--reacquired it, but wasn't able to score any hits. The Wickes class only has 2 aft depth charge launchers, compared to 4 launchers (Mahan class) and 5 launchers (Admiralty-leader class) on the 2 destroyers that attacked the first sub. So I think pattern size is making a big difference. After that sub gave us the slip, it spotted the covering force and took a shot at the destroyer Stuart, missing it. The same 3 destroyers from before broke off and prosecuted this sub, this time Nizam connecting solidly. The enemy sub got away, but was badly damaged. Yet another sub was badly damaged near Noumea, as once again our Wirraways successfully bombed a surfaced sub--getting two hits this time. Intel reported an enemy sub was scuttled near Efate, it doesn't appear to have been either of these two subs that were damaged, but maybe another one that was recently bombed went down. I'm impressed with the accuracy of this Wirraway squadron, and I really think I need to get these guys better planes with something bigger than 100lb bombs so that the subs they're hitting start going down more. So, I'm transitioning a Port Moresby Hudson squadron to Mitchells. Once things around Noumea calm down, they'll inherit the Hudsons. So we'll get more range, radar, and a bombload of 4x250lb instead of 2x100lb. A B-26 was lost to flak over Luganville. Not a good sign--logistically, they're probably ready for us. On the other end of the Solomons, a few P-38s strafed a subchaser at the Shortlands, causing minor damage. China We had a coordination SNAFU and the Hudson bombers ended up over Chenchow unescorted. One was lost to Oscars. To the east, near Foochow, the Liberator and Wellington bombers interdicting the approaching army ran into 8 Zeroes on CAP, but there were no losses on either side. I'm going to reassign some commands down here to try to make sure we get some fighter escorts tomorrow. Regardless, the bombers did great--over 240 enemy casualties reported on the ground. I might have mentioned this before, but in case I didn't--when I moved the Lysanders into Amoy, I noticed that these seemingly useless bombers are equipped with recon cameras. And I know I've mentioned more than once that I wish I had more recon in China. So I've moved another squadron into the central region, and I've made training recon a new priority for British bomber training. Reinforcements and logistics TK William Strachan arrives at Abadan - 12 knot slowpoke, will be assigned to Colombo route when the convoy returns 165 Wing arrives at Aden - full strength aviation support--headed to India once escort available The F4F-4 is now capable of carrying drop tanks. The P-38G is now in production--only 20 per month, though. Clearly a better model than the E or Fs currently in service--Es have too high a service rating (lots of maintenance needed) and the Fs have less range. I've noticed that I have an abundance of cargo ships and a shortage of troop transports as I'm surging troops from the west coast, so I'm converting a few cargo ships to transports at Alemeda, CA. Capetown, South Africa is ceasing to be a reliable source of off-map fuel, as the reserves don't seem to be getting replenished by the automatic supply convoys. Fuel shipments from Captetown to Australia have stopped, and I may rebase the tankers here to Colombo or Abadan. At this time, the fuel situation in Australia is fine so this is not an immediate problem. He can cut off Colombo/Abadan shipments to Perth pretty much any time he wants, though. US shipments to Sydney may have to resume--but all my escorts are busy with the troop surge for the moment. __________________ Last edited by Molon Labe; 01-03-22 at 01:22 PM.