SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - War in the Pacific AAR Thread

Molon Labe · 09-22-21, 12:17 PM

26 April 1942

Solomons
An enemy cargo ship evaded an attack by the S-34 in The Slot only to be attacked and sunk by the S-42 a bit further west.

Hawaii and Line Islands
That supply convoy got through! There were casualties, but I got several ships through undamaged and a few that were hit at the docks but still managed to offload. It appears the weather (heavy rain in AM, light rain PM) significantly harmed enemy accuracy. Hopefully we offload everything we need overnight. This could be huge.

I shelled Palmyra with 4 cruisers, plus a raid of Devastators. I'm mostly trying to get a feel for how well defended it is. Intel suggests there is at least a fraction of a tank regiment here, and recon is confirming a large number of vehicles. But, this raid hit mostly non-combat squads, and no vehicles. Hmmm....

I think I'm going to pass for now. Even with my armies recovering, I don't want to have to maintain a carrier presence to provide air cover when the KB could be headed here for all I know. Better to build up the base on Christmas Island and put B-26s there to bomb Palmyra into submission. Also, Christmas Island had been the bigger threat; Palmyra's airbase is, at least for now, too small to support Betties/Nells that could potentially disrupt my sea lanes.

Also, I asked for outside help with the Hornet's bombers...and the theory is the problem is the drop tank setting. I've been playing with their settings, including turning drop tanks on/off, so they've declined missions while their drop tanks were on. But, the database shows that the drop tanks are centerline mounted--just like their 1000 lb bomb. So that probably is the problem. Maybe in the next few days we can get Hornet's dive bombers to attack again.

At Japan, we spotted a large convoy returning from the east, I have to assume that was a supply run to Lahaina returning to base. So, we know this supply run exists, I just haven't found a good place to interdict it.

Japan
USS Salmon got into a gunfight with a light cargo ship passing between Okinawa and Kyushu. Kind of embarrassing, but Salmon took a hit and disengaged without causing serious damage to the small enemy ship.

Sumatra
Enemy Sallies hit Palembang unescorted and paid the price as our Kittyhawks (P-40s) and Buffalos tore into them. 10 shot down by fighters, another by flak, no Allied losses. Light damage caused by the 14 bombers that got through.

Oosthaven was targeted for sweeps, costing us 2 Hurricanes with no victories. My prediction is that Oosthaven is where the invasion will come--it's a short trip from Batavia and they'll have local air superiority without much difficulty.

That drop tank issue with the Hornet is probably also the reason my Vildebeests at Singapore aren't flying, so if the invasion comes further north they may have an unpleasant surprise waiting for them.

Malaya
Wirraways attempted another attack at supply ships at Mersing and missed. 2 Oscars shot down by escorting Hurricanes and the Martlet (Wildcat) in its combat debut for the Brits. We lost a Hurricane and 2 Martlets.

Java
Banjoewangi has been captured

China
He's sending an army-probably a division strong, to cut off Chusien's supply lines. I've intercepted them with a bigger army (I hope). We fight tomorrow.

Thailand
A small army has cut off my southern group's supply route. I'm ordering my southern group to take them out before shortages become a problem. I'm ordering sweeps and recon to observe them as well to make sure it's as small as I think it is and to evaluate whether it would be efficient to task my bombers here.

09-22-21, 12:17 PM	#210
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	26 April 1942 Solomons An enemy cargo ship evaded an attack by the S-34 in The Slot only to be attacked and sunk by the S-42 a bit further west. Hawaii and Line Islands That supply convoy got through! There were casualties, but I got several ships through undamaged and a few that were hit at the docks but still managed to offload. It appears the weather (heavy rain in AM, light rain PM) significantly harmed enemy accuracy. Hopefully we offload everything we need overnight. This could be huge. I shelled Palmyra with 4 cruisers, plus a raid of Devastators. I'm mostly trying to get a feel for how well defended it is. Intel suggests there is at least a fraction of a tank regiment here, and recon is confirming a large number of vehicles. But, this raid hit mostly non-combat squads, and no vehicles. Hmmm.... I think I'm going to pass for now. Even with my armies recovering, I don't want to have to maintain a carrier presence to provide air cover when the KB could be headed here for all I know. Better to build up the base on Christmas Island and put B-26s there to bomb Palmyra into submission. Also, Christmas Island had been the bigger threat; Palmyra's airbase is, at least for now, too small to support Betties/Nells that could potentially disrupt my sea lanes. Also, I asked for outside help with the Hornet's bombers...and the theory is the problem is the drop tank setting. I've been playing with their settings, including turning drop tanks on/off, so they've declined missions while their drop tanks were on. But, the database shows that the drop tanks are centerline mounted--just like their 1000 lb bomb. So that probably is the problem. Maybe in the next few days we can get Hornet's dive bombers to attack again. At Japan, we spotted a large convoy returning from the east, I have to assume that was a supply run to Lahaina returning to base. So, we know this supply run exists, I just haven't found a good place to interdict it. Japan USS Salmon got into a gunfight with a light cargo ship passing between Okinawa and Kyushu. Kind of embarrassing, but Salmon took a hit and disengaged without causing serious damage to the small enemy ship. Sumatra Enemy Sallies hit Palembang unescorted and paid the price as our Kittyhawks (P-40s) and Buffalos tore into them. 10 shot down by fighters, another by flak, no Allied losses. Light damage caused by the 14 bombers that got through. Oosthaven was targeted for sweeps, costing us 2 Hurricanes with no victories. My prediction is that Oosthaven is where the invasion will come--it's a short trip from Batavia and they'll have local air superiority without much difficulty. That drop tank issue with the Hornet is probably also the reason my Vildebeests at Singapore aren't flying, so if the invasion comes further north they may have an unpleasant surprise waiting for them. Malaya Wirraways attempted another attack at supply ships at Mersing and missed. 2 Oscars shot down by escorting Hurricanes and the Martlet (Wildcat) in its combat debut for the Brits. We lost a Hurricane and 2 Martlets. Java Banjoewangi has been captured China He's sending an army-probably a division strong, to cut off Chusien's supply lines. I've intercepted them with a bigger army (I hope). We fight tomorrow. Thailand A small army has cut off my southern group's supply route. I'm ordering my southern group to take them out before shortages become a problem. I'm ordering sweeps and recon to observe them as well to make sure it's as small as I think it is and to evaluate whether it would be efficient to task my bombers here. __________________ Last edited by Molon Labe; 09-22-21 at 01:34 PM.