War in the Pacific AAR Thread - ML vs JFranzen

Molon Labe · 10-13-21, 06:10 PM

29 May 1942

East China Sea
USS Tautog torpedoed and sank a light cargo ship.

SouthPAC
Noumea is in for a rough ride. Apparently, my opponent is confident he can finish off the Enterprise without the KB, which launched another strike. Our airbase there is pretty worn down so we only got 5 fighters up today; 1 was shot down, and we only got 2 Zeroes. The bombers all got through:

xAK Mormacsul, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAP Koolama, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Iron Prince, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AE Mauna Loa, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Alabaman, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AS Pelias, Bomb hits 1, on fire
APD Gregory, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AMC Westralia, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAP Lycaon, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AP William Ward Burrows, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Admiral Wood, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Vichy, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP Tasker H. Bliss, Bomb hits 1

Thailand
The enemy fighters got to our bombers again and shot down 2 Blenheims.

Timor and N. Australia
The Hornet finally launched a strike, but it only sent VS-8 (half of which were on search duty) while VB-8 sat on the deck ready to go. Thanks to Koepang already having been captured, there were 18 Zeroes waiting for us, more than enough to handle 13 Wildcats and 9 Helldivers. All 9 bombers were shot down. Our fighters at least managed to get 3 of the Zeroes. So in the end, this entire op got us nothing except the Enterprise torpedoed.

A Hudson bomber on ASW patrol at Darwin reported scoring a hit on a Type A1 sub. A B-26 claimed to hit another one. I asked my opponent about this, and he confirmed that the I-20 was one of the subs that was hit, and there was much rejoicing among the crew of the Big E.

Malaya
Wirraways hit a convoy near Kuantan and put 3 bombs into a cargo ship, likely a kill.

China
Japan attacked my armies in Kaifeng again and was again beaten back with heavy casualties. I can't hold on forever, but this is nice while it lasts.

Molon Labe · 10-14-21, 11:15 AM

30 May 1942

Solomons
The S-39 intercepted a replenishment group and put 2 torpedoes into the Ken'yo Maru, a fast oiler. It followed up with a second attack and hit it two more times just to be sure. [EDIT: The S-39 also sank an AGP, which I mistook for the incident of them sinking one of ours tomorrow near Darwin. So that's 3 successful torpedo attacks by the S-39 in a single day!]

Sumatra
Two Japanese submarines intercepted the Brit CVBG on the southwest side of the island and hit one of its escorting destroyers, sinking it. We inflicted some damage on one of them before they slipped away.

Between this and the Darwin incident, I'm worried that I've become predictable. There are no merchants here for him to hunt. He knows where I'm going to put my carriers to strike at him and he's staging subs there to wait for me.

Zeroes swept Palembang, but only got two of themselves shot down for it.

Timor and N. Australia
[EDIT: A patrol boat tender escaping Koepang was picked off by one of the subs blockading Darwin.--This happens tomorrow, not today.]

Instead of going right after the Enterprise, he tried to attack the ASW groups--9 Betties escorted by 40 Zeroes. P-39s as well as the Wildcats of VF-6 defended the ships, shooting down 14 of the Zeroes and all the Betties; we lost only 1 P-39 and 1 Wildcat.

I'm looking for a certain repair threshold to try to move the Enterprise before it's too late, but I'm not there yet and repairs are progressing very slowly. At this point I think the best I can realistically hope for is it will be bombed at dock but I'll force him to use the KB to do it and maybe get one of those carriers in exchange. He's going to have to go through subs and bombers to get here.

China
We got two more Zeroes over Kaifeng--the new Chinese P-43s are really working out well. They managed to get a B-25, though.

The enemy army advancing on Nanyang, now identified as the 35th Division, is now in open terrain and is being bombed by SB-IIIs for moderate casualties. I'm going to move some more bomber squadrons to capitalize on this.

SouthPAC
Noumea got hit again as the KB remains--although I think the results in Darwin today will make him change his mind for tomorrow:
xAK Howell Lykes, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Admiral Wiley, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AR Medusa, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAP Ormiston, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAKL Surigao, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AM Turkey, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK San Vincente, Bomb hits 1
AP Henry T. Allen, Bomb hits 1
xAP President Fillmore, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Alabaman, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP William Ward Burrows, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Procyon, Bomb hits 1
xAP Lycaon, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Mormacsul, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Mormacrio, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AP Tasker H. Bliss, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS S-46, Bomb hits 1
AMC Westralia, Bomb hits 1

All that and 6 of my fighters (and a bomber on the ground) for the price of 6 Zeroes, 2 Kates, and 6 Vals.

We counterattacked with Banshees from Efate and got absolutely destroyed. 11 Banshees shot down by Zeroes, and 12th by flak, and 6 escorting P-40s taken down. We had no kills and no ship hits (Hiryu targeted by 4 Banshees).

We also lost 2 damaged ships trying to evacutate Pago Pago to reach a repair yard from when the KB hit there last week; the ships weren't as seaworthy as I hoped and additional compartments flooded.

Thailand and Burma
Tavoy held another day.

Molon Labe · 10-15-21, 08:32 AM

31 May 1942

Timor Sea
One of the destroyers detached from the CVBG found a sub near Darwin and scored a few near misses with depth charges. A destroyer-seaplane tender found another and dealt some damage. A Wirraway reported spotting the I-20 specifically, so despite apparent bomb and depth charge damage she's still on station. Enterprise still isn't well enough to move. I'm shifting some planes around; B-26s are flying out to make room for the heavies to come back. The heavies will try to neutralize Koepang.

A patrol boat tender escaping Koepang was picked off by one of the subs blockading Darwin. (reported this as happening yesterday in error)

SouthPAC
Noumea was hit again.
xAK Admiral Williams, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Iron Warrior, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAK San Vincente, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AP Henry T. Allen, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAP Ormiston, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Procyon, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Alabaman, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Iron Prince, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS S-46, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
xAP President Tyler, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AMC Westralia, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
AE Mauna Loa, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP William Ward Burrows, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Mormacrio, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Admiral Wood, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Lycaon, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Andrea Luckenbach, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAK Howell Lykes, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP Tasker H. Bliss, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AR Medusa, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AM Turkey, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
ACM Heath, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

We made them pay for that a bit. 2 Zeroes, 8 Vals (3 by flak) and 11 Kates went down. We had 4 fighters shot down and another 5 aircraft destroyed on the ground.

He split off 2 fast battleships from his CVBG, which encouraged my bomber pilots to be a little more aggressive. A B-26 got a hit on the Kirishima. Banshees made an attempt as well, but we only managed to have 3 find the ships between having few operational and thunderstorms in the area--8 others got airborne but aborted. The A-20s even got off their asses as well. But the B-26 got the only hit. One B-26 was shot down by flak.

China
Our offsetting bombing raids on Kaifeng cost him 3 Zeroes and 3 Ann light bombers, and us a P-40.

We've now got 12 SB-III bombers hitting the 35th division near Nanyang, causing heavy casualties. Still no enemy CAP protecting them.

Burma and Thailand
We lost 2 Blenheims to the CAP and another to flak at Tavoy.
Tavoy held off another land attack.

Molon Labe · 10-15-21, 09:13 AM

1 June 1942

SouthPAC
Kongo and Kirishima bombarded Noumea:
PBY-5A Catalina: 10 damaged
PBY-5A Catalina: 2 destroyed on ground
A-20A Havoc: 2 damaged
A-20A Havoc: 1 destroyed on ground
B-17E Fortress: 24 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground
P-39D Airacobra: 5 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed on ground
P-400 Airacobra: 2 damaged
P-400 Airacobra: 2 destroyed on ground
B-26 Marauder: 16 damaged
B-26 Marauder: 1 destroyed on ground
Vincent I: 2 damaged
Vincent I: 1 destroyed on ground
Plus they sank the minesweeper patrolling the port.
The air battle was smaller here thanks to the damage done by the BBs: 1 Zero downed plus 4 of our fighters. The bombers got through unmolested:
xAP President Tyler, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AMC Westralia, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP William Ward Burrows, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Henry T. Allen, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AR Medusa, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP Tasker H. Bliss, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Ormiston, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Admiral Wiley, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAKL Wawa, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Andrea Luckenbach, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Iron Warrior, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
Wave 2:
AE Mauna Loa, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAKL Wawa, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

The KB is headed north and does appear to be headed for Darwin.

Timor Sea
Our ASW forces found another sub and hit it a little. We have yet to score a truly damaging depth charge hit on any of these Darwin subs. An Avenger from VT-6 reported bombing a submarine.

Enterprise's repairs are progressing, they're reporting they could theoretically do one more knot than they could do yesterday.

The B-17s hit Koepang, but it cost me. The bombers themselves got 3 Oscars and 2 Zeroes, but 4 B-17s were damaged badly enough that they went down on the way home. We did moderate facility damage to the base and blew up at least one Zero on the ground.

China
Another great performance by Lancers at Keifeng--5 Zeroes downed, no losses. We're still hitting the Nanyang armies hard.

He's rested his troops at Kaifeng enough that I've ordered mine to retreat. The next attack is going to suck.

Sumatra
An air raid targeted Benkoelen, close enough to Palembang to draw their CAP. We got 3 Zeroes and 4 Vals with no losses.

Medan has been captured.

Thailand and Burma
Tavoy has been captured, with the loss/capture of 1800 men. Their additional reinforcements arriving over the mountains put them over the top; they now have 30,000 troops here, more than 2 divisions worth.

Refits and Reinforcements
The Saratoga is getting a radar upgrade while its torpedo damage is being repaired. They're also replacing its 12 5" Mk10 guns and 12 of its 1.1" AA guns with 16 5" Mk12s ("unquestionably the finest Dual Purpose gun of World War II" according to NavWeaps) It's AA rating is actually going down slightly with the numbers of guns going down, but I think having the better radar will make up for that with improved CAP effectiveness.

The battleship New Mexico is getting a major AA upgrade.

It seems that just about every merchant I have is now due for an upgrade. Looks like a lot of them are getting 20mms along with the .50 cals the 20mms are replacing on destroyers. That, plus old naval guns are being installed. It's going to be tedious managing this.

SS S-32 arrives at San Diego
VMSB-243 arrives at Santa Barbara - just 2 Vindicators
303rd BG/358th BS arrives at Mojave - more restricted B-17s.

Molon Labe · 10-16-21, 12:29 PM

2 June 1942

China
We got to their bombers over Keifeng again--7 Anns downed with no losses on our side. They didn't shoot any B-17s down outright, but one succumbed to its damage on the way back and another was too badly damaged to be repaired.

Timor Sea
B-17s hit Koepang again. 4 Zeroes went down thanks to the gunners. The raid caused moderate facility damage, plus an Oscar blown up on the ground and 2 ships in port hit with 500lb bombs.

The enemy sub presence at Darwin appears to be significantly diminished.

Sumatra
An air raid targeted Benkoelen; P-40s diverted from Palembang and splashed two Zeroes but the raid otherwise got through. There really isn't much there for the strike to be of significance beyond the air battle, though.

SouthPAC
The KB continues on a northerly course, more towards Rabaul or Truk than Darwin. It hasn't reached the Solomon Sea yet, so it's not too late for it to turn west. It would almost be disappointing if it didn't come, I've been scrambling to arrange a greeting party so much the last few turns. But without knowing if he has another plan in the works, if the KB doesn't go to Darwin, the chances of the Enterprise's survival shoot way, way up.

Thailand and Burma
An air raid targeted my retreating troops; they'll have a CAP tomorrow.
A Hudson bombed an enemy sub outside Rangoon.

Molon Labe · 10-18-21, 08:43 PM

I've got some catching up to do, we've been at a high pace over the last few days. I actually don't think there's a lot of value in going into the details because most of what's going on is just trends continuing, the interesting developments I'm not even sure what day they happened on. So here's a summary of June 3 - June 9:

Darwin and the Enterprise
Amazingly, he didn't finish her off. The enemy sub presence has dwindled, but it looks like he might just be staging them just outside my aircraft range. I'm probing the seas with ASW teams and bait ships--no one's biting. The KB kept going north after the Solomons, it never turned West towards Darwin. He built up land-based airpower at Koepang, then moved it away it seems. My B-17s are hitting the base, but they're suffering unsustainable losses and won't be able to neutralize it.

The Enterprise itself has dewatered every compartment that isn't open to the sea. She still has significant system damage and those repairs are barely progressing at all.

Sumatra
He continued picking off bases in the northwest, then finally invaded in force at Benkoelen, where he's been bombing for awhile. It doesn't look like a very large force just yet, so the main thrust is still coming...somewhere. I'm tempted to use the Brit carriers to interdict, but I checked the ranges and I'd be facing hordes of Betties with Zero escorts if I got close enough to strike. My Falcon, DB-7, Mitchell, and Fulmar aircraft all took heavy casualties trying to stop enemy ships as we just didn't have enough fighters to escort them. We did get one new fighter squadron there, so maybe that will change soon.

Thailand
He's not advancing up the road north from Tavoy, it even looks like he's pulled some troops back towards Bangkok. He might make a direct push for Raheng.

China
The army moving up towards Nanyang thought better of it and turned east. My Kaifeng adventure is pretty much over as a stalemate at this point, now we just need to see what happens now that we've massed so many troops here.

CentPAC and Pearl Harbor
I tried sending a lone cargo ship to Pearl, and I was shocked that it worked--it was never detected, on the way in or out. That one boat saved a lot of hungry bellies and even got our forts up to Level 4. Now the question is, was that a fluke, or is his presence really so diminished that he can't aerially blockade Pearl anymore? I would consider returning to Lahaina if his airpower was negligible.

Also, a series of SIGINT intercepts suggested that a large task force was moving west, possibly from Pearl headed towards the Celebes area.

Reinforcements
USS Wasp has arrived, although she still needs to get to the warzone from the Canal. The British are producing Hurricanes in much larger numbers than before, which is going to help out in Thailand and eventually Malaya again.

Molon Labe · 10-19-21, 07:46 PM

10 June 1942
Invasion of Sumatra

Sumatra
A small force of troops crossed the Strait and landed at Benkoelen and captured it.

Palembang was swept, costing me 5 P-40s with no enemy Zeroes shot down.

We lost 2 more B-25s and 1 more Falcon trying to hit the phibs on the coast.

Japan
USS Sculpin got into a rather embarrassing surface attack against an enemy cargo ship near Toyohara. We bounced 7 dud Mk14s off its hull before getting one to detonate, the whole time the Sculpin was taking hits from the cargo ships guns while its gunners couldn't score any hits of their own. That one Mk14 took the ship down, so all's well that ends well I suppose.

There was a second task force detected here. Classified as a flotilla of coastal minelayers plus at least one cargo ship and a troop transport--headed EAST. I question that these are mostly minelayers...but a large task force that includes merchants heading east from Toyohara is most likely an invasion force headed for the Aleutians. The only other thing east of here are the Kurilles, which make good seaplane bases, but you don't need a task force this size to build them up. If the Aleutians are the target, then spotting this task force near Japan has probably earned me sufficient time to stop the invasion. I intend to have dive bombers and a surface combat task force waiting for them.

Timor Sea
The jig is up. USS Hornet was spotted moving back to Darwin and I think he can figure out why. There are also enemy surface forces skulking around the Banda Sea. Three destroyers moved too far to the south and were attacked by VB-6 from Darwin, scoring a pair of hits on one destroyer for a confirmed kill. A few TBD from Hornet's VT-8 that weren't on an ASW patrol got in on the action, but failed to score any hits.

We hold contact on two enemy submarines and I'm going to try to put them on the defensive. Our B-17s bombing Koepang shot down a Nick and took one loss from flak. Damage to the airbase is still minor, but for now I'm going to keep whatever pressure on them I can. More on this "tomorrow."

Malaya
Our Wirraways scored a hit on a seaplane tender at Kuantan, setting it on fire. Why does he need seaplane tenders in Kuantan?

10-13-21, 06:10 PM	#1
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	29 May 1942 East China Sea USS Tautog torpedoed and sank a light cargo ship. SouthPAC Noumea is in for a rough ride. Apparently, my opponent is confident he can finish off the Enterprise without the KB, which launched another strike. Our airbase there is pretty worn down so we only got 5 fighters up today; 1 was shot down, and we only got 2 Zeroes. The bombers all got through: xAK Mormacsul, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Koolama, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Iron Prince, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AE Mauna Loa, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Alabaman, Bomb hits 1, on fire AS Pelias, Bomb hits 1, on fire APD Gregory, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AMC Westralia, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Lycaon, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AP William Ward Burrows, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAK Admiral Wood, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAKL Vichy, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AP Tasker H. Bliss, Bomb hits 1 Thailand The enemy fighters got to our bombers again and shot down 2 Blenheims. Timor and N. Australia The Hornet finally launched a strike, but it only sent VS-8 (half of which were on search duty) while VB-8 sat on the deck ready to go. Thanks to Koepang already having been captured, there were 18 Zeroes waiting for us, more than enough to handle 13 Wildcats and 9 Helldivers. All 9 bombers were shot down. Our fighters at least managed to get 3 of the Zeroes. So in the end, this entire op got us nothing except the Enterprise torpedoed. A Hudson bomber on ASW patrol at Darwin reported scoring a hit on a Type A1 sub. A B-26 claimed to hit another one. I asked my opponent about this, and he confirmed that the I-20 was one of the subs that was hit, and there was much rejoicing among the crew of the Big E. Malaya Wirraways hit a convoy near Kuantan and put 3 bombs into a cargo ship, likely a kill. China Japan attacked my armies in Kaifeng again and was again beaten back with heavy casualties. I can't hold on forever, but this is nice while it lasts. __________________

10-14-21, 11:15 AM	#2
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	30 May 1942 Solomons The S-39 intercepted a replenishment group and put 2 torpedoes into the Ken'yo Maru, a fast oiler. It followed up with a second attack and hit it two more times just to be sure. [EDIT: The S-39 also sank an AGP, which I mistook for the incident of them sinking one of ours tomorrow near Darwin. So that's 3 successful torpedo attacks by the S-39 in a single day!] Sumatra Two Japanese submarines intercepted the Brit CVBG on the southwest side of the island and hit one of its escorting destroyers, sinking it. We inflicted some damage on one of them before they slipped away. Between this and the Darwin incident, I'm worried that I've become predictable. There are no merchants here for him to hunt. He knows where I'm going to put my carriers to strike at him and he's staging subs there to wait for me. Zeroes swept Palembang, but only got two of themselves shot down for it. Timor and N. Australia [EDIT: A patrol boat tender escaping Koepang was picked off by one of the subs blockading Darwin.--This happens tomorrow, not today.] Instead of going right after the Enterprise, he tried to attack the ASW groups--9 Betties escorted by 40 Zeroes. P-39s as well as the Wildcats of VF-6 defended the ships, shooting down 14 of the Zeroes and all the Betties; we lost only 1 P-39 and 1 Wildcat. I'm looking for a certain repair threshold to try to move the Enterprise before it's too late, but I'm not there yet and repairs are progressing very slowly. At this point I think the best I can realistically hope for is it will be bombed at dock but I'll force him to use the KB to do it and maybe get one of those carriers in exchange. He's going to have to go through subs and bombers to get here. China We got two more Zeroes over Kaifeng--the new Chinese P-43s are really working out well. They managed to get a B-25, though. The enemy army advancing on Nanyang, now identified as the 35th Division, is now in open terrain and is being bombed by SB-IIIs for moderate casualties. I'm going to move some more bomber squadrons to capitalize on this. SouthPAC Noumea got hit again as the KB remains--although I think the results in Darwin today will make him change his mind for tomorrow: xAK Howell Lykes, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAK Admiral Wiley, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AR Medusa, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAP Ormiston, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires xAKL Surigao, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AM Turkey, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK San Vincente, Bomb hits 1 AP Henry T. Allen, Bomb hits 1 xAP President Fillmore, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Alabaman, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AP William Ward Burrows, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Procyon, Bomb hits 1 xAP Lycaon, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Mormacsul, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAK Mormacrio, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AP Tasker H. Bliss, Bomb hits 1, on fire SS S-46, Bomb hits 1 AMC Westralia, Bomb hits 1 All that and 6 of my fighters (and a bomber on the ground) for the price of 6 Zeroes, 2 Kates, and 6 Vals. We counterattacked with Banshees from Efate and got absolutely destroyed. 11 Banshees shot down by Zeroes, and 12th by flak, and 6 escorting P-40s taken down. We had no kills and no ship hits (Hiryu targeted by 4 Banshees). We also lost 2 damaged ships trying to evacutate Pago Pago to reach a repair yard from when the KB hit there last week; the ships weren't as seaworthy as I hoped and additional compartments flooded. Thailand and Burma Tavoy held another day. __________________ Last edited by Molon Labe; 10-15-21 at 08:36 AM.

10-15-21, 08:32 AM	#3
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	31 May 1942 Timor Sea One of the destroyers detached from the CVBG found a sub near Darwin and scored a few near misses with depth charges. A destroyer-seaplane tender found another and dealt some damage. A Wirraway reported spotting the I-20 specifically, so despite apparent bomb and depth charge damage she's still on station. Enterprise still isn't well enough to move. I'm shifting some planes around; B-26s are flying out to make room for the heavies to come back. The heavies will try to neutralize Koepang. A patrol boat tender escaping Koepang was picked off by one of the subs blockading Darwin. (reported this as happening yesterday in error) SouthPAC Noumea was hit again. xAK Admiral Williams, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAK Iron Warrior, Bomb hits 2, on fire xAK San Vincente, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AP Henry T. Allen, Bomb hits 2, on fire xAP Ormiston, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage AK Procyon, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Alabaman, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Iron Prince, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage SS S-46, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk xAP President Tyler, Bomb hits 2, on fire AMC Westralia, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage AE Mauna Loa, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage AP William Ward Burrows, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Mormacrio, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Admiral Wood, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAP Lycaon, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Andrea Luckenbach, Bomb hits 2, on fire xAK Howell Lykes, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AP Tasker H. Bliss, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage AR Medusa, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage AM Turkey, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage ACM Heath, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage We made them pay for that a bit. 2 Zeroes, 8 Vals (3 by flak) and 11 Kates went down. We had 4 fighters shot down and another 5 aircraft destroyed on the ground. He split off 2 fast battleships from his CVBG, which encouraged my bomber pilots to be a little more aggressive. A B-26 got a hit on the Kirishima. Banshees made an attempt as well, but we only managed to have 3 find the ships between having few operational and thunderstorms in the area--8 others got airborne but aborted. The A-20s even got off their asses as well. But the B-26 got the only hit. One B-26 was shot down by flak. China Our offsetting bombing raids on Kaifeng cost him 3 Zeroes and 3 Ann light bombers, and us a P-40. We've now got 12 SB-III bombers hitting the 35th division near Nanyang, causing heavy casualties. Still no enemy CAP protecting them. Burma and Thailand We lost 2 Blenheims to the CAP and another to flak at Tavoy. Tavoy held off another land attack. __________________

10-15-21, 09:13 AM	#4
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	1 June 1942 SouthPAC Kongo and Kirishima bombarded Noumea: PBY-5A Catalina: 10 damaged PBY-5A Catalina: 2 destroyed on ground A-20A Havoc: 2 damaged A-20A Havoc: 1 destroyed on ground B-17E Fortress: 24 damaged B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground P-39D Airacobra: 5 damaged P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed on ground P-400 Airacobra: 2 damaged P-400 Airacobra: 2 destroyed on ground B-26 Marauder: 16 damaged B-26 Marauder: 1 destroyed on ground Vincent I: 2 damaged Vincent I: 1 destroyed on ground Plus they sank the minesweeper patrolling the port. The air battle was smaller here thanks to the damage done by the BBs: 1 Zero downed plus 4 of our fighters. The bombers got through unmolested: xAP President Tyler, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage AMC Westralia, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AP William Ward Burrows, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage AP Henry T. Allen, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage AR Medusa, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AP Tasker H. Bliss, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAP Ormiston, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Admiral Wiley, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAKL Wawa, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires xAK Andrea Luckenbach, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Iron Warrior, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage Wave 2: AE Mauna Loa, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAKL Wawa, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage The KB is headed north and does appear to be headed for Darwin. Timor Sea Our ASW forces found another sub and hit it a little. We have yet to score a truly damaging depth charge hit on any of these Darwin subs. An Avenger from VT-6 reported bombing a submarine. Enterprise's repairs are progressing, they're reporting they could theoretically do one more knot than they could do yesterday. The B-17s hit Koepang, but it cost me. The bombers themselves got 3 Oscars and 2 Zeroes, but 4 B-17s were damaged badly enough that they went down on the way home. We did moderate facility damage to the base and blew up at least one Zero on the ground. China Another great performance by Lancers at Keifeng--5 Zeroes downed, no losses. We're still hitting the Nanyang armies hard. He's rested his troops at Kaifeng enough that I've ordered mine to retreat. The next attack is going to suck. Sumatra An air raid targeted Benkoelen, close enough to Palembang to draw their CAP. We got 3 Zeroes and 4 Vals with no losses. Medan has been captured. Thailand and Burma Tavoy has been captured, with the loss/capture of 1800 men. Their additional reinforcements arriving over the mountains put them over the top; they now have 30,000 troops here, more than 2 divisions worth. Refits and Reinforcements The Saratoga is getting a radar upgrade while its torpedo damage is being repaired. They're also replacing its 12 5" Mk10 guns and 12 of its 1.1" AA guns with 16 5" Mk12s ("unquestionably the finest Dual Purpose gun of World War II" according to NavWeaps) It's AA rating is actually going down slightly with the numbers of guns going down, but I think having the better radar will make up for that with improved CAP effectiveness. The battleship New Mexico is getting a major AA upgrade. It seems that just about every merchant I have is now due for an upgrade. Looks like a lot of them are getting 20mms along with the .50 cals the 20mms are replacing on destroyers. That, plus old naval guns are being installed. It's going to be tedious managing this. SS S-32 arrives at San Diego VMSB-243 arrives at Santa Barbara - just 2 Vindicators 303rd BG/358th BS arrives at Mojave - more restricted B-17s. __________________

10-16-21, 12:29 PM	#5
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	2 June 1942 China We got to their bombers over Keifeng again--7 Anns downed with no losses on our side. They didn't shoot any B-17s down outright, but one succumbed to its damage on the way back and another was too badly damaged to be repaired. Timor Sea B-17s hit Koepang again. 4 Zeroes went down thanks to the gunners. The raid caused moderate facility damage, plus an Oscar blown up on the ground and 2 ships in port hit with 500lb bombs. The enemy sub presence at Darwin appears to be significantly diminished. Sumatra An air raid targeted Benkoelen; P-40s diverted from Palembang and splashed two Zeroes but the raid otherwise got through. There really isn't much there for the strike to be of significance beyond the air battle, though. SouthPAC The KB continues on a northerly course, more towards Rabaul or Truk than Darwin. It hasn't reached the Solomon Sea yet, so it's not too late for it to turn west. It would almost be disappointing if it didn't come, I've been scrambling to arrange a greeting party so much the last few turns. But without knowing if he has another plan in the works, if the KB doesn't go to Darwin, the chances of the Enterprise's survival shoot way, way up. Thailand and Burma An air raid targeted my retreating troops; they'll have a CAP tomorrow. A Hudson bombed an enemy sub outside Rangoon. __________________

10-18-21, 08:43 PM	#6
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	I've got some catching up to do, we've been at a high pace over the last few days. I actually don't think there's a lot of value in going into the details because most of what's going on is just trends continuing, the interesting developments I'm not even sure what day they happened on. So here's a summary of June 3 - June 9: Darwin and the Enterprise Amazingly, he didn't finish her off. The enemy sub presence has dwindled, but it looks like he might just be staging them just outside my aircraft range. I'm probing the seas with ASW teams and bait ships--no one's biting. The KB kept going north after the Solomons, it never turned West towards Darwin. He built up land-based airpower at Koepang, then moved it away it seems. My B-17s are hitting the base, but they're suffering unsustainable losses and won't be able to neutralize it. The Enterprise itself has dewatered every compartment that isn't open to the sea. She still has significant system damage and those repairs are barely progressing at all. Sumatra He continued picking off bases in the northwest, then finally invaded in force at Benkoelen, where he's been bombing for awhile. It doesn't look like a very large force just yet, so the main thrust is still coming...somewhere. I'm tempted to use the Brit carriers to interdict, but I checked the ranges and I'd be facing hordes of Betties with Zero escorts if I got close enough to strike. My Falcon, DB-7, Mitchell, and Fulmar aircraft all took heavy casualties trying to stop enemy ships as we just didn't have enough fighters to escort them. We did get one new fighter squadron there, so maybe that will change soon. Thailand He's not advancing up the road north from Tavoy, it even looks like he's pulled some troops back towards Bangkok. He might make a direct push for Raheng. China The army moving up towards Nanyang thought better of it and turned east. My Kaifeng adventure is pretty much over as a stalemate at this point, now we just need to see what happens now that we've massed so many troops here. CentPAC and Pearl Harbor I tried sending a lone cargo ship to Pearl, and I was shocked that it worked--it was never detected, on the way in or out. That one boat saved a lot of hungry bellies and even got our forts up to Level 4. Now the question is, was that a fluke, or is his presence really so diminished that he can't aerially blockade Pearl anymore? I would consider returning to Lahaina if his airpower was negligible. Also, a series of SIGINT intercepts suggested that a large task force was moving west, possibly from Pearl headed towards the Celebes area. Reinforcements USS Wasp has arrived, although she still needs to get to the warzone from the Canal. The British are producing Hurricanes in much larger numbers than before, which is going to help out in Thailand and eventually Malaya again. __________________ Last edited by Molon Labe; 10-19-21 at 03:50 PM.

10-19-21, 07:46 PM	#7
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	10 June 1942 Invasion of Sumatra Sumatra A small force of troops crossed the Strait and landed at Benkoelen and captured it. Palembang was swept, costing me 5 P-40s with no enemy Zeroes shot down. We lost 2 more B-25s and 1 more Falcon trying to hit the phibs on the coast. Japan USS Sculpin got into a rather embarrassing surface attack against an enemy cargo ship near Toyohara. We bounced 7 dud Mk14s off its hull before getting one to detonate, the whole time the Sculpin was taking hits from the cargo ships guns while its gunners couldn't score any hits of their own. That one Mk14 took the ship down, so all's well that ends well I suppose. There was a second task force detected here. Classified as a flotilla of coastal minelayers plus at least one cargo ship and a troop transport--headed EAST. I question that these are mostly minelayers...but a large task force that includes merchants heading east from Toyohara is most likely an invasion force headed for the Aleutians. The only other thing east of here are the Kurilles, which make good seaplane bases, but you don't need a task force this size to build them up. If the Aleutians are the target, then spotting this task force near Japan has probably earned me sufficient time to stop the invasion. I intend to have dive bombers and a surface combat task force waiting for them. Timor Sea The jig is up. USS Hornet was spotted moving back to Darwin and I think he can figure out why. There are also enemy surface forces skulking around the Banda Sea. Three destroyers moved too far to the south and were attacked by VB-6 from Darwin, scoring a pair of hits on one destroyer for a confirmed kill. A few TBD from Hornet's VT-8 that weren't on an ASW patrol got in on the action, but failed to score any hits. We hold contact on two enemy submarines and I'm going to try to put them on the defensive. Our B-17s bombing Koepang shot down a Nick and took one loss from flak. Damage to the airbase is still minor, but for now I'm going to keep whatever pressure on them I can. More on this "tomorrow." Malaya Our Wirraways scored a hit on a seaplane tender at Kuantan, setting it on fire. Why does he need seaplane tenders in Kuantan? __________________ Last edited by Molon Labe; 10-20-21 at 07:40 AM.