SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009 From: Alberta, Canada Status: offline
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May 12/44: Not much going on, but thought I'd post a morale boosting air action update. Erik, as per his usual aggressive self, has been sweeping Groote Eylandt with Franks from Darwin. Today, I moved in some Spitfires and joined battle. The Franks get a drubbing. AAR follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Groote Eylandt , at 82,130 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 9 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-84a Frank x 37 Allied aircraft Spitfire Vc Trop x 14 Spitfire VIII x 24 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-84a Frank: 9 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Spitfire VIII: 1 damaged -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Groote Eylandt , at 82,130 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 72 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 17 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-84a Frank x 4 Allied aircraft Spitfire Vc Trop x 10 Spitfire VIII x 17 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed No Allied losses In Burma, I tried a larger supply run to Ramree Island, but this time I chose to defend my airspace against the Japanese LBA attacks I was sure would follow. Erik obliged, as I knew he would. For the loss of three British LST's and one AM, the Japanese air attacks get mauled. I land an additional 6k of supply bringing the total at Ramree Island to over 20k now. AAR's follow: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Ramree Island , at 54,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 49 NM, estimated altitude 33,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-84a Frank x 49 Allied aircraft Spitfire Vc Trop x 28 Spitfire VIII x 56 P-40E Warhawk x 11 P-38H Lightning x 6 P-40K Warhawk x 22 P-40N5 Warhawk x 23 P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 46 F4U-1A Corsair x 14 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-84a Frank: 6 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed P-40K Warhawk: 2 destroyed P-40N5 Warhawk: 1 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Ramree Island , at 54,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 32 NM, estimated altitude 35,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-84a Frank x 49 Allied aircraft Spitfire Vc Trop x 28 Spitfire VIII x 52 P-40E Warhawk x 8 P-38H Lightning x 4 P-40K Warhawk x 13 P-40N5 Warhawk x 18 P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 46 F4U-1A Corsair x 14 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-84a Frank: 5 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Spitfire Vc Trop: 1 destroyed P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Ramree Island at 54,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 46 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Japanese aircraft D4Y1 Judy x 32 Ki-43-IIIa Oscar x 49 Allied aircraft Spitfire Vc Trop x 24 Spitfire VIII x 48 P-40E Warhawk x 8 P-38H Lightning x 1 P-40K Warhawk x 10 P-40N5 Warhawk x 18 P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 45 F4U-1A Corsair x 14 Japanese aircraft losses D4Y1 Judy: 12 destroyed, 3 damaged Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 5 destroyed No Allied losses Allied Ships LST 11, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk LST 73, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk AM Carnatic, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage LST 160, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ramree Island at 54,48 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft D4Y1 Judy x 17 Ki-43-IIIa Oscar x 33 Allied aircraft Spitfire Vc Trop x 23 Spitfire VIII x 52 P-40E Warhawk x 8 P-38H Lightning x 6 P-40K Warhawk x 9 P-40N5 Warhawk x 21 P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 43 F4U-1A Corsair x 12 Japanese aircraft losses D4Y1 Judy: 3 destroyed Ki-43-IIIa Oscar: 4 destroyed No Allied losses On the day, the air losses indicate I lost 29 aircraft from all causes, the Japanese 98. The P-40's take the brunt of the losses with 16, but they were low CAP. The Allied Corsairs, P-38's, P-47's and Spitfires performed spectacularly only losing one aircraft each, excepting the Corsairs and Spitfire Vc's which lost two. Only four Allied pilots were lost on the day. I don't trust the intelligence report which showed 72 Franks, 21 Oscars and 33 Judy's being destroyed in A2A and Ops, but still a rough day for the Japanese. More importantly, I'm guessing many good enemy pilots were shot down and captured. I've been trying some different approaches of late with my air units, and so far so good. I may not be able to perform offensive sweeps effectively, but on defence my fighters, especially the Spitfires, are laying it on the Japanese. In other news, CV Franklin arrived at Balboa on the 11th and is en route to Pearl Harbor. The last damaged CV in Australia will be fully repaired next turn. I'm going to target Ponape next, while I wait for forward airbases on New Guinea and Manus to reach level 8. Then I unleash my LBA to hammer Japanese positions along the north coast and conduct some smaller amphibious operations against Aitape, Dagua and Wewak. I'm almost ready to move in Burma with the new ground offensive. I'm not optimistic, but it's time to start grinding away.
< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 12/20/2016 7:56:51 AM >
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Luck is the residue of design - John Milton Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
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