RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/9/2018 4:03:43 AM

apbarog

Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
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23 Jun 42

Christmas Island IO (by Java) was invaded by the enemy. It and nearby Cocos Island are both unoccupied.

Cooktown gets the same treatment, and the airfield is still completely damaged. KB (or what I'm calling KB) moved back closer to Port Moresby today. I still don't know what all the activity here is about.

But I'm glad the activity is there. B-26s hit enemy troops on Tarawa for the first time. I see 2 units there, and one of them is the 53rd Naval Guard Unit. Decent recon is showing a weak defense there. The Allied armada was 13 hexes from Tarawa today and nothing was spotted. It will be 7 hexes to the east southeast of the island tomorrow, then just 1 hex away the next day.

The enemy CVLs in the middle of the Indian Ocean disappeared today. Weather was bad over most of my subs, so I can't be sure, but I think that the enemy moved back east towards Akyab.

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Post #: 451

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/9/2018 9:19:15 PM

apbarog

Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
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24 Jun 42

I-23 is spotted near Suva by a US cruiser task force leaving the base. The sub is hit twice by depth charges and forced to surface. It fired torpedoes 8 times at destroyers during the combat but all missed. Multiple gun hits on the subs certainly finished it off. This cruiser task force, along with another with Repulse, have been at Suva and were spotted by a Glen. They will move to Norfolk Island to await a mission. I'm not sending them up near the enemy carriers, and I don't need them near Luganville or Ndeni right now.

3 British MTBs (yes, the ones that started at Hong Kong) were moving from Portland Roads in Australia up to Horn Island to investigate enemy shipping there. On the way, they ran into an enemy cruiser task force headed in the other direction. In a series of 4 naval battles, during the night and the day, all of the MTBs were sunk. The enemy moved to Portland Roads and stopped there.

At Tabiteuea, I-33 fired 4 torpedoes at xAK Fairland and got one hit, sinking the cargo ship. It was unloading supply along with 2 other xAKs. Destroyer Helm was escorting and hit the sub with one depth charge.

Near Koggala Ceylon, I-11 hit HDML 1097 with a torpedo and sank the ship while it was looking for subs.

The PT boats at Luganville discovered a new enemy minefield at Luganville and didn't hit any of the mines. A fast minesweeper is ordered there from Noumea to clean up, and a slow local minesweeper from Suva is sent to patrol Luganville.

A few concentrated enemy air attacks in China. Always sweepers, always sizable escort forces. Only a major air commitment to China can oppose these attacks, and I choose not to do so.

B-26s do minor damage to the 53rd Naval Guard Unit on Tarawa. The invasion task force east of Tarawa was spotted today, but with just 2/2 DL. None of the carrier task forces, bombardment task force, ASW task force, or cruiser task force were spotted. All will move next to Tarawa today.

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Post #: 452

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/9/2018 9:19:46 PM

apbarog

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24 Jun 42 - Tarawa

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/10/2018 7:18:45 AM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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25 Jun 42

Stuff happening.

A US minesweeper was rushed to Luganville to clear mines, and find them there and to the southwest of the base.

Just north of Rabaul, S-40 spots 2 AO's with escorts. 4 torpedoes are fired at AO Ken'yo Maru but all missed. The sub takes minor damage from destroyers and will retire to Townsville.

I rushed 2 Dutch destroyers to Tabiteuea when I lost a cargo ship there. They arrived and pounded RO-67 after the sub missed destroyer Tjerk Hiddes with 6 torpedoes.

Near Phuket, sub Permit spots 2 huge transports. 4 torpedoes were fired at xAP Tatsuta Maru, and one hit, but it was a dud. Huge ship. Huge dud. The ship is undoubtedly loaded and headed north.

Sian gets another big Oscar sweep and then lots of bombers, with escorts. The airfield is pretty much shut down. I switch things up and move 4 P-40 squadrons from Burma to a base northwest of Sian, and will LRCAP them all over Sian at range 4.

16 Bettys with 30 A6M2 Zeros spot shipping at Luganville and go after them in the morning. P-400s and P-40Es defend. The defenders do very well, shooting down many Zeros, but there are too many of them to get to the bombers. All 16 Bettys get through, but find just PT boats. All torpedoes missed.

In the afternoon, all Bettys return for another shot. But this time, only 6 Zeros are escorting. The defenders do very well, and only 3 Bettys get through, and again miss PT boats with torpedoes.

Total losses for the day were 24 A6M2 Zeros and 14 Bettys, for the loss of 3 P-40Es and 2 P-400s. I was lucky. I had 3 small task forces northwest of Luganville heading for Ndeni, but none were spotted. None had fighter protection. They'll all get to Ndeni today, and I moved a fighter squadron there.

Allied carrier aircraft hit Mili's airfield, doing minor damage and finding no planes there. Others hit Jaluit's port, and did minor damage there. A third bigger strike hit the 53rd Naval Guard Unit at Tarawa, and did significant damage, causing 191 casualties.

ARD Dewey arrived at Vava'u and got to work on repairing xAP Republic, which is SYS 0/FLOT 44/ENG 15/FIRE 0.

Today will be the Tarawa invasion, the first Allied invasion of the war.

The graphic displays what I'm seeing in northeastern Australia. It's an invasion. Size unknown, intentions unknown. I will be content to bomb everything north of Cairns.

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Post #: 454

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/11/2018 12:47:25 AM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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26 Jun 42

Sub Sargo spotted battleship Haruna and escorts northeast of Kusaie Island. 2 torpdoes are fired at destroyer Yunagi but missed. This is an important sighting, as it happened at night, and the enemy could be headed to Tarawa. There's an outside chance that it could hit Tarawa tonight, which would be bad, with so much transport shipping there. I have a cruiser force guarding Tarawa, but you never know which task force will be attacked.

At Sian, the enemy swept with 32 Oscars and my 4 P-40E squadrons only put up 24 planes on LRCAP, and took the worst of it. 9 P-40s lost with 8 Oscars downed. All Warhawks head back to Burma, minus a bunch of damaged planes that will take some time to repair.

The enemy continues to unload troops at Portland Roads. 2 units there now. One is part of the 4th Infantry Division. S-39 fired 4 torpedoes at cruiser Haguro there but all missed.

Tarawa is invaded. Battleships West Virginia and Maryland bombard the base and do good work against the defenders. Unfortunately, while retiring to the southeast, I-17 fired 6 torpedoes at Maryland and one hit. SYS 15/FLOT 39-32/ENG 13-12/FIRE 0. They will now retire due east and hope that the direction change avoids subs.

Portland Roads did autoflip to the enemy. 21 P-38s swept the base and found 7 A6M3 Zeros on LRCAP from Horn Island. 5 of the enemy were downed but 3 P-38s were lost (2 to ops). But that allowed 2 divebomber squadrons to attack.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Portland Roads at 91,132

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Allied aircraft
SB2U-3 Vindicator x 19

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
APD Fuji
AMC Kinryu Maru, Bomb hits 2
AMC Kiyosumi Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Tsingtao Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

and

Morning Air attack on TF, near Portland Roads at 91,132

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
SB2U-3 Vindicator x 14

Allied aircraft losses
SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Oyashio
CL Jintsu
CA Myoko
CA Haguro

All misses on the combat ships but good hits on some transports. One AMC is suspected to be sunk. 11 B-25Cs then attacked the transports but all bombs missed from 6000 feet.

At Tarawa, 17 Bettys with 18 A6M2 Zeros went after the landing ships. Allied CAP was ranged CAP at range 1 from the carriers to the northeast.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Tarawa at 136,128

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
G4M1 Betty x 17

Allied aircraft
Martlet II x 12
F4F-3A Wildcat x 7
F4F-3 Wildcat x 15
F4F-4 Wildcat x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 9 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

In the afternoon, the same units tried again, with just 4 Bettys and 9 Zeros, and again the bombers did not get through.

In the afternoon, 69 SBDs and 15 TBFs bombed Mili's airfield again, doing minor damage. Another 72 SBDs and 29 TBFs hit enemy troops on Tarawa and did good work.

Total air losses for the day were 20 Bettys, 13 A6M2s, 8 Oscars and 5 A6M3s versus 9 P-40Es, 6 F4F-3s, 3 P-38s, 2 SBDs and 2 F4F-3As.

12 B-17s hit Horn Island's airfield doing minor damage. The A6M3s based there were LRCAP at Portland Roads, as expected.

Finally, Tarawa was shock attacked from the landing.

Ground combat at Tarawa (136,128)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 12339 troops, 189 guns, 186 vehicles, Assault Value = 411

Defending force 2049 troops, 14 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 35

Allied adjusted assault: 594

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 594 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied forces CAPTURE Tarawa !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender:
Attacker: shock(+), fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
2069 casualties reported
Squads: 56 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 123 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 13 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 17 (17 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2

Allied ground losses:
193 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled

Assaulting units:
24th Infantry Division
763rd Tank Battalion

Defending units:
53rd Naval Guard Unit
3rd Naval Construction Battalion

It was a textbook one day operation. The first Allied invasion was a success. It turned out to be overkill landing a division, but that wasn't known ahead of time, and Tarawa can hold 20,000 troops. I plan on staying, so I'm ok with that. It helped that the island wasn't strongly held, and that I know where the enemy carriers are. Followup troops will start to land tonight, so let's hope that Haruna isn't coming this way.

Near Burma, the enemy CVLs are now just southwest of Akyab, along with what looks like a battleship task force. The only reason to have a BB TF there is to bombard, so Chittagong is probably about to be hit again. I can't rule out an enemy landing there. I keep worrying about the possibility, but it hasn't happened yet. I think I'm ready for it.

The graphic shows the risky plan for today. Note that the 2 carriers moving southwest of Tarawa are Lexington and Saratoga, not as shown.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/11/2018 9:39:14 PM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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27 Jun 42

All mines are swept at Luganville and nearby.

Near Tarawa, there are plenty of enemy subs. I-26 and I-20 spots carrier task forces moving from north to southwest of Tarawa, but doesn't see the carriers. Torpedoes were launched at destroyers and missed.

Near Port Moresby, sub Perch fired 2 torpedoes at PB Ichiyu Maru. One hit but was a dud.

At Tarawa, I-20 is spotted by APDs unloading troops. The sub is hit by 2 depth charges and forced to surface. A long gun battle raged on. The sub hit APD Sands with a shell, causing 6 casualties. Many 3 inch shells hit the sub. Audio of a sub sinking was heard later, and it is undoubtedly this sub, with so many shell hits observed.

Sub Searaven fired 2 torpedoes at PB Okuyo Maru near Port Blair. One hit but was a dud. This patrol boat is leading a charmed life. It was hit by a dud torpedo a month ago in the same area.

Near Deboyne Islands, S-40 fired 2 torpedoes at xAK Tsukuba Maru. Both hit and worked. At least we have "S" subs and the Dutch to get some kills. This cargo ship almost surely sank, with audio heard later. S-40 got a kill in February, sinking another xAK near Kolaka.

Chttagong was bombed, doing moderate damage that was all repaired by the end of the day. Enemy CVLs moved west a few hexes, moving away from Akyab a bit.

So what happened to the carrier strike at Kwajalein. Let me explain.

I had a leading ASW task force with 4 destroyers. A carrier TF was set to follow the ASW TF, and the other 2 carrier TFs were to follow the first carrier TF. This setup has worked well for me in the past, giving me some ASW protection and (generally) keeping the carriers together even when they react. Well, my intention was for the ASW TF to move north, which it did, and have 2 carrier TFs follow, which they did not. The reason was I screwed up the settings. The first carrier TF, which previously was following the ASW TF, was correctly set to move south. I forgot that the other 2 carrier TFs were set to follow the first one, which they did. I should have set them to follow the ASW force.

The bottom line is that all carriers went southwest of Tarawa and are spotted. The ASW destroyers went north and were not spotted. As it turned out, a good recon of Kwajalein shows no worthwhile targets there anyhow, so this blunder didn't result in anything good or bad.

All carriers will now retire south to Suva. One British carrier will then go to Sydney to withdraw. I don't expect any enemy air attacks on Tarawa today, as my carriers were still in the area and probably expected to stay there. The airfield is fast approaching level 1, and most shipping will be leaving Tarawa after tomorrow.

My ships are vulnerable at Tarawa today. They are still protected by a strong cruiser force, but battleship Haruna could reappear in the area and cause issues with all of my transports still unloading support troops on Tarawa.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/11/2018 9:53:21 PM

BBfanboy

Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline

I have been bitten several times by the daisy-chained TF "follow" command. If anything at all goes awry with one of the TFs the chain gets broken and plans fall apart. e.g., if that ASW TF detected a strong enemy TF or air presence, the leader could balk at going on and RTB. Sometimes this will happen even when the routing for the first TF is Direct and Absolute. If possible, I try to just set all the TFs to arrive in the same destination hex, but if I want to have any following I set ALL the TFs to follow the one lead TF.

I am not positive, but the TF#s seem to play into the success with a daisy-chained follow - the game engine conducts movement of TFs in sequence by TF#, and any intervening TF#s not part of the exact chain sequence cause the game to lose track of the follow order. Multiple TFs following one lead TF are handled OK because they are individual, one-link chains instead of multi-links in the same chain.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/11/2018 10:04:58 PM

apbarog

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Thanks BBfanboy, that makes sense.

In my case, the fault was all mine. The game did what I ordered. I had my carriers following each other, but forgot that when I wanted just one task force to split off. It was the leader of the chain, so they all followed, as ordered.

I don't know what the success rate is for preventing carrier TFs from splitting up when a reaction occurs if all are following an ASW TF. My experience has been good keeping them together when following each other though, with the lead carrier TF following the ASW. From what you've said, though, that can go awry if the ASW TF has a mind of its own doesn't move as ordered. Maybe it would be better to just have the lead carrier TF move to the same destination as the ASW TF, with the other carriers following the first carrier TF. They may get separated from the ASW TF, but that's better than separating from the other carriers.

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Post #: 458

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/12/2018 3:51:36 PM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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OPilot is without power, as are many people in North Carolina. Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida coast, but it still packed a punch all the way up through the Carolinas. The game will wait until power is restored for him.

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Post #: 459

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/12/2018 11:52:44 PM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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Maybe a turn tonight. OPilot reports that he has electricity now, but no internet. He was dedicated enough to go out and find an internet connection somewhere to get the turn, so if he does the same later, I could have a turn tonight.

His area was spared the worst of Hurricane Florence that hit North Carolina, as he lives well inland. He reports that his area got a lot more damage from Hurricane Michael, which landed in Florida.

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Post #: 460

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/12/2018 11:56:12 PM

Lowpe

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Joined: 2/25/2013
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quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I am not positive, but the TF#s seem to play into the success with a daisy-chained follow - the game engine conducts movement of TFs in sequence by TF#, and any intervening TF#s not part of the exact chain sequence cause the game to lose track of the follow order. Multiple TFs following one lead TF are handled OK because they are individual, one-link chains instead of multi-links in the same chain.

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Post #: 461

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/13/2018 2:03:16 AM

Bif1961

Posts: 2014
Joined: 6/26/2008
From: Phenix City, Alabama
Status: offline

I live in south-eastern AL, about 125 miles from where Michael made landfall. I got wind and rain but never lost power as I was on the NW edge of the hurricane as it headed NE. I got off lucky not like those near Panama City, FL and points NE.

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Post #: 462

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/13/2018 6:46:33 PM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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28 Jun 42

After the activity at Tarawa and Portland Roads, nothing today. All of the followup troops have unloaded at Tarawa. The base is very slightly overstacked. I have cargo ships still unloading supply. I will be extracting the tank unit when a few ships are empty.

Allied carriers head south towards Noumea. Allied APs head to Suva. No sign of enemy carriers near Port Moresby. The only detection levels are north of Koumac, but I noticed when his carriers were near Port Moresby that they weren't lighting up my subs. He may be avoiding that by not using his carrier search planes. I do this often.

Imphal is bombed. I'm not defending it in the air. Enemy CVLs have moved out west of Akyab again.

SigInt says that the 21st Infantry Division is planning for Lingayen. This is new. OPilot must figure by now that supply is exhausted on Luzon. Only a matter of time till the cleanup invasion occurs.

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Post #: 463

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/14/2018 4:21:52 AM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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29 Jun 42

Usual bombings in China. Dutch sub KXIII missed a patrol boat near Port Moresby. Lots of shipping at Horn Island now, and carriers may be there. I believe that troops are being loaded there. If he's coming for Australia in bigger numbers, from there I think he'd go to Normanton and try to flank the Aussies in the north. I don't think he's coming in force though.

Most shipping is withdrawing south from Tarawa. I'm looking at invading Nauru rather soon, and using my carriers before doing upgrades. If I go to Nauru, I'm going to Kusaie Island too, as it appears to be undefended. This is a rather big jump north, and will only be done if I'm sure that KB isn't in the area. I'll have to think more about this. It is still pretty earlier for that deep of a move. Troops are mostly ready for it now though. It might send OPilot scrambling and may alter whatever plans he has. Getting the initiative would be a good thing.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/15/2018 2:46:04 AM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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30 Jun 42

I guessed right at Ndeni. I'd seen a cruiser group at Tulagi, and OPilot had seen a bunch of my cargo ships at Ndeni. I figured he'd come in and he did. I moved out all of my cargo ships and sent my fighters to Luganville. First the cruisers engaged 6 PT boats. Visibility was too good for the Allies, with clear weather and 96% moonlight, allowing the ships to spot each other at 9,000 yards. In the first fight, the distance closed to 7,000 but no closer, and no hits were achieved for either side. Then the bombardment occurred.

Night Naval bombardment of Ndeni at 120,143 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Japanese Ships
CA Kinugasa
CA Ashigara
CL Kuma
DD Samidare
DD Yudachi
DD Harusame
DD Murasame

Allied ground losses:
94 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 7
Port supply hits 1

This was a weak bombardment. Combined with not getting my cargo ships or any planes on the ground, I count this as a win. However, during the daylight, the cruisers spotted the PT boats again. The fight started at 24,000 yards and closed to 10,000 yards, so once again the PT boats didn't get a shot off. 2 were sunk.

I sent sweepers and lots of bombers to Cox's Bazar southwest of Chittagong. The base had no ranged CAP. It's a size 1 port and no airfield yet. I want to occasionally hit it and keep the base building down, and destroy some supply on the trail to front. Damage was moderate to the port.

At the same time, Sallys with Oscar escorts bombed Chittagong. Minor damage that was all repaired the same day.

Bettys with A6M2 Zeros hit Cooktown again. Airfield still out of action, but I moved 3 fighter squadrons to nearby Cairns and they will LRCAP Cooktown today.

OPilot told me the other day that he was reading a book on the Flying Tigers, and that they'd be withdrawing soon. He's very well aware that a lot of the P-40s on the Burma/India border (and occasionally in China) are going away. I withdrew 2 of the 3 squadrons today. The last has a few damaged planes in China that need repair and to be flown back to Burma.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/15/2018 6:53:23 PM

apbarog

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1 Jul 42

Still enemy ships at Horn Island. Still can't tell what their intentions are. Little change in the number of men on the island. Enemy carriers have disappeared. They may have passed Horn Island and gone up toward Darwin. Don't know.

Some of the usual enemy bombing. Imphal is hit. That's been happening from time to time. I was ready at Cooktown when the Bettys and Zeros showed up again. Results weren't great this time.

Afternoon Air attack on Cooktown , at 92,137

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
G4M1 Betty x 27

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 10
P-40E Warhawk x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 2

The Zeros did well fending off the LRCAP. Total air losses were 11 P-40s and 1 P-39 for the downing of 7 Zeros and 5 Bettys. With the Flying Tigers withdrawing, the pool of P-40Es is now over 100, so no shortage there as there was earlier.

Enemy ground troops start moving back into Bandoeng, again. Looks like another deliberate attack coming. The Dutch are getting slowly ground down, but as I've said before, at such a cost to the enemy. They've been at it for about 6 months. Supply is still over 10,000. Speaking of which, Changsha has gone under 10,000 supply for the first time. Not good. Transports are flying the Hump but it isn't enough.

Allied carriers approach Noumea. One British carrier will continue to Sydney to withdraw, and will be replaced by Wasp which is on the way from Vava'u. We could pull the trigger on an invasion of Nauru and/or Kusaie Islands, but I want to know where the enemy carriers are.

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Post #: 466

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/16/2018 7:09:23 AM

apbarog

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2 Jul 42

British sub Truant, with working torpedoes, fired 4 at light cruiser Kuma southeast of Rabaul. All missed. Truant was RTB to Townsville from a patrol south of Truk.

I recently unloaded troops at Umnak Island in the Aleutians, and started building the airfield. It became a size 1 airfield yesterday or the day before, and OPilot noticed. There's already a sub there. It spots a patrol craft escort but didn't see the 2 small cargo ships unloading supply. I order them to nearby Dutch Harbor, where small fragments of the units at Umnak are. I'll bring them in bits, using small transport task forces for the size 1 port. I would have preferred getting all the troops here (and to Adak) before any airfield building occurred, alerting OPilot to my newfound interest in the Aleutians, but I need the airfield to protect Dutch Harbor.

Sian gets swept by 21 Tojos. This is the first appearance of a sizable group of Tojos. 24 Oscars then sweep, followed by 35 more. That's a lot of attention. There's no CAP, and no fighters of any kind currently in China.

The surprise today was at Colombo, Ceylon. The CVL task force that disappeared west of Akyab reappeared southeast of Ceylon. Bombers hit both the airfield and the port.

Afternoon Air attack on Colombo , at 29,48

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 62 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 42
B5N2 Kate x 66
D3A1 Val x 15

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 16
P-40E Warhawk x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 8 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 2 destroyed, 13 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 4 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed

Allied Ships
BB Resolution, Bomb hits 1, on fire
BB Royal Sovereign, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 8
Port hits 1

CAP was lighter than it probably should have been. I'd become a bit complacent about Ceylon. Nothing had happened here, and there had been plenty of time for a strike with enemy carriers roaming between Ceylon and Burma for months. The CAP did a decent job considering the size of the fighter escort, and flak did well against the Kates.

[edit: The 2 hits on the battleships were 800kg AP bombs from Kates]

Total air losses were 23 A6M2 Zeros, 12 Kates (9 to flak), and 1 Val, for the loss of 10 P-40Es and 2 Hurricane IIb's. The Warhawk pilots were only adequately trained, nothing like the now withdrawn Flying Tigers. (Makes me wonder if a Ceylon invasion was intentionally planned for exactly when the the Flying Tigers have to withdraw...)

The battleships were just starting to come out of repairs, as I was going to send them to Bombay in a few days. New damage to them wasn't too worrisome but did tell OPilot that they are there. Resolution is SYS 27 (+3)/FLOT 17-17 (+1)/ENG 4/FIRE 0 and Royal Sovereign is SYS 27 (+26)/FLOT 38-33 (+5)/ENG 0/FIRE 0.

I am wondering about the situation because bombers hit the port and the airfield. If this was intended to be a single strike on the port, then I wouldn't think OPilot would have hit the airfield. I'm not seeing an invasion coming, but I didn't see the carriers coming either. They are in position to protect a landing on the southern coast. We'll see. I've moved fighters and bombers to Ceylon and staged others on the mainland as they couldn't get that far in one day. Ceylon has a decent army. It all depends on how many divisions show up, if they do.

In the South Pacific, detailed planning for possible invasions of Nauru and Kusaie Islands took place. Shipping started to move to embarkation ports. The furthest any has to travel is from Sydney to Vava'u Island, which is a 9 day trip. That's the earliest that invasion loading would begin.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/16/2018 1:34:20 PM

jwolf

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I'm surprised the 800 kg bombs did only light damage to your BBs.

quote:

Makes me wonder if a Ceylon invasion was intentionally planned for exactly when the the Flying Tigers have to withdraw...

It does make one wonder ...

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/16/2018 6:47:38 PM

apbarog

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Jwolf, one AP bomb did increase SYS damage on a battleship from 1 to 27, so it did some damage. Just not enough to worry me too much.

3 Jul 42

Dutch sub KX fired 4 torpedoes at APD Fuji near Milne Bay but missed. Fuji is part of the huge transport force seen at Port Moresby and maybe at the Portland Roads landing. The big task force is now northbound, passing through Milne Bay.

A week ago, Makin Island was empty. Now the 51st Naval Guard Unit is there. I've been doing regular recon on it. My interest probably provoked OPilot to garrison the base. I'm not going there any time soon.

Over 20 B-17s bombed Milne Bay's new airfield, doing moderate damage. No CAP, but that will probably be the last day that is true.

I recently guessed that a cruiser bombardment was coming to Ndeni and pulled out the fighters there. I was right. I forgot to move some back to the island as I moved a small task force with unit fragments on it.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 120,143

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 116 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 37
G4M1 Betty x 16

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAKL Kailua, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Island Mail
PC Daphne, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 12 (4 destroyed, 8 disabled)

Fighters are now there.

Enemy CVLs that hit Colombo yesterday are not seen today, but I have strong detection levels on a sub to the southeast of where they were yesterday. Far enough southeast that it looks like the ships are retiring, at least for today. No sign of an invasion. Ceylon air strength has been increased, but I didn't send everything that I rushed to Madras on the way to Ceylon. Maybe it was just a raid.

OPilot made a move in China, moving a big stack out of a contested hex. Looks like a move to penetrate an opening in the Chinese line.

CLAA Van Heemskerck was scuttled today, between Cocanada and Madra. I thought it would make it to the bigger base for repairs, but it flooded quickly. Should have left it where it was. SYS damage was 70 and FLOT was 45. FLOT increased to 97 today and the crew reported that the decks were awash and they were preparing to abandon ship. They did so.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/17/2018 5:44:11 AM

apbarog

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4 Jul 42

Enemy cruiser force went back to Ndeni and found some shipping this time.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Ndeni at 120,143, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Ashigara
CA Kinugasa
CL Kuma
DD Murasame
DD Harusame
DD Yudachi
DD Samidare

Allied Ships
YO-53, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

and

Night Time Surface Combat, near Ndeni at 120,143, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Ashigara
CA Kinugasa
CL Kuma
DD Murasame
DD Harusame
DD Yudachi
DD Samidare

Allied Ships
xAKL Island Mail, Shell hits 21, and is sunk

YO-53 had just moved from north of Ndeni where it did an emergency refueling of PT boats that reacted away from Ndeni in the last enemy bombardment and ran out of fuel there. The xAKL was in the task force that lost a PC and another xAKL last time. It managed to completely unload its ground unit fragment before sinking.

I see that the enemy retired to Lunga this time. It can bombard Ndeni at any time, when it has full movement. It may need to refuel and rearm today, then it would be back the next day. I formed up a strong cruiser TF at Noumea, consisting of 3 heavy cruisers, 5 light cruisers, and 6 destroyers. It will move at full speed to a point one hex west of Luganville, where ranged CAP can protect it some if it is spotted. If not spotted, it will run into Luganville the following night and try to catch the regular visitors.

After these engagements, the enemy bombarded Ndeni, and did a better job than last time.

Night Naval bombardment of Ndeni at 120,143 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 5 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed on ground
P-40E Warhawk: 12 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Kinugasa
CA Ashigara
CL Kuma
DD Samidare
DD Yudachi
DD Harusame
DD Murasame

Allied ground losses:
247 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 6
Port hits 10
Port fuel hits 2
Port supply hits 1

One P-39 was destroyed on the ground.

Cooktown was swept by 40 A6M3s from Horn Island and then bombed by the usual suspects from Port Moresby. The US 3rd Marine Division was just formed in San Diego. It begins prepping for Horn Island.

Looks like the Allied held portion of Luzon will be attacked soon. Enemy troops south of Manila show movement into the city. I also expect a landing on the west coast, as the coast is undefended and I've seen units still prepping for it. Most Allied units on Luzon are out of supply.

Heavy enemy bombing in China. All I can say is that such a big air effort there is burning supply.

Enemy air strike on Tarawa from Roi Namur (I think).

Afternoon Air attack on Tarawa , at 136,128

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 112 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 39 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13
G4M1 Betty x 9

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 6 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Runway hits 1

Good protection by the Warhawks. It was obvious that the Zero pilots were not of the quality that the ones at Port Moresby and Horn Island are. Total air losses are 12 A6M2s and 2 Bettys, for the loss of 1 P-40E.

The 2 damaged British battleships will leave Colombo today and race 8 hexes to the north and along the Indian coast (hopefully).

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/17/2018 6:48:07 PM

apbarog

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5 Jul 42

The first enemy unit entered Manila. The defenders are there, in strength, but mostly out of supply.

Lots of enemy bombing in China, as usual.
33 Sonias and 30 Nates at Changteh
21 Lilys and 27 Oscars near Yenan
27 Sallys and 12 Oscars at Kukong
21 Helens and 24 Tojos near Yenan
36 Sonias at Kukong
9 Sonias at Nanning
12 Sonias at Kweilin
9 Sonias and 12 Nates at Sian

Damaged Brit battleship will leave Madras for Trincomalee today. 2 others safely left Colombo and are heading up the west coast of India to Bombay. They weren't spotted.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/18/2018 5:55:39 AM

apbarog

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6 Jul 42

Just outside of Port Moresby, S-38 spotted 2 patrol boats and fired 2 torpedoes at PB Sonan Maru #6. One hit and sank the patrol boat.

With the enemy CVLs apparently gone from the Ceylon area, the subchasers go back to work. Still lots of subs here, west and south of the coast of Ceylon. None taken out today.

Today Cooktown got 40 A6M3s sweeping from Horn Island and 24 A6M2s sweeping from Port Moresby. No CAP.

Chittagong was hit by 50 Sallys and 42 Oscars escorting. Substantial damage to the airfield but there are many engineers here, so it won't matter much. No CAP.

China. Bombing. Yea.

My strong cruiser force will move to Ndeni tonight and stay. 2 fighter squadrons will protect. Hopefully the smaller enemy cruiser task force will come back. It wasn't seen today at Shortlands, but wasn't spotted at Lunga or Tulagi either.

Carrier Hermes made a sprint from Belep Island to Noumea today, and did so successfully and not seen. It will spend some time repairing SYS damage before moving on to a shipyard. One Brit battleship is now repairing at Bombay. 2 more on approaching Bombay on the coast. The 4th is between Madras and Trincomalee now. One damaged cruiser is at Trincomalee.

At Manila, just one enemy unit has entered. Multiple units are still south and not moving yet.

Lots of shipping still heading to multiple embarkation points for the upcoming invasions of Nauru Island and Kusaie Island. No sign of KB for quite awhile. Heavy activity reported at Truk though. But it could be anywhere now. With the SigInt of the interest in the Aleutians, I'd expect some carriers to go that direction when OPilot wants to make a move. He sees my activity at Umnak Island now. That may cause him to move. I have a big task force forming at Prince Rupert, loading with multiple ground units for Adak, which is still empty. It will be a dangerous journey, done without combat escort, and no friendly bombers in the Aleutians. Umnak airfield is just a size 1. I am sending 4 destroyers from Pearl Harbor to Dutch Harbor now. I don't want a big fight, just a proper garrisoning and building of Umnak Island (complete) and Adak Island (in progress).

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/18/2018 11:17:57 PM

apbarog

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7 Jul 42

My big cruiser task force steamed towards Ndeni, but was spotted by I-173 just to the southwest. 4 torpedoes missed destroyer Preston. The force continued on but the enemy did not show up today. We'll retire back to Noumea, now that surprise is lost. The ships will be part of the Nauru operation.

Hudsons bombed Makin Island and the 51st Naval Guard unit there, just to show interest in a place that I'm not interested in.

Enemy movements northeast of Sian show that they will try to gain an advantage at a different point on the front. Generally, the Chinese can hold, but supply is the wildcard, and it's slowly draining in all of China.

Ships still continue to points of embarkation for the Nauru operation. No sign of KB.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/19/2018 8:58:59 AM

CaptBeefheart

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Great AAR. Keep up the good work. I finally caught up after a three-page hiatus.

If I could offer some advice, it would be to not move ships with SYS damage of more than 30 or so, unless there is a very compelling reason to move, like imminent air attack and not enough CAP. SYS represents the ship's ability to remain seaworthy, and moving a ship with 70 damage is asking for trouble.

Your Bandung troops should all receive medals. What they've done is amazing.

I'm mystified by the lack of garrisons at Kusaie and Ponape. Maybe they are bait? Could the KB be waiting at Truk? EDIT: With their high stacking, they represent great staging bases.

Cheers,
CB

< Message edited by CaptBeefheart -- 10/19/2018 9:00:17 AM >

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/19/2018 3:47:24 PM

apbarog

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Thanks CaptBeefheart. You are right, I should have had more patience and left the damaged Dutch CLAA at Cocanada longer. Cocanada is just a size 1 port, and with Madras nearby and much larger, I thought it would be ok to move it a short distance. At least I've saved the other cruiser, and the 4 battleships. And Hermes, which was quite a save, is now at Noumea. I greatly enjoy the saving of damaged ships. Reminds me of how I enjoyed the old game Great Naval Battles for the damage control in the game.

I'm not 100% sure that Kusaie is empty, but I'll know before I show up. Ponape has been base building all along, so I'm sure that it is not empty. KB could very well be at Truk. In fact, it is likely that it is there. But it's an unknown right now.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/19/2018 6:17:40 PM

apbarog

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8 Jul 42

Southwest of Truk, sub Sculpin spotted a big AO with a patrol boat escorting. 4 torpedoes are fired at AO Shiretoko and one hit, but it was a dud.

Just outside of Port Moresby, S-38 spotted a big transport with destroyer Susuki escorting. 4 torpedoes were fired at xAP Montevideo Maru. 2 hit, causing a massive explosion. No troops were noted. The ship is on fire and has heavy damage, but was not reported sinking, and no sinking audio was heard. Being just one hex from Port Moresby, the ship may or may not sink.

First enemy attack at Manila, a probing artillery attack.

Ground combat at Manila (79,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 12810 troops, 127 guns, 60 vehicles, Assault Value = 406

Defending force 25587 troops, 201 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 834

Allied ground losses:
13 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
38th Division
17th Medium Field Artillery Regiment

Defending units:
1st PA Infantry Division
27th Avn Sup
71st PA Infantry Division
91st PA Infantry Division
41st PA Infantry Division
I/43rd PS Inf Battalion
51st PA Infantry Division
2nd Constabulary Regiment
1st USMC AA Battalion
4th PAAC Avn Sup
Nichols Field AAF Base Force
II Corps
Cavite USN Base Force

The defenders have plenty of strength to hold, but only about half of the units have supply. Since the start of the war, the Luzon defenders have been resting and training, so those numbers are good. Now they are starving. Manila generates a little bit of supply, so these troops get to eat occasionally. The rest of the Luzon defenders, including Bataan, have zero supply.

High detection level near Shortlands. Could be from land based search, could be KB. Tomorrow is the big day when loading begins at Vava'u for the Nauru invasion. Other units at Suva, Noumea, and Koumac will start loading soon after.

< Message edited by apbarog -- 10/19/2018 6:18:11 PM >

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/20/2018 5:36:53 AM

apbarog

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9 Jul 42

Southwest of Tabiteuea, S-45 was spotted by I-19, which fired 2 torpedoes. One hit S-45, sinking the sub. This is only the 3rd Allied sub lost in the war. S-36 was sunk by bombers while repairing in Manila. Dutch sub KVII was sunk by an enemy sub. No Allied subs lost to ship ASW so far. I count 12 enemy subs destroyed. This is an approximation; some were probably not. 4 midget subs were lost at Pearl Harbor. They didn't get the memo that the attack was called off there.

3/3 detection level near Rossel Island, southeast of Milne Bay. Could be carriers.

Troops begin loading today at Koumac, Noumea and Vava'u for the Nauru and Kusaie invasions. Loading will begin tomorrow at Suva.

The US 3rd Marine Division will begin to load on fast transports at San Francisco and head to Sydney. This division is starting to plan for Horn Island.

< Message edited by apbarog -- 10/20/2018 5:37:38 AM >

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/20/2018 10:51:00 PM

apbarog

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10 Jul 42

Destroyer Decoy found I-166 west of Colombo. The sub got the first shot and missed with 2 torpedoes. Decoy couldn't hit the sub.

Imphal was bombed.

Bombing in China, mostly in the north in the rough terrain. Little can be done for the Chinese there. They need to hold the line without fighter protection.

Loading continues at Koumac, Noumea and Suva. Ships are leaving Vava'u. All will rendezvous well north of Suva for the run into Nauru. A big carrier battle is likely. I don't know where KB is, but I don't have a reason to think it left the Truk/Rabaul area. Nauru, and particularly Kusaie, are very close to both of those spots. No more than a 2 day trip. There's going to be a fight. I'm not 100% sure this is a fight I want, just yet.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/21/2018 5:44:31 AM

apbarog

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11 Jul 42

ASW attack near Gasmata at 103,129

Japanese Ships
APD Fuji, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CM Tsugaru
APD Tade
APD Nadakaze

Allied Ships
SS S-47

SS S-47 launches 4 torpedoes at APD Fuji

I know the exact route that OPilot is using to go from Rabaul to Port Moresby with these smaller task forces. S-47 was waiting. I knew that he was hugging the New Guinea coast, but I wasn't sure of the route from Rabaul to the New Guinea coast. Now I know. APD Fuji sank just after the combat. No troops on it though. Actually 2 torpedoes hit but one was a dud.

Lingayen on Luzon was invaded. No defenders. All Luzon defenders stay in place and will do the best they can with what they have. And that isn't supply.

West of Truk, sub Pollack fired 4 torpedoes at destroyer Oboro but missed. 2 AOs are spotted in the task force.

Lots of invasion shipping moving out and heading for a rendezvous in a few days.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/21/2018 5:38:10 PM

BBfanboy

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The composition of that APD/CM TF suggests a Fast Transport mission. It seems a misuse of such ships to simply haul supply to PM, so I am thinking maybe he plans to lift a unit off PM to go elsewhere. Might be worth looking at islands within about 20 hexes of PM to try and guess a target.

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