Axe1999
Posts: 145
Joined: 2/14/2021 Status: offline
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Few words on some random behind-the-scenes stuff, any tips or suggestions are welcome Logistics CS convoys are a life saver here. Im running 2 CS convoys to SWPAC from CONUS and 2 to Pearl Harbor. With EC2 ships coming faster than I can find tasking for them. But realistically I think I can handle SWPAC with Australias supply alone. Fuel could always be better but its not limiting factor for now, my main fleet base is Noumea with 800k and it gets 2 fat TK CS convoys, one goes to Lugainville as kind of a forward base, and one to Sydney to keep its industry going. One CS TK goes to Pearl Harbor to stockpile for future operations in CentPac, even though I dont really need fuel that much there currently, so its pretty small convoy (around 50 000 fuel). From CT I originally went to Calcutta, but IJNs submarines apparently switched their attention form my USA-Oz route to Bay of Bengal, as they are no where to be seen, so I rerouted my CS to Madras and Bombay. India is swimming in supply and fuel, Karachi alone has 1.5M unused fuel, and 1M+ supply in Madras. My biggest issue here was supplying Akyab, since it cannot pull that much through that coastal road I had to send convoys from Calcutta. Problem is, IJN would react with surface raiders. After a second time that happened, I sortied 2 old Royal Navy BBs under LRCAP that dealt with the threat. Another convoy goes CT-Perth, and fuel to CT comes with xAKs from EC, along with injection of 200k supply per trip. Pilot Training Following some forum advice, I organize my training as followed: Fighter pilots get 70 air + 50 exp, and if there is time 70 def. 4EBs hit ground targets, and originally 2EBs, ABs and similar were training in naval attack but even with NavB at 70 I dont get that many hits, so I repurposed them for ground bombing and left naval bombing to dive bombers. Each of those respective skills is trained to 70. My carrier SBDs get trained in naval search as well. I lost a lot of them in a big carrier clash so big retraining is in order. Grand Strategy Regarding my grand strategy and basic timeline Id like to do it relatively historical, even though Im pretty confident I could do some of this stuff right now. Gilberts in mid-late '43, then Marshalls, then summer '44 assault on Marianas. In SWPAC, Im pretty sure invasion of Rabaul is off the table, since recon suggests 60k+ troops there. Its not ideal, since I have to leave some bombers behind to keep it shut down but its not a big deal. After Rabaul is isolated, I hope till the end of '43 I can think about push for the Philippines from the south, and start getting my bases to do that. After bases are secured, two pronged push on Philippines late '44 early '45, followed by Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Submarine warfare Even with huge dud rate Mk 14 is bagging some nice tonnage. I swarmed entrance to the Inland Sea and entire south of HIs, South China Sea as well as passage between Indochina and Borneo, Makkasar straight, Java sea, Palembang and Balikpapan, sinking few dozen TKs so far. Cant wait for first reduction of dud rate in about a month, because now if I understood correctly its 80% of the hits, so more like 90% accounting for the misses. Conversions Four pipers were converted to DEs, since Im struggling to see the use of APDs. Some of new EC2s get converted to xAPs, which are now more needed as operations ramp up and a lot of shipping is in SWPAC. Every AG and xAK capable of converting to AKE has been converted, those come in extremely handy. Few of those in Munda allowed me to continue daily bombing of Shortlands with only one TF. In a few months APA and AKA conversions are coming, and some Canadian AMCs are converting to landing ships.
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