RE: Feb. 23/43 Update

RE: Feb. 23/43 Update (Full Version)

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SqzMyLemon -> RE: Feb. 23/43 Update (4/30/2012 8:18:31 AM)
The next turn is away. I think the small enemy SCTF's I'm spotting in the Coral Sea and Solomons are maneuvering to get into a position to strike my ASW TF's protecting the sea lane for bombardment runs against Lunga. I've taken appropriate measures and hopefully I've deduced things right. I've kept a few expendable TF's operating in the area to draw the DD's in. There could be a few sunk enemy DD's this turn if the Allies do indeed strike. The situation has changed dramatically since their last attempt and if they get caught within range of LBA...well. [sm=sterb003.gif] Another bombardment run is ordered against Lunga regardless, as the airbase is down to only 53% damage. Advance Japanese units are 21 miles away from Lunga, but have been slowed to allow late landing forces to catch up. I'm still on schedule for an assault during the first week in March. I will be stepping up bombardments now and may use CV's to pound Lunga as well. It's all about shock and awe now in preparation for the assault. China, I've ordered the armour to race for Kunming. I'll try and catch the "Other Horde" and nip away as much as possible. All forces in China continue to advance, but I continue to pull units out of the line for eventual redeployment to the Pacific. Could be an interesting turn, but that all depends on what the Allies do. I just hope to start getting positive results from my naval forces for a change and I'm sweet talking Mother Nature for all it's worth. Give me interdictions and clear skies if the Allies attack. [sm=innocent0001.gif]

JocMeister -> RE: Feb. 23/43 Update (4/30/2012 8:52:58 AM)
He is done for in China, no doubt about it! He won´t have any supply at all. Probably havn´t had for a few months.

SqzMyLemon -> RE: Feb. 23/43 Update (4/30/2012 5:42:40 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: JocMeister He is done for in China, no doubt about it! He won´t have any supply at all. Probably havn´t had for a few months. I sure hope you are right. I've heard that even when out of supply, a unit still retains 25% of its combat strength though. I think Alfred posted that somewhere. If so, that means these large Chinese formations will still have some decent defensive capability. More so if Kunming is reached and 3x terrain and fort levels come into play. It's going to be interesting finding out.

ny59giants -> RE: Feb. 23/43 Update (4/30/2012 5:48:51 PM)
How many DBs (hopefully Judy) do you have in the Solomons area?? With their extended range they should do well against any DDs he sends in. [;)] It may be worth taking off a groups or two from your CVs to make this a costly adventure for him.

SqzMyLemon -> RE: Feb. 23/43 Update (4/30/2012 6:44:02 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: ny59giants How many DBs (hopefully Judy) do you have in the Solomons area?? With their extended range they should do well against any DDs he sends in. [;)] It may be worth taking off a groups or two from your CVs to make this a costly adventure for him. I have one Judy formation and that is located on the CV Taiho. Despite the D4Y1 Judy being advanced one month, it seems I'm unable to actually produce it until March 1/43. The factories still show as R&D and are blue, so I'm not sure if I have to do something or if they will start producing on the 1st. I have one DB unit on Munda and a TB unit on Vella Lavella. Also Betty's on Shortlands. I'm just waiting for more airbase expansions to get more LBA deployed. Kb might also be a factor [8D]. I've taken off one air unit each from the CV's Junyo and Hiyo, as I wanted more Zero's available for CAP. These bomber groups are at Truk and Manus. One interesting bit. I remember the time it takes to buy back destroyed air groups has been shortened in recent patches, but it requires a restart to take effect. I bought back the CV Hiryu air groups shortly after it's sinking and I'm still waiting. In fact, they will not arrive till July! [X(] That is well over a year long delay. The CVL Ryuho was accelerated and it's air groups don't arrive till November. The enemy DD's are already within Betty range from Shortlands. I'm just not getting co-operation from the weather, or getting bombers airborne in some cases. This is what's killing me. I'm usually in a position to hit the Allies, just the results are poor or weather comes into play. Last turn was a perfect example, the SCTF I sent to interdict the enemy SCTF in the Coral Sea reacted to it, the message TF so and so encountered enemy TF so and so came up, but no combat occurred. The CVL Ryuho was within range, the Kate's launched, but couldn't locate the enemy due to weather. This kind of stuff is happening to me far too often.

SqzMyLemon -> A note on R&D (4/30/2012 10:34:46 PM)
I forgot to add this to the last turn update. I noticed my Ki-84 Frank R&D seemed to be forever stuck at 111 points to repair and was wondering at the slow progress. Then I noticed two points have repaired in the last two days. I wondered why and remembered Criptop mentioning how airframe R&D was somehow speeded up after a certain number of engines for that particular airframe had been pooled. So I took a look at the Ha-45 and sure enough, I've recently surpassed 300 engines in the pool. It seems at least 300 engines stockpiled is a catalyst to speed up R&D. This isn't scientific by any means and I may be completely wrong, but at least I'm getting some Frank airframe R&D happening. I will continue to watch the numbers and see if it continues or if it was simply an aberration.

Walloc -> RE: A note on R&D (4/30/2012 10:37:27 PM)
Pretty sure both Damien and MichaelM confirmed that u need 500 engines in pool to get research bonus, so i think u just seeing randomness. U have had enough supplies at the bases right? Kind regards, Rasmus

SqzMyLemon -> RE: A note on R&D (5/1/2012 4:49:55 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Walloc Pretty sure both Damien and MichaelM confirmed that u need 500 engines in pool to get research bonus, so i think u just seeing randomness. U have had enough supplies at the bases right? Kind regards, Rasmus Thanks Rasmus. I gained another repair point last turn, so I'll continue to enjoy it while it lasts. I'm producing 130 Ha-45's a month, so the good news is I'll reach the magic 500 in two months.

SqzMyLemon -> China and other stuff (5/1/2012 5:34:24 PM)
I had a chance to run a turn this morning and bad news in China. Recon picked up a four unit Chinese force of 17k already at the crossroads east of Kunming. I don't believe I'll be strong enough, or have the time to dislodge this force before the "Horde" arrives. There's no point risking the trashing of my armour units for no gain. I'll have to rethink things. Plan B is consolidate Kwieyang and Kienko while marching on Chengtu and Chungking. I have a plan in mind to counter the Chinese massing at Kunming, but that is for later. Here's some good news in China. Chungking appears to be held by only four units, but the forts will be minimum level 6. It will still be costly to take the base, but there's no rush and I can grind it down prior to an assault. I will mop up enemy forces around Kienko while still keeping pressure on both "Hordes", looking to exploit any chance of whittling down their numbers. In the Solomons the small enemy SCTF's have withdrawn and Bart commented on the effective Japanese search of late. I've made a real effort to improve this and it's paying off. My bombardment TF ran into a glitch today. They did not conduct a night operation, but bombarded Lunga at the end of the day phase, where they still remain. The results were poor as spotting Pete's were set to night, not day. Luckily, there were no enemy LBA strikes against the TF. I haven't changed anything, including the staging point, so it just shows you never know what will happen. My CV's also did not reach their appointed patrol zone either and were spotted at Shortlands. I received two 11600 tonne capacity tankers today which will help things enormously. I'm accelerating every large tanker I can and currently running a daily 1000 merchant point deficit. I'm not sweating it, as I can run at this level for almost two months in order to reduce the merchant shipping pool. I'm banking roughly 5.5k HI daily and just surpassed 900k in the pool. If all goes according to plan I'll reach 1,000,000 by the end of March.

SqzMyLemon -> A question? (5/1/2012 5:57:47 PM)
I have a question about naval bombardments in contested hexes. I've seen from my other game that friendly troops are often targeted as much as enemy troops are, when conducting supporting naval bombardments. Am I doing something wrong or is this always a risk you take? I ask because I'm concerned about whacking my own troops prior to planned ground assaults against Lunga. Am I better served hammering Lunga prior to my ground forces arriving or stick to the plan of supporting bombardment attacks coinciding with same day as ground assaults and risk my own troops being hit as well? What have others experienced in terms of their own troops getting hit by supporting naval bombardments?

SqzMyLemon -> Off topic - models again (5/1/2012 10:44:32 PM)
The Spouse is talking smack about our model bet, so I'm determined to finish up the Cromwell IV this week and hopefully will have pictures for you on Monday. I'll probably mount it on a base for the model show, but that may take a little more time yet. Next up will be to finish the Ki-46-IIIa Dinah. She'll also be out of town for 5 days in a few weeks, so I'll use that time to crank up the production. She poked the bear once too often this time. That free steak dinner is going to taste mighty fine. [8D] Off course, I''ll have to pay in other ways so really this is more for pride than anything else. I've never lost a bet to her yet. [:D]

ny59giants -> RE: Off topic - models again (5/1/2012 11:41:52 PM)
quote: Off course, I''ll have to pay in other ways so really this is more for pride than anything else. I've never lost a bet to her yet. [:D] Can I quote you on this and I need to have her cell phone number to verify your claim. [sm=00000289.gif]

SqzMyLemon -> Bombardments (5/2/2012 5:06:27 PM)
No comments on the bombardment question? I'll just see what happens then and go from there. There won't be a turn today and work is deadsville. It's going to be a long 7 more hours. [:(] Looking over the map yesterday, I notice that my submarines patrolling off the east coast of Australia are not being detected from air search. I wonder if the Allies are just concentrating on forward areas instead. The reason I mention this is because a few of my TF's operating in the Coral Sea were not detected, this opens the possiblity for a raid in some form perhaps. The only problem is my submarines aren't locating anything worth raiding. [:D] Fuel is an issue at Rabaul again and more is on the way. Balikpapan is dry though and I've begun using Soerabaja as a secondary source. Some components of my merchant fleet reorganization have yet to reach their new ports, so this is just a temporary problem. Otherwise, everything is in motion, and I just have to be patient until it's time to strike against Lunga. We are about 8-10 days away now.

Walloc -> RE: Bombardments (5/3/2012 12:53:52 AM)
Just to clarify on the engine research bonus. I wont claim to be an expert on the subject, but well since it seems Damian confirmed the 500 engine part i think ill press my luck one more time. The 500 engine research bonus as i understand it applies not to speed up the repair of R&D factories, but adds a bonus atop on the normal lvl of a fully repaired factory. So it "produce" more research than with out the 500 engine, but it wont kick in until factories are functioning. Which they arent until they are fully repaired. For example a 30 factory would with out the 500 engines give 1 point/"plane" per day, but with the 500 engines in pool its points 2 per day or double up, which is pretty significant. Ofc it wont be as significant with a larger factory as is in the case of the large frank factory. Tho any bit helps, +1 is still +1. Kind regards, Rasmus

obvert -> RE: Bombardments (5/4/2012 5:23:54 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Walloc Just to clarify on the engine research bonus. I wont claim to be an expert on the subject, but well since it seems Damian confirmed the 500 engine part i think ill press my luck one more time. The 500 engine research bonus as i understand it applies not to speed up the repair of R&D factories, but adds a bonus atop on the normal lvl of a fully repaired factory. So it "produce" more research than with out the 500 engine, but it wont kick in until factories are functioning. Which they arent until they are fully repaired. For example a 30 factory would with out the 500 engines give 1 point/"plane" per day, but with the 500 engines in pool its points 2 per day or double up, which is pretty significant. Ofc it wont be as significant with a larger factory as is in the case of the large frank factory. Tho any bit helps, +1 is still +1. Kind regards, Rasmus So more factories would be better, as it would be 1 point/day per factory? Is that right? And on another note, about those models ... any pics?

Walloc -> RE: Bombardments (5/4/2012 5:38:00 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: obvert quote: ORIGINAL: Walloc Just to clarify on the engine research bonus. I wont claim to be an expert on the subject, but well since it seems Damian confirmed the 500 engine part i think ill press my luck one more time. The 500 engine research bonus as i understand it applies not to speed up the repair of R&D factories, but adds a bonus atop on the normal lvl of a fully repaired factory. So it "produce" more research than with out the 500 engine, but it wont kick in until factories are functioning. Which they arent until they are fully repaired. For example a 30 factory would with out the 500 engines give 1 point/"plane" per day, but with the 500 engines in pool its points 2 per day or double up, which is pretty significant. Ofc it wont be as significant with a larger factory as is in the case of the large frank factory. Tho any bit helps, +1 is still +1. Kind regards, Rasmus So more factories would be better, as it would be 1 point/day per factory? Is that right? And on another note, about those models ... any pics? Well it has been determained other place, by Damien and MichaelM notes that the sweet spot for R&D factories are 30. The higher u get above 30 the less u get out of it in added value. My assumtion and underling its an assumption is that, that plays into what the bonus u get from the engine research bonus which would be adjusted to that. I was thinking about asking Damian in a PM if he had seen the same and could confirm it. Hasnt gotten around ot that yet. So in that yes more factories of 30 is better than one bigger one of X number of 30. Each of those 30 ones would get +1 as i understand it. Problem in this particular case of the frank a is that u start with 1 bigger one from start, the 55 one. It would have been better with 2 30 ones, but nothing to do about that in this particular case. Kind regards, Rasmus

SqzMyLemon -> RE: Bombardments (5/4/2012 5:54:04 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: obvert And on another note, about those models ... any pics? Hoping to have some pics after the weekend. Very little model time this week as I actually spent time catching up on some programs PVR'd. I'm up to date on "Game of Thrones" and finally watched the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix. The plan is still to get the Cromwell almost finished and get cracking on the rest of the Dinah. I'm also getting over the almost annilhilation of a JAAF Bn. at Magwe from Allied bombers last turn. It's definitely discouraging knowing air superiority is going to be so decisively in favour of the Allies. It looks like Bart is going to take a page out of General William Slim's book and flank Magwe from the S.W. in Burma. Not sure what I can do to stop that short of withdrawal. The force in China covering the crossroads to Kunming is now 5 units of 40k+ so the armour will be ordered to turn around. A discouraging turn with big implications. Burma is worrisome and most likely will see some intense fighting soon as I try and figure out what to do to stop the Allies.

JocMeister -> RE: Bombardments (5/5/2012 7:59:26 AM)
A screenshot of Burma would be great! :)

SqzMyLemon -> An update (5/5/2012 9:07:23 PM)
It's been three turns since I've updated so here we go. Feb. 24/43: Sub Ops: SS Silversides is spotted by DD Sagiri near Babeldoab. DD Sagiri is on the way to Manilla for repairs and launches no ASW attack. China: The "Horde" is bombed for 2(28) infantry, 1(45) non-combat, 0(3) engineer squads and 1(2) guns lost totalling 691 casualties. The "Other Horde" is bombed for 0(5) infantry and 0(4) non-combat squads lost totalling 81 casualties. That makes another 750k or so to go. [:D] The Solomons: Sally's (23) bomb Lunga for 1 runway Hit. [8\|] Naval bombardment of Lunga was SNAFU'd today as the BB's ended up hitting the base during the day phase, and remained exposed at the base the entire day. Results were poor, amounting to only 0(9) infantry, 0(11) non-combat and 0(1) engineer squad losses totalling 107 casualties. No Pete's spotted as they were set to night time operations. Miscellaneous: Japan: Tulagi expands fortifications to size 1 DD Mikazuki beginning refit in shipyard at Soerabaja Ryujo-1 converting to A6M3a Zero TK Otowasan Maru arrives at Fukuoka TK Asashio Maru arrives at Fukuoka 63rd Sentai arrives at Kagoshima (Nate Sentai, will immediately upgrade to Ki-43-IIa Oscar's) Allied: Nothing: Feb. 25/43: Burma: Allied air power made a special guest appearance today in force. Magwe was swept by five waves of fighters consisting of P-40K Warhawk's (123) with roughly 25 aircraft in each sweep. There was no Japanese CAP [8D]. I'll pick my battles. Allied bombers followed (Blenheim's, Mitchell's and Wellington's) and hit the 94th JAAF AF Bn. hard. Losses are 6(10) infantry, 6(68) non-combat and 0(3) engineer squads lost for 651 casualties. Oucho and a glimpse of things to come. [:(] China: Chinese troops near Kienko are bombed for 1(35) infantry, 0(23) non-combat and 0(2) engineer squads losses totalling 432 casualties. The "Other Horde" near Kweiyang was bombed and suffered 0(8) infantry, 0(8) non-combat squads lost totalling 122 casualties. The "Horde" near Chungking was spared today as weather grounded the bombers. The Solomons: Lunga was bombed with better results today as another bomber Sentai has arrived from China. Ki-21-IIb Sally's (35) damaged the base with 2 AB and 23 Runway hits. Much better. Another bombardment of Lunga was conducted by the same bombardment TF as yesterday. I figured since they were still there they might as well empty the magazines. Damage was negligible at 0(2) engineer squads disrupted for 7 casualites. I even ordered the two DD's escorts to shell the base, but to little effect. Both Pete's spotted though. [:D] In other news, two Allied DD's moved near Ontong-Java and within 9 hexes of Kate's based at Vella Lavella. Unfortunately, due to range the Kate's (20) were reduced to carrying bombs and scored no hits. Miscellaneous: Japan: Etorofu expands airfield to size 1 Shortlands expands fortifications to size 4 Allied: Nothing Feb. 26/43: Sub Ops: SS Shad is located by E Shimushu near Ponape. No ASW attack. Burma: No enemy sweeps or bombers appear today, but Bhamo is bombarded by ground troops today. AAR follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Bhamo (63,44) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 27015 troops, 572 guns, 652 vehicles, Assault Value = 963 Defending force 27694 troops, 279 guns, 136 vehicles, Assault Value = 934 Japanese ground losses: 11 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 26 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Assaulting units: 6th Australian Division 2nd British Division Defending units: 19th Division 5th Division 21st Fld AA Gun Co 53rd Const Co 9th RF Gun Battalion China: The "Other Horde" near Kunming is bombed for 0(1) infantry and 0(2) non-combat squad losses totalling 23 casualties. Once again weather impacts my bombing operations. No enemy troops are bombed in Central China. That's two days in a row the "Horde" has been spared. The Solomons: Lunga is again bombed by Sally's (28) and the base suffers 2 AB and 2 Runway hits. [8\|] The big boys are called in again and Lunga is hit by another night time naval bombardment. AAR follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Naval bombardment of Lunga at 114,138 Japanese Ships BB Musashi BB Yamato Allied Ships AK Alcyon, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage Allied ground losses: 299 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 23 destroyed, 12 disabled Engineers: 3 destroyed, 3 disabled Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) Vehicles lost 12 (5 destroyed, 7 disabled) Airbase hits 6 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 19 Port hits 1 Port supply hits 1 BB Musashi firing at Lunga F1M2 Pete acting as spotter for BB Yamato BB Yamato firing at 27th Infantry Division Much better. Support squads are consistently suffering high loss when the bombardments get good results. Allied DD's snooping around Ontong-Java last turn are not spotted today. I ordered a few small SCTF's to try for an intercept, but the Allied ships slipped away. Miscellaneous: Japan: Sabang expands fortifications to size 4 Madjene expands fortifications to size 3 Rambutyo expands airfield to size 3 Allied: Nothing Thoughts: I've moved additional fighters forward in Burma and will contest the skies if the Allies appear tomorrow. If so, the Ki-61-Ia Tony will makes its combat debut. I've layered my CAP from 12k (Nick's) to 25k (Tojo's) let's see what happens, if anything. In China, I'm still advancing and waiting on troops to move up. I will split off the Japanese 1st Army to march on Chungking, the 11th, 13th and 23rd Armies will march on Kunming and area. Armour is ordered to Central China where I hope to catch the Chinese in clear terrain. Paratroops will assault Neikiang. A Shock Attack is ordered against a small Chinese LCU S.W. of Chungking by a Division and Mixed Ind. Bde. Hopefully all bombers will fly today. I'm not sure what the Allies are up to in the Solomons, but these small SCTF's are either probing for a weakness or testing my naval search capability. Bart has mentioned before about how often he's spotted now. With that in mind, I showed KB today east of Shortlands. If the Allies are thinking of doing something, then KB is ready and willing and I want the Allies to know it's there for a reason. Japanese bombardment missions will cease for a few days and once the Yamato and Musashi are rearmed and refueled, all SCTF's will rendezvous at Shortlands. The amphibious TF's will mass and escorts will be assigned. Ground troops are 12 miles from Lunga and it's almost time. The plan is one massive naval bombardment before they reach Lunga and then start landing another division and the supporting LCU's. The first assault will occur when all troops reach Lunga overland and are unloaded from the transports. In a matter of days, I should be able to mount another naval bombardment and the first assault will go ahead. If the Allies do try to interfere, they'll be facing most of the Combined Fleet. All Japanese naval air is now set to naval strike missions and more Betty's will be deployed instead of the army bombers. Go hard or go home. Stay tuned...[sm=00000613.gif] I'll post some screenshots if I get chance to later. Burma and perhaps China.

obvert -> RE: An update (5/6/2012 12:15:56 AM)
What altitude are you bombing from over Lunga? Seems low for hits if the groups are trained up and in good spirits.

SqzMyLemon -> SqzMyLemon, meet the Allied Air Deathstar (5/6/2012 4:31:37 AM)
A huge air battle over Taung Gyi in Burma today. Despite some aspects of the air model that I simply don't agree with, I enjoyed the air battle. I was concerned about the number of Allied dive bonuses encountered today, and some late fighter sweeps where my CAP was committed piecemeal and absolutely slaughtered. This tilted the overall air losses in favour of the Allies, but I'm still happy with the Japanese efforts today, despite obvious handicaps, in my opinion, applied by the air model. I also encountered the Allied ability to wipe out an airbase in one day for the first time and can't say I'm looking forward to the future. At this rate, I'll have no functioning airbase in Burma within a week if not sooner. Forgive me posting mostly combat reports, but they speak volumes today. Feb. 27/43: Sub Ops: SS S-32 is spotted near Rekata Bay and SC Ch 38 attacks with DC's. No hits are recorded. China: Bombers hit the last of the "Horde" within range and inflict 0(14) infantry and 0(22) non-combat squads and 1(1) guns lost totalling 234 casualties. Those two days of bad weather really were unlucky allowing the enemy to slip away relatively unscathed. The Shock Attack S.W. of Chungking went well. The Chinese were routed suffering 73(76) infantry, 61(12) non-combat, 1(1) engineer squads and 1(6) guns lost totalling 1493 casualties. Japanese suffered 0(47) infantry, 0(1) non-combat and 0(1) engineer squads lost totalling 542 casualties. My paratroop assault was premature. Recon did not pick up a Chinese Corps at Neikiang. Ouch. AAR follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Neikiang (75,44) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 151 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 10 Defending force 3156 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 175 Assault collapses, attacking force wiped out Japanese ground losses: 202 casualties reported Squads: 11 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units destroyed 1 Assaulting units: 4th Raiding Rgt /1 Defending units: 17th Chinese Corps The Gilberts: Recon indicated ships in port at Tabiteuea so I tried a night port strike with Betty's launched from the Marshalls. Weather sucked as usual, severe storms, and no hits were recorded for the loss of a Betty to Flak. The Solomons: Lunga's airbase and defenders are bombed for no damage or loss. Weather once again was severe storms. Burma: This is the big news of the day. AAR's follow: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Taung Gyi , at 59,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 31,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 116 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 36 Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 11 Ki-61-Ia Tony x 35 Allied aircraft P-38E Lightning x 25 P-40K Warhawk x 7 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 9 destroyed Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-38E Lightning: 8 destroyed P-40K Warhawk: 2 destroyed CAP engaged: 1st Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (23 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 6 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 13 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes 21st Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (11 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 11 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 12000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 2 minutes 59th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (8 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (15 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 8 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 18000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes 33rd Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (4 airborne, 16 on standby, 13 scrambling) 20 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 24000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 64th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 18 on standby, 15 scrambling) 18 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 30000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes 78th Sentai with Ki-61-Ia Tony (3 airborne, 15 on standby, 13 scrambling) 18 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 21000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes 87th Sentai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (0 airborne, 16 on standby, 13 scrambling) 16 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters between 21000 and 32000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes My CAP was in good shape from the start. However, Bart went for the altitude advantage and the P-38's were devastating initially against my low CAP. Losses were roughly even overall, but in my opinion numbers don't matter that much againt the dive bonus. It always comes down to who's higher and that combat modifier simply rules the roost. That was 86 Japanese fighters airborne at the moment of attack against 32 enemy fighters, almost a 3:1 advantage, yet losses are even. You can see the numbers are massively in favour of Japan for the entire combat. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Taung Gyi , at 59,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 27 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 102 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 34 Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 17 Ki-61-Ia Tony x 33 Allied aircraft Blenheim IV x 30 Liberator II x 12 Wellington Ic x 29 B-24D1 Liberator x 8 B-25C Mitchell x 59 P-40K Warhawk x 10 (Only 10 escorts, yet more joined the fight later...leaking CAP?) Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed Ki-61-Ia Tony: 2 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Blenheim IV: 5 destroyed, 5 damaged Liberator II: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged Wellington Ic: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged B-24D1 Liberator: 3 damaged B-25C Mitchell: 8 destroyed, 9 damaged P-40K Warhawk: 2 destroyed Airbase hits 27 Airbase supply hits 10 Runway hits 60 (Taung Gyi is out of action with 99% field damage and substantial service damage) Aircraft Attacking: 12 x Wellington Ic bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 11 x Wellington Ic bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 13 x Blenheim IV bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 lb GP Bomb 11 x Liberator II bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x Wellington Ic bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 14 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 15 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 8 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb 14 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 14 x Blenheim IV bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 lb GP Bomb 11 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 59th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 5 scrambling) (3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 18000 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 26000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes 12 planes vectored on to bombers 1st Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling) (4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 9 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes 14 planes vectored on to bombers 21st Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (0 airborne, 3 on standby, 0 scrambling) (8 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 8 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 23000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes 10 planes vectored on to bombers 33rd Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 14 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 12 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 28000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes 28 planes vectored on to bombers 64th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 9 scrambling) 9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 16 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 30000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes 34 planes vectored on to bombers 78th Sentai with Ki-61-Ia Tony (8 airborne, 0 on standby, 14 scrambling) 8 plane(s) intercepting now. 7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 21000 , scrambling fighters between 13000 and 28000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes 28 planes vectored on to bombers 87th Sentai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 30 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 25000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes 34 planes vectored on to bombers I'm not going to try and figure the air model out. All I see here is I have more time to react than the first fighter sweep, yet I only have 12 aircraft intercepting initially. While watching the replay, I got very few passes at the bombers prior to them bombing. It wasn't until after Taung Gyi was cratered that the fighters tore into the bombers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Taung Gyi , at 59,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 58 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 21 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 74 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 26 Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 9 Ki-61-Ia Tony x 20 Allied aircraft Liberator II x 16 B-24D Liberator x 21 P-40K Warhawk x 2 (Only two escorts [8\|]) Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Liberator II: 1 destroyed, 8 damaged B-24D Liberator: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed Airbase hits 3 Airbase supply hits 4 Runway hits 18 Aircraft Attacking: 16 x Liberator II bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 11 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb 10 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 59th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 6 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 18000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes 6 planes vectored on to bombers 1st Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 5 plane(s) intercepting now. 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes 1 planes vectored on to bombers 21st Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 5 plane(s) intercepting now. 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 23 minutes 33rd Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (10 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 10 plane(s) intercepting now. 13 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes 8 planes vectored on to bombers 64th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (11 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 11 plane(s) intercepting now. 13 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 30000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes 21 planes vectored on to bombers 78th Sentai with Ki-61-Ia Tony (7 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 7 plane(s) intercepting now. 13 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 21000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 57 minutes 8 planes vectored on to bombers 87th Sentai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (14 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 14 plane(s) intercepting now. 12 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 25000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 81 minutes 7 planes vectored on to bombers I have less time to react and the raid is detected later, but I get more than 56 fighters intercepting initially, 44 more than last time. I simply don't get it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Taung Gyi , at 59,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 35 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 46 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 17 Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 6 Ki-61-Ia Tony x 16 Allied aircraft Hurricane IIb Trop x 31 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 6 destroyed Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 3 destroyed Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 2 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed Aircraft Attacking: 5 x Hurricane IIb Trop sweeping at 15000 feet 2 x Hurricane IIb Trop sweeping at 15000 feet CAP engaged: 64th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 15 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes 1st Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes 21st Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 18000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 68 minutes 78th Sentai with Ki-61-Ia Tony (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling) 10 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 21000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes 87th Sentai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. 11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 50 minutes 33rd Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 12 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 18230. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 39 minutes 59th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 18000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 48 minutes I watched this replay with disbelief, as Japanese fighters were committed in one's and two's and simply shot out of the sky. The Hurricane's dove practically on every one of my aircraft, especially the Tojo's and Tony's. I lost way more than indicated above, especially the better Tojo's and Tony's. Only 14 Hurricane's started the sweep and more joined as the combat continued. Is this an actual sweep, leaking CAP or wayward escorts? They were simply unbeatable. [sm=00000459.gif] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Taung Gyi , at 59,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 28 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 9 Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 3 Ki-61-Ia Tony x 8 Allied aircraft Wellington Ic x 12 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses Wellington Ic: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged Airbase hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 4 x Wellington Ic bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 87th Sentai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 24000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes 59th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 18000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes 64th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 25000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes 78th Sentai with Ki-61-Ia Tony (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 21000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 23000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes 21st Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 24000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes 33rd Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 6 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes Again, CAP was committed in one's and two's preventing a decisive engagement, but at least damage was minimal as many Wellington's aborted. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Taung Gyi , at 59,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 19 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 23 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5 Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 2 Ki-61-Ia Tony x 5 Allied aircraft Hurricane IIc Trop x 16 P-40K Warhawk x 90 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 12 destroyed Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 1 destroyed Ki-61-Ia Tony: 3 destroyed No Allied losses [:@] Aircraft Attacking: 16 x Hurricane IIc Trop sweeping at 20000 feet CAP engaged: 33rd Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 6 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 16000 and 19000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes 64th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 25000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes 87th Sentai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 25000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 24000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes 59th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 18000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 43 minutes 78th Sentai with Ki-61-Ia Tony (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 21000 , scrambling fighters to 24000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 43 minutes 21st Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters to 24000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes This was the final insult of the day. I practically lost every fighter engaged as they were committed individually. The above losses are off, I lost many more Tojo's and Tony's than indicated. This is ridiculous that my forces were committed like this. I lost close to 30-40 aircraft in these last two engagements against sweeps, completely padding the stats and decimating my fighters. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Taung Gyi , at 59,48 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 27 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 2 Allied aircraft B-24D Liberator x 12 No Japanese losses No Allied losses Airbase hits 1 Runway hits 7 Aircraft Attacking: 12 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 33rd Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes 64th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 27000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Taung Gyi , at 59,48 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 61 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 21 minutes Japanese aircraft no flights Allied aircraft B-24D Liberator x 27 P-40K Warhawk x 14 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-61-Ia Tony: 1 destroyed on ground Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed on ground Allied aircraft losses B-24D Liberator: 1 damaged Airbase hits 2 Runway hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 9 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb 9 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb 9 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb By this time CAP was done, but weather was severe storms. Didn't matter as the airbase was already trashed. Funny how all those morning attacks caught such luck getting clear skies. Not one enemy aircraft was downed to Flak, despite two AA Bn's of 75 mm guns.. An afterthought in Burma. AAR follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Bhamo (63,44) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 27002 troops, 572 guns, 652 vehicles, Assault Value = 962 Defending force 27702 troops, 279 guns, 136 vehicles, Assault Value = 934 Assaulting units: 6th Australian Division 2nd British Division Defending units: 19th Division 5th Division 53rd Const Co 21st Fld AA Gun Co 9th RF Gun Battalion Miscellaneous: Japan: Lolobato expands airfield to size 1 DD Sagiri beginning refit while under repair in shipyard at Manila 55th I.F.Chutai converting to Ki-46-III Dinah SC Ch 35 arrives at Hakodate Allied: Meiktila expands fortifications to size 4 Katherine expands airfield to size 9 Prince Rupert expands airfield to size 6 Thoughts: I'm trying to not criticize things too much anymore. In my opinion though, defensive CAP is worn down too quickly and after three attacks, regardless of success, the performance just drops completely off the map. It leads to slaughter for the defender and frustration for the player on the receiving end. A height advantage coupled with the dive or sweep bonus often gives the attacker a huge advantage over the defence, regardless of number on CAP or if it's layered or not. Launch more than three raids and the remaining CAP is negligible for the rest of the air phase and committed in driblets. It's now a numbers game and the Allies will win it. My opponent has conserved his numbers for a year and now he can simply swamp me with the Allied Air Deathstar. I figure at this rate, I'll have no functioning airbase in Burma within a week. Tojo's suck ass against bombers, the Tony's not much better. Nick's scored no kills against bombers in mass, so I now have to admit they are useless as bomber interceptors. My best aircraft was the pea shooting Ki-43-IIa Oscar and it suffered huge losses today. I'm ready to see all my replacements appear in Japan, as I don't have the supply surplus available in Burma. This will most likely added weeks to my recovery. Burma just became my worst nightmare as Japan. I don't have the luxury of hundreds of Tojo's or Tony's...I have Oscar's. Despite everything said, I'm happy I read my opponent right and at least had massive CAP up today. Rather than a milk run, the Allies got hit hard as well and simply didn't get to nuke my airbase for free. Despite the sour taste in my mouth from the Hurricane sweeps, I thoroughly enjoyed the turn, warts and all. I will post a screen on Burma tomorrow and ask for advice from players that have already experienced this, and how best to counter with PDU off. Do I abandon Mandalay and head to the hills considering the Allies are days away from total air domination and most likely trying to flank Mandalay in the plains? Here are A2A losses on the day. Bloody for this war so far. [X(] [image]local://upfiles/33192/B1C9F07122DD439F9803302A3B9208DA.jpg[/image] I lost 31 pilots KIA, 23 WIA and no MIA on the day.

SqzMyLemon -> RE: An update (5/6/2012 4:47:19 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: obvert What altitude are you bombing from over Lunga? Seems low for hits if the groups are trained up and in good spirits. 10k, morale 99, but average experience at 45 and 54 with ground bomber skill between 60-70. Weather, low experience or bad rolls. My bet is the experience level is hurting them the most, despite decent bombing skill.

JocMeister -> RE: An update (5/6/2012 7:45:36 AM)
EDIT: OOOPS! Posted in the wrong thread!

obvert -> RE: An update (5/6/2012 9:37:03 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon quote: ORIGINAL: obvert What altitude are you bombing from over Lunga? Seems low for hits if the groups are trained up and in good spirits. 10k, morale 99, but average experience at 45 and 54 with ground bomber skill between 60-70. Weather, low experience or bad rolls. My bet is the experience level is hurting them the most, despite decent bombing skill. As I understand it the experience is supposed to help them get there, get back and if very experienced also get better recon while bombing. But I've found the crews with better experience get more hits. So something is happening there. Once they get above 70 skill there seems to be a big jump in ability as well. quote: I'm trying to not criticize things too much anymore. In my opinion though, defensive CAP is worn down too quickly and after three attacks, regardless of success, the performance just drops completely off the map. It leads to slaughter for the defender and frustration for the player on the receiving end. A height advantage coupled with the dive or sweep bonus often gives the attacker a huge advantage over the defence, regardless of number on CAP or if it's layered or not. Launch more than three raids and the remaining CAP is negligible for the rest of the air phase and committed in driblets. It's now a numbers game and the Allies will win it. My opponent has conserved his numbers for a year and now he can simply swamp me with the Allied Air Deathstar. I figure at this rate, I'll have no functioning airbase in Burma within a week. I wonder if there was some LR CAP mixed in there as well. That could explain planes showing up later in combat during the sweeps. It's tough to figure out. It might be that with having to use so many Oscars you'll just need to produce a ton of them and move things around enough so that you can take some days off CAP and let groups rest. I hate Lightnings, so I'm happy to see you hitting more of them than any other Allied fighter on the day. With the losses he took he shouldn't be able to shut down Burma without shutting down his own offensive power as well. As Allies I'm sure you're looking for more like 1 to 2 losses at this point, not 1 to 1.2! So he might not be that happy with the result and he can't see the actual damage on your field. He was probably hoping for more like 130 hits.

JocMeister -> RE: An update (5/6/2012 10:03:22 AM)
I would cetrainly be devasted by thoose P-38 losses. Loosing the airframes certainly sucks but the pilots...thats probably 15 of his very best pilots and certainly an ace or two. You also took out a month worth of B-25s... I sent you a PM so I don´t give Erik any splendid ideas...[:D]

ny59giants -> RE: An update (5/6/2012 11:17:46 AM)
Playing with PDUs off puts you at a severe disadvantage to start with. The first thing that jumped out at me was the number of Oscars involved in combat. They suck in A2A at this point in game. [sm=vomit-smiley-020.gif] It wasn't until the end when you reminded us that your game is with PDUs off that i felt your pain. Your best bomber killer is the George. If the 4e bombers come at a base with them present in numbers, I can wipe out almost a month worth in a single day. [:D] Finally, if there is no limit to the altitude settings, then an Allied player will go for the highest to get the bounce. According to MichaelM, there is a penalty in op losses for doing so. You have to keep your best fighters down near 15k to go after the bombers. You may have to sacrifice the Oscars to deal with his P-38 sweeps at 35k or higher, but keep your Tojo and Tony down near 15k to get more to attack his bombers.

SqzMyLemon -> RE: An update (5/6/2012 3:24:52 PM)
Thanks for the posts gentlemen. We have a 30k maximum height HR, so considering the P-38's were the only aircraft near this altitude I'm not complaining at all. The Hurricane sweeps at 15k were the real killers, but not for any other reason than my CAP was committed in driblets and each aircraft was picked off at lower altitude. Even my Tojo's and Tony's which were set 5k higher than the enemy got bounced and slaughtered. Anyway, I really wasn't trying to complain in my post, but rather point out all the things that happen during air combat that often leaves a player scratching his head wondering what just happened. I am glad to have probably bloodied his nose a lot more than he expected, but my losses were certainly padded. I knew I'd lose planes in droves as Japan, but I don't appreciate when 50% of my losses are committed in driblets and suffer the bounce while attaining altitude and never having a fighting chance. Anyway, more later. Just a quick post before taking the pooch to the dog park. Back in a few hours, then I'll send the next turn off and post a screenshot of Burma.

SqzMyLemon -> Burma (5/6/2012 6:46:02 PM)
Here's the screenshot of Burma. Things are just beginning and I expect the Allied units to exit Shwebo this turn, then I'll have a better idea of the Allied intention and strength committed. I expect Toungoo to be hit today, but there's very little I can do in terms of defence. Burma will most likely be the death of my airforce. [image]local://upfiles/33192/E0FAD387AE6340B7BBD363C47D7FA4B1.jpg[/image]

SqzMyLemon -> So ends another month. (5/7/2012 12:31:13 AM)
Feb 28/43: Sub Ops: SS Shad and E Shimushu continue their game of cat and mouse near Ponape. SS Shad misses with six torpedoes, but no ASW attack is launched. SS KX is located near Fergusson Island. SC Ch 36 attacks and records one near miss DC hit. SS I-18 patrolling off the coast of Carnarvon sinks the *xAKL Lee Sang.* Allied escorts do not attack. I think this is a small TF running supply to Port Hedland. Burma: Numerous waves of Allied aircraft return to Taung Gyi and the base is hit hard again. Damage is now 99% Runway and 63% Service. Not as many bombers today though [:D]. Then again, there was no Japanese CAP either [:(]. Bart obviously doesn't realize the airbase is shut down and he indicated as much in his e-mail. That spares Toungoo and my fighters another day. 24 Allied units have moved out from Shwebo. Numbers are serious, with 122900 troops, 1089 guns and 2261 AFV's listed from recon. 15 units remain at Shwebo totalling 60260 troops, 578 guns and 279 AFV's. I'm going to have to put my thinking cap on to figure out how to deal with this development. [&:] China: The "Horde" is bombed for 4(50) infantry, 1(44) non-combat squads and 1(1) guns lost totalling 624 casualties. Chungking's airbase is bombed for 6 AB, 8 ABS and 49 Runway hits. Chinese troops S.E. of Kienko lose 0(5) infantry and 0(2) non-combat squads lost totalling 51 casualties from bombing. The Solomons: Lunga's airbase is bombed for no damage [8\|]. I'm replacing all the pilots next turn, because I need better results than this. Miscellaneous: Japan: Guam expands fortifications to size 4 Nanning expands airfield to size 4 SC CHa-53 arrives at Kagoshima 11 Ki-43-IIa Oscar replacements arrive at Tokyo (The long trek to Burma begins [8\|]) 25th Sentai converting to size 42 from 30 (More Oscar's [8\|]) Allied: xAKL Lee Sang is reported to have been sunk near Carnarvon on Feb 28, 1943 Thoughts: The Judy finally goes into production tomorrow. Ki-43-IIa Oscar replacement pool is low. I'll have to increase production from 105/mth to about 150/mth. I'll be relying on Oscar's until at least July, so I need to substantially increase the numbers. I'm going to be sending air reinforcements to Burma, including some Zero's. All Ki-43-IIa's will be redeployed to this theatre. I'll be transferring more bomber units back to Burma, although they will accomplish little I'm sure. I hope to be successful on Guadalcanal and wrap things up there quickly. A comment made in another AAR (removed to avoid any possble OpSec breach) indicates that the historical approach to bombing Japan isn't sustainable in game terms. So I will let the Allies run amok here. I will focus on stopping the approach to the fuel/oil in the DEI and Burma. I see Indian and American units in Burma, so the Allies are clearly focusing their efforts here. Bart is definitely using LRCAP to act as escorts for his sweeps and bombers in Burma. Not sure what I think of this. In my opinion, it's clearly an exploit to provide fighter coverage for bombers without suffering the escort penalty. Almost every raid shows small numbers of P-40K's. This partly explains why my CAP was subject to so many dive attacks yesterday, since they were generally at bomber altitude while the "escorts" were at 20k. Lot's of tankers have reached their new home ports and the streamlined extraction of fuel/oil from the SRA begins. Interesting times.

obvert -> RE: So ends another month. (5/7/2012 8:29:59 AM)
Yeah, if you are stuck with PDU of and Oscars forever, you're just going to have to produce a LOT of them. Looks like in Burma you might want to start setting up an MLR behind your current lines in the most continuously defendable jungle. From Prome through Taung Gi to Lashio maybe? Since he's moving through the clear here as well, a bombing campaign from bases farther back cold both slow and disrupt him enough to set up your line.

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