Supplying Port Morseby early as Allies (Full Version)

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ladner -> Supplying Port Morseby early as Allies (7/4/2002 1:25:23 PM)

Have been playing first long campaign #16 and have noticed that stealth Japanese bombardment groups wreak havoc on my transport TFs unloading at Port Morseby (PM). I have been agressive about sending in support units to rapidly build PM but perhaps this is a mistake since the stealth bombardment groups effectively blocade PM. I have amassed all of the C-47s and B-17s but was unable to keep up supply. I also noticed that mining the harbor seemed to have almost no deterent effect and only minimal damage to bombardment TFs.



mjk428 -> (7/4/2002 2:22:08 PM)

Hi,

What I ended up doing was parking transports 1 day away and waiting until after a bombardment mission left to send them in. They don't usually come 2 nights in a row, although I did have them 3 nights in a row once. I was able to keep PM supplied by this method.

Of course use the 1500 size AP's for fast unloading and cover them with LRCAP while they're waiting. I concentrated on getting the port level to 6 ASAP to facilitate unloading as well.

Regards,
MK



RayM -> (7/5/2002 12:35:51 PM)

After watching the same thing happen to my PM TFs, I had to do the same. It works for me.



segorn -> (7/6/2002 3:38:17 AM)

You can lay a trap for the bombardment missions if you're willing to take some surface losses.

Park a surface combat fleet in Port Moseby with do not retire. It doesn't have to be a massive force, just a half dozen destroyers will generally do the trick.

This will cause the Japanese bombardment fleet to pause and engage your fleet. You'll lose of course, but if you get lucky you may torp a few of his ships.

Whether you lose or not, you take time off the clock on the bombardment mission and they generally get stuck in air range so you can slam the mission on the way out with LBA operating out the base in question.



NorthStar -> (7/8/2002 11:12:20 PM)

PT Boats work for intercepting bombardment TF's as well. You'll lose A LOT, but they're only worth 1 VP, so its not a big deal.

I managed to stop the bombardment runs on Lunga using PT boats. I lost about 20 of them over a couple weeks, but eventually they torpedoed a battleship, a couple cruisers, and some destroyers, and the IJN stopped coming.

Also, sometimes the combat will prevent the TF from bombarding at all (I assume they run out of time).



ladner -> Good Ideas all around (7/9/2002 8:00:41 AM)

Hey folks sorry for going silent on the board, of course this is directly proportional to too much UV (is there really such a thing ;)). These are all good suggestions and I've had some success implementing them. Thanks for the ideas.

<-------- be forewarned going off topic but worth a read ----------->

On a side note I had the equivalent of the Marianas Turkey shoot, this time however it was the Santa Cruz shoot-out. Suprisingly, I was using Fletcher as commander of a 3 CV TF with a massive flottilla (basically all of the ships in the intial air combat TFs) and he threw up a 52 A/C CAP. I also think the Japs were at extended range for those Kates weren't dropping torps. Any how this TF and the flak shot up the AI's CV strike air groups (AG) pretty bad. The next day I was able to close in and put two flat-tops to the bottom.

Now that I'm feeling cocky I decided since this campaign was a foregone conclusion to fire up #19 South of Rabual for a challenge. Needless to say this has been pretty grim and I have yet to encounter the dreaded Super CV TF (I believe this is the SCVTF of a different thread). Well to quote General Stilwell I've taken a "Hell of a beating." The first experience was the AI parking a CV TF NW of Gilli Gilli and proceeding to blast any TFs that get remotely close including of course Lexington and Yorktown. Well needless to say this led to let's start the scenario over and try a different strategy. After reading the forum and brushing up on some history found out that American CV TFs plied there trade blasting isolated Jap bases and Transport TFs. Decided to give this a go and raid Tulagi and Guadal Canal (GC) early on. Well this paid big dividends, I blasted the Tulagi TF so badly that the AI did not capture it and mauled the GC TF too, but unfortunately, though Lunga still fell. Deciding descretion was the better part of valor sailed south to Luganville. Decided now to experiment with some tactics and split the CVs into two TFs and luanched a second Lunga raid. Well boys here is were things got ugly. The IJN CVs appeared NW of Santa Isabel and were able to get off a strike at long range. Yorktown, took some hits but fortunately Lexington was unscathed. I believe this was directly a result of having two smaller TFs. So I decide its Noumea or bust. Well the real fun begins we are S, SW of Luganville when the IJN subs make there pressence felt. First off Yorktown two torp hits and it's off to Davey Jones Locker. Well needless to say I'm a little angry but to borrow from Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman "War is Hell." What happens next though almost causes me to reenact the Tyson Lewis fight with my monitor making a cameo as Mike Tyson's face. IJN I-boat four torp hits which promptly sends Lexington to the bottom. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Now perhaps we need to start a new thread but was Allied ASW really this bad? I know big part of the reason why the IJN sub fleet was relegated to supplying isolated garissons was due to "the poor performance of the submarine service during the first year of the war." ( [U]Eagle Against the Sun[/U], Ronald H. Spector page 486).



Burch -> (7/13/2002 10:21:50 AM)

Parking a CV TF between GIli Gili and PM will rattle their cages pretty hard! I sank a total of 3BB and 2 CA's on two seperate occasions this way. BTW I had the CV TF based at Cairns.



bradfordkay -> (8/7/2002 12:38:14 PM)

Now perhaps we need to start a new thread but was Allied ASW really this bad?




The waters between Santa Isabel, New Caledonia and Espiritu Santo were known during this time period as Torpedo Junction. I don't feel like digging into reference works for actual totals, but I can think offhand of at least two US CVs and 1 BB that were hit by Japanese sub torpedoes in the area (can't forget the Juneau either).

That being said, are you using v1.20? Allied ASW performance has been improved in the new version. Another way to help protect your ships is to use a lot of LBA ASW squadrons (carrier a/c work as well). I haven't had any a/c manage to sink a sub, but attacks on my shipping have dropped off enormously.



RUPD3658 -> (8/29/2002 4:28:57 AM)

Dropping mine fields to the East of PM may deter some of this. Also parking your subs along the approaches can take out a few Jap ships. The Jap have better weathermen because they always seem to hit me in bad weather when my LBA can't hit them on the way out.



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