mdiehl -> RE: Midway (3/31/2004 6:31:35 PM)
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I'm not confusing anything, Mo. With respect, I suggest that if you plan on suppressing Midway solely using naval bomabrdment you will lose most of your naval bombardment TF to Midway-based strikes unless you task your CVs to cover the bombardment TF. If you do that, since the operating CAP radius of a Japanese CV was about 14 statute miles, your CV will (a) be found, because it's within 14 miles of a TF that has to get within 20 miles or Midway, and (b) you WILL be mission overtasked, because you have to cover (i) your CVs, (ii) the bombardment group (iii) looking for USN CVs and (iv) attacking them if you find them. In these circumstances, I believe Midway gets a couple free shots at the bombardment TF, and the USN CVs still hit you with a big airstrike that sinks 1-3 CVs and damages 2-4. Were I the Allied player I would not waste time basing B17s at Midway as strike a/c. I'd have two PBY VP groups patrolling and a couple squadrons each of F4Fs and SBS, and 1 squadron of torpedo bombers set to night attack. This assumes that the battle occurs after, say, February 1942. Before that it might be a challenge to get the assets in place. It may be that the computer code allows bombardment TFs to routinely attempt run-ins on shore installations. I think the frequency with which this occurs in UV is optimistic and overvalues the potential of such tactics. I do hope that the most likely result in the event that people routinely try such gamey devices is that the airbase kicks the snot out of the bombardment group. At the time it was well understood that the airbase had the upper hand. I also hope that the LR CAP mission will be eliminated from the options for CV based a/c. It has no historical precedent.
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