RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A)

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RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/4/2012 11:14:04 PM

Mike Solli

Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline

22 May 42

Sub War

The DMS Zane arrived at Wotje yesterday. I had seen her moving, I thought to Wake, like the other DMS a few days ago, so I sortied 8 subs to interdict. She went to Wotje instead and has done nothing. I surrounded the base with 6 of the subs and sent the other 2 into the hex, kind of nervous because it�s a shallow hex. The I-3 launched a couple of torpedoes, which missed, and then ate a depth charge. She has 77 flot damage and is limping back to Kwajalein. The I-5 also launched a couple of torpedoes, and they missed as well. I sent 6x Fubukis from Truk to attempt an intercept, but it�ll take a couple of days to arrive. I suspect the Zane will be long gone.

Australia

I took Daly Waters today. There are 2x Japanese Divisions and an artillery regiment, with a tank regiment to the west a couple of hexes along the trail. The infantry will head south to scout out the next base south while the tanks will head east to raise hell out that way.

SE Fleet

Ted�s fighters didn�t come up to play over Pt. Moresby today. Too bad�.

_____________________________

Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to Mike Solli)

Post #: 1501

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/4/2012 11:17:52 PM

Mike Solli

Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline

23 May 42

Sub War

The I-3 is down to 71 flot damage and one hex from Kwajalein. Hopefully she�ll make it.

The DMS Zane is still hanging out at Wotje. That�s odd. Wonder what Ted�s up to. My Nell daitai refuses to attack her, which is normal for one ship TFs. The 6x Fubukis are 9 hexes out so they should engage her if she�s still around next turn. If that�s the case, she will make a nice addition to the reef at Wotje.

Another one ship TF is heading toward this area, just a bit further south though. It�s showing up as a DM. We�ll see shortly.

China

I�ve been using Wuchow as a base for target practice for some of my bombers in China for most of the war. I finally attacked and took the base. Losses were 5211(276) Chinese to 657(1) Japanese in the 3:1 attack. The infrastructure was relatively intact at Manpower 1(1), Resources 55(5) and LI 55(5). I�ll set the resources to repair but won�t attempt to draw supply there. If it repairs, great, but if not, no big deal. That�s another 1650 supply per month for the Chinese theater for Japan and a reduction of 1800 supply per month for the Chinese. Not bad!

SE Fleet

Ted�s B-17s arrived over Milne Bay again today. The damage to the base had been reduced to 23 service damage. Well, it�s back up to ~50 each for service and airfield damage, but it wasn�t without cost on both sides. Two Zeros were shot down with an additional one destroyed on the ground, but 3x B-17s were shot down with another crashing on the way home. I lost one pilot. I�ll take it even though my IJNAF fighter pilot situation is serious. I�ll discuss it below.

Other Stuff

I currently have 27 IJNAF fighter pilots in the pool, and they are all at 70+ experience. I�m reserving all IJNAF fighter pilots with 70+ experience for KB replacements. The land based Zero units only get the 50 experience replacements. I�m only getting a handful of them a month out of the on map training units, so all of the land based Zero units are understrength (except one in Burma).

Ideally, as I get the 50 experience pilots released into the reserve, I can get the land based Zero units to full strength. Then I�ll begin to swap out the 70+ exp pilots with extra 50+ exp pilots in the pool to increase the KB reserve. Also note that KB�s fighter daitai increase in strength in July. I don�t have the numbers in front of me right now, but I know I don�t have enough pilots to fill out the increases right now. I need to pull the Zeros out of combat where possible and replace them with Oscar sentai. I�m not sure I can do much more of that though. I have 1x Oscar sentai and 2x Oscar chutai guarding Palembang and Java as well as 1x Oscar chutai in Pt. Blair. They�re training up pilots for the most part. I may move them into Burma and pull the two Zero daitai out. I am considering using one in Pt. Blair and the second as a training unit in Singapore. That would allow me to strip about 20 pilots out of the training daitai for the KB reserve (and to flesh out other daitai). I could also convert the training unit to Claudes to increase my Zero pool. There is a risk with this though. Should Ted decide to go after Pt. Blair in an air campaign, I would have only one Zero daitai to defend it. I wouldn�t have a backup to swap out when needed. Right now I�m willing to take that chance because Ted�s air force in Burma is pretty beat up.

Here is my current force of Zeros in the frontline:

21 Air Flotilla � Burma/Pt. Blair � 2x 27 plane daitai
22 Air Flotilla � Southern SRA/Australia � 1x 27 plane daitai
23 Air Flotilla � SE Fleet � 2x 27 plane daitai and 4x 9 plane chutai
24 Air Flotilla � 4 Fleet � 1x 31 plane daitai (the 9 plane chutai assigned to 4 fleet is currently serving on Taiyo with MKB).

Other Other Stuff

Ship Acceleration

There has been a lot of discussion of which ships to accelerate and when to accelerate them over the years. I�m of the school to accelerate a ship between 10x and 3x it�s durability in days. That way, the ship gains 2 days per day for the cost of its durability. (Note that between 10x and 3x, under normal, there is no cost in ship points.

That being said (and my intent is not to start up that discussion), I am currently accelerating CVs, DDs and some TKs but this discussion is on naval ships (and not merchant ships). I have shut off all transport subs. At this point, I don�t see much benefit to them, although I reserve the right to start them up later. Right now I am accelerating 6x CVs and 6x DDs, all that are within the 10x-3x time frame. That is using exactly all of my naval shipbuilding points. I get a sub in a few days, which will increase my available naval ship points by 33 per day. Here comes the dilemma. I can either save those points for a rainy day or spend them on 1-2 DDs that are nearing completion. I have only 18 points in the pool so I may build up the pool to 2-300 before working on those DDs. I�m not sure what getting some DDs a couple weeks early will gain. Gotta think about that some more. Your advice is welcome, as always.

Future ship reinforcements

I�m getting a CVE and a string of xAPs shortly. That will put me in the green with merchant ship points. I�ll continue to build them up for the future. Note that I have 8x 11,600 capacity TKs accelerating right now. I also have >32k merchant ship points in the pool.

Next Phase of the War

With the SRA liberated and frantically building forts everywhere, what is the next step? Ted is content to hide his fleet and build for when he feels he�s ready to take me on. I�m also content with that. Let me discuss by region what is going on and what my future plans are.

A couple of general comments:
- I am building forts at all bases that I feel Ted can use to level 6 (that�s the goal anyway).

5 Fleet

I have Adak (and all points west) and Dutch Harbor. Both have (relatively) significant defensive forces but I�ll eventually withdraw most of them. Just speed bumps really. I want to keep this area until early to mid-43 if possible. My major threat in the area is a force of 9 subs to harass Ted, mainly around Kodiak.

I also have a surface fleet of 3 CLs and 13 Minekaze DDs residing at Ominato. They are just sitting in port rusting so I�ll eventually reassign them. The Minekazes will most likely become ASW escorts for short range merchant missions. Their endurance is only 2500, the lowest of any DDs.

So far, Ted is content to building up the area around Kodiak. He�s not doing anything at all offensive. I have a sub enroute to drop off a load of mines at Kodiak.

4 Fleet

I have no offensive missions from here against any enemy bases, nor are there any currently planned. I�m content to build up forts.

The only naval units here are 15x subs with more scheduled to arrive from the new builds in the pipeline. Five of the subs are the midget carrying subs. I�ve only tried a few midget attacks, all unsuccessfully so far. If I need surface naval vessels, they are temporarily drawn from Truk.

I�m still attempting to find Ted�s refueling base, but I may have found it. We�ll see. If that�s the case, I�ll allocate either 3 or 6 subs to that area. The rest move about looking for game. I�ve had the most success off the US west coast.

I�ve finally mined Wake and may mine other bases in this region too, but we�ll see. There aren�t a lot of mines and there are a lot of bases I�d like to mine. The SRA has priority for mines.

SE Fleet

This is a thorn in my side, with Ted�s ownership of Pt. Moresby. I�m trying to bleed him of his fighters here (and in Burma). I�ve moved the 5 Air Division here, to support the 23 Air Flotilla. The two Oscar sentai are doing stellar work over Pt. Moresby. The two Sally sentai are flying night missions over Pt. Moresby. They don�t do much but occasionally kill a fighter on the ground, which is more than they would do if the fighters were in the air opposing them. There are several light bomber sentai in the area as well. One can be upgraded to Sallies (without the 75 pp cost) and the rest will eventually become ASW units.

In addition to the 90 Zeros (when at full strength), there are 81 Betties, which occasionally fly naval attack missions. I suspect they�ll get more chances for glory in the coming months.

Naval forces permanently stationed here include 3 CAs, 3 CLs, 18 DDs (Fubukis), 11 fleet subs and 7 Ro class subs. These forces augment the 4 Fleet as necessary and can be reinforced by KB, MKB and/or the Battle Fleet as necessary.

I own the Solomons as well as all of PNG (except for Pt. Moresby and Merauke (in the SRA theater)). I have no intention of expanding any more here. I am building a large nest of airfields to keep enough open at any time to be a threat to Ted�s incursions.

I still want to take Pt. Moresby but I doubt that will happen. He has an estimated 40k troops there. That�s crazy. I am toying with the idea of taking the NE corner of Australia. It would not be an invasion though. I have 2x divisions (plus other miscellaneous forces) in North Central Australia. In addition, I have the 14 Army just hanging out without a mission. This army is composed of 16 and 48 Divisions and 56 Brigade, along with 2x tank regiments and quite a bit of artillery. I may transfer them to Australia and let them go rampaging around the NE corner. My goal would be to force Ted to relocate his B-17s farther south, out of normal range of Milne Bay (and all my other air bases in the region). That would cause him some heartache at Pt. Moresby. I can afford Oscars (and IJA fighter pilots) more than he can afford his P-40s and Kittyhawks.

Before I do that, I must take Merauke, discussed below.

Australia

Ted is withdrawing from northern Australia and made no attempt to hold it this game. At some point he�ll come back with a vengeance, but I have no idea when that will be. I hope to have the Southern SRA well defended by then and have my frontline fighter be upgraded to the Tojo IIa, Oscar IIa and the Zero M3a at least.

I already discussed what I�m considering with the 14 Army above.

The defenders of Australia are already arriving. They�re nothing more than Naval Guard units and SNLF companies.

So far, Ted is doing nothing to defend Australia. I think he hopes I will move to the center of the country and get myself cut off. No such luck.

I intend to take Merauke but I want to whittle down the enemy sub force a bit first. When MKB recently moved in for a little visit, a couple of subs arrived within a day. I moved some DDs to counter them, but they vanished again. I�m planning on sending MKB in once more to sweep Merauke and draw out the subs. This time I�ll have the DDs ready and waiting. We�ll see what happens this time�.

SRA

The SRA is entirely mine. I have my convoy routes set up and am efficiently moving stuff out. It�s not moving fast enough though. In June, I�ll begin conversion of the Std-C class xAKs to TKs. Once that is complete in late June, I�ll be able to move stuff faster and clean out the bases that have too much fuel/oil, including Palembang, Medang and Singapore.

Defenses are not yet set, but I�m working on it:

25 Army � 1x Division � Malaya
16 Army � 2x Divisions � Java & Sumatra
14 Army � 2x Divisions & 1x Brigade � Southern SRA (after Australia)
Southern Army � 3 or 4 Divisions � SRA interior & reserve

Well, not entirely mine I guess. Merauke is still in Ted's hands. I'll take it, but it'll cost merchant ships which I guess I can afford. The thing that is slowing me down is his subs. I flinch a bit when I see them. Nightmares of Hiryu....

Burma

Currently, Akyab is cut off with ~40k troops. I have 18 Division and 1x infantry regiment, along with 4x AT battalions assigned to occupation duty. I�m content to let them starve.

I have 3x infantry divisions that are in the Imphal hex, with the rest of the invasion force within a few miles of reaching that hex. We�ll see what happens.

In addition, I have a tank regiment in the hex just to the west of Ledo, cutting off the rail line. There is an Allied division in the hex, but I don�t think it�s strong enough to push me out. I�ll decide what to do here as the Imphal invasion unfolds.

A convoy just arrived in port with elements of the 1 and 2 Tank Divisions along with a bunch of supply. The remainder of the divisions arrive as reinforcements in about a month or so in Manchuoko. I�ve been stocking PPs (1741 currently) and will buy them out when they arrive. Then, off to Burma they�ll go. They will become my mobile reserve there.

I currently have more air units than I can effectively use, due to the slow build-up of airfields. I finally realized my mistake. I have 3x engineer regiments still in Palembang. Two of them will head to Burma within the next few days. That�ll help get my airfields built up more quickly. Another load of supply is going to be sent from Japan as well (100k hopefully). It�ll take a while to get there, but when it does, it should help with the chronic supply problems that plague this theater.

Ted has an estimated 40-50 fighters here. If I can get a significant number over Imphal for an extended period of time, I can force him to withdraw the RAF and have my way with his army. The only �safe havens� for his air force are Chittagong and Imphal. Neither is really very safe. Chittagong gets regular visits from my BBs and CAs and I�ve significant forces at Imphal. I think it�s only a matter of time.

With the successful conclusion of the Imphal attack, I will consider clearing out the nest of bases around Imphal. After that, I�ll have to think about it.

China

I have succeeded in taking both Loyang and Sian for their oil. Loyang�s 90 oil is intact but Sian�s 20 oil was damaged. I can live with that. Now I need to calculate how much fuel & resources I need to keep the HI & LI running in China/Manchuoko/Korea. I know I have plenty of resources but I want to know what fuel I need and if the 120 refineries will be enough to fuel it. Also, I want to know how much excess oil I have so I can allocate some of the Std-C TKs to moving the excess to Japan. I�m eyeing that base way up north that has some 50 oil. That would be outstanding. I have a small force working its way up there, but it�ll take a while.

My two large armies (victor of Sian and the army that destroyed the last of the surrounded units are moving toward other objectives in central China. My goal here is to take the rail line, mainly for interior lines to respond to Chinese armies in the later years. Eventually, I�d like to take a few divisions out of China for use elsewhere.

Manchuoko/Korea

All I�m doing here is to build up the bases for late war. The entire Kwantung Air Force is training. They produce a lot of pilots for the real war. My goal is to build every base to level 6 forts. I have pulled out a couple of divisions and 10x heavy artillery units (that I used to very good effect at Sian). In addition, I�ll pull out the remainder of 2x tank divisions when they arrive in a month or so and some engineers. Not sure what else I�ll pull out or when.

Japan

Not much going on here other than building up forts and certain ports and air bases.

Final Comments

I haven�t seen anything larger than a DD in months. Ted is using this time to train, convert and build up his navy. I�ll see them eventually. I suspect they�ll appear in late 42. Note that he began getting Avengers this month. He�ll have his carrier TB squadrons fully replaced by next month or so.

_____________________________

Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to Mike Solli)

Post #: 1502

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/6/2012 10:53:01 AM

Mike Solli

Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline

24 May 42

Sub War

Lots of action under the water today. At Horn Island, the I-158 found a couple of xAKLs sinking one with a torpedo and badly damaging the other with her deck gun.

I think I found Ted�s refuel point. It�s at Rangiora. If not, it�s a transit point. There�s a bottleneck spot one hex wide where I stationed the I-9. She missed a TK a few days ago and caught another one today, and it was a bigun. The TK Mobilfuel took 2 torpedos and went down. Unfortunately, she appeared to be unloaded, but I�ll take a tanker any day, whether loaded or unloaded.

SE Fleet

The B-24s hit Milne Bay again destroying a Zero on the ground and increasing the damage there to ~50 each service and airfield damage.

The Oscar sentai swept Pt. Moresby again. For the loss of 2x Oscars and 2 op losses, they shot down 2 each P-40s and Kittyhawks. 21 P-40s flew but only 5 Kittyhawks. I suspect the Kittyhawks are running low.

Other Stuff

The armament pool is up to 93,504. Once it reaches 100k, I�ll turn off 500 armament factories (leaving120 producing). This will increase my HI savings by 3000 a day or 90k a month. I currently have only 155k HI in the pool. This is normal for me. It doesn�t really begin to increase much until I start to shut off excess facilities, with the armament factories being the largest. I currently have 7303 HI factories producing. My goal is to exceed 7500. I have a lot building in Java, which will push me past that goal.

I want to have the following in my HI pool on these dates:

700k by the end of 1942
1.9 million by the end of 1943
3 million by the end of 1944

I have 12,016 points in the vehicle pool. I normally reduce production when I exceed 10k but I�m going to keep it going until I get the remainder of the 1 & 2 Tank Divisions, in 30 days. Then I�ll move those units to Burma and form up those divisions. It may require some upgrades so I�ll see where things stand after that happens, probably 2 months from now.

_____________________________

Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to Mike Solli)

Post #: 1503

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/6/2012 11:43:25 AM

pws1225

Posts: 1166
Joined: 8/9/2010
From: Tate's Hell, Florida
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Other Stuff

The armament pool is up to 93,504. Once it reaches 100k, I�ll turn off 500 armament factories (leaving120 producing). This will increase my HI savings by 3000 a day or 90k a month. I currently have only 155k HI in the pool. This is normal for me. It doesn�t really begin to increase much until I start to shut off excess facilities, with the armament factories being the largest. I currently have 7303 HI factories producing. My goal is to exceed 7500. I have a lot building in Java, which will push me past that goal.

I want to have the following in my HI pool on these dates:

700k by the end of 1942
1.9 million by the end of 1943
3 million by the end of 1944

I have 12,016 points in the vehicle pool. I normally reduce production when I exceed 10k but I�m going to keep it going until I get the remainder of the 1 & 2 Tank Divisions, in 30 days. Then I�ll move those units to Burma and form up those divisions. It may require some upgrades so I�ll see where things stand after that happens, probably 2 months from now.

Thanks for the insights Mike. I've never gotten that far into the game as the Japanese yet. Benchmarks like these really help.

(in reply to Mike Solli)

Post #: 1504

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/6/2012 12:29:55 PM

Empire101

Posts: 1950
Joined: 5/20/2008
From: Coruscant
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

24 May 42

Sub War

Lots of action under the water today. At Horn Island, the I-158 found a couple of xAKLs sinking one with a torpedo and badly damaging the other with her deck gun.

I think I found Ted�s refuel point. It�s at Rangiora. If not, it�s a transit point. There�s a bottleneck spot one hex wide where I stationed the I-9. She missed a TK a few days ago and caught another one today, and it was a bigun. The TK Mobilfuel took 2 torpedos and went down. Unfortunately, she appeared to be unloaded, but I�ll take a tanker any day, whether loaded or unloaded.

Great stuff Mike!!

Are you going to 'home' in more I-Boats into the general area for a fishing expedition!!??

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Other Stuff

The armament pool is up to 93,504. Once it reaches 100k, I�ll turn off 500 armament factories (leaving120 producing). This will increase my HI savings by 3000 a day or 90k a month. I currently have only 155k HI in the pool. This is normal for me. It doesn�t really begin to increase much until I start to shut off excess facilities, with the armament factories being the largest. I currently have 7303 HI factories producing. My goal is to exceed 7500. I have a lot building in Java, which will push me past that goal.

I want to have the following in my HI pool on these dates:

700k by the end of 1942
1.9 million by the end of 1943
3 million by the end of 1944

I have 12,016 points in the vehicle pool. I normally reduce production when I exceed 10k but I�m going to keep it going until I get the remainder of the 1 & 2 Tank Divisions, in 30 days. Then I�ll move those units to Burma and form up those divisions. It may require some upgrades so I�ll see where things stand after that happens, probably 2 months from now.

You are a man after my own heart, as I run my economy along similar lines ( thanks to reading and rereading all your 'Economy' and 'Production' posts and essays ).

I can honestly say I'm a proud member of 'The Mike Solli University of Japanese War Economy Management'.
Great AAR...keep it up!!

Thanks once again for all you have contributed.

_____________________________

Our lives may be more boring than those who lived in apocalyptic times,
but being bored is greatly preferable to being prematurely dead because of some ideological fantasy. - Michael Burleigh

(in reply to Mike Solli)

Post #: 1505

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/6/2012 11:12:32 PM

Mike Solli

Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline

Hi guys. Your kind words are much appreciated. Since I'm still waiting for the next turn, I guess I can elaborate and talk about how I got some of the numbers mentioned above.

The HI numbers aren't just pulled out of a certain part of my anatomy. There really is a method here. Basically, most of those will be from the HI saved from reducing armament and vehicle factory production. I expect to exceed 100k armaments in June 42. That'll give me 90k HI per month for 6 months or 90k*6 = 540k HI. By the end of July, I expect to shut off 100 vehicle factories which will save 600 HI*30*5 or 90k HI. Add that to the 155k HI currently in the pool and I'll exceed 700k by the end of this year. For 1943 & 44, I'm figuring ~100k HI accumulated a month. Figure 90k from armaments and 18k from vehicles minus the periods where I may have to turn some on to increase the pool. That's ~1.2 million per year giving ~1.9 million by the end of 43 and ~3 million by the end of 44.

I'm still not sure how long that'll last. Last turn, I produced 14,606 HI and had a surplus of 1382. I used 13,224. Based on that number, 3 million in the pool would last 226 days, or about 7.5 months. Again, I really haven't tried to calculate how much HI I'll need in 1945 so those numbers are really meaningless. It is a way to plan, sort of.

_____________________________

Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to Empire101)

Post #: 1506

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/6/2012 11:15:09 PM

Mike Solli

Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline

pws1225, I'm allocating a sub division of 3x Glen subs to that area. If it turns out to be a nice place to hunt, I'll allocate a second division so there will constantly be 3 subs there while the other 3 refuel and refit.

_____________________________

Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to Mike Solli)

Post #: 1507

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/12/2012 11:08:37 PM

Mike Solli

Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline

25 May 42

Sub War

The I-9 was prosecuted by a couple of ASW TF NE of Rangiora. Neither did any real damage (3 sys and 1 flot) but she�s going to move NE a few hexes to get out of spotting range. I�ll have her patrol around a bit.

4 Fleet

The DMS Hovey and DMS Zane each bombarded Maleolap individually, doing no damage. The Zane took 3x 12 cm shells for her effort. They then departed for their home base, wherever that is. My DDs missed catching them. They�re going to hang out at Kwajalein. I expect them to return.

SE Fleet

29x B-17s hit Milne Bay, doing more damage to the airfield.

Burma

My 3x divisions at Imphal were visited by 83 British bombers. None of my fighters flew today. No damage was taken by my units. Most of the bombers flew from Chittagong. I have a bombardment TF of 7x CAs that will visit Chittagong tomorrow.

Other Stuff

Reinforcement: 52 JNAF AF Unit � Southern Army � not sure where it�s going yet.

Merauke�s airfield reached level 4 today. MKB will sweep it tomorrow.

_____________________________

Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to Mike Solli)

Post #: 1508

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/12/2012 11:09:31 PM

Mike Solli

Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline

26 May 42

SE Fleet

The Oscar sentai flew a sweep mission over Pt. Moresby today. For a loss of 3 Oscars (+2 op losses and 2 pilots), they shot down 2x P-40s + an op loss. I�ll continue the sweep missions.

The B-17s visited Milne Bay again, destroying a Zero on the ground and damaging the airbase further.

Burma

The 7x CA bombardment TF hit Chittagong today causing moderate damage to the airfield and destroying 3x P-40s, a Hurricane IIa and 2x Blenheim IVs on the ground and damaging 15 more P-40s and about half a dozen other planes. Very nice. Wish the BB TF was available to hit it again tomorrow, but it�s headed back to Singapore to replenish. I�ll get both replenished and give them a few days to repair the minor sys damage and send them back to Chittagong to hit that place 2 days in a row.

The Allied bombers didn�t fly today. Hmm, wonder why?

Merauke

Shoho�s 21 fighters swept Merauke, encountering 10x P-40s. They shot down 5 (+ an op loss) while having 1 Zero shot down along with 2x op losses and 2 pilots lost. Then Zuiho�s 21 Zeros swepts Merauke after Shoho�s were done, shooting down 1x P-40 for no loss.

MKB will move a few hexes again and do another sweep. I�m adding a little bit to this though. I�m leaving an ASW TF in the hex MKB is currently in to try and catch some Dutch subs in shallow water should Ted attempt to go after MKB. I also have another ASW TF in the hex MKB is in, just in case.

Other Stuff

One 30 pt Tojo IIa R&D factory (of 3 total) finally completed its repairs. It�s about time. I�ll finally begin to accelerate them, but only by 1% per day. *Sigh* It�s better than nothing, I guess.

_____________________________

Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to Mike Solli)

Post #: 1509

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/13/2012 11:07:54 PM

Mike Solli

Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
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Aircraft R&D

I�ve been tracking my air factory R&D progress and they�re repairing pretty slowly. Fortunately, the late war airframe factories are going to repair very slowly, so it doesn�t hurt much (in terms of supply) to set them up slowly over time. By setting them up I mean convert an R&D factory to the proper airframe and increase its size to 30. Note that I did increase an A6M3a factory to 60 and it still only accelerates by 1% per day. Don�t do that! It�s a waste of time. It could have been accelerating the R&D for quite a while, but the factory was repairing from 31 to 60 instead of accelerating. Lesson learned!

Here�s the current status of my R&D factories. Note that all the factories listed below are set at 30 with the one exception mentioned above:

Ki-49-IIa: 30, 30, 30 � 54%, 7/42, will become operational ~10 Jun 42. All 3 factories will become operational. When this happens, I�ll keep the Ki-21-IIa producing (size 30) for a total of 120 airframes produced per month. The Ki-49 will be the frontline model with the Ki-21 being and ASW weapon. I am currently producing 34 Ki-48-IIa a month. This was a stop-gap attempt to keep frontline sentai up to strength. There is only 1x sentai of this model. I still have quite a few Ki-48-Ic in the frontlines. They will be used (to supplement the dwindling Ki-21-Ic airframes) for training.

A6M3a: 60, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30 � 49%, 10/42, will become operational ~7 Jul 42. At that time the 60 and 1x 30 will become operational and the remaining 4x 30 will upgrade to the A6M5 R&D. This will give me a monthly production of 90x A6M3a and 100 A6M2. I will cut the A6M2 production in half if not shut it off altogether, depending on the size of the A6M2 pool as the A6M3a replaces airframes. The Claude will remain as the training airframe, supplemented by the A6M2 if needed. I am not producing any A6M3. The A6M3a will become the carrier fighter and both models will be used in land based IJN frontline fighter units. Approximately 300 A6M3a will be needed to replace all of the carrier fighters (to include the Hiyo still in production and resizing due to happen in Jul 42). This will displace ~220 A6M2s to the pool. I�d like to keep ~100 A6M2 and A6M3a in the pool. This will definitely fill the A6M2 pool, hence the likelihood of shutting off A6M2 production in the future (at least temporarily). It�ll take almost 4 month�s production of the A6M3a just to fill out the carriers. With the rapid acceleration of the A6M5 (discussed next) I don�t expect the A6M2 factories to be producing much (if at all) after the A6M3a becomes operational.

A6M5: 30, 30 � 55%, 7/43, gets 4x 30 additional factories on ~7 Jul 42, becomes operational ~11 Nov 42. Everything will upgrade to this one eventually. All 7 factories will remain R&D and upgrade to the A6M8 for land based operations. The carriers (whatever�s left by late war) will retain the A6M5 for its range. The A6M8 has short range but armor and carries 2x 250 kg bombs. Can anyone say Kamikaze?

Here�s what else I have that are attempting to repair their factories up to 30:

Ki-44-IIa: 30(0), 25(5), 20(10), 9/42. I�m hoping to get this in Aug 42, but factories are repairing pretty slowly. *Sigh* I really need this for frontline ops. All factories will become operational. These 90, along with the 128 Oscars being produced, will be used and upgraded as they can.

Ki-43-IIa: 8(22), 5(25), 4(26), 11/42. I hope to get this model a couple months early, but the factories just do not want to repair. These factories will remain in R&D throughout this series. I want to expedite everything through the Ki-43-IV. The IIb is the first model with armor, but from the IIa on, they carry 2x 250 kg bombs so they are destined to be Kamikazes. They aren�t bad planes, but their guns suck. Fortunately, I�ll be building 128 of whatever model is out a month and I�m blessed with a lot of IJAAF fighter pilots in the pool so the Oscar will overwhelm the Allies with sheer numbers. (That�s the theory anyway.) As a Kamikaze, they�ll suck, but they�ll be fodder for the more important Kamikazes out there.

Ki-61-Ia: 12(18), 4(26), 2(28), 2/43. As these factories complete repairs, they will upgrade to the Ki-61-Id (4/44), which is the model I really want. All of the factories will become operational with the Id model. Eventually, they�ll upgrade to the Ki-100-I.

Ki-84a: 13(17), 7(23), 7(23), 4/44. I am going to add an additional 3x factories, but it�ll still be a slow process. I hope to get this model in late summer 1943. I�ll make 3 operational and use the other 3 as R&D for later models. I like this plane, other than its service rating.

N1K1-J: 9(21), 8(22), 8(22), 9/43. I am going to add an additional 3x factories, but it�ll still be a slow process. I hope to get this model in early 1943. I�ll make 3 operational and use the other 3 as R&D for later models. I like this plane, other than its service rating.

B6N1: 6(24), 5/43. With only 1 factory in R&D, I don�t expect this model to come early. In my opinion, the fighter is the most important type of plane in this game. Without fighters, the bombers don�t have a chance. Hell, with fighters, the bombers don�t stand much of a chance late war.

D4Y1: 10(20), 4/43. The only reason I even care about this plane is for the 500 kg bomb it hauls. The range (5/6) sucks.

B7A2: 4(26), 12/44. I really like this plane but unless you can accelerate it, it comes too late to matter. I am tempted to add 2-3 more factories and give it a shot but I�m not sure.

Well, that�s all the size 30 factories I currently have in R&D. I�m going to add more by the end of this game month. I�ll let you know what I decide when I do it.

As always, comments and suggestions are most welcome.

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Post #: 1510

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/14/2012 3:56:52 AM

Mike Solli

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27 May 42

Sub War

Well, my tactic with MKB and the ASW TFs worked well, but not the way I had planned. MKB moved a few hexes away from the hex it was in yesterday leaving an ASW TF there. That ASW TF found nothing. MKB moved to another hex 7 hexes from Merauke where another ASW TF was and a Dutch sub showed up there. The ASW TF there did nothing but MKB's escorts engaged the sub and sank her. Banzai!

My sub off the coast of the US found a TK but missed. Too bad.

Merauke

Shoho's and Zuiho's fighter daitai swept Merauke individually again today. The first daitai encountered 2 P-40s, shooting down one and driving off the other. The second daitai found nothing.

MKB is moving east to refuel.

Burma

A 42 plane Oscar sentai swept Chittagong from extended range. I don't like doing this but wanted to test the waters. They encountered 11x P-40s and 11x Hurricanes. In a swirling battle, they shot down 9x P-40s and 3x Hurricanes for the loss of 6x Oscars (and 5 pilots) along with one op loss of each type. Not a bad day at all.

Other Stuff

Today marks the day when the last Allied base in the SRA was taken (with the exception of a couple of dot hexes on the outer coast of Sumatra). Those few dot hexes will be taken within the next week or so. An SNLF company is doing that. Now I have to finalize my defense plan for that region.

Miri finished repairs on the oil fields there. The oil fields are at 300(0) and the refinery is at 150(150).

The only oil fields that need repairs are at Soerabaja (119 still damaged) and Sian (all 20 still damaged). I can't get Sian to draw supply so I'm sending the China Expeditionary Army HQ there to try and do the trick. There's also Magwe with 133 damaged oil fields, but I'm not going to repair them. I believe Ted thinks they're destroyed. I'll take the oil that's flowing out of the 167 undamaged oil fields there.

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Post #: 1511

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/14/2012 8:59:49 AM

PaxMondo

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Mike, My thoughts on your R&D:

1. Get some factories on the A7M. As you know, the A6M series will be outdated by 3/43 when the F6F shows up. From then until you get the A7M you are at a real disavantage in any CV battle. Yes, it will take forever for the factories to repair and get this researched, but as you note fighters are key and this is it for the IJN. George is important of course, but you can't use it in more than half your groups (while you have CV's afloat anyway).

2. Great progress on the Ki-84. SR isn't that bad. You just learn how to deal with it (rest %, large AF's, and excess AV are your friends).

3. Choose your final, end war fighters (one each for the IJN/IJA) and start getting R&D built for them. I'm referring to those late 45 -> 46 models like the Shinden and Karyu. Figure out now what your endgame is and get started now. If you do, you can have those ~12 months early in numbers when they can still contribute. Shinden in 46 is pretty useless, but Shinden in your groups in numbers by 1/45 is a different animal. There are a lot of choices, and I don't think any concensus has been achieved, particularly for the IJA. I go for speed and armament, but that's me.

4. Get your NF strategy figured out. You know with the arrival of the B29 in early '44 that this will be a major tactic, if not sooner. You get some dedicated groups and you have a fair number that can convert if you choose. We all know that NF's aren't too effective per se, but we also all know that having even something up will disrupt bomb accuracy and cause more operational losses. My criteria, if I build any specific NF's, is speed > 370. If they can't catch a B29, they don't seem to work very well.

5. Agree that the D4Y1 is a real disappointment. D4Y3 is what you have to go for until the B7A2 comes along. Of course you build the D4Y1 when you get it ... but you need to have factories to upgrade and continue to R&D as well for the D4Y3. After fighters, this is my No.1 IJN R&D effort. The D3A is just a waste of space and pilots on a CV ... bomb is just too small against armored ships. D4Y1 gets you a bomb that will work, just doesn't have the range.

6. Don't overlook the Norm and the Dinah III. IJ lives and dies with recon as you don't have intel of any worth. Range on both of these is a big part of my intel program. An AV with Norms can cover a lot of ocean if placed right ... and Norms are cheap compared to Mavis/Emily. I can send them into hostile environments to increase DL and accept the losses.

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Post #: 1512

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/14/2012 10:57:51 AM

Mike Solli

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Pax, thanks for the wonderful comments. I made a copy of it to ponder over lunch today. Tonight the wife and daughter are gone. They're in the choir for our church program this weekend, so I'll have quiet time here to work on my plan. To be honest, I haven't given it much thought. I've never gone beyond mid-43, and that was with the old WitP.

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Post #: 1513

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 12:34:46 AM

Mike Solli

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28 May 42

Quiet turn today, other than in the air.

Over Pt. Moresby, my Oscar sentai flew a sweep mission and no one came up to play, so they bombed the airfield, I think. My intel says there's 10 airfield damage and the Oscars bombing strengths gained skill. I'll take it. I'll keep sweeping too.

An Oscar sentai swept Chittagong, where Ted is keeping most of his fighters in the area. It was a little more painful, but I can afford the loss. I shot down 2x P-40 (+2 op losses) and 2x Hurricanes (plus an op loss) to 6x Oscars shot down and an op loss. I lost 4 pilots. I pulled that sentai out and replaced it with another sentai and a chutai. I'm also sending in two daitai of Zeros. If it works like I hope it does, Ted's fighters will be visited by 54 Zeros and 42 Oscars. Today he flew 18x P-40s, 1x Hurricane IIb Trop and 10 Hurriane IIa Trop. This is first time in a long time he's flown the IIa model. Maybe he's running low on fighters? Tomorrow should be a painful day for Ted's Burmese Air Force.

I'm looking forward to the next turn.

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Post #: 1514

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 9:10:13 AM

obvert

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Pax covered most of the stuff above. In late 43 in my game now so seeing some of this happen and these airframes come online, which is exciting. I hope your game goes through it all as well. It is hard to get it al started only to stop and have to do it over without seeing the results.

I've just got the Norm, and in addition to Pax's comments, it is great for extended search in previously blank areas the Jakes couldn't reach behind the lines, like around Babledaob. I'm planning to put a few groups around the Marianas and try to cover the approaches to the HI more fully that way.

For the George I had 3 x 30 factories and got it only 2 months ahead. If you can get the engine bonus it might go faster.

The Frank is just arriving now in 11/43. I used the original 55 factory plus 2 x 30 for that one. I've got another 30 researching the Ki-84b, which is not on the same path unfortunately, but really is a must have, and I wish I had put more onto it earlier.

I've almost gotten to the Tony Id (2 x 30 + engine bonus) on that line, and although they are marginally useful, I like to have different airframes just for the variety of uses. The Id will be good with the 20mm and service 2. I am looking forward to the Ki-100 for a cheap service 1 daily grind fighter.

I've nearly gotten to the J2M3, which has a rating of 2, plus good armament. The M2 model is okay, but mainly the issue with it has been keeping them in the air in frontline areas. With service 2 I'mm looking to use this more and keep the Georges for 4E duty and rear defense, where they work best. The Jack also climbs well so can be used in this role, but I see it as forward sweep defense with some offensive capability occasionally.

The Dinah III and Irving have been invaluable for recon so far. I've begun to use the D4Y1-C more as it has one hex less than the Irving but is cheaper with it's one engine. Looking forward to the Myrt also.

My 5 x 30 Sam factories have still not repaired fully. I have one at 28 (2) which has been sitting like that for about two months!!! Frustration.

I really would like this plane in 44, but I fear it will be 45 before I can get it.

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Post #: 1515

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 9:37:28 AM

GreyJoy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

Pax covered most of the stuff above. In late 43 in my game now so seeing some of this happen and these airframes come online, which is exciting. I hope your game goes through it all as well. It is hard to get it al started only to stop and have to do it over without seeing the results.

I've just got the Norm, and in addition to Pax's comments, it is great for extended search in previously blank areas the Jakes couldn't reach behind the lines, like around Babledaob. I'm planning to put a few groups around the Marianas and try to cover the approaches to the HI more fully that way.

For the George I had 3 x 30 factories and got it only 2 months ahead. If you can get the engine bonus it might go faster.

The Frank is just arriving now in 11/43. I used the original 55 factory plus 2 x 30 for that one. I've got another 30 researching the Ki-84b, which is not on the same path unfortunately, but really is a must have, and I wish I had put more onto it earlier.

I've almost gotten to the Tony Id (2 x 30 + engine bonus) on that line, and although they are marginally useful, I like to have different airframes just for the variety of uses. The Id will be good with the 20mm and service 2. I am looking forward to the Ki-100 for a cheap service 1 daily grind fighter.

I've nearly gotten to the J2M3, which has a rating of 2, plus good armament. The M2 model is okay, but mainly the issue with it has been keeping them in the air in frontline areas. With service 2 I'mm looking to use this more and keep the Georges for 4E duty and rear defense, where they work best. The Jack also climbs well so can be used in this role, but I see it as forward sweep defense with some offensive capability occasionally.

The Dinah III and Irving have been invaluable for recon so far. I've begun to use the D4Y1-C more as it has one hex less than the Irving but is cheaper with it's one engine. Looking forward to the Myrt also.

My 5 x 30 Sam factories have still not repaired fully. I have one at 28 (2) which has been sitting like that for about two months!!! Frustration. I really would like this plane in 44, but I fear it will be 45 before I can get it.

That's the main point imho. If you invest too much on 1945 planes, you risk of getting far behind with 1944 frames. The SAM is a key example. It's a late 1945 fighter. If you invest on it at the expense of something like the N1K2 or the J2M3 or the KI-84, the risk is to be short of good fighters when the war really gets decided...so to say in 1943-early 1944. if you lose your decisive battles in that time-period, getting some 1945 fighters in late 1944 won't save your butt, while to get Franks and IJN second version fighters in 1943 may still give you some chances.

I love the idea of invest a lot on the Shidens, the KI-83 (which is the winner!) or on the Jets...but to get them will mean to keep your R&D factories not building usefull R&D points forever.... Japan has to chose, as always: get a chance of having an edge in 1943/1944 or to get 1946/1945 planes in second half of 1944...

i've been playing the Allies against an opponent who got the Shidens online by october 1944....and i can tell you that they didn't make any significant difference by that time. When you have 1000 P-47D-25 sweeping Tokyo, even the Shidens cannot do anything

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Post #: 1516

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 10:43:10 AM

obvert

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

That's the main point imho. If you invest too much on 1945 planes, you risk of getting far behind with 1944 frames. The SAM is a key example. It's a late 1945 fighter. If you invest on it at the expense of something like the N1K2 or the J2M3 or the KI-84, the risk is to be short of good fighters when the war really gets decided...so to say in 1943-early 1944. if you lose your decisive battles in that time-period, getting some 1945 fighters in late 1944 won't save your butt, while to get Franks and IJN second version fighters in 1943 may still give you some chances.

I love the idea of invest a lot on the Shidens, the KI-83 (which is the winner!) or on the Jets...but to get them will mean to keep your R&D factories not building usefull R&D points forever.... Japan has to chose, as always: get a chance of having an edge in 1943/1944 or to get 1946/1945 planes in second half of 1944...

i've been playing the Allies against an opponent who got the Shidens online by october 1944....and i can tell you that they didn't make any significant difference by that time. When you have 1000 P-47D-25 sweeping Tokyo, even the Shidens cannot do anything

In my game I had the luxury of wining a CV battle that gave me extra time. Had that not happened I would be hurting now, just getting the Frank and service 2 2nd generation fighters in very late 43. And I've taken pretty heavy air losses and pilot losses already for these reasons (as well as my periodic waves of incompetence orchestrating massed strikes)

.

It's so hard to know where to go because you don't know how the game will develop, but I concur that getting the 44s in 43, as early as possible, is key. You can always turn over those factories to something else, or invest more later on 45 planes as you know more.

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Post #: 1517

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 11:29:58 AM

PaxMondo

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

... the Ki-84b, which is not on the same path unfortunately, but really is a must have, and I wish I had put more onto it earlier.

...

I also choose the "b" model Frank to focus on. Speed and Armament. One of the best armed IJA fighters and not too slow. I just wish it had another 30 knots ...

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Post #: 1518

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 11:52:30 AM

PaxMondo

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Not disagreeing with you guys here, but because of exactly what you say you do have to choose and focus.� You cannot research everything.� For the IJA, you have a lot of choices of both 44 and 45 fighters but you need to choose one (each) and go for it.� For me that is Frank "a" and "b" models.� Others like Tony, ...� but the real truth is that if you choose 3 or 4 you won't end up as well as if you had focused one each.� That's my experience.

Ditto for IJN.� George or J2M are both good planes, but there isn't enough difference between them to research both.� They also only work in the same groups: non-CV.� For CV groups you have to choose Sam and not researching it condemns +50% of your IJN fighters to a lousy plane until the Sam arrives.� There is not a second option.� If you get the N1K series, then any factories you put on J2M are ones that could have been on Sam and you lose that R&D effort.

This is the historical lesson that IJ did not learn soon enough: focus your efforts.� They had too many R&D program given their resources.� Hindsight allows us to correct that sooner.

Now, not to say you have to play this way.� It is certainly fun to research ALL of the planes, build them, and use them in the niche places.� I will never argue that.� Heck, that is exactly what I did my first couple of games. �But, it is not the most efficient way.

Finally, the "best" answer (at least that I have found) to the TBolts and STangs in the late war is that you have to have equal or greater numbers of roughly equivalent planes*.� Tony/Tojo/Zero are not roughly equivalent, they are allied VP's to be harvested�and also increase the exp of the allied pilots.� George/J2M/Frank 'a'�are very marginal (I tend to move them to NF service).� That means those cool '46 designs have to come on�line in late '44 -> early '45 and you have to be able to build a LOT of them.� To do that, you have to start your R&D on those planes back in '42 or you will not get them in time.� It also means that you need a lot of HI banked to be able to fund all that ac building in 45.

Just my thoughts ...

*Let's face it, all of the late war IJ designs suffer from one flaw or another. They don't stack up perfectly againt the P51H no matter what you build. It might be climb, or manouver, or SR, or speed, or armament, or 2E. But something is a little "off" on all of them

< Message edited by PaxMondo -- 12/15/2012 12:02:57 PM >

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Post #: 1519

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 12:25:45 PM

GreyJoy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

Not disagreeing with you guys here, but because of exactly what you say you do have to choose and focus.� You cannot research everything.� For the IJA, you have a lot of choices of both 44 and 45 fighters but you need to choose one (each) and go for it.� For me that is Frank "a" and "b" models.� Others like Tony, ...� but the real truth is that if you choose 3 or 4 you won't end up as well as if you had focused one each.� That's my experience.

Ditto for IJN.� George or J2M are both good planes, but there isn't enough difference between them to research both.� They also only work in the same groups: non-CV.� For CV groups you have to choose Sam and not researching it condemns +50% of your IJN fighters to a lousy plane until the Sam arrives.� There is not a second option.� If you get the N1K series, then any factories you put on J2M are ones that could have been on Sam and you lose that R&D effort.

This is the historical lesson that IJ did not learn soon enough: focus your efforts.� They had too many R&D program given their resources.� Hindsight allows us to correct that sooner.

Now, not to say you have to play this way.� It is certainly fun to research ALL of the planes, build them, and use them in the niche places.� I will never argue that.� Heck, that is exactly what I did my first couple of games. �But, it is not the most efficient way.

Finally, the "best" answer (at least that I have found) to the TBolts and STangs in the late war is that you have to have equal or greater numbers of roughly equivalent planes*.� Tony/Tojo/Zero are not roughly equivalent, they are allied VP's to be harvested�and also increase the exp of the allied pilots.� George/J2M/Frank 'a'�are very marginal (I tend to move them to NF service).� That means those cool '46 designs have to come on�line in late '44 -> early '45 and you have to be able to build a LOT of them.� To do that, you have to start your R&D on those planes back in '42 or you will not get them in time.� It also means that you need a lot of HI banked to be able to fund all that ac building in 45.

Just my thoughts ...

*Let's face it, all of the late war IJ designs suffer from one flaw or another. They don't stack up perfectly againt the P51H no matter what you build. It might be climb, or manouver, or SR, or speed, or armament, or 2E. But something is a little "off" on all of them

I agree Pax. Focus. That's why i think to research Night Fighters, Float planes or the Jet planes is a waste.
To have those cool jet and rocket planes in early 1945 you need to devote a lot of engine and plane R&D factories to these production lines.

Imho, if you heavily research the SAM, The KI-83, the Shindens and the Jet/Rockets, you're gonna be short on the mid-term fighters.
So it's a trade, as always.
The question we have to answer is: is it better to have a great fighter force in 1945 or to have a relative strong fighter force in 1943-1944?

By 1945, imho, there's nothing much you can do other than fight with pure numbers, while, always imho, in 1943-1944, you can still fight with relative quality planes.

To me, it's better to have N1K1, J2M3 and N1K2, Ki-84a in 1943/early'44, when you still have a chance, than to have the Shindens in early 1945, when the sheer numbers of allied B29s and P-47D25s will wreck everything you have, no matter what.

These are my 0.0002 cents obviously.

The Tony line is imho, absolutely a waste. For sure the KI-100 is a good plane, but the resources that you need to spend to get it are not well put. The KI-100 won't change anything, while if you place the same amount of resources for the KI-84a-b/KI-44c will pay off a lot more.
We need a service 1 IJA fighter. We have the KI-44c, which is 11 knots faster than the KI-100 and it arrives earlier enough using an already solid production line (Ha-34/KI-44 line)

To get the KI-100 you have to research the whole Tony line... what gives?!

i've faced the KI-100 in Feb 1943 against Rader...and i can tell you: i never, ever feared it

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Post #: 1520

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 12:32:45 PM

GreyJoy

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One more note. The A6M line is another waste after the A6M5 imho. Even the "8" version is so slow that it won't make any difference.
Aboard carriers, the A6M5 is just as good as anything else... you're gonna lose, no matter what, and the CVs are one shot guns after 1943... so why care?
You just need ablative armour to escort your Jills/Judys...and the A6M5 is just as good as any later zero model
what, imho, is really important is what you can have for LBA IJN.
the best path, in this optic, is N1K1, J2M3 and N1K2. Then you better stop cause the "5" line gets back to a service rating of 3 and changes the engine (which translates in bluring of your concentration efforts).
With the Engine bonus, you can "easily" have the N1K1 by Feb 43, the J2M3 (SR-2) by August 43 and the N1K2 (SR-2) by october/november 1943

(in reply to GreyJoy)

Post #: 1521

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 1:24:54 PM

Mike Solli

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This is wonderful stuff guys! I need to leave now to see my son graduate from college, but I'll go over it again more thoroughly this afternoon. Thanks!

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RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/15/2012 2:44:53 PM

PaxMondo

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Imho, if you heavily research the SAM, The KI-83, the Shindens and the Jet/Rockets, you're gonna be short on the mid-term fighters.
So it's a trade, as always.
The question we have to answer is: is it better to have a great fighter force in 1945 or to have a relative strong fighter force in 1943-1944?

Wow. I have to try again here. Sorry for the hijack Mike.

First, GJ I agree with you even though you seem to think I'm not. I would never research all 4, have never suggested I would, and would not recommend it ... that's what I've been trying to say now 4 times. pick one each for IJA, IJN. That means either Ki83 or Karyu. Not both. ONE. That means Shinden or SAM, not both. ONE. IF you choose ONE you can then research your 43/44 ONE FIGHTER EACH just fine. ONE. let me repeat for clarity as this seems to be lacking in my posts:

43/44 IJA - CHOOSE ONE
43/44 IJN - CHOOSE ONE
45/46 IJA - CHOOSE ONE
45/46 IJN - CHOOSE ONE

This is a total of 4 fighter a/c to research.

I typically choose George/Sam for the IJN. IJA, typically Frank a/b models. That's just me. I really beleive if you try to R&D more than 4, you will not be efficient.

Not trying to be insulting here, but my posts are not being interpreted as written (which is confusing the heck out of me) and I don't like being accused of recommendations that I do not make.

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RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/16/2012 2:35:40 AM

Mike Solli

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29 May 42

Another quiet turn.

None of my planes flew the ambush over Chittagong. Must have been the thunderstorms.

The Oscar sentai swept Pt. Moresby again meeting 8x P-40s and 3 Kittyhawks. For one op loss (no pilots lost), they shot down 4x P-40s and there were also a P-40 and Kittyhawk op loss. He's running out of fighters there. Once I have air supremacy over Pt. Moresby, the bombing begins.

Reinforcement: I-31 - headed to the Aleutians theater.

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RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/16/2012 3:11:32 AM

Mike Solli

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Just a few comments on the SRA....

I'm keeping the bases in Borneo pretty much emptied of fuel/oil/resources.

Miri/Brunei ship all their stuff to Cam Ranh Bay. There are 4x 11.6k TKs that haul fuel or oil to Nagasaki.

Tarakan hauls all it's fuel to Davao, where the Combined Fleet calls it's home. There is >50k fuel at Tarakan right now. I use some Yusen N xAKs to haul the fuel. Yeah, I know it's not efficient but it'll have to do until the Std-C class get converted (which begins in a few days!).

Balikpapan is the supply source for Truk, which supplies SE & 4 Fleet AOs. There are 2x convoys, each with 4x 7950 TKs. They are perfect for the job. They keep Balikpapan emptied and Truk fueled. Truk currently has 127k fuel and 165k supply. For me that's an amazing amount of stuff. The supply comes from Japan whenever a new unit is shipped to Truk. I'm beginning to ship 10-20k supply to each base with troops.

All of the bases in Sumatra ship their stuff to Singapore. I use all of the Kyushus as well as 5x Tonan Whalers, 8x 12k TKs and 4x 11.6k TKs to haul oil, resources and fuel to the Home Islands. This is the bottleneck right now. I really need the Std-C TKs to move stuff. Here's the current situation:

Palembang:
F: 35k
O: 64k
R: 8k

Bengkalis:
F: <1k
O: <1k
R: 17k

Medan:
F: 40k
O: 93k
R: 34k

Singapore:
F: 170k
O: 20k
R: 25k

It's not bad, but I want to clear out this area in 1942, before Ted runs amok with his subs with good torps.

I have 20x Std-Cs that are in ports ready to convert on 1 Jun 42. Three weeks later, they'll complete their conversion and deploy. Most will go to the Singapore area but some will go to Tarakan and some will go to Davao to haul stuff to the Home Islands. Speaking of Davao, it has 93k oil and 58k resources that can't get back to the Home Islands fast enough. It gets that stuff from Tarakan, Balikpapan/Samarinda, Babo and Boela. Babo and Boela could each use a Std-C temporarily to empty those places of oil.

Java is getting all of the resources from the small bases around it. I'm repairing Soerabaja and building up the HI in Batavia. It'll be ~5 months before the oil is completely repaired at Soerabaja. Soerabaja gets periodic supply convoys from Japan, which then hauls resources back.

Overall, not bad, but it'll get much better when the Std-Cs are converted.

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RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/16/2012 4:25:28 AM

ny59giants

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Airframe Factories:
Scen 1 has 19 Production + 77 R&D = 96
Scen 2 has 26 Production + 80 R&D = 106
RA has 24 Production + 77 R&D = 101

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Post #: 1526

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/16/2012 5:35:10 PM

Mike Solli

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Michael, thanks. I was wondering how many R&D factories I had to play with.

30 May 42

Sub War

The I-123 was dispatched to drop a load of mines at Kodiak Island, east of the Aleutians. Ted is definitely building that base up.

She got there and dropped off her mines, then all hell broke loose. She got attacked by a couple of KVs, which caused numerous near misses with DCs. Then, 3x DDs attacked her and she took more near misses and a hit. She's limping away with heavy damage: 59-66(12)-1-0. I have confidence (keeping fingers crossed) that she'll make Adak. I don't want to lose a second minelaying sub. I have a nice number of Mk 88 mines.

After the turn ended, the DD Cassin showed up as sunk from a Mk 88 mine at Kodiak. I suspect she's only damaged but at least it caused a little headache for Ted.

Burma

One Zero daitai swept Chittagong (the other Zero daitai and the Oscars failed to fly again). They found 4x Hurricanes and shot down 2 for no loss. I even got another elite pilot out of the deal, who promptly went to TRACOM. TRACOM is now up to 36 IJA and 63 IJN pilots.

SE Fleet

The B-17s visited Milne Bay again today, this time going for the port. I lost 2x Zeros (1 pilot WIA) and got light damage to the port.

China

Nanyang is surrounded and my army's heavy artillery bombarded the place, identifying 2x HQs, 5x Corps and a construction regiment. I'm attacking tomorrow and should eliminate them in short order.

Other Stuff

Reinforcements:

2 Ku S-1 - 12x A6M3 (upgraded to Claudes) - 13 Air Flotilla - training - note that I was able to add 27 pilots, which is great. I need IJN fighter pilots desperately.
2 Ku K-1 - 12x D3A1 - 13 Air Flotilla - training

CVE Unyo - Once I attach some planes (probably DBs), she'll join MKB.

1 Air Army - General Defense Army - Headed to Kobe
2 Air Army - Kwantung Army - Headed to Harbin
Majoro Base Force - 4 Fleet - materialized at Majoro, of all places!
88 JAAF AF Bn - Kwantung Army - Harbin

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Post #: 1527

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/16/2012 5:43:48 PM

Mike Solli

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One other place where a bottleneck is occurring:

Hokkaido currently has ~2.4 million resources. (Toyohara has ~300k resources and ships to Hokkaido.) There are 50 Akasis hauling resources from Hakodate to Ominato, and it isn't enough!

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RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/16/2012 8:24:08 PM

obvert

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I use Sapporo, Muroran and Hakodate just to have more ports working, and I think I have about 7-8 TFs plying that transit. I also drop off at Hirosaki/Aomori and Ominato, and even Akita once it's built a bit. Most of mine use xAKLs so they load faster.

Currently I've got Hokkaido sucked dry (no port more than 25k), and Sakhalin after getting to 50k is at about 210k and dropping again after a lull using some of those ships for transporting engineers. It's amazing how much I still tweak this stuff even now in late 43!

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Post #: 1529

RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 12/16/2012 9:41:10 PM

Empire101

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

I use Sapporo, Muroran and Hakodate just to have more ports working, and I think I have about 7-8 TFs plying that transit. I also drop off at Hirosaki/Aomori and Ominato, and even Akita once it's built a bit. Most of mine use xAKLs so they load faster.

Currently I've got Hokkaido sucked dry (no port more than 25k), and Sakhalin after getting to 50k is at about 210k and dropping again after a lull using some of those ships for transporting engineers. It's amazing how much I still tweak this stuff even now in late 43!

+1

I also build up Niigata and Sendai a bit and have 2x10TFs ( xAK Adens ) hauling out of Sapporo to these two ports.

It sure does help.

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