Mike Solli
Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline
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Obvert response:
Obvert, I look at each class of DD separately, based on the type of mission I assign it. There are a couple of things that have higher priority though. ASW is one of them. The Fubuki I begins the war with no DC racks so they go into refit as soon as possible to get them those necessary DCs. Same with the PC Momi, Otori, Hashidate and DD Momo. I want all my escorts to have DC racks. The last 4 classes sit in port until they are scheduled to get DC racks.
Next I look at the mission of that class. The Shiratsuyu, Hatsuharu, Yugumo and Akitsuki classes all are my CV escorts so I want maximum AA and DCs (and later, radar). I don’t care about losing a gun. If they get into a surface engagement, I screwed up badly. On the other hand, subs are always a threat and CV escorts can expect to see enemy aircraft eventually.
Next come those classes that have other escort missions. These include the Mutsuki and Kamikaze classes, which escort my AOs. Same as the CV escorts.
The Minekaze is a unique class. Right now, they are a surface and escort force stationed at Ominato. They’ve done nothing except the occasional cargo escort mission to the Aleutians. Their small (2500) endurance precludes them from any long range mission. I also consider them obsolete. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them. I may keep them in the 5 Fleet area, but they (along with the 3 CLs also there) can’t really do much against any significant Allied force (say modern CL and larger). Another possibility is to use them as cargo escorts in the SRA. They’re not needed there at the moment so they’ll stay at Ominato. A third (and very likely) possibility is to use them in an ASW capacity around the Home Islands. I’ve got a lot of SCs currently in that mission but a few DDs with good crew and CO experience can’t hurt. If I do this, I’ll break them up into 13 ASW TFs, each with 1x Minekaze and 3x SCs. This last possibility plays into their low endurance because none of the SCs have endurance over 1500.
The classes you’re talking about are (for me) are the Fubuki I, Fubuki II, Fubuki III (Akatsuki), Asashio and Kagero classes. These are the classes that will most likely come into a surface action. The Fubuki I & II are stationed at Truk and deemed most likely to fight enemy surface elements. They are also very likely to meet enemy aircraft and subs. The Asashio, Kagero and Akatsuki classes are split between the 2 Fleet (stationed at Singapore) and the 1 Fleet (Combined Fleet) stationed at Davao. They are most likely to meet subs right now, with the likelihood of meeting surface ships and aircraft increasing with time. All five of these classes are occasionally used as convoy escorts when necessary but I try to minimize it.
Here’s how I look at these classes. All but the final 6 classes discussed above will get every upgrade as soon as possible. I’ll look at the final 6 class upgrades as they become available but I’ll most likely take them. My philosophy is that if they can’t get to the surface action, they’re no good to me. They need all of the best the AA and ASW weapons they can get in order to survive to get to that surface action.
I also have another philosophy about surface action. I want to avoid surface action as much as possible, and when it is unavoidable, I want to overwhelm the enemy with firepower. I want to hit enemy ships with larger types of ships. If there is an enemy CA TF out there that I can hit, I will make sure I have BBs in my TF that hits them. Preferably, I want to hit enemy surface TFs with air first, and subs second. My surface TFs are a distant third. Enemy surface TFs probably have little or no CAP so my aircraft can do serious damage with little loss. My subs will hold off and attack the cripples afterward. My surface forces may go after cripples afterward if there are no enemy aircraft in the vicinity.
Finally, you won’t see my surface TFs with a lot of DDs in them. My CAs carry torpedoes, so DDs aren’t much of an asset. They have little or no armor, so if they get hit, they’re likely to not survive.
My Combined Fleet is currently composed of:
7 BB (8 when Musashi arrives)
8 CA
3 CL (Kitakami, Oi and the DD Squadron Leader)
16 DD
I will eventually split it into 2 (Davao and Truk) roughly evenly. That means that each TF will have 8 DD available. If a TF goes into combat, I’ll most likely use only 4 of those DDs. The remaining 4 DDs will be available as escorts after the battle. I want to make sure I always have ASW available for my ships.
How’s that for long winded?!
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RE: Once Again into the Breech - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A) - 
I feel I need to contest this. I am going to fly and ship in the Guards Brigade. They have been sitting in Rabaul the entire war drinking sake. They were destined to invade Pt. Moresby, and we all remember how that turned out. I have a Tina daitai, Topsy chutai and Mavis transport chutai in Rabaul that will begin flying the Guards into Buna. In addition, I will send a string of xAKLs in single ship TFs with more troops. Each xAKL can carry 27 infantry squads plus a handful of other squads. I suspect most, if not all, of the Guards bde will get there in time. I’m also shipping in more supply as well. 
More losses for my invasion force when it finally goes in. I upgraded the Zuikaku fighter daitai with the A6M3a and am waiting for the planes to repair. They should be ready in a few days. 
She’s making for Naha, a size 3 port, which she’ll make in a day and a half. Those fires don’t look good though. I’m loading a naval HQ to ship to Naha and am sending an AR there as well. This is the first TK I’ve had hit. Of course it’s a Tonan Whaler. 
She’s still seriously damaged at 69-68(44)-48(27)-0 but she’s safely in port at Naha with an AR and a naval HQ enroute to assist in temporary repairs to allow her to steam to the Home Islands for complete repairs. 
I have 3x Oscar sentai available in this AO. 
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