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RE: Christmas Update - 11/14/2018 11:50:13 AM   
PaxMondo


Posts: 9750
Joined: 6/6/2008
Status: offline 		The Randy C is good even without the radar.

Armor
Good armament
Good speed

It is one of the few NF's that IJ gets that won't contribute to the ridiculous number of B29 aces that will be created.

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Post #: 121
RE: Christmas Update - 11/14/2018 6:19:41 PM   
mind_messing

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

The Randy C is good even without the radar.

Armor
Good armament
Good speed

It is one of the few NF's that IJ gets that won't contribute to the ridiculous number of B29 aces that will be created.


Randy C without radar is just a Randy A, and you can get the A model in use by 1944. Without the radar till 10/45, I don't see the need for the C model - the Nick D can hold the fort as well as any of the other models, and the Frances and Irving NF's get their radar's in reasonable time to make an impact.

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Post #: 122
RE: Christmas Update - 11/14/2018 7:40:44 PM   
obvert


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quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

The Randy C is good even without the radar.

Armor
Good armament
Good speed

It is one of the few NF's that IJ gets that won't contribute to the ridiculous number of B29 aces that will be created.


Randy C without radar is just a Randy A, and you can get the A model in use by 1944. Without the radar till 10/45, I don't see the need for the C model - the Nick D can hold the fort as well as any of the other models, and the Frances and Irving NF's get their radar's in reasonable time to make an impact.


Well I get them soon so I can do seem tests. I find no matter what that dedicated NF do better than day fighters. I've tried Nick Ia at night and they'e just not as good as the Nick Id.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

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Post #: 123
RE: Christmas Update - 11/14/2018 8:00:08 PM   
mind_messing

 

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Joined: 10/28/2013
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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert


quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

The Randy C is good even without the radar.

Armor
Good armament
Good speed

It is one of the few NF's that IJ gets that won't contribute to the ridiculous number of B29 aces that will be created.


Randy C without radar is just a Randy A, and you can get the A model in use by 1944. Without the radar till 10/45, I don't see the need for the C model - the Nick D can hold the fort as well as any of the other models, and the Frances and Irving NF's get their radar's in reasonable time to make an impact.


Well I get them soon so I can do seem tests. I find no matter what that dedicated NF do better than day fighters. I've tried Nick Ia at night and they'e just not as good as the Nick Id.


Yeah, it's manual gospel that night fighters do better than regular fighters on night missions.



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Post #: 124
RE: Christmas Update - 11/15/2018 11:17:42 AM   
PaxMondo


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quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert


quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

The Randy C is good even without the radar.

Armor
Good armament
Good speed

It is one of the few NF's that IJ gets that won't contribute to the ridiculous number of B29 aces that will be created.


Randy C without radar is just a Randy A, and you can get the A model in use by 1944. Without the radar till 10/45, I don't see the need for the C model - the Nick D can hold the fort as well as any of the other models, and the Frances and Irving NF's get their radar's in reasonable time to make an impact.


Well I get them soon so I can do seem tests. I find no matter what that dedicated NF do better than day fighters. I've tried Nick Ia at night and they'e just not as good as the Nick Id.


Yeah, it's manual gospel that night fighters do better than regular fighters on night missions.




Exactly.

This is the best NF IJ gets at any point in time. So, if I was to have a strategy of wanting to improve the IJ NF forces, this is the aircraft to do it.
The problem is, in a stock scenario, so few total air groups can be converted to NF. Thus, I have never used this strategy in a stock scenario.

Meaning, in order to get this AC early enough to really make a difference, you would want to commit 9 or 12 factories to it. Then, maybe you get it mid to late 44 with enough production capacity to actually have air groups full.

Anyway, just some thoughts ...

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Post #: 125
RE: Christmas Update - 11/19/2018 4:27:28 PM   
mind_messing

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo


quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert


quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

The Randy C is good even without the radar.

Armor
Good armament
Good speed

It is one of the few NF's that IJ gets that won't contribute to the ridiculous number of B29 aces that will be created.


Randy C without radar is just a Randy A, and you can get the A model in use by 1944. Without the radar till 10/45, I don't see the need for the C model - the Nick D can hold the fort as well as any of the other models, and the Frances and Irving NF's get their radar's in reasonable time to make an impact.


Well I get them soon so I can do seem tests. I find no matter what that dedicated NF do better than day fighters. I've tried Nick Ia at night and they'e just not as good as the Nick Id.


Yeah, it's manual gospel that night fighters do better than regular fighters on night missions.




Exactly.

This is the best NF IJ gets at any point in time. So, if I was to have a strategy of wanting to improve the IJ NF forces, this is the aircraft to do it.
The problem is, in a stock scenario, so few total air groups can be converted to NF. Thus, I have never used this strategy in a stock scenario.

Meaning, in order to get this AC early enough to really make a difference, you would want to commit 9 or 12 factories to it. Then, maybe you get it mid to late 44 with enough production capacity to actually have air groups full.

Anyway, just some thoughts ...



Not worth it IMO. I'd sooner put up with the slightly inferior Nick D and put the 9-12 factories towards an airframe with more impact like the Ki-94, or the Sam ect.

If the Randy had radar that worked earlier, I'd be all for it, but it's not worth the investment for a slightly superior airframe when you can get the Nick D from 4/44 without ANY investment...



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Post #: 126
RE: Christmas Update - 11/21/2018 8:49:39 PM   
PaxMondo


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Status: offline 		The issue with the Nick is speed. It is considerably slower than the B29. When I tested NF's, the Randy out-performed all other models even without the radar in terms of:
Not creating aces in the allied bomber fleet
More bomber kills.


The radar did help some, but actually not that much in my tests.

In terms of disrupting the bomb runs, I could not see any difference. Note that the variation in bomb runs is really large and my sample size wasn't, so …


Even so, I don't disagree with your assessment. The RnD cost I have just not been able to justify. Maybe if a lot more groups could convert to NF … maybe. But as it is I cannot justify a huge investment for just a few groups …


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Post #: 127
RE: Christmas Update - 11/21/2018 9:22:00 PM   
mind_messing

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

The issue with the Nick is speed. It is considerably slower than the B29. When I tested NF's, the Randy out-performed all other models even without the radar in terms of:
Not creating aces in the allied bomber fleet
More bomber kills.


The radar did help some, but actually not that much in my tests.

In terms of disrupting the bomb runs, I could not see any difference. Note that the variation in bomb runs is really large and my sample size wasn't, so …


Even so, I don't disagree with your assessment. The RnD cost I have just not been able to justify. Maybe if a lot more groups could convert to NF … maybe. But as it is I cannot justify a huge investment for just a few groups …



I would think that the Nick's speed would actually be an advantage? If it can only make one pass on B-29s then you'd expect only one pass of defensive fire. In turn, that would hopefully keep losses down. That's my logic anyways.

My thinking on night fighters now is to min-max: get the airframe that can make max impact for min investment. The Nick NF is that plane for the IJA in my view.

Given the sparse number of night fighter squadrons, you're compelled to use day fighters as night CAP in the late war. In which case, I'd happily use the Randy A model for that, given that it is a true multi-role fighter. The dedicated NF model I just can't justify.

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Post #: 128
RE: Christmas Update - 11/22/2018 11:14:27 AM   
PaxMondo


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quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing
Given the sparse number of night fighter squadrons, you're compelled to use day fighters as night CAP in the late war. In which case, I'd happily use the Randy A model for that, given that it is a true multi-role fighter. The dedicated NF model I just can't justify.


Agreed.

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Post #: 129
RE: Christmas Update - 11/23/2018 10:28:42 PM   
Bif1961


Posts: 2014
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From: Phenix City, Alabama
Status: offline 		With the airspeed issue it depends on attack angle. If they are tail chaser they will be closing at an extremly slow rate and be subject to defensive fire for a long time. If closing from the nose the combined speed will make them actually too fast to be effectively engaged. The advantaged to a faster NF is they, with climb rate, can get into attack position quicker where the slower NF may not be able to at all.

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Post #: 130
RE: Christmas Update - 11/25/2018 10:27:44 PM   
mind_messing

 

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ORIGINAL: Bif1961

With the airspeed issue it depends on attack angle. If they are tail chaser they will be closing at an extremly slow rate and be subject to defensive fire for a long time. If closing from the nose the combined speed will make them actually too fast to be effectively engaged. The advantaged to a faster NF is they, with climb rate, can get into attack position quicker where the slower NF may not be able to at all.


They're slower than the B-29, which is normally restricts them to a single firing pass. This is acceptable to me, as it should cause disruption and damage without causing excessive losses to defensive fire. I hope...

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Post #: 131
RE: Christmas Update - 11/27/2018 5:19:54 PM   
mind_messing

 

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Status: offline 		March 25th to April 9th, 1942

North Pacific

Still quiet here. I've one squadron of 8 Mavis floatplanes on Adak, and another squadron of 12 Mavis planes on Shimushiri-jima (with a AV disbanded in port until engineers get this base developed).

I've also got the first fully trained squadron of ASW/NavS Jakes up here as well.

More is planned for here, mostly from Korea, but it will take some time yet to arrive.

Central Pacific

First round of Naval Guard units are deployed here, which should see off any pesky invasions from sub commandos or the likes. I want to avoid any substantial commitment of ground units to the islands of the Marshalls and Gilberts, as I'm not really convinced that anything more than token garrisons makes a difference in the small atoll combats. That's just a general rule, as there are obviously exceptions.

Air power has been more or less stripped from this theatre. Besides 12 Mavis floatplanes flying from Maloelap, everything is on training mode. It should be another month or two before this area is swarming with floatplane squadrons. I reckon I need about five to six floatplane squadrons to provide blanket coverage from Truk to Mili. This leaves the Gilberts uncovered, but that's acceptable to me - the Gilberts are just a tripwire. With the wind-down of the DEI campaign close, I'll start shifting seaplane tenders to this AO in order to help bolster the ground-based aviation support.

South-West Pacific

Port Moresby falls to two IJA regiments.

The stalemate at Suva continues. IJN fighters jump PBY's trying to fly in Marines. There's evidence of a major Allied build-up in Pago Pago and at New Zealand, and there's serious plans underway for a drive-by strike by the KB to attempt to catch Allied planes and ships close to the front. The current plan is for the KB to strike naval and air targets at Pago Pago, then move to Auckland before returning home. However, this may be excessive in fuel consumption, so a more limited raid is being considered. A campaign of strategic bombing against exposed industry in North-Eastern Australia might generate better returns.

The balance of power on Fiji is firmly in the hands of the Japanese - 1040 IJ AV to 367 Allied AV. Nells flying from Nadi make it unsafe for Allied task forces, and Allied cruiser forces on bombardment missions have failed to close the base.

My current focus for the moment is to back-fill the bases west of Fiji so as to support operations at the frontline. To that end, I want to establish a small airbases (size 4) at Luganville and Ndeni to give some depth to the IJ position here.

DEI

Java is completely occupied by Japanese forces, along with Palembang. Only a few small bases remain in Allied hands in the DEI.

After Batavia fell with the industry almost completely intact, it was misfortunate that Soerabaja was occupied with almost all the industry destroyed. Work is underway to repair the oil and heavy industry, but the refineries will not be repaired. This will leave a heavy oil surplus on Java, which I'm not sure what to do about. I may ship it to China and hope it moves to Manchuria, or I may ship it to Luzon and worry about extracting it later in the war. I'm unsure, so advice would be welcome.

Palembang, after a couple weeks of stalemate, finally falls to Japanese troops. Damage is minimal - ten points each to the refineries and oil centres. I am overjoyed. Engineers and AA are already en-route to Palembang, and they'll join units already at work improving Bengkalis and Medan. As Palembang generates some 1.1k supply per day, I'm thinking of relocating a large section of my air training progamme to Sumatra in order to help build supply stockpiles in Japan. Anyone got thoughts on this?

Now that Sumatra is Japanese, I'm shifting large numbers of units over to the Burma front.

Burma

This theatre is about to heat up over the next few months.

The current IJA spearhead is bogged down at Pegu by some 17 Allied units, mostly Chinese. The 122k Allied troops are keeping some 1.1k IJA AV stuck, for the present. Thankfully, Pegu is open terrain, and my decision to invest heavily in expanding airbases in Thailand is paying off. Some 350 IJ aircraft have been operating with impunity over Burma for the past few weeks putting the hurt on the defenders of Pegu. Recon shows no Allied aircraft in Southern Burma, so long may it continue. I've been reluctant to bomb Rangoon airbase for some time due to wanting to avoid losses to flak, so forts might be higher than I'd like. To compensate for that, I intend to rush north after Pegu is captured and attempt to close the mountain pass to China. I expect the horse has already bolted: there will be significant Chinese troops already safely on the way to India at this point, but that's a problem for later in the game.

China

The situation in China is excellent! A deliberate attack on Chungking has knocked forts down to level 5. However, IJ troops invested in Chungking have withdrawn northwards to combine with additional units moving from Sian. Some 24 Chinese units, numbering around 181k men, have been fleeing west since Sian fell earlier in the war. The combined IJA forces will defeat these units once more before sweeping the Chinese off the Chungking plains.



Chinese strongholds in green, planned IJA moves in Red.

Hopefully, I'm on track to beat my record of Chungking falling into Japanese hands by October. The sooner the better, all the troops in China are desperately needed in Burma!




< Message edited by mind_messing -- 11/27/2018 5:20:21 PM >

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Post #: 132
RE: Christmas Update - 11/27/2018 6:51:05 PM   
GetAssista

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing
This will leave a heavy oil surplus on Java, which I'm not sure what to do about. I may ship it to China and hope it moves to Manchuria, or I may ship it to Luzon and worry about extracting it later in the war. I'm unsure, so advice would be welcome.
...
As Palembang generates some 1.1k supply per day, I'm thinking of relocating a large section of my air training progamme to Sumatra in order to help build supply stockpiles in Japan. Anyone got thoughts on this?
...
The current IJA spearhead is bogged down at Pegu by some 17 Allied units, mostly Chinese. The 122k Allied troops are keeping some 1.1k IJA AV stuck, for the present. Thankfully, Pegu is open terrain, and my decision to invest heavily in expanding airbases in Thailand is paying off

From Batavia to Singers maybe? Or can be shipped by the occasional Palembang route convoy. Repairing some of the refineries might actually be a good idea to generate fuel for the theatre on the spot.
...
Training is best done on 8+ airfields to not tie up a lot of air support for your resized groups. And it does not eat that much supply, 90-size unit with 1/3 supply per day per plane eats 900 supply a month. Surely you can manage that kind of supply traffic w/o relocating trainees to the relatively high-risk area. CAP training is another matter, can act as additional air cover
...
Naval bombardments from Moulmein? Clear terrain makes CA bombardments deadly without high forts

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Post #: 133
RE: Christmas Update - 11/27/2018 7:31:53 PM   
mind_messing

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing
This will leave a heavy oil surplus on Java, which I'm not sure what to do about. I may ship it to China and hope it moves to Manchuria, or I may ship it to Luzon and worry about extracting it later in the war. I'm unsure, so advice would be welcome.
...
As Palembang generates some 1.1k supply per day, I'm thinking of relocating a large section of my air training progamme to Sumatra in order to help build supply stockpiles in Japan. Anyone got thoughts on this?
...
The current IJA spearhead is bogged down at Pegu by some 17 Allied units, mostly Chinese. The 122k Allied troops are keeping some 1.1k IJA AV stuck, for the present. Thankfully, Pegu is open terrain, and my decision to invest heavily in expanding airbases in Thailand is paying off

From Batavia to Singers maybe? Or can be shipped by the occasional Palembang route convoy. Repairing some of the refineries might actually be a good idea to generate fuel for the theatre on the spot.
...
Training is best done on 8+ airfields to not tie up a lot of air support for your resized groups. And it does not eat that much supply, 90-size unit with 1/3 supply per day per plane eats 900 supply a month. Surely you can manage that kind of supply traffic w/o relocating trainees to the relatively high-risk area. CAP training is another matter, can act as additional air cover
...
Naval bombardments from Moulmein? Clear terrain makes CA bombardments deadly without high forts


I could ship to Singers, but I think it may start to overload the port. I'd much rather ship direct from Java where I know there's not much overload. Maybe Formosa, seeing as there's already oil on Formosa?

Once Sumatra is fully cleared, I expect it to be a backwater until much later in the war. Given how easy it is to shuffle pilots around I don't really see the downside. I intend for Southern Sumatra in general and Palembang in particular to be a major air hub, so moving some squadrons there to make it a training centre fits in nicely.

I've already got some CA/CL on shuttle bombardment runs from Singers, but more will be on the way. When I get the turn back I'm doing a major re-org of the IJN so there will be more coming on this.

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Post #: 134
RE: Christmas Update - 11/27/2018 11:58:01 PM   
GetAssista

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing
I've already got some CA/CL on shuttle bombardment runs from Singers, but more will be on the way. When I get the turn back I'm doing a major re-org of the IJN so there will be more coming on this.

Singers is too far for the shuttles to really rattle Loca's nerves. Good old daily bombardment reloading from Moulmein AKEs is much better. As long as you can effectively defend Moulmein from the air that is

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Post #: 135
RE: Christmas Update - 11/28/2018 7:23:52 PM   
mind_messing

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing
I've already got some CA/CL on shuttle bombardment runs from Singers, but more will be on the way. When I get the turn back I'm doing a major re-org of the IJN so there will be more coming on this.

Singers is too far for the shuttles to really rattle Loca's nerves. Good old daily bombardment reloading from Moulmein AKEs is much better. As long as you can effectively defend Moulmein from the air that is


I like that. I have an AKE at Medan at present, I'll shift it up.

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Post #: 136
RE: Christmas Update - 11/28/2018 8:49:38 PM   
obvert


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quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

After Batavia fell with the industry almost completely intact, it was misfortunate that Soerabaja was occupied with almost all the industry destroyed. Work is underway to repair the oil and heavy industry, but the refineries will not be repaired. This will leave a heavy oil surplus on Java, which I'm not sure what to do about. I may ship it to China and hope it moves to Manchuria, or I may ship it to Luzon and worry about extracting it later in the war. I'm unsure, so advice would be welcome.


Why not ship to Honshu? I don't understand. Don't you ship fuel to Honshu? What's the difference? There are excess refineries there to handle it right?

_____________________________

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Post #: 137
RE: Christmas Update - 11/28/2018 9:46:42 PM   
mind_messing

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert


quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

After Batavia fell with the industry almost completely intact, it was misfortunate that Soerabaja was occupied with almost all the industry destroyed. Work is underway to repair the oil and heavy industry, but the refineries will not be repaired. This will leave a heavy oil surplus on Java, which I'm not sure what to do about. I may ship it to China and hope it moves to Manchuria, or I may ship it to Luzon and worry about extracting it later in the war. I'm unsure, so advice would be welcome.


Why not ship to Honshu? I don't understand. Don't you ship fuel to Honshu? What's the difference? There are excess refineries there to handle it right?


Sure, my thinking behind Luzon/Formosa is that they're just drop-off points until later in the war. They get excess oil out faster than the long-haul to Japan, and let me shuttle it out later in the war. My thinking behind China is that given how oil doesn't suffer from spoilage in movement, I can dump it in China and have it migrate to Korea.

I've just hauled it to Japan in the past, just curious if there's a "better" way.

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Post #: 138
RE: Christmas Update - 11/29/2018 9:01:06 AM   
obvert


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quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert


quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

After Batavia fell with the industry almost completely intact, it was misfortunate that Soerabaja was occupied with almost all the industry destroyed. Work is underway to repair the oil and heavy industry, but the refineries will not be repaired. This will leave a heavy oil surplus on Java, which I'm not sure what to do about. I may ship it to China and hope it moves to Manchuria, or I may ship it to Luzon and worry about extracting it later in the war. I'm unsure, so advice would be welcome.


Why not ship to Honshu? I don't understand. Don't you ship fuel to Honshu? What's the difference? There are excess refineries there to handle it right?


Sure, my thinking behind Luzon/Formosa is that they're just drop-off points until later in the war. They get excess oil out faster than the long-haul to Japan, and let me shuttle it out later in the war. My thinking behind China is that given how oil doesn't suffer from spoilage in movement, I can dump it in China and have it migrate to Korea.

I've just hauled it to Japan in the past, just curious if there's a "better" way.


Sure. If you start pulling oil from Fusan now, and keep a ship there pulling in perpetuity, it will eventually come. It may take a long while, but it will come. The key is to build the port and keep pulling, plus not to pull it out from the other end or along the way anywhere (like Shanghai).

_____________________________

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Post #: 139
RE: Christmas Update - 11/29/2018 9:26:09 AM   
GetAssista

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert
Sure. If you start pulling oil from Fusan now, and keep a ship there pulling in perpetuity, it will eventually come. It may take a long while, but it will come. The key is to build the port and keep pulling, plus not to pull it out from the other end or along the way anywhere (like Shanghai).

I did this and that in my several AI games and settled for Shanghai as the Asian oil/fuel hub. Pulling there is much easier compared to Fusan, port is larger, and the route is short over shallow water and can be covered with ASW many times over.

Still pull resources at Fusan though

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Post #: 140
RE: Christmas Update - 11/29/2018 10:16:55 AM   
obvert


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quote:

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert
Sure. If you start pulling oil from Fusan now, and keep a ship there pulling in perpetuity, it will eventually come. It may take a long while, but it will come. The key is to build the port and keep pulling, plus not to pull it out from the other end or along the way anywhere (like Shanghai).

I did this and that in my several AI games and settled for Shanghai as the Asian oil/fuel hub. Pulling there is much easier compared to Fusan, port is larger, and the route is short over shallow water and can be covered with ASW many times over.

Still pull resources at Fusan though


Yes. I thought of Shanghai as well. If he's thinking of dropping in China already maybe Shanghai doesn't make sense as much, but maybe it's sill a savings.


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Post #: 141
RE: Christmas Update - 12/18/2018 6:50:24 PM   
mind_messing

 

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Status: offline 		April 10th to April 16th, 1942

North Pacific

Nada. I've some stuff sitting at Tokyo that I might move out here, mostly AF units. I'd be moving them out less for the aviation ability and more to just have some engineers working on the airbase and forts.

Central Pacific

Quiet here. As my floatplane expansion is starting to bear fruit, I need some aviation support in the Marshalls to help get some eyes on what's going on here. I've the bulk of the IJN sitting in Truk, sans the KB and a detachment of ships returning to the Home Islands for upgrades. This is straining Truk to the max, and there's not enough fuel moving yet to keep apace with fleet operations. The end result is that I'm going to divy up most of the IJN to other theatres and leave CentPac to be covered by the KB.

South-West Pacific

KB is approaching Pago Pago, but USN subs have long rumbled the attempt to catch the Americans by suprise. I'll sweep the base heavily, then pull back to hit ground troops in Suva before moving on to do a drive-by attack on the NE coast of Oz.

Attempts by the Allies to reinforce Suva by floatplane have resulting in several new IJN Zero aces. The stalemate at Suva will hopefully end soon, with 1.2k IJA AV facing off against some 500 Allied AV behind level 2 forts.

An Allied task force at Norfolk Islands, consisting of an AVP and an xAKL was attacked by Nell's from Noumea, putting a bomb into the AVP. Obviously a bid by the Allies to establish a search base here.

IJA paratrooper drops continue over the dot base in the region. This is an equal part psy-ops and diligence on my part - I want to rattle Loka seeing lots of Japanese flags in the region, as well as maybe catch out an undefended floatplane base.

DEI

Sumatra is fully secured, as is Java. The large majority of IJA units are now withdrawing to support operations in Burma.

The first major garrison unit lands on Timor, and work is underway to develop the Eastern DEI to block offensive moves from Darwin.

I urgently need engineers in Southern Sumatra to start work expanding Palembang and the surrounding bases, but there's few engineering units to be had, so I'll need to buy some from China or Manchuria.

I've started organizing dedicated ASW TF's in the DEI using mostly the short-legged PB's. The shallow water should help their anaemic Type 95 depth charges to actually do some work and let me use better platforms in deeper water. Getting ASW air assets is going to take much longer, however.

Burma

The sitzkreig at Pegu continues. IJA reinforcements are marching from Thailand, but will take a couple weeks to get into position.

Heaving bombing raids continue on British/Chinese units holding Pegu.

As per GetAssista, I've deployed an AKE to Moulmein and will ramp up naval bombardments of Pegu.

I also moved forward a pair of floatplane squadrons into Moulmein to keep an eye on Allied coastal traffic in the region. They managed to light up a pair of Allied convoys offloading at Akyab and at Ramree Island. I-155 started off the show at Akyab, sinking a minesweeper escort then putting two torps and some 12cm shells into an xAK. Betties from Chang Mai then sortied to attack the TF at Ramree Island, sinking an APD and two xAK. A later strike at Akyab is a bit of a disappointment, with Betties missing 4 xAK and a British DD.

While this little engagement is insigificant in the grand scheme of things, it has reminded me of the importance of detection levels in game. I'm also concerned about what the TF's were doing - I'm almost certain they were off-loading supply in amphib mode, which indicates Loka intends to make a serious fight for Burma using the Chinese. I'm more than happy with this.

Some 50k supply is en-route to Bangkok, which will help aliviate the current supply shortage in Thailand. I'll move more if needed.

China

The war of manuevuer on the Chungking plain continues, with the 24 Chinese units that fled Sian making a bid to reach Chungking. I've a 1.2k AV stack in position to try and block their moves, with a further 600 AV nearby to reinforce. I want to kick this stack around again, and maybe even force it to surrender before taking Chungking.

A quick search of tracker has revealed that a couple of the IJA brigades in China are completely air-transportable. To that end, I've moved most of my transports to Sian to create my own air-bridge to Kienko (east of Chengtu) to funnel additional AV into the plains without the slogging march.

3 IJA divisions along with some tank regiments have been successful in flanking the Chinese positions south of Chungking. They're now barrelling westwards to break the Chungking-Kweiyang road and attack Kweiyang from behind. I want Kweiyang ASAP so as to start sending units westwards towards the Chinese mountain passes to Burma.

All my engineer units have set up shop in Tuyun, south of Kweiyang, in order to expand the airbase here to help supress Chungking. It's the closest base to Chungking on the rail-line to Changsha, but I may use Kweiyang for some of the 1E bombers as it's two hexes closer.

I have 1.5k PP's banked up, which I'm saving to make the IJA bomber squadrons in Manchuria unrestricted. They'll then rotate to doing milk runs over Chungking to help build EXP on their current batch of GrdB/ASW pilots.

The skies over China have been mostly devoid of fighters. The AVG group has scarce been seen, and the gaggle of outdated CAF planes have been promptly picked off whenever they've appeared.

Industry

Engine R&D is progressing as planned, and we've already managed to knock a month of the Nakajima Ha-45.

The Nick goes in to production next month, and I'm aiming for a production of 80/month. That seems quite high, but there's several squadrons (both bomber and fighter) that can upgrade to this plane, and I need it to carry the weight that the Tojo would normally carry.

Supply in Japan is up to 1.5 million. Resources are up at 6.5 million. Fuel and oil are still declining, but with Palembang in Japanese hands that will change soon.


(in reply to obvert)
Post #: 142
Getting things shipshape. - 12/22/2018 3:00:12 PM   
mind_messing

 

Posts: 3393
Joined: 10/28/2013
Status: offline 		IJN Re-organisation

With current naval operations winding down, I'm trying to best figure out how to deploy the IJN for the coming year. Ideally, I want to sit back with my ships as much as possible in order to minimize losses due to attrition, so my deployments reflect that. Additionally, I'm expecting Burma to be a particular flashpoint going forward, so again, that's hopefully reflected in my deployments.

North Pacific Fleet/Strategic Reserve

Main Base: Sapporo
Secondary Base: Ominato

The dumping ground for outdated ships and ships that I want to keep for the late war. I hope to depend on the airbases in the Kuriles and on Hokkaido to keep a screen going here, but I'll need some surface assets just in case.

2 x Tenryu CL (I want to keep them in reserve for the CLAA upgrade)
5 x Nagara CL (Minus Nator, which sunk during the DEI campaign. Again, keeping them around for the CLAA upgrade)
8 x Momi DD (Too small for real surface combat work. Plan to use them in two dedicated ASW task forces)
2 x Momo DD (Too small for surface combat work. Convert to E class escorts for ASW duty in 1943).
8 x Wakatake DD (Same as Momo, convert to E class escorts).
2 x Katori CL (Flagship for big tanker convoys)
1 x Maya CA (Need at least one decent heavy combatant in theatre?)
1 x Mizuho CS (Keeping for floatplane resizing)
1 x Nisshin CS (Keeping for CVL conversion)

Central Pacific Fleet

Main Base: Truk
Secondary Base: Manila/Davao/Babeldoab

Responsible for the Central Pacific region, I want to keep this fleet as small as is practical to minimize its logistic footprint and depend instead on air power.

1 x Yubari CL (nowhere else for this ship that’s useful IMO)
3 x Kuma CL (Average IJN ship, expendable here.)
3 x Sendai CL (Same as the Kuma)
10 x Mutsuki DD (Not a proper warship, but has the Long Lance, which makes it good enough in my view
23 x Fubuki I-III DD (Good DD’s. Bread and butter for CentPac)
3 x Myoko CA (Excellent CA’s, will do the bulk of the heavy lifting in CentPac.)

Dutch East Indies/Burma Fleet

Main Base: Singapore, Soerabaja
Secondary Base: Medan, Rangoon (if it falls)

With the DEI the main source of fuel and the conflict in Burma looking to flare up going forward, I’ll be keeping most of my strength sitting here in order to have it handy, as well as to minimize fuel consumption.
Additionally, there will be a lot of ASW assets dedicated to this region that may get parcelled out to other theatres depending on Allied sub movements.

1 x CVE Hosho (Dedicated ASW platform. Going to stick 20 Kates with ASW pilots on it for the duration of the war.
6 x Kamikaze DD (Too small for surface combat. Dedicated ASW platform)
12 x Minekaze DD (Same story)
4 x Hatsuhary DD (Slow BB escorts, too slow for surface combat)
10 x Shiratsuyu DD (CA escorts. Nice surface combatants)
10 x Asashio DD (Fast BB/CA escorts. Good ships.)
7 x Yugumo DD (Great little ships. CA escorts)
2 x Kitakami (I’ll keep these ships in the DEI as I like the notion of full speed runs into Allied task forces with 40 Long Lances).
4 x Mogami CA (Will be QRF for the theatre)
2 x Furutaka CA (Same as above)
3 x Takao CA (Same as above)

Fuso, Ise and Nagato Class battleships will all be based here for bombardment missions in Burma as well as a fuel-saving measure. I don't like using them in NorPac or CentPac as it means I need to shift a load of fuel to the region.

Kido Butai

I intend to keep the KB intact and rotate it around the map as needed.

2 x Shokaku CV
CV Kaga
CV Hiryu
CV Soryu
CV Akagi
2 x Zuiho CVL
3 x Kongo BB (Sans Haruna, which is sunk)
2 x Tone CA (For the floatplanes)
2 x Chitose CS (Until the CVL conversion. Might stick some Rufe’s on them to boost the CAP)
17 x Kagero DD (Will replace with Akitsuki’s as they arrive due to superior AA)

Regarding the tactical composition, I’ll likely split off the CA and CS into a separate task force so that I can ram as many CV’s into a single task force as possible. Oilers will also get a few Kagero to cover.

Reinforcements

Quite a few nice toys are due to arrive for Japan. Trying to figure out where best to use them. Not bothering with anything more than 180 days out.

CV Junyo (17 days) and CV Hiyo (106 days): Both will join the KB. This is a debatable decision as they’re slow ships, but I think it’s worthwhile to get an extra 106 planes into the KB’s line up.

BB Yamato (34 days): Torn with this one. It’s a fuel hog and deserves to sit in port. But I’d love to use it on bombardment missions in Burma. And it’s also a great addition to the KB as it gets a lot of AA and loves attracting bombs meant for CV’s. Advice welcome!

Impressions from those that know the IJN OOB? Thoughts?

< Message edited by mind_messing -- 12/22/2018 3:01:49 PM >

(in reply to PaxMondo)
Post #: 143
RE: Getting things shipshape. - 12/22/2018 9:06:41 PM   
PaxMondo


Posts: 9750
Joined: 6/6/2008
Status: offline 		I'd like to say that there are simple decision here, but I don't think so. Each one of them has pro's and con's and it is all about what really fits into your longer term strategy.

EX: Yamato with KB. Your point of torp/bomb soak and big AA is quite accurate. But so is you lament of the fuel consumption. So, really depends upon how much of your fuel you have decided to allocate to the IJN and how much you plan the KB to sail (days/month). I've done all possibilities through the years (parked it, put it with KB, used it in bombardment). They all work, just depending upon your strategy.

_____________________________

Pax

(in reply to mind_messing)
Post #: 144
RE: Getting things shipshape. - 12/22/2018 9:45:01 PM   
mind_messing

 

Posts: 3393
Joined: 10/28/2013
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

I'd like to say that there are simple decision here, but I don't think so. Each one of them has pro's and con's and it is all about what really fits into your longer term strategy.

EX: Yamato with KB. Your point of torp/bomb soak and big AA is quite accurate. But so is you lament of the fuel consumption. So, really depends upon how much of your fuel you have decided to allocate to the IJN and how much you plan the KB to sail (days/month). I've done all possibilities through the years (parked it, put it with KB, used it in bombardment). They all work, just depending upon your strategy.


My leaning is towards parking the entire KB as much as possible after the current raid, but we'll see.

(in reply to PaxMondo)
Post #: 145
RE: Getting things shipshape. - 12/24/2018 2:33:06 PM   
Mike Solli


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

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

I'd like to say that there are simple decision here, but I don't think so. Each one of them has pro's and con's and it is all about what really fits into your longer term strategy.

EX: Yamato with KB. Your point of torp/bomb soak and big AA is quite accurate. But so is you lament of the fuel consumption. So, really depends upon how much of your fuel you have decided to allocate to the IJN and how much you plan the KB to sail (days/month). I've done all possibilities through the years (parked it, put it with KB, used it in bombardment). They all work, just depending upon your strategy.


My leaning is towards parking the entire KB as much as possible after the current raid, but we'll see.


My opinion is, a fleet in being is much better than a fleet used gloriously, but sitting on the bottom of the ocean.

_____________________________


Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to mind_messing)
Post #: 146
RE: Getting things shipshape. - 12/24/2018 4:35:49 PM   
mind_messing

 

Posts: 3393
Joined: 10/28/2013
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli


quote:

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

I'd like to say that there are simple decision here, but I don't think so. Each one of them has pro's and con's and it is all about what really fits into your longer term strategy.

EX: Yamato with KB. Your point of torp/bomb soak and big AA is quite accurate. But so is you lament of the fuel consumption. So, really depends upon how much of your fuel you have decided to allocate to the IJN and how much you plan the KB to sail (days/month). I've done all possibilities through the years (parked it, put it with KB, used it in bombardment). They all work, just depending upon your strategy.


My leaning is towards parking the entire KB as much as possible after the current raid, but we'll see.


My opinion is, a fleet in being is much better than a fleet used gloriously, but sitting on the bottom of the ocean.


I've came to the same conclusion from my PBEM with Loka. I threw it away to defend Luzon in the hope of the Final Decisive Battle (TM) in conjunction with massive land based air strikes from Manila. That didn't really materialize and it was a wipe for me.

In retrospect, keeping the KB intact going in to 1945 would have been the far smarter choice - there's an untold value in being able to keep a highly mobile reserve of several hundred aircraft ready to respond to Allied landings above and beyond land-based squadrons...

(in reply to Mike Solli)
Post #: 147
Air Housekeeping - 12/24/2018 9:08:27 PM   
mind_messing

 

Posts: 3393
Joined: 10/28/2013
Status: offline 		A little update on the progression of my mad plan to win the war in the air.

IJN

- I've pulled all the IJN Betty and Nell pilots into the reserves and re-organised them based on EXP levels. This has left me with one elite squadron (average 72 EXP) and two average squadrons (average 60-65 EXP EXP) in reserve in Japan. There's three more frontline squadrons in service (two in SWPAC, one in Burma), so I'll keep the four average squadrons doing combat ops and the elite squadron back for special night naval bombing duties. The remaining couple of squadrons will be dedicated trainers.

- I've done the same with the IJN fighter pilots. With the DEI conquest complete, I've pulled the experienced pilots out of those squadrons and filled them with a batch of recent graduates from my fighter training program and set them to CAP to build EXP. The 81+ EXP elite pilots have went to TRACOM, while the veteran pilots under the threshold have went into my two frontline Zero units (both size 45 squadrons), with one squadron going to China and another sitting in Rabual. The AVG has appeared in Burma so I want some good pilots on hand to break their power. The 45 size squadron in China is backed up by a small size 18 squadron that was lost with one of my CVL's earlier in the war filled with pilots short of the magic 81 EXP threshold, so hopefully we'll get to add some more pilots to TRACOM.

- The DB and TB training program is ready to harvest its first batch in a week or two. After that I'll assess how many trained pilots I have in reserve and maybe transfer a couple of squadrons from training to China to build EXP doing milk runs on Chinese holdouts.

- The gargantuan IJN floatplane training regime is starting to show results. Despite the shortage of Jakes, I've move a couple of understrength squadrons to outposts on the Empire to start flying ASW/NavS in order to build their EXP while they wait for more Jakes to be available. I think another round or two of NavS/ASW training might be enough to keep me stocked for the war. As a result, once I've got the frontline squadrons filled out I'll add recon into the mix - ASW/NavS/Recon should lead to longer training times and should fit nicely with the 8/43 expected arrival of the Norm. The Norm isn't an ideal recon platform, nor do the game rules favour using non-recon planes in the recon role, but I don't really see them in a naval attack role. The advantage of this is that I wouldn't need to spend time training IJN recon pilots when the Judy-C squadrons arrive in late '42 and '43 - the floatplane pilots would already have the needed skillset and could just build EXP on the job. The same is true for the Emily/Mavis patrol squadrons. Input as to what to do with IJN floatplanes would be welcome.

- The Rufe is online, which is nice, and the first batch of pilots are training up on them. They're earmarked for the Chitose and Chiyoda to bolster the KB's low CAP before the seaplane carriers convert to CVL's on 11/42. After that I'll keep them around for training and CAP in the Gilberts/Marshalls.

- Still too short of squadrons for IJN recon training. I've currently two recon squadrons, one active and one training. I want more, and I want them using the Judy-C! The more deep search I have into Allied controlled regions, the better I sleep at night.


IJA

- On the fighter front, everything looks good. I'm now convinced that the right move for the IJ player on Dec 8th is to pull every possible Nate squadron off the frontline, dump the pilots into the reserve and turn them in to training units. By the time you've enough proper planes for them to fly, you'll have a batch of graduates in addition to the pilots already in the reserve. EXP is building nicely across the board, especially in Burma, where escorting milk runs on Pegu has pushed about five of the big 42 size squadrons up into the low 70s average EXP. The first batch of IJA fighter graduates is nipping at their heels - some of the dedicated training squadrons have reached mid-50s EXP without ever seeing combat! I'm very happy with this, but they're staying in training for the present to instantly fill the Nick squadrons over the next month when that airframe comes online.

- As said above, the IJA fighter-bomber school will open up properly next month, once the Nick arrives. Once it does, the mid-50's EXP greenhorns will get shoved in a Nick and sent to China to do strafing missions until they get decent EXP levels.

- It is much the same story with the IJA bomber corps. All the frontline units are within the 58 to 68 EXP bracket, with the training units not that far behind. At some point in the near future I intend to re-organize the pilot assignment on similar lines to the IJN 2E bomber force, but with a twist - the high EXP guys will end up flying the Lily dive bomber on night missions. That reminds me that I need to start working NavB into the training regime now that I'm getting a lot of ASW/GrdB pilots ready to graduate.

- IJA recon is starting to look better after a disappointing start. There's plenty of recon squadrons but I find it hard to pull them off the frontline for training duties. Thankfully with the end of the DEI campaign I've managed to pull about half the squadrons off the line for training. Unfortunately, that will be training the current recon pilots in NavS to back up their Recon skill, but I've a couple squadrons in the Home Islands and Manchuria that are starting to make progress in building up a reserve of these pilots.

Overall Air Situation

It's amusing, my last game was very one-sided in the air. This game is very different.

Current air losses, as of 22/4/1941 are: 922 Japanese to 921 Allied.

Naturally, I am very concerned about losing the air war by a single airframe.

Digging deeper, the situation looks even better.

Air-to-air losses are VERY favourable: 189 Japanese losses for 436 Allied. Granted, most of these losses are the Luzon, DEI and Malaya squadrons, but that's pretty good overall.

Flak is to be expected: 157 Japanese losses for 19 Allied. Natural, given the fact that I've seen VERY limited ground bombing from Loka.

Ground losses scarce make an impact: 20 Japanese for 5 Allied. I've been restrained in my airbase bombing so far, but looking at the data that's absolutely an area I need to be more pro-active in.

Ops losses are fairly similar: 556 Japanese to 461 Allied. Looking at the numbers it just seems to be general attrition across all airframes.

Other Interesting Points

For those interested, the top Japanese ace is a shared spot between Yasiu K and Mikami M, both IJN with 7 kills. Yasui is above the magic 81 EXP so he's got a nice TRACOM billet. Mikami isn't so he gets an all expenses paid trip to a muddy Chinese airbase to go fight the AVG. The only other ace, with five kills is Doikawak P, with five kills, who made the magic 81 EXP mark and got a TRACOM billet.

Saburo Sakai is still kicking, having been sent to a Home Islands based training squadron to help speed training.

The IJA is lagging behind on the ace front. The closest they have is a Egashira K, who's flying an Oscar in China and managed to bag 4 Chinese bombers, shooting down three in one day. That's put him over the magic mark though, and with 81 EXP he's due a TRACOM billet soon.

The overall kill count is a runaway IJN affair, as expected given that I keep the Zero squadrons as the cutting edge in the air. Topping the list is the 3rd Ku S-1 with 52 kills overall. The Tainan and Yamada units are just behind them with 51 kills each. Behind them is the carrier squadrons. It's the 54th Sentai in China that makes the first IJA appearance, with 17 kills, four of which belong to the aforementioned Warrant Office Egashira.


(in reply to PaxMondo)
Post #: 148
RE: Air Housekeeping - 12/29/2018 4:54:23 PM   
mind_messing

 

Posts: 3393
Joined: 10/28/2013
Status: offline 		April 17th to April 28th, 1942

Absolute hilarity these past few turns for one main reason.

Luzon

The Allies look set to recapture much of Northern Luzon in mid-1942 thanks to an absolute howler of play on my part. After taking Clark and forcing the defenders back to Bataan, the IJA 48th Division, 65th Brigade and two garrison units are pretty beat up. The follow the retreating units to Bataan itself, but after a botched deliberate attack, a robust counter-attack from the Allied garrison in Bataan sends them running back to Clark...

quote:

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 39099 troops, 618 guns, 407 vehicles, Assault Value = 1289

Defending force 26300 troops, 209 guns, 118 vehicles, Assault Value = 412

Allied adjusted assault: 1077

Japanese adjusted defense: 319

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-)
experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
8775 casualties reported
Squads: 264 destroyed, 35 disabled
Non Combat: 310 destroyed, 136 disabled
Engineers: 18 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 45 (18 destroyed, 27 disabled)
Vehicles lost 45 (22 destroyed, 23 disabled)
Units retreated 5

Allied ground losses:
971 casualties reported
Squads: 21 destroyed, 138 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 50 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 21 (1 destroyed, 20 disabled)
Vehicles lost 36 (3 destroyed, 33 disabled)

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
194th Tank Battalion
41st PA Infantry Division
31st PA Infantry Division
71st PA Infantry Division
26th PS Cavalry Regiment
4th Marine Regiment
21st PA Infantry Division
91st PA Infantry Division
57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team
31st Infantry Regiment
14th PS Engineer Regiment
192nd Tank Battalion
11th PA Infantry Division
45th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team
1st PA Infantry Division
2nd PA Constabulary Division
Subic Bay Defenses
Asiatic Fleet
Far East USAAF
1st PI Base Force
Provisional GMC Grp
PAF Aviation
Manila Bay Defenses
201st PA Construction Battalion
Bataan USN Base Force
Manila USAAF Base Force
88th PS Field Artillery Regiment
3rd/12th PA Inf Battalion
Clark Field USAAF Base Force
86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion
51st PA Infantry Division
I Philippine Corps
803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion
202nd PA Construction Battalion
301st PA Field Artillery Regiment

Defending units:
48th Division
10th Garrison Unit
65th Brigade
11th Garrison Unit
14th Army


The mauled Japanese units are the only major combatants in the theatre, and they're pretty beat up. Thankfully, as dire as the situation is, I think it's manageable. Manila has some 170 AV behind Level 5 forts. The battered IJA troops that have been thrown out of Bataan consist of some 200 AV, so hopefully I can throw them into good positions at Manila and have the terrain and forts save the day.

Help isn't far off - the Imperial Guards is at Singapore after the Sumatra conquest and was gearing up to go to Burma while I've purchased out a Infantry Group from Honshu to quickly land on Luzon to help shore up the defences. A third division from China is taking replacements at Shanghai and should be good to go within ten days.

I find it absolutely hilarious that I'll likely be losing bases in Luzon during 1942 but it's my own fault for an absolutely terrible decision to attack Bataan with inferior units and AV. I just hope it won't be an expensive mistake in the long-run.

Currently there's no real long term ramifications - I feel confident in holding Manila at least until I can land reinforcements on Luzon south of Manila. Any units that move out of Bataan and past Clark will be exposed to heavy naval and air attacks. He's got no supply coming in (as far as I can tell from local search) and the majority of his units are Phillipine Army units which have no replacement squads left.

If he chases me to Manila and attacks there, things will be dicey for me. Losing Manila to a coup-de-main will be very costly, but I'm fairly confident that battered units behind level 5 forts and in x2 terrain can hold for at least a week to permit the Imperial Guards to get on the scene. If not, then things may be a little more touch and go...

Let that be a lesson: don't lose the KB on Day 1 and don't lose Luzon in mid-42!

Central Pacific

All quiet here. Starting to move floatplanes and aviation support in to position. Still need more stuff forward in the Gilberts, as well as way out at Canton Island, but we're getting there.

South-West Pacific

Engineers are starting work on our bases in the region. I've engineers and aviation support arriving at Rabual that are earmarked for Noumea, Ndnei, Luganville and Guadalcanal.

The development of Shortlands as an intermediate naval base and search airbase is underway. My overall plan is to turn Luganville into the IJN's forward operating base in the region, and have Shortlands, Guadalcanal and Ndeni as bases to protect the SLOC back to Rabaul. I like Luganville. With the IJA ashore on Fiji and Noumea in Japanese hands, it's a hard base to get to, but very close to the action.

On the ground, the stalemate at Fiji continues - the IJA still hasn't been able to beat the defenders, but there's more air support and bombers coming down the pipeline so it is a matter of time.

Search planes from Fiji also spotted a big US convoy on the 27th. Subs are vectored in, getting a torp on an xAK and a torpedo into the CA Pensacola later on. More subs en-route!

DEI

Moving units around here mostly. Need lots of stuff to bulk this theatre out, but the IJ OOB isn't quite at that stage yet. I'm focusing on the big airbases at Timor and the Eastern DEI at present, and then planning to work west. I'll need a couple of smaller bases set up for ASW work, but that's a bit off yet.

The artillery train that was used in the Java campaign has been earmarked for Burma, but with the recent events on Luzon I think they'll be making a swift detour there until that situation has stabilized.

Burma

Quiet at present. Bombing and bombardment of the Chinese defenders of Pegu continues, and I estimate that the majority of IJA units will be in position to assault Pegu by 15th May.

The entire slow battleship component of the IJN has been deployed here as well, and good work continues to be done at shelling the defenders of Pegu. I suspect that when the time comes to attack, their combat value will be much reduced.

China

The AVG has vanished, and regular bombing of Chinese troops resumes.

The ground situation has largely stalemated at present. The IJA stack outside Chungking has pinned down a roughly equal stack of Chinese troops. The front at Kweiyang is stalemated, but I hope that with some concentrated bombing I can effect a breakthrough.

My main hope to close down the China theatre is at Chihkiang - I have most of the Manchurian artillery train moving here from Hankow, and hopefully they'll be able to blast this base open and effect a breakthrough in short order, freeing up some 3k IJA AV for to close down the Chungking region.

North Pacific

Got some engineers en-route from Korea to Sakhilin. They'll get airbases on the go here before moving to Hokkaido. Got to be ready for '44!

(in reply to mind_messing)
Post #: 149
RE: Christmas Update - 1/2/2019 9:19:43 PM   
mind_messing

 

Posts: 3393
Joined: 10/28/2013
Status: offline 		Conversions

Ise Class BB to BBV


Going to go with this one. Potentially 44 Rufes/Rex that can bulk out CAP over just about anywhere. Big reduction in surface firepower, but mitigated by much, much more AA in the later upgrade packages. Plus 180 of those 12cm rockets that are mostly useless.

Fuso Class BB to BBV

Going with this one as well. Same reasons as above.

Mogami Class CA to CA with 11 floatplanes

On the fence here. 11 floatplanes a pop is alright. That said, the IJN CA force always do some heavy lifting so there's a strong argument to keep them as pure surface combatants.

That said, going all in for the floatplane conversions across the board has value. The Ise/Fuso conversions can net an extra 88 float fighters on CAP. Combine that with the possibility to convert the four Mogami's, I could potentially add an extra 44 float fighters. 132 extra planes on CAP, even if they are Rufe or Rex, isn't half bad and something I'm seriously thinking about...

Tenryu Class CL to CLAA

Going for it, it's an easy choice. They're marginal ships at best, but with a bunch of 12.7cm DP guns they're positively decent.

Mizuho Class CS to CVL

Easy choice, nice CVL's.

Chitose Class CS to CVL

Ditto

Nisshin Class CS to CVL

Yeah floatplanes are good but proper carrier aircraft are better.

DD Conversions

Not bothering with any of the APD conversions. Just not worth the reduction in combat capacity.

D1 Class SST to D1 Class SS

Before, a useless transport sub.

After, a wonderous machine carrying 5 Kaiten! And radar!

Not arriving for at least two years though...



(in reply to PaxMondo)
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