RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/27/2018 6:00:55 AM

CaptBeefheart

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Ouch. What are the airfield size and fort level at Chittagong?

Cheers,
CB

_____________________________

Beer, because barley makes lousy bread.

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Post #: 361

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/27/2018 5:52:07 PM

Bif1961

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From: Phenix City, Alabama
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Cruisers can be rearmed at Rangoon just not the BBs, the river is too shallow and narrow for them. Does he control Port Blair? If so maybe he has AKEs there for the BBs to use.

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Post #: 362

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/27/2018 6:29:39 PM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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I thought maybe he'd send the cruisers to Calcutta, and he still may, but yes, he can use Rangoon for the cruisers to rearm.

Chittagong is port 4 and airfield 4, with forts at 3 and 72%. He's starting to keep it damaged, so fort building has ceased.

I've had subs on the approaches to Port Blair, thinking the same thing, but I've seen nothing but patrol boats. I'd seen ammo resupply ships earlier in the war, and I thought they went to Tavoy, but I've mined Tavoy and no hits so far.

(in reply to CaptBeefheart)

Post #: 363

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/27/2018 11:13:50 PM

apbarog

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6 May 42

Cruisers Perth, Tromp and Java with 4 US destroyers bombard Horn Island. Results are poor, with minimal casualties and minimal base damage. The only ground unit hit was a part of the 4th Infantry Division, which invaded the island. On the way home, Bettys with Zero escorts attacked in both the AM and PM phases. All torpedoes targeted cruisers, and all missed.

Down at the southeast corner of Australia, on the corner where ships turn from Melbourne to go to Sydney, I-20 spots light cruiser Sumatra, which is headed to Sydney with another CL. One torpedo of six hits Sumatra. Damage is substantial, but should be survivable with Sydney just one day away at full speed. SYS 2/FLOT 47-37/ENG 11-10/FIRE 0. An ASW patrol of 2 US destroyers is dispatched to the area. Tiny carrier Hermes just passed through this area also, and is headed to Sydney. Hermes has torpedo planes with pilots well trained in ASW, and I'm going to use Hermes as a decoy. I will move it northeast from Sydney and hope to light up enemy subs with the torpedo bombers where they can only be coming from a carrier. The big Allied carriers are going to support Tabiteuea and Tarawa.

The 1st Burma Division is battered again, but this time it retreats off of the trails, and in a direction toward China. It just may escape. I doubt that OPilot will chase it down off of the trails. Not much left of the division, but it may get to China and then, eventually, to India. Or it may stay and defend the western frontier of China.

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Post #: 364

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/28/2018 4:50:03 AM

BBfanboy

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Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
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quote:

ORIGINAL: apbarog

6 May 42

Cruisers Perth, Tromp and Java with 4 US destroyers bombard Horn Island. Results are poor, with minimal casualties and minimal base damage. The only ground unit hit was a part of the 4th Infantry Division, which invaded the island. On the way home, Bettys with Zero escorts attacked in both the AM and PM phases. All torpedoes targeted cruisers, and all missed.

Down at the southeast corner of Australia, on the corner where ships turn from Melbourne to go to Sydney, I-20 spots light cruiser Sumatra, which is headed to Sydney with another CL. One torpedo of six hits Sumatra. Damage is substantial, but should be survivable with Sydney just one day away at full speed. SYS 2/FLOT 47-37/ENG 11-10/FIRE 0. An ASW patrol of 2 US destroyers is dispatched to the area. Tiny carrier Hermes just passed through this area also, and is headed to Sydney. Hermes has torpedo planes with pilots well trained in ASW, and I'm going to use Hermes as a decoy. I will move it northeast from Sydney and hope to light up enemy subs with the torpedo bombers where they can only be coming from a carrier. The big Allied carriers are going to support Tabiteuea and Tarawa.

The 1st Burma Division is battered again, but this time it retreats off of the trails, and in a direction toward China. It just may escape. I doubt that OPilot will chase it down off of the trails. Not much left of the division, but it may get to China and then, eventually, to India. Or it may stay and defend the western frontier of China.

Running a torpedoed ship at full speed is a good way to spread the flooding rapidly, and the more flooding you get, the slower the ship goes so it is likely better to use cruise speed in the first place.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

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Post #: 365

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/28/2018 5:29:27 AM

apbarog

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That's true, and I have lost ships running full speed and damaged. In this case, I'm taking the risk. The sub threat is high and the cruiser is without escort. It's only one day to Sydney, and OPilot is probably guessing that is where it is heading. There's a chance of losing the ship to high speed damage, but I'm thinking there's a greater chance of losing the ship to another torpedo. And there's more of a chance of another torpedo in a trip that takes 2 days instead of 1. Just my thinking, and it wouldn't be the first time that it may not be the wisest choice.

If my damaged ships are going long distances, or the threat is low, I always switch to cruise speed. It's generally the best choice.

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 366

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/28/2018 2:50:14 PM

BBfanboy

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Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
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quote:

ORIGINAL: apbarog

That's true, and I have lost ships running full speed and damaged. In this case, I'm taking the risk. The sub threat is high and the cruiser is without escort. It's only one day to Sydney, and OPilot is probably guessing that is where it is heading. There's a chance of losing the ship to high speed damage, but I'm thinking there's a greater chance of losing the ship to another torpedo. And there's more of a chance of another torpedo in a trip that takes 2 days instead of 1. Just my thinking, and it wouldn't be the first time that it may not be the wisest choice.

If my damaged ships are going long distances, or the threat is low, I always switch to cruise speed. It's generally the best choice.

Yeah, it's a dilemma either way. I opened my game and checked the map at the southeast corner of Oz - no port until Port Kembla and that is just one hex from Sydney so you are right to try to get to the better port. The distance is short enough that the gamble is worth a try. Good luck!

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

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Post #: 367

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/28/2018 8:32:41 PM

apbarog

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7 May 42

Buka is invaded. It is between Rabaul and Shortlands.

Darwin is bombed, same as every other day. Today SigInt says that the 16th Infantry Division is planning for Darwin. This is new. Darwin is lightly defended and will fall quickly, as would every other northern Australian base.

OPilot has figured out to bring more and more artillery to Bandoeng. His bombardments are now having some effect. The base will still hold out a long time.

Had something interesting happen in Burma. Yesterday, I noticed that I didn't see the enemy unit southwest of the dot base southwest of Imphal (Kalymo?) It turns out that it was actually at the dot base, with my unit, and wasn't showing on the map. The enemy bombarded today, which is only possible if the unit was really there yesterday. I've seen this happen before, but it is rare. Maybe sometimes you don't see the enemy in your hex, maybe it's a bug. Either way, it's something to be aware of but not to worry much about.

Light cruiser Sumatra raced into Sydney's harbor safely. It added just 1 SYS and 1 FLOT damage from the run. It will take 23 days in the shipyard to fully repair. The shipyard is otherwise empty.

There is enemy activity in the Solomons. Northwest of Tulagi, hugging the islands, there's a cruiser task force with a transport task force of at least 4 xAPs. Could be going to Tulagi/Guadalcanal, or somewhere else. An Allied cruiser task force is ordered to move to Luganville from Noumea at high speed. I want it at Luganville tomorrow to be in range of a night move to Ndeni the next day if needed. Allied carriers have left the area and are well to the east. CVL Hermes is moving up the east coast of Australia, slowly, and moving a bit away from the coast to light up enemy subs with torpedo bombers, acting as a carrier decoy. Hasn't spotted any yet.

There's almost enough points to buy out an infantry division on the West Coast. Another was just sent off to Capetown from the East Coast. 2 infantry regiments were already on the way. I'm debating whether to send another division. Most of the enemy's activity has been directed towards Burma, but I'm still not seeing "the next big thing". Singapore had "heavy activity" today, for the first time in awhile. I mentioned the Darwin SigInt. I just don't know if OPilot is going to go to India in a big way, or just keep slowly raising troops levels coming in at Akyab.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/30/2018 2:29:56 AM

apbarog

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8 May 42

A squadron of Hurricane IIb's moved to Changsha and caught a raid. The Nates sacrificed themselves, saving almost all of the Sonias which did damage the airfield, but the Nates were no match for the Hurris.

Morning Air attack on Changsha , at 82,52

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 31 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 30
Ki-51 Sonia x 33

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 4 destroyed (Actual loss was 16)
Ki-51 Sonia: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged (Actual loss was 1)

No Allied losses (None lost)

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 30

I had shown no CAP anywhere in China for awhile, and the enemy raids got to become daily routine. Other raids in China were heavy also, a daily occurrence.

25 Bettys and 45 Zeros from Port Moresby hit Cooktown's airfield, destroying a Catalina and doing moderate damage. No CAP.

The Imperial Guard Division appears out of Akyab. I'd been wondering where it would show up. It went to Akyab and crossed the river to the east to eliminate a battalion that held the other side of the river since Akyab was invaded by sea. The battalion was going to go through Akyab to get to India and remained in place when Akyab was taken, in order to block land supply to Akyab.

I consider the appearance of this division here important. It could have gone to the next "big thing". Invading Ceylon. Invading India on the eastern coast or at Diamond Harbor. Something big in Australia. Instead it went to Akyab and is now showing movement north towards Chittagong. Of course, there are other divisions to worry about, but this one hadn't been spotted since the cleanup of Malaya north of Singapore.

This doesn't mean that some kind of big invasion isn't coming, but it lowers the odds of it. OPilot may still go for a limited invasion of southeast India if he can take Chittagong, by land or assisted by sea. Too early to tell. I have a British infantry division east of Chittagong sitting in Strat mode for an emergency move. If the Imperial Guard comes up the coast to threaten the stack south of Chittagong, I'll move in the Brits to reinforce.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/30/2018 8:25:55 PM

apbarog

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9 May 42

Salmon fired 2 torpedoes at an APD southwest of Rabaul but missed. May be a run to the islands east of Milne Bay.

Dutch sub O20 spots seaplane carriers Chiyoda and Chitose with cruisers and destroyers. I've seen this task force a couple of times before, and speculated that maybe there were small carriers with it, but never saw any. Maybe not. 4 torpedoes were fired at destroyer Hatsukaze but missed. It was noted that Hatsukaze was smoking, so this task force is probably headed to Singapore, not from Singapore. Does it mean anything that the seaplane carriers are headed out of the Indian Ocean? Maybe, maybe not. One small piece of the puzzle.

I'd been hitting the 33rd Infantry Division southwest of Ledo, and today the Oscars showed up to protect the unit. 3 Blens and 3 Wirraways were lost.

Bettys with Zeros again hit Cooktown. 3 Allied fighter units move to Cooktown today to see what they can do.

Allied carriers are at tiny Puka Puka, east of Pago Pago, to get some gassa gassa from a big tanker convoy passing by on the way to Auckland.

There's activity near Kendari. Cruisers and destroyer have been at Kendari for a long time, guarding or waiting for something. They are now southeast of Kendari, headed somewhere. I had SigInt of an infantry division preparing for Darwin. That is probably coming soon. Darwin is now out of supply and weakly defended. Most evacuated long ago. Long enough ago that the Darwin base force walked south all the way to Alice Springs and railed to Sydney, and is now loading to go to Ndeni.

No sign of KB for quite awhile. Only heavy detection levels have been around Truk and Kwajalein. We know that a Wake invasion is planned, and SigInt says that the invasion troops are now at Truk.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/31/2018 11:06:06 PM

apbarog

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10 May 42

The enemy cruisers return to bombard Chittagong. It's a quick trip back and forth from Rangoon. 204 casualties and minor damage to facilities.

Sub Gar fired 4 torpedoes at destroyer Natsugumo but missed. Lots of destroyers spotted, along with a couple of cruisers. No carriers spotted, but it turned out they were here.

P-40Es swept Cox's Bazar, finding nothing. Ranged CAP was the worst expected. Cox's Bazar is a size 1 port and size 0 airfield, but is important because supply from Akyab travels through it to the front. Lots of allied bombers, pretty much everything except the B-17s, then hit the port, doing moderate damage and destroying some fuel and supply. It's just a nuisance, really. Can't go to Akyab without running into 50 Zeros, and the enemy troops are all in the jungle. Went after an easy target.

Hurricanes swept Myitkyina, finding the Oscars that were protecting the 33rd Infantry Division yesterday. 6 Oscars are downed by the 8 sweeping Hurricanes, with no Hurris lost. 2 squadrons of B-17Es then hit Myitkyina's airfield, doing moderate damage.

Lots of shipping that started at Kendari have headed east southeast and are now just southwest of Boela. This is not a direct route to Darwin, where I thought they'd go. I wonder where they will end up. There is a strong cruiser task force escorting, so it's not a small garrison drop-off.

Coastwatchers report enemy shipping hugging the coast of New Guinea between Milne Bay and Port Moresby. This had been suspected but not confirmed till now. The shallows keep me from putting subs there regularly. I will drop some sub mines on the coast in about a week. I suspect APDs are making the coastal trip.

Then today's surprise:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 120,150

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 113 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 42 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 54
B5N2 Kate x 140
D3A1 Val x 88

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 4 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 12 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CA Canberra, Bomb hits 1
CA Australia, Bomb hits 1
DD Gwin, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
CL Hobart
CL Achilles, Torpedo hits 1
xAP Van Neck, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
xAP Mijer, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Pijnacker Hordijk, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Le Maire, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Kohala, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Leander, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Allied ground losses:
Guns lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled)

*****

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 120,150

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 115 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 43 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36
D3A1 Val x 18

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 12 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
CA Australia
CA Canberra, Bomb hits 1
CL Achilles

OPilot told me that he was tempted by the cruisers at Luganville. A week ago, Allied carriers were here, but they went east to prepare for the next operation, which isn't in the Solomons. I didn't see KB coming, so I wouldn't have been in an ideal position, but had I been adjacent to Luganville with land based fighters helping, things could have been favorable for a big carrier fight.

As it is, I was lucky today. With the number of enemy bombers, I could have lost every ship there. Severe storms in the afternoon didn't hurt. Way back when I was evacuating Java, I discussed the large number of smaller Dutch xAPs there. I really like them. There's a bunch of them, they hold a decent number of troops, and the ships are less valuable than most of the US transports. Today's losses highlight why I like them. I lost 4 of them but that's way better than losing 4 larger high endurance US xAPs. Since the ships are smaller, they were docked and almost completely unloaded when lost. They delivered the US 147 Field Artillery Battalion and the US 7th Marine Defense Battalion. A few of the coastal guns were lost.

There were 2 P-39 squadrons at Luganville. Only one engaged today. I had the other training. Luganville is a size 1 airfield and has a base administration level of only 2. I wanted the Catalina squadron to keep flying, so I set one P-39 unit to train. The fight may have gone a bit better with more P-39s in the air, but they were certainly outclassed today.

Destroyer Gwin was lost, as were the 4 Dutch xAPs and one xAKL. All of the cruisers should survive, and will run south in 2 task forces, at high speed.

Total air losses for the day were 6 Vals and 5 Kates, downed by flak or related ops losses, and one Zero shot down by a P-39. 9 P-39s were lost.

Air defenses at Noumea are beefed up. KB is in range to possibly hit Noumea tomorrow if it wants to. 3 P-40, 1 P-400, and the 2 P-39 squadrons from Luganville are at Noumea now.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/1/2018 6:54:23 PM

apbarog

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11 May 42

Northwest of Colombo, HDML 1097 finds I-154 and hits it with 2 depth charges. I consider it probably sunk, but then I see a sub in the shallows next to Colombo during the day, at a likely spot for a sub headed back home. The sub has to be badly damaged. ASW assets are alerted and will patrol the route around Ceylon.

There's still an enemy sub between Melbourne and Sydney, in the deep water closest to Melbourne. 2 US destroyers are patrolling the route now, and find I-20 today, but can't hit it. Cushing exhausted all of its depth charges in the attempt. AMs out of Melbourne will join the patrol here.

West of Ponape, Dutch sub KXVII hits xAK Maya Maru with a torpedo out of 2 fired. Sinking sounds are heard much later, and may have been this ship. This sub got the last Allied torpedo hit 9 days ago in the same area, with another probable sinking of an xAK. It seems that Ponape gets regular shipping. It's interesting that Kusaie Island to the southeast is still unbuilt. This would be a nice place to take.

Imphal is hit by Sallys with lots of Oscar escorts. Lysanders are flying out of Imphal doing recon in the jungle. Imphal is not on a rail line and is not a good spot for a big fighter defense.

Troops at Christmas Island begin loading for Tabiteuea. Tabiteuea is still a friendly but ungarrisoned and unbuilt base. It's close to Tarawa, which is enemy held, so there will be some risk there, but Allied carriers will support the unloading.

KB ran north of the Solomons after the Luganville raid yesterday. It may continue north and guard the Wake invasion that I know is coming. I just don't know when.

Remember ARD Dewey? After about a month of repairs at Pearl Harbor, it is fully repaired. The commander of the drydock has requested that 16 inch guns be mounted on Dewey, and that orders be issued for a return to Iwo Jima.

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Post #: 372

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/2/2018 12:01:39 AM

jwolf

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quote:

The commander of the drydock has requested that 16 inch guns be mounted on Dewey, and that orders be issued for a return to Iwo Jima.

Not likely, but I like his spirit!

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/2/2018 12:24:41 AM

Anachro

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From: The Coastal Elite
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quote:

ORIGINAL: apbarog
Remember ARD Dewey? After about a month of repairs at Pearl Harbor, it is fully repaired. The commander of the drydock has requested that 16 inch guns be mounted on Dewey, and that orders be issued for a return to Iwo Jima.

You know, if this is a DBB-C game, is it possible to update the database for the scenario mid-game and add a 'refit' option to make this so? Would be funny.

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 374

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/2/2018 9:14:12 PM

apbarog

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12 May 42

A very interesting day.

First, 2 AMs track down the badly damaged sub near Ceylon. I'd never seen an ASW fight where the ships start the fight with an already surfaced sub.

ASW attack near Colombo at 28,48

Japanese Ships
SS I-154, hits 1, heavy damage

Allied Ships
AM Cromer, Shell hits 1, on fire
AM Cromarty, Shell hits 1

SS I-154 is sighted by escort
AM Cromer firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromarty firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromer firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromarty firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromer firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromarty firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromer firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromarty firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromer firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromarty firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromer firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromarty firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromer firing on surfaced sub ....
AM Cromarty firing on surfaced sub ....
Contact with submarine is lost

Cromer has moderate damage: SYS 35/FLOT 19-10/ENG 10-2/FIRE 0, and will retire one hex to Colombo for repairs. The other AM will keep looking for the sub.

2 enemy APDs had been spotted moving towards Horn Island from Port Moresby. 3 MTBs were sent from the Australian coast to intercept. They did so, but contact was during the day at 18,000 yards, and the enemy chose to evade combat, and did so. The MTBs are 3 of the British MTBs that start at Hong Kong. They are now out of fuel at a dot base in northeastern Australa. I doubt that fuel will get drawn to there.

It was a great day for the Allied air forces.

Morning Air attack on Kukong , at 79,57

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 12
Ki-51 Sonia x 36

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed (2 actually lost)
Ki-51 Sonia: 19 destroyed, 1 damaged (41 actually lost)

No Allied losses

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 7

*************

Afternoon Air attack on Cooktown , at 92,137

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 111 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 38 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 30
G4M1 Betty x 26

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk IA x 16
P-39D Airacobra x 14
P-40E Warhawk x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 7 destroyed (15 actually lost)
G4M1 Betty: 9 destroyed, 3 damaged (20 actually lost)

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk IA: 1 destroyed (3 actually lost)
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed (2 actually lost)

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 7

In one day, 6 British Hurri pilots got 4 kills each, and another 4 got 3 kills each. The Hurris retire to the Chinese capital to rest and await the next CAP trap. The Allied planes at Cooktown stay at Cooktown. I'm trying my first big bomber attack of Port Moresby. B-17s will hit both the port and airfield.

Something stirring around northeastern Australia.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/3/2018 2:13:15 AM

BBfanboy

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Looks like that cruiser TF is intended to be the anvil to KB's hammer against any significant TF you send into the pocket between PM, NE Oz and Horn Island.
John likes traps, and seems to keep hoping his opponents will do what he wants and sail their CVs into one.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

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Post #: 376

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/3/2018 5:46:26 AM

apbarog

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Could be BBfanboy. But I think you have your AAR's confused. No John in this one! :)

The only Allied carrier in the area is tiny Hermes, which is at Rockhampton now and lighting up subs off the coast, showing its presence.

13 May 42

Patrol boats are looking for Allied subs south of Truk. Dutch sub KXVII found PB Saishu Maru but missed it with 2 torpedoes.

Sampit on Borneo is invaded. More cleanup for the Japanese.

Oscars sweep Dimapur and Warhawks sweep Myitkyina. Neither find enemy CAP.

44 Sallys bomb the 9th Burma Rifles Battalion near Jorhat. This unit is showing movement to the hex that the enemy 33rd Infantry Division is in, but isn't really going to move. The 33rd Infantry Division has been showing movement towards Ledo but that could be false movement also.

B-17s bomb Port Moresby but the weather is bad with moderate rain, and little damage is done to the airfield and none to the port. 31 Zeros are on CAP. 4 B-17s are lost. 9 Zeros are lost map-wide. 2 are shot down at Port Moresby. 7 are ops losses, most probably there also.

KB has moved south again, now east of Guadalcanal. Will it go after the shipping that has returned to Luganville? While there was just one fighter squadron when KB attacked a few days ago, there are three at Luganville now.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/3/2018 11:13:32 PM

apbarog

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14 May 42

AM Punjab hit I-21 with a depth charge near Newcastle, Australia.
AM Lismore found I-153 northeast of Trincomalee but couldn't hit it.

But west of Guadalcanal, the Dutch subs come through again!

Sub attack near Vangunu at 110,138

Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku, Torpedo hits 1
CA Chikuma
CL Abukuma
DD Shiratsuyu
DD Ariake
DD Wakaba
DD Hatsushima
DD Nenohi

Allied Ships
SS O23

SS O23 launches 6 torpedoes at CV Zuikaku

O23 has done well. It sank a patrol boat near Buka in March, and damaged an xAK near Ponape soon after. And in April, it hit battleship Kongo with a torpedo near Truk. Now Zuikaku! Very unlikely to be a sunk carrier, but I'll take a hit over a miss any day.

Merauke was invaded. That explains the enemy task force hugging the western New Guinea coast. Something did pass by Horn Island during the night also, probably headed to Port Moresby.

The convoy to garrison Tabiteuea is now west of Christmas Island. Carriers are to the southwest and will join up with the convoy when it gets further to the west.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/3/2018 11:21:26 PM

BBfanboy

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From: Winnipeg, MB
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I suspect Nauru is just a fuelling base. He brings tankers and has them sit there, still in a TF, while his warships hit the "refuel at sea" button. If the port is not mined and the level is low (no ASW nets), a sub might be able to pick something off.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

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Post #: 379

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/4/2018 7:23:57 PM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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15 May 42

Still nothing but patrol boats spotted near Port Blair. Grayling missed one with two torpedoes.

Ruteng is invaded. Ruteng is between Timor and Java.
Broome is bombed by the Bettys with Zeros from Koepang that had been hitting Darwin.

S-43 was sent to investigate Nauru Island's activity. It found xAK Yosida Maru #1 and hit it with a torpedo out of two fired. Patrol boat Fumi Maru #3 then hit the sub with a depth charge in the shallow water. The sub has remarkably little damage. Nothing higher than the teens. It will go to Brisbane for repairs. There were no troops on the cargo ship. Still don't know what all the activity is here.

Looks like it's time for another enemy attempt at Wake. I'm guessing that this one works. There's only a handful of defenders, barely supplied by transport subs. But the coastal guns are manned and supplied. I expect a battleship bombardment which will take care of both the guns and the supply, but if not, we may get more ship hits with very minimum manning of the island.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/6/2018 8:17:50 PM

apbarog

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16 May 42

Dutch destroyers are hunting enemy subs around Vava'u. I'm working on building up this base. It is strategically located southeast of Suva and southwest of Pago Pago, and can build to a nice size. Its expansion has caught OPilot's attention, and there are at least a couple of subs around. The destroyers can't hit the sub today.

Chittagong is bombarded again by 4 enemy cruisers. Almost 300 casualties, almost all non-combat and almost all disablements. Minimal base damage this time.

Cuttlefish spots the Midway invasion convoy southwest of the island, but can't get a shot. Enemy destroyers can't hit the sub either. It's a different mix for this invasion attempt, with 3 battleships in with the transports.

ASW attack near Wake Island at 135,100

Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima
BB Hiei
BB Haruna
CL Yubari
DD Yayoi
AMC Kongo Maru
AMC Awata Maru
AMC Akagi Maru
DMS W-8
DMS W-3
AK Aratama Maru
AK Amagisan Maru
AK Ayatosan Maru
AK Awazisan Maru
AK Kinka Maru
AK Sasako Maru
xAP Baikal Maru
DD Yunagi
DD Asanagi
DD Hayate
DD Oite

Allied Ships
SS Cuttlefish

The task force reaches Wake, and the invasion begins. The battleships almost wipe out all of the defenders, wtih there being so few of them. The coastal guns barely get a shot off before being silenced.

Ground combat at Wake Island (136,98)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 6128 troops, 29 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 205

Defending force 114 troops, 1 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 322

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 322 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Wake Island !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: disruption(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 11 (11 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2

Assaulting units:
Guards Mixed Brigade
Maizuru 2nd SNLF /3

Defending units:
Wake (Det.) Def Bn /1
298th(Sep) Infantry Rgt /3

We knew that the Guards Mixed Brigade was coming. The few defenders are eliminated, and their parent units will now fill out completely at Pearl Harbor.

The first TBFs have been sent to a carrier torpedo squadron at Auckland. Most of the TBDs are there, training. The TBFs will make their way to the carriers when they are ready to go.

The first 2 US CLAA's are moving from Panama to the South Pacific.

The Tabiteuea garrison convoy with carrier escorts are making their way west of Christmas Island. KB has been missing for a few days, last seen near Shortlands.

ARD Dewey has left Pearl Harbor and is heading to Vava'u. It will get there sometime later in the war.

OPilot is traveling until Sunday, so I'll be taking my time with this turn for the next few days, and sending it on Saturday. Time to look at every little detail. I'll also do a region by region summary tomorrow or Saturday.

(in reply to CaptBeefheart)

Post #: 381

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/8/2018 4:09:43 AM

apbarog

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17 May 42

With Wake lost to the enemy finally, enemy minesweepers clear out all of the mines.
AM Lismore spots I-153 near Trincomalee but can't hit it. 2 sub torpedoes missed Lismore.
I-25 spots APD Humphreys heading west from Christmas Island. Humphreys is in a small task force with a Seabee unit on it, headed to Tabiteuea. These ships trail the main convoy by several days, and the main convoy and carriers have not been spotted.

Oscars sweep a contested hex northeast of Sian. I move 2 Hurricane squadrons to Sian and CAP it, guessing on a raid there instead of the contested hex.

OPilot arrived back home sooner than planned, so the game continues. I'll still try to do a region by region update over the weekend.

(in reply to CaptBeefheart)

Post #: 382

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/8/2018 9:07:39 PM

apbarog

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18 May 42

S-35 is patrolling southeast of Rabaul, and spotted PB Koei Maru, fired 2 torpedoes at it, and both hit, sinking the tiny patrol boat.

Bandoeng gets its daily artillery attack. You can see that the massed artillery is having an effect now, while earlier in the year it wasn't. More artillery and bigger guns were brought in. The Dutch will last as long as they can. They've made it 5 months so far, and still have 20,000 supply.

The Allies try their first offensive action in Burma at Kalemyo.

Ground combat at Kalemyo (59,42)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 6606 troops, 65 guns, 254 vehicles, Assault Value = 317

Defending force 3831 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 124

Allied adjusted assault: 169

Japanese adjusted defense: 262

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker: fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
265 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
200 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 29 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Assaulting units:
254th Armoured Brigade
6th Chinese/B Corps
25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment

Defending units:
21st Infantry Regiment

With the current order of battle, attacks will continue after a day or two of rest. The Allies are on a trailhead from India, while the Japanese are in the jungle. Easier for us to resupply. The enemy will reinforce here soon, however. Since I bombed this hex today to support the attack, I expect that OPilot will respond with some LRCAP. I will have a P-40 squadron LRCAP here also, and another squadron sweep. Bombers with Buffalo escorts will hit the enemy troops.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/9/2018 1:51:48 AM

Bif1961

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From: Phenix City, Alabama
Status: offline

That is a rather large Allied carrier group are you concerned about the coordination penalty or are you going to divde them between 2-3 groups?

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Post #: 384

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/9/2018 1:55:19 AM

apbarog

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The group right now has 3 task forces. Illustrious will probably join one of those. Not enough escorts to form another task force. 3 TFs should work ok.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/10/2018 1:02:13 AM

apbarog

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19 May 42

Seal missed xAKL Hanakawa Maru with 2 torpedoes just east of Port Blair. This is the first indication of shipping near Port Blair that is going or coming from Akyab/Rangoon.

Madjene on Celebes is invaded. More enemy cleanup going on.

A US sub had just dropped some mines just south of Kwajalein. 2 patrol boats found them today and didn't hit any.

Oscars swept a contested hex northeast of Sian. My Hurricanes were on CAP at Sian. They move to Changsha to CAP today. It's a constant guessing game to set up an ambush. Sometimes it works.

Sallys with Oscars hit Imphal's airfield. P-40s were just moved there, and were doing LRCAP of the contested hex to the southwest. OPilot guessed right but didn't get any planes on the ground. Moderate damage to the airfield.

Blens and Wellingtons bombed that contested hex, Kalemyo. Moderate enemy troop casualties.

Bettys with Zeros continue to hit Darwin. With every bit of supply gone in Darwin, all of the troops that can move have moved south. A static coastal gun unit remains.

Allied troops will start to land at Tabiteuea today. Not an invasion, but close enough to enemy territory to warrant carrier protection. Tarawa is next, but not for awhile.

I want to change OPilot's mindset to defense as soon as possible, but I also recognize that it is still early. The Marines didn't really land at Guadalcanal until August 1942. Tarawa wasn't until November 1943! It's still early. It's May 1942. And I must not lose the carriers. Not without a proper cost to the enemy's carriers.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/10/2018 8:46:59 PM

apbarog

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20 May 42

Seal fired 2 torpedoes at a patrol boat and missed. Grayling then fired 2 torpedoes at the same patrol boat, PB Okuyo Maru, and got one hit, but it was a dud. Salmon fired 2 torpedoes at destroyer Ariake north of Truk, but missed.

Dacca was swept by 30 Oscars and then 27 Oscars. 41 Sallys with 26 Oscars then arrived, doing major damage to the airfield. My planes had left.

Sian was swept by 22 Oscars and then bombed by Lilys and Sonias, doing moderate damage. My Hurricanes had moved to Changsha. Some Sonias came later, as well as another sweep by 30 Oscars.

Hurricanes at Changsha find targets.

Afternoon Air attack on Changsha , at 82,52

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 37 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 30
Ki-51 Sonia x 27

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 23 (1 lost to ops)

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 5 destroyed (12 lost)
Ki-51 Sonia: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged (5 lost)

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb Trop: 2 damaged

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 24

Enemy carrier force, likely CVLs, is spotted near Victoria Point, headed north. They've been used before to escort troops landings at Akyab. Could be again. I fear a direct landing on Chittagong though. The enemy battleships are late for their occasional bombardment, and it could be that they are being held back for a landing. As the map shows, the enemy is starting to move into the jungle in numbers, pushing inland now also. If this is all a ploy to get me to commit more to the Burma border while a big landing occurs on India's east coast near Viz-something-or-another, it's working. I've kept a British infantry division there just in case, but it's moving to the Burma border now. I can't let Ledo get captured or cut off.

Other notes:

I checked my pilots and my highest scoring pilot is currently W.E. Dyess flying a P-40. His squadron started in the Philippines and was bought out and went to China and on to Burma. Dyess is the guy that Dyess Air Force Base in Texas is named after. In real life, he was captured at Bataan but escaped in 1943. He made it back to the US but died in a training accident.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._Dyess

Carrier Wasp arrives in 17 days. Then it's a long one year wait for Essex.

My big convoy arrived at Tabiteuea unspotted, and the escorting carriers just to the west were not spotted either. Severe storms over both. That helps. One enemy sub was spotted. This may or may not alert OPilot. I've had Catalinas in this area for a long time.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/10/2018 8:48:12 PM

apbarog

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20 May 42 - China

There are 4 or 5 enemy units in EACH of the three highlighted hexes. Just one division in the more southern hex that had the combat today.

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< Message edited by apbarog -- 9/10/2018 8:49:32 PM >

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/11/2018 6:02:26 AM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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21 May 42

Dutch sub KXVI tangles with subchasers near Phuket. The ships can't hit the sub with depth charges, and the sub elects not to fire at the small ships.

Kalemyo is swept by Oscars from Akyab, amongst other places, finding no CAP. Sallys with even more Oscars then hit the Chinese unit at Kalemyo. Akyab is then swept by P-40s, looking for those Oscars, and no CAP is found.

Cox's Bazar's port is hit by Blenheims, and Akyab's port and airfield is hit by Blens, B-26s, Wellingtons and B-17s. No CAP is found. Targeting is poor in moderate rain. Bad luck again at Akyab with the weather, on an attack when the CAP was elsewhere. Only light damage to the facilities.

The big landing convoy is spotted at Tabiteuea. About 40% of everything is unloaded. The carriers, just west of the island, are not spotted again, in bad weather again. The cruiser covering force will move from the carriers to the island today to protect the transports.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 9/11/2018 7:49:06 PM

apbarog

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22 May 42

Lots of sub versus PB and SC action near Phuket. I've been interdicting traffic to Rangoon. Now there's SCs there and they pack a greater punch than the PBs. Fortunately, these are still using older depth charges. No depth charge hits and no torpedo hits.

Effective enemy artillery attack at Bandoeng on Java now, every day. More enemy are arriving. Could be even more artillery, or a deliberate attack is coming soon. Supply is still very good but the Dutch are getting worn down. The artillery is having an effect.

At Tabiteuea, the transports are again spotted but my carriers are again not spotted. The nice US APs are mostly unloaded now. They still have some motorized support and a little bit of supply. I decide to pull them out and send them to Christmas Island. The motorized support will reload on smaller less valuable ships when there's a dock at Tabiteuea to use. Other xAPs and xAKs continue to unload supply. Carriers stay in place just west of the island. Cruiser TF stays at Tabiteuea. It wasn't spotted either. No sign of any enemy approaching.

Battlecruiser Repulse and some US cruisers and destroyers are leaving Auckland for Noumea. They are going to try to cause some mischief in the Solomons. Hermes may unload its torpedo bombers and load some fighters to help escort Repulse. Maybe a raid on Shortlands. It seems to be a naval hub.

Lots of Allied positioning going on in China and on the India/Burma border. Sub detection levels show that the enemy CVLs did not go to Rangoon, but are west of Rangoon now, northbound, and they are not hugging the coast. The big British slow battleship task force will now head to Madras from Colombo at high speed. If something comes for the Indian east coast, I want them in position.

A US infantry division was bought out at San Francisco today. It is prepping for Guadalcanal and will head to Sydney. Several SeaBee units are arriving on the West Coast now, and they need to be bought out also. I can buy out about one a day.

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