BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac

[PzB74]

All these are valid concerns and with the arrival of KB I also plan to land the first division on the northern tip of the island.
Currently there are 250AV there and I'm constantly try to pour in more men. This should provide the time we need..but the shortline is that Andy needs to keep his CVs around to prevent us from deadlocking the island and pounding it into rubble.

No forts will be built as long as battle damage has to be repaired first and that's going to be constant [;)]

Within 10 days I also plan to trebble aviation support in the area and Soerabaja is a size 9 AF with Makassar 7 and building towards 8 and 9.

So nothing is decided yet; the battle still hangs in the balance - the old truth about base posession being meaningless without also having sea and air supremacy still holds water.
My entire belief in victory is based on the simple fact that I think Jap LBA and naval assets in this local region are stronger than what the Allies can field.

[bigbaba]

more confidence in PzB abilities guys.

if i could make a bet it would be in favour of our admiral from norway. why?

-LBA from australia is very limited. andy lost a good number of his heavies in useless raids before. also, he lost a huge number of transports supplying N australia to the cruisers and destroyers of PzB. i doubt that he can keep the 2 bases in NA supplied for great ais operations from there.

-1 isolated allied base in the range of several japanese airfields. PzB can keep the base closed via bombers or bombard TFs under air cover. sure thé allied seabees can repair at a fast speed but it will eat andys supplies away very quickly.

time will tell what will happen but PzB has a good chance here.

[Hortlund]

ORIGINAL: PzB
So nothing is decided yet; the battle still hangs in the balance - the old truth about base posession being meaningless without also having sea and air supremacy still holds water.

Id say this battle hangs in the balance about as much as Utah Beach did on June 7th 1944. You have lost that base, but you dont have to turn it into Guadalcanal. If you take a step back you will realize that you are building this entire strategy on the hope that the KB will arrive and sink the enemy CVs, if that happens, then you can do x, y and z. Sure that might happen, but to use poker terms here, the only card left is the river and you are going all in on the hope of hitting that inside straight. Sure it might happen, but the odds are massively stacked against you.

My entire belief in victory is based on the simple fact that I think Jap LBA and naval assets in this local region are stronger than what the Allies can field.

That is something I do not understand, its late 43, not early 42. But I can see that you have made up your mind about this, so I'll stop pestering you with my comments. Should make for an interesting showdown for us on the sidelines though [:)]

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Panzerjaeger Hortlund

... its late 43, not early 42.

Exactly. Allied divisions at this point are worth much more than IJ divisions. Go into Tracker and look at the anti-soft and anti-hard values of the squads.

[PresterJohn001]

A single base that requires the allied navy to support it and outside effective air support range. I think theres a decent chance of pushing the allies back. A second or third base and the long road begins. The conditions are about as favourable as the Japanese are going to get at this stage of the war. Isolate, stop allied reinforcements and pound the allies from the air. Sure the Japanese divs are not as good as the allies, but the allies got to have supplies, and the Japanese have numbers. Looks like a carrier battle in the making, except the Japanese get land based air into the bargain as well.

good luck and if goes pear shaped this is not legal advice so don't sue. [;)]

[inqistor]

ORIGINAL: PzB
Your lack of faith is disturbing!

Well, I think all those "unfaithful" are actually playing Allied side currently [;)]

In one of the longest battles I've ever seen the smaller and more agile Jap ships harassed the Allied battle line that lacked destroyers.

BBs seems to fare poorly at night. Next time get maximum number of ships, and lotsa torpedo tubes.

I can hardly believe that the Allied carrier force still is a match for the KB when it arrives.

with those number of attack planes it will be win-for-first-strike. So you better wait, until you decimate his attack planes.

Ground combat at Pantar (69,114)
Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 274 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 20
Defending force 30 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 18
Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 18 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Pantar !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), op mode(-), leaders(+), preparation(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-)

OK, what is this? Are they in strategic mode? Is it even possible to drop paras not in Combat Mode?

But that still doesn't answer the question; "What does Andy want with Waingapu alone?"

Obviously, he want to get other side of island by land. There is also possible, that in few days, invasion fleet quickly return to assault other base.

Another question is how many replacement Hellcats that are available to Allies in 09/43.

You wish. They are available from 4/43, at 130 per month.

LBA From Australia is still limited to 2 bases: Port Hedland, size 6 and Darwin, size 7 - not convinced supply levels are topped up either.

And Yamato can pay them "visit" any moment [:D]
How many radar sets have you got at nearby islands? Are this lvl0 base in range of Allied CVs leaky CAP? If so, it would be interesting to sweep there [:)]

ORIGINAL: castor troy
A couple of hundred thousand supplies, av and nav support, lots of engis and flak and the Japanese can exactly do nothing about it but seeing the base growing and suddenly turn into a level 9 that is going to dominate the whole area.

Tell me, how exactly are you going to keep ONE airfield open (not even mentioning upgrading it), with 5-10 large Japan airfields in range, and bombarding from sea, and air at will?

ORIGINAL: Nomad
Just think of me as the little voice trying to keep everyone from getting victory disease.

What victory exactly? So far there was only some air battles. Indecisive mostly. Landing was overkill, so it went, as it should with those numbers.

ORIGINAL: Panzerjaeger Hortlund
I disagree, there is nothing that speaks for a japanese victory here, except blind luck. The allies are ashore now, within LBA range from Australia.

Oh? What Allied fighter types can reach this base from Australia coast? You seriously expect Allies to give a fair fight at maximum range, against 15 Japan bases at close range?

4Es can attrit any Jap CAP at any base in the vincinity of the fighting, and replacements can be flown in. The massive logistic superiority of the allies can now be brought to bear on the battlefield.

Allied planes production for 10/43:
F 615
FB 54
NF 2
DB 194
LB 237
RC 12
TR 82
PA 37
FP 18
TB 42

100 fighters more, than in 9/43. The only serious boost in next month would be TBs. Fighters numbers are static, and even drop slightly.
So... can you match it, PzB?
I am afraid it is not 1945. Everything is still in the balance.

This battle is lost, the transports reached shore. Like Rommel said, the only way to win a defensive battle against an allied invasion is to prevent them from leaving the beaches. That has failed, and now the question is how to contain this invasion, not how to re-capture the base.

Why do you compare invasion against weakened Germany, with total air, and sea dominance, to this situation? In game terms it is impossible to stop invasion at beach, because you can not move reinforcements in one day.
Yes, Japan will lose attrition battle, in like 12 months. But I am afraid Allies will not stand even 3 in this situation. Considering last "antics" in Burma, Andy will probably resign after 2 weeks.
In 4 days Allies have lost ONE month of HELLCATs replacements. They are produced for 6 months now. Simple calculation shows, that with current attrition rate:
6*4=24. In 24 days there will be no HELLCATs flying.

Sure, PzB can throw 2, 4 or 6 divisions at this base, but that wont work, he will just be throwing them into a prison camp, like the Jap reinforcements at Guadalcanal.

At Guadalcanal Japan never reached numeral superiority. Your comparison is right, but it works other way. It is Allies now, who works at extreme range of their fighters, and once CVs left area, all day transports will be sunk by Japan planes.

I remind, that in THIS game, there was no great Japan defeat so far. Their land, and air forces are at full strength. And the year is still 1943, not 1945, with Japan airforce in shambles.

[Nomad]

So I guess I don't need to post here anymore. It seems that others know more than I do. I think John will do good since I feel he is a better player than Andy is, but it will be a fight and I still think that Andy will not only be able to hold what he has but expand.

[Hortlund]

ORIGINAL: inqistor

Oh? What Allied fighter types can reach this base from Australia coast? You seriously expect Allies to give a fair fight at maximum range, against 15 Japan bases at close range?

I said LBA range because I meant 4E-range. That means that the allies can support all operations in the area with the untouchable deathstar (a 100 4E airfield attack). Those 4Es can also bring in supplies if needed (although that should not be necessary). The base is also inside fighter ferry-range, meaning that the allies can constantly replace all fighter losses.

Allied planes production for 10/43:
F 615
FB 54
NF 2
DB 194
LB 237
RC 12
TR 82
PA 37
FP 18
TB 42

100 fighters more, than in 9/43. The only serious boost in next month would be TBs. Fighters numbers are static, and even drop slightly.
So... can you match it, PzB?
I am afraid it is not 1945. Everything is still in the balance.

I think you missunderstand what I mean when I say logistic superiority. There is more to logistics than aircraft production numbers. At this point in time, the number of aircraft coming off the production line is absolutely irrelevant. This battle will be decided in a week, maybe two...if it goes to extremes, say a month. What will decide this is aircraft in the reserve pool, composition and location of forces, avaliable supply, distance to replenishment facilities.

Presumably, Andy has planned this one right, meaning the logistics tail is in place. He also has the benefit of having the troops of his chosing in place from day 1. PzB on the other hand got caught with his forces badly out of place. Nothing can cure that now, and my point is that the right way to handle this situation is not to throw everything into a Hail-Mary-counterattack. Especially not since the KB is more or less a one-shot weapon at this point in time.

Why do you compare invasion against weakened Germany, with total air, and sea dominance, to this situation? In game terms it is impossible to stop invasion at beach, because you can not move reinforcements in one day.
Yes, Japan will lose attrition battle, in like 12 months. But I am afraid Allies will not stand even 3 in this situation. Considering last "antics" in Burma, Andy will probably resign after 2 weeks.
In 4 days Allies have lost ONE month of HELLCATs replacements. They are produced for 6 months now. Simple calculation shows, that with current attrition rate:
6*4=24. In 24 days there will be no HELLCATs flying.

I compare the situation to give the readers a mental image of what the situation is like. But you are correct in that there is a huge difference between D-day and this battle. At D-day, Germany actually had fighters that could stand up to and go toe-to-toe with the allied airforce. Japan does not have that.

It is most certainly not impossible to stop an invasion at the beach. There are countless of examples of invasion fleets slaughtered on the way to the invasion beach, or having the unloading disrupted by night surface action etc.

Hellcat replacement figures are completely irrelevant to this battle. This battle will not last 24 days, it is already over. What is left to decide is how much damage can be inflicted on the allied forces, and what the cost to japan will be to inflict that damage. I meant what I said regarding Utah beach on June 7th.

At Guadalcanal Japan never reached numeral superiority. Your comparison is right, but it works other way. It is Allies now, who works at extreme range of their fighters, and once CVs left area, all day transports will be sunk by Japan planes.

Allied fighters will operate at range 0, allied 4Es will operate inside normal range. And again you are basing your post on the assumption that allied CVs will leave the area. That means you are basing your suggestions/ideas on the very shaky notion that when the KB arrives it will sail victorious from the carrier clash that presumably follows. This is late 43. Allied CVs have Hellcats. The writing is on the wall. A 1-1 exchange is something that Japan should be very happy to achieve.

I remind, that in THIS game, there was no great Japan defeat so far. Their land, and air forces are at full strength. And the year is still 1943, not 1945, with Japan airforce in shambles.

Indeed, and therefore it is better to avoid that great defeat and fight another day, at a location of own choosing and with forces in place from day 1.

[Tullius]

They are available from 4/43, at 130 per month.

Are the replacement rates for AC historically correct ? In the game the US forces become ca. 4000 Hellcats. But until 11/45 12,275 Hellcats were built. Even when you substract 2.000 planes for the British forces there is still a gap of 6000 planes. Alone in March 1945 606 Hellcat -5/-5N were delivered. That was also the peak. In the game the player will receive only 223.

[PresterJohn001]

ORIGINAL: Panzerjaeger Hortlund

Indeed, and therefore it is better to avoid that great defeat and fight another day, at a location of own choosing and with forces in place from day 1.

The problem is if the allies get established there won't be a place of pzb's own choosing. Once established, the allies will grind their way to the Phillipines without too much trouble. lots of fighting maybe but the outcome is inevitable. If the KB gets into position before the next allied waves, combined with Japanese LBA theres a fighting chance of throwing the invaders back. Its a prepared Japanese position. You have to know when to pick your fights and the odds aren't going to get any better as time goes on.

Let the string of unending victories continue PzB, your Army and Navy are invulnerable, the Emperor has decreed it [:D]

[janh]

ORIGINAL: Tullius
Are the replacement rates for AC historically correct ? In the game the US forces become ca. 4000 Hellcats. But until 11/45 12,275 Hellcats were built. Even when you substract 2.000 planes for the British forces there is still a gap of 6000 planes. Alone in March 1945 606 Hellcat -5/-5N were delivered. That was also the peak. In the game the player will receive only 223.

I read that the Japanese produced about 70,000 planes during WW2, while losses amounted to 40,000 (I believe it was a source cited in a wiki article). In AE they produce a lot less (by rough estimate), and if you look at the recent Stoneage-Spruance AAR, also the losses will consequently be a lot lower (even taking into account that "their war" was a year shorter). Maybe the above numbers were wrong by a factor >>2, but they sound not too unreasonable. Anyone having any idea where the discrepancy is coming from?

PS: taking 40,000 losses in 4x12 months means an average of ca 1000 plane losses per month... a quite lot...

[inqistor]

ORIGINAL: Nomad
So I guess I don't need to post here anymore. It seems that others know more than I do. I think John will do good since I feel he is a better player than Andy is, but it will be a fight and I still think that Andy will not only be able to hold what he has but expand.

Throwing KB now, will be unnecessary risk, but battle of attrition is still on Japan side for few months. If Japan will try to get Carrier battle, it could lose, but even that will not ensure Allied air-superiority. It would be best to keep KB in reserve now, in which case Allies can not expand.

ORIGINAL: Panzerjaeger Hortlund
I said LBA range because I meant 4E-range. That means that the allies can support all operations in the area with the untouchable deathstar (a 100 4E airfield attack).

It is 9/43. Actually THE ONLY tough bomber currently is B17. B29 are still not in production. They will be at 4/44.

The base is also inside fighter ferry-range, meaning that the allies can constantly replace all fighter losses.

Those fighters must first fly from OPEN base. Allies can close Japan airbases? Well, Japan can also. Two can play that game. Is it level 4? That needs 50+(4*5)=70. Less than 70% damage.

This battle will be decided in a week, maybe two...if it goes to extremes, say a month. What will decide this is aircraft in the reserve pool, composition and location of forces, avaliable supply, distance to replenishment facilities.

Decided in what way? Japan will suddenly lose all bases around Timor? In two weeks? Or maybe it will lose all planes, and will be unable to replace them? Battle is next door to Japan raw material sources. They have enough fuel, and supply there. The ONLY Allied advantage is more transport ships.

my point is that the right way to handle this situation is not to throw everything into a Hail-Mary-counterattack. Especially not since the KB is more or less a one-shot weapon at this point in time.

Thats because you think, that THE ONLY way to resolve this situation is to throw KB into action. Nope, this is not counterattack we are talking about.

I compare the situation to give the readers a mental image of what the situation is like. But you are correct in that there is a huge difference between D-day and this battle. At D-day, Germany actually had fighters that could stand up to and go toe-to-toe with the allied airforce. Japan does not have that.

Its 9/43. TONY b/c just entered production. TOJO IIb, and GEORGE are in production for a while. And Japan can easily afford to get 1:2 exchange in fighters. Latest engagements are not showing any Allied fighters advantage, right?

It is most certainly not impossible to stop an invasion at the beach. There are countless of examples of invasion fleets slaughtered on the way to the invasion beach, or having the unloading disrupted by night surface action etc.

That is contrary to your earlier statement about D-Day. Germany had no air assets to attack invasion fleet, and their local sea-force were just some PT boats.

Allied fighters will operate at range 0, allied 4Es will operate inside normal range. And again you are basing your post on the assumption that allied CVs will leave the area.

Night naval bombardment can go with CVs still present. They already lost 1/3rd of fighters. Morale dropped sufficiently, so Japan can bombard base with enough escort. Japan can easily provide this escort, and enough bombers to close airfield 3 times in one turn.

That means you are basing your suggestions/ideas on the very shaky notion that when the KB arrives it will sail victorious from the carrier clash that presumably follows. This is late 43. Allied CVs have Hellcats. The writing is on the wall. A 1-1 exchange is something that Japan should be very happy to achieve.

I am afraid Japan have enough anti-ship planes, to get Allied CVs from land. KB is just needed to chase retreating ships. How many HELLCATs should be shot down, to try attack from ONE land base? Or 2? Or 5? Or 15?

ORIGINAL: Tullius
Are the replacement rates for AC historically correct ? In the game the US forces become ca. 4000 Hellcats. But until 11/45 12,275 Hellcats were built. Even when you substract 2.000 planes for the British forces there is still a gap of 6000 planes. Alone in March 1945 606 Hellcat -5/-5N were delivered. That was also the peak. In the game the player will receive only 223.

I can see 7000-8000 different HELLCATs models, including NFs, and British version. Those not include planes which arrives onboard CVs.

ORIGINAL: janh
I read that the Japanese produced about 70,000 planes during WW2, while losses amounted to 40,000 (I believe it was a source cited in a wiki article). In AE they produce a lot less (by rough estimate), and if you look at the recent Stoneage-Spruance AAR, also the losses will consequently be a lot lower (even taking into account that "their war" was a year shorter). Maybe the above numbers were wrong by a factor >>2, but they sound not too unreasonable. Anyone having any idea where the discrepancy is coming from?

There are lot (and I mean LOT) of weird Kamikaze models arriving in 1945. They are not produced, but arrive with their squadrons. As you can see, also in this AAR, players are unwilling to fight long air wars for attrition, so the result is far smaller loses.

[pat.casey]

ORIGINAL: Tullius

They are available from 4/43, at 130 per month.

Are the replacement rates for AC historically correct ? In the game the US forces become ca. 4000 Hellcats. But until 11/45 12,275 Hellcats were built. Even when you substract 2.000 planes for the British forces there is still a gap of 6000 planes. Alone in March 1945 606 Hellcat -5/-5N were delivered. That was also the peak. In the game the player will receive only 223.

I think the numbers are historically accurate in that the represent actual deliveries to the pacific theatre.
In a broader sense, however, they're not historically accurate because given different operational requirements and attrition rates, American industry was certainly capable of deploying *many* more aircraft into the pacific theatre.

Given an ahistorical war, I'd expect ahistorical aircraft deliveries to the pacific theatre.

The balancing challenge though is that the game rarely mirrors the historical war, while allied production is slaved to the historical schedule.

[Tullius]

Some squadrons come later with Hellcats so that they can fill the gap. But i still think that there are not enough. When the japanese side can not produce the correct number of AC then the allied side should be proportional adjusted. It is perhaps worth to consider that after the introduction of a new model some planes are also placed immediately in the pool. In the game the first Hellcats are availabe at 4/43 (which is reasonable). The production started already in 10/1942. The first squadrons had Hellcats in January (but they were still USA) and the first combat with Hellcats was in summer.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: PzB


I haven't spotted US CVEs yet Ken, no Wildcats on CAP and no ships spotted by recon nearby.
Another question is how many replacement Hellcats that are available to Allies in 09/43.

Plenty. [;)]

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Panzerjaeger Hortlund

... its late 43, not early 42.

Exactly. Allied divisions at this point are worth much more than IJ divisions. Go into Tracker and look at the anti-soft and anti-hard values of the squads.

Not to mention the massive artillery support that the average American 43 division has.

[Tullius]

Germany had no air assets to attack invasion fleet, and their local sea-force were just some PT boats.

BTW Germany had only 2 planes in the landing area. That was the complete Air Force.

[PsB]

There were so many titles I could think of for this post: JFB nightmare; decisive battle in technicolor; now i am literally crying; death from above, and below; restricted to mature audiences. I believe allied offensive potential, has ended this game. I think i will resign.

I will cover this action and its outcome in several posts, but here is the initial report everyone has been waiting for.

I have edited out lots of the CR. But there were critical portions I wanted to keep in to provide both you an myself with vital intelligence.

Contrary to expectations, the allies decided to press ahead with their invasion. They have landed six additional divisions and numerous supporting troops all over the islands! I was taken by complete surprise.
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Sub attack

Japanese Ships
SS I-22, hits 6

Allied Ships
CVE Breton
DE Rathburne

SS I-22 launches 8 torpedoes at CVE Breton

DARN MISSED!

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Sub attack

Japanese Ships
SS I-26

Allied Ships
CVE Copahee
DE Rathburne

SS I-26 launches 6 torpedoes at CVE Copahee

MISSED AGAIN!
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Morning Air attack on TF
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 18
A6M5 Zero x 45
A6M5b Zero x 12
B6N1 Jill x 17
B6N2 Jill x 22
D4Y1 Judy x 68

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 7
FM-1 Wildcat x 21
F4U-1 Corsair x 127
F4U-1A Corsair x 23
F6F-3 Hellcat x 173

Allied Ships
CL Denver
BB Indiana, Bomb hits 1
BB Washington
CV Bunker Hill, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CV Pago Pago
CV Essex, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Montpelier
BB Massachusetts, Bomb hits 1
BB North Carolina

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 52
A6M5c Zero x 7
B6N1 Jill x 21
B6N2 Jill x 53
B6N2a Jill x 13
D4Y1 Judy x 44

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 146

Allied Ships
CVE Corregidor
BB West Virginia
CVE Anzio
BB Maryland
CVE Santee
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 1
BB Colorado
CL Richmond
CLAA San Diego
AKA Jupiter
CLAA Atlanta
CVE Natoma Bay
CLAA Juneau
CL Detroit
CLAA San Juan

Allied Return Strike
this was coming from his carriers. They hit everything!, they have inflicted heavy damage on my fighters.

This strike is from the fleet carriers
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Morning Air attack
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 44 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 26
A6M5 Zero x 75
A6M5b Zero x 17
A6M5c Zero x 35
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 36

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 94
SBD-5 Dauntless x 144
TBF-1 Avenger x 154

Japanese Ships
I will post a screen shot of the damage later. At this point i think the entire force will sink.
CV Taiho, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CV Kasagi, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
CV Ikoma, Bomb hits 16, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CVL Chiyoda, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVL Chitose, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
CL Kitakami, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Fumizuki, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Hatsukaze, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Kuroshio, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Makigumo, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DD Takanami, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
DD Onami, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk


Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 14
A6M5 Zero x 86
A6M5b Zero x 12
A6M5c Zero x 24
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 14

Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 6

Japanese Ships
CVL Chiyoda, and is sunk

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Morning Air attack
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 6
A6M5 Zero x 47
A6M5b Zero x 7
A6M5c Zero x 20
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 12

Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 8

Japanese Ships
CVL Zuiho, heavy fires


Goodbye cripples
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Morning Air attack
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 10
D4Y3 Judy x 22

Allied Ships
CV Wasp, Bomb hits 1
CV Lexington
DD Beale
DD Bache
DD Charles Ausburne
DD Aulick

[Xxzard]

Near Ponape?

[PzB74]

Who's the monkey that's impersonating me? PsB?
This is going on report wise cracker!