桜 転落する. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

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1275psi
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by 1275psi »

ORIGINAL: kaleun

昭和 17 1月五日
Day 5

フィリピン諸島

Chujo Homma Masaharu considered the city of Manila to the southeast. In the distance, the sun shone on Manila bay and he could see the island fortress of Corregidor with its powerful guns closing the entrance to the harbor.
In front of him, sitting around a field desk, sat his aide de camp, waiting for his orders.

Preliminary reports indicate the presence of 9 enemy units in the Bataan peninsula versus 28 in Manila. A small force still occupies Subic Bay.

“Our intelligence seems to have been mistaken,” Homma mutters, “It seems they are not following that orenji war plan of theirs.”

“We shall take Bataan first, eliminate those forces, and then take Manila.”

“Hai!”

“Begin bombing Bataan and Manila, we need to keep them from working on their defenses.”

The assistant began to draft the necessary orders.

Elsewhere, Ocean Island with its phosphate deposits and Batangas are captured.

広島

“Ito-san, It seems we have some extra capacity in our naval shipyards.”

Hai, some ships have left the yards and are finishing fitting out for sea.”

Yamashita pores over the shipyard build schedule.

“Let’s accelerate Junyo and Hiyo then and restart those two subchasers, 25 and 27. I feel it in my guts that we are going to need many of those subhunters, before this war is over.”



E class my friend...........the E class.........you can beat the SS menace if you
a/ all tankers into mega convoys, with a CVE escort and no less than 8 other escorts....
b accelerate the E clas
c/ did I mention, build as many E class as you can[:)]
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by PaxMondo »

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

a/ all tankers into mega convoys, with a CVE escort and no less than 8 other escorts....
b accelerate the E clas
c/ did I mention, build as many E class as you can[:)]
+1

many of the IJ SC's are slower than the USN SS ... you need the E's. They are cheap to accelerate ... boost them all as soon as you can. You can use those couple of slow CS's for escort as well. With Jake's on board and good pilots, I find them better than the CVE's for convoy ASW duty.
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by kaleun »

All E class that can be accelerated at this time have been. I also plan to convert anything that can be converted to E class.
Thanks for the tip on the CS.
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by PaxMondo »

ORIGINAL: kaleun

All E class that can be accelerated at this time have been. I also plan to convert anything that can be converted to E class.
Thanks for the tip on the CS.
The CS is always a tough decision for me, and I suspect all IJ players. They can convert to CVL's ... not good ones, but they can. For me, the CS with Jakes, and then Norms, are really good NavSearch platforms that I then don't have to 'waste' TB on. OTOH, if I convert, I get more TB's.

Generally i do not convert the slower CS's and keep them for ASW/NavSearch. The faster Chitose class? It depends ... every game its different for me.

Good Luck!
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by kaleun »

昭和 17 2月四日

Day 4

Battle of Gili Gili part I

Rabaul

An enemy task force had been reported approaching and in the vicinity of Milne Bay. Kido Butai ordered to steam at full speed from Truk to intercept. Expected to arrive on station by the afternoon.

The battle begins, as aeronaval battles often do by a single radio report. A succession of dots and dashes. A Mavis flying boat reports 3 enemy ships near GiliGili, class unknown.

That is enough for the air commander at Rabaul. 14 G4M1 Hamaki, escorted by 20 A6M2 Reisen fighters launch. They launch their torpedoes at two enemy ships that are now clearly identified: The heavy cruiser Australia and her escort, the destroyer Voyager.

A new raid launches in the afternoon. 16 Hamaki and 20 fighters. Once again, the attack fails miserably but one more ship is spotted, xAP Sarpedonia.

But in the afternoon, another player is in range. VAdm Nagumo Chuichi orders Kido Butai to launch. The results are definite, disastrous for the enemy.
55 Reisen fighters escort 109 B5N2 level bombers and 101 D3A1 dive bombers. With the enemy position well determined by the cigars, the enemy is smoked.


CL Adelaide, Bomb hits 1
CM Bungaree, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
CA Australia, Bomb hits 6, on fire
DD Vampire
DD Voyager
xAP Rangitata, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Maori, Bomb hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Rangitiki, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
CL Hobart, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CA Canberra, Bomb hits 1
xAP Sarpedonia
xAK Cycle, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires

Only one dive bomber was destroyed by the enemy AA fire and 13 damaged.

Back in Rabaul and on the carriers, pilots rest and mechanics work throughout the night.
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by kaleun »

昭和 17 2月五日

Day 5

The Rabaul based Hamaki miss xAP Sarpedonia again today. Both the morning and afternoon raids fail to score a single hit despite the absence of enemy fighters and the ineffective AA fire. Their shame is abated only by the absence of the KB planes that, inexplicably, failed to attack.

広島
FROM: Ministry of Armaments and Production
TO: Maebashi Nakajima engine plant
CC: Prime minister Tojo.

Effective immediately double capacity and production of Nakajima Ha 34 engine. 1000 tonnes of supplies, and the appropriate amount of metals and manpower have been assigned to this project.

Signed:

Yamashita.


昭和 17 2月六日

Day 6

Milne Bay

The task force steamed into the bay at night, they did not attempt to hide their presence; radio silence their only attempt at stealth.

There was no honor in this battle, not for the kaigun. The Royal Navy found glory.

BB Hiei, Kirishima, CA Tone, Aoba and Kinugasa, and DD Kasumi entered the bay opening fire at 9000 yards. The enemy destroyer, Voyager tried to screen the transport as best she could, but a rapid barrage scored 16 hits and the brave little ship foundered leaving xAP Sarpedonia unprotected. The transport sunk after 21 direct hits.
Voyager did score twice on Kirishima, once on Kinugasa and once on Kasumi.

Port Sweetenham in Malaya and Puerto Princesa in the Philippines were captured today.


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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by Lowpe »

ORIGINAL: kaleun


An enemy task force had been reported approaching and in the vicinity of Milne Bay. Kido Butai ordered to steam at full speed from Truk to intercept. Expected to arrive on station by the afternoon.

Be careful with the full speed runs with the KB, really with any IJN forces. It uses up so much fuel...you can do it, just be stingy.

Good going so far. Good luck.

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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by kaleun »

Thanks Lowpe.
More than the fuel it's the wear and tear. Japanese ships wear and tear at an amazing rate just at mission speed. At full speed they self destruct faster than by encountering the enemy[X(]
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by kaleun »

昭和 17 2月十日
Day 10

At Johore Bahru, the 18th Infantry Division is reconstituted.

At Truk, KB assesses damage. While the ships themselves suffered from no enemy action, the sprint down to Gili caused maintenance issues that cannot be solved at Truk. Reluctantly, Nagumo orders KB back to Japan.

Hiryu, 7systems 3 engine damage, Soryu 5 and 3, Shokaku 1 and 1, Akagi 3 and 1, Hiei 8 and 1 and BB Kirishima 5 and 3.

Nagumo is tempted to leave Shokaku and Kaga behind but caution is the better part of valor. Left behind these two carriers would be tempted to engage the enemy and could easily fall into a trap. No, far better to have KB return to the home islands, repair as needed and come back to Truk intact.

Kaga, on the other hand is really too slow to steam with KB. She is detached and sent to Babeldoab to join up with Shoho and reinforce Ni Kido Butai.

フィリピン諸島

Homma observes the big ships enter Manila Bay unhindered. It was a great move to take Bataan and the batteries at Corregidor before attempting Manila. Hyuga, Ise, Fuso and Nagato bombard the city. Shipping in port is savaged but, what’s more important, the defenders are suppressed, disorganized, demoralized, by the huge naval artillery barrage.

In the morning, Homma orders a deliberate attack on the enemy positions. The city falls. In the harbor an estimated six thousand tons of fuel and four thousand of supplies are captured.

All the engineers on the islands are ordered to move to Manila to repair the shipyard, port and airfield and everything else.

The soldiers are ordered to rest, except for a special naval landing force dispatched to deal with a single, lone AA unit that withdrew east.



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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by kaleun »

昭和 17 2月十三日
Day 13

Enemy carrier aircraft raid Ocean and Nauru Islands. KB, en route to the Home Islands is too far away to react.

Successful SS I-1 commander Kanzaki H ordered to return to Tokyo to resupply repair and refit. His patrol resulted in an enemy destroyer Ward sunk, and two TK, Sunadmiral and Halo sunk off the enemy West Coast.

SS I-28 under LCDR Kudo Sunshaku has been ordered to move off Santa Catalina and SS I-5 ordered to move further west after coming under ASW attack earlier today.

昭和 17 2月十四日
Day 14

40 miles to the East of Oosthaven SS I-162 under the command of Cdr Ikeda, O, attacks TK Basilea. Ikeda fires four torpedoes and scores with one of them. Later in the day, I-162 receives her recall signal ordering her to Manila for repairs. System damage 10, flotation damage 6 and engine 4.
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by Lowpe »

Americans being aggressive with the CVs early...an opportunity for you somewhere.

Good work in Manila...he newer should have attacked you there. What in the world was he thinking?
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by kaleun »

The smart move is to sit out the early war and wait but we both agreed to play more historically. The US public would not have accepted such a defensive stance with their carriers.
Indeed, the raid he carried out earlier against Wake was quite similar to one that the US Navy did and that the Japanese unfortunately thought would herald a landing on the lightly held island. As a result they executed the Marine POWs they had taken.
A tragic unintended consequence.
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by kaleun »

昭和 17 2月十五日
Day 15

広島

People congregate to see the mighty fleet enter the harbor at Hiroshima. Though unannounced, news travel fast and a huge crowd line the approaches to the harbor waving little paper flags and cheering.

The old man in charge of the repair shipyard assigns ships to their berths. He does not need to be told what the priorities are. The aircraft carriers come first, everything else, second.

Kongo will remain at pierside, with her own men, and whatever assistance the harbor can provide, working on her systems damage. Her 8 points of flotation damage will wait until the carriers are finished with the shipyard.

Akagi will also repair tied up to the dock. Her damage can be repaired in 8 days. Hiryu will remain at readiness, her 7 points of system and 2 of engine damage will take 7 days to repair. Soryu’s 5, Shokaku 3 and Zuikaku one.

CA Furutaka, with DD Hamakaze, Tamikaze and Arare will proceed to Kobe and repair there.

Meanwhile, orders are given to step up research of the Kawasaki Ha-60 engine.
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RE: —@ ÜžÂ䤹¤ë. Falling Cherry Blossoms. No CrackSabbath

Post by kaleun »

昭和 17 2月十七日
Day 17

広島

“Ahem.”

Ito Kobayashi clears his throat to call the attention of his superior, minister Yamashita Carl.

Kobayashi-san, nani desu ka?

Kobayashi is reluctant to voice his message and finally, simply hands over a simple sheet of paper with the aircraft and engine production and stock figures. On the arid grid of models and numbers a line is circled with red pencil.

Mitsubishi Ha32 Pool 7, Used 302, Produced yesterday 4, Month to date 86, Rate 144 x(2)

Sumimasen.” He says.

Yamashita glances at the figures, he shows no surprise. Indeed he has been watching the stock of this vital engine drop, for a month.

“Stop production of Ki-21-IIa bombers until stocks accumulate,” he orders.

“What will general Tojo say?” Kobayashi asks.

“I will handle him, when he calls.”

Yamashita-san, when Tojo’s aide calls, what shall I say?”

“Tell him that there are 67 Ki 21-IIa and 45 Ic in the pools, and the army hasn’t been using them that much. Production will restart if those numbers drop. Also tell him that we’ve increased the research on the Kawasaki Ha-60, he’ll like that, and increased production of the Nakajima Ha-34. That will placate them.”


Off San Francisco, an anti submarine task force led by DMS Lamberton locates SS I-20 and forces her deep.

The submarine evades her pursuers and returns to periscope depth only to find an American destroyer, DD King, dead ahead, steaming oblivious to the submarine lurking nearby. SS I-20 fires 2 torpedoes. One hits home. I-20 leaves the scene, undetected.

North of Pearl Harbor, CM Oglala meets her date with destiny, or, more accurately, with SS I-23 who hits the minelayer with two torpedoes.

On day 18 SS I-21 will find xAK Cagou, unescorted, off San Luis Obispo. On the surface, the submarine attacks, scoring one hit with a torpedo and one with her deck cannon.

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Battle of Gili Gili part 2

Post by kaleun »

昭和 17 2月二十日
Day 20


広島
Yamashita-san,” Kobayashi seems happy today, “Manila harbor has been repaired entirely, the shipyard is functioning again. Also, Tarakan reports oilfield and refinery completely repaired.”

Domo, Kobayashi-san, good news indeed.”



ラバウル

The ensign enters the IJN commanding officer Rabaul, stands at attention and gives a crisp salute, or at least a salute as crisp as can be given in the tropical heat and 100% humidity of the base.

“Sir, two enemy task forces spotted near Milne Bay,” he hands the flimsy to his commander.

So desu-ka?”

Hai. Sir, two carriers have been reported.”

The Japanese admiral smiles.

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RE: Battle of Gili Gili part 2

Post by kaleun »

昭和 17 2月二十一日
Day 21

Battle of Gili Gili, part 2

ラバウル

“Sir, SS I-8 reports firing 6 torpedoes at enemy carrier, Enterprise, sir, south of Milne Bay. all missed.”

“Launch the bombers.”

The G3M2 twin engine bomber is the older of the two land based bombers that the Kaigun uses. It is easily distinguished from the newer Hamaki, by its narrower fuselage and its twin tails. It is already obsolete but, like her newer sister, it is a deadly ship killer.

3G3M2 and 15 A6M2 fighters fly at 11 thousand feet searching for the enemy fleet. They meet instead 40 F4F fighters. In the resulting melee, 2 Zero-sen and 2 G3M2 bombers are destroyed and one F4F-3A tumbles in flames from the sky.

The G4M1 bomber is the newer model, intended to replace the G3M2 bomber as the IJN’s main land based bomber. It can carry a torpedo for a prodigious distance. The crews call her Hamaki, cigar, due to the shape of its fuselage. Americans call her Betty, due to the prominent bulges on her sides that reminded a young American intelligence officer of the rotund curves of a certain homonymous nurse. She also, is a deadly ship killer, despite a tendency to catch fire when fired upon.

5 cigars show up, escorted by 10 zero-sen. 11 F4F come up to intercept and destroy 2 bombers. BB Warspite gets a third with her AA. The raid leaves, unable to get close enough to attack.

But the day is not over.

In the early afternoon, 10 G3M2 and 15 A6M2 find the task force and barrel in. The bombers drop from 16 thousand feet to skim the waves at 200. The 19 F4F fighters on CAP are caught out of position but manage to destroy 3 fighters and damage 5 bombers. Nevertheless, all the bombers attack. BB Warspite destroys one of them with her AA but the rest release their fish. Warspite evades all the torpedoes, but one.

Now 13 unescorted Hamaki appear at 13 thousand feet. 8 F4F rush to intercept, destroy 2 cigars and damage 4. One more falls to Warspite flak, but one torpedo scores on the battleship. The surviving aircraft return to Rabaul leaving her on fire.
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RE: Battle of Gili Gili part 2

Post by Lowpe »

Good flying...light losses considering the CAP -- early war pilots aren't as deadly yet.

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RE: Battle of Gili Gili part 2

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昭和 17 2月二十二日

Day 22

SS I-8
The massive enemy ship steams, blacked out, through the night, a dark shape, visible only where she obscures the stars on the horizon and, at her bow, where the faint phosphorescence of the tropical seas provides a splash of green, iridescent light. Commander Fukada remains on the bridge, on the surface as he cons his ship, almost invisible. He will not make the same mistake today. He will not suffer the shame of reporting yet another failure. He will get close, close, closer.

“Fire one, two, continue firing by stopwatch!”

Hai.”

Even before the last torpedo leaves its tube, Fukada has dropped into the bowels of the A1 class submarine and ordered her to crash dive. One unmistakable torpedo explosion rattles the sub’s hull.

No, he will not report a failure today.

Overhead, on the surface, two angry destroyers attempt to find the enemy sub. Attempt and fail.

ラバウ

“Sir, I-8 reports torpedo hit on Yorktown,” the ensign beams as if he had commanded the successful submarine himself.

“Launch the bombers.”

9 G3M2 and 9 G4M1 with an escort of 35 A6M2 Zero-sen find Warspite near Milne Bay. 6 F4F succumb to the Japanese fighters succeeding only in damaging 5 G3M2 and 6 cigars, at a cost of 2 allied fighters splashed. The bombers rush at Warspite and score 4 torpedo hits. The old battleship is doomed.

6 Hamaki with 8 Zero-sen come in later in the morning. They encounter 10 enemy fighters and lose only one Zero. The bombers line up to attack the battleship and CL Ceres standing by, but in a ball of fire and smoke, the battleship rolls over and sinks in front of their cheering eyes.

One more raid, 40 Zero, 11 cigars and 2 G3M2 approach CV Enterprise in the early afternoon. They meet 21 fighters, lose one Zero and suffer 2 G4M1 damaged, destroy 2 enemy fighters but, exhausted, the bombers miss the carrier.


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RE: Battle of Gili Gili part 2

Post by kaleun »

昭和 17 2月二十四日
Day 24

広島

Kobayashi-san, send this message out to general Tojo, Admiral Yamamoto and all the other referenced parties, kudasai.”

Kobayashi picks up the message and takes it to the signals section for processing.

FROM: Minister of Munitions and Supply.
RE: Aircraft production and research

Current stocks of Zero-sen fighters and B5N2 level bombers stand at 111 and 106 respectively. This far exceeds current needs thus will temporarily suspend production of both types so as to increase stocks of Nakajima-Ha35 engines.

Harbin aircraft factory will be expanded and will convert to produce Ki 44 II Shoki as soon as the new type is ready for production in June. Until then will continue to produce Ki 27b to use existing stocks of Nakajima Kotobuki engines. The Ki 27b type is a very adequate training aircraft and also functions well in the combat role over China.
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RE: Battle of Gili Gili part 2

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Banzai!
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