War in the Pacific AAR Thread: ML (Japan) vs. Leo (Allies)

Molon Labe · 12-12-23, 05:21 PM

14 April 1942

CENTPAC
An AKL the was presumably evacuated from Pago when the KB drew close was sunk by one of my subs when it tried to return to port. Night surface gun/torpedo attack.
Recon aircraft are now surveilling Fiji, standing by for force estimates.

China

He's trying to be sneaky around Kokong, thinking he can take it back from me while I'm trying to grab Kanshien. I will have to pull back a bit but I think this ends with me taking Kanshien anyways while he sends troops into the meat grinder for me. I've adjusted bomber assignments to try to slow down the troops approaching from the northwest just in case.

Part of his adjustment here was calling five bombers in to hit by troops between the two bases, so I'm pulling some fighters into LRCAP duties over the troops.

Bay of Bengal

My carriers attempted a limited strike on a minesweeper displaced during the shelling of Cochin, but missed. 2 Hurricanes were on patrol but no aircraft were lost in the skirmish.

16 Blenheims hit our troops in Colombo, which somehow weren't covered by an LRCAP. I'll fix that tomorrow obviously. Fortunately this raid was ineffective.

Industry

A little snag with Nick deployments--very few fighter units are eligible to receive them, just bomber squadrons for the most part. So I might be transitioning some of the light bomber units--currently assigned to ASW duty--to fulfill the ASUW/interceptor role. Which then means I'd have to pull medium bombers from ground support missions to fulfill the ASW role, or I'd just have to pay political points to pull training units to frontline service. Nothing insurmountable, just tedious.

Molon Labe · 12-13-23, 10:16 AM

15 April 1942
Recon reveals significant fighter presence on Fiji; American subs beginning patrols in Luzon Strait?

Luzon Strait
USS Drum hit a troop-carrying cargo ship with a torpedo at night in the Luzon Strait--fortunately, a dud. I believe this is the first time I've seen an enemy sub here since my conquest of Luzon concluded, so this may indicate a strategy shift away from trying to use subs as naval combattants and more towards the traditional anti-merchant role.

I've been gradually moving ASW assets towards places where his subs have actually been appearing, so due to the lack of subs in the Luzon Strait, ASW coverage here is relatively light for the moment--pretty decent air patrols but no surface assets. I'm about to have four subchasers complete their deep-water depth charge refits in Singapore, so they'll be headed here. I have already-upgraded SCs operating off Cam Rahn Bay and in the Makassar Strait that I could pull if I need to, but so far both of those areas have had more frequent enemy sub patrols.

China
I successfully CAP-trapped the enemy bombers that tried to interdict my troops near Kahnsien yesterday (and again today), splashing 2 SB-IIIs and 1 Husdon. 2 bombers made it through to the target but missed.

The Chinese got a single I-16 fighter up over Sian, which was felled by Oscars escorting my bomber packages.

Bay of Bengal
Speaking of CAP traps, we kind of got away with one in the channel between India and Sri Lanka as we attacked a wayward minesweeper with Betties. They had 14 Hurricanes flying cover over it, while our escort was just 9 Zeroes. We ended up killing the AM while shooting down 2 Hurricanes, with the loss of just 1 Zero.

The main motivation for having these Betties on naval attack orders right now is that recon is reporting a heavy cruiser present in Colombo, and we've had little to no success with port strikes due to heavy flak. We're probably going to take Colombo in a matter of days, though, which means that cruiser is about to make a run for it, and when it does, I want my Betties to pounce.

I've added to the number of Oscars flying out of Trincomalee so that I can resume sweeps of Cochin to try to reduce those Hurricane numbers, but weather scrubbed the sweep ordered for today.

A probing attack on Colombo shows we have about 3x their strength, not enough to make this easy but enough to get started. We attack tomorrow.

CENTPAC
Recon of Fiji shows 45 fighters, 17 bombers (probably dive bombers, standard dive bomber squadron size is 18) and a CA in port. So, another force concentration like Pago.

Upgrades and reinforcements
All 4 Chidori-class torpedo boats have completed their conversion to Kaibokans at Saigon. Two will be delivering militarized merchant ships to SOPAC as we'll need these ships more with the amphibious bonus having expired. The other two are reporting to Palembang where they will relieve destroyers and DMSs from tanker escort duty.

5th Ku S-1 arrives at Takao (2/9 Rufes, unrestricted - we're producing these very slowly so it will be awhile before this gets to strength. They're eligible to upgrade to A6M5s so this is potentially a useful small Betty escort unit in the future)
38th Sentai arrives at Sapporo - (2/27 Dinah recon aircraft ,restricted - a very useful pickup because I need more recon training, although I'm a little short on aircraft to give them because I reduced Dinah production to stockpile engines.)
94th Sentai arrives at Tokyo (2/27 Sally - restricted unit, more bomber training doesn't hurt, especially if I'm going to need to purchase some of my bomber training units to use as Nick squadrons on the frontline)

Ostfriese · 12-13-23, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Molon Labe

Industry

A little snag with Nick deployments--very few fighter units are eligible to receive them, just bomber squadrons for the most part. So I might be transitioning some of the light bomber units--currently assigned to ASW duty--to fulfill the ASUW/interceptor role. Which then means I'd have to pull medium bombers from ground support missions to fulfill the ASW role, or I'd just have to pay political points to pull training units to frontline service. Nothing insurmountable, just tedious.

This actually doesn't surprise me, as the Nick (Ki-45) was a twin engined heavy fighter, like the P-38 Lightning or the BF 110. I was already wondering about this when you mentioned the Nick first, a few days ago. If it's modelled correctly in the game it should be inferior to contemporary single-engined fighters.

Molon Labe · 12-13-23, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ostfriese

This actually doesn't surprise me, as the Nick (Ki-45) was a twin engined heavy fighter, like the P-38 Lightning or the BF 110. I was already wondering about this when you mentioned the Nick first, a few days ago. If it's modelled correctly in the game it should be inferior to contemporary single-engined fighters.

I've been warned on Discord that the Nick will get its ass handed to it by most fighters, and that was my experience in the last campaign. But, the Nick's performance against bombers was impressive enough that I took notice--well worth a higher attrition rate against ordinary fighters, given just how much of a problem American heavy bombers are for Japan. Heavy bombers were essential to my campaign for their ability to disable airbases and bomb troop concentrations into submission. I could usually maintain acceptable losses against Zeroes or Oscars, but against Nicks those losses were unsustainable. Frequently, the only aircraft I had with enough range to clear the Nicks out were P-38s, and the Allies just don't get enough of them to be able to sustain a lot of losses there. So I think the key to beating the heavy bombers is, first, to build and deploy enough Nicks to sustain inevitable attrition, and also to bait those P-38s into losing fights against Oscars and Tojos.

Molon Labe · 12-13-23, 04:18 PM

Where are the Carriers? (through December 1942 arrivals)

United States Navy
Lexington - In service. Participated in raid on Luganville 27-28 January 42 and Marshalls 23 February 1942, both with Enterprise. Upgrades due 3/42 (27 days), 6/42 (30 days), 10/42 (21 days), 1/44 (21 days), 1/45 (17 days).

Saratoga - Probably in service. Torpedoed by I-9, scoring two hits on 6 January 42. Estimated repair time 2-3 months.

Yorktown - Likely under repair after being hit by airdropped torpedo on 26 February 42 during attempted raid on Wake/Marshalls. Believed to be the carrier chased by subs from Pearl to Alameda from 19-27 March 42. Potentially back in service by now (15 April 1942). Upgrades due 4/42 (7 days--Assume completed), 7/42 (10 days), 10/42 (21 days), 10/43 (21 days).

Enterprise - Participated in raid on Luganville 27-28 January 1942 and raid on Marshalls 23 February 1942, both with Lexington.

Hornet - entered PACFLEET around 11 March. May have been sighted at Pearl Harbor 10 April 42.

---
Long Island - 21 May 42
Wasp - due 10 Jun 42
Copahee 15 Aug 42
Nassau 15 Oct 42
Prince William 23 Oct 42
Altamaha 27 Oct 42
Chenango 15 Dec 42
Sangamon 15 Dec 42
Suwanee 15 Dec 42

Royal Navy
Hermes - in service

Indomitable - in service

Formidable - believed sunk in Battle of Bengal Bay, 1 April 1942, 3 torpedo hits and a bomb hit delivered by Kates.

Illustrious - entering service 28 April 42 ish.

Molon Labe · 12-14-23, 09:38 AM

16 April 1942
HMS Enterprise finished off--for sure this time--with significant loss of Betties

Bay of Bengal
The cruiser sheltering in Colombo made a run for it today, and it turned out to be the Enterprise, which had taken at least one torpedo and five bombs in previous combat. She didn't get far and was hit by a Betty raid at sunrise. But, that pesky bomber-to-fighter coordination issue happened. 13 Betties flew without escorts, running into 15 Hurricanes on patrol. I lost 12 of those, the sole survivor took a shot at Enterprise and missed. The attempts that followed had Zeroes escorting as intended--which got 2 Zeroes shot down--but also got us a torpedo hit on the cruiser, then Kates flew from my carriers (also with Zeroes), to score 4 bomb hits on it for a confirmed sinking.

We made our first attack on Colombo, reducing forts to Level 2 with slightly better than 1 to 1 assault odds. Combat squads destroyed/disabled favored the enemy at 160 to 116. Good thing I landed the extra division, I'd rather not try to make up the difference with airpower here.

Sweeps of Cochin failed to fly--these likely would have reduced the numbers of fighters protecting Enterprise if they'd flown.

China
The enemy is still flying his bombers to Kanhsien--two more downed.
And our troops captured Kanhsien, destroyed devices 1 to 234.

CENTPAC
Scout aircraft are spotting some surface combattants in and around Fiji. I'm moving the KB south to see if I can get a shot at one of these task forces tomorrow.

Ordered sweep of Suva, Fiji scrubbed by weather for a 2nd straight day.

Reinforcements
14th Ku T-1 arrives at Kwajalein Island - a very welcome Mavis MPA unit
13th Air Flotilla arrives at Hamamatsu - restricted airHQ, might purchase later

Molon Labe · 12-16-23, 11:31 PM

17 April 1942
Attrition at Fiji and Cochin without real progress; Sian Roadblock defeated

SOPAC/CENTPAC
A night raid by B-17s destroyed a Zero on the ground at Noumea. Looks like I need to have fighters flying at night...

The KB's heavy covering force ran into an AKL north of Fiji and sank it. This may have been a picket ship. This move by the KB is intended to get between Fiji and Pago Pago to try to get airstrikes on task forces in between, and outside the large CAP umbrellas of both bases...

...which didn't work out. I messed up the settings on one of my Kate squadrons, so it went to attack a cruiser spotted right at Suva, Fiji. That small strike ran into the large CAP as expected. I lost 7 Zeroes and 9 Kates in that engagement while shooting down just 3 P-39s, and we didn't even hit the cruiser. And of course, my ordered Sweep of Suva failed to fly for a 3rd straight day. Had this flown it might have cleared out those fighters before the strike.

But it wasn't all bad news. The I-16 attacked the oiler Neosho at Pago Pago, hitting it with a torpedo and turning the fuel-laden ship into an inferno.

Another sub tried to deliver a midget sub into Pago Pago, the SSX was lost.

Bay of Bengal/India
The sweep of Cochin did fly, but we just broke even at 4 fighters each side.

China
The Sian Roadblock (formerly the Sinyang Stack) has been defeated again, for what must be at least the fourth time by now. Destroyed devices 1496 to 4. A few units didn't rout with the rest, so we'll need to spend another day clearing them out.

R&D
All A6M5 Zero R&D plants are up and running with the 500-engine bonus secured. At the current rate of progress, I expect to be able to produce the M5 in October 1942.

Molon Labe · 12-18-23, 09:11 AM

18 April 1942
HMS Indomitable torpedoed off Perth; Suva sweep finally performed as ordered... but we lose

West Australian Coast
I-158 hit the HMS Indomitable with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired in a spread, setting of an aviation fuel explosion and setting the ship on fire. The I-158 only reported one escorting destroyer, which it evaded with little difficulty. The damage doesn't appear bad enough to sink her, and there were no telllate reports of naval aircraft taking ops or ground losses en masse, so she's not down yet. I expect she'll either continue to Perth to get patched up, or will retreat west to get off-map and eventually to Cape Town. Either way, she's probably out of action for something like 4 months, and either way, there's a chance for me to finish her off in the coming days.

SOPAC
The sweeps of Fiji finally fly after 3 consecutive scrubbed missions. The enemy Wall of Fighters holds pretty well, downing 9 of my Zeroes while we take down only 2 P-40s and 2 P-39s. I think I really need to pay close attention to my pilot training to make sure I'm not compromising on anything if I'm going to be doing sweeps like these. Nothing less than elite is working anymore. I also sent this group in at 20k feet, a little higher than usual, based on expecting to see a lot of P-39s. I'd hopefully get a dive attack and I'd lose minimal maneuverability up high. Doesn't seem that was accurate.

I've snuck the Mutsu and Yamashiro pretty close to the Fiji coast, close enough to sprint to Suva tomorrow but probably not close enough to get away from a retaliatory strike. He clearly has PBYs operating around here, but they may be distracted tracking the KB as it lingers to the east. I'm going to try to get closer.

I've also laid a minefield in Pago Pago, hopefully right in time to catch ships returning from the KB-prompted evacuation.

China
I finished off the remnants of the road block force that didn't retreat into the mountains.

12-12-23, 05:21 PM	#1
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	14 April 1942 CENTPAC An AKL the was presumably evacuated from Pago when the KB drew close was sunk by one of my subs when it tried to return to port. Night surface gun/torpedo attack. Recon aircraft are now surveilling Fiji, standing by for force estimates. China He's trying to be sneaky around Kokong, thinking he can take it back from me while I'm trying to grab Kanshien. I will have to pull back a bit but I think this ends with me taking Kanshien anyways while he sends troops into the meat grinder for me. I've adjusted bomber assignments to try to slow down the troops approaching from the northwest just in case. Part of his adjustment here was calling five bombers in to hit by troops between the two bases, so I'm pulling some fighters into LRCAP duties over the troops. Bay of Bengal My carriers attempted a limited strike on a minesweeper displaced during the shelling of Cochin, but missed. 2 Hurricanes were on patrol but no aircraft were lost in the skirmish. 16 Blenheims hit our troops in Colombo, which somehow weren't covered by an LRCAP. I'll fix that tomorrow obviously. Fortunately this raid was ineffective. Industry A little snag with Nick deployments--very few fighter units are eligible to receive them, just bomber squadrons for the most part. So I might be transitioning some of the light bomber units--currently assigned to ASW duty--to fulfill the ASUW/interceptor role. Which then means I'd have to pull medium bombers from ground support missions to fulfill the ASW role, or I'd just have to pay political points to pull training units to frontline service. Nothing insurmountable, just tedious. __________________

12-13-23, 10:16 AM	#2
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	15 April 1942 Recon reveals significant fighter presence on Fiji; American subs beginning patrols in Luzon Strait? Luzon Strait USS Drum hit a troop-carrying cargo ship with a torpedo at night in the Luzon Strait--fortunately, a dud. I believe this is the first time I've seen an enemy sub here since my conquest of Luzon concluded, so this may indicate a strategy shift away from trying to use subs as naval combattants and more towards the traditional anti-merchant role. I've been gradually moving ASW assets towards places where his subs have actually been appearing, so due to the lack of subs in the Luzon Strait, ASW coverage here is relatively light for the moment--pretty decent air patrols but no surface assets. I'm about to have four subchasers complete their deep-water depth charge refits in Singapore, so they'll be headed here. I have already-upgraded SCs operating off Cam Rahn Bay and in the Makassar Strait that I could pull if I need to, but so far both of those areas have had more frequent enemy sub patrols. China I successfully CAP-trapped the enemy bombers that tried to interdict my troops near Kahnsien yesterday (and again today), splashing 2 SB-IIIs and 1 Husdon. 2 bombers made it through to the target but missed. The Chinese got a single I-16 fighter up over Sian, which was felled by Oscars escorting my bomber packages. Bay of Bengal Speaking of CAP traps, we kind of got away with one in the channel between India and Sri Lanka as we attacked a wayward minesweeper with Betties. They had 14 Hurricanes flying cover over it, while our escort was just 9 Zeroes. We ended up killing the AM while shooting down 2 Hurricanes, with the loss of just 1 Zero. The main motivation for having these Betties on naval attack orders right now is that recon is reporting a heavy cruiser present in Colombo, and we've had little to no success with port strikes due to heavy flak. We're probably going to take Colombo in a matter of days, though, which means that cruiser is about to make a run for it, and when it does, I want my Betties to pounce. I've added to the number of Oscars flying out of Trincomalee so that I can resume sweeps of Cochin to try to reduce those Hurricane numbers, but weather scrubbed the sweep ordered for today. A probing attack on Colombo shows we have about 3x their strength, not enough to make this easy but enough to get started. We attack tomorrow. CENTPAC Recon of Fiji shows 45 fighters, 17 bombers (probably dive bombers, standard dive bomber squadron size is 18) and a CA in port. So, another force concentration like Pago. Upgrades and reinforcements All 4 Chidori-class torpedo boats have completed their conversion to Kaibokans at Saigon. Two will be delivering militarized merchant ships to SOPAC as we'll need these ships more with the amphibious bonus having expired. The other two are reporting to Palembang where they will relieve destroyers and DMSs from tanker escort duty. 5th Ku S-1 arrives at Takao (2/9 Rufes, unrestricted - we're producing these very slowly so it will be awhile before this gets to strength. They're eligible to upgrade to A6M5s so this is potentially a useful small Betty escort unit in the future) 38th Sentai arrives at Sapporo - (2/27 Dinah recon aircraft ,restricted - a very useful pickup because I need more recon training, although I'm a little short on aircraft to give them because I reduced Dinah production to stockpile engines.) 94th Sentai arrives at Tokyo (2/27 Sally - restricted unit, more bomber training doesn't hurt, especially if I'm going to need to purchase some of my bomber training units to use as Nick squadrons on the frontline) __________________

12-13-23, 04:18 PM	#5
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	Where are the Carriers? (through December 1942 arrivals) United States Navy Lexington - In service. Participated in raid on Luganville 27-28 January 42 and Marshalls 23 February 1942, both with Enterprise. Upgrades due 3/42 (27 days), 6/42 (30 days), 10/42 (21 days), 1/44 (21 days), 1/45 (17 days). Saratoga - Probably in service. Torpedoed by I-9, scoring two hits on 6 January 42. Estimated repair time 2-3 months. Yorktown - Likely under repair after being hit by airdropped torpedo on 26 February 42 during attempted raid on Wake/Marshalls. Believed to be the carrier chased by subs from Pearl to Alameda from 19-27 March 42. Potentially back in service by now (15 April 1942). Upgrades due 4/42 (7 days--Assume completed), 7/42 (10 days), 10/42 (21 days), 10/43 (21 days). Enterprise - Participated in raid on Luganville 27-28 January 1942 and raid on Marshalls 23 February 1942, both with Lexington. Hornet - entered PACFLEET around 11 March. May have been sighted at Pearl Harbor 10 April 42. --- Long Island - 21 May 42 Wasp - due 10 Jun 42 Copahee 15 Aug 42 Nassau 15 Oct 42 Prince William 23 Oct 42 Altamaha 27 Oct 42 Chenango 15 Dec 42 Sangamon 15 Dec 42 Suwanee 15 Dec 42 Royal Navy Hermes - in service Indomitable - in service Formidable - believed sunk in Battle of Bengal Bay, 1 April 1942, 3 torpedo hits and a bomb hit delivered by Kates. Illustrious - entering service 28 April 42 ish. __________________

12-14-23, 09:38 AM	#6
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	16 April 1942 HMS Enterprise finished off--for sure this time--with significant loss of Betties Bay of Bengal The cruiser sheltering in Colombo made a run for it today, and it turned out to be the Enterprise, which had taken at least one torpedo and five bombs in previous combat. She didn't get far and was hit by a Betty raid at sunrise. But, that pesky bomber-to-fighter coordination issue happened. 13 Betties flew without escorts, running into 15 Hurricanes on patrol. I lost 12 of those, the sole survivor took a shot at Enterprise and missed. The attempts that followed had Zeroes escorting as intended--which got 2 Zeroes shot down--but also got us a torpedo hit on the cruiser, then Kates flew from my carriers (also with Zeroes), to score 4 bomb hits on it for a confirmed sinking. We made our first attack on Colombo, reducing forts to Level 2 with slightly better than 1 to 1 assault odds. Combat squads destroyed/disabled favored the enemy at 160 to 116. Good thing I landed the extra division, I'd rather not try to make up the difference with airpower here. Sweeps of Cochin failed to fly--these likely would have reduced the numbers of fighters protecting Enterprise if they'd flown. China The enemy is still flying his bombers to Kanhsien--two more downed. And our troops captured Kanhsien, destroyed devices 1 to 234. CENTPAC Scout aircraft are spotting some surface combattants in and around Fiji. I'm moving the KB south to see if I can get a shot at one of these task forces tomorrow. Ordered sweep of Suva, Fiji scrubbed by weather for a 2nd straight day. Reinforcements 14th Ku T-1 arrives at Kwajalein Island - a very welcome Mavis MPA unit 13th Air Flotilla arrives at Hamamatsu - restricted airHQ, might purchase later __________________

12-16-23, 11:31 PM	#7
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	17 April 1942 Attrition at Fiji and Cochin without real progress; Sian Roadblock defeated SOPAC/CENTPAC A night raid by B-17s destroyed a Zero on the ground at Noumea. Looks like I need to have fighters flying at night... The KB's heavy covering force ran into an AKL north of Fiji and sank it. This may have been a picket ship. This move by the KB is intended to get between Fiji and Pago Pago to try to get airstrikes on task forces in between, and outside the large CAP umbrellas of both bases... ...which didn't work out. I messed up the settings on one of my Kate squadrons, so it went to attack a cruiser spotted right at Suva, Fiji. That small strike ran into the large CAP as expected. I lost 7 Zeroes and 9 Kates in that engagement while shooting down just 3 P-39s, and we didn't even hit the cruiser. And of course, my ordered Sweep of Suva failed to fly for a 3rd straight day. Had this flown it might have cleared out those fighters before the strike. But it wasn't all bad news. The I-16 attacked the oiler Neosho at Pago Pago, hitting it with a torpedo and turning the fuel-laden ship into an inferno. Another sub tried to deliver a midget sub into Pago Pago, the SSX was lost. Bay of Bengal/India The sweep of Cochin did fly, but we just broke even at 4 fighters each side. China The Sian Roadblock (formerly the Sinyang Stack) has been defeated again, for what must be at least the fourth time by now. Destroyed devices 1496 to 4. A few units didn't rout with the rest, so we'll need to spend another day clearing them out. R&D All A6M5 Zero R&D plants are up and running with the 500-engine bonus secured. At the current rate of progress, I expect to be able to produce the M5 in October 1942. __________________

12-18-23, 09:11 AM	#8
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	18 April 1942 HMS Indomitable torpedoed off Perth; Suva sweep finally performed as ordered... but we lose West Australian Coast I-158 hit the HMS Indomitable with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired in a spread, setting of an aviation fuel explosion and setting the ship on fire. The I-158 only reported one escorting destroyer, which it evaded with little difficulty. The damage doesn't appear bad enough to sink her, and there were no telllate reports of naval aircraft taking ops or ground losses en masse, so she's not down yet. I expect she'll either continue to Perth to get patched up, or will retreat west to get off-map and eventually to Cape Town. Either way, she's probably out of action for something like 4 months, and either way, there's a chance for me to finish her off in the coming days. SOPAC The sweeps of Fiji finally fly after 3 consecutive scrubbed missions. The enemy Wall of Fighters holds pretty well, downing 9 of my Zeroes while we take down only 2 P-40s and 2 P-39s. I think I really need to pay close attention to my pilot training to make sure I'm not compromising on anything if I'm going to be doing sweeps like these. Nothing less than elite is working anymore. I also sent this group in at 20k feet, a little higher than usual, based on expecting to see a lot of P-39s. I'd hopefully get a dive attack and I'd lose minimal maneuverability up high. Doesn't seem that was accurate. I've snuck the Mutsu and Yamashiro pretty close to the Fiji coast, close enough to sprint to Suva tomorrow but probably not close enough to get away from a retaliatory strike. He clearly has PBYs operating around here, but they may be distracted tracking the KB as it lingers to the east. I'm going to try to get closer. I've also laid a minefield in Pago Pago, hopefully right in time to catch ships returning from the KB-prompted evacuation. China I finished off the remnants of the road block force that didn't retreat into the mountains. __________________ Last edited by Molon Labe; 12-18-23 at 09:22 AM.