Miracle at Midway
MIRACLE AT MIDWAY!
USS Yorktown takes a direct hit from a Japanese aerial torpedo
June, 1942...
Even though the Japanese invasion of Port Moresby had been repulsed in the Coral Sea, things continued to look bleak for the Allies in the Pacific. The U.S. Navy was still recovering from the loss of so many ships at Pearl Harbor a mere 7 months prior. The USS Lexington had been sunk, and the USS Yorktown heavily damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea. With just a fraction of its former naval strength, the US Pacific Fleet was badly in need of a reprieve. Unfortunately, the Imperial Japanese Navy would not allow time for the US Navy to recouperate. The IJN staff had planned their operations precisely, with the objective of either spreading the US Navy too thin or destroying its carrier fleet in a progression of battles that spanned the entire breadth of the Pacific Ocean. The next part of their plan was a two-pronged thrust into the middle and north Pacific, with one attack into the Aleutians and another attack aimed at capturing Midway Island. The attack on the Aleutians was planned to either pull the U.S. Fleet north and away from Midway, or to provoke a full-scale battle where the Japanese could both destroy the US Pacific Fleet, and capture Midway unmolested.
For Admiral Nimitz, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, it seemed a miracle was needed...
In Pearl Harbor, US Naval intelligence had given Admiral Nimitz his first glimmer of hope--they had successfully broken the IJN signal code used to encrypt messages between their commands. Through a saavy signals intelligence effort, Admiral Nimitz was armed with early warning of Japanese intentions. Knowing that Midway was going to be attacked, Nimitz was able to make a deliberate plan on how to engage and defeat the Japanese. A second cause of encouragement was that the USS Yorktown, through one of the most improbable repair efforts in the history of naval warfare, was made sea-worthy and operationally ready in just four days in dry dock. Perhaps the needed miracle was taking shape?
This setup will attempt to recreate the events of 4 June, 1942 in three frames.
Frame 1: 07 November, 2008 (1000 T - Time)
Frame 2: 14 November, 2008 (1200 T - Time)
Frame 3: 21 November, 2008 (1400 T - Time)
Scoring:
Objective based scoring will be used. 50% of each frame's score will be for air-to-air kills, with the remaining 50% being divided between 4 air-to-ground objectives each frame. Each air-to-ground objective will be worth a total of 12.5 points. Objective scores will be based on victory criteria that will be published in each frames objectives.
Air-to-Air
Air-to-air score will be worth 50 potential points each frame. The total number of aircraft that lift for each side will be tallied and added together using their respective point totals. That number is the total aircraft potential for each side. All single engined fighters will be worth 1 point. All aircraft with multiple crewmembers will be worth 1.25 points. To reach the percentage score, the total points scored will be divided by total aircraft lifted. For example, if 60 F4F, 20 SBD, and 14 TBM aircraft launch, and 20 F4F, 10 SBD, and 2 TBM aircraft are shot down, the Japanese would score (20) for F4F, (12.5) for SBD, and (2.5) for TBM. The total value destroyed (35) is divided by the total number launched (94) to get a percentage (37%). That percentage is used to modify the 50 potential air-to-air points i.e. (35) / (94) = 37%; 50 X .37 = 18.5. So, in this example, the IJN would score 18.5 points for air-to-air victories.
Air-to-Ground
Air-to-ground score will be worth 50 potential points each frame. Each of the 4 target objectives will be worth 12.5 points to either side. The USN and IJN will be awarded points based on victory conditions listed in each frame?s objectives. Target objectives will consist of ship targets for the USN and ship targets and the airfield and installations on Midway for the IJN only. Each objective will have its own victory conditions that will define who receives points, and for what destruction criteria. Both sides will have an equal potential to score the same points for each objective.
Plane Set:
US Navy
F4F-3 (80 maximum; 4X.50 cal armament only)
SBD-3 (96 minimum)
TBM-3 (36 minimum; torpedoes only--no rockets, no bombs)
Japanese Navy
A6M2 (100 maximum)
D3A (120 minimum)
B5N2 (50 minimum)
Special Rules:
Manual calibration will be used for bombers
Arena Settings:
--Midway Map
--Fuel Burn 1.25
--Icons Short
--.2 Ack
--Fighter and Bomber Warning Range 48,000 (~8 nautical miles)
--Tower Range 48,000 (~8 nautical miles, To Match Warning Range)
--Visibility 17 Miles
--Wind speed will vary with altitude
--Radar Off
--Enemy Collisions On
--Friendly Collisions Off
--Killshooter Off
--Takeoff time per frame descriptions above
Contact all the squads on your side at:
http://ahevents.org/fso/view_assignments.html
Updated FSO Rules at: