DILLINGERS WAKE: South West Pacific 1943

 

One of the many Allied successes that owed its existence to the breaking of the Imperial Japanese Navy JN-25 code was the DILLINGER mission of April 18th 1943. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Imperial Fleet and architect of the Pearl Harbor attack was scheduled to tour bases in the Solomons. Armed with the details of Yamamotos flight he was killed when his G4M 'Betty' was shot down after being intercepted in an ambush by USAAF P-38 fighters off Bougainville. The Japanese now found themselves in the unenviable position of continuing the war without their most able strategist at the helm. For the Japanese the coming year would see a campaign of attrition and delay until sufficient forces could be rebuilt to hold the Empires key strategic areas. New Guinea, the Solomon chain, and the sprawling base at Rabaul on New Britain were critical to Japanese war plans as they linked the vital oil fields of the Dutch East Indies they had captured in 1942. Still boasting a formidable force in the region they would not give them up easily.

 

Allied strategic planners had decided by the end of 1942 that the Pacific was to be the main theater of war vs Japan. The problems with supplying an offensive in China were deemed too great and an offensive in Burma was not going to happen any time soon. American and Australian forces had checked the Japanese on New Guinea and thwarted any Japanese designs on Australia. Guadalcanal had been secured anchoring the Allies in the eastern Solomons. General MacArthur now prepared for a drive through the Southwest Pacific and into the Phillipines thereby denying Japan its vital raw materials. Admiral Nimitz and the US naval chiefs planned operations where they could maneuver their growing carrier air fleets to greater effect.

 

This FSO recreates the Allied air offensive in the SW Pacific in the summer of 1943. 

 

Country Percentages:

 

Axis 52%
Allied 48%

 

Field Assignments:

 

Axis Bishop
Allied Knight
CM Rook
 
OOB:
 
Axis (IJAAF/IJN):

 

Ki-61 (max 24)

Ki-43 
A6M5b (max 24) 
A6M3 (min 24)

 

Allied (USAAF/USN/USMC/RAAF):

 

F4U-1 (max 24)

F4F

P-38G
P-40N
B-25C (min 12 players)

B-24J (min 12 players)

 

Special Rules and Ordnance Restrictions:

 

* All aircraft types must be used by a minimum of 12 *players* unless otherwise noted.

* The Axis have no attack objectives in this setup.

* Allied fighters have air-ground ordnance disabled.

* F4F has the 4 gun option disabled.
* Max alt for bombers is 20k.
* ALL AIRCRAFT ARE TO BE LANDED AND THE PLAYERS TOWERED OUT BY FRAME END OR WILL BE CONSIDERED SHOT DOWN AND THE CREWS KIA.

 

Scoring:

 

Aircraft Pts
------------

AXIS:

Fighter = 4 pts

ALLIED:

Bomber = 15 pts
Fighter = 5 pts

Target Pts
-----------------

Gun = 0.5 pt
Hangar = 25 pts

All Other = 3 pts
Destroyer = 50 pts
Cruiser = 100 pts

Survival Pts

---------------

Landing = 2 pts

Pilot Survival = 1 pt

 

Arena Settings:

 

- New Britain terrain
- Fuel burn 1.0
- Icons friendly 3k/enemy 3k
- 0.3 Ack
- Fighter and Bomber warning range 42,000 (about 8 miles)
- Tower range set to 42,000 (for display only to match the above setting)
- Haze/fog full visibility (17 miles)
- Radar off
- Enemy collisions on
- Friendly collisions off
- Killshooter off
- Time: 15:00 ( 3PM ) Game Clock
- Formations: On
- Bomber calibration: Automatic (MA Standard)
- Wind: 0K-18K SE TO NW - Speed 5
           18K-24K E TO W - Speed 10
           24k+ SE TO NW - Speed 15
        
Designer's Notes:

 

Design by Warloc