Solomon Campaign Briefs

[AH_DealnDave]

S~ All,

Lippy ... The Japanese Navy operated many types of transports during the war, however, their most commonly used type was the "Maru" type transport.  As the mission builder I normally do not provide information other than the briefing because I feel it takes away from the experience that the person gets from the simulation.

But, in this case the Maru type transport is common knowledge and I feel that revealing this information will not result in taking that experience from the player.

Going forward though ... I'm not going to release details on those features I used to build the campaign missions.   :)

[_AH_Col._Hogan]

You tell'em Dave!!

~S

[_AH_DarkWolf]

If it helps, Lippy, this is the IJN Maru we have in the game :



It is armed, one gun on the bow (circled in red), its a slow firing high calibre gun and not an automatic.

DW

[_AH_Lippy]

In combat the pilot have at their disposal a list of aircraft profiles or silhouette and the navy the same for ships. it was easier to Identify the aircraft and ships if you know the profile. I didnt ask for any information that any pilot or captain on a ship in WWII would have at hand. I thought the brief meant landing craft, these transports are easy to spot. Thanks Dave and DW

[AH_DealnDave]

Good turn-out for mission - 15, we had 19 pilots altogether !!!  Here is the next briefing to be flown on Tuesday - August 1st.

"Solomon Islands Campaign"
Mission - 16 - Guadalcanal / 13
Date: November 15th, 1942

After Action Report:

Excellent work yesterday, hitting the enemy battleship group.  The battleship was sunk and the cruiser was heavily damaged.  The group was also able to destroy 10+ enemy aircraft in the air.

Intelligence:

Last night the enemy, during the undercover of darkness, attempted to land those transports that had departed for safer waters before yesterday's attack on the enemy battleship group. The Navy attacked this transport group in the early hours this morning, sinking another enemy crusier and damaging a destroyer. The enemy transports beached themselves near Tassafaronga Point and have begun unloading operations.

Reports are coming in that enemy destroyers are in the area providing cover for the enemy landings. There is a possiblity that enemy aircraft will also cover these landings.

The Mission:

Good morning Gentlemen ...

We are going to hit the enemy transports and the destroyers covering them.

SBD's - will arm with bombs and hit the beached transports.



TBF's - arm with torpedoes and strike the enemy destroyers.



F4F's - will provide CAP for the strike aircraft.

Push in close and get hits !!!

NOTAM's:

SBD's (1st Squad, seats 1-16) - use "blue" comms
TBF's (2nd Squad, seats 25-46) - use main channel
F4F's (3rd Squad, seats 17-24) - use "red" comms
F4F's (Spare's, HQ & Guests, seats 49-52) - use "red" comms, AIR-START, zero fuel at this time

Good Luck ...

S~ All,

Tonight's campaign mission review  :)

[AH_DealnDave]

S~ All ...

I'll be heading on Vacation on August 22nd thru September 5th.  I will however be sending Jack the campaign missions for that time frame so that the group will be able to fly. 

This will cover missions 19 - 21.

[AH_DealnDave]

Good turn-out for mission - 16, we had 19 pilots altogether !!!  Here is the next briefing to be flown on Tuesday - August 9th.

"Solomon Islands Campaign"
Mission - 17 - Guadalcanal / 14
Date: December 30th, 1942

After Action Report:

Well done hitting those destroyers and that cruiser !!!  The group sank one of the destroyers and heavily damaged the cruiser. Also, great job getting the transport vessels on the beach. The group destroyed all the transports and destroyed numerous vehicles and equipment.  The group also shot down over 12 enemy aircraft in the air.

The Sea-Bee's have been very busy and have completed another airstrip here at Henderson. This new strip will be primarily used for fighter aircraft.

The scuttle-butt is that we'll be getting some new planes soon.  The Army's new P-38 Lightning's and the Navy's new F4U Corsair's shortly after the new year (1943).

Intelligence:

As you can see from our current  "front lines" map, the Marines have secured the eastern side of the island.  The enemy however, has holed up on the west side. They have received some trickled in supplies and troops during the late evening and early morning  hours. They've also been able to retake some ground back along the Matanikau River.

As of this time, they've been able to move some artillery pieces onto the ridge-line at Galloping Horse (grid CK-8). These guns are now operational and are hitting our troops in the river valley. This ridge is the key to breaking the enemy's hold on this island.  If we can take it, we can push them to the west coast and secure the island. The enemy knows how important this ridge is and it will be well defended by both, aircraft and AAA.



The Mission:

Good morning Gentlemen ...

We are going to hit the enemy gun emplacements on Galloping Horse Ridge (grid CK-8). The Marines will mark the guns with "white" smoke.

SBD's - will arm with bombs and hit the ridge in grid CK-8.

F4F's - will provide CAP for the strike aircraft.

NOTAM's:

F4F's (1st Squad, seats 17-20, 37-40) - use "red" comms
SBD's (2nd Squad, seats 1-16) - use main channel
SBD's (3rd Squad, seats 21-36) - use main channel
F4F's (Spare's, HQ & Guests, seats 41-44), - use "red" comms, AIR-START, zero fuel at this time

Good Luck ...

[AH_DealnDave]

S~ All,

Campaign night is approaching soon, here is tomorrow night's mission for your review, see above.   :)

[AH_DealnDave]

S~ All,

Jack, please check your email for an update to tonight's campaign mission (sol-17).  I had to update the target area.

[AH_DealnDave]

Good turn-out for mission - 17, we had 19 pilots altogether !!!  Here is the next briefing to be flown on Tuesday - August 15th.

"Solomon Islands Campaign"
Mission - 18
Date: February 21st, 1943

After Action Report:

Excellent job hitting those guns on Galloping Horse Ridge.  The Marines and now the Army, are pushing the enemy toward the west end of the island.

We are also welcoming the Army's new P-38 Lightning, the 347th will transition from the P-400 to the P-38.  They will start flying missions today. Since our last mission in December, the Army and Marines have secured the island of Guadalcanal. Adm. Halsey sends his thanks and praise to the CACTUS A/F for their courage and sacrifice in seeing this job through. Well Done !!!

Now it's time to move onto the next job, taking the Solomon Islands chain. The next step is taking the Russell Islands.

Intelligence:

The Russell Islands are 30 miles north-west of Guadalcanal. Our submarines have been gathering intelligence on the enemy's strength and their positions. The subs have reported, the enemy garrison that had been fighting on the "Canal", is currently being staged and looks to be deployed to the New Georgia area. The enemy has, or is in, the process of constructing an airfield near the village of Munda. We need the Russell Islands. If we can build an airfield, we can hit Munda before the enemy can make the airfield operational.

Numerous enemy transport ships have arrived in the Russell Islands area to pick up these enemy troops and supplies.

The Marines are also landing troops to take the Russell's. The sea-bourne landings are taking place in two seperate locations.

The 1st landing location is in grid CB-12, pad 7.
The 2nd landing location is in grid CC-12, pad 3.

The Mission:

Good morning Gentlemen ...

We are going to hit the enemy transport ships departing the Russell Islands. Our submarine reported enemy ships on the north side (grid CC-13) and north-east side (grid CD-13) areas.

TBF's - will arm with torpedoes and destroy the enemy ships.

VMSB-232 (1st Squad) Strike Location:


VT-2 (3rd Squad) Strike Location:


P-38's - will provide CAP for the strike aircraft and also cover the Marine sea-bourne landings. :


NOTAM's:

TBF's (VMSB-232) - (1st Squad, seats 9-32) - use "red" comms
P-38's - (2nd Squad, seats 1-8) - use main channel
TBF's (VT-2) - (3rd Squad, seats 33-56) - use "blue" comms
P-38's - (Spare's, HQ & Guests, seats 57-60) - use main channel, AIR-START, zero fuel at this time

Good Luck ...

[_AH_Col._Hogan]

Nice!

Honey, I'm home.

~S

[_AH_Hollywood]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p26NYiRXm2s

[AH_DealnDave]

S~ All,

Nice vid Wood, Thanks   :)

[AH_DealnDave]

Good turn-out for mission - 17, we had 19 pilots altogether !!!  Here is the next briefing to be flown on Tuesday - August 15th.

"Solomon Islands Campaign"
Mission - 18
Date: February 21st, 1943

After Action Report:

Excellent job hitting those guns on Galloping Horse Ridge.  The Marines and now the Army, are pushing the enemy toward the west end of the island.

We are also welcoming the Army's new P-38 Lightning, the 347th will transition from the P-400 to the P-38.  They will start flying missions today. Since our last mission in December, the Army and Marines have secured the island of Guadalcanal. Adm. Halsey sends his thanks and praise to the CACTUS A/F for their courage and sacrifice in seeing this job through. Well Done !!!

Now it's time to move onto the next job, taking the Solomon Islands chain. The next step is taking the Russell Islands.

Intelligence:

The Russell Islands are 30 miles north-west of Guadalcanal. Our submarines have been gathering intelligence on the enemy's strength and their positions. The subs have reported, the enemy garrison that had been fighting on the "Canal", is currently being staged and looks to be deployed to the New Georgia area. The enemy has, or is in, the process of constructing an airfield near the village of Munda. We need the Russell Islands. If we can build an airfield, we can hit Munda before the enemy can make the airfield operational.

Numerous enemy transport ships have arrived in the Russell Islands area to pick up these enemy troops and supplies.

The Marines are also landing troops to take the Russell's. The sea-bourne landings are taking place in two seperate locations.

The 1st landing location is in grid CB-12, pad 7.
The 2nd landing location is in grid CC-12, pad 3.

The Mission:

Good morning Gentlemen ...

We are going to hit the enemy transport ships departing the Russell Islands. Our submarine reported enemy ships on the north side (grid CC-13) and north-east side (grid CD-13) areas.

TBF's - will arm with torpedoes and destroy the enemy ships.

VMSB-232 (1st Squad) Strike Location:


VT-2 (3rd Squad) Strike Location:


P-38's - will provide CAP for the strike aircraft and also cover the Marine sea-bourne landings. :


NOTAM's:

TBF's (VMSB-232) - (1st Squad, seats 9-32) - use "red" comms
P-38's - (2nd Squad, seats 1-8) - use main channel
TBF's (VT-2) - (3rd Squad, seats 33-56) - use "blue" comms
P-38's - (Spare's, HQ & Guests, seats 57-60) - use main channel, AIR-START, zero fuel at this time

Good Luck ...

S~ All ...

Here is tonight's campaign mission for review.   :)

[AH_DealnDave]

Great turn-out for mission - 18, we had 21 pilots altogether !!!  Here is the next briefing to be flown on Monday - August 21st.

"Solomon Islands Campaign"
Mission - 19
Date: February 28th, 1943

After Action Review:

Well done !!! ... The CACTUS group covered our marine landing forces over the Russell Islands very well.  The Sea-Bee's have been very busy and we now have two operational airstrips in which to work from.  However, for this next operation, the group is being deployed to the carriers USS Enterprise, USS Essex, and the USS Independence.

Intelligence:

The Japanese have, or are in the process of, constructing three airfields in the New Georgia Island area. These enemy airfields are located at Segi Point (this one maybe operational), Munda, and Vila on Kolombongara. Supporting these new airfield constructions is a large fuel depot located within Lola Lagoon (grid BG-23) on the island of Kolombongara.

This fuel dump needs to be neutralized. The carriers, Enterprise and Lexington, are deploying strike aircraft to destroy this fuel dump.  AAA is to be expected at the fuel dump.  Also, we have received reports that there are enemy fuel ships in the harbor awaiting off-loading.  Guarding the entrance to the lagoon in the harbor is an enemy destroyer.

Enemy aircraft are on constant patrol in this area.

The Mission:

Good morning Gentlemen (10:00 hrs) ... We are going to hit the enemy fuel depot and shipping in this area.

TBF's - will arm with torpedoes and destroy the enemy ships.


SBD's - will arm with bombs and attack the fuel depot.


F4F's - will provide CAP for the strike aircraft.


NOTAM's:

SBD's VB-9 (1st Squad, seats 1-8, 41-48) USS Essex - use "blue" comms
TBF's VT-6 (2nd Squad, seats 9-32) USS Enterprise - use "red" comms
F4F's VF-21 (3rd Squad, seats 33-40) USS Independence - use main channel
SBD's (Spare's, HQ & Guests, seats 49-56) - use "blue" comms, AIR-START, zero fuel at this time

Good Luck ...

*All ... I'll be leaving for vacation Tuesday, August 22nd and I'm back home on Sept 5th. I've reviewed missions 19, 20, & 21, updated them, and have sent them to Jack, so the Squadron can fly the campaign while I'm off drinking beer and soaking up the sun on the East Coast.  :)