Soromon No Sora O Ketsu Ni Somete or (Blood Bath Over the Solomons)Was a term used by a Japanese naval aviator to describe the aerial fighting over the Northern Solomon Islands in early 1943.
After the death of Admiral Yamamoto Admiral Koga took command of the Combined Fleet, he acted quickly to reinforce Rabaul's battered air force. On May 10th the 251st Air Group
transfered to Rabaul from Truk, joining the 204th and 582nd Air Groups. The reason for this reinforcement was to begin a battle of attrition against the Americans in the Solomons. In
the springtime of 1943 the attrition among Japanese naval pilots was becoming one of the most difficult problems the Rabaul Air Fleet Command had to face. US Marine pilots had been quick to learn not to dogfight with the A6M2. Flying their stubby but heavily armed and rugged F4F Wildcat fighters the USMC pilots had been a nasty suprise to the IJN fighter pilots flying from Rabaul who up until the Guadalcanal invasion the previous August had dominated the battles against USAAF P-39s operating out of Port Moresby New Guinea. The Battle of Guadalcanal ate up men and machines on both sides. By the time the Japanese evacuated the last of their troops from the island in February 1943 the Japanese Naval Air Forces dominance was gone never to return in the Solomons, the days of the all conquering Zero fighter were over. Losses in aircraft and more importantly trained combat pilots could not be easily replaced.In late 1942 the 2nd and 6th Kokutais began operating the newest version of the Zero, the A6M3 (Hamp). Faster and carrying more ammunition it was a slight improvement over the A6M2, however it could never be produced and delivered to the front in numbers sufficient to counter America's industrial might.The Japanese Army Air Force introduced the KI-61 Tony to the Southwest Pacific in the Spring of 1943 with the 68th Sentai operating the Tony from Wewak and the 78th Sentai flying it from Rabaul. The Ki-61 suffered a lot of teething troubles in the hot steamy climate of the Solomons and New Guinea. To make matters worse the Americans were beginning to bring new types of fighters into the South Pacific for all her services. The P-38F and F4U-1 were vast improvements over their predecessors the P-39 P-40 and F4F. The Japanese bomber forces were suffering as well. A shortage of bombers and escorts meant offensive actions were severely limited most times amounting to nothing more than nocturnal harassment raids.
This setup represents the late summer early fall of 1943 and focuses on the struggle between the IJAAF and IJNAF against the growing might of USN and USMC aviation in the Solomons. The IJN pilots are dependant on their war weary A6M2s and A6M3s. The USMC has fielded the F4U-1 Corsair in strength throughout the theater. While the last remaining USMC and USN F4F Wildcat squadrons were winding down operations from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. For the Japanese Army and Naval aviators things are quickly to go from bad to worse. Another new and deadly enemy had just started operating in the Solomons. In early September 1943 USN squadrons VF-33 VF-38 and VF-40 began operating the new Grumman F6F Hellcat from Munda field on New Georgia Island. By the end of the war the F6F Hellcat would be responsible for downing more Japanese aircraft than any other US fighter.
Objective Play for Thursday Night May 19th Only:USN/USMC:
Capture of A4 and A5 by the Allies moves Japanese medium bombers back from A1 to A9. Capture of A9 removes all Japanese G4Ms from the map. It will also break Japanese supply lines and the Japanese will only be allowed GVs from A9 and A2. The USS Bunker Hill has sortied into the area on this date. She flew off a Navy Corsair squadron. VF-17 will be based at A7 operating the newest Corsair model F4U1A on this date.Also on this date the 3rd Bomber Group will begin operating A20s from A12.IJAAF/IJNAF:
Capture of A8 will move F6F Hellcats back to A12. It will cutoff supply to A6 and all flight will be disabled for that base as well. Capture of A7 will remove the F4U1A Corsair from the battle and bring more IJAAF into the fight and KI-61s will become operational at A4 as well as G4Ms from A4. Note The carrier Zuikaku has completed her repairs after the Battle of Santa Cruz a year ago. She has also taken on a new Air Group having flown her original Air Group off to Rabaul in late 1942. Her new Air Group consist of the first production A6M5 Model 52 Zero fighters. She is patroling between Truk and Rabaul and could become available for the battle if the situation gets dire for the Japanese. However the Commander of the Combined Fleet wishes to hold her in reserve for a future decisive battle so her participation is not likely and may be very limited if she is ordered into the area. Setup:Map- Guadalcanal
Bishops= USN/USMC
Starting Bases- A6 A7 A8 A12 V10 V11
Aircraft:
F4F- *** A12 only
F4U-1
F6F *** A8 only No Rockets or 1000lb bombs.
SBD
TBM*** No Rockets.
B-25C *** A12 only
GVs:
M16
M3
M4A3/75
M8
Jeep
Knights= IJAAF/IJNAF
Starting Bases- A1 A2 A4 A5 A9 V3
Aircraft:
A6M2
A6M3
B5N
D3A
G4M *** A1 only
Ki-61*** A1 only
GVs
M3
M8
LVT4
