The Pacific Scenario...Japanese Fighter Group Leader

[puller]

So...this will be the first of 5 posts I'm going to make over the Pacific Scenario from my perspective as Japanese Fighter Group Lead...I'm going to first come out and say a HUGE thank you to my 3 Fighter Wing Commanders...Jeffdn, Hightone, and Shifty, who couldn't make all the frames due to work but none the less...Thank you so much guys you really made my job so much easier...I also want to thank Dantoo and Vudu15...technically they were my 4th Fighter wing and they did an outstanding job...

This was my first full scenario...I did fly in the last 2 frames of BOB last year and it really perked my ears up to scenarios...as soon as I saw sign up for this one I jumped all over it...I have flown FSO off and on since '05 and flew in a bunch of different things this game has to offer...nothing I have ever done in this game came remotely close to what I was fixing to go through...

I signed up and requested Japanese side...I really have a thing for the zero and the Japanese plane set in general...I knew that's where I wanted to be...

As I was scanning the axis forum, Ammo, who I will thank later...was asking for someone to lead a group....I had no earthly idea when I said I would like to lead a group it would be the entire Japanese fighter force for the scenario    I just wanted to lead maybe a flight of 4 or something...but I smelled challenge and jumped on it...

After some reading...I realized what I was up against and I was stoked...I recruited hard for weeks trying to come up with people who I've flown with for years to come help me and it just wasn't happening...So I had a couple of people signed up that I knew where good sticks and flew in FSO so I sent the pms out and waited....

As I was waiting...I formulated a simple, yet what I thought to be a highly effective plan for the fighters....I would have 3 fighter wings...a sweep/cap force and 2 dedicated escort forces...I would break those wings down into flights of 4 if I could and with the walkons I would either supplement my 3 wings for form a 4th....I really though my plan was fool proof...

After the conformation of my wing leaders...I gave them their commands and pilots and a general idea of what I expected and how it was going to go down...Frame 1 was on the horizon and I thought we were ready....

To be continued....

[puller]

Frame 1 Attack on Pearl Harbor...

After receiving our orders for how the attack on Pearl was going to go...I was really excited...I knew that we would catch the U.S. off guard with a southern attack from the airspawn....Ammo gave everyone their cv assignments and we stressed to everyone that in order not to lose a plane you must tower out at your home cv...I had 2 notebook pages filled with cv assignments and different notes of important stuff I had written down...radio channels, scout assignments, different grid coordinates, all types of different stuff...I was ready...

When time came...I sat in the tower waiting for people to show up...amped up...I was ready...we had a teamspeak channel for command so I was talking to them and kinda just going over last minute things...finally people started showing up...I started putting them in their proper places...placed the few walkons that we had got...giving them very vague orders on account of my orders to not breath a word of what was fixing to transpire...my guys were ready...so we had our briefing...

The guys were blown away when they were told of our true sneak attack on Pearl...I liked it...I knew it would work...we all assembled at the airspawn field...we were ready....Fields are open!!!!GO GO GO!!!

We spawned in and a collective sigh was had by all....some of the guys used the wrong spawn and spawned at the port...but the worst was we had spawned a sector away from our attack planes...oh crap...this can't be good...

I told the guys don't worry...let's go level and haul tail to Pearl...we have to at least get there the same time the attack planes do...when we get there same plan...if your an escort find your group and keep the enemy fighters off of them...I told my cap and sweep guys to just do that...with orders to them to destroy the American fighters on the ground...I felt we were still in good shape...we spotted Hawaii...and oh...there are the attack planes...I still felt we were in good shape...

About a minute and a half before we could see battleship row...I started getting contact calls from the tail end attack planes....also some of my fighters in front of me also had seen contacts...I told everyone to kill everything in sight and stay high...then I spotted a group of about 15 to 20 wildcats co alt hauling tail right towards us...not to mention the p-40s that had been called out that were higher than us...coming in behind us...I was above the vals trying to pick wildcats off of them while trying to evade 3 wildcats on me while trying to check half of my guys that had wildcats and the now diving P-40s...it was chaos...

During this whole ordeal I am trying to tell command that the issue is in doubt...as I am trying to avoid enemy and stay above them more kept coming in higher...below me was an awful sight of burning zeros and attack planes...I was about that time about 3 guys in p-40s finally got me...I tried to get a count of guys in the tower and was relaying sitreps to command...trying to get a force together for another attack...

Well that crap didn't work out at all...I had guys fighting over Hawaii...I had guys that had taken back off to go help the guys at Hawaii...and I had attack planes screaming at me for new escorts because they had all went down so fast that they had already reupped  ...this is getting crazy and out of hand really quickly...

I got with my escort leaders and vectored them as best I could to catch the attack planes...I got with jeffdn and got his guys with me and a couple of guys and we went back with some straggling vals that upped...then the carriers started flashing...I had guys down that I dispatched to defend the carriers...I still had attack planes screaming for escort...I was trying to get with their escort lead so I could tell the attack leads where they were and assure them that support was on the way...we reached pearl for the second time to be summarily killed by 20+ p40s and wildcats....

Back in the tower again I worked to get command sitreps and try to account for all my guys when the sbd and tbm calls started flooding in...upping pts...upping fighters....we beat them off the best we could...swarms of warhawks and wildcats...wave after wave of them...still trying to find my guys and get them in a better position and lead a defense of the carrier fleets....and attack planes now highly pissed, still needed escort...

Well what I didn't realize at the time was everytime the escorts started to head towards Hawaii...they were being intercepted by many fighters...still we kept it up...

By the time the frame was over...it was like time just flew by...I knew I had to make some changes but I didn't really know how bad or good we had done...I was highly distraught though...as I had gotten all my guys killed...multiple times...

Well Midway was in 7 days...time to focus on a new objective...

To be continued....

[puller]

Frame 2...Midway

Well after what happened at Pearl...I thought we would still be fine...my guys were still in good spirits...we were OK...

The only changes I really made to my plan was to use squad radio channel to clear up engagement chatter on my dedicated fighter channel...I advised my guys of the change...and told them that the plane count was on...I needed to know everytime that someone went down...I told them to put it on the txt fighter channel and wait for a conformation before upping...no big deal...and I advised them of the game plan...and I had a6m3s to use...15 of them so I gave them to my shooters...here we go again...

This time I had everybody was taking off from the boats so we were all together...lot better start than last frame...all is good...hightone took brooke and the kates and I put jeff in front of him with the sweep force...as for the vals well shifty had work so I took them to their attack on midway...well at some point in time the vals split up...so I sent some of my guys with them and me and I think it was zoney were the only ones with the now considerably smaller val force...bring in the 30 brews and wildcats...we were dead quickly...

The situation with the other fighters was much the same...odds of 3 or 4 to 1...it wasn't pleasant...sitreps coming from command were much the same...many enemy fighters...everywhere...not good 

But all wasn't that bad...we were putting up some sort of fight...guys were telling me when they went down (1 out of 3 I guess  ) I was sending them to where the calls for help were coming from...things were crazy but...I felt it was OK...until C16 went down...when we lost that cv things went south from there...we tried like hell to defend it but there was just too many tbms and sbd and 26s and forts...Christ...how many planes did they have...then the frame was over...

Then the AARs started popping on the boards...then I saw the logs...I started counting...ROC was pissed...everyone was pissed....I looked at my handy dandy little notebook with all the notes for frame 2...I still had a6m3s left...and I had 31 lost planes tallied up...times that by 3....oh crap...this isn't good....

To be continued...

[puller]

Frame 3...Santa Cruz

Well...after that horrible debacle that was the battle of Midway...moral was gone...my simple plan apparently wasn't simple after all...this frame though we didn't have the distraction of screwing with a base that didn't matter...sink or be sunk...that was the name of the game...and I was livid  ....I got on my fighter thread and explained how everything was supposed to go....simple simple...jeff and his guys cap/sweep, hightone with brooke...shifty...who now knew he wasn't going to be able to make it stepped down...now I'm down a wing commander...and my guys aren't talking to me...   I tried like hell to get a replacement for shifty...It wasn't happening...and my guys still wouldn't talk to me....I put out orders on the fighter thread...nothing...I urged my guys to tell me when they went down...finally I started pleading with them...only to get 2 responses before the frame...this isn't going to go well...

So this frame command changed it up...we upped a zero swarm...I sent hightone and dantoos guys with brooke and the kates...with orders not to leave their side...I took shifty's flight and jeff and I got in between the kates and where we figured the enemy cv's were...contact high 1 o'clock...contact above kates...contact everywhere...oh crap...

But hell we put up a good fight...hightone and the guys did a great job...command sitreps were reporting hits on cruisers...cruisers down....Alright!!!...hey this isn't that bad...guys turning in plane counts left and right...and I'm putting them back out there as fast as I can when there was enough for a flight....then our escort fleets came into range of enemy carrier force...pts out guys lets get em....sbds and tbms burning everywhere...wildcats goin down...hell yeah a flight of kates almost too them...10 minutes left...pts exploding left and right...then the last destroyer in that fleet went down...pts out again guys...a whole swarm of pts could see the carrier burning in the distance...cease fire cease fire...as 8in rounds were streaming over our heads....it was over...and we hadn't went over on planes...not bad...not bad at all...

To be continued...

[ROC]

To be continued...

  Well??  Come On Already!! This is great stuff!

[HB555]

Did not want to interrupt his train of thought by asking, but since you did, I am anxious to see the rest as well. Sounds a bit like being married and raising kids..."thought it would be ok, not too bad" etc.

[BaldEagl]

Great stuff.   

Waiting on the final installment.

[puller]

Frame 4...Defense of the Homeland

After frame 3, command was in high spirits...moral was back up...it took everyone flying together 3 times to finally get it all right...communication was great...everything just finally popped...

Now for the last frame of the scenario the entire Japanese side was going to be in fighters...and the U.S. side was going to be bombing...in stratoforts at that...every fighter pilot I know of likes shooting down b-29s...I just had to figure out how to get those damn ponies and thunderbolts away from those bombers long enough to bring my cannon crates to bear on them...we came up with a simple plan of sending jeff with a large force of ki84s to stir up the escort while having a couple dozen nikis right out of icon waiting to pounce...I also had 110s that were representing ki45s...My flight and I are taking these...those bombers don't stand a chance...

So this time the beginning of the frame was almost flawless...people were checking in on the fighter channel getting their placement...wing leaders getting them in their squads...it was like a well oiled machine...though I was getting a bit frazzled trying to count people and make the plane count how I saw fit...the scouts and my 110s and I spawned first....then I had the rest of the fighters spawn in...everything was going great...wasn't long before my 110's were spotted by a pony, of all things  and in my wisdom of killing as many bombers as I could had chose to bring rockets...to make us slower and easier to shoot down...so that's awesome...I was relaying a message to jeff who was already over the port...I hit enter to send the message and it didn't pop up in the buffer...then disco  well that's just *&^%$#@ great...I was livid  I killed the power to my modem and opened the back door to check my dish (first time I've ever been discoed before the storm) the sky was rather menacing but no rain...lots of lightning back to the northwest though...I walked back in to still no net...so I pulled out my phone and saw that there was a huge complex of strong storms sitting over Tulsa slowly drifting southeast...Damn you Oklahoma weather...I had spectators in my living room as well my sister-in-law and her ol' man where sitting on the couch watching the now worthless TV...laughing at me...I was pissed...

This was going to be a trend throughout the frame...as now Mother Nature has stepped in to take the place of Buzz Killington...when I finally got back (total time was probably 7 min) my 110 was gone...so I started getting sitreps from my guys...who were engaged but doing alright...we had lost a few guys but still had guys in really good position...I took a solid lost plane count gave it to command...and upped with about 6 or so other guys and headed to Hiroshima...I really didn't expect the U.S. side to dive bomb but that's what we had going on here...and dive bombing with p-38s at that...between a thunderbolt and a lightning is were I found myself before I had to bail out...on fire...But the sitreps coming from my pilots was still positive...many b-29s going down...mustang here...jug there...we were holding our own...Disco.....

Upon my return I did the same thing again...picked up all my lost planes...got sitreps and gave them to command...all is well...and hold on...the in flight number for the U.S. side just went up 15 more players...the radar looked like it had measles...we vectored and gathered everyone we could and set off toward the American attack...I had a flight of 110s that spawned with me so off we went...the nikis caught the bomber force just as I could see dots...and there were a ton of ponies above them...I was closing fast on a set of 29s when the pony got me...so back in the tower I received and marked lost fighters and upped another 110 and headed back to the fight...Well the strength of their force was greatly reduced by the time I got there...hightone's and dantoo's guys were eating them up...but there were reports of an enemy task group right off of Nagasaki...I dove in strafed a cruiser...and was invited back to the tower...we still had a ton of planes left so we started sending heavy zeros to get rid of that pesky cv group...several bombs were dropped and several ships went to the briny deep...then it was over...

This was my first full scenario...not to mention the first time that I had led such a force...it was definitely a learning experience...and something I will not soon forget...I had a great time...the setup was awesome...I have no complaints at all about the way things went...when it went south...it was all my fault...when things went decently...it was all due to my pilots

I cannot thank the guys in command enough....Ammo, ROC, Brooke, Coalcat, Tunes (who stood in for coalcat), tex78, and SIM...you guys did an outstanding job throughout the entire scenario...I really appreciate y'all letting me help out...I might have lost us the scenario but...I think we had fun doing it...

I know this for fact though...come next scenario...you can bet your bottom dollar I'm gonna be there...

[puller]

I also want to extend a huge thank you to Tikto and the Finns for being our scouts for the first 3 frames    you guys did a great job and helped us out in a huge way...thank you guys so much...

[HighTone]

  puller it was a pleasure flying for, I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

[Dantoo]

Kind of late to reply but I just thought I'd try and have the last word. 

In any scenario you need to devolve responsibility as far down as you can push it.  Not all scenarios have a fixed amount of assets that you have to preserve and covet but they occur now and then.
Trying to tally up losses at a central point during a frame is near impossible (no doubt you realise this) particularly if you wish to achieve anything else that day.  Just issue a fixed amount of assets to each squad leader and keep a small reserve pool back that you have to personally authorise.  Let each pilot and each squad assume the responsibility for keeping their tally.  If they need more they join the line.

Utilising the reserve:
Strangely it is usually best not to hand out your reserve planes to the first to ask for them.  If you have guys wanting planes from the reserve during the first hour it's usually not a great idea to hand them out just because they asked for them. The guys that have high loss rates and little return to show need to be assessed against the whole picture that is unfolding.  The people that are preserving their rides and using them effectively are usually the people you want to keep in the air.  The size of the reserve and the tasks remaining will be your driver.

In a situation where you have to bring in a stand-in leader, you need to keep them fully briefed during the week.  I don't believe that I was aware of any plans for the first three frames until my engine was warming.  Heck I can wing it from experience, but before you send people to battle every man-dog down to the chef's assistants have to be fully aware of the whole plan in detail and their part in it.  If you don't do it that way people end up fighting on an empty stomach and that just won't do!

My squaddies and I enjoyed ourselves as we always do during Scenarios.  Thanks to everyone involved and I genuinely appreciate the work that goes into each and every one of them.