Operation Ke - Escape from Guadalcanal
After nearly 5 months of heavy fighting in the jungle and at sea, the Japanese hope of holding onto Guadalcanal seemed to be finally fading. By December of 1942, Japanese forces on the island were succumbing to malnutrition and disease at a rate that could not be sustained by the Japanese “Tokyo Express†resupply efforts.
On December 12th, it was decided to devise a plan for the evacuation of Guadalcanal. Using both Japanese Army and Navy Air assets, Operation Ke was scheduled to begin in late January 1943 using Japanese Destroyers as the evacuation force. The US Navy had some idea that something big was being planned thanks to the Allied codebreakers. Believing it to be a Japanese reinforcement of the Island, Admiral Halsey sent his forces South to prepare for the attack while the Army on Guadalcanal slowed their attack on the last remaining Japanese forces on the island.
On February 1st, 4th, and 7th, 1943, the Japanese Navy successfully evacuated 10,652 men from the island. Two days later, US Major General Alexander Patch declared the island free of Japanese forces. The Japanese would lose 20,000 men to the island campaign and would remain on the defensive for the rest of the war. By the end of the year the US would advance nearly all the way up the “slotâ€.
PLANE SET:
SPECIAL RULES: (PLEASE READ)
20K ALT CAP FIGHTERS - F4F-4, P-39D, A6M3, Ki-43-II
12K ALT CAP - SBD-5, TBM-3, D3A1, G4M1
F4F-4, P-39D, A6M3, Ki-43-II - Bombs Disabled
G4M1 - Torpedo Only, Bombs Disabled, Formations Disabled
TBM-3 - Torpedo Only, Bombs and Rockets Disabled
SBD-5 - 1,600lb Bomb Disabled
P-39D - 37mm Cannon Disabled
AIRCRAFT SCORING:
OBJECT SCORING:
SHIP SCORING: DOUBLED WHEN SUNK BY TORPEDO!
ACE MISSIONS
Each side will have one mandatory Ace mission per frame. These frames will represent notable pilots of the time and theater. One pilot from each side will be designated an "Ace" Pilot. They must fly the Aces listed aircraft.
They will be scored as follows.
Ace Pilot = 20 Points
Ace Pilot Kills = 20 Points
So for example if an Ace Pilot is shot down they are worth 20 points to the other side. Likewise, every victory an Ace Pilot lands they will be rewarded 20 points.
ALLIED:
Frame 1 – (USAAF) – (P-39D) Paul Bechtel - Lieutenant Bechtel Paul was one of the first P-39 pilots assigned to the first squadron to receive the Airacobra. His first two kills came Christmas Eve, 1942 while flying the P-39. He claimed two more kills flying P-38 Lightnings, and netted his 5th while flying an F4U Corsair as a guest pilot with Marine Fighting Squadron 124, making him the only USAAF pilot to become an ace while flying a Corsair. He retired in 1963 as a U.S. Air Force Colonel. Bechtel passed away in 2003.
Frame 2 – (USMC) – (F4F-4) Jefferson DeBlanc - DeBlanc enlisted in USNR in July of 1941 and in May of 1942 was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the USMC. In October he was deployed to Guadalcanal with VMF-112. On November 13th, DeBlanc shot down three Betty Bombers attempting to torpedo Allied Ships and was forced to ditch near an US Destroyer. On January 31st, 1943 DeBlanc would shoot down 5 enemy aircraft and was forced to bail out. DeBlanc evaded capture and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. Jefferson DeBlanc passed away in 2007.
Frame 3 – (USAAF) – (P-39D) Bill Fiedler - Lieutenant Bill Fiedler was born in Ohio on June 5th 1920. Flying P-39s with the 67th and 70th FS of the 347th, He claimed his first kill, a Zero, on January 26th 1943. He scored another Zero February 4th, and another Zero on June 12th. 4 days later on June 16th he shot down two Vals to make him the first and only 5 kill USAAF ace with the P-39 Airacobra. Sadly, two weeks later on June 30th, he was killed on the taxi pad when a P-38 with one engine out crashed on landing. He was 23 years old.
AXIS:
Frame 1 – (IJN) – (A6M3) Kenji Yanagiya - Yanagiya was sent to Rabaul in October of 1942 with the 204th AG and recorded his first victory on January 5th 1943. On April 18th he took part in the ill-fated escort mission of Yamamoto. Yanangiya continued flying and while on a mission to the Guadalcanal was seriously injured by F4Fs. With his right hand nearly shot off, he flew all the way back to Munda on New Georgia Island fighting blacking out from loss of blood. Yanangiya was credited with at least 8 victories and passed away in 2008.
Frame 2 – (IJAAF) – (Ki-43-II) Takeo Takahashi - Warrant Officer Takahashi was part of the 11th Sentai, flying Ki-43s when they deployed from Burma to Rabaul in December of 1942 in preparation of the Japanese evacuation of Guadalacanal. On January 31st, Takahashi launched to escort bombers to the beleaguered island. In the ensuing battle, Takahashi would be credited with shooting down Jefferson DeBlanc and another F4F. Takahashi would shoot down 13 enemy aircraft before he was killed while flying in a transport aircraft in the Philippines in November of 1944.
Frame 3 – (IJN) – (A6M3) – Ryoji Ohara was sent to Buin in October of 1942 and immediatley began claiming victories, his first on October 23rd. His fellow pilots dubbed him the killer of Rabaul and he was credited with shooting down the F4U-1 of VMF-124 CO, William Gise on 13 May 1943. Ohara was later transferred back to Japan where he would serve until the end of the war with the Yokosuka AG. Ohara would claim 48 kills and would later serve in the JSDAF.
SETTINGS
- Solomons terrain
- Icon Range – Friendly 3k, Enemy 3k.
- No Radar
- Fighter and Bomber Warning Range - 79200 (15 miles)
- Tower Range – 79,200 (for display to match the above Fighter and Bomber Warning)
- External view for bombers (F3) - On
- Friendly Collisions - Off
- Enemy Collisions - On
- Kill Shooter - Off
- Fuel - 1.0
- Ack - 0.3
- Formations - Enabled
- Bombsite calibration - Main Arena Standard
- Time:
FRAME 1 - 0800
FRAME 2 - 1200
FRAME 3 - 1600
- Object Downtime – full (200)
- Winds - MAX Downdraft 20K
Designed by Nefarious