PTO Scenario One: the set up!:
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Ltn Robert E. "Bob" Galer of VF6 USS Enterprise & his wingman Ltn Jg Tommy Lee "TL" Holland took off from the Enterprise at 6.45 am to do a recon flight on 7th December 1941 following the 18 strong sweep of VS-6 Dauntlass dive bombers towards Pearl Harbour on a routine mission as the Enterprise approached Pearl after a training cruise.
The day was fine & sunny & Bob was feeling at peace with the world & enjoying the feel of his Wildcat fighter.
As the pair approached Pearl he was dismayed to see columns of smoke rising from the harbour anchorage & swarms of black dots manoeuvring over the harbour.
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As he approached Bob radioed to "TL" "My God we're being attached!" He immediately tried to radio back to Enterprise but the distance was too far. "Tommy, lets get there fast & see if we can help. Stick close & don't take too many risks!"
As they approached they saw a large number of Aircraft bearing the Japanese rising sun emblem.
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The two Wildcats headed for a section of the anchorage that seemed less damaged than the area around Battleship Row & soon spied two Jap aircraft heading in their direction. "Lets engage these sneaky Bastards Tommy!" shouted Bob.
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The two groups of aircraft converged & the shooting began.
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Bob scored some good hits on the Kate Torpedo Bomber which was hampered by not having a front gun & TL came out in front from the exchange with a Val.
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The planes passed each other & the Wildcats manoeuvred to attack again.
Unfortunately TL collided with the Val & both aircraft suffered some damage but nothing that would stop their activities!
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The four planes now manoeuvred for advantage with Bob pulling an Immelman to return to the attack.
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As TL flew over the island he exchanged fire with the Kate & he flinched as a 7.7 mm round penetrated the cockpit & struck his thigh! "Bloody Hell" he cried but gritting his teeth he continued the attack!
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Again luck seemed against him as the Val showed no signs of damage.
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Bob now joined the fight & between the two Wildcats they did good damage to the Val.
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In the meantime the Kate had vectored in on a US Cruiser but due to the attention it had been getting could only hit the ship at the stern end & whilst the damage was bad the Cruiser was in no danger of sinking.
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The last salvo from Bob & TL had finished the Val just before it commenced its bombing run on the Destroyer & it plunged into the waters of the harbour. "Scratch one" shouted Tommy, his wound forgotten in the excitement of the moment.
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Tommy now headed back to Enterprise leaving Bob to go after the Kate.
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The Kate's pilot was no novice & soon manoeuvred to get Bob in his gunners sights.
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Smoke issued from Bob's Wildcat but a quick check of all the gauges showed no serious problem so he continued the duel. He was determined not to let the Jap plane escape!
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The Jap aircraft shuddered & Bob thought he may have hit the pilot but could not be sure. The game continued with Bob even more determined to bring the enemy aircraft down.
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The Kate's pilot still was able to manoeuvre his plane to get a shot at the Wildcat & deny Bob the chance to shoot back.
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Finally Bob was able to position his plane to get a good burst into the Kate.
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The aircraft passed each other too close to allow the Kate's rear gunner to draw a bead on the Wildcat.
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The two aircraft again exchanged long range shots & Bob was impressed by the accuracy of the Japanese gunner but his shooting had obviously damaged the rudder of the Kate as instead of turning away it turned in towards him to allow a final close range burst that sent the Kate crashing into the water of the Harbour!
Bob turned his Wildcat around & headed back to Enterprise knowing he had done his best but wondering what catastrophic damage had been done to the Pacific Fleet in this unprovoked attack but sure in the resolve of the United States Navy to wreak vengeance for this act of treachery!
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The Butchers Bill:
IJN Val Dive Bomber Shot down over Pearl Harbour.
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IJN Kate Torpedo Bomber shot down over Pearl Harbour
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Ltn Jg Tommy Lee Holland returned to USS Enterprise wounded
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14 damage points
One shared victory.
Ltn Robert E "Bob" Galer returned to USS Enterprise Veteran, Ace, Sniper.
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14 damage points
One Kill & one shared Victory.
The Target for the Jap Aircraft were to destroy the Cruiser & Destroyer anchored in the Harbour behind the Island.
Well that was a close run thing! The Val got crashed just before it could unload its bombs on the Destroyer & the Kate could not target the midships of the Cruiser.
I used the standard RB rules for the Jap planes against the Wildcats until they had passed & then used the Target ships for the AI template until the targets were passed & then again used the Wildcat as the Target.
This seemed the fairest way to use the AI as the Ships were the primary objectives for the bombers,
Overall a fairly lucky outcome for the US & a good result with only damage to the Cruiser & two Jap aircraft destroyed! I did make one mistake giving the Kate TWO shots at close range towards the end of the game but no harm done!
Whilst it wont matter in the Campaign could Sven please roll for the fate of the Japanese Crew.
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