Operation C - IJN Recce

Time - Noon April 9th 1942 about 100 miles South East of Ceylon

Scenario - IJN Recce - a lone IJN B5N2 Kate is flying on a recce mission to locate the main body of Admiral Somerville's Eastern Fleet has just sighted part of the British fleet South East of Ceylon. Part of the defending Fleet Air Arm Combat Air Patrol (CAP) orbiting over the task force is directed by radar towards the Kate and moves in to attack.

Victory Conditions - The Kate must survive for at least three turns against the British fighters in order to fully transmit its sighting report back to the Akagi. If the Kate survives that long then the sighting report will be considered to have been completed. If it can exit the table then the Kate will considered to have escaped the defending fighter CAP by flying into cloud etc.

Turn 1 - The defenders are three Sea Hurricanes flown by a junior ace ("G") and two regular pilots ("H" and "I") which begin closing with the recce plane. As the Kate's crew spots the fighters bearing down on them the pilot wings over to try and avoid them, the observer gets busy taking oblique photos of the British ships in the distance while the wireless/air gunner frantically begins sending his report.

 Turn 2 - The fighters sluggishly close the distance with the Kate (kept on rolling low dice right through this game....) while the Kate slowly turns away.

Turn 3 - The fighters form up in line formation astern as they continue to approach the Kate from astern. Unmolested by the fighters the wireless/air gunner is able to report that the sighting report has been sent and reciept acknowledged. He then mans his single 7.7mm flexibly mounted machine gun as the Kate desperately tries to reach a huge cloud bank before the fighters arrive (if the Kate can exit the board (2 squares to the right) it will have considered to have escaped). 

 

 

Turn 4 - The FAA flight leader in Sea Hurricane "G" (centre) rolls a 1 for movement and so still trails astern of the Kate, but his wingman barrels in, guns blasing from directly astern of the Kate. The Japanese rear gunner empties a full drum of 7.7mm rounds in reply, but no hits are scored (Sea Hurricane "H" rolled a 1, the Kate rear gunner a 2).

 

Next the third Sea Hurricane "I" roars in from the Kate's left rear quarter just as the Kate is about to enter the cloud bank and another fusilade erupts, but again no hits are scored (Sea Hurricane "I" rolled a 2, the Kate rear gunner a 4).  

Untouched the Kate soon evades the fighters in the clouds and returns to the Akagi where its recce photos are quickly processed to show the ships that have been sighted. They are identified as the battleship HMS Warspite and carriers HMS Formidible and HMS Indomidable.

Result - Japanese victory. The British Eastern Fleet's main body has finally been sighted.

Kills - None

Just after noon on the 9th April 1942, realising that the British fleet's position has been accurately reported, Admiral Somerville concludes that his somewhat hopeful (and totally ficticious) gamble to try to manuvere into position for a dusk strike against the Japanese carrier fleet for a second time has not worked. Immediately he orders a course change to the South West at maximum speed, taking the fleet back to their anchorage at Addu Atoll. This means that the Japanese will only be able to launch one strike against him before nightfall....