Dutch East Indies #21

All,

It's noon on 21 January 1942 (yes, we've gone back in time about a month from the seven Killer Pelicans dogfights I just posted), and only days before a squadron of US Army Air Force P-40 Warhawks under Captain Brian Jordan was sent to Makassar on the southwest tip of the island of Celebes, to aid in the American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) defense of the Dutch East Indies (DEI) from the marauding forces of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy.  Captain Jordan and his men with their eighteen sleek, Curtiss Warhawks quickly settled into life on the dusty tropical airfield, happy be in the fight and ready to avenge Pearl Harbor!

As a matter of fact, three days ago Captain Jordan and three of his pilots took to the air and  managed to shoot down three enemy fighters and two enemy bombers, at the cost of only one P-40 damaged!  But the Japanese are keen on making Celebes theirs (in the Killer Pelicans games, the enemy aircraft were flying out of Kendari, Celebes), and the Army pilots expect their stay at Makassar to be short-lived as Japanese landing forces are sure to arrive any minute now.

Two days ago was a black day, indeed, for the Chickenhawks, with two Japanese fighters and two Japanese bombers shot down, but ALL SIX American fighters were shot down...

Yesterday the Chickenhawks shot down three Oscars and four Helens, but two Japanese bombers quickly and easily finished the destruction of the Dutch coastal artillery batteries covering the intended invasion beaches, then shifted their runs to the actual beach fortifications, causing moderate damage, and the Army pilots had four of their P-40s shot down (10 in two days!).

I'm using some amazing, but teeny-tiny aircraft from "Thomaston," whom I met over on The Wargames Website when he posted some pics of what he calls "Tiny Air Combat" (https://www.thewargameswebsite.com/forums/topic/tiny-air-combat/page/3/), and I'm using some simple rules posted by "Tango" over on The Miniatures Page (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=489811).  I've also finally got my 9-year old boy in on the act, he's playing the Japanese.

The new setup.  North is left, where the Imperial Japanese Army aircraft are, south is right, where the U.S. Army Air Force is.  East is up, West is down.*  The Japanese are charging in, intent on finishing off the  Dutch beach fortifications themselves, and then turning on the fighter strip to assure air superiority.

*Uhhh, I think I totally screwed that up, and I'm too lazy and stupid to go fix it.  I played these games several weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to writing them up, so I'm pretty sure I wrote the batreps as north is up, so please bear with me...

The Americans, six P-40 Warhawks, from top to bottom:

Chicken 32: 2nd Lt Gann, his second combat sortie

Chicken 31: 1st Lt Cotton, 1 kill in his first sortie

Chicken 33: 2nd Lt Kimble, his first combat sortie

Chicken 42: 2nd Lt Daniel, his first combat sortie

Chicken 41: 1st Lt Bickett, his first combat sortie

Chicken 43: 2nd Lt Goode, his first combat sortie

The Japanese, from top to bottom:

Oscar 02

Oscar 01

Left: Helen 06, Helen 04, Helen 05

Right: Helen 03, Helen 01, Helen 02

Oscar 03

Oscar 04

Still using Bettys as Helens, but actually got the Oscars on the table this time.

Turns 1 and 2 bring us to the merge, time to get crazy.

Oscar 02 jinks (top left), burning speed to loiter and let the capitalist pig-dog (far right) zoom by.

While Oscar 01 (center top) is more aggressive, but still doesn't have the legs to get at the Yankee sky-bandits.

In the south, Oscar 04 zooms in (bottom center; still using the purple bead - bottom left - to show where the plane began its movement).

And his flight leader, Oscar 03, follows in trace.  Guess we weren't quite to the merge yet...

Lt Goode (center bottom) pulls left into Oscar 04, going defensive.

While Lt Bickett (center) goes straight at the bombers (off camera to top left).

And Lt Daniel not only follows, he passes (left)!

In the north, the hot-dog, Lt Cotton, cuts right and fires on Oscar 01, but misses.

While Lt Gann (top left) zooms past him, intent on getting at the bombers (off camera to bottom left).  Lt Kimble (right)…

Heads straight in as well (left, below Lt Cotton).

And the bombers march east.

Oscar 01 is feeling a bit vulnerable and puts some distance between himself and the Americans (top right), while Oscar 02 (top left)…

Zooms in and cuts right, firing on Lt Gann...

He misses and comes right, perhaps a bit too sharply.

In the south, Oscar 3 (right bottom) runs straight in, firing on Lt Goode...

The tracers flash harmlessly by Lt Goode's canopy and the Japanese pilot rolls his Oscar hard left (right), taking a terrible deflection shot on Lt Bickett…

Missing again and flashing past (top right).

Oscar 04 literally flies circles around Lt Goode, zooming past him then cutting hard left onto Lt Bickett's tail, before opening fire and damaging the Warhawk.

But Lt Bickett stays the course, nursing his wounded aircraft forward (yellow bead at left), cutting towards the bombers (top left).

As Lt Daniel (left) flashes past him, firing on Helen 01...

Lt Daniel misses and flashes past Helen 01 and Helen 03 (top left), dodging defensive fire from the latter.

With his comrades heading for the bombers, Lt Goode works on the escorts: He comes hard right (center, with Lt Bickett at top left), on Oscar 03's tail, .50-cals hammering away...

Lt Goode smiles as the enemy fighter comes apart in his sights and flies through the debris, but the smile is wiped from his face when he realizes the Japanese pilot's wingman, Oscar 04, is now on his tail...

In the north, Lt Kimble has the same idea, pulling right (center) into Oscar 02, guns blazing...

The enemy fighter explodes and Lt Kimble cuts left (bottom left), heading for the bombers!

Where he is joined by Lt Gann (bottom left), while Lt Cotton (top right)…

Cuts hard right, onto the tail of Oscar 01.  Lt Cotton's .50-cal machine guns...

Pound Oscar 01 to dust as the American pilot zooms by!  Suddenly three of the four Japanese fighters are fish food.

And the Japanese bombers push east, a bit troubled by their lack of escorting fighters.

But the sole remaining Japanese fighter pilot is pissed!  Oscar 04 has multiple opportunities in front of him; he coaxes his fighter slight right, onto the tail of Lt Bickett (left) and opens fire...

Somehow he misses and pulls right, paralleling Lt Goode (far right), suddenly concerned about his tail being vulnerable after missing the easy kill...

And here come the Americans, licking their chops to get at the enemy bombers.  Lt Cotton pulls around, hard right (top right), his two flight-mates (top center) chomping at the bit.

Lt Kimble is up first, charging straight in (center, with Lt Gann above him) and firing on Helen 01...

He misses and cuts right (center) into the center of the enemy bomber formation, hammering away at Helen 04 as tracers flash past him from Helen 01 and Helen 04...

Lt Kimble manages to damage Helen 04 (yellow bead), then flashes past, still under fire from the Japanese tail gunner, but the American's luck holds and he's not hit!

Lt Gann follows Lt Kimble's lead, cutting right and going nose to nose with Helen 03, tracers reaching out in both directions...

Lt Gann pushes past (top center), firing on Helen 06, with defensive fire coming in from multiple bombers...

But everyone misses and Lt Gann flashes past (left, with Lt Daniel at top left and Lt Kimble at center bottom)!

Lt Daniel pulls some fancy maneuver (center), coming around hard right to get a shot on Helen 03 (far right), as tracers come in from her tail gun.  Both miss...

Lt Bickett cuts hard right and takes a terrible deflection shot on Helen 01 (top center), but it opens him up to defensive fire from Helen 02, which shoots the American flight leader down!!!  Lt Goode (off camera to bottom right) watches in horror as Lt Bickett's P-40 noses over and plunges and into the deep blue ocean, no parachute...

Lt Goode pushes the throttle to the firewall and cuts left, into the bomber formation (center top), guns hammering away at Helen 01...

The Japanese bomber comes apart, and Lt Goode (right) keeps his trigger depressed, zooming straight in on Helen 03...

Helen 03 explodes and Lt Goode cuts hard right (top right), his third kill of the day!!!

The Japanese bombers push east, though Helen 06 is forced to break formation (top center).

Oscar 04 cuts right (center right) to protect the bombers (and shelter within their formation), looking straight at Lt Cotton (top right)…

Who runs straight in on him!  The opposing fighter pilots both squeeze the trigger...

Oscar 04 is damaged (yellow bead at top right) and Lt Cotton flashes by (bottom left)!

Still not believing his good fortune, Lt Goode cuts right (top right) to get back into the action on the bomber formation.

Lt Daniel (top center) sort through his feelings as Lt Kimble busts an Immelman (center bottom) to reverse course and Lt Gann pulls a lazy left turn (far left)…

With the airspace cleared up a bit, Lt Daniel charges in (center, with Lt Goode above and to the right) on the wounded Helen 04, guns blazing from both planes...

Both miss, and Lt Daniel pulls alongside the Japanese bomber (center, with Lt Goode above him).  Very disheartening, the young Lieutenant's marksmanship is...

The four remaining Japanese bombers keep pushing east, with Helen 06 still isolated (top left).

As Oscar 04 cuts hard left (center), taking a terrible shot on Lt Goode due to wanting to be as defensive as possible...

The Japanese fire misses and Lt Goode charges straight in on Helen 04, braving defensive fire...

But both miss and Lt Goode zooms by!  What the hell is going on with mah shootin' dahse???

Lt Daniel cuts right (center left), exchanging fire with Helen 05...

Helen 05 is damaged (bottom center) and Lt Daniel cuts left (top center) onto Helen 04's tail, where the two open fire on each other...

Both miss as Lt Daniel flashes in front of the Japanese bomber (far right, with Lt Goode above him) and the American dodges more defensive fire.

Lt Cotton cuts hard right (center left), looking to get after the last Japanese fighter (center right), as Lt Kimble (far left)…

Sputters in behind him.

And Lt Gann, even further behind the formation (far left), cuts left to get back into the fight.

And the bombers push east, actually starting to get a bit hopeful that some of them may actually reach the target area despite their escorts being handled so roughly.  Speaking of escorts...

Oscar 04 cuts hard left and fires on Lt Kimble, missing...

As Lt Daniel charges straight in!  The P-40's machine guns hammer away at the damaged bomber, which spits rounds right back at him...

Helen 05 crashes into the sea as Lt Daniel's fighter pushes ahead (top right), belching smoke from the Japanese defensive fire that perforated his aircraft.

Lt Goode dives (center, with Lt Daniel at top right) on Helen 02, both aircraft filling the sky with tracers.  The Japanese bomber is damaged as her own bullets fail to find their mark.

Lt Kimble, first freaked out by Lt Cotton (top left) zooming across his nose, is now freaked out by the last enemy fighter popping in front of him, sputters ahead (bottom right)…

And Lt Cotton says 'ta hell with the enemy fighter, I'm gonna get me a bomber,' so he cuts right (top center), tailing Helen 06.

As Lt Gann covers some distance, zooming in straight and level (center bottom right, with Lt Cotton at top right and Lt Kimble at far right), snuggling up nice and tight with the last Japanese fighter.

The bombers move up, eyeing the finish line.

Oscar 04 cuts right (far left), playing defense, an entirely reasonable proposition being that he's the only escort left and there are five P-40s zooming to and fro…

Lt cotton tries (center top) but can't catch Helen 06.

As Lt Kimble covers some serious distance, zooming straight in (far right) on Helen 05's tail.  The American .50-cals hammer away, as does the Japanese tail gunner, but the Japanese gets the worse of it as a wing pops off the bomber and both pieces float down to the sea.

Lt Goode is shocked, having just witnessed Lt Kimble zoom in and poach his kill, so he pouts and sputters left (left, with Lt Kimble below him and Lt Daniel above him).

But Lt Daniel pushes his bird ahead (top right), looking to rack up some more kills.

And Lt Gann pushes to catch up (center left, with the Japanese fighter, Oscar 04, at far left).

Only two bombers left, and one is damaged, but they push east.

With all American eyes on the bombers, the pilot of Oscar 04 pulls off quite a feat: he'd been running west (left) and everyone figured he was heading for home, but he cut hard right and slammed his throttle to the firewall, somehow managing to cover a tremendous amount of distance, catching up and getting on Lt Cotton's tail (top right).  The hot dog found himself stupefied as his aircraft began to quake and part began to fall off it; the next thing he knew his engine was aflame and he bailed out, staring up wistfully from beneath a silk canopy.  He only got to take a quick bath in the warm waters of the South Pacific before a Royal Australian Navy corvette scooped him up and returned him to base, none the worse for wear.

But Lt Gann is a bit hot under the collar about that dirty Japanese pilot sneaking back in the fight, so he cuts hard left and takes a terrible deflection shot, but he misses...

Lt Goode has finally got his marbles back, and he cuts left (center top, with Lt Daniel to his right and Lt Kimble just visible at bottom left), laying into Helen 06, damaging her as he dodges incoming defensive fire.

Lt Daniel gives chase (center right) to Helen 02...

But Lt Kimble is poaching again!  He guns the engine of his P-40 and zooms straight in on Helen 02's tail (far right), guns blazing!  He dodges defensive fire from the Japanese tail gunner...

Splashes Helen 02, and cuts left, waggling his wings and flashing a huge smile at Lt Daniel.  Looks like the Chickenhawks have more than one hot dog, though Lt Cotton's arrogance might be a bit dampened (get it?  He got shot down, parachuted into the ocean?  Sorry)…

The sole remaining enemy bomber, Helen 06, pushes east, sharks circling all about.

*No way he's making it, he only moves three squares per turn, so it's going to take two turns for him to get off the board.

Oscar 04, the last Japanese escort, pulls right, defensive (bottom center), hoping to not suffer the same fate as the aircraft he was charged with protecting.  But Lt Gann (far left, with Lt Goode at far right) is still angry...

He manages to roll right, straight on the hapless enemy pilot's tail...

The Oscar goes down in a plume of flames and black smoke as Lt Gann pulls left, behind Lt Goode.

Who immediately cuts right and pulls in behind Helen 06, dodging her defensive fire and shooting the last Japanese bomber down, for his fourth kill of the day!

The remaining American fighters form up on Lt Goode and return to base, stopping only to buzz the tower, causing some fat Lieutenant Commander to spill his coffee down the front of his blouse ;)

Wow, what a reversal of fortune for the Chickenhawks!  They're first dogfight was a raging success, but then fights two and three were unmitigated disasters, before this one, fight number four, saw all ten Japanese aircraft shot down at the cost of only two U.S. aircraft, though one pilot lost his life.

The Chickenhawks lost two P-40s:
1st Lt Cotton: Picked up by RAN and returned to base, okay
1st Lt Bickett: Killed in action

The Chickenhawks scored ten kills:
2nd Lt Goode: 4
2nd Lt Kimble: 3
1st Lt Cotton: 1
2nd Lt Gann: 1
2nd Lt Daniel: 1

Lt Goode was meritoriously promoted to 1st Lieutenant and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, while Lt Kimble also meritoriously promoted to 1st Lieutenant and awarded the Bronze Star w/V.

However, as good as the fight went, it was not enough to stave off the Japanese onslaught.  Despite keeping the Japanese bombers from destroying the beach fortifications, Japanese amphibious forces were still able to land on Makassar, and with that it was necessary for the Chickenhawks to quit the Dutch East Indies.  The squadron had only six of its eighteen aircraft left, and their pilots (Capt Biasucci and Lieutenants Kimble, Goode, Daniel, Sanders, and Gann) flew them out, escorting a gaggle of U.S., Dutch, and Australian bombers, patrol, and cargo aircraft south (one carrying Captain Jordan and Lieutenants Cotton, Potts, Dawkins, Banks, Beach, Kenn, Pace, and Macon) to Australia.

There the squadron was able to re-form in Darwin, receiving replacement aircraft but no new pilots.  Just in time for Japanese aircraft of the "Kido Butai" to make their deadly attack on the port of Darwin, coming right up!

V/R,
Jack