BoSol - Battle of the Solomon Islands

[HBPencil]

BoSol - Battle of the Solomon Islands

 

Hi all,

 

Even though we have the upcoming Normandy expansion to keep us entertained for the foreseeable future, I would like to explore how a Solomons campaign could work if/when the game goes to the PTO. It is an idea that has been suggested a number of times so I figured it should be explained properly. Needless to say this all depends on the devs having the resources to get it done, especially in terms of the Japanese aircraft.

I'm a SP player myself but I think this could work for the online guys as well. Just to be clear, I see this campaign sitting amongst other possible PTO/CBI expansions e.g. Midway.

I envision the campaign running from 1 July 1943 with Operation Toenails (the US invasion for the Georgia Islands group) having just kicked off to the end of November 1943 following Operations Cherryblossom (US landings at Empress Augusta Bay), Goodtime (US/NZ invasion of the Treasury Islands) and Blissful (US raid on Choiseul). From a historical point of view this end date may be a bit too late as the Japanese airfields at Kahili/Kara and Balalle were more or less knocked out by then and the majority of Japanese air units had been moved back to Buka and Rabaul in October, however I don't feel like it would be too much of a stretch to have them still functioning for the sake of game play.

I know some players would prefer an expansion covering the Guadalcanal campaign but the distances between the Japanese airfields and Henderson field are far too great for the game to handle... unless if the devs are prepared to scale down the map but I haven't heard of them giving any indication that they'd consider doing it, so I'm sticking with what can fit in a full scale map.

Please note that when I use the word "campaign" I am referring to the in-game campaign mode, unless stated otherwise.

 

 

Mission Types

 

Carriers weren't really part of this campaign so the flying would all be from land bases, but apart from that it will have everything one could want... both sides have fighter sweeps, bomber intercepts, ground pounding, level bombing, anti-shipping and even some night fighting if you want it. If one day we get heavy bombers then B-17s and B-24s would also fit.

 

 

The Map

 

The magenta border represents the extent of the BoBP map (approx 447x357km), stretching from the Russell Islands in the south-east to about half way up Bougainville Island in the north-west. Given that this map would contain no major population centers I assume the map limits could be pushed out some more, preferably to the north and west as far as Buka as shown with the green border. Even if the map can't be extended that far it's still just large enough to encompass the landings at Torokina Pt.

At the start of the campaign the Allies would hold the Russell Islands while in the New Georgia Islands their forces have landed on Rendova and have taken Segi Point, while the rest are under Japanese control. As the campaign progresses the Allies work their way through the New Georgia Islands before taking Vella Levalla, then the Treasury Islands and establishing a beach-head at Empress Augusta Bay on the west coast of Bougainville. Choiseul, Santa Isabel and the Shortland Islands remained in Japanese hands until the end of the war.

 

In the good ol' IL-2 1946 sim there are multiple versions of the Solomons map, each one showing the construction of new airfields and the expansion of existing ones as time passed, and it'd be great if the same could be done for BoSol. This could be viable as we wouldn't have to worry about different seasonal maps and also as the BoN expansion will feature two maps for before and after D-Day.

 

I envision there being three maps: the first would feature Buka, Bonis, Kieta, Kahili, Ballale, Munda, Vila, Segi and the two on the Russell Islands. The second would add Kara, Barakoma and Ondonga while the third would add Torokina and Tenekau.

 

 

 

Airfields

 

It is worth noting that the Japanese didn't permanently base air units on their central Solomon airfields but rather staged flights through them from their bases up in Rabaul, Buka and Bougainville. Likewise the Allies did much the same. However that shouldn't have an impact on how it would work in game, especially given that the devs have indicated with the proposed BoN map that they're ok with aircraft flying out of bases they weren't historically based at. I have not included any seaplane bases and have not included the two strips at Piva as their construction was a bit too late to warrant inclusion here.

 

Russell Islands

 

The two airfields of South Field/Renard and North Field/Sunlight would be available for the Allies for the entire campaign.

 

New Georgia Islands

 

Segi: Construction began soon after the US landed on the east coast of New Georgia island, the airfield being available for the Allies from 10 July.

Munda: Used by the Japanese from the start of the campaign until early August when it was taken by US ground forces. Used by the Allies from mid August onwards.

Vila: Used by the Japanese as a satellite to Munda, flights from there seem to have ended mid August with the field being abandoned by September although they didn't fully evacuate Kolombangara island until early October. Not used by the Allies.

 

Ondonga: Construction began 28 September and was used for operations from 24 October. A second runway was under constructed but was not ready until 1944. Allied only.

 

Vella Levalla

 

After the US invasion of the island, construction began on the Barakoma airfield with the first official landing on 24 September.

 

Bougainville (incl. the Shortland Islands and Buka Island)

 

Ballale: On an island that's part of the Shortland group off the southern coast of Bougainville, this airfield would be in Japanese control for the entire campaign.

Kahili/Buin: Located in southern Bougainville, this large airfield would also be Japanese for the entire campaign.

Kara: A satellite field to Kahili, this would be used by the Japanese from September till the end of the campaign.

Torokina: Constructed inside the Allied beach-head, it would not be available during the campaign as it was not ready until 10 December. However it would pay to include it for use in on-line play and as an emergency landing strip as construction began 4 November.

Kieta: A small pre-war civilian strip on the east coast, it was never used by the Japanese but it might be usable for single engine aircraft in on-line play. In Japanese hands for the entire campaign.

 

Tenekau: I could find very little information about this airfield. Constructed by the Japanese late in 1943 on the east coast of Bougainville, north of the allied beach-head. Little used by the Japanese and bombed regularly by the US for the first half of December. Could be useful for online play.

 

Buka: On the southern side of Buka Island (off the northern tip of Bougainville) and right by the Buka Straight, this airfield would be in Japanese hands for the entire campaign.

 

Bonis: On the opposite side of Buka airfield across the Buka Straight, construction of Bonis airfield was began in early July 1943 by the Japanese and it was in use by the end of that month. Japanese for the entire campaign.

 

 

Aircraft

 

No doubt many will see my aircraft list and instantly wonder why such iconic aircraft like the F4F Wildcat and D3A 'Val' are missing, or why there are no float-planes/flying-boats.

 

In regards to the former I have not included them exactly because, as I said earlier, I see this expansion sitting alongside other potential PTO/CBI modules like Midway, and those iconic carrier aircraft would be needed for those releases but could then later be added to BoSol.

 

Concerning the later I feel they'd require a heck of a lot of work by the devs for such a niche set of aircraft, while at the same time I believe there would be no Allied seaplane bases within the map limits for most, if not all, of the campaign (sfaik)... also there's disparity between the Catalina and the plethora of single engine Japanese types.

 

Note that the G4M could carry torpedoes while the B-25 could skip-bomb enemy ships.

 

Should the devs wish to release a stand alone Premium aircraft (such as they did with the Hurricane MkII and IAR.80), there is capacity here in the form of many aircraft such as the Rufe, Catalina, PV-1 etc.

 

IJNAF

 

A6M3 model 33 'Hamp' fighter.
A6M3 model 22 fighter.
D3A2 'Val' dive-bomber.
G4M2 'Betty' bomber.

Premium: A6M5 model 52 fighter. Introduced to the theater in late September 1943, it was noticeably faster than the previous A6M3 both in level flight and in diving, as well as sporting some other improvements.

- I'm the first to admit I know little about Japanese aircraft however I went with A6M3 and A6M5 series as they were present and, sfaik, the carrier groups were using the A6M2 model 21?
- The m22 had superior range compared to the 'Hamp' although that might not be of much advantage given map limits.
- Including the D3A2 gives attack capacity for the IJN and leaves the A1 available for a carrier module.
- So far as I could find online the G4M2 entered service in June 1943, so including it here leaves the G4M1 available for any module set earlier in the PTO.

 

USAAF/USN/USMC

 

P-40M-5 Warhawk fighter.
F4U-1 Corsair 'birdcage' fighter.
SBD-4 Dauntless dive-bomber.
B-25C/D-20 medium bomber.

Premium: P-38G-10 Lightning, a fighter with good range and speed but lacking some features available on the J-10 already in-game, such as boosted ailerons and dive-recovery flaps.

- The P-40M-5 was used by both the USAAF and RNZAF in the Solomons. It was also used by the VVS although I don't know if it would fit with the eastern front maps we currently have?
- The F4U-1 with the blown canopy would would fit but only appeared later in the year, also the Solomons was also the only theater where the 'birdcage' canopy was used on operations so I've put it here.
- Having the SBD-4 gives balance with the 'Val' while leaving the -3 available for any module set earlier in the PTO. Sfaik the -5 arrived in late 1943.
- The B-25D we have in-game would need to be made flyable. It would work just fine in its stock form but for both historical accuracy and fun it would be great to get an expanded mods list including cheek .50cal gun pods and the field mod which converts the aircraft into a strafer with 2x or 4x .50cal in the nose. The C is like the D but just made in a different factory.
- I considered adding the the B-26 as flyable but the B-25 supplanted it as the year wore on, and as far as I could tell the B-26s in the Solomons were earlier models which differed quite a bit from the one we have in BoN.

- The C-47 would certainly fit BoSol.

 

 

Ships

 

The upcoming BoN module might give us some US ships that could be used in the Solomons, but if not then Cruisers and Destroyers will be needed for both sides along with other types such as landing craft, barges and MTBs.

 

 

Some Links

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Georgia_campaign#Capture_of_the_Russells
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Treasury_Islands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vella_Lavella_(land)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landings_at_Cape_Torokina

 

Cheers,

 

HB

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by HBPencil

[SIA_Sp00k]

Spent 9 months living in the Solomons Islands from Guadalcanal up to Shortland Island. The amount of WW2 material on these islands is amazing with Japanese transport ships at snorkel depth, Japanese sea planes 10 metres off the shore up near Shortland, not to mention all the material in Iron Bottom sound and on the Islands itself.  This would be a fantastic arena and it has my vote!

[Juri_JS]

The JAAF flew very few missions in the Solomons. I think there was a single mission by Ki-43-I and Ki-48 to Guadalcanal in January 1943.

 

My suggestion would be:

A6M3 model 22

A6M3 model 33

Aichi D3A2 Model 22

G4M1 model 11

 

As collector aircraft I prefer a seaplane:

A6M2-N, F1M2 or E13A1

 

[6FG_Big_Al]

I would love to see this ?

[HBPencil]

9 hours ago, Juri_JS said:

The JAAF flew very few missions in the Solomons. I think there was a single mission by Ki-43-I and Ki-48 to Guadalcanal in January 1943.

 

My suggestion would be:

A6M3 model 22

A6M3 model 33

Aichi D3A2 Model 22

G4M1 model 11

 

As collector aircraft I prefer a seaplane:

A6M2-N, F1M2 or E13A1

 

Interesting, I stand corrected on the Oscar and Lily. If the D3A2 is included I assume the D3A1 would still be viable for inclusion in other expansions? If so then maybe, to balance it out, the P-39 could be replaced with the SBD-4 while leaving the -3 and -5 available for other expansions.

[-=PHX=-SuperEtendard]

One nice detail about these late model P-40 and P-39 was that they equipped the 80 series Allison that had 5 minutes at 57" for around 1400 HP at sea level if i'm not mistaken.

P-40M was also used by the Soviets, both the VVS and PVO, for example here this Finnish captured P-40M, you can notice it's an M because of the punctured plate in front of the exhaust stack (something only the M and N P-40s had, the non-cutback rear cockpit rules out an N variant).

Edited July 30, 2020 by -=PHX=-SuperEtendard

[Bremspropeller]

Shut up and take my money!

[I.JG3_CDRSEABEE]

Don't forget New Guinea. Read "Race of Aces"

[352ndOscar]

Yes, this is IJN territory.  I see no problem with the northwest corner of your map, but the southeast corner would absolutely require the inclusion of Guadalcanal, Savo and Neegela Islands.  Without those I could not see a way to me purchasing such a South Pacific Module to IL2: Great Battles.

[Bremspropeller]

11 minutes ago, CDRSEABEE said:

Don't forget New Guinea. Read "Race of Aces"

 

Great read. Almost finished ?

[I.JG3_CDRSEABEE]

 

[Gambit21]

Lose the Oscar and FFS you need Guadalcanal. That’s a 6 month campaign right there and the turning point in the war no less.

 

You need the Japanese  “R Area Air Force” as well.

In other words, float plane bases and float planes. At the very least you need a float Zeke. “Rufe”

 

Also need the PBY.

 

I’ve always been a proponent of the Solomons. It covers early through mid-war.

Cactus Air Force and the daily, brutal fighting over Guadalcanal, then move up the slot for some Blacksheep action.

 

However, we’d need the float planes.

Solomons is far and away the best/most bang for the buck PTO option even as a first release. No small part of that is that you can’t have a carrier based “career” if you want more than a few days worth of missions.

 

Start with the Slot map, add carriers later.

 

I suggest Guadalcanal by Richard B. Frank. You’ll never leave that island off of a map proposal again..:you’re welcome.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Gambit21

[HBPencil]

On 7/31/2020 at 12:00 AM, CDRSEABEE said:

Don't forget New Guinea. Read "Race of Aces"

I don't know enough about the New Guinea campaign to make a detailed 'suggestion' thread for it, if you or anyone else would do so that'd be cool. ?
 

On 8/6/2020 at 9:05 AM, Gambit21 said:

Lose the Oscar and FFS you need Guadalcanal. That’s a 6 month campaign right there and the turning point in the war no less.

 

You need the Japanese  “R Area Air Force” as well.

In other words, float plane bases and float planes. At the very least you need a float Zeke. “Rufe”

 

Also need the PBY.

 

I’ve always been a proponent of the Solomons. It covers early through mid-war.

Cactus Air Force and the daily, brutal fighting over Guadalcanal, then move up the slot for some Blacksheep action.

 

However, we’d need the float planes.

Solomons is far and away the best/most bang for the buck PTO option even as a first release. No small part of that is that you can’t have a carrier based “career” if you want more than a few days worth of missions.

 

Start with the Slot map, add carriers later.

 

I suggest Guadalcanal by Richard B. Frank. You’ll never leave that island off of a map proposal again..:you’re welcome.

 

Starting off a suggestion/counter proposal by swearing at me is counter productive.

I thought I made it clear in my proposal that I left Guadalcanal out not because I'm not interested but because I don't think it's plausible as the game currently works. The map below shows why:
- the orange box is my proposed map and is the same size as the BoBP map so we know the devs can make it that size.

- the green box is how big the map would need to be in order to do what you're proposing and to do it historical justice, and as you can see that's a truly massive increase in size. Yes, I suspect the devs could increase my suggested map size due to the lack of towns/cities increasing map performance, but by that amount? It'd be a miracle if they could.
But say they perform a miracle, then IJ players are faced with the prospect of flights which are many hours long even with the use of autopilot and the timescale sped up. Only later in the campaign would they have Kahili, Balalle and Munda to operate of. The Allies are faced with the same when going up the Slot. The MP crowd will also be faced with some lengthy flight times.

- the yellow box is if we cut the map down to the smallest size possible for the start of a Guadalcanal campaign by having all IJ land based aircraft flying out of Buka rather than Rabaul. More reasonable but still a sizeable increase in the map area.



So what full aircraft list would you propose? Should we assume from your comments about CVs that the likes of the F4F and B5N should be included from the get go in BoSol? If so then what carrier aircraft would the devs introduce if they "add carriers later"? We all have our own tastes in what we like to fly but if I'm honest the idea of flying a handicapped Zero (the Rufe) or a very slow, lumbering Catalina leaves me unmoved.

I would love to see the devs create a map(s) and campaign such as you've suggested but I went with what I suggested in my first post because it's do-able.

[HBPencil]

Bump!

Recently I've been giving this some more thought and decided to revisit my original idea. To that end I've edited the first post with changes to the map, the airfields and the aircraft, so keep in mind that those who replied to my original post were doing so to something different to what you see now.

Cheers,

HB

[Mtnbiker1998]

I'm in favor of any Pacific battle that might end up in the game, But given the choice I still think I'd rather have a Guadalcanal campaign. Love me a Wildcat and P-39/400!

 

One question though, You write off a Canal battle because of Japanese bases, but wouldn't the same logic you applied to BoSol apply there? staged airfields or ahistorical ones seem like they'd work just as well there.

[357th_KW]

4 hours ago, HBPencil said:

Bump!

Recently I've been giving this some more thought and decided to revisit my original idea. To that end I've edited the first post with changes to the map, the airfields and the aircraft, so keep in mind that those who replied to my original post were doing so to something different to what you see now.

Cheers,

HB

Your “yellow” map from the later post would be awesome, and the campaign could start much earlier in 1943 with Operation I-Go.  In that case, I’d want to see:

 

Allies: F4F-4, F4U-1, SBD, TBM and a P-38G collector, with an AI B-24 (because you have to have that for the Valentines Day Massacre)

Axis: A6M model 21, A6M2-N, D3A, G4M and the A6M model 32 as the collector

 

The P-40E, P-39L, C-47 and B-25 would all fit nicely here (and I get the feeling the B-25 might be following the C-47 as a collector plane).  You could go a lot of different ways on the Allied side, but I chose to focus on the blue planes since they would be completely new to BoX, and the P-40E still saw quite a bit of use in 1943 with both the USAAF and RNZAF.  On the Japanese side, yeah it’s 3 Zeros, but the 32 is quite different from the 21 with its clipped wings and updated engine and the Rufe is a seaplane which would be a first in the game.  
 

Edit: To add to this, I’m mostly a MP guy and this theater and map are the PERFECT choice, as they give a wide range of potential semi historical setups with airfields close enough to work in that environment.

Edited August 29, 2022 by 357th_KW

[Ribbon]

Tempting suggestion but Battle of the Coral sea would be much better choice IMO.

Have nice map with islands, have carriers and torpedo bombers which are i believe biggest selling points for a average/casual customer.

So not only does it have new refreshing enviroment, it also provides much needed new gameplay.

 

[AEthelraedUnraed]

6 hours ago, HBPencil said:

Bump!

Recently I've been giving this some more thought and decided to revisit my original idea. To that end I've edited the first post with changes to the map, the airfields and the aircraft, so keep in mind that those who replied to my original post were doing so to something different to what you see now.

Cheers,

HB

I've been advocating a much larger map:

Although *much* larger than Rheinland, the total surface area is only about half of it. It's also very sparsely populated and has comparatively few airfields, which would make the map relatively easy to make. Especially since the Devs use 3rd party sources for the heightmap and forest map, and have used a largely procedural terrain shader since Kuban.

 

This map would enable the battles of Guadalcanal, New Georgia (forgot to mark it) and Bougainville, and if carriers were added (potentially at a later stage) the Battle of the Coral Sea as well. With all of the above, this would enable campaigns from May 1942 all the way up to the end of the war.

 

1 hour ago, =VARP=Ribbon said:

Tempting suggestion but Battle of the Coral sea would be much better choice IMO.

Have nice map with islands, have carriers and torpedo bombers which are i believe biggest selling points for a average/casual customer.

So not only does it have new refreshing enviroment, it also provides much needed new gameplay.

I think *just* the coral sea would be a very bad choice. It would give a grand total of two (!) days of air combat. Perhaps not a problem for MP players, but for SP players like me the lack of any meaningful career or missions just doesn't cut it. Also, I think the coral sea at the location of the battle is largely devoid of islands? It would make it an extremely boring map.

 

On the other hand, if you're doing a Solomon islands map anyhow, extending it south as I've done above is relatively cheap since it's mostly sea, while it does open up the possibility to have the Battle of the Coral Sea for those who like it, perhaps after carriers are added at a later date and in combination with another module (e.g. Midway/Marianas/Iwo/Okinawa etc.). It would also enable the carrier-based air support of the first stages of Guadalcanal.

Edited August 29, 2022 by AEthelraedUnraed

[Ribbon]

22 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

I've been advocating a much larger map:

Although *much* larger than Rheinland, the total surface area is only about half of it. It's also very sparsely populated and has comparatively few airfields, which would make the map relatively easy to make. Especially since the Devs use 3rd party sources for the heightmap and forest map, and have used a largely procedural terrain shader since Kuban.

 

This map would enable the battles of Guadalcanal, New Georgia (forgot to mark it) and Bougainville, and if carriers were added (potentially at a later stage) the Battle of the Coral Sea as well. With all of the above, this would enable campaigns from May 1942 all the way up to the end of the war.

 

I think *just* the coral sea would be a very bad choice. It would give a grand total of two (!) days of air combat. Perhaps not a problem for MP players, but for SP players like me the lack of any meaningful career or missions just doesn't cut it. Also, I think the coral sea at the location of the battle is largely devoid of islands? It would make it an extremely boring map.

 

On the other hand, if you're doing a Solomon islands map anyhow, extending it south as I've done above is relatively cheap since it's mostly sea, while it does open up the possibility to have the Battle of the Coral Sea for those who like it, perhaps after carriers are added at a later date and in combination with another module (e.g. Midway/Marianas/Iwo/Okinawa etc.). It would also enable the carrier-based air support of the first stages of Guadalcanal.

I had that on mind, coral sea map large enough to cover other battles too since it involves Solomons.

Don't remeber who suggested it first but it was mentioned somewhere here by someone (maybe even you)....

Edited August 29, 2022 by =VARP=Ribbon

[SOLIDKREATE]

Being a Navy VET, the F4U-1a speaks to me. Keep in mind boys & girl, those ones were not carrier qualified. So, it's a long dusty runway for us.

[HBPencil]

Sorry for the late reply guys.

Given the recent announcement that the devs are unlikely to do a PTO expansion in the foreseeable future this thread is some what moot now... but if they can be convinced that a PTO module doesn't have to have CVs then something like BoSol and NG (as well as the CBI) could still be an option.

If the devs decide we won't ever get CVs then that would give us more options for the aircraft list, maybe the P-40 and P-38 could be used for a NG module which would be 'Army' with BoSol being all 'Navy', although some NG aircraft could then be added into BoSol later on (and vice versa).

IJNAF
A6M3 model 33 'Hamp'
A6M3 model 22
D3A2 'Val'
B5N2 'Kate'
G4M1 'Betty' (a.i.)

Premium: A6M5 model 52

USN/MC
F4F-4 Wildcat
F4U-1 Corsair (birdcage)
SBD-4 Dauntless
TBF-1 Avenger
B-25D (a.i. already in-game)

Premium: F6F-3 Hellcat or F4U-1a Corsair

 

On 8/29/2022 at 4:31 PM, Mtnbiker1998 said:

One question though, You write off a Canal battle because of Japanese bases, but wouldn't the same logic you applied to BoSol apply there? staged airfields or ahistorical ones seem like they'd work just as well there.

I'm not sure I'm following you? I probably didn't explain myself well. In a Guadalcanal campaign the Japanese would have to spend a little over half of the time-frame of said campaign flying from Buka/Bougainville all the way to Guadalcanal (assuming the devs could make the map that big, I'm a SP guy but even with autopilot and the time scale sped up it'd still result in very long missions), whereas on the map I've proposed both sides would be flying much shorter distances than that, more so as more airfields were built as the allies worked their way up the map.

 

 

On 8/29/2022 at 7:23 PM, 357th_KW said:

The P-40E, P-39L, C-47 and B-25 would all fit nicely here (and I get the feeling the B-25 might be following the C-47 as a collector plane).  You could go a lot of different ways on the Allied side, but I chose to focus on the blue planes since they would be completely new to BoX, and the P-40E still saw quite a bit of use in 1943 with both the USAAF and RNZAF.  On the Japanese side, yeah it’s 3 Zeros, but the 32 is quite different from the 21 with its clipped wings and updated engine and the Rufe is a seaplane which would be a first in the game.  
 

Edit: To add to this, I’m mostly a MP guy and this theater and map are the PERFECT choice, as they give a wide range of potential semi historical setups with airfields close enough to work in that environment.

Thanks! Just to clarify the P-40E wasn't used in the Solomons (and RNZAF Es never saw any combat at all), maybe you're thinking of US/RAAF usage of the E in New Guinea?
I'm a SP guy but I did try to keep MP options in mind when thinking about BoSol, glad to hear it'd work for you ?

 

 

On 8/31/2022 at 6:19 PM, SOLIDKREATE said:

Being a Navy VET, the F4U-1a speaks to me. Keep in mind boys & girl, those ones were not carrier qualified. So, it's a long dusty runway for us.

I too am a fan of the -1a, it's hard to make out but that's what my pfp is ? But I went with the 'birdcage' as it'd be available for the duration of the game campaign.

[DBFlyguy]

On 9/28/2022 at 3:38 AM, HBPencil said:

Sorry for the late reply guys.

Given the recent announcement that the devs are unlikely to do a PTO expansion in the foreseeable future this thread is some what moot now... but if they can be convinced that a PTO module doesn't have to have CVs then something like BoSol and NG (as well as the CBI) could still be an option.

If the devs decide we won't ever get CVs then that would give us more options for the aircraft list, maybe the P-40 and P-38 could be used for a NG module which would be 'Army' with BoSol being all 'Navy', although some NG aircraft could then be added into BoSol later on (and vice versa).

IJNAF
A6M3 model 33 'Hamp'
A6M3 model 22
D3A2 'Val'
B5N2 'Kate'
G4M1 'Betty' (a.i.)

Premium: A6M5 model 52

USN/MC
F4F-4 Wildcat
F4U-1 Corsair (birdcage)
SBD-4 Dauntless
TBF-1 Avenger
B-25D (a.i. already in-game)

Premium: F6F-3 Hellcat or F4U-1a Corsair

 

I'm not sure I'm following you? I probably didn't explain myself well. In a Guadalcanal campaign the Japanese would have to spend a little over half of the time-frame of said campaign flying from Buka/Bougainville all the way to Guadalcanal (assuming the devs could make the map that big, I'm a SP guy but even with autopilot and the time scale sped up it'd still result in very long missions), whereas on the map I've proposed both sides would be flying much shorter distances than that, more so as more airfields were built as the allies worked their way up the map.

 

 

Thanks! Just to clarify the P-40E wasn't used in the Solomons (and RNZAF Es never saw any combat at all), maybe you're thinking of US/RAAF usage of the E in New Guinea?
I'm a SP guy but I did try to keep MP options in mind when thinking about BoSol, glad to hear it'd work for you ?

 

 

I too am a fan of the -1a, it's hard to make out but that's what my pfp is ? But I went with the 'birdcage' as it'd be available for the duration of the game campaign.

This list is very similar to what several of us have suggested over the years and requires absolutely no carriers and would be historically accurate. Unfortunately, due to what seems to be a complete lack of understanding of the war in the pacific, the powers that be have somehow managed to convince themselves that you "need" carriers for a pacific themed "battle of" to be successful.  It is what it is. 

Edited September 29, 2022 by DBFlyguy