S3 Series

4th launched B-25's out of Port Moresby with P-38 Escort. Target 108. Half way to target we encountered low name buffs headed to Port Moresby. We sent 2 38's to intercept. Both were destroyed by the buffs. The rest of the 4th continued on to 108. We dropped and closed. On rtb, we sent 2 b-25s with remaining ordinance to hit 100, but with out proper recon on the base they weren't able to close.

Once Port Moresby was clear of NME, the 4th Launched B-24's and P-38 escort to hit F48. The buffs did a good job taking down most targets, but again we didn't have proper recon of the base so were unsure of the number and placement of targets. After 3 passes, the B-24's Rtb'd. P-38's went down to straff the remaining few targets. However just as we started our straffing runs, NME fighters began arriving. The 4th managed to close 48, but were caught low and were quickly overwhelmed. We did shoot down a few fighters but in the end, only a few made it back to base.

At the end of the evening, several NME fighters buzzed Ports Moresby. Both sides took a few losses before we stood down.


Lesson. 4th will need to do recon not only of fields we intend to hit, but also a recon a few fields that we may want to hit in order to be prepared. 108 went down quickly and easily as we had previous recon of targets. 48 took longer than needed since we did not have prior info of targets. It was still worth the sacrifice to close 48 however.

Salute.