MiGMan’s Combat Diary, 2000
Making a mark in the Marshalls
Date 1st Jan 1942
Overview SBDs are going to attack Japanese bombers on the ground at Maloelap atoll in the Marshalls. Escort them and join in the fun as the situation and your responsibilities permit.
Background The Japanese have been enjoying all the advantages in the opening rounds. Here's a chance for us to hit their planes on the ground.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Enterprise CV-6
Intel We anticipate some aerial opposition but aircraft types and numbers are not yet known.
maloelap_atoll_100
We anticipate some aerial opposition but aircraft types and numbers are not yet known.
❝Diary Well everything on this atoll may have been a target - but as a corollary of that, everything on this atoll was regarding me as a target!
❞ Some kind of ship was throwing up tracers but the action was so furious I couldn't make out what it was. I paused the sim and panned around I could see it was in fact... a submarine!
Gun camera footage
Date 24th Feb 1942 - Wake revisited
Overview The Japanese have taken our base at Wake and you're going to make sure they don't enjoy their new property, Head out in your F-4F's and deliver some bombs and bullets to the IJN.
Background Wake is too important to let the Japanese sit on it with impunity.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Enterprise CV-6
Intel The Japanese haven't been twiddling their thumbs out there. They' ve prepared AA defenses that make approaching Wake a tricky and dangerous business.
❝What... like it wasn't tricky and dangerous last time?
Lots of FLAK and lot's of action.
I played this one 4 times before I survived it, albeit with a plane looking like blue Swiss cheese!
❞ Date 4th March 1942 - A hot morning at Marcus Island.
Overview You will escort SBD's for an early morning raid on Marcus Island.
Background The Japanese maintain an outpost on this isolated island. Every blow we strike against these outposts weakens the enemy grip on the Pacific.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Enterprise CV-6
Intel You can expect intense AA over Marcus.
❝I crashed and burned on the first effort. I was admiring the look of the early morning sunlight on the structures instead of flying aggressively and unpredictably to give the FLAK gunners a harder job.
V E R Y heavy FLAK on this one - for once "intelligence" earned their moniker.
❞ Date 8th May 1942 - Coral Sea Clash
Overview Out scouts have located two Japanese carriers within range of our aircraft. Here's your chance for some revenge. You will escort Dauntlesses and Devastators to find and destroy the enemy carriers and their aircraft that hit us so hard five months ago at Pearl Harbour.
Background This is our first opportunity to check Japanese expansion after the disaster at Pearl Harbour.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Yorktown CV-5
Intel Reports place the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku 200 miles from our current position.
❝Our first real encounter with Zeros and I had my work cut out getting the better of these agile beasts. Sure they only take a few hits to damage, but you try getting those hits!
❞ 12th May 1942 - Anti-Submarine Patrol
Overview You've been ordered to take a few Wildcats to Espiritu Santo to provide a temporary anti-submarine patrol until some Army bombers can arrive to take over the job. Boring work, but it has to be done.
Background Several IJN bombers have been sighted in the area over the past couple of weeks, They are probably gathering intelligence about our buildup of forces in this area.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Espiritu Santo
Intel The IJN sbmarines will soon need to return to Japan or take on fuel and supplies from a submarine tender ship. When you see the "New Mission Goals" message, check for hidden goals on the map screen.
❝A long flight this one - you can use X to warp to the next waypoint but watch for on-screen messages alerting you to nearby targets... there may be more than one...
❞ 15th May 1942 - Return to Pearl
Date 15th May 1942
Overview You've been ordered Back to Pearl. Your destination today is a small task force built around the auxiliary carrier Kittyhawk, which has just transferred some Army planes to Townsville, Australia.
She is just Northwest of your position, steaming northeast. Your 6 Wildcats will take off at dawn and land aboard the Kittyhawk for the trip back to Pearl.
Background Things are heating up around Midway. Our fleet carriers are refitting at Pearl. The Navy brass wants all available air assets back at Pearl in preparation for the defense of Midway.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Espiritu Santo
Intel Our intel guys tell us that the Japanese are moving into position to take Midway. An attack is expected in the next few weeks.
❝Needless to say a simple ferry mission gets more complex...
Watch your fuel on this one - I should have taken drop tanks because I ran dry only 10 mile from the carrier and had to "cheat" by ending the mission without landing.
❞ 4th June, 1942 - Carrier attack at Midway
Date 4th June, 1942
Overview A Japanese carrier force has attacked our base on Midway Island. You will escort SBDs TBDs for an attack on enemy carriers.
Background The Japanese have been building up their surface forces in the area. The time to stop expansion of their defense perimeter is now.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Enterprise CV-6
Intel Reports indicate that the enemy surface force is operating to the south and west of our current position.
❝Yes, the enemy surface force is nearby and it's protected by some pretty good zero pilots.
❞ 5th June, 1942 - Southern Solomons Air Patrol
Date 5th June, 1942
Overview Patrol around the New Hebrides Islands and clean out any vessels getting near Espiritu Santo.
Background SoPac is looking to build an airbase on Espiritu Santo and they want the area clean.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Enterprise CV-6
Intel There is some word of IJN patrol boats in the area.
❝Make sure you set your tactical display to "ships" as there are patrol boats at most of the waypoints.
❞ 1942, June 6th - Carrier coup de grace
Date
Overview Two IJN cruisers are damaged and limping away from the Coral Sea battle. Marine aviators have taken a crack at them but the enemy ships are still afloat. Now's our chance to show them how it's done the Navy way. Escort SBD's and TBD's, find the cruisers and sink them.
Background Yamamoto's fleet is a little smaller as the battle in the Coral Sea progresses. Every enemy ship we sink now is one we won't have to deal with later.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Enterprise CV-6
Intel The Marines failed to do the job but it's not for want of trying. The cruisers have no air cover but their AA batteries are still fully funcitonal.
❝These ships throw up a heap of FLAK, so don't approach them too predictably. Of course it's always a compromise between flying evasively and flying in such a way that lets you get hits on target.
❞ 1942, July 7th - Fleet Defense off Guadalcanal
Date 1942, July 7th
Overview Our Guadalcanal invasion fleet will soon come under attack by a force of "Betty" bombers from Rabaul. You will take off from Enterprisem proceed NNW to rendezvous with a flight of SBDs and splash the enemy aircraft before they can do serious damage to our carriers.
Background The sooner we take back the Solomons, the sooner we'll be able to take the initiative and start the long push to Japan.
Player a/c Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Airfield Enterprise CV-6
Intel Preliminary reports indicate that the bombers have fighter escorts, but the total number of aircraft is unknown
❝These are Japan's Ace gunners. They are top of their class obviously!
I had my engine shot out about 6 times. Yes, not in the one flight obviously, that was in 6 attempts.
Not to mention losing wingtips and catching on fire.
Turn labels on and be very careful around anybody named "Yamada".
This is a scramble type mission - the attackers are only a few minutes out - so try and keep on their tail - it they get away from you you might not have a ship to land on later...
A tough mission. Finally I managed to down 3 or 4 (maybe it was only 2), of the Torpedo Bombers without getting totally shot up. I nursed a crippled plane back to the carrier but the Enterprise was sailing evasively, as you do when under attack.
I bailed out next to the ship but apparently this just wsn't good enough as they wanted to send me home with a "poor perfomance" rating!
❞