The Case For A Guadalcanal Campaign

[Boom]

Carrier battles seem to be the 'go to' when it comes to developing a Pacific air combat sim. And that is perfectly understandable, given that the Pacific presents the opportunity for that classic feature specific to that Theatre ie major fleet clashes.

And of them all, Midway stands out as the example of the definitive clash between similar sized forces resulting in an overwhelming victory.

1942 The Pacific Air War depicted it; so too did Combat Flight Simulator 2. And for their time both did a good job. Mind you, they also did campaigns for all four (4) carrier battles in 1942.

And now Combat Pilot is developing a Midway campaign.  A sound marketing choice, as it will capture the imagination of all air combat sim fans. It's immediate, has untold air and sea action, a multitude of aircraft choices and that unique opportunity; to land and take-off from Carriers. The most difficult of all pilot skills.

But...........

There is another campaign that offers all of the above. And much, much more.
* Carrier battles, two in fact. 
* Constant land-based air combat raids and intercepts. 
* Anti-shipping strikes. 
* Close air support.
* 'On the doorstep' cruiser and battleship bombardments.
* Night time ship strikes.
* Night time surface sea battles.
* A larger and more varied aircraft selection involving both naval and air force units.
All over a long, gruelling, test of stamina six months. 

The Guadalcanal Campaign.

Guadalcanal was indeed the 'accidental' campaign of 1942. Totally unforseen by both the Japanese and Americans in scope,fury and duration. 

Up until Guadalcanal, the main emphasis by the Japanese, Australians and Americans was on New Guinea, particulary Port Moresby. The Japanese wanted to knock out Port Moresby, and so isolate Australia. The Allies were determined to hold it.
Initially the Japanese tired to bomb Port Moresby out of the war. When that didn't work they tried a naval amphibious raid, which led to the Battle of the Coral Sea. On that setback they launched an overland army attack over the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Whilst all that was happening the IJNAF set about quietly building an airfield on a little known Island named Guadalcanal, to supplement the float plane base on Tulagi., aid the raids on Port Moresby and protect Rabaul. It would also allow the Japanese to extend air influence over the supply route between Australia and America.

It was upon discovering this planned airfield on Guadalcanal after an aerial recon of Tulagi and surrounds that Admiral King saw the opportunity to deflect some of the supply emphasis from Europe to the Pacific and proposed the occupation of both Tulagi and Guadalcanal. Operation Watchtower was on.

More to follow. :)
 

[Chief_Mouser]

You are preaching to the converted...

[ÆþelrædUnræd]

I think the reason they chose Midway is largely that it's much less work than Guadalcanal. Guadalcanal is 5302 square kilometres (even without other nearby landmasses such as the Florida Islands) versus 6.27 square kilometres for Midway, nearly a factor 1000 difference. By doing Midway, they can focus on implementing the key technologies rather than spend time developing content.

I do agree however that Guadalcanal would make a great title. I'm sure that we will see a Guadalcanal module eventually 🙂

[Trooper117]

If they were only to allow me one Pacific battle, Guadalcanal would be it... I've always liked the idea since the old IL2 days.

[Chief_Mouser]

5 hours ago, Trooper117 said:

If they were only to allow me one Pacific battle, Guadalcanal would be it... I've always liked the idea since the old IL2 days.

Despite the undoubted appeal of Guadalcanal, I've always favoured New Guinea. It has almost everything going for it - a much bigger variety of aircraft of different air forces, Battle of the Bismarck Sea, several different areas of action - Milne Bay, Port Moresby and the Kokoda Trail, Lae, Buna, Rabaul.

Of course to do it justice, like The Slot, you'll need an enormous map area with very long flight times.

Edited April 27 by Chief_Mouser

[BlitzPig_EL]

New Guinea is my favorite as well.  So many opportunities for both multi and single player, over several years of operations, with a myriad of aircraft types.  And, it is a theatre that has never gotten proper attention before.  Bring it.

[Major Lee]

That's a sound case for a Guadalcanal "Area of Operation". The mix of missions and aircraft would be fairly novel for a WWII sim. I think they are all set for their concept release AO and scope, but I wouldn't be unhappy with a Guadalacanal AO, for sure. 

[BlitzPig_EL]

In all honesty I'll be happy with any scenario that doesn't involve Bf 109s, FW 190s or other ETO axis aircraft.

[Major Lee]

19 minutes ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

In all honesty I'll be happy with any scenario that doesn't involve Bf 109s, FW 190s or other ETO axis aircraft.

Yeah, the ETO has been done but good. I'd like to see the 348thFG with P47D2 - 23 and P51s, but very early would be challenging I think. I'll take something new any day at this point.

[BlitzPig_EL]

Any early Pacific campaign is going to present interesting challenges, to both sides.  F4Fs, P-39s and P-40s in the Solomons against A6Ms, and trying to intercept IJN bombers that are coming in, in your slower climbing Allied planes, or P40s and 39s in New Guinea going up against the slow but agile Ki-43, then out of nowhere running in to a sleek, fast and still agile Ki-61 that can stay with you in the dive.

Much to look forward to.

Edited April 27 by BlitzPig_EL

[Boom]

Japanese air raids statistics over Guadalcanal.

From the book Guadalcanal, by Richard B. Frank.

Edited April 29 by Boom

[Boom]

Japanese air raids statistics continued

[Boom]

Japanese air raids statistics last page

[Trooper117]

Good stuff!

[kestrel79]

If we show the Dev team support by purchasing this sim, then they can have the funds to do another map that's more complex in nature. If this sim does well, I'm sure we'll get there!

[Boba Fett]

Frankly, Solomons or New Guinea as not the second installment is inconceivable (and I will be sorely disappointed if the appropriate meme is not immediately posted).

Midway has name recognition going for it, among the lesser versed in the aviation community, and therefore maximum sales opportunities. If you say "New Guinea" to the average MSFSimmer and probably many Air Quakers, it would not resonate. Midway has at least a pair of movies and one in the last five years that did well in theaters/streaming services. It is among the most famous battles of the war. I don't know about today's students but it got a couple of pages, as did D Day, in World History class back in high school. It is clearly the best choice to start the franchise development from both equipment and marketability standpoints.

Provided it sells well, you will get one or both of the aforementioned Areas of Operations. For me, I'd also like to see Hawaii/Pearl in the first iteration or Hawaii/Pearl and Coral Sea in an early add on. But that's just me and my wishful thinking.

Fett

[Aapje]

Hawaii/Pearl would certainly appeal to people/Americans.

On the other hand, having a map with lots of water together with a map with a lot more land, like New Guinea, would probably be a lot more appealing when it comes to actual diversity of gameplay.

[Hoss]

I'll bet the Guadalcanal scenario will be the next release after Midway. We'll get some Betties, P-400s, maybe even Oscars.......

 

[Boba Fett]

15 hours ago, Aapje said:

Hawaii/Pearl would certainly appeal to people/Americans.

On the other hand, having a map with lots of water together with a map with a lot more land, like New Guinea, would probably be a lot more appealing when it comes to actual diversity of gameplay.

Agreed but there is actually a fair amount of land and historical airfields throughout the Hawaiian Islands chain. I wouldn't want just Oahu or Hawaii as a stand alone island. Lots of "what if" and MP possibilities there. The full chain plus the area of the Coral Sea (separate map) with dynamic weather or semi-dynamic weather would be ideal.

Also; I only learned this year that, technically, Midway Atoll is part of the Hawaiian Islands chain. Mind.................blown. It makes sense, in that vein, to "complete" the chain and thus add Pearl to the mix at some point. Keep the map makers, texture-ists (?!?), and artists busy while other assets are being developed, like capital and support ships which will take quite some time to bring to the fore.

Fett

[BlitzPig_EL]

Capital ships indeed.  I would suggest the North Carolina class.  The USN's first modern fast battleship class, and the pair of them were active in the Pacific almost the entirety of the war.

USS Washington was pivotal in ending the IJN's efforts at directly attacking Guadalcanal, by essentially single handedly turning the Kirishima into scrap metal during her famous night engagement off Savo Island, all the while fending off torpedo attacks from cruisers and destroyers.

Edited April 30 by BlitzPig_EL

[Boom]

The 1930's designed US Fast Battleships were very impressive. Would have been a very interesting action if the Bismarck had faced Washington or South Dakota in the North Atlantic. So long as South Dakota didn't suffer another power failure. :)

[BlitzPig_EL]

USS Alabama was attached to the British Home Fleet for a while and was used as bait to try to get Tirpitz to come out and play.  Fortunately for the Germans, she stayed in her fjord.  My neighbor when I was was growing up was a chief in her engine room at the time she was deployed to Britain.

 

I've always thought that the Bismarcks, as well as the Yamatos were the most over rated things ever built by man.

Edited May 1 by BlitzPig_EL

[Chief_Mouser]

Wouldn't it be nice to have a map that included both Guadalcanal and New Guinea? 1300 x 750 miles (2080 x 1200 km) should do it 😁 and it would need several versions for its timeline. It would need rather a large mapping team, and what happens if making something like that on the Unreal engine is just too much for the humble PC to run?

It's obvious to see why Midway was chosen as the opener, and we should see how that goes before getting our hopes up.

🍻

 

[Boom]

Japanese air losses over Guadalcanal were crippling, much more so than at Midway. 

[BlitzPig_EL]

The Japanese suffered similarly in New Guinea as well.  Over half of IJAAC pilots with over 350 hours of combat experience were lost in the New Guinea campaign, essentially gutting the core of the Japanese Army's best pilots, losses that were never effectively replenished.