Clash of Carriers: The Battle of the Philippine Sea

The Battle of the Philippine Sea featured a total of 24 carriers on both sides. It was simply the largest carrier battle of all time.

Clash of Carriers portrays this epic battle. The historical result saw the Japanese carrier force shattered, never to recover for the rest of the war. While this showdown is almost always treated as a one-sided affair, in this game players will have every opportunity to better the historical outcome or maybe even even reverse history.

The Japanese player can use the superior range of his carrier and land-based aircraft in coordinated waves to hit the US Navy while his fleet maneuvers out of US aircraft range. Historically, despite poor aircraft coordination, many Japanese aircraft broke through the US fighter screen to attack US carriers. What could better coordination accomplish?

The American player can opt for an offensive strategy with a number of task groups to try and inflict even more massive losses on the Japanese naval force instead of settling for defeating the Japanese air strikes. US submarines inflicted losses and tracked Japanese fleet movements -- can they do so again, or will Japanese counter-measures foil historical results?

Each game turn is roughly six hours with three day turns and one night turn per calendar day. Each sea hex is approximately 25 nautical miles across. Each naval unit represents one ship (for battleships, cruisers, and carriers) or four ships (destroyers). Aircraft units represent between six and 20 aircraft. What-if scenarios add optional surface and air forces.

Published Against the Odds #58 (January 2023).