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Kantai Collection - Fanfic Idea and Recs

I am suddenly and inexplicably struck by the following fanfic idea:

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Following the (reversed) reenactment of the Malayan Campaign wherein the Summer Harbour Princess beelined for Singapore before the landings on the Malayan Peninsula, the entire region of Kuala Lumpur and Sumatra have become the figurative South Asian Maginot Line against overwhelming land-air invasions pouring up from the Johor Causeway. Malaysian dugouts batter off scores of ghostly light tanks and bicycle infantry by the hundreds on a daily basis, while a combined RN/RAN taskforce duel with Abyssal cruisers across the length of the Malaccan Strait in an attempt to stem the tides of landing rafts waiting bound for the Sumatran northern coast.

Somewhere in the Pahang region on the southern edge of the isle, shielded from Abyssal bombardment by the sheer bulk of Sumatra itself, hastily-bulldozed airstrips manned by a mix of locals, IAF forces and "volunteers" (mercernaries/fanatics in all but name) maintain a long and hectic air war against sky-blotting numbers of Abyssal IJA aircraft in a "Battle for Greece" reborn. Bombing landing sites to bomber interception to anti-shipping duties in the Strait; pilots ply, fight and die in the skies of Malayan airspace in horrifyingly regular droves.

And still, as war permits, more arrive every day.

Distinct from the "strategic" squadrons of IAF pilots and their carefully hoarded modern fighters, scores of men and women from all walks of life put everything on the line to stem the aerial menace. Put through hurried training and rushed off to the front, these latter-day Volksjager pilots ride into battle in all sorts of aircraft ranging from EMB-314 Super Tucanos, OV-10 Broncos and even the venerable MFI-9 "Biafra Baby"; these militia aviators are thrown headfirst into the aerial grinder to do what they can by any means necessary.

Even, and unsurprisingly commonly, by selling their lives as dearly as possible.

This, like many others in these dark times, is their story.

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JUNGLE STRIKE
AIR WAR OVER MALAYA



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Addendum: ...something doesn't exactly sit right with me about this. Perhaps a little too grimdark?
Basically, I'm trying for an Area 88/el-cheapo Ace Combat vibe, where volunteer pilots in mass-produced propfighters go up against Abyssalized Ki-43s and the like in spimning dogfights of the yesteryear. Having both a lower operating speed, ease of learning, versatility (and more importably, expendability) to fight WW2 propcraft head-on, these COIN planes make up the bulk of the aerial "trench lines" keeping the rest of Southern Asia Abyss-free.

I do hope I managed to get the Greece Campaign vibes, inspired by Roald Dahl's memoirs about his service there, down as well as possible too. Please do let me know how I've managed that, thanks!
 
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Actually this is accurate as hell to what would likely happen. Modern fighters are all but useless against the abyssals, but the cludge fighters flown by the volunteers and mercs exact a bloody toll because they are too similar to the WWII aircraft that would have flown against the abyssals.
 
Still say this should be about fairies flying attack helicopters...

And if you get the reference. I duuno feel smug about it?
 
Rajvik_wolfboy said:
Actually this is accurate as hell to what would likely happen. Modern fighters are all but useless against the abyssals, but the cludge fighters flown by the volunteers and mercs exact a bloody toll because they are too similar to the WWII aircraft that would have flown against the abyssals.
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Why would a modern aircraft be ineffective against Abyssal aircraft? And if a modern aircraft won't work, why should older, slower, less-well-designed aircraft be able to do anything?
 
ltmauve said:
Why would a modern aircraft be ineffective against Abyssal aircraft? And if a modern aircraft won't work, why should older, slower, less-well-designed aircraft be able to do anything?
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Operating costs, perhaps? Seeing as the countries concerned (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philipines, etc) aren't exactly First World military powers in the first place, their regular military equipment might have to be jealously hoarded for protecting their mainland regions and/or being sent abroad to hotspots such as SommeJapan. Kuala Lumpur/Sumatra is pretty much considered "border territory" to the countries affected, and likely will have lower priority.

Secondly? Speed.

Even not counting MSSB that lets older model Zeros shoot down F22s, most jets of this era are simply too fast to do much to Abyssal locust-hordes befote overshooting completely. Sure, missiles (whenever they deign to work at all) and heavy vulcans make them unmatched in a direct clash, but Air-to-Air missiles are designed and intended for single targets alone; four Su-30s are a plain bad matchup against 50 takoyaki fighters on any day of the week.

Ten MiG-21s for the same price, though? How about four flights of rotorfighters, all trucking cheap heatseekers like jousters of old?

Regardless, as I've stated by the "Battle of Greece" theme this is very much an "everthing and the kitchen sink" scenario. The Coalition forces are very much on the brink of being overwhelmed already and are all too willing to send off eager fighters with a slap on the back, especially since they're (relatively) so cheap to train and deploy.

...they might have a couple insurgency problems once the war ends, though. Oops?

Addendum: As @Rajvik_wolfboy noted, similar if improved technology levels used might actually exploit MSSB in humanity's favour.

Zelinko said:
Still say this should be about fairies flying attack helicopters...


And if you get the reference. I duuno feel smug about it?
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I know, right? I used to watch my father play that game (he had the whole set) in my childhood, the nostalgia~!
 
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ltmauve said:
Do you think militaries would start building older jets again? Or designing modern gunfighters?
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Modern gunfighters with armour and/or low-speed maneuverability might be useful as coastal/city defence, freeing up AirSup!Fighters for naval and interational airspace theaters where they have more space to play with. The way I see it, in a theoretical port defence scenario:
  • No-fly-zone, landbased SAM opens up on all targets in the area. General alarm goes up.
  • AirSup jets engage at long range, harrassing the incoming fighter swarm with BVR missiles to scatter the formations. AirSup close in with slashing hit-and-run attacks before retreating.
  • Main gunfighter wave goes up. AirSups land and rearm under cover of their slower kin.
  • Gunfighters engage. SAMs switch to long range/priority targeting while fighter cover defends the main coastline.
  • AirSups rearm, head to high altitude and missile truck and/or dive on enemy bombers, gunfighters keep enemy fughter escort tied down and unable to engage while AirSups climb again.
  • Shipgirl response (hopefully) arrives.
The way I see it, modern jets in a WW2 scenario would be akin to heavy cavalry, fast and powerful but not very good at low speeds or altitudes. Without sufficient escort they'll either be bogged down on all sides and slaughtered by faster-turning proppers, or be forced to disengage from the main combat area and leave the port undefended while they turn around.

Something like that, yes?
 
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@Librarian

i would imagine so, also we have to remember that one of the main things about the KC universe is that modern radar and other tech has a very hard time targeting abyssal fighters. The way I am seeing this is more like the US defense of Guadalcanal, where you had maybe a half hour to get to your plane and get up to altitude before the Japanese came in, and you only had that when the Coastwatchers were able to spot the flight and get a radio call out. otherwise you had maybe 5 minutes of warning due to radar coverage
 
Librarian said:
...they might have a couple insurgency problems once the war ends, though. Oops?
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Indonesia had very, very bad, reactionary history of insurgency, with the latest Insurgency problem being practically stopped by Act of God and everyone, being broken, decide enough is enough. The closest thing Indonesian have with insurgent problems (today) was Militant Islamic faction. More pressing problem at the moment is that our Parliament decided to act as Dictators. Plural.
 
Librarian said:
Modern gunfighters with armour and/or low-speed maneuverability might be useful as coastal/city defence, freeing up AirSup!Fighters for naval and interational airspace theaters where they have more space to play with. The way I see it, in a theoretical port defence scenario:
  • No-fly-zone, landbased SAM opens up on all targets in the area. General alarm goes up.
  • AirSup jets engage at long range, harrassing the incoming fighter swarm with BVR missiles to scatter the formations. AirSup close in with slashing hit-and-run attacks before retreating.
  • Main gunfighter wave goes up. AirSups land and rearm under cover of their slower kin.
  • Gunfighters engage. SAMs switch to long range/priority targeting while fighter cover defends the main coastline.
  • AirSups rearm, head to high altitude and missile truck and/or dive on enemy bombers, gunfighters keep enemy fughter escort tied down and unable to engage while AirSups climb again.
  • Shipgirl response (hopefully) arrives.
The way I see it, modern jets in a WW2 scenario would be akin to heavy cavalry, fast and powerful but not very good at low speeds or altitudes. Without sufficient escort they'll either be bogged down on all sides and slaughtered by faster-turning proppers, or be forced to disengage from the main combat area and leave the port undefended while they turn around.

Something like that, yes?
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Yeah, I see what you mean. Though in DFH the last step is omitted, since full-sized planes mean humans can compete with Abyssals in the air... with the exception of carrier princesses, whose aircraft cheat.
So, thoughts about the following aircraft lineup?
F-4K Phantom IV (ground based interceptor)
F-46 Starbeam II (ground-based fighter)
A-7N Corsair VI (ground-based fast bomber)
P1-B (ground-based heavy bomber)
Type-203 (Carrier-based interceptor)
Type-233 (Carrier-based fighter/bomber)
SH-60L (Carrier- and ground-based ASW helicopter)
The F-46, Type-203, and Type-233 are all not real aircraft, while the rest are upgraded versions of older aircraft. I'd say the F-46 would be around 10-12,000 kg, smaller than modern aircraft. The Types are about the size of the jet aircraft developed in WWII, though they have better engines, better weapons, better sensors, etc. The 203 is a twin-engine supersonic gun interceptor with no missiles. The 233 is a single-engine fighter-bomber that can carry 800kg of bombs or missiles (16 SACF)

Also, I'd imagine that taking down a 4,000 kg craft with missiles is easier than taking down a 18,000 kg craft with missiles. In addition, Abyssal aircraft are slower so a missile can have a less powerful motor and/or bigger fins. Thus, you could actually start approaching Macross levels of missile play. Call them SACF missiles (Small Airframe Close Fuse) (These missiles are smaller than usual and explode closer to enemy aircraft)
 
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Harry Leferts said:
I'd have a look at the Scorpion as well. All you need is to slap a F-5 style radar into it and it would make a very low cost Fighter.
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That is very close to the max weight of WWII carriers. I'mma steal this and slap an F-number on it. Thank you.
Hmm, F-42 Scorpion II (because it needs an integrated gun) as a replacement for the 233.
For interceptor duty there's the T-50/F-50 and KF-X used by South Korea as a basis.
F-51 White Eagle then.
Or maybe I should change the designation to something else to indicate that the craft is Japanese-designed? Is there something that would indicate that?
 
ltmauve said:
Yeah, I see what you mean. Though in DFH the last step is omitted, since full-sized planes mean humans can compete with Abyssals in the air... with the exception of carrier princesses, whose aircraft cheat.
So, thoughts about the following aircraft lineup?
F-4K Phantom IV (ground based interceptor)
F-46 Starbeam II (ground-based fighter)
A-7N Corsair VI (ground-based fast bomber)
P1-B (ground-based heavy bomber)
Type-203 (Carrier-based interceptor)
Type-233 (Carrier-based fighter/bomber)
SH-60L (Carrier- and ground-based ASW helicopter)
The F-46, Type-203, and Type-233 are all not real aircraft, while the rest are upgraded versions of older aircraft. I'd say the F-46 would be around 10-12,000 kg, smaller than modern aircraft. The Types are about the size of the jet aircraft developed in WWII, though they have better engines, better weapons, better sensors, etc. The 203 is a twin-engine supersonic gun interceptor with no missiles. The 233 is a single-engine fighter-bomber that can carry 800kg of bombs or missiles (16 SACF)

Also, I'd imagine that taking down a 4,000 kg craft with missiles is easier than taking down a 18,000 kg craft with missiles. In addition, Abyssal aircraft are slower so a missile can have a less powerful motor and/or bigger fins. Thus, you could actually start approaching Macross levels of missile play. Call them SACF missiles (Small Airframe Close Fuse) (These missiles are smaller than usual and explode closer to enemy aircraft)
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*looks at list before Gibbs slapping Itmauve* FOOL! YOU FORGOTTEN THE BEST ONE!

The F-8 Crusader, the last of the gunfighters. And a very tough, often came home with 37mm shells in Nam, has FOUR 20mm cannons, and be launch with its wings in the folded position. It also has solid manvuerablity along with room for four missiles or 8,000 pounds of bombs as is.
 
ltmauve said:
Or maybe I should change the designation to something else to indicate that the craft is Japanese-designed? Is there something that would indicate that?
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In general, just stick a 'J' where the model revision letter is. F-15J, UH-1J, CH-47J, many others...

EDIT: Well, that's a little simplistic. It's largely for license-built stuff, but doesn't seem to be restricted to it.
 
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Rajvik_wolfboy said:
we have to remember that one of the main things about the KC universe is that modern radar and other tech has a very hard time targeting abyssal fighters.
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That's not really a "main thing of the KC universe" though. It's a very common fanonical interpretation, but it's in no way actually required.

It just flows easily from either narrative convenience, size disparity or people being lazy and blaming shipgirl magic.
 
I pretty sure the main problem that modern technology has against fighting against the abyssal is more than just detecting them.
  • Just hitting them with enough fire power to destroy them would be problem cause it would be hard to adjust your aim in mid-battle on open sea against humanoid size targets with the strength and power of warships.
  • Detecting them would be a problem if you don't know how to tell them apart from others thing that can show up on radar like drones, R/C chopper, birds, as well due to small size of abyssal fighters would make them a pain to spot let alone to shoot at.
  • Having a group of steel ships vs. abyssal ships is like in gundam where a brunch of mobile suits can harass and destroy battleships with ease despite them having the power to destroy them. Basically they have what steel ships don't have which is speed, mobility and the power to adapt to change in the environment.
 
Kyte said:
That's not really a "main thing of the KC universe" though. It's a very common fanonical interpretation, but it's in no way actually required.

It just flows easily from either narrative convenience, size disparity or people being lazy and blaming shipgirl magic.
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Nothing in canon. either the game or the anime, says anything about why shipgirls fight with no support from conventional forces. Only that that's how things are.

In the game you are the Admiral of a naval base full of shipgirls, with no real ships mentioned. In the anime and the movie no conventional forces appear or are referred.

You can make up your own reasons for this state of things, or adopt any of the commonly used fanon options. You cannot be refuted because simply there is no canon on it.
 
Flare said:
The in-game descriptions of the expeditions mention the escort of convoy ships.
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Which is commonly accepted as a thing, anyway. In most fics, escort operations are probably the most common combat action against Abyssal forces. Thank god most cargo ships are faster than WWII-era subs these days. Of course, that means heavier units have to be diverted to provide cover against surface raiders… :think:
 
Flare said:
The in-game descriptions of the expeditions mention the escort of convoy ships.
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In the actual gameplay, no convoy ships are involved. Actually, in several missions you have to equip your "escort ships" with additional storage, the "drum cannisters", which strongly suggests that the shipgirls themselves are the ones carrying the cargo with no assistance of merchant or cargo ships.

Moreover, if the expeditions were "escort missions", you could lose a number of protected ships, increasing or reducing your mission rewards. Such mechanic does not exist in the game. It is an inconsistency in the game, actually. The expeditions are duration-based: once the indicated time has passed, your fleet is back, and you get the reward. Some missions cost fuel and ammo, which suggests combat, but the fact that shipgirls come back from an expedition unharmed suggests that it is actually some kind of shore bombardment with no return fire. That would mean that the "expeditions" are actually some kind of "supply raids", and you don't send civilian ships to raid missions.
 
Darth Thanatos said:
Moreover, if the expeditions were "escort missions", you could lose a number of protected ships, increasing or reducing your mission rewards. Such mechanic does not exist in the game. It is an inconsistency in the game, actually. The expeditions are duration-based: once the indicated time has passed, your fleet is back, and you get the reward. Some missions cost fuel and ammo, which suggests combat, but the fact that shipgirls come back from an expedition unharmed suggests that it is actually some kind of shore bombardment with no return fire. That would mean that the "expeditions" are actually some kind of "supply raids", and you don't send civilian ships to raid missions.
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Yeah, there was the hypothesis/theory that the expeditions are referencing IJN resource raids during WW2.

Although, of course the expeditions wouldn't have any damage or reduced rewards. Imagine waiting for your ships to come back after 24 hours in real time, and you find that you don't get all the resources expected, or you have to wait more minutes/hours for the returned ships to undergo repairs before being deployed again. A mechanic like that would be rage-inducing.
 
Well didn't the newest event introduce NPC allied fleets for that campaign?
 
lelenoi said:
Although, of course the expeditions wouldn't have any damage or reduced rewards. Imagine waiting for your ships to come back after 24 hours in real time, and you find that you don't get all the resources expected, or you have to wait more minutes/hours for the returned ships to undergo repairs before being deployed again. A mechanic like that would be rage-inducing.
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I guess. There is also the fact that if you expected ship-damaging opposition, then it would not be an "expedition", but rather a "sortie". IIRC, there are a few "sortie" maps where your ships can carry drums to get resources, both in the upper level maps and in events.

Anyway, the intended point was to imply that even in expeditions there is no use of cargo ships that could be considered "real" ships.
Zelinko said:
Well didn't the newest event introduce NPC allied fleets for that campaign?
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No idea. I haven't played an event since... I think I missed all the Surigao strait shenanigans and everything related to Leyte, so I'm not up to date except passing comments in the KanColle gaming thread.

But from what I read, those are still NPC shipgirls, right?
 
Darth Thanatos said:
I guess. There is also the fact that if you expected ship-damaging opposition, then it would not be an "expedition", but rather a "sortie". IIRC, there are a few "sortie" maps where your ships can carry drums to get resources, both in the upper level maps and in events.

Anyway, the intended point was to imply that even in expeditions there is no use of cargo ships that could be considered "real" ships.

No idea. I haven't played an event since... I think I missed all the Surigao strait shenanigans and everything related to Leyte, so I'm not up to date except passing comments in the KanColle gaming thread.

But from what I read, those are still NPC shipgirls, right?
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Think so? I don't play but had to poke around to see if they transcribed what the big turkey had said and figure out her actual name
 
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