Vengeance at Luzon

Vengeance at Luzon is the 4th campaign mission and the first to not feature the protagonist Henry Walker. Instead, it follows Major Donald Locklear who's on a mission to sink the Japanese battleship Fusō.

## Mission Background

"January 20th, 1942.

As Henry rests in Java after his exertions, his friend Major Donald Locklear, now Executive Officer of a fighter squadron onboard the carrier USS Lexington, is heading back into trouble.

A crippled Japanese battleship is harbored near the Philippines island of Luzon, and a daring strike has been planned to sink her.

First- B-17 bombers will attempt to neutralise the Japanese airfield, giving an opportunity for Lexington's strike planes to attack the battleship at anchor, and send her to the bottom.

Donald's role is to provide fighter escort to the attack, and his experience in fighting the Japanese Zero pilots will be essential to the success of the mission."

-In-game background

## Smoking the Hornet's Nest

The first part of the mission is to protect a flight of B-17s headed to destroy a Japanese airfield that could impede the operation. Multiple flights of Zeroes stand between the B-17s and the airfield.

## Sinking the "battleship"

Once the airfield has been destroyed, a flight of SBD Dauntlesses known as "Tiger Squadron" will enter the combat area and conduct the first strike on the battleship.

Once Tiger Squadron has dropped their ordnance and flown to the navigation point, TBF Avengers known as "Bobcat Squadron" will attempt to sink the battleship.

But wait, it turns out that wasn't a battleship.

## Fusō

The actual battleship is then spotted by a PBY Catalina and Donald is ordered to land and command deck operations on Lexington, which is Fusō's target.

Fusō is accompanied by a pair of destroyers and two flights of Zeroes.

## Objectives

### Primary

* Donald must survive
* Defend the B-17 bomber squadron
* Sink the anchored battleship in the harbor
* Retreat to the navigation point with your squadron
* The USS Lexington must not sink

## Allied Order of Battle

### Aircraft

#### Fighters

* Donald (F4F) (Eagle Squadron)
* 3 x F4F Wildcats (Eagle Squadron)

## Enemy Order of Battle

### Ships

#### Fubuki-class destroyers

* Sazanami
* Nenohi
* Yamakaze
* Yudachi

#### Merchant ships

* Kanikawa Maru
* Kuretake Maru
* Taishu Maru
* Fizan Maru

#### Miscellaneous

* Rescue Ship
* Fishing Boat

### Land Installations

* Hangar
* 2 x Light AA

## Historical Inaccuracies

* USS Brooks was actually operating near mainland USA at the time of this mission.
* USS Lexington was not operating near the Philippines at the time of this mission.
* Fusō was actually sunk at the Battle of Surigao Strait in 1944.
* Tone was actually operating near Rabaul at the time of this mission.
* Sazanami was actually operating near Palau at the time of this mission.
* Nenohi is shown as a Fubuki-class, however she was actually a *Hatsharu-class destroyer*.
* Nenohi was actually conducting escort missions near Davao at the time of this mission.
* Yamakaze is shown as Fubuki-class, however she was actually a *Shiratsuyu-class destroyer*
* Yamakaze was actually near Tarakan at the time of this mission.
* Yudachi is shown as a Fubuki-class, however she was actually a *Shiratsuyu-class destroyer*.
* Yudachi was actually near Tarakan at the time of this mission.