Spring 2017 Event

Introduction

The Spring 2017 Event titled "Sortie! Fifth Fleet To the North East!"is planned to begin around May 2nd, 2017. Details regarding the event note that the event will be taking place in the Northern Pacific Area (But not in the AL area), will consist of 5 maps in which 3 of them will take place as a main stage operation, while the remaining 2 maps will be an extra Operation.

The Theme of the Operation revealed in KanColle Style Vol.4 and Famitsu's April 27th Magazine notes that it will center around Defensive Operation that will take place after "That battle" in which the remaining Type 97 Torpedo Bombers and Hayabusa fought thier final battle.

Evidence suggests the operation may focus on the Battle of Shumshu as this was where the remaining Type 97 Torpedo Bombers and Hayabusa had thier final battle against invading the Russian forces.

Using the details from the event location and information provided from the sources, the main location of the event is set to take place at the Kurile Islands around near Shumshu. In which the 5th Fleet was sent and stationed there around 1943- 1944.

In addition, it has been noted the some of the ships that will appear in this event will have named tied to locations around the area of the Operation.

For additional information regarding event-related subjects and content related to the dev tweets, please refer to the following links:

• Combined Fleet
• Armor Reduction
• Land-Based Air Squadron
• Transport Operation
• Anti-Air Cut-In
• Line of Sight
• Improving Ship Speed (May become a part of event map requirements)

Historical Background

Disclaimer: The following information is based upon a summary of World War II history and may not have any influence with the game itself. This is for historical reference only.

The 5th Fleet

The 5th Fleet were mainly composed of IJN ships that were stationed up in the North back in 1943-1944. They were mainly sent there as a defensive measure to prevent US forces from approaching from the Northern Pacific.

They were also being considered to conduct an invasion against Russia at some point during the war, but due to the outcomes as the war progressed, the 5th Fleet would eventually have to move to Letye to battle the American forces down in the south which would ultimately destroy all but two ships that was a part of the fleet. This Fleet would then become disbanded.

The following list is a list of the all the members of the 5th Fleet from the 2nd Sino-Japanese War, all the way to before Leyte Gulf.

The Fifth Fleet Members List of currently existing ships in game prior to Leyte Gulf Campaign

Second Sino-Japanese War
Myoukou, Nagara, Tenryuu, Tatsuta, Kikuzuki, Mikazuki, Mochizuki

Pearl Harbor
Tama, Kiso

Operation Cottage (This Fleet is the closest connected to the Northern Pacific)
Nachi, Maya, Tama, Kiso, Abukuma, Samidare, Hibiki, Asagumo, Yuugumo, Akigumo, Kazagumo, Shimakaze, Wakaba, Hatsushimo, Naganami

For more information please feel free to view Wikipedia's 5th Fleet Article

The Kurile Islands and the Battle of Shumshu

Prior to to WWII back in 1941, Japan began to occupy the Kurile Islands to set up as one of many base of operations as they were slowly gathering to engage in war in the US. The place was chosen since it was an area which had a small population and was constant cover of fog. It also was under ownership of the Japanese after a ratified agreement made between Russian and Japan back in 1875.

During the War, the American forces would attempt to attack the Kurile Islands bombing both Shumshu and Paramushiro in 1943 which would later alert Japan's army and navy to take additional defenses again the American's assault resulting in the 5th Fleet being stationed in the North to defend the Kurile Islands and to aid in plans to help expand thier reach in the Northern Pacific.

As time would pass, eventually the 5th Fleet would be reassign to defend the Letye Gulf in late 1944,which would ultimately seal thier fate.

By the time the war came to an end with America, Japan would then face off against another battle against the Russian forces that would invade both Shumshu and Paramushiro. By around this time, Japan was suffering from a severe lack in resources to keep going. With only a small amount of Type 97 bombers, 4 Hayabusa, the 11th Tank Battalion, and several thousands of soldiers. Japan would fight thier last battle to defend the islands, but ultimately due to thier suffering losses from the war they would ultimately surrender to the Russians and would give the islands back to Russian and leave the Kurile Islands.

For more information please feel free to view the follow:

Wikipedia's Kurile Island Article
Wikipedia's Battle of Shumshu Article
North Pacific Skies' Kurile Island Website

Information

New Ships

It has been reported that multiple ships both large and small will be appearing in this event which the following has been confirmed.

1. A former Cruiser Liner, that was changed to an escort carrier. It has been confirmed to be the nameship Taiyo of the Taiyou-class from Tanaka's Interview in April 27th's Famitsu Magazine.
   • Said Escort Carrier is mentioned in Tanaka's Interview in KanColle Style Vol.4 and Dev Tweets note that she will be weak at first, but once trained and remodeled will become a capable ASW unit.
   • Taiyou will be given out as an E-3 Reward upon completing the Main Operation.
2. A Battleship whose name was changed during the "Revolution", and later on was changed back to her original name.
   • Evidence from Tanaka's Interview in April 27th's Famitsu Magazine suggests that the Battleship will not be named after any location in the Shumshu area. It's believed the battleship is the Russian battleship Sevastopol.
3. Tanaka noted in his Interview in April 27th's Famitsu Magazine that there will also be another ship whose name is connected to the operation in the area.

New Equipment

1. New Equipment mentioned in the Tanaka's Interview in KanColle Style Vol.4 notes that we will be getting the Hayabusa.
   • Rank Rewards on the 29th showed that there are at least 4 different Hayabusa Types.
     • Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa Model II
     • Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa Model III A
     • Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa Model III A (54th Air Squadron)
     • Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa Model II (64th Air Squadron)
   • Noted in the same interview, Squadron based versions of the Hayabusa should be available for Normal Difficulty or higher.
   • The Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa Model III A (54th Air Squadron) based upon the Air Group which occupied Shumshu will be avalaible on Normal Difficulty or higher.
   • Dev Tweets also confirmed that the Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa Model II (64th Air Squadron) which was lead by the famous pilot ace Tateo Katou, will be avalaible on Hard mode difficulty only.

Mechanics

Participation requirements

• Must have a 75% sortie win ratio.
• Must have 5 empty ship slots for new ships.
• Must have 20 free equipment slots.

Special Mechanics

1. The difficulty system first used in Spring 2015 Event returns: you can choose between Operation A (甲, Hard), Operation B (乙, Medium) or Operation C (丙, Easy).
   • Choosing A or B requires certain HQ Level (HQ Lv 35 for B / 80 for A in Spring 2015 Event).
   • An important note to all Admirals intending to clear the event on Hard difficulty - further (new) conditions now apply:
     • When switching difficulty from any other difficulty to Hard, the map's debuff mechanism (where applicable) will be reset.
       • Switching between any other difficulties will not reset the debuff mechanism.
2. The debuff system of Summer 2015 Event's final map, where certain nodes had to be killed to reduce boss armor, returns.

Event Map Summary

Quick Info Table

Classification	Map	Name	Combined Fleet?	Land-Based Air Squadron?	Color of Tag	Tag Condition & Deployment Restriction	Difficulty Restrictions	Notes
Main Operation	E-1		???	???		Tagging: Ships not already color-tagged will be tagged with the color associated with the map when deployed. This tag exists on all difficulties and is not reset on remodel, etc. Deployment Restriction: Normal or Hard: Must have either the same-colored tag or no tag. Easy: No restrictions.	No restrictions. All difficulties OK
	E-2		???	???			In order to play these maps on hard, you must complete the previous map* on either normal or hard. (e.g., to do E-4 on hard, you must complete E-3 on normal or hard.)
	E-3		???	???
Extra Operation	E-4		???	???
	E-5		???	???

Contribute Information

We would like you to contribute information regarding pathing, drops, enemy compositions, mechanics, etc. as you play through the event. If you happen to discover anything, be sure to contribute your information via the talk page or by a links down below.

E-1 Data Submission Forms by Tsubakura
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E-2 Data Submission Forms by Tsubakura
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E-3 Data Submission Forms by Tsubakura
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E-4 Data Submission Forms by Tsubakura
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E-5 Data Submission Forms by Tsubakura
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