What to do with Dec 7 Survivor BBs

[Aerosol2207]

So most games after the initial attack I am left with multiple old BB cripples. Even if I send them into the shipyards, the timelines are extremely long, 700 - 1000 days I want to say. Obviously the sheer volume of tonnage of the BB's would mean that I am basically cutting the Pearl repair facility in half for the bulk of the war if I use this option. But on the other hand, the flotation damage stays so high that sending them off to the west coast does not appear to be viable. Do these old stalwarts just become decoration off to the side of the base at Pearl or is there something I am missing here in terms of repair strategy? I know in real life most of the Dec 7 victims were refloated and returned to service, not sure how to accomplish this while being economical with repair facilities.

[Platoonist]

The important thing is getting the system damage down to zero. If that is taken care of, they can usually limp to the US West Coast at cruise speed if floatation damage is about 40 or so. Keep them pier side until system damage is close to zero, then switch to shipyard and get engine and floatation to at least less than 50 each. While you're bringing system down at pier side you can put less damaged BBs and smaller ships in the shipyard.

System should definitely be zero so the crew can assist on the voyage to the West Coast if necessary. Give them a good escort in case if they run into an I-Boat on the way.

[RangerJoe]

For your reading pleasure:

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 3#p2847023

[Aerosol2207]

Thanks for the responses - so my problem is that by July 1942 the flotation damage on California and West Virginia just hasn't budged. I figured I would wait for it to get manageable then send them off to the west coast, but they have maxed out the possible repair points while pier side but are still unsafe to move.

[BBfanboy]

Read the Ship Repair Guide in the link that RJ sent you. Damage is repaired in 'bands' with most severe category being tackled first. There is a priority of type - fires get dealt with first, then minor flooding (pumping out undamaged areas that may be full of firefighting water). But if System damage is the highest after Fire is out and minor Flood is pumped out, that is what gets worked on. Major flood will not get repaired at pierside if it is above 5 points.

Also note the part of the Repair Guide about repair of devices. A knocked out turret on a BB can take a loooooong time to repair - but... IIRC it can repair concurrently with the flood, engineering, and system damage. Also, if there are upgrades available within the repair period, they can happen concurrently and add only a little to the overall timeline. I look at these upgrades to see what level of AAA firepower they give the vessel and when it will be finished upgrading, and then decide which vessels should go into the queue first. You want good AAA on any ship you intend to send in harm's way, especially in the early game when Allied air cover is not great.

[RangerJoe]

Yes, if you have the upgrades turned on then you may not actually see the flotation damage being repaired. Just keep it in Pierside mode but check on the repair ships screen if putting it into the shipyard will speed up the repairs. Once the upgrade starts, the ship can be moved into Pierside mode to finish the upgrade unless there is too much major damage which may not be repaired quickly. Having a low priority should not slow the upgrade unless there is a lot of other damage to be repaired and there are other ships with lots of damage to repair. The ARs and naval support should be concentrated at Oahu until most of the easily repaired damage is finished. If you are going to move them to the West Coast to the larger shipyards, try to have all of the system damage repaired since this will represent pumps and other necessary equipment to keep the ship floating.

If I remember correctly, ships like the Pennsylvania class and the Tennessee class have upgrades in 1942 that only take 120 days which really improves their AA capabilities. Once those start, they can be at Pierside with a Low priority.

Another thing to consider, if you have xAKs that play "bumper ships" and have a lot of damage, consider converting those to AGs, AKEs, and so on. Since they are going to take awhile to repair, use that time for a good purpose. Tenders are useful, when playing Japanese I like to make a lot of ADs even though I really don't need as many for the ammo but they are useful for the repairs.

Tender and Support/Auxillary Ship Guide

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 4#p2777354

[SuluSea]

I'm more conservative than most in my moving of ships with high flotation damage '50' is just too aggressive for me. Yeah if everything goes well , you're good but what I like to do is give me some leeway, incase things don't. I prefer to be in the 20s...if not the closer the better. I had a big number of surviving and highly beat up BBs in the game I'm currently running if you keep working the problem and moving ships out when opportunity presents everything will be okay.

These BB's are valuable as bombardment vessels and to be embedded with amphibious TFs to keep your AKA/APA , others from taking big hits during invasions. If when you decide to move a damaged vessel always make certain you have captains with very good naval ratings. Keep in mind ASW will not be where you want it in the beginning. Also as pointed out make certain upgrades are on as they will upgrade concurrently with damage being repaired.