Air Combat TF Sortie Count Refresh

[Capt Cliff]

Is there another way to refresh the sortie count other than moving to a port? The US Navy developed a means of resupplying Air Combat TF's at sea, but the IJN never did! Will putting an AE of AKE into a replenishment TF do the job?

[BBfanboy]

You can refuel at sea from game start, but replenishing from an AE can only take place from Jan. 1, 1945 onward. AKEs cannot do underway replenishment.
An AKE parked anywhere can do replenishment if it has the size and supplies to handle the type of ammo required. You do not have to return to a distant home port.

[dr.hal]

As indicated Cliff, underway ammo replenishment was a concept only refined late in the war, thus the rule that it can only be accomplished in 1945 and beyond (for those who's game goes into 1946). The only ships that can perform this complicated operation is the AE, a dedicated ammo ship.

[dcpollay]

The OP asked about replenishing sortie count, not ammo. I'm curious about this myself. Are sorties included in replenishment?

[RangerJoe]

The OP asked about replenishing sortie count, not ammo. I'm curious about this myself. Are sorties included in replenishment?

In a short answer, YES!

[dcpollay]

Short answer is good!

Is there a longer answer?

[Capt Cliff]

The OP asked about replenishing sortie count, not ammo. I'm curious about this myself. Are sorties included in replenishment?

In a short answer, YES!

Thanks! I am currently read Toll's 3 volume account of the Pacific War. I believe Toll mentioned this ability to keep the fleet at sea helped with Leyte Gulf and Halsey's sortie into the South China Sea, which was 10/44. Can this 1/45 date be changed by the editor? If so where?

[RangerJoe]

Short answer is good!

Is there a longer answer?

Okay, if you want a little more verbosity . . .

The answer for the question that you have asked is simplicity itself as long as the AE and/or AKE has enough supplies available, is in the same hex as the requesting aircraft carrier vessel, the aircraft carrier vessel has sufficient operation points available to be replenished by the supplying vessel, the supplying ship needs to be disbanded in port or in a task force at the port, is not damaged to the extent that the ship can not operate, is not being repaired at pierside nor in a shipyard, and has sufficient operation points available in order to replenish the sorties requested. Some people may also be able to add other factors to this very simple and rather short answer.

[Chris21wen]

Short answer is good!

Is there a longer answer?

Ships did not carry an infinite supply of ac ordnance hence the use of sorties, CAP not included. Like ship ordnance, ac ordnance can be resupplied in the normal methods via ports, AEs or AKEs. Resupplying at sea (AE) is not available until 1945 and all three methods have restrictions due to size of port or cargo hold for AK/AKEs as to what can be resupplied. This normally being big stuff like torps of BB shell.

See section 15.2. Naval supply, 7.2.1.10 Impact of ordnamce on Air missions, 9.3.3.2 cargo and fuel handling and finally 20.1.2.2 Ship Rearmament at Ports Table.

[Capt Cliff]

Short answer is good!

Is there a longer answer?

Okay, if you want a little more verbosity . . .

The answer for the question that you have asked is simplicity itself as long as the AE and/or AKE has enough supplies available, is in the same hex as the requesting aircraft carrier vessel, the aircraft carrier vessel has sufficient operation points available to be replenished by the supplying vessel, the supplying ship needs to be disbanded in port or in a task force at the port, is not damaged to the extent that the ship can not operate, is not being repaired at pierside nor in a shipyard, and has sufficient operation points available in order to replenish the sorties requested. Some people may also be able to add other factors to this very simple and rather short answer.

Yes, I understand the mechanics but this 1/45 date, can it be changed via the editor?

[RangerJoe]

Short answer is good!

Is there a longer answer?

Okay, if you want a little more verbosity . . .

The answer for the question that you have asked is simplicity itself as long as the AE and/or AKE has enough supplies available, is in the same hex as the requesting aircraft carrier vessel, the aircraft carrier vessel has sufficient operation points available to be replenished by the supplying vessel, the supplying ship needs to be disbanded in port or in a task force at the port, is not damaged to the extent that the ship can not operate, is not being repaired at pierside nor in a shipyard, and has sufficient operation points available in order to replenish the sorties requested. Some people may also be able to add other factors to this very simple and rather short answer.

Yes, I understand the mechanics but this 1/45 date, can it be changed via the editor?

You might want to ask that on the Scenario Design Modding forums.

[GrosserKreuzer]

And the japanese can not resupply at see because they have no AEs, only AKEs.

[Chris21wen]

Yes, I understand the mechanics but this 1/45 date, can it be changed via the editor?

Sorties can, wpn slots 19 and 20 but I doubt very much you can change the re-supply at sea. But why?

[dcpollay]

Short answer is good!

Is there a longer answer?

Okay, if you want a little more verbosity . . .

The answer for the question that you have asked is simplicity itself as long as the AE and/or AKE has enough supplies available, is in the same hex as the requesting aircraft carrier vessel, the aircraft carrier vessel has sufficient operation points available to be replenished by the supplying vessel, the supplying ship needs to be disbanded in port or in a task force at the port, is not damaged to the extent that the ship can not operate, is not being repaired at pierside nor in a shipyard, and has sufficient operation points available in order to replenish the sorties requested. Some people may also be able to add other factors to this very simple and rather short answer.

One more follow-up on this...You said, "the supplying ship needs to be disbanded in port or in a task force at the port." So, replenishment must be done at a port location, not out in the middle of the ocean? That doesn't seem right, can you confirm it?

[LargeSlowTarget]

Yes, in 1941-1944 replenishment must be done at a port location, not out in the middle of the ocean - only in 1945 resupplying at sea from AE types becomes available. Why doesn't this seem right?

In late 1944, Admiral Raymond Spruance had begun preparing to bomb the Japanese Home Islands to eliminate the air threat to the planned invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He realized that the primary hurdle to keeping his 12 aircraft carriers and associated escorts on station would not be fuel but rather ammunition. It would take only three days for the ships to expend their ordnance, after which they would have to make a 2,000-nm, 12-day sail to Ulithi Atoll and back—meaning only six days of bombing could occur per month. Admiral Spruance directed the development of a method for transferring ordnance and stores at sea, ultimately approving the Burton Method (named for the development team’s leader, Captain Burton Biggs), an adaptation of the pier-side process that used existing cargo winches on both the delivery ship and aircraft carrier. On 23 February 1945, the USS Shasta (AE-6) conducted the first underway ammunition replenishment, by breaking ammunition out on deck by hand—including rolling bombs across the deck—and then levering it to the USS Bennington (CV-20).

Source: https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-hi ... shment-sea

More info: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/GSBO/GSBO-19.html

[RangerJoe]

Short answer is good!

Is there a longer answer?

Okay, if you want a little more verbosity . . .

The answer for the question that you have asked is simplicity itself as long as the AE and/or AKE has enough supplies available, is in the same hex as the requesting aircraft carrier vessel, the aircraft carrier vessel has sufficient operation points available to be replenished by the supplying vessel, the supplying ship needs to be disbanded in port or in a task force at the port, is not damaged to the extent that the ship can not operate, is not being repaired at pierside nor in a shipyard, and has sufficient operation points available in order to replenish the sorties requested. Some people may also be able to add other factors to this very simple and rather short answer.

One more follow-up on this...You said, "the supplying ship needs to be disbanded in port or in a task force at the port." So, replenishment must be done at a port location, not out in the middle of the ocean? That doesn't seem right, can you confirm it?

If it were not done at a port location then it would be underway replenishment would would be done as described in the previous post.

[Chris21wen]

Yes, I understand the mechanics but this 1/45 date, can it be changed via the editor?

Sorties can, wpn slots 19 and 20 but I doubt very much you can change the re-supply at sea. But why?

I just noticed the But why. It means why do yo want to change it not that you can't.

[Chris21wen]

The re-supplying ship needs to be disbanded. Having it in a TF, docked or otherwise does not work. This, as RangerJoe said, would be re-supplying at sea.