Stuck Air Groups!

[Capt Cliff]

I got three air groups stuck at three locations and I can't move them because they have dwindled down to zero ready planes. They have damaged and reserve planes, but no ready planes. One group are refugees from a sunken carrier at Buna and the others are PBY's I put at Santa Cruz and another island. I've sent a supply ship with supplies and fuel to one base but the planes won't ready! I can't withdraw them or disband them so I or they are stuck! What gives!

Any ideas out there?

[juliet7bravo]

You have to have the aviation support on site to repair the planes. For the PBY's you can send an AV, for the carrier planes you'll have to send them in by air or transport. With no or insufficient aviation support at a base, aircraft will slowly breakdown, ie. dwindle down to zero ready AC.

[Fred98]

According to page 110 of the manual, the player must get Aviation Support Points to the base.

But players must also get supplies for naval units to the base and supplies for ground units to the base.

But I can not see any mention of the mechanics of how to actually get supplies to the bases.

Do the 3 types of supply require 3 separate missions? Or do they need 3 separate types of ships to transport the supplies?
-

[Supervisor]

Originally posted by Joe 98
According to page 110 of the manual, the player must get Aviation Support Points to the base.

But players must also get supplies for naval units to the base and supplies for ground units to the base.

But I can not see any mention of the mechanics of how to actually get supplies to the bases.

Do the 3 types of supply require 3 separate missions? Or do they need 3 separate types of ships to transport the supplies?
-

Aviation support points are supplied by certain ground units.

There are:

• Supplies
  food, clothing, av gas, spare parts, medical supplies, ammunition, etc. --- or in other words, all possible supplies needed to support air, land or sea units (except for fuel oil)
• Fuel
  fuel oil (for ships)

Troops can be hauled by AP (troop transports), APD (fast transports), AG (barges) and (for the Japanese) in CLs & DDs.

Supplies can be hauled by AP (troop transports), AK (cargo ships), AG (barges), APD (fast transports) and (for the Japanese) some by CLs & DDs.

Fuel oil can be transported most efficiently by TK (oil tankers) & AO (fleet oilers). Fuel can also be hauled as if it were regular supply cargo (essentially, in drums) but at a reduced rate.

Thus, if you have a 2000 ton cargo ship (AK), it could carry 2000 tons of cargo or 1000 tons of fuel. A 2000 ton troop transport (AP) could carry 2000 tons of troops & supplies, 2000 tons of supplies or 1000 tons of fuel. A 2000 ton tanker (TK) could carry 2000 tons of fuel.

See page 60.

There is also air transport of troops or supplies (C-47 Dakota for the Allies, Topsy for the Japanese). It's delivered by the planes to a base (of at least size 1 unless it is a parachute unit) within ½ the maximum range of the aircraft. The C-47 can carry more, but the Topsy has a longer range. (See page 74).

Hope this helps.

[Didz]

Originally posted by Capt Cliff
I got three air groups stuck at three locations and I can't move them because they have dwindled down to zero ready planes. They have damaged and reserve planes, but no ready planes. One group are refugees from a sunken carrier at Buna and the others are PBY's I put at Santa Cruz and another island. I've sent a supply ship with supplies and fuel to one base but the planes won't ready! I can't withdraw them or disband them so I or they are stuck! What gives!

Any ideas out there?

I also have this problem but not quite as bad as I was fortunate enough to read a posting on this forum with dire warnings not to place air units at an airfield with no air support.

Even so I have two fighters stuck a Buna that need repairing and several bombers at Port Moresby that were left behind when their groups were withdrawn to Townsend.

Quick solution for your Santa Cruise Problem could be to send an AV (Seaplane Tender) to Santa Cruise with a transport full of supplies. This should get your PBY's active again.

The quick and dirty answer for the problem a Buna could be to airlift some mechanic's over there using Dakota's flying from Cairo or Cooktown. This will provide a small amount of AV support to get the planes repaired just remember to cancel the airlift before the entire Base Unit has been transferred or you will find the Australian base goes dead on you.

My biggest mystery at present is my airbase at Wae. It has ample AV Support and ample Supplies but the squadron of Hudsons based there seem unwilling to leave the ground. The fighter group seem to be performing their CAP duties well enough though. Mind you I've virtually given up trying to get those dumb B17 pilots to do anything useful either.

Attempts to order them to attack specific naval targets just result in a message (TF Cannot be TARGETTED) even though the range circle shows the target well within their range the best I've managed so far is to get them to drop an occasional bomb on the jap troops at Lae. (usually about 5 casualties in return for 4 damaged B17's and a load of stressed out B17 pilots hit the bars in Cooktown for another week.)

[johnmac]

Originally posted by Didz



My biggest mystery at present is my airbase at Wae. It has ample AV Support and ample Supplies but the squadron of Hudsons based there seem unwilling to leave the ground. The fighter group seem to be performing their CAP duties well enough though. Mind you I've virtually given up trying to get those dumb B17 pilots to do anything useful either.

If Wae is still size 1, then check out section 11.22 in the manual.

[Didz]

Originally posted by johnmac


If Wae is still size 1, then check out section 11.22 in the manual.

Cor! Bloody Hell. Half the challenge with this **** game is spotting the small print in the manual.

Sorry!

For those like me who haven't got a photographic memory rule 11.22 says basically that no bombong missions can be flown from a level 1 airfield. However, the program is quite happy you let you stick a squadron of bombers there and tell them to launch bombing raids.

Oo! look the swearing filter won't let you say ****.

[Mark W Carver]

Originally posted by Didz


Cor! Bloody Hell. Half the challenge with this **** game is spotting the small print in the manual.

To think someone else posted a message that the text is to big... I guess Matrix can't win.

[Sonny]

Originally posted by Rowlf

Aviation support points are supplied by certain ground units.

There are:

• Supplies
  food, clothing, av gas, spare parts, medical supplies, ammunition, etc. --- or in other words, all possible supplies needed to support air, land or sea units (except for fuel oil)
• Fuel
  fuel oil (for ships)

Troops can be hauled by AP (troop transports), APD (fast transports), AG (barges) and (for the Japanese) in CLs & DDs.

Supplies can be hauled by AP (troop transports), AK (cargo ships), AG (barges), APD (fast transports) and (for the Japanese) some by CLs & DDs.

Fuel oil can be transported most efficiently by TK (oil tankers) & AO (fleet oilers). Fuel can also be hauled as if it were regular supply cargo (essentially, in drums) but at a reduced rate.

Thus, if you have a 2000 ton cargo ship (AK), it could carry 2000 tons of cargo or 1000 tons of fuel. A 2000 ton troop transport (AP) could carry 2000 tons of troops & supplies, 2000 tons of supplies or 1000 tons of fuel. A 2000 ton tanker (TK) could carry 2000 tons of fuel.

See page 60.

There is also air transport of troops or supplies (C-47 Dakota for the Allies, Topsy for the Japanese). It's delivered by the planes to a base (of at least size 1 unless it is a parachute unit) within ½ the maximum range of the aircraft. The C-47 can carry more, but the Topsy has a longer range. (See page 74).

Hope this helps.

Also IIRC PBYs can haul small amounts of supplies and troops - 1 supply point for each plane in the squadron. Don't know how many troops - haven't tried that yet.

[Preacher]

In my current Scen 17 game (as the Allies), I, too, am building up the AF at Wae. Good to know about the size info as it relates to bomber missions. Currently, I am supplying it from Cairns with about 30 C-47s. Half are on supply duty and the other half are transporting in combat/support troops. Not sure what I'm going to do there yet. Just hoping to be a bone in the throat of the IJN for now - although so far they've ignored it entirely. We'll see once I start flying missions out of there

They ignored Lunga for a while, too. At least until thousands of tons of supplies/fuel and thousands of troops starting landing there. Now they (attempt to) bomb the heck out of it every day.

This game just gets better and better.

Ricky

[Didz]

Originally posted by Preacher
In my current Scen 17 game (as the Allies), I, too, am building up the AF at Wae. Good to know about the size info as it relates to bomber missions. Currently, I am supplying it from Cairns with about 30 C-47s. Half are on supply duty and the other half are transporting in combat/support troops. Not sure what I'm going to do there yet. Just hoping to be a bone in the throat of the IJN for now - although so far they've ignored it entirely. We'll see once I start flying missions out of there

They ignored Lunga for a while, too. At least until thousands of tons of supplies/fuel and thousands of troops starting landing there. Now they (attempt to) bomb the heck out of it every day.

This game just gets better and better.

Ricky

I'm playing #17 and had exactly the same thoughts as you about Wae. I actually expected it to get overrun pretty quickly but I'm well into June now and its still there. The Dakota's seem to be able to keep it supplied. I even airlifted a base unit over to it to get the airfield working. Its on level 4 Fortification now and has resident fighter cover. I tried to do the same at Buna but messed it up somehow and sent an Eng unit instead of a base unit over. (Though to be honest I'm sure the Dakota pilot misread the cargo manifest). Anyway I have such a surplus of supplies at Wae now that I have switched the dakota's to airlifting supplies into Gilli Gilli.

I let them have Lunga without a fight and I am using it as a ulcer to bleed them of AP's and AK's tryng to keep it supplied. My subs and navy pilots are having a field day.