Landing Craft/Ships

[Eskil]

Hello!

Newbie question here.

How do the Landing Crafts and Landing Ships actually work.

I am playing the Guadalcanal scenario as the allies and I have just received a couple of LSTs and a couple of LCI(G).

The LST show up in the ship listing with 1000 in capacity and if I have understood correctly (since I can't find anything about this in the manual) they are supposed to be used to carry Tanks to reduce disruption during invasions, correct?

The LCI(G)s don't show any capacity though. Aren't they supposed to carry Infantry or how do I use those ships?

/Eskil

[Barb]

LST are designed as Landing Ship Tank - To carry Tanks to the landing beaches. In PTO they were commonly used as fast-unload cargo ships (as no big tank formations cant operate on islands/atols). They carried few tractors and trailers loaded with supplies.
Use them to load your arty, armor, flak units and divisional/regimental artillery.
LCT, LCI, LSI, LSD and others are landing ships.

LCI(G) - Landing craft Infantry (Gun) - designed as Landing crafts for infantry, armed with guns, mortars, cannons and mortars they were used as close support for shore bombardment (as bigger ships must stop their fire to reduce friendly hits)
LCI(M), LCI(R), LCI(G), LCI(R) and others are shore bombardment ships (unfortunately not functioning in witp as i know). You can use them only as targets [:)]

[Terminus]

Yeah, that's the main use of LST's, though they can obviously carry all kinds of troops. The capacity-less LCI(G)'s are armed landing craft, meant for beach defence suppression. They don't carry anything, and they don't work either. The problem is fixed in the Admiral's Edition, but for now, they're worthless.

[saj42]

LSTs (Landing Ship Tank) are as you say used for carrying vehicles and some troops for amphibious landings. Use them in TFs with APs/AKs when making an invasion, alternatively because of their slow speed you might want to put them in a separate TF.

LCI(G) - Landing Craft Infantry (Gun) are large landing craft that IRL were converted to carry 5" guns or similar to suppress beach defences in the landing phase of an invasion. In the game however they are totally useless as the game code doesn't work - they end up taking a lot of hits and do nothing to aid the landing. They don't carry LCUs. Leave them behind or use them as decoys (they are only worth few VPs)

EDIT: Damn 'T' is so fast, or my typing is too slow

[Feinder]

The LC/LS type ships carry troops, yes.  They unload faster with less disruption than APs and AKs.  You need a lot of them tho.  And you'll need a few AK/APs in your convoy anyway, because the full range on smaller capacity LCs is only about 6.
 
The LCI(G), LCI(R), LCI(M) types don't work.  They're Landing craft with Guns, Rockets, and Mortars, and are supposed to shoot back at CD guns to suppress them while your conventional LCs land troops.  However they don't actually shoot back, and frankly just piss-off the CD guns even more, become targets themselves.  Best to just leave those in port, they're pointless (and no, they won't act as sponges so that your troop-laden LCs don't get fired on - your troop laden LCs will get shot up plenty with or without LCI(*) in your TF).
 
-F-

[Terminus]

That answer enough for you?[:D][:D]

[mlees]

I read somewhere that the LCI(G)'s don't work as designed. Might as well not bring them...

[John Lansford]

Will the larger landing craft show up similar to other ships, or are they just like the LCM's that show up as barges?

[saj42]

Hitting the create barge button will give you LCT, LCM, LCVP - all short range coastal types with limited capacity.

All others are in the ship reinforcement queue, as they are 'ocean going'.
They include LST, LSM, LCI, plus all the useless armed versions LSM(R), LCI(G), LCI(M), LCI(R) etc

[John Lansford]

Well that makes sense, at least, that the 'ocean going' sized landing craft arrive like all the other larger ships.  I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the LCM's and LCVP's I've already got though.  Probably put them in the Solomons and let them run back and forth between nearby bases carrying small loads of supply.
 
Can the heavier armed versions get included in a Surface Warfare TF?  At least that way they could provide some cover from any airstrikes or surface attacks for the rest of the invasion force.

[AW1Steve]

It's probably gamey , but since the LCI(G)'s are useless anyway , I some times use them to form a picket line, instead of valuable DD's. I have only done this against the AI though, I don't know what a live player would say about this...

[panda124c]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

It's probably gamey , but since the LCI(G)'s are useless anyway , I some times use them to form a picket line, instead of valuable DD's. I have only done this against the AI though, I don't know what a live player would say about this...

IIRC this was done at Okinawa, But my memory is old.
Oh the other name for LST (Large Slow Target) [:D]

[AW1Steve]

ORIGINAL: pbear

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

It's probably gamey , but since the LCI(G)'s are useless anyway , I some times use them to form a picket line, instead of valuable DD's. I have only done this against the AI though, I don't know what a live player would say about this...

IIRC this was done at Okinawa, But my memory is old.
Oh the other name for LST (Large Slow Target) [:D]

I knew about DD's being used , but I was not aware of any amphibs being used. Thanks.

[niceguy2005]

Follow on question in the game the LSIs have a capacity of 180 (IIRC) and endurance of 8000.  Is this correct???  How can a ship only carry a handful of squads but have the endurance to sail across the pacific????

[AW1Steve]

ORIGINAL: niceguy2005

Follow on question in the game the LSIs have a capacity of 180 (IIRC) and endurance of 8000.  Is this correct???  How can a ship only carry a handful of squads but have the endurance to sail across the pacific????

With a tanker mothership.

[panda124c]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

ORIGINAL: pbear

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

It's probably gamey , but since the LCI(G)'s are useless anyway , I some times use them to form a picket line, instead of valuable DD's. I have only done this against the AI though, I don't know what a live player would say about this...

IIRC this was done at Okinawa, But my memory is old.
Oh the other name for LST (Large Slow Target) [:D]

I knew about DD's being used , but I was not aware of any amphibs being used. Thanks.

From:

http://usspavlic.org/pages/chapter3a.htm

Radar Picket Station 10 had been manned by the USS Aaron Ward (DM 34), the USS Little (DD 803), LSM-195, and LCS’s, 14, 25, and 38. The USS Aaron Ward was the lead ship and coordinated with the Combat Air Patrol to help them intercept incoming kamikazes. She and the USS Little were both very capable destroyers and were reinforced by the antiaircraft fire power of the LSM and the LCS’s. Those smaller ships were commonly called “pall bearers” by the destroyer men. An LCS (Landing Craft, Support) was a derivative of an LCI (Landing Craft, Infantry), both flat- bottomed craft designed to come in close to shore to support an invasion. The LSM (Landing Ship, Medium) was a similar craft with a lot of firepower. In fact, the LSM-195 was also equipped with rockets.