Lets Talk Battlewagons

[Lockmart Lawndart]

Specifically, What are they good for? I'm currently midway through my first ever WITP campaign and I'm playing against the AI. I've had quite a few successes and currently hold Iwo Jima (year is July 1943, Ive had it since may of 43). And I am using Iwo to great effect as a 4E Bomber base. Excellent position for interdiction. Which meanders to my question, what are battleships good for other then Shore Bombardment?

I've tried using them in a number of different roles with little success. As area denial they are absolutely atrocious if there is even a remote betty bomber presence in the area (Battleships have an allergic reaction to torpedos) which is damn near everywhere within 19 hexes of land. And everywhere else, they are at the mercy of any carrier that happens to be crusing within 3-6 hexes(took only one carrier for me to sink the Yamato). So whenever I take my battlewagons anywhere, I have to give them at least 2-3 carriers worth of air cover or they will be torpedoed and sunk.

So basicly I might as well just park the battleships and send carriers around as I would have to send them in anyway battleships or not. Not to mention, battleships (especially the old ones, newer ones make good flak barges) are slow. So all they end up doing is slowing my task force down.

So Basicly are they just lumbering dinosaurs, best parked in a harbor until needed for shore bombardment (which unless far away from another island, can be easily accomplished by legions of 4E bombers)?

So what are they good for? other then perhaps bait or targets?

[Mynok]

You've got it: bait and shore bombardment. You'll find the latter quite useful when you start invading things. LRCAP will keep the Betties off.

[herwin]

ORIGINAL: Lockmart Lawndart

Specifically, What are they good for? I'm currently midway through my first ever WITP campaign and I'm playing against the AI. I've had quite a few successes and currently hold Iwo Jima (year is July 1943, Ive had it since may of 43). And I am using Iwo to great effect as a 4E Bomber base. Excellent position for interdiction. Which meanders to my question, what are battleships good for other then Shore Bombardment?

I've tried using them in a number of different roles with little success. As area denial they are absolutely atrocious if there is even a remote betty bomber presence in the area (Battleships have an allergic reaction to torpedos) which is damn near everywhere within 19 hexes of land. And everywhere else, they are at the mercy of any carrier that happens to be crusing within 3-6 hexes(took only one carrier for me to sink the Yamato). So whenever I take my battlewagons anywhere, I have to give them at least 2-3 carriers worth of air cover or they will be torpedoed and sunk.

So basicly I might as well just park the battleships and send carriers around as I would have to send them in anyway battleships or not. Not to mention, battleships (especially the old ones, newer ones make good flak barges) are slow. So all they end up doing is slowing my task force down.

So Basicly are they just lumbering dinosaurs, best parked in a harbor until needed for shore bombardment (which unless far away from another island, can be easily accomplished by legions of 4E bombers)?

So what are they good for? other then perhaps bait or targets?

Historically, they were useful in six contexts:

1. Shore bombardment (but only the older ones).
2. AA platforms (they could engage 2-4 times as many targets as a cruiser could).
3. Night gunship combat.
4. Poor weather gunship combat.
5. Deep support of convoys.
6. Surface escort of carrier raids.

[bobogoboom]

also good to protect bases you have just captured and are trying to biuld up from the famous nuclear bombardment.

[engineer]

Ditto Herwin.  Actually most of those roles do come out to a greater or lesser degree in WitP, though foul weather gunnery duels would be my lesser of lesser.  Mynok's bait comment is also appropriate, especially if you package them with carriers to soak up torpedos while you're working on dismantling the KB.  Targets that they are, they still are far less liable to massive secondary explosions than your flattops and attacking aircraft will target battleships about as often as carriers.