Escorting Trans-Pacific Convoys...

[mark24]

What do you guys use for this, & how many per convoy? Will I have to use my lovely 8,000 endurance destroyers for this, or will the 3.5k=5k ones do?

Mark

[m10bob]

Generally, I use either old 4 piper DD's on American convoys in the beginning, and use roughly 2 per convoy. Never escort the faster ocean liners as the escorts will slow them down.

The Japanese have a good Kamikaze class DD for escort duty and scads of newer escorts in AE for the same purpose.

Brit "J" class DD is good as well.

Since AE gives an AI the ability to range in your rear, folks need to start looking at escorts where the need was never present in vanilla..This morning I lost the Gulfstar off the shores of San Diego..

[FOW]

Any of the smaller ones (with DCs of course) will do the job. They will be refuelled by the cargo ships when needed; it slows down the TF a bit but not so you'll notice on a long route.

[DrewMatrix]

You have a lot of AOs. I put an AO in any long distance convoy to refuel the escorts. Also I use short legged escorts (PC and KV for example) due to not having enough escorts all of a sudden now in AE <G>

[mark24]

ORIGINAL: Beezle

You have a lot of AOs. I put an AO in any long distance convoy to refuel the escorts. Also I use short legged escorts (PC and KV for example) due to not having enough escorts all of a sudden now in AE <G>

Good idea, but what about on the way back? How do you empty the xAKs but load up the AO only?

Mark

[DrewMatrix]

re the AO on the way back:

Short answer:

I haven't played enough turns to do SF-Sydney and back (only there and part way back) but I have done SF-Canton etc and back. I don't unload the AO at the destination

Long answer:
I have the convoy set don't unload/remain on station and when it gets to the destination I split out the AO and don't have it unload. Doing this also lets me split up the convoy to make a dollop small enough to dock at the destination (no AO, no escorts and maybe not the entire convoy if the port is small), then I have that subset of the convoy unload, reform the convoy and come back. This also works nicely for a Johnston Is. > Palmyra>Canton and then return convoy to have the convoy partially unload for a day or two at each for those small ports.

The new, more aggressive AI subs make you have fewer, larger convoys and actually even at large ports I often have to split the huge convoy up to unload faster. You can make a non-docked portion _not_ containing the AO and have that unload without docking (in addition to the docked convoy). It will unload at least a little.

Lots more to manage in AE than WITP but this is the sort of optimization I like doing.

[mark24]

Cheers, Beezle, think I'll be doing some of that .

Mark

[mark24]

Supplementary question, can tankers be used in this role as well as AOs?

[Mynok]

Unless it has changed in AE, even an AK can refuel an escort.

[Jim D Burns]

ORIGINAL: Mynok
Unless it has changed in AE, even an AK can refuel an escort.

They can and do, no need to put an AO in a routine convoy. Those ships are vital to your later offensives, don't risk the AO's unless you have to. I use them for backwater fuel runs to safer ports like Alaska or Pearl. Use tankers for the fuel runs to bases further out where KB may come calling. Loss of significant numbers of AOs can really crimp your future offensive ops, keep them safe.

Jim

[mark24]

What I mean is can tankers use their fuel cargo to refuel other ships?

[medicff]

ORIGINAL: mark24

What I mean is can tankers use their fuel cargo to refuel other ships?

only when at a port with the recipient. All ships will use their own fuel tank stores to fuel the smaller escorts while enroute, just not their cargo fuel.