ORIGINAL: Chickenboy
Some additional things that I would recommend JFBs consider:
1. New game, new paradigm. Improvise, adapt and overcome. You *must* escort your ships with capable escorts. If you are concerned about submarine attacks, ASW platforms such as subchasers or PBs may be sufficient. Against PTs or other surface threats, SCs and PBs are insufficient. If you have a high value asset (large LCU that you would like to land), you'd better protect it accordingly. DDs in an escort role AS WELL AS attached surface combat escort may be necessary. Sweep known PT sanctuaries with capable surface combat ships.
2. PT boats thrive in the littorals where they can sneak in and deliver a punch at close range. Or at least that's their theoretical strength. Avoid these situations of strength for the PT. Yes, that means that KB is at risk of surface intercept while winding its way through some narrow DEI strait, as IRL. Avoid these bottlenecks where you can-heavily escort anything that moves through when it must.
3. Try to time the unloading of your amphibious convoy to daylight hours. Better to have your escorts engage the PTs during daylight hours at range rather than engage in a knife fight in the dark, as is the PT's want.
4. Low-level PT hunting aircraft. Sweep known PT sanctuaries with low-level strafing fighters. The IJ forces will have air superiority locally almost everywhere and functional air supremacy in some areas in the first months of the war. Use your superior AF to shoot up PTs.
5. Select ships that can unload your LCUs faster in the danger zone. It takes longer (and therefore the TF is in an exposed position of risk longer) to unload an cargo-loaded xAK than it does an amphibious-loaded AP on the beach. Plan accordingly to get in, drop off and scoot before you make yourself a tempting target for a SCTF or PTs.
CB,
I'd say most of you points are very true, except maybe number 1. While it is of course critical to escort your transports if they are going into PT waters, the IJN can't start trading their limited DDs 1 for 1 with what is effectively an unlimited number of PTs, or even 1 DD for 5 PTs. And with PTs as they are now, sending even a dedicated SCTF of DDs against like numbers of PTs will almost certainly result in a few severely damaged or sunk DDs. And you probably won't even get all the PTs either. Even cruisers and BBs are likely to need a shipyard after every combat, and that is even more unsustainable for the IJN, especially when more PTs are usually just a button press and some supplies away. Or in other words, there aren't really any capable IJN surface ships, if capable means "clear out the PTs without little risk of catastrophic damage to ownship".
Anyway, those are my thoughts. PTs in my mind should be more of a "keep the other guy honest when operating in the area (i.e. no unescorted transports)", and not a credible surface combat task force against anything other than barges.
Should they get the occasional hit in on a DD? Absolutely. Could that damage sink a DD, sure.
Should they be regularly sinking DDs, i.e. one sunk DD for every 2 or 3 surface encounters which is common now? No way.
Mike
P.S. Others have mentioned reducing the PT crew's experience in the editor as a means to reduce their lethality, but I am pretty sure that I have read on the board that testing has shown that crew experience does not make a huge difference in surface combat. I think the testing may even have been done by one of the AE team. So crew XP might not be reliable means of nerfing PTs.
