Dutch air replacements May/June 42 - Are there any?

[obvert]

Ok. So I'm miraculously holding Sumatra and Java. June 1, 42. The AI simply hasn't chosen to take them. (I know, silly, and I should just restart, but I'm just curious what will happen).

Now I have several air units with only 1 or 2 planes left. I look at the replacement pools for the Dutch and it says I should get 27 P-40Es and 12 Hurricanes a month, right? But the availability date has gone red. Same for the DB-7Bs and B-25cs. Only PBYs are still white in the Avail area.

Does this mean I no longer receive replacements? Is the red in the avail date the indicator that this stream is stopped?

[HansBolter]

Yes the red text means it has stopped. Plane types come off teh production lines in set group sizes varying in duration from one to many months.

The vital information of how many months a certain production run lasts for is soomewhat hidden from the player and requires some digging to find.

I learned this the hard way myself. When examining an upgrade plane type, click on the text Aircraft Data in the lower left corner and in the lower left corner of the next screen you will see the listing of the duration of the production run.

The oversight in embedding this vital info so deeply and NOT clueing the player into where to find it is one of the worst faux paxs of the designers IMO.

See the screen shot below for where this info is found.





As you can see from this example the production run of P40Es is only one month.

I played about 4 games constantly running out of planes because I committed squadrons to battle that didn't and never would have adequate replacement pools because I was oblivious to the limitations of production runs until some other player clued me in.

[wdolson]

Some Dutch bomber squadrons can upgrade to US planes, but for the most part the Dutch will be a spent force by mid-1942.  If the AI has failed to completely conquer the DEI, move in some American and Australian squadrons.  Additionally, putting an air HQ on Java and offloading the FAA torpedo bombers on Java does play havoc with Japanese invasion efforts.

Bill

[Blackhorse]

ORIGINAL: obvert

Ok. So I'm miraculously holding Sumatra and Java. June 1, 42. The AI simply hasn't chosen to take them. (I know, silly, and I should just restart, but I'm just curious what will happen).

Now I have several air units with only 1 or 2 planes left. I look at the replacement pools for the Dutch and it says I should get 27 P-40Es and 12 Hurricanes a month, right? But the availability date has gone red. Same for the DB-7Bs and B-25cs. Only PBYs are still white in the Avail area.

Does this mean I no longer receive replacements? Is the red in the avail date the indicator that this stream is stopped?

Yes, your replacement stream has stopped. The Dutch get a short burst of aircraft "production" -- one-month long production runs in either February or March, depending on the aircraft type.

If I recall correctly, at least one of your squadrons can upgrade to US B-25Cs, which start production in August.

[obvert]

Thanks all. That's what I suspected.

So, what happens to all of those Dutch aces? I have about 10 over 5 kills. Are there Dutch squads that enter later, or do they go into other pools?

[Rob Brennan UK]

About the only thing that has enough planes are the dutch PBY's ,, you can keep those to help naval search for a long time if careful, and iirc you do get some dutch groups back in australia so i hope your aces arent wasted. Keep an eye on new groups arriving in melborne as thats where i got one dutch PR group , really really need more dutch fighters myself now. I'd love to able to transfer over my obsolete buffalos to the dutch as the RAF dont need them in my game anymore , excapt as trainers... Thats the kis of death to the RAF now [;)].

Best of luck.

[crsutton]

There is one RAAF bomber squadron that will take the Dutch A20 style bomber if you have any left and then use Australian aircraft once you run out. The pilots are Dutch and replacments will be pulled from your Dutch pilot pool. You have this unit for the duration. There may be a catalina squadron as well that takes Dutch pilots but I can't remember for sure.

[USSAmerica]

The biggest limiting factor for keeping the Dutch squadrons in the fight is that all but 1 transport squadron (that is not ever allowed to upgrade) are permanently restricted and can't transfer to bases outside the ABDA command.  You can save some of them by changing the HQ of a base in Australia, but this can be an expensive proposition, and the squadrons are then stuck at that base.  If the Japs come and take that base, you've spent a bunch of PP's for nothing.  Ask my 2x2 opponents how I know this.... [:D]

Now, in an AI game, where you can managed to hang on to some useful Dutch AF's, it is very worthwhile to try to preserve some of the air groups.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: USS America

The biggest limiting factor for keeping the Dutch squadrons in the fight is that all but 1 transport squadron (that is not ever allowed to upgrade) are permanently restricted and can't transfer to bases outside the ABDA command.  You can save some of them by changing the HQ of a base in Australia, but this can be an expensive proposition, and the squadrons are then stuck at that base.  If the Japs come and take that base, you've spent a bunch of PP's for nothing.  Ask my 2x2 opponents how I know this.... [:D]

Mike-how do you know this?

[USSAmerica]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: USS America

The biggest limiting factor for keeping the Dutch squadrons in the fight is that all but 1 transport squadron (that is not ever allowed to upgrade) are permanently restricted and can't transfer to bases outside the ABDA command.  You can save some of them by changing the HQ of a base in Australia, but this can be an expensive proposition, and the squadrons are then stuck at that base.  If the Japs come and take that base, you've spent a bunch of PP's for nothing.  Ask my 2x2 opponents how I know this.... [:D]

Mike-how do you know this?

Did the base flag at Wyndham show up as different from the other Aussie bases for you LYB's? [:)]

[AW1Steve]

We don't need no Dutchies. We have lot's and lots of whirlygigs! The secret weapon. And the Blackburn Shark. And deadliest of all the Waputti!. [:D] Not to mention B-18's, B-10's, Helldiver biplanes. I'm working on obtaining a secret stash of SPADS, Slopwith Camels and SE-5's! Not to mention the bomber versions of Lysanders and O-19's! [:D] Victory is ours!!!!!!!!

[jcjordan]

Just to let you know there's a few squadrons that come in later that are Dutch pilot units. There's a RAF Catalina unit, 2-3 RAAF units (a fighter, a bomber & a transport unit - No18, 119, 120 IIRC) They will use either the Brit or Aust replacement a/c when they come in. So any pilots that make it through the fall of the DEI can be used later on in the war in these units. 

[obvert]

Thanks, that's good news for my Dutch boys. Was trying to think how to get them Aussie passports.

[wdolson]

There is an RAF sea plane unit that gets Dutch pilots too.  I forget the squadron number.

Bill