PT Boats

[shoopzee]

Whats the best way to move PT boats from say Noumea to Lunga? Thanks.

[Dan Nichols]

Use an escort type TF and put an xAK with the PTs to give it enough range.

[Grollub]

You could also arrange for a mid-ocean refuel from a submarine.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Grollub

You could also arrange for a mid-ocean refuel from a submarine.

Interesting. What type of TF does the sub need to be in? Any, or does it need to be something like Sub Transport?

[shoopzee]

Love it; so many ways to skin the cat with this game. Thanks.

[jmalter]

i think he's having you on about meeting up w/ a sub.

EscortTF w/ an xAK is the way to go. use cruise speed to minimize the damage that will accrue to the PTs on the trip. Hope you also have an AGP headed for Lunga, i don't think the port can be built large enough to provide inherent torp-reload capability.

[Grollub]

ORIGINAL: jmalter

i think he's having you on about meeting up w/ a sub.

EscortTF w/ an xAK is the way to go. use cruise speed to minimize the damage that will accrue to the PTs on the trip. Hope you also have an AGP headed for Lunga, i don't think the port can be built large enough to provide inherent torp-reload capability.

No, I'm not "having him". Using an escort TF with an xAK also works perfectly fine. Problem with that is that if you are in close proximity of enemy forces, that TF is far easier to spot (and maybe get attacked) as it contains a regular merchant. Also, you reduce the redeployment speed of the PTs to the speed of the xAK.

Setting up a meeting with a sub is no problem. You could do it the hard way and give them (both the SS and the PT TF) the same destination hex with orders to "remain on station" and just click "Replenish TF at sea" on the PT TF screen when they have met. Otherwise, you could set the SS TF to "Meet and refuel" the PT TF. If you do this, just be sure to have set the home port where you wish the respective TFs to continue to after refueling has been done. Using SS refueling is my preferred method in close proximity of a war zone as the TFs ar far harder to detect and you use the PT boats speed. It puts an almost negligible drain on the SS endurance also. Using SS's for refueling also gives you the opportunity to sneak in PTs behind enemy lines. If you have managed to hide an AGP as well somewhere for torp refueling, you could really "pester away" [;)] I sometimes try to do this in the DEI when the Japs pass through.

But of course, which method is best to use depends on the situation. Distance, availability of ships/SS's, enemy proximity etc.

[Grollub]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: Grollub

You could also arrange for a mid-ocean refuel from a submarine.

Interesting. What type of TF does the sub need to be in? Any, or does it need to be something like Sub Transport?

AFAIK, any SS TF works.

[Mac Linehan]

ORIGINAL: Grollub

ORIGINAL: jmalter

i think he's having you on about meeting up w/ a sub.

EscortTF w/ an xAK is the way to go. use cruise speed to minimize the damage that will accrue to the PTs on the trip. Hope you also have an AGP headed for Lunga, i don't think the port can be built large enough to provide inherent torp-reload capability.

No, I'm not "having him". Using an escort TF with an xAK also works perfectly fine. Problem with that is that if you are in close proximity of enemy forces, that TF is far easier to spot (and maybe get attacked) as it contains a regular merchant. Also, you reduce the redeployment speed of the PTs to the speed of the xAK.

Setting up a meeting with a sub is no problem. You could do it the hard way and give them (both the SS and the PT TF) the same destination hex with orders to "remain on station" and just click "Replenish TF at sea" on the PT TF screen when they have met. Otherwise, you could set the SS TF to "Meet and refuel" the PT TF. If you do this, just be sure to have set the home port where you wish the respective TFs to continue to after refueling has been done. Using SS refueling is my preferred method in close proximity of a war zone as the TFs ar far harder to detect and you use the PT boats speed. It puts an almost negligible drain on the SS endurance also. Using SS's for refueling also gives you the opportunity to sneak in PTs behind enemy lines. If you have managed to hide an AGP as well somewhere for torp refueling, you could really "pester away" [;)] I sometimes try to do this in the DEI when the Japs pass through.

But of course, which method is best to use depends on the situation. Distance, availability of ships/SS's, enemy proximity etc.

Grollub -

Am always learning something new; and this is definately thinking out of the box.

Thank you for your explanation.

Mac

[Grollub]

You're welcome [;)]

[shoopzee]

This may sound like a dumb question, but what is an AGP?

thanks for the insight everyone!

[Grollub]

Torpedo Boat Tender. If loaded with supply, it's able to rearm PTs with torpedoes.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Grollub

Setting up a meeting with a sub is no problem. You could do it the hard way and give them (both the SS and the PT TF) the same destination hex with orders to "remain on station" and just click "Replenish TF at sea" on the PT TF screen when they have met. Otherwise, you could set the SS TF to "Meet and refuel" the PT TF. If you do this, just be sure to have set the home port where you wish the respective TFs to continue to after refueling has been done. Using SS refueling is my preferred method in close proximity of a war zone as the TFs ar far harder to detect and you use the PT boats speed. It puts an almost negligible drain on the SS endurance also. Using SS's for refueling also gives you the opportunity to sneak in PTs behind enemy lines. If you have managed to hide an AGP as well somewhere for torp refueling, you could really "pester away" [;)] I sometimes try to do this in the DEI when the Japs pass through.

But of course, which method is best to use depends on the situation. Distance, availability of ships/SS's, enemy proximity etc.

Never thought about this before, Grollub. Very innovative.

[jcjordan]

To me the easiest way is to create them from the pool provided you have supply or a TF w/ supply at Lunga & you've got them in the pool ???
As to meeting a sub to refuel, I may be wrong but IIRC you can't use a sub tf to refuel with so it's either what I said above or what some others have said about using a ship that has the range to make it to refuel them.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: jcjordan
As to meeting a sub to refuel, I may be wrong but IIRC you can't use a sub tf to refuel with so it's either what I said above or what some others have said about using a ship that has the range to make it to refuel them.

I'm sitting here hornswoggled because like you I would have sworn that a sub can neither refuel at sea nor be refueled. I know one can't refuel another sub, and it can't itself take on fuel. But I just test-refueling sub-to-PT and knock me over, it works. I refueled a single PT in the same hex with a sub and a TF of seven other PTs. The single took fuel from the sub and not the other PTs. Then the seven PTs also took fuel from the sub and not the single PT. The sub went from 3238 endurance to 1258 in the process, and all PTs ended at 500.

Learn something every day.

[jcjordan]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: jcjordan
As to meeting a sub to refuel, I may be wrong but IIRC you can't use a sub tf to refuel with so it's either what I said above or what some others have said about using a ship that has the range to make it to refuel them.

I'm sitting here hornswoggled because like you I would have sworn that a sub can neither refuel at sea or be refueled. I know one can't refuel another sub, and it can't itself take on fuel. But I just test-refueling sub-to-PT and knock me over, it works. I refueled a single PT in the same hex with a sub and a TF of seven other PTs. The single took fuel from the sub and not the other PTs. Then the seven PTs also took fuel from the sub and not the single PT. The sub went from 3238 endurance to 1258 in the process, and all PTs ended at 500.

Learn something every day.

It must've changed in one of the last patches/betas as I remember there being a bug post some months ago about not being able to refuel subs at sea even with a replinish tanker or other subs.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: jcjordan

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: jcjordan
As to meeting a sub to refuel, I may be wrong but IIRC you can't use a sub tf to refuel with so it's either what I said above or what some others have said about using a ship that has the range to make it to refuel them.

I'm sitting here hornswoggled because like you I would have sworn that a sub can neither refuel at sea or be refueled. I know one can't refuel another sub, and it can't itself take on fuel. But I just test-refueling sub-to-PT and knock me over, it works. I refueled a single PT in the same hex with a sub and a TF of seven other PTs. The single took fuel from the sub and not the other PTs. Then the seven PTs also took fuel from the sub and not the single PT. The sub went from 3238 endurance to 1258 in the process, and all PTs ended at 500.

Learn something every day.

It must've changed in one of the last patches/betas as I remember there being a bug post some months ago about not being able to refuel subs at sea even with a replinish tanker or other subs.

You can't refuel subs at sea. But they can refuel PT boats apparently.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Gamey - considering subs have diesel engines and PTs petrol engines [:'(]

[dr.hal]

That's exactly what I was thinking LargeslowTarget, that the juice is not the same. As I recall, that's one of the main problems with those PTs, the engines.... gas engines are finicky especially in hot tropical settings, as I believe much of the central Pacific qualifies. I wonder why this is allowed? I don't recall ever hearing about it, except maybe on McHale's navy....

[KPAX]

ORIGINAL: LargeSlowTarget

Gamey - considering subs have diesel engines and PTs petrol engines [:'(]

I would have thought diesel engines..... but you are correct, gas. Here is a bit from Wiki

All U.S. PT boats were powered by three 12-cylinder gasoline-fueled engines. These engines were built by the Packard Motor Car Company, and were a modified design of the 3A-2500 V-12 liquid-cooled aircraft engine. The 3A-2500 was an improved version of the 2A engine used on the Huff-Daland XB-1 Liberty bomber of World War I vintage. Packard modified them for marine use in PTs, hence the "M" designation instead of "A". (i.e., 3A-2500 then 3M-2500). The three successive versions of these engines were designated as 3M-2500, 4M-2500, and 5M-2500, each of which had slight improvements over the previous version. Their aircraft roots gave them many features of aircraft engines, such as superchargers, intercoolers, dual magnetos, two spark plugs per cylinder, and so on. Packard built the Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engine under license alongside the 4M-2500, but with the exception of the PT-9 prototype boat brought from England for Elco to examine and copy, the Merlin was never used in PTs. The 4M-2500s initially generated 1200 hp (895 kW) each, together roughly the same power as a Boeing B-17 bomber. They were subsequently upgraded in stages to 1500-hp (1,150 kW) each, for a designed speed of 41 knots (76 km/h (47 mph)). The final engine version, the Packard 5M-2500, (late 1945) had a larger supercharger, aftercooler, and power output of 1850 hp. This much power could push the fully loaded boats at 45 to 50 knots.