uss wasp

[Jellicoe]

Into. Late 1943 in my 2nd campaign of this amazing game and beginning to get the hang of things. However, question of the day is what do you do with wasp as the fast Essex's start to arrive? Do you include her in far carrier has forces and accept the speed differential or do you put her with the amphibs or what?

Recommendations on carrier air group for her a LSO gratefully received.

[crsutton]

I like to keep my speed up. But use her until late 44 with the big carriers because she carries plenty of airplanes. After that if she is not sunk she can sail with British carriers which tend to have about the same speed. For the most part, if KB is intact, then I want all my carriers together and won't worry about speed.

[Numdydar]

The only danger is if your TF reacts strongly or not. I have seem TFs break up on reaction when there is a speed difference. So you may want to set your reaction range to zero. Of course if your TF commander is very agressive, like 80+, they actually have a chance to override your setting and react anyway.

[sanch]

I'm in Dec 42, and my opponent likes to pull off deep carrier raids hitting my supply lines. But until I make a dent in KB I'm keeping my carriers all together.

But once I break the KB (if!!), then I'm thinking something like pulling Wasp and a couple CVE's back to serve as a reaction force against future raids and/or as a ready reserve.

[geofflambert]

Have to agree with Sutton, at some point the Brits need to assemble a credible CV/CVL/BB(fast) force and Wasp is perfect for that. Anyone saying the USN and RN couldn't or wouldn't coordinate are simply wrong.

[diamond dave]

In my previous game, once the fast carriers started showing up I sent Wasp to the Indian Ocean where she rendered invaluable service with other Brit carriers in raiding Japanese bases and causing havoc with shipping in the eastern IO. Also managed to help recapture Port Blair too, really putting a crimp on shipping coming up the Malacca Straits. Once things cooled down, sent her back to Pearl and used her airgroups for training and refilling the reserve pools to make up for pilot losses on the fast carriers. Once I had a surplus of carriers I used her as well as Lex/Sara (which surprisingly survived this long) as a reserve force to protect against IJN incursions into my shipping lanes between the West Coast and PH. (Note- I pulled Lex/Sara from front-line service because of their fewer sorties and greater fuel consumption, but would use them sometimes to replace a carrier returning for repairs or upgrades.)

Amazingly Wasp proved to be one of my most durable carriers. She got torped on a couple occasions (once by sub, another by Betty sneaking through the fighter/AA screen), and was reduced to a burning hulk after a carrier battle in the Solomons. I actually left her for dead, intending to soak up any further Japanese carrier strikes, but not only were the Japanese not interested, she actually self-repaired enough to limp (probably sideways at that point) all the way to Sydney where I got her patched enough that she could painfully make her way to the San Diego shipyards. Not bad for one of the most lightly built and unprotected carriers in the fleet, definitely worthy to be made into a museum ship after the war ended...

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Numdydar

The only danger is if your TF reacts strongly or not. I have seem TFs break up on reaction when there is a speed difference. So you may want to set your reaction range to zero. Of course if your TF commander is very agressive, like 80+, they actually have a chance to override your setting and react anyway.

In my five year campaign there has not been one carrier fight where my carriers did not react. And I got the most vanilla commanders I can find leading them. Reaction can happen anytime. Damn it....[;)]

[blubasso]

It's always a matter of what do you need to do. A slow Carrier could operates behind the lines, carring air reserves or, with the right recon, hunt the slow enemy vessels. She could stay back and pursue the wounded enemy ships which try to return on port, and sink them with her aircraft. Sea cleaner....