PT Boats

[tankboy]

Any insights on how to ensure PT boats only get into fights at night? A couple examples:

1. 12 boat TF on react with a 3 hex range. Japanese TF enter hex within three hexes. First turn PT TF does nothing. Next day I order it to move to enemy occupied hex and six of them move and engage with spectacular effects.

2. Next day other six PT boats do nothing. I order them to move and they end up in daytime combat and five of them are destroyed.

Why did the first TF move three hexes (six hex movement available) and then engage in night combat?

Why did the second TF move three hexes (six hex movement available) and then engage in day combat?

[wga8888]

I cannot answer your question as still in training my playing three Uncommon Valor campaign games vs 3 opponents. My question is there a date after which Allies can produce PT boats. I understand the mechanics but am still unsuccessful in creating any. Furthest game is only in August 1942.

[wga8888]

The rules for creation of PT boats in UCV and WITP are the same, perhaps someday I can create one. My latest current game is in August of the seven UCV game started (early battles, opponent attrition limit timeline progress).

[rominet]

Waoouuh, there are still Uncommon Valor's players!!
Nice.[:)]

[USN88]

Would appreciate it if someone could literally walk me through the steps to create a barge hub/PT boats in Uncommon Valor. Had the game for years and keep going back to it, but never mastering it. Thanks.

[ndworl]

ORIGINAL: rominet

Waoouuh, there are still Uncommon Valor's players!!
Nice.[:)]

I'm still coming to terms with a thread on this forum with four contributors. Who knows what might happen next?

[tocaff]

PT boats in WITP are formed by "buying" them at a base with supplies when they are available. Remember that a base with a yard is best as the upgrade with radar makes them much better at their jobs.

In UV, if I can remember that far back, they are purchased with supplies also.

[engineer]

TOCAFF is right but there are some additional wrinkles:
- Only US bases can be used to buy the PT's
- Typically, island bases need at least 20k supply.  Continental bases seem to have a routine that looks for 20k supply in the total transport net so you might get PT's at a sub-20k individual base.
- PT's come in with torpedoes, a full ammo load and about 70% fuel so one of the first things is to top off their tanks.
- Repair yards will upgrade the PT's if they are eligible.
- Torpedoes will be reloaded with a level 9 port or an AGP (PT tender) in port.

PT Operations:

Defensive:  I usually have them stand fast and then when the Japanese come in to bombard or land, then the PT's generally engage.  If you layer them with conventional SAG, then you get a defense in depth that may break up an IJN bombardment mission.  Typically, however, you lose PT's and maybe damage a destroyer with a lucky torpedo hit.  Once, however, I saw a PT squadron sink the bloody Mutsu and that made up for all the one-sided defeats. 

Offensive:  You have the PT's sprint at full speed to the target hex within one turn's range so they arrive at night.  PT's can be effective if they get into a Japanese barge convoy or a lightly escorted transport mission. 

PT's don't win a war.  They can attrit Japanese offensive missions and may damage some ships so daylight finds them limping within land based air range and severely reduced top speed.  WitP is still about combined arms:  air, sea, and land.