Hunter Killer Groups

[Heeward]

Hunter Killer Group Questions

As the USS Long Island has bounced back from Pearl Harbor:

Is it worth while to form a ASW Hunter Killer Group?

Or am I just providing a target for IJN and certain destruction for a unlucky SBD squadron?

If it is worth it how many DD / PG / SC escorts should it have?

Should most of the escorts be in the same task force as the CVE or in a separate strike group?

I’ve read that ASW aircraft should be set either at 100 or 1000 ft elevation, I have no real luck sinking submarines set at either. Comments?

[Raverdave]

What ever you do, don't put any aircraft on USS LI. She is not for operational use, only good for ferrying aircraft betwenn Brisbane and Noumea.

[AmiralLaurent]

I don't use LI as ASW support. I put at least one squadron on ASW patrols near each base.

To kill subs, I send several groups of 3 DD to the spot where they were spotted or where thay had hit something.. It works at least against the AI (an human player may move his subs after a sighting/attack.. at least after he had lost some).

Seems to me that there are more chance of contact if you have several groups on the spot. And if the sub attacks and hit one of your DD the 2 others will ripost.

In my last AI game, I sank 3 IJN subs before mid-June 1942 while one of my DD was sent back to PH. My SC and PG were still training in quiet waters SE of Noumea and Brisbane.

[crsutton]

As said before, it is good to keep at least one squadron on ASW around each base. They do not hit much but do suppress sub activity.

If the enemy is too active and has a lot of subs near an important base, I will on occasion put all of my bombers on ASW for a turn or two. You would be surprised how many sightings you have and there are many attacks as well. Sub hits by planes are rare but do occur-especially if you load up a base with ASW patrols. Rarely does a hit sink a sub but generally there is enough damage to send the sub home and that is all you want.

I mix my ASW between 100 and 1000 ft. Personally, I don't think it makes much difference.

I don't think that the Allies lost any subs in the vicinity of the Solomons chain during the whole Guadacanal campaign, and the Japanese only lost four. So any sub kill by ASW is a nice little treat but don't expect lots.

[AmiralLaurent]

I never saw a plane sink a sub but once one of my S-Boats took a bomb off Madang... SYS 50 FLT 60 after the attack... He made it to PM after 10 days of slow navigation... arriving with something like 70 SYS 70 FLT.... I was sure it will never do it.

Every attack may rise the SYS damage of a submarine and will certainly cost it some fuel, so reducing its patrol time.

Allied forces lost 5 submarines in BTR aera and time, 1 by grounding in 1942 and the four others between 10 Jan 43 and 15 Mar 43 in the Solomons.

[Ol_Dog]

Are you setting 1000 ft for B-24s, B-17s and PBY/PBMs on ASW? Seems low unless you were going to use the "50s" on the subs. Of course I know nothing about ASW in real life.

[Attack Condor]

IMHO (and experience - albeit a bit limited ):

For ASW TFs, I pack SCs into a TF of 10+. Closest thing the USN has to a barge early on. If one gets sunk, the others have a shot at the sub. And the SC is only 1VP (IIRC).

Once decent ASW DDs get in theater (Wilkes, Swanson, etc.) I'll consider using them if I'm running low on SCs. But I'll usually put the ASW DDs with a TF and leave the SCs to guard the home waters (guard dog on a leash philosophy) chasing after a sub contact near a port with Retirement Allowed option selected. If the sub is making for the port, then it will match speed with the SC and the SCs will track the sub hex by hex as it moves to the port. With the new sub rules in place (2.30), it has a chance of detecting the SCs each hex - even if it doesn't want to .

For aircraft, I'll leave the long range bombers for Search mode, and use the LBA with short legs for ASW. Until they get to 60 or 70 exp, about all they can do is spot, but they won't drop on the sub much.

But knowing a sub is in the area is better than not knowing one is there .

[djoosten]

Attack Condor, i agree with your few, i only put SC's in large groups from the start cruising the shallow waters so they get more expierence, and then they become very effective against subs, at first you might loose some SC's, but so what? There only one 1 point anyway and that moustrap is so accurate !

I have sank 5 subs so far with one group of about 10 SC's, now that i finally figured out how to use them good! I actually add 3 PG's to it so they can tranfer fuel to the SC's if they get low on it when patrolling or chasing subs around Nomea. I also put my DD's rather with TF's that way they cover the bigger ships from beeing hit, allthough no guarantee the subs have mostly attacked the DD's instead of CA's, CL's or CV's so far.

[deVada]

how did You Djoosten managed to place a picture directly into Your post ?

I am trying hardly, but I do not know the java script ...
Thanx for help !
Peter