Seaplane Tenders and Seaplane Carriers

[Mike Solli]

Does anyone regularly use AV or CS? In anyplace other than rear areas mine are just targets. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[madflava13]

Mike,
As the Allies, I usually send an AV to Rennell Island - I send one of the small ones, as they are harder to spot. Then fast transport in some supply and transfer in a PBY squadron, and you have coverage of the entire Solomons to Rabaul. You can do the reverse as the IJN player as well.

As for the Japanese Seaplane Carriers, the ones that can launch underway (Nishin & Chitose, IIRC) I use as supplemental CAP ships. I load on Rufe squadrons and set them to 80-100% CAP with any CV or invasion Task Forces. They also make nice fast transports.

[Full Moon]

I use AV for ASW. I usually park them in red dot bases around Shortland or Rabaul and set float planes for ASW at 1000 feet. They are great for the job.
And I usually include one or two CSs in a CV TF and use them for search and ASW. It's very effective becuase I can save Vals and Kate from the chores and exclusively use them for naval attack.
Also not very often I use them for naval attack. They do good job as long as I use them within safe area and let them only attack soft targets like transports.

[Mike Solli]

Thanks for the info guys. Lots of ideas I would never have thought of.

[crsutton]

Some of the Allied AVs have good speed and can be used as fast transport. I move them to second line ports to beef up air support quickly.

Japanes CS are good convoy raiders but don't have much punch. Better yet, I send them our far in advance of major operations to scout for advancing Allied carriers. You risk losing them but it may be worth the intellegence.

[Oleg Mastruko]

- Allied small and fast AVs - excellent fast transports. I love them for this, use them a lot, and it's at least semi-historical too.

- Allied big and slow AVs - I'd make them into target ships if that would be possible in UV, to raise the proficiency of my Avenger and SBD pilots. Otherwise they're pretty much useless. Allies have lots of airsupport personel so they are not needed to provide aircraft support. If put in a port-less hex, they die very quick, as soon as Bettys find where they are.

- IJN CS - excellent scouts (that's their official designation after all - scout cruisers). I love to have them in both surface and CV TFs. With CS doing the scouting, you don't have to waste Vals and Kates for scouting - they are here to do some hunting...

- IJN AVs - tried to use them as scouts and for conwoy harassment, but they are too slow and usualy short lived in those roles. I use them as "floating recon and ASW bases". Put one in Lae, and recon over PM with Jake floatplanes, or put one in Rabaul and bolster ASW assets there with AV-based floatplanes etc.

O.

[AmiralLaurent]

Against AI, I used AV to support seaplanes on forward bases without airfield or on spots to have recon or ASW activity.

In PBEM, I changed quickly: any AV sitting in a base with port size < 3 under naval search range is a sitting duck, usually falling to subs.

So I may use them in this role but only for some days before changing bases.

As Allied, I sent almost all AV immediatly to Pearl.

As Japanese, CS work like second-rate CVL, with the main CV fleet, usually as scout or ASW bearers.
I use AV as mobile base force, only in base with port size 3 and more so they have a chance to survive. Seaplanes arriving with the AV are detached as soon they arrive near Rabaul and will fly from the bases, with AV support. So they are not lost if the ship is. And they can change base faster.