Transporting aircraft

[boxof9]

I'm looking for instructions on how to transport aircraft from the West Coast? Specifically how to load fighters and bombers for transport to the South Pacific and Australia?

[CaptBeefheart]

You need to form a Transport or Air Transport task force which then has to be docked at the port (xAKs, AKs, xAPs, APs, AKVs and maybe others work--AKVs are the best since the aircraft are ready to fly upon arrival). Your aircraft also have to be in an unrestricted command (e.g. Pacific Ocean, SoPac, SWPac, 7th Air Force, etc.) to be able to load. Aircraft in restricted commands [in brackets or parentheses] can't be moved from CONUS unless you pay PPs to put them in another command (and some are permanently restricted).

Cheers,
CB

[boxof9]

Not quite sure what is going wrong. I've formed up transport and air transport taskforces with various ship types. I select a squadron to load and it shows it loading. The next turn it shows that the unit is no longer loading. The units are 5th and 7th Air Force. Stumped.

[Professor Chaos]

If the TF has no destination and is set to "Unload", then it will just dump its cargo back into the port of origin.

If that's the problem, either set a destination for the TF before you start loading or set it do "Do not unload".

[Ian R]

ORIGINAL: boxof9

Not quite sure what is going wrong. I've formed up transport and air transport taskforces with various ship types. I select a squadron to load and it shows it loading. The next turn it shows that the unit is no longer loading. The units are 5th and 7th Air Force. Stumped.

Are they docked? They need to be to load planes.

Did you set them to do not unload?

Alternately did you set a destination so the TF loads and then undocks, leaves port, and heads west?


Edit - what the professor said.

[RangerJoe]

Also, it would be best to remove the pilots and break the air unit into thirds in case the transporting vessel is sunk.

[geofflambert]

If you check "transport troops only" it will load instantly and you can undock it and they're on the way. Otherwise it will load supplies, too. This will take a little longer but by tomorrow the supplies are loaded, you've ordered "unload cargo" and it unloads where you are (if you've also not given the TF another destination).

[BBfanboy]

The Air Unit loads instantly. From the way you described it, it sounds like you are using the Air Unit screen to try and load on the ship. That will only work when loading on a carrier of some kind. You need to use the TF screen and select "Load Troops". If the Air Unit reports to an Unrestricted HQ, it will load instantly and you can decide whether to load supply or not.

As others have said, either set "Do not unload" or sail immediately to a destination. You have to be able to dock to unload the aircraft, so pick a port that can handle the ship size.

[dr.hal]

The fastest way to get large bombers (B-17, 24) and some patrol aircraft across is to hop them to Pearl and then island hop from there to OZ or your final location.

However, there are things to keep in mind. Check the weather at your next "hop" location as you can loose aircraft to bad conditions (waiting a day or two until things improve is worth it in terms of aircraft saved). Also check runway size at your next hop, it helps if the runway is size 3 or larger. Drop into a size one runway only if absolutely necessary (this means that you will need to build some island runways up in order to do this hopping later in the war). Make sure the pilots are rested before they begin their long hop. Crew fatigue means plane lose. Not a good idea. Finally don't hop such that you are at the extreme "transport" range of the aircraft, as accidents happen when incoming aircraft are running on fumes. Try to keep the max distance between hops a few hexes short of the max an aircraft type can do. I think that's about it.

[HansBolter]

The very fact that they were still sitting in the port on the subsequent turn is a pretty clear sign that no destination was set and thet fact that the loaded goods were no longer loaded is a clear sign that the TF was not set to Do Not Unload, meaning that the TF unloaded.

Simply a matter of not understanding how the mechanics work.

If you do not set a destination at the same time you order a TF to load, it will unload in the same port it loaded in if you don't set it to Do Not Unload.

[rustysi]

ORIGINAL: Professor Chaos

If the TF has no destination and is set to "Unload", then it will just dump its cargo back into the port of origin.

If that's the problem, either set a destination for the TF before you start loading or set it do "Do not unload".

+1