Need a refresher course on some basic stuff

[Swayin]

Back to the game after taking a few years off, and I have forgotten some stuff I am hoping you fine folks can give me a quick refresher on:

• When I set a sub to Remain on Station, does that mean it will sit in that hex until it runs out of gas, or just stay there until it needs to return for more gas or torps?
  Is there a sweet spot altitude for naval search aircraft to spot subs?
  When torpedo planes like the Vildebeest are dropping bombs instead of torps, is the same 5k altitude I had before still workable?

Thank you for your help in advance!

[rockmedic109]

I believe subs will RTB when they need to. You do not want to keep subs at the same spot. Their DL will increase and ASW will come by and make things difficult. Set a patrol for the subs. Have them move constantly, preferably along the line of enemy ship movement.

If there is a sweet spot for spotting subs, I do not know what it is. I have heard 1000' but I do not know if this is for spotting or ASW patrol. Your ASW skills of your pilots will be poor initially. And ASW patrol halves the range. Put a squadron of divebombers on ASW training and then place them in the islands off Los Angeles. They might pick up a sub or two if the opponent gets close enough to LA.

The lower the altitude, the more AAA fire you will get. I don't think Vildebeest pilots will be that good early in the war with bombs. I could be wrong here, but I think their torp skill will be higher. I would move them when they run out of torps and cannot get anymore. Get them someplace safe where they can be used again in a few months if you can. If they can't be evac'd, might as well let them go down in some type of mission.

[Swayin]

I believe subs will RTB when they need to. You do not want to keep subs at the same spot. Their DL will increase and ASW will come by and make things difficult. Set a patrol for the subs. Have them move constantly, preferably along the line of enemy ship movement.

If there is a sweet spot for spotting subs, I do not know what it is. I have heard 1000' but I do not know if this is for spotting or ASW patrol. Your ASW skills of your pilots will be poor initially. And ASW patrol halves the range. Put a squadron of divebombers on ASW training and then place them in the islands off Los Angeles. They might pick up a sub or two if the opponent gets close enough to LA.

The lower the altitude, the more AAA fire you will get. I don't think Vildebeest pilots will be that good early in the war with bombs. I could be wrong here, but I think their torp skill will be higher. I would move them when they run out of torps and cannot get anymore. Get them someplace safe where they can be used again in a few months if you can. If they can't be evac'd, might as well let them go down in some type of mission.

Ah - so subs will use the same amount of fuel whether they are patrolling or sitting still, per turn?

[btd64]

A sub on "remain on station" will sink when the system damage gets to 100. Use "set patrol zone" instead. Then when your sub runs low it will return to base, stock up and go back on patrol....GP

[Swayin]

I pulled a CL/DD group into Port M where I had an AD waiting - but they were unable to restock on shells and torps. Does the AD need to be part of a support TF to service ships in that port?

[WEXF]

I pulled a CL/DD group into Port M where I had an AD waiting - but they were unable to restock on shells and torps. Does the AD need to be part of a support TF to service ships in that port?

The AD should be able to reload the DD with both shells and torpedoes but not the CL. Make sure the AD has supply loaded or it will not function.
I don't believe it has to be in a support TF to function.
WEXF

[rockmedic109]

The AD needs to have supplies on board. You have to remember to disband in port before they unload. Or there is a button in the ships screen of the port to load tenders. I send tenders fully loaded with the auto disband and do not unload orders set in the task force.

[Swayin]

Thanks guys! Much appreciated!

To restock the CL and CAs, do I need an AE or a different kind of tender, or is that based solely on port size?

[WEXF]

Thanks guys! Much appreciated!

To restock the CL and CAs, do I need an AE or a different kind of tender, or is that based solely on port size?

To restock the CA/CL you can use an AKE or AE but you also need to have the them loaded with sufficient supplies to do the job. If you are in a large enough port that will be enough. Become familiar with the table in the manual. There is a formula (page 284) that tells you the amount of supply that it takes to load any given ship. "The amount of supply required for each weapon, for each ship, is [(Rearm Cost) * (number of guns) * (ammo per gun)] / 2000. "
WEXF

[Schatten]

I need also some help with bomber load. Does it mean the amound and weight of bombs? since if yes why Sallys and Helens have a load of 2205 with 4x250kg bombs but Peggys 2360 also more with only 3x 250kg Bombs?

[rockmedic109]

I believe the load is what they can carry when pressed into service as transports. Load/2000 in supply points.

[WEXF]

I need also some help with bomber load. Does it mean the amound and weight of bombs? since if yes why Sallys and Helens have a load of 2205 with 4x250kg bombs but Peggys 2360 also more with only 3x 250kg Bombs?

I don't have a solid answer for this one, but I have a sense that the are not just a function of the bomb's carried. I you look at the air frames you list they have different ranges and I am thinking that the "load" figures in the fuel carried by the planes. I could be completely off on this. Hopefully, there is someone that knows the right answer.
WEXF

[WEXF]

I believe the load is what they can carry when pressed into service as transports. Load/2000 in supply points.

To be sure the load does tell you the amount of supply any given bomber/transport can move. I recall a post that also said that regardless of the equation any bomber or transport can handle 1 point of supply.
WEXF

[Swayin]

Any tips for trying to find subs lurking outside my ports in the early war? I spot them easily enough with my planes by the abysmal ASW rarely drops on them.

[WEXF]

Any tips for trying to find subs lurking outside my ports in the early war? I spot them easily enough with my planes by the abysmal ASW rarely drops on them.

If you have PT boats or other small craft like local minesweepers or ML or HDML, putting them in patrol zones around the ports could well locate enemy subs. Usually, the subs won't waste torpedoes on the small ships but you may locate them.
WEXF

[rockmedic109]

Patrol planes are your best bet. ASW tf early in the war may net a sub in rare cases, but you are better off using ASW ships as escorts in a task force. An escort has a chance of spotting the sub before the attack; Killing the sub is rare but might happen. When you get enough escorts, you can start to patrol near your ports with an ASW tf, but do not expect much from them till later in the war.

For the LA, area, put an AV or a base force on Channel Islands and/or Santa Catalina. They will extend your ASW search. Use float planes and a landlocked SBD squadron. Train them in ASW for a month before deployment if you can.

[Swayin]

Good stuff, thanks gents.

Is there any advantage to disbanding permanent West Coast air groups that can never be transferred to the Pacific? "Permanently lose all planes and pilots" doesn't really sound like a win/win for anyone, but what good are they?

[Trugrit]

Good stuff, thanks gents.

Is there any advantage to disbanding permanent West Coast air groups that can never be transferred to the Pacific? "Permanently lose all planes and pilots" doesn't really sound like a win/win for anyone, but what good are they?

You need those groups to train pilots.

Train pilots, train pilots and then train many more pilots.
Train pilots until you are tired of training pilots.

Whole Master Class Thesis have been written on this forum about pilot training.

You are almost going to need to know the pilots on an individual name basis.

You will spend a lot of time training pilots, moving pilots and studying pilots.

[rockmedic109]

Trugrit is right.

I did not understand just how important pilot training was. As allies you are going to want a huge surplus of fully trained pilots to send to your B-29 squadrons. I spent the better part of two hours changing out the B-29 pilots when I was ready to begin strategic bombing of Japan. I ran out of of veterans to pull into the B-29s.

The original War in the Pacific was termed Airfields in the Pacific and sometimes Mines in the Pacific.

AE changed that to Ports in the Pacific and to a lesser degree {but still significant} Pilot Training in the Pacific.

[Swayin]

Ahhh, OK. So while the units themselves can't be put into the war itself, the pilots can be pulled out and put into the pool for use by other units?