how to use AVs

[rogueusmc]

How do you use the AVs properly? Particularly in relation to the PBYs?

I'm an old marine and don't know much about the service ships. And what I know about the cobat ships is that I want 'em to till the beach REAL god before i walk on it.

So, if anyone has any help for me....feel free to let me partake of your wisdom.

Lee

[pasternakski]

Well, I wouldn't call it wisdom, but...

I use Allied AVs primarily in two ways. The bigger, slower ones are good for teaming up with a transport with some supplies on board and setting up a temporary PBY base in order to expand naval search coverage. If you are having any success curtailing Japanese advances (in the campaign scenarios) and establishing forward airbases, this is less valuable. You want to be sure to assign naval search aircraft to bases where you have naval attack LBA in order to get attacks launched against enemy shipping you want to sink.

The smaller, faster AVs are good augmentations to fast transport TFs in conjunction with APDs.

Beyond that, they are victory points looking for a place to get sunk and tend to log a lot of harbor time for me.

Japanese AVs, of course, have their own allocated float planes and are very useful in augmenting naval search.

[rmarine]

Hi Lee

Greetings to ex-Leatherneck from an ex-Bootneck!

I tend to use mine as Aviation Support at newly established bases until I can get a Base Force there. Just make sure you dock them so they don't expend fuel, rack up System failures and get mullered by the enemy!

Carl

[jeffs]

They make great bait in front of real carriers..Stick them 2 hexes in front of your main CV fleet with a few good AA destroyers[;)]..Best with US AV as the Japanese AV tend to be rather useful (for both search and ASW)...

[SouthernAP]

I have used my as forward search points early in the campagin. Setting up stations in places such as the coral reefs to the east of Gili-Gili or up near Santa Cruz. That way I can get looks of things such as Japanese units trying to make a run in the Coral Sea through the Slot or near the straits by Gili-Gili. I also make sure that a 1500cap AP/AK makes a run to the beach they will be operating from to make sure I have enough supplies to operate for a few weeks. The only thing that annoys me is the fact that I can assign a det of PBY's to ships such as the Curtiss or Tangier as was done in real life. Oh well.

[redman1]

The IJN AV's act as advance sentry's against enemy subs and surface vessels; I also like to use them at rear bases for ASW platforms, e.g. in the S. Sea, later in the campaign games after forward air bases are built up.

The problem with placing them forward is that quite often they're exposed to enemy land based air and they're easily taken out. Also, the IJN air units can't fly unless and until you're at a land base. At sea, they're merely transport vessels for float planes.

I also try to put them where they can provide some temporary aviation support for new airbases while I get the engineering base force there. Often I'll fly Mavis's in to be able to search and recon farther south.

The CS's are the ships that are the IJN's sea-going equivalent of AV's. Those are great to have with your CV TF's.