Aviation Support Low-Now What?

[MM3 Steam Turbine]

Hi All,

Just started playing WiTP and am wondering what to do when aviation support is low. Is support a function of air base size?

What about the other support units listed per base? If some get killed off during a bombing, how do you bring the support level back to par?

Could someone please point me in the right direction?

Thanks![:)]

[Feinder]

Aviation Support are specific squads in your base force (your ENG unit). Most of them have about 30 AvSpt squads, some have more. If some of those squads are disabled (shown in parenthesis), they're still alive, but not happy. You need to get supplies and time to the base, for them to "repair".

If you want more than the 30 support (or whatever the numbe is for the unit, some are even 240), you have to bring another base force(s) ENG unit.

-F-

[wild_Willie2]

First let me welcome you to us bunch of forum dwellers.

Aviation support is needed to repair planes, planes will fly without AV support, but will not get REPAIRED without it. The best way to increase your AV support is to bring in some baseforces (30-90 Av support), or even better some AV regiments (200-300 AV support) these numbers can be seen by opening the unit screen and see hom much AV a unit is worth

The support for LCU's (land combat untins) is a organisational element, they need a staff and planners to function propperly. Generally, if support for an LCU is in the "green" the better they will fight. An easy way of getting LCU's support in the green is the adition of an HQ unit (ONLY give support)

[MM3 Steam Turbine]

Thanks for the quick reply.

How do you transfer base forces? Are you talking about the Eng units on base?

I guess I haven't seen an AV regiment yet. Is that a separate LCU?

I am sure some of these seem like pretty dumb questions but I seem to be having a spasm over it though.[&:]

[Rohna]

ORIGINAL: MM3 Steam Turbine

Thanks for the quick reply.

How do you transfer base forces? Are you talking about the Eng units on base?

I guess I haven't seen an AV regiment yet. Is that a separate LCU?

I am sure some of these seem like pretty dumb questions but I seem to be having a spasm over it though.[&:]

You just bring in another "base force" thats not being used so the air support stacks up.

An "AV" is a ship. A sea plane tender that adds avaition support for float planes.

[Ian R]

An "AV" is a ship. A sea plane tender that adds avaition support for float planes.
[/quote]


Note that as well as AVs (cruiser size ships) there are also AVD, which are destoyers (usually old ones) converted into seaplane support ships. They support less planes than an AV.

There are also ground units called aviation regiments which come along later, these are very useful, as they contain 250 plus aviation support, and support squads to support the aviation support squads.

On the allied side these usually come as part of a threesome - an air HQ, a base unit, and an aviation regiment. Some US commands, eg 7th Airforce, get multiple aviation regiments and base units later in the game, and usually the bases are bigger and better than the standard 30 aviation support bases that are deposited everywhere at start.

The key thing is that when you hit 250 aviation support squads all planes will get repaired eventually, you are not considered in deficit no matter how many you base there. If you aim at basing about 50 planes per capacity point, and putting 400 planes a places like a built out Port Moresby, you can do it with 250 av support. I haven't worked out if its better to have more.

The USMC aviation engineer battalions are a bit confusing. They are engineers for building bases, not for aviation support. There are some Marine Air Wing units which are like aviation regiments (see SF at start of scen 15).

If you are playing the long campaign as the UN, then once your airpower in the PI, Singapore, and the NEI has been destroyed or withdrawn it is a good idea to use sub transport TFs to bring out frgaments (and if possible more than fragments) of the PAF, MAF, and DAF (x2) units as these firstly eat scarce support and supply where they are and are useless without planes, and secondly will over time (a year) build up into useful aviation regiments once their parent units are destroyed. In my ongoing campaign against the AI IJN I pulled out, by sub, almost all of the PAF and set it up in PM. It provided critical support in the early fighting in PNG, before the 5th Airforce support units turn up, and the Japanese never took Salamaua or Buna.

[waynec]

just a thought. since you can't split an aviation rgt but maybe need just a third of the aviation support moved to another base, vcan you do an air transport (which won't aitlift the entire unit in one day) and then cancel it after enough of the unit gets to the new base?

[Grotius]

Waynec: Yep, I've done that in emergency situations. I hate doing it unless really necessary, though since recombining split ground units risks an encounter with the dreaded vanishing unit bug.

MM3 (original poster): As these guys have said, Aviation Support typically is provided by Engineer units -- but not any old Engineer unit will do. It has to have "Aviation Support" listed in its unit composition. Typically such units are called "Base Forces" (smaller base-force units), "Aviation Regiments" or "Aviation Units" (larger units).

[bradfordkay]

"If you aim at basing about 50 planes per capacity point, and putting 400 planes a places like a built out Port Moresby, you can do it with 250 av support. I haven't worked out if its better to have more."

Keep in mind that malaria and combat will reduce the number of aviation support squads available from your units. If the av support number drops below 250, those 400 aircraft are going to start falling apart. You'll want to watch for this at your important bases.

[Mike Solli]

WitP can be overwhelming in size. When I first started, I figured I could just jump right in because I "thought" I was a student of the period. The sheer number of different unit types was shocking. What I ended up doing was to make databases of the ground, air and naval forces. I sorted them by higher HQ and then started allocating them for specific missions. This all took a tremendous amount of time but it familiarized my with what was available as well as where everything was. Each time I restarted (whether due to a patch or just that I just plain screwed up so badly that I wanted to try it over), I added another facet to what I looked at. There's supply, production, airfields, subs, etc., etc. The list is endless. Just start with ground, air and naval units and I guarantee you that you'll be busy for a long time. Add more as you get comfortable. If you simply list all of the ground units and their basic functions, you'll know at a glance what avaition support you have available and what you need. You then look at your AP/AK databases and you will see where your transports are and what's available to move your avn spt units.

Sorry about rambling but I just love this stuff...