Question about subs with planes

[Bushmaster]

What's the consensus on how to use these planes?

At first i've used them on Naval Search but with high op losses im always having to return them to port after a week or so. I'm thinking that this might not be the way to use them. They don't seem too effective either on Naval Search.

Should I just use them to recon bases? What do you do and how has it worked?

[Terminus]

It's odd that you're seeing high ops losses. The sub floatplanes are supposed to fly Naval Search (at least in the game), and that's what people use them for.

[Mike Solli]

I love the Glen carrying subs. I use them on 100% naval search at range 4 (their max). They find the Allied sea lanes and I use them to vector other (non-Glen carrying) subs to do the dirty work. I rarely lose them to op losses.

So what if they are lost to op losses. On the rare occasion I lose them, I work my way back to port, get another plane and untrained(!) pilot and send them on their way. I don't want to waste a rare trained pilot there. Those guys go to the combat daitai.

[Feinder]

Most of my PBEM opponents use them as a picket line to detect movement of Allied convoys beyond the effective range of Mavis/Emily. Exmaple to station them about 15 hexes east of Pearl to detect shipping that will arrive in PH. Or in SoPac to detect movent of convoys to Fiji or Hebrides.

-F-

[tsimmonds]

You may be flying them too low. Try at 6000' or above for lower op loss.

[Bushmaster]

well it was one game where i recall 3-4 subs out of about 10 that were lined up in deep ocean that lost their planes. It could have to do with weather and prolonged (not too long) use. I'm glad to hear that everyone else has sucess with naval search.

Thanks for the helpful replies... i'll watch my alt too, thx.

[Feinder]

I have no idea if it will work but...

Try flying them at 50% Nav Search. It -might- allow your one plane, to fly 50% of the time. Thus flying every other day, reducing fatigue, and reducting Ops loss.

I know it works well with patrol squadrons (I set mine to 80% search, hardly any ops losses).

However, because you've only got one plane, the computer may simply say, "50% of 1 is .5. That's less than one, so it never flies..."

Dunno. You might have to experiment with it a bit.

But otherwise, keeping my float/patrols at 80% and 6000' feet, tends to do well for me.

-F-

[niceguy2005]

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

I love the Glen carrying subs. I use them on 100% naval search at range 4 (their max). They find the Allied sea lanes and I use them to vector other (non-Glen carrying) subs to do the dirty work. I rarely lose them to op losses.

So what if they are lost to op losses. On the rare occasion I lose them, I work my way back to port, get another plane and untrained(!) pilot and send them on their way. I don't want to waste a rare trained pilot there. Those guys go to the combat daitai.

This was used against me recently with great effectiveness.

Not having played Japan until recently and not being the worlds biggest war buff I didn't know Jap subs carried these planes. In my first PBEM, i kept seeing Glenns off the WC and thought it must be the KB. It took me almost two weeks to figure it out. DOH!

After i figured it out, i rushed out several TFs of supplies that were pilling up at San Fransisco, right into what turned out to be several packs up subs. DOH! . LOL I have learned a lot since those days!!!

[spence]

The use of Glenns for Naval Search is grossly inaccurate historically and technically. Taking off and landing on the open sea more than once or twice would require incredibly good luck...damage sufficient to render the a/c unserviceable is pratically guaranteed in anything over a light chop.
The Japanese used the Glenn for reconnaisance of enemy bases and almost always found a secluded and unguarded AND PROTECTED (from the sea) bay to launch those recon missions from. Reading through the TROMs of the boats that could carry the Glenn it seems that the plane was not always carried (specific mention seems to be made for each patrol during which a plane was embarked) and that when embarked they were only launched once or twice before becoming disabled (in most cases).

The famous or infamous "Operation K" (pre-Midway recon of PH) failed because the use of the lagoon at French Frigate Shoals for use by the much more robust Mavis or Emilys (don't remember which) was inadvertently denied by US naval forces being present. Obviously if naval search/recon by Glenns was as easily carried out IRL as in WitP then that operation would never have been planned and it's failure would not have been such a disappointment to the Japanese commanders involved in the Midway Operation.