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The rules for carrier based aircraft are much simpler.

The air unit is located on a ship in the same hex as a base with more than 20K supplies or
The air unit is located on a ship and an Air Replacement Unit is within extended range of the ac being replaced. This mostly excludes Japan.

Not having the situation in front of me it's had to say but I can come up twith an explanation.
If the base was close to the 20K mark and you replaced the Zero, Kates first it could take supply below 20K.
If you transferred the Vals a base then they are no longer carrier based but labd based and the other rules apply. Obviously the base still has less than 20K (assuming you transfered to the same base) so one of the other two rules applied.

'The air unit is located at a base and the Command level HQ that the group is assigned to is within transfer range of the air unit’s aircraft type, and the Command HQ is located at a base with over 20,000 supplies. Supplies will be expended at the HQ base and the unit will receive damaged planes from the pool.'

This rule is only partially correct. What it says works BUT there are major inconsistances with it and I'm stumped so would like some feedback.

I've been testing this since my last post a week ago. I've created a test scenario #31 which you can access and edit here or the save.


The test scenario is centred around Truk, Ponape and the islands in the South Pacific. Nothing else matters and you do not have to run the turn, just access the Japanese turn. Both Truk and Ponape are identical in size.

• Truk has 28K supply and the southern army HQ, Panope has 31K supply and the 4th Fleet HQ. Both bases are attached to the Southeast Fleet and both HQs are command HQs.
• There are no Air HQ
• All air group bases are 4th Fleet and have at least a 2 level AF with 1K supply
• All air groups I used to test are Claudes. Max range 14.
• The AG are either attached to the Southern Army or 4th Fleet and are placed on bases at specific ranges from their command HQ.

Inconsistancy 1
As it opens look at -
Kuria. It has an AG attached to the 4th fleet, range 25 hexes. It can receive replacements.
Jaluit. It has an AG attached to the 4th fleet, range 18 hexes. It can receive replacements.
All bases in the Marshall and Gilbert Is can receive replacements no matter what the range is.

Next look at -
Lunga. It has an AG attached to the 4th fleet, range 25 hexes to Ponape. It cannot receive replacements.
Transfer it to Tulagi (24) or any other base it can reach and it still cannot receive replacements.

Inconsistancy 2
Look at -
Kwajalein. It has an AG attached to the Southern Army, range 25 hexes to Truk. It cannot receive replacements.
Ella Lavella. It has an AG attached to the Southern Army, range 25 hexes to Truk. It cannot receive replacements.
You can't until you get to a base within 14 hex of Truk, the max range of the Cluade.

I have tried reversing it all. E.g. 4th at Truk, Southern at Ponape etc. It all works in exactly the same way.

I am baffled?

Chris21wen wrote: Sat Sep 14, 2024 6:22 am The rules for carrier based aircraft are much simpler.

The air unit is located on a ship in the same hex as a base with more than 20K supplies or
The air unit is located on a ship and an Air Replacement Unit is within extended range of the ac being replaced. This mostly excludes Japan.

Not having the situation in front of me it's had to say but I can come up twith an explanation.
If the base was close to the 20K mark and you replaced the Zero, Kates first it could take supply below 20K.
If you transferred the Vals a base then they are no longer carrier based but labd based and the other rules apply. Obviously the base still has less than 20K (assuming you transfered to the same base) so one of the other two rules applied.

While answering another post I found another inconsistancy, this one to do with carrier based replacements. The exact wording for carrier based replacement is-

● The air unit is located on a ship and a replenishment air unit is within normal range of the ship, the unit will receive planes from the replenishment
unit instead of the pool.
● The air unit is located on a ship in the same hex as a base with an airfield size of 1+ (TF or at anchor) and the base has over 20000 supplies.
Supplies will be expended at the base and the unit will receive damaged planes from the pool.

These rules are correct HOWEVER you can also get replacements through the command HQ and all that implies. An ealier test for land based aircraft showed inconsistencies in that.

● The air unit is located at a base and the Command level HQ that the group is assigned to is within transfer range of the air unit’s aircraft type, and
the Command HQ is located at a base with over 20,000 supplies. Supplies will be expended at the HQ base and the unit will receive damaged
planes from the pool.

Further, nearly all carrier based aircraft are independant and independant units have different rules for replacements.

What this boils down to is the five rules governing replacements as listed under 16.2 are correct and you should use them as the basis for your rplacements. If your lucky the screwed up nature of the rules can work in you favour but don't rely on them.

I seriously think this should be looked at and corrected, either the rules written or the code changed to reflect what the rules say. All these tests were don under v26b.

I should add that supply has to be >20K + the cost of aircraft being replaced. This is easy to forget, I did.

E.g. If cost 12 supply to replace a fighter, 15 for db etc. So to replace one fighter you need 20001+12 = 20013 supply, fo one db it's 20016.

Don't take anything in the original manual as gospel.

Much of it was already incorrect by the game release date.

Also, don't be too quick to scoff at the knowledge of game veterans that is based on thousands of hours of game experience.

HansBolter wrote: Mon Sep 23, 2024 12:17 pm Don't take anything in the original manual as gospel.

Much of it was already incorrect by the game release date.

Also, don't be too quick to scoff at the knowledge of game veterans that is based on thousands of hours of game experience.

I'm not doing any off that, all I'm doing is pointing out how it works. I'm using the so-called updated rules written not all that long ago but most of those seem to be old rules in a different format.

The reason this came up in the first place was I was getting replacements when I shouldn't have been. Searching found nothing saying the rules governing replacement through a command HQ have changed and my testing has shown it is that part of the replacement rules that is incorrect, and there's nothing about independant units.

Now this problem may have been rectified in v27 but it is certainly bust in v26b.

I do not understand your comment at 'scoffing'.