Question about Aircraft Replacement & Experience

[Anthropoid]

I think I don't fully understand how aircraft replacements work, and also I'm wondering about how lower aircraft experience will impact mission performance. Maybe I should just post this in the WiTP forums, cause it is the same engine and all, and there does seem to be a lot more traffic over there. But I think part of my issue might be the set size for some aircraft squadrons.

I'm playing the WPO scenario Super Dreadnoughts 1926-1930. It is about Jan 1, 1927. I've held on to Bataan throughout the game, and am now moving in British forces to take Clark Field. I know, perhaps not in tune with some guys notions of house rules about the non-US remaining neutral, but I'm just having some fun against the AI for now

(1) Aircraft Replacements. Bataan is highly built up: Port=4; Airbase=4; Fort=7; 85K supplies; 65K Fuel; 169 Engineers; 43 Engineer Vehicles; 707 Assault Strength; 2055 Support vs 1360 needed; 179 Aviation Support vs 83 needed. There are a total of six air units in there, which have reconning Clark Field and ground attacking it for weeks. Two of them just won't grow in size.

VT20 is flying the Martin T3M4, and has 6 planes total all undamaged. It is set to allow replacements, and to upgrade to the Martin T3M4. There are 89 Martin T3M4s shown in the replacement pool.

No 469 is flying the Sopwith Cuckoo and has 2 planes total all undamaged. It is set to allow replacements, and to upgrade to the Sopwith Cuckoo. There are 28 Sopwith Cuckoos in the pool.

Both these squadrons have been in Bataan, set this way for about a month, and still neither squadron has increased in size. Is this because they are both pre-set to have squadron limits at 6 and 2 planes respectively? Should I have just disbanded them earlier so that they would come back later with more planes?

(2) Air unit experience and carrier missions. I parked CV Langley off the coast of Kwajalein and set both its squadrons to Ground Attack Kwajalein. VF-1 is flying the Curtiss F6C-1, has 13 planes, 22 pilots, Exp=46; Morale=99; Fatigue=4; Carrier Trained. VT-1 is flying the Martin T3M, has 3 planes, 8 pilots, Exp=47; Morale=99; Fatigue=4; Carrier Trained.

For about a week or more, these guys have been told to bomb Kwajalein but they have yet to do so. Is this just that their experience is still too low?

[BigJ62]

1) Usually only up to max size. Why would disbanding give more planes?

2) Put some other planes on recon and see if that helps.

[JagdFlanker]

set patrol to '0' - if you have the planes set to ground attack but the patrol is at 100% they take patrol as 1st priority

[Anthropoid]

ORIGINAL: Flanker Leader

set patrol to '0' - if you have the planes set to ground attack but the patrol is at 100% they take patrol as 1st priority

That may well have been the problem! Thanks

Another question: Lets say I have an Air Combat Task force that includes several big ships with Float Planes, which are all set to 100% Naval Search. I don't quite understand the difference between two alternate scenarios (assume the CV fighters set to Escort in both):

(a) CV planes (TB and LB) set to Naval Attack with 0% Naval Search.

(b) CV planes (TB and LB) set to Naval Attack with ~100% Naval Search.

Obviously with (b) it is more likely that any enemy ships in range will be spotted, but are the less likely to be attacked? Do TBs and LBs on Naval Search still carry their full armaments? If they spot an enemy, they presumably radio back its location so that other planes set to Naval Attack know where to fly to to attack. But do the Search planes ALSO attack?

[JagdFlanker]

with b) they will NOT attack. with a) they will attack at 100% of the ready strength. if you set patrol at 10% with 10 ready planes 1 plane will be on patrol while 9 will go out on strike. had i known this myself on my current PBEM game i could have hurt my opponent badly many times in the first 9 months of our game, which is the point where i found out what i was doing wrong. since then (9 more months) my TBs have sunk about 3 BB's, a few CA/CL's, and a mess of transports. if they attack DD TFs they usually all get damaged/shot down (!?!)

i personally set my aircraft at 100% to find targets, then 0% to go after them. but i also have 5 CL's each w/2 or 3 floats in the TF to do searching so sometimes i don't bother putting the TBs on search if i know there's targets nearby.

carrier planes on search are not loaded so they will never attack ships. they MAY on occasion hit a sub, but its much rarer then land based search planes and for all i know it may never happen - it could have been a land based aircraft hit.

[engineer]

You also questioned the influence of experience on hit percentage.  The two main drivers in WPO appear to be altitude and experience.  Low altitude and high experience increase the chance for making a hit.  Of course, flak is tougher at low altitude.  Looking at US TB and LB, my estimate is that veteran pilots (Experience 60+) are 2x to 3x more likely to make a hit than green pilots (experience 20-30), other circumstances being equal. 
 
In the late game, the Jap AI takes Wake and then runs a mess of convoys in there to build up for an attack on Hawaii via Midway.  Parking the Langley near Wake and setting the squadrons to Naval Attack is a quick way to get veteran pilots.  Replacing the original captain on the Langley with Mitscher or Halsey is another way to generate a lot more sorties. 

[Anthropoid]

Thanks for the info guys!
 
Sounds like setting CV TBs and LBs to search is a waste if you have other float planes in the area to find enemies. Very much appreciated info!
 
Thanks for the info on experience and strikes engineer! Keep in mind, I'm not playing the standard scenario (1922-1930), this is the 1926-1930 "Super Dreadnoughts" scenario. In this one, the IJN PO immediately invaded Luzon north. Shortly after that the invaded Mindanao, and Wake. The bombarded Guam a bit, but otherwise it has remained unmolested. I have even managed to slip in an AK with supplies and back out safely!
 
After that the AI has been totally passive. I followed a strategy of HEAVILY garrisoning Bataan, and that seems to have stopped him dead in his tracks. Although someone else said (in another thread) that they had "never ever seen the IJN PO go after all of Luzon" I don't know if that means in this specific scenario or not.

[engineer]

Yes, I spend most of my time in that scenario, too.  I've noticed that the Japanese haven't put any fighters on Wake, so I'm tweaking the Langley's air wing to put her fighters on the beach and replace them with level bombers for a greater bomb-load per strike. The LB's have a pilot experience in the high 30's but I expect that to change once they arrive on station. The Langley TF has just sortied from Pearl with Mitscher in command of both the Langley and the TF (Oregon and three destroyers). 
 
See my "Western Citadel" After Action Thread for the first three months of a modded late scenario.  It sounds a lot like your experience, except that I've scripted the Japanese to take Hong Kong and make a serious landing on Guam.  In the 5th Battle of Wake (lots of battles around Wake), a US sub put two torpedo's in the Mutsu and then the Langley's air wing attacked the next day and put three torpedos and bomb hit on her.  That was 3/11 torpedo hits on a BB that probably had her top speed reduced to 15 knots or less and a average experience on the flight crews of ~70. 

[Anthropoid]

I enjoy this scenario as the most interesting "what if" history had turned out differently scenario. The others are also fine, but this one is compelling since it is a what if war that starts up immediately after the Washington Conference collapses. It is a fascinating time in world history, but I'll confess that I'm fairly ignorant about the details.

I heard a fellow in one of his After Action threads comment that in his PBEM they were adhering to the house rule that "Brit, Dutch, French units must remain 'neutral' (meaning i guess they can only stay in their respective home bases and cannot either act offensively against Japan or co-occupy an American hex) unless Pearl Harbor falls." I think they were playing the standard 1922 scenario.

I wonder how realistic this is from a historical "what if" standpoint. Anyone have any comments?