fast transport...

[bigbaba]

hi all,

as a japanese player, getting PM, buna and GG seems to be essential for winning the game. now, the main problem is the growing threat caused by allied LBA from australia, when you try to supply this 3 bases.

the solution here seems to be working with warships in fast transport TFs.

you can supply buna from rabaul...GG from shortland islands and PM? shortland islands seem to be too far away from PM and with all the LBA in australia and the US carrier presence south of PM its even more dangerous even in thunderstorm-phases since most of the planes seem to ignore thunderstorm and attack your convoy anyhow.

another question beside supplying PM is:

how you manage the FT-TFs to GG and buna so they realy unload through the night and escape away at daylight to avoid air attacks? if you give a FT-TF the order to move to a position near its destination, it will (even with patrol/do not retreat option) move there and then move back to its home port instead of waiting at their set destination.

any hints about useing FT-TFs would be very helpfull for me.

[SuluSea]

Sometimes for added control ,once they're loaded I give my FT-TF a surface mission till I get them on the exact hex I want them to be. Then I change them back to FT and let them make their dash.

[bigbaba]

ok that sounds like a solution. but imagine the following situation:

you build a FT-TF and let them load troops>>>the loading is not completed in the same turn>>>you end your turn>>>in the next turn, the FT-TF is at GG and gets attacked and you was not able to set it on surface-attack because they arrived at GG before you could do that.

can you solve the problem by building the FT-TF at rabaul and not at shortland islands? because of the greater distance between rabaul and GG, its more likely that your FT-TF is at sea at the beginning of the next turn instead of unloading at GG.

[Kingfisher]

Fast transports are better suited for quick deliveries of emergency supplies or troops. Think along the lines of ~1000 points or a battalion of light troops (no heavy engineering equipment or coast defense guns).

You should also consider the size (and condition) of the port and the level of base support at the TF's destination. Both have an effect on how quickly the TF can unload.

Yes, you can keep GG and Buna supplied with FT-TFs, but it is going to take you forever and a day to bring them up to the level where both can threaten the allies bases in Australia. That is, unless you devote the entire IJN's surface force to FTs, in which case you can kiss the entire Solomons chain goodbye.

[bigbaba]

thanks guys. now the problem remains PM...i thought about useing my 3 (soon 5) topsy- transport squadrans to supply it. but i have no base force there. can you use transport planes to supply a base with a level 5 AF but no base force on it?

[RGIJN]

Be aware that these Topsy chutai´s are entirely insufficient to supply a base like Port Moresby. This plane rather suck, even more so when compared to the allied counterpart C-47 Dakota. [:(]

[HansBolter]

As long as there is a functional airfield you can deliver supplies by air transport. You can even deploy and fly air from the field. The only thing that can't be done at an airfiled witout a base force is repair damaged aircraft.

You can even use floatplanes/flying boats to deliver supplies and troops via air transport to non-base dot hexes. Kind of the air version of sub invasion, because the capacity of float planes/flying boats for air transport is very limited.

Running the FT TFs out of Rabaul instead of Shortland guarantees they will stage to a position equal to their maximum speed run distance to make the high speed run into the port since they can't make the port in one turn. It does mean each run takes four turns to complete, two outbound and two inbound. The area a few hexes out from Rabaul where they stage to for the high speed run is a prime submarine hunting ground for the American so be sure to patrol the area with ASW forces to protect the FTs.

Also be careful not to be greedy and try to get too much in via one single run becuase if the TF is so large that the limited port capacity cuases it to be unable to unload in one night, the TF will be sitting ducks in the port in the morning. I never put more than 5 ships in a given FT TF, usually one CL and 4 DDs.

[RGIJN]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
be sure to patrol the area with ASW forces to protect the FTs.

Unfortunately, japanese ASW assets are not even worth to mention... If you set out with a decent DD force under an aggressive commander to actually "hunt" US subs, the chances are rather slim to engage them at all. And IF it happens, the odds are about 3:1 the sub will score a hit instead your killer group[X(] At least this is my experience with the so called "ASW" of the IJN.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: RGIJN

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
be sure to patrol the area with ASW forces to protect the FTs.

Unfortunately, japanese ASW assets are not even worth to mention... If you set out with a decent DD force under an aggressive commander to actually "hunt" US subs, the chances are rather slim to engage them at all. And IF it happens, the odds are about 3:1 the sub will score a hit instead your killer group[X(] At least this is my experience with the so called "ASW" of the IJN.

The same is especially true of using PCs for ASW as they are even worse than the DDs and the DDs are usually too busy with the FT missions as the FT mission causes heavy "wear & tear" in the form of system damage so twice as many DD/CL are needed in order to be able to rest and refit some while the others are active to allow for a rotation.

However, you are thinking in only one dimension ..........what about the ASW capabilities of the other dimension?

Get that multitude of AVs the Japs posses to Rabual with their float planes set to ASW to cover the staging area.

[bigbaba]

i find it helpfull for the japanese ASW to set this elite nell and betty pilots at 20% ASW patrol, when they have nothing else to do and the weather conditions are good. now they sink rarely a sub, but at least in my game they attack several submarines and cause at least some damage to them, so they are out of action for some turns. also, the XP of the bomber group goes up a little bit without risking high OP loses.

i will try to use my APD with 10 ASW rating. maybe thats more effective then the japanese DD/PC/PG.

[decaro]

Warship FTs tie-up surface assets, and air transports are inadequate to resupply most bases.

As the IJN player, if you want to supply PM, how about APD FTs to Lae, but base barges there and send them to Buna to supply PM over-land.

It worked for me when both Buna and Lae were under threat from Allied air.

[bigbaba]

you can supply PM effective through the kokoda track? now that would be nice.

[RGIJN]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter


However, you are thinking in only one dimension ..........what about the ASW capabilities of the other dimension?

Get that multitude of AVs the Japs posses to Rabual with their float planes set to ASW to cover the staging area.

Though you´re right - there are lots of AV & CS based a/c, but it´s not that easy as you imagine[:-] since the XP rating of most of these flaotplane are well under 70, especially in any scenario except 19. In my experience, successful ASW patrol requires for at least 75 or above value. The higher the better. So you need to enhance your odds by committing top notch Betty & Nell groups to this duty, thus thining out actual attack strength.

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: bigbaba

you can supply PM effective through the kokoda track? now that would be nice.

In my current game vs. tocaff, once I took and (initially) supplied PH by transport, I had no problems resupplying it over the Owen Stanly mountains by brages to Buna, right up to the day Todd took it back!

[bigbaba]

the barges can move to buna from lae and then back to lae without a "gas station" between lae and buna?

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: RGIJN

ORIGINAL: HansBolter


However, you are thinking in only one dimension ..........what about the ASW capabilities of the other dimension?

Get that multitude of AVs the Japs posses to Rabual with their float planes set to ASW to cover the staging area.

Though you´re right - there are lots of AV & CS based a/c, but it´s not that easy as you imagine[:-] since the XP rating of most of these flaotplane are well under 70, especially in any scenario except 19. In my experience, successful ASW patrol requires for at least 75 or above value. The higher the better. So you need to enhance your odds by committing top notch Betty & Nell groups to this duty, thus thining out actual attack strength.

Good points Ralf. However, consider that one of the best ways to get their XP up from 70 to that efective range of 75 is to get them out their perfomring the task. Leaving them on naval search all the time, especially the very short range ones that can't be much benefit to you on naval range, isn't going to increase thier xp as fast as performing ASW.

[RGIJN]

correct, too. I am just always quite reluctant with these tiny and fragile floatplanes, especially considering the low replacemnt rate for the omnipotent Type Zero Recon Seaplane (E13A "Jake"). They are the "eyes of my fleet" and it does not take much more than a raindrop that cause them to crash and appear in the OPS loss list... [:(] The Type Zero Observation Seaplane (F1M "Pete") are the most ridicoulous toy, very short legged balsa planes as it seems...

Will augment my tries with them! [;)]

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: bigbaba

the barges can move to buna from lae and then back to lae without a "gas station" between lae and buna?

No, one -- or better both -- bases need some available fuel, which you can do by disbanding some full AOs in port or via one FT fueling pit stop since it doesn't take much "gas" to move a barge TF.

[RGIJN]

usually, if you establish a computer controlled routine barge TF between two bases some of the barges (depends on the total number of vessels) will load fuel instead of supplies. This should generate enough gas at Buna for the return trip.
But since you don´t can be certain if this works always as desired and since we don´t like things under stupid AI control generally[;)], I rather run the first 3...4 barge TFs with fuel only. It´s enough for several "supply only" runs then. Another option ist to create two barge TFs - one small for the fuel and one large for the supplies and run them in a rotative manner. As Jos said already, these tiny cutters don´t eat much of your precious fuel... [8D]

[anarchyintheuk]

Just form the fttf, load up, set your destination and ensure that it is set for retirement allowed. On the turn before unloading, the tf will move into position so that it can warp to the base at night, unload, then bugger off back to where it started before the first air phase. As with bbtfs, the amount of distance covered is unrealistic, but that's the way it works.