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I have been working at coming up with some sort of guiding principle for organizing my Japanese transport squadrons...but haven't yet made sense of the mess of options. So, hopefully, this thread will be dedicated getting some feedback based on player experience, as to what transports to produce when. So, the overall question is: what is your strategy for equipping Japanese transport squadrons?

So far, my favorite two transports are the Tabby and Tina, because of their range. I still produce the Thora, MavisL, and Tabby, though I'm not sure they're really needed.

Does anyone find the Hickory at all useful? I was thinking of using the plane to carry paratroops, but the limited range makes it almost useless.

As far as I can tell, you will need the Tabby to transport the artillery peices, it doesn't seem as if the Tina's can do it.

You'll be getting more Thora's down the road, so you need to at least keep 1 unit of them until the reinforcements arrive.

Mavis L is very usefull since it is an amphib, keep them, produce them, even swap a few sqauds of Thoras to them.

Hickory is a peice of junk, set all those to swap to Topsy and stop producing once you have 100 spare airframes. Be sure to keep 1 group as Hickory until your last reinforcement group arrives. Then swap the rest.

This is exactly what I do.

ORIGINAL: Shark7

You'll be getting more Thora's down the road, so you need to at least keep 1 unit of them until the reinforcements arrive.

Mavis L is very usefull since it is an amphib, keep them, produce them, even swap a few sqauds of Thoras to them.

The game is smart enough to know that you have Thoras on the reinforcement track. You need not keep a squadron on the map.

MavisL doesnt operate any different than any other transport aircraft in the game. No need to keep them.

"The game is smart enough to know that you have Thoras on the reinforcement track. You need not keep a squadron on the map."

YH... as an allied player I know that not having any squadrons of a particular aircraft type doesn't mean that all those planes disappear - but the choice of upgrading any squadron to them does disappear if I have no squadrons so equipped... are you saying that if I have a squadron on the reinforcement track scheduled to use that aircraft then it will continue to show up on the upgrade track for other squadrons?

No, I said you dont have to keep a squadron equipped with Thoras to get the squadrons that havent arrived yet. I cant see a reason to keep the Thora around to upgrade to frankly.

I like to keep my options open in case that losses require me to re-equip with lesser aircraft... sometimes it's nice to let your rear area units use those old beaters, leaving more front line aircraft for the front line squadrons. 

ORIGINAL: Yamato hugger

ORIGINAL: Shark7

You'll be getting more Thora's down the road, so you need to at least keep 1 unit of them until the reinforcements arrive.

Mavis L is very usefull since it is an amphib, keep them, produce them, even swap a few sqauds of Thoras to them.

The game is smart enough to know that you have Thoras on the reinforcement track. You need not keep a squadron on the map.

MavisL doesnt operate any different than any other transport aircraft in the game. No need to keep them.

Mavis L's can transport IJN BF guns.............can any other transport?

They can only because its a bug and it isnt just for the MavisL, its for anything that can lift troops (including Mavis searchplanes). The transport routine only checks the size of the pieces its transporting when the last of them are about to leave. So to answer your question, yes EVERY transport can (and every patrol plane can as well). To further answer your question, no, none of them SHOULD be able to.

This is an easy question actually. There are only 3 choices:

IJA units: Topsy is the best option, and only one to consider. It has the best range AND best lift capacity...pretty easy choice.

IJN units: Tina for range, Tabby for lift capacity. You need both, but mostly rely on Tabby.

That's all you need to know! Previous posters correct, Mavis has no special abilities.

Everything else does not need to be produced.

Never found a use for Hickory [:@], what a piece of junk! Mostly rely on Tabby (just a few units of Tinas) and Topsy.

PS, and maybe this is an AE question....but I understand the Mavis is "fixed" in AE, correct?

In AE, it becomes a true seaplane. In WITP, it's treated as if it only has wheels.

IF it does become a seaplane, there are some reasons to keep some. But in WITP, there aren't.

Just use Topsy and Tabby..............both have the same range........Tabby has much bigger lift ability though.
 
Tina's are nice, but low load capacity.