Patrol Plane Warriors

[Bullwinkle58]

Just an aside on something I've tried and was happy to have done so . . .

PI patrol planes, with half the PI gone, were uselessly naval searching. Even when I found hordes of invading AKs and APs in the northern PI hexes I had nothing left to atack them with. So I switched my eight or so PBYs to naval attack w/ torpedoes and they have been SLAUGTERING Japanese mechants. Four sunk in the last five turns, mostly not on invasion beaches but far out to the west in open water. Put them at 2000 feet, max range, and let fly.

I also switched a few down in Java. Got a torprdo hit on an IJN battleship, and that wonderful (probably FOWed) "Listing, counter-flooding" message. Even so, a hit on a BB with a PBY.

Try it. You may like it.

[P.Hausser]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

Just an aside on something I've tried and was happy to have done so . . .

PI patrol planes, with half the PI gone, were uselessly naval searching. Even when I found hordes of invading AKs and APs in the northern PI hexes I had nothing left to atack them with. So I switched my eight or so PBYs to naval attack w/ torpedoes and they have been SLAUGTERING Japanese mechants. Four sunk in the last five turns, mostly not on invasion beaches but far out to the west in open water. Put them at 2000 feet, max range, and let fly.

I also switched a few down in Java. Got a torprdo hit on an IJN battleship, and that wonderful (probably FOWed) "Listing, counter-flooding" message. Even so, a hit on a BB with a PBY.

Try it. You may like it.

Did it in the one i'm in, as on Dec 7th... and so far I have sunk 11 AK's, 5 DMS and 1 CA! (My Intel think anyways)

Its a pretty nice strategy..

[Bullwinkle58]

The good thing is too, when there are fighters, PBYs fight back, and can take a lot of punishment with two engines and size. They usually get home when damaged.

[Dili]

Meh it continues... that crews should be very bad in Naval attack, even less in Torpedo attack.

[Djordje]

People keep reporting Catalinas causing carnage early in the war... There is a post where 12 of them had 7 torpedo hits on a BB and one more on CL in single attack. That's 67% hit rate from patrol planes in December 1941.
Now remember Netty and their 20% or so hit rate in WITP and them being nerfed to better reflect history.

This looks like a bug to me.

[AW1Steve]

Read about the "Kiska Blitz" in the Aleutian camapign. Brian Garfield in "Thousand Mile War" gives a great account. Tokyo Rose talked about a new Allied Dive Bomber that looked suspiously like a PBY! [:D]

[Zacktar]

ORIGINAL: Djordje

People keep reporting Catalinas causing carnage early in the war... There is a post where 12 of them had 7 torpedo hits on a BB and one more on CL in single attack. That's 67% hit rate from patrol planes in December 1941.
Now remember Netty and their 20% or so hit rate in WITP and them being nerfed to better reflect history.

This looks like a bug to me.

That was me, I'm pretty sure, and while it happened in September of '43, I'd agree that it looks like a bug. That squadron had next to no NavT skill (the best pilot had a 39 in that rating, the others went down to the mid-teens). I think the game's failing to check that skill properly; perhaps using overall experience insted.

I don't mind PBYs picking off unescorted AKs and the like (sort of like an earlier version of a P-3 carrying Harpoons), but I can't imagine they'd even try their luck against a BB and escorts. I can just picture the AA crews licking their chops as those big, slow targets bore in on a straight-line course without even fighters and DBs to provide some distraction for them.

[Reg]

Weren't the torps removed from the dutch flying boat in WITP for a similar reason...... [&:]

[Splinterhead]

ORIGINAL: Reg


Weren't the torps removed from the dutch flying boat in WITP for a similar reason...... [&:]

Nope, The bombs were replaced with torpedoes

[elxaime]

Heh, another reason why my brother and I bought AE but are waiting a few patches before starting a PBEM

[NAVMAN]

Does the capability to attack w/PBYs exist in WITP? Don't recall seeing a naval attack
mission for them.
Thx.

[sven6345789]

switch them to night operations

[eMonticello]

ORIGINAL: elxaime

Heh, another reason why my brother and I bought AE but are waiting a few patches before starting a PBEM

I suggest running a few simple tests using the Guadalcanal scenario. Open a head-to-head game and send a few Japanese TFs of various numbers of ships to within a few hexes of Efate. Stand-down all aircraft and save the game before the JTFs arrive. Then, run a number of tests using different TFs and attack settings. You may find the even PBY pilots tend to exaggerate their success.

[John Lansford]

Torpedo attacks with PBY's and Dutch patrol planes are probably more effective than they ought to be, IMO.  I've gotten many hits from them but if fighters are around the hit rate goes way, way down.

[Shark7]

Historically the 'Black Cats' would attack Japanese shipping at night with some success. I don't recall reading any instances of them taking on a full combat task force though.

PBYs on night naval attack should be a harassment tactic, not a crippling force. The results you are posting reek of a bug and I would consider using the tactic gamey at this point.

[Cathartes]

Ok, let's see some combat report excerpts where these aircraft are accomplishing glorious feats. If there's something awry, we want evidence.

[NAVMAN]

sven,
Thx for the info.
Navman