Maximizing ship bombardment damage

[invernomuto]

In a naval bombardment mission how do I maximize damage to the units in the base?
IIRC I need to use a float plane as a spotter for the BB (I've read some AARs with this message in combat report).
Someone could please explain how?
Does it work also during night bombarding missions?
Thanks!
Bye.

[Puhis]

Set float planes to fly night missions and recon. Don't set any targets for the planes.

[invernomuto]

Thank you very much, Puhis.

[Xxzard]

Does setting a target or not make a difference? I have set the recon target to be the base I am bombarding and they still acted as spotters.

[snuffl]

No dosen't make any difference as far as i know.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Puhis

Set float planes to fly night missions and recon. Don't set any targets for the planes.

also works if you set the base as target. If you don´t set the base as target, you have to limit the float planes range to 0, otherwise it could fly to another base instead of reconing the base you want to bombard.

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: invernomuto

In a naval bombardment mission how do I maximize damage to the units in the base?
IIRC I need to use a float plane as a spotter for the BB (I've read some AARs with this message in combat report).
Someone could please explain how?
Does it work also during night bombarding missions?
Thanks!
Bye.

In one of the pbems where I am the Japanese player I have run bombardment TFs against Wuchow 6 or 7 nights in a row, multiple times, primarily to see if I could optimize my results. Even with floatplanes set to Night Recon the results are very variable, ranging from "not much" to "massive destruction" and back. I have also been flying daily Day Recon and Aerial Bombardment flights, and I also have a stack of troops in the base, so the base and its troops are well spotted. (And this is with the same TF, containing the same ships, and with the same commanders. ) Never-the-less, my results are always different from attack to attack, so there are obviously variables in the routine that are outside of player-control.

My opponent and I are both interested in this, because he will eventually want to try to use Naval bombardments to weaken my bases too.

So my experience is that there is always a "luck factor" in a Naval Bombardment, and all you can do is improve upon it, you can't maximize it all the time.

[inqistor]

You NEED to recon base before. To level 10. And you should bombard at point-blank (I am not sure what 0 means, better set it to 1). Of course that means, you will get full weight of CD fire. You need some big guns (Cruiser should be enough). I am not sure about local recon plane. Sometimes it did not fly (because of weather maybe?), and I still get good results.

Take a look at this, spotter was set, but did not fly. Base is 10/10 reconed, fire range is medium.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jan 06, 43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Naval bombardment of Luganville at 120,150 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
PBY-5 Catalina: 4 destroyed on ground
PBY-5A Catalina: 9 destroyed on ground
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed on ground
TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed on ground
P-39D Airacobra: 3 destroyed on ground
SBD-3 Dauntless: 6 destroyed on ground

2 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
BB Yamato
BB Mutsu
CA Kinugasa
CA Atago
CA Chikuma
CA Tone
CL Tatsuta
CL Tenryu
CL Nagara
CL Sendai

Allied Ships
SC-739, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AV Curtiss, Shell hits 1


Allied ground losses:
276 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 14 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 17 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 17 (13 destroyed, 4 disabled)


Airbase hits 23
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 331
Port hits 2

BB Yamato firing at Luganville
BB Mutsu firing at 102nd USA Regiment
CA Kinugasa firing at Luganville
CA Atago firing at Luganville
CA Chikuma firing at Luganville
CA Tone firing at 31st USN Base Force
31st USN Base Force firing at CA Tone
CL Tatsuta firing at Luganville
CL Tenryu firing at Luganville
CL Nagara firing at Luganville
CL Sendai firing at Luganville

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: inqistor

You NEED to recon base before. To level 10.

That seems to be the most critical factor for me ...