IJN AV, CS Assets
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2002 6:30 pm
I am playing a game as IJN, and trying to figure out how to best employ the AV and CS units, particularly the CS's.
As Allied, the AV's were pretty useful to setup forward Navsearch bases, with an AV parked on a remote island with some Catalinas. After a while it might be found, but 5 VP's aren't that much to use. That was using the AV Ballard's.
The problem I am having with the IJN AV's and CS's are several. First, they come with built in seaplane units, but most of them are either kind of weak (Alf's and Dave's), or **** near useless (Pete's), because their range is so short. Emily's and Mavis's, of which the IJN will get quite a few, seem enough to cover a pretty wide Navsearch range without needing additional units.
The CS's were designed to operate with a surface fleet, but that's not a good idea. Anyone you can see in the daytime you probably can't engage with anyway. The only use I can think of for the CS's is to put them in CV TF's as extra scouting power. Even then, that's a marginal use for something worth 65 VP's if it's sunk.
So far, I've been sending all but one CS unit back to Tokyo, in hopes of getting something else. The AV's are too slow to operate with a CV TF, so I decided I didn't need them when I had all those Mavis's and Emily's. I had 3 CS's, but decided one was enough, since I only had 2 CV's (playing #16).
Am I missing something, or are others having the same quandary? I realize I could swap out the units on board for Rufes, but they are such poor fighters that seems like a pretty weak CAP. Thoughts?
As Allied, the AV's were pretty useful to setup forward Navsearch bases, with an AV parked on a remote island with some Catalinas. After a while it might be found, but 5 VP's aren't that much to use. That was using the AV Ballard's.
The problem I am having with the IJN AV's and CS's are several. First, they come with built in seaplane units, but most of them are either kind of weak (Alf's and Dave's), or **** near useless (Pete's), because their range is so short. Emily's and Mavis's, of which the IJN will get quite a few, seem enough to cover a pretty wide Navsearch range without needing additional units.
The CS's were designed to operate with a surface fleet, but that's not a good idea. Anyone you can see in the daytime you probably can't engage with anyway. The only use I can think of for the CS's is to put them in CV TF's as extra scouting power. Even then, that's a marginal use for something worth 65 VP's if it's sunk.
So far, I've been sending all but one CS unit back to Tokyo, in hopes of getting something else. The AV's are too slow to operate with a CV TF, so I decided I didn't need them when I had all those Mavis's and Emily's. I had 3 CS's, but decided one was enough, since I only had 2 CV's (playing #16).
Am I missing something, or are others having the same quandary? I realize I could swap out the units on board for Rufes, but they are such poor fighters that seems like a pretty weak CAP. Thoughts?
I've used them as forward scouts (small TFs forward of my CV TFs), ASW (air) escorts (escorting transport TFs) and as docked ASW (air) & reconaissance bases.