Russian airforce

[gids]

anyone has some guide how to arange those and use em during the war ,settings etc....i think i loose alot of power because i dont handle them proper
cheers

[Don77]

OK, here's my limited insight.

This is based on gradually achieving the structure below. This takes most of 1941 to achieve.

Frontal Air
Each front has an Air Command, to which I attach 6 Airbases
Three stacks, of VVS and IAD, BAD and IAD, 2 x SAD/SHaP
You can use SAD where you are short of IADs - ie such as the NW Front

VVS - assign - ORAP (SB2 recon), LTAP (UVS then Li Transport), multiple 3/4 NBAP (UVS Night bombers)
IAD - assign 6 x IAP (MIG and YAK) or older I24/29 until those beocme available

BAD assign 6 x SB-2
IAD - assign 6 x LAGG (for long range)

SAD/SHaP x 2, each assigned 6 x LI2/SU2 or older 1-53 BIS/bis again until modern ac become available

STAVKA air
BAK x 4, each with two or three airbases (DBAD and some IAD)

DBAD - assign 6 x LI4 or DB3
IAD - assign 6 x IAP (LAGG3 again for range)

OZNAZ - assign all TG3 transports and TB3 bombers - use for para drops and resup.

Tips -
The secret - use the spare Fleet Airbases (North and Black Sea), as well as Kharkov Air Command airbases and the excess AB with the West and SWest Fronts, to average out the airbases where you are short.
You can disband the three spare Air Commands (North Sea, Black Sea and Northern (near 7 Indep Army) - unless you want to keep some for additional Stavka Air Command?
Around turn 5 ensure all air leaders have air of 4 or better
Don't forget top night bomb using the NBAP on night missions
Use the airforce all the time, it generates fatigue even if not high casualties
Don

[Schmart]

Do the different air base designations have any effect on the types of units in the base? I rarely pay attention to this. I just load each base with 4-5 fighter units, fill out the rest of the space with a mix of tactical/level bombers, but I keep the long range/heavy stuff in the BAKs.

[vlcz]

ORIGINAL: Don77

IAD - assign 6 x IAP (MIG and YAK) or older I24/29 until those beocme available
..
IAD - assign 6 x LAGG (for long range)

Do not have the data accesible at office, but I´m quite sure MIG-3 have much more range than lagg-3 so this should be the reverse (LAgg and Yak for close combat and MIG-3 for long range)

[Aurelian]

Every VVS base gets 1 recon and 1 Transport and the rest level bombers, except Pe2/UVS.

The AI supplies partisans from those VVS bases.

If those night mission enabled air group units attached to VVS air base units are not sufficient to meet the partisan needs, then transport and level bomber air group units set to night missions and attached to DBAD, AD DD, GAD DD, and GDBAD air base units may be selected by the computer to also transport supplies to partisan units.

Except for the above, it doesn't matter who gets what, though I like fighters for IAD, IL2s for Shap, etc.

And remember that the SAD disband on their own sometime in 42

[Harrybanana]

ORIGINAL: Aurelian

And remember that the SAD disband on their own sometime in 42

I am nearing the end of December 41 in my game and have quite few airgroups attached to SAD aibases. Any idea when the SAD bases start disbanding? What happens to the airgroups attached to them?

[M60A3TTS]

Air groups go back to the NR as the SADs disband. Not sure when that happens. You will start getting airbase replacements at some point that you will need to reallocate to the fronts.

[carlkay58]

SAD airbases start to disappear in March 42 - just when you start needing them to defend against the Axis March push!

[Seminole]

DBAD - assign 6 x LI4 or DB3

]

What do your support/need numbers look like for those airbases?
It seems to me if need surpasses available support the number of ready aircraft suffers.

Anyone have the stats for how much support various air groups require (full compliment)?
Level bombers seem pretty needy, whereas you can pile fighter groups into an air base without exceeding support levels.

[Don77]

G'day again all,

I have found that the biggest driver is to get new AB (esp as the SAD disband in Mar 42 as per the threads above). To that extent, I make sure that each AB has six assigned air units ASAP. For simplicity (and I am simple) I keep the same type of aircraft per base.

As per the Il4/DBAD as per Seminole's question above. I haven;t found it to be a major impediment to overload an airbase (or I just don;t realise what disadvantages it is generating to overload slightly). So, I'd agree with him that you can overload fighters and I haven';t seen the impediment of overloading bombers either? Plus even at 6 air regts, that is generally only ~ 140ac per AB. Hence I take the risk of overloading some bases - mainly DBAD

Appreciate anyone;s insights as to the real implications of overloading?

Also, and to finish my thread abovere: Air C2

Moscow IAK and Air Comd
3 x IAD - Generally MIG/LAGG3
3 x SAD - Pe2

Don

[Aurelian]

And also, VVS/SAD can not become Guards.

[randallw]

Readiness of air units may drop if the amount of support squads is not enough ( some air unit types need more squads than others ).

[delatbabel]

If the amount of support required is much higher than the amount of support available, then one thing I have noticed is that damaged aircraft no longer repair, and aircraft in the unit start switching into reserve mode.  This is often the case with transports such as Li2s.  I was wondering what was happening to cause a unit of 20 Li2s to go 0 ready / 20 reserve but figured it was the support.

[Denniss]

Hmm, doesn't sound if that's working right. They should repair but at a slower rate, depending on how much support is missing.
At least that's how it's working in Uncommon valor and I assume in WitP.

[Helpless]

Actually all aircraft in the group is placed into reserve mode and then each of them has chance to become ready depending on the amount of support and supplies in the base.

One thing to consider - fatigue has direct impact of the amount of air support provided. I.e. if fatigue is 50 only 50% of of your ready squads will be contributing. Also amount of supplies in the base has very big impact on the plane readiness. Transport planes generate very high amount of need (I'd say even too high), which can place them all into reserve mode.

[Seminole]

Is there anyway to see what the full complement of a particular air group requires in support besides trial and error?  The support/need numbers don't update when you assign aircraft, so you have to wait to see what affect it has, and it appears the number of total aircraft (say it has 15 when the max is 20) affects the displayed support need.

I guess I should just load up an old save and empty the airbases, then commit one (full) air group of each type to them and see what they look like next turn?

This info would be nice in the unit information window (unless I'm just missing it somewhere else).

[Helpless]

Is there anyway to see what the full complement of a particular air group requires in support besides trial and error?

Yes, it is not updated and depends on type and amount of aircraft stationed there.

Formula is:

aircraft sortie ammo x number of total planes / 20000 + number of total planes

I see if I can add this info, but in general air support can be quite variable during the logistics.

[matt.buttsworth]

INTERDICTION OF GERMAN UNITS

What about interdiction of German units?

I have tried it but it seems to have little effect.
Is it worth it?
Or better to set the Russian air force to run automatically?

Matthew Buttsworth

[vlcz]

Is there any limitation to the activities of PVO airbases? or to Northern fleet Air HQ?

I got two Hq (an air fleet and this one assigned to Leningrad Front, but air units from this one (in PVO bases) seem as not flying at all , They are deplyed in light woods in Karelia and I realised the problem attempting air recon anfd receiving the "no available" message when the base is within 6 hexes and the group 0% flown 100% ready and supported

[Helpless]

Is there any limitation to the activities of PVO airbases? or to Northern fleet Air HQ?

There are no name based restrictions.