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Long campaign, managed to fight Coral Sea and the Lex only take 2 torpedo's . 47 system, 59 floatation so she is going back to Pearl. It would be really nice to keep her air groups around for an upcomming Lunga job. What are the advantages/disadvantages to keeping the airgroups in the South Pacific?

If nothing else, they can form a reserve at Truk/Noumea.

As the Allies, they come in handy early, as you don't have squat for experienced fighters in Noumea.

I have a PBEM game going on where the carrier got sent back and I kept the airgroups. The SBD and TBF squadrons got filled with rookie replacements and had an avg exp of 63-65.

Put them on Nevea to bomb enemy positions at KiraKira daily. By the time the carrier came back, the SBDs were at exp level 83 and the TBFs at 85!

And the fighters can gain some experience, although that is more difficult.

Just be careful not to put them someplace where they can get chewed up. If the dive bombers/torpedo bombers are experienced, you can put them on ASW patrol. They are good at that too.

Doing more for you than sitting at Pearl/Japan....

Well, I spoke to soon. The Lex wasn't quite in port yet. She took another torpedo, but still stuggled into port with 97 flotation damage. I flew the planes to base, sent the Lex to Pearl (256 days!) Now here is the strange thing. The planes and crews are gone! I presume they rejoined the Lex and went for an extended holiday!

Maybe you can't seperate them? Or there's a rule about how many planes/pilots are actually left?

Nice job getting the ship to port! I once managed to get a destroyer back to Noumea with a system damage of 95 and a float damage of 98. But a carrier is far more important.

If you can get the entire squadron off the carrier, you are in good shape. I do it all the time. If you get the carrier into port with high flotation damage, let it sit in port until you can fly the squadron off, then send it to Pearl/Japan. Complete squadron at your disposal.

If you only get a fragment, then the main squadron stays on the boat. And fragmentary squadrons have their own set of problems.

Originally posted by denisonh
If you get the carrier into port with high flotation damage, let it sit in port until you can fly the squadron off, then send it to Pearl/Japan.

You're right about the partial squadron thing, but be careful letting high-flotation-damage ships sit in port - they can sink sometimes by accumulating additional flotation damage faster than the port (even a size 9 port) can repair it.

I sent the Lex off to Pearl with 97% floatation damage. Once she is on her way to Pearl is there any chance of her sinking?

Originally posted by gn08979
I sent the Lex off to Pearl with 97% floatation damage. Once she is on her way to Pearl is there any chance of her sinking?

No.

Originally posted by gn08979
I sent the Lex off to Pearl with 97% floatation damage. Once she is on her way to Pearl is there any chance of her sinking?

No, but the length of time it takes it to get to Pearl is affected. If you can, it is better to get the float damage repaired and increase the speed of the ship before sending it back. Having said that, I always send ships back that have very high flood damage (85% or higher) just to ensure they do not sink.

Rick

When sending a ship or ships back to pearl, do they need escorts and are they hunted by enemy subs?

Originally posted by Admiral Scott
When sending a ship or ships back to pearl, do they need escorts and are they hunted by enemy subs?

They're as safe as they would be in Mama's arms. Why, I have no idea.

I use house rules ... minor ships (DD, CL, CVE) will be sent to Pearl with a DD, capital ships (CA, BB, CVL, CV) will be sent back with a minimum of 2 DDs. Generally I have enough damaged DDs or DDs requiring AA upgrades to make it less painful. Also, all capital ships (except lone CAs) and transport convoys require escorts when venturing out of port.

They're as safe as they would be in Mama's arms. Why, I have no idea.

All waters beyond the Southwest Pacific are a beautiful paradise were all is right with world:p

Well I flew the ships off and then sent the Lex to Pearl but I can't find the planes!? They are not on the Lexington and they are no at Neoume. Where did they go?

I've sent my CV's home with their crews on full training...and they have gained lots of experience on the return.

Worr, out