Matrix Games Forums

What is the best and most efficient way to get carrier planes repaired and rested? As Japan I've had Kido Butai disbanded at Truk for a while now with all squadrons ordered to stand down. Yet as I went to check up on them the majority of the planes were still quite fatigued and surprisingly many damaged. I have been using them pretty actively, but not recklessly. Would transferring them to the land base help?

In the real world, the airwing doesn't stay with the CV when the CV is disbanded in a port. But of course this is not the real world. In the game, you can transfer the ship's aircraft to an airfield with the hope of getting better attention provided that 1) the airfield is well supplied (over double the minimum), 2) there is more than enough support for the aircraft to be disembarked and fully covered, 3) it would help if there's a air HQ unit in the hex, and 4) if your squadron COs are of good quality. I have found that getting replacement A/C can be easier when the unit is off the CV, but that doesn't mean that A/C are repaired quicker! But your question is good and I'm not aware of anyone actually testing these parameters to see their impact.

I have found that bases always with any air support at all always repair the CV aircraft faster than on the carrier. Caveat - I always put the carrier in a port where it can dock to unload the aircraft instead of flying them off (too many ops losses with the latter). The base seems to repair aircraft in the order of the squadrons on the base screen, and Navy squadrons come first in the lineup.

To avoid overwhelming the base I tend to unload only one or two squadrons at a time, give them about 3 days to fully repair and then swap for another two squadrons. Meanwhile the CVs can be doing their repairs and upgrades. A DD or two keeps the original TF alive so the commander does not have to be bought again with PP.

Many thanks to you both, I'll utilize land bases from now on.