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Playing allies against AI compleat campaign for first time. As per the tutorials and lets plays I have turned off night flights. What is the criteria to start using night fighters and bombers. Am I waiting for more experienced pilots or better aircraft. Maybe both ?

The pilots flying at night should have at least 50 experience. You will receive night fighters later.

However, you still want to do night naval search where your carriers will operate since that will increase the chance of detecting an enemy task force and having your carriers perform a morning strike. Flying boats, float planes, and land based air units can perform this task.

Also, bombardments tend to occur during the night phase and night recon will assist in the targeting. I also believe that night naval search from the surface combat TF will also help in combat, if nothing else for detecting possible targets.

Further on the Night Bombardment situation, your bombardment will usually be more effective if there is a Float Plane from the Bombardment TF on Recon orders with 0 range. It will take off to act as spotter for the whole TF when its mother ship takes its turn at bombarding. For that reason, it is best to figure out which ship will bombard first. I usually build my TFs with the main ships of the same type and similar or same class. That means the last one of that type and class in the TF screen listing will be the first one to bombard.
E.G. If I use BBs Idaho, New Mexico and Tennessee in the same TF and Tennessee is the third one down the TF ship list, that BB will be the first to bombard and its FP should be set on night and then on recon mission. I don't know if it makes a difference, but (if no enemy ships are expected) I would also set the FPs from the other two BBs on night recon but set the mission target to the bombardment target hex and give them a range or 1 or 2. The idea is to get some recon before the bombardment TF reaches the hex and raise the DL. It might not work if the game execution steps do the bombardment ahead of the night Air Missions step.

And to cover the non-homogeneous TF situation: I have BBs Prince of Wales, Warspite, Valiant and BC Repulse in a TF bombarding. BC Repulse is last on the major ship list but BBs take precedence so it does not bombard first. BB Valiant is third on the list but it is a slightly smaller BB than Prince of Wales so the latter will bombard first.

PS: Being the flagship has no influence on which vessel bombards first. Set your ship with the best leader to be flagship regardless of place in the lineup.

DKF12 wrote: Sat May 13, 2023 2:26 pm Playing allies against AI compleat campaign for first time. As per the tutorials and lets plays I have turned off night flights. What is the criteria to start using night fighters and bombers. Am I waiting for more experienced pilots or better aircraft. Maybe both ?

You would be waiting for radar.

Why stand down night flights? You should give night bombing a try.
Go in at lower altitudes on a clear or partial cloud or moonlight night.

Lokasenna’s advice below. Night bombing has uses….

Night Operations:

There was a lot of forum discussion prior to 2012 about night operations.
In 2012 there was an official patch which added radar check.

Alfred (2015):
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 2#p3642302

“Also bear in mind that the last official patch (dated 21 Jan 2012) had several
changes re night operations: fixes #225, #226 and #230 and tweak #73.”

225. Air-borne radar not checked in night raid detection; include moon and radar in check
226. Air-borne radar not being passed to split-off flights, affects night combat
230. NFs don't always have AIR SEARCH radar; assume NF with air radar is SEARCH.
Problem lies with incorrect data for radar device. If NF can have both air and ground radar,
then air should be listed after ground radar.
73. Tweak Bomber co-ordination at night depends on skill, moon and air radar;
complements above fix to CAP

“The overall "improvement" resulted in a much greater prominence given to having
airborne air radar for night operations, both for bombing and CAP purposes.”

“Combined with the role of moonlight for bomber coordination means that dedicated night
airplanes under optimal conditions will perform much better than aircraft without radar.”

michaelm75au (2010):
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 4#p2332704

“Night bombing takes accuracy hits from plane damage, weather/clouds, pilot skill, group morale,
Flight disruption, non-city attack. There is an increase in accuracy if target has a high Max DL.”

Lokasenna (2015):
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 4#p3642944

You want to pick up on what michaelm said; (weather/clouds) and take a look at
what Lokasenna reports…..Weather in Hex...Partial cloud/Light cloud and look at
The altitudes he used and per the above changes made in 2012….moonlight is a factor.

Lokasenna’s advice:

“If you do it right, and have decent pilots, you can destroy dozens of planes on the ground for acceptable loss.
When your fighters suck or can't reach with your bombers, it's what you've gotta do. Liberators are the
best platform due to their range, durability, and bomb load, but B-17s work too. I've cratered runways,
even through night CAP, with massed 4E attacks.

“In my furthest-along Allied game, it's late September, 1943. Japanese aircraft destroyed on the ground is
now at 1228, which is about 1/6 of total losses. The vast majority of these in night bombing raids, though
I am able to do some daylight raids now. A few times, there were 50+ IJ planes killed on the ground in a
single night at a single airfield, which was rendered heavily damaged for the next day.
I've found at least a half dozen instances of this in my notes file for the game.
And keep in mind that the combat report is going to under count the planes destroyed…...”

“Night bombing has uses.”

Or…...Try your own night bomb runs…using your separate game install.

The one below I ran…..very early war...sometimes you can catch your enemy when
he has no cap flying at night.

WOW
I am amazed at the depth of you guys knowledge of the game

DKF12 wrote: Sat May 13, 2023 2:26 pm Playing allies against AI compleat campaign for first time. As per the tutorials and lets plays I have turned off night flights. What is the criteria to start using night fighters and bombers. Am I waiting for more experienced pilots or better aircraft. Maybe both ?

With night bombing I liketo target city manpower to start fires in city. This will cause production to stop, the program will try to repair the fires so no port or AF expansion willoccur and the supply system will not allow a pass thru of supply until fires are out. IIRC this may be an urban legend, so I will ask John3rd what hethinks becauseI am doing this to him in CBI.