what do you think about Ki-54 hickory???

[alek2004xx]

I think that this aircraft is completly useless and I changed the production after few days.I don't see many occasions when we can use transport aircrafts,only in situations when we can drop paraschute units.But in these cases we need long range.Hickory is a crap

[Gen.Hoepner]

I usually keep on running the Ki-54 plant for 2 months, the i convert it to somithing else( normally ki-59). Two months of hitachi engines production and then convert.
Upgrade those planes as soon as you can: they are just a waste of HI points!

[Feinder]

Well, I'll just shoot myself in the foot (seeing as I'm an Allied player in 2 PBEM games), but...

Not sure if you're complaining about the specific aircraft, or transports in general. Don't know much about the Japanese aircraft. If they have a longer ranged one, then switch production to that one. But be mindful that cargo load is just as important as range for transports. I know the RDAF transport (Loadstar maybe) has a longer range than the C-47, but has only half the capacity.

But I'm guessing the supply situation in China, is almost as bad for IJA as it is for the Chinese. At least as an Allied player, you can't have enough transports hauling supplies into China. Those 400 million guys eat a LOT of rice.

I would think the supply situation for Japan is fairly similar (horrible), once you push into the interior. But if it were me, I'd be using all those tranports to haul supplies to the front.

Same thing for Burma. Most UK players won't leave you much in the way of supplies or AFs as they retreat. Any resource centers you have there, will no doubt be bombed into oblivian (so they will no longer produce supplies for free). So you'll be needing those transports to haul supplies to the forward AFs. The more supply you have at Mandalay & Mytikima, the more supplies that will flow over those dinky trails as you attack Imphal/Kohima/Ledo.

To U2/KBullard/LtFightr... Bring it on!
-F-

[Gen.Hoepner]

The point is that japan has to take care of the waste of HI points. Every thing that it is not really necessary must be stopped. Now Japan has plenty of types of transport planes. Few are good, like the KI-57II and the H6K2-L and you really need them, while you can easily do without the others. If you do not want to change the production at least Halt it end restart only when your pool goes to 0. I'd do this for the THORA,the Ki-54,the MC-21 and the L3Y.

Just my 2 cents

[alek2004xx]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

The point is that japan has to take care of the waste of HI points. Every thing that it is not really necessary must be stopped. Now Japan has plenty of types of transport planes. Few are good, like the KI-57II and the H6K2-L and you really need them, while you can easily do without the others. If you do not want to change the production at least Halt it end restart only when your pool goes to 0. I'd do this for the THORA,the Ki-54,the MC-21 and the L3Y.

Just my 2 cents

Yeap,I agree.What Is more I don't know is there any sense in restarting production when the poll went to 0.If I just don't need these crafts I won't use them.So I would better have some nakajama enigines and other planes than useless short,range planes.

[alek2004xx]

ORIGINAL: Feinder

hmmm.My situation in China is very good.And what is strange I have there much more supplies than in Home islands (maybe because of high production increase level in homeisland).So forI don't need them even there

[Subchaser]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

I usually keep on running the Ki-54 plant for 2 months, the i convert it to somithing else( normally ki-59). Two months of hitachi engines production and then convert.
Upgrade those planes as soon as you can: they are just a waste of HI points!

This is one of my previous post on this subject. Link doesn’t work so I have to repost it.

…cause Ki-59 data is completely wrong, it’s not so hard to figure that out.

Normal take-off weight of Ki-59 was 4120 kg (2954kg empty), Ki-54 – 3900kg take-off weight and 2954 kg empty. So Ki-59 has 1166 kg of load and Ki-54 has 946kg, not very big difference (220kg). As you understand, this weight was fuel primarily. Both aircraft were equipped with the same engines Hitachi Ha-13a (Ki-59) and Ha-13b (Ki-54), with identical fuel consumption characteristics (civil version of Ki59 – TK3 was equipped with Kotobuki-3 engines (610hp), but this a/c is not Ki59). The question is – how these additional 220kg (this could have been something else, not necessarily fuel) could provide Ki-59 with almost double endurance of Ki-54? I guess the answer is clear….

In reality Ki-54 was able to spend more time in the air than Ki-59, poor aerodynamics and heavier weight of Ki-59 were the reasons why Ki-59 was almost 40 m/h slower than Ki-54 and had maximum range of only 800km (500 miles) with the same engines. Overall performance of Ki-59 was so poor that Koku Hombu ordered to stop production when only 59 a/c were assembled, these a/c never were in service with operation units, only flight schools and liaison detachments were using them in Japan and Manchuria until march ’42 when all a/c were transferred to Great Japan Airlines company.

I’ve deleted Ki-59 from the database in my scenario, there are not so much slots there to use one for this crap. These Ki-59 characteristics are much closer to the reality than those you see in the game.

Max. speed – 187
Cruise speed – 120
Max alt – 14600
Climb – 750
Mvr – 8
Dur – 22
Armor – 0
Endurance – ~200-210
Load – 1300

I’m going to get rid of these two a/c as well. H6K2-L Mavis – 16 a/c produced in 40-41, + 20 H6K4-L produced in 1942-43, 36 total, the only difference between these a/c and standard Mavis boats was the number of hatches and 6 additional seats for passengers. In fact load capacities of standard Mavis and its transport variant were no so different as it modeled in the game, loads were almost similar actually, although transport boats were more comfortable for passengers, but is this worth a slot in database? Patrol Mavis boats can be used as transports if needed, what are the reasons why transport units cannot use standard Mavis boats? Ki-77 is a better candidate for this slot, if there will be enough Nakajima engines in early 1945 it will be possible to try to build a certain number of this unique aircraft, this a/c will help with evacuation of HQs and other valuable small LCU from the cutoff bases in the enemy rear, with endurance of 3300 Ki-77 could go really far.

MC-21 Sally, I don’t know why this a/c was included. This is mistake I think. This was not a production model, it was some kind of field modification. About 60 old weary Ki-61-Ia were transferred by army to Great Japan Airlines during 1942, where they got new civil(!) designation – MC-21, transferring of the planes was proceeding simultaneously with IJA bomber units upgrade process, from Ki-21-I to Ki-21-II. It doesn’t worth a slot. Instead I’ll add Ki-56, japanese copy of Lockheed C-60, 121 were produced, very good transport a/c.

Ki-54 as it was pointed out was multifunctional a/c, very good design if you’ll take into account that it was designed as a trainer, it’s impossible to model advantages of Ki-54 in WitP world.

[Gen.Hoepner]

ORIGINAL: Subchaser


This is one of my previous post on this subject. Link doesn’t work so I have to repost it.

[/quote]


I learnt that few months ago from a post by Oznoyng ( hope to remember well the name). I've been printing tons of papers regarding jap production system, studied them and metabolized.^_^
Didn't want to steal your post. None of the ideas that i got about jap production are mine. I learnt everything here on the forum.

[Mathusalem]

Why would you erase L3Y Tina ? It has the longest range along with Mavis.

[bstarr]

Why would you erase L3Y Tina ? It has the longest range along with Mavis.

only one-quarter of the cargo space, though. I tend to keep them around, but they're not my favs and I certainly understand why some delete them altogether.