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The composition of the units transported buy Task Force 6814 were (arrived in Melbourne 2/27/42):

101st Medical Regiment (Less two companies)
101st Quartermaster Regiment (Less 2nd Bn.)
109th Station Hospital
121st Signal Radar Intelligence Company
132nd Infantry Regiment
13th Reconnaissance Squadron
162nd Signal Photo Company (unit)
175th Signal Repair Company (Radio and Wire repair)
180th Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) less 2nd Bn.
182nd Infantry Regiment
1st Bn., 101st Engineer Regiment
1st Bn., 108th Quartermaster Regiment
216th Quartermaster Co. (Mobile Shoe and Textile Rep.)
22nd Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company
26th Military Police Company (Platoon)
26th Signal Company
2nd & 3rd Platoon, Co. A, 96th QM Bakery Bn.
2nd Bn., 123rd Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm)
2nd Chemical Decontamination Company (Det)
2nd Platoon, Co. B, 89th Quartermaster Regt.
3rd Quartermaster Aviation Supply Co. (Det)
3rd. Bn., 244th Coast Artillery Regt. (155 mm)
3rd. Plat., Btry G 244th Coast Artillery Regt. (155 mm)
43rd Engineer General Serv. Regt. (less band)
46th Engineer General Serv. Regt. (less band)
4th General Hospital
502nd Army Postal Unit
51st Orndance Ammunition Company
52nd Evacuation Hospital
58th Interceptor Control Squadron (Section)
65th Material Squadron (Incl. Attached Med ER)
676th Ordnance Company Aviation (platoon)
67th Pursuit Squadron
694th Signal Company HQ & HQ Det
705th Quartermaster Truck Co.
70th Coast Artillery Regt. (AA, Mobile)(less band)
73rd Ordnance Deport Co. (2 storehouse sections)
754th Tank Battalion
810th Aviation Engineer Battalion (Negro)
811th Aviation Engineer Battalion (Negro)
9th General Hospital
Army Airways Communicatins System Detch.
Co. A, 82nd Quatermaster Battalion (LM)
Finance Detachment
Task Force 6814 Surgeon's Office
Weather Detachment

now the intersting thing is that just 8 vessels were used as transports:

Cargo ships (in game terms):
8167 SS Argentina type 476 420228 Capacity 5000
8170 SS Barry type 476 420228 Capacity 5000
8173 SS Cristobal type 476 420228 Capacity 5000
8177 SS Erickson type 476 420228 Capacity 5000
8186 SS McAndrew type 476 420228 Capacity 5000
8183 SS Island Mail type 476 420228 Capacity 5000

and two ex-Grace Lines Passenger Ships:

SS Santa Elena type 342 420228 Capacity 3000
SS Santa Rosa type 342 420228 Capacity 3000

Length............508' 0"
Beam...............72' 0"
Draft................25' 11"
Gross tons..............9,135
Speed (knots)..............19
Radius (miles).......12,000
Propulsion...Turbines.....2
Passengers.............2,426
Cargo (cu. ft.)....145,593
Built in 1932 by Federal Ship Building & Drydock Co., Kearny, NJ
Operated during W.W.II by Grace Line, Inc., and War Shipping Administration.

In game terms we have 30,000 in cargo ships and 6,000 in transport.


51st Inf Bde (Americal Division formed from) Initially:
13th Recon Sqdn
132nd Inf Rgt
182nd Inf Rgt
1st BN, 101st Eng Rgt
2nd BN, 123rd FA (155)


Need to Add:
180th FA Rgt (-2nd BN) (155)
3rd BN, 244th CA Rgt (155) (CD)
70th Coast Art Rgt (AA) (Mobile)

Already in database:
2711 43rd Eng Rgt
2843 46th Eng Rgt
2877 754th Tank Bn
Army Air Corp:
2867 810th EAB
2868 811th EAB
998 67th Pursuit (Fighter) Sqdn

Even if we make these units historically short on equitpment, namely 81mm mortars, ammunition, and aa guns, medium artillery, there are still too many units (poit value and number of units) to be transported using the game's transportation setup. I am wondering if the constant adjustment "down" of the transport capability is not creating ahistorical results?

This also brings the question of why is it the cargo ships cannot "fill up" with supplies when transporting aircraft? This is especially noticeable since CHS went to a squadron set up for aircraft, so now it takes three cargo vessels to transport an air group for the USA, a complete waste of transport resource.

ORIGINAL: AlaskanWarrior

This also brings the question of why is it the cargo ships cannot "fill up" with supplies when transporting aircraft? This is especially noticeable since CHS went to a squadron set up for aircraft, so now it takes three cargo vessels to transport an air group for the USA, a complete waste of transport resource.

Is this a new feature under 1.60[&:]? I'm pretty sure that till now my AK's had no problem with loading supplies after loading an air group.

Hi
after loading air group, you need to hit "load supplies" and it fill up the AK.

Michael

ORIGINAL: michaelm

Hi
after loading air group, you need to hit "load supplies" and it fill up the AK.

Michael

Thanks for the tip, but is this step necessary to do in mixed TF's. Say on one that had both LCU's and Air units loaded. Even then the AK's fail to load supplies? Now I understand if I hit the option that loads units only, but not supplies, this can be expected. The options to load units should automatically load the units then fill the rest of the ship up with supplies to capacity??

Hi
It is mentioned in the manual [6.1.19] at bottom of load table.
I have always loaded my air groups first, then gone back and loaded troops/supplies.

Michael

ORIGINAL: AlaskanWarrior

Thanks for the tip, but is this step necessary to do in mixed TF's. Say on one that had both LCU's and Air units loaded. Even then the AK's fail to load supplies? Now I understand if I hit the option that loads units only, but not supplies, this can be expected. The options to load units should automatically load the units then fill the rest of the ship up with supplies to capacity??

I've done a little research and identified the transports used for the Americal Division. Several will need to be

re-classed and the new capacity total might be enough to transport the division. We also have to consider a base force, which I have not even begun to look into. Also the initial units only did not include the third Infantry Regiment, which was transported separately somewhat later and we will have to somehow account for that.

I have also been unable to identify any of the convoy escorts. I would appreciate any information that anyone might have on the subject.

All but one of the ships were U.S. Army Transports:

[ol][*] Argentina. Large Mooremack South American Line ocean liner taken over in January, 1942. 20,614 GRT, 18 knots service speed. In CHS this would be at the very top end of large transport and might even need to be a new "Larger Transport" class.
[*] Barry. USAT Thomas H Barry, ex New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company Oriente, taken over in June, 1941. 11,520 GRT, 19 knots - about a "Large Transport".
[*] Cristobal. Panama Railroad Steamship line ships taken over in January, 1941. 10.241 Gross Register Tons, 16 knots service speed = a Large Transport.
[*] Erickson. USAT John Ericcson, ex Swedish Svenska Amerika Linien Kungsholm, taken over in 1942. 21,256 GRT, 16.5 knots. This vessel suffered breakdowns during the convoy passage. Another "Larger transport".
[*] McAndrew. USAT J W McAndrew, ex Deltargenio. C3-P&C-Delta type apparently delivered directly to the U.S. Army. The C3-P&C-Delta class is already in CHS.
[*] Santa Elena. Grace & Company liner taken over in January, 1942 and lost off Algeria in late 1943. 9135 GRT, 19 Knots service speed. Would be a Medium or possibly Large Transport.
[*] Santa Rosa. Grace & Company liner taken over in January, 1942. Sister ship to Santa Elena.
[*] Island Mail. USMC Type C2-SU (one of only three built). Not officially taken over by the Army but her two sister ships (Ocean Mail and China Mail) were both USAT. I've not been able to find exact specifications for this ship but she'd probably be a C2-Cargo in CHS.
[/ol]

Don,does this help at all?
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/usarmy/taskforce6814.htm

ORIGINAL: m10bob

Don,does this help at all?
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/usarmy/taskforce6814.htm

Thanks - that's one of my old friends. There's also a great site at Americal.org

From these and one or two others we have a full OOB for Americal and the ships that transported it. What I can't find is any history on the convoy escorts - presumably a few DD and maybe a cruiser or two??

I was looking though some sites and all I could find was that 'some' DDs escorted it to Panama. Surely it had escorts in the Pacific.

ORIGINAL: Nomad

I was looking though some sites and all I could find was that 'some' DDs escorted it to Panama. Surely it had escorts in the Pacific.

Maybe not, if they took a sourtherly route there is little to not prospect of Japanese sub activity, ditto for the rest. At this stage the USN was not exactly flush with escorts.