Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: anarchyintheuk

You can try setting the squadrons on 20-30% rest.

quote:

ORIGINAL: anarchyintheuk

You can try setting the squadrons on 20-30% rest.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Yaab

Many transport planes are among the least durable two-engine aircraft in the game.

First, check exp of your pilots. Air group average may be 55 exp, but if you check the pilots some of them will be in 45-50 exp range. Weed them out. Make sure all pilots are in 51-60 exp range. Same thing for transport skill.

I only fly transports in Clear and Partly Cloudy weather. If weather is fine I fly 100% aircraft en masse. Overcast/Rain/Thunderstorms I rest them 100% en masse. I used to fly them everyday with 30-50% rest and the ops losses were still too much.

Remember that transport pilot can fly two missions per day (tested), and probably three missions too.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Treetop64

quote:

ORIGINAL: Yaab

Many transport planes are among the least durable two-engine aircraft in the game.

First, check exp of your pilots. Air group average may be 55 exp, but if you check the pilots some of them will be in 45-50 exp range. Weed them out. Make sure all pilots are in 51-60 exp range. Same thing for transport skill.

I only fly transports in Clear and Partly Cloudy weather. If weather is fine I fly 100% aircraft en masse. Overcast/Rain/Thunderstorms I rest them 100% en masse. I used to fly them everyday with 30-50% rest and the ops losses were still too much.

Remember that transport pilot can fly two missions per day (tested), and probably three missions too.

I'm vigilant about pilot training. I manually assign replacement pilots in all active squadrons, transport or otherwise, and always assign replacements with high-50s to 70 in the desired skill(s), and a minimum of 50 points of experience when possible.

Admittedly, I've been negligent about checking weather in hexes. Used to combat air groups auto cancelling missions due to weather during turn resolution, but failing to consider that air transport groups fly missions every day without fail, regardless of weather at the base or destination. They're so dedicated.

Thanks for pointing that out.

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Treetop64

quote:

ORIGINAL: Yaab

Many transport planes are among the least durable two-engine aircraft in the game.

First, check exp of your pilots. Air group average may be 55 exp, but if you check the pilots some of them will be in 45-50 exp range. Weed them out. Make sure all pilots are in 51-60 exp range. Same thing for transport skill.

I only fly transports in Clear and Partly Cloudy weather. If weather is fine I fly 100% aircraft en masse. Overcast/Rain/Thunderstorms I rest them 100% en masse. I used to fly them everyday with 30-50% rest and the ops losses were still too much.

Remember that transport pilot can fly two missions per day (tested), and probably three missions too.

I'm vigilant about pilot training. I manually assign replacement pilots in all active squadrons, transport or otherwise, and always assign replacements with high-50s to 70 in the desired skill(s), and a minimum of 50 points of experience when possible.

Admittedly, I've been negligent about checking weather in hexes. Used to combat air groups auto cancelling missions due to weather during turn resolution, but failing to consider that air transport groups fly missions every day without fail, regardless of weather at the base or destination. They're so dedicated.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Sounds like you have been checking pilot fatigue but not plane fatigue. Click on the "Planes" hypertext at the bottom of the squadron screen. The game will automatically take heavily fatigued planes off-line for servicing, but long before they get to that point the planes are at great risk of ops losses. I use 15 airplane fatigue as the cut-off for acceptability (exception made for an important paratroop drop). I count the number of aircraft that have 15 or more fatigue and figure out what % of the squadron to set to Rest that turn.

quote:

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

From the Japanese point of view I've noticed that. The Americans just lose transports like crazy. I don't and a lot of the time I throw raw recruits in there. And C-47s (DC-3s) are some of the best airplanes ever built. They're still flying. I rode in one from Wheeling to Pittsburgh as a kid. Nothing goes wrong with those.

quote:

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

Could air superiority play a big role in that?

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
Sounds like you have been checking pilot fatigue but not plane fatigue. Click on the "Planes" hypertext at the bottom of the squadron screen. The game will automatically take heavily fatigued planes off-line for servicing, but long before they get to that point the planes are at great risk of ops losses. I use 15 airplane fatigue as the cut-off for acceptability (exception made for an important paratroop drop). I count the number of aircraft that have 15 or more fatigue and figure out what % of the squadron to set to Rest that turn.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Treetop64

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
Sounds like you have been checking pilot fatigue but not plane fatigue. Click on the "Planes" hypertext at the bottom of the squadron screen. The game will automatically take heavily fatigued planes off-line for servicing, but long before they get to that point the planes are at great risk of ops losses. I use 15 airplane fatigue as the cut-off for acceptability (exception made for an important paratroop drop). I count the number of aircraft that have 15 or more fatigue and figure out what % of the squadron to set to Rest that turn.

Been very vigilant about AC wear-and-tear, too.

The issue is that wear level and risk is very inconsistent between AC types. Carrier AC get very high wear rates regularly, often well over 50 and higher, even when flown by experts in clear conditions. Yet they fly missions and recover fairly reliably. If I ground them at 15, then the CAG would entirely stop flying aircraft after only a couple of days. Then you have B-24s which, at first, I couldn't wait to first get. But not long after I almost hated them because they are so maintenance-intensive. This is one of the few AC types that, by default, I alternate between flying and grounding entire squadrons and groups, the former for catching up on maintenance and repairs that B-24s accumulate very rapidly.

Again I think it's just me not paying any attention to the weather at the origin and destination hexes for transport groups, as pointed out by Yaab. Spoilt by combat air groups cancelling their missions due to weather during turn resolution. Apparently, transport air groups disregard weather and fly mission every day.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Treetop64

One of the things I've wondered but never bothered to ask is why are C-47, C-46s, etc. ops loss rates so consistently high.

Going into 1944 playing as Allies vs AI, Andy's Scen #100, and noticed that the C-47 total losses in the war so far are second only behind P-40s. While most of the P-40 losses are combat (348/541), nearly all of the C-47 losses are ops (422/441). And now that I have a fair number of C-46s their losses have kept pace with the C-47s.

Been making sure that any active supply runs connect well developed and Air ENG staffed airbases. Air drops to formations and para drops have been rare. Shootdowns are virtually non-existent. Crews are trained from high-50s to 70s and many of those have at least mid-50s exp.

It's gotten to the point where I've stood down or use for training almost all transport squadrons on the map, with only a small handful of units actually flying supply runs (2 in China, 6 in SE Asia), just so I don't run out of replacement aircraft, something that has already happened a few times.

Is this something I just have to accept?

Thanks.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Treetop64

Apparently, transport air groups disregard weather and fly mission every day.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Treetop64

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
Sounds like you have been checking pilot fatigue but not plane fatigue. Click on the "Planes" hypertext at the bottom of the squadron screen. The game will automatically take heavily fatigued planes off-line for servicing, but long before they get to that point the planes are at great risk of ops losses. I use 15 airplane fatigue as the cut-off for acceptability (exception made for an important paratroop drop). I count the number of aircraft that have 15 or more fatigue and figure out what % of the squadron to set to Rest that turn.

Been very vigilant about AC wear-and-tear, too.

The issue is that wear level and risk is very inconsistent between AC types. Carrier AC get very high wear rates regularly, often well over 50 and higher, even when flown by experts in clear conditions. Yet they fly missions and recover fairly reliably. If I ground them at 15, then the CAG would entirely stop flying aircraft after only a couple of days. Then you have B-24s which, at first, I couldn't wait to first get. But not long after I almost hated them because they are so maintenance-intensive. This is one of the few AC types that, by default, I alternate between flying and grounding entire squadrons and groups, the former for catching up on maintenance and repairs that B-24s accumulate very rapidly.

Again I think it's just me not paying any attention to the weather at the origin and destination hexes for transport groups, as pointed out by Yaab. I thought that I pointed it out first. He merely states the conditions when he flies. Spoilt by combat air groups cancelling their missions due to weather during turn resolution. Apparently, transport air groups disregard weather and fly mission every day.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Additionally, you need to watch malaria...and fly them from large well staffed air bases in the monsoon areas. I believe size 5+ is what you need there.

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ORIGINAL: geofflambert

Is what is being described in reference to weather apply equally when the transport mission is to a friendly airbase as compared to air-drop? I think I've noticed that transport missions of greater distance will occur when to a friendly airbase.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Yaab

OK, I give up.

My DC-2s fly in Clear/Partly Cloudy weather and BAM! An ops loss. Plane fatigue under 10, and still a DC-2 is a total write-off in just one turn.

I am clutching at the straws here, but my last theory is that transport aircraft follow the level bomber airfield equation as per manual p.213, and this feature failed to be documented for transport aircraft.

Thus, a DC-2 with load of 2400 points, should use airfield 4, possibly on both ends.

Level bombers require an airfield equal to size 4 + (bomb load / 6500) rounded down.

DC-2 (load 2400)
4 +(2400/6500) =4 + 0,36= 4,36 =rounded down =4

Right now, I fly from Ledo(airfield 3) to Myitkina (airfield 2), and the loss rate is not sustainble (2 aircraft lost in just 5 mission days)

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Yaab, where did you get the Size 4 AF as a start point for calculating the Level Bomber AF size? A single engined bomber like the Wirraway, Mary, Sonia and Ida is a level bomber and most certainly do not need a level 4 AF. Level 2 is the minimum for an offensive mission, so that seems like a good start point for the calculation.

Also, you get info on the weather at target in the combat report, but you never know the weather at your originating base. Taking off on wet and windy runways is always dicey!