HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (Full Version)

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racndoc -> HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (6/22/2014 4:56:59 PM)

Its January 1945 and the USN CVs have formed VBF groups with F4U-1D Corsairs. The F4U-1Ds carry a 1000 lb bomb. What kind of naval bombing mission do you train them for. Do they act as dive bombers or glide bombers? At what altitudes can they fly level bombing missions? Most of my VBF groups will be used as fighters for air superiority missions. I will use maybe 5 or 6 of the groups as naval bombers though.




Terminus -> RE: HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (6/22/2014 7:30:35 PM)

They're an extra fighter squadron, not an extra bomber squadron.



Gaspote -> RE: HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (6/22/2014 9:38:21 PM)

In my opinion, you should keep them in CVE for replenishment of group.



Terminus -> RE: HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (6/22/2014 9:41:34 PM)

That's not actually possible, you know. They're fighter squadrons, not replenishment air groups.



EHansen -> RE: HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (6/22/2014 10:56:18 PM)

They were activated to help fight off the kamikaze aircraft. They were also good at Close Air Support when needed.



Louisvillan -> RE: HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (6/22/2014 11:19:22 PM)

E HANSEN got my point. The 'F4U-1D' is both an excellent fighter AND close air support aircraft. With machine guns, rockets, bombs and napalm, you would want all around, well trained pilots.

Historically, by early 1945, the Japanese Navy was no longer a real threat to allied landings. So Naval bombing training would be unnecessary.

Confession, in playing this game four years, the deepest I've made it is Match 1943. But I can see by mid to late 1944 you would want to train pilots that are capable at both air fighting and ground bombing. This would mean rotating experienced fighter pilots off carriers to bombing training, and simultaneously rotating experienced bomber pilots off carriers to fighter training.




wdolson -> RE: HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (6/22/2014 11:37:50 PM)

By mid-1944 fighters were used in the naval attack role. At the Battle of the Philippine Sea the US sent out a long range strike that was 100% Hellcats. They didn't find the enemy and returned, but that was the role of fighters by that point in the war. Hellcats (F6F-5) and Corsairs (F4U-1D) had similar load carrying ability.

When the kamikaze threat began, initially the USN increased the size of VF squadrons and reduced the size of VB and VF squadrons. The VF squadrons were now the size of USAAF fighter groups and it got unweildly for one squadron commander, so they split the VF squadrons in half and called one half VBF squadrons to distinguish from the VF clerically. In practice the two units served identical purposes which at that point was about 1/2 bombing and 1/2 fighter.

Bill



btd64 -> RE: HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (6/25/2014 9:01:37 PM)

Bill, great information. ...GP



wdolson -> RE: HOW TO USE USN VBF GROUPS? (6/25/2014 10:45:43 PM)

I read Red Sun Setting last year, which is about 30 years old, but does a pretty good job of describing US carrier operations by 1944.

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Sun-Setting-Battle-Philippine-ebook/dp/B009SC28PG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403736028&sr=8-1&keywords=red+sun+setting

The book gets a bit tedious with detail, which detracts from it as a pleasure read, but as a reference it is very good. Both sides were very different in the way they operated their forces from 1942 to 1944. We think about them in terms of 1942 because that's what most of the literature out there covers. Ironically we have a lot of film footage of late war ops, but there hasn't been a lot written about it. The above book is a bit more American centric, but it does go into a fair bit of detail on the Japanese side too.

The VBF squadrons weren't established until after the time period for this book, but you can get a feel for the situation at least just before the kamikaze threat started. There are some Osprey books out there that go into detail about the kamikaze period. They focus on the air units themselves and not on the carriers as much, but those too give you some feel for fighter ops in the last year of the war.

Bill



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