Aicraft replacement system

[dorn]

I have tested only several things but I am interested in one thing how it works.

When I have several dive bombers types all these types have some stock. But my experience is that system tends to have one type of aicraft active (but not always). If some of squadrons are low in actual aicrafts, does it switch back to different type which is on stock?

[akosjaccik]

That's something I was thinking about myself. Similarly to how I like the implementation of the torpedo storages, it would be just fun to have it as a design parameter; it is also very intriguing to have exact aircraft nuimbers - but what happens, when (as historically it sometimes occured) tne newer type gets wiped out, do older types serving as reserve still on stock get reactivated, or they go into the trashbin the moment a new type gets adopted?

Or how fast is the "regen" in the first place? Is the new system makes "deplaning" by air superiority an actually valid strategy, or it came down as a fluff with not much real impact? I haven't got the opportunity to test it myself, what is the experience?

Maybe one day we actually get the system I campaigned for before the release of the game, being able to assign actual aircraft types to the squadrons.

[oaktree]

Historically you couldn't quickly shift from using one type of plane to another make. (Perhaps an older version.) The planes would behave differently, maintain differently, and both the pilots and maintenance teams would require time to retrain in using the other type. Plus you'd need to ship in all the necessary spare parts for them.

[akosjaccik]

Jul 23, 2019 8:49:55 GMT -6 oaktree said:

Historically you couldn't quickly shift from using one type of plane to another make. (Perhaps an older version.) The planes would behave differently, maintain differently, and both the pilots and maintenance teams would require time to retrain in using the other type. Plus you'd need to ship in all the necessary spare parts for them.

That's not what I am talking about. Let's take this example; Aircraft "Beer 3" is a type of 1928, not yet explicitely obsolete, but not used anymore, player has them in stock, a good 200 airframe. The better aircraft "Beer 4" is a type of 1931, in production and in service, but barely twenty in stock apart from the ones at the units. The air arm gets itself into a turkey shooting, "Beer 4" gets esentially wiped out. What happens? The squadrons are awaiting for production to catch up (in game terms, the player is utilizing under-equipped squadrons if the OBB throws an air engagement at him), or does the player have the ability to reactivate "Beer 3"?

[dorn]

oaktree has some point. It would be always difficult and probably not so practically.

A other thing is how reserve are treated in war. They are automatically "Reserve" without settings status.
How they are in war? Going to full strenght?

[akosjaccik]

Jul 23, 2019 10:19:55 GMT -6 dorn said:

oaktree has some point. It would be always difficult and probably not so practically.

We are talking about war, the japanese had no problem grabbing their D3A1 or even the K5Y when it came to this (okay, that's a low-hanging fruit to slam into ships, but afaik this is present in the game as well). It is also sensible that if a squadron loses most of it's Hurricane IIIs, they would not make much problem out of getting re-equipped with Mk.IIs. In RtW2, these would be completely different types, hence the relevance.

But let's ditch the entire "history" rabbit hole. If a player has a decent stock of older aircraft, what happens to those (since I presume their maintenance still costs money)? Or when type change happens, those are deleted?

[tbr]

Jul 23, 2019 8:49:55 GMT -6 oaktree said:

Historically you couldn't quickly shift from using one type of plane to another make. (Perhaps an older version.) The planes would behave differently, maintain differently, and both the pilots and maintenance teams would require time to retrain in using the other type. Plus you'd need to ship in all the necessary spare parts for them.

This actually is a more recent development after/during WWII. Pre-WWII aviators, especially naval aviators, had incredibly broad training and essentially flew almost everything available. Just read a bio like Boyington's, you will be amazed. The "type" focus came in later to use economies for WWII pilot training and when, after WWII, aircraft became far more complex to fly and operate.

[oldpop2000]

In the US Navy, maintenance personnel could and did work on any aircraft. My father was an aviation ordnanceman on the Sara but on the 'canal, he was in a CASU which worked on all aircraft. He flew in TBF's and SBD's. Swede Vejasa was an SBD pilot on Guadalcanal, but ended the war as a double ace in fighters. Pilots would go to Eta Field in Hawaii for aircraft familiarization before deploying to a carrier. The key for carrier aircraft was flexibility because in combat, losses could require some adaptation.


www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/naval-aviation-training.html

[DeMatt]

The way I think it should work (not necessarily the way it DOES work, mind), is that the process of changeover should halt, or better yet switch to alternates, while the supply of aircraft is low. To build a slightly more complex example:

• Our heroic airforce has three squadrons flying the old Auk fighter - 1, 2, and 3.
• An RFP for new fighters has resulted in two winning candidates, the Dodo and the Moa.  After development, the Moa ends up the favorite over the Dodo (it's faster), so the choice of fighters goes Moa > Dodo > Auk.
  
• Squadron 3 wins the toss, and is first to reequip with Moas.
  
• Left to time, all three squadrons would directly reequip with Moas, but a war interferes, and the very first combat results in Squadron 3 losing all its aircraft.
  
• The supply of Moas is therefore dedicated to rebuilding Squadron 3 before reequipping the other two squadrons.
  
• Since the Dodo exists, both Auk squadrons still want to reequip, and Squadron 2 wins the coin toss and goes first.
  
• If Squadron 3 continues to lose aircraft (somebody tell them they're piloting fighters, not flying boats), then Squadron 1 will reequip with Dodos once Squadron 2 is finished.
  
• If not (the war ended), Squadron 1 as the oldest squadron will reequip with Moas, followed by Squadron 2.
  

I don't think any squadrons should go "backwards".  If 3 and 2 had both switched to Moas, then 3 and 2 both getting wiped out would not cause 2 (or 3) to switch to Dodos; it would, however, force 1 to choose between Dodos or Auks for a very long time.

[dougphresh]

I like how aircraft inventory and replacement worked in WiTPAE, I'm not sure if that would carry over well here though.

[Fredrik W]

Jul 23, 2019 10:19:55 GMT -6 dorn said:

oaktree has some point. It would be always difficult and probably not so practically.

A other thing is how reserve are treated in war. They are automatically "Reserve" without settings status.
How they are in war? Going to full strenght?

Yes. That should have been described in the change notes. Air units in the reserve are automatically treated as in Reserve status in peace and automatically treates as Active in war.