Carrier Vulnerability

[Shuckins]

Logged on last night and went to a cv to get a little action with the 5" anti-aircraft batteries.  The carrier was untouched when I logged on and every battery was active.  Shortly afterwards, an F6F attacked and hit it with a single bomb.  My battery was knocked out...along with EVERY OTHER battery on the ship.  The next F6F sent the ship to the bottom.

I don't know what changes HTC has made in this regard, but it seems that the carrier groups are terribly vulnerable.  We can no longer man the guns on the escort vessels, save for the heavy cruiser.  Manned ack is more effective than that run by AI.  

In addition, I believe that the escorting cruisers are of the Cleveland class.  This is hardly the best choice for providing anti-aircraft support for a carrier task force.  I would like to see these carrier groups get beefed up a bit with the addition of a couple of Atlanta class anti-aircraft cruisers.  When the cruisers go down, it should also be possible for game players to man the 5" turrets on the escorting destroyers.

I  don't know how difficult this would be to program, or what effect it would have on the system...but as things stand now, the life span of a cv in hostile waters against even minor opposition is often only five minutes.

Regards, Shuckins/Leggern

[simshell]

i would like to have it so the bomb or rockets had to almost hit the gun to knock it out like 2 feet away


but keep in mind that CV defense failed most of the time when a CAP was not overhead!:rolleyes:

[Kweassa]

It does seem very vulnerable, but personally I like it as it is.

 The vulnerability of CVs means that it needs protection at all times. While it is not fair to compare the MA with historical reality in a 1:1 scale, just as a reference, the US naval groups suffered horrible losses in 1945 when even just a handful of kamikazes managed to infiltrate the defenses and made it to the target ships.

 The key point here is the superiority of air power over pure naval power. As the great Billy Mitchell has foreseen, naval power of WW2 is backed up by air power, and the ships should have a very good reason to fear enemy planes in the vicinity. Let an enemy plane slip past defenses, and the ships will very likely pay the price for it.  

 Compared to that, AH1 task groups were basically invincible. Provided, that  there is enough planes upping from the CV to meet the land-based defenders, basically the only thing that could hurt the CV was a very determined, skilled bomber pilot upping from a rear base, getting required altitude and good number of protection/escorts.

 Other than that the destruction of the CV is usually the fault of the person in command of the task group - making stupid choices and wrong decisions to keep the TG parked right in front of the enemy base, even when it was damn clear that the CV CAP fighters were overwhelmed by land-based defenders - which then, the defenders could launch waves and waves of suicidal bombers and attackers to knock the CV out.

 Even in that case, the CV would in many occasions chug on, serving as indestructible mobile ack platforms until a clandestine attack finally sinks the flagship.

 ...

 However, I definately notice that it is all changed now. AH2 offers a new,  interesting perspective. Now, parking the CV right in front of the enemy base is not such a good idea. The manned/AI positions can be destroyed(although they reup quickly..), and active CAP duties to protect the TG is more important than ever.

 Ultimately, I think it is a good thing. Those who are in control of TGs now really need to think ahead a few more steps than they used to, and make quick decisions in when to retreat the TG and when to advance... when to close in and start launching LVTs.. and etc etc.

 It brings out a new tactical perspective to the naval warfare I think.

[Replicant]

It is a bit more vulnerable now, but hey, if someone is dropping 2000lb bombs then it's going to cause some serious damage.  When you think it takes 8000lbs in AH to sink a CV when in RL you could probably sink it with less; especially unarmoured decks like the Essex class.

I made a dive on a CV with a P38 the other day.  I was surprised to destroy something like 12 gun emplacements, 2 soft guns and 2 armour guns with 2000lbs and 10 rockets and I managed to make it out alive.

On the flip side of the coin you can't tell if the 5" guns are firing at you now unless you're getting the puffy ack.  There's no tracer at all on CV/fleet 5"/8" guns now.

Additionally fleet vs fleet is great fun because you can take out each others guns.  Again the lack of tracer makes it exceptionally difficult but very rewarding when you do get the distance right.  The only buggy think about the fleet at the moment is that when you kill the CV you can't man the cruiser/corvette guns (they don't show in the hangar).