Expert bomber question

[pak-40]

How are most people playing expert bombers, torpedos, etc...with aircraft. Specifically, at what point do you determine which planes are "expert" By stating before the dice start rolling, they unrealistically become the primary target and always get shot at first. On the flip side, I do agree that they should have just as much chance as any other planes of being driven off or shot down.

Just curious how other people are playing this!!!

[Brass]

We've always played that an SA doesn't need to be assigned until you use it. After all, the enemy doesn't know which plane is the Expert Bomber until the first 500-pounder comes down his stack :D .

LT

[weedsrock2]

I agree with Brass. You don't have to select the specific aircraft to use the expert bomber SA until you actually use it during the Air Attack phase. It just says 'once per turn, you may choose a friendly dive bomber..."

However, some SA's do specify exactly when you should use them. For instance, the Tone's Scout Cruiser SA specifies it must be used at the beginning of the Air Attack step.

["Sink the Bismark"]

I also agree with Brass. It isn't fair that the enemy gets to concentrate all firepower on your pre-designated expert bombers so you waste the SA.

[Capt. Strange]

I also agree with Brass. It isn't fair that the enemy gets to concentrate all firepower on your pre-designated expert bombers so you waste the SA.


I see your point however the exact opposite can be said, that it isn't fair your expert always gets thru. In friendly matches we just roll a die. For example, if 3 Vals attack Iowa, 1-4 shot at normal ones 5-6 shot at expert etc etc.

[TheJudge]

SA's are not assigned until they have to be, by your choice.

If I send 2 Val's from Shokaku, a Zero(not strafing) from Shoho, and a Betty from land to the sector containing Enterprise, that is the air mission. You choose which planes to shoot at in the anti-air phase and at that time, I declare that my Zero is escorting my bombers giving you -1 on your dice when you attack with a Wildcat. Your Wildcat, which you now declare to be your Expert Dogfighter, misses one of the Val's but your Enterprise aborts one with it's 8d6 AA roll. I now declare if I wish to Press The Attack, using that SA. I roll a 5 and it gets through but attacks at -1.

Now comes the Air Attack phase. I declare that my Tone class cruiser spots the Enterprise meaning all units attacking that ship get +1 dice with bombs or gunnery. The first Val is now declared Expert Bomber 2 from Shokaku and gets a +1 from Tone so I am adding 3 dice for a total of 11.

Then I declare that the Betty is going to use it's once per game Alternate Payload SA and drop 6 bombs +1 from Tone for 7d6 attack.

Then the Val that was aborted Presses the Attack and rolls 9d6 with it's +1 bonus but only hits on 5's or 6's.

After all that, all 3 planes score hits and your carrier is crippled and you now decide if any SA's are applicable.

Easy, peasy, Japa neasy. :)

[pak-40]

So, If I send 4 vals...only one from a carrier...and 3 of them are shot down or chased away, I can still use the remaining one as my "expert"?

Basically, if all the planes are not aborted or killed, the "expert" wil ALWAYS get thru?

[NimitsTexan]

Yep.

Evidently the above messege is too short. Hence this totally useless pair of sentences.

[TheJudge]

So, If I send 4 vals...only one from a carrier...and 3 of them are shot down or chased away, I can still use the remaining one as my "expert"?

Basically, if all the planes are not aborted or killed, the "expert" wil ALWAYS get thru?

Yes, as long as you remember to use it. Air Attack is AFTER anti-air so you haven't even applied the SA yet. The Shokaku says choose an aircraft to be your Expert Bomber 2, in fact, all the carriers from every nation say choose an aircraft, it doesn't have to be the aircraft from that took off from that ship, it could technically be a Betty bomber from a land base using it's alternate payload or the Akagi could assign expert torpedo to a Betty using torpedoes. It's kind of a wierd deal but that's how I've always seen it ruled and played.

In the interest of simplification, aircraft are launched and assigned to a sector during air missions, they are attacked during anti-air, and they attack during air attack and then they are assigned to return to either a carrier or land base and each plane that took off from a certain point doesn't have to go back there if you don't want it to. Same thing applies with the SA's.

[TheJudge]

Also, to put it another way, if the rule book stated that you HAVE TO say that the Val launched from Shokaku is the Expert Bomber 2 for this turn, that would be totally different but it doesn't say that so you don't have to do it.

The purist war gamer would likely want it to be that way because the carrier is the one assigning the SA to it's own airgroup, not an airgroup from the Shoho or a land base. The SA's are rather magical in that they can be assigned to any bomber in this case.

[Capt. Strange]

The purist war gamer would likely want it to be that way because the carrier is the one assigning the SA to it's own airgroup, not an airgroup from the Shoho or a land base. The SA's are rather magical in that they can be assigned to any bomber in this case.

This desribes me. I know the rules as written and if I was at a tournie or neutral ground have no problem playing that way. However, the magical nature of the expert aircraft does perturb me. Keeping with this my group plays carrier SAs are useable only by the aircraft based on them at the start of the turn.