they're ugly!
i just like reload better. the range is pretty much the same

Those guns are for noops mega. 5"38Ls are where its at :P

use a brooklyn with 3"/70 Ns (or 5"s if you prefer), then setup a neutral dd escort, and
put on HHs on the T slots of the brooklyn (3 binds of ammo i think).

i do this when i get bored. its pretty fun since the brooklyn is much much faster than
atlanta/oakland, plus the gun angles are more ...turnable.

with this setup you shouldnt have a problem fitting all your crew on the ship as you
probably experienced on the oakland. You'll also have "unlimited" ammo for AA and HE/AP
shells. This setup is fun and is still an asset for your team.

Engineers do 2 things, they add to OH speed until it caps and they add to OH time which
will never cap. Its not about REACHING the top speed, thats usually pretty easy. Its about
maintaining the top speed for as long as possible. I do like that you question what we
tell you though. Shows that you wont blindly follow the GBtards that give bad advice on
the forums.

For a CV crew you will need atleast 8 pilots.

3-5 Fighters (+12 fighter)
3-5 bombers (+12 bomber)

For USN I recommend 5 fighter pilots and 3 bombers for the most balanced approach. You
will have to decide what type of bombers you want. Both have advantages and disadvantages
though in terms of comparing them to the other nations (wont discuss MN until they are
"fixed") USN TBs are second best overall and USN DBs are 2nd worst overall. I would not
recommend carrying more then one bomber type on your ship at once but it is nice to have a
set of each type of bomber.

After that its up to you on what else you carry on your CV. Repair men are nice. Restorers
are very effective for CVs though its not always worth your time leveling one. After you
get Essex, gunners might be useful for you. Personally I used the extra slots you get with
Yorktown on to level my extra pilots

Sorry! Please don't think that I don't believe you guys at all. Quite the opposite.
Because I know that you've "been there, done that" I'm asking questions from every angle
before I go out and do something dumb! The question for the engineers was mostly because I
saw the chart and thought that it was something that hadn't been considered. I probably
should have known that you guys had already considered that too.


As far as scouting and BB failing in GB although I'm somewhat witness to it, I don't know
exactly why such things happen the way they do. My CLs are utterly worthless except the
Atlanta for AA, so usually I'm doing ASW with a DD searching for subs. I stay away from
the gun line because either I become a target of oppertuntity for unemployed BBs or an
target of accident by stray rounds, or I end up limiting a BBs manuver and they already
have enough to worry about.


I have started leveling a pilot for my CL so I could learn how to scout before I get to a
BB. I'm learning a lot, fast and I should be a halfway decent BB driver for my team before
too long. I really am grateful that you guys take the time to discuss things you've
already told people a few times before. Also, despite my questioning nature, I've
implemented about 90% of what you, V2, and Blazer have suggested so no wasted time here on
your part at all.

to answer ur pervious questions:
- class ALL your bb crews on time
- yes a restorer is useful to help your first batch of bb crew reach 900 sd sooner (take
him off once your other crew can get close to 900sd on their own). You can always tag him
on a sub when he becomes "useless"
- i highly recommend 5 engs
- You'll have to experience yourself the importance of the scout. Get used to being
relied on in GBs. I find that when a team is blind, 80% of the time its due to bb fails,
not cv.

lol how can you not believe us when we say you need at least 4 eng.
yes, you can easily reach speed cap with 1 or 2 eng. But just wait till your overheat
dies out when you're dancing around shells in a 47 knot sodak. not very fun.

i currently have 5 main engs and i sometimes wish i have 6. You can easily get by with 2
good repairers in my opinion (+12s)

@ V2 - Another Question, by using LK's info, if I have my "super" class engineers, does
this chart mean that I can get by with 3 engineers and have my repair group even bigger???


http://navyfield.com/board/view.asp?Num=132840&Sort=A01&Order=re_upday&PageSize=20&Page=1&Ctg_1=&Ctg_2=&Ctg_3=

@V2 -

Are BB6s so heavy they need 4 or 5 Engineers? I've been doing tons of reading and trying
to learn how best to save time and money and I've seen this argued but what you are saying
about numbers of crewman has been stated several times by other seemingly reliable people.
I think that it also depends on the quality of the sailors too. A well planned BB crew
would indeed reach the caps and work out well. However, I've been watching the "trading
times" and was surprised at how many screwed up sailors are for sale! One example would be
not classing them on time. The lost stats can't be easily regained. Also, I was VERY
surprised how few people seemed willing to pay a little $$$ for a top notch crew. The
upgrades are pretty darn cheap. To get sailors all the way to the 70s level messed up...
well anyway, I'm off point. If you get a messed up crew, then to me it makes sense to have
a sailor that can "clean up" some of those mistakes and bring them up to the caps.


I noticed you left a restorer off the list. So many others explained why, so I was
fortunate to have caught the mistake at L45 and not L120. He will still find use working
on cruiser and destroyer escorts. With having (hopefully) planning in advance my crew will
look like your suggestion, but with 4 engineers and 4 repair, as I find that by
disengaging and re-engaging during combat less time being hit with faster repair seems to
prolong my life.


I don't understand about the obsession with scouts. With the way ships are so highly
customized/specialized, why not have the scouts something along that line too? I've seen
nothing but AA and nothing but ASW. I guess maybe in a GB where you need to pull your own
weight. But if you were in action with your own fleet where everyone should be working as
part of a planned action, it shouldn't matter, right? That would be like every person in
an infantry squad carrying an M60 with John Rambo belts draped over both shoulders... the
end result is the whole squad is slowed down.


Also, I am raising several other crews. My intent is for a BB/CV crew, as well as a CL and
a DD crew to be used as escorts. So having the extra people kicking around is so critical
as I'll just be using them later on.

Something you must understand is that seaman are generally useless and since I seem to
remember you saying you were planning for a BB crew it is not needed for you at all. This
is the kind of crew you should focus on training:

standard Montana crew:

2 Main gunners
2 Gunners for AA (reload or acc, it wont matter in the end)
4 engineers
3 repair men
1 scout

Now, you can go with 5 engineers and 2 reps but less then 4 engineers is not recommended.
If you can be fast and not take damage then repairing is irrelevant.

If you plan on getting a BB6 (level 120 BO/gunners everything else 115+) you will need 1
more sailor. Its up to you what that extra sailor will be but your best bet is either an
extra scout, repair man, or engineer. Every stat has a cap so more of a sailor or more
skill on a sailor will eventually do nothing. However, the Repair cap is very high and
hard to reach so an extra rep is useful. Overheat speed is capped but overheat time is
not, thats where the extra engineer comes in. Personally I find an extra scout pilot to be
very useful so for my second BB crew (KM) I leveled an extra scout. I even put an extra
scout pilot on my KM BBs instead of one of my reps so I dont have to rely on my team so much.