I use 1 seaman and 1 medic. If i had an extra slot, I'd put on a 2nd, but i dont find it absolutely crucial

None is better.

1 medic and the rest pilots are best. If you have gunner slots in higher lvl cvs, I think it's best to put future pilots in those to lvl them up. Otherwise you might end up with pilots 20 levels apart. Not really a good thing for obvious reasons.

Once you have enough pilots, you can then put whatever you want in the gunner slots.

You should run full pilots (8) in your support slots until you reach 9 or more available slots (PCV, CV6), then you add any support sailor you want. Running fewer than maximum possible pilots on your CV is both a detriment to your overall pilots' growth and a hindrance to your team's success during gameplay. You can put any sailor you want in your gunner slots, but gunners work best. Being defenseless when a sub pops up or a pesky DD breaks through the lines will require attention.

A Seaman has advantages, as do all the other support class sailors. Pick your favorite and see how that fits your gameplay style. If you need to turn tail and run away often, an engineer would be most beneficial. If you think that repairing yourself after a bombing or shelling from a ship is more important, then put on a repairman. If you have a Seaman with a very good pilot class and good repair/restore, then you might find that his benefit is better to your needs. There is no perfect answer to the question if your team loses and you ponder "What if?", but if your team wins, did you need, or use the engineer or repairman at all?

it varys mate i use threee from time to time and own most fps at any given time. and in most cases my fps are they only one u will see still scouting while others have been shot down.

I run with 2 Elite FP based seamen both very well vetted. I'm the one that gives Krazy's Ride a tough time keeping that sight.

So is it True that they do not work in the R Slots?

The seaman ability adds X amount to all other sailors' abilities on the ship.

- It doesn't matter where the seaman is sitting, and seamen DO stack, but more like engineers, so there is a diminishing return.
- Seamen also add their own repair and restore to a ship, and that value is hidden, much like a Bridge Officer. Presumably, the seaman boosts his own repair and restore skills.
- Seaman ability is not capped, but they do not allow other sailors to exceed their skill caps. So while a lvl 120 boosted Seaman with 300 vets can make your level 80 fighters behave like level 110 fighters, it won't help your level 120 fighters much if at all.

Seamen are therefore most useful to fighters in the 60 to 100 level range, allowing them to suck less. I've also noticed that 5 identical engineers plus a seaman results in more overheat time than 6 identical engineers, because of the limitation on how engineers stack. (And that 4 engineers plus seaman is about the same as 5 engineers, but it's still better because that seaman is boosting everyone's repair skill too.)