RE: [FT] Rules Questions

The big problem with fighters as attrition units is pilot quality. Look
at what
happened to the Japanese in WWII. At the end, they supposedly had 5000
aircraft
saved up for a massive Kamikaze strike on US forces invading Japan. And
for
pilots, they had a total of (blatant estimate) maybe 25,000 hours of
flight
time - split between the pilots for all of them (some with 100 +, most
with 10+
hours). The USN was giving its carrier pilots about 200 hours each
before they
got into combat. This more than completely reversed the situation at the
start
of the war when the IJN had some of the best trained pilots (400+ hours)
in the
world (and nobody believed they did, so it came as a surprise)

This happened for two reasons:

Loss of trained pilots in battle - killing future instructors
Loss of resources and time for training new pilots.

In a space campaign, time and costs for training pilots must likewise
become a
serious consideration. You might still have a dozen CVA's, but if
they're
flying off rookies then they will get slaughtered by a smaller force of
well
trained pilots.

--- Dean Gundberg <Dean.Gundberg@noridian.com> wrote:
> > Honostly, fighter swarming seems like a valid tactic
> > to me, especially if you're playing a campaign where
> > you are conquering planets and using limited resources
> > to build your fleet.
> 
> <snip>
> 
> > I suppose that it would really depend on if you are
> > playing morale rules....very few cultures would throw
> > away people to what is essentially kamakazi attacks.
> 
> It would also depend on your supply lines.  If you can't supply your
attack
> fleet with new fighters as fast as they loose them, your carriers end
up
> virtually toothless after a couple of battles.  Lots of variables
here, but
> any expendable ordinance based fleet (missiles or fighters) can't go
too far
> away from its core worlds or you must have defended convoys of
freighters
> for bring new ordinance to the front.
> 
> Dean Gundberg
> 
> Starship Combat News
> The latest information on Space Games and Miniatures
> http://star_ranger.homestead.com/
> star_ranger@my-deja.com
> 
> 
> 

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