Quintus Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 I've been wondering what the general opinion on A.A. weapons is. I play a lot of QB's (both against the AI and humans via PBEM) and when the weather allows aircraft, I sometimes buy them. Even if I don't I always buy an A.A. gun or two. Thing is - Whilst I appreciate that you can never really have too many, how many do people think is 'enough' to at least deter too much fly-boy attention. E.g. In a Soviet 1000 point QB - What would most people think a sensible level of A.A. to buy? A couple of 20mm (plus tows, being the virtuous sort, I always field a tow for a gun) or more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PantherG Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 I'd probably get 4-5 aa guns in a 1000 point QB. However, I usually don't get tows for them. Also, not getting tows lets you get more in the first place or spend the points on a more necessary unit. If you're the Germans, I'd get 20 quads. Soviets, probably 37s, though 25s are very cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bab Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 Soviet 37mm AA is really useful against medium tanks, too, and routs infantry easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Schultz Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 Watch out with not buying towing vehicles in human v human QBs. One should always be polite and make sure that is OK. A lot of folks I battle with(including myself) request that all towed guns be towed into battle unless a player is defending. That means both players in a ME, and the attacker in all others. In a small battle like a 1000 pointer, those vehicle points can make all the difference in how many guns one buys. As far as actual numbers of AA per game ... I would think you want one for every major element on map. If you are going up both flanks and leaving the center empty, buy 2, and so on. Numbers don't seem to count as much as position. They need a decent LOS to as much area as possible and altitude seems to help as well. Rather than go off topic I will start another thread regarding where to put them and see what we can learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarquon Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 The only test I've done so far was to put a company of regular Germans in a long trench, flanked by a 20mm on each side. They were attacked by 6 regular Sturmoviks (4x220 pnd bombs each plus strafing). The guns fired a few bursts at each passing aircraft but didn't shoot down a single one. Only 2 (or 3? can't remember) actually dropped their bombs in 30 turns and only one of those nearly hit the trench, causing ~10-15 casualties. Maybe another 5 from strafing. So, all these planes didn't really hurt me. I don't know if this very bad performance was due to the AA, the trench, bad luck or the fact that aircraft are useless against trenches anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaud Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 I believe AA fire can cause aircraft to miss or abort their attack even when they don't knock them down. Effectiveness of AA fire has a lot to do with how you position your AA guns. The long range 37mm+ should be placed and faced so they can open up early at approaching AC. If you want to get more outright AC kills you can hide 20mm quad mounts or multiple short range guns behind obstacles so they don't open up until the AC passes close overhead. Make sure the guns are faced in the direction the aircraft will be heading when they fly over, not into the obstacle the guns are placed hiding behind. I call this the 'aircraft bushwack'. PS: a few 20mm guns aren't likely to ever shoot down a sturmovik - it's got heavy armor. Try 37mm. [ November 18, 2002, 05:24 PM: Message edited by: Renaud ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanonier Reichmann Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 My question to players who think choosing AA guns without transport is perhaps "gamey"... how does one chose transport assets for the Soviet 76mm & 85mm AA guns when there's none available that can move them! A bit of a quandry don't you agree? Regards Jim R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Posted November 19, 2002 Author Share Posted November 19, 2002 When I field a soviet 85mm A.A. gun and I am not the defending player in an attack-v-defense game, I buy a truck to represent the tow, even though the truck cannot actually pull the darned gun (limber and re-setup time for a gun that large render it practically worthless for most purposes if you move it anyway). I do tend toward the 'no tow = a tad naughty' school of thought myself, but then I came to CMBO via 1/300th scale lead miniature wargaming ('firefly'). One thing I have noticed is traverse time - 25mm cannon seem able to track a passing ground attack aircraft without effort, pouring on the lead during the plane's entire run, whereas the siting of anything heavier determines if you can get a decent shot off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 The big single-shot AA gun will not fire on the CMBB in-battle planes anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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