Luftwaffe a/c re-training preferencies

[tiger111]

Just wondering what preferences do players have regarding retraining of German gruppen.

Do you retrain most FW190 groups to Fighter?

Continue to use Schlact bomber groups as bombers eg FW190.

Send level bombers to the East?

Use Me 410/110 as bomber attack groups. (Well inside Germany)

Any other strategies do you employ??

Thanks.

[LiquidSky]

The Me410s I park near Ploesti to build up strength until 1944.

The Fw190F's can't be retrained as fighters.

I've never played with the East box on....but I imagine it would be a good place for the bombers and transports. I tend to save the bombers until the allies invade in 1944...then use them on unit bombing missions to gain casualty vps

I used to build a lot of airfields on the Ruhr cities (since they are covered in flak). Then park the entire German fighter force on them. You can cram 2000 fighters in a short area. I would also manually assign them to not use drop tanks so they only intercept the area around the Ruhr..and fight more effectively. I would disband all the Stab squadrons early, and all the NF squadrons when the Luftwaffe expands the size of the fighter groups.

I would set every fighter/NF squadron on TPI. Leave it there the whole game. While you have pilots in your pool RES everyone else. If not, you can safely leave them on NOR. They wont get planes as reinforcements while on RES

Not sure if that would work anymore against Allied Air Superiority missions...

[Seminole]

My strategy probably varies from most. I'm probably more aggressive. I'm not playing the game looking over my shoulder at how many hexes to Berlin. As far as I'm concerned the Third Reich has 990 years to go...
I like to retrain the Bf 110F-2s immediately for the bomber role. Same with the Me-210.
Combined with the Fw-190 TACB squadrons these units allow the Luftwaffe to get some very nice ground interdiction values in the Med in '43. Not constantly, but you can probably do it a dozen or more times, which can be critical. The Allied Air Force is smaller at this time. While I haven't had an opponent go past turn 70 without quitting, it seems to me that 'saving' the Luftwaffe for operations in the Channel or anywhere near the enormous number of Allied bases and aircraft in '44 wouldn't be as effective.
Furthermore, operations in the Med provide the Axis a chance to chew on Allied shipping that the Channel crossing won't allow as readily. The Allies produce 4 troop and 30 cargo ships per turn. If you can generate naval interdiction values of 1+ you should be adding to transit attrition on the sea lanes.
Because of how the naval interdiction (and I presume ground interdiction) code works aircraft that carry a lot of bombs generate higher values (part of the reason the German twin engine FBs are nice in ground attack), loadouts like mines and torpedoes don't generate the same level of interdiction as carrying as many free fall bombs as possible. Just the way the game works. Haven't tested this for Allied aircraft, but can confirm it for the German models I have more experience with.
Also, there is a loadout for the Condor (Fw 200) that carries only the naval radar. This does nothing. Not even sure why that is in the game if it isn't supposed to generate some kind of naval interdiction value by directing abstracted naval elements like u-boats and e-boats.

[tiger111]

Interesting. Thankyou for your views.