Different air directives for the same air unit.

[amatteucci]

Is it possible to have an air unit (a single group, not HQ) perform, say, ground attacks during D1 and D2 and air support for the remainder of the week, i.e. D3, D4, D5, D6 and D7?

Generally speaking, is there a way to have an air unit to be involved in different air directives during the same turn?

[Helpless]

Yes, when on auto.

[amatteucci]

Thanks!

[LiquidSky]

I do that all the time. I have a blanket Ground Support mission for the Air HQ on AUTO.

Then I fly a port strike or airfield attack or some other Ground Attack mission on AUTO....after the planes finish destroying the target they will probably still have some 'travel miles' left to fly ground support.

You could also fly on different days.

[Bismarck2761]

When do you task specific squadrons for missions, and when do you leave for auto? Based on the above, it seems you are better off having all missions on auto but restrict to specific days. Or can you task a specific group to fly one mission X days and other missions y days (seems not)?

To be specific:

Can I assign X units to ground strike Directive Days 2-3 and still have those units eligible to participate in "auto missions"? Or, to have a unit participate in multiple mission types, must I have the Directive auto set forth both missions?

[loki100]

I'm not completely sure but you have a binary choice auto or allocate.

So allocate if you want particular planes on a particular mission. Say you have one GS aimed at units (with your level bombers) and one aimed at interdiction (with your rocket armed typhoons). I think the gain to allocation outweighs anything else.

Say its Italy after the main focus has shifted. May as well use auto and the let the computer routines sort it out. That way you can combine some GS with some interdiction using the same limited group of squadrons.

Testing WiTE2 I'm finding I do this a lot as its rare that you have the sort of airpower that rewards close prioritisation (you tend to have to make do with what is available and in range) - at least in 1941 (both sides).

One thing to watch. The AI cycles down auto allocation according to the order of ADs and their relative priority. So if you have say 1 recon, 2 GA and 2 GS it will fill out the top one first and so on. You might want to think about which really matters. You can control which goes where by giving each mission say different days and so on.

Same if you are doing strat bombing using different ADs on different targets. You need to think about which do you want the routine to fill out.

But all this is based on reading other people's posts and a small bit of testing in a few scenarios. It is how I *think* it works.

[bomccarthy]

ORIGINAL: Bismarck2761

When do you task specific squadrons for missions, and when do you leave for auto? Based on the above, it seems you are better off having all missions on auto but restrict to specific days. Or can you task a specific group to fly one mission X days and other missions y days (seems not)?

To be specific:

Can I assign X units to ground strike Directive Days 2-3 and still have those units eligible to participate in "auto missions"? Or, to have a unit participate in multiple mission types, must I have the Directive auto set forth both missions?

Unless I have missed something (not uncommon), units specifically allocated to an air directive are not available to other air directives, even those on "auto". In the air directive planning window, already assigned units do not appear as available when planning a directive in which units will be selected automatically.

I will often manually assign units if their aircraft have restricted capabilities compared to other aircraft in the command. For instance, Wellingtons have a shorter range than Lancasters and Halifax's (as well as a smaller payload). Therefore, I'll manually assign the Wellingtons to bomb railyards and V-weapon launch sites in France, while creating multiple air directives that automatically choose Lancaster and Halifax units for strikes on German cities. The Wellingtons can't reach many of the key German targets, and I don't want to take the chance on Lancasters and Halifaxes being automatically selected for short-range French targets.

Same with recon missions - RAF Mustangs are shorter range than the PR Spitfires and Mosquitos, and they only have low-level cameras. Therefore, the Spits and Mossies are more flexible and can be mixed more easily in multiple air directives at higher altitudes.

[Bismarck2761]

All very helpful. Thanks!