Soviet Airforce reorganization

[AlexSF]

What the hell am I supposed to do with all these airbases and HQs?? I saw on some thread to keep about 7 per Front.
Ok but then there is all these Long Range bases attached to the Stavka, do I disband them, the HQs too?

[Huw Jones]

SAD bases I send to the rear, disbanding 1 a turn for the AA, set the TOE at the mimimum for all of them.

I change the Long range commander to Ural MD, as that doesn't have an air commander, send his lesser commanders back to the rear, TOE mimimum again.
I spread their airbases around, each front will then have 3 or 4 airbases, more than enough for all the aircraft you have at the start.

NOTE SAD airbases go off after a while, early 1942 I think, so no point building up kills on them.

[Stelteck]

Personally, i was using long range command Air base for offensive bombing, while front Air Base was used for ground support.
(Also, air transport&air drop).

This way i avoided using all my air power in attack and then discovering nothing is left for ground support during ennemy turn.

[AlexSF]

Thx, I didnt know about the SAD disbanding later.

Does it make a difference on which base I put specific plane type? For exemple what if I put fighters on a VVS base..do they fly worse or not at all? Do fighters have to be on a IAD base to operate or it is just a cosmetic name thing?

[Stelteck]

ORIGINAL: AlexSF

Thx, I didnt know about the SAD disbanding later.

Does it make a difference on which base I put specific plane type? For exemple what if I put fighters on a VVS base..do they fly worse or not at all? Do fighters have to be on a IAD base to operate or it is just a cosmetic name thing?

The only difference is that the supply of partisan by transports and level bomber set to night mission is done from VVS.
Others bases perform the same it is just cosmetic.

[thedoctorking]

Only airbases attached to a Front Air Command/Army will fly ground support for combats by units for that front. I have experimented with having STAVKA/Long Range Air Command bases near STAVKA armies in hopes that they will fly ground support for their friends but haven't had success. I would like to get a definitive word on this, though.

Therefore, I generally assign fighter, tactical/dive bombers, and short-range level bomber units to Front aviation bases. They do ground bombing and airbase bombing as well as ground support. In fact, I make it a point to bomb Axis ground units every turn until my air units get to about 50% of miles flown even if they aren't having much effect - it pushes up fatigue levels on German fighters and on the ground units you are bombing. If you get the impression that German fighters are at high fatigue or running out of gas/ammo, go bomb their airfields.

The longer-range bombers go in airfields attached to the Long Range Air Command HQ. They all get set on night missions and do air resupply missions, night bombing of German airfields (if you haven't been able to bomb them during the day) and maybe a little strategic bombing if you get the chance. The Rostock factories are vulnerable.

Don't forget about staging bases. Use of a staging base can increase aircraft range by about 50%, and the miles from the home base to the staging base only count half against the total of miles flown. So you can put your bases farther to the rear, have empty staging bases about 5 hexes back from the front, and still get plenty of use out of the air force.

The SAD bases will disband in the spring of 1942. You should have resources over the winter to build replacement bases. Don't worry about it too much during the good weather turns of 1941; you have plenty of more important stuff to do with your AP's.

And remember that if you lose 800 planes and the Germans lose 200, this is a victory for you.