Helicopters

[Sashie VII]

Have anyone used them effectively in military campaigns?

I've not found much use for them, limited range and transport capacity as well as not much unit types transportable

 

[Bluemofia]

I mostly use them to transport marines, TOW, and paratroopers from city to city, so they can immedietly attack/defend with fortify bonus.

 

[Sashie VII]

Do you mean newly conquered cities? I'd think that railroad intrusion works better

 

[Turner]

Yeah, but that's not always feasible. The newly conquered city could be on a different island, or the road network/tactical situation may not allow railroads to be built there. And when you unload a unit in a city, it keeps it's movement, so it can immediately attack or fortify to defend.

Heli's are more useful in C3C, but still rather limited. As for heli's not being able to carry tanks...well....

 

[adog]

I have hardly ever used them. IMO they are useless except in rare cases as Turner pointed out.

 

[Tomoyo]

I once built ~40 of them in one game.

I used one of them to move some TOW infantries I upgraded around.

The rest just stood there as I lauched the spaceship.

I never use them. I built one in my first ever game and didn't know how to work it...

 

[TimBentley]

I've only built them for SGOTM8 (no boats variant on an archipelago map, conquest victory). Scoutsout's article is about paratroopers, but there's probably some applicability for helicopters.

 

[Sashie VII]

I've only built them for SGOTM8 (no boats variant on an archipelago map, conquest victory). Scoutsout's article is about paratroopers, but there's probably some applicability for helicopters.

Death From Above wasn't it? Been a while since I went to the academy.

Yes Turner's right, but generally I still think it's not really useful especially since they only carry foot units. Unless you're on the defensive IMO

 

[Naththebat]

Personally i never use them but for a few exceptions....such as if there are no rivers or seas. Or if i'm desperate to create a enclave elsewhere in order to consentrate their forces elsewhere and therefore free up a few soldiers who are fortified.
It would be great if we could have more variety of units that can be transported by helicopters and howa bout tanks...that would be an improvement!

 

[El Justo]

helos carrying armour is the exception, not the rule. i wouldn't allow for them to carry it if you want to remain realistic.

of course, you could mod it so that there is a transport helo like a CH-47 Chinook or something like that. they're designed to carry larger loads. no tanks but they've been known to schlepp around some lighter APCs.

you could also mod it so that certain helos could be used for ASW (anti-submarine warfare). they could have the "Detects Invisible' flag.

the last option could be as a gunship of sort. really low A/D but a nasty bombardment number.

i've used each of these methods for my TCW scenario and it works rather nicely.

 

[Sashie VII]

Personally i never use them but for a few exceptions....such as if there are no rivers or seas. Or if i'm desperate to create a enclave elsewhere in order to consentrate their forces elsewhere and therefore free up a few soldiers who are fortified.
It would be great if we could have more variety of units that can be transported by helicopters and howa bout tanks...that would be an improvement!

Dropping a stack of tanks right next to the enemy's capital right after you declare would be nice

 

[502nd PIR]

Personally i've never really used choppers except as a companion force for my paratroops. Sometimes they could be useful, but usually ther'ye only really good to use as a bluff force as i call them. unload they're troops on an enemy island to help 'persuade' them to sign a peace treaty. In Vietnam, choppers were also used to extract forces. Apart from a gunship/ tank transport they should also be able to move units, lets say newly spawned leaders, out of a combat zone. Hey, it could be useful.

 

[adog]

Apart from a gunship/ tank transport they should also be able to move units, lets say newly spawned leaders, out of a combat zone.

I like this idea very much.

 

[Sashie VII]

I like it too.. Perhaps this should go into the "What would you like to see?" thread

 

[Bluemofia]

Sometimes they could be useful, but usually ther'ye only really good to use as a bluff force as i call them. unload they're troops on an enemy island to help 'persuade' them to sign a peace treaty.

Hmm, never thought of that tactic. Could be useful.

Apart from a gunship/ tank transport they should also be able to move units, lets say newly spawned leaders, out of a combat zone. Hey, it could be useful.

Ah, pulling out a MGL off of an island, as they can't be airlifted, and/or dropping workers to the front without rails, and paradropping slow units to catch up with your faster units in a siege. (TOW Infantry Paradrop to defend your Tanks if the city hasn't fallen yet.)

 

[Sashie VII]

Now that would make helicopters a must IMHO...nice to be able to extract 1hp elites out of the battlefield to heal..

 

[502nd PIR]

Does anyone think you should be able to move Helos' on to an aircraft carrier? I know in modern warfare thats how most infantry forces are transported. That could be useful. Oh yea, about a bluff force, if I can figure out how to place a bloody article on this I'll include that in a list of tactics, so to speak.

 

[Sashie VII]

Does anyone think you should be able to move Helos' on to an aircraft carrier? I know in modern warfare thats how most infantry forces are transported. That could be useful. Oh yea, about a bluff force, if I can figure out how to place a bloody article on this I'll include that in a list of tactics, so to speak.

Sounds interesting. Perhaps as in units in a transport on the same tile as the helos-carrying carrier can load into the helicopter and must be airdropped on that very turn?

 

[502nd PIR]

One thing I think they should have is some type of Infantry that is ment to be used in an air cavalry force. In Vietnam we trained air cavalry troops who's fighting style would be to fly into combat, defeat the enemy, then get back into their choppers and head back to a CP. They should also be able to transport some artillery (only one artillery gun in each chopper for realism.) Again in Vietnam 105 mm howitzers were moved into fire bases via chopper.

 

[bleedblue]

i don't build them that often, but when i do build them i use them either for putting guys down in new cities, putting guys down behind enemy lines (when the war's right along my border), and for recon.