Can helis transfer any vehicles in the game?

[Wdll]

I am more interested in Chinooks, but if any can, I would love to know the details.
Same question for artillery.

[Hub01]

Yes they can. A CH-47 can load vehicles and equipment the same way as infantry can be loaded/unloaded from an APC. In a quick check I performed, a Chinook could carry 4 M1026 Hummers (assume internally and slung underneath) or 2 M777 LW 155mm howitzers.

[Wdll]

Thank you. It can also carry a Leo2...wow.

[DRG]

This is a quote from the information text that appears when Russian Heavy Helos formations are selelcted in the purchase menu but apply to all nations equally.

Heavy Lift Helicopters*
*
Because of the way the game code interacts with Weight and Carry Capacity, some of the Heavy Lift Helos in the game can pick up and transport any vehicle. In reality they cannot pick up the main battle tanks and like vehicles. We suggest you do not misuse the heavy helos to pick up tanks or other vehicles, or otherwise abuse your fellow PBEMers (or the AI) by the misuse of this carry capacity quirk.*
*
The reason we have allowed the extra carry ability is to enable the carrying of the Ammo Container -- which the game code treats as a vehicle. We have allowed you to carry the Ammo Container as well as troops with the same helicopter. This is the proper use of the expanded carry capacity.*
*
As far as carrying vehicles is concerned, limiting yourself to 2 jeeps or 1 (normal) APC -- without any extra troops -- is in the best interest of fair play.*


In case you wonder why that is it's what we inherited with the code and it's why the weight of most tanks does not match their weight in Tons because "weight" is generally an arbitrary number.

Weight is broken down to a two digit number for most units so anything up to 99 would be usable but to limit vehicles from carrying things they shouldn't a 1xx indicates a vehicle can only "tow" or carry a gun. A 2xx indicates it can carry another vehicle. 2xx is mainly used for barges and Heavy Helicopters etc but the limit we inherited is one byte and one byte is 255 so 255 is the largest thing any unit in this game can carry and that's why no unit in the game weighs more than 55 UNLESS we don't want it carried by any other unit.

I suppose we could go through all 34,888 units in the game ( yes, that's exactly how many there are...) and assign actual ton weights to all the vehicles and make anything weighing over 55 tons 55 but there are more factors involved that just tons when it comes to how much a unit "weighs" in the game. An infantry squad has a weight of zero but the game doesn't read weight for infantry units. It reads "crew" and if the "crew" is 12 that's now much "weight" they have on a Helicopter for example. If the Helo as a carry capacity of 212 it can carry 12 troops or a vehicle or combination of vehicles that weigh 12. It would be rare to see a carry capacity of 212. The big ones generally run around 240 and up and why you will not see a carry capacity for anything in the game higher than 255. If we used actual ton weight for some tanks they couldn't be transported by barges becasue of the 255 limit and that is unchangable.

It's a game. It's not reality. We try to simulate "reality" with the tools we have and sometimes there are unavoidable conflicts. If you want to carry a Leo2 with a Helo you can and in an AI vs Human game I suppose it could be fun but in an PBEM it wouldn't be very amusing to your opponent unless it was agreed on in advance. This has been part of the game since the very beginning and it only becomes an "issue" when someone "re-discovers" it

Don

[Wdll]

First of all, thank you for the very informative post.

No worries though, if nothing else, I won't risk losing a MBT and a helicopter in one go.

I also tried parachuting them and it worked, though they got some damage, my guess is that this is also part of the game mechanics you explained, so I won't try that either, against another human or AI.

When you say up to a normal APC, that means no IFVs or AT-"APCs", right?
What about light tanks like the M24? Would you say it is a bit too much?

Hmm, after checking wiki, the CH47D can carry up to 27000 pounds, while the M24 weights 40000. I guess not. Besides, I don't think it would fit in there lol.

[Hub01]

Here is an interesting article on slinging loads:

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgur...%3Den%26sa%3DN

It wouldn't have occurred to me to try slinging a tank under a helo in the game - I thought four Hummers was pushing it. I'm beginning to think I'm maybe a little too naive to be playing PBEM games...

[Wdll]

Ah yes, he has a B.S. degree, that always makes me smile cause it always makes me think the other thing that BS stands for.

Don't worry, I trust the guy, I have a degree too lol.
Weird though that I had a deja vu feeling reading that, I wonder if I have read it before.


Well the APCs are out of the question. The Ch47D can carry 12 metric tons. The M113 is at least 12.3 The BMP-1 is at least 13.2 etc.
2 jeeps looks like the maximum realistic load or one light artillery.

[Randy]

A Marine Corps CH-53E can sling load a LAV-25. I've seen photos of this. I don't know if the vehicle crew was inside the chopper or not. I have read of a CH-47 lifting an
M-113. Right now the largest active service transport helicopter is the Russian Mi-26 which I believe has the internal capacity of a C-130, and can lift 15 tons.

[thatguy96]

A lot of vehicles can be sling loaded or otherwise carried by the CH-47, CH-53, or CH-54 series of helicopters. What is not accurately modeled by the game is the "instant" loading and unloading time (same reasons tank transporters are largely inaccurate). Very few of these vehicles, capable of being carried or not, could be immediately deployed as such from the transporting helicopter.

This is why the Internally Transportable Vehicle (ITV) program exists.

[Randy]

What is the deployment time to unload a vehicle from a sling load? Just as the article above describes the load teams, when I was in the Marines (late 70s) they had Helicopter Support Teams which I guess do the same thing.