http://navyfield.com/Community/Forum/View.aspx?num=3010&searchtype=0&pagecount=0&searchvalue=class&sort=5&category=A01&page1=1

i'm not a fan of elite gunners since most gunners become pretty much the same at lvl70s or 80s for US

Elites will make you cap your gunners ability faster (around 60 with 200vets boosted I did) and classed them rld rld acc. I have 1 elite gunner on my monty and 1 non elite both boosted. They have nearly the same spread on all ships besides my monty. (grouping on elite gunner is slightly tighter but not much). The elite hit his cap around 58 where as the other hit around 63.

TL;DR

They are the same as regular +11 or 12 sailors but have a SLIGHT advantage at earlier levels.

Ignore the above, he has quite a few errors in his post, in particular his classing.

What kind of elite gunners ( if any) you want to choose depends on where you start and what you want to achieve with your crew.
If this your first crew and you're still low level and dont have access to higher lvl other nations and extra credits/points, get elite reloaders and class them Acc/Rel/Rel.

If you have points and dont mind rolling for sailors to get good sailors, roll some 10/10 + gunners with 12 repair if you have credits spare, you might try and buy them.

If you can level the gunners on other nations until they have reached or are close the acc or rel cap and you want the lightest gunners get elite reloaders and class them rel/rel/rel. If on the other hand you don't mind a few extra tons of weight on your gunners and want the best gunners, buy elite repairers and class them rel/rel/rel. For about everything else, rolled sailors are better.

i wouldnt class a sailor with 9 accuracy rld/rld/rld.

got a pair of 9/12 gunners at lvl 100. spread is playable but still not great yet - even on sevastopol guns

uhhh idk what these guys are talking about with classing as rld/rld/rld or acc/rld/rld. But when i make my US crew i bought elite rld gunners and classed them acc/rld/acc and on my monty i pretty much blockshot with 120 EBVE gunners with 210 vets. so that is the route i would recc'.

As far as I remember from reading an old guide that was on the NF euro forum back in the day, a pair of 11/11 with 100 vets classed acc rld rld hit both caps at the earliest possible point offering the best compromise of spread vs reload, ie: acc acc acc hit acc cap at like 78-ish and rld cap at like 92 and rld rld rld hit acc cap at about the opposite lvls. Going acc rld rld hit both caps around mid eighties. The math would obviously change with 13/11 or 11/13 as a starting point using elites.

A ton of vets saves a bit of weight but has no real effect on spread after you have capped in my experience. Some people say that 150-160 vets helps off axis spread a bit but I honestly cannot say one way or the other if this is in fact the case. On some nations ships I notice a very small difference and on others I notice no difference.

I have a set of 117 USN Gunners 1 elite and 1 regular +12. The spread on my monty is near perfect with 210vets. Has been that way since 105 when my monty BO was at level. There is a CAP on all gunners and you WILL hit it. Mine hit it at 68 with alot of vets.