thanks guys a lot of help and useful info in here. just one question what does the acronym SP gunners stand for? and one followup question, do I need them or anything else to successfully DD or CL AA support BB in great battle. Also will this be worth my time or is better to try something else?

I think you mean DP?

And its "dual purpose" unless I'm mistaken. Which is kinda dumb, since the "DP" guns are the dedicated AA guns.

And yes, those are the gunners we've been discussing since the start.

Now before you go and make them, know that you class those gunners to ARMORY SAILORS only.

DO NOT CLASS TO AA GUNNERS RIGHT AWAY.

Wait till at least lvl 62. Even better if you wait till the 80s, especially if you dont BVE. Then you class all the way to Chief DP gunners in one go.

Reason is the ability growth nerf won't be compensated by the sailor growth one till chief DP gunners at 62, so it means less true ability.

Then, if you want to wait, you can keep the better growth till lvl 80-85 (since the first AA efficient BB is the Yammy at 89) and you get at that level pretty much the same true ability, but with less sailors, so less weight. That weight can be put in a few extra unit of bulge rather, which can be quite profitable, especially since the SY has such a low ammount to keep 42 knots.

And, you probably came to that conclusion already, it means you cannot access the "awesome" IJN AA guns at low level to AA your way to the BB, seing as your AA won't be classed till

You do have options like the 3x6,1 Ls that have a decent enough range, altough less hitting power and less range than the A version you'll get later.

I personnaly stuck to blitz with my IJN line till I got the kongo.

Extra piece of advice : Drop the torper right away if you still have them and are going BB. They won't be useful past CL level, and they are taking 2 precious leveling spot on your ship. Also choose the Mogami line at lvl 38. The Kuma TW line is an end itself, and most BOs are dedicated to the kita on that line (since they are normally thinned quite a lot to save weight)

Not saying it can't be done. But effectiveness is extremely limited. You'd be much better throwing your DP on the front R slot of the oyo and use the 3x6,1A in my opinion.

Yubari with high level AA can probably be done effectively enough as it gives 8 barrel not too far apart, but if you have KM or MN, you'll have much better results with their AA platforms. Quite simply a good cv pilot will only lose a plane at once to your AA, as you lack punch, and quickly start maneuvering the planes around you to minimize loss.