How do I use planes?

[pashahlis]

Dumb question, but how do I use planes? I mean all of them. Planes on airbases, planes on ships, planes on aircraft carriers. I have no idea. And I mean both for attacking other ships and just scouting for other ships, like the floatplane of a raider.

[dohboy]

Do you mean "what buttons do I click", or is this a question about tactics?

[pashahlis]

Oct 25, 2019 19:01:18 GMT -6 dohboy said:

Do you mean "what buttons do I click", or is this a question about tactics?

What buttons I have to click, although tactics wouldn't be a bad idea either.

[dohboy]

The buttons you are looking for are towards the right side of the top bar.

The button with three planes on it is for information only. It shows status of all friendly aircraft in the battle.

Next to the right, with a single plane and gear, is for setting up search patterns and CAP. Search has to be set up on turn 0 before unpausing. CAP is only applicable if you have aircraft in the force.

Air strikes are the lightning bolt next on the bar. You can set up a strike on a reported/known target or send it to a location.

Also, the manual is a good place to start.

Edit- As for land based aircraft, they are all AI controlled. You can set search and CAP from a base, but that's it.

[pashahlis]

Oct 25, 2019 19:18:41 GMT -6 dohboy said:

The buttons you are looking for are towards the right side of the top bar.

The button with three planes on it is for information only. It shows status of all friendly aircraft in the battle.

Next to the right, with a single plane and gear, is for setting up search patterns and CAP. Search has to be set up on turn 0 before unpausing. CAP is only applicable if you have aircraft in the force.

Air strikes are the lightning bolt next on the bar. You can set up a strike on a reported/known target or send it to a location.

Also, the manual is a good place to start.

Edit- As for land based aircraft, they are all AI controlled. You can set search and CAP from a base, but that's it.

Okay I see, but I am still not quite sure how to *use* those buttons correctly.

[dohboy]

Did you read the manual? I am willing to help, but only if you have done the prerequisite self-help.

There probably needs to be an air ops addendum, but I leave that to one of the 'many word, much knowledge' people. I'm much better at criticism.

[akosjaccik]

Oct 26, 2019 1:34:09 GMT -6 pashahlis said:

Okay I see, but I am still not quite sure how to *use* those buttons correctly.

I hope this helps.

If it does, you owe me a beer.

[pashahlis]

Oct 26, 2019 7:46:31 GMT -6 akosjaccik said:

Oct 26, 2019 1:34:09 GMT -6 pashahlis said:

Okay I see, but I am still not quite sure how to *use* those buttons correctly.

I hope this helps.

If it does, you owe me a beer.

Thank you, this was indeed VERY helpful! Some last questions though:

1. What is a coordinated airstrike?

2. CAP is just fighters patrolling the area I also set for recon right? Or is CAP not bound by an area and instead just circles my fleet? I am still confused on how CAP works.

3. How exactly do I use land airbase planes again? I cannot control land airbases units right? Those planes only get send out via the initial Turn 0 order right? What about their strike planes? How do I strike with land airbase units? I cannot set a strike with the initial Turn 0 order. Only search and CAP.

4. I am still confused on what that 0/12 Spot value is. Or 1/0 in the case of one of the AVs planes.

5. How do I escort my torpedo bombers with fighters?

Thank you very much for this tutorial!

[akosjaccik]

pashahlis : You are welcome.

1. What is a coordinated airstrike?

Normally, squadrons act individually; so for example, if you select two different kind of aircraft, one of which is faster than the other, than they will arrive to your selected destination at a different time. To actually group up your multiple selected squadrons instead of launching them as piecemeal attacks, you can use coordinated airstrike. They thus travel together (defined by the speed the slowest type is capable of), engage together and have better chance of penetrating the fighters and the AA screen. They do need to form up however, so assembling a coordinated attack requires time.

Purely personal, but I tend to rarely use it.

2. CAP is just fighters patrolling the area I also set for recon right? Or is CAP not bound by an area and instead just circles my fleet? I am still confused on how CAP works.

CAP is fully automated: your CV division will protect itself. The only way currently as far as I know to delegate CAP over another friendly is to set the carrier division under the other division as "Support". Manually, unfortunately - at least in the current iteration - you can't do anything with CAP outside of setting it's density.

You can fly recon mission with your fighters, escort your strikes (I'll get back to this at 5.) or arm them with bombs and conduct strikes with them, if they are capable to do so, but I don't believe there is any way in the game currently to manually send CAP over a friendly naval unit outside the method of setting the CV-div as "Support" under someone.

3. How exactly do I use land airbase planes again? I cannot control land airbases units right? Those planes only get send out via the initial Turn 0 order right? What about their strike planes? How do I strike with land airbase units? I cannot set a strike with the initial Turn 0 order. Only search and CAP.

The short answer is that, just as in the case of CAP, they are automated. You can set their recon pattern similar to your carriers, but everything else is, notably what and how they strike, is up to them.

4. I am still confused on what that 0/12 Spot value is. Or 1/0 in the case of one of the AVs planes.

In my example, my carriers were able to carry 16 aircraft. I've read some debate over how arming and spotting is simulated by the game, but the main point is, the carrier does not have enough space on her deck to park all 16 of them AND retain enough space for a successful takeoff. So in one "batch" I can launch 12 aircraft at once, then I have to lift up the rest from the hangars. With this, '0' in this example shows that currently no aircraft is awaiting for takeoff on the deck.

5. How do I escort my torpedo bombers with fighters?

In this case it is probably prudent to utilize coordinated strike. You should not only select torpedo-, and dive bombers, but also select and ready fighters with "Escort" set up in their "Role" column. Launch them together with your strike craft, and they should do their work as intended.

[aeson]

In my example, my carriers were able to carry 16 aircraft. I've read some debate over how arming and spotting is simulated by the game, but the main point is, the carrier does not have enough space on her deck to park all 16 of them AND retain enough space for a successful takeoff. So in one "batch" I can launch 12 aircraft at once, then I have to lift up the rest from the hangars. With this, '0' in this example shows that currently no aircraft is awaiting for takeoff on the deck.

Note that akosjaccik is specifically answering the 0/12 question. The 1/0 for an AV or other seaplane-carrying vessel indicates that it has a plane readied for launch but lacks an operational catapult from which to launch it, as the 0 in this case is the spot value of the vessel - which for ships that lack flight decks is the same as the number of catapults (ships with flight decks - CVs and CVLs - have a spot value of a bit over half the air wing, plus one per catapult). Seaplane-carrying vessels which lack operational catapults can still launch readied aircraft despite having a spot value of 0, but they'll have to stop and lower their planes into the water in order to do so.

[pashahlis]

I am still confused. You guys say the spot value indicated how many planes can take off simultanously from a ship, but it is called a "spot" value as in "spotting".... Or am I misunderstanding something here?

[janxol]

"Spotting" is the act of preparing aircraft for takeoof. A "spotted" plane is loaded with fuel and ordnance and on the deck, prepared for takeoff. "Spot value" is the max amount of planes that can be spotted and launched in one wave (they are brought to deck together, and take off together.) If you want to launch more planes than your spot value allows you need to have more than one launch cycle, which means launch the spotted planes, bring up the remaining planes from the hangar, spot them and launch. In this case "spot" doesnt mean "see".

[pashahlis]

That's... a very confusing terminology. I mean... did nobody think of there already existing a term called spotting? Who the hell had this idea? God, I hate the English language.

Well, thanks. I understand everything now.

[jwsmith26]

The British term for this process was not much better. They referred to the arranging of the planes on deck in preparation for a launch as "ranging". To add to the confusion it appears that the same term, ranging, was also used to describe flying to the target or executing a strike.

[Warspite]

Oct 26, 2019 14:48:03 GMT -6 pashahlis said:

God, I hate the English language.

It is the flexibility of the language that makes it so widespread. What you really hate is terminology.