Battlestations: Midway/Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan represents the Axis in the Pacific, and are facing off against the United States. The Japanese have swift, powerful warships with an emphasis on torpedoes, and their air force specializes in lightly-armed but quick aircraft.

Gyoraitei Patrol Boat

 * Armaments:
 * AA Weapons: 13mm/76 machine gun, 5"/50 dual-purpose gun
 * Artillery: 5"/50 dual-purpose gun
 * Torpedoes: Torpedo tubes x2
 * Depth Charges: Depth Charge Rack
 * Class: PT (Patrol/Torpedo Boat)
 * Speed: 50 knots
 * Strong Against: Dive Bombers, Carpet Bombers, Submarines
 * Weak Against: Warships, machine guns, anti-aircraft fire
 * Comparable Allied Equivalent: Elco PT Boat

The Gyoraitei controls similarly to the Elco, and those with Elco experience will have few problems handling a Gyoraitei. Both have a single depth charge rack and both are too shallow to be struck with torpedoes, making both types of PT boats highly effective against enemy submarines. Both are also easily sunk with machine gun fire.

Power-wise, the two are roughly comparable. The Elco lacks the massive cannon the Gyoraitei has, making the Gyoraitei effective at longer ranges. The Gyoraitei's cannon is also a flak gun, which allows it to strike at high-flying dive bombers, whereas the Elco only sports machine guns, which lack the power and range to strike high.

The Elco, however, sports two more torpedo tubes than the Gyoraitei, making the Elco superior in attacking warships at closer ranges. The Gyoraitei's cannon is difficult to aim, especially against fast-moving surface targets, especially Elcos. This means that a typical battle between a Gyoraitei and an Elco tends to favour the Elco. The Gyoraitei's slow loading time for its cannon and single machine gun also detriments it against the Elco's fast-firing triple machine guns.

Official Description: ''The Japanese have a variety of small coastal vessels that provide a similar role to the U.S. Elco PT boat. The Japanese versions are not as fast or manoeuvrable as the Elco, but they do mount a 5" dual-purpose main gun that packs a punch against both air and surface targets. In addition they also mount machine guns, depth charges, and torpedoes, meaning they can pose a threat to any target.''

Minekaze-Class

 * Armaments:
 * AA Weapons: 13mm/76 machine gun
 * Artillery: 4.5"/45 cannon x4
 * Torpedoes: Torpedo tubes x6
 * Depth Charges: Depth Charge Rack
 * Class: DD (Destroyer)
 * Speed: 40 knots
 * Strong Against: Submarines, Patrol Boats
 * Weak Against: Cruisers, Battleships, Aircraft
 * Comparable Allied Equivalent: Clemson-class

You'll first encounter the Minekaze-class in Defence of the Phillipines, but it will mostly be preoccupied shelling your land bases instead of focusing on you. The first time you actually fight one is in the next mission, Running the Palawan Passage, during which the USS Kane engages the Hatsushimo. Although the Hatsushimo isn't much of a threat to you, in the hands of another player the two warships are quite even.

The Minekaze-class is similar to the Clemson in practically every respect. Both warships are aged and venerable, and as a result do not sport much anti-aircraft armament. As destroyers, both support massive sonar suites, and both are more than capable of sending an enemy submarine to the bottom.

Notable warships of this class include the Harusame, Hatsushimo, Hayate, Natsugumo, Kasumi, and the Kawakaze.

Official Description: ''These ships were among the first to be completely designed and built by the Japanese, who had previously been using foreign designs and manufacturers, Entering the IJN as "first-class destroyers", the Minekaze-class are considerably outdated now and have many shortcomings, including the small number of guns they carry (which are open-mounted and have no armour protection) and very light AA armament. However, they do mount triple torpedo launchers, making them a dangerous proposition for any large ship.''

Fubuki-class

 * Armaments:
 * AA Weapons: 13mm/76 machine gun x2, 25mm/60 machine gun x6, 5"30 dual-purpose gun
 * Artillery: 5"30 dual-purpose gun
 * Torpedoes: Torpedo tubes x6
 * Depth Charges: Depth Charge Rack x2
 * Class: DD (Destroyer)
 * Speed: 40 knots
 * Strong Against: Aircraft, Submarines, Destroyers
 * Weak Against: Larger Warships
 * Comparable Allied Equivalent: Fletcher-class

The Fubuki-class is similar in many respects to the Fletcher-class. Its dual-purpose guns can easily switch between heavier shells for engaging enemy warships to lighter, air-bursting flak shells for engaging high-flying enemy aircraft, making it a jack-of-all-trades.

Its main weakness are its firing arcs - there are very few cannons able to strike from the bow of the ship. When commanding a Fubuki-class, therefore, always try and make for broadside attacks and bring down the most cannons on an enemy where possible. Like all destroyers, it is quite strong in an anti-submarine role.

Notable ships of this class include the Akebono, Akigumo, Amagiri, Arashi, Hamakaze, and the Natsushio.

Official Description: ''The Fubuki-class was the first modern destroyer design. Entering service in 1928, her twin 5" mounts located in enclosed turrets and her triple torpedo launchers gave her firepower far greater firepower than any other ship of her size at the time. Since then, other destroyer designs have appeared that can match the Fubuki-class, most notably the American Fletcher-class. Nevertheless, these are still versatile and useful ships, and their dual-purpose 5" guns give them a potent defence against attacking aircraft.''

Kuma-class
Looking at the armaments, the Kuma-class is obviously more suited for ship-to-ship combat than ship-to-air battles. They're more like the Fubuki-class than you would think. Basically it doesn't have issues going against destroyers but it has issues against other cruisers, particularly heavy cruisers.
 * Armaments:
 * AA Weapons: 13mm/76 machine gun x4
 * Artillery: 5.5"/50 cannon x7
 * Torpedoes: Torpedo tubes x6
 * Class: CL (Light Cruiser)
 * Speed: 30 knots
 * Strong Against: Smaller Ships, Light Cruisers
 * Weak Against: Heavy Cruisers, Bigger Ships, Aircraft
 * Comparable Allied Equivalent: Atlanta-class

Having the range advantage over destroyers, it can easily engage destroyers from a standoff range, but against larger ships its guns lack penetrating power. As a result it has to try and get in close against larger warships in order to fire a spread of torpedoes.

Notable vessels of this class include the Kiso, Kitikami, Nagara, Naka, and the Kako.

Official Description: ''These light cruisers are rather old now, having joined the IJN in the early 1920s. They are somewhat obsolete, and this is especially noticable in the small number of AA guns they carry, which makes them particularly vulernable to air attack. Nevertheless, the 5.5" guns they carry fire a heavier shell than the U.S. 5" guns, which gives them an edge when battling other light cruisers or destroyers. They also carry a good number of torpedo launchers for engaging larger ships.''

Mogami Class

 * Armaments:
 * AA Weapons: 5"/40 flak cannons x8, 13mm/76 machine guns x2, 25mm/60 machine guns x12
 * Artillery: 8"/50 cannon x10
 * Torpedoes: Torpedo tubes x12
 * Class: CA (Heavy Cruiser)
 * Speed: 28 knots
 * Strong Against: All Targets
 * Weak Against: Battleships, Submarines
 * Comparable Allied Equivalent: Northampton-class

The Mogami-class sports a powerful weapons arrangement that makes them a threat to all targets, but its lack of wide sonar coverage, coupled with lack of depth charges, makes this warship quite vulnerable to submarine attacks. A jack-of-all-trades, the Mogami-class has no primary weaknesses, although it is far from invincible.

The Northampton-class' weapons are slightly better than the Mogami's, but one advantage the Mogami has is not only more barrels to fire from (which equals more shells) but also more turrets to fire from - and more turrets to disable for an enemy. The Northampton only has three triple-barreled turrets, so only three must go offline in order for the enemy to attack without fear of retaliation.

The Mogami, unlike the USN cruisers, sport torpedoes. This gives it an edge against larger targets while using its already powerful cannons to aid it in this endeavour. If it can get close to an enemy battleship, it can seriously wreak havoc.

Notable warships of this class include its pathfinder - the Mogami - as well as the Kumano and the Mikuma.

Official Description: ''These heavy cruisers were built in the mid-1930s and were in gross violation of the London Naval Treaty, which specified maximum tonnage of 10,000 for any new heavy cruisers. They have recently been refitted with 8" guns, giving them a hefty broadside that is a threat to any ship smaller than a battleship. They also mount a respectable AA battery and two torpedo launchers on each side, making them versatile and powerful warships.''

Takao Class

 * Armaments:
 * AA Weapons: 5"/40 flak cannons x8, 13mm/76 machine guns x2, 25mm/60 machine guns x12
 * Artillery: 8"/50 cannon x10
 * Torpedoes: Torpedo tubes x12
 * Class: CA (Heavy Cruiser)
 * Speed: 28 knots
 * Strong Against: Smaller ships, Aircraft
 * Weak Against: Battleships, Submarines
 * Comparable Allied Equivalent: Northampton-class

These ships are pretty much identical in all respects to the Mogami-class, down to the armament, and as such have the same strengths and weaknesses.