Battlestations: Pacific/Aircraft Tactics

Aircraft are one of the most powerful units in the game given their high attacking power, mobility, and sheer strength of numbers. As in Midway, players have complete control over an aircraft, much like a flight simulator. Unlike a flight simulator, however, players will not have to concern themselves over things like G-forces, damage to individual aircraft components, and wind direction. Even during the stormiest night missions, players will find they will be flying in a virtual, windless environment. Only vision is impaired during these times.

Planes, however, are somewhat notoriously thin-skinned – they can only take a few hits before going down. Additionally, in a straight fight between a torpedo bomber and a warship, chances are the warship will win (although possibly not before the plane drops its torpedo).

Payloads, like bombs, rockets, and torpedoes, all negatively affect a plane's mobility. Be sure to drop any kind of payload before entering a dogfight, as you will not be able to climb as quickly or turn as sharply when carrying a depth charge or a torpedo. Plane armament can reload in Pacific, so simply dropping your payload will result in only a temporary gain in performance. Players can, during multiplayer and skirmish games, turn off the automatic reloading of aircraft payloads, although this option cannot be turned off for campaigns. (After all, with only one bomb, how would you bomb the USS Nevada twice in Attack on Pearl Harbour?)

Aircraft are separated into five main categories, based on what they're equipped with and how they attack their opponents:
 * Fighters include the F6F Hellcat and the J2M Raiden. These aircraft are designed to bring down other aircraft, and as such are designed to be quick and light. Some of these planes can equip themselves with light bombs or rockets, both of which should be discarded before attempting to dogfight. The rockets come in two flavours – anti-air and anti-surface. As examples, the F4U Corsair carries the latter and the J2M Raiden carries the former.
 * Dive Bombers include the SB2C Helldiver and the D4Y Judy. These planes are equipped with a single bomb to drop on a target. They are most effective, as their name suggests, when coming out of a dive. Dive bombers enter a relatively shallow dive, versus the 90° drop dive bombers perform in Midway. This allows them to release their ordnance quicker, but at the same time makes them easier to target from the perspective of the enemy player. Dive bombers now cause noticeable damage against battleships, and can still be equipped with air-dropped depth charges.
 * Torpedo Bombers include the TBF Avenger and the B6N Jill. Planes like these are armed with a torpedo to drop in the water, which will then travel in a straight line toward its target. The TBM Avenger, not to be confused with the Grumman TBF, is a black sheep in this category. It is covered in greater detail in the American aircraft section of this guide.
 * Carpet Bombers are designed to carry a large payload of bombs to simply dump on a target. Examples of this type include the G4M Betty and the B-17 Flying Fortress. Also known by some as level bombers, these planes are designed to attack large and imposing targets. The larger the target, the more bombs that will strike it. These planes have received significant upgrades since Midway, and are now effective against battleships. Additionally, the Japanese carpet bombers – the Nell and the Betty – have sturdier armour than before. Although they are still sitting targets for fighters, their weapons are more accurate, faster-firing, and they themselves can take more damage.
 * Recon Planes are launched either through a shipyard or from a cruiser. The OS2U Kingfisher and the E13A Jake are examples of this plane type. Equipped with a sonar suite, recon planes can provide a pinch of firepower anywhere on the map, or act as a screen against enemy submarines. Only one recon plane can be launched at a time per ship. More often than not, floatplanes are equipped with either a depth charge or some kind of bomb, while flying boats (like the PBY Catalina and the H8K Emily) carry torpedoes, depth charges, or bombs.

It should be noted that the throttle control on planes works differently than some other flyers. Setting the throttle to the maximum will cause the plane to accelerate to maximum speed, but pulling it down will result in the plane braking. The issue is that the plane will continue braking until it reaches a speed of 0, during which a novice player can easily stall and crash. It is therefore important, while flying, to slow down while making an attack run without slowing down to the point of an unrecoverable stall.

Taking Off
Launching aircraft in Pacific has changed considerably from Midway. Actions such as this are now done through the Support Manager (see the map section for further details). Pressing the Support Manager key will open the support manager. It is then up to the player to choose from where units will spawn. The map indicates where the unit will spawn, and includes both bases and carriers. In some missions this isn't a unit or building, but instead a simple reinforcement point from which to appear. This is most common in Duel and Siege maps.

Once a spawn point has been selected, the player can then choose which kind of plane to spawn. Planes are always spawned in groups of three – it is impossible to increase or decrease this number. Launching planes will take planes away from your current stockpile, or, in the case of Island Capture, will lower your command point reserve. The launch key will launch the selected unit.

Landing
Landing aircraft isn't as important as it was in Midway. In Pacific, unless otherwise specified, aircraft will respawn their weaponry. This ultimately curbs the idea of crashing aircraft into the ocean to save time, although there are times still in which you may want to do this to quickly free spots up. This will happen most often when you send up recon planes to locate the enemy to decide what kind of units they have – be it ships, subs, or aircraft. You may wish to crash these recon planes to free up the slots for the necessary counter (if your recon plane spots enemy aircraft, you'll want to go all fighters – if all ships, you'll want ships of your own and torpedo bombers, for example).

It is still possible, however, to land, yet it remains considerably impractical; it is better to simply crash your units rather than have to wait for them to land. This is not a good idea, naturally, when you intend to use these units in the future.

Seaplanes and flying boats can land on the sea. Landing on the sea with a flying boat or seaplane necessitates approaching the sea at an extremely low angle of attack – it is still possible to crash a seaplane or flying boat into the ocean if you approach the ocean at too steep an angle. Successfully landing a flying boat or seaplane on the water yields the Flying Fish achievement.

Torpedo Bombing
Torpedo bombing is one of the most effective ways of taking down a ship, although planes delivering the payload are sitting ducks to AA fire and fighter patrols. Examples of this type include the TBF Avenger and B5N Kate. Due to the vulnerable nature of their attack angle, it is often most effective to send in several squadrons of these aircraft simultaneously, spreading the AA fire and increasing the chance of a hit. In most circumstances, it is optimistic to assume your planes will survive the attack – AA fire is perhaps even more of a threat than in Midway, shooting down most planes before they can turn and flee or strike again.

Due to the fact that payloads now replenish over time (unless this option is manually disabled), attacking small convoys with fewer squadrons is now possible. When striking these small clusters of ships, squadrons can circle above until their payload replenishes, then dive for another attack. Due to the lack of armor on Japanese aircraft, you may find US aircraft more effective, being able to launch several torpedoes each before even getting close to being shot down.

Another thing to remember is the AI's tendency to release their torpedoes early. This reduces their accuracy and can sometimes mean that a torpedo squadron will score no hits if not controlled by the player. The best bet for a hit on a fast moving target, or indeed a precise hit on the engine bay or magazine, is to employ near dive bomber tactics. Instead of slowly pulling down and staying low to the water when on the attack (this allows large amounts of AA to pummel you), instead try staying high for as long as possible then dropping down fairly steeply before lining up the target whilst skimming the water and dropping your salvo at the last possible moment. When employing these tactics, it is often possible to get every torpedo to remain on target, maximising your aircraft's effectiveness.

Even though this may be obvious, it is important to remember torpedoes have no effect whatsoever on land-based targets, and that they must be launched under a certain threshold to avoid explosion on impact with the water. This is marked on your instrument cluster in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Always make sure you drop your ordnance below this altitude.

Dive Bombing
Dive bombers are versatile tools, possessing the ability to attack land and sea targets, and, when equipped with depth charges, submarines. In addition to this, the steep attack angle employed by dive bombers means AA fire is less effective against these planes than your torpedo bombers. Examples include the SBD Dauntless and D3A Val.

Dive bombers are most useful against lightly armoured/defended targets such as destroyers, carriers or light cruisers, or land-based targets such as hangars and shipyards, due to the fact that individually they pack nowhere near the punch of level bombers. However, their versatility and relative agility allow them, in many circumstances, to assume fighter roles if there is a shortage of these aircraft or if your squadron comes under attack. This is especially noticeable in the Japanese D3A Val, whose agility and gun strength allow it to provide effective CAP cover in many situations.

The AI in this case are relatively good at scoring hits with dive bombers, however sometimes you will wish to drop in a bit lower before deploying your ordnance to improve accuracy. Another thing to note when attacking ships is the speed of the ship. If the ship is moving at a high rate of speed, aim at the bow or even ahead of the ship to ensure the bomb hits its target rather than exploding off of the back of the ship.

With heavily armoured ships such as battleships and heavy cruisers, the dive bomber has limited effectiveness – the thick deck defences mean the bombs do little damage. However, they can be deployed as a "distraction", averting AA fire and causing some trauma whilst your torpedo bombers arrive.

You will rarely find a need to use them in the anti submarine role – cruisers, battleships or submarines (if on the surface) can all launch scout planes, most of which will be equipped with depth charges of kinds. It is preferable to use these, because they are easily replaced and allow your other forces to continue with the objective. However, when employing them in this tactic, bear in mind that unlike the ship-launched recon planes, they do not possess on board sonar and therefore are only effective at targeting submarines within a destroyer or recon plane's sonar range.

Carpet Bombing
Carpet bombers, or level bombers, are large, heavily armoured aircraft which, rather than diving to attack, remain level and drop a "carpet" of bombs from a high altitude over the target. While it is unlikely that all the bombs will hit, the sheer number of bombs which can be launched from a squadron of three dive bombers makes up for this. Examples include the B-17 Flying Fortress and G4M Betty.

These bombers are best employed against heavily armoured or defended targets. Most (especially the B-17) have highly proficient defences against fighter aircraft, however they are vulnerable if attacked from below or above, so a fighter escort is advisable. While you may wish to control the squadrons yourself, the AI is fairly good at delivering ordnance on target, so this is not as necessary as with torpedo bombers.

A good target for these planes would be an enemy headquarters, or heavily armoured ships such as battleships and heavy cruisers – however, bear in mind the huge amount of flak these ships can put into the air, making these large, slow bombers easy targets. A good tactic to employ is to send in a fighter squadron ahead of the level bombers to target any potential threats which might already be in the area you wish to attack, and keep this squadron in the area to aid with any new threats which might appear. If the target is on the edge of the map, be wary of the AI's tendency to circle the target after dropping their ordnance, as these aircraft may be lost due to the fact they have left the mission area.

When controlling the aircraft, remember two things. Firstly, the aircraft does not respond well to quick, sharp movements in direction, and secondly, when delivering your bombs, start the bombing run just before the target – the bombs will then carpet the target and cause maximum damage.

Strafing
Strafing tactics are most effectively employed by fighter aircraft, however most aircraft types (bar level bombers, heavier seaplanes and aircraft which lack guns) can employ this tactic with relative success. Even when strafing does not induce damage, it is often a perfect option to distract or split anti aircraft fire and allow heavier ordnance such as torpedoes and bombs to reach their targets.

Many light ships such as troop ships and patrol boats are most effectively destroyed by strafing, sitting too high in the water for torpedoes and being too small for accurate bomb hits. Ship based AA fire can also damage these ships, however getting in range also brings the danger of torpedoes from the patrol boats themselves. Against PT boats all the way up to troop transports, a squadron of fighter aircraft possesses adequate firepower to take out ships with speed and efficiency. Anything more heavily armoured than this, for example a destroyer or cruiser, is unaffected by this gunfire unless it is aimed very specifically at key weak points, and even then it causes little damage.

A big advantage to strafing is that you only need a single squadron of fighter aircraft to patrol one section of the map, being able to take out air, sea and ground threats quickly and efficiently. Other useful targets for strafing runs include ground-based turrets, although if these are AA turrets, beware of your own vulnerability before attacking. When these aircraft are equipped with rockets (optional on several fighter aircraft including the F4U Corsair and J7W Shinden), they can also be used to attack even heavier ships such as destroyers, or land based HQs.

In attacking a heavily defended convoy, a good tactic is to use several squadrons of fighter aircraft to distract the AA fire (and, if the convoy includes an aircraft carrier, destroy any fighter or bomber aircraft) before sending in large formations of torpedo bombers to sink the targets.

Dogfighting
Dogfighting is usually performed using fighter aircraft (examples include the F4U Corsair and J7W Shinden), however several types of bomber aircraft (including the D3A Val) are agile enough and pack enough of a punch to be useful in attacking other air targets. When attacking fighter aircraft, bear in mind that they are just as agile as you, so manoeuvre with tight turns to get into a position to fire ahead of them (when at close range, a target reticle appears ahead of an enemy aircraft to indicate where you should fire). Usually your AI is far superior to the opponent's AI (only when offline playing against the computer, however), so you can often leave your aircraft without your supervision to destroy any opposition.

US fighter aircraft and Japanese fighter aircraft should be employed differently in combat. US aircraft possess much higher levels of armour and can take much more punishment, but as a consequence they lack the agility of Japanese aircraft. When playing as the US, try to stay out of too many tight turns and instead go on the attack yourself and take down targets quickly. Japanese aircraft can exploit their extra agility when on the defensive by turning tightly and quickly, losing any aircraft on their tail.

When targeting torpedo bombers, dive bombers and level bombers, be wary of rear gunners. Try to drop down from above or climb up from below, taking out the aircraft from firing positions the gunners cannot reach. This tactic is best employed by yourself – although the AI do usually employ this, fighter aircraft targeting large numbers of these aircraft are quickly taken out if left to themselves.

Level bombers and heavier seaplanes possess thick armour, meaning aircraft with heavier guns (especially the J7W Shinden) are best suited to taking out these aircraft if the right tactics are employed. However, the Shinden's light armour means if it falls prey to a rear gunner, it can be easily dispatched. Unlike with dive bombers and torpedo bombers, it can be difficult to determine how close level bombers are to dispensing their payloads (dive bombers perform steep dives before deploying their ordnance and torpedo bombers drop to sea level), so keep an eye on the distance to the target.

Kamikaze Strikes
Kamikaze strikes can only be utilised by Japanese forces, and can take the form of purpose-built, bomber-based Ohka rocket suicide planes, or fighters fitted with warheads in their noses.

Ohka aircraft can be the better or the worse choice, depending on the situation. The aircraft themselves do not carry enough fuel to take off, so they have to be carried within striking distance of their target by G4M Betty bombers, which, if strong fighter cover is present, leaves them vulnerable to attack. However, when launched, the Ohka planes are much faster than any other aircraft in the game, often exceeding speeds of 600 km/h (373 mph), meaning in this stage they are almost impossible to shoot down from the air, meaning they are best employed against convoys which lack air cover. However, even then good AA cover can finish off many even with the rocket motor activated.

Make sure not to launch the Ohka from the bomber too early, otherwise it may run out of fuel before reaching the target. This does not mean it will not hit the target, rather it slows down rapidly, making it much easier prey for AA fire. Damage caused by Ohka and general kamikaze aircraft is similar.

The other form of air-based kamikaze behaves much more like an ordinary plane. These are modified A6M Zero aircraft, outfitted with hefty bombs in their noses, however on the game this does not noticeably affect the agility of the aircraft. The big advantage of these aircraft is their ability to fire guns – if a fighter squadron is encountered mid flight, the squadron can fight back, unlike with the Ohka, which would remain in its bomber aircraft at this stage and be much easier to shoot down. However, strong AA cover can easily take out this form of kamikaze aircraft, which approaches at a much slower speed than the Ohka.

If you wish to rely heavily on kamikaze strikes, a good idea is to launch several volleys of Ohka aircraft, escorted by generic kamikaze aircraft which can protect the Ohka carriers and still pack a punch at the target.