Battlestations: Pacific/Other

The following information is from a video game, and may or may not be historically accurate. There are several units in the game which either do not vary from side to side, or are simply not playable.

Land Installations
There are several different kinds of land installations: Only two are playable, and even then there isn't much to do with them.

Shipyard
Shipyards act just like aircraft carriers, but spawn ships instead of planes. They are very heavily armoured for their size, and take a lot of firepower to bring down. Once a shipyard goes down, however, it takes a long time for it to regenerate. It is generally more favourable to simply target the enemy headquarters and neutralize the whole island. Dive bombers cause very little damage to shipyards and carpet bombers tend to miss, so naval gunfire is the best way to eliminate them.

Ships can be launched from shipyards via the support manager, and are no longer directly controllable by the player.

Airfield
Airfields operate in the same manner as shipyards, and are oddly more common than aircraft carriers. They are very heavily armoured, and it takes a lot of firepower to bring one down. As with shipyards, however, once destroyed, it takes a long time for it to regenerate. It is generally more favourable to simply target the enemy headquarters and neutralize the whole island. Dive bombers cause very little damage to airfields and carpet bombers tend to miss, so naval gunfire is the best way to eliminate these.

Aircraft can be launched from airfields via the support manager, and are no longer directly controllable by the player.

Headquarters
These facilities are the goal of the multiplayer Island Capture mode, and are heavily armed. In terms of armament they usually carry two dual-purpose cannons, making them effective at destroying both ships and planes. While a headquarters alone is not a threat, it is always supplemented by several land installations around it. Headquarters are the only land position directly controllable by the player. Aiming the HQ's cannons is identical to that of ships, and when firing, any guns in arc will fire at the HQ's target.

Headquarters are relatively small targets and as such are best targeted from the shore. Coastal defences prevent destroyers and light cruisers from creeping up on the base; these installations are best neutralized with heavy cruisers or battleships.

Neutralizing a headquarters renders the entire island neutral and ready for a landing. Attempting to perform a landing without neutralizing the headquarters will often result in the sinking of your troop transports by shore batteries. While in multiplayer, any ship can capture an island given enough time, only dedicated landing ships can capture islands in the campaigns.

While it's possible for a team to win by reaching the point cap or having more points than the opposition when the time runs out, it's also possible to win by neutralizing all enemy headquarters.

Supply Bases
These small buildings are found on the smaller islands, and are an objective of the Island Capture multiplayer mode. Supply bases differ from headquarters primarily in size, reward upon capture, and armament (or lack thereof). When captured, the supply base adds one to that team's base counter and provides a steady flow of points. They also provide naval supplies, something that headquarters only occasionally do.

Supply bases are completely unarmed and non-playable.

Land-based Gun Positions
There are several static gun positions in the game. However, as most of them are very small, it is next to impossible to get a proper image of them. These gun positions are not playable individually, and are instead tied to their base, similar to that of a ship. These positions slowly repair themselves. Listed below are just a few of them.
 * Light AA: Similar to the rear gunner of a bomber, light AA emplacements can be neutralized with a burst of machine gun fire. It is generally not a threat unless it is in significant numbers.
 * Heavy AA: Similar to a cannon on a warship, heavy AA emplacements can be neutralized with a burst of machine gun fire. It is generally not a threat unless it is in significant numbers. Heavy AA cannons now are dual purpose, and provide the bulk of a land base's firepower.
 * Small Bunker: Its function is unknown, but given its position on shores, it presumably fires at advancing enemy infantry, though little evidence of this is unclear. It too can be neutralized with a burst of machine gun fire, but they are generally a waste of time. It appears to be equipped with a single machine gun that can attack advancing infantry or low-flying planes that approach it from the right angle.
 * Fortress: These large bunkers cannot be destroyed with machine guns, but are best targeted by dive bombers or superior cannons. Equipped with relatively hard-hitting cannons, fortresses should be dealt with as soon as possible.
 * Coastal Gun: Essentially a Heavy AA without the ability to shoot skyward, Coastal Guns are not at all a threat and can be destroyed with machine gun fire or artillery.
 * Battery: Batteries appear very rarely, most notably in The Road to Hawaii. These gun positions contain much larger guns than other land-based gun position.  They are also very tough and take significant fire power to destroy.  The 30mm cannons on the J7W Shinden have somewhat of a difficult time destroying these positions, but easily managable if enough time is given within a single pass.  Best targeted by fighter aircraft with larger cannons or ships with artillery.

Neutral/Miscellaneous Ships
Among the ships on both sides of the campaign there are several less notable ships that make rare or non-playable appearances in-game. Two appear only during the mission Attack on Pearl Harbour.

The Pennsylvania class, which represent the USS Nevada, USS Oklahoma, USS Pennsylvania, and USS Arizona can be distinguished from the Tennessee-class by several design features, particularly their tripod masts. The other non-playable battleship type is the Tennessee-class, which represents the USS Tennessee, USS California, USS Maryland, and USS West Virginia. They are most distinguished by their cage masts. Neither of these ships appear in multiplayer or even the Unit Identification section of the game's Tactical Library, and as such there are no further details about these two ship classes.

The following ships are either not at all controllable, or do not belong to the Japanese or the Americans.

Type VII U-Boat
The Type VII U-Boat is the Kriegsmarine's standard submarine, but appears only once in the Japanese campaign. It is not a very effective submarine, however - the I-400 turns sharper, has more torpedoes, is just as fast, and has anti-aircraft weapons. The Type VII U-boat is the only warship in the game which has no anti-aircraft weaponry whatsoever.

With a respectable four torpedo tubes fore but only a single torpedo aft, the Type VII is more often than not considered a nuisance by those attempting to command it during Meeting the Germans. It is, however, a good bait to lead the enemy destroyers into a firing position with your other submarine.

Official Description: ''Although German U-Boats very rarely visited the Pacific, they were common in the Atlantic Ocean. Operating together in so-called 'Wolfpacks' they effectively hnted Allied shipping between Europe and America. The invention of radar, advanced sonar systems and the usage of convoys caused a downfall in Germany's submarine operations, with a high casualty rate. This Type VII German submarine is the main workhorse of the Kriegsmarine, and versions of the Type VII were built throughout the whole war. With 4 torpedo tubes in the bow and one in the stern they are excellent subs. ''

Cargo Ship
This model of cargo ship is used by both sides in the war, and is designed to carry bulk freight to and from areas. Never a combat ship, this cargo ship can be destroyed with sufficient machine gun fire. The ship does not perform any functions during combat and does not appear at all during multiplayer.

Official Description: ''The Pacific Ocean is full of cargo ships such as these, particularly now there is such a great need for large amounts of equipment and ammunition to be transported around. These goods, often highly explosive in nature, are carried in the cargo holds at the front and rear of the ship. Targeting these holds often results in a devastating explosion that will sink the ship, something that can be accomplished even with airplane machine guns.''

Fleet Oiler
Carrying oil, these ships are prone to flame, and all it takes is a few machine gun rounds right in the middle to cause a catastrophic explosion. Fortunately you'll never have to protect them, nor will the game penalize you for their loss. Some players intentionally destroy them just for fun.

Official Description: ''Both sides require large quantities of fuel oil to sustain their war efforts, and this is transported around in large tankers. Unfortunately, oil, especially the light yellow East Indies crude, is extremely flammable, which makes these ships extremely vulnerable to attack of any kinds: even machine gun fire can start a potentially fatal blaze in one of the storage tanks.''

Hospital Ship
Only making a few appearances during the campaign, Hospital ships are nearly identical in appearance to cargo ships and troop transports. As these ships are completely unarmed, any unit in the game is capable of sinking one. Although in reality hospital ships are protected by the Geneva convention, in this game there is no punishment for sinking hospital ships.

Official Description: ''Almost all navies in the war have unarmed hospital ships acting as mobile facilities for treating the wounded sailors safely behind the front lines. Most of these ships are converted passenger liners or transport ships without any protection or weapons. Marked with huge crosses, they are protected by international law and the Geneva convention, opening fire on them is strictly forbidden.''