Battlestations: Pacific/Allied Warships

Elco PT Boat
The Elco remains virtually unchanged from Midway. Its speed is slightly slower, but it is now more akin to the Gyoraitei, which has had a few firepower increases itself. A general torpedo change now dictates that Elcos can no longer rapid fire torpedoes - it takes about half a second between torpedo shots now. Elcos are still vulnerable to machine gun fire, and against any competent pilot are sitting ducks. The machine guns seem slightly less accurate in Pacific. Elcos, being cheap to employ in Island Capture, are often sent to capture nearby islands. Their torpedoes are then turned on enemy warships when they appear.

Elcos and Gyoraiteis both provide a lot of firepower for their price. En-masse, they can easily sink battleships. If their island is threatened and you have a lot of points to spend, consider buying a large swarm of Elcos and have them turn their torpedoes onto the enemy warship.

Official Description: ''There are several PT (Patrol Torpedo) boat designs in service with the US Navy, but the most common one is the 80 foot long model built by the Elco Boat Company of New Jersey. These are sleek, very fast boats, well-armed with torpedoes, depth charges and 20mm antiaircraft guns, and are capable of engaging any target, be it in the air, on the sea or below it. However, they are very vulnerable to enemy fire, particularly machine gun fire, and are best employed to harass enemy merchant shipping or in an anti-submarine role.''

Clemson-class
The Clemson-class has received several firepower upgrades; firstly, all its artillery is now dual-purpose (contrary to the official description). This gives it considerably more power in attacking aircraft, but it remains less effective in all respects to the Fletcher-class. The Fletcher provides more firepower for the same price, and is the superior ship. However, the Clemson is a decent ship that can be good when Fletchers are unavailable.

Clemsons have fewer torpedoes than in Midway, instead sporting additional artillery. Although the Clemson has fewer torpedoes, the Clemson can attack two targets to either side much easily, as it has separate mounts for port and starboard torpedoes.

Official Description: ''These venerable destroyers carry a depth charge launcher, making them capable of engaging submarines, and also feature a large number of torpedo tubes, which give them a powerful punch against larger ships. Unfortunately, they are quite weak in an antiaircraft role, thanks to their small number of AA guns and the fact that they do not mount any dual purpose guns. ''

Fletcher-class
The Fletcher has received very few changes from Midway. Its main changes are to its secondary armament of torpedoes and depth charges. The Fletcher is one of the few destroyers in the game with depth charge launchers to the sides of the stern as well as directly behind. This lets it attack submarines to the side, or ones that are attempting to hide underneath an allied ship. The Clemson has received numerous firepower upgrades, but the Fletcher is still the more powerful of the two destroyers - it has grown even more torpedo tubes, giving it a lot of firepower to use against larger targets. Its AA guns are also top-notch; combined with its speed and small size, makes it the perfect picket ship against aerial torpedo attacks.

Fletchers have rather thin hulls, however, and will be unable to stand up against shells from light and heavy cruisers, let alone battleships.

Official Description: ''The Fletcher Class is an absolutely state-of-the-art destroyer design, scheduled to come into service in early 1942. Much larger than normal destroyers, it is nearly comparable to a light cruiser in both size and armament. Armed with the new dual purpose 5" guns, it is particularly strong in the AA role, though it is a formidable submarine hunter thanks to its dual depth charge launchers.''

ASW Fletcher
Exactly what it says on the tin, the ASW Fletcher is a specialized Fletcher-class destroyer designed to hunt submarines. Although it has slightly less firepower than a usual Fletcher (in terms of both artillery and AA armament) it more than compensates with several modifications; its torpedo armour has been upgraded slightly, and can take around four torpedoes before sinking; its sonar range has been improved, making it have the largest sonar coverage in the game; and finally its trademark Hedgehog depth charge launcher.

The hedgehog launcher is what makes the ASW Fletcher truly unique. Mounted on the bow where the second turret should be, the hedgehog fires a stream of depth charge bombs in an arc to the front or sides of the ship. These bomblets are extremely lethal and can fry submarines in a few glancing hits, and the hedgehog reloads rather quickly. Although the Hedgehog is rather short-ranged, if it does connect, you're almost certain to get a kill.

As a result of the hedgehog launcher there is no depth charge camera when operating the ASW Fletcher.

Even though the ASW Fletcher specializes in submarines, its surface capabilities are still present and it is still very much a threat. Its torpedo launchers have not been modified at all, so battleships should beware when approaching Fletchers. It also sports the typical Fletcher arrangement for anti-aircraft guns.

Unfortunately the ASW Fletcher is of limited use as it is considered to be too specialized. Subs will rarely, if ever, appear online, so the ASW Fletcher's value as an unlock is overshadowed by the sub-killing capability of the TBM Avenger.

Complete the Mission 10 - Battle of Cape Egano to obtain the ASW Fletcher.

Official Description: ''These warships are perfectly suited to anti-submarine warfare (ASW). The second 5" turret is replaced by a Hedgehog depth charge projector. These weapons fire a quick salvo of 24 small depth charge bombs in an arc in front of the ship. All of the bombs land at the same time in a roughly 100 feet (30m) diameter circular area, thus maximizing the hit change against submarines. A direct hit can instantly kill a submarine or seriously damage it. Additionally, sonar range is improved and the standard depth charge weaponry is improved with extra depth charge racks installed. These ships also feature a stronger, reinforced hull which gives increased underwater protection. With these changes, this ship is perfect for aggressively hunting down and killing any underwater threats.''

Allen M. Sumner-class
This ship is essentially a hybrid between the Fletcher-class and the Atlanta-class. The firepower difference between the Fletcher and the Allen M. Sumner is almost negligible, but the extra firepower doesn't go amiss. Unlike the Shimakaze and the Akizuki, which favour torpedoes or cannonade respectively, the Sumner maintains a balance between torpedoes and artillery but doesn't have particular strong aspects in either.

Because destroyers are often a large force in campaigns, it can pay to upgrade your Fletchers to the Sumner.

The Allen M. Sumner advanced destroyer can be unlocked by completing Mission 3 - Battle of Santa Cruz.

Official Description: ''The Allen M. Sumner was basically an upgraded Fletcher Class built upon the hull of the Fletchers. However, the top of the ships had many differences: the Sumners had a much bigger, lower profile bridge area which enabled these ships to be the first US Navy destroyer designed and completed with a Combat Information Center (CIC). The armament was also substantially upgraded: all of the 5" single mounts were removed and replaced with dual 5" mounts, and additional 40mm Bofors and 20mm Oerlikons were added for increased air defence.''

Cleveland-class
A Battlestations: Midway favourite, the Cleveland has been somewhat reduced in stature. Although it still dominates destroyers and other cruisers, many of the stronger Japanese cruisers appear more often, making it harder to effectively use the Cleveland. It also has suffered some reductions in both firepower and rate of fire, but the large number of still respectable guns keeps players' respect for it.

At the same price of the Northampton-class cruiser, the Cleveland is unfortunately avoided on Island Capture maps, as the Northampton offers additional power. In the event you obtain a shipyard that can launch light cruisers instead of heavy ones, however, know that the Cleveland-class is still very effective against smaller ships.

The Cleveland is still the only ship in the game that has depth charges mounted, but it cannot use them.

Atlanta-class
The Atlanta-class cruiser is an unlockable anti-aircraft cruiser. As with its Japanese anti-air counterpart, the Akizuki-class, the Atlanta-class is generally not favoured by players in Island Capture due to its lack of attacking power against the more common battleships and heavy cruisers.

Unlike the Akizuki-class, however, the Atlanta-class can be far more useful as the Ohka - generally considered to be the ultimate Japanese weapon - can be shot down by the Atlanta. It shows its worth in Competitive Dreadnought, where the Atlanta-class cruisers give players an extremely difficult time getting their Ohkas on target.

Complete the Mission 2 - Battle of Cape Esperance to unlock this powerful AA cruiser.