Battlestations: Pacific/Destruction of Force Z

More historically accurate than Attack on Force Z, this mission tasks you to destroy the twin British battleships, Prince of Wales and Repulse. This time, however, they are not covered by the HMS Hermes, making the mission a little easier. It does not mean, however, the battleships are going to roll over for you.

Primary Objectives
 * Sink the HMS Prince of Wales.
 * Sink the HMS Repulse.

'''Bonus Objectives
 * Sink Repulse before reinforcements arrive.

Sinking Prince of Wales
Your first target will be the Prince of Wales, since apparently your torpedo bomber pals are a little behind. The British have three destroyers escorting - the HMAS Vampire, Electra, and Express. None of the destroyers are a pressing concern - all of them are represented by the American Clemson-class, and as such lack a lot of anti-air weaponry. As a result, try not to dawdle in their destruction - after all, they aren't your objective, and the Betty has apparently received some armour upgrades since the last game. It also carries many more bombs - bombs that are now effective against battleships.

Stoop down to a low altitude and fly over the length of Prince of Wales. While at low altitude, you won't have to lead your target as much. Additionally, by flying over the length of the ship (stern to bow or bow to stern, instead of side-to-side) you can guarantee all bombs hit, causing maximum destruction.

Prince of Wales shouldn't last too long. If you manage to get all your bombs to hit, it should only take about four or five runs at most. You only have five squadrons to do this with, but that should be more than enough. You can also sink the Prince of Wales very quickly using Ohkas. But seeing that it is the 2nd mission of the Japanese campaign, the deadly Ohkas and their Carriers aren't unlocked yet (unless you have gotten the gold medal in the last mission of the Japanese campaign).

Riding Shotgun
But whatever happened to those torpedo bombers? It appears that several squadrons of Australian F2A Buffalos have made their way into your squadron. Shifting now to the G3M Nells, your job is to ride shotgun on the bombers. You now have complete control over a bomber's turrets. Use them to shoot down the Australians and protect your bomber formation.

There will be two waves of Buffalos, each consisting of what appears to be at least ten to fifteen fighters. Once you deal with the group already attacking your group, the second wave will appear at twelve o'clock low. Focus on one target at a time and bring the buffalos down.

Like the Betty, the Nell has received significant armour upgrades since the last game. Its weapons are also far more superior than before, and as a result players will find the G3M and the G4M much more independent from the previous game. However, its improved power is still not a reason to leave it without escort.

Once your bomber formation is in range, you'll reach a checkpoint and proceed onto the third and final phase.

Repulsing Repulse
Destroying Repulse is even easier than Prince of Wales, given that torpedoes are a battleship's nemesis. As with the previous encounter with Prince of Wales, try to dart in and out with torpedo runs against Repulse to sink her in short order. Don't bother with the destroyers - they aren't a big enough threat to worry about them.

You'll know you're getting close when the British begin sending SOS signals via morse code. That, and of course, you'll be able to see Repulse listing and her dwindling health bar. This means you must work quicker, however: reinforcements are underway for Force Z.

If you take too long, the enemy will receive a pair of destroyers as reinforcements: the HMS Wager and the HMS Tenedos. You won't have to sink them, but it makes the mission a little harder since it adds to the amount of anti-aircraft fire you'll have to face. You'll also fail the hidden objective - if you want a gold medal, quit now and try again. Tenedos and Wager will show up to Force Z's southwest and sail in to assist.

Reinforcements or not, your main target is still Repulse - sink her and you're done here.