Planes
There are four types of planes in the game, fighters, dive-bombers,
torpedo planes and heavy bombers. These are best used in combination
and, depending upon the enemy, a varied air force is best to deal
with any situation.
The Germans Luftwaffe
The Germans get no heavy bombers and their air power is quite weak.
The BF 109G is the mainstay of the force and can be used in
a fighter-bomber roll. It is best used to hunt down enemy aircraft
and to make strafing attacks on troop formations. The BF 109 is vulnerable
to attack from AA cannon and is often out turned by the Spitfires
and Mustangs it faces but has good powerful twin machine guns. Get
on the tail of an enemy and he is done for.
Stuka Ju 87 dive-bombers are the bombers for the German army.
Use them when ever possible to climb very high above the enemy fighters,
and then dive on targets. This improves the accuracy of the bombs,
but remember to pull out of the dive quickly. These planes have two
gun positions so always, wherever possible have a rear gunner. Should
this plane not have much aerial competition, then the rear gunner
can eject (by pressing E) and then parachute down (hit the key 9)
and land over an enemy flag to do some damage.
The Allies
The Spitfire is the only British plane in the game. It has
a very good top speed and a tight turning circle. It is perhaps the
best fighter in the game, though its speed means it is a unreliable
bomber. Use it to down the enemy aircraft before slowing down for
precision bombing.
P57 Mustang - This plane is only rivalled by the Spitfire.
It handles beautifully and is fast enough to take down the enemy planes,
but slow enough for good bombing runs. This plane is an excellent
flyer and is perhaps the best plane in the game as an all round unit.
Corsair - The Corsair is very fast, but has poor handling for
bombing runs, use them to down the Jap fighters before the Zeros can
do damage to your ground troops. The best use for these aircraft is
as roaming fighters to take out enemy positions
SDB - This plane can be a bomber or a torpedo plane. It has
two gun positions and twin bombs or torpedoes. The best use for this
plane is in low level attacks; it is not a very good dive-bomber.
This plane is the best in the game to provide close ground support
and to protect the troops.
B17 Flying Fortress - This heavy bomber has three gun positions,
pilot/bomber, top gunner and under gunner. Use these planes to hit
German positions hard and then take down their fighters with the guns.
There is only really the need for one gunner in the plane, who can
swap between the gun positions, so try to get three people in at the
start and one can parachute out over enemy positions. This plane can
drop eight bombs at once before it slowly reloads. This plane is slow
and lumbering but is devastating in the right hands.
The Russians
YAK-9 - This plane is a very average flyer; it has a reasonable
turning circle, but slow top speed. This plane is very rarely used
and the only reason it was good in the war was because of the sheer
huge numbers of planes produced, you are more likely to take out the
marauding BF109s with AA cannons than this plane. It is not a bad
bomber though.
The Japanese
The Japanese have two planes.
Zero - This nippy little fighter is excellent for downing the
American bombers. It can't match the Corsair for its speed, but it
is reliable and has quite a lot of armour enabling it to take some
punishment from tail gunners on the bombers. Use these planes wisely
as they are best in pairs.
Achi Val - This bomber/torpedo bomber is good for hitting enemy
destroyers or enemy troops. Use it in either a dive-bomber role or
low-level assault role. This plane is slow, but has a tale gunner
so it is well protected, the best thing to do is to climb above enemy
fighters, then dive bomb the enemy from above, using the speed from
the dive to get away.
