Air Power

[Copper]

I'm getting back into this game after a few years. I don't find any discussion of airpower. Is it the general feeling that airplanes are not worth the points it costs to buy them? Or is it the fact that you don't have any control over them? Or something else?

webern7

[Colonel Talvela]

with the huge rarity jump I never buy them. If I play rarity off I will consider them, or rarity variable and the rarity drops low enough.

But personally I like airplanes.

[PoorOldSpike]

I rarely buy aircraft in QB's because they're not cost-effective for their high price,they miss their targets by miles most of the time, and sometimes will even bomb/strafe their own men.
And a cheap flak gun or two can make planes abort their bomb run or at least upset their accuracy.
So spending the cash on a good tank instead is a much better investment..

PS - More flak chat here-
https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards...?tid=39842

[cillmhor]

Well, I took a chance in a QB with an Italian crack bomber, it was reasonably cheap. Why did I bother, his first meaningful action has been to expertly land his bombload onto my advancing troops. Can I know expect him to expertly use his 8 strafes on my troops also, now that he has a bead on them?

[McIvan]

Oh dear...normally a crack pilot would avoid friendly fire. I guess the answer is....maybe.

Airpower is definitely best when (a) you're defending so most of your stuff is out of sight and (b) when the enemy has lots of vehicles to attract the plane's attention.

[Jobu88]

I will occasionally buy air support if I'm attacking and I have 300 points to burn. But I ALWAYS buy AA guns if I'm the German in 1943 or later. They'll save your hindquarters if your opponent bought air support, and they're great against soft targets if theres' no planes to shoot at. A Kubelwagon can tow them anywhere you need them.

[cillmhor]

Thanks for the replies, looks like I am going to have to watch the next couple of turns hoping the British shoot my Fiat down, before he further derails my advance:mad:.

[JasonC]

Air strikes in CM are mixed, with the bombs and rockets typically ineffective, but the strafing extremely overmodeled and typically very effective. The cost of planes do not reflect this - you pay the most for the ones with larger bomb loads. What you really want is as many strafing passes as possible and the most effective guns for those passes. There are two extremes that meet this - the IL-2, and the cheapest fighter bombers.

The IL-2 costs a lot because you are getting both a bomb and a rocket pass, before the strafing starts. The bombs tend to be too inaccurate to hurt heavy stuff, but often cause collateral damage to nearby infantry. Not enough to justify the price, though. You can get better infantry killing from a 120mm mortar FO. The rockets are somewhat more accurate, and a near miss can destroy light armor. But full tanks will usually survive being bracketed, and this is the most common result of a rocket pass.

Then they start the strafing runs and the IL-2 begins to pay for itself. It gets 6 if there are enemy targets for it and no enemy Flak to interfer. And it will fire twice at the same target on each pass! Which most planes will not. The guns are 23mm, highly accurate, and have excellent penetration and damage. Tigers only have to worry about immobilizing track hits, but everything lighter can be killed outright. A single unmolested IL-2 typically accounts for 2-3 enemy armored vehicles, either fully killed or immobilized. Which fully repays its cost.

The cheaper fighter bombers are the other effective choice. These cost only what light artillery modules do, for the ones that do have one bomb, down to half of that for e.g. the German Me-109, strafing only type. Types with 4 or more passes and cannon main armament can be expected to KO light armor or guns readily. Full tank kills are harder with just 20mm. The Germans get some types with 30mm main armament, and that is highly effective. Both sides can get 37mm guns, which are much less accurate but effective armor killers if they hit.

An important point for attackers is that air strikes will readily spot enemy guns and can neutralize them easily. You can also get intel about the enemy this way. Enemy vehicles will be the highest priority targets, however, even if they are tougher to kill due to armor protection that may overmatch your plane's guns.

Other than the IL-2, which I recommend only if you expect to face large numbers of enemy vehicles (but not Tigers specifically), and with some gamble involved as to whether the Germans will have decent Flak, focus on the cheap stuff.

Comparisons of the effectiveness of one typical fighter bomber to one tank are not to the point, because tanks are usually maxed out to armor point limits anyway. They typically have less effect against enemy infantry than the same points spent on artillery, but more effect against enemy vehicles and guns.

Think of them as way of spending artillery screen points on the armor war...

[Antoni Chmielowski]

I am with POS on this.

I NEVER buy planes, I prefer to buy decent tanks or infantry instead.