[Molon Labe]

Aircraft Development

This seems like a good time to talk about R&D and how that fits into my overall plans for world domination, now that I'm starting to have new aircraft come online.


Carrier-based fighters
Unfortunately, the Zero is the only game in town until the A7M Sam arrives, which is scheduled for Sept 1945--too late to do me much good. R&D can accelerate this, but aircraft this far off are hard to get R&D to make progress towards. It's also far more efficient to research aircraft that are part of the same developmental line than it is to research something new. So my basic plan is to get the best Zeroes I can first, then switch R&D to the Sam when I judge there to be no benefit of further Zero research (after I get the M5).


IMO, there are two variants of the Zero that offer significant advantages. The A6M3a, scheduled for Dec 1942, offers significantly improved peformance in the 16-20k altitude range, which is the optimal altitude for the F4F to engage the A6M2, my current Zero variant. It's also the longest-ranged version of the Zero, which makes it a good Betty escort. At this time, I consider this only a marginal improvement, so I don't plan to research the A6M3a--I'll just produce a limited run when it becomes available naturally.


The A6M5, available in August 1943 I consider the best Zero version. Somewhat less manueverable than the M3a and shorter ranged, it's significantly faster. It's still long-ranged enough to escort any attack aircraft flying from a carrier and more maneuverable than its Allied adversaries. So that speed increase helps offset the main advantage the Allies will get as they upgrade from F4Fs to F4Us and F6Fs. After the A6M5 there are other Zero variants, but what they sacrifice isn't worth the gain IMO. For example, the A6M8 has armor, but can't escort Jills out to their maximum range, and might be at extended range when escorting Judies. The A6M5 is a research priority, so hopefully I'll get it significantly prior to 8/1943.


Carrier based Attack
This seems sort of obvious, because the Vals and Kates are so slow they're rapidly becoming obsolete, that we need Judies (April 1943) and Jills (May 1943) ASAP. These are both very high research priorities. For the Judy, early versions have a terrible service rating, so getting to the D4Y3 variant is a very high priority. The Jill may not completely replace the Kate in service because they don't get radars until the N2a1 variant (November 1944), while the current version of the Kate will get a radar at some point.


Maritime Patrol and Area Denial
There doesn't appear to be much value in researching the Betty line. At the moment, the Betty is better than the Nell, but starting with the G3M3 Nell (May 1942) the Nell has the better range, and also has a radar (although I'm not sure when the radar actually gets installed). Later models of the Betty get faster, but nowhere near as fast as the Frances (November 1943). So, my plan is to gradually phase out the Betty in favor of the G3M3 Nell, but I'm not researching the Nell, I'll get it in May as scheduled. I am, however, researching the Frances in hopes to get it early. The Frances lacks the Nell's and Betty's range, so it's not ideally suited to take over patrol duties. But, the Frances is so much faster than the Betty/Nell that its survivability against improving Allied fighters and AAA will make a huge difference. So as the Frances comes online, Nells would continue to operate where long-range patrol is a priority, while Frances would deploy areas likely to be invaded with carrier support. I could even mix the squadrons in some cases.


Escort services would be provided by Zeroes, preferably the A6M3a, which can escort the Frances out to its maximum torpedo-carrying range. Any other fighter would have to sacrifice range. The George is schedule to arrive in September 1943, and while it can't provide the full range of the Zero, it's faster, more durable, and better armed, so overall a better matchup against Allied fighters. The George is a research priority as well. Frances escorted by Georges should be a major threat, even to American CVBGs protected by Hellcats.


ASW
I'm actually mostly done already. Currently, ASW is being handled by "extra" floatplanes as well as light bombers, mostly from the 5th Air Division. The Ki-49-Ia Helen is now in production, and I intend for it to replace the Sally in Army service and perhaps eventually the light bombers of the 5th Air Division as well (at a cost of political points). The Helen has greater range than the Sally and carries a MAD. Later versions of the Helen will not have a MAD, so I'll continue to operate the -Ia even as later versions replace medium bomber squadrons not assigned to ASW.


Betties/Nells could also be used for ASW, but between their maritime patrol and naval strike duties, this is a big ask for a limited number of squadrons. It's also hard to maintain a corps of naval bomber pilots that have ASW training in addition to naval bombing, naval search, torpedo bombing, and land bombing. For now, my navy bomber pilots that have ASW training get priority assignment to carrier-based Kate squadrons. If I ever get plentiful navy ASW pilots, I might start using Nells/Bettys for ASW more. Their range would make them superior to the Helen.


Army Fighters
I really dislike the Oscar because it's kind of a dead end, fated to be owned by increasingly faster, more durable, and better armed Allied aircraft. I'm making getting to the Tojo (September 1942) a priority, with the earliest models available faster than the latest Oscar variants. The Tojo's armament is still kind of crappy, though, and it gives up a lot of maneuverability, so it's still not a great bomber interceptor and it's only going to delay the superiority of Allied fighters in general.


The Nick fighter-bomber will be available in about 2 weeks, and it's part of my answer. The Nick is faster than the Oscar and much better armed, making it a good bomber interceptor--something badly needed to counter B-17s and B-24s. It's still going to lose to most Allied fighters, though, so it cannot completely replace the Oscar. It's strike role is also significant. Carrying two 250kg bombs, this is potentially more dangerous to enemy ships than Vals. So, as the Nick comes online, it will partially replace the Oscar for bomber interception, AND will have a naval strike role to compliment the Betties and Nells. And a nice synergy will exist between the Nick and the Oscar, because the Oscar excels at low altitude combat, so using Nicks in a strike role will bait enemy fighters down to where the Oscar likes to play.


More long term, the research priority if the Frank, scheduled for April 1944. The Frank is faster, more durable, and better armed than the Tojo, without sacrificing maneuverability. It's faster and more maneuverable than the Hellcat. If I can get these in large numbers while still having enough living, skilled pilots to fly them, the Allies will have a serious problem.