- 1 Types of Aircraft
- 2 Carrier-Launched Aircraft
- 3 Automated Aircraft
- 4 Land-Based Aircraft
- 5 Air-to-Air Combat
- 6 Notes
Types of Aircraft
There are five types of aircraft that can become involved in battles in World of Warships:
- Attack aircraft utilize a large number of small-caliber rockets to light fires and strike fast, maneuverable vessels that are lightly armored.
- Torpedo bombers carry air-dropped torpedoes that can cause floods, and are best suited against slower, less maneuverable targets.
- Dive bombers carry either high explosive or armor-piercing bombs that are released directly above an enemy vessel, and can be used effectively against most targets.
- Fighters are air-to-air specialists that can be used against enemy aircraft, or for spotting.
- Spotting aircraft, launched from a ship's catapult, can be used to increase a ship's firing range and provide players a different camera angle from which to aim their shots.
|Plane Type||Minimap and HUD Icon||Ship UI Icon|
|High Explosive Dive Bombers|
|Armor-Piercing Dive Bombers|
Aircraft carriers have access to three of the aircraft types noted above with which they can attack enemy surface ships: attack aircraft, torpedo bombers, and dive bombers. (While some Fighters are also launched from a carrier, they are not player controlled.)
Each of these aircraft types can attack surface ships only and their payload is single-use, meaning that once their rockets or bombs or torpedoes are expended, they must return to their carrier in order to re-arm and launch again. Bombers are almost universally slower than fighters while carrying their ordnance to a target.
Attack planes of the United States Navy have access to two types of rocket: the smaller, "traditional" rocket, and the much larger "Tiny Tim" rocket that features higher damage, penetration and fire chance over their counterparts, at the cost of the number of rockets carried per plane.
Aerial Rocket Data
|Nation||Rocket Type||Damage||Fire Chance||Deployed Aboard|
|12cm Rocket||8%||Hosho, Ryujo (stock)|
|Type 3 No. 1 Mk. 28||8%||Ryujo, Shokaku|
|Type 3 No. 1 Mk. 28||15%||Hakuryu|
|5-inch FFAR||46%||Langley, Ranger, Lexington (stock)|
|127mm HVAR||46%||Lexington, Midway (stock)|
|Tiny Tim||33%||Saipan, Lexington, Midway|
|RP-3 18lb. HE Mk.I||4%||Hermes|
|RP-3 60lb. HE No.1 Mk.I||5%||Furious, Implacable (stock), Indomitable|
|RP-3 60lb. SAP No.2 Mk.I||9%||Implacable, Audacious|
When performing an attack run with torpedo bombers, captains will notice a yellow are in the attack cone; this is the distance in which the torpedoes must travel before they arm. If a torpedo strikes before arming, it will not do damage. The torpedo attack cone also closes quite slowly, so captains should take the time to plan out their attack runs before beginning them.
Aerial Torpedo Data
|Nation||Torpedo Type||Range||Speed||Damage||Arming Time||Detection Range||Flood Chance||Deployed Aboard|
|Type 91 mod. 1||3.00 km||50 knots||5,400||3.0 seconds||1.3 km||30%||Hosho|
|Type 91 mod. 1||3.00 km||50 knots||5,400||3.33 seconds||1.3 km||30%||Ryujo (stock)|
|Type 91 mod. 2||4.00 km||50 knots||6,500||3.66 seconds||1.3 km||36%||Ryujo|
|Type 91 mod. 3||5.00 km||50 knots||7,233||4.0 seconds||1.3 km||40%||Shokaku|
|Type 91 mod. 3||5.00 km||50 knots||5,400||6.0 seconds||1.3 km||30%||Kaga|
|Type 91 mod. 7||6.00 km||50 knots||9,333||5.0 seconds||1.6 km||40%||Hakuryu (stock)|
|Type 91 mod. 8||8.00 km||40 knots||9,333||11.0 seconds||0.9 km||40%||Hakuryu|
|LT F5b||6.00 km||40 knots||6,000||5.0 seconds||1.3 km||26%||Graf Zeppelin|
|Torpedo Mk.7D||3.00 km||35 knots||4,233||3.0 seconds||1.1 km||33%||Langley|
|Torpedo Mk.7D||3.00 km||35 knots||5,567||3.33 seconds||1.1 km||45%||Ranger (stock)|
|Torpedo Mk.7D||3.00 km||35 knots||5,567||3.66 seconds||1.1 km||45%||Ranger|
|Torpedo Mk.13-2||3.50 km||35 knots||6,467||4.0 seconds||1.5 km||52%||Lexington (stock)|
|Torpedo Mk.13-2||3.50 km||35 knots||6,467||4.5 seconds||1.6 km||52%||Lexington|
|Torpedo Mk.13-2||3.50 km||35 knots||6,467||4.5 seconds||1.5 km||52%||Enterprise|
|Torpedo Mk.13-2||3.50 km||35 knots||6,467||5.0 seconds||1.6 km||52%||Saipan|
|Torpedo Mk.7D||4.00 km||35 knots||4,233||5.0 seconds||1.1 km||33%||Midway (stock)|
|Torpedo Mk.7D||4.00 km||35 knots||4,233||5.5 seconds||1.1 km||33%||Midway|
|Mark VIII||2.40 km||35 knots||5,200||3.0 seconds||1.1 km||45%||Hermes|
|Mark VIII||2.40 km||35 knots||5,200||3.5 seconds||1.1 km||45%||Furious (stock)|
|Mark XII||2.40 km||35 knots||5,933||4.0 seconds||1.2 km||51%||Furious|
|Mark XII||2.40 km||37 knots||5,933||4.33 seconds||1.2 km||51%||Implacable (stock)|
|Mark XV||2.40 km||40 knots||5,933||4.66 seconds||1.3 km||63%||Implacable|
|Mark XVII||2.40 km||40 knots||5,933||5.0 seconds||1.3 km||51%||Audacious (stock)|
|Mark XVII||2.40 km||40 knots||5,933||5.25 seconds||1.3 km||51%||Audacious|
The traditional dive bombers found on all but the Royal Navy carriers are probably the most difficult weapon type to use, as their aiming reticle is fairly hard to understand, and properly "leading" a target before entering the attack run takes quite a bit of practice to get right. The payoff is extremely high fire chance and good damage.
The Royal Navy bombers have an aiming system similar to that of Attack Aircraft rockets, and are thus far easier to use.
Types of Bombs
There are two types of bombs available in World of Warships.
Aerial Bomb Data
|Nation||Bomb Type||Damage||Fire Chance||Deployed Aboard|
|Type 3 No. 25||3,000||N/A||Hosho, Ryujo|
|Type 3 No. 25 Mk. 4||6,100||N/A||Ryujo, Shokaku|
|Type 99 No. 80 Mk. 5||7,600||N/A||Shokaku|
|Type 99 No. 80 Mk. 5||8,500||N/A||Hakuryu|
|Type 90 No. 50 Mk. 2||8,800||52%||Kaga|
|40 lb. G.P. Bomb||2,300||8.7%||Hermes|
|250 lb. G.P. Bomb||4,700||27%||Furious, Implacable|
|250 lb. G.P. Bomb||6,000||35%||Indomitable|
|500 lb. G.P. Bomb||6,000||35%||Audacious|
Individual squadrons are controlled using the WASD keys and the mouse. Aircraft will automatically retain a set forward throttle, regardless of player input. Squadrons are steered using a combination of the mouse and the "A" and "D" keys. The "W" and "S" keys are used to apply a limited time boost and air braking, respectively. The amount of remaining boost is indicated by the curved bar on the left side of the HUD when controlling a squadron. Boost will automatically regenerate when not being used, but captains can also use the Engine Cooling () squadron consumable to immediately replenish the boost bar.
Left-clicking will begin an attack run. While in the attack mode, squadron control remains the same.
Pressing "F" when controlling a squadron will relinquish control of the squadron, returning both the captain and their aircraft to the carrier. Surviving aircraft from an attack run will automatically return to their carrier.
Two of the aircraft types in World of Warships are not controlled by the player.
- For surface combatants, the Catapult Fighter () consumables (standard and premium) consist of a squadron of two to four aircraft that orbit their home ship at a radius of about 3.25 kilometers for 60 seconds.
- Aircraft carrier-based attack squadrons have access to the Patrol Fighter () consumable. Similar to the Fighter consumable, when activated a squadron of three to seven fighters is called to the location at which it was activated. The fighters will attempt to engage enemy aircraft within their range of 2.5 to 3.5 km. Patrol fighters last for 60 seconds, allowing them to be used as a passive scouting tool.
- For aircraft carrier captains, a CAP Fighter () is automatically activated when the carrier is spotted by enemy aircraft. Each consumable consists of a squadron of four fighters that orbit the vessel at a distance of 3.0 kilometers. They will attempt to engage enemy aircraft within their range.
Land-based aggressor aircraft appear in several scenarios, notably Operation Dynamo and Cherry Blossom. With Update 0.8.0, these scenarios have been removed and will return with updated aircraft.
Air-to-air combat occurs automatically through the usage of the CAP Fighter (), Catapult Fighter () and Patrol Fighter () consumables. When activated, AI-controlled fighters will appear and engage enemy aircraft within their range. The aircraft created from the Catapult Fighter and CAP Fighter consumables will follow their host ship, while Patrol Fighters will remain where they were activated. All three consumables have limited life spans.
With Update 0.8.0, the various fighters may attack and shoot down enemy bombers, but no longer affect their aiming. http://worldofwarships.com/en/news/development/cv8-how-to-play/#consumables