Aircraft

At a glance

The same figures appear on the Select Aircraft screen. Firepower is the damage per second of a continuous burst that hits, so it's useful for comparing aircraft. Roll is the roll rate in degrees per second, and a higher figure means the aircraft changes direction more quickly.

Stall speed is in km/h. The number after bombs or a torpedo is the damage each one does. *Because it carries four bombs, the Betty is listed as a dive bomber in the aircraft picker, but it's a big, slow twin-engined bomber, not a diver.

United States aircraft

F4F Wildcat

The Navy's standard fighter in 1942, and the aircraft you learn to fly in. It's tough and steady, and its guns are accurate, with a tight spread and plenty of ammunition. It's no faster than a Zero and turns worse, so fight it in passes, not circles. It can carry two light bombs for ground attack.

F6F Hellcat

A step up from the Wildcat in every way: much faster, a strong climber, and one of the toughest fighters in the game. The Hellcat carries more ammunition than anything else. Use its speed and climb to choose when to fight, and it will beat any Japanese aircraft.

F4U Corsair

The fastest aircraft in the game and the best climber of the single-engined fighters. It has the heaviest fighter bombs too, so it's a good choice for strike and strafing missions. It stalls at a fairly high speed and its nose is slow to pull around, so don't let a fight slow down. Dive, shoot, climb away, and do it again.

P-38 Lightning

A big twin-engined interceptor. It climbs better than anything else and is almost as fast as the Corsair, and its guns are grouped in the nose for a hard-hitting, accurate burst. It rolls slowly and has the highest stall speed in the game, so a turning fight is the worst thing you can do in it. Make high-speed passes and extend away between them.

P-40 Warhawk

A rugged Army fighter with good speed and very quick acceleration. Its climb rate is poor, but it gains speed fast in a dive and holds its energy well, so it can dive away from almost anything. Treat it as a hit-and-run fighter.

SBD Dauntless

The US Navy's dive bomber, with four of the heaviest bombs in the game. It's slow and climbs poorly, but it's well armoured and very stable in a dive. Pick it for any mission where ships have to be sunk with bombs. In a steep dive, keep your speed under control and don't pull out so hard that you stall.

TBF Avenger

A heavy torpedo bomber and the most heavily armoured aircraft in the game. It carries one torpedo. It turns slowly and is no dogfighter, so stay low, stay out of fights, and put your torpedo in the right place. It has a slightly more generous drop envelope than the Kate: up to 90 m and 378 km/h.

Japanese aircraft

A6M2 Zero

The legendary carrier fighter. It turns and rolls quickly, stalls at a low speed, and hits hard with its cannon. It's also fragile, with the second-lowest armour in the game, and it can't match the later American fighters for speed. Fly it as a turn-fighter: pull any opponent into a tight circling fight and you'll win. Its guns spread more widely, so get close before firing.

Ki-43 Oscar

The Army's lightweight fighter, and the most agile aircraft in the game. It has the lowest stall speed and the fastest roll and pitch rates. It's also the most fragile and the most lightly armed, with only 500 rounds. Make every burst count and never give an American fighter a straight-line shot at you.

D3A Val

A fixed-undercarriage dive bomber carrying three bombs. It's reasonably nimble for a bomber, but slow. On Japanese strike missions it's your aircraft for dive-bombing ships.

B5N Kate

The torpedo bomber that sank ships at Pearl Harbor and Midway. It's slow, climbs very poorly and turns slowly, and it has the strictest drop envelope in the game: at most 70 m and 342 km/h. Get down low very early, well before the target, and stay there.

G4M Betty

A long-range land-based bomber with four heavy bombs and plenty of armour. It's also the least agile aircraft in the game. It's mostly here as a target (see Operation Vengeance), but you can fly it on missions that allow bombers.

Matchups