Originally posted by Pannono
I'm not sayin we should have them, these are just suggestions
A critique on the selections suggested:
Ju-188 low numbers, performance between Ki-67 and B-26 we have now. Nice addition to German plane set, but not any priority.
Ju-388 Only a handful made to counter expected B-29's over Germany. Only claim to fame being the victim of highest recorded shoot down of the war. Most used for reconnaissance.
He-177 YES. Only German heavy bomber made during the war in any numbers. Special ord like Fritz-X will work against it (we're not getting guided munitions).
He-111 BoB SEA event only plane. Hangar queen everywhere else. He-111 heyday was Spanish Civil War, it was outdated by 1940.
B6N2 Jill LW torpedo bomber? Nope.
D4Y2 Judy YES. Good performing MW dive bomber. Yep, be nice addition to blue-water plane set.
G4M2 Betty We have the Ki-67, everything else is just a slower, less capable, medium bomber. And no, we not gonna see the bomber escort gunstar.
Ki-27 Nate very EW 1930's design. Nope.
Ki-43 Oscar a lighter, weaker, even more poorly armed Zeke. Nope. It's nimble, I'll grant you that.
A6M2-N Rufe A floatplane??!
H8K Emily A flying boat??!
Ki-102 Randy Very limited production. Very late war. Very unspectacular. Twin engine Japanese heavy fighters are all pretty bad. Nope.
J2M Jack With a range of 360 miles more or less? It could climb fast and be a defensive bomber interceptor. Pretty limited use. Nakajima Ki-44 Shōki "Tojo" would be a better choice for a Japanese bomber interceptor and B&Z plane. For quick defense against bombers, I'd rather see 88mm flak36.
Ki-46 Dinah A twin engine recon plane? 1 rear gun? Late war ones were changed for ground missions and interceptor roles pending the Allied invasion of home islands, but really, not a great choice.
Brewster Buffalo - EW moslty Finnish flown plane. Only if we also get the Gee Bee R-1, Fiat G.50, Macchi MC.200, Nakajima Ki-27, and I-16 along with it.
P-61 Black Widow A twin engine, heavy night fighter? No on-board radar, no on-board night vision, no night in most arenas. Nope. It would get eaten alive in LW arenas. Limited SEA princess and overall hangar queen.
PBY Catalina No maritime and antisubmarine patrols in game. No SAR. Not needed.
P-39 Airacobra YES. Only if P-39D, P-39Q or P-400 and added in the Russian plane set in a Lend Lease version. Russians made far more use of P-39 and P-63. Second highest scoring allied ace was a Russian flying these. Russians should get it.
Gloster Meteor -- home defense and V-1 hunter. Nope.
Fairey Swordfish -- biplane torpedo plane? Um. Nope.
I-16 -- see Buffalo above.
Pe-8 - Russian heavy bomber? Less than 90 made? Nope. Russians did not get into strategic bombing until after the war.
Tu-2 - too close in capabilities to existing Ju-88 to be of interest to me.
Yak-3 - YES. be a nice addition. Shorter legged but more maneuverable Yak. Considered by many the best dogfighter of war.
Considering additions to the sets are few and far between, and that 90% of the players are in the two LW arenas most of the time they play, I would look to adding planes to the game for the game play, more than what they could do for SEA events and historical inclusion. For example, float planes and flying boats had particular missions that we don't see in the game, so they are not a priority for inclusion.
To that end, I'd suggest these planes:
A-26B Invader (solid nose)- perk worthy attack bomber (need a perk bomber other than Arado in the game). Uber strafer.
A-26C Invader (glass nosed) - perk worthy level bomber - only change from B is the nose, otherwise identical planes. Two planes for work of 1 model. Level Penetration bomber with drones.
German 88mm FlaK36 towed artillery - player manned puffy ack to 35K altitude, indirect artillery fire , long range direct fire, tank destroyer roles. Early War onward.
G.55 light perked interceptor and best of the Italian planes and a treat for some Luffenwobble pilots. Low numbers compared to other nations, but a sizable chunk of Italian air force, and probably their best work.
Stuka JU 87G(refitted D model) version with the twin 37mm BK FlaK18 tank killing cannons.
Pe-2 Peshka to give the Russians a bomber. Il-2 and Pe-2 working together with La-5's and Yaks for cover would make for a great Eastern Front SEA event.
Ki-84-Ic (Mark Ic) - Lightly perked (5 pts). Version against Bombers, with two cannons Ho-5 (20 mm) and Ho-105 (30 mm) in wings. Or the Ki-84-Ib Version armed with four cannons Ho-5 of 20 mm.
Other than the Vader, for a additional perk bomber, and the lend lease version of the P-39 in Russian planeset, I'd avoid additional American planes in favor of filling out the plane set a little more for other countries.
