GAME MANUAL - Steam

HEARTS OF IRON DARKEST HOURspace to handle a flow ofaircraft, so exceedingthis limitation will greatlyreduce the flow of suppliesand fuel and will significantlyincrease the length oftime required to completerepairs and technologicalupgrades.Air Force TypesAir forces are made up ofindividual air wings, each ofwhich represents a number ofsimilar-type airplanes thathave an area of expertise. TheAir Combat equivalent of adivision is called an Air Wing.Groupings of Air Wings areusually called squadrons orsometimes air groups or airforces; a maximum of fourWings may be combined intoany single squadron. Theprecise wording will varysomewhat from nation tonation, but their function isidentical. For the purposes ofthis section, I will use the term“squadron” when referring toany combat group of air wings.One unit, the escort fighter, istreated like a brigade, cannotbe built like a Wing and canonly be attached to a bomberwing. They are accessed viathe “brigade” productionbutton (below the landdivisions). More on this shortly.Air wing types can becategorised by their size,range and general function.Strategic bombers are thelargest of these and arerelatively slow-moving aircraftthat can carry very large bombloads over fairly greatdistances. Their missions areusually flown against largefixed emplacements such asinfrastructure, factories,fortifications and other suchtargets that require the impactof larger payloads and haveno ability to avoid being hit.Tactical bombers aresomewhat smaller and moremanoeuvrable, specialising inprecise targeting that is muchmore effective against movingland force targets. Close airsupport craft are inexpensive,very short-range dive-bombersthat can inflict very highcasualty levels on groundforces but are unable todefend themselves particularlywell against ground defencesor other aircraft. Naval torpedoattack planes are land-basedaircraft that are speciallyoutfitted with munitions suitedto attacks against navalvessels and convoys. All ofthese bombers are very susceptibleto attack by enemyfighters, so you shouldstrongly consider attaching agroup of escort fighters to helpdefend them. This will reducetheir operational range, but willstop your bombers from beingeasily shot out of the sky.The smallest, fastest and mostmanoeuvrable aircraft availablefall under three differentgeneral types: fighters,interceptors and escorts.Escorts are handled as abrigade-type attachment forbombers. These long-rangeaircraft will attempt to tie upenemy fighters and distractground defences, allowing thebombers they escort tosucceed with their missions.Interceptors are the bomberpilot’s worst nightmare. Thistype of airplane has excellentweaponry and speed forbringing down the largeraircraft, but is limited by itsrange and manoeuvrability.The fighter is something of amulti-role aircraft. It hasslightly greater range andslightly better attack capabilitiesthan an interceptor butis much more likely to be shotdown itself. It can alsoparticipate in limited attacksagainst ground and navaltargets, but is unable to standmuch in the way of return fire.There is one last class of“wings” that can be orderedfrom the Air Wing menu of theproduction folder. These arethe flying bombs and flyingrockets that historically beganwith the German V1 and V2and would lead to ICBMs inthe post-war years. All ofthese are included in DarkestHour’s technology tree andare handled through theAir Combat interface.Air WingDetailsThe sprites for squadrons areonly displayed on the mainmap when they are in flight, sothey can be a little harder tolocate and select when youare not used to handling them.You can easily spot an airbase with a squadron in itbecause it will be blue incolour instead of grey. You willalso see the squadron listed inthe information panel whenyou select a province thatcontains one. The Air ForcesHot Button displays a completelist of all squadrons andtheir current base assignmentsand is probably thefastest and most convenientmethod of rapid selection.You can access the Air WingDetails information panel byselecting any squadron andclicking on one of the wings.As with land and navaldivisions, the data displayed inthe information panel willreflect any technologicalupgrades that this unit hasreceived, so it may varyslightly between otherwiseidentical units. I will notprovide a detailed descriptionof any data listed here that isequivalent to a land or navaldivision’s statistics.Air Wing Name: Assignedautomatically, you may changethis to anythingyou like.Air Wing Type: Below arepresentative picture of thisclass of airplane, you will seea description of its type andspecific model.Commander: Thecommanding officer of the142