Air Units

Fighter

Fighters are your first and main line of defence against enemy air attack.

They can act as CAP (Combat Air Patrol) for your facilities and your carriers and will attack the escorts of inbound bombers before attacking the bombers themselves.

Conversely they can act as escorts for your own bombers to ward off enemy CAP fighters.

Fighters have a range of 12-hexes on the strategic map (600-miles).
Target limitations: can only attack other aircraft.

Fighter Bomber

Whereas the Heavy Bomber is your strategic bomber, the Fighter-Bomber is your tactical equivalent. The FB represents your air-support for ground units and can be used for supporting your land forces by attacking those of the enemy.

FBs can attack enemy Battle Groups, Artillery and Anti-aircraft units. It is not necessary for the enemy units to either be adjacent to, or in combat with, friendly forces.

Fighter Bombers have a range of 14-hexes on the strategic map (700-miles).
Target limitations: can only attack army groups, artillery and anti-aircraft batteries.
Has the option to jettison bomb-load and fight as a fighter if intercepted by enemy fighters

Dive Bomber

These are the most versatile bombers in your air force. Dive bombers come screaming out of the clouds almost vertically nose-down as they hurtle towards their targets.

The great advantage of DBs when attacking enemy ships is that their bombs hit the deck of the target where there is minimal armour and where they can cause extensive damage.

However, like all bombers, they are very vulnerable to enemy fighters.

Dive Bombers have a range of 14-hexes on the strategic map (700-miles).
Target limitations: none.

Torpedo Bomber

The ubiquitous Torpedo Bomber is used for attacking shipping. It can attack ships that are underway at sea or tied-up in dock. Most TB's are generally launched from carriers but they can be land-based and launched from airfields.

When used in conjunction with Dive-Bombers they form an effective pair of ship-killers and they are capable of sinking ships outright with their deadly loadout of torpedos.

Torpedo Bombers have a range of 15-hexes on the strategic map (750-miles).
Target limitations: can only attack shipping

Heavy Bomber

These are your long-range heavy-hitters. Capable of covering just under 1/3rd of the distance to the opponents Homeland they are often capable of hitting targets two-islands away from their home base

The Heavy Bomber is used to attack strategic targets such as facilities and Capital Cities in an effort to disrupt the enemy's war effort.

However, there is a down-side to their use. Due to their long-range and the nature of their missions they are most often un-escorted by fighters and face the full defensive efforts of the enemy in defending his targets. As a consequence they face intercepting fighters and anti-aircraft fire without any support of their own. Expect to lose a lot of these bombers!

Heavy Bombers have a range of 32-hexes on the strategic map (1600-miles).
Target limitations: can only attack facilities and Capital Cities

Observation Plane

These are your eyes-and-ears when it comes to finding the enemy's fleets and convoys.

Observation planes search the sea for ships and submarines. They have a long range and a high endurance so that they can remain in the air for a long period of time.

Once they find an enemy ship or submarine they report it's position and then shadow the target. If possible they will engage surface/periscope-depth enemy submarines.

Observation Planes have a range of 24-hexes on the strategic map (1200-miles).
They are the only aircraft that do not immediately return to base following their mission. Observation aircraft can stay on their mission for two game turns before returning to base at the end of the Air-Strike resolution phase.
They are the only aircraft that can carry out search missions against enemy shipping.
Target limitations: can only attack submarines.