Captains, an aircraft carrier task force of World of Warships
is receiving reinforcements!
Welcome a new branch in the Soviet Tech Tree!
Komsomolets, Serov, Pobeda, and Nakhimov
are a magnificent quartet of aircraft carriers
that have arrived in the seas of our game to secure glorious victories!
The aircraft carriers of every nation have their own unique features.
The Germans have armor-piercing rockets;
the British mastered a specific bombing technique;
Japanese torpedoes deal high damage;
and the Americans pack powerful high-explosive ammo.
These are the first things that come to mind
when we mention the aircraft carriers of different countries.
Soviet naval aviation also has something to surprise players with.
When one launches any aircraft type out of the three available,
you should always remember that Soviet squadrons consist of a single flight.
In other words, such an air group can perform only one attack.
This specific feature is compensated for by the large size of the attacking flight.
For example, while helming Tier X Nakhimov,
you can dispatch either seven torpedo bombers,
or eight attack aircraft, or eight bombers to attack at once.
Speaking of the latter...
the bombers of all researchable Soviet carriers utilize skip bombing.
Until the arrival of the newcomers,
only one ship carried aviation that utilized this drop-bombing technique—
Max Immelmann.
As far as the attack aviation go, starting at Tier VI,
they are armed with powerful rockets that can be compared to American Tiny Tims
in terms of their efficiency.
Let's say a couple of words about Soviet torpedoes.
They have a long arming distance and decent range for aircraft carriers.
In addition, Soviet aircraft don't possess Repair consumables—
take that into account,
especially when attacking targets with strong AA defenses.
It goes without saying that you can deal decent damage per attack
with such a large number of aircraft per flight.
However, in order to attack again, you need to return to the carrier
and fly all the way to your target again.
Meanwhile, aircraft carriers of other nations
can make several attacks on a target per flight.
Moreover, Soviet aviation can't boast of having impressive cruising speeds
or large HP pools compared with their counterparts.
Every shot-down aircraft means reduced damage per run.
You might ask the question—
"How can you be on par with aircraft carriers of other nations
in terms of combat efficiency while playing Soviet ships?"
The new ships have an answer to that...
First of all, jet boosters partially compensate
for the unimpressive cruising speed of their aircraft.
You can find jet boosters on the aircraft of carriers Pobeda and Nakhimov.
The working principle is simple—
when a squadron takes off the deck,
it gets a temporary speed boost provided by these jet boosters.
You can already see a similar mechanic on Japanese hybrid ships Ise and Tone.
Secondly, Soviet aircraft carriers have decent concealment
parameters among ships of that type.
For example, Pobeda, in combination with an appropriate upgrade,
camouflage, and Commander skill, can be spotted from 10.3 kilometers;
Nakhimov—from 11.2 kilometers.
Thanks to such concealment parameters,
Soviet aircraft carriers can get closer to their enemies
and thus increase the frequency of their attacks.
You can improve the efficiency of ships in Port
using upgrades and Commander skills.
We recommend installing Air Groups Modification 1 in the first slot.
Aircraft Engines—in the second slot.
Utilize the third slot to increase the attack time
of torpedo bombers or cruising speed of aviation torpedoes.
The fourth slot can be equipped with three upgrades
that improve the combat efficiency of the three aircraft types.
Here, everything depends on your preferences.
We recommend reserving the fifth slot for Concealment System,
which is highly effective when employed on Soviet aircraft carriers.
However, there is an alternative— Flight Control Modification 1.
This upgrade restores lost aircraft faster,
and it also adds two extra spots on the carrier's deck.
We recommend mounting Air Groups Modification 2 in the sixth slot.
It improves the combat efficiency of all your aircraft.
Commander skills.
We want to point out the recommended skills
that are highlighted with a special symbol.
If you want to improve the concealment parameters of your ship,
you can switch the Proximity Fuze skill for Hidden Menace.
The beginning of battle for Soviet aircraft carriers
hardly differs from that of other carriers.
The only thing we can advise you here is to set a course
to the nearest island in the direction where most of your allies are heading.
You can dispatch attack aviation first
because their cruising speed is the highest of all aircraft types.
Before you launch your first offensive,
try to detect as many enemies as possible and analyze their forces.
It's quite probable that you'll have to change flank to be more efficient.
Keep an eye on the Minimap and positions of enemy destroyers on it.
It's highly important because you'll often play close to the attack line.
If you're spotted, enemies will do their best
to gift you an express ticket back to the Port.
Try to follow your allies in battles when your team
is confidently pushing forward into enemy positions.
With respect to offensive measures,
the rockets of your attack aircraft are effective against medium and large targets.
When you dispatch torpedo bombers,
keep in mind that it's quite difficult for players helming Soviet carriers
to release torpedoes close to enemies and attack targets hiding behind islands.
The reason behind that is the torpedo arming distance.
Plus, the torpedo cruising speed isn't that high.
When dropping torpedoes even on large targets,
you should take a lead by a length of the hull or hull and a half.
Finally, utilizing skip bombers allows you to attack enemies in different ways.
The main thing here is to avoid obstacles the bombs can bounce off.
You can attack both slow targets and swift ships with this bomb type.
It's sufficient to approach enemy ships in such a way
that the closest reticle mark of the bombers
lies along the ship's course right before the attack.
If you do everything right,
the bombs will hit the enemy ship immediately after they are released.
Soviet aircraft carriers can surprise players,
despite the fact that they share similar features with other ships of their type.
You can expect high damage per successful attack,
good concealment characteristics, and unusual combat tactics.
Those Captains who master all the gameplay nuances of the new carriers
will be able to noticeably affect outcomes of battles...
Don't believe it? Then take one of the new carriers into battle
and find out for yourself!