Why Air Power Doesn't Work

[Blitz79]

Air power sucks, right. Get this - you've got bombers, and they hang around waiting to be shot after they hit their targets, then need two or three turns hanging around repairing damage and flying home if they succeed. Then you've got friggin' fighters that DON'T hang around, and that don't intercept bombers coming toward you, and that can't go with YOUR bombers and shoot down enemy fighters, but can only turkey shoot bombers when they're hanging around having just dumped their bombs on your cities.

Where is the interaction in this? Where is the strategic capability, the movement warfare? I hate air power and I refuse to have anything to do with it. NNNGGGGGHH!!!!! It just SO makes me angry... What is the point? In what war did fighters not fight each other? Since when did bombers hang around waiting to die instead of running for home?
Tanks tanks tanks. Thank God for the tanks.

 

[Marlos]

Hey, Blitz, you think that Civ2 is bad? Try Civ3! The planes always end their turn on a city or carrier. The only air wars occur if a plane attacks a city and a plane in that city has been assigned to "air superiority".

At least in Civ2, the planes actually fly!

 

[cliff]

You should use bombers together with armor/mech inf or paratroopers. First, Send a bunch of bombers to the target city and kill all units present. Next, move in with the mech inf or land the paratrooper next to the city.

Next turn, move your bombers to the enemy city you just took. Now you are ready to take another city next turn.

If you use two or three waves of bombers and do it like this, the enemy is less likely to shoot down your planes with fighters. If you have knowledge of the map, attack cities not within reach (for fighters) from other cities first.

A trick you can use is to fortify a ground unit in the same square as a bomber. Now, the fighter has to beat your ground unit if it is going to shoot down the plane. I heard some people think this is cheating.

 

[rysingsun]

i dont build bombers but stealth fighters are a nice way to conquer the world. those and howitzers. the stealth is for targets you cant reach by railroad. they also can eliminate most enemy offensive units outside the cities.

 

[funxus]

Tanks tanks tanks. Thank God for the tanks.

I think tanks are not enough if you're attacking an enemy with riflemen and alpine troops behind citywalls. Tanks usually wins, but they have to be repaired after one attack, the same as bombers. Use howitzers instead, especially when the enemy has railroad, because you are (almost) guaranteed two attacks - wins. When I go for conquer, I usually conquer the last civs with stealthfighters, paratroopers and helicopters. A lot of people think the two last units are useless. Stealthfighters have good attack and long range, and cause no unhappiness, paratroopers are used to capture cities and defend them (same defense as a rifleman). Helicopters are not as good, but still can be used to occupy a city, they have better attack then armors, 2 FP, ignores CW
Bombers are useful too, but they only have one attack every second turn. Before stealth, I use lots of bombers to empty cities.
This works very well with my style of playing, UN - Demo - WS

 

[Dark Ascendant]

Aerial combat in Civ 2 isn't that good, but fighters are pretty useful. They penatrate city walls and have 2 FP. Stealth fighter are the best for their long range. Fighters are good for recon and to attack enemies on low defense value terrain and attack isolated walled cities the howies can't get at.

 

[Hawkster]

Bobmers are great - as long as you get them first. As above a wave of bobmers follwed by other unitsa can cut a swathe through most defenses.

I try to get bombers as early as possible - then do some serious damage - at least until the Ai has fighters when bombers are less effective! Then tanks/howitzers are my choice.

 

[Richard III]

Originally posted by Marlos
Hey, Blitz, you think that Civ2 is bad? Try Civ3! The planes always end their turn on a city or carrier. The only air wars occur if a plane attacks a city and a plane in that city has been assigned to "air superiority".

At least in Civ2, the planes actually fly!

You're not only way off - the civ3 system is much more realistic about the function of air power - but you're also wrong; fighter air superiority orders cover an umbrella of territory, not just the city. I have shot down over a dozen US aircraft in one game as England, all as they tried to bomb a position in the hills well south of the three cities my planes were based in.

So in civ3, you can actually have an air war, which is more than I can say for civ2. Now, don't get me started on civ2 navies and artillery...

 

[knightblk]

bombers--never use them because they only attack once, but i love stealth fighters, send 2 or 3 to attack the city then when there all the oposing units are dead land paratroopers in the city then land the fighters in that city for defence until my support units (tanks and mech inf) are airlifted or moved in.

---plus if you have fighters you have a chance that you can shoot down enemy airlifts(i shoot down over 200 during the last years of the game)

 

[Xin Yu]

With the help of engineers you can use bombers every turn instead of letting them back to cities every other turn. Bombers always ignore city walls and they can prevent counter attacks by blocking roads. So it iis a great advantage before the other side has fighters, if used properly. See my response in the 'Democracy at war' thread.

 

[Blitz79]

Yeah. good strategy Xin Yu, can't believe I let that one pass me by...

 

[Remorseless]

Numbers are the key in airpower. Lots of bombers, sent in waves as above (10-15 are optimum numbers). Follow up with paratroopers landed directly inside the now-empty city.
Ya still gotta have tanks, mech inf and howitzers, but by alternating the two, you can rest each set. I have found this can also help you grab 3, 4 or even more AI cities in a single battle.
I like to do it on AI civs that have allied with me for centuries, then sneak attack me while I'm fighting some other civ.
I call it the "serves you right" strategy.

 

[Rowan]

BLITZ 79
Your first entry on this thread..............totaly agree.mate!
[dance]

 

[MajorGeneral2]

I'm a huge believer in air and naval superiority. As mentioned above, one just needs to use these units properly. Always back up your bombers with ground units to clear the surrounding areas. Also, fighters are able to attack more times in a single turn than any other unit, making them great for "mopping up" an almost defeated enemy. As for tanks, they're pretty much useless. Use howitzers backed up by riflemen/mech. infantry for all your modern warfare needs.

 

[Dark Ascendant]

Actually, tanks are pretty useful for clearing the way for howitzers, This gives more movement pts for bombers and fighters that can't travel on railroads.

 

[Ren]

Originally posted by cliff
You should use bombers together with armor/mech inf or paratroopers. First, Send a bunch of bombers to the target city and kill all units present. Next, move in with the mech inf or land the paratrooper next to the city.

Next turn, move your bombers to the enemy city you just took. Now you are ready to take another city next turn.

But for goodness sake, watch out for nuke retaliation!

Originally posted by cliff
A trick you can use is to fortify a ground unit in the same square as a bomber. Now, the fighter has to beat your ground unit if it is going to shoot down the plane. I heard some people think this is cheating.

Also, ground units can't attack this stack because they will try to attack the Bomber (which isn't allowed)

 

[Enforcer Talen]

I have yet to build an air unit aside from nukes.

 

[ACR]

I have played several varriants where the AI has sent bombers and other aircraft well beyond their range across oceans (generally). I only wish that I too could develope inflight refuling! But, I digress... I used stealth sealth fighters to patrol and interdict innumerable enemy air forces.

Nothing in these games is perfect, and they usually don't preform just like they do inreal life, but even well accapted military axioms and war plans don't apply on a one to one basis.

One other stealth fighter role, ground interdiction. I played the WWII senerio that somes with the game as the Germans. While I was spending vast resources fending off yet another Soviet Treaty violation I was flying stealth ftr missions taking out British roaving units. I especially liked zapping engineers (enemy population control).

And finally, rever discount the benefiit of air recon.

Best of luck.