Favorite Naval Unit?

I love these big brutes. They can take 2 hits, deal out good offense death, and help in both sea and amphibious invasions. They are also the best and most detailed models, I think, in the new A&A revised rules. Gotta love those granddaddies of the sea…

In a purely naval battle, mathematically it is best to mass all subs. They have the best attack/defense/life points per IPC. 3 subs will win against 2 destroyers or 1 battleship on average. They are the best fodder and the best way to knock out another navy (can’t select fighters as casualties so you’re likely to knock out their battleships and other key naval units if you have a strong force). But you should always get a carrier for the naval nations if you don’t have one yet and land 2 fighters on them before massing subs, because subs can’t fire at air units ; O Actually I also like having 1 destroyer and 1 battleship in the group; 1 destroyer negates all enemy subs abilities, and 1 battleship lets you bombard territories/islands that are lightly held.

If you research super submarines then subs become an overwhelmingly good naval unit.

I Japan uses its Navy right and gets a few good rolls it can be producing a battleship and destroyer per turn which makes is a Navy that can by Prue brute force and ability to survive, (battleships) just about invincible.

Transports, of course. The only reason for having a surface navy. Otherwise you could just make fgt. bmb. and SS.

It really depends on the situation. CVs are good at defending SZs and allowing transports to pass through, but poor at attacking convoys/fleets. Good in a forced battle, such as in landing on the enemy coast, where he has to attack you to protect his country. Plus, the fighters can fly to the mainland in an emergency and assist in landings. BBs can be helpful in attacking the enemy fleet for 1 round, using them to soak hits, then retreating (and repairing). SSs are the most efficient in a win-or-die naval(only) scenario, but can be attacked by aircraft with no chance to fire back. I would only use SSs to hassle convoys by not letting them load/unload, and then using them to soak hits. DDs both attack and defend on 3, so they are versatile in both defending a SZ and attacking one, but I wouldn’t build them if I had something specific in mind.

But really, you can’t ask that question without TPs. An analysis of a naval battle without TPs is useless, really, because why have a navy if no TPs are involved at all? It’s necessary to take into account that 1 attack that hits both air and sea for 8 IPC, after unloading troops. It’s also necessary to understand that if one has been substalled, then using transports to take hits doesn’t become efficient.

My 2 cents, AK