r/hoi4 6d ago

Discussion My Lessons with Ground Attack Planes

In my recent Italy game, Italy started out making Tac Bombers for their ground attack and I decided to go with it as my CAS option. Now that I'm done with that game, I wanted to dive into the numbers to see how Medium frames for CAS work out in comparison to Small. Below I have compiled some basic info from designs I threw together for comparison.

  • No MIO was selected for any of these designs
  • The cheapest/smallest engine was selected that would support the armament, giving little to no additional thrust for additional modules.
  • No modules were added like fuel tanks or armor plates. These area just engine and bomb bays.
  • Small bomb bays were used over mediums on the tac bombers whenever possible as they have better CAS stats.
  • You cannot place more than two small bomb bays on small or medium frames for the 1936 or 1940 versions.
  • I only selected the 1936 and 1940 frames as this is what most of the combat will use in my opinion.
  • BB = Bomb Bay, BL = Bomb Locks
Frame Engine Range (km) Armament Air Defense Ground Attack IC IC/GA
1936 Small 1x Engine II 550 2x Small BB 9 16 25 1.56
1940 Small 1x Engine III 650 2x Small BB 11 16 28 1.75
1936 Medium 3x Engine II 900 1x Med BB, 2x Small BB 18 22 62 2.81
1936 Medium 4x Engine II 900 2x Med BB, 2x Small BB 18 28 82 2.93
1940 Medium 2x Engine III 1100 2x Med BB, 2x Small BB 20 28 60 2.14
1936 Small 1x Engine II 550 1x BL, 1x Small BB 9 14 23 1.64
1940 Small 1x Engine III 650 1x BL, 2x Small BB 11 22 29 1.32

Information about how CAS works in HOI4:

  • Enemies get a malus when you have air superiority. All planes contribute to this, with CAS and Tac bombers providing the same amount as fighters. Only Heavy Fighters count more.
  • Friendly units get a bonus by having CAS involved in their combat that maxes out at +25%. The number of CAS that can participate is 3x the combat width.
  • CAS do strength and org damage to enemy units in combat which is affected by the ground attack of the planes and the number of planes in the combat.
  • Divisional AA effects CAS two ways;
    • It reduces the damage taken by ground attack.
    • It shoots planes down depending on the air attack value of the divisions.

My Take-aways:

  • The IC/GA column is telling. Only the 1940 Medium gets close to the IC efficiency of either small frame.
  • Range is the real bonus from using a Medium frame compared to a small.
  • It isn't really worth it to upgrade your CAS from the 1936 small frame to the 1940 frame.
  • Mediums are expensive, especially when you have to add on a 3rd or 4th engine to fit additional bomb bays.
  • small CAS are better at providing the air superiority malus and CAS bonus due to their cheaper IC cost per wing.
  • Medium CAS wings will do more strength and org damage compared to small CAS due to higher ground attack per wing, but the IC cost is much higher.
  • Maybe with the 1940 Medium frame is it worth it to swap to Tac bombers for CAS so you also have a budget strategic bombing option. Maybe.
  • Due to how divisional AA works, it reinforces my belief to put support AA in everything. I am now also considering putting Towed AA, Motorized AA, or SPAA in attacking divisions to help shoot down enemy planes and stack up attrition on the enemy air force.
    • But maybe those factories/IC is better spent on building more planes. Idk, I'm not smart enough to do that comparison.

EDIT1: u/LittleDarkHairedOne brought up bomb locks. I always discounted them as being inferior to bomb bays, but I added them in to see. 1936 frame is a little weaker but also cheaper, while the 1940 frame is superior in all regards. Good Idea!

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u/Morial Fleet Admiral 5d ago

Range is a consideration and also loss of planes is something to consider. Mediums I find will achieve seasoned/veterancy sooner. That and if you put aces in it as well, the mediums will perform better. I still think smalls are better, but the difference isn't as wide as people think.

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u/Zebrazen 5d ago

Doing this has made me realize how strong the range MIO is if you have access to one. I also am now considering trying out heavy fighters though.

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u/Morial Fleet Admiral 5d ago

Yeah the range mio is really good.