Airplane Types - Military

Fighter
Tasked with some of the most heart-wrenching operations in the air service, fighter planes are often used in heavy air-combat scenarios where domination of the sky is key. Their role is primarily to seek and destroy other planes from an enemy's air force; depriving them of bombing and reconnaissance opportunities, and slowing their overall advance.

Key characteristics of a good fighter plane is speed and maneuverability. Being able to out-climb and out-turn an enemy can mean the difference between victory and death. For this reason, most nations have gone for single-seater biplanes. Smaller and lighter than other plane types, their shorter wingspans offer better maneuverability in combat.

Fighters can come in both radial and inline engine variants. Fighters are often limited to smaller fuel tanks for a faster plane, resulting in small combat ranges.

Armed with a twin or quad machine gun layout, these planes can be formidable foes against other planes.

Reconnaissance
The most common configuration, reconnaissance class planes are dual-seater planes that are versatile and offer multi-purpose combinations. The prime objective for a reconnaissance plane is to observe the battlefield and relay information to the fleet. The pilot would fly the course, while their co-pilot would make observations, take photos, and relay coordinates to their fleet is a portable radio is available.

For defense, the pilot often has twin machine guns locked in the forward position, while the co-pilot would have a rotatable gun mount.

With all this weight, such planes are often slower and more cumbersome than fighter planes. With longer wingspans for greater lift, these planes have long turning arcs and slow climbs. Pilots would often sacrifice the co-pilot gun mount in hopes of gaining a speed advantage, much to the dismay of their co-pilots who would have to defend themselves with their sidearm instead.

Nevertheless, their ability to track the enemy and defend itself with heavy armaments have made these planes the standard of the skies. With sizable fuel tanks, these planes have a decent combat range.

Bomber
Bomber planes can be either single-seater or twin-seater aircraft. With the former, pilots need to be constantly focused on the sky for enemy planes, as well as the target they wish to bomb. In the latter example, however, a co-pilot is given the task of bombing the target, while the pilot flies over the target and watches out for enemy planes. Whether a nation picks one type or the other is dependent on many battlefield variables, including the availability of skilled pilots.

Bombing is no easy mission. Out of all bombs dropped during the Lowlands War, only about 10% of them ever landed within one mile of the target. Three types of bombing techniques exist to destroy a target.

Bombing Techniques
High Altitude Bombing - The simplest and least effective of the bombing techniques. A plane remains level high above the ground and bombs the target when it is right underneath the plane. Often, this technique is utilized when entire squadrons of bombers are available in order to increase the chance of a successful hit.

Dive Bombing - A more dangerous technique to execute, but with a much higher chance of success. This is when the pilot dives towards the target at a 45 degree angle, and releases the bomb at close range before pulling up and flying away. Single-seater planes are mostly used for this technique.

Skip Bombing - A purely water-based technique. The objective of this technique is to sink ships by skipping a bomb across the surface of the water like a skipping stone. Slamming into the side of the target, the bomb will explode, destroying the target. Similar to Torpedo Bombing, planes need to go slightly faster above the water in order to gain enough energy to skip the bomb effectively.

Bomb Types
High Explosive Bombs - The most common bomb type, HE Bombs detonate on impact and have been used successfully against ground, sea and air targets. Pilots like Lt. Reginald Miller have claimed up to eight airship kills by dropping bombs on critical munitions points on a ship. These bombs come in multiple weight configurations: 10kg, 25kg, 50kg, 100kg, 250kg, 450kg.

Planes can be stocked with different bomb weights, each type used for a different target. Some bombers would drop dozens of 10kg bombs on the battlefield, while others would have one 450kg bomb to drop on an enemy vessel. These bombs are used effectively in mountain regions like in the Battle of Northstromm Passage, where pilots bomb the side of mountains, forcing avalanches on the unsuspecting enemy.

Needle Bombs - Needle bombs are used specifically for anti-airship operations. These are weighted spear-like bombs designed to use its momentum from the fall to tear through an airship's gasbags. A single plane would have up to a hundred of these bombs and drop them simultaneously over an enemy airship. The goal of the bombs are to disable the enemy ship, and not necessarily destroy it.

Incendiary Bombs - Bombs of fuel that are dropped with some form of ignition, like burning magnesium. These bombs are used mainly against ground targets that are hidden in buildings or dense forests. Their devastation is immeasurable, as a squadron of bombers with incendiary bombs can burn down a forest in hours.

Such bombs were used effectively during the Lowlands War, especially in the two Battles of Ibleth, where the city was razed to the ground twice by opposing sides using incendiary bombs against the wood-based structures. These bombs are often deployed in smaller weights like 10kg, 25kg, and 50kg variants in order to carry more bombs and increase the effective spread of a bomb drop.

Smoke Bombs - Used to aid ground targets by masking their movements, smoke bombs are a defensive tool to deny the enemy's view. These bombs are common for ground-support planes, while on aerial-support planes use smoke flares instead to create a curtain of cover for allied fleets.

Water Torpedoes - Standard torpedoes that are launched from planes flying close to the water's surface.

Skipping Bombs - These "barrel bombs" are cylindrical in shape in order to effectively skip over the water's surface. Flying at speeds of 150mph at a height of a mere 15ft, these planes would stare into the face of their target before releasing the bomb onto its forward trajectory.

Gunwing
Developed with hopes of accurately destroying specific airship weak points and armored ground targets, the Gunwing is a two-seater plane that wields a 37mm cannon or larger. Locked in a forward position, the idea of the plane is for the pilot to align the plane with the target, at which point, the co-pilot would fire the cannon.

A dangerous feat, this plane allowed the air force to bear larger calibre cannons right in the face of the enemy, offering maximum accuracy with devastating effect.

For defense, a single machine gun is given to the co-pilot.

Gunwing pilots are some of the most experienced in the world. Their daring missions have been immortalized time and time again in the multitude of awards given for their achievements. Some achievements include destroying vital ships of the enemy fleet, devastating enemy landship platoons, and targeting enemy fuel convoys.