                            Concept : Plane Types

 The general plane types currently available in Empire are:

                            Concept : Plane Types

   fighter  A general offense/defense plane. Historical examples include
            the FE.2B, the Sopwith Snipe & Camel, the Nieuport V-XVII, the
            Spad, and the Fokker planes. From WWI are the Me-109, the
            FW-190, the English Spitfire & Hurricane, the Japanese Zero,
            the American P-39, P-40, P-38, and the Soviet Yak series.
            Later planes include the Me-262, the Gloster Meteor, P-80,
            Mig-15. Korean War vintage planes are the F-87 Sabre, F-100
            SuperSabre, and the Mig-17. Vietnam Era planes are the F-4 &
            Mig-21. Later, NATO & WP models include the F-16 & F-15 and the
            Mig-23, 25, and 29.

            The main points of similarity are: 1 or 2 high performance
            engines, a single pilot, and plenty of guns/missiles. Duties
            include patrol/interception, escort, and light bombing.

   escort   These are planes optimized for escorting, with superior range,
            sometimes at the expense of fighting capacity. Examples are
            the Me-110 & the P-51. Note that this type is relatively rare,
            as long range heavy bombing was rare.

                            Concept : Plane Types

   naval
   fighter  These planes all sacrifice range and/or fighting power in order
            to fit on a carrier and carry the gear necessary to operate
            from one. Examples are the series of Short biplanes built in
            Britain, the Sopwith Baby & Cuckoo, the Gloster Gladiator, the
            American Wildcat & Corsair, versions of the Japanese Zero, the
            F8 Corsair, the F-4, F-14, and F-18. Many of the planes were
            multi-role, due to the relatively small plane capacity of their
            carriers. They were almost always inferior in performance to
            land fighters. Many of them carry dual engines.

   light
   bomber   These planes are tactical bombers, suited for strafing, combat
            support, etc. These range from the first trench bombers, such as
            the Junkers J-I and the Sopwith Snark & Dolphin, the Ju-87
            Stuka, the American P-47, various ground-attack versions of the
            Yaks, the Japanese Val and Kate, the British Typhoon, and many
            others.  Modern versions are the A-3 SkyWarrior, the A-4
            Skyhawk, the A-6 Intruder, the Su-22 Frogfoot, the Su-27, and

                            Concept : Plane Types

            various British models. A modern and most effective example is
            the A-10

            The common factors are maeuverability, the ability to take
            damage and still fly, and the ability to hit targets precisely.
            (Either through low-speed bombing, dive-bombing, or rocket or
            guided bombs/missiles) Their performance against fighters of
            any sort is poor, with few exceptions (notably the P-47, which
            was designed as a fighter, and used as a ground-attack plane
            due to its toughness) Many are naval, or have naval versions,
            since the requirements of a naval plane do not affect them as
            greatly as fighters.

   heavy
   bomber   These planes are build for long range and great load-carrying
            ability, and the ability to defend themselves against fighters.
            (Although that never worked more than middling well) Examples
            are the Handley-Paige bombers of WWI (especially the O/400), the
            German Gothas and Giants, the B-17, Flying Fortress, the B-24
            Liberator, the B-29 SuperFortress, the Avro Lancaster, the Short

                            Concept : Plane Types

            Sterling, and the Vickers Wellington, as well as the more modern
            B-36, B-47, B-50, B-52, B-1, and the Soviet Ant-4, Tu-20 Bear,
            Tu-2? Backfire, and others.

            The common factors are the extreme range, the ability to carry
            several tons of bombs, the wide range of defensive armament, and
            four engines.

   medium
   bombers  These were basically an intermediate stage between the light &
            heavy bomber, and were used for both purposes. Examples are the
            He-111, the Do-17, the B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder, the A-20
            Havoc, the Avro Manchester, Armstrong Whitworth Whitely, the
            Russian Il-4 & I-15, and the Japanese Betty & Sally.

            These planes were essentially compromises, and were phased out
            as time went on. They could not bomb as precisely as a light
            bomber, nor as heavily as a heavy bomber.

   transports

                            Concept : Plane Types

            Initially, these were basically similar to civilian airliners.
            They could carry supplies or troops. (In Norway, the Germans
            captured airports and flew in troops) Later, they were used for
            paratroop landings. Eventually paratrooping became too dangerous
            for these planes (with the introduction of SAM's) and they were
            replaced by helicopter assault, with the transports going back
            to carrying supplies and equipment.

   transport
   helicopters

            These were made to transport assault troops. They also carry
            supplies & wounded, but their main duty was to deliver troops
            with greater precision, rapidity, safety, and cohesion than was
            possible with paratrooping. (They were also to replace the
            landing craft, as the Marines looked at the odds of an invasion
            fleet standing up to nukes)

   attack

                            Concept : Plane Types

   helicopters

            These supplement the light bombers, and specialise in the very
            precise application of firepower, as well as evading
            interception, by use of terrain.

   recon
   planes &
   satellites

            These provide precise information about enemy troop dispositions
            and movements. The first recon planes had no protection. Then,
            it was attempted to make them un-interceptable. This was done by
            simply being faster than anything the enemy had, such as the
            stripped down British Hurricanes, US P-38's & P-51's, or German
            FW-190's or Blitz-Bombers. Later, emphasis shifter to also being
            able to fly higher, as with the U-2 & SR-71. These planes are
            largely superceded by satellites now (for good or ill).

   ssm's

                            Concept : Plane Types

   & icbm's

            The first ssm's were used as strategic harassing weapons, and
            were almost useless. (German V-1 & V-2) There were also combat
            rockets, such as the Russian Katayusha's and the German
            Nebelwerfers, but these were essentially similar to artillery.
            The first true SSM's were the Russian missiles in the 1950's,
            such as the Frog. They were intended to deliver nuclear or
            chemical warheads at medium ranges, and to be un-interceptable.
            Later missiles increase payload & range.

            However, since we've artificially restricted the blast effects
            of nuclear weapons, I am merging these in with tactical
            missiles. (no need for an icbm unless you've got big nukes)

   tactical
   missiles
            These are modern smart-missiles. Most are naval weapons, such
            as the Harpoon, Penguin, Exocet. Others are cruise missiles,
            such as the Tomahawk. They are useful for both conventional,

                            Concept : Plane Types

            chemical, and nuclear payloads, and are accurate.

   sam's
            The first sams were nuclear-tipped, and intended to break up
            large attacking bomber forces. Later, they were made smaller
            and more accurate, and were intended to hit single targets
            at any speed or altitude.

   abm's    These are to shoot down missiles, and are mostly fantasy.

   asw
   planes   These are either long-range bomber type aircraft, with some
            sort of equipment for locating & killing submarines, or also
            helicopters, able to fly from most naval vessels.

These plane types differ in their fundamental capabilities; some can fly bomb-
ing missions, other carry cargo, others exist  to  shoot  down  other  planes.
Missiles are special; they are planes which fly one-way missions and cannot be
shot down by opposing planes.

                            Concept : Plane Types

The technology level at which the plane was built is very important.  The same
model plane built at a higher tech level will outperform the planes built at a
lower tech level.

The particular planes available and their attributes are  given  by  the  show
command.  The fields given in the output are as follows.  For building:

 lcm  the amount of lcm to build the unit,
 hcm  the amount of hcm to build the unit,
tech  minimum tech level to build this unit,
   $  cost of the unit in dollars,

      For the capability report the fields are:

 acc  bomb accuracy, low is best; a 0 accuracy implies no ability.
load  bomb load/cargo capacity.
 att  air-to-air combat attack rating.
 def  air-to-air combat defense rating.
 ran  base range (in sectors).
 mil  military needed for crew.

                            Concept : Plane Types

 gas  amount of fuel used each trip.

      The  abilities  are  given as a set of attributes for each plane.  These
      include:

 tactical  pinpoint bombing ability
intercept  interception and escort ability
   escort  escort ability only
    cargo  cargo-carrying ability
     para  may be used to paratroop
   bomber  strategic bombing ability
     VTOL  vertical take-off ability -- no need to use airports
  missile  missile -- one shot, to be used vs. ships.
    light  light, can land on carriers or be carried on a submarine
   xlight  xtra-light, can be carried and used on any ship with a non-zero  xl
           capacity. (see info ship-types)
     helo  ship-helicopter,  can  be  carried and used on any ship with a non-
           zero hl capacity. (see info ship-types)
      asw  Has ASW (anti-submarine warfare) ability.  May  use  sonar  &  bomb
           subs.

                            Concept : Plane Types

      spy  spy ability, for recon missions (see info recon, info bomb)
    orbit  a satellite - stays in orbit until shot down
  stealth  a  stealth  plane - has a chance of not triggering intercepts (only
           if the STEALTHV option is not used)
half-stealthy  a stealth plane - has a smaller chance of not triggering inter-
           cepts (only if the STEALTHV option is not used)
      SDI  Intercepts nuclear weapons.
satellite  May be launched into orbit to spy on your neighbors.

           If  the STEALTHV option is used, then each plane has a stealth rat-
           ing. The stealth rating of a group of planes is that of  the  plane
           with the LOWEST rating.

           As an example of the output
              [##:##] Command: show plane build

                            Concept : Plane Types

                                                   lcm hcm crew avail tech  $
                         Zeppelin                    6   2   3     6   70 $1000
                         fighter 1                   8   2   1     7   90 $400
                         lt bomber 1                10   3   1     9  100 $550
                         naval fighter 1             8   2   1     7  100 $500
                         hvy bomber 1               20   6   2    17  110 $1100
                         anti-sub plane 1           10   3   2     9  110 $550
                         fighter 2                   9   3   1     8  160 $600
                         escort 1                    9   3   1     8  160 $600

              [##:##] Command: show plane cap

                            Concept : Plane Types

                                            acc load att def ran fuel stlth abilites
                         Zeppelin            60    2   0  -3  15    2    0% tactical cargo VTOL spy
                         fighter 1           90    1   3   2   7    1    0% tactical intercept VTOL
                         lt bomber 1         90    1   1   2   7    1    0% bomber tactical VTOL
                         naval fighter 1     80    1   2   2   7    1    0% tactical intercept light
                         hvy bomber 1        90    5   1   3  15    2    0% bomber
                         anti-sub plane 1    90    2   1   2  15    2    0% tactical ASW
                         fighter 2           60    1   6   4   9    1    0% tactical intercept
                         escort 1            60    1   4   5  15    2    0% tactical escort

           See also : fly, build, show

