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Playing as the Nationalists on one day turns.

Still in the first 'weeks' but I'm constantly being plagued by Republican aircraft sinking ships left, right and centre. Does anyone have the same problem? Can't even see where they are coming from given the pathetic National airforce...

So what have you been doing except sitting in port?

vinnie71 wrote: Mon Jan 26, 2026 7:22 am Playing as the Nationalists on one day turns.

Still in the first 'weeks' but I'm constantly being plagued by Republican aircraft sinking ships left, right and centre. Does anyone have the same problem? Can't even see where they are coming from given the pathetic National airforce...

So what have you been doing except sitting in port?

Be careful with your shipping. Don't go all over the map. I evacuated ships from the Baleric Islands to Naples so they could eat pizza.

Just move your African units to Cueta and then load them onto ships which just cross the strait to unload at Algeciras.

The National airforce does get better. But those I-15s and especially those I-16s will dominate over the early Nationalist air force.

Thanks for the heads up. But I'm actually stunned that the Republicans can actually hit ships even close to Algeria....

The Vildebeest is like a Betty Bomber (for you WITP-AE players) in the early going....you have to respect anything that carries a torpedo

Without any cap or ship-based AA, they're going to run rampant over the Med. There is not an effective counter for at least a month, when you get some CR 32s you can base at Las Palmas. They''ll torpedo your ships in port in the Balerics as well, found that out the hard way.......so moving all those ships is a good call

I didn't have much trouble with other Republican aircraft; alot of attacks, but the bomb-equipped ones seem pretty harmless overall

But the Vildebeest is a menace

I think its the frequency of the attacks that is more stunning to me. I think if a duck was floating out in the med carrying a nationalist flag, a republican aircraft would spot it and attack it.

atheory wrote: Mon Jan 26, 2026 3:14 pm I think its the frequency of the attacks that is more stunning to me. I think if a duck was floating out in the med carrying a nationalist flag, a republican aircraft would spot it and attack it.

Well then, it was "Duck Soup" for one turn when 13 Nationalist ships were sunk in the Med!

Q-Ball wrote: Mon Jan 26, 2026 3:02 pm The Vildebeest is like a Betty Bomber (for you WITP-AE players) in the early going....you have to respect anything that carries a torpedo

Without any cap or ship-based AA, they're going to run rampant over the Med. There is not an effective counter for at least a month, when you get some CR 32s you can base at Las Palmas. They''ll torpedo your ships in port in the Balerics as well, found that out the hard way.......so moving all those ships is a good call

I didn't have much trouble with other Republican aircraft; alot of attacks, but the bomb-equipped ones seem pretty harmless overall

But the Vildebeest is a menace

Yep I get the same feeling of being Betty-screwed in WITP-AE though I am a bit confounded that they actually reach the Moroccan and Algerian coast.

What I'm surprised is that naval recon seems to be super effective in that even single ships seem to get sussed out by recon planes. Maybe this issue is a the heart of the matter...

There are about 20 Vildebeests in the game at the beginning of the war.
(and two hydro)

A few more are gradually repaired and assembled from spare parts.
These aircraft were relatively quickly converted by the Republicans to ground LB and used on the ground front. This conversion can be implemented in the game.
But the AI ​​will not do it, of course.
Those few pieces will later appear in the LB version.

I am writing this because the combat capability of those two squadrons will decrease relatively quickly and the importance of this single type of torpedo bomber will decrease.

Dali101 wrote: Mon Jan 26, 2026 6:30 pm There are about 20 Vildebeests in the game at the beginning of the war.
(and two hydro)

A few more are gradually repaired and assembled from spare parts.
These aircraft were relatively quickly converted by the Republicans to ground LB and used on the ground front. This conversion can be implemented in the game.
But the AI ​​will not do it, of course.
Those few pieces will later appear in the LB version.

I am writing this because the combat capability of those two squadrons will decrease relatively quickly and the importance of this single type of torpedo bomber will decrease.

Thanks! My early take is the Vildebeest is the most important aircraft the Republic has early-on......but they are very vulnerable to any CAP at all, and with a limited number of them they'll eventually wear out

All the other Republican At-Start bombers, about the nicest thing I can say is that they do fly, and they do carry bombs

I will try to save the Vildebeests and their torpedoes for the heavy Nationalist ships to make reefs for the fish to live, aka fish houses.

vinnie71 wrote: Mon Jan 26, 2026 7:22 am Playing as the Nationalists on one day turns.

Still in the first 'weeks' but I'm constantly being plagued by Republican aircraft sinking ships left, right and centre. Does anyone have the same problem? Can't even see where they are coming from given the pathetic National airforce...

So what have you been doing except sitting in port?

This is some fantasy game then. Republican airforce could not hit a barn for in broad daylight in 1936. Frankly, this would be a much better game without naval component (which was insignificant part of the war anyway).

panzer51 wrote: Tue Jan 27, 2026 1:37 am

vinnie71 wrote: Mon Jan 26, 2026 7:22 am Playing as the Nationalists on one day turns.

Still in the first 'weeks' but I'm constantly being plagued by Republican aircraft sinking ships left, right and centre. Does anyone have the same problem? Can't even see where they are coming from given the pathetic National airforce...

So what have you been doing except sitting in port?

This is some fantasy game then. Republican airforce could not hit a barn for in broad daylight in 1936. Frankly, this would be a much better game without naval component (which was insignificant part of the war anyway).

Well, you are the expert which is why you . . .

RangerJoe wrote: Tue Jan 27, 2026 1:49 am
Well, you are the expert which is why you . . .

Not sure what you're trying to insinuate, but it's a well-known fact. Why would USSR send over 300 pilots to fight for the republicans in November 1936?

The Azaña government's military reforms—one of the most divisive programs of the Second Republic—had drastically slashed defense spending. Though aimed chiefly at the top-heavy officer corps, by the summer of 1936 the government's actions had led to severe deficiencies in all service branches. One result of the cutbacks was a shortage of fuel, which effectively kept young pilots on the ground instead of amassing flying hours. The most experienced pilots in the Spanish air forces were those wealthy enough to join flying clubs, and nearly all of these defected to the rebels.

At the beginning of the war, most pilots (300 of 400 or so) and aircraft (admittedly many in poor condition) were on the Republican side. The nationals began receiving aid from the Axis powers at the end of July (and little).
So there are two weeks in which the Republicans, despite their limited skill, can do damage. Of course, in the game this damage can be more extensive than in reality... or not, the player/AI are the air commanders.

About russian pilots.. 300 pilots arriving in november is a bit exagerated, surely many of them weren't actually pilots. It's like saying that all 5,000 members of the Condor Legion were pilots in november 36.
Although there were almost 800 real russian pilots throughout the war... not a few, certainly.

Q-Ball wrote: Mon Jan 26, 2026 9:02 pm

Dali101 wrote: Mon Jan 26, 2026 6:30 pm There are about 20 Vildebeests in the game at the beginning of the war.
(and two hydro)

A few more are gradually repaired and assembled from spare parts.
These aircraft were relatively quickly converted by the Republicans to ground LB and used on the ground front. This conversion can be implemented in the game.
But the AI ​​will not do it, of course.
Those few pieces will later appear in the LB version.

I am writing this because the combat capability of those two squadrons will decrease relatively quickly and the importance of this single type of torpedo bomber will decrease.

Thanks! My early take is the Vildebeest is the most important aircraft the Republic has early-on......but they are very vulnerable to any CAP at all, and with a limited number of them they'll eventually wear out

All the other Republican At-Start bombers, about the nicest thing I can say is that they do fly, and they do carry bombs

Yep that seems to be the case. The Nationalist AF seems rather pathetic at the start but had a look at the arrival times etc of new units and it does seem that they can be quite formidable by mid 37 or so