FatR
Posts: 2522
Joined: 10/23/2009
From: St.Petersburg, Russia
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So, IJAAF fighters.
Take note, that here I want not only to move closer to history if possible, but also to create several possible options in which a player can move his production. I believe changes to IJNAF in Scen 70 make the production game less than linear, and I hope to add more viable choices here as well.
There is alot of strange stuff going on with IJAAF mid-war fighters statblocks. The result is well-known: everyone builds Tojos, because Ki-43 has its MVR drop like a rock on later modifications, and Ki-61, besides its service rating problem, is given range that makes its useable only as a point defense 4E interceptor. So while Tojo has its own pieces of strangeness, like Ki-44-I and Ki-44-IIa available on the same month, or 4x12.7 configuration only appearing in 1944, it's the only choice that works for IJAAF at all from late 1942 to early 1944. This... is not exactly as things happened IRL. So let's look at what can be done here to possibly find a better compromise between simulation and playability.
1)Ki-43 (I'm primarily using Aero Derail 29 for history of its modifications here, supplemented by stats from other sources). Following things are weird with its later modifications:
- Speed skyrockets to almost 590 km/h on IIIa, with proportional increases on earlier models. Other sources state 555-576 km/h as its max speed. Now, I do believe that commonly accepted speed figures for many Japanese fighters sell them short, but as they are usually compensated for this by great MVR, said figures are adequate for AE purposes. There is no need to inflate numbers.
- Speaking of MVR, for later Ki-43s it drops by about 14 points. By comparison, the least maneurable Zero version has its MVR reduced only by 9 points, compared to A6M2, and most only by 4.
- Ki-43-IV(IIIb, cannon-armed modifications) exists in the game. No such luck IRL, it was found to be unusable. There also are mentions of cannon-armed Ki-43 version that used Mitsubishi Ha-33 engine, but Aero Detail does not mention that, so probably it's mistaken for the same two cannon-armed prototypes.
- IIIa is available too late, the production actually started in July of 1944 and by August of 1944 64th Sentai was already using Model III.
Solution: Use 308/320/358 Speed for Ki-43-I/II/III. Sharply reduce MVR drop in return, at least for low altitudes, so it will keep the definitive edge in this area. While extra weight reduced the turning ability, practical maneurability of late-war Ki-43s might have been even higher, due to much reduced threat of mid-air disintegration. Remove the cannon modification.
Also, while I reduced payload to 1x250kg bomb before, as, to my knowledge, the usual loadout was a bomb under one wing and a droptank under another, AE, as mentioned above, generally uses maximum bombloads normally possible, so, I now think, it should go back to 2x250.
Of course, all this won't keep Ki-43 from becoming obsolete by 1944, as it should. However, this hopefully should keep it more competitive in 1943 and survivable in its, ahem, unique tactical niches (like low-level dive bait on CAP/flying ablative armor for bombers), so that the players won't be so tempted to shut the production down as soon as they have alternatives.
2)Ki-44. Oh well, this is a tricky plane to find information about. There are only a few books, which are scarcely more informative than Francillon and contradict each other on matters like late-modifications armament. Anyway, I think a couple of issues still can be identified:
- I and IIa models are available on the same month, September of 1942, too late for the former and too early for the latter.
- 4x12.7 is stated everywhere to be standard Model II armament before they started cramming heavy cannons into Ki-44, in AE we must wait until 1944 to get it.
- Armor on IIc. In AE to qualify for Armor 1 a fighter needs fuel tank protection + armored pilot seat, and all Ki-44 of Model II apparently got these. There are mentions that they were insufficient against Allied HMGs, but Ki-43-IIb gets Armor 1 despite approximately in the same league... Anyway, it seems like either all planes of Model II warrant Armor 1, or none does.
- And not a flow, but a question is - IRL, Ki-44-III model, re-engined (to an engine that probably should be Ha-45 in AE terms) existed and apparently was useable, except for usual Japanese problems with engine reliability. Should we include it in the game? In RL it mostly got shelved because Ki-84 was almost ready for production.
Solution: First, tone down MVR by 3 at low altitudes and 1 at high altitudes on early Tojos (up to IIb), by 3 at low altitudes only on cannon-armed versions, so other improvements won't make Ki-44 overwhelming. MVR 23-21 is still by no means bad, but a number of nimbler Allied planes can now compete with Ki-44 in this area, so things will be as they should be.
Make Model Ia available around 8/42. IIb on 12/42. Give it 4x12.7 armament, Armor 1. Let's skip IIa, apparently only a handful of planes were built and production lasted less than a month. IIc is available on 5/42 and is armed as IIb in stock. Once upon a time there were arguments on these forums about Tojo's armament, and though I failed to find the thread, I remember that there were references to primary sources, indicating that indeed about half of the overall production run used 40mm cannons in the wings.
There were later modifications with 20mm or 37mm cannons in the wings, but they seem to be not widely used. If you want, I can add Ki-44-III for early 1944, with armament of 2x20+2x37, speed around 390, significantly reduced MVR and Service Rating 2.
You might note, that these changes make Ki-44 less of a dogfighter, but more capable of handling Allied bombers. This is intentional, of course. Well, IIb still will be a good all-around fighter, if less nimble than Ki-44s in stock. But the line will only give the player pure interceptors later on.
I'm still busy, so I'll touch Ki-61 and Ki-84 later.
< Message edited by FatR -- 5/3/2011 9:39:37 AM >
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