Ambassador
Posts: 1674
Joined: 1/11/2008 From: Brussels, Belgium Status: offline
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After my earlier tongue-in-cheek answer, here’s a more serious one, from the POV of a mostly (over 90%) Allied player. The two first models are mostly equal, by the time you field them, I have P-40K for CAP, and can use P-38 for Sweeps. Their meager weaponry is insufficient to reliably kill the latter, and even the former is well-protected (with 30 Durability and 1 Armor) : the 7.7mm CL peashooters won’t do much, so it’s down to a pair of wing-mounted 12.7mm. I get a lot of damaged P-40K, but most survive, and will often retaliate before leaving the fight (and 6 .50 MG will kill a Tojo half the time when they hit). So, I’m usually not afraid to see Tojos arrive. However, Oscars are notably weaker, the difference being mainly their much lower speed, and my PBEM opponent said that, had he not developed the Tojo and built a lot of factories, he would have had to concede the air war in ‘43 altogether. Also, if I know a base has Oscars and no Tojo or Zeroes, I can ponder the use of the CV’s Wildcats - but against Tojos, F4F are at a disadvantage. The third variant is useless. The 40mm cannon has a short range, and as the plane is as fragile as the previous versions, it rarely gets in range of the 4E heavies to use the cannons - and forget about hitting anything smaller or more agile than a B-24. The one good version is the fourth, with four 12.7mm, but by the time you get it, the Allied receives the first P-47. The increased firepower is rendered nul by the increased durability, and the speed disadvantage. However, and again, the alternative, the Oscar, is so totally obsolete by then, as it’ll face not only P-47 from the USAAF, but also Hellcats from the USN. So, from my POV, if you want to drop the Tojo and use the Oscar, I’m fine. The Tojo sure is not a wonderful plane, but at least it’s much closer match to the Allied planes (in an agile, fragile & lightly armed versus an armored over-gunned flying brick type of comparison). Well, by Allied, I really mean US - because that’s where Tojos can make a difference, against the Brits. I find them noticeably superior to the Hurricanes, and the quality improvement of the Brit fighters is slower than for the US fighters.
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