Naval units

Unlike the land army, naval units are extremely costly to maintain. One destroyer is roughly worth 3 normal French light tanks, and so you should be careful about what units you build for the navy, as many of these units are hard to build.

For this reason, the Japanese, British, Germans and Italians are potential naval powers, because of their special construction capabiltiies.

Naval unit roster

A selection of naval units. Front row: gunboats, battleships and attack craft; back row: carriers and capital ships

Anchorage

• Pos 1: Cruiser, destroyer, submarine I, special attack craft, units trawler
• Pos 2: (contains upgrades for German submarine line)

Naval yard

• Pos 1: cap ship, battleship, battle cruiser, carrier, Submarine II
• Pos 2: Upgrades to most units

Population cost (mainstream)

• Trawler, light ship class, destroyer, submarine - 1
• Cruiser, battle cruiser, capital ship - 2
• Carrier, super capital ship - 4
• Total number of units - 27

Mainstream units

These units are available from a wharf. In addition, a wharf is required in order to be able to allow land units to be transported via water.

• Motorboat

Coastal Motor Boat
	Cheapest unit. Has low defence against low-level naval units, but high defence against large enemy ships such as Battle Cruisers, Battleships and Super Battleships. Can be used to attack submarines but isn't that powerful. Strong against: heavy ships, submarines Weak against: escort ships, aircraft
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Very fast	Low	Medium	Low	Medium	Very fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		1		Low	Rather low

• Destroyer

Destroyer
	Light-to-medium surface craft with some anti-air, anti-submarine capability, making it useful as an early escort vessel due to its lack of minimum range. Best used to mass naval power Fairly cheap
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Medium	Low	Medium	Medium	Medium	Fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Rather low	Medium

• Cruiser

Battle Cruiser
	Somewhat poor speed, but excellent armour and armaments. Ideal for gaining early game naval supremacy and shelling most enemy fortifications although it performs poorly against motorboats. Capable of engaging air, but is rather weak Subceptible to submarine attack Costly
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Somewhat slow	Medium	Medium	Good	Medium	Very fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Medium	Medium

Trawler

• capable of gathering fish from the ocean.

Trawler
	Somewhat poor speed, but excellent armour and armaments. Ideal for gaining early game naval supremacy and shelling most enemy fortifications although it performs poorly against motorboats. Capable of engaging air, but is rather weak Subceptible to submarine attack Costly
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Somewhat slow	Medium	Medium	Good	Medium	Very fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Medium	Medium

Broadly put, use destroyers for their anti-air, anti-submarine capabilities, and the costlier but more powerful cruiser against surface naval targets.

Restricted units

These units may be built from a naval yard, which can be built only in cities or major cities.

Battle cruiser

• Available only to the powers - see major powers and minor powers for more info.
• Modern Age vanilla skin
• Upgrade of the Dreadnought, has limited anti-air capability, but is just as powerful.

Battle cruisers are a more destructive version of a destroyer, and are also capable of high speed and anti-aircraft support. Use these units to counter the cheaper but weaker destroyers and cruisers

Battle Cruiser
	Medium to heavy ship, meant for massing naval power and meant to function as an advanced "early game" line ship, or as a substitute for the heavier and more powerful battleships and capital ships. Capable of engaging air, but is rather weak Subceptible to submarine attack Strong against: Destroyers, land-based targets Weak against: Battleships, submarines, aircraft
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Somewhat slow	Medium	Medium	Good	Medium	Very fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Medium	Medium

Battleship

• Is the hardest-hitting conventional surface vessel unless capital ships are considered
• Very extensive LOS
• Battleships are buildabe only by the 7 major naval powers, as well as Brazil and the Netherlands.

Battleship
	Heavy-duty warship specialised in bombarding surface targets and massing naval power. Capable of engaging air, but is rather weak Subceptible to submarine attack Strong against: Surface-based targets Weak against: Submarines, aircraft
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Somewhat slow	Medium	Medium	Good	Medium	Very fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Medium	Medium	Poor LOS which increases with each scientific upgrade.

Air carrier

• Costly, slow unit, vulnerable to submarines, but has a powerful complement of torpedo bombers.
• The number of torpedo bombers is increased for different factions (along with the addition of special units) to maintain balance
• Carriers can be built by all major powers except Russia.

Air Carrier
File:Ingame pic dread.png	Somewhat poor speed, but excellent armour and armaments. Ideal for gaining early game naval supremacy and shelling most enemy fortifications although it performs poorly against motorboats. Capable of engaging air, but is rather weak Subceptible to submarine attack Costly
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Somewhat slow	Medium	Medium	Good	Medium	Very fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Medium	Medium

Submarine

Light, slow and fragile, submarines have a devastating attack against heavy ships, and are cloaked when not moving. Much later, however, they can be upgraded to become true submersibles.

• Stealthy bane of heavy ships, but subceptible to destroyers and cruisers.
• Submarines (I) are cheap, but Advanced Submarines (II) are costly, and available only to powers such as France or Germany. However, the survivability of Advanced Submarines is substantially higher, having more hitpoints and movement speed.
• Submarines have enough payload to destroy civvy shipping, and suffer almost no damage from capital ships!

Submarine
	Somewhat poor speed, but is highly capable of destroying surface shipping and is cloaked when not attacking Has mediocre LOS which increases with each science upgrade Strong against: transport barges, trawlers, merchant marie, heavy ships Weak against: aircraft, destroyers
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Somewhat slow	Medium	Medium	Good	Medium	Very fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Medium	Medium	Poor LOS which increases with each scientific upgrade.

Capital ship

Capital ships are the biggest floating weapons around, and come in different sizes and shapes, and are available only to the 7 major powers. Capital ships are not only powerful, but they have different capabilities - that comes with a handicap. For instance, the Iowa-class battleship is the fastest-sailing, fastest-producing and cheapest capital ship, but clearly is outmatched by other capital ships such as the Bismarck-class battleship, in terms of firepower and armour. Capital ships are so big that (wht the possible exception of British and Russian capital ships) they canot be garrisoned in dockyards. NOTE: Germany and Japan receive 2 different capital ships, instead of 1. Capital ships have hit penalties against small craft, but can be used to take out destroyers and large targets. Most Tier 1 Battleships require only Stainless Steel from your Foundry, but the Tier 2 Battleships of Japan and Germany require both Shell Process and Replaceable Parts; for the Italian and French battleship programmes, however, only Mechanisation (Level 2 Trunk tech) and Logistics are required.

See the following list for more details:

Unique units

KNIL

Note: unlike other factions, the KNIL do not have the capital ship or the aircraft carrier.

Battle Cruiser

Java-class light cruiser - Weakest but fastest-moving, fastest-hitting and cheaper than normal battle cruisers

Special

• Brinio - light attack craft, meant to out-tech the other swift boat factions (Italy, USA and Germany), but must be upgraded later on to ....

Brinio
	Immensely huge, powerful but slow warship with a construction penalty and a high pricetag to boot. Ideal for gaining early game naval supremacy and shelling most enemy fortifications although it performs poorly against motorboats, aircraft and submarines. Strong against: Weak against: aircraft, missiles, submarines, light watercraft and coastal batteries
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Slowest	Legendary	Excellent	Brutal	Slow	Very slow
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Epic	Far

• Flores - has better rate of fire, range and accuracy, making it ideal for offshore bombardment.

Flores
	Immensely huge, powerful but slow warship with a construction penalty and a high pricetag to boot. Ideal for gaining early game naval supremacy and shelling most enemy fortifications although it performs poorly against motorboats, aircraft and submarines. Strong against: Weak against: aircraft, missiles, submarines, light watercraft and coastal batteries
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Slowest	Legendary	Excellent	Brutal	Slow	Very slow
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Epic	Far

Empire of Japan

Capital ships

• Kongo-class battleship - has weaker armour, slower speed but good guns. The only difference between Kongo and other ships is that she comes out earlier than other warships.

Kongo
	Lower armour and speed in comparison to normal battleship, but has immense firepower Ideal for shelling enemy installations, but weak against units, especially air units and submarines. Strong against: Weak against: aircraft, missiles, submarines, light watercraft and coastal batteries
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Slowest	Legendary	Excellent	Brutal	Slow	Very slow
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Epic	Far

• Yamato-class super battleship - immensely huge, powerful warship, comparable with the Bismarck class. But with poor speed, a construction penalty and a high pricetag to boot. Note-like all warships, Yamato is not an upgrade, but still requires some technologies to be built.

Yamato
	Immensely huge, powerful but slow warship with a construction penalty and a high pricetag to boot. Ideal for gaining early game naval supremacy and shelling most enemy fortifications although it performs poorly against motorboats, aircraft and submarines. Strong against: Weak against: aircraft, missiles, submarines, light watercraft and coastal batteries
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Slowest	Legendary	Excellent	Brutal	Slow	Very slow
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Epic	Far

British Commonwealth

As a general rule, British ships are served by 3 main advantages: they have good range, excellent LOS, and the ability to regenerate after a battle. This ability is enhanced compared with tanks and infantry on land.

Aircraft carriers

• Ark Royal - in addition to having good LOS and a variety of good torpedo bombers, Ark Royal has an enhanced regeneration capability and a slight speed bonus.

Battle cruisers

• Town-class cruiser - average power and durability, compared to the Aviso-type ships of France and Portugal, but can easily shoot them from afar.

Capital ships

• KGV-class battleship - average power and durability, but with good LOS, and can easily shoot from afar. Several Nelsons can take on a Bismarck, but might have problems with the bigger Yamato. You must have some ancillary research completed to unlock this ship.

Germany

Capital ships

• Bismarck-class battleship - strong, immensely powerful, but one of the slowest to move - yet the slowest to die nonetheless in a heated exchange. Note-Bismarck requires some technologies to be built.

Submarines

• U-boat - Replaces submarine, and is highly advanced, with a variety of tricks, such as better speed and weapon range than other submarines. The German U-boat can be upgraded to the Type XXII U-Boat for better performance

Special

• S-boat - unlike other warships, this is a weak, but cheap-producing gunboat, capable of taking out submarine and surface targets, and very effective at taking out air. Unlike other warships, the S-boat is known for being built of both timber and oil.

USSR

Capital ships

• Soyuz-class battleship - Average-performance battleship, with a cheap pricetag, but hidden high ramp costs in metal, and a long gestation period. To create many capital ships, Russia must build as many naval facilities as it can. A player will then be forced to decide what sort of military force it needs, because its navy requires high micromanaging.

Battle Cruisers

• Kirov-class heavy cruiser - as with the Soyuz battleship, the Kirov also can be created in huge numbers initially, before it is slowed by its ramp cost in metal. slightly slower to build, but not as indefatigably difficult to build as the Soyuz.

Kingdom of Italy

Capital ships

• Littorio-class battleship - average hull strength and weak range, but highly powerful main guns and engine. Unlike many other capital ships, Littorio doesn't need any auxiliary technologies to be created. Unlike other warships, Littorio can be built from the Anchorage, ensuring Italy can spam build capital ships well until the late game.

Special

• MAS Squad

MAS Squad
	Cheap but weak light assault vessels, deals added damage against submarines and is also capable of damaging cruisers and battleships. Has low defence against low-level naval units, but high defence against large enemy ships such as Battle Cruisers, Battleships and Super Battleships. Can be used to attack submarines but isn't that powerful.
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Very fast	Low	Medium	Low	Medium	Very fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		1		Low	Rather low

- a trio of cheap but weak fast attack boats, deals added damage against submarines and cruisers, but takes added damage from aircraft, can be upgraded to S-Boats later on if Fascism was chosen.

France

Capital ships

• Richelieu-class battleship - Better than the Vittorio Veneto class but with a higher cost, and some ancillary research required.

Aircraft carriers

• Béarn class - early aircraft carrier, is cheap to build but of inferior quality.
• Joffré class - cheap to build but is pretty "normal".

Special

Aviso (shared with Portugal): a cross between a destroyer and a motorboat. Although cheap, easily destroyed in combat, and not as effective as a destroyer.

United States of America

Capital ships

• Iowa-class battleship - Average-strength battleship. Capable of outranging warships like the Vittorio Veneto class, but still fragile against other ships, especially such as Bismarck-class or Yamato-class warships. It however is distinguished from other factions by having a lower pop cost, and a fast build time. Theoretically, the USA can churn out quite a number of these warships.

Cruiser

• Baltimore-class cruiser - Replaces cruiser, battle cruiser, and destroyer. Has the best stats of each and every one.

Aircraft carriers

• Yorktown-class - the Yorktown has a lower ramp cost, making it easier for the American player to produce these warships once the appropriate technology is acquired.

Special

• PT boat: cheap and fast unit, vulnerable to aircraft but has an attack bonus against all land units.

Dreadnought
	Somewhat poor speed, but excellent armour and armaments. Ideal for gaining early game naval supremacy and shelling most enemy fortifications although it performs poorly against motorboats. Capable of engaging air, but is rather weak Subceptible to submarine attack Costly
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Move speed
Free	Somewhat slow	Medium	Medium	Good	Medium	Very fast
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
		2		Medium	Medium

Brazil

Cruiser

• Minas Gerais-class dreadnought - can be replaced by battleships later on. It's costly, but packs a far more powerful punch than other cruiser-class units in existence. Note that Brazil cannot build cruisers or battleships without Hierarchy researched.