UK CV's - The How to Setup Guide
*EDIT* Updated to 11th Feb 2011
Due to the age and certain inaccuracies of this guide I have decided to update the post in
full to the current style of gameplay and patch notes found on Navyfield. The most
important changes are the CV patch and introduction of T4 fighters and T5 scouts.
*/EDIT*

So you've decided to play Carriers and wish to join the Royal Navy. Congrats you won뭪
regret it. Now the burning question like a rash from your nether regions is what pilot
setup do I choose and what sailors do I need?

Let뭩 get some basic facts out first.
(1) All T5 scouts have 400 seconds of fuel. Ie a lot compared to 109 for T4 fighters.

(2) UK tb's hit hard and UK DB's hit like wet rehor used toilet paper. DB pilots are a
waste of very limited space on your precious CV.

(3) UK fighters used to be awesome at T3. Now with T4 fighters UK gets shafted, no nice
way to put it. We have universally the worst plane stats of all the nations for fighters
and run joint last with IJN. Additionally the CV patch raised the ability cap of certain
sailors, including fighters. The dominance of high level super vetted UK fighters is over.
Now we really have to work for our wins.
*Additionally, T4 fuel has been severely reduced from old T4 flight time, 136(old T3) sec
to 109 (new T4). This gives very limited time of engagement. Long flights are best to be
avoided if you wish to keep planes in the air as long as possible. This is why I use
scouts  more on this later.

(4) Seamen add roughly (and i mean very roughly since its neigh on impossible to test
accurately) 3% bonus to a fighter pilots ability. Personally I have 3 lvl120 seamen all
super vetted and the difference is negligible. However I feel with the seamen on-board I
can compete with the best KM and US fps in a 1:1 win loss ratio. (tyvm cv 밷alance?patch)

(5) Medics drastically expert crew loss only, it뭩 your call if you wish to use them. (VET
death was removed)

(6) The only statistic that matters for UK TB's is Bomber skill ... not air - say it with me
Bomber skill - rolling +12b is all you need. Come roughly lvl80 they will be AAW immune to
all but the highest AAW stat ships (Sodak - Brooklyn etc.) And around 90+ will be totally
immune.

(7) Likewise only stat that matters for Fighters is ... the fighter skill so get +12 or
elites +13.

(8) Smaller fighter groups such as 4-4-4 with the recent changes are just as if not more
competitive than 6-6 waves. The crucial factor is do you have 6 fighter pilots. If not,
why not? 4 fighter pilots used to work with the larger fuel tanks of the T3뭩. Now with T4
fighters the fast you can get the planes into the air, the better. Not just to intercept
at the beginning of a game, but to also relieve the planes you currently have in the air.
Using 3 waves also allows you to spread out if required, cover more ground and clear out
scouts etc.

(9) *Also Important* When torpedo bombing - Hitting the MIDDLE of the enemy ship does 100%
torpedo damage... hitting the front and rear does only %50. So aim well.



**Pilot Setups**
Ok moving on - There are a variety of pilot setups to choose from, 4fp/4tb - 6fp/2tp -
2fp/6tb or if you really are a lvling masochist 6fp/6tb. Deciding on what setup to play
should be dictated by the playing style you wish to follow.

*Word of note some people wish to play with just 8 fighter pilots and fighter whore all
the time. I've found that 6 fighter pilots are all you need and that 8 is just wasteful not
to mention you can't scout with scouts. It's very unlikely you will ever use all 8 pilots
at once effectively, 6 being the most and additionally I've found from personal experience
that using a 7th and 8th fighter pilot is very wasteful, it뭩 hard to keep track of more
than 8 plane groups in the air and all it takes is a split second for you to lose
concentration and ergo lose planes.

 Insert New Option (A)
6fp/2scouts ?This is by far the most revolutionary setup possible. But is only practical
end game when you obtain lvl120 T5 scouts. They are faster than all enemy fighters and
when handled properly are untouchable. The key is to launch 3-4 planes per scout pilot, so
3-3 or 4-4, and keep them at sea level at max sight range from the enemy ship line and AA.
Use your fighters whose fuel is very limited to cover your own ship line or to engage in
no-man뭩 land enemy fighters/scouts. Using this setup you should no longer suffer plane
death to enemy AA. Friendly AA is another matter. (Works flawlessly for me every time,
perfect sight, perfect bb cover)

Option (B)
4fp/4tb - This used to be a balanced setup which honestly only worked for UK CV's
which is why you didn뭪 see it done by other nations. When launching your planes always work
in groups of 2 pilots. So if you are using the Attacker it's 3-3, Courageous and
Illustrious its 4-4 and Malta is 5-5. With the lower fuel capacity it뭩 not recommended to
work with 2 plane waves. The load time is too great meaning you have drastically less
flight time in the air before planes have to return. It뭩 more cumbersome, especially if
you have to scout with your fighters, meaning long flight times and often they don뭪 make
it back to your CV if they had to engage enemy planes.
Having 4tb's permits you to almost (keyword almost - there is some downtime in the
launching and recovery of planes unless they are shot down) continuously bomb the enemy. It
all comes down to who has bulge. Armoured Lion 2's (no rear turret and slow) are prime
targets since bulge will be at a minimum etc. - use your best judgement. But if you
must torp a target with a lot of bulge it뭩 going to take at least 2 waves maybe even three.
(Don뭪 forget he's repairing between waves)

Option (C)
6fp/2tb - The slightly heavier fighter option works similar to the previous option A only
that there will never been any fighter downtime. Provided you play well you can always
have fighters in the air and never lose any due to low fuel. It also permits some
flexibility if you have to launch a full wave fast.

Before I used to recommend sticking to 6-6 launches with the Midway, but now with T4뭩
longer load time and much less fuel it뭩 far more efficient to run 4-4-4 waves. Having
tb뭩 gives you offensive attack, but with no scouts, you will be forced to use your
fighters and their limited fuel if you need to scout.
As mentioned the downside to option C is with only 2TB pilots your bombers are mostly for
self-defence or attacking targets of opportunity. Once wave of 12 torp bombers from a
Midway usually
can't kill a full 900SD bb/cv5 target that has some bulge ... even hitting it smack on the
middle but it is great for finishing off wounded targets from battle.

Option (D)
6tb/2fp - Similar to the torping in option A but the 6 tb pilots allow you to bomb all
game long
without any downtime. Use pilots in groups of 2 or 3 (ie 6-6 or 4-4-4) launches depending
on the situation and time permitted. Controlling 6 pilots at the same time in the air and
manual torping is really irritating to get them to all fly in a very tight group.

The downside is however - your limited to 2 fp pilots which is essentially 1 wave of
fighters. If your fighter capped or have to provide cover or scout the choice of plane is
up to you. Locals work wonders when enemy fighters are preventing your bombers from
launching. Using T4뭩 gives you limited ability to cover your line or scout. Luckily UK
TB뭩 have much better sight than other nations DB뭩 (which are essentially blind when
flying), often you can find yourself surrounded by darkness looking for a hidden target.
Maybe taking a scout on your ship would help? :D




**Ship Setups**
Usually I would recommend power-levelling a BO past the lvl50 Attacker to at least the
Colossus at 58 but more preferably the Courageous at 63. The Courageous being able to
launch 8 planes and more than double the internal capacity of the Attacker. But anyhow
I뭠l list all the ships in order. If you have 8 pilots you뭨e going to have to rotate them
to keep getting exp until at least the Illustrious at 73.
* All cv's should equip 0.2belt and as much bulge as can be carried, to mitigate enemy
torp dmg from tb or worse - subs *

- Attacker lvl50 - 2100 Aircraft space, 6 plane launch, 5 support slots

- Colossus lvl58 - 3720 Aircraft Space, 7 plane launch, 6 support slots

- Courageous lvl63 - 4700 Aircraft Space, 8 plane launch, 6 support slots

- Illustrious lvl73 - 5980 Aircraft Space, 8 plane launch, 6 support - 2 R slots

- Ark Royal lvl82 - 7900 Aircraft Space, 9 plane launch, 7 support slots - 2 R slots
*Personally I load 5 FP pilots and 2 scout pilots. Loading 25 T5 scouts and as many T4 fps
as possible after that. Mainly used in fleet leagues.

- Malta Project lvl 98 - 9700 Aircraft Space, 10 plane launch - 8 support slots - 2 R slots
The Malta is a beautiful ship that can hold 255 Bulge and 0.2 with ease. With 8 support
slots you can
finally load your full crew on-board, 8 pilots 1 medic and 1 seaman. With a 10 plane launch
capacity I always used to work my pilots in groups of 2 (ie 5-5). It뭩 personaly
preference now if you want to work 3-3-3 or 5-5.

- PCV Implacable lvl 105 - 11650 aircraft space, 11 plane launch - 9 supports - 2 R slots
The Implacable is a CV6 training ship, it has the same crew slots and is of a higher level
than the Malta so that your pilots won뭪 start to lose exp around lvl115 to 118.
Honestly I was never a fan on the aborted lovechild of a Malta and Illustrious, it's
fairly hideous
especially when compared to the Hindenburg (KM pcv). But it's the prefect level step to
the Midway CV6.
*Important thing to note here is the addition of a 9th support slot. Personally my
favourite choice is an Engineer. The Engi provides Soft defence (if ur arn't already at
900) but more importantly speed, overheat and repairs. Especially useful if you need to
escape a sticky situation such as a sub or an enemy dive bomb wave (and to help repair
after you get hit by said db wave). A good Engineer will help you push 40knots easily. I
run 6fps, 2 scouts same as midway here.

- The Midway lvl 120 - 14000 Aircraft Space, 12 plane launch - 9 supports - 2 R slots
An awesome ship, the UK Midway is simply stunning for a number of reasons. Firstly 12
plane launch provides 6-6 or 4-4-4 launches. Personally I run 6fp pilots and 2 scouts.
Running 100 T4?planes and 40 T5 scouts. By using option A for pilot setup, I rarely lose
any fighters, unless heavily engaged with a KM or US cv crew of equal calibre (mega vetted
120). And so long as I micro my scouts they don뭪 die either. Also T5 scouts have 400
seconds of fuel.

Protection - With a full crew all at level 120 the Midway can load max 255 bulge, 20
bulkhead, 0.2 belt, 0.2 deck and still go 41knots with 1 Engineer. (no guns)
Mixing the setup it can go 45knots if you wish it to by taking off the bulkhead and
reducing the bulge to half.

* The Midway is also the first ship available to the UK line which permits the use of many
gun slots. So if you want some kicks, borrow/steal/level some 115+ UK AA gunner and put
pompoms on it. Makes one heck of a noise and impressive flak attack.






There you have it and updated CV guide from myself Fara and my personal opinions on how to
setup UK CV's - I didn't go into how to use your planes in combat since thats a whole new
thread topic and requires pictures and well its already been done to death by other people.

To any aspiring UK CV players out there I say enjoy yourself and *please feel free to
ask questions in this thread to which I will reply. And if any BB player starts to annoy
you or complains i have a simple macro for you
" Not your personal Air Force >:( "



Fara.
:D