Mission «Kamikaze Strike»

What this mission is

It is an order for your planes. You tell them: “Fly into this sea region and ram the enemy ships you find there.” The game says it plainly: “Perform kamikaze attacks on enemy ships in area.” Damage goes way up. Losses go up too.

Compared with «Naval Strike», the hit on the enemy ship is much harder. You do not get that plane back from the sortie.

Why you need this mission

You need it to wipe an enemy fleet that a normal strike at sea would take too long to sink. Typical case: a pack of Battleships and Carriers sitting off the coast, or inside the range of your Air Base. Put a wing on this mission — and those ships start going down a lot faster.

This is a real tool, and a strong one. The fleet comes apart quickly. You pay for that with hundreds of planes: they do not come back.

Inland, with no sea, you do not need it. Empty ocean — same story. Where there are big ships and you have planes to replace the losses, this is one of the best ways to take a fleet apart.

What happens when you turn it on

Open the air map — the plane icon in the bottom-right corner, or the F3 key. Pick the Air Wing, set the «Kamikaze Strike» order in the top-left, then right-click the sea region.

After that the planes take off, look for ships, and ram whatever they can see. If there are no ships in the region, the button is on, there is nothing to sink, and the wing still gets spent for nothing. Experienced players check Coverage first: if your planes cannot even reach the middle of the region, the strike is weak.

Wiping the enemy fleet

Against ship Strength, the hit is about 20 times harder than a normal «Naval Strike». That is why Battleships and Carriers that a regular naval air wing only scratches actually sink here. Plane losses are about 4 times higher. Plus the ram itself: that plane does not return to the Air Wing.

Surface fleet is the main target. You can hit Submarines too, but you have to find them first. If you cannot see the boats, there is nothing to ram. Night and open ocean make spotting worse. Near the coast, targets usually show up more clearly.

How to get access to this mission

The button does not show up on its own. You need a specific National Focus.

Japan, for example, gets it from the «The Divine Wind» focus on the air branch. Other countries have to check their own National Focuses.

Who should fly this mission

You usually build a cheap Fighter. You can add 2–3 Extra Fuel Tanks so the range is better. Keep everything else as cheap as you can. That is the plane you put on this mission.

When to turn this mission on

When the enemy fleet is already inside your planes’ range and you need it gone now. When you can see the fleet in a sea region, it sits next to your Air Base, it is blocking a landing, or it is holding the sea. If the fleet is far away, the button does nothing — and you still lose planes on empty sorties.

Do not turn this on “just in case.” Check three things first:

• Is there an enemy fleet?
• Is the range enough?
• Do you have Air Superiority?

If the enemy holds the sky, their Fighters shoot your wing down before the ram. Losses are already high — a red sky makes the mission expensive and weak. Give your Fighters the «Air Superiority» mission first, then ram.

Which region to assign

The one where the enemy fleet actually is — especially the surface fleet. And only somewhere your planes can reach properly. 100% Coverage — full effect. 50% Coverage — half the work, and the planes still die. Do not put this on empty ocean: you will burn the Air Wing for nothing.

• Details worth knowing

  • Fuel use.

    This mission uses 0.75 Fuel. That is 25% less than the average (1.0).

  • The planes do not come back.

    That is not a bug. The ram works like this: the plane hits a ship and vanishes from the Air Wing. Losses run into the hundreds. If the factories are not building replacements, the wing dies fast.

  • Coverage.

    If the Air Base is far away, Coverage drops. Less Coverage means fewer good rams, and the losses do not go away. Watch the percentage in the air interface.

  • Air Superiority.

    Enemy Air Superiority makes this mission weak. Your planes are already going one-way. If enemy Fighters sit on top as well, you pay with the wing and barely sink the fleet. Put your Fighters on «Air Superiority» first, then ram.

• Typical beginner mistakes

  • Turning the mission on with no factories.

    One Air Wing with no production burns out fast. After that the mission is useless. If you are not ready to build planes in bulk, do not press this order.

  • Assigning the order where there is no enemy fleet.

    If the region has no enemy fleet, there is nothing to sink. Only put it where the enemy actually has ships.

  • Sinking a fleet you are about to capture.

    If a country is about to capitulate and you will inherit its ships, do not spend planes destroying them. A whole fleet as a prize is worth more than a quick win right now.

• Tips that help

  • Hit one region.

    Stack the wing where the big fleet sits. Ten regions “a little everywhere” is a weak ram everywhere and empty losses. One region with these wings stacked sinks ships much faster.

  • Cheap planes and tanks for range.

    These planes do not need to be elite or expensive. You need a flow of replacements. While the factories run, the mission stays strong. Stop the line — the punch is gone. I would build cheap planes on purpose. Often you hang 2–3 tanks on them: «Extra Fuel Tanks». Otherwise the wing cannot reach, and the planes get spent anyway.

  • Air Superiority first, then the ram.

    Fighters cover the wings on this mission, and those wings hit the fleet. Together with your own navy it gets even nastier: the planes find and ram, the ships finish the job. Apart it is weaker, but it still works.