Mission «Naval minelaying»

What is this mission?

You assign your planes an air region over the sea. They start laying naval mines there. In game the mission is called “Naval minelaying”.

Usually mines are laid by a special fleet. But a ship is slow and risks meeting the enemy fleet. A plane gets there fast and mines without a sea battle.

Note: mines from planes work like ordinary naval mines. No separate “air” rules: same damage, same enemy penalties.

Why do you need it?

First reason — close the shore against naval invasion. An enemy crossing mined waters takes penalties. A landing, hard already, gets even harder.

Second reason — hit the enemy fleet without battle. A ship hitting a mine loses 50 strength and half its organization, and in 14 cases out of 100 the hit is critical (crit chance 14%) — with damage multiplied by 5. Minelaying also helps win superiority in the sea region.

Third reason — speed. Air laying is faster than ship laying: the speed factor is 0.025 for aviation against 0.01 for ships. Planes mine 2.5 times faster than the fleet.

The real truth about the mission

Honestly: most often this button is useless. Access needs the separate “Aerial Minelaying” research from around 1942-1943, then a special module on the plane. Time and factories better spent on ordinary naval bombers — they sink the fleet directly.

Mines pay off in one case: you know exactly where the enemy will sail, and are ready to wait. Closing the Channel as Germany so Britain lands harder — exactly that case. Mining the ocean “just in case” wastes fuel.

Most often this mission is used for fun or for historical play.

What happens when you switch it on?

Open the air map — the plane icon at the bottom right or the F3 key. Select a wing of planes, in the orders menu top left press “Naval minelaying”, then right-click the sea region.

After that planes start sorties one after another and lay mines. Laying speed depends on plane count: the bigger the wing, the faster the mine counter grows. The strategic bomber lays fastest, 2.6 times faster than the naval bomber. But it won't grow forever — the region has a mine density limit.

How effective is it?

Mines hit on their own, without you. The enemy enters the region — and pays: damaged ships, disrupted convoys, penalized landings. Once as Germany I mined the Channel, and Britain found landing visibly harder, and combined with other factors I took sea superiority fairly fast.

But effectiveness caps. If the enemy doesn't sail there, mines just lie. And if he sails with minesweepers under cover, the sea is swept fast. So the mission fits narrows the enemy must cross — straits and approaches to landing ports.

When to switch this mission on?

When you know where the enemy will sail and want every passage to cost more. A classic in HoI4 — defending your shore against landing: the enemy prepares a landing while the strait is already mined.

Don't switch “just in case”. Before switching on, check three things:

• The enemy truly sails to this region;
• You need to complicate the enemy's life;
• Planes reach it with normal coverage.

Who should switch it on?

• • In what situation.

    Any country threatened from the sea. Island powers mine approaches to their ports, continental ones — straits like the Channel. With no naval war, you don't need the button.

    The mission is especially useful for those weaker at sea: mines guard the water instead of a missing fleet.

  • How to get access?

    In two steps.

    • First — the “Aerial Minelaying” research in the naval support “Mine Warfare” branch
    • Second — the “dropped mines” module on the plane in the designer. Without the module the button won't appear in the orders menu.

    Note: research and module cost time and factories. So unlock access only once you've decided which region to close.

Which region to assign?

The sea region the enemy crosses: a strait off your shore, approaches to ports where an enemy landing may go.

Check coverage and range. At 50% coverage the mission works at half strength while fuel burns anyway. No need to mine open sea far from enemy routes.

Mine a single region

Pick one strait or shore approach — and put the whole minelaying wing there. Mines pile only where planes work constantly. Ten regions “a little each” means ten weak fields the enemy crosses unnoticed.

One densely mined Channel scares more than five thin fields across the sea. As Germany: one closed strait — and Britain landed visibly harder.

Try this way first. New and unsure where to start — start with the strait off your shore.

• Nuances worth knowing

  • Speed depends on plane count.

    Each sortie adds mines, so a big wing closes the region faster. Air laying is plain faster than ship laying: the speed factor is 0.025 for aviation against 0.01 for ships.

  • Normal fuel, no command power.

    Burn — 1.0 per plane like most missions. And command power the mission needs none at all — free here.

  • Mines improve with research.

    First contact mines, then magnetic and acoustic ones. The further the “Mine Warfare” branch, the nastier the field.

  • The field isn't forever.

    The enemy may sweep mines with minesweepers, and in peacetime they fade on their own. Closed a region — watch the counter.

  • No laying without war.

    In fully peaceful time, with not a single war, mines can't be dropped. The mission can be assigned but no mines appear. So players sometimes declare on a far small state in HoI4 to be formally at war and keep minelaying access.

• Typical beginner mistakes

  • Mining empty sea.

    The most common mistake. The enemy doesn't sail there — mines lie idle, fuel burns. First make sure enemy routes cross the region.

  • Unlocking for a one-off.

    “Aerial Minelaying” research plus module — expensive for a single stunt. Nothing to close — give factories to naval bombers: they sink directly.

  • Spreading over all regions.

    Five weak fields stop no one. Better close one strait fully than five a little.

• Tips from top players

  • Close straits.

    The Channel, Gibraltar, the Danish straits — the enemy must go narrow. Every mine works there.

  • Cover from the sky.

    Minelaying bombers are defenseless against fighters. Keep your fighters with “Air Superiority” in the region.

  • Combine with the fleet.

    Mines break formation and hit ships, your fleet finishes. Experienced players do this: field and squadron together, not separately.

  • Mine before battles.

    Better to mine a still-calm sea than rush mines when already needed.