Aerial Combat

Aircraft Movement

Squadron Control

Individual squadrons are controlled using the WASD keys and the mouse. Aircraft will automatically retain a set forward throttle, regardless of player input. Squadrons are steered using a combination of the mouse and the "A" and "D" keys. The "W" and "S" keys are used to apply a limited time boost and air braking, respectively. The amount of remaining boost is indicated by the curved bar on the left side of the HUD when controlling a squadron. Boost will automatically regenerate when not being used, but captains can also use the Engine Cooling squadron consumable to immediately replenish the boost bar.

Left-clicking will begin an attack run. While in the attack mode, squadron control remains the same.

Pressing "F" when controlling a squadron will relinquish control of the squadron, returning both the captain and their aircraft to the carrier. Aircraft expended in an attack run will automatically return to their carrier.

Catapult Fighter, Fighter, Patrol Fighters and Spotting Aircraft

Catapult Fighter  and Spotting Aircraft  cannot be controlled by the player, and move around the map automatically. They can go as far as 4.23 km away from the ship for Spotting Aircraft, and 3.24 km for Catapult Fighters.

For aircraft carrier captains, the Fighter consumable is automatically activated when the carrier is spotted by aircraft. Each consumable consists of a squadron of four fighters that rotate around the vessel at a distance of 3 km. They will attempt to engage enemy aircraft within their range.

Aircraft carrier controlled squadrons of Tier VI and above have access to the Patrol Fighters consumable. Similar to the Fighter consumable, when activated it will place a squadron of four fighters at the location in which it was activated. The fighters will attempt to engage enemy aircraft within their range. Patrol fighters last for 60 seconds, allowing them to be used as a passive scouting tool by carrier captains.

Air-to-Air Combat

Air-to-air combat is performed automatically through the usage of the Fighter, Catapult Fighter  and Patrol Fighter consumables. When activated, AI controlled fighters will appear and engage enemy aircraft within their range. The aircraft created from the Catapult Fighter and Fighter consumables will follow their host ship, while Patrol Fighters will remain where they were activated. All three consumables have limited life spans.

Anti-Surface Combat

Aircraft Carriers in World of Warships have three types of anti-surface weapons; Attack Aircraft, Torpedo Bombers, and Dive Bombers. Attack Aircraft utilize a large number of small-caliber rockets to light fires and strike fast, maneuverable vessels that are lightly armored. Torpedo Bombers carry air-dropped torpedoes that can cause floods, and are best suited against slower, less maneuverable targets. Finally, Dive Bombers carry either HE or AP bombs that are released directly above an enemy vessel, and can be used effectively against most targets.

Attack Aircraft

Attack aircraft are aircraft that carry a large number of HE rockets. The rockets have relatively low penetration values, so their damage output against heavily armored ships is negligible. Their primary use is to start fires on enemy vessels, and to harass lightly armored destroyers. The Inertia Fuse for HE Shells skill can be used to improve their penetration, although taking this skill is not usually recommended for an aircraft carrier. The carriers of the United States Navy have access to two types of rocket; a small, "traditional" rocket, and the much larger "Tiny Tim" rockets that feature higher damage, penetration and fire chance over their counterparts, at the cost of the number of rockets carried per plane.

Attack aircraft are arguable the easiest of the three weapon types to aim, as they have the fastest sight stabilization and a fairly small strike dispersion. They have no arming distance and have an easy to use aiming reticle.

Torpedo Bombers

Torpedo bombers are the preferred strike weapons of aircraft carriers, as they provide consistent damage against almost any enemy ship in a given match. Aerial torpedoes have universally lower damage and flood chance when compared to their ship-launched counterparts, but otherwise behave similarly.

When performing an attack run with torpedo bombers, captains will notice a yellow are in the attack cone; this is the distance in which the torpedoes must travel before they arm. If a torpedo strikes before arming, it will not do damage. The torpedo attack cone also closes quite slowly, so captains should take the time to plan out their attack runs before beginning them.

Dive Bombers

Dive bombers are the third and final type of aircraft carried by an aircraft carrier. They come in three forms; HE bombs used by the United States Navy carriers and Kaga, AP bombs carried on Imperial Japanese Navy carriers, Graf Zeppelin and Enterprise, and a high-altitude HE "carpet bomb" found on Royal Navy carriers.

The traditional dive bombers found on all but the Royal Navy carriers are probably the most difficult weapon type to use, as their aiming reticle is fairly hard to understand, and properly "leading" a target before entering the attack run takes quite a bit of practice to get right. The payoff is extremely high fire chance and good damage.

The Royal Navy aircraft have an aiming system similar to that of Attack Aircraft rockets, and are thus far easier to use.

Aerial Bomb Types

Icon	Description
	High Explosive Bombs are packed with impact-fused high explosive, with the primary intent of inflicting high amounts of module damage and setting fires.
	Armor-Piercing Bombs have armor-piercing caps and are fused to penetrate the extra layers of horizontal armor found on battleships, as well as some cruisers and aircraft carriers. They tend to over-penetrate when used against light ships.
	Skip Bombs are also filled with impact-fused high explosive, but are dropped at water-level height. These bombs can either be released several skips away, far from the reach of most anti-aircraft artillery, or directly on top of their targets.

Bombs Equipped

Nation	Bomb Type	Damage	Armor Penetrated	Fire Chance	Deployed Aboard
	AN-M64	7,300	42mm	41%	IV Langley, VIII Hornet
	AN-M64	7,300	53mm	46%	VIII Nebraska, IX Delaware, X Louisiana
	AN-M65	9,200	53mm	52%	VI Ranger, VIII Lexington
	AN-M62	5,600	42mm	32%	VI Independence, VIII Yorktown
	AN-M62	4,900	244mm	N/A	VIII Enterprise
	AN-M60	3,600	328mm	N/A	VIII Hornet
	AN-M66	11,200	67mm	64%	VIII Saipan (B), VIII Sanzang, X Midway, X Franklin D. Roosevelt, XI United States
	AN-M633	5,400	42mm	31%	X Essex
	AN-M56A1	16,000	85mm	91%	XI United States
	Type 99 No. 25 mod. 2	2,500	174mm	N/A	IV Hosho
	Type 99 No. 25 mod. 1	4,600	174mm	N/A	VI Ryujo (stock)
	Type 3 No. 25 Mk. 4	5,100	228mm	N/A	VI Ryujo, VIII Shokaku (stock)
	Type 2 No. 50 Mk. 1	6,200	283mm	N/A	VIII Shokaku
	Type 90 No. 50 Mk. 2	8,800	55mm	50%	VIII Kaga (B)
	Type 99 No. 80 Mk. 5	6,800	351mm	N/A	X Hakuryu, X Taihō, XI Sekiryu
	FAB-100	6,100	32mm	35%	IV Komsomolets, VI Serov
	FAB-250	6,100	32mm	35%	VIII Pobeda (stock)
	FAB-500	8,700	55mm	49%	VIII Pobeda, X Admiral Nakhimov
	FAB-500B	7,500	55mm	43%	VIII Chkalov
	PC 500a	4,000	149mm	N/A	IV Rhein
	SC 1000	12,200	69mm	69%	VI Loewenhardt
	PC 500c	7,000	227mm	N/A	VI Weser, VIII Parseval (stock)
	PD 500	5,800	344mm	N/A	VIII Graf Zeppelin (B)
	PC 500	7,800	256mm	N/A	VIII Parseval, X Richthofen (stock)
	PC 1000	8,800	331mm	N/A	X Richthofen
	SC 1000	11,100	69mm	63%	X Max Immelmann
	40 lb. G.P. Bomb	2,300	18mm	8.7%	IV Hermes
	40 lb. G.P. Bomb	2,300	19mm	9%	VI Ark Royal
	250 lb. G.P. Bomb	4,700	33mm	27%	VI Furious, VIII Indomitable
	250 lb G.P. Bomb Mk.I	5,600	33mm	32%	VIII Implacable
	250 lb G.P. Bomb Mk.I	4,700	33mm	27%	VIII Colossus
	500 lb. G.P. Bomb	6,400	41mm	36%	X Audacious, XI Eagle
	500 lb. G.P. Bomb	4,300	109mm	N/A	X Malta
	500 lb G.P. Bomb Mk.I	6,400	52mm	36%	XI Eagle
	150-kg G.P. Mle 1930	3,600	219mm	N/A	VI Béarn
	500-kg G.P. Mle 1930	6,100	32mm	35%	VI Béarn

Notes

Adrenalin Rush (AR) commander skill increases squadron speed with percent damage taken. Currently this skill is not recommended for carriers as each plane lost resets the damage percent. [The skill is currently under review.]