Audacious

HMS Audacious is a tier X Royal Navy aircraft carrier and the final researchable carrier of the Royal Navy tech tree. As such, its aircraft are the culmination of traits shared by her predecessors, featuring high hp pools compared to other aircraft at the same tier and carrying armaments that focus more on doing damage over time via fire and flooding rather than direct alpha damage. Their high hp and decent speed make them among the most survivable aircraft at their tier when under AA fire, being fast enough to get in and out of AA range quickly to get a strike off while having enough hp to take minimal losses while under fire. However, they may have some difficulty in conducting quick follow-up strikes due to their wider than average turning radius. It should also be noted that Audacious has a rather small deck capacity of only 14 planes of each type on deck with long regeneration times for all of her squads, being second to only to Franklin D. Roosevelt for the longest regeneration times for her carpet bombers and torpedo bombers. This low plane reserve and regeneration time can make it difficult to recover from heavy plane losses. Captains that prefer to position their carriers more aggressively may want to consider purchasing the Forced Takeoff and Landing Equipment () module which grants 15% better concealment, 50% reduction in time taken for the engine to reach full power, and 30% better rudder shift for the carrier itself for faster repositioning and also increases the boost time available to her air groups by 20% for faster squad cycling instead of the typical sixth upgrade slot options of increased plane hp or plane speed.

Westland Wyvern Attack Planes

Audacious’s attack aircraft, like those of previous Royal Navy carriers, are a solid secondary source of damage with a decent fire chance. Each squad consists of 9 aircraft that attack in flights of 3, each launching 12 rockets for a staggering total of 36 rockets per drop. The high number of rockets per drop combined with a short machine gun delay makes them an excellent choice to use against enemy destroyers, with well-aimed rocket salvos being capable of taking a third or even more of their low hp pools in one drop. However, the high potential alpha strike it could have against more armored vessels is largely precluded by the low penetration of only 28mm, the lowest of any tier X carrier. As such, they shouldn’t be relied upon as a primary source of damage against these targets. Should they be used against larger vessels, however, captains should aim for the superstructure as even the commonly found 30mm midsection armor on cruisers is thick enough to cause the rockets to shatter. Ideally, they should be used to hunt destroyers and to quickly reignite fires on battleships that may have been put out after an attack from the carpet bombs.

Westland Wyvern Bombers

Like other Royal Navy carriers, Audacious’s bomber squadrons consist of carpet bombers, releasing a large amount of bombs from high altitude that can potentially deal very high damage at the cost of having to lead more due to the long fall time of the bombs. Each squad consists of 9 aircraft that attack in flights of 3, each dropping 6 bombs for a total of 18 bombs per drop. The bombs themselves deal rather middling individual damage and the 41mm of penetration means that more heavily armored battleships and even some large cruisers can shatter the bombs on their decks. However, they have high fire chance for bombs of their size and combined with the amount of bombs in a single drop, it is not uncommon to light 2 or even 3 fires in a single well-aimed drop. They are best utilized against enemy battleships and cruisers, battleships in particular as their long damage control party cooldown and longer fire duration makes them particularly vulnerable to fires.

Westland Wyvern Torpedo Bombers

The torpedo bombers aboard Audacious are its most consistent form of damage against heavily armored targets. Each squad consists of 9 aircraft that attack in flights of 3, each dropping a single torpedo for a total of 3 torpedoes per drop. Key features of Audacious’s torpedoes include a converging spread like those found on her predecessors, a relatively short arming period, and the highest flooding chance of any aircraft-dropped torpedo at her tier (51%). When used in conjunction with the carpet bombers, the torpedoes can be reliably used to force an enemy vessel to use its damage control party before following up with a carpet bomb strike that will set fires that last their full duration. The high hp pool of her torpedo bombers when combined with the In-flight Repair  consumable also makes them resistant to even some of the densest AA fire when the consumable is active. They should ideally be used against enemy battleships that her bombs may struggle to penetrate or against cruisers under pressure from your own team to force them to either take damage from your torpedoes or turn broadside to your team to evade them.