Midway

Revision as of 15:05, 7 July 2018

13.3

Aircraft Carrier | U.S.A. | Tier X

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28,000,000

Midway — American Tier X aircraft сarrier.

The largest U.S. Navy warship laid down during World War II. The huge size of this aircraft carrier allowed her to carry the largest air group, compared to her contemporary counterparts. Excellent torpedo protection, well-armored flight deck and powerful AA defenses made Midway-class ships virtually invulnerable to attacks from enemy aircraft.

The lead ship of the class, USS Midway, is now preserved as a military museum ship in San Diego, California.

Modules

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Midway	67,600	13	193		18	28/11/10/18				0	3,000,000

	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)	Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
F4U Corsair	173	1,530	0	1,000,000
F8F Bearcat Tiny Tim	176	1,660	38,000	2,500,000
F8F Bearcat HVAR 127 mm	176	1,590	38,000	2,500,000

	Maximum Torpedo Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
AD-1 Skyraider	5,067	128	1,960		0	1,000,000
BTD Destroyer	5,067	131	2,040		38,000	2,500,000

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
AD-1 Skyraider		128	2,060		0	1,000,000
BTD Destroyer		131	2,150		38,000	2,500,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 212,000 hp	33		0	900,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5
Slot 6

Player Opinion

Performance

The pinnacle of the American aircraft carrier line, Midway is best suited for the flexible, fool-proof combat. Jack-of-all-Trades preset and parameters make her able to react to any threats quickly and counter them even if the original battle plan is falling apart.

Her large hangar means she will not run out of planes in all but the harshest of battles, and her aircraft, when fully upgraded, becomes tough enough to cut her losses to a minimum. To compensate, the planes are slow to service and recover after destruction of a squadron, increasing the price of a mistake while lowering its probability.

Torpedo bombers are, after balance changes, only tier VIII and remain the weakest and most vulnerable of all Midway assets: a careless exposure to fighters or AA cluster will doom them nearly instantly. As such, sending her torpedo bombers alone is ill advised. To compensate, her twin torpedo bomber squadrons have a very narrow spread for easier aim and high damage output should they make it to their target.

Instead, Midway will rely on her tier X dive bombers: not only they make Midway more than capable of hunting enemy carriers (contrary to the tooltip), but, with AP bombs, may easily score citadel hits against all battleships and nearly all top tier cruisers. HE bombers, while extremely inaccurate, have a much higher fire chance than usual.

Immense fighter ammo supply generally leads to better time management: upgrading the planes is necessary to guarantee their competitive advantage, and due to being capped at tier IX, they will benefit greatly from Dogfighting Expert skill. They are, however, very vulnerable to manual fighter fire, so stacking the planes is a very risky decision. Compared to rival tier X fighters, they also have a very high recovery time after destruction.

Huge spotting range is often named as a disadvantage, though it's offset by speed, armor and AA defenses, making Midway more viable in open combat should the need arise (she can tank battleship fire for quite some time). This all leads to a more forgiving gameplay compared to most other carriers, favoring brute force over stealth and allowing to follow allies for faster attacks.

Pros:

Hangar is hard to deplete within a reasonable time period.
Legendary upgrade makes her attack planes extremely tough.
High potential damage over time (via fires and floods) coupled with solid alpha strike potential.
Strong anti-aircraft suite.
Dive bombers are fast, durable and are equipped with 1,000 lb. bombs that inflict tremendous damage IF they hit.
Extremely versatile with the 2-2-2 preset.
Hull is relatively well armored, allowing to keep closer to action and therefore lower aicraft travel time (therefore increasing DPM).

Cons:

With a base detection radius of over 18.0 km, Midway is among the most easily detectable ships in the game; this makes her a prime target for enemy surface ships when she is spotted.
Armor is just thick enough to let incoming armor piercing shells from enemy battleships land as regular penetrations (or citadel hits) rather than over-penetrate.
Relatively low alpha damage when compared to Japanese counterpart Hakuryu.
Her fighter and torpedo aircraft are inferior to the Hakuryu, and the Hakuryu is able to launch more fighters simultaneously.
Fighting a 4-2-2 Hakuryu for air control will be very difficult since the Midway is not able to change to a fighter loadout and is unable to match the sheer number of fighters (while also having a lower tier fighters).
Small number of squadrons limits her strength in reconnaissance.
Long squadron re-arm times, especially when a squadron of planes is destroyed entirely.
HE Dive bombers have somewhat questionable accuracy due to randomness of bomb drops (even when dropped manually). This does not hold for the AP bombers.
Contrary to the in-game description, fighting off Tier X enemy aircraft is not as easy as it sounds; without AA-specialized skills and equipment, the Midway remains more than able to be destroyed by air attacks, even with the Defensive AA Fire.

Research

Unlike most tier X ships, Midway has upgrades to research, with one variable choice.

Upgrade to Vought F4U-4 (fighter).
Upgrade to Kaiser XBTK-1 (dive bomber HE or AP; not necessary to research both).

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Midway are as follows:

Slot 1: Air Groups Modification 1
Slot 2: Damage Control System Modification 1 
Slot 3: Air Groups Modification 2 *
Slot 4: Damage Control System Modification 2
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 
Slot 6: Air Groups Modification 3  or Modified External Hardpoints ()*

Upgrade Slot 3 is the 1st main choice of upgrades with Midway. For players looking to improve their fighter's capabilities, Air Groups Modification 2 is highly recommended. Otherwise, the Flight Control Modification 1 helps players land and launch Midway’s multiple flight squadrons, as Midway has six separate plane squadrons to manage.

Upgrade Slot 5 offers players Concealment System Modification 1, which stacks with Concealment Expert and Camouflage to bring Midway’s surface detection down to a decent range of 13.5km.

Upgrade Slot 6 is the 2nd main choice of upgrades with Midway. Due to the common presence of multiple battleships and cruisers with very high AA power, Air Groups Modification 3 is highly recommended to make sure Midway’s planes will survive their trip to and from their target. If survivability isn't the player's foremost preference, Flight Control Modification 2 is viable, decreasing the speed gap between Midway’s and Hakuryu’s planes, allowing the slower and larger American squadrons to have a better chance of escaping from their Japanese counterparts.

Legendary Upgrade: Modified External Hardpoints () belongs to Slot 6 as well, and is, effectively, a better version of Air Groups Modification 3: double the aircraft durability bonus (30% vs 15%) in exchange for 5% decrease in speed (offset by other modifications and by the higher chance to return a squadron intact). Considering that plane durability is a major necessity for Midway, the legendary upgrade is a solid choice, especially in prolonged battles.

Commander Skills

As a carrier, Midway has access to the special carrier Defensive AA Fire  consumable, which lasts for two minutes and increases the ship's AA DPS by a factor of 1.25. Coupled with Basic Firing Training and Manual Fire Control for AA Armament, captains can significantly increase the ship's AA DPS to shoot down enemy planes effectively, sometimes completely wiping out the opponent's attack squadrons before they even manage to attack, or devastating careless enemy fighters.

If the Midway has access to the Concealment System Modification, captains can opt to choose to utilize the Concealment Expert skill as an indirect form of further protection from enemy ships (with skill, camouflage, and upgrade, her surface detection range is 13.04km).

Adrenaline Rush is a popular choice since the Midway is more likely to sustain damage anyway (due to her poor detection range); up to the point where players deliberately expose their ship to attack, or even friendly fire, to gain up to 20% faster aircraft service and recovery.

The Dogfighting Expert skill is not generally recommended throughout the American aircraft carrier line; however, as of Update 0.7.1, Midway’s fighters top out at Tier IX. This makes the skill valuable for a Midway commander, as it provides both additional ammo and damage versus most enemy aircraft she will encounter.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Endurance		Attack		Support		Versatility
1	Priority Target Situational Awareness indicator will show the number of opponents currently aiming at you with main battery guns. ★	Preventative Maintenance -30% to the risk of incapacitation of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gear, engines.	Expert Loader -50% to reload time when shell type is switched.	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time. ★★★	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time.	Incoming Fire Alert Indicator of long-range enemy artillery fire.	Last Gasp Completely restores the engine boost for the last attack flight of the carrier's planes.
2	High Alert -10% to reload time of Damage Control Party consumable.	Jack of All Trades -5% to reload time of all consumables.	Expert Marksman +2.5 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber up to 139mm. +0.7 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber above 139mm.	Torpedo Acceleration +5 knots to torpedo speed. -20% to torpedo range. ★★★	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen.	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% to reload times of all types of armament for each 1% of total health lost. +0.2% squadron speed for each 1% of total health lost. ★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated.
3	Basics of Survivability -15% to time of repair, fire extinguishing, and recovery from flooding.	Survivability Expert +350 ship HP for each ship tier. +15 aircraft HP for each ship tier.	Torpedo Armament Expertise -10% to reload time of torpedo tubes. ★★★	Aircraft Armor Reduces continuous damage to aircraft in all AA defense zones. -10% continuous damage.	Basic Firing Training -10% to reload time of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +10% to continuous damage from AA guns. ★★	Superintendent +1 additional charge to all consumables mounted on a ship.	Demolition Expert +2% chance of HE shells causing a fire on target. +1% chance of rockets causing a fire on target. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire on target.	Vigilance +25% to detection range of enemy torpedoes.
4	Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament Tightens dispersion of shells from secondary batteries. -15% for Tier I-VI ships. -60% for Tier VII-X ships. Manually selected target only.	Fire Prevention -10% to the risk of fire. The maximum number of fires on a ship is reduced to three.	Inertia Fuse for HE Shells +30% to the armor penetration capacity of HE shells. -1% chance of fire on target caused by shells <=139mm. -3% chance of fire on target caused by shells >139mm.	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +5% attack aircraft aiming speed. +5% torpedo bomber aiming speed. +10% dive bomber aiming speed.	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% damage/sec. within the explosion radius of shells fired from long-range AA defenses. ★★	Massive AA Fire Instantaneous Damage +100%. Priority AA sector cooldown +50%.	Radio Position Finding Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.	Concealment Expert -10% to the detection radius of all ships and aircraft. ★★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Meh Χ - Not recommended

Consumables

Midway can equip the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Defensive AA Fire

Premium Defensive AA Fire II () is recommended to counter any enemy carrier's attempts to "snipe" the player (that is, by having all bombers bypass allied ships undetected and attempting to sink the player in one hit). Damage Control Party II () is not recommended as it is only needed in dire moments, or when the player is the last one alive.

Camouflage

Type 1, 2, or 5 camouflage can be equipped for credits; Types 1 or 5 are recommended at a minimum to reduce detectibility range.

Players who wish to spend doubloons can equip Midway with Type 20 camouflage that lowers her detection radius, reduces the accuracy of incoming shells, reduces her repair costs, increases her credit earnings, and increases the amount of experience she earns.

Signals

As a carrier, Midway can only mount at most four signals at a time and has no risk of detonating. Players should mount Equal Speed Charlie London (for faster XP grinding / increased XP gain per battle), Zulu Hotel (when coupled with Equal Speed Charlie London greatly helps increase the speed of commander retraining), November Echo Setteseven (for better bomber self-defense against fighters and increased AA DPS), and Juliet Whiskey Unaone (to have a better chance at causing flooding and dealing damage via flooding). Players can also choose to equip the Dragon Flag for faster commander (re)training.

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation.	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration.	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding. ★★★	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★★★	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time.	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts. ★★★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed.	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables. ★	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used.
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

USS Midway is ready for her next assignment.
Midway’s powerful air wing is ready to deploy.
Kaiser XBTK-1 dive bombers from Midway assault an enemy Tirpitz.
A squadron of Grumman F8F "Bearcat" fighters intercept an enemy squadron of Douglas XSB2D "Destroyer" torpedo bombers.
Midway defends herself from an enemy air strike while re-arming her aircraft.
Midway scrambles aircraft for a return strike.

Historical Info

References

https://www.cv41.org/ // A nice site with good info.
https://www.midwaysailor.com/midway/history.html // First-hand accounts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Midway_(CV-41) // Wikipedia.
https://johneaves.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/the-evolutions-of-the-uss-midway-cv-41-and-the-uss-enterprise-ncc-1701-e // An interesting article.

Ships of U.S.A.

Destroyers	II Sampson • II Smith • III Wickes • IV Clemson • V Nicholas • V Hill • VI Farragut • VI Monaghan • VII Mahan • VII Sims • VII Sims B • VIII Benson • VIII Kidd • IX Fletcher • IX Benham • IX Halford • IX Black B • IX Black • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • ★ Joshua Humphreys
Cruisers	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • V Rattlehead • VI Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • IX Buffalo • IX Seattle • IX Vallejo • IX Alaska • IX Tulsa • IX Alaska B • X Des Moines • X Worcester • X Puerto Rico • X Salem • X Austin • ★ Annapolis
Battleships	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII North Carolina CLR • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • ★ Maine
Aircraft Carriers	IV Langley • VI Independence • VI Ranger • VIII Yorktown • VIII Lexington • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • X Essex • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • ★ United States

Aircraft Carriers

Japan	IV Hōshō • VI Ryūjō • VIII Shōkaku • VIII Kaga • VIII Kaga B • X Hakuryū • ★ Sekiryu
U.K.	IV Hermes • VI Furious • VI Ark Royal • VIII Implacable • VIII Indomitable • VIII Colossus • X Audacious • X Malta • ★ Eagle
France	VI Béarn
U.S.S.R.	IV Komsomolets • VI Serov • VIII Pobeda • VIII Chkalov • VIII Chkalov B • X Admiral Nakhimov
U.S.A.	IV Langley • VI Independence • VI Ranger • VIII Yorktown • VIII Lexington • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • X Essex • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • ★ United States
Germany	IV Rhein • VI Weser • VI Erich Loewenhardt • VIII August von Parseval • VIII Graf Zeppelin • VIII Graf Zeppelin B • X Manfred von Richthofen • X Max Immelmann
Pan-Asia	VIII Sanzang
Spain
Europe
Netherlands
Italy	VIII Aquila
Commonwealth
Pan-America

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 * Small number of squadrons limits her strength in reconnaissance.
 * Long squadron re-arm times, especially when a squadron of planes is destroyed entirely.
 * HE Dive bombers have somewhat questionable accuracy due to randomness of bomb drops (even when dropped manually). This does not hold for the AP bombers.
+* Contrary to the in-game description, fighting off Tier X enemy aircraft is not as easy as it sounds; without AA-specialized skills and equipment, the Midway remains more than able to be destroyed by air attacks, even with the Defensive AA Fire.
 |Research=<!-- write text about priority sequence of research below -->

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Midway

Revision as of 15:05, 7 July 2018

Modules

Compatible Upgrades