Airstrikes Against DDs? Really?

[TheGreatBlasto]

Okay, here's the poop. The game has just started and I'm in my Gnevny DD moving from the right side of the map to the left behind our front line.

 

There are 3 DDs per side and 2 CVs.

 

I'm minding my own business when 4 squadrons come at me. Really?  Is this the best target you two could find to waste a strike on?

 

So they knock off about 15% of my health with a bomb despite my masterful dodging and swerving.  I then continue to help sink a Schors a minute later.

 

Then another airstrike attacks me and this time I couldn't dodge all the torps (about 8?), and I'm sunk. 

 

It was all over in under 5 minutes for me.

 

Is this considered good use of a carrier? Two carriers in this case?

 

 

PS I saw a made-for-TV movie as kid about the Pearl Harbor attack. In one scene you see hundreds of Japanese planes flying over the island towards the harbor. Suddenly the Japanese officer in charge of the attack spots the movie's lead character down on a beach with his GFand swoops down to strafe them. It was ridiculous. In real life you would have gotten court-martialed for wasting ammo on such a low value target.

 

 

[Flashtirade]

Actually yes, destroyers are high-priority targets if the CV skipper has the skill and/or luck to hit them.

[Kojo401]

That is considered a very good use of a carrier. DDs are incredibly important to winning the game and if the CV captain is skilled enough to neutralize even one DD for nearly all his squads it is a good trade.

 

It is pretty obnoxious to be against a skilled CV captain that wants your ship dead however, just try to keep your ship horizontal to the direction dive bombers strike and it should lower his chances of hitting you.

[Vekta408]

You're the easiest target for a CV to go after. The AA on on T5 (?) DD is meaningless. If you scout too far head of your big ships expect to get picked on if there are CV squadrons in the area. Even if they don't dive on you expect to be perma-spotted while you are in that particular area. Just expect bad things to happen to you. #DDLife

[Kitsunelegend]

Uh, I'd MUCH rather a CV not only use his planes to spot the enemy DDs, but also send out strikes against it if he can. Call me biased as a BB captain, but the sooner a DD dies (by any means), the better. And as soon as the DDs are dead, theres a very good chance that same CV will then switch to going after BBs.

 

And btw, a DD that is ignored by most ships, can be very very deadly in a lot of situations. Not to mention they can often stealth cap (especially if no radar or hydro is present in the match) and if the CV really ignores him, theres a chance that DD will hunt down and kill the CV.

 

So yes, taking out the enemy DD very quickly is very good use of a CVs time and ammo.

[Feminist]

DDs should be priority #1 for CVs. They have the worst AA and make the biggest impact on the game.

[Kapitan_Wuff]

DD's are a top target, though they are also a difficult target to hit. So yea, great use of the CVs planes, he should have used the empty bombers to keep you lit up so other ships could target you,

[iagolan]

I would prefer the quick death to having a squadron just outside of my AAA range keeping me spotted the whole game.

[1SneakyDevil]

OP mistakens ship size for it's value in game. DDs have torps & smoke and can do lots of damage. If you're not focused by the enemy CV he's not that good.

[TheGreatBlasto]

Interesting responses.

 

I mostly play DDs and cruisers and make DDs my top target.  However, I assumed that CVs went after big fat targets like BBs.

 

BTW, I have never had a carrier.

[Rouxi]

And this is why I use the AA range module and DFF on my Fletcher.

[MrDeaf]

Well, Gnevny, I'm not entirely sure if that is a priority DD target, but Minekaze/Kamikaze/Fujin sure is.

The sooner those die, the more likely the team is going to continue pushing.

[Tokamak_Raven]

The CVs fear the destroyers

[renegadestatuz]

Like others have said, DDs should be priority target #1 for CVs. And not just for CVs, for any ships. You should always try to neutralize DDs first. A team with DDs in a match compared to a team that has no remaining DDs has the advantage. The CVs focusing on you first in the match was the right choice for them to make. Even if they weren't attempting to strike you, just focusing on you and keeping fights near you so you're lit up for the rest of the enemy team is a sign of a smart CV driver.

[Zim_Xero]

Generally, I consider DDs to be high priority spotting targets, but only drop on them when I have no other targets.... due to the difficulty in actually hitting one.

 

Also, remember that AA, enemy fighters, distance, and threat level play the deciding role in what targets are viable at any given moment.

[husband]

As CV player, DD first then unescorted BB or weak cruisers

[Mulletproof]

You are a high priority target; right next to a CV as a matter of fact. Besides a CV, you can erase ships, turn invisible, harass and have enough speed to take capture points at will.

 

DDs and CVs have the highest potential to turn the tide of the battle. Sorry, but you need to die.

[DerKrampus]

DDs have the most potential to influence the game if not dealt with quickly.  The BBs aren't going anywhere, but if even 1 bomb hits the enemy DD, you've just given your gunboat a 1 or 2 salvo advantage in a duel.

[Reymu]

One enemy DD complained in my last Taiho match about the CVs in queue. He was kinda justified, because I was able to ruin most of the enemy Benson, Fletcher, and Fubuki's torps by spotting them early--I took out the Fletcher later with DB and my permaspotting let an Izumo bag a Khab that thought he'd try to hunt me.

 

We need CVs every match to control the DD infestation. They have a ton of vision and cap control at high tiers, and without carriers to hold them in check, they get to run amock. DDs that complain are welcome to run back to friendly AA.

 

And this is why I use the AA range module and DFF on my Fletcher.

Example of a DD main that does not want to run to friendly AA. And I don't have to permaspot him to see his torps, and it's very easy to flood the smoke with TB.

[iHaveNoIntelligence]

As I CV Captain, I would say, as long as he is skilled enough to sink that DD in one or two sortie, it's totally worth it and he is doing good job. More than 3 sorties are waste of time(Well if you get him on 3rd it might be still worth depending on situation). The further the game goes the more powerful DD becomes because at the end game there lack ships to spot DD and to chase DD.

[OOM911]

In game DD's are the closest thing we have to subs, Heck if subs were in the game they would be the only thing higher priority then DD's

 

The whole point is that DD's can strike without being seen, and as a CV player I have to look after and assist the fleet, thus eliminating the hidden targets first is the most important part.

[4bRbyHSSzZ6pk]

How smart of him? Erasing enemy DDs early with your bombers means the enemy team gets less eyes on the map and less ships that can cap safely. If anything, CVs need buffs to their DBs accuracy to deal with DDs even better

[Warlord_Deadeye_Pete]

Yep.. it's a very very VERY good idea for a CV to take out a DD when ever they can possibly pull it off.

 

Hate to break it to you but your average DD, especially at lower tiers is perhaps the single most dangerous ship in the game.

There is no ship out there that you cannot sink with a single good torpedo launch.. and you don't even have to use ALL of your torpedo's to pull it off. MOst enemy DD's will be taken out with a single torp hit, 2 at the most.  Cruiser's no more then 3 torps will take them down.. and BB's and CV's 4 to 6 torp hits..   Your fast, stealthy (though you might not think so in the Russian DD, just consider yor surface detection range compared to ohhh ANY Battleship!) with decent guns.

 

It's also very rare that any DD gets taken out from a single salvo being such a small agile target.. most gun fire shots against DD's miss.   The better the player, the more dangerous the DD becomes.  

 

SO yea, you might have been left with a feeling of frustration, but the CV skipper that nailed you is obviously one of the smartest and most persistant ones out there..  Just bad luck on your part...

 

Oh and by the by.. I typically drive a Kongo tier 5 BB... and I cannot begine to tell you how many ties I've gotten erased by carrier air early on to keep my long range gunnery out of the picture  (especially against those who have seen me pull off wonder shots at 20+ Km..I've killed BB, CV, CA, and DD at 20k plus..getting spotted early in the game in range of a Fuso or Kongo;s guns has been the end of many a fine ship.

 

But at least be relieved to know that what happened to you is actually rather rare.  As in very rare.     Unlikely to happen to you again any time soon... though with your posting here on the forums there are going to be CV players that will note your handle and make a point of going after you now if they spot you in a match.  Even if they don't hit you, it will distract you and discomfit you to the point that you may do something very foolish and get yourself taken out early as you try to get some damage in before the carrier takes you out!

 

Don't let it rattle you.  Comes with the territory!

 

Warlord sends

[iHaveNoIntelligence]

How smart of him? Erasing enemy DDs early with your bombers means the enemy team gets less eyes on the map and less ships that can cap safely. If anything, CVs need buffs to their DBs accuracy to deal with DDs even better

 

Run away quickly. It is forbidden to say "buff CV" 

[Kuckoo]

Yes, DDs are legitimate targets for carrier planes.  If anything, DDs are often priority targets for them, as they pose the greatest potential threat to CVs.

 

P.S. - Just like comparing this game to historical naval warfare, it's silly and naive comparing movies to real life situations.  Especially if you know nothing about the RL situation you're comparing it to.  So just stop.