Aircraft

Aircraft are units in UBOAT that are capable of flying above the surface of the water, making them much faster than surface vessels. Due to their speed, agility and range, aircraft can be a great hazard for the crews of U-boats. They are much quicker to respond to sightings or reportings of U-boats, and their altitude means they can spot U-boats at the surface from much longer distances than ships travelling on the water. They are a key part of the Allies anti-submarine force and in most instances crews of U-boats should not engage with them. As many aircraft in UBOAT are capable of carrying depth charges, they can rapidly cause critical damage to U-boats and their crews and should be treated as a number #1 priority.

## Types of Aircraft

* Short Sunderland
* Bristol Beaufighter
* Bristol Beaufighter Mk X
* Bristol Beaufort
* Fairey Fulmar
* Vickers Wellington (not ingame)
* PBY-5A Catalina (not ingame)
* Catalina Mk III (not ingame)
* Mk IA Catalina (not ingame)

## How To Avoid Aircraft

There are several methods to avoid being detected, or how to combat them.

### Compass Method

The best method to avoid being sunk by anti-submarine aircraft is to use tactics that ensure that you will never meet them.

Most aircraft in UBOAT are either ground-based aircraft or flying boats. Ground-based aircraft require an airbase to take-off and land, and flying boats can take-off and land in water, but require landing near a port to re-arm and refuel. As such, it can be easy to simply go to the map interface (globe icon in the top right or M on the keyboard) and select the compass tool from the left side of the screen. From there, draw a circle that is half the range of the aircraft you might encounter. This is because aircraft must have enough fuel to return to their airbase, using half to get to the max range and another half to get back. Using this circle, you can see the range in which enemy aircraft might intercept you, and if you wish to avoid encountering any then it is a good idea to sail around this area.

If conducting missions in range of enemy airbases, there are other methods to minimize the chance of your detection. Generally speaking, it is safer to conduct surface travel in the outer areas of the range of airbases, as maritime patrols are less dense and less likely to intercept you.

If not doing missions in areas surrounding enemy airbases or ports, then there is almost no need to worry about enemy aircraft. You will be hard-pressed to find any planes in the middle of the North-Atlantic. If you see aircraft outside of these areas, it will mean that there is likely an aircraft carrier nearby, probably part of an escort group.

### Decks Awash Method

If travelling into areas with aircraft, another trick to avoid them is to travel on the surface using decks awash during the day. When using decks awash, your UBOAT has neutral buoyancy, and your dive times are much quicker as your ballasts are already full. In the event that you spot a contrail or an aircraft, you can more safely and quickly dive to a depth at which the aircraft cannot see you or cannot drop depth charges on you. Other pros of using decks awash are that in most weather conditions you can still use diesel engines, gain air from outside, and you move quicker than if you were at periscope depth.

However, while at decks awash, you will move a bit slower than if you were surfaced, and you cannot assign your officers to perform watch duty or to man the flak cannon or the deck gun. Not having a watch officer can greatly reduce situational awareness, and can cause you to have a shorter visible range and less reaction time to enemy aircraft. If you need to surface properly to man the guns or perform damage control if hit by depth charges, this will require compressed air to be pumped into the ballasts and take longer. At decks awash, your U-boat still creates a large wake which can be seen from far, and you are easily visible on enemy air-to-surface radars.

### Travelling at Night/In Bad Weather

It is harder for ships and aircraft to detect you at night, though you will still show up on air-to-surface radars if any part of your U-boat is above the surface. In bad weather, like fog or storms, sight is almost reduced to 0 and radars will have a hard time detecting you in the choppy waves. Be sure to take advantage of bad weather and travelling at night, as these are the times where you are the least vulnerable and the enemy the most. To check current weather conditions, enter the map view and look to the right side of the screen. Above top-right of the watch, the current weather condition will be shown, even if you are deep underwater.

## Aircraft Sighted

There are multiple ways to deal with aircraft when they are sighted.

### Not Detected

If you are not yet detected by an enemy aircraft, your best bet is to dive down as quickly as possible to a substantial depth. As aircraft rely on surface radars and sight, they find it hard to detect you once you are below 30-40m of water if they are viewing you from directly above the water. You may only need to dive to 50m if you have not been detected. Aircraft cannot use technology like sonar or hydrophones to detect your position underwater. As such, it is ok to leave loud systems running like the gyrocompass, pumps, compressors, etc. It should be safe to resurface in about 10 minutes.

### Detected

If you are detected while in the middle of diving, continue your dive and make evasive maneuvers by setting rudders hard to port or starboard. You may need to go quite deep (100-200m) to evade their depth charges if they have detected you.

If caught out on the surface, dive as quickly as possible and follow the steps above. You may not be quick enough to get under before the aircraft gets to you. If you judge that you don't have enough time to dive, you should order an officer to the flak gun to try to destroy the threat before it can attack. While a Type VIIC submarine is nimble in comparison to many ships, there is little chance you will dodge bombs, rockets or depth charges while on the surface. Fighting instead of diving is a last resort.

If you dove under the waves, move away from where you were detected, and surface after a decent amount of time. The circling time of enemy aircraft ranges from 10 minutes to 2 hours. If not shot down, enemy aircraft will radio in your position, and ships may move to intercept you.

### Hit by the Aircraft

If you have been hit with depth charges or other weapons, provided you aren't on the way to the ocean floor already, your next best bet is to surface the boat and conduct damage control along with defending the boat. Once on the surface, order an officer to the flak gun to try to destroy the threat before it can attack again. In the hull of your ship, get every available hand to fix the holes in the ship, and run the pump to remove water. Make sure to have enough spare parts to fix the submarine and spare scrap for your mechanics/chief engineers with the salvager skill. Continue this until either the aircraft runs out of ammunition and flees, gets shot down by your gunners or you fix the holes in your ship and can dive safely.