War at Sea
Allied Nations
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- France
- Greece
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Soviet Union
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Allies stat table
Axis Nations
Neutral Nations/Installations
Sets
- War At Sea
- Task Force
- Flank Speed
- New Starter
- Condition Zebra
- Set V (Fleet Command)
- Surface action
- First Strike (Forumini Expansion Deck A)
- Infamy (Forumini Expansion Deck B)
- Battle Line (Forumini Expansion Deck C)
- All Hands on Deck (Forumini D)
- Action Stations (Forumini E)
- Dead Reckoning (Forumini F)
Unit Card:
Set - Rarity - Number
Flank Speed - Rare - 34/40
History:
In the 1920's Japan designed a class of heavy scouting cruisers to both counter the light scouts of other nations (including the American Omaha class - see USS Richmond), and to provide scouting for the Japanese battleline. The result was the two ship Furutaka class, and then with minor modifications, the two ship Aoba class. After several refits, the four ships were very similar and assigned together to Cruiser Division 6 with Aoba as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Aritomo Goto. For much of the early part of the war, CruDiv6 was based at Truk, taking part in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the fighting around Guadalcanal.
Aoba's latest refit included the incomparable Long Lance torpedoes, and these were put to good use on the night of August 9, 1942. A Japanese force centering around CruDiv6 caught an Allied fleet unawares and handed the US Navy its most devastating defeat in history at the Battle of Savo Island. Two months later, the ambushers became the ambushed, and a force of radar-equipped American cruisers (including San Francisco, Boise and Salt Lake City) pumped shell after shell into Goto's cruisers, killing the admiral, sinking Furutaka, and leaving Aoba to limp home. Aoba, bombed several times, was never fully repaired and ended the war sitting, half-submerged, on the floor of Kure harbor.
Reviews:
swarbs:
Aoba is a very useful component of any long-lance oriented fleet. She has a full battery of long-lances herself and her flag two (especially combined with Yahagi's Flotilla Leader) can win initiative allowing you to adjust the range to enemy. Most useful, however, is the new Aggressive Tactics SA which boosts both guns and torpedoes for ships alone in their sectors. While positioning ships by themselves is dangerous in an air-rich environment, the benefits are tremendous, especially when combined with Japan's other powerful torpedo cruisers like Oi, Chikuma and Suzuya which also have torpedo-boosting SA's. Of course in night games you need worry far less about American air-power and Aoba and the rest of the Japanese navy come into their own.
Aran55633
… It would be very difficult, and take quite a bit of luck, to secure the bonus for more than one turn, because this unit must be up close to provide the bonus, this unit will probably be seen as an easy, valuable target, and it forces your fleet to spread themselves out to receive the bonus, rendering you more vulnerable to enemy aircraft.
As I'm sure you can tell, I'm not much of a fan. Doesn't seem to be worth its points… I'd take Chikuma long before this unit.
