So I had a look at the French aviation tree, and there have been a few improvements (such as the M.B.175T going into the attacker/dive bomber line), I still think it lacks a certain “logic”.
What am I talking about?
In every tree, there is a bomber line. Most of them have a strike fighter line or equivalents (Britain and Japan).
Now let’s talk about the fighters. In each tree, fighters are grouped in a line because they share the same role or the same manufacturer:
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USA has 3 fighter lines: Fighters with little secondary armament or without any/Fighter-bombers/US Navy and US Marine fighters;
Germany has the Messerschmitt line, the Heinkel/Focke-Wulfe line and the Twin-engined fighters line;
USSR has the Polikarpov/MiG line, the Yakovlev line and the Lavochkin/Sukhoi line;
Britain has the Hawker line, the Supermarine/Gloster line, and the Royal Navy line;
Japan has the Imperial Navy line, the Imperial Air Force line and the Heavy Fighters line;
China has the “occidental equipement line” and the “Japan/USSR equipement line”;
Italy has the Reggiane line and the Fiat/Macchi line;
Sweden has a fighters line and a heavy fighters line;
Israel has a single fighter line;
As for jets, if it differs from above, they are given a line based on their origin (American/Soviet/domestic), you can see that in the German, Japanese, Chinese and Italian tree.
But for France, it’s confusing. You have planes from different manufacturers/origins, with different roles/abilities that share the same line.
The most striking example is the F6F-5 which immediately precedes the M.B.157. Those two have very little in common: they are single-engined, yes, but one of them is from America, has heavy secondary armament and is a naval plane. The other is French-made, very lightly armed and is a Armée de l’Air plane.
I have worked on two designs that address these issues. However, I must admit, it is at the expense of balance. But new additions would be easier to place. And I know there are suggestions wating to fill the gaps ;)
Design 1
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That one follows the logic Armée de l’air (1) Aéronavale - French Navy airforce (2) Heavy fighters/Dive bombers/Strike fighters (3) and Bombers (4).
(I am aware the Bearcat wasn’t used by the Aéronavale, but it can land on a carrier and as I said above, that line lacks planes)
Design 2
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That second design is French home-made fighters (1) Imported fighters (2) Heavy fighters/Dive bombers/Strike fighters (3) and Bombers (4).
Of course you can do some adjustments here and there (such as foldering the Hellcats, the VB-10s, or the Vautours II N/A).
Voilà! Tell me what you think :)
