Naval warfare in CoW 1.5 is fundamentally different from 1.0 for two reasons:
1. Destroyers reveal subs at a distance.
2. Transports have high HP (see the Article on Transports)
What happens when you factor in these changes?
1. Naval Bombers are no longer a must-have research.
Playing against skilled opponents in 1.0 used to require an investment into naval bombers. With their limited range, it was difficult to get away with anything less than level 3-4, at which point the range became "reasonable" enough for an air grid. Less than that, and you ended up trucking bombers by land, because you could never build enough air fields. In the meantime, the enemy subs are decimating your surface ships. Now that destroyers can replace naval bombers for sub detection, bombers are not nearly as important as before.
2. Naval stacks only need 1 destroyer.
The primary function of the destroyer is to detect the subs at a distance. Yes, they can fight. They are good at fighting subs, at close range, trading shots and eventually sinking. But once a sub is detected, all ships can fire on it. Why get into a close range battle? Shoot and scoot, shoot and scoot. The subs cannot catch you. Once you do some damage, they get even slower. I typically only need to shoot-and-scoot once or twice, then the subs drift closer slowly as they die under constant bombardment.
3. Easier to specialize.
1 destroyer is the core of every naval stack. That leaves 9 more fighting spots, and 10 additional HP meat shields. Add 1 cruiser for the view range (have to see what's around you) and some AA cover. That leaves you with 8+10 slots left.
What kind of stacks does this open up?
1. Bombardment Stack.
The most basic, most universally applicable stack is bombardment. You have 1 destroyer detecting subs, 1 cruiser detecting surface and air units, leaving 8 slots for Battleships. That can do a lot of damage to coastal targets and normal surface fleets.
This is my go-to stack. My typical setup is 1 DD + 1 CL + 8 BB.
2. Anti Air Stack.
You're going to need this to support naval invasions, or counter surface fleets carrying naval bombers. In addition to the standard 1 destroyer + 1 cruiser, the AA stack has a mix of carriers and cruisers. Depending on your carrier research, that could mean 1-2 carriers with 8-10 Interceptors each, or 3-4 carriers with 4-6 interceptors. The rest is filled with 6-7 cruisers. They protect the fleet from bombers while the interceptors are away, or refueling. And the cruisers provide some bombardment ability against small groups of destroyers/subs.
My typical setup is 1 DD + 8 CL + 1 CV carrying 10 interceptors. This is enough for most invasions. Assuming your opponent has similar research levels as you, the opponent would need 30+ naval bombers to stop you. If you're afraid of rockets, just add some HP in the form of transports (next). By the time the opponent builds enough rockets to sink your fleet, you should be able to take 1 province, build an air field, and move your interceptors. The carrier group has done its job, and it can go home.
3. Meat Shield Stack.
Research level 4 transports. Take a standard bombardment stack. Add 10 transports filled with cheap, disposable army units. That's an extra 250 HP in your navy stack. It's like an extra 5 battleships. You can now get into gun fights with fewer losses.
4. The Nasty Surprise Stack.
Take a stack of 10 submarines, and add 10 level 4 transports. You have just over-powered your submarines. A greedy opponent will see 10 undefended transports and rush in with their surface navy. Your subs will tear them to pieces. Even a good opponent, who knows how to detect subs, will get more than they bargained for. The transports can effectively double the HP of your submarines, making them more effective in battle. 10 destroyers attacking 10 subs + 10 level 4 transports, who do you think will win that fight?
By specializing your stacks, you can beat enemies who follow more traditional tactics. The typical enemy stack looks like this: 5 DD + 3 CL + 2 BB. Your bombardment stack will tear it to pieces. If the enemy starts to load more battleships, you're going to run into something like this: 3 DD + 2 CL + 5 BB. Time to add some transport meat shields. When the opponent tries to copy you, stacking battleships, that's when you flip the script. Time for a Nasty Surprise stack of subs and transports, tearing his battleships to pieces.
