SAS WW2 is primarily a naval game. Although aircraft can play a huge part, it is only through ships that you can really project your power. It is critical to have the right number and type of ships to suit the strategy you want to employ.
Every turn, you get to construct new shipping, assuming you have enough resources.
New ships always appear at your home port.
Ships take a realistic amount of time to construct, except on the first turn, when they can become immediately available.
The ships you build can be either historical ones, or semi-historical (eg, ships that were designed, maybe even launched, but never completed in WW2), or include modifications you want to make, or even be to your own design from the keel up.
Designing and modifying ships is one of the really enjoyable and novel aspects of SAS WW2, and best of all, it is incredibly easy to do. You do not have to be an engineer, or understand naval architecture. You just need to know what capabilities you want in your ships.
The ability to design your own, or modify, or to have semi-historical ships can be disabled for a campaign however. Players who want to run a strictly controlled campaign might want to do this.
SAS WW2 also makes it incredibly easy for you to construct large numbers of ships. Even in moderately-sized campaigns, there are likely to be a hundred or more ships per side. You can specify the building of each one of these. But more usually, a player will want to concentrate on the key ships only - perhaps some of the battleships or cruisers - and have his 2IC take care of the hackwork by building all the rest.
SAS's very flexible command and control interface makes the task of building ships as simple or as involving as you want. You have a very able, computerised 2-I-C who is there to help with any aspect that you don't want to handle.
Follow these links to learn all you need to know about designing and building ships.
The links are arranged in order from the simplest to the most complex option. You can take any option on any turn, varying your approach as you want.
Option 1 - this is the simplest - just let your 2IC handle everything. He orders the construction of all your ships, selecting the numbers and types most suited to your strategy.
Option 2 - this is the next simplest - you can change the strategy your 2IC is using. He still does all the detailed planning though.
Option 3 - this is a good general option and one many players will want to exercise. You let your 2IC create the plan. But then you can edit it in any way you like - replacing particular ships with others of your own choice, or even ones you have designed yourself. This leaves the hackwork to the 2IC whilst giving you control over the construction of the key ships.
Option 4 - this is almost the same as option 3, but the order of actions is reversed. First, you select or design the ships you want, and then get your 2IC to plan the rest of your navy with what tonnage remains. The effect of this option is the same as option 3, but some players may want to do things in this order.
Option 5 - this is the most time consuming option, but the one that power players may want to take. With this option, you select or design all of your shipping, and do not use the assistance of your 2IC.