Author Topic: Bombing calibration (Read 570 times)

JB73 · « **on:** August 27, 2004, 06:55:05 PM »

anyone else having problems with it in AHII???

i tried many times so unsucessful i feel like never trying again LOL

last sortie i did this:

level off doors open 1 sector out, doors open, set throttle to approx 90%

line up on target level 3/4 sector away (FULL zoom in sight so i can see structures barely but enough to know i do not need radical line changes last second).

bring up E6B and watch until speed is stable for 30 seconds minium (was iIIRC 237 in ju88's)

went into bombsite view and made sure alt stayed constant for 1 minute minium (was 7987 IIRC)

went into calibration mode, held Y while on same exact spot for approx 5-8 seconds (i KNOW it was the same spot.. a tree edge with a tree jutting out)

un zoomed and brought up clipboard. clicked on target. looked at "target alt" and clicked again on target to assure i was correct, alt did not change (was 3100 i KNOW i recall corectly).

hit U exited cal, and waited.

used keyboard to hop to cockpit and verify which bombs were selected (did NOT touch the stick or throttle).

hopped F3 external to check for cons.

back into bombsight without changing anything, dropped on target.

my bombs hit over 500 yards possibly 1000 yards short.
i brought up E6B and the speed had increased by 1 (237 to 238 IIRC), and alt was the exact i had caled at.

this has happened almost every time i bomb, either 500 yards short or 500 yards long. i mean it is rediculous, and i almost want to give up level bombing, and succomb to the lame divebombing.

i am no n00b to this, and before AHII i could hit individual hangars salvo 1 (dropping 3 500kg from a ju88 formation)

a question, is it possible the release of the large bombs effects the weight too much on the bomber, hence making it's flight path off after the first bomb is dropped?

otherwise i have no clue what i am doing wrong.

Darkish · « **Reply #1 on:** August 27, 2004, 10:43:08 PM »

5-8 secs seems a bit short. I would call myself a fair bomber and try to hold calibration for twice as long; seems the longer is held the better.

Easyscor · « **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2004, 02:20:18 AM »

See Darkish's comment and try to end the calibration closer to the target. Be conservative until you get the hang of it. Set your MP at 36-38 in a Ju88 and leave rpm at full then fly stable for a sector. Navigation and lineup is at least as important in level bombers.

gl

Ghosth · « **Reply #3 on:** August 28, 2004, 07:27:23 AM »

I don't like to hop in & out of bombsight.

I'd rather wait till I'm closer to target, so I can calibrate on target if I like.

Then exit calibration, zoom out a bit to aquire my target, zoom back in as it comes under & nail it. Hold your calibration till you can calibrate, aquire, drop, THEN worry about cons.

As to how long to hold, the longer you hold (assuming your holding accurately) the more accurate you are. I commonly hold to a long 20 count in my head. (thousand 1, thousand 2 ---- thousand 20)

You are zooming in when you calibrate all the way correct? (thats the single bigest thing most people miss)

JB73 · « **Reply #4 on:** August 28, 2004, 11:27:50 AM »

yep i was zoomed in fully when clalibrating.

i only calibrated maybe 1 min before drop, and the only reason i hopped out was i was 2 sectors from the nearest friendly con.

Easyscor... i have found with that MAN i can nto keep a level altitude. i used 39-40

a good 5-10 feet of alt alone dropped during the min or so of calibrating

i should mention i had loaded 75% fuel, 4 500kg, 20 50kg
with that weight the MAN to 36 just didnt keep the plane in the air with auto level.

Flit · « **Reply #5 on:** August 28, 2004, 03:04:50 PM »

Are you doing your cal on a spot the same alt as the target ?
Just a thought
Also not that i've buffed in a while, but I always did the map click thing first.

rod64 · « **Reply #6 on:** September 11, 2004, 04:03:29 AM »

Funny, I never thought of zooming in for speed check, didnt even know about it.

You know, bombing is still partly a feel thing. When making changes of direction into a tgt, I often guess the short or long drop based on a slight change of speed, has not failed yet for me. I made a few drops early on and came up short, but this was only due IMO, to not allowing for the change of speed from a change of direction.

I have been advised to use different delays etc, but found that at around 200-220 mph in a lanc, that a delay of 0.2 - 0.25 seconds for 1000 pounders is a minimum. The reason? Splash damage on buildings....and also that the spread will go roughly the width of the HQ or city you are bombing. I believe most people set their delay far too short. Another reason for this, is that a miscalculation on the run can be made up by having a longer impact spread...making the best of each run I suppose.

On the opposite side, if low level (100 - 200 feet) on FHs for example, a delay of 0.05 would be a maximum, as often the speed of the bomber is far higher in the last pull up / level / drop scenario.

I only aim to get above the ground ack...the 37mm stuff that is, any higher just makes for more time and less effectiveness.

Krusty · « **Reply #7 on:** September 11, 2004, 12:08:32 PM »

Your problem was using a tree ridge to calibrate. It was no doubt HIGHER in elevation than your target. Thus close to the plane, thus moving past faster than the ground at target level.

THUS it thought you were going MUCH faster, and released bombs earlier, as such they fell far short.

You ahve to pick a target AT the level of the main target, upon which to calibrate.

This is my working theory, at least.

It might by best just to just wait until the last minute, zoom in as far as possible, at as much of an extreme angle as possible, and calibrate on the actual target, then zoom out real quick for bomb release.

rod64 · « **Reply #8 on:** September 11, 2004, 10:06:25 PM »

"It was no doubt HIGHER in elevation than your target. Thus close to the plane, thus moving past faster than the ground at target level."

Eh? Why would this make any difference? I never knew about the difference in altitude; has made no difference in my bombing that I have seen. I have used shoreline mostly for calibration, as the line is nice and clear, I hold the cal key for at least 10 seconds.

Maybe I am just lucky, or maybe you guys are trying too hard. Easy fix: do a low / high / low bombing run...works well on towns and FHs. Reasoning: if you are inbound to a target without it being harrassed by your own people, the fighter intercept will not know what altitude you are at, therefore they expect bombers to be high. When you are about 25 miles from target, chop throttle, get down to tree top level. The change in speed (the max possible) will put the fighters in the wrong place if they are climbing out (likely). By the time they reverse, you are on the target and killing it, I see this happening while I am in a fighter.

Using evasive techniques in bombers is now very common, rather than just sitting there waiting for G10 / 262 / 163 to come and kill you. Remember that bombers at low level with good speed are at a better advantage due to taking the bottom aspect of a shot away from the fighters (this is important in Lancs), they often auger when diving in.