Author Topic: Any advise on engaging bombers? (Read 826 times)

camwinters · « **on:** December 07, 2006, 04:01:57 PM »

Hello, I am new to the game but judge myself to be a fair dogfight pilot (I came for ww2ol so my learning curve was reduced). One thing that I am having trouble with is engaging bombers; normally I fly in a 109K. I normally am able to shoot down one bomber... then the gunners get me... every time. Is this normal or is there a 'secret' to attacking bombers in AH2?

Shuffler · « **Reply #1 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:13:26 PM »

I fly a 38, I find it best to attack from altitude in a slashing move across the bomber path never from direct behind. Aim for the wing root, wing tend to break off. You can also attack from the front trying to hit in cockpit to kill the pilot.

If your attacking lancs you can attack from the underside as it is undefended.

Don't under any circumstance get in a hurry to kill... or you'll be the victim

Lusche · « **Reply #2 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:14:41 PM »

- Don´t attack from behind!
- Attack with high speed & with angles
- Don´t spray around, try to concentrate on cockpit or wingroots
- Patience! don´t rush it, take your time to get into a favorable position

Kuhn · « **Reply #3 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:14:44 PM »

Stay away from the tail gunner.
Come in on them fast.
dont fly strait at them, move around a little.
If its a Lanc shoot at them from underneath, no gunner down there.
Aim for the wings and engines, they are the weakest part of a bomber.
Just cause a gunner aint shooting at you right away doesnt mean he dont know youre there, he may be waiting for you to get closer.
when you can, shoot for the pilot of the lead plane, if you kill the pilot, that takes out all three of them at once.
The more you practice the less they will get you, but some times they will and you will know what you did wrong.

UdieNow · « **Reply #4 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:14:57 PM »

camwinters

Kuhn beat me to it

but anyways.....

To answer if this is normal or not......if the buff pilot/gunner is a fair shot and your attacking from their six, then yes.

My advice would be to know the buffs your attacking and go for their week spots. ie..lancs have no ball turret so attacks from below tend to be relativly safe.

high speed diving/slash attacks are generally very effictive.( they always get me:D )

Hopefully this helps a little, but dont worry, other far better sticks then myself will be along to pass on their advice and tips.

Welcome to your new addiction

Kuhn · « **Reply #5 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:17:18 PM »

Hunting for/killing bombers is addicting.

camwinters · « **Reply #6 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:22:41 PM »

Thanks for all of the advice, I am impressed with the swift response; those bombers better watch out!

BaldEagl · « **Reply #7 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:23:42 PM »

The secret is to try NOT to come straight at them from behind. I usually fly a FW190A8 or a TA152H when hunting bombers because of the big 30mm cannons. Try coming in off one side, their rear quarter or from above and behind slightly off-set to one side of the formation. This also helps you to get 2 or 3 as the formation will favor your angle of attack. You'll also want to come in with as much speed as you can muster to reduce the firing time they have on you. To do this effectively you need to begin directly off their wing with 2K seperation (just out of gun range). Anything less and you will merge onto their 6. The good bomber pilots know this and will likey start to turn away from you. At altitude this means you may never get to a positon off their wing due to your much larger turn radius which is what they are hoping. Even this may be helpful in "herding" them where you want them to go. Just remain patient and keep trying to get this position. If it seems impossible, break across their six and try the other side but never close to closer than 2K in doing so. When you're finally there turn toward them with a slight lead angle. If you're above them it may be usefull to dive below their wingline, then climb back to level or just above for your gun run. This keeps them jumping from upper to ball to upper. If nothing alse hold in their horizontal plane as long as you can giving them only the one waist gun to work with. If you do find yourself directly on their 6 give it a little rudder to create some side-slip. This might get you in but it's still dangerous. It will look to them that you are coming straight on so they will be less likely to lead you and it allows you to keep your guns and nose trained on them.

With the big cannons in the planes I fly head ons are also sometimes effective.

In a lighter plane such as a Spit you can literally keep rolling around the formation in a rolling scissors or forward spiral type of manouver getting snap-shots along the way. Most bomber pilots arent good enough gunners to keep jumping positions and keep you in sight much less get a hit on you. I've done this for up to 5 minutes at a time taking out all three bombers before and it's a lot of fun. This manouver is also best begun fron off their wing at 2K seperation.

Hope this helps and have fun.

DREDger · « **Reply #8 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:44:00 PM »

Call me a chicken, but against b-17's, if the gunner is aware and starts shooting, I break off. I've never survived against those meat grinders.

Aiming for the wing base or engines is what I do, with a diving and/or slashing attack.

Point to remember, if you get one of the engines on fire, that is a fatal hit on that bomber. After 30 secs to a minute the bomber will blow up. I don't start my next attack until it blows up, no sense going in with one more set of guns working on you.

Geary420 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 07, 2006, 10:53:51 PM »

Patience is key, I see many many people die simply because they don't take the time to get setup right. I like to start off slightly ahead and off to one side at least 2k out and with a decent alt advantage allowing me to dive for speed, and try to hit the lead and far side drone in the same pass. Take the time to setup consecutive passes so you can always be hitting them with speed on your side. One of the best times I find to "reset" my attack is after lighting one plane afire. I honestly don't know why people keep shooting at a burning plane. Just be patient and wait for it to pop, then you have one less set of lazers blasting at you. Its also nice to have a wingman and time your attacks appropriately. Often times you will have less patient players attacking the same buffs as you, and although it sounds harsh, let them catch the lead while you get the kills. There is no better time to attack a bomber than when there is some noob 1k on its six spraying away and the buffs are busy shooting back. One last thing I have found rather effective is if I have a considerable alt advantage on buffs and I'm running them down I'll dive way underneath for speed and pull up hard under them lighting up the belly, then as soon as I'm on top I roll over and dive back down through ASAP. This provides me with two firing opportunities in a matter of a second or two, and the gunner cant jump back and forth and acquire you fast enough.

Damionte · « **Reply #10 on:** December 08, 2006, 05:11:00 AM »

Something I've practicing with lately is hitting bombers with rockets.

1 rockert is an insta kill on a bomber. The problem is rockets have pretty short range and take some getting used to as far as targeting. To hit a bomber I have ot get pretty close. Like 200 or less.

It's easiest for me to hit them with a rocket if I drop down on them from foward and slightly above. But not in a steep dive. Essentially pull out in front of them and do a Split-S in thier face.

Works even better if someone elses is slashing at them from a different direction.

If using rockets go for the lead bomber first. It'll take the pilot a second to switch planes and regain control which will give you time to swing around and get a bead on a second bomber.

If you're hunting bombers with rockets though I suggest long legged birds. P51D, or P38L. You'll need to stay up there a while most cases waiting for bombers. You don't want to get caught low and have to dump your rockets to fight off escorts.

Mace2004 · « **Reply #11 on:** December 08, 2006, 09:24:45 AM »

My technique is to run an intercept to a point about 2-3k ahead and 1-2k above. The closer to the bomber's flight path the better but it works about as well if you're anywhere in the bomber's forward quarter. The main key is altitude and a position ahead of them. I then turn toward the bombers and at about D1.5 -2k do a split s and dive straight down at either #2 or #3. When timed right you're 90 degee straight down and directly above the bomber where they can't shoot. Put the pipper just in front of the bomber's nose and a half-sec blast directly in the cockpit makes the target go boom. Continue the dive through the bomber's altitude and pull (with a slight jink to one side) to complete your recovery by zooming back out in front of the remaining bombers. Repeat. The only time you're really vulnerable during this type of attack is during the recovery from the dive. Speed is essential to get out of range and allow you to zoom back up while staying out of range. A couple of slight jinks help also but you're a very dynamic target for the bombers and they have to try to keep sight of you while switching turrets making their job very difficult.

I used to go for the lead bomber first but there are two problems with this. First, getting a pilot kill on the lead will no longer kill all three bombers. I've never seen anything official posted about this change but I haven't gotten a one-pass hat-trick since the release of 2.07, maybe earlier. Second, occasionally after blowing up the lead, one of the wing bombers will immediately "teleport" directly into his spot. It's too late to reliably fire and can result in a collision.

Airplane choice is a big deal for this. Obviously you really need cannon. Also, bomber altitude is a huge factor. The Hurri IIC is absolutely deadly against bombers from the deck up to about 10k IF you can get into position. Faster and more powerful airplanes are required above that. The 109 versions with 30mm and/or gondolas are excellent intercepters although they don't have good over the nose visibility which makes it harder to set the lead without loosing sight of the bombers. The Typhoon and Tempest are probably the best choice as they've got the best combination of guns, ammo load, power and speed. Of course the 163 is absolutely outstanding at any altitude and you only need one hit.

airspro · « **Reply #12 on:** December 08, 2006, 03:20:51 PM »

All of the above pretty good advice IMO . Plus >

B17's die easy even if you just shoot off their wing tips on the drones . Always kill drones first .

Edit , Yes Dreg I feel the same way some times about guns on bombers , if I don't feel lucky , alot of times I just make one swift pass on one of the drones and kill it and fly off

saving myself

B24's am at the wing between the fusealoge and the first engine , it catches fire really easy and as Dred says , it's a sure kill after that .

I also shoot Lanc's wing tips but they are a bit harder for me to take down , donno why . Same with B26's seem a bit tougher all in all .

Ju88s and SBDs are CANDY and I really like CANDY , hehe . I just come and shoot them up , just be fast is all .

gl

kvuo75 · « **Reply #13 on:** December 08, 2006, 03:48:29 PM »

i second the rocket technique.. first time I tried it, I alone spotted a flight of 24's several thousand below me.. So, I just dive right at em, spray all my rockets about d400, and to my surprise, as I pulled up for another go, they was all already dead! 3 buffs dead in 3 seconds! *****in!

Unfortunately I have not been able to reproduce that feat again since.. usually only get 1 of em..

DREDger · « **Reply #14 on:** December 08, 2006, 04:50:16 PM »

Another thing you might try are the rockets on the 109 and 110's, as I understand it they are air-to-air rockets.

You are supposed to fire them about 1000-1100 away, and aim above the target to compensate for drop.

Personally, I have never once shot anything down with the air to air rockets, but have only tried only a couple of times. I even asked Pyro to do it at the AH convention this summer, and he couldn't do it either.

Probably not the best advice, but might be fun to try.