Buff Killing

[HighGTrn]

Ahh the frustration!!  If I see two targets, a fighter and a bomber, chances are, I would go after the fighter.  Everyone jumps on bombers cause they think its an easy kill.  I have yet to realize this claim.  B-24's seem to be my worst problem.  It actually seems worse now more than ever.  I wonder if HT changed the modeling for those 50's on that thing.

Enough of my ranting and on to the issue.  Does anyone have any good tips on killing B-24s?  I've upped in 109s, 190s and the 152.  More often than not, I end up getting killed or shot down by guy flying the buffs.  I've tried everything.  Diving in at oblique angles, at 90 degrees from the top, different angles from the bottom and straight on.  Heck, the only thing I haven't tried is a straight 6 aspect shot (cause everyone tells me not to do that).

I know there are some really good buff killers out there.  Can ya help a brother out?

Thanks,

HighGTrn

[Lusche]

Originally posted by HighGTrn
Diving in at oblique angles, at 90 degrees from the top, different angles from the bottom and straight on.  Heck, the only thing I haven't tried is a straight 6 aspect shot (cause everyone tells me not to do that).

Well, it seems you are on the right track already. It may just be that you only need some more practice to get a feeling for the right timing.
important is the combination of angles & speed. Oblique angles do not help you that much if you are flying too slow - in that case you still present a nice target to the buff gunner. Patience is the key - gain alttitude & speed before commencing your attack. Of course, the faster you are the more difficult it is to hit the bomber, but the buff gunner will have even bigger problems to track you. And try to aim for the cockpit.

[goober69]

yes ive gotten some very nice cockpit instakills with the p47d11
and p47n i usualy come in from dead 90 degrese in a straight dive or if i can i come in from their 11 or 10 o clock and all im trying to hit is the wing root engines or cockpit something that really helps with .50 cal birds is to fire at your convergance with the 8.50s i set them to 350 and fire when the counter says 400 to until i pass them key is being much much faster than them and that can be a problem usualy after a pass i extend and regain speed so i dont end up trailing them from their six.

a good thing too is if you set fire to one dont just dive right back in. extend and wait for him to blow up= less guns to shoot at you and you can regain speed while waiting.
i never go after buffs unless i have a great advantage in speed or alt so if they are higher / faster than me ill pick another target.

oh yes and work from the outside in if you do come in from his high six try to kill the right or left bomber first dont just get stuck taking fire from the outside formation as you go after the lead. and also killing the lead may make the drones warp into you and give you a collision.
some say not to ho a bomber formation but it can work really well if you are lower than them to straight climb from beneath take your shot and loop back down. just dont get stuck behind or under them as they pass over. (usualy you only get the lead bomber in this gun solution)

[splitatom]

if someone hits you from wierd angles that means that they are experenced

[mtnman]

Check out this thread-

http://forums.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=212523


MtnMan

[TUXC]

You've already got the right idea; don't attack from the rear, and always attack from above if you can. When below bombers you make an easy target for the bombers and you also will be decelerating since you need to climb to get guns on target. Anytime you are 1k or closer to the bombers you are vulnerable to their defensive fire, so make sure that the only time you are ever this close is when you are making a firing pass.

When attacking the bombers shoot for the wings (or cockpit if attacking them from the front). These are the most vulnerable parts and a well-aimed burst in these areas will take out a bomber in a single pass. Practice your gunnery offline or in the TA against the bombers by attacking them from various angles until you get an idea of where you need to shoot. Using the lead computing site can also help to tell how much you need to lead your target.

A word of caution on bomber drones:
When a formation is turning the drones will sometimes warp a bit, so it is best to target the lead ship unless the bombers are moving in a straight line. Also, if you shoot down the lead bomber but it does not explode, the drones will flop around behind the crashing lead ship until the pilot bails. Don't follow the drones down, but wait until the pilot either bails or dies. Then the drones will warp back up to an altitude near where they started and if you maintained your alt you will be in a good position to attack them. The last thing to worry about with the drones is if you explode the lead ship in formation. One of the drones will warp into the lead's position after it is destroyed and may collide with you if you are passing through the formation after you make the kill.

[TUXC]

Originally posted by Lusche
No. Cockpit is.

True, but it is tricky to hit at some angles (at least for me). Wings are a much bigger target usually.

[Lusche]

Ooops.. deleted original message while trying to edit

Originally posted by TUXC
True, but it is tricky to hit at some angles (at least for me). Wings are a much bigger target usually.

It is a tricky target, im far from hitting it everytime. But when atacking with oblique angles from front or sides (letting the enemy bomber fly into & through your burst), you will still hit wingroots and inner engines. Often resulting in a nice fire.

[Spikes]

Originally posted by splitatom
if someone hits you from wierd angles that means that they are experenced

Who told you this?

[TequilaChaser]

Originally posted by Lusche
when atacking with oblique angles from front or sides (letting the enemy bomber fly into & through your burst), you will still hit wingroots and inner engines. Often resulting in a nice fire.

BINGO.......

when attacking formation of Bombers,  concentrate on the inner engines , this will save you ammo and lets you take out all 3 very quickly........the fire is your sign that you hit them enough and to move on to the next drone or piloted plane...... ( any engine is ok, but hitting inner engines guarantees wing failure and downing of plane )

some Bombers turrets do not rotate full 360 degrees.or have differing coverage areas.find the holes in the planes defensive coverage and attack from these angles.......

also, diving down from above the formation to get speed to zoom back up into the formation the quickly rolling inverted pulling back into them , with practice, can give you 2 quick passes at one specific drone, then reset for the next bomber.....just another way of throwing off the gunner trying to track you, causing him to have to switch from tail or lower to top then back again and still track you, makes it easier for your attack and less likely to get hit.....fast is key.....

and read the thread link, mtnman posted.....


I find the B-26 to be the most dangerous of all the bombers......

[splitatom]

the head on in that other post works fine as long you kill the bomer that you are going through and if it isn a b 26 but on those come in low and in front climing and put some canon rounds into the cotpit area

[bozon]

The problem with HO attack on bomber is that you will find it hard to set up another pass. After the HO you are flying in opposite directions and you cannot turn before you clear his guns range. Then you blow some speed on the turn and have to chase it. HO attack is good if you don't have too much E and wish to get just one kill.

A much better systematic method is to fly parallel, above and slightly to one side.  The only effective way he can track you is from the top gunner and the lead he needs to make is really confusing. To aim ahead of you, while looking up and back he may need to elevate more than 90 degrees - which he can't. This requires turning to the front and elevating. The 'little to the side' part add another degree of freedom and looking straight up, having to rotate seeing nothing but skies, he can loose orientation easily.

From your POV, from the top, the bomber exposes the largest area - especially of wings and engines that you want to hit. If you have tracers on, take an early shot, watch the tracers and correct. This is actually an easy shot to make - to me, easier than dead 6 and I am a sub-5% shooter even after 6 years playing.

Follow through with the attack and level just under the bombers altitude. If you started from 'little to the side', you will have a few degrees off of his flight course (if not - correct yourself) and let the speed carry you away. This is again confusing for him. He needs to switch to another gun position, orientate himself, turn the guns (they will be off due to tracking you from the top position) - by which time you will be 800+ yards away. Don't climb till you are out of danger, ahead of him and in slightly diverging course.

Then start pulling up to zoom, then sustained climb - don't turn back, let him overtake you and you climb above, parallel and a little to the side. You are back where you started, ready for another attack.

[Geary420]

Originally posted by HighGTrn
chances are, I would go after the fighter.  
 

This is not a bad thing, 99% of players seem to get an insta-hardon for a box of buffs, especially if they have other friendlies around and they either A.)Assume the other friendlies have some SA. or B.)Think they need to rack up their kills quick before the other countrymen get them.  Shooting target fixated pileits off bombers are about the easiest kills you can get.

Originally posted by TequilaChaser
the fire is your sign that you hit them enough and to move on to the next drone or piloted plane......

Another thing I have noticed is that vets and noobs alike are to impatient when they set one on fire.  A burning plane is a dead plane, done deal.  If you light one on fire use the time it takes to burn to reposition for your pass, and don't re-engage until the burning plane explodes.

[goober69]

Originally posted by Geary420
This is not a bad thing, 99% of players seem to get an insta-hardon for a box of buffs, especially if they have other friendlies around and they either A.)Assume the other friendlies have some SA. or B.)Think they need to rack up their kills quick before the other countrymen get them.  Shooting target fixated pileits off bombers are about the easiest kills you can get.

Another thing I have noticed is that vets and noobs alike are to impatient when they set one on fire.  A burning plane is a dead plane, done deal.  If you light one on fire use the time it takes to burn to reposition for your pass, and don't re-engage until the burning plane explodes.

some of these are the reasons i prefer to buff hunt alone or with a wingman who knows his stuff.. its so agravating when the guy who is co speed and on the six of the bombers and about to go down gets your kills when you dont even have a scratch on you.
one of the more agravating things are people who chase empty home bound bombers that may take them a half hour to catch.

get into position and let them come to you you can usualy kill them way before they drop their bombs if you find them 10 or more miles away from target.
empty bombers= no threat
get them before they drop if you want to help the war effort that is.

[humble]

Killing buffs isnt really difficult as long as you have a good setup...

If you attack with alt & E you'll do fine, fly up frm below and chase em and you'll die. In the end gunnery is the key, learn to hit a specific target at close to convergence....



Film

Just rinse and repeat as needed:aok