I'm doing this only because I disagree with the content of the post.
Better idea. If you're in any model except a P-47D-11, you're not in a fighter plane,(they got that much right). Stick to your tactical bombing mission. Your mission is not to drop your ordinance in the ocean and tangle with fighters. The first priority, is to fly away, and head to an alternate target and drop your bombs on something that counts.
Wrong. All aeroplanes in Aces High are capable of being used as fighter planes successfully. The P-47 is no exception. If you don't feel you are capable of using your Thunderbolt as a fighter (and you don't want to learn how to do so), then the speed you gain in your bombing dive will almost certainly allow you to escape far faster (and further) than any enemy will care to pursue you (unless they dived as well).
In addition to this, the P-47 was used during World War II as a fighter with great success. Read Robert S. Johnson's book
Thunderbolt! if you want an excellent read about this.
I know everybody is going to say the enemy fighter will just chase you down and kill you. He certainly WILL if you waste precious seconds thinking about attacking him before you make this decision. Bug out with your ordinance while he's still a tiny black at extreme range. He probably won't even see you, especially if there are other planes closer to him.
See my above comment please.
Stay on mission. Even if you hear someone else SCREAMING for help. Don't trade places with a pilot who got himself into trouble. Nobody is going to clear your six if you do. That's just the way it is in the MA.
Hmm. I wouldn't be so sure of this. Given stephen waldron's terrible reputation on this Bulletin Board, and assuming that his in-game name is similar to his BBS name, then I'd say this person is a terrible judge as to whether other pilots are willing to help him out.
Don't trust friendly fighters either to tell you they are LEAVING. One minute they're there, and the next minute they're GONE. I generally check the clipboard after every attack run to see who's running away. You'll be over a flashing target for quite awhile. It takes some time to empty the ord on a P-47.
a) Pilots don't
always say "RTB", or "heading back" etc. Sometimes they do, other times not.
b) How in the world can you tell if someone's running away with your clipboard? Unless you stare at it for about a minute, by which time someone's probably gotten on your 6 and blasted you out of the sky anyway, making who's running away and who isn't somewhat irrelevant.
c) Yes, you will be over the target (flashing?) for a while if you're going at 200 mph. However, if you dives bomb, and pull out at 500mph, those 12.5 miles of radar will be past 90 seconds later (assuming you stay at precisely 500mph and fly straight away from your target).
d) If you move your fingers quite quickly, and have the game salvo your ordnance automatically, you can get rid of your 3 bombs and 10 rockets (I think it's 10) in 0.65 seconds. If you think that 0.65 seconds is "some time", then you're playing this game from the wrong planet.
Dive bombing ? You don't want to experiment with that against targets that shoot back. Not in the beginning.
Well what will you "experiment" against with it then? Trees?
Level bombing at 2 thousand works just fine against undamaged and lightly damaged factories. Just wait till the nose of the icon of your plane breaks the icon of the complex on your clipboard map.. and bombs away.
a) Please define "just fine".
b) I worked out a formula for doing level bombing in Mosquitoes and Spitfires, and in practice it took too long to set up, but worked excellently. HOWEVER, your aimpoint was actually part of your plane, not something on the clipboard.
c) 2,000 feet is NOT out of the range of ANY kind of anti-aircraft fire. 2,000 feet = 600 yards (roughly), at which range a level-bombing aircraft will be easily shot down by ANY manned (or automatic) Anti-Aircraft fire - Ostwinds, Wirblewinds, M-16s, even M-8s and M-3s will be shooting at you.
Also, level bombing from such altitudes means that your enemy is shooting at a MUCH larger profile of your plane (its entire bottom surface) versus when you dive bomb (where only the FRONT profile is a target usually). Also, you're going slower (usually) in level bombing than in dive-bombing, which means you spend more time over your target.
d) What magnification are you using on your clipboard? Also, what speed are you going at?
Don't worry. Nine times outta ten you're gonna hit something. There are plenty of targets down there.
Yeah, there's thousands of trees down there that'll be absolutely delighted to receive your 1,000 lb bombs.
Strafe the AA guns after you get your bombs and rockets off.
Since when have
trees had anti-aircraft guns...?
The rockets are way too inaccurate for new pilots to waste trying to hit AA positions with. Your guns are way MORE accurate than the rockets. This is imperitive to remember against nme airfield and town AA, as it will be shooting back at you while you are attacking. But don't fly against these targets in the beginning until you get the bugs worked out.
a) Bollocks
b) So, how do you do level-bombing with rockets...?
c) You misspelt imperative
d) I thought you just said not to hit "targets that shoot back" with dive-bombing. So it is fine to do another form of bombing that leaves you far more vulnerable to ground fire than dive-bombing against targets that shoot back? I won't bother going into any more detail about contradictions here.
Forget about armored targets too. Especially if the tank is stopped. In all likelihood, the guy is sitting in the AA machinegun position with the crosshairs on you just waiting for you to make that mistake. If he's running away at full speed, unless he's crazy, he's probably driving the tank and focused on where he is going. This is a good candidate for rockets.
To anyone reading this who doesn't know how to dive-bomb quite accurately:
go into the Training Arena and ask a trainer to help you dive-bomb well.
For now just concentrate on easy targets and bringing your plane home without damage so you can put together some experience and multiple missions in a single sortie. That's where the score is.
If you can't resist dive bombing CV's. At least pick the ones that are already damaged. Odds are some of the flak will be knocked out. Maybe flight ops as well. That equals a "Soft" target. Which is your preferred target as a beginner.
This actually isn't bad advice. Whilst I would argue that all targets are difficult, some are definitely easier than others. However, worrying about score so much is unproductive in my opinion. Whilst the stats that make up your score (on the Clipboard go to "Roster", find your name, right click and select "Score") can be useful to check on how well you're doing overall, thinking about your score in a competitive isn't helpful, especially if you're a newer player.
Occasionally the enemy will come after you in a 262. The counter tactic to this is simple. When you see the nme DAR bar light up in your sector, it's time to go. Level out and hit your WEP alternating every 20 seconds so it don't run out.. and head for home. You'll be sitting in the tower drinking coffee when the 262 flies over. How do you know the DAR bar is a 262 ? You don't, but you assume it is.
Whilst I've never heard of a 262 specifically coming after a P-47, there is no way that you will be able to outrun one unless you dive (and even then it can almost certainly outrun you if it dives as well). I've found that break turns can be useful against a 262 just before it shoots, but correct me if I'm wrong on this please. Also, I disagree with running every time you see a red darbar.
So, sorry for being a jerk, but a lot of this post was so wrong I felt I had to correct it.
<S>
Yossarian
