Ever since I started playing AH2, I have been flying the B25H. I have always liked the Mitchell, and the H model, with its nose full of .50's, and the 75mm cannon has always been a joy to fly in game.
However, one of the problems I had, was accurately firing the 75 at long range... so, I searched the forums and found a gunsight that GhostH had worked on which had range marks for up to 4000 yards. What a find!
GhostH's Original Gunsight
Me being the constant tinkerer, I took his gunsight into Photoshop, and dressed it up a bit. I layered it over the US MK9 gunsight that comes with the game, and then layered new range marks over his, with the actual range numbers alongside them... because I KNEW I would forget which marks were for which range when I was flying.
GhostH/AKP Modified Gunsight
Then I did one that looked a little "cooler", using alpha texturing.
GhostH/AKP Final Gunsight
In Game Shot
I posted my sight mods in the original forum thread that I found GhostH's in, and called it a day... going off to play with my new gunsight. What I didnt know, was there were going to be tons of questions on ranging, calibration, and target leading... not to mention, a big response from people thanking me for the gunsight. What started as simply making the gunsight which GhostH designed look "a little sexier", somehow turned into a rather in-depth, but fun, project.
So... on the suggestions of Lusche and GhostH, I have moved the gunsight post here, along with the screenshots showing how to estimate range, and lead on a moving ship. Just remember, I am no expert on this yet. I am just a player like you, who has put together some information that I hope will help. Here is what I came up with:
FINDING RANGE AND LEAD TO A CARRIER WITH THE MODIFIED GUNSIGHT:This was done in the training arena, with the help of my son (AJP) sitting on the flight deck as I made runs at the ship with the cameras rolling.
This is a shot at 4K with the sight lined up dead center on the CV. Note that the CV FILLS the gunsight from end to end. I use this as my indicator for this range.
This is at 4K again, but this time with the gunsight lined up at the bottom of the vertical line... the 4000m aiming point.
Here is the CV at 3K. Note that if the 3K aiming point is placed halfway up the main hull, the top of the mast is at the 2K aiming point. Again... best indicator for this range that I have found.
Here we are at 2K. I have the 2K aiming point placed halfway up the hull again. This puts the 1K aiming point just about at the top of the stack.
Finally we have the CV at 1K. Note that the island just fits inside the inner circle of the gunsight from top to bottom.
Also... since the circular part of the gunsight is the standard US MK9... you can use these pics to find the range to a carrier even if you arent using the modified sight.
After I posted these, it was pointed out that I should let people know they need to LEAD a moving target with the 75mm. While this is true against any moving target, with any projectile, the 75mm travels MUCH slower than a machine gun round... and the lead is very important.
As you will see in the pictures below, at 4000 yards, the point you want to target a CV is right on the bow. This will place the round right on the island when it hits. Also... note that from the time that I fired, my plane traveled 900 yards closer to the ship before it hit. So... when your 4000 yard shot hits, its time to fire your 3000 yard shot. Here are the screenshots:
Note the orange shellburst just leaving the gun. Also... the 4000 yard aiming point is lined up with the tip of the bow.
KABLAM! Dead center hit on the island!
Now, with the 4000 yard shot having its aiming point at the bow, simply aim between the bow and the island for your 3000 yard shot, and cut the distance in half again for the 2000 yard shot. See the pic below:
Note that these hits were scored at about 300' AGL, speed 250 mph. The plane was in a shallow dive when I was firing. If your attack angle is steeper, the range markers are going to be off and you will have to adjust. Just remember that the steeper the attack angle, the CLOSER the aiming points get to the center of the sight. I have made another version of the sight with more graduations to assist with this:
BOMBING WITH THE B25HWith all that hardware in the nose of the B25H, there is no room for a bombardier, or a bombsight. So... you have to bomb with it like you would in a fighter or dive bomber. However... I DO NOT recommend diving at a steep dive angle with the 25. That is, unless you want to see your wings rip right off.
As noted in the pic below, the aiming point for bomb release is the BOTTOM OF THE SIGHT GLASS. This works best in level flight, or a shallow dive at 250mph, and at about 300 feet AGL. So when your target is at that point, let your bombs go, hit your WEP, and climb out.
I hope everyone that likes to "Drive 25's" finds this information helpful. I know when I found the work that GhostH had done, it was a HUGE help to me in making the 75mm more effective in game.
Now, even though I used a carrier as my target in this demonstration, the ranging info will work with ANY target in the game. Just remember that the smaller ships are going to be a LOT closer if you size them in the sight the way I did the CV. If I can get my son to sit in front of some hangars, and other base structures, I will post from shots of what those buildings look like in the sights at the indicated ranges also.
As for shooting at moving ground and air targets with the 75mm... it can be done, and its very effective. That however, is going to take practice.
Please let me know how it works for you, and if there are any corrections, or additions that I should make to what I have here. As I get more information on ranging ground targets and things of that nature, I will post it here.
Thanks to GhostH for making the original sight which was the inspiration for all of this, to my son AJP for being my target, and to everyone else who made suggestions and comments.
Happy Hunting!
