Ive said this before, then I fly some until it annoys the hell out of me then I feel the need to whine again.
Buff lethality is insane, this wwii flight sim as its advertised is becoming less sim and more video game. Perhaps thats where the studies of the Dev's have told them their market is. The day a single set of 17's, 26's etc can fend off and defeat a pair or 3 fighters is crazy. A decent gunner in this game can stop anyone getting within striking range of ships, fields or towns. Flying is tough so I'll try gunning, well this is tough, so HTC makes it easier??? Fly against the CV 5" or anything other than nose on to 17's, anywhere within 1500yds of a flak or PT you will see what I mean, this needs to be addressed and balanced out, HTC seems to always correct one issue by creating another. Not that my simple monthly fee will make or break this business nor is my opinion carrying any weight, I am sure im not the only one of this opinion.
Spin
Buffs require patience... If you fly them, it takes a long time to get where you're going, especially at an altitude that gives you a margin of safety. If you're in a fighter, it takes patience to get into a position to attack from above, and be able to zoom forward so you can set up another steep attack.
In either case, rushing the situation just leads to frustration. It takes time to set things up right. Like almost everyone mentioned, if you attack bombers "wrong", they're lethal. If you attack them "right" though, they're very vulnerable. Maybe even too vulnerable?
Attack them in a steep dive. Try not to go too much below them as you go by, and zoom forward for your next attack. In a case like this one, looping works fine. Had I not had quite as much speed, my attack would more closely resemble a very large barrel roll with my shooting taking place at the bottom of the coils. If you find yourself unable to attack in a steep dive, stop attacking. Fly parallel with them, getting out front and above them, and set up a decent attack. As you get better at it, you can afford more risk, but be careful, there are a few really good shots out there!
This type of attack is easy to master, and very effective. I had a month where I paid attention to my K/D vs buffs a few years ago. Using this type of attack, my K/D against all bombers was roughly 80 or 90 to 1. The one was a C47 that jinked a bit while I was too fast and I rammed him, lol. Embarrassing... Take the time it takes to set up this type of attack, and get good at it. Then, you can start to attack without such a good position, and you'll still do fine. Don't worry about whether they've dropped their ord or not. That will just cause you to rush things. Set up the kill, and worry about getting quick at it later. Bombers begin to look like "gimme" kills after a while.
http://www.4shared.com/file/0h_xSRI2/6_buffs_with_Saber.html (these were set afire, but it doesn't seem to show in this film).
http://www.4shared.com/file/wUpB-EdR/Lancs_0000.htmlYou don't need big cannons, or a long time to land your shots. A decent hit in the right place and they really don't stand much of a chance. Don't sit behind them, or attack at a shallow dive angle. Minimize the time you're exposed to their guns. Shoot for the cockpit, wingtip, or wing root. Clear the right drone first, left drone second, and lead bomber last. If you light one on fire, it will die. Time your dive so that as you get in range for your second pass, the burning plane has already died. Attacking from front to back works fine for one pass, but makes subsequent passes take forever to set up.
Like Grizz mentioned, bombers at 15K or less qualify as pretty easy targets. Bombers from 15-20K can be pretty tough. Bombers above 20 can be killed, but are very tough.
