Fw190F-8 and the Panzerblitz 1 (Pb 1)

[bustr]

In my efforts to find anything special in a Revi reticle for firing the Pb1 rockets from the Fw190F-8, I came across the following.

In December 1944, the highly efficient missile Panzerblitz 1 (Pb 1) system was developed consisting of six and, more often, eight R4M air-to-air missiles. They were adapted for tank destroying by mounting an 80 mm M8 type warhead for an armour penetration of up to 90 mm. Using the Pb 1 unit it was possible to destroy tanks at a 200 m distance with rockets being fired in salvo or in pairs. The only limitation was a maximum speed of 490 km/hr, not to be exceeded during missile firing. Up to February 1945 the Luftwaffe received 115 Fw 190F-8/Pb 1 planes

200M = 219yds
490 kmh = 304mph

1. - 200M Makes you wirbel fodder in this game. Allied 5 inch HVAR and cousins were roughly a 400-1000yd munition launched at 238mph or faster. Closer is always better though.

2. - Not sure if the speed limitation's results are modeled. Nor can I find info on what happens if the speed is exceeded. Testing offline shows 300 and faster gives best results in shallow dive and level attacks. Holds true for most rocket firing aircraft in the game.

3. - Firing the PB1 from 200M@300mph, the area from the first tick mark and second tick down from center on the Revi is about on. Practice will determine results as no two pilots will setup their attack AoA and speeds the same.

[SmokinLoon]

There are 2 major things to remember that no sight can account for:

First and foremost: rockets fir STRAIGHT off the wing.  There is no convergence.  If there were to be a laser going straight out from the gun sight the rocket will always hit right or left of that laser line.  

Second: the firing order of those rockets make a HUGE difference when trying to hit something.  In this case, the 190F-8 fires 2 left, then 2 right, and so forth.  Most everything else fires 1 left, 1 right, and so on.  About the only aircraft I aim dead on with rockets is the P38G and that is because the rockets are right under the pilots left and right feet.

If a person wants to use the Pb1 rockets effectively they will do these few things:  On the first pass lets say the enemy tank is sitting perpendicular to your plane.  Your angle of attack is 45°. The center of your gun sight should NOT be resting on the tank but to the RIGHT about 1/2 the length of the tank.  Somewhere between 400 and 200 yards fire NO MORE THAN TWO ROCKETS, otherwise you're peein' in the dark and in a heavy wind (your wasting ammo).  On the second pass simply rinse and repeat but this time aim to the LEFT of the tank (right side rockets).  

Angle of attack can vary but the more shallow the attack the smaller the cross section to hit is, and the steeper the attack the more human error is a factor.  Also, attacking a Wirblewind that is aware of your presence is suicide in most cases regardless of what aircraft your in.  Best case scenario is you land enough rockets close enough that the splash damage damages the turret.  Good luck with that.  Oh, and pay no attention to the speed of your 190F-8 when firing the Pb1 rockets, I've seen no difference when firing at 400 TAS or 200 TAS except that the faster and more stable I am the more accurate my shots are.

So ultimately, I suggest to leave the fancy sights in the hanger (no disrespect intended to you sight makers, they are appreciated), and simply read what I put above and then use the Force.  

[bustr]

Rockets were accurate in salvo. Not like we attempt to be dead eye jonnies here in the game with one or two. Trials back then showed a good hit rate was about 9 in 166.

We spend way too much time compared to ww2 flying at the same target trying to hit it with one or two rockets each pass. Following the AAF manuals for how to use the rocket aids in the specific reticles, the rockets mass impact in the area targeted as projected by the ww2 brain boys is about a 7-8% hit success. Rockets were mass effect munitions in ww2. Pilots had to practice to achieve consistent accuracy just like any ordnance delivery method relying on user skill.

Accuracy was relative to how close you could get while surviving small arms fire and not to a special reticle. That's why the added reticle structure were called "aids". The brain boys calculated the trajectory related to a minimum attack speed and AoA, to a sight line adjusted from the zero with graduated marks from the gunsight center to average your IP relative to the known ballistic path. Or some gunsights allowed the reflector plate to be tilted 5 degrees to compensate for the rocket trajectory. The pilot still had to practice.

I have found the rocket aids for both the K14A and L3 to work as specified with area detonation on ack positions. The same if I follow the requirements for the PB1 while using a Revi16 gunsight. IP is in the 2nd 1\6 division below center at 200M. No source from ww2 says rockets are as accurate as MG or cannon. But, you can get several in salvo into a 5x5 meter area by following the speed\AoA guidelines referencing from the WW2 rocket aids in the reticles.

In 1946 or 47 the Air Force held a glide bombing competition. The only squadron who could still hit anything was the Red Tails because they had been placed on a duty after the war that kept them out of sight practicing bombing. Their gunsight was the K14A with a rocket\bomb "aid".

So you want to tell the AAF and Luft, their brain boys, and all of the pilots who used them that the K14A, L3, and Revi had "special useless rocket aids"? Krusty just got a new number scale on his meter. Regards to Mr. Hitech for coining the "Krusty Meter".

[SmokinLoon]

Rockets were accurate in salvo. Not like we attempt to be dead eye jonnies here in the game with one or two. Trials back then showed a good hit rate was about 9 in 166.

We spend way too much time compared to ww2 flying at the same target trying to hit it with one or two rockets each pass. Following the AAF manuals for how to use the rocket aids in the specific reticles, the rockets mass impact in the area targeted as projected by the ww2 brain boys is about a 7-8% hit success. Rockets were mass effect munitions in ww2. Pilots had to practice to achieve consistent accuracy just like any ordnance delivery method relying on user skill.

Accuracy was relative to how close you could get while surviving small arms fire and not to a special reticle. That's why the added reticle structure were called "aids". The brain boys calculated the trajectory related to a minimum attack speed and AoA, to a sight line adjusted from the zero with graduated marks from the gunsight center to average your IP relative to the known ballistic path. Or some gunsights allowed the reflector plate to be tilted 5 degrees to compensate for the rocket trajectory. The pilot still had to practice.

I have found the rocket aids for both the K14A and L3 to work as specified with area detonation on ack positions. The same if I follow the requirements for the PB1 while using a Revi16 gunsight. IP is in the 2nd 1\6 division below center at 200M. No source from ww2 says rockets are as accurate as MG or cannon. But, you can get several in salvo into a 5x5 meter area by following the speed\AoA guidelines referencing from the WW2 rocket aids in the reticles.

In 1946 or 47 the Air Force held a glide bombing competition. The only squadron who could still hit anything was the Red Tails because they had been placed on a duty after the war that kept them out of sight practicing bombing. Their gunsight was the K14A with a rocket\bomb "aid".

So you want to tell the AAF and Luft, their brain boys, and all of the pilots who used them that the K14A, L3, and Revi had "special useless rocket aids"? Krusty just got a new number scale on his meter. Regards to Mr. Hitech for coining the "Krusty Meter".

Do not take what I've suggested for use in AH to equate directly with SOP in the real deal.  I'm well aware that rockets were used as an area effect weapon and that firing them with any attempt of pinpoint accuracy was a stretch of the imagination.  There were simply far too many variables present in the real deal that are not present in AH.  I do not care about which sight was used by what unit, etc, I can look all that info up just like the next WWII aficionado.  All I'm suggesting is to keep it simple.  Learn the weapon, learn the plane, learn the firing order, and learn the impact point vs aim point and the world will be an easier place.  If a person wants to reply on a specific sight, then all the things I've just mentioned STILL needs to be understood, or else the less than %10 accuracy will be the norm just like the real deal.     

Like I've said before regarding the 190F-8, fire 2 rockets and fire wide.  First 2 rockets fire from LEFT wing, then 2nd 2 rocket fire from RIGHT wing.  And so on. Dive in at a °45 angle and fire 400 to 200 yards away and 1/2 the length of the tank to the right for a left wing rocket hit (and fire left for a right wing rocket hit).  Easy peasy.  Speed needs to be fast enough to stay stable (270+ TAS, is my suggestion).

For area saturation, use any sight you want and fire away!