Chapter 6 - Dive! Dive! Dive! The B.XVI as a dive bomber==========================================================
What is that you say? The XVI is a level bomber?! It does not even have a front reticule to aim with?
Bullocks! The real mosquito bombers often bombed from low altitudes and with pin-point accuracy. This historically included lobbing of bombs into railway tunnels, into Gestapo headquarters, and down Goering's throat. The mosquito is the all-in-one wooden wonder! if some other silly plane can dive-bomb then the mossie can do it too. Period. In this chapter I will explain how to do it right and what is it good for in Aces High.
Why dive bomb when level bombing is laser-like accurate?========================================================
The level bomb sight is indeed ridiculously accurate and takes a very short time to calibrate. However, you must still keep a constant speed, direction, and altitude while your head is buried in the bomb sight. If you use the XVI as a tactical bomber over contested fields, the enemy will be around and not always you will get a clean bombing run. In such cases you still have the option to dive-bomb your target and use that speed to escape towards friendlies. Many common fighters will not even be able to follow you in the dive (109s, P38s, N1K, zekes, KI84). And lets be frank, the 4000 lbs cookie does not really require aiming...
Another common use for dive bombing is to hunt GVs. The XVI carries 6x500 lbs bombs and climbs very well with them. It thus gives you both the option to snipe stationary whirbles from outside their reach with the level bomb sight, or dive-bomb moving tanks and M3s. Setting up a level bombing run on a vehicle takes some practice, time to set up, and is easy to mess up. Dive bombing helpless tanks on the other hand is a hoot!
"But wait! JABO work was covered in chapter 3! Surely this is the same."
No! you silly rhetoric commentator, it is not.
Calibrating your dive bomb-sight=================================
Good news, you do have a dive bomb-sight! It requires calibration though, but the process is quick and can be set-up in advance. I always calibrate my dive bombing sight before my level bombing run, so I can easily switch to a dive attack when enemy fighters are on me.
The process is exactly how they did it in WWII:
1. Enter the level bomb sight (F6).
2. Raise the clipboard (ESC).
3. Grab the clipboard with the mouse and place the hole in the clip of the clipboard on the cross-hair.
4. Move the hole along the vertical hair down under the horizontal hair until the top of the tip of the clip touches the cross-hair.
There! your sight is ready and calibrated. Lower the clipboard and happily continue in your mission.
It is interesting to note that the F6 crosshair is slightly above the center of the screen where the usual guns reticule point is at. Placing the clipboard as described above centers the clip-hole on the guns aiming point. This gives you the same reference point as you are used to with other planes. However, it makes sense to place the clipboard even lower so as to compensate for the bomb trajectory arc in shallower dives. Personal preference.
Dive bombing=============
When you enter your dive, place the target roughly in the center of your view and pull up the clipboard. If you started from a slow speed, push the nose down so the target is well above your aiming point (the hole in the clip, in case you did not get it by now). Slowly bring the nose up, so the target is seen through the hole. Watch your speed, hold steady and release your candies as the target moves out of the hole downwards. If you dropped a cookie, cue the Gregorian a-Capella (see chapter 5 of this guide above).
That is all there is to it, and this is how they did it in real life - honest!
The even greater escape========================
From here, it is similar to the JABO escape in chapter 4, except one crucial difference - you are gun-less! Escape is all you can do. Luckily the B.XVI seem to handle very high speeds slightly better than the FB.VI and can be safely pushed past 500 mph true. If enemies are close on you, pick up as much speed as you can to prolong the chase before you are forced to turn. If not in immediate danger, put the mossie into a shallow dive and maintain 400+ mph all the way home.
I forgot to mention this in chapter 5 - the B.XVI model is
lighter than the FB.VI. It has no cannons, no machine guns, no ammunition for them, no front armor, and no moral setbacks. All this adds up to over 1000 lbs empty weight difference. This in turn means that the light (you should also have less than 15% fuel at this point, because 25% last 22 min at MIL power) B.XVI will turn even better than the FB.VI model. However, remember that turning is to be done only when you cannot use your speed to escape. You have almost no armor and are fragile, so even low probability shots are dangerous.
If an enemy is closing on your 6, break early (1.5k out) and while you still have a few 1000 feet under you. He will likely take a wild shot or pull up, because this is what they always do, and you will follow with a nose low turn, away from him and into a zero-G dive towards your (pre-planned) escape direction. You must have some alt in order to accelerate in the dive, or else he will be right back on your tail. Run screaming for help like a girl with a bat in her hair.
It is however hilarious to stay and duel it with you opponent. The light XVI will hang-with and even out turn many opponents. Most don't really know what to do when they have a gun-less plane holding on to their tail feather (the safest place for you to be...). You'll be surprised how many will panic and run away (I had players run all the way to their acks with a mossie XVI on their tail). Others will keep trying and eventually get picked by a friendly plane passing by.
Have fun, and don't forget the immortal words of G. De-Havilland: "Mosquitoes fly, but flies don't mosquito!"
... You dont know that! He could have said it!
