Head on Passes.

[wpeters]

After reading A Higher Calling  I have been trying to do head on passes with bombers.   Does anyone know how to set up so you have clean straight Head on..  I alway seem to get my angle off. Will say this though. That if you come in it takes half the bullets to bring a b17 down.

[Triton28]

The only reason to do this is to get a cockpit shot, so I would think coming in slightly high and offset to the bombers left would be best.

The best way I've found to attack bombers is from the top down and shoot the wingtips.  I always seem to screw up head on shots. 

[Randy1]

Every time I try to set up for a bomber HO, those doggone bomber pilots turn their plane.  The only time I have gotten a HO is on their final line.

[Latrobe]

I prefer to attack the same way Triton does, from above with lots of speed. It gives the gunners a harder time trying to track you, you get more of their plane to shoot at, and you can sometimes pull of shots like this! 

[danny76]

I have tried this repeatedly and have not yet managed to pull it off more than once on some low 26's attacking a CV.

Takes me what seems like 3 times as long to get to alt, then to actually overtake them, turn round and set up for the shot seems to take so damned long that the Mach 2 bombers are always somewhere else so I end up on their 6 again getting shredded

i simply do not attack bombers any more, been trying for years and watch most guys get into a good position, pick off one at a time and fly away without damage, simply cannot emulate that.

There are myriad combat films of attacks on bombers and the majority appear to be dead 6

Anyway, if at first you don't succeed, it's probalbly too much effort

[Latrobe]

There are myriad combat films of attacks on bombers and the majority appear to be dead 6

I think the reason for that is in real life bombers don't have drones and not every single available gun is going to shoot at the same plane. In Aces High the gunner is actually commanding ALL guns that have a line of fire on all three bombers, so if you come in from slightly above and behind or slightly below and behind then you have 3 tail guns and 3 top/bottom guns shooting at you. Even if you come in on their dead 6 you still have 3 tail gunners shooting at you. That's why attacking bombers in Aces High is best done with a lot of speed and from extreme angles where the gunner will have the most trouble tracking you (unless it's 999  )

[Arlo]

Please consider ... this. 

[Wiley]

Ingame, I find if I get a HO or near HO I get better results going for the cockpit trailing over along the wingroot to the first engine on the near side as I come in.  Your rounds hit harder because the closing speed is higher, and I find I quite often knock the wing off or get the PK on my way through.

My favorite way to attack bombers though is from directly above them.  Easiest gun solution, biiig target.  When my gunnery's on I go for a wingroot.  When it's off, I just shoot the entire fuselage.  I favor 8x50 rides, and more often than not raking the entire body kills the plane.

Wiley.

[Randy1]

I have had some success getting below the bombers, just out of gun range, and have them straight overhead.   I pull up with wep and try to all but hit them on the way through.  You have to have the speed to blow through and clear gun range before coming back down.  I have collided with the bombers and that sucks.  If you don't get far enough forward, you come up on the six and that's bad.  Get too far forward and you pull in front.  Still if you are short on fuel or time to get on top, starting from below is a better option than shooting from the six especially on the 50 cal planes.

[Ack-Ack]

After reading A Higher Calling  I have been trying to do head on passes with bombers.   Does anyone know how to set up so you have clean straight Head on..  I alway seem to get my angle off. Will say this though. That if you come in it takes half the bullets to bring a b17 down.

The Luftwaffe fighters would tail the bombers to establish exact course, altitude and speed and afterwards move to a safe distance on the flank to overtake the bombers.  Having gained a lead of about 3,500 meters, the fighters would then turn in for a head on pass.



By the time the fighters were 800 meters from the bombers when making their head on attack, the bomber must already be in the center of the fighter's gun sight.  



The preferred method for USN and USAAF fighters attacking enemy bombers was to use either the Overhead attack or Beam attack.

ack-ack

[Vudu15]

And with whatever style you choose you're goin to have to practice it won't just happen. No one in game now was just suddenly great all had to fly a lot to get to the point where they are now.

[Randy1]

I thought I could find it again but didn't never the less there is an old WW2 bomber attack lesson like plan out there showing the different methods to attack bombers.  Had diagrams and everything. 

[Rogue9Volt]

You should check out Bustr'd gunsight package..  It's got some actual WWII gunnery training manuals that cover various bomber attack strategies...  I'll edit this later with the link.

[bustr]

Here: http://www55.zippyshare.com/v/63472571/file.html

[Randy1]

Here: http://www55.zippyshare.com/v/63472571/file.html

Sorry Bustr I could not remember the source.