Effective bomber hunting

[Cremator]

If your going out bomber hunting which plane do you favor? I'm talking from 14k to 25k.  What plane offers speed, firepower, and acceleration qualities that make it suitable for said altitudes?

I hate to keep making threads asking questions but I promise if we were all in a class together I wouldn't be that guy...

[JunkyII]

Make the thread in the Help and Training section if you have a question.

TA 152 has high alt handles, Good intercept ability, guns have great knock down power.

[Cremator]

I did word it like a question but was just kind of wanting to start a discussion about it. My bad.
I need to check out the 152. Appreciate it...

[BaldEagl]

I like the 190A-8 with the 30mm gun package. Tons of firepower, lots of ENY and good armor.

[caldera]

109G-2 and later (gondolas preferred)
110G with light gun package (no rockets)
190
P-47
Mosquito
La-7
410 with 30mm
152
P-51
Tempest
Spit 8, 9, 14, 16
P-38

Any of these will work well.  Take your pick.

[DrBone1]

If you have the patience to go that high you are a lot better then me.

If they ain't below 10k I ain't going for them   honestly you are wasting more time climbing for those buffs when you can shoot down more than 10 planes in the time it took you to climb to that 1 set of Buffs, now if you are speaking if there are multiple sets inb and early warning about 3 sectors out I may roll a 262.

Just my whole look on the Buff hunting deal too much time for little reward.  

edit: Pm sent. 

[MK-84]

If your going out bomber hunting which plane do you favor? I'm talking from 14k to 25k.  What plane offers speed, firepower, and acceleration qualities that make it suitable for said altitudes?

I hate to keep making threads asking questions but I promise if we were all in a class together I wouldn't be that guy...

The (should be) obvious answer is the ME262, or the ME163.  But I dont think thats what you are looking for as an answer.

     For attacking bombers at 14-25k a 109G14 with the 20mm gondolas and the 30mm hub would be an excellent choice, with convergence of the 30mm set at 450 and the 20mm set at 350.  The G14 climbs very well, has decent speed and good acceleration even weighted down this much.  The tricky part is the poor high speed handling, particularly if you want to make a diving attack on a target that's closer to 25k alt.
    
    
    

[Mongoose]

I hate to keep making threads asking questions but I promise if we were all in a class together I wouldn't be that guy...

Why?  It's OK to be that guy.  The only way to get questions answered is to ask them.  

I used to be a software trainer.  I taught people how to use their computers.  Nowdays I am more in the network admin business, but I still get to teach a class occasionally.  When people ask questions, I know they are thinking about what I am saying.  Often "that guy" is asking the questions that everyone else wants or needs to have answered, but they are afraid to ask.  

  Or they're afraid of being "that guy".

[Patches1]

I have not flown much in the past year or so due to real life issues, but, personally, I've always had good results with the F4U series. If you and are not afraid of carrying 100% fuel and drop tanks, and if you are willing to take the time to climb to 25-28k and utilize good fuel and engine management, and if you have the patience to track bombers on radar to put yourself on an interception course, I think you will be surprised with the way the F4U handles at high altitude and the results you can obtain with patience and cunning. The reason I fly the F4U series almost exclusively is because of it's versatility as a fighter, fighter-bomber, bomber hunter, and add in the fact that it can take off and land from aircraft carriers, well, it just makes the aircraft one of the most rounded and challenging aircraft in the plane-set.

Caldera offers several choices for bomber hunting and I do not disagree with him; but I will point out that each aircraft requires a different set of skills to fly well against bombers...that's a lot of skills to learn, and none of these aircraft are available on aircraft carriers!

109G-2 and later (gondolas preferred)
110G with light gun package (no rockets)
190
P-47
Mosquito
La-7
410 with 30mm
152
P-51
Tempest
Spit 8, 9, 14, 16
P-38

DrBone1 points out that patience is not in his game bag when it comes to bombers and he prefers to resort to his perk pool and he wants more than a single set of bombers to make it worth his while...and that is fine, also.

If you have the patience to go that high you are a lot better then me.

If they ain't below 10k I ain't going for them  Hehe! honestly you are wasting more time climbing for those buffs when you can shoot down more than 10 planes in the time it took you to climb to that 1 set of Buffs, now if you are speaking if there are multiple sets inb and early warning about 3 sectors out I may roll a 262.

Just my whole look on the Buff hunting deal too much time for little reward.  salute

There are many options available to do the job, but I challenge you to learn a single aircraft that can do them all, the F4U!

Oh! Just as a side note and if you are interested, I set all of my guns' convergence to 275 and have learned to fly with it set there. I have learned that there is no "magic" convergence whether fighting at 25k, or on the deck, and whether using 50 cals, or 20mm hispanos, the end result is the same.

Good luck, and good hunting!

[Swoop]

For 15k (ish) buffs I prefer the 190A8.  Great armour, great gun package.

For stratospheric buffs I prefer the P-47M.  The higher you climb the better it feels and it's got a great rate of climb on WEP.  I'm sure the 190/110/410 etc have better gun packages but by the time you've climbed to attack altitude the enemy buffs have already dropped their load.

*If* you've got the sixth sense to know that a 30k buff raid is on the way then something with cannons would be preferable but if I was psychic I'd have already won the lottery and bought my own Spitfire.

[Lusche]

For stratospheric buffs I prefer the P-47M.  The higher you climb the better it feels and it's got a great rate of climb on WEP.  I'm sure the 190/110/410 etc have better gun packages but by the time you've climbed to attack altitude the enemy buffs have already dropped their load.

And WEP performance is what gives the Ta 152H one big performance advantage over the P-47M for buff hunting: You never have to think about it. The 10/5 WEP cycle of the Ta means you can wep your climb all way up to 27k to get into a favorable intercept position, and in few minutes you got enough WEP time back to combat them - or the fighters escorting them. The 47M has only a 5/10min WEP cycle, meaning you have to consider carefully when to engage it and when not. In one minute under MIL power, the 47M gets back 30 seconds of WEP, the Ta 152H 2 minutes!

Overall the Ta is great to hunt bombers at any altitude. WEP time, climb rate and top speed up to the highest altitudes, loiter time and massive firepower. It also had it 'glass chin' removed, the radiator is not anywhere vulnerable as it used to be for many years.

Below 25k actually almost any but most of the EW planes will do, 190A8, Jugs, even the P-51B is doing fine. If you don't have to worry about enemy escorts and can get to altitude in time, the Me 410 is devastating against any bomber up to that altitude, especially with the MK 103 loadout.

[Drane]

The TA152 and 109K4 are very fast up high and pack a lot of punch with 30mm cannon. For me these tend to get the radiator shot out or oiled quickly.

Have discovered the Spitfire 14 is very fast and maneuverable up high and the combo of 50cal and 20mm is quite lethal. Drop tank and wep will get you to 20k quick but it still climbs quick from there.

[Lusche]

The TA152 and 109K4 are very fast up high and pack a lot of punch with 30mm cannon. For me these tend to get the radiator shot out or oiled quickly.

Have discovered the Spitfire 14 is very fast and maneuverable up high and the combo of 50cal and 20mm is quite lethal. Drop tank and wep will get you to 20k quick but it still climbs quick from there.

As a bomber pilot, I was always happy to see a Spitfire, no matter which model, because of their high vulnerability. A Ta or 109K might lose their radiator, but two pings to a Spitfire's wing and it's gone  

[Hap]

If your going out bomber hunting which plane do you favor? I'm talking from 14k to 25k.

22K is the hot rod limit for the FW190's excluding the Ta152.

Given your parameters, A8 with all the guns or four 20 mils.

[Drane]

As a bomber pilot, I was always happy to see a Spitfire, no matter which model, because of their high vulnerability. A Ta or 109K might lose their radiator, but two pings to a Spitfire's wing and it's gone  

We shall see!