Originally posted by F4UDOA
WW,
I think some of your loading weights are off.
I have never understood why some of the twin engine bombers and fighter bombers in AH turn so well.
The A-20G might be an exception but most if not all have horrible wing loading and power to weight ratio's. Also do you know what the flight restrictions are on the A20? What is the max G limit?
Roll rate is the best way to defeat a fighter bomber in a dogfight. I try to scissor while while chopping throttle and then either spit S or loop. Either that or dive to high speed and force an overshoot with rolling maneuvers.
I really enjoy the dueling aspect of AH. I would luv to try a duel between a Mossie and A-20 or BF110. Would make a nice scenario too.
As I said, weights are from various published sources. Calculating fuel weight is easy enough, if you use 50% of max. internal fuel, you simply multiply the number of gallons by 6 pounds. Subtract that from max. weight less under wing (or in bomb bay) ordnance.
Realize that this is takeoff weight, not the weight the aircraft enters combat with, so this is a mitigating factor not easily accounted for.
During WWII, the A-20/Boston proved very able to defend itself, with one A-20G-30-DO pilot getting credit for shooting down 4 Japanese aircraft (one Ki-84, one Ki-43, one G4M2 Betty and a Ki-30 light bomber/observation aircraft).
When fighting an aggessive A-20G, DON'T try to force it to overshoot. Havocs bleed E like mad with little effort. last week, I bounced a pair of F4U-1Ds at 17k. They ignored me as I was on a reciprical heading about 3k above them. What they didn't realize, but soon discovered was that I was flying high CAP south of our field (A41 on Fester's wonderful map). Pulling power to idle and using the rudder as a suedo airbrake, I dived below them. At full throttle, I rocketed up from underneath, obliterating one Corsair. Zooming up, I rolled inverted and started down after the second fighter, who was desperately dumping ordnance and pickling off rockets. Seeing my Havoc boring in on his tail, the F4U pilot rolled right, turned about 90 degrees and then reversed his turn. That was where he died. Seeing him roll right, I pulled nose high, added a big boot full of rudder while rolling inverted. His attempt to scissor came to instant grief. There's nothing I appreciate more than an enemy who thinks scissoring will accomplish anything. That's one of the easiest defensive maneuvers to counter, even when flying a twin-engine bomber (the A-20 has an enormous rudder, and combined with full aileron deflection, the big Havoc rolls much faster than anyone would ever expect).
Just last night, I fought a one on one with a Yak-9T beginning at 10k. He was trying to cherry pick a smoking P-47 being nursed home at about 6k. As the Yak driver angled in for a gun run, I met him halfway, running in hot from his left side. He broke towards me, pushing his nose down. I high yo-yo'd left and caught him with a snapshot that took off his left aileron. Going vertical, the Yak tried to shake me in a climb. My greater E convinced him that this wouldn't work and he pulled thru into a loop. Again, I followed in a lag pursuit around thru yet another loop. I pulled enough lead and obtained some strikes. On the way down, he rolled right entering a spiral dive. My next burst demolished the Yak. As with the F4Us, this guy failed to anticipate the threat until he was engaged.
As for Split-S'ing away from the A-20, you had better have a lot of separation prior, because the A-20 accelerates like a demon in a dive (just don't take it past 425 mph with any loading on the airframe). Yesterday, I was jousting with Yucca's Hurricane IIC and surprised him by attacking from a split-S, getting a good piece of the Hurri with a snapshot. Some cannon bird caught him before I could complete my chandelle reverse and I had to settle for an assist. Yucca had a good laugh at the strange sight of seeing a bomber maneuvering in the vertical hard after one of the best turn fighters in the game. Let's face it, that's something you don't see every day. Therein lies one great advantage; still being surprised even when you see the enemy by allowing a seemingly innocuous aircraft to gain a position of tactical advantage.
I also like flying the SBD as a fighter. Its maneuverability is such that it can hang with almost any fighter but the Zero. What it lacks is straight-line speed. On the other hand, the A-20G is faster (at about 345 mph) at and below 5k than a considerable number of the fighters in the game. I have chased down Hellcats and N1K2s with it. When flying with less than 25% fuel load, the A-20G climbs well too.
I expect that the A-20 is a very close match for the Bf 110G-2 and Mossy in terms of agility. However, both of those can escape in a prolonged dive. Yet, the A-20G has the huge advantage of being able to be flown from the F3 position, with its unlimited visibility. Fly with a gunner and the A-20G is even more dangerous.
I did some digging into the design and operational G limits built into the A-20G. Max. operational G is limited to 5g positive, 2.5g negative, with minimum design stress rated at 7g (absolute failure was partially determined by airframe fatigue as well as total load carried, but Douglas estimated 7.5g to actually cause structural failure on a factory-fresh A-20G). Remember, these are steady state loads, not peaks of short duration. It takes time for metal to yield. Nonetheless, more than a few A-20s came home with wrinkled skin and with gaps between panels. Earlier A-20s were not rated this high. Douglas strengthened the wings and tail of the A-20G in order to add racks for up to 2,000 pounds of bombs under the wings. Heavier gauge aluminum skin was employed on the vertical tail surfaces. War Weary aircraft would not likely survive prolonged exposure to even 5g and were typically placcarded for 3g maximum. Aircraft having suffered battle damage were also susceptable to structural failure should they be horsed around hard before repair. But, that's true for any combat aircraft.
Flying with just 25% fuel, no bombs but fully armed guns, the A-20G weighed in above 19,000 lbs. With 465 square feet of wing, its wing loading is very low for a twin-engine bomber. It was powered by a pair of Wright R-2600 engines rated at 1,600 hp each at takeoff (up to 1,750 hp overboosted with water injection).
Compare that to a P-38L with full internal fuel weighing in at 17,800 pounds and two Allison V-1710 engines rated at 1,600 hp (often tuned to Allisons rating of 1,725 hp) at takeoff, but just 327 square feet of wing. I refer to the A-20G as the P-38's fat, ugly sister.
My regards,
Widewing
