Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Rich46yo on July 27, 2007, 06:01:27 AM
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I'd like to start a discussion and get some of the experienced bomber drivers talking, hopefully getting some tips.
1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that? I normally have to approach slowly to find the runway and put the bird down. While Im having pretty decent improvements with my bombing and gunning, landing, is my biggest problem. Any tips?
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
Another thing Ive noticed is that after a drop, that I know hit, I check the target for damage and dont see any in the clipboard target list. Even after the drop felt good, and the puter told me I hit. So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
Thanks...............Rich
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
I'd like to start a discussion and get some of the experienced bomber drivers talking, hopefully getting some tips.
1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
In a word, Lancaster, 14 1k bombs.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
Nope, they have their place, its just not first place.
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that? I normally have to approach slowly to find the runway and put the bird down. While Im having pretty decent improvements with my bombing and gunning, landing, is my biggest problem. Any tips?
Normally I'm dropping altitude 30 miles out from my landing field. Long shallow dives so I come over the field at most 1500 to 2k above ground level.
Slow your speed down before you come into full sight of the field. Also it helps to use the clipboard maps to know where the runway is. So when you line up on final you will line up on the runway. This takes a lot of the worry out of a landing. Circling the field ducking hills and trees, while you figure out which way the runway is going is doing it the hard way.
Good bomber pilots have everything figured out in advance.
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
Avoid them.
Attack something else.
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
Turn, turn turn, small ones, yet even a small turn can mess up their combined attack. Also if I have 2 bogeys targeting me I'd probably be diving for home about then. Bombs or no bombs.
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
The "easy" way, is like this.
Once close to target, jump to ext view ie f3.
Line the plane up so that it flys over the target. I normally do this at the far far edge of viewing range. You can use Zoom to help a bit. Why, to give yourself time. So you KNOW your going to overfly the target. Now calibrate.
Normally I hit the bomb sight, and as I'm calibrating I'm pushing forward on the stick to bring the bomb sight forward. Once I can see the target I again verify that I'm on a line to hit what I want to hit. Cause if your not, fix it NOW.
Also the time is about right to stop calibrating once I get there. Before you leave calibration notice calibrated speed.
Exit calibration, stay in the bomb sight, pull out of zoom. If your doing it right you'll have a minute here to wait. So hit esc, bring up the clipboard, click on the E6b. Remember that calibrated speed in bomb sight? Now make your planes ground speed the same. RPM keys are my fav as they give finer control. Also throttling back just a smidgen or dropping rpm a touch before you calibrate makes it easier to match now. Once you've matched and are stable, esc to lose clipboard, Z to zoom, zoom all the way in, pick up your targets and NAIL them as you go floating by. Its as easy as that. If your going to turn and do another pass give yourself at least most of a sector to turn around and get lined up in. Ohh and yes, if your calibrated right X marks the spot. [/COLOR]
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
13-15k prefered for the lancaster, some go higher, but that means more climb time, more fuel, more everything. Good pilot picking a good target you'll deal with 1 or 2 enemy fighters at your alt at most. If your running into more you're picking suicidal targets.
Another thing Ive noticed is that after a drop, that I know hit, I check the target for damage and dont see any in the clipboard target list. Even after the drop felt good, and the puter told me I hit. So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
Thanks...............Rich
Watch the text buffer, if you drop on a airfield town for instance. Its possible to rack up 15-25 building kills in a single pass. Which will totally fill the buffer even in expanded mode. General rule is if you kill it you will get a host msg confirming it. However it does take a bit for bombs to drop and you do have to watch the text buffer carefully.
The other judge of how well you did, once you've landed, go to the hanger.
You'll see how many perk points you scored for the last sortie. Lots of perks = good run, no perks = dud.
If you still have questions look me up in the TA someday.
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
I'd like to start a discussion and get some of the experienced bomber drivers talking, hopefully getting some tips.
1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?.
Ki-67. Climb very fast up to their best altitude (20K), very fast cruise (>320 mph) and a 20mm dorsal gun make them difficult targets to attack. 8x100kg can do a lot more damage than many people think. Superb for pork runs.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
As bombs are free, there is a understandable tendency to haul the biggest bombs you can get.
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that?
I use my rudder as an airbrake while descending. Induces a lot of drag that help a steep descent, but watch your drones.
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
Speed and ALTITUDE! And plan your approach with clipboard maps to minimize time in the target area.
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
I try to minimize that risk by mission planning. If it happens, I turn alot to either have them on my six at all times, or to mess up their attack. I' am not above aborting my bombrun if things get too rough. But most fighter pilots are just too greedy to set up their attacks properly, especially at higher altitudes. They spend 15mins to get up to me, then they are too impatient to invest another 5mins to set up an attack :D
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
Usually I calibrate only once, on subsequent attack runs I adjust speed with throttle control or by giving up some alt.
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
14-21K
Another thing Ive noticed is that after a drop, that I know hit, I check the target for damage and dont see any in the clipboard target list. Even after the drop felt good, and the puter told me I hit. So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
Only if you attack strat targets you can use the clipboard to tulips your bombing succes. If you bomb hangars, ords, barracks on a field, clipboard will only tell you if you got ALL of them. Town damage isn't displayed at all. Watch you text buffer for individual hit messages.
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1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?.
-B17's for thier durability and defenses, mainly. They have a high cruise alt ceiling.
-B26's for durability against CV 5" guns and enemy a/c.
-B24's for bomb load and defenses, although they are highly flammable.
-Ki67's for high climb rate, high cruising speed, great for pork runs. Defenses are a bit puny. The only gun with real punch is the 20mm top turret.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
I use them for hitting base strat and sinking ships. They definitely have thier place. I have heard people ask my why I take 500# on pork runs. My answer is, you take only what you need to do the job.
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that?
What Ghost said: "Good bomber pilots have everything figured out in advance."
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
BE PATIENT, GET ALTITUDE. If you must bomb a heavily defended field, take off from a base with a good alt above sea-level, as in a 3K to 5K base. It cuts off lots of climb time. The higher you go, the less cons to kill you. Also, come into the target base on a course outside of the "furball freeway."
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
I'm no expert, but it takes lots of practice. I know some of them go for my bombers at the same time, and THEY pay atttention to who I'm firing at, so I try to counter thier thinking. I'll fire at the guy teasing my guns, but I'm always checking the closing distance of the other guy whenever I can, then switch to fire at THE REAL ATTACKER right away. Tends to irritate them.:cool:
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
I calibrate my bombsight at either a sector before target, or at the radar ring, with doors open. I have my E6B out. THE CLIMB RATE HAS TO READ "0" on your E6B. That is a good indicator that your true airspeed is settled enough to calibrate. After my initial drop, whatever I plan to hit next with the remainder of my ord REQUIRES me to recalibrate because my plane is lighter and faster.
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
I usually go for 15K if I can. On rare occasions I have been known to go to 30K (in B17's) if the cons are reported to be at 20K. For sinking CV's, 8K in B26's works very well.
So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
It most certainly does, but you have to pick your approach to the target that does the MOST damage in the LEAST amount of passes. Study your clipboard maps. Also, your bomb salvo has a lot to do with taking down a target, such as a fighter hanger. I usually go salvo 2 for 1000#bombs, and hit the release button just once over the hangar. Some people ask me what the .delay setting should be. I don't mess with delay.
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To answer your question in order I first must tell you of my style. I don't as a rule bomb hangers (don't go there. Whole new thread about why' and why not's) apart from VH's and much prefer the indiscriminate bombing of cities, factories, TOWNS and the occasional PORK bombing. I never low level or dive bomb. Every bomb I drop is calibrated. I have considerable experience in AH where level bombing is concerned. My views may contrast with others however.
1) Lancaster's because of the load out. Use 1K'ers mostly but will use 500's + the 4K cookie. B17's for the durability. Use 500's or 250's for PORK bombing. B26 because of the lower alt speed and defensive ability. Use 1k'ers for CV's. 500's and 250's Hate b24's for the simple reason they catch fire to easy but use same load out as 17's. AR234's my primary CV killer speed and load out. Never use a CV bomber they are crap. You can do more damage with a fully loaded F6f. I only use the other level bombers when ENY'ed. I find them either under loaded or to easy to be shot down.
2) 500's are very popular with many players. Especially those that understand strat damage to load out. To define that further in simplistic terms. You can cause more damage with 12 x500's than you can with 8 or 6x 1K'ers. (watch this statement cause some debate). If anything 250's and 50kg's are the most underused ords.
3) There is a gamey was to descend 10k in 20 secs but I have never learnt it because it's GAMEY. What you are most likely seeing or want info on is the use of RUDDER in an OPPOSITE turn. This bleeds speed off very quickly. It needs some practice because if you do it wrong you'll lose the drones. Set throttle to zero and glide in a manuel descent turning right with left rudder and turning left with right rudder. Practise this to a alt of 500 feet. Do it in external view F3 making sure those drones don't swing out to far. Once mastered you'll either be lined on a runway or in a position to get lined with a speed that allows the lowering of flaps. I find it best to descend in my own air space rather than the looooong ride in. Flap speed is under 150mph and if you don't have a rudder (pedals or twisty stick) A S D are the rudder keys.
4) Time over damage = :D. It's as simple as that. You can go about things 2 ways. The most common and the most UNSECCESFULL is low alt from nearest base to enemy base. The most uncommon but the most SUCSESSFULL is high alt taking time to target. Altitude is your biggest best est friend. Use it well. You can make 1 high alt trip and do your thing and keep every bit of damage in a "TIME" scale or you can make 2 or maybe 3 low alt trips and bugger the "TIME" scale totally IE Each town building that goes down stays down for 45 min then pops. Each hanger stays down 15 min then pops. We hate POPPERS don't we ?
5) Very tempted to say you slapped the fat chick now it's time to ride the waves. Anyways, irrespective of altitudes in this scenario your waist gunner is your bestest friend coupled with your ability to jump gun to gun whilst maintaining SA. No 2 ways about it chap.....your in for a rough time until you take 1 or 2 guys out. You can take a gunner on board but 1 tip is to use a guy you know. He'll know whats what and has experience. Nothing worse than one of those "anyone need a gunner" newbies. They'll do one of a few things. Piss ammo away, poor shots, have bad connection, leave without saying and worst of all DON'T communicate.
Ide rather gun for myself than take a newbie. If it goes tits up then there's only me to blame. Death comes from above usually. The fighter above you prolly knows his stuff. A certain amount of jinking may help.
6) I'll calibrate at least 3 times to the run into target. 1st calibration is as soon as I go level for a couple of seconds. You'll notice the bomb site only follows a north axis until calibrated. This gets the site in the right direction irrespective of your angel of approach. 2nd calibration is when I reach optimal speed, bombing speed. Again for a couple of seconds. 3rd and final calibration is the bomb drop run. Target is in view in bomb site when not in zoom "Z". You have time now to line up. Once lined I'll hold "Y" for a minimum of 10 to 15 seconds. My bombs go out no longer than 5 seconds after final calibration. Practice makes perfect and you'll soon get used to it. As for the cross hair you are correct. The X is where the bombs fall but the 3 bomb spread, assuming you haven't lost a drone, does allow for a margin of error coupled with the BLAST radius of the actual bombs. If you use 250's at high altitude be sure to calibrate 15 to 20 seconds for accuracy.
7) Most of my drops are around 20k. Will drop from 14k if pressed or there's no dar bar. Lancaster's because their under gunned, is suicide in my opinion below the cloud layer. B26's I'll bomb at 7 to 10K and AR 234 I'll use 4 to 10K.
To you last point there are things not listed on the clipboard that you can destroy. Acks, shore batteries and towns are all destroyable but there's no way to tell other than a "system" message or an eyeball.
If your referring to hangers then ALL must be down before the system can confirm.
TIP:- bring up clipboard HOLD shift and RIGHT click the field you just hit. This will pop up the strat list for that field INSTANTLY. It also lists the "strat" percentage for the zone IE ammo factory at 43% City 100% and so on.
TIP:- bring up clipboard and RIGHT click it. Go to "clipboard map" and view all the maps available. However, all targets are on the map but not every targets has a name listed to it. Best example is the 7th hanger on the large field. It's on the map but not pointed out.
Good luck with your bombing. I hope some of this has been useful and brings you greater fulfillment within the game. If you need any other info please feel free to ask here on the boards.
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1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
A. I almost exclusively use lancasters.Heavy load-out,and 3 sets of them can level one town.I am using the b-24's more foten lately,as the lances guns are weak,to say the least.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
A.As was stated earlier,their is a time and place for them.Ords,radar,and town good examples of where to use them..
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that? I normally have to approach slowly to find the runway and put the bird down. While Im having pretty decent improvements with my bombing and gunning, landing, is my biggest problem. Any tips?
A.Start slowing down before you see Airbase,use rudder to slow you down as you approach runway if needed..And I almost always land in f3 mode..
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
A.Know whats going on from allies if possible.Approach from an odd angle to AB as needed.Sometimes if allies are trying to take a town,in many instances,cons will be low attempting to take out gv's.and there may be 10 cons,but they will be mostly low,and you can bomb with impunity.
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
A.High slash,turn.Low slash may not have to turn so much,but in both cases keep an eye on them in f3 mode..And do not ever be afraid to ask for a gunner.sometimes you get them,and sometimes you dont.and when you get bad gunners,remember who they are,and do not accept them afterwards.
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
A. I calibrate sometimes 4-6 times before hitting target.I do not use e6b,I just make sure that I have doors open and level flight at the radar ring,and/or one sector away from target.I do not ever adjust my speed for run,unless I am coming around for another target and feel the need.It is always full throttle.
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
A.Minimum I like to be is about 7k.ABOVE target,will help with ack tearing you up too much.SO if it is a 2.8 base,I will want to be at 9.9-10k.In order to see enemy gv's. on gorund and you want to hit them,you will want to be at most 1.5k above ground level.someone please correct me on this if I am wrong.And there is a minimum for dropping bombs on ground targets as well.
I like to be 15-20k.I have bombeed higher,but many times lately cloud deck obscures the targets on ground,so many times I will fly just below the cloud deck..
Another thing Ive noticed is that after a drop, that I know hit, I check the target for damage and dont see any in the clipboard target list. Even after the drop felt good, and the puter told me I hit. So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
A.Most definetly.
:aok
Peace and Plenty,
Kevin
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Too many people on AH are like this.
(http://www.alexisparkinn.com/photogallery/SMALL%20Kids%20with%20the%20big%20bomb%207-03.jpg)
Found it on Google.
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In addition to all the tips above,
- I generally fly the plane en route in auto-angle climb, front gunner, F3. I can steer and maintain formation with only rudder input, but still have excellent visibility against attack. I can also align with the target from half a sector away, steering with rudder only, after leveling.
- After I level, I reduce a few hundred rpm so as not to lose drones in any turn. I use rpm because I have a CH throttle and I don't want to risk moving the throttle while using other buttons.
- I have a wide and unobstructed view set for all gun positions, using the curser as gunsight. The max visibility for each gunner is set by default, and the gunsight is centered using the 8 NUM_PAD key (Look Forward) view to place my curser correctly.
- I have the Look Forward view set for the bombsight to give an unobstructed view out of the front of the plane. I can look forward using the 8 NUM_PAD key (after a quick calibration to set the bombsight), zoom in and do a fine alignment within the bombsight. After that alignment, I only need to do a final, long calibration close to the drop since I don't have to maneuver any more.
- Here are some numbers to consider. Using 1,000 lb bombs, you can carpet across a town exactly using a salvo of 7 with a delay of 0.78. Delay of 0.48 will carpet 500 lb. bombs perfectly.
I'm not into dive bombing with heavy or medium bombers. I like to destroy my target and land without dying. Landing is the same as a successful bomb run - you have to anticipate and plan far ahead of the plane. You should be thinking 10 miles ahead of the plane.
I'll do a bombing clinic in August and it will be posted on the training calendar. If you want to stop by the TA, any of the trainers can help you hit your target, and have you greasing your landings in no time. :)
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
Lancasters. 14 x 1000lb loadout at ~23K alt. or...
AR234's, 3 x 500kg loadout at 8-14K alt.
Alt is my friend in the Lancasters, Speed is my friend in the AR-234's.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
I don't know how many use them so I can't say. I use the loadouts listed above.
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that? I normally have to approach slowly to find the runway and put the bird down. While Im having pretty decent improvements with my bombing and gunning, landing, is my biggest problem. Any tips?
I either:
Begin descent WAY back already lined up and slow when I get there or...
Come in at 45-90 degrees to the runway turning into it to bleed off speed or...
Crank in a little rudder with opposite aileron to bleed off speed on final.
Watch your drones on these last 2 approaches.
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
Alt = Life.
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
Turn. With or without bombs. Watch your drones.
In a single Lancaster without bombs at altitude I've made multiple bogies burn off their entire clips trying to even hit me much less take me down by dog-fighting with them. Lancs are strong flyers at alt... much stronger than most fighters.
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
In Lancs I set auto-pilot while aligned on my target 2 sectors out. 1 sector to stabalize speed and the other to get calibrated correctly.
In the AR234's I do the same although I start 3-4 sectors out as they take longer to reach maximum speed and are going faster, covering more ground as I calibrate.
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
23K in Lancs, 8-14K in AR234's.
Another thing Ive noticed is that after a drop, that I know hit, I check the target for damage and dont see any in the clipboard target list. Even after the drop felt good, and the puter told me I hit. So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
The text buffer tells you what you took out. If hitting a town or strat expand the text buffer. On a good strat run in the AR234's I can fill the expanded text buffer.
If hitting airfields, vehicle bases, etc. you need to take down every similar target to disable that at that field (i.e. all fighter hangers to disable fighters, all ammo bunkers to disable ord, etc.)
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Thanks for the replies. I'm going to print them out for reference so keep them coming. I admit Ive been getting thumped during my first week in the game. But its a lot to learn from scratch, and, Ive had controller/stick issues. Ive been getting thumped a lot, I admit, but I said to myself that while I'm learning this game I want to also attack contested targets so I can learn to fly,and fight, the airplanes.
Ive made some enemies pay mind you. And taken some targets out. I also had an opportunity to fly gunner in a mission that had escort fighters as well as a lot of 17s. Now that was fun. A big bomber formation with LR escorts can pretty much go where it wants. Fascinating how the game is so close to actual history.
Anyhoo, thanks, and keep the bomber talk coming.:D
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I'll do a bombing clinic in August and it will be posted on the training calendar. If you want to stop by the TA, any of the trainers can help you hit your target, and have you greasing your landings in no time.
I'll be there. And thank you.
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1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?.
TBM Avenger, because I like it in real life.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
I usually carry 4x500lb
3, I’ve noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that?
No Throttle, and full flaps
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
Launch from far away, and gain altitude. Watch TV during the boring ascent.
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
In the TBM Avenger, you prepare to die. You can dogfight in a TBM, but the other guy has to really screw up for you to win. If friendly fighters are around, it is possible to power-dive and get away if they clear your tail
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site ?
Once, for 10 seconds. I usually drop all 4 bombs on 1 target so I’m reasonable assured of a hit.
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
Above 15k.
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I note with some intrigue Ghosth your system for lining up and calibration as quoted below.
Ghosth
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
The "easy" way, is like this.
Once close to target, jump to ext view ie f3.
Line the plane up so that it flys over the target. I normally do this at the far far edge of viewing range. You can use Zoom to help a bit. Why, to give yourself time. So you KNOW your going to overfly the target. Now calibrate.
Normally I hit the bomb sight, and as I'm calibrating I'm pushing forward on the stick to bring the bomb sight forward. Once I can see the target I again verify that I'm on a line to hit what I want to hit. Cause if your not, fix it NOW.
Exit calibration, stay in the bomb sight, pull out of zoom. If your doing it right you'll have a minute here to wait. So hit esc, bring up the clipboard, click on the E6b. Remember that calibrated speed in bomb sight? Now make your planes ground speed the same. RPM keys are my fav as they give finer control. Also throttling back just a smidgen or dropping rpm a touch before you calibrate makes it easier to match now. Once you've matched and are stable, esc to lose clipboard, Z to zoom, zoom all the way in, pick up your targets and NAIL them as you go floating by. Its as easy as that. If your going to turn and do another pass give yourself at least most of a sector to turn around and get lined up in. Ohh and yes, if your calibrated right X marks the spot.
I believe I use an even easier way to line and calibrate. Not saying it's any more accurate than your method just saying it's easier to get lined and calibrated. You may want to check it.
As you know the big secret to accuracy is constant speed and constant altitude. Having said that swinging bombers around for line up can screw the calibration on the "speed" factor. Hence the importance for line up.
I use the "nose gun turn" from start to end of sortie. Couple that with zooming into map you'll get an accurate line to start with.
Once I'm roughly 1 sector (25 miles) but NO less than 3/4 sector from the target I'll go level to gain full speed. For the time I actually reach the target. Lancaster for example need space to reach full speed. Once you have made top speed that's speed eliminated from the calibration equation. One thing less to worry about. You only need worry about the line at this time. Simply make cause adjustments whilst zoomed relative on the map with the nose gun turn.
Once near the outside of the fields dar circle or roughly same distance from a Strat factory I go internal max zoom in the nose gun. Here you can see the target and make finer adjustments. Depending on your alt as the target seems to go under you gunsite you can open doors and go to bomb site. You'll need to zoom out a little and and the target is either bang on line or just a shade to one side. You make the final line up at this stage then go into calibration mode "u" holding "Y" for 10 to 15 seconds and press "u" again. You'll notice it's all green with just a few seconds to drop. If still slightly off line you have time to compensate in max zoom. This will not effect speed as your already flat out unless of cause you've totally ballsed it up and have to swing in wildly :D.
This method saves all the messing about with E6B, throttles, RPM or throwing the bombing site way forward with the stick.
With Lancaster's I'll make my turn back to target no less than the dar radius away. Any sooner and the Lancaster will still gain speed as you re-calibrate and you may have a drone still forming up if you swung back to sharp.
Oh, It's just occurred to me that some folks that may be reading this are wondering what the heck a nose gun turn is. A NOSE GUN TURN is turning your bomber with rudder in the nose gun position. You go into the nose gun but never move it on the horizontal axis. I usually go nose gun and F3 external. I only move the nose gun in it's vertical axis (up and down). The reason being if you look at the map but have moved the gun left or right the map shows you where the nose gun is pointing. It's vital for accurate line up to keep the nose gun in the line of flight. Namely forward.
One of the pluses to this is the bombers will still maintain AUTO CLIMB and using the rudder you can turn the bombers climbing out. A S D are the rudder keys if you don't have pedals or a twisty stick.
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
I'd like to start a discussion and get some of the experienced bomber drivers talking, hopefully getting some tips.
1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
B-17: Big, well-defended (except for top gun), excellent plane.
Ki-67: Not a lot of bombs, but fast and will defend itself. Also good for CV killing.
Boston/A-20: Fast, excellent dogfighters, get you out of dodge when you need to.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
Yes, but that's because most people like to up lancs with the 14,000 pounds and just carpet bomb everything. 500 pounders are good for smaller targets.
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
Get up high. Bring a gunner along for the fighters whilst you're in the bombsight, get in the guns yourself when you're not. In my opinion, it's more fun bombing at the height of the fighters. The game's more entertaining when you have a challenge.
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All your Bombers are belong to us. :D
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I do it similar to Lynx but a little different.
In Lancs I set auto pilot aligned on my target 2 sectors out. I let them build speed for 1/2 sector then open doors.
As I cross the 1 sector line I open E6B and check speed. If climb rate is at 0 I'm probably good to calibrate.
I jump into the bombsight and keep calibrating until I'm within 1 mph of my E6B true ground speed, preferably calibrated 1 mph slower than actual speed. This allows me to slow slightly as I use rudder trim to align my target.
I zoom the map in so that my target is all the way at the edge of the map and keep doing so watching my plane icon's alignment to the target on the map. I adjust direction using the J and L keys (rudder trim). I'm still in the bomb-sight.
When the target is at the edge of my map and the map is fully zoomed in I switch on zoom in the bombsight. I cycle the zoom in and out using the bracket keys. From a distance during one of those cycles, I'll momentarily see a grey blob. Thats the target and I align again using rudder trim. Now I work the zoom to bring the target back into view and keep zooming in on it as I approach.
I've already planned my approach before i ever took off. I know if I need to be at the top, bottom or middle of the target area, what angle of approach I need, the target layout, and my intended targets within it.
I make final adjustments to course, again using rudder trim while fully zoomed in and drop as I cross the target.
Normally I only take 1 pass at any given target. If I have more bombs I've probably planned a multiple target run. If so I'll watch until I see the effect of my drop (gaining speed due to loss of weight), then re-calibrate for my next target.
If I am planning on hitting the same target again, I'll fly at least 1 sector out, turn around, nose down slightly to gain maximum speed then level, hit auto-pilot, re-cal and do it all again.
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1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
I fly all of them. It really depends on what type of mission I want to fly. Every bomber in the game has it's good points and bad.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
By most people in the game...yes they are underused. I actually preffer the 500lbrs for most missions. What many people don't understand or never even knew is that each bomb in addition to it's explosive potential also delivers blast radius damage. 2 500lbrs close together actually deliver more damage than a single 1000lbr due to 2 detonations instead of one.
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that? I normally have to approach slowly to find the runway and put the bird down. While Im having pretty decent improvements with my bombing and gunning, landing, is my biggest problem. Any tips?
Plan your route to the field well before you get there. All the long runways are SW to NE unless it's a large field then you have NW to SE runways as well. During the decent pull your power and try not to exceed 300mph. Opening the bomb bay doors also increases drag and will help slow you down during decent. Use your rudder to bleed off speed as well.
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
If it's a target where a large furball is going on DO NOT follow the congo line going into that target. Launch from a different field and try to come in from a different direction than eveyone else. Altitude and speed is your friend so take a little time to climb out and get some speed on before your run.
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
Keep the plane manuvering. If you have rudder controls you can steer the plane using those while your in a gun turret. Many times I have started a shallow turn with multiple fighters coming in and that can mess up their aim. Also if you have a couple of fighters in close hitting auto climb can really screw them up. A sudden vertical move and bleeding off speed can often cause an overshoot situation or cause them to collide with you ending their sortie.
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
I try to be at my drop altitude and have my speed leveled off at least 1 sector away from the target. I'll do a cal about 20 miles out for about 15 seconds and then do a final cal once I have the target in sight from the F3 view.
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
15-20K for most of my runs.
Another thing Ive noticed is that after a drop, that I know hit, I check the target for damage and dont see any in the clipboard target list. Even after the drop felt good, and the puter told me I hit. So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
Once you drop you can go back into cal mode and watch the impact. If you have to defend your plane just keep an eye on the text buffer as it will tell you if you destroyed anything.
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Don't really like the B24 unless your having a barbacue..... see I spell like Hitech.....Love the B17...did you know you NEVER lose a gear in a B17....Learn to gun as much as possible from a full zoom mode....learn how to hit the enemy on the way in... and ON THE WAY OUT! (SA) If your under under 5000 feet learn to bomb without the bomb sight..you'll live longer
I use the 500lbs about 90% of the time..nice load.. if things change and you need to clean up GV's they work well.
999000
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i new triple 9 would que in he is uber b17 king and tater is t3h 733t b26 driver, its funny when u think your escorting 9s and he is escorting you rofl.
best advice is learn to gun
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Originally posted by 999000
Don't really like the B24 unless your having a barbacue..... see I spell like Hitech.....Love the B17...did you know you NEVER lose a gear in a B17....Learn to gun as much as possible from a full zoom mode....learn how to hit the enemy on the way in... and ON THE WAY OUT! (SA) If your under under 5000 feet learn to bomb without the bomb sight..you'll live longer
I use the 500lbs about 90% of the time..nice load.. if things change and you need to clean up GV's they work well.
999000
I haven't used the zoom to gun much for a couple of reasons. #1 Ive been having a lot of controller problems, when I go to a gun and swing my stick it swings the airplane around throwing it off of auto-pilot. Even still I shot down 15 fighters while flying alone in my first week of play.
Now that I have fixed me stick issues it should get better. A few times Ive held off 3, once I kept 5 away for about 5 mins. Today I had my first encounter with a 262 and it was humbling. This thing was on me so fast I couldnt keep up with him.
Just had a good mission dropping 500lbs on troops and ammo. I used some of the tips here, blew up a bunch of stuff, and brought the plane home. Thanks again to all for the tips............Rich
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
I'd like to start a discussion and get some of the experienced bomber drivers talking, hopefully getting some tips.
1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
Fit the bomber for the mission.- If dropping HQ or Hangars (rare mission for me), then the B-24's with 1,000 lbs bombs. Good balance or bombload, speed, and defensive fire.
- If I'm hitting strat targets to shut down a field (troops, fuel, radar, ord) or level town, then my choice is B-17's with 12 x 500's. The B-17's have always put up with more abuse for me than the B-24's have.
- If taking out a Carrier, or the dar at several bases, or maybe just the ord at one small to medium base, I'll take Ki-67's with 8 x 100kg load out. Fast penetration bomber and enough to do the job.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
Yep. Too much emphasis on taking out hangars, which lasts for 15 minutes, rather than the strats, the effect of which can last 45 minutes to 1-1/2 hours, depending on how thorough, strat factory condition, or resup on enemy's part. 250#'s can work for some, but the blast radius of the 500#'s in the game seem to be much better than the 250#'s effects.
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that? I normally have to approach slowly to find the runway and put the bird down. While Im having pretty decent improvements with my bombing and gunning, landing, is my biggest problem. Any tips?
Descend earlier, if the situation will allow for it. Steep dive. 0 throttle and wing spars groaning a little in protest at rate of descent. Kicking hard rudder left and right and a notch of flaps can also help scrub off speed on final approach.
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
Be high and leveled off at speed. Most fights degenerate to low altitudes, so the higher you are the better for countering a strong defense. Be lined up well in advance to your target using map or external rear view with your flight and distant target in view. Leaves you some time to man guns as needed.
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
Judgment call. Which plane has the cannons to do you the most harm, or which looks like it's being flown by the better stick. Concentrate on the greater threat. Sometimes a good short accurate burst will cause a plane to go into evasive,... then switch targets. There is a reason they flew in 60 plane boxes back when.
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
As long as your speed and altitude are constant, and last minute course corrections are very minor, you drop on, or just before your target (depending on salvo) in crosshair. It is possible to salvo 1 onto strat targets with 500 lbs bombs from 30K and be accurate most of the time.
If you are going in full throttle, the plane, even when level, will tend to gain altitude, thus throwing off calibration accuracy. Some pilots do last minute calibrations. Some make use of trim controls. I tend to go in on target at about 80% of power, what ever has me at a dead even altitude for that run, and am level and in line 25 miles before target. I do a long calibration in advance of my target, so I can do a quick scan for enemy planes before committed to the run. I line up in advance, I use L and J for minor course corrections when in bomb sight.
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
On bases, I go in usually above 10K to avoid AAA. If I'm loitering over a base to kill strats and swat down interceptors who crawl up after me, then 25K.
On CV's I tend to go in at 5 to 7K with the Ki-67', CV evasives are limited on lower drops, but a good 5 inch gunner can still get me easily enough, as can a serious CAP over the CV (rare, but it happens).
Another thing Ive noticed is that after a drop, that I know hit, I check the target for damage and dont see any in the clipboard target list. Even after the drop felt good, and the puter told me I hit. So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
In one run, usually not. Each field has multiple examples of each target (except radar and usually VH), so hitting just one does not change clipboard report on the target. Kill ALL of a type of target: VH, FH, BH, ord, troop, fuel, dar, you will see the result in clipboard. And one 3-bomber formation can always have in impact on the CV. When dealing with strat factories, effects only come into play when they are below 50%.
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Originally posted by 999000
Don't really like the B24 unless your having a barbacue..... see I spell like Hitech.....Love the B17...did you know you NEVER lose a gear in a B17....Learn to gun as much as possible from a full zoom mode....learn how to hit the enemy on the way in... and ON THE WAY OUT! (SA) If your under under 5000 feet learn to bomb without the bomb sight..you'll live longer
I use the 500lbs about 90% of the time..nice load.. if things change and you need to clean up GV's they work well.
999000
Yeah, funny 999 but I brought a 24 in, one engine cripped, after a good run and shooting down 2 enemies, and right at the last moment ,when I was lined up perfectly with the runway, I lowered my gear and only one wheel came out. It was the last thing I expected. I bellied the airplane, and got the crew home, but still it marred a decent run.
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
I'd like to start a discussion and get some of the experienced bomber drivers talking, hopefully getting some tips.
1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
EW, JU88's.....decent load, and fairly fast, but kinda weak on defensive side...although, i have noticed a lot of good pilots will actually plant themselves right off my 6 low and think they aren't gonna die. :-D
in LW, i like lancs......agonizingly slow climb, but once up to alt, they;re fast...but again, kinda underdefended....but VERY nice bomb load..i like the 14 1,000 pounders
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
in my case, yes......in 88's i carry 500kg's under the wings, and 50kg's internal......ya can really mess up somone's day with that load.......even worse in the lancs with 1,000 pounders.
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that? I normally have to approach slowly to find the runway and put the bird down. While Im having pretty decent improvements with my bombing and gunning, landing, is my biggest problem. Any tips?
only ones i can get down fast are the 88's...the lancs and 24's seem to try to climb when over certain speeds, even with elevator ttrimmed full down.
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
ALTITUDE IS YOUR FRIEND
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
i try to see who's closest, and who might be in a position to do the most damage to me....and i jump guns a LOT
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
once i level out(in lancs, i allow 2 sectors for the plane to accelerate fully, in 88's 1 sector) i generally start calibrating when i hit the dar ring. i do it often, and almost always for a 6 second count. yes, that is the whole purpose of the sight......just like the pipper in ur gunsight.
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
in EW, generally about 5-7k when bombing land targets. if i'm going for a CV group, i go to about 10k. in MW, or LW, i NEVER bomb below 20k.....higher if i can.
Another thing Ive noticed is that after a drop, that I know hit, I check the target for damage and dont see any in the clipboard target list. Even after the drop felt good, and the puter told me I hit. So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
it depends on what you drop on......assume a V-base. untill the last update, you could drop all 3 hangars in a single pass. that'd disable vehicles there for 15 minutes. now it requires at least 2 passes...but if ur droppin on an airbase, tryin to kill hangars, you need to drop ALL of them...for instance the fighter hangers..i think there's 3 at a small airfield....if u only drop 2, they can still up fighters.
yes, by all means a single flight of bombers can have an impact.
Thanks...............Rich
hope this helps some..and apologies for the extended answer
<>
john
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1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
B24 B17
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
They are by me I use 1000 or bigger
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that? I normally have to approach slowly to find the runway and put the bird down. While Im having pretty decent improvements with my bombing and gunning, landing, is my biggest problem. Any tips?
Practice,,just get used to how you can decellerate with rudder and knowing how much stress you can put on the plane.
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
They higher the better..even better with escort. Other than that its the best way to bomb so you can shoot stuff down with your guns.
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
Pick the biggest threat and kill him quick.
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
Ill do it once a few mins from target just to get the sight aligned right so I can see the approach. Then making sure my speed has been steady for atleast 3 mins or so, I'll calibrate seconds from drop. Usually I count to 16 before finishing calibration. Most times as soon as Im calibrated I have seconds till bomb release. Usually 5-10 at most.
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
10,000ft
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Alright, heres my answeres:
1) B-17G. I love the look of the plane. I love the feel, it flies like a fighter and holds up like the fortress its named after. It has a decent bombload, and a GREAT guns setup.
2) Yes, 500lb bombs are underused. I use them for hangar killing, strategic bombing, everything. Because it gives you a lot more options in what ordenance you drop where.
3) I land it like I land in real life. Hard and fast. I make a nice, slow approach though. My decent rate is 2,000 fpm down to the ground. Its just instinct I guess.
4) Go in ready to fight. Make your drop from up high, and go in ready to fight. Theres not much you can do against heavy defence, but just grin and bear it.
5) Select which aircraft is the greater threat, concentrate on that one, eliminate it, and then engage the other.
6) I calibrate the bombisght three times. Once when my speed evens out, once directly after turning on to the IP, and once just before drop. I calibrate for 15 seconds.
7) My two most common drop altitudes are 18,000 and 24,000
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
I'd like to start a discussion and get some of the experienced bomber drivers talking, hopefully getting some tips.
1, What bomber/bombers do you like and why?. Ive gotten rather smitten with the B-24. Why? It has a nice bombload, turns nice for a big aircraft, climbs fairly well, has a vicious defense, and Im able to approach targets well lining up F-6/8/look up/zoom.
I prefer the Ki-67 or Ar-234 with formations and 3 250Kg bombs if I am going in for a quick strike on just one hanger. Both of those are fast and there is not much that will try and run you down. If I am going to drop multiple targets (at least 3 hangers) I will usually take the Ju-88 (yeah I know there are more uber buffs but I likes the 88) I take it with 4 250Kg and 20 50Kg bombs with 50-75% fuel. I salvo the 250Kg @ salvo 3 and the 50Kg @ salvo 10, thats enough for 3 hangars and the dar.
2, Do you think 500lb'ers are underused?
Not by me they are not, I use them alot. In a salvo of 3 with a formation they will take out a hanger and have a decent spread to them. So I say use them.
3, Ive noticed some experienced pilots are able to descend very quickly and line the airplane up on runways for landing like it was nothing. How do you do that? I normally have to approach slowly to find the runway and put the bird down. While Im having pretty decent improvements with my bombing and gunning, landing, is my biggest problem. Any tips?
Landing with drones is a little harder than landing in one ship, you have to be mindful not to lose them while decending too fast or turning too much. I usually decend at a -1 or -2 angle, sometimes I throttle back to facilitate decending. As for final aproach, I slow way down use flaps if I have to and line up nice and easy to the run way.
4, Any special philosophies of approaching and attacking heavily defended targets?
Yep, approach like I do, nice and high 20K and above
5, How do you deal with multiple bogies that you just know are setting you up for a high/low slash?
If you have enough alt chances are unless youre on an HQ run people will not be above you by much, if at all. The fact is most people fly extremely low and never really get their planes above 15K, and if they do they do not stay up there long.
6, How often, and how long do you calibrate the bomb site? Am I right in noticing that the "X" has to be right over the target when you drop?
I calibrate when I notice in my "E6B" that my True Air Speed is steady and no longer changing. Then I calibrate and compare my Calibrated Speed to my True Air Speed, if they match or are withing 1 MPH Im good to go. As to the crosshairs, for a salvo 3 of 500Lbs or a salvo 2 of
1000Lbs yeah I drop center of target, if im salvoing 10 of the 100Lbs in my 88s I drop just before target so the bulk of the bombs hit on target (using delay of .05)
7, What altitude, if you had to figure, do you, most of the time, drop from?
20K and above
Another thing Ive noticed is that after a drop, that I know hit, I check the target for damage and dont see any in the clipboard target list. Even after the drop felt good, and the puter told me I hit. So does a 3 bomber formation have an impact?
If it said you killed it in the text buffer, you killed it
Thanks...............Rich
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I think I'm going to spend some time in a JU, "haven't flown it yet". I have the KI and liked it a lot, as I did the A-20. The KI really handles well, has a great climb rate, and is fast. Mostly I stay in the 17s and 24s because the gunner buttons are the same and Ive learned to dance my fingers around the keyboard keeping an eye on enemy fighters.
A lot of whom are pretty crafty.
I like the Lancs, love flying them once they get some air, and love bombing out of them. But its very hard to defend out of them. Dropped the 4,000 cookie right on a refinery last night. What a kick that was.
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Ok, I just had a successful defense with Lancs, "using some of the advice I got here btw". First off it was only against one fighter, but that wasn't by accident. I snuck around radar to hit a refinery and took my time to get the big birds to 16,000. Eventually I had to go by an enemy airbase so the jig was up. However, I was high enough that by the time an enemy got up to me I made a successful 6 salvo drop.
Then the games began. He tried to get just close enough for me to waste my ammo and I kept switching planes, and changing direction to keep him close and off balance. Eventually he had to either attack or go home so here he came. I found out the Lanc is a tougher bird then the 24. I waited until he was "close enough" and then I used my tail ammo wisely, and my upper ammo when I could. On the 2nd pass I shot his wing off.
I was also able to turn, bomb the same target again, and then drop the big cookie on a port downrange. I brought all 3 home unscathed and got some nice points from the flight.
So thats how I'm going to fly Lancs. Wisely and sneak them in high where I might only see 1,2,or 3 bogeys. I sure wish the plane had 1,000 in the tail. Oh, and turn, turn, turn, and mess up any belly attacks.
All in all this mornings flight shows the wisdom of listening to others and being a humble student of the game. Thanks again to all for the tips here. There have been to many, from to many, for me to thank you individually.
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Rich,
Glad you're having fun bombing!
Here's a link to a thread I stared not long ago in the Help Forum about high altitude bombing.
Well crud. I can't copy the right link for you. The thread's title was "Hi Alt Hi Speed Bombing Tips." Do a search and you'll find it.
Since there's more than 1 way to skin a cat, this thread represents "a" way, not "the" way.
I found it increases sense of immersion.
Takes some time getting bombers to alts where they can fly their fastest.
Also, with the small maps, it can get a little wierd too.
Just some random notes on the bomber set in no specific order:
1) B17: nice climb rate
2) Ki: FAST
3) Lanc: lots-o-bombs
4) B24: Faster than a 17 fewer bombs than a Lanc.
5) Ju: Cool looking -- holds more ord than a 17 if you load it up
As with all planes, weight affects climb rate and speed.
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Hey Hap, thanks for the input. Listen I suck with the metric system, despite 2 years "over there" with the War Corp. Those metric bombs for the JU how do they stack up against the Yank ones?..........Thanks......Rich"soontobe 50yo".
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Fellas the B-26 is a real sweetheart to drive. How come I dont see it in the air more?
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Light load, no belly gunner.
However with a few other guys it makes a very good NOE bomber.
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Originally posted by Ghosth
Light load, no belly gunner.
However with a few other guys it makes a very good NOE bomber.
Ive used the belly guns but its the tale that gets most of the action. And if I remember right the 26 carries 1,600 in the tale, or is it 1,200? Either way the 26 seems to cover itself well. Its the best handling and turning bomber Ive flown yet, tho it would be nice to have 15 or 20 mph more.
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
Hey Hap, thanks for the input. Listen I suck with the metric system, despite 2 years "over there" with the War Corp. Those metric bombs for the JU how do they stack up against the Yank ones?..........Thanks......Rich"soontobe 50yo".
Kg x 2 ~ Lbs.
Not exact but close enough for comparison.
The 1800Kg bomb on the Ju-87 is actually about the same as the 4000lb cookie in the Lanc.
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
Ive used the belly guns but its the tale that gets most of the action. And if I remember right the 26 carries 1,600 in the tale, or is it 1,200? Either way the 26 seems to cover itself well. Its the best handling and turning bomber Ive flown yet, tho it would be nice to have 15 or 20 mph more.
Rear guns get most attention because so many intercepting pilots simply chase or come in from a low 6 position against buffs. B-26's relative speed helps this a bit.
Most B-26's are flow low to prevent a good interceptor from coming up below you where it's hard to train your guns. High altitude B-26's would be dead meat to a good interceptor with some patience and E to work with.
15 to 20mph more? how 'bout 65 mph more in top speed.... opps... we don't get that plane here......never mind.
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I believe that 1 kg = 2.2 lbs.
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Dang Lusche, did you put on some weight?? :lol
Your new avatar!
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Originally posted by tedrbr
Rear guns get most attention because so many intercepting pilots simply chase or come in from a low 6 position against buffs. B-26's relative speed helps this a bit.
Most B-26's are flow low to prevent a good interceptor from coming up below you where it's hard to train your guns. High altitude B-26's would be dead meat to a good interceptor with some patience and E to work with.
15 to 20mph more? how 'bout 65 mph more in top speed.... opps... we don't get that plane here......never mind.
I agree that the slashers are the toughest. Yaknow in the first 2 minutes of an engagement I can tell when Im in trouble or not. When you see the fighter appraoching and see his technique it tells ya an awful lot. Ive been flying them about 10,000', but my style is to slither around and avoid trouble to get to my drop. And yeah, I just flew the Ar 234 , I avoided 2 fighters simply by running.
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B26s pretty much lose effectiveness above 10k. They can't keep alt at 15k with 1 engine off, that tells you how underpowered they are at alt.
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Waist gunners can cover a low con on the lead bomber. Just switch planes. Like Krusty said over 10k they ain't so hot. I use them 6 to 10k and wep helps loads for a short line up :D
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Originally posted by PanzerIV
Too many people on AH are like this.
(http://www.alexisparkinn.com/photogallery/SMALL%20Kids%20with%20the%20big%20bomb%207-03.jpg)
Found it on Google.
well we know that is you panzer OH GOD I FEEL WIERD
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1, I personally love the lancaster because of the bomb load and defenses. 50 cal aint bad. But i am a big fan of the ju88. Mainly for disabling small targets like vh's and radar. But lanc best for hangers. ju88 has great town capabilities because it carries a bunch of small bombs.
2, People use them all the time, especially for vh
3, well first you might want to have the map in your head so you know where all the runways are. As for the descending quickly...well you want to get down to a good altitude very fast. Cut the engine and dive down at 75 degree angle untill you hear creaking. Pull up..slow speed...and repeat. Sty at a good alitude until you are a good distance from the enemy base. Then what i do is drop to 3k feet. Once i approach i put 2 flaps down. 1k till base, gears down. That way the drones are able to get lined up in time. I cant tell you how many noobs put gear down right at runway...they might make it but by by drones. about 10 feet away from runway put 1 more flap down. Touchdown at about 120 knots.
4, Alitude. For me its all about altitude. If there are a serious amount of cons there...attack from the other side if possible. All the cons are worrying about the enemy fighters on 1 side. Sneak to the other. A good alt for that is 25k Most fighters will be out of contact range. But if they see you they arent going to get to you in time. unless stalling. i reccomend do not going around for another pass unless you are experianced. Alot of noobs tend to turn to hard and lose there drones.
5, I depend on guns. A lone luftwaffe fighter may bring some damage but not a kill. 4 mg's vs over 20....who do you think will win. Depend on your drones. When a con is on your six jump to another plane if you are gunner, that way you can get closer to the con and line him up easier. For down...they will try to the on your 6 easier...if they come straight up...gonna stall. Just get in ball turret and wait until close enough...give 4 second blasts. You are likey to take out engine or pilot. For above..if they are 2 or 3k above and they dive..they are going to not be able to pull up in time and might even ram you. Same if they are going down slow going onto your 6. remembe wait till within 800 feet before realesing guns.
6, Once you see target go ahead and slow to a target speed using the dot command. Then go ahead and calibrate...callibrate for 20-30 seconds for best results. Every time you make a major turn or speed up or altitude gain, re-calibrate. When bombing use ailerons to steer you to targer. NO RUDDERS. You are wrong that the X has to be on target. If you do it right on target likely to fall ahead of target therefore missing. Aim ahead of target. Depending on bombload.
7, Town: 15k depending on cons. If alot 20k base: 25k
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Can I ask you guys somthing? I was landing a 234 yesterday and I overshot the runway by about 10' before I could break to a stop. I didnt damage the plane or nothing but still I had an astromonical amount of points deducted, and this after hitting a target. Now Im not allowed in the bomber again because my point level is to low.
What gives? Or is it just very new in the new month and the more experienced guys started making their runs?
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Benny when you say "aim ahead of target" you mean be a bit early correct? Thats what Ive been doing when Ive been hosing targets with 500 lb's. Whats the best delay set for carpet bombing? And for pinpointing with 1,000's ? Thanks..........Rich
Originally posted by BennyBeaver
1, I personally love the lancaster because of the bomb load and defenses. 50 cal aint bad. But i am a big fan of the ju88. Mainly for disabling small targets like vh's and radar. But lanc best for hangers. ju88 has great town capabilities because it carries a bunch of small bombs.
2, People use them all the time, especially for vh
3, well first you might want to have the map in your head so you know where all the runways are. As for the descending quickly...well you want to get down to a good altitude very fast. Cut the engine and dive down at 75 degree angle untill you hear creaking. Pull up..slow speed...and repeat. Sty at a good alitude until you are a good distance from the enemy base. Then what i do is drop to 3k feet. Once i approach i put 2 flaps down. 1k till base, gears down. That way the drones are able to get lined up in time. I cant tell you how many noobs put gear down right at runway...they might make it but by by drones. about 10 feet away from runway put 1 more flap down. Touchdown at about 120 knots.
4, Alitude. For me its all about altitude. If there are a serious amount of cons there...attack from the other side if possible. All the cons are worrying about the enemy fighters on 1 side. Sneak to the other. A good alt for that is 25k Most fighters will be out of contact range. But if they see you they arent going to get to you in time. unless stalling. i reccomend do not going around for another pass unless you are experianced. Alot of noobs tend to turn to hard and lose there drones.
5, I depend on guns. A lone luftwaffe fighter may bring some damage but not a kill. 4 mg's vs over 20....who do you think will win. Depend on your drones. When a con is on your six jump to another plane if you are gunner, that way you can get closer to the con and line him up easier. For down...they will try to the on your 6 easier...if they come straight up...gonna stall. Just get in ball turret and wait until close enough...give 4 second blasts. You are likey to take out engine or pilot. For above..if they are 2 or 3k above and they dive..they are going to not be able to pull up in time and might even ram you. Same if they are going down slow going onto your 6. remembe wait till within 800 feet before realesing guns.
6, Once you see target go ahead and slow to a target speed using the dot command. Then go ahead and calibrate...callibrate for 20-30 seconds for best results. Every time you make a major turn or speed up or altitude gain, re-calibrate. When bombing use ailerons to steer you to targer. NO RUDDERS. You are wrong that the X has to be on target. If you do it right on target likely to fall ahead of target therefore missing. Aim ahead of target. Depending on bombload.
7, Town: 15k depending on cons. If alot 20k base: 25k
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234's cost you perk points. By over shooting the runway by 10 feet, or even if you just have one wheel off, you loose all the perk point you paid to fly the 234. If you land and end flight on the runway, you get your perk points returned and the trip didn't cost you any.
Perk points carry over month after month, but when your new it takes a while to build a bank of points.
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
Can I ask you guys somthing? I was landing a 234 yesterday and I overshot the runway by about 10' before I could break to a stop. I didnt damage the plane or nothing but still I had an astromonical amount of points deducted, and this after hitting a target. Now Im not allowed in the bomber again because my point level is to low.
What gives? Or is it just very new in the new month and the more experienced guys started making their runs?
To build up buff points quickly, take up Ju-88's or Bostons (both ENY of 35) or Ki-67's (ENY of 30) and bomb strat targets like refineries, training centers, ammunition factories, and the like. Sinking CV's another way to earn points in buffs. ANother is taking B-24, B-17, or B-26 and facing off against enemy fighters..... good points if you manage to kill 3 or more and land the kills.
Fly for the country with the least number of players..... this will increase the perk point modifier for you, IIRC.
You'll be able to afford those Arados again soon. If you don't want much in enemy fighters to deal with, go to the Early War or Mid War arenas to "milkrun" those bombers.
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yes what i meant sorry
you need to set the correct salvo for the type of bombs you are using. I do not no them but if you go to the trainers page they will help you
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
Can I ask you guys somthing? I was landing a 234 yesterday and I overshot the runway by about 10' before I could break to a stop. I didnt damage the plane or nothing but still I had an astromonical amount of points deducted, and this after hitting a target. Now Im not allowed in the bomber again because my point level is to low.
What gives? Or is it just very new in the new month and the more experienced guys started making their runs?
The perks aspect has already been described (nicely done tedbr, fugitive), but if this happens again, turn around and taxi BACK to the runway before exiting the plane. Use very low throttle settings, and rudder, to help make a tight turn (don't hit trees, water, or any objects) and come around again.
All of your wheels must be on "cement," be it a taxiway, a runway, a hangar pad. Then you receive a safe landing. Best to have a safe margin (i.e. if one of your wheels is directly on the cement/grass border, move up and give yourself more room) just in case server lag makes the server give you a ditch instead of a landing.
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Originally posted by tedrbr
To build up buff points quickly, take up Ju-88's or Bostons (both ENY of 35) or Ki-67's (ENY of 30) and bomb strat targets like refineries, training centers, ammunition factories, and the like.
Just a minor correction:
When bombing objects, the gain of perks points is not computed using a planes ENY value but its OBJ value.
Example: both B24 and B26 have ENY 20, but while the B24 has OBJ 15, the B26 has OBJ 20.
That means that you get more perk points per destroyed target when you are using the 26.
If you kill tanks or shoot down enemy fighters, both planes get the same amount of perks.
Some OBJ examples:
OBJ 10: Lancaster
OBJ 15: Ar 234, B17, B24
OBJ 20: B26
OBJ 25: Ki-67, Boston, Ju 88
You can see that Ju88 is still the best choice for getting Perks by bombing. The highest OBJ rating of all formation bombers, but (unlike Ki-67 & Boston) carrying even more ordonance than a B17 ;)
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
Can I ask you guys somthing? I was landing a 234 yesterday and I overshot the runway by about 10' before I could break to a stop. I didnt damage the plane or nothing but still I had an astromonical amount of points deducted, and this after hitting a target. Now Im not allowed in the bomber again because my point level is to low.
What gives? Or is it just very new in the new month and the more experienced guys started making their runs?
Everyone else told you about the perks already (I didn't notice if anyone mentioned it but you didn't lose the full amount if you ditched).
When landing AR234's remember to slow down and drop alt early. I usually approach the field at 1K... 2K max over the field. Drop to 150 mph, drop flaps (both notches), drop gear and begin final descent.
AR234's hang onto E very well and will start to gain speed even from 2K with gear and flaps out. As they do the nose wants to lift so you need to use a little mannual elevator trim to keep it pointed down (and a little rudder too if speed climbs toward flap speed).
That should help you hit the runway early and give you plenty of time braking in the future. If it looks like I'm going to overshoot while on the runway sometimes I'll also shut down engines. I'm not sure if it helps or not but it doesn't hurt.
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Fellas thanks for the tidbits. Im learning as I go here. I just took a gunner on my 17 for a run on a refinery. I whacked the refinery while he whacked two bogies. All in all an outstanding run, with a real good guy, and I reminded myself again why I like the 17 so much.
Does the job and gets you home. What more can you ask?