Bomblast Area?

[SmokinLoon]

Keeping in mind that it takes a 250lbs of bombs to destroy a single building... and that the metric versions are 1.2 times for a "pound" conversion (250kg = est. 540lbs and is equal to the 500lb power wise)...

Been doing some homework on the blast radius of various "eggs".  The only real source of info I have comes from the HTC trainers website (AWESOME bit of info, btw).  While it is well documented on how much ord an object needs to be nailed with to be destroyed, the one bit of info I am curious about is blast radius.

I've tried to do some "test" if you will on just how far away from a building a 250lb, 500lb, and 1000lb bomb can denonate and still cause damage.  Likewise, I am curious if I drop a 1000lb bomb in the middle of a group of buildings (and 250/500lb'rs) just how far the bomblast reaches.  Just how many buildings can one take out with a 1000lb bomb if the group is hit dead center?

Has this info been tested already?  Is there a rule of thumb for blast radius?  So far it appears that the differences in blast radius isnt all that great, only the amount of damage delivered is.

Comments? 

[BaldEagl]

Bombing strats or towns your can take out a lot of buildings.  A single 1000 lber is usually good for 6-8 buildings depending on their exact locations and your drop angle.

[EskimoJoe]

From what I've noticed, the bigger the bomb, the larger the blast radius.

[BaldEagl]

From what I've noticed, the bigger the bomb, the larger the blast radius.

Yes, that's true.  A 4000 lb bomb can take out as many as 30 buildings.  Bomb spacing is also important in order to get blast radius damamge between the bombs.

[Ghosth]

Smokingloon thats 2.2 lbs per kilo sir.

And yes bigger bombs have bigger blast radius. Which is one of the reasons I like the Lancaster.

However on the flip side, the 500lb is actually heavier than 500lbs. So you should be able to kill a hanger with 5 of them vs 3 of the 1,000lbers.

[SmokinLoon]

Smokingloon thats 2.2 lbs per kilo sir.

And yes bigger bombs have bigger blast radius. Which is one of the reasons I like the Lancaster.

However on the flip side, the 500lb is actually heavier than 500lbs. So you should be able to kill a hanger with 5 of them vs 3 of the 1,000lbers.

Sorry 'bout that, was a typo.  At least the answer was correct. 

Rule of thumb for lb to kg conversion: Double the lbs and add %20 to get appx kg.   

[WOZ30BAT]

Sorry 'bout that, was a typo.  At least the answer was correct. 

Rule of thumb for lb to kg conversion: Double the lbs and add %20 to get appx kg.   

    Actually it's double the lbs & add 10% to get kg. weight.

[MachNum]

A related question has to do with blowing yourself out of the air with your own bombs. I'm convinced I've done this on a few occasions in high-speed, low level passes. Basically you have to be moving fast enough that the bomb travels the required 1000 ft through the air before it hits the gound, and you have to be low enough to be in the blast radius when it hits. Low level, slight diving attacks are ideal for this
Based solely on this experience, I'm guessing that a 1K bomb has a blast radius of <250 ft.

[stephen waldron]

  You may want to consider "delay" setting as a factor in bomb blast radius.  Increase the spread of the formations salvo and you increase the radius of the blast effect of the salvo.  I generally use a delay setting of (.16) anytime I bomb a group of buildings that hasn't been hit yet.  The default delay setting of (.05) seems to deliver fewer hits. 
  I also noticed when attacking buildings with a tank, sometimes the building only takes one shot to destroy.. when it normally takes two shots to destroy the same building.  These one shot buildings are always surrounded by other buildings that were destroyed in an earlier attack.  This tells me bomb blast effect not only destroys buildings outright, but also damages some adjacent buildings. 
  By the way.  If you want to see some impressive blast radius collateral damage... take a look at what the howitzer gun on an LVT-4 does to a group of buildings.  I blow up three or four houses at a time with one shot.  Compare that to a tank round, which only blows up one building at a time (unless you're shooting at small fuel tanks, tents and such). 

[SmokinLoon]

Oh yeah, the delay setting is paramount to a successful carpet bombing run.  Myself and two other B26 pilots (nine B26 planes total) took out a town in a single pass using the 12/250lb bombload and .40 delay at appx 260mph (iirc) and the full "salvo 12" drop.  Drop alt was 12k.  We hit the town square on and raped it, ack and all in one single pass.   

Too bad we didnt have a goon following at low alt, we could have taken the town.

I need to do more experimenting with bomb size and blast radius. 

[stephen waldron]

  Smokin Loon.  I duplicated (on a smaller scale) the same attack against a city hex using a single formation of B-26's, high speed, high altitude, .40 delay, maximum drop attack this afternoon.  After this thread got me thinking about blast radius and damage.  The result was impressive.  I couldn't count the bomb hits as they scrolled up the screen.
  Only now I'm kicking myself in the butt for having wasted so many bombs in the last four months using a medium altitude .05 or .15 delay attack on soft targets.  Uuugh !  The irony is I've been flying with a bomber squadron for almost two months, and we've NEVER bombed ANYTHING using a high altitude .40 attack.  I don't know if they've even considered "blast" radius effects against soft targets.
  What about "delay" and "altitude" against hard targets ?  Tell me, have you ever tried the same tactic against a Naval Task Force ?  What would happen if you split the bomb load of Lancs into two drops targeting both the CV and Heavy Cruiser in one bomb run ?  You might just severely damage every ship in the TF including the destroyers, huh ?  Oh Man.  What a sight.  What do you think the optimum altitude for that attack would be ?  Has this ever been tried with multiple formations of bombers ?
  See this is why I spend so much time in discussions in the forum.  While others recommend training in the TA or flying in the MA with a squadron.  You can train in the TA forever, and fly with a squadron for months in the MA and not learn anything NEW.  People seem to prefer driving in the ruts and initiative is a rare thing that has to be sought out everywhere.  Sometimes even a blind pig finds an acorn. 
   

[SmokinLoon]

  Smokin Loon.  I duplicated (on a smaller scale) the same attack against a city hex using a single formation of B-26's, high speed, high altitude, .40 delay, maximum drop attack this afternoon.  After this thread got me thinking about blast radius and damage.  The result was impressive.  I couldn't count the bomb hits as they scrolled up the screen.
  Only now I'm kicking myself in the butt for having wasted so many bombs in the last four months using a medium altitude .05 or .15 delay attack on soft targets.  Uuugh !  The irony is I've been flying with a bomber squadron for almost two months, and we've NEVER bombed ANYTHING using a high altitude .40 attack.  I don't know if they've even considered "blast" radius effects against soft targets.
  What about "delay" and "altitude" against hard targets ?  Tell me, have you ever tried the same tactic against a Naval Task Force ?  What would happen if you split the bomb load of Lancs into two drops targeting both the CV and Heavy Cruiser in one bomb run ?  You might just severely damage every ship in the TF including the destroyers, huh ?  Oh Man.  What a sight.  What do you think the optimum altitude for that attack would be ?  Has this ever been tried with multiple formations of bombers ?
  See this is why I spend so much time in discussions in the forum.  While others recommend training in the TA or flying in the MA with a squadron.  You can train in the TA forever, and fly with a squadron for months in the MA and not learn anything NEW.  People seem to prefer driving in the ruts and initiative is a rare thing that has to be sought out everywhere.  Sometimes even a blind pig finds an acorn. 

Slow down, Beavis! You're going to soil your drawers!     Good to see you tried out a greater delayed salvo and achieved success.  Believe me, I am no expert and I do not claim to be an expert.  I am just passing along what I have soaked up and learned.  Keep on experimenting with bomb load and delay.  Remember, it only takes 250lbs to destroy a town building so a flight or two or three of Ki-67 can be fun with the 100kg bombs when wanting to pad your bomber points.      

I have not tried the carbet bomb tactic described ealier on a CV force.  Too many variables to waste your chance at dumping a large mass of ord in one spot.  It takes 7000lbs of damage to sink a CV, and I am not sure of about the cruiser or destroyers.  Why dont you be a pioneer and let us all know how it goes.     May I suggest hitting the CV group from the 10 or 2 O'Clock position?  I would try out multiple bombers and either the 1k or 500lb bomb load as well.  You want maximum coverage, but yet close enough strikes to land 3k to 6k of bombs on at least the CV (taking into account that the CV will already have some slight damage).  Optimum alt is questionable.  At least 10k to keep away from any naval fighters that up, but also remember the 5in ack will rape you of any ack virginity of the gunner knows what they are doing.  I do not think that taking 9-12 bombers over a DV is worth the time and energy.  I'd be more apt to take 4-5 Mossi's or 4-5 Typhoons for a dive attack.  All you need is 7k of damage before the CV goes down.  With the lighter and faster planes, you will get their faster and get away quicker (the 'ol shoot-n-scoot theory) than taking the bombers.

Good luck!   

[BaldEagl]

Slow down, Beavis! You're going to soil your drawers!    

 

[stephen waldron]

  You're right. There are all kinds of ways to skin a cat.  And a straightforward high altitude heavy bomber attack proved fruitless.  The wide bomb spread did not compensate for the maneuverablity of an evading Task Force.  But it was worth a try. 
   One idea that does work well is to hit the CV and Cruiser escort first with a tactical dive bomber.  This takes out a number of ACK guns greatly reducing the TF's defensive firepower.  Then you come in with level bombers at 8 thousand feet and make quick work of the two primary ships.  Sure.  You're gonna take the occasional engine hit or fuel line damage.  But the likelyhood of the reduced defense actually blowing a bomber out of the sky (even at 8K), is pretty slim. 
   I learned about this tactic in forum discussions as well.  Some ideas are just complete B.S.  Others have proved their worth as a winning strategy in the MA.  Everything has to be verified. 
   Speaking of which, I'm just going to throw this anecdotal evidence at the wall and see if it sticks.  How impressed are you with the B-26's ability to repell ACK compared with other bombers of a similar size ?  I routinely bomb targets with a B-26 formation at under 8 thousand feet and rarely lose one to ACK hits.  Try the same thing with a formation of B-24J's and you end up flying back with two planes.  I've bombed with both planes at the same speed and altitude and target.  The 26's always fare better against Flak hits.  Why ?

[stephen waldron]

  In reference to my previous post.  I already know a B-26 is slightly smaller than a B24J.  But it's not like comparing a Lancaster to a B-17.  The Lanc is a Whale compared to anything else in the sky.  I just can't figure out why the B-26 is so impervious to anti-aircraft fire.  Heck.  I'd much rather fly over an airfield in a B-26 at 5 thousand feet than a P-47.  Weird, huh ?