Lancs are Fast

[Jayhawk]

Here, I updated the speed chart for a Lancaster.  I saw a  con moving towards our strat so I upped a 190 at a 7k base behind the strat to intercept.  We had a pretty heavy eny and I didn't expect 30k cons so I took a 190A8. Ran into these Lancs and can only imagine he started this flight last week to get up there.  I know he's significantly lighter after the long flight and the ord drop but 315, really?  Lancs at 30k is wrong in the first place. 

Eh, just whining.

[Lusche]

I saw a  con moving towards our strat so I upped a 190 at a 7k base behind the strat to intercept.  We had a pretty heavy eny and I didn't expect 30k cons so I took a 190A8.

Well there is your misjudgement:

As you saw the con was heading to the strat, you should have taken into account that he will be high. And by high I mean "As high as he can get".
Since the strat redesign, it has become much more difficult for bombers to bomb them. There is no much guesswork necessary for the enemy to determine where you are going to, and the rearward placement means lots of time for enemy players to spot you in map, end their current sortie and get into a very favorable position to intercept you.
Getting to altitude is thus a real necessity if you want to even get to your target (no speaking of any hopes returning to base). Also, it's such a long flight for a buff driver that climbing to "excessive altitudes" doesn't really add that more time to the sortie. And you can't really blame the bomber pilot for maximising his chances... doing a short 10 min sortie and dying before reaching the target is much less frustrating than flying for 45Min's just ti get shot down before being able to release your bombs

Long story made short - if the enemy is going to the strats, expect them to be really high and chose your weapon accordingly. The 190A's were quite infamous for having trouble above 20k.
Instead of a A8 I would suggest 47M or TA 152 (ENY 10), 109K4 (ENY 15) 47D40 or Spit IX (ENY 20), 109G14 (ENY25) or in case of ENY being at 29: 109G2 with gondolas.

[Jayhawk]

Well I know one issue I have is just an incomplete understanding of all the planes and their capabilities, especially above 20-25k.  I tried to take a 152 and a K4, but I believe eny was 15-16.  I was expecting the con at 20-25k, definitely a mistake on my part.  Believe me, I know you need to be high to survive a strat run, been there, 262 that. 

Thanks for the help, I will keep that in mind next time I see some coming.

P.S.  And as a bomber, I have noted the performance of the Lanc at 30k now.

[Angus]

The 190A is not intended for very high altitude, while the Lanc runs on Merlins.....And a lightly loaded Lanc has a lot of lift. Parasite drag will also be a lot less up that high....

[Ghosth]

Also, considering that he'd dropped his load and was trying to get home to land those damage points.

Its not too unreasonable to expect that when threatened he'd put his nose down.

Its not hard to get 300 mph out of any bomber, secret is to be able to do it without ripping your wings off.

[Charge]

"while the Lanc runs on Merlins"

As you can see from the chart the performance starts to drop off after 18k -or is the chart missing something significant above 23k? Single stage, two speed supercharger on Lanc Merlin?

If you interpolate the estimate speed of a Lanc at 30k from that graph it should be around 235mph while the 190 should still trot well over 320mph.

Of course it could be that the Lanc has just made a slight descent just to build up some speed. However, you should have been able to catch him.. eventually.

Not much use, though, since A8 would be a dog to maneuver at that height and you cannot shoot at a Lanc outside the reach of his guns.

-C+

[AKDogg]

Service ceiling of the lancs was only like 24-25k.

[RTHolmes]

... and we dont even have the historical 3000/+14lb 5 min WEP settings for it either ... 

[Jayhawk]

One thing that bugged me was I knew the service ceiling of the Lancs was significantly lower than 30-31k.  That's why I classify this as a whine on my part, because they have been able to do that for a long time in game and I knew that.

The 315 is a steady level speed.  I made sure to let it settle out while watching the film, he stayed at this speed and alt for about 4 sectors.  My A8 had a real slight advantage (less than 5-10mph) without wep.

[Anaxogoras]

There's no way that a loaded Lancaster would get to 31k ft.  That is a flight model error.

Edit: if wikipedia is correct, the Lancaster had 1,280hp "Rolls-Royce Merlin XX V12 engines."

[RTHolmes]

most sources state 24,500'. then again all of the heavy buffs seem to perform better/higher than historically.

edit: the pilot notes say Merlin 28 for our B.III, about 1300hp

[Chalenge]

Sorry but your information is incorrect. Service ceiling for any aircraft is that at which an aircraft can no longer sustain a climb rate above 100 feet per minute. It does not mean that the aircraft is incapable of climbing further.

[Lusche]

Anybody know the historical definition of "service ceiling"? I know today it's often "altitude where the plane is able to sustain a 100ft/min climb" - but is that the same definition that's being used for WWII bombers?
Just for the record, in AHII a Lanc that took off with 50% fuel and full bombload is getting a 300ft/min climbrate at 25k. It takes more than half an hour to get that high.

[sunfan1121]

109K4 (ENY 15)

The world must be coming to an end... snailman made a mistake, stock up on batteries and flashlights, something tells me were going to need them.

[Lusche]

The world must be coming to an end... snailman made a mistake, stock up on batteries and flashlights, something tells me were going to need them.

 

I hope nobody is starting to count all my mistakes on this BBS... been quite a few 

And yes, 109K's ENY is 20 of course