He-177 is 'the dream' for any Luftwaffe player. 109's and 190's might actually start using DROP TANKS doing 'bomber escort.'
The Luftwaffe side has small fighters, medium fighters, dive bombers, medium bombers, but no LARGE BOMBER! and its also a 'dive bomber!'
The He-177 had over 800 made.
Technical difficulties:
Rumors of the He-177 having technical difficulties. Yes some problems at start. Hmm, all planes had difficulties at start. (I'm sure the first porche cars had problems, but look at them today!)
A) the least technical difficulites plane? the BF-109 probably, because they were constantly improved since their first prototype in may 1935.
Hans Joachim Marseille 'Star of Africa' died to a bug or maintenance something... in a brand new BF-109g2, engine problems resulting in smoke in the cockpit. (so even every upgrade gets risk).
B) some rumor about prototype spitfires having their tails just fall off? LOL We dont have that in game! There is a whole thread about this in these boards somewhere, year ago?
C) the He-177 entered service in 1942. America was in the war at this point, meaning Germany was in deep doodoo. Demands were all over the Reich!!! Rushed introduction! One can not blame the plane for what was INDEED a rushed introduction!
A) How about if your plane's engine had an oil leak and your engine cooked within the first five minutes of flight because you didn't check the gauge! And/or smoke filled up cockpit, cant see and dead!
B) How about if YOU were about to land 10 KILLS for achievement, coming in for landing just right, and... and one your tire blows out! Your plane swings to one side and dead. <-- could happen in any plane.
If bugs and maintenance issues are not in the game, then they arent in the game! Periodoso!
He-177 vs He-111 which to add?
All the early luft bombers got chewed up durring the 'Battle for Brittain' but so did any and all bombers during the whole war if they didnt have proper fighter escort. Lancasters resorted to night flights but radar and equiped planes caught up to them too. This said, in the main arena, vs late war fighters, the 111 wouldnt stand a chance, the Ju-88 has about the same stats and performance, hence: the He-111 would be MORE OF THE SAME. For scenarios, the Japanese Ki-67 seems like a fine substitute. The He-177 would be a BIG Luftwaffe bomber, much more survivability in latewar with its size, number of guns, and more bombs. Sinking a CV for full credit might be more possible with He-177, and that trip to enemy strats in a formation of loaded He-177s would be a Luftwaffe pilot's historical dream to be relived in the skys of Aces High!
CV sinkers:
Ju-88: with torpedoes seems worthless vs a CV, the 5inch's kill me before I get anywhere near the firing range that I think I could hit. Its like replaying a film, same thing, same spot, everytime.
Ju-87: during the war, two 1000kg (2,202 lbs) sank a battleship, so the 4,000 lbs bomb should be able to also. USA dive bombers sank CV's.
Point is, if a player can SINGLE HANDEDLY kill a CV in one plane, then why not another. A formation of Bombers is a single player. So the two above should be able to also.
The 177 could do this just fine like any other - b17, lank, etc. During the war, btw, the Luftwaffe bombers sank more ships than the Uboats! 55% to 45% I read something like that somewhere.
size matters:
He-111: 53' length, 74' width
He-177: 72' length, 103' width <-- bigger!
Defensive guns:
He-111: seven 7.92mm, two of which could be substituted with a 20mm and a 13mm.
He-177: one 7.92mm, two 20mm, four 13mm. <--- that 'fire all guns' button would make a mess of any fighter! Might even compete with the B29 on this note.
speed:
He-111: uhh, 273mph?
He-177: 351 at 19,000 feet. <--- much faster!
Business stuff:
He-111: 12,300 lbs total? 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb) in the main internal bomb bay. Up to 3,600 kilograms (7,900 lb) could be carried externally
He-177: 29,000 lbs total? 6,000 kg (13,227 lb) of ordnance internally/7,200 kg (15,873 lb) externally or up to 3 Fritz X or Henschel Hs 293 PGMs (remote control bombs) <-- earthquake maker!
The remote control bombs could possibly be added to the plane later on, sort of like the nuke on the B29.
Please don't blame the plane for its bad situation. It was unfairly rushed into service, and the Luftwaffe didnt even have enough fuel for its fighters, let alone these monstrocities. Had the war gone differently, these planes would have been pounding all of the Reich's happy wonderful innocent neighbors.
This game is about the machines, not the status of the countries involved - we are Bishops, Knights, and Rooks, so no fuel shortages here!
The He-177 is an awesome machine to add! Four engines, two large props! Could hold its own in the main (late war) arena. It is a unique plane also! Not more of the same!
Hands down, the 177 would be guaranteed fun for Luftwaffe pilots! A true novelty for them of how things could have been!
And the best challenge for the allied figthers to shoot down!
Allied pilots would get more excited spotting a He-177 formation than when they see a slow and low 190a8!!! <-- who would want to deny an allied player of the most drooling target ever spotted in the skys of Aces High?!?!?!
