2. Getting started
Congratulations, you are now in the
cockpit of a sophisticated instrument
for ground attack
This guide centers more on medium to
high altitude level bombing, and covers
gameplay in arcade, historical and
realistic modes
Hopefully by the end of this guide,
you'll have learned a thing or two about
using bomber aircraft to maximum
effect
3. Taking off and flight planning
Every flight starts on the ground, unless you're
flying in arcade mode (you filthy casual [unless
you're grinding xp for skins, I don't blame you]).
Around this time, look around and check if it's
safe to take off. There's no point in getting off
the ground in a big slow target when there are
zeroes and 109s strafing things. If so, clear them
out with AA
When taking off, do spend the extra time to line
up with the runway. Might seem tedious, but
patience is a virtue when flying bombers. You're
going to see more of that in a bit. Lining up with
the runway gets you a clean takeoff, instead of
having to pray you clear those fuel tanks in Pearl
Harbor or do a lousy takeoff in a bumpy field
4. Also, watch your speed. As I hope you know,
when your airspeed is in red, you will stall and
your fleet raiding adventure has now come to
an abrupt end before it even begins. To be safe,
only rotate (pull up) after you reach more than
150 mph (~240 kph) in realistic mode
Now once you have taken off, turn in the
heading opposite the direction of the target,
and circle your base while gaining altitude. This
way, you have time to gain speed and altitude,
which are a bomber's primary defense against
fighter attacks
When climbing, the aircraft has an ideal angle
of attack in which speed is maintained or
gained while climbing to as much altitude as
possible. Instructions for finding your ideal
climb rate are also on the next page
5. To find your ideal climb rate, first enable autopilot for
30 seconds. locate the airspeed indicator and the climb
rate indicator, calibrate and disable autopilot and very
gradually pull up until the needle moves up. Try to
keep up speed, and stay level by watching the yaw
indicator. When your speed stops increasing and you
can't move the climb indicator up any more, you have
reached your ideal climb rate. Look at the artificial
horizon and note how it looks for future reference, so
you know how to position the aircraft without having
to find the proper rate every time in the future
6. The ideal altitude for medium level
bombing is at 10,000 -15,000 ft (3,048
- 4,572 m)
By these altitudes, fighters coming up
to try and kill you via sharp climbing
will probably lose a lot of speed and
interest in killing you in the process,
making defending yourself or running
away much easier. Fighter pilots also
have a tendency to ignore high flying
bombers due to the sheer distance
between you and them
Only risk flying lower if there are only
a few high end fighters or the game has
to be won as fast as possible by
eliminating enemy ground targets
How to read an altimeter - the short
hand shows your altitude in thousands,
and the long hand shows your altitude
in hundreds. For example, this one
reads five thousand four hundred feet.
(if your aircraft uses meters, then the
altitude is given in meters, duh)
7. Another note on the altimeter, when you reach 10,000 feet (or meters), the
short hand that indicates thousands cycles over zero again. So you might get a
reading of 0 ft (or meters) while very high up. Well, you should be able to tell
by looking out of the window what ten thousand feet looks like. Why did I
mention this? Just wanted to prevent smart alec comments by the audience
Flight paths
And now for navigation, this
is a path that we have all
taken at some point. Bomber
pilots should never just press
autopilot as soon as you
spawn in and make a beeline
for the enemy base.
By plowing straight through
the adversary, you attract
gunfire from everyone, as few
would like to miss a big, juicy
immobile bomber
8. There is a zone in between your base and the enemy's at altitudes of 3,000 ft (914 m) in which all
the fighters do their exciting stuff. In this area, the enemy will prioritize you, as you are a big xp
piñata amidst all the hard to hit targets. The only reason that you should be down here is if the
scores need to be urgently tipped by destroying ground targets in the shortest possible time. Make
sure to maintain at least 250 mph (402 kph), and man the defensive guns. With the paths on Fig.
1 & 2, you can keep well out of "the zone"
Now observe figure 1. If you are fast or have enough time, and there are many enemy fighters,
this path works well. By steering away from the main battle, enemy forces will most likely be
distracted by all the fighters around them to go looking for you. To follow this path, take off and
climb to high altitude, turn such that the target is 45 degrees off either side you choose, and fly
until you have traveled about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles). From then, turn towards the target but
give the fighters below you a 10km (6 miles) berth. Once on target, fly lengthwise onto enemy
shipping or airfields for maximum damage. More on that later
Fig.1
9. Path 1 in action. The image on the upper right
shows what more or less 14 km (8.7 miles) looks like
10. Fig.2
A more direct route is this path - no complicated navigation necessary, and takes up
less time than the first. While the first path is suited to fast bombers, this one fits
slower ones. This path is achieved by climbing to ideal bomber altitude, but this time
flying straight towards the enemy. Once you are 20 km (12.4 miles) from the target,
turn 90 degrees either side begin a half circle turn to approach the target lengthwise
When deciding wether to turn right or left, pick the side with more cloud
coverage. If that can't be judged, you choose. While both of these paths are a
better way to avoid fire from the enemy, a bomber crew cannot slack off! The
best way to prevent fighters from downing your precious cargo is constant
vigilance. No matter how high or far you are from the enemy, there will always
be a fast fighter or an interceptor gunning for you, especially once you take out
half of their ground targets. You should make it standard practice to look
around and keep an eye out for enemy aircraft, and always be ready to man the
tail guns for defense
11. Defending yourself
When defending any bomber aircraft, coordination
with the team is crucial to a bomber's safety. When
possible, ask a friendly fighter to follow you around.
After a field study conducted by yours truly, findings
show that fighters are still tempted to attack a
bomber even if this exposes him to an escort's fire.
Historically, fighter escorts were the most effective
way in defending bomber formations. Unfortunately,
this is not how most of our pilots think, and they
would rather slug it out with other fighters
Don't worry, another solution is to find another
bomber to follow you around. The more the
merrier. With more bombers in the air, they leave a
bigger trail of burning Japanese ships, towns, and
trashed airfields, and you have someone to cackle
with evilly as the enemy is blown to your level. But
more importantly there are more guns sticking out
from behind you to take out those pesky fighters.
12. But when the worst comes to the worst,
you can man the guns in your bomber
yourself, and you tend to shoot more
accurately than your crew (probably
because they're all panicked about seeing
fighters firing actual bullets at them)
Standard gunnery rules apply - give lead,
and spray rounds into the oncoming foe
as if the success of your mission depends
on it. Also, don't worry about
ammunition. You have a large aircraft
and can therefore store a lot of rounds.
Once you see the shots landing on target,
try and spray that spot continuously.
When the aircraft gets beyond the firing
arc of the tail gun, move the rudder in
the direction he has wandered off to
from your current point of view. Rudder
left if you see him vanish to your left,
and vice versa
13. Bombing (what you're for)
This is it. All of your painstaking efforts to reach the
target come together here. Either you contribute to
the team, or just dump some explosive into open fields
and sea. (If it's in arcade, it doesn't really matter. Just
wait a bit.)
It is important to note, while carrying the upgraded
loadout of smaller amounts of large bombs has it's
advantages, using the default load of smaller bombs
has it's own as well. Less large explosives are required
to destroy shipping, and they cause damage over a
wider area. You also carry more weight in bombs in
total. But these are not ideal for small, scattered
ground targets. Missing also has larger consequences.
With smaller explosives, you can pass over targets
multiple times, especially useful for destroying airfields
14. When beginning the attack, steer your aircraft in a way that it is approaching the target
lengthwise if it is a ship. This allows more bombs to hit the target. When your aircraft is 10km (6
miles) from target reduce your throttle to 75 percent and, engage the bomb sight. You now need
to concentrate. Using small rudder adjustments, center the target in your bomb sight's crosshairs.
Zoom into the sight as much as possible to be able to identify ground targets. Beyond 12,000 feet,
getting he target into view may become harder as they appear smaller. U.S. Air Force bombers
have higher magnifying sights to reflect the Norden Bombsight's accuracy, and your bomber may
have less magnification. You must start the attack earlier, and use the view from the window to
help get bombs on target.
15. Fig. 1: simple diagram on the effect of speed on bomb
spread. When under attack by fighters, maintain full
throttle. Your bombs may not all hit, but you live to
fight again another day.
Fig. 2: eight 100 pound bombs impacting on a
Japanese aircraft carrier deck
Fig. 3: carrier sinking after catastrophic damage,
illustrates the devastating capability of a well executed
bombing run
Fig. 1
Fig. 2 Fig. 3
18. That's all for now. Good luck out there, may your flight be safe, and let your
bombs fly true. Constant vigilance, careful aim and patience is the way
Vorshilov signing out