Intercepting Bombers

[Teedog]

I’ve never really had any luck intercepting bombers. I would do a great job getting behind them...and shooting at them, but they won't go down........... I would get multiple hits on the bomber and they wouldn't go down........ It was driving me crazy.

But now I’ve changed my tactics. I know most of you know I mainly fly US Navy aircraft or a P-51. Well since most of them only have 6 x .50 cal.. you have to be patient (Of course that’s always been my problem).

So, this is what I’ve came up with attacking Bomber formations.

#1) You must be patient. Take your time in getting a good shot. Don’t just sit behind in their 6 o’clock position and start firing. Come from above, head or from the side. BE PATIENT!!

#2) Aim for the wings or engines of the Bomber... Don’t aim for the fuselage. The fuselage can take alot of hits from US .50s. Wing tips is a good place.

#3) Attack in pairs. Of course this is not always easy, but it sure can help.

I know most of you know this, but thought I would drop a thread for those who don’t.
 

[starbird]

Those are all points you really need. Slashing attacks from 11-5oc are the best. Come in high above the bbombers, and leave going below (not necessarily diving, if you want another run dont drop too much alt).

This makes the gunner on the bomber switch positions and is pretty good at confusing the person.

Different bombers ahve different cones of defense. A b17 can shoot form anywhere, they are the most dangerous to attack. A lancaster has a blind spot underneath. if you come up on one from below, they are relatively easy. Same for a20/bostons and b26s.

Another tactic is to come at them headon. This gives very little time to aim/shoot but it also gets you out of their line of fire quickest. Theres also a large risk of ramming the bomber.

Always always aim for the wing/engines. You can try hitting the tail too, but its not as easy as going for the wings. A b17 will not fly if one of its wingtips is shot off, thats what you want to go for.

We used all these techniques very well in the 8th airforce scenerio a while back. Using a cannon armed aircraft seems to help. We flew 190-a8's with 30mm. buffs went down quite easily. there was a lot of them, and they had to watch that they didn't shoot eachother down.

We made 1 maybe 2 attacks on them, always coming from the front quarter.  The biggest thing was to get to altitude (takes forever in a 190) and position ourselves in front of them. Once we made the attack, we would go to position ourselves in front of them again. This is a slow process. Your lucky if you even get a chance to get 2 strikes at a formation.

Also made sure that we all attacked at the same time. Going in one after another doesnt work. Go in with at least 1 other person at a different angle. Coordination is vital.  its too bad the original forums are gone, there were a lot of good posts about different tactics used in the war and which seemed to be most effective.

If you do decide to attack a bomber from its 6, start shooting your MG's from around 2-3k out. You might get lucky and take out the rear gunner. Then when you close you can open up with your cannon.  

[Swager]

Good Points.  Important as already pointed out, go for wings and engines, forget the fuselage.  Also the B-17s tail is weak.  The rudder will fall off.

Good Luck.

Make the gunner track you at an angle.  do not position yourself as a stable target.