LEVELBOMBING
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For any successful Level Bombing run, you will need to learn how to use the Bomb Sight
What is a "Bomb Sight"?
Besides the obvious "device used by aircraft to assist in the task of accurately dropping bombs on a (ground) target", its a very complex device that combines various inputs (speed, alt, temperature, crosswind, air density, bomb size, etc), and the output will project where the bomb will land when dropped. In short, a Bomb Sight is a computer!
As such, for your bombs to land exactly where you want it to, you have to enter (ie: PROGRAM) the correct information!
So, what are the settings?
Fortunately the creators of WW2 Online have greatly simplified the process to only 2 inputs: Altitude and Airspeed!
While you can level bomb anything in the game (especially heavily contested towns), the prime target for this level bombing is the Factory!.
TAS or IAS??? Answer to the most asked question
What speed input to use, TAS or IAS?? The short answer is IAS, and only IAS.
The l-o-n-g answer is this: IAS = INDICATED AirSpeed, what your airspeed instrument is saying how fast you are flying. TAS = TRUE AirSpeed, the speed of an aircraft relative to the airmass in which it flies through (even virtually).
The difference between TAS and IAS is due to differences in air density (less dense the higher you go), temperature (colder up there), humidity (dryer, unless in clouds / storms), with some instrument accuracy errors. Indicated airspeed is used in aircraft operation as the aircraft stalling speed and structural limiting speeds are dependent on indicated airspeed, irrespective of true airspeed. However, proper navigation via dead reckoning (without constant ground reference) requires the use of true airspeed and wind corrections.
Bombs, just like the airplane, experience the SAME IAS effect, and do not care about "navigating". It is for this reason IAS is used for the setting.
So why even have TAS? TAS will not change as you climb, so on the ground you can pre-set you bombsight CLOSE to what your final speed will be. For the He-111 is about 350km/h. Set the sight to a TAS = 350, and when you are at (any) alt, you will find you only need to do a sight adjustment to the bomb sight.
Instead of burdening the player with complex and tedious conversion calculations, a very handy IAS to TAS converter is built in to the game and is visible on the top left side of bomb sights screen (use the ~ key to turn it on if not visible).
This series of 3 images will show you what is described above. The He-111 was flying full speed during all three images. Ignore the "ALT=", since that readout for the bomb sight is not important.
Full speed at 50 meters. Note that the TAS and IAS are almost identical!
Now flying level at 6000m. I DID NOT ADJUST the CALCULATOR, the TAS is SAME as first image!
Same 6000m altitude, with IAS adjusted to match instruments. NOTE the 30km/h gain in TRUE speed!
This increase in speed shown in the last is due to less air resistance at altitude (ever wonder why a DB-7 at altitude is faster then a Bf-109e on the deck?). Did you also notice that airspeed indicator reads SLOWER as you climb to altitude? In reality, you are actually going FASTER!
Again, to keep it simple, ONLY use IAS for you bombsight setting.
Two different Bomb Sights in game
For the moment the only sight depicted here is from the Heinkel He-111, the Douglas DB-7 is very similar. The Havoc and Blenheim Mk IV's "wire" sights is not telescopic and do not have the ability to look to the side and ahead, but the principle is the same. More images and information will be added to cover all the types used.
Basic Bombsight (aka Wire Bombsight)
The sights on the Blenheim and Havoc have "wire" pointers (British Mark IXa Course Setting bombsight), allowing only 3 adjustments (hight, speed, and compass direction), and gyro stabilized on the horizontal plane with a compass rose to mark direction. Their lack of any optics limit altitude to what the eye can see.
Blenheim IV and Havoc basic wire sights sights
Pictured is an ACTUAL British Mark IXa Course Setting bombsight used in the above aircraft (click so see larger image).
The model detail is very good despite having low polygon count.
Complex Bombsight
Bombsights on the He-111 and DB-7 are actually periscopes, like on submarines, except they look down. They provide the similar information on direction and distance, and you can input airspeed and altitude data into it so your bombs will hit the target. It many seem complicated, but it is actually quite easy.
The important thing to note is to have the sight centered BEFORE you drop you bombs!
In order to get this view, you need to be in the bombardier position (2) and press and hold the 'look down' button ('2' on the keypad).
Here is the bomb sight centering marks moving as the joystick (mouse if used) is moved.
For comparison, here is an image of an ACTUAL "Lotfe" bombsight used on German bombers, seen from the left side. You can just make out the white marks on the dials.
Using the "Course Pointer" ("Kurszeiger"), a.k.a "PDI"
Called the "Course Pointer" (original German "Kurszeiger") by the Luftwaffe, its American USAAF counterpart is called the "PDI", an acronym for "Pilot Directional Indicator". Manipulating the 'PDI' is described in detail later. Essentially it is a tool by which the bombardier can indicate to the pilot how far he should turn to the left or right in order to fly straight over the target. The pilot of the plane only needs to know how to read the indicator in order to get the plane lined up for the bombing run. The limits of the range for the indicator is 22.5 degrees to either side, or 1/16 of the compass circle.
The following picture indicates that the pilot should turn to the right.
This picture indicates that the pilot is correctly lined up with the target.
Looking Through the Bombsight
Below is a view through the bomsight. You get here by hitting the '.' (delete key) on the keypad.
To the left is the He-111 view, and right the DB-7's, both at full magnification (2ed click on '.' key).
It is pictured in the centered position (more on this later). Note the height and airspeed indicators on the left and right hand sides. Don't use these. It is much more accurate to use the red numbers in the top-left corner of the screen (use the '~' key to turn them on if you cannot see them).
Setting Altitude
Rarely is the height of the actual target at sea-level (which is the height your altimiter shows in the plane). In order to bomb accuratley, the height of the target above sea-level must be known. Once you know this, and the altitulde that you will be bombing from, the setting for your sights are as follows,
Correct Setting = (Plane Altitude above sea-level) - (Target Altitude above sea-leve)
The following diagram illustrates why:
The altitude displayed on the plane's altimiter is the height above sea-level. Seldom is the target to be bombed actaully at sea-level, so in order to get the correct setting (height above ground level) at the target, you need to do a little math. This can be done ahead of time, when you are planning where you are going to bomb.
Lining Up The Target
- When you're bombing, maintaining communication with the pilot is essential.
- Communicate with the pilot and find out whether or not he is speeding up or slowing down. Make sure you tell him when you’re setting up the bombsights, so that he knows to hold the plane steady.
- First of all, once the target is in sight, align the bombsight on top of the target. You’ll want to hold it here (on top of the target) until the pilot indicates that he’s in line with the target. Then you’re going to have to (quickly) re-center our bombsights. If you don’t then you won’t have any way to tell when you’re really supposed to drop the bomb. If the pilot lined up with the target correctly, your left-right alignment of the bombsight should be correct already, all you should have to change is the forward-back alignment.
- Once the target is under the bombsights again, let loose with all you’ve got!
- TIP: By hitting your 'B' key and your joystick alternate fire (default button 2) one after another, you can drop bombs much faster than simply hitting one or the other. This is especially important if you're on an RDP bombing mission, as the target will be very small.
- You might want to start a few seconds early, in order to ‘walk’ the bombs onto the target, and get nice bomb coverage. (only do this if you're NOT on an RDP mission, otherwise you'll miss the factory)
- The most important thing here is to get the bombsight re-centered in time. Otherwise you will not be dropping at the correct moment. If necessary, inform the pilot that you’ll need to take another run at it. Its better to have to fly over again than waste your bombs (and the whole flight) on a complete miss.
Centering the Bombsight
In order to center the bombsight, you move the jostick from the bombardiers position (position 2). Use the 'look down' (keypad 2) key to watch the arrows on the outside of the bombsight while you move the joystick. When the white arrows on the side are pointing at eachother, the bombsight is centered vertically. When the white arrow on the top of the bombsight is in the middle, the bombsight is centered horizontally.
Centering Horizontally
The first diagram shows how moving the sight from side to side affects the actual direction the bomsight shows. You MUST recenter the bomsight in order to get the correct placement of your ordinance.
In order to center the bombsight's rotation, use your joystick's left/right movement from the bombadiers position. Use the 'look down' (Keypad 2) key to watch the arrow on the outside of the bombsight.
Centering Vertically
This shows how moving the bombsight forward and backwards affects the direction the bombsight points ahead or behind the plane. This is the MOST important sight to recenter, or you will drop the bombs either prematurely or too late.
In order to center the bombsight vertically, use your joystick's up/down movement from the bombardiers position. Use the 'look down' (Keypad 2) key to watch the arrows on the side of the bombsight. When they are touching, the bombsight is centered.
Here's a shot of how the target (lined up in the above image) looks through the bombsight for two different settings (forward and centered)
Using DB-7 as a low level bomber for tactical targets
Developed by ChiefTom, posted by Ma
Due to some limitations of the environment, Chief created and Ma helped tweaked it for a few different altitudes and we have been employing it with great success.
It requires a little more skill than using the sights from altitude but is, by far, the easiest to setup a formation assault of rookie pilots. The skill comes in the lead pilot getting the precision down to strike specific targets from FB's, individual units marked by ground troops, and ships (!).
Before I lay out the how-to there are some important factors:
1) Only works for DB-7s (movable sights).
2) At the point of release you must be running max throttle, WEP On. Speed = 440kph.
3) You must have a good approximation of the altitude of the target; exact as possible.
4) With #2 its important to fly at the correct altitude; reading the DB-7s Altimeter is a PITA.
Note: AGL is the reference Above Ground Level. Basic level bombing dictates that the altitude you fly is ASL (Above Sea Level) so we need to take into account the ASL of the town in question and subtract it from our flight altitude to get the distance between ground and the plane. For our purposes, if you want to use the 200m AGL setting you must fly at the town elevation PLUS 200m. Ex: if town A has an Alt of 20m, you must fly at 220m (approximate for the DB's sights).
In all cases, you must get in the bombardier seat and physically move the sight forward (point the sight ahead of the plane so that when you look through it you are looking at the ground AHEAD of the aircraft). Do not forget this step.
200m AGL: Set sights to 3000m , set IAS to Max
300m AGL: Set sights to 4000m , set IAS to Max
500m AGL: Set sights to 5800m , set IAS to Max
700m AGL: Set sights to 6000m , set IAS to 411kph (do this on approach at max speed)
Many of you are probably wondering "why so many settings?"; think of it as tools in the toolbox. While personally Ma would like to drop from nothing less than 2km, the varying altitudes give you that much more control on your approach and any unforeseen circumstances.
Also, the low altitude limits exposure to air defense given terrain differences and assists spotting unit locations for subsequent passes.
It seems complicated, but practice with it and you will find that (especially in large formations) it is very accurate and a hell of a lot of fun.
MOVIES!
The player squad 617 Dambusters specialize in bombing in the game, and have produced 2 very good movies on how to bomb with the DB-7, but will apply to all the various level bombers in the game. Highly recommended watching.
http://617dambusters.com/617_Movies/Bombing_Basics_Part_One.wmv Bombing Basics part 1, Crew positions and Level bombing
http://617dambusters.com/617_Movies/Bombing_Basics_Part_Two.wmv Bombing Basics part 2, Flying the DB-7
http://www.wwiiol-pilots-manual.com/levelbombing.htm Another good site created by players.
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