New player question regarding FAB 50 bombs
 

Hi there,

Braaaand new to this game and I am brutal at it! :D


In any case, I started off a Soviet Campaign and am chugging around in an I-153 at the start of Barbarossa, and it's been fun. I have a quick question though.

I have a mission to take out a train, and it seems like my guns won't hurt it (fair enough), but I have 4 FAB 50 bombs. Thing is, I seem to be struggling with having them actually explode!

I can't level bomb worth nuts, so I've been pretty much attempting some glide bombing. After some experimentation in the quick mission creator, it seems like my bombs have to be dropped from a minimum altitude of around 300m in order for them to go off.... which means the game is asking me to do a 300m level bomb which I am not capable of doing haha.

I have tried various fuses in the quick mission. Setting them to 0.0 second delay doesn't seem to do anything (they still don't explode). I tried setting them to "low level" which has a minimum of 5 second fuse, which DOES cause an explosion eventually, but this would seem like I would still need some crazy lead to hit a train :S


So, is there a place (video or text) that I can learn how to properly level bomb with this thing (I am skeptical that I can dive bomb with it....). This would also be handy for the other career I have, in an F3F-4 and often get missions to bomb with some 100 lb bombs, but they at least seem to support a degree of dive/glide bombing and even though I still suck at hitting anything, at least I believe that were I to hit something it'd actually blow up! :P

Cheers!

Allan

Level bombing in any plane that does not have a special level-bombing gunsight is very hard, even against a long target like a train or a column of vehicles. Try dive-bombing in a quickstart mission, it might be easier than you think.

The compromise is to approach and release at a shallow angle, less than 45 degrees, not quite dive-bombing but not level either. Do choose the low level option with the 5 second fuse, you're bombing a WWII train not a modern French TGV, it doesn't move fast enough to need much lead. Do some quickstart missions and start by releasing your bombs just when the target disappears under your nose, watch the replay and adjust as needed.

The hardest part when attacking a train should be not the required lead or timing, but rather aligning your plane with the length of the train. If you're off by a few degrees then an imperfect drop will miss the train, and a FAB-50 will be too small to cause damage. If your alignment is perfect, then you'll still hit even if your timing is a bit off.

Two important bits.

Press TAB in flight to see (amongst other things) the bomb fuse settings. You'll see the drop altitude and the delay timer. Very useful in figuring things out.

Also the bomb fuse type is important. With the FAB-50 you have options of Instant (with a short delay as an option), Delay (with longer delays), and Low-Level which allows you to drop the bombs at very low altitudes.

You may want to employ the Low-Level option while attacking the train. Low level with a significant delay (but not too long as the train will have moved along.

You should be able to destroy box cars with the 4 machine guns but you may not be able to get the locomotive with guns alone. Not those anyways.

I had just noticed the bomb fuse while messing around with some SBD missions, and that should help haha.

I'll continue messing around with the mission. Thanks for the heads up. At least I can definitively know the altitude haha.

The Soviet Campaign (in the 2 or 3 missions thus far) seems a bit more enjoyable than the Pacific ones.

Exactly. So when I have small bombs, I prefer to attack trains from the side, at a 90 degree angle. I come in low and fast and basically skip-bomb the target. If done correctly, the bombs should bounce once, hit the train and drop right there. When they explode you should get yourself at least a couple of train cars.

Now, skip-bombing is a skill that takes a while to master. It's also my preferred method of attack vs most ships.

Aviar

Do you find this often does not work in Soviet planes? Always works in German planes, usually in American ones, I don't think I ever saw it to work in Soviet bombers or ground attack planes.

In my experience it works 100% of the time. The only time it does not is if the advanced bomb fusing system is off. Then all of these features are hidden.

The east front dynamic campaigns that ship with the game are much better than the Pacific ones (which I think were thrown together in a hurry).

I also highly recommend downloading new campaigns built by the user community here: http://www.mission4today.com/ (you need an account)

There are tons of them up there and many are historically or semi-historically based and very well researched and put together.

Guns should hurt anything not armored - that includes trains. If your talking about ShKaS (green tracers, very high rate of fire) it may need some good shooting, though. Interesting thing about trains is if you destroy any car, the whole train stands still - which makes aiming bombs a bit easier.

If that's not an option, then try flying low along the trains tracks -and drop your bombs when you think you will hit. Make a video of your effort. Watch where your bombs land, and correct your aim next time. And the bomb delay (as long as it is not excessive, e.g. 15 secs+) is not a critical factor vs. trains, just try to hit the engine or a little in front of it, and you will sure hit.