Flaps in ground attack with IL2

[coconut]

When attacking ground targets with the guns, do you use flaps? I tried this morning and found they really helped by slowing the plane when approaching targets, and helped regain altitude while turning around for another pass.

[Simicro]

I did not try the flaps but sometimes I trim the aircraft up before the attack to make it more easy to fly upward after the dive.

[PB0_Foxy]

flying slow to attack ground target can be dangerous if there is flak in the area

[heinkill]

Come in fast and steep, fire and miss, extend out of range of AAA, repeat.

 

 

H

[Willy__]

 

 

When attacking ground targets with the guns, do you use flaps? I tried this morning and found they really helped by slowing the plane when approaching targets, and helped regain altitude while turning around for another pass.

 

Nope. Flaps should only be used in take-offs and landings. It will slow you plane down as it produces a lot of drag, but I find that the airplane get rather unstable and its usually better trim before the attack and instead of using flaps, just reduce the throttle. Using flaps to gain altitute is another stupid thing, you need all speed you can get after the pass, as you need to extend beyond the range of AA and just then turn around for another pass.

[coconut]

Regarding AA, I find its aggressiveness varies a lot. Sometimes you can ignore it, sometimes not. In this case, it was an attack on tanks on the LD server. I located and destroyed the AA truck first, and had free hands after that. Even then, the AA never shot at me in any of the three passes I did to find it.

[-NW-ChiefRedCloud]

Thanks for all these tips ....

 

Chief

[coconut]

I just did another session on LD. I was a bit nervous, seeing I was alone versus 4 players from the same squadron. Luckily for me, they never found me.

 

This time, I tried without flaps. Works well enough too, same rate of success, I would say: 2-3 vehicles killed in each sortie. Not too impressive, but not too bad for a start, I guess. I had to increase the gun convergence to 800m. I already had it to 650m, but I found that whenever I was ready to fire, and fired, the tracers crossed each other just before hitting the target.

[Willy__]

I just did another session on LD. I was a bit nervous, seeing I was alone versus 4 players from the same squadron. Luckily for me, they never found me.

 

This time, I tried without flaps. Works well enough too, same rate of success, I would say: 2-3 vehicles killed in each sortie. Not too impressive, but not too bad for a start, I guess. I had to increase the gun convergence to 800m. I already had it to 650m, but I found that whenever I was ready to fire, and fired, the tracers crossed each other just before hitting the target.

 

Dont know why, but almost everytime I try to dive bomb with the stuka on artillery positions I get sniped by the AA while diving. About the convergence, its all about personal taste, I like setting mine for 350m for ground attack.

Edited December 6, 2014 by istruba

[coconut]

Dont know why, but almost everytime I try to dive bomb with the stuka on artillery positions I get sniped by the AA while diving. About the convergence, its all about personal taste, I like setting mine for 350m for ground attack.

 

In artillery positions, the AA is often located very close to the group. When you are diving towards the artillery, you are also diving towards the AA guns, which I guess makes you an easier target. Same problem for me with the IL2. I'm not sure how to deal with it. Maybe the best is to have high-altitude bombers clear the AA first, but I don't know if that's easy. And if they do that, they may as well clear the rest of the targets.

 

Groups of tanks on the Morning Dawn map are very spread out, which makes it harder for the AA half-tracks to get you. Especially if they don't even try...

[-TBC-AeroAce]

I would try to be as quick over a target as possible that still allows for accuracy. Real il2 pilots would perform a oval circuit around the target area, simular to what u would do for a landing circuit, diving then climbing out

[Willy__]

 

 

In artillery positions, the AA is often located very close to the group. When you are diving towards the artillery, you are also diving towards the AA guns, which I guess makes you an easier target. Same problem for me with the IL2. I'm not sure how to deal with it. Maybe the best is to have high-altitude bombers clear the AA first, but I don't know if that's easy. And if they do that, they may as well clear the rest of the targets.   Groups of tanks on the Morning Dawn map are very spread out, which makes it harder for the AA half-tracks to get you. Especially if they don't even try...

 

Hmmm thats actually make sense. I'll keep and eye out for the AA's next time.

 

I guess the solution would be instead of dive bombing at extreme angles (~90), just do a shallow dive to the target, to pick up speed, and I would target the AA first and use my bombs on it, as its easy to destroy the arty with the guns. But thats only the plan, I'll have to test it to see if it works.

 

Anyways, the AA always seems a little random to me, sometimes it just sits there, sometimes it snipes me at 3k alt 

[coconut]

I don't know if the admin for the LD expert server changed something, but AA on the ground turned a bit more dangerous after my last post.

 

In my first sortie, I ignored the AA which promptly shot me down in one salvo after my first pass.

 

The next sortie, I started by circling around the "column" (a pack, really) to locate the AA. I found two, shot them first and things went well for a while, until the third AA that I had not seen turned my left fuel tank into a "passoire".

 

I have to say it was a lot of fun. The first passes I did on the AA were exciting and had my heart beating hard.

[Willy__]

I guess the solution would be instead of dive bombing at extreme angles (~90), just do a shallow dive to the target, to pick up speed, and I would target the AA first and use my bombs on it, as its easy to destroy the arty with the guns. But thats only the plan, I'll have to test it to see if it works.

 

 

It works! Yesterday was playing on a expert server, was at 3,5k when I got sniped by the AA just before my dive, so I decided to try the shallow angle: Got up to 2-2,5k alt, then just before reaching the target I started a shallow dive, dropped the center bomb on one AA, pulled up, got 2 yaks behind me, shot one with the gunner and the other one disappeared, and in the second dive I dropped the wing bombs on one arty and then I rtb.

 

It was pretty exciting run, as I had to defend myself with the gunner against 2 russian planes and still look after the AA's and arty. But I guess the accuracy of the AA's is somewhat tied with the relative speed of you/aa, maybe ?

Edited December 10, 2014 by istruba