Require tips and assistance for Anti-shipping dive bombing (particularly in JU-88)

[Mukai]

Hey guys, I had gotten a TM warthog recently and the dual throttle helps taking the JU88 quite a bit (I struggled to taxi a lot before) and I've been trying my hand at anti-shipping with this bird. However its been very hit or miss (mostly miss) and I've ended up with more than one flak burst in my cockpit, so I'm wondering if you had any tips? It doesn't necessarily have to be related to the JU88, but most dive bombing tutorials I've found were for the Stuka which seems to be a different animal for dive bombing. (if you know of any tutorials for JU88 dive-bombing send em on! )

1) what altitude or angle of attack is recommended? When should i release the bomb? (I've heard that placing the cross-hairs on a point just beyond the target and waiting for it to pass below the gunsight before releasing works, is this correct?)

2) Should I be using a bomb detonation delay? I've noticed that contact detonation tends to have..... disastrous consequences :/ . So how much delay is required?

3) Does water reduce the bombs effect on the target? Because 2/3 of my bombs will probably land in the water.

4) Bomb recommendations? Whats required to sink a ship? 250? 500?

 

Sorry for all the questions guys, I know a lot of these questions could be answered by practise but currently I'm having a tough time landing the shot without getting hit by flak on the flight in, and even then its hit or miss :/ So I'm trying to arm up on as much knowledge as possible.

[Wester]

You have this thread about dive bombing in Ju-88: https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/27549-junkers-ju88-4-guides-and-manuals/

 

When they decide to add torpedoes things will get more interesting. But here's some info for skip bombing instead, as its more useful for anti-shipping.
 

Worked well in IL-2 1946, still depends on the accuracy settings of the AAA. But with a Ju-88 I would just recommend level bombing from high altitude if the ships are stationary, AAA is heavy and especially if you are flying alone.

 

 
1) Up to 100m in Level Flight if skip bombing (60 Degrees if in Dive) (Crosshair thing is mentioned in the VP1 PDF)
2) 5 Seconds if not contact fuse
3) If bomb lands in water next to ships waterline it will still damage it
4)A 500SC should be enough for largest ships currently in game, should test it though
 
Mission4today thread (MD_Titus)

as for skip bombing... well i find i want to be going as fast as humanly possible when doing it, so tend to dive down from my approach altitude of about 1,500/2,000m only when near the target. this ensures the maximum speed for escaping any escort ships or fighters that are low level trying to engage torpedo bombers. so, we're pelting along at nigh on top speed for whatever airframe, but where to put the bombs, how high to fly, when to drop?

on most ships, you will need to be careful where you are aiming. on a fair few of the transporters or on the capital ships there are sections of the hull that are fairly low in the water, and this can have the embrassing result of you skipping your bombs over the ship and into the clear blue on the other side of them. in r/l this would be just as, if not more, effective due to the pressure damage that it would cause below the water line. in game though, the only effect is a large water feature and a wasted journey. so, aim for the bridge, or the bows or stern, but wherever looks high enough to catch your eggs even at the highest point of their bounce.

on your height, this is really variable to be honest. anything from 10m to 100m seems fine. all down to your tastes, what you think helps evade flak from teh target and it's companions (like hiding behind a transport ship on your approach to a battleship ) but the important, nay, vital bit is that you are flying level. a bit of nose down and then you've just dive bombed that shoal of fish off the ships port side.

when to drop. this is one that varies hugely with speed. going at 280kph? you'll need to be virtually on top of them. going at 700kph in a do-335? the bounce will be high and long distance... rule of thumb for jabo's is that you'll want to release when it seems dangerous to carry on in a straight line. if you're about 100-200m or so, then it'll be just as it is about to disappear under your nose, i think. don't worry about only skipping it once, or not at all. the aim is to get those bombs into the side of the big hunk o' points. dropping early, at insufficient speed or when you are right over the damn thing is not desireable.

delay should be to your taste. and that of your squadmates if there's a particularly big ship that needs multiple hits. you certainly don't want to have a nice line of you going in which turns into a slaughter at your hands due to incorrect timer selection. 1 - 1.5 seconds seems to give enough time for you to get clear, but not too much of a delay for the following pilot to get over the bomb. good seperation is essential.

however, the best bet is practice. as with anything in this game, the best way to find out is to do it. if the results are unsatisfying, alter you technique. i'd suggest going into the qmb, turning off limited ammo and fuel, loading up a 190 or something with a 500kg bomb, use the crimea map, and lay waste to the ships just off the coast. once you get the feel for teh release point, switch aircraft around and practice, practice, practice. then practice some more.

 

THE VP1 RED AIR FORCE (Bombing in the IL-2)

Some information on skip bombing starting page 8:
http://www.derrierloisirs.fr/il2/bdd2012/documentation/Il2Bombing.pdf

 

Someone should make some bombing tests with the Ju-88 and make a nice PDF like the one above. 

Edited December 14, 2017 by 8.8cm-Flak-36

[Mukai]

Awesome! Thanks for so much info man! Gonna have a read through this over the weekend and try and put a lot of it into practice.

 

[Royal_Flight]

Nothing to add that hasn't already been said above, but definitely try skip bombing. The main advantage is that you feel like a total hero when you pull it off.

Racing over a ship with its guns blazing away at you as you pass at 300mph, and then the ship explodes behind you as you soar away and don't look back.

[Mukai]

Managed to have some success by skipping the bomb in onto a target, destroyers put up quite a wall of 8.8 cm Nope Nope but managed to do well enough and agreed with Royal Flight, nothing was more fun that going 300mph with your whole cockpit lit up from the explosion

[56RAF_Roblex]

Not sure you can use IL-46 skip bombing instructions in IL2 BoK as they are very different.

 

1) Skip bombing is not so straightforward.  It is possible for a bomb to skip once or twice then hit a wave and stop.   I was testing and saw bombs blowing up too short when I had dropped them low enough & fast enough to keep skipping for longer.  I increased the delay to 5 seconds thinking it must have taken too long to reach the ship but it still kept happening and then the track I recorded showed the bomb hitting a wave at the wrong point and stopping.  To be sure, you need to drop very late.

 

2) There is no fixed formula for how many bombs you need.   I have sunk a cargo ship immediately with two well placed skip bombs (100kg each) hitting it dead centre but then the next attack I got one hit at the front and one at the back and just caused fires (which probably would have sunk it eventually)  I have also put two 100kg bombs on the deck dive bombing but only caused fires.  Perhaps there is a random element? Perhaps there are particular places to hit which are more damaging? Perhaps you need 200 kg to hit in one place for an immediate kill? 

 

3) Too long a fuse when hitting a fast moving ship (eg torpedo boat, sub, river gunship) results in the bombs exploding behind.

 

Personally I like points 1 & 2.  In real life there was no "The ship will explode when the hits total 200kg " and skip bombing was affected by high seas.   Point three does not seen realistic to me and is probably a bug.  Either the bombs should explode on contact or penetrate the hull and explode in that location on the ship no matter how far the ship has moved.

 

If you are wondering why I am talking about using 100kg bombs,  I was just testing out how useful a Lagg-3 would be against ships.   For the record even a short burst from 23mm cannon takes torpedo boats apart in spectacular fashion.  Very satisfying     

 

 https://youtu.be/K5Ki7a41vXs

 

23mm does not seem to do anything against subs even with many concentrated hits which surprised me.  It also does nothing to those armoured low profile gunships (are they river boats?)   It can set a cargo shop alight but it takes most of your ammo.

Edited January 12, 2018 by 56RAF_Roblex