How does a Jabo(Fighter Bomber) Mission at a Airfield look like?

[FlyinCoffin]

In Il2 you got the mission "destroy target airfield" the briefing is very short.

 

Are there certain tactics and strategies for a bomb run?

Was it all the time just "hit and run"?

 

How much informations does a pilot get before flight about the mission?

Would there a way for single and multiplayer to communicate with wingmen and assign the targets they shall attack.

 

Is a bomb capable of destroying the runway so fighters arent able to start anymore on the airfield?

Edited September 26, 2022 by FlyinCoffin

[percydanvers]

In AQMB your flight will fly towards a target airfield with a digger escort. When you get to about 8km an enemy flight will spawn on the runway and begin taking off to join another enemy flight covering the airfield. If you’re fast you can shoot up the guys taking off. You can bomb/strafe parked aircraft or try to destroy hangars/dispersals/barracks/fuel dumps etc. your wingmen will drop all their bombs on flak. Periodically more enemy flights will spawn to attack you.

 

strategy wise I’d try to run in and kill the takeoff flight, drop your bomb on something and leave. Most of the time your flight will just get massacred if you stick around. 
 

you can tell your ai wingmen to attack nearest ground target or patrol for ground targets but you can’t specify individual targets for them. Of course in MP you can communicate with your friends to coordinate your attack.

 

im not honestly sure about runway cratering. I seem to recall that that might be a thing in game but I don’t know for sure. 

[Jaegermeister]

4 hours ago, FlyinCoffin said:

Are there certain tactics and strategies for a bomb run?

 

Don't come over the field from the same direction 2 times in a row. The AA will get you.

Fire your guns at the AA on the way down until you are low enough to drop your bomb(s).

 

4 hours ago, FlyinCoffin said:

Was it all the time just "hit and run"?

 

Pretty much, yes.

 

4 hours ago, FlyinCoffin said:

How much informations does a pilot get before flight about the mission?

 

Where the enemy field was. That's why it was called "armed reconnaissance"

 

4 hours ago, FlyinCoffin said:

Would there a way for single and multiplayer to communicate with wingmen and assign the targets they shall attack.

 

In game, the AI will attack the AA first. They haven't fixed that yet. If you are on Teamspeak or Discord, you can communicate with other players in a coop or multiplayer mission.

 

4 hours ago, FlyinCoffin said:

Is a bomb capable of destroying the runway so fighters arent able to start anymore on the airfield?

 

No, you can run right through a bomb crater, it is just a visual effect. 

 

[RyanR]

 

 

For the most part, you just need to "drop bombs in target area".... then get out of there quick. Dive in, release, and egress on the deck. Once clear of the AAA, climb to a good combat altitude (10K feet?) for the trip home, in case you run into interceptors.

 

I try to line up so that you can get multiple targets if possible. Blowing up a planes on the ground is more important (historically) than trying to crater a runway. Planes of this era are pretty rugged, and a hole in the ground is easily fixed. It's not like with modern aircraft and dropping a Durandal to shut down a concrete runway.

 

Targets here just last the mission. Everything is fixed next time you fly. It would be kinda neat if the damage was cumulative. I mean, 35 years ago we had cumulative damage in Falcon (F-16 sim) on the Atari ST. Progressive missions would shut the bad guys down... of course, they only had like 5 assets....

 

-Ryan

[Charon]

Quote

Surprise, speed, and variation of the attack -- these are the things to keep in mind when strafing a Hun aerodrome.

I consider surprise to be one of the chief factors in a successful strafe. When my group is assigned to strafe a particular taet, I ask for all the photographs available. I want to know what the airdrome looks like before I get there. I want my intelligence officer to get the best information he can on the defense, and to pin-point the positions of flak posts if possible. I want to know what kind, and how many, aircraft are reported to be on the field, and just where on the field I can expect to find them parked. I want to know what the terrain around the airdrome is.

With all this information to hand I can plan the approach best calculated to achieve surprise. I use terrain -- hills, gullies and trees -- for cover, and such airdrome installations as hangars etc to screen my approach. I never come right in on an airdrome if I can help it. If I have planned to attack an airdrome beforehand, I pick an initial point (IP) some ten miles away -- some easily recognizable place. I have my course from their to the drome worked out. Once in the air, I take my boys right past the airdrome as if I had no intention of attacking it at all. At my IP, I let down and swing back flat on the deck. I usually try and have another check-point on the course from my IP not far from the airdrome, and when I pass that I know I am definitely coming in on the right field. I don't like to end up on an airdrome before I realize I am even coming to one. But once I hit the 'drome, I really get down on the deck. I don't mean five feet up -- I mean so low the grass is brushing the bottom of the scoop.

For a squadron attack on a Hun airfield, I do not recommend sending sections in waves. This is a good way to get half of the outfit shot down. In my own group, I want as many as eight in at one time, if possible. These should be well abreast and, knowing our target beforehand, we go right in full bore in a straight line. Once you start an attack of this kind, don't turn or swerve. If you do, there is a danger of collision, or entering another man's pattern of fire.

I plan on making only one pass on an airdrome, and after my first pass, I climb to about 3000 or 4000ft to observe the damage in the form of smoke or fire. I see where the rest of the boys are, and call upon the R/T and ask how the flak was. If there wasn't too much on the first pass, and I figure we can afford to have a go a second time, we line up and repeat the performance. This time I usually leave eight aircraft up for top cover. These should be at 4000 or 5000 ft -- well above the range of small arms fire. On the first pass I never bother with top cover, as we are all on the deck, and any Hun that wants to bounce us is welcome to try.

After the attack on the field, stay on the deck for a good mile beyond the 'drome before pulling up. The break should consist of rudder yawing. Never cock a wing up. If you must turn on the 'drome, do flat skidding turns. Don't give the Hun a better target to shoot at.

I prefer to get down low and shoot up at any aircraft on the ground, rather than come in high and shoot down. Usually, I fire a short burst from long range and correct for it as I come in.

My method of attacking an unassigned airfield -- a target of opportunity, and one I've noticed on the way back -- is about the same. The only difference is that in one case I have quite a lot of information beforehand, and in the other I have to get a mental picture of the field. I watch for the location of aircraft and dispersals, as well as any guns firing, all in the few seconds it takes to fly by. Once I decide to attack, my method is the same.

It's important to go in full bore. You want all the speed you can muster. The aircraft should be trimmed for high speed before you go in, and not for the cruising speed at which you go by your home field.

Vary the plan of your attacks, if possible. If the Hun doesn't know what to expect, the chances are you'll get away with it a lot easier. You can't use the same plan twice. Achieve surprise.

Col Donald J M Blakeslee, Commanding Officer 4th FG. Reproduced in 'Down to Earth' Strafing Aces of the Eight Air Force, p102.

[FlyinCoffin]

Will there be improvments in the simulation about this? Like more informations on the airfield? Destructable runways? etc.?

 

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by FlyinCoffin

[FeuerFliegen]

On 9/29/2022 at 3:39 PM, FlyinCoffin said:

Will there be improvments in the simulation about this? Like more informations on the airfield? Destructable runways? etc.?

 

 

 

Destructible runways would be awesome, like in IL-2: Cliffs of Dover, but I don't expect it to happen.  Either way I wish the entire ground dynamic would be overhauled, especially since tanks are now a big part of the sim.

[Sybreed]

In game, your teammates will attack the AAA units around the airfield and ignore the objective (might get fixed soon). You need to attack the cluster of airplanes to complete the mission. 

 

At least that's what it used to be.