Advice for a newbie bomber pilot

[Hasse Wind 46]

Currently I have three active careers in OFF, two for the Germans and one for the French, all of them fighter pilots. So I decided it's about time to give a try to two seaters in campaign mode (I've tested them somewhat in QC and I think they deserve to be used in campaign for all the effort the dev team has clearly put into them). Usually I fly only fighters in sims, so I can't say I'm very experienced as a bomber/reconnaissance pilot.

 

There must be some veterans here who can share their tactics and experiences with a newbie bomber pilot. I haven't yet decided which two seater to fly, but I've been thinking about the R.E.8 or the Hannover. Quirks are out of the question - I figure they're not the best choice for a beginner, being almost helpless in battle with no rear gunner or anything.

 

What's the best way to use the observer's gun? Should it be left to the AI, or must I take control of it in order to shoot some attacking scouts down? What about bombing? What methods you have found to be effective?

 

Thanks in advance!

[OvS 8]

Currently I have three active careers in OFF, two for the Germans and one for the French, all of them fighter pilots. So I decided it's about time to give a try to two seaters in campaign mode (I've tested them somewhat in QC and I think they deserve to be used in campaign for all the effort the dev team has clearly put into them). Usually I fly only fighters in sims, so I can't say I'm very experienced as a bomber/reconnaissance pilot.

 

There must be some veterans here who can share their tactics and experiences with a newbie bomber pilot. I haven't yet decided which two seater to fly, but I've been thinking about the R.E.8 or the Hannover. Quirks are out of the question - I figure they're not the best choice for a beginner, being almost helpless in battle with no rear gunner or anything.

 

What's the best way to use the observer's gun? Should it be left to the AI, or must I take control of it in order to shoot some attacking scouts down? What about bombing? What methods you have found to be effective?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Let them shoot. You're able to jink and side-slip the plane better than the AI in front seat.

 

Bombing... well.. there is no site, as there wasn't any back then, so use the down view, press F3 to drop the cockpit graphics, and give it you best shot. Keep in mind you are not looking directly down, but slightly ahead. You can still control the plane as well.

 

I've gotten some decent success with that method. Another is to look down from outside... and try it.

 

HTH!

 

OvS

[Bullethead 12]

I consider the Brisfit more of a 2-seat fighter so I won't discuss that one :).

 

In any buff campaign, you'll just have to accept several facts of life: 1) your plane is pretty much going to be a pig compared to the scouts you'll be running into; 2) your wingmen aren't likely to give you much help in a fight; and 3) you're going to eat a lot of groundfire. So just accept that as part of the job, and you'll have fun. You might even get a bomb hit once in a while .

 

The 1st thing you notice about all 2-seaters is that the visibility is very bad in at least 1 direction, usually in several. This not only handicaps carrying out your bombing missions, but also your ability to defend yourself and even land. This IMHO is the worst part of being a buffer. And if you don't have TIR4, you're just going to have a completely miserable time in most of them, because you can't see anything you need to.

 

Here's my thoughts on 2-seater pilot visibility:

 

FE2: Excellent in front hemishere, bad to the sides, but not bad to the rear IF you can turn your head around and look over the engine. There's no fuselage to block your view. Plus the cockpit has a racy pin-up girl and a pack of smokes that can be used as a slip indicator. No problems seeing to land.

 

Strutter: As good as a rotary scout to the front and front-down. Bad to the sides, limited to the rear due to the gunner's body, but not as bad as some 2-seaters. But you sit under the wing so can't see up very well at all, although the wing is high enough, and you sit far enough forward, that you can see up and forwards quite well, which is what you need to follow a turning target. No problems landing.

 

BE2: View ahead is blocked by your useless observer and a forest of struts. Upwards, downwards, sideways, and to the rear, however, it's like a scout because you're behind the wing and no gunner behind you. You have to lean over sideways to see to land, or sideslip a lot.

 

RE8: Lower part of front view blocked by air scoop which completely hides your target and your tracers. Up and forward isn't good, either, due to the upper wing, but you can see up very well. Can't see backwards due to the observer, and view downwards is blocked by lower wing. You have to lean sideways while landing, or sideslip a lot. 2nd worst visibility of all 2-seaters.

 

Roland: Picture yourself buried in the ground with only your head exposed, unable to turn around. You can see very well from your eye level upwards in all directions except to the rear (due to the gunner), but nothing at all downwards (due to the wings). This makes it practically impossible to see the ground at all during flight, let alone spot your target, so this machine is essentially useless as a bomber. It also makes landing the beast extremely difficult. When you slow down, of course the nose rises, and it and the leading edge of the upper wing completely block your view ahead and of the horizon. You can only see the ground at all through a tiny gap in the upper wing, and this isn't really enough to be helpful. Not to mention the difficulty of staying level when you can't see the horizon, or dodging those trees right at the threshold. Plus, if you're more than a few hundred feet up, you can't see the horizon even in level flight, and I find this makes me a bit queasy when using TIR. So despite the excellent upward views, I consider this plane to have the worst visibility in the game.

 

DFW: Forward view almost completely blocked by large engine, and you can't see much up or down due to sitting between the wings. The gunner blocks most of the rear view. However, you can at least see down and forward, so can spot targets and land by sideslipping.

 

Hannover: Due to the low upper wing, the views ahead, upwards, sideways, and down, are pretty much like in a Spad. The gunner also isn't as much of a barrier as in most other 2-seaters. I'd rate this the best of the bombers for visibility.

So now, having picked your ride, you'll have to get ready to meet scouts. Most 2-seaters actually turn quite well, due to their large wing area. They can often turn tighter than most scouts when in vertical banks. The problem is, it takes a while for them to get started, because they have such low roll rates. This not only means they're slow to react to threats, but makes it difficult to get the front gun on a scout (assuming you can see one to try for).

 

I find, however, that it's best to let your observer cover the tail while you flop around as best you can. You're going to get shot up nearly every fight, so your only hope is to limit the number of bullets you take, and the only reliable way to do that is to dodge as best you can, constantly. If you jump to the gunner's seat, at best your plane will go straight and therefore take more hits.

 

As for bombing, your guess is as good as mine. I've never had any success, although I've come close a few times. If there's a bombsight view, I have yet to discover how to use it, so all my attacks are glide-bombing passes. And because you can't see ahead very well in most 2-seaters, it's rather difficult to line up on the target and drop the bomb at the right moment. In fact, it's nearly impossible even to strafe effectively in some 2-seaters.

[Bullethead 12]

Bombing... well.. there is no site, as there wasn't any back then, so use the down view, press F3 to drop the cockpit graphics, and give it you best shot.

 

Hadn't thought of hiding the cockpit. In fact, I think I even disabled that option in the workshops :)

 

WW1 level bombers did have bombsights, however, at least in the latter part of the war. I'd rather bomb from 10-15k to avoid the groundfire, so I wish we had such sights in OFF :).

[+Polovski 414]

One or two do have crude sights, press F7 usually (if TrackIR hasn't got it mapped).

[Hasse Wind 46]

Excellent posts everybody, especially Bullethead! This is just the kind of advice I was hoping the see!

 

I have TIR4 and there are no key conflicts in OFF because I've remapped the TIR controls to my joystick buttons.

 

The Hannover sounds like it would be a good beginner's bomber, but I was hoping to fly for the Brits for a change, so I may end up choosing the R.E.8 despite its bad visibility. Or maybe I'll take the flying abomination (ie. Fee) for a ride, it does have plenty of firepower in those two Lewis if nothing else. And there's that pinup girl, too.

 

I'm sure these tips are useful to every new bomber pilot out there, so keep the advice coming.

 

Thanks!

 

(Hey devs, maybe we could have a Breguet or a Salmson in one of the add-on packs?)

[Bullethead 12]

Thanks for the work, Pol. I'll have to try that F7 thing. I wonder what planes it works for.

 

The Hannover sounds like it would be a good beginner's bomber, but I was hoping to fly for the Brits for a change, so I may end up choosing the R.E.8 despite its bad visibility. Or maybe I'll take the flying abomination (ie. Fee) for a ride, it does have plenty of firepower in those two Lewis if nothing else. And there's that pinup girl, too.

 

The Fee is my favorite plane in the game, and used correctly it can put up a good fight. It's main advantage over the others is that because the front gun is a pivot, you don't have to wrestle the beast directly onto a target. This helps you maintain E in the fight. However, you have no gun of your own, so have to rely on whatever effectiveness gunners have in your game.

 

Otherwise, I'd take a Strutter over an RE8. In a Strutter, you can at least defend yourself. In the RE8, while you perhaps can get on a Hun's tail, it's practically impossible to shoot him because you can see neither him nor your tracer at the moment of truth.

 

(Hey devs, maybe we could have a Breguet or a Salmson in one of the add-on packs?)

 

That's my wish, too. We've got plenty of scouts, but we're short on 2-seaters. None for the French at all.

[griphos 0]

I agree with Bullethead. I've had the most fun in the Strutter. It can make a decent account of itself in a fight if not too outnumbered. I've downed a few scouts in it.

 

The AI pilot will fly straight and level on your waypoint path if you jump to the back. The only time I've ever had an AI pilot take evasive action is in QC when there were no waypoints. So, you're a sitting duck if you try to be the gunner. And the AI scouts are smart about getting right behind you (they don't worry about hitting your rudder!!!) or a little below, so you spend a lot of your time cursing the pilot and yelling at him to yaw! But, on the other hand, the AI gunners are a pretty fair shot.

 

You asked for tips on bombing. I'm no expert, but have played with it some, both online and off. Here's my technique, for what it's worth.

 

I have the best success when I line up with my target. If it's a train, that's easy, just get in line with it. I attack from behind, so our relative speeds are slower. If it's an airfield or supply depot, then come in so that the planes on the ground are in a straight line ahead of you, or come at the supplies on the ground so that you fly along the longest diagonal of all the stuff. Then aim for the middle. That way, if you miss a little in front or in back, you hit something anyway. I also only ever make one pass. And I do a bit of a dive bombing action, coming in at about a 30 degree incline, I would guess, certainly not as much as 45 degrees. About what you'd do to fire rockets, or a little steeper.

 

I come in fairly low (no more than a thousand or so feet) and aim the plane at the object and fly pretty fast (near structural limits speed...to limit the time I'm an easy target). I jink a bit if necessary, but straighten out as I close and then release and climb away. I almost always release at about 100 ft. The bomb seems to pretty much go where my nose was pointed when I released. And I don't climb much. Just to get out of blast range. Then I drop to the deck again over anything handy to obstruct the firing lines of the enemy MG. Forests work well for this. Then, when at a safer distance, climb back up to altitude and head home.

[Hasse Wind 46]

Okay guys, thanks again for your advice. I think I'm going to start a new career as a RNAS Strutter pilot sometime in 1916. I'll try to put everything I've learned in this thread to good use! (And probably die in my first mission when I attempt to fly like I'm a fighter pilot!) :yes: