F7 Bomb Sight Views

[Bullethead]

The other day, Pol mentioned that some of the 2-seaters have a bombsight accessible via the F7 key. Today, I finally remembered to take a look at this. So I went into QC and hit F7 in every 2-seater. Here's what I discovered:

 

DFW

The only plane with anything useful here. F7 gives you a circular downwards view, just what you want for level bombing. It has no crosshairs, however, so aiming has to be guesstimated. I haven't played with this enough to learn whether this view just looks straight down or is angled out forward a bit. Either way, it's obviously only going to help within a certain band of altitudes, where a bomb's path will take it to something you can see in the view when you drop. The release point will vary depending on altitude within this band. It will require a lot of practice runs to get good with this, I can tell.

 

Strutter (both versions)

Instead of a bombsight, you go to a real map of the area around Lille. That might be useful for immersion and navigation, but doesn't help bombing at all.

 

FE2

This one's broken, I'm afraid. When you hit F7, you get a blank, dark gray square. No view of the ground, no map, no nothing except gray. It says "bomb sight view" at the top of the screen, so I get the impression it's supposed to work as in the DFW. Or maybe it was supposed not to have a bombsight but function wasn't disabled.

 

Others

F7 does nothing at all in any other 2-seater.

[Hasse Wind]

Kinda makes you miss the Norden bombsight, eh?

 

I had forgotten to use the sight in the Strutter, but if it's just a map, I guess I haven't missed anything terribly important. Though so far my bombing efforts have been so unsuccessful that I might as well try to aim using a map!

[Bullethead]

Kinda makes you miss the Norden bombsight, eh?

 

Naw, that was to complicated for me. Remember, I'm a paleolithic guy. I'd be fine with the DFW's, although crosshairs would have been a nice touch.

 

I've been poking through all the folders looking for the bombsight's texture so I can draw my own crosshairs on it, and maybe (if I get REALLY ambitious, which I highly doubt), draw aiming marks corresponding to certain speeds and altitudes. But it's moot anyway because I can't find the thing.

 

Though so far my bombing efforts have been so unsuccessful that I might as well try to aim using a map!

 

Yeah, I can't hit the broad side of a barn, and I've tried a few times in gliding attacks.

 

I tried level bombing once, from about 5000' in a Fee. I didn't even see the bursts

[wsmwsm]

In the Fe2, if you go to full view first, then F7, a full downward view appears. Again, no bombsite per se, so aiming is hit and miss. Mostly miss.

[Dej]

Thanks for the info, BH.

 

Strutter (both versions)

Instead of a bombsight, you go to a real map of the area around Lille. That might be useful for immersion and navigation, but doesn't help bombing at all.

 

I think the Strutter has bomb bay doors. I assume you had them open and weren't trying to use the bombsight with the lens cap on?

 

Could check myself of course but I'm too lazy.

[Bullethead]

Could check myself of course but I'm too lazy.

 

I am, too, so instead I looked at the Strutter's .xdp file which defines the crew stations. There's no bombardier view, just a map view, regardless of whether the lens cap is on or off (which I hadn't thought about).