Written by: zxs a.k.a. -oklok
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Help on use and installation inside zip package.
Aiming PT's torpedoes:
The method of "constant bearing":
Make your PT's speed equal to that of a torpedo (39 mph; engine RPM =
23.5 unless there is wind; usually the wind is disabled in the online
arena, but check if it is, because the boat will float with the wind
like a balloon would). Allow a few seconds for your speed to
stabilise; every maneuver, however slight, drains some speed too,
and the boat will rock side to side for a few seconds after the turn,
so you will have to wait for some short time after every maneuver
before you continue aiming; further on, if there is wind, you have to
adjust the RPM after any and every course adjustment.
Find the approach course with which the bearing to your selected target
is not changing, that is, find the collision course for the
torpedo. Launch your torpedoes when within range (see advice on range
finding). That's it, basically.
Details (PT's only):
With long distance aiming, put your mouse cursor or aim your guns at
the target and check if it drifts across the screen in any direction.
Turn into the direction of drift. Allow 5 seconds for your boat to
stabilise. Check again. Continue until the drifting stops. With
practice, you can find the right course in about 5 such turns or less.
At the medium range, as the distance is closing, you can watch the
target grow at both ends, pixel by pixel, in the opposite directions,
meaning your boat (or your torpedo) is going to collide with it; drop
your torpedo, and it will.
The mouse cursor is a good aiming device but you may want to aim from
the gunner position to be able to look around sometimes without losing
your aim.
Aiming PT torpedoes at particular types of ships:
CV:
It is a big target so you can get a good torpedo solution from far
away. It is so huge you can even aim a particular point of its hull (or
aim its superstructure) from 5000 yards away, or get a torpedo solution
very quickly when the range is short.
CA:
It is a bit harder to hit, yet its distinctive funnels become visible
from far away. The funnels are sloping backwards so you can always tell
if the target is drifting by watching the pixels at the funnels' edges.
DD:
It is, obviously, the most difficult target to hit, so you may have to
come within 3000 yards, when its sloping mast becomes visible with the
maximum zoom-in. Watch the pixels run up or down the mast to find out
if it is drifting to the bow or to the stern, respectively.
Turn into the direction of drift until the target is stable enough.
Be careful not to come within about 1600 yards of your target, or some
other ship in the fleet, as you will be shot at. After the DD's mast
has become visible (3000 yards), you have no more than 1 minute left to
aim, launch your torpedoes and turn away, or even less than 1 minute
(sometimes considerably), depending on the approach course.
In some terrains, DD is the fleet's main ship, so you absolutely have
to be able to hit it for sure. Once you have acquired that skill,
however, hitting a CV or a cruiser is a piece of cake.
1.
Align your plane's heading with the target's heading flying towards or
away from it (view the ship's wakes if you are within 8000 yards from
them: they should be pointing directly at you). Switch the
autopilot-level on. Look at the compass. Your heading is the same or
180 degrees opposite of the target's heading.
2. Fly across the target's course. The ship's hull (or wake)
should be pointed directly at you while the ship is shifting through
the screen's center if you manage to bring your course to 90 degrees
angle-on-bow of the target's course (also, you can put the mouse cursor
at the screen's center for additional reference and use the zoom-in for
increased visibility and accuracy). Switch the autopilot-level on. Look
at the compass. You are on the attack course. To get the target's
course, add (or subtract) 90 degrees to (or from) your heading.
^^^^^^^^^
note#1: If you are quite familiar with the particular fleet's formation
(through offline preparation), you can sometimes determine its course
with sufficient accuracy (for immediate attack) by observing it from
the beam, i.e. from 90 degrees off its starboard or portside.
It is even possible sometimes to predict which course it is turning into by watching the periferal ships' evolutions.
note#2: Determining the target's course is easier, in fact, if you are
low. Besides, flying "below the radar" reduces the chance of alerting
your enemy.
note#3: You do not need to take those direction figures (like "90
degrees"), literally: you could be better off when thinking of
directions in terms of the "recommended code" (see picture below)
because that is how the directions are represented in the round compass
(e.g. 90 degrees = 3 numbered sectors of the round compass >> 1
numbered sector of the round compass = 30 degrees = 5 round compass
marks >> 1 round compass mark = 6 degrees). Furthermore, if you
choose to advise you squadmates on the target's heading, using the
recommended code can spare you the necessity of calculating the true
azimuth in digits with your mates converting them back into the round
compass representation. Less figures - less errors.
I
suggest everybody only uses the round compass (the one with the
red-pointed arrow) to avoid confusion as the "tape" flat compass
repeater has a different grading (a mark is worth 5.5 degrees vs. 6
degrees in the round compass) and is often altogether illegible. Be
wary, however, that the round compass is not perfect either, as the
actual axis of the compass arrow is offset from the center of the dial
in some planes (not all), thus producing an error of as much as about 3
degrees when your heading is N-W or S-E; it does not matter much if you
are attacking a CV, but it may be enough to give you a miss by half a
hull's length when attacking a destroyer in a TBM from the long range.
In such cases, the flat repeater compass can be handy to make up for
the error, as it does have clearly visible marks for cardinal
directions.
^^^^^^^^^
When the target's course and your relative position to it are known,
decide upon which board of the target you are going to attack, and put
the mouse cursor at the respective spot (using the picture below or
cockpit art: see "some tricks" below).
Now you are (almost) ready to start your attack run in one of the ways described below.
Why "almost"?
Well, there still is one issue you must not fail to consider whichever way of attack you choose: it is the altitude of drop.
It takes a torpedo some time to reach water after you drop it. In the
meantime, it travels at your plane's speed, not at its own speed (39 or
47 mph). Torpedo reaches water almost immediately (1.5 seconds) after
drop when your altitude is very low (50 feet), whereas this span is
about 3 seconds when dropping from the altitude of 200 feet (minimum
alt for wingies in a formation). Further on, it is 4 seconds @300feet,
5 seconds @400feet and as long as 7.5 seconds @900feet (TBM torpedoes'
max practical safe drop).
Why is it important? Because the CV's arc length is about 6 degrees
from ~2000 yards away (minimum safe drop distance), with that number
for the destroyer being twice as small, and the bearing to the target
is changing as fast as 1 degree/second.
So, if you are too high or late on the trigger, or do not compensate
for that time span by dropping before the desired bearing is achieved,
your torpedo may pass before the target's bow, especially if your
target is a destroyer.
Take that into consideration while aiming.
Now start making your approach.
Here are four methods of doing it:
1. "Aim in advance":
This method can be used with any type of torpedo bomber/torpedo.
This method can be used when you know the target's course in advance.
If you can get ahead of the target off its side, do so, then go at the
attack course towards your target while still far away from it(attack
course=target's course + or - 90 degrees). Wait till the cursor aligns
with the target: you have now found the correct angle of attack (36 or
41 degrees, depending on your plane>>type of your torpedoes), but
the range is still too far. Now turn into the target and steer towards
a point about 5 or 10 degrees of arc off its bow; in other words, head
almost directly at the target but for 5 or 10 degrees towards the
direction it is going (this way, the cursor is somewhere near the
target's tail when in the maximum pilot's zoom-in). With your speed
around 200 mph, you will notice the bearing to your target stays the
same: in a way, it is a "collision course"; this way, you are closing
the range to the target while retaining the angle of attack (36 or 41
degrees). As you are approaching the target, bring your flight
parameters within the drop limits: speed (TAS)<~190mph,
preferably<180mph; alt<~400ft, recommended=200ft or 130 ft, when
in a formation, or ~50 ft when in a single bomber, and check what your
wingies are doing. Look around for enemy's fighters near you or PT's in
your flight path, just in case. Prepare to drop.
When in a Ju-88/Ki-67/B5N (fast/short range torpedoes), you are within
the torpedo range as soon as you see the first tracers from the nearest
destroyer (firing at you). When in a TBM (slow/long range torpedo), you
acquire the range a lot earlier (see "Range finding" and "some figures"
parts below). When within range, turn towards the target's bow (firmly
but smoothly, when in a formation) until the cursor aligns with the
tail part of the target's hull or just behind the superstructure (no
zoom view).
After the drop, turn away as tightly as you can (the shortest way out
of acks is towards the target's bow). You can not keep your sluggish
wingies from flying quite close to the escorts, but changing your
altitude a bit above and below 200 feet will make them change their
altitude as well while staying fast. With luck, they can escape with
little or no damage. Make sure you do not lose them altogether in the
egress, though.
As soon as the immediate danger from automatic acks is over, and if
situation permits, you can go to a gunner's position or outside view to
watch your fish go.
"Aim in advance" is my preferred choice when attacking by visual
reference, too, if I have done the offline preparation for attacking
the particular type of fleet.
E.g., if I am flying a Ju-88, Ki-67 or B5N, and my target is the small
CV fleet (the most common in AH: 1 CV, 1 CA, 4 DD's), I maneuver quite
far from the target until I reach the relative position when the fleet
looks as in leftmost picture below or middle picture below (the closest
forward destroyer aligns in view with the furthest rear one), then turn
into the target fleet etc.etc., as described above. When in a TBM, the
fleet should look as in rightmost picture below at the desired angle.
There
is a big advantage in this method as you approach your target along the
shortest route possible, and attack immediately, leaving your enemy
very little time to react. 15 seconds after those in the ships see your
icon (3.6 Kyards away) your torpedoes are in the water. Unless your
enemy knows enough to make a hasty use of that ships control panel to
turn the fleet, count till 100, and its all over.
2. "Right angles approach" for fast/short-range torpedoes:
This method was primarily designed for practice (and preparation)
attacks with torpedo bombers carrying fast/short-range torpedoes
(Ju-88; Ki-67; B5N), especially for those 2 types that fly in
formations.
This method can be used when you are not attacking by visual reference,
and do not know the target's course beforehand. That is, you use it
when you can not "aim in advance" or "aim by visual reference" for some
reason, like when you have to approach your target from the stern and
attack it ASAP, or when you have to attack an unfamiliar or decimated
fleet or a single ship (that can not be "visually referenced").
>See
picture above for variants of approach. All of them are especially
intended for use with formations of bombers, when you can not turn
tightly. As you may notice, those patterns have something in common
with the landing pattern of an airport. Pay attention to the 30-seconds
"crosswind" section: you cross the target's course behind its stern or
well ahead of its bow (you can determine your target's course and your
attack course that way). After you have crossed the target's course
line, keep moving on for 30 seconds at ~200mph (you will cover about
3000 yards) then turn along the target's course, keeping your wingies
with you as you turn. This will give you sufficient space to turn the
whole formation into the attack course, later on, without getting too
close to the target's acks. Inspect the screenshots of the artificial
horizon and VSI in Approach patterns picture above. If you follow the
pattern "by the book" (turn as indicated, and at the correct spots, as
well as keep the recommended speed), it will bring you into the attack
course after the last turn, with a few seconds to make the last
hdg/alt/speed/aiming check before you drop.
The "Right angles" pattern was designed for turning at the 30-degree
bank without using the rudder for the following reasons: firstly, you
can be sure your wingies stay with you if you turn that way; secondly,
you have some edge to press your turn a bit tighter with your wingies
still staying with you, to correct for some minor mistakes in your
dead-reckoning; lastly, such turn is easy to perform with only slight
control inputs (some practice is recommended, though, so that you can
do it automatically without looking at the gauges). Furthermore, if the
co-ordinated attack tactics is to be developed (some day, sooner or
later), the participants can advise each other on their positions
relative to the target using the exact and clear pattern terms (just
like the airport controller does when managing the air traffic). So,
rather than describing his current position and probably confusing his
team-mates, a player can use some clear definitions like "I'm (in)..."
+ "...forward/rear crosswind to port/starboard",
"...port/starboard/center upwind/downwind", "...port/starboard base",
"...direct approach into port/starboard", "...attack run", "evading",
"going around" etc. See picture below. I see it (or some similar code)
as absolutely essential to achieve the perfect timing of a co-ordinated
attack.
Finding
the correct spot to start turning into the attack course (turn A as in
Approach patterns picture is the most important issue during your
approach. You find that spot by observing the relative bearing to your
selected target (A relative bearing to the target is the angle between
your own course and the visual bearing to the target).
If the "30-seconds" "crosswind" section of the pattern has been done
properly, I use the following "rule of the thumb" (see belowfor
illustration):
When
coming to the target from the stern (turn A from upwind: see above),
start a smooth turn into the attack course (towards the target) as soon
as you see the target at the relative bearing of 90+10=100 degrees; in
other words, you look at the target using the right or left view,
respectively, and you start the turn A shortly after you have ovetaken
the target, i.e. shortly after the target has passed through the screen
center.
When coming to the target from the bow (turn A from downwind: start a
smooth turn into the attack course (towards the target) as soon as you
see the target at the relative bearing of 90-40=50 degrees; in other
words, you look at the target using the right or left view,
respectively, and you start the turn A as soon as the target is between
the 36 degrees mark for the respective board (where you have put the
cursor prior to attack) and the edge of the screen.
Be advised that the screen covers an arc of 90 degrees (45 from the
center to either side) without zoom, and 30 degrees (15 from the center
to either side) in the maximum pilot's zoom-in view (make yourself
familiar with the bearings scale in below to get the "feel" of how wide
your field of view is at various zoom levels); so, 10 degrees
off-center will be about 2/3 of the screen in the maximum pilot's
zoom-in.
The
method #2 has a big downside to it, and that is tactical: you have to
spend quite a lot of time near your target (up to 3 or 4 minutes)
within a relatively close range to it (~4000 yards or so). That is why
I recommend you use it primarily for practice attacks offline (to
practice flying a formation of bombers at tree-top level and getting
visual ranges to the target, as well as to prepare those "visual
reference" attacks). Online, it is only good for attacking
destroyers/cruisers fleets or single ships in unfamiliar terrains.
If the CV is present, you are very likely to stir a wasps' nest, if you
haven't already; besides, you allow the enemy enough time to comprehend
the danger and prepare to turn the fleet. Further on, if the enemy
fleet has started making some sharp evasive turns, its speed increases
(up to a maximum of 41 mph immediately after a 180-degree turn, then
gradually decreasing back to its normal 34 mph during some 5-7
minutes); the attacker will have to bring respective adjustments into
his aiming. Then, the range of 4000 yards (or even 6000 yards, for that
matter) is not safe if the fleet has a decent shooter at the controls
of that automatic-proximity fuse 5 inch machine-gun; the presence of
enemy's fighters and lack of escort can make this method altogether
impossible.
Generally, a well-defended alerted CV fleet makes quite a difficult
target for a single bomber, or, for that matter, for a number of
uncoordinated single bombers. What makes it even more difficult is the
fact that, with the current pretty short target recovery time, you have
to deliver 3 torpedo hits on the fleet's main ship within 15 minutes or
so, in order to kill it.
Tactics of a co-ordinated covered torpedo attack to overcome even the
strongest defence still has to be developed for AH use. For now, most
you normally achieve is disrupt the enemy's attack and frighten the CV
away from your own airfield, or make it turn in place.
Fortunately, the tactics of a stealth attack and delivering a decisive
3-torpedo blow to a "visually referenced" target before you alert your
enemy, combined with the "aim in advance" tactics, brings much better
result, if you can find that fleet early enough.
3. "Right angles" approach for long range torpedoes:
This method was designed for use with torpedo bombers carrying
slow/long range torpedoes (AH currently has only one, namely, TBM).
It is a more "liberal" variation of the "Right angles" approach
described in item 2 above. It is "more liberal" in the sense that a)
the TBM is not a "formation" bomber (currently), so you can turn as
tightly as you choose, if you need to, without fear of wasting your
wingies, and b) the TBM carries a long-range torpedo, so you may never
come into the automatic acks firing range (1600 yards), or not even
into the icon visibility range (3600 yards for the low-flying aircraft)
from your target.
Follow the pattern and the procedure described in section "2" above,
except that you can extend the "crosswind" section of the pattern up to
40 seconds or a bit more (~4000 yards) to take advantage of TBM's
torpedoes' longer range, with your dropping angle being 41 degrees
instead of 36. Extending the "crosswind" section will take you extra 20
seconds (10 there and 10 back) or more but, in return, it will also
make you safer from fleet's 127mm human acks and may prevent enemy's
gunners from seeing your icon altogether.
Alternatively, you can modify the "Right angles" pattern in the following way:
As the TBM is not a formation bomber, you can make your turns much tighter than what is described above, so:
When
in the "upwind" section (i.e. coming from the stern), start a tight
turn into the attack course when the target is at the relative bearing
of 90+41-10=~120 degrees of the relative board; in other words, you go
at the course parallel to the target's course, look at the target
(right of left view), and turn 90 degrees into the target (into the
attack course) as soon as the target is at the relative bearing of 10
degrees of arc closer to the screen center than the 41* aiming reticle
(its about twice the distance from the 41* reticle to the screen edge).
When in the "downwind" section (i.e. coming from the bow), start a
tight turn into the attack course when the target is at the relative
bearing of 90-41=~50 degrees of the relative board; in other words, you
go at the course opposite to the target's course, look at the target
(right of left view), and turn 90 degrees into the target (into the
attack course) as soon as the target is aligned with the 41* aiming
reticle.
The rest is as per section "2" above.
One more thing to take advantage of in a TBM: as you do not have
wingies, you can make your drop from a very low altitude (50 feet or
even less). Remember: the lower you are, the smaller adjustment you
have to make for the time it takes the torpedo to reach water; hence,
the better accuracy you get.
Some advantages of the method: If you are attacking alone in a TBM, and
there are no enemy fighters nearby, the long-range very-low-altitude
attack gives you a good chance of hitting and escaping as you have both
good accuracy and stealth: the fleet's gunners never see your icon when
you are low and far away; they may never realise a drop has been made.
4. The "Dagger" attack in a TBM.
It is designed for TBM's only (as the title implies).
This method is rather an exercise in prowess than a practical tactic
(at least when you are the only attacker), as the long range extremely
low-altitude drop described in item 3 above gives you about 90%
accuracy and is a lot safer, because the fleet gunners may never see
your icon at all.
This method is intended to take advantage of the TBM's torpedoes'
ability to be dropped from the altitude of <1000 feet and arm
successfully with water impact speed of <250 mph; these generous
limits let you toss that fish so it reaches water really close to the
target.
With this method of attack, it is crucial that you follow the pattern
precisely as described below (check it against the yellow pattern line
in Approach patterns): 30-seconds "crosswind" section of the pattern;
turn into the "upwind or "downwind" section (turn B) at 30 degrees of
banking without using the rudder; then, if you are approaching from the
stern (from the "upwind"), turn into the attack course (turn A) when
the relative visual bearing to the target is about 92 degrees, i.e. you
keep your heading parallel to the target's, look at the target (look
left or right), and start the turn A when the target has just passed
through the center of the screen; or, if you are approaching from the
bow (from the "downwind"), turn into the attack course (turn A) when
the relative visual bearing to the target is about 51 degree, i.e. you
keep your heading 180 degrees opposite to the target's, look at the
target (left or right), and start the turn A when you see the target
between the cursor (that you have previously put at the aiming mark of
~33 degrees of the respective board for the "dagger" attack) and the
edge of the screen; the altitude of drop is 900 feet and the speed of
drop is 200 mph (in level flight). When in the attack run, drop as soon
as the TBM "dagger" reticle (=your cursor on the screen) aligns with
the midships of the target. You should see your target has just started
firing the automatic acks at you at that moment. As the torpedo covers
a significant portion of the distance to the target before reaching
water (i.e. flying at 200 mph), it is essential that the drop is made
from the particular distance (in contrast with other methods of
attack), that is why following the pattern is essential. Offline
practice is recommended so you are about as perfect as can be in
following the pattern; it can also help you learn to "see" and "feel"
the range to the target so you can exercise that attack without using
the pattern (be warned: it may take hours to hone that method to
perfection).
The advantages of this method (from offline experience) are: the
escorts' automatic acks' accuracy does not seem to be good enough to
achieve any hits on you during the attack (the issue of "bad luck"
discarded here). After the drop, you have a wider altitude margin for
evasion, e.g. you can make a half-split-S to change your heading
sharply. The other advantage is that your torpedo flies towards the
target for 7.5 seconds from that altitude, covering >700 yards in
the meantime. It takes the torpedo less than a minute (about 52-54
seconds, to be precise) to cover the remaining 1000 yards, allowing the
enemy even less time to turn the fleet away than if you were attacking
with the fast torpedoes dropped low at the range of about 1600 yards.
Anticipated online tactical limitations: unless you make a zoom climb
to 900 feet of altitude from "below the radar" altitude just prior to
attack (after the turn B), it is very likely that enemy's fleet gunners
have traced your radar dot and are getting ready to shoot at you as you
approach. Probably it is easy to aim a 127mm AA proximity-fuse cannon
at a single target ~2000 yards away moving at the altitude of 900 feet
and at 200 mph not directly at you. Or, may be not. This leaves to be
investigated.
Generally, as for now, I suppose this method can be utilised for a
co-ordinated attack to restrict the target's maneuverability and
distract the fleet gunners' attention from the low altitude attackers.
With
the maximum pilot's zoom-in, the CV's visual representation turns from
the low-resolution to the high-resolution model at the range of 4800
yards, and the CA and DD turn to the hi-resolution model at the range
of 3000 yards. This fact can especially be used to your advantage when
aiming the rockets (see "Aiming PT's rockets" below)
With the maximum pilot's zoom-in, CV's overhanging deck becomes visible
from time to time starting at the range of ~6100 yards. If you are in a
PT and your attack course is 90 degrees angle-on-bow of the target
(i.e. your attack course is perpendicular to the target's course),
seeing the overhanging deck of a CV means you are almost within the PT
torpedoes' range: you may drop in a few seconds, if situation is
urgent; if your aim is good, expect a hit in a bit less than about 4
minutes (PT torpedoes' maximum travel time).
When in a bomber with the fast torpedoes (Ju-88, Ki-67, B5N):
as soon as you see the first tracers from the closest escort (firing at
you), you are within your torpedoes' range of the fleet's center.
(See also the "tricks" part of this text for advice on "extending" the torpedo range)
When in a TBM (slow torpedoes) bomber, you can attack from the longer
range. This gives you some time to observe your target and estimate the
range.
The ships' wakes become visible from about 8000 yards away.
1.
If your target is a CA or DD, use the right-hand scale (zoom default)
and prepare your aim (at 3000 yards) in advance. To do that, first put
the mouse cursor at the 3000defaultzoom-4800nozoom line at the zero
bearing; alternatively (and more simply), with zoom off, bring out the
clipboard (esc key) and put the cursor at the spot shown in picture
right. . Make sure you do not move the cursor any more after that. Hide
the clipboard. To Aim (at 3000 yards), turn zoom on and make it default
(check "setup/keyboard mapping" for the respective keys), then elevate
your rockets till the cursor touches the horizon from below. Your
aiming is ready. Make sure you do not change your aim elevation any
more until your rockets are launched; you can move the cursor now, but
I suggest you keep it in place, just in case anything goes wrong and
you have to aim again. Now steer towards your target somewhat
ahead of it (by about a hull's visible length or less from the midships
to allow for the rockets' travel time of 9 seconds and the minimum
duration of the full salvo of 4 seconds; make the duration minimum by
typing ".delay=0.05"). As soon as you are on the attack course, open
the bay doors, hit the free-view key (check "setup/keyboard mapping" in
the AcesHigh clipboard for the particular key), bring the horizon to
the center of the screen by adjusting your view uo and down (do not
move your joystick up or down!), and increase the zoom to the
maximum-in.
There
is no need for you to switch into the "Torpedoes" map every time you
aim. Instead, adjust your pilot's seat so the aiming marks (36 or 41 or
0 degree, or whichever) are against some noticeable spots in the
cockpit art, and memorise those spots. It does not necessarily have to
be the forward view. Any other view (down, forward down, forward up, up
etc.) may contain some good reference marks you can put your mouse
cursor at prior to attack. E.g. the PT's pilot's dashboard view
(forward down) can be adjusted so it provides some good 41 and 0 degree
marks for aiming; with the aiming device properly calibrated, the
4.8K-3K rocket-aiming point is against the clipboard spot shown in
Aiming by clipboard, when the clipboard is viewed with zoom off; the
gunner's reticle's center is exactly 0 degrees (center of screen); and
so on.
In planes, it is worthwhile to have those reference points in as many
views as possible as during dusk hours some of the views can be too
dark to see. Use the "move up/down/left/right" and "save the head
position" keys to adjust your pilot's seat in the respective view.
Additionally, you can improve your out-of-cockpit visibility (sometimes
significantly) by doing so, which holds true for any plane/vehicle you
use (note: make your PzIV/Ostwind driver's head stick out of the hatch
permanently by using this technique). The "move up/down/left/right"
keys can often be used in-flight to clear some blind spots in the
cockpit, e.g. during banking while approaching the target.
A General advice is to learn to use your windows control panel/video
card properties to raise the D3D gamma (brightness) so you do not lose
your vision during dusk or night hours. With many video cards
(including my current RIVA TNT2), there is a good reason you do it as
many D3D applications are normally too dark (much darker than the
desktop).
If you are flying a formation of Ju-88 or Ki-67, the default formation
is the Vee, so your torpedoes will go in the Vee as well. However, this
can be changed in several ways:
1. The wingie drones will not go below some 200 feet of altitude, so if
your leading plane's altitude at the drop point is less than about 100
feet, the torpedoes will go in the inverted Vee, as your torpedo will
reach water earlier than those of your wingies'.
2. If your altitude is about 130 feet, the torpedoes will go in a straight front.
3. If you lower your gear prior to the attack, your wingies will form a
trail behind you, so the torpedoes will go one after another. Be sure
not to go too low or slow though, as one or both of your wingies may
choose to land (on water) instead of following you. Also, watch that
you do not damage your landing gear, as well as those of your wingies,
by going too fast (when flying the Ki-67, especially).
4. If you order your wingies to change a Vee for a trail (by hitting
geardown) or vice versa (by hitting gearup) and drop some 1-1.5-2
seconds after that, while your wingies are still changing formation,
your torpedoes will spray slightly.
5. If your formation is a trail (the gear is down) and you are turning,
the torpedoes will have a moderate spray outside your turn. If you are
turning into the target, and your aim and timing are perfect, the
torpedoes will hit the same point of one ship one after another.
Take the habit of checking if your wingies have formed on you before
you drop as they will go outside some tight turns. When they lag
behind, they run full throttle to catch up with you thus travelling
faster than 200mph so their torpedoes may not arm or they may damage
their landing gear if the formation is trail. When I am flying a
formation, and need to turn, I bank 30 degrees (viewing the artificial
horizon) and keep the VSI (vertical speed indicator) at zero. This way,
the wingies stay with me in a turn.
There is a way to "extend" the effective torpedo range:
When in a Ju-88, Ki-67 or B5:
The absolute limits of a torpedo drop for the fast/short range
torpedoes seem to be as follows: 1. A torpedo will fail if dropped from
an altitude of 460 feet or above. 2. A torpedo will fail if it is
travelling at a speed of 200 mph or above when it reaches water.
So, if you drop from the altitude of 400 feet at the speed of 175 mph
(TAS), the torpedo will arm normally. It takes a torpedo about 5
seconds to reach water from the altitude of 400 feet, during which time
it travels at the plane's speed. Meanwhile, it will cover about 420
yards. That makes the fast torpedo's range 2300+420=2720 yards, and you
may already be turning away from the target at that radius from it when
your torpedo reaches water. That will give you better chance of
bringing both your sluggish wingies home undamaged. Naturally, you have
to adjust your aim accordingly, i.e. drop 5 seconds before the desired
bearing to the target (36 degrees) is achieved, or aim at the target's
stern or behind it. The downside of this method is that you have to
drop shortly before you are going to see the first tracers, so you must
be good at guessing ranges.
When in a TBM:
The absolute limits of a torpedo drop for the slow/long range torpedoes
seem to be as follows: 1. A torpedo will fail if dropped from an
altitude of 1000 feet or above. 2. A torpedo will fail if it is
travelling at a speed of 250mph or above when it reaches water.
So, if you drop from the altitude of 900 feet at the speed of 200mph
(TAS), your torpedo will arm normally. It takes a torpedo about 7.5
seconds to reach water from the altitude of 900 feet. During this time
the torpedo is travelling at the plane's speed so it will cover >700
yards. As the TBM's torpedo already has a range of 4500 yards, I do not
think there is any need to extend that range even more. Instead, this
trick is best used when making a co-ordinated attack on a defended and
maneuvering target from the short range (see "TBM dagger attack"
section in "Air attacks" above). If you drop when you see the first
tracers from the automatic acks, your torpedo will reach water about
1000 yards from the target, and will impact within 60 seconds, leaving
your enemy very little time to start turning and evade the hit.
You do not need to "extend" the range of a TBM torpedo when dropping
from a long distance as automatic acks are not a problem that way.
Rather, drop from the lowest altitude possible but achieve good
accuracy instead. There is a big advantage to a max-range low-altitude
TBM attack: enemy fleet gunners (and, probably, fighters) never see
your icon so they are only alerted by an incoming torpedo, if they can
spot it in time.
It is possible to hit a ship with air torpedoes head-on (use the trail
formation) but the accuracy of such an attack is usually lower than
that of the cross-course method, so I would not recommend you do that
unless you can not attack in the regular way for some reason.
It is absolutely useless to drop your torpedoes at the target from
stern as the fast torpedoes will only close the distance to the target
by about 900 yards when in tailchase, and the slow ones even less so.
It is a good idea to do some "recon" of the terrain offline prior to
going to the online arena. Find the fleets' spawn points, their ports'
allocations, probable routes, distances and headings, passable straits
etc. I would also strongly recommend finding out which is the main ship
of each fleet (the one you have to kill for the fleet to go back to its
port). The main ship is the one you find yourself in when moving into
that fleet by clicking its icon in the clipboard map. Also, (as I have
said before) a reasonable piece of preparation is making a practice
attack offline against the main ship of some unconventional types of
fleet (e.g. a fleet of 8 DD's in a circle), taking a snapshot of the
target fleet as seen from the drop point and inspecting it closely to
find some clear visual reference for aiming. You can also take a
snapshot of the target from directly above to get the general idea of
its formation. See Small CV 36 degrees view and Small CV 36 degrees chart as
an example. This will help you to be ready to attack any moment without
finding the target's course and calculating the attack course.
Personally, I always attack the small CV fleet by visual reference now.
^^^^^^^^^
A note on determining the target's speed:
Currently, in AH, you know the target's speed exactly most of the time.
I consider this indents into the realism, as the real-life attackers
could never be sure about that essential bit of data while attacking
fast targets. This very uncertainty, in my opinion, prevented the
British Swordfish torpedo bombers from hitting the German
battlecruisers during the "channel dash" in February, 1942.
To make torpedo attacks 100% realistic (in terms of the attack data), a
method must be developed to determine the target's speed with enough
accuracy by visual observations from the air. The accuracy required
should be within 2-3mph. I have not yet been able to think of any
usable way to achieve that. I still wonder if it is altogether possible
in the game. So, if someone can work out such a method, I would greatly
appreciate being advised upon that.
Fun:
Since I started working out torpedo tactics I find fighter
missions...well..boring:-) There's nothing as dynamic and thrilling
(and useful for your country) as a successful torpedo attack, as you
take the whole mobile enemy field away.
In a level bomber, you can achieve something that big, but only when
you do something really strategic, like taking out enemy's HQ.
There is no way you can be that useful in a fighter.
After all, air force is there for moving mud and fighter arm is only a defensive appendix to it.
One more important thing: flying, navigating and aiming in a low-level bomber is good flight/3D-thinking practice.
31 January 2004
Author: zxs a.k.a. -oklok
zxs (Aces High, rooks)
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Viimeksi muokattu: 2004-02-21 18:41
