Pe-8’s defensive gunners are nowhere near that far apart, and they have two turrets that can shoot in-line with your POV. So there’s no supposedly safe zone right there. This is also true for the B-29 and G8N.
.50cals are not useless by any stretch of the imagination lol. At least when I’m the one being shot at by .50s from a bomber, they have no issues whatsoever dispatching me with just a few hits. That P-47 didn’t get continuously shot at for four minutes straight, you got glancing hits on an evasive target flying a very durable aircraft.
At least you have your turrets, unlike many german bombers that are outright missing them.
It’s just an example image; I didn’t make it. The issue with convergence has been reported multiple times.
I’m surprised that you’re so skeptical about this topic. You should try the BV 238 someday.
It’s true that they aren’t that far apart, but to begin with, gun convergence shouldn’t be a thing when turrets are operated locally, with the sight right on the gun. Indeed, this has to be one of the biggest historically unfounded nerfs to bombers that has always been present.
Most of those hits were from long range while I kept my distance. It’s clear that the 12.7 mm isn’t effective when it goes solo, like a stray bullet with low energy. But we’re making a comparison, you know? In that case, if I had 20 mm cannons with latent explosive filler that don’t need a massive burst of ammo to work, it would have been a different story…
But with much fewer shots fired, there’s a chance you might not have hit at all.
I’m not a fan of overly large bombers. The Ju88s are probably my favorite bomber in the game, and I’ve not used many others that much. The He 177, Ki-49s, and Ki-67s I have played a bunch in Sim to spade them, and I’ve not had any issues with gunners there - in fact, IMO they were a little too effective there as often I could easily kill players before they could sight me in.
I think it would be a good idea if everyone spawned in at the same altitude and bombers got access to a squadron of bombers like in the single player campaigns.
Yes I really think there need to be another way to introduce bombers into general battles so that they’re both useful as bombers and not flying all by themselves into the battle. That goes for all modes.
Because that’s where bombers are most useful, where objectives and match length allow them to be relevant. Bombers in RB only truly work at low tier where enemies are too poorly armed or too slow to be big threats.
Also, flying is slightly more challenging and involved than pointing your mouse one way and letting the instructor do all the hard work.
I played them like… last month? I don’t need gunners to fire automatically when I can (and SHOULD) do it myself.
Sim is the best for bombing, hands down, it could be streamlined, like your bombardier knowing set target coordinates, and mark it on the map where it’s more visible from the bombardier sight.
We are still missing loads of bombers, the Handly Page Victor, Avro Vulcan, Tupelov 95 “Bear,” Tupelov 160 “blackjack,” the massive Convair B-36, and tons and tons more.
Flying the bomber and working the guns manually is just too much for a player to handle - especially when there is multiple fighters in the area that are attacking.
Fighters have such a huge advantage being much faster and more maneuverable - their targeting is already controlled by their path.
Bombers need something for sure as the planes at their BR climb too fast - interception BEFORE getting to base is inevitable if any fighter is not too lazy to climb. Once they climb there’s not much doubt about the outcome.
Being a stationary target isn’t going to matter if there are very few MGs that can fire at a tailsitter, of which every bomber I’ve ever played specifically has blindspots for most of the turrets directly behind the bomber.
It’s almost like bombers have different people doing different things in a bomber, just like in naval (fighters don’t).
B-29 Defensive Armament:
1 turret of 4x 12.7mm M2 (only AP, API, I, or API-T)
4 turrets of 2x 12.7mm M2 (only AP, API, I, or API-T)
G8N1 Defensive Armament:
3 turrets of 2x 20mm Type 99 Model 2 Mark 5 (HEF-T, HEF, APHE, FI, T)
1 turret of 1x 13mm Type 2 (AP, HE-I, I)
1 turret of 1x 13mm Type 2 (AP, HE-I, I)
Would you rather have the majority of your aircraft be covered by 2x 20mm cannons who get access to HE rounds, or the majority of your aircraft being covered by 2x 12.7mm with at best API? How about 2x 20mm with HE rounds at 6.0 BR or 2x 12.7mm with only AP rounds at 7.0 BR?
It’s not that far off (<50 km/h) light and medium bombers at the BR.
Exactly.
What type of even-more-paper-than-bombers fighter are you flying?
The B-29 can bring at most 4x 12.7mm M2 MGs with only AP rounds to bear on a tailsitter. That is BR 2.3 level armament. Actually, let’s compare the armament of the G8N1 to the B-29.
G8N1:
Tail - 4x 20mm (T, FI, APHE, HEF-T)
Maximum Side (assuming the top and bottom turrets can hit enemies if not blocked by the wing) - 4x 20mm (T, FI, APHE, HEF-T) + 1x 13mm (I, AP, HE-I)
3x of its turrets., 6x .50cals. Top ones can also attack backwards, if you’re banking a little or giving it some slip.
Man I wonder why the slower bomber with a fraction of the bombload is a lower BR
Again, bomber mains are delusional. Thinking 6x .50s does nothing when I just saw a Ki61 get obliterated by a P-61’s rear gunner (4x .50s) in seconds takes a special kind of mental problem.
