Title: Pacific Fighters: Moving Mud: Guide to Ground Pounding By: Greg 'Geg' Thomas Date: 2005-04-01 1812 Flashback:Orig. Multipage Version Hard Copy:Printer Friendly
Geg's Guide To Ground Pounding: Salute all! I've put this little "how-to" together to share the way I move mud in the IL-2 Sturmovik / Forgotten Battles / Aces Expansion Pack / Pacific Fighters series of WWII combat flight simulator games. It's not exactly "the right way" and some of it, most likely, is covered by other guides or manuals. This is what I've cobbled together to form the way I bust up ground targets.
So why listen to me? Well, I love to move mud, just ask any member of the VMF-124 virtual squadron who I fly with. They might also mention me hitting some friendly armour. Yes, true, I did. Also a few weeks later I accidentally blew up Savage from 105sqn with some rockets on an airfield strafe after hitting some of our own tanks, again. But it wouldn't have been friendly fire if I missed, right? ;)
So, let us start...
Strafing: MG's & Cannons: Depending on your target, you might prefer to use your guns rather than bombs and rockets especially if harder targets are about (i.e., armour).
Cars and trucks are easy to light up with your machine guns. Doing a quick strafe through a column also might give you better indication to where the armour is.
Coming in on an angle: Though I usually try to come in with the column straight up and down so it would be easier to get a shot at them all, sometimes you might have to come in from an angle.
Start with the closest car or truck to you. Judging distances at first can be difficult, but with practice you'll just get to know what feels "right". Now roll over slightly and gently pull the stick up. This way you'll be able to hit a few from side-on rather than just the one target. Alternatively, use your rudder to go from left to right at multiple targets.
Below is going "straight through" on an angle at a convoy. Luckily enough it was doubled up so I managed to get two vehicles instead of just one if it had been a straight line.
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But if I go in as I described, slightly rolling to the right and pulling up, I can hit more than one:
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So what about cannons and those harder targets? Well, I'm glad I pretended that someone was asking. For armour I prefer coming in on an angle as shown above. However spraying over a few won't take them out as they're a tougher nut to crack than softer targets that'll explode with just a few bursts.
Tanks will have stronger armour all around the tank. Stronger too at the front than at the back. To me, going directly at the back of the tank is a smaller target; I prefer side on.
Aim just at the front of the tank and straight up if it's moving:
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Start shooting and he'll drive into it. Same principle as deflection shooting.
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As you get closer and he keeps driving, your shells will strike from front to back on his tank:
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Coming in from their 5-, 6-, or 7-o'clock: Probably the easiest and best way to strafe. Sight the column, start firing towards the middle, dip the nose down to get to the guys at the end and then pull up slightly to strafe back upwards, trying to hit them all. The trucks and cars should go up easy thus causing maximum damage.
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Rockets and Bombs: Mmm, Corsair armed to the teeth:
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To me the most effective way to get rid of a single tank is with armor-piercing rockets. Just one shot should be enough. Personally, I like to get as low as I can get, almost horizontal with the target. Kind of the same principle as deflection shooting this one. Once again, coming in from an angle, this time more side-on:
Pick your target; that tank at the end of the column, for instance:
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As with cannons, you want to aim just at the nose of a moving tank from "just the right distance". Once again it's more about practice and knowing when it's right. Use the force, Luke...
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Ba-whooom! He's exploded...
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With this one we're coming more head-on. But we also have a chance to hit more than just one target. With rocket convergence I should be able to get so close that the starboard (right side) rocket will hit the tank, while the port (left side) rocket flies into the group of trucks.
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One tank, one truck and one staff car. Not a bad score for a couple of rockets aimed mainly at the tank.
Hitting a group of armour and letting fly with all rockets: Sometimes you may have to dump your loadout quickly if bandits are sighted. Hell! you might even be lining up a shot. So, continue the shot right? But fire all of the rockets. You may just do this to try and take them out in one hit if you've got to take them out right-then-and-there due to the fact they may be threatening some of your ground units. Make sure these aren't YOUR ground units. I learned this the hard way...
So, we go after the lead tank. They're in a diamond formation. The first rockets were fired fairly far out and should converge right on the top of the leader.
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Firing the rest, you can see the first rockets converging in on the lead tank. The second should also hit just behind him.
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And the rest! Getting closer means the rockets won't have a chance to converge and so hitting more tanks could be in the cards.
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Got three of the tanks. It's ok...we can get the last one with cannons. Go back up the page and see how it's done. ;)
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Bombing: I've found bombing from a height very inaccurate. Perhaps I should study it more. Or learn how to dive-bomb. But they just don't feel "right" to me....I like to be low when those bombs drop.
So how low, how fast and when EXACTLY should those bombs be whizzing their way down to the poor chaps below?
Well, I can't answer all those. I never pay attention to my height or speed when bombing. Not a very good habit, I know, but once again it's all about practice and feeling when it's "right" to drop those bombs. Maybe these pictures will shed some light.
I usually like to get the intended target area just on the tip of my nose when I drop.
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And they landed just in front of the target truck! Woo hoo!
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Now, just a quick touch on bomb delay time. Bomb delay, in seconds, is the amount of time you want to pass from the moment your bomb hits the ground or target to the moment of detonation. Your bomb delay can be set when you pick your ordnance prior to the mission. I like to set it to 2.5 seconds. I find, given my affection for close-in, low altitude bombing attacts, that 2.5 seconds gives me enough time to get away from the destructive effects of the bomb's explosion. Drawback could be the targets are moving and move out of the way just in time. However this is very effective on stationary targets, like aircraft at a strip or buildings etc.
But you might notice I was dropping some 1000-pounders. Bigger bombs have more chance of wiping out a lot of targets if you miss. So what about those earlier model aircraft with those piddly load-outs? Well you just have to come in from the target's six o-clock. Line them up straight. You'll have more chance of hitting something.
P-40C...looks like a firecracker slung under there!
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Yes, anyway, coming in with a line of targets in front of you. Very simple:
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Once again, target on the nose:
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Just to show the distance and height:
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Right in the middle of that column!
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The target truck is just behind the tank:
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Not a big area of destruction, but still, destruction of enemy ground units:
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Ships, buildings and airfields: Sorry, no more pictures :(
Just simple explaination. For ships I use the skip-bombing technique. If you don't know what that is there is a planned article in the works on that subject as well as dive-bombing from altitude, so be patient young grasshopper :)
Buildings and airfields are very simple. Stationary objects on the field, like a row of aircraft, are best taken out with rockets. Aim for the middle and then dip the nose up and down as you fire, coming in with them all lined up in your gunsights, rather than sideways and only able to hit one unless you use rudder. Same goes for using bombs as hitting a convoy.
Well, I hope this helped you a little bit.
Ok well maybe one more picture.
"Get close, but not too close." ;)
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[Editor's Note: Having flown online with Geg for over a year, I can attest that this young man is an expert marksman who consistently racks up more air and ground target kills than the rest of the squad. Why is this remarkable? Because he doesn't own pedals or a twistable joystick to control his rudders. Yep, he uses just the "z" and "x" keys on his keyboard! Mind boggling, I know.]
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