Strategic bombing

[qqmagnuz]

I tried playing a somewhat historical game as the UK and focus on airplanes. Specifically strategic bombers -- and a lot of them. I had around 800 of them around 1941 with strategic bomber 3's due to tech bonus UK has. Whilst also having full doctrine of the strategic bombing air doctrine.

Despite having full air superiority over mainland Europe, including all of Germany, the strategic bombers did somewhat little damage. Despite me having 30 factories or so on them, and splitting them up over Germany. I bombed Germany uncontested for years and did about 20 damage per month.

Are strategic bombers too weak, or is there something I am missing?

 

[Zauberelefant]

Bombing can be countered by static AA, dispersed industry and affected by your Mission efficiency.
So you have 100% bombing efficiency? Do you shift bombers around?

 

[Poopfaust]

Do you shift bombers around?

Is this correct, you have to keep shifting around Strat Bombing manually?

 

[qqmagnuz]

Bombing can be countered by static AA, dispersed industry and affected by your Mission efficiency.
So you have 100% bombing efficiency? Do you shift bombers around?

He had only 2 AA in Eastern Germany. And he had 0 fighers everywhere. I had 200 bombers in each region of Germany with escort fighters. So yes 100 % efficiency.

 

[Zauberelefant]

Is this correct, you have to keep shifting around Strat Bombing manually?

No, you should not, because strategic bombing takes 2 weeks to get 100% Mission efficiency.

 

[Zauberelefant]

He had only 2 AA in Eastern Germany. And he had 0 fighers everywhere. I had 200 bombers in each region of Germany with escort fighters.

Only half the answer. Strat -3 used, correct? You did not shift bombers? What was your mission efficiency? How long did you bomb? 24/7, only daytime or only nighttime? your airfields were not overcrowded?
Screenshots would also massively help to get a better idea.

 

[BeauNiddle]

He had only 2 AA in Eastern Germany. And he had 0 fighers everywhere. I had 200 bombers in each region of Germany with escort fighters. So yes 100 % efficiency.

200 bombers in each region isn't a lot. The game gives free repair & it is very easy to get bombing defence (dispersed factories for example). If you mass your bombers and use the selective targeting to focus you should see better results.

@Secret Master has done tests on this - the bombing damage is an exponential style curve - lots of low damage results until you finally defeat the defences and then everything gets flattened quickly. But you need numbers to get through the (passive) defences & automatic repairs.

 

[Kryndude]

@Secret Master has done tests on this - the bombing damage is an exponential style curve - lots of low damage results until you finally defeat the defences and then everything gets flattened quickly. But you need numbers to get through the (passive) defences & automatic repairs.

Would love to see the results. What should I search to see the post you're mentioning?

 

[Riekopo]

Something I learned about Strat Bombers in this game. You can send a Bomber Wing on a mission and it might not actually do any noticeable damage. And the game doesn't tell you when that's happening. So you can just be wasting your expensive bombers and Fuel. Another example of lack of good feedback to the player.

Also, how many targets can a Bomber Wing actually target? If you select all of them will it actually work?

 

[Zauberelefant]

Something I learned about Strat Bombers in this game. You can send a Bomber Wing on a mission and it might not actually do any noticeable damage. And the game doesn't tell you when that's happening. So you can just be wasting your expensive bombers and Fuel. Another example of lack of good feedback to the player.

Also, how many targets can a Bomber Wing actually target? If you select all of them will it actually work?

Selecting all targets is the same as not selecting any.

 

[mursolini]

800 is still pretty low, even if you concentrate.
2k+ is where enemy will feel the hurt.

Then, there are several issues to keep in mind. You don`t destroy equipment stockpile, so Strat bombing will only slow down country`s production. There also is, as far as I understand damage reduction increase after you get past several destroyed factories in same state, so bombing one state to ground is hard, bombers will have to rotate eventually.

Since Germany has it`s allies also manning the front line, the sheer volume of damage UK can do via strats isn`t that great, unless you can have many thousands, at which point an invasion army is cheaper.

One good way to kick Germans would be to bomb Romanian oil, and maybe invade Iran|Iraq. That, is painful.

 

[Happy Trigger]

800 is still pretty low, even if you concentrate.
2k+ is where enemy will feel the hurt.

Then, there are several issues to keep in mind. You don`t destroy equipment stockpile, so Strat bombing will only slow down country`s production. There also is, as far as I understand damage reduction increase after you get past several destroyed factories in same state, so bombing one state to ground is hard, bombers will have to rotate eventually.

Since Germany has it`s allies also manning the front line, the sheer volume of damage UK can do via strats isn`t that great, unless you can have many thousands, at which point an invasion army is cheaper.

One good way to kick Germans would be to bomb Romanian oil, and maybe invade Iran|Iraq. That, is painful.

If you're planning to completely destroy the enemies industry, you'll need between 1000~2000 per air zone (the more, the better). But if you want to destroy infrastruture, airports and AA to make it easy to yours fighters and CASs, 1000 STRATs (or 1500~2000 TACs) are enough to that.

 

[Riekopo]

Selecting all targets is the same as not selecting any.

What does not selecting a target do then? Does it attack all things evenly? Does it do less damage to each target then? Game doesn't explain.

 

[dasaard200]

Use your STRATs in great numbers for EACH type of target; a wing of 500 for CFs, another wing of 500 for AA (if any) or WFs, wing 3 [500] hits synthetics, etc .
You can use the air-kill display to see who got what; OR tag " ` " the target's nation to see the actual factories damaged on his REPAIRING list .

If you CAN, build up airstrips to maximum, as you move closer to Bozo's turf .

One game I had as USA, I hit Dakar to build up a base and port, and with Hfrts and STRATs uninhabitable to enemy air, while USN pulled off the 2nd wave of "TORCH"; built up destroyed airstrips to max {2-3 airfields in Morocco}, then shoved a 4 CV TF full of NFtrs into the Western Med to sucker Axis NBombers in to my green air, while my STRATs bombed Italy ... 5 months later, I owned Sicily .
Game was called due to new 'patch/version', damn it !!
{(It was in the 32 bit era, unsalvageable)} .