Friendly Fire from Air Support

[PAN3]

Played SP I way back, but just started playing SP:WAW within the last few weeks. I am currently playing the WWII long campaign as the US. The current scenario that I am in has me assaulting the Germans(Palermo, I think). As part of my support I selected some P-39 Aircobras and P-38's for air support. Every single time that I use any of the planes, they attack my troops and not the Germans! I am pretty sure that I am setting them to attack a hex with German troops in it and not my own spotter hex. Has anyone had this happen before. The first time that it happened I thought it was a fluke, but then I tried two more times, and lost a halftrack and nearly routed a sherman.

Any thoughts?

[chief]

Pan 3: it is a feature of this game, represents damage from friendly fire etc., You would be wise to back your troops away from your intended target, safe min. for artilery is 7 hexes and I've heard more than 4 hexes away for aircraft strikes. It has happened in real life and it happens here too all of us. HTH

Ps welcome aboard your in for one hell of a ride....

[Mojo]

Originally posted by PAN3
....Every single time that I use any of the planes, they attack my troops and not the Germans! I am pretty sure that I am setting them to attack a hex with German troops in it and not my own spotter hex. Has anyone had this happen before. The first time that it happened I thought it was a fluke, but then I tried two more times, and lost a halftrack and nearly routed a sherman.

Any thoughts?

LOL. Welcome to the club:D

Stay well away from anything you target with anything bigger than a mortar. Airstrikes are really bad tho. First time I saw this I was conducting a landing operation in the Pacific and my air support killed my tanks on the beach instead of the gun emplacements I targeted.

I know pilots aren't the brightest bunch but you'd think they could tell a tank from a pillbox wouldn't you. It wasn't like it was splash damage or anything either.

[peter hellman]

One thing I do is, before I choose the target I choose the direction of approach. And the approach I choose is usually so the aircraft approaches from the enemys rear area. Then, if the "pilot" get confused, it is more likely he will only choose another enemy target instead of a friendly one. Try to avoid have the planes fly over friendly forces before the planned attack.

[bigtroutz]

planes show a heavy preference for mech, so if you are targeting infantry close to YOUR tank or AFV, the airstrike could be "when good things go bad" lol

i only use airstrikes well away from my own troops, those bombs have at least a 3-4 hex area of effect anyway. as was mentioned, click that "hidden" button before you select the aircraft and make sure to have the strike come in from the sides or rear. hard targets hex like bunkers and tanks can be closer to your troops/mech than enemy inf targets without friendly fire.

[PAN3]

Thanks for the tips.

The units that were strafed were several hexes away from the intended targets and I thought that they would be safe -- I guess not. What struck me was that it happended every time that I called for air support. I can see occassionally, or even frequently in the confusion of battle, but every time?

Oh well, I will just have to be more careful and adjust my use of air support accordingly(let's see if I remember this next time I get the chance to continue my game).

[WhiteRook]

Another factor to consider is to check your pilots experiance level.
If it is low - man watch out - they will strafe and bomb anything they see. It all looks like the enemy to them!

[Capt. Pixel]

Boy - that's the truth. Inexperienced pilots are worse than no pilots at all.

Airstrikes are tricky, PAN3. Just gotta practice, observe and pray (a lot). I've had my share of prized armor succumb to some knucklehead pilot too. But when you get the tricks down and pull off that perfect strafing run, it's worth it.