Air to surface rockets

[R8J]

I may have come up with a way to get them in the game.

I made a 5" HVAR device and made it a PGM (I have not tested the device as "bomb"). Load the aircraft with the appropriate load out.

Normally any aircraft, except for fighter bombers, will attack at whatever altitude has been set for them.

Next I made a second device with zeros for all attributes and made it a torpedo. Load it aboard the aircraft and entered zero in the number carried field (this way it will not show up in the aircraft data window). This tricks the program into thinking the plane is attacking with a torpedo and force it to two hundred feet (not perfect but better (more realistic) than fifteen thousand). Leave this second device off fighter bombers and they will attack at two thousand feet.

So far I have tested it four times and it seems to work.

[el cid again]

A fighter bomber - as such (that is, the aircraft type is fighter bomber, not just any kind of fighter with bombs) - should be settable to fly a mission at 100 feet. Then it will conduct strafing attacks.

If you define your rockets as guns, but set the ROF to just 1, they will work properly.

Further - the rockets then become availabe in air-air combat - air ground combat - and air naval combat - which of course is true.

Torpedo attacks should only occur vs ships, and in that case you will also get NO OTHER WEAPONS engaging: that is, the torpedo attack routine IGNORES the loadout. Once it sees ANY torpedo, it goes with one torpedo, period, no matter what you say, do, set, write, name it.

[JeffroK]

Sid,

Further - the rockets then become availabe in air-air combat - air ground combat - and air naval combat - which of course is true

2 out of 3, In the Pacific theatre, 5" (60lb)rockets were not used in air-air except as a panic weapon, probably less often than a Tommy Gun fired by observers in Light Spotter planes. We could also make bombs an a-a weapon, maybe the LAM or toilet paper which were also used from time to time.

I'd agree that tagging them as torpedos resticts their use, but calling them guns has problems as well.

I would accept the rocket attack by Fighter bombers only (The use of the A-26 Invader needs to be resolved here) if they are fired from 2000ft as this at least brings them down to LAA levels

[el cid again]

Air air rockets were thought to be the weapon of the future by the British - and by USAAF - which refused to develop AAMs because it liked rockets so much! Certainly the Germans felt they were great vs bombers - and it is hard to play a German fighter sim and not fall in love with them. I have not the slightest problem with their use in air air combat.

However, I am not sure it matters except as chrome: the ROF is too low to matter most of the time, and hits are almost guaranteed not to happen - unless you have a lot of rockets at point blank range - which of course would be true IRL.

I agree there are problems as guns: the planes "reload" in the air and can use em over and over. To deal with that, I make the planes only fire pairs. But it is still a problem.

As for bombs - there were such things as air to air bombs - they were used - and the only problem with them is the code does not understand them. Which might be perfect simulation: I don't think they work IRL either - so put em in without fear! Since they cannot work, they cannot be wrong in terms of effect.

Now my favorite of small arms out the window is the case of the LB - 30! And you do know of the case of a Piper cub with an actual kill attributed to a .45 ACP handgun in the Battle of the Bulge - right? In WWI handgun kills were fairly common.

RHS has a lot of rockets - and will add more when we are sure we understand them. They are early ASW weapons on Swordfish - and later anti- ship weapons on things like B-25s. Since they were IRL I see no reason not to have them in the game.

[R8J]

Are you sure about "...NO OTHER WEAPONS engaging: that is, the torpedo attack routine IGNORES the loadout. Once it sees ANY torpedo, it goes with one torpedo..."?
 
I have B-25s loaded with one torpedo and eight 250 pound bombs. I have seen several attacks with both torpedoes and bombs hitting. I just did a test run. Eight B-25s scored one torpedo and five bomb hits. The second test scored one torpedo and five bombs, the third two torpedoes and two bombs and the forth four bombs. My AD1s score hits with both.
 
When I tested my new rockets the dummy torpedo forced both bombers and fighter bombers to 200 feet. They attacked with the 5" HVARs. They did not use the dummy torpedo because number carried was zero.
 
I do agree that the system only recognizes one torpedo (and/or bomb).

[Dili]

Interesting.

[Mifune]

Looks like Dili is going to find out for himself.

[Dili]

Hehe no time, i have my hands full.

[el cid again]

ORIGINAL: R8J

Are you sure about "...NO OTHER WEAPONS engaging: that is, the torpedo attack routine IGNORES the loadout. Once it sees ANY torpedo, it goes with one torpedo..."?

Unfortunately so. I didn't want to believe. I was upset. I tested and inquired and tested more. I wanted two torpedoes on the flying boats you see. I wanted other weapons besides torpedoes you see. I failed - and had to compromise with hard code. Sorry.

[el cid again]

ORIGINAL: R8J

Are you sure about "...NO OTHER WEAPONS engaging: that is, the torpedo attack routine IGNORES the loadout. Once it sees ANY torpedo, it goes with one torpedo..."?

I have B-25s loaded with one torpedo and eight 250 pound bombs. I have seen several attacks with both torpedoes and bombs hitting. I just did a test run. Eight B-25s scored one torpedo and five bomb hits. The second test scored one torpedo and five bombs, the third two torpedoes and two bombs and the forth four bombs. My AD1s score hits with both.

When I tested my new rockets the dummy torpedo forced both bombers and fighter bombers to 200 feet. They attacked with the 5" HVARs. They did not use the dummy torpedo because number carried was zero.

I do agree that the system only recognizes one torpedo (and/or bomb).

It is possible you have "fooled" the system in some way. If you classify the aircraft as a sort that is a torpedo bomber, and if you have a torpedo on board, it usually uses the torpedo it finds. If there is no torpedo, it may pick some other weapon as a "wierd" torpedo - something like that - and give you one of them (not the number you pick). I don't see any benefit in that - but it might be what happens. Since I don't see any point going there - I am not going to build a test to figure it out. We want weapons that attack in the loadout numbers assigned. And torpedos as torpedoes - I think.