Jap LBA dive bombers...

[FatR]

This game just doesn't model the advantages of Ki-51 and Ki-36: cheapness, ability to fly from small improvised airfields, easy maintenance, high maneurability at low speed/altitude, and their role as tactical recon and, IIRC, artillery observers. Ki-48 was a flawed plane and the game actually makes it look better than it was, as it is the most common alternative to Ki-51/36.

[Caliban]

Thinking along the lines of Shark7 I was curious as to whether anyone had examined the relationship of bombing by a/c type to terrain type?

Does strafing units which are utilizing railroad movement have any signicant advantages?

Caliban

[timtom]

ORIGINAL: FatR

This game just doesn't model the advantages of Ki-51 and Ki-36: cheapness, ability to fly from small improvised airfields, easy maintenance, high maneurability at low speed/altitude, and their role as tactical recon and, IIRC, artillery observers. Ki-48 was a flawed plane and the game actually makes it look better than it was, as it is the most common alternative to Ki-51/36.

Having just one engine they are cheaper to build, being light bomber they operate at full capacity from L2 AF's, they have a maintenance value of 1 (lowest), and have they the camera device making them equal to recon types in terms of DL increase. MNV is a non-issue for bombers.

[Streptokok]

ORIGINAL: timtom
Having just one engine they are cheaper to build, being light bomber they operate at full capacity from L2 AF's...

They dont. They are classified as level bombers in AE and level bombers dont fly from L2 AF fully. AFAIK anything under LVL 4 AF gives level bombers penalty. Not a single level bomber ever flew a mission from L2 AF in my game and they had targets to bomb. 1 engine bombers did fly from L3 but not whole group, but so did 2 engine level bombers.
The only thing that did fly from L2 are LBA dive bombers (small ammount of land based Val's available) and land based Mabels/Kates.
Maybe they should, dont know how its designed but in my game level bombers never flew a mission from L2. Unless of course I had air HQ in that base but that is not the point here....

[FatR]

    No, they are "light bomber capable". There are no separate caterory for light bombers. Theoretically they should be able to fly normally. I missed the fact that they had camera. Well, then Ki-51 has its uses.