B17/B26/A20 bombing accuracy is very low

[akulapanam]

I'm currently playing Guadalcanal as the Allies and I'm finding that the bombing accuracy of A20s for Naval is around 3% and my B26/B17 raids both day, and now night to reduce losses, rarely do more than a runway hit if that. Any key to getting better accuracy?

[Barb]

Train your pilots in particular skill, rest them, have high morale, clear weather, high detection on target and full moon night - this increases the hit rate.
Altitude, foul weather, flak and enemy fighter interference - this decreases the hit rate.

[Yaab]

As for naval attack, bring dive bombers. If you are level bombing ships from 6000 feet with pilots boasting Naval Skill in 30s, then you are waiting for a miracle.

[Dili]

3% is good accuracy against ships. 1% is what to be expected in level bombing IRL.

[m10bob]

It has been my experience that early war bombers of any allied power will have low capability to hit even stationary ground targets (like runways), but this will change much by roughly April of 1942, when experience kicks in.

I generally set all in-service squadrons at 20-30% training at all times.

[jmalter]

Also too, examine each squadron & its pilots. Transfer pilots between similar airgroups, your best-Exp pilots are your attackers, your least-Exp pilots need training.
Attack groups can run at a sustained rate (50% rest) or at max-effort rate. Those max guys can run 2-3 days until they need to rest & train, so they can accept replacement airframes & improve airgroup morale.
It seems to me that your bomber raids are having negligible effect, well that's prob'ly 'cos your pilots aren't good enough to the task.

[crsutton]

And DL matters-on ships and on land targets. Get as much patrol and recon up as you can. Of course, once your level bombers attack DL no longer matters. But as said above, unless you are highly trained in low naval and going in at 1,000 feet or lower, don't expect much.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Of course, once your level bombers attack DL no longer matters.

Not quite true cr.

Bombers do perform their own recon of the target as a component of the bombing mission, but non-recon type aircraft can only boost DL by 2 points whereas recon type aircraft will boost the DL by 4 points.

It always helps to maintain a solid reon of the target by recon type aircraft if they are available.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Of course, once your level bombers attack DL no longer matters.

Not quite true cr.

Bombers do perform their own recon of the target as a component of the bombing mission, but non-recon type aircraft can only boost DL by 2 points whereas recon type aircraft will boost the DL by 4 points.

It always helps to maintain a solid reon of the target by recon type aircraft if they are available.

Han, I don't think it explained it well. Once the actual attack starts then DL has no effect on accuracy (in Naval attack) DL just increases the possibility of the attack and number of attackers not the accuracy of an individual bomber once it begins it's run. But in a land attack DL does have a strong impact on the effects. The OP was posting about his planes missing the target once they had found it.

[LoBaron]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Of course, once your level bombers attack DL no longer matters.

Not quite true cr.

Bombers do perform their own recon of the target as a component of the bombing mission, but non-recon type aircraft can only boost DL by 2 points whereas recon type aircraft will boost the DL by 4 points.

It always helps to maintain a solid reon of the target by recon type aircraft if they are available.

Han, I don't think it explained it well. Once the actual attack starts then DL has no effect on accuracy (in Naval attack) DL just increases the possibility of the attack and number of attackers not the accuracy of an individual bomber once it begins it's run. But in a land attack DL does have a strong impact on the effects. The OP was posting about his planes missing the target once they had found it.

There is a difference between DL and MDL. Part of that difference is that DL may affect bombing accuracy, MDL doesn´t. This effect is quite notable when analysing carrier battle results.

There is also a reference in the manual, although rather high level:

The DL indicates very recent intelligence about the enemy and it is the DL that has an impact on combat results. The MDL represents a general awareness of the enemy based on both recent and less current information, and it is this level that is used to determine which enemy units are placed on the map.
[...]
The greater the MDL, the more is likely to be known about the unit by the enemy and displayed on the screen. The greater the DL the easier it is to inflict damage on the enemy in combat. Often even when the DL is zero, friendly forces will take action due to an MDL value that is higher (i.e. even though an enemy TF disappears at night, expectations of enemy movements based on following the enemy closely the previous day can lead to friendly forces anticipating the enemy’s next move). The DL of every unit changes constantly during the resolution phase based on the unit’s activities and enemy actions.

[Lowpe]

LoBaron, thanks.[&o]

Quick question for you...

I have seen at least one very successful player in PBEM chose high naval skill commanders for squadrons likely to engage in naval strikes.

The reasoning was that the higher skill "might" help influence the ships that the squadron does attack...in essence attacking the higher value targets and not destroyers for example. I think we have all seen the cheat sheets on commander skills and what they influence so there is a contradiction here.

Or is this targeting merely a factor of DL and MDL, pilot experience and skill at the time of the attack?

[BBfanboy]

I don't think naval skill helps an attacking pilot or squadron commander, but being able to ID enemy ships seems to contribute to accuracy. During combat animations, if the attackers misidentify the TYPE of ship he is attacking (e.g. a CA identified as a DD or BB) he is almost certain to miss. If he gets the type correct but not the ship class (e.g. identifying a CV but getting Soryu and Shokaku mixed up) the odds of a hit are better, but not maximal. IDing the ship class and name equates with best chance of a hit.
The ability to ID ships is built into experience in Naval Search, but for those not trained in naval search, overall experience seems to correlate with it.

[LoBaron]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

LoBaron, thanks.[&o]

Quick question for you...

I have seen at least one very successful player in PBEM chose high naval skill commanders for squadrons likely to engage in naval strikes.

The reasoning was that the higher skill "might" help influence the ships that the squadron does attack...in essence attacking the higher value targets and not destroyers for example. I think we have all seen the cheat sheets on commander skills and what they influence so there is a contradiction here.

Or is this targeting merely a factor of DL and MDL, pilot experience and skill at the time of the attack?

Sorry only seen this now. I don´t log very often anymore.

MDL/DL plays a role in probability of an attack actually materializing as well as the hit probability - as explained above - but it is only part of the story.

As for Nav skill, I am pretty much in line with BBfanboy here. I don´t think it has an impact on anything NavB related.

What for sure impacts strikes materializing as well as strike success from a squadron/pilot perspective is:
- Squadron commander leaderhip skill, aggression, air skill, inspiration (to help counter morale drops).
- Squadron avg. experience, morale, fatigue.
- Pilot exp, air skill, NavB/LowN, NavS, Def (if CAP is encountered), recon.