Payload - external, internal and center line

[LargeSlowTarget]

I am fooling around with aircraft loadouts and ask myself whether there is any difference regarding bombing accuracy, airspeed or other factors when the payload is carried internally, externally or center-lined.

Many aircraft types provided with bomb bays do use the "internal" configuration - seems logic.

However, I was surprised to find in the editor that some aircraft types which have a bomb bay are defined with external or center-lined bombloads (Judy for example).

There are also planes without bomb bays that use the "external" and others that use a "center-lined" loadout.

I am puzzled that the "center-line" configuration is used for bombs at all - I thought it was for nose-mounted machine guns and cannons only.

I would appreciate input from the modding community please to shed some light on this - thx in advance.

[US87891]

ORIGINAL: LargeSlowTarget
I am fooling around with aircraft loadouts and ask myself whether there is any difference regarding bombing accuracy, airspeed or other factors when the payload is carried internally, externally or center-lined.
I would appreciate input from the modding community please to shed some light on this - thx in advance.

Oh lordy, how I wish it were the case, but ... no, the code doesn't contemplate that. Too complex for the poor wee thing.

The way it is 'supposed' to go is; external is underwing, center-line is belly. Done so that one can have belly DTs and underwing bombs (or arsey versey). Lots of planes didn't have strong enough wing girders to handle underwing bombs, like some of the Zeros, so in the belly they went. Think torpedoes and kamikazes vs an F4U or a Jug. Now and then it got garbled when the original database was put together, but that is the idea anyway.

Matt

[jmolyson]

Centerline loads can be external or internal if the airframe has a bomb bay.

WWII aircraft carried heavier loads on the centerline because the wings were not stressed to allow as high
a g-load as on modern aircraft.

During WWII external centerline was best for heavy ordnance (large bombs and torpedoes)and easier to aim.
Large drop tanks could also be carried externally on the centerline.

During WWII external wing stations were used variously to carry drop tanks, rockets as well as bombs. This depended
on the airframe, the theater and the mission as well as the presence or absence of a bomb bay.

The only aircraft I can think of that might carry torpedoes on the wing would be the PBY, although I am sure there were others.

How these factors are translated to game code is above my pay grade:-)

[el cid again]

Many aircraft carried torpedoes on wing hardpoints.
In particular, note that ALL loads carried by Mavis were
external, including its two torpedo loadout option.
Many flying boats and bombers had very heavy bombs and
external drop tanks - it varies greatly with the aircraft.

One problem is that external loads really reduce range due
to drag. One must carefully match load with range data -
a bomber with a large external load cannot carry it very far.

A normal level bomber can carry its normal load to 48% of its
ferry range (transfer range in game terms). It can carry
a reduced load to 57% of transfer range. Most Allied bombers
have a maximum bomb load which is not used in PTO because the
range is so much less than that. But if you want to include
models with external loads, use 29% of transfer range for the
normal load and 36% of the transfer range for reduced load.
In contrast, a level bomber with large external drop tanks
can carry normal load to 41% of transfer range and reduced
load to 50% of transfer range WHERE the transfer range has been
increased because of the added fuel. These are typical values.

Flying boats are more complicated. First because code has different
rules for their range performance. Second because they should
be given a range boost for being able to cruise in what we call
'ground effect' today. Normal range for internal bombs is 67% of
transfer range. Extended range for internal bombs is 75% of
transfer range. If it has external loads (e.g. Mavis) - it gets
57% for normal load and 66% for reduced load.

Fighters have still different typical values. If there are no
large bombs at all, fighters have a 33% of transfer range normal
load range and a 40% of transfer range extended range. If they
have large external bomb loads, the range is only 26% of transfer
range. There is an extreme case with extremely large bombs -
only 20%. And fighter bombers are different still - they
carry normal loads to only 26% while they carry reduced loads to
33% of transfer range.

Many Axis bombers do not have a maximum bomb load in the Allied
sense - their 'normal load' = 'maximum load' - but some very
special cases exist. Thus, a typical "heavy bomber" has a maximum
load on the order of 10,000 pounds or more, but its normal load
is only 4,000-6,000 pounds - and its reduced load is between half
and 2/3 of normal load.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Thx for the replies, guys!