Best way to handle B-29's

[showboat1]

I'm playing a late war scenario and I'm bombing Japanese cities with my B-29's. I've got four BG's on Tinian, four on Saipan, and four at Clark Field. I rotate them every three days, 8 BG's attacking and 4 BG's resting, and that seems to keep morale up and fatigue down. However, what is the best way to go about the actual bombing campaign? I have started out going after the engine factories until they are reduced to zero, or near to zero. Then I switch to heavy industry. Is this the best strategy or is it better to go for the actual aircraft factories first and then work my way through everything else?

[Bradley7735]

It's been said that you should try to knock out all Oil factories in range first. Everything runs from Oil. If you knock them out, all the rest of the factories will eventually stop working.

But, that takes time. You can try to hamstring any individual factory if that's your cup o' tea.

I'd say Oil first. Then individual aircraft factories. Then make sure the Oil hasn't repaired any. Then work on something else. Resources are good to destroy as they continue to make supplies.

[Yamato hugger]

History should tell you something.

Burn them. Manpower.

[Hornblower]

i haven't gotten this far yet- BUT should you also be able to use them to sew some Mines into the harbors?

[kaleun]

Just use them against manpower. In reality, they ended up not being very effective at high altitude industrial bombing due to wind at altitued. They were deadly when they started firebombing the place[X(]

[captskillet]

Mass em in the Marianas and send them en masse starting with Tokyo and work your way down the list....the firstorm created from a 200 plane B-29 raid is impressive!!!!!

PS showboat where is Pumpkin Center, La..........I'm way up here Shreveport????

[Sharkosaurus rex]

If your opponent hasn't taken too many losses you could try for the oil first to slow down his factories over time. But if he has taken heaps of plane losses you might want to target the airplane assembly first to continue his shortage. You can't target his engines that are in stock so if he has many engines in reserve it might take a long time for engine factories to have a big impact.

[showboat1]

ORIGINAL: captskillet

Mass em in the Marianas and send them en masse starting with Tokyo and work your way down the list....the firstorm created from a 200 plane B-29 raid is impressive!!!!!

PS showboat where is Pumpkin Center, La..........I'm way up here Shreveport????

It's down in S. Louisiana near Hammond. I lived six years in West Monroe though, worked at several local schools including Ouachita Christian and St. Frederick High.

Will start using Clark to bomb Kyushu, Tinian to firebomb, Saipan to go after resources, and Iwo Jima B-24's for low level raids on factories. That ought spread out the damage quite a bit and keep my bases covered. Thanks for the input fellas.

[Daniel Oskar]

I have had fairly good luck targeting manpower at night at 6000' untill I get bases close enough to provide escort for day raids. Fairly low B-29 losses and big fires.

[showboat1]

So, does targetting manpower and starting big fires also cause damage to the factories and the like? I'm noticing that some strategic targets I have not specifically targeted are starting to show damage since I switched over to bombing manpower.

[EUBanana]

ORIGINAL: Daniel Oskar

I have had fairly good luck targeting manpower at night at 6000' untill I get bases close enough to provide escort for day raids. Fairly low B-29 losses and big fires.

Bomber Harris style. How evil. [:-] [;)]

Out of curiosity, is it profitable using, say, Liberators to attack manpower? Or is it a mission that only the Superfortress is really capable of doing?

...is that early strike on Marcus Island worth it? [;)]

[Bradley7735]

ORIGINAL: EUBanana

Out of curiosity, is it profitable using, say, Liberators to attack manpower? Or is it a mission that only the Superfortress is really capable of doing?

Any strategic bomber can bomb manpower. Incindiaries can be carried by B-17's, B-24's, Wellingtons, etc.

B-29's are better at it, as they can carry more of them than other bombers, though.

[captskillet]

Firestorms get everything!!!! [:D]

[showboat1]

Since switching over to manpower bombing I am causing beau coups of damage to all forms of industry. Nagoya, Toyama, Osaka, and Tokyo are little more than ghost towns. Interestingly, I have been having trouble keeping my morale up now. I lowered my altitude for the raids to 15K. Maybe I should jack it back up to at least 20K. Not sure if the added accuracy is worth the loss of morale.