ORIGINAL: Feinder
a. What was the standard equipment for Anti-Shipping strikes for Bettys.
b. What was the standard equipment for Anti-Shipping strike by USAAF bombers.
-F-
a.) the torpedo was the standard AS device for the G4M. Thats what the plane was primarily designed to do...attack ships at long range, and the Japanese were wedded to the torpedo as the decisive anti ship weapon. However, that said....it was subject to torpedo availability. When those G4M's attacked the Lex? Rabaul hadn't yet received their torpedoe allotment so they had to attack with bombs. (bad move) When the G4M's attacked Lunga on the first day of the invasion, they attacked with bombs because they were loaded up for an airfield attack when the invasion call came down and the decision was made to send them immediately out to attack (another mistake IMO)
b) There was no 'standard'...at least not during the first half of the war. Thats one of the things i gleaned from FatS...the 17's carried a bewildering number of different loadouts (both size and number of bombs) dependant in part on range to target and available ordinances, however based on my notes....the average bomb load settled more and more on the 500-600lb GP range as the USAAF logistcal net stablized and grew. Makes sense in a way...these bombs are most versitile....good for smothering bases and good for attacking lightly protected ships and merchants. At war's start it was more hodge podge....alot of missions with light bombs and bomblets. As mentioned, WitP has to give bombers a standard loudout for normal and extended range, so based on what i've read, the decision to go with the 500lb GP is a logical one though for normal loadouts they assume maximum loadout which was often not the case. (it also contributes to the plethora of hits scored)
