Anything to be done about aircraft?

[The Starfox]

Is there anything that can be done to shoot back at aircraft? I'm playing with the GWX mod, and my AA gunners cant hit anything. It hasn't been much of a problem for most of my career, as I was able to evade the once in a blue moon air attack, but its 1943 now and the number of air attacks is definitely stepping up.

I thought once I got the quad 20mm on my type IXD2, that the situation would improve but it hasn't. The shots always seem to be passing too far behind the target aircraft, and thus always missing. I have qualified flak gunners, with full medals and rank, as well as the watch officer with flak qualification, but all to no avail.

So far I have been able to avoid the bullets and bombs through maneuvering at flank speed, but the weight of attack is beginning to tell, is there no chance of hitting an aircraft at all?

[maillemaker]

It's hard. You do have to lead them.

I have passed the anti-aircraft training in the Naval Academy even with GWX installed where the aircraft are actually armed and able to kill you.

Best chance is at close range when they are diving straight at you, or, just after they made their pass, as they are going straight away.

Steve

[sharkbit]

The "C" key solves all my problems with aircraft. :O:
:)

[RConch]

The "C" key solves all my problems with aircraft. :O:
:)

As quick as possible.:o

[gordonmull]

Yup.

Mash C repeatedly until dive starts.

http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww347/Dank109/MontyPython1.jpg

[Brag]

Crash dive is your only hope :salute:

[robbo180265]

I'm sorry but I have to agree - crash dive all the way. Better still, just don't surface during the day;)

[Leg]

If you 'have' to fight against aircrafts, orther the AA to shoot at short range and only at closing targets.
Your chances to shoot a plane down should be a little higher this way, although the best way is just crash diving.

[Mittelwaechter]

If you want to avoid being bombed - dive. Well they bomb you anyway but you have better chances to survive.

If you have to stay surfaced and want to minimize the bombing effect turn to a perpendicular course of the incoming aircraft. Most divebombers drop good in direction but not in range. Some/many bombs will fall short or pass you. Liberators do an aeral bombing anyway. Your gunners will hit incoming aircrafts but miss those passing you because they fail to lead the target.
You can help your gunners with turning your boat accordingly to compensate their misleading. They may hit the tail empennage.

You may have a chance against one or two attackers but they will cause damage and probably kill some of your men with their guns.

Some aircraft stay close to your boat after their inicial run - especially when hit. If there are no more incoming targets switch to "fire at will" and hope for the best. Sometimes your gunners manage to finish a damaged bee.

Well consider being under fire the whole time.

[The Starfox]

How grim....

Anyone have any luck firing the guns manually? Ive tried to fire the guns by hand and I think I hit them sometimes, but it seems they take alot of hits as I see some bullet splash on them, but they didn't go down. I tend to be very aggressive in my playing, hard for me to have to dive and hide everytime :) I guess I have been lucky so far in dodging attacks, haven't lost any crew yet, but its getting harder.

Is the quad twenty better than the late game upgraded 37mm or dual 37mm?

[Sailor Steve]

How grim....
It was. Creating the U-Flak boats mainly got more boats sunk, not less.

[PappyCain]

I have good luck against aircraft until fall '44. I think my tactic to run straight until they commit, then hard right, works very well. My gunners have been very good and I have knocked down up to 9 in a single patrol to my assigned grid. I do dive when there are 4 aircraft or more - but only after their first pass. At that point we may have reduced their numbers. Plane type does matter. I always center the rudder after a pass. Then I repeat the above on their second run. Hope this helps. Only lost one man to aircraft in three years. I am a very conservative tactician.

:salute:

[Dissaray]

Manualy targeting your AA guns is likely your best bet if you want to shoot some thing down, the AI just isn't very good at shooting the AA guns. If you do decide to engage aircraft do like the fly boys did at the time, aim for the engens. They don't take much punishment befor they burst into flames and a burning engen isn't a good thing for your flying target. Slaming rounds into the fusilage may be a bit easyer but you aren't likly to cause any real damage that way. Knock out one engen and the plane may go down, if it dosen't it will likely leave you alone.

[The Starfox]

Are the late war 37mm flak and dual 37mm flak better than the quad 20mm?

[timmy41]

the m/42 guns have a much better range than the f/38s, but less of a traverse rate. the m/42 37mm rounds also explode if they are simply near and aircraft, which can really help, since its so difficult to hit aircraft in the first place and at long range.
personally, i have a dual m/42 and i would use it on sunderlands and b24s or any large slow aircraft. often i could knock them out of the air before they made their gunrun, and this was on GWX! however, its too slow to train on small aircraft.

[Dissaray]

Keep in mind that your boat isn't biult to take on aircraft like a DD or a CV, it is an anti ship wepon. Hiding from the flyers and saving the fight for your floating buddies is your best bet.

[The Starfox]

Snorkel will probably help here. What date does it become available for the IXD2?

[PappyCain]

Schnorkel will get you killed for sure!! Aircraft radar will locate you and tear you a new vent ... one minute you will be walking around your boat eating a bratwurst on rye and humming to Wagner and the next you will heading to meet Davey Jones with mustard up your nose. I use the snout rarely. I did get slammed once - sprayed my potato soup on the screen. I prefer to keep my flak manned with both watch and flak gunners rated as "gunners".


http://www.uboat.net/allies/ships/uss_bogue.htm

:salute:

[maillemaker]

I agree - I found the snorkel unuseful most of the time, unless you have a snorkel mounted radar detector.

Radar detectors always get you under in time. Snorkels just invite attacks you never see coming.

Steve