Post by srndacful on Nov 21, 2022 3:57:49 GMT -6
I apologise in advance if this has already been proposed before, and I failed to spot it.
My proposal is, basically, as it says in the title:
Abolish the current Torpedo and Dive bomber categories - and create a single Light (i.e. not Medium) bomber category.
Light - in this case - denoting single-engine aircraft.
This would serve several purposes:
1. As it stands right now, mounting torpedoes on Dive Bombers - or having Torpedo Bombers do Dive Attacks - is impossible. And yet, the Royal Navy was attempting to do that right from the very introduction of Dive Bombing: Swordfish (the old 'stringbag') was conducting Dive bombing at Taranto (although at night and 250lb bombs are not very effective against battleships - even if there are 6 of them (bombs - not battleships)) and Libya - while his replacements (Albacore and Barracuda) were designed from the start as scout-spotter-dive-level-torpedo bombers.
And let's not even mention USN, where (in the last years of WW2, at least) every plane (and their mothers - so to speak) was capable of carrying a torpedo. Yes, including SB2C Helldiver - originally a Dive Bomber. Finally, the legendary AD Skyraider (entering service just a couple of years after the war) was designed from the start as a Dive/Torpedo bomber.
2. In the very beginning, we start with only Fighters capable of being "fielded" (so to speak) on an aircraft carrier - which is somewhat unrealistic: since scouts and early light bombers basically had the same weight and size and were perfectly able to land/take-off on/off a carrier as well.
Naturally, the capability to carry the torpedo has not been developed yet, (and if, like me, you like to play with variable tech - it might not be for some time) but the capability to carry bombs (or at least a spotter) certainly is - so, having a carrier with absolutely no offensive capability is ... a bit questionable.
And, yes, I am aware that I can use Fighters in scouting role - the catch is that having 2 (or 3) pairs of eyes out there (especially if the 1st pair has to pay attention to where they're going) offers enormous help with the spotting part of the role - which is why the Fighter is always the last choice for a Scout. (I don't know if the developer already has a malus for Fighter scouts in place - I certainly would have)
3. An opportunity to 'spread' the bonuses a bit further - since, when ordering a new aircraft, you'll now have to specify if you'd like it to be able to carry Torpedoes or execute Dive bombing attacks. (remember, no TB & DB separation)
This might just give us the opportunity to explore more esoteric weapon combinations such as Fighter-Dive-Bombers (like Skua or Roc) or Medium Dive bombers (like JU88 or Pe-2) as well as more 'ordinary' stuff (like Torpedo-carrying Hellcats and Corsairs)
As for how this will translate into Wing Compositions ... I have my own ideas, but since they're tied into a bit of other stuff (namely, aircraft size) I leave it to the developer and community to hash out - if they like this idea in the first place, naturally.
Cheers!
My proposal is, basically, as it says in the title:
Abolish the current Torpedo and Dive bomber categories - and create a single Light (i.e. not Medium) bomber category.
Light - in this case - denoting single-engine aircraft.
This would serve several purposes:
1. As it stands right now, mounting torpedoes on Dive Bombers - or having Torpedo Bombers do Dive Attacks - is impossible. And yet, the Royal Navy was attempting to do that right from the very introduction of Dive Bombing: Swordfish (the old 'stringbag') was conducting Dive bombing at Taranto (although at night and 250lb bombs are not very effective against battleships - even if there are 6 of them (bombs - not battleships)) and Libya - while his replacements (Albacore and Barracuda) were designed from the start as scout-spotter-dive-level-torpedo bombers.
And let's not even mention USN, where (in the last years of WW2, at least) every plane (and their mothers - so to speak) was capable of carrying a torpedo. Yes, including SB2C Helldiver - originally a Dive Bomber. Finally, the legendary AD Skyraider (entering service just a couple of years after the war) was designed from the start as a Dive/Torpedo bomber.
2. In the very beginning, we start with only Fighters capable of being "fielded" (so to speak) on an aircraft carrier - which is somewhat unrealistic: since scouts and early light bombers basically had the same weight and size and were perfectly able to land/take-off on/off a carrier as well.
Naturally, the capability to carry the torpedo has not been developed yet, (and if, like me, you like to play with variable tech - it might not be for some time) but the capability to carry bombs (or at least a spotter) certainly is - so, having a carrier with absolutely no offensive capability is ... a bit questionable.
And, yes, I am aware that I can use Fighters in scouting role - the catch is that having 2 (or 3) pairs of eyes out there (especially if the 1st pair has to pay attention to where they're going) offers enormous help with the spotting part of the role - which is why the Fighter is always the last choice for a Scout. (I don't know if the developer already has a malus for Fighter scouts in place - I certainly would have)
3. An opportunity to 'spread' the bonuses a bit further - since, when ordering a new aircraft, you'll now have to specify if you'd like it to be able to carry Torpedoes or execute Dive bombing attacks. (remember, no TB & DB separation)
This might just give us the opportunity to explore more esoteric weapon combinations such as Fighter-Dive-Bombers (like Skua or Roc) or Medium Dive bombers (like JU88 or Pe-2) as well as more 'ordinary' stuff (like Torpedo-carrying Hellcats and Corsairs)
As for how this will translate into Wing Compositions ... I have my own ideas, but since they're tied into a bit of other stuff (namely, aircraft size) I leave it to the developer and community to hash out - if they like this idea in the first place, naturally.
Cheers!
