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Chapter 1 - Lucas' Abandonware - Free

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116<br />

Bombing Missions<br />

The primary purpose of bombing is to destroy the enemy’s air<br />

capabilities on the ground. Aircraft stationed in shelters and hangars<br />

are obvious targets- especially since aircraft spend more time on the<br />

ground than in the air - but they’re not necessarily the most<br />

important ones. Aircraft require runways to take off (except for the<br />

STOVL aircraft like the Harrier) and air control towers are necessary<br />

for controlling air traffic. Without these, long term deployment of<br />

aircraft becomes impossible.<br />

Obviously, the defences surrounding airbases are equally important.<br />

Radar stations provide enemy interceptors with early warning of<br />

impending attacks and thereby become critical targets in any campaign.<br />

Enemy SAM sites also inhibit airfield strikes and thus must be<br />

destroyed.<br />

The secondary purpose of bombing is to destroy the enemy’s ability<br />

to replenish his forces. Since factories and cities supply the enemy<br />

with arms, these “civilian” centres become military targets as well.<br />

The techniques for air-to-surface attacks vary depending on the type<br />

of weapon used. However, in all attackson ground targets, your radar<br />

should be set on Ground (GRD) mode. Press N to set the Radar mode<br />

on Ground and R to set the range. Due to the curvature of the earth’s<br />

surface, ground radar has a maximum range of 80 km.<br />

Since ground targets are often “clustered” together - each airbase,<br />

for example, has no less than 5 potential targets-you may need to<br />

select your target manually. Press F2 to switch to manual Target<br />

Selection mode (TS-MANL-SELECT/TRACK).<br />

( Circular<br />

Reticle<br />

Use the mouse to move the reticle over a potential target, and then<br />

press Z to select it. Once you’ve selected a target, press the Left Shift<br />

key to select one of the following types of air-to-surface weapon.<br />

Air-To-Surface Missiles<br />

AS missiles are intelligent and highly manoeuvrable - as such, they<br />

need only be locked onto their target before firing. To launch, press<br />

the spacebar, left mouse button, or joystick button A.<br />

<strong>Free</strong>fall Bombs<br />

<strong>Free</strong>fall bombs have no intelligent guidance once they're dropped, so<br />

precise use of the HUD Bomb-Aimer is important.<br />

The Instrument Panel only blocks your view of your ground target, so<br />

the first thing you should do is hide the Instrument Panel if it’s<br />

currently displayed (press W). Press I to switch to HUD Bomb-Aimer<br />

mode.<br />

Close in on the target at an altitude of 500 ft (tbd metres) or less. Put<br />

the aircraft in straight and level flight-your VSI should read 0. The<br />

target should have a bearing of OOO’, with the Fall-Line should be<br />

lined up with the Tracking Box. Feed left or right rudder (Del or Help)<br />

to make slight adjustments to your course.<br />

Bombsight<br />

Predictor<br />

Fall-Line Lined<br />

Up With Target<br />

Aim Distance<br />

Your fire control computer automatically calculates the point at<br />

which you should release the bomb, based on your airplane’s current<br />

altitude, velocity, pitch and roll. The Aim Distance is the distance to<br />

-<br />

117

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