[tomoose]

My apologies if this seems like a simple problem but I've tried a search and no joy.

SCENARIO;
P40Es in the Pacific attacking a Japanese battleship (or rather failing to attack a japanese ship).

PROBLEM:
A DCG-generated mission and I'm manipulating the waypoints etc in FMB.
No matter what I try I can't get them to dive bomb the ship. The P40s (AI) keep dropping their bombs from level flight and always just missing the target.

STORY SO FAR:
I've tried keeping the altitude at 3000m, I've had the ground attack option set over the ship's direction of travel. I have SET the target (i.e. the green line and crosshair) to the battleship. I've tried it without the gattack and just using the target SET button etc (which automatically gives the gattack icon anyway). I've tried dropping them down to 1000m but still no joy. I even tried the DESTROY target object selection and selected the battleship but it made absolutely no difference. I'm out of ideas.

REQUEST:
I know the P40 is not a true dive bomber but if they would at least put in a shallow dive and/or strafe the target that would at least be an improvement. They don't even do that. They fly nonchalantly along and drop their bombs from level flight. Help please!!

Thanks.
Tomoose

[seaniebeag1983]

Sounds to me like a problem many people have faced. How to solve it though I dont really know.
I dont know if you can get a plane to dive bomb that isnt a true dive bomber.

Have you tried a Gattack waypoint but NOT setting the target to the ship? although if the ship os moving the chances of them hitting it are slim.

What I would suggest is to try the different ideas you have had with a plane that you know is a dive bomber, like a stuka or something, and tweak it until you know that they will dive bomb, then swap out that plane for a P-40 when you know for a fact you have it set up correctly for a dive bombing run.

If it works it works, if not, then you at least will know that it most likely cant be done.

[vonofterdingen]

To get planes to dive bomb, you need to start from a fairly high altitude (at least 2 or 3 thousand meters I think...I can't quite remember) and you need to set the attack point (there should be a green line in the FMB between your waypoint and the target).

[Scharnhorst1943]

The issue is even more complicated than that ... you will NEVER EVER get a P-40 to dive bomb with your current methods. Period. It has to do with the aircraft class. Within IL-2 and within DCG you have the following aircraft classes ...

Seaplane
Fighter
Jabo
Ground-Attack
Dive-Bomber
Level-Bomber
Transport

These are your only options. I think the P-40 is either a fighter class or a Jabo class. Only dive bombers will dive bomb. All other planes will use ground attack waypts.

What can you do? You have two options ...

Option 1) Go into DCG and aircraft class panel and change the aircraft class of P-40 from Fighter/Jabo to Dive-Bomber.

Option 2) go to DCG panels and see what loadout is selected for P-40 & anti-shipping missions. It may be that there is no anti-shipping option available which is causing the error.

My reccomendation is to try option 2 first, then option one. Do that and get back to me.

[tomoose]

Thank you gentlemen, that's good info. I'll give your suggestions a shot and post back results.
cheers,
tomoose

[tomoose]

I switched the P40s to SBDs without changing anything else and yup, they dive bomb as they are supposed to. So it's not the waypoints etc. I'll try the DCG tweak next although I don't hold out much hope that it'lll work.

[Checkyersix]

The issue is even more complicated than that ... you will NEVER EVER get a P-40 to dive bomb with your current methods. Period. It has to do with the aircraft class. Within IL-2 and within DCG you have the following aircraft classes ...

Seaplane
Fighter
Jabo
Ground-Attack
Dive-Bomber
Level-Bomber
Transport

These are your only options. I think the P-40 is either a fighter class or a Jabo class. Only dive bombers will dive bomb. All other planes will use ground attack waypts.

What can you do? You have two options ...

Option 1) Go into DCG and aircraft class panel and change the aircraft class of P-40 from Fighter/Jabo to Dive-Bomber.

Option 2) go to DCG panels and see what loadout is selected for P-40 & anti-shipping missions. It may be that there is no anti-shipping option available which is causing the error.

My reccomendation is to try option 2 first, then option one. Do that and get back to me.

This is not quite correct. P40's will not dive bomb no matter what you do. The AI behavior type is coded into the plane's classfile, which has nothing to do with DCG. If you want a dive bombing fighter, I would suggest using the F4U.

CY6.

EDIT: Just checked the P40 classes - they are set as pure fighters, so you won't get them to ground attack a moving target, sorry.

[Broworm]

What if.....

you make a 4000 meter waypoint above the target (w/o ground attack) and one on like 1000 meters right next to it (maybe on ground attack, try that first), the AI will be like OMG FACE WAYPOINT and go into a dive, if the first try doesnt work, make another waypoint on 1000, this time on the target, then round up there mission on any height (ofc let them recover from the dive, dont make the very next waypoint 4000 meters etc.)

Just putting it out there :lol:

Greetz

-Broworm

[tomoose]

Broworm;
already tried that, with and without gattack option. Still no joy.
As Checkyersix says it's hardcoded so to speak and depends on the airframe. It would have been good just to get a shallow dive/release bomb type of effect but I can't even get that.
Oh well, at least I got an answer, thanks to all.

[Scharnhorst1943]

This is not quite correct. P40's will not dive bomb no matter what you do. The AI behavior type is coded into the plane's classfile, which has nothing to do with DCG. If you want a dive bombing fighter, I would suggest using the F4U.

CY6.

EDIT: Just checked the P40 classes - they are set as pure fighters, so you won't get them to ground attack a moving target, sorry.

Um ... go to DCG panels, change your B-25 to fighter type. Load a campaign and tell me what kind of missions you get ... I am willing to bet they are fighter type missions.

Also check a DCG mission where you fly against the same B-25's set as fighters. I am willing to bet they will dogfight with you ... but what do I know.

EDIT: I have successfully changed certain ground attack aircraft, like the Me-110 to a fighter role using DCG panels. It works.