Forget using fighters or investing any com points in them, they are messed up. What i have observed is they do not gain any skills after any sortie like the bombers do, hence they get hosed in droves everytime.
Bombers Tips
Basics
Bomber gain skills after every mission, and once you get them at 100 skill or better, they start to become very effective in bombing as well as shooting down the enemy fighters.
I will use bomb groups for my fighters sweeps. I prefer to run usually 4 b24 groups, and four b17 groups most of the time. If i am after a target thats hot with enemy fighters, i will send 24s in as they are faster to bomb any other target thats close/in the red, or any other target just fly the 24s through that area to some mundane target your not after. the 24’s will draw up the enemys fighters, you smoke them, then your main group of 17’s comes in behind them and can smack the target without fighters engaging them. You split the damage the main group will take from both fighters and ack. You can do this with all 17’s too, send in two groups of 17’s through the red area, then bring in the main bombing group after them by staggering their start times in the mission screen. I have done this many ways, 2 on a sweep, 6 on the main bombing force, etc
Some Tips
When you start a new game you need to train them up, i do it by hitting soft targets where no fighters will engage you until you get those bombers skilled to 100, then start going after air bases with a low concentration of fighters present ( not the real bright red fields/areas. Dont be too fast on forming new bomber groups. You may have 6 bomber groups for example all at lets say skill level 500, you create a new group that generates low skill at 60 or 70’s, and if you include it in missions with all the other skilled bombers, it drags the whole skill level down just from the one new bomber group. Example, 6 skilled up bomber may whack a target , do heavy damage, but the addition of a new low skilled group makes that mission hit for light damage, and less com pints if any at all.
Training: its a grind but as i expand my bomber groups, i will take a single new bomb group and make repeated hits on soft targets until i bring their skill levels up to at least 100 before add them them in with the rest of the groups.
Never try to create more then 8 bomber groups, or you will have problems managing them as the mission screen only has 8 slots for bombers, at 9 bombers in that screen, it is doable, but a major PITA as the bottom bomber and the next button are on the same line. Say you want split groups( 4 b24 groups/5 b17 groups. You will have to have it setup so the first three b24 groups 1,2,3 then your 5 b17 groups next, and the last group with b24s, because when you hit the next button in the screen, the 9th group gets selected whether you wanted to or not as the ninth slot and the next button click together, it is unavoidable. So, its a PITA. Running ten groups isnt possible, one group will always get left behind no matter what you do.
Switching from a b24 or a b17 and back again will repair your damaged bombers when you get back from a mission, this can be used to your advantadge. say you have 5 bomb groups, all b17s, you get back from a mission, a few of the groups are down a few planes as they are damaged. If you have more than 48 b24s, go though your groups, find one that has damage, missing a few bombers, switch that group to b24s and then back again, you will have all 5 groups of 17s at full strength when you do this trick on the damaged groups. Another reason not to go making new groups as they first become available due to this “feature” and the need to train a new group up before flying them with your older/trained groups. Always keep more then 48 of one bomber type or another at all times to do this.
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