skip bombing vs torpedo

[edlu21]

i have tried skip bombing and have very bad out comes with the high number of aircraft getting shoot down.

question is most bomber can load up with torpedo they do more damage and can be dropped away from the target to have a better chance of turn away and making it base to base or carrier.

So when and why would you use skip bombing please give example of the aircraft used.

[Redbull102]

I use most times avenger torpedo bombers.
I use the avenger with rockets versus early japanese destroyers. Torpedos will often pass below and will not explode.

I use other bombers only when I ran out of avengers.

With the b17 I can drop up to 7 500pound bombs on one ship. approach at 500 meter from behind at max speed, and when reaching the front part, reduce speed to minimum. Drop marker will move back and I can place some more bombs on the enemy ship. But the fight will take a lot of time, every bomber of the wing has to be flown by hand. Such bombing runs take often 40 minutes or more. And because of the 500m I will lose almost every bomber shortly after I dropped the last bomb to enemy anti air fire.

You can use the 2000 pounds bombs, but I prefer 7 smaller hits with the chance to produce 7 fires over 2 fires. Often ships burn down after they got hit by so many bombs and with many fires.

I never bomb at extreme low altitude.

[novocastellani]

My experiences:
To minimize losses, be high or be very low. For a low-level attack 20 to 60 m are fine. After the bombs/torps are released, change direction manually and enforce a low-level exit (20m instead of 1500). Depending on the density of enemy AA, you'll lose them anyway.
Torps are good for big, fat targets with little maneuverability, BBs for instance, but also for CAs and merchands.
For all the rest (CLs and DDs), skip-bombing is more effective.

[boris.glevrk]

My experience: Skip bombing is basically just a last ditch kind of bombing, for aircraft that can't dive bomb AND can't carry a torpedo.
Remember, in this game, skip bombing doesn't make your bomb hit below the waterline. It's still a bomb. It's still an above-waterline attack. It will never get anywhere close to the damage of a proper torpedo.

However just like Novo said, torpedo is evade-able, bomb is not. But to me, since I play with re-programmed torpedo bomber numbers, torpedoes can hit everything bigger than a DD, and DDs are better hit with rockets if you have them.

Therefore, the only case where I'd use skip bombing are:
1. using the B-17 (or I won't hit jack)
2. using the Japanese against Fletchers, and that I need that thing in the bottom of the ocean and I don't mind taking serious losses (which are very rare conditions)

[edlu21]

thanks everyone. I would like to keep my air down counts as low as possible. I am now playing as the IJN in the tokyo mod. I found level bombing with the heavy Emily loaded with 8x250kg bombs at full speed at 5000M again DD from testing to have good results usually no down planes and the Emily 6 planes vic formation with 48 bombs it will usually get 1 or 2 hits on a DD since the bombs cover a large area. I find even with 3 bombs a DD will sink.