Waist Gunners and Cheek Guns

[theblitz6794]

Hey guys, noob here with noob Qs.

It seems like the waist guns are the least important. Does anyone like to move a waist gunner to top turret so that the engineer can move more freely?

Also, are cheek guns worth it? My bombardier gets pretty bored and one time he died because the nose got blown off. On that note, can I equip parachutes to crew and then send them back to their stations?

[cman]

Put the bomb boi in the top gun and keep the waists where they are and no don’t get cheek guns

[the_really_good_man]

But later on, there will be fighters that attacks from the front, and having cheek guns can help with that. Gives engineer and navigator something to do in a pinch if you are flying in a straight line for a while

[theblitz6794]

Originally posted by Not a pocket:

But later on, there will be fighters that attacks from the front, and having cheek guns can help with that. Gives engineer and navigator something to do in a pinch if you are flying in a straight line for a while

I've been experimenting with moving the right waist to top turret and giving the bombardier a right cheek gun. If he's ever off his gun, the engineer can pop on the right waist. I just find the engineer so essential but also the top turret too.

[Shrieky]

I like to keep a waist gunner in the top turret, and the bombadier on a cheek gun if he's not dropping the bombs. The Waist guns and Cheek guns are so close together, the gunners can just walk from one gun to the other if you need them to switch sides.

All together, I would say the waist and cheek guns are the least important, their firepower being limited to just one gun and their firing arcs arn't places the enemy likes to hang out in. But I don't leave them unmanned if I can help it, there's far too much enemy to forgo more gun.

[TheAmir259]

For me, as far as my experiences go, Cheek & Waist guns in B-17 (Note: B-17) are more useful and effective than the ball, tail and top turrets. I haven't played much with the Lancaster tho

[boris.glevrk]

Originally posted by TheAmir259:

For me, as far as my experiences go, Cheek & Waist guns in B-17 (Note: B-17) are more useful and effective than the ball, tail and top turrets. I haven't played much with the Lancaster tho

We must be playing different games then.
Ball and top turrets have far bigger firing arc (including the front), as well as significantly higher firepower (2-4 guns per gunner as opposed to 1 gun for waist and cheek guns)

Someone said that there will be enemies from the front, which is also contradictory to my experience, as they will always end up on your rear, and the turrets can cover the minority cases of enemies in the front.

The only advantage of waist/cheek guns are the fact that they are not dependant on hydralics. They'll be the only guns still operational when your hydraulics are out.

[firestar]

Are there any special situations/planes I'd need to counter I'd use them then?

[Edmera]

There are no situations that require the side guns manned, i consider those as bonus damage and are manned if the crew doenst have more important tasks or stations to man.

[PonyKisser:3]

Originally posted by firestar:

Are there any special situations/planes I'd need to counter I'd use them then?

yes i cant believe that nobodys mentioned this yet.
Cheek and waist guns operate independently from the hydraulics systems so if it gets broken they can still fire and actually rotate faster. albeit the rotation speed isnt that useful but the arcs they can fire is suprisingly wide

[epicurus]

I put my navigator on a cheek gun when I know there is a long stretch that way points won't be needed and I'm under attack. Or once target is lined up and under attack. Sometimes I have engineer on on cheek and navigator on other cheek. The waist gunners I make my medics and back up engineers since the other gunners are more crucial and sometimes the main engineer is babysitting the lean burn if i'm low on fuel. I've also had some fighters attack from the front at level where the top or bottom gunner can't quite hit them - Cheek guns are helpful. And those planes that rear fire and fly right in front of you - my cheek guns have hit them when no one else can - otherwise I have to bob the plane up and down or dive or something - very annoying when trying to stay at high altitude.

[Lord-Knight Fandragon]

I honestly put one of the waist gunners in the top turret, and yeah, I add cheek guns to the front for the bombardier. I simply move the waist gunner and cheek gunner back and forth as needed.