How do You position the team?

[Peeter]

I usually send the bomb aimer already before takeoff to the aiming station, get the mid-turret-gunner to the nose-turret and man the mid-turret with the engineer. Usually by the moment bomb aimer has finished his job, there is already something that needs fixing and so I send the aimer to the middle turret and let the engineer do his main job.

[xScaramouchx]

It only takes a few seconds to get the bomber to his position and release the bombs. Plus I like to have the engineer leaning out the fuel for the first half of the trip when there is low pressure, to ensure a fuel leak doesn't see me splashing in the channel.

[Mark33]

I move the bombardier to the under guns, move the engineer to the front guns once he has activated the fuel lean. Navigator switches to bombardier position when near target.

It doesn't seem to matter who drops the bombs.

[Ook Oook]

I only move the bomb aimer to the aiming station to pre-select the bombs that i need then send him back. Really doesnt take long at all to get the doors open and bomb.

So pretty much everyone sits where they started and i only adjust as the mission unfolds, example being moving the bomb aimer to the ventral turret to hit those pesky heavy fighters who like to hit me with that turret he has.

[metalcallous]

The nose turret is the domain of the bombadier. Most of the fighters tend to gravitate towards the tail area anyway, so it's okay if your front gun isn't always active. Plus as others say switching from nose turret to bomb sights is fast.

Before he learns auto-tag, the radio operator makes a good filler for ventral turret gunner. After tagging a bunch of targets, I send him to the gun.

I keep the engineer free for repairs, and since I also train him as a medic, I keep him free also to repair wounds.

The Navigator I train as an engineer as well, so that he could easily fill in to boost the fuel in times of emergency (presumably since the engineer is off repairing something).

Overall the ones moving a lot in my plane are the engineer (repair, heal, ammo hop) and the radio operator (ventral turret, ammo hop).

[spineyrequiem]

Everyone starts off in their default positions, then engineer moves to the belly gun once we start getting attacked. In the event of injuries, the navigator runs over to heal them while the radio operator stays in her spot during combat then moves to the navigator's spot if I need to change direction and heal people at the same time. The engineer usually gets healed by the rest bed, as she's fast enough to get back to her post when necessary. The bomb aimer stays at the nose and is brought ammo by the engineer when necessary. The pilot never, ever leaves his spot.

[metalcallous]

I keep the navigator in place as much as possible as navigating routes takes some time, and I learned that sometimes it is mere seconds of getting back to England that saves my bomber and crew from a fiery death.

Of course, you could do with the manual plotting, and let him exit his seat. But in the thick of action, when you do emergency dives, corkscrews, flak evasion - you actually lose your current course, and it'll take some time for the navigator to replace a new nav marker again. And like I said, those precious few seconds of getting lost can mean your demise.

[Peeter]

Ok. So many different approaches? :D Interesting. Any advice - what would be the best second skill for the pilot? Mine actually almost never leaves the cockpit, only on some rare occasions when he's wounded, then I let the engineer to take over. But basically I keep my pilot as armoured as possible and thus he's slow to move anyhow.

[Whisper Locs |LMC|]

Originally posted by Peeter:

Ok. So many different approaches? :D Interesting. Any advice - what would be the best second skill for the pilot? Mine actually almost never leaves the cockpit, only on some rare occasions when he's wounded, then I let the engineer to take over. But basically I keep my pilot as armoured as possible and thus he's slow to move anyhow.

I had trouble deciding this as wsell, so I ended up giving him radio op for realism. My Engy is a backup pilot, so if for some reason the pilot had to leave the engy could fly for a bit and my pilot could have a useful place to be.

[Walmarx]

It should be noted that at least for the boost skill, the Eng must stay at his station for its duration. If you click boost then immediately tell him to get up, the boost cancels. I think this applies to Lean as well, but I'm not certain. Also anyone can drop ordinance, but the Bombardier is the only one who can sometimes take med alt recon photos. Low alt photos work for anyone.

I use:
Eng - Medic
Bombardier - Gunner
Nav - Gunner (ventral)
Radio - Nav
Gunner - Medic
Gunner - Medic
Pilot - Eng

The Eng usually runs the bomb sight, since its close and he's quick. Right after takeoff, I also have him bring two ammo cans to that station, so the nose gunner can reload instantly for a bit.

When fighting lots of jets late game, it is important to keep all four guns running, as they attack from all angles.

Nav is low priority when using high-alt, so the radio op covers it on demand.

[Peeter]

Yep, I also understood that as soon as the Engineer can actually do something (like make the engine use less juice with Lean-skill), it's not an option to have him run around the plane as freely as I used to do. And yep, it does apply to Lean.
I gave the Radio Engineer as second job - when Engineer is repairing something but an engine catches the fire, then Radio is close by and can quickly jump to the Engineers chair. I wouldn't want Nav to do it, as him I need all the time to plot the course or find the ground targets.

[David]

Bomber - Gunner
Nav - Gunner
Engineer - Nav
Radio - Medic
Gunners - Engineers
Pilot - (probably Medic when hes maxed out)

I only use Nav for making waypoints, and the Engineer can navigate just fine when I need to stop changing fuel and set course, so Nav sits in the ventral and feeds ammo to top turret.
Radar isn't always needed, so R.O. runs first aid.
Gunners are closer to electrics/wings, and Engi is changing fuel, so they are engineers, although tbh, they are never needed.
The pilot is always flying so I didn't even give him a second class yet.

Above setup would probably also work if the Nav trained as Engineer and Engineer as Gunner.

[PreserveTheUnion]

I start by getting all my gunners (Bomb Amier, 2 regular gunners, and enginner) to get a third clip of ammo. Then I prep the bombs, set the nav point, and take off.



Pilot - Pilot

Navigator - Navigator / Medic

Radio Operator - RDO & Navigator

Engineer - Gunner

Regular Gunners - Gunner 1 is an engineer, gunner 2 is a medic

Bomb Amier - BA & Gunner

[Peeter]

Central turret can actually change it's own ammo - it doesn't take that much time. And having someone standing there is risky - even with thicker armour, people hanging around tend to get shot at.

[Bauhaus]

For the last critical mission, you pretty much need all 4 guns manned at the same time if you want to survive the trip home. You also need your engineer to be free to scramble around the wing and pick up people / put out fires non-stop. Together with the fact that high level gunnery skills are by far the most useful in the game (yes, better than spitfire escort), while others are completely redundant, this is what's worked for me:

Pilot / Nav -- the only reason he should ever leave his seat is if he's the last man standing and trying to get a quick bearing at high altitude.

Bombardier / Gunner -- full-time gunner. Takes one of the the central turrets and stays there.

Navigator / Gunner -- part-time gunner. Gives a bearing, then jumps on the nearby front gun until we see the blue of the Channel.

Engineer / Medic -- too busy running all over the plane to even consider manning a gun. Lightly-armored engie on a gun = dead engie = dead bomber. Engie leaving a vacant gun to go repair something = exposed flank = dead bomber. The math doesn't lie! Also, he's the de facto bombardier.

Radioman / Gunner -- need him in his seat to call out targets and spitfire escorts. Can fill in at the nav or engie station in a pinch. If he and the pilot are the last two standing, his gunnery skill is the only thing that will shake their tail and get them home.

Gunners / Nav / Repair -- It's moot, really. They're too critical to do anything else in a fight. I went with repair in my campaign, before realizing that it mostly aided with fuel management. I'd pick either Nav or Repair if I had to do it again, both are useful if it comes down to just them and the pilot. For non-critical missions, medic would be a viable choice, to top each other off when the engie's busy, but I couldn't stand to see a plane full of yellow arrows all the time. As for positioning, you should always put your best gunner in the ventral turret, many enemies like to set up directly under or below and in front of your bomber -- there's never a shortage of targets there.

[David]

Good point on Pilot/Nav, if he's LMS a good pilot/nav can successfully make long distance course changes even at low altitude.

Bomber->Ventral is a valid combo I didn't think of. I'll still keep mine up front, I wonder if his "good photo chance" raises faster. If he's not better at taking photos then really he is better off a full-time gunner.

Agree about gunners, they wear too heavy armor and stay at their posts too much to be good at anything else. I think gunner 1 can make a good engineer for fixing the electrical system, but it's not as critical as hydraulics, so meh. Engineer cross-class can still benefit randomers, it makes them repair faster.