A major part of the aerial warfare in the present conflict has been carried out by means of dive bombing. Originated by the U.S. Navy, it was chiefly developed by America, Great Britain and France, for use against naval vessels. The Germans have very successfully used dive-bombing tactics against every object that could be destroyed or damaged by bomb hits.
Dive-bombing as we understand it is the release of a bomb or bombs while the airplane is diving at a steep angle towards the target. It gives two primary advantages to the bomb. First, the speed of the dive gives added acceleration to the bomb, and the effect is that penetration of the bomb is equivalent to that of a larger bomb released in level flight at a higher altitude. Second, the partial aiming effect carries the bomb with more accuracy to the target, although it is also true that after being released no bomb travels on a straight trajectory. It is evident tliat there is one point along the final dive which will produce the rfiost accurate results, but this point in turn depends upon the airplane used, the type and weight of bomb released, the weather conditions, the size of the target, whether stationary or fixed, and the type and concentration of anti-aircraft fire.
The diagrams show dive-bombing tactics under three types of weather conditions.
Dive-bombers are most vulnerable while they are making their final aiming dive bringing them down as low as 1,000 feet, during which time they are on a sustained flight path, are nearest to anti-aircraft gun defenses and therefore offer a larger target. Further, they cannot maneuver in this stage.
The tactics used by the various air forces in dive-bombing vary according to the planes employed, the type of target to be attacked, weather conditions, and several other considerations. Obviously the specific technique used in most recent combat cannot be revealed. Generally speaking, modern dive-bombing has taken the following pattern, as outlined by a foreign military expert.
The first phase is a spiral from about 10,000 feet down to 1,500 feet, the time consumed being around 90 seconds, at an assumed speed of 120 yards per second. In pliase two the horizontal speed is reduced to 40 yards per second, while maneuvering into position for attack. The flight course during this second phase is at 30 to 40 degrees to the direction of the final dive and the time consumed about 10 seconds. The actual dive comes under phase three at an angle of about 70 degrees to the target and lasts 7 seconds. At the beginning of the dive the target is 1,500 yards distant and at the end, only about 600 yards. Releasing the bomb and pulling out (phase four) takes no more than 2 seconds and the spiral getaway and climb (phase five) 90 seconds.
An analysis of this technique shows that only during phases one and five has the pilot complete control of maneuverability and therefore the ability to avoid anti-aircraft fire. The reduction of speed during pliase two also upsets anti-aircraft fire predictions. The greatest danger for the attacking airplane is in phase three, when the flight path is directly in line with the bullets and shells from the A.A. fire. Phase four is of too short duration for anti-air-craft to be effective.
The most serious obstacle to accurate dive-bombing which a pilot has to contend with is the wind. He must allow for this variable factor while aiming. It is precisely this wind factor that causes the greatest error in high-level bombing. In fact, there is now a tendency towards low-level bombing altogether. The Germans have prepared for this by constructing anti-aircraft towers at strategic points and in their cities; since normal anti-aircraft guns mounted on the ground cannot follow low flying aircraft more than a few seconds. There is a further advantage in low-altitude bombing in that fighter planes cannot dive down upon the bombers, nor can they be followed or seen so readily. These tactics have been employed by the British in successive raids upon the Continent, and by our own American Air Forces in its first Tokio raid. It appears nevertheless that there is a field for every type of bombing, high-level mass attacks, low-level darting stabs for greater accuracy and dive-bombing at specific targets. But even these tactics may be replaced by others as new equipment and ideas are developed.
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