065C - Making a Dive Bomb Run

The massive size of the Japanese fleet during the Pacific War was an ever-present threat to the ABDA Combined Forces. Unfortunately, the original idea of being able to sink enemy ships with warship artillery like the “Dreadnaught Era”, was an outdated notion. Even if it had been possible, there were little opportunities with the ever-dwindling Battleship supply. Instead, it would have to be done by air.
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Conventional horizontal (or level) bombers lacked precision. This was due to the laws of physics. Bombs dropped from level-flying planes would follow the plane’s general direction. However, as it dropped, it suffered from the effects of wind resistance, which slowed the bomb and gravity pulled the bomb towards the earth. This is a bomb’s trajectory and bombardiers had to calculate the effects of gravity and wind on the falling bomb. Due to the time required to calculate a bomb’s trajectory and the lack of computers during World War II, dropping level bombs was often a game of hit or miss. 

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However, a dive bombers’ steep angle of attack lessened bomb trajectory, which improved accuracy. The preferred angle of attack was 65-75 degrees. As the plane sped downward, the pilot’s body was “pulled upwards” because the plane was traveling faster than the pilot. This force, called “Negative Gravity” (or Negative Gs) created stain and pilots had to be in great physical shape to prevent blackouts from a lack of blood to the brain.

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Still, the planes would start their dive from 15,000 feet, often lining up in a “string formation”. If the planes were left to their speed plus gravity, they would reach speeds over 600 MPH, nearly impossible to pull out of the dive. The pilot would engage “dive flaps”, which would create wind resistance and slow the plane’s top speed considerably.

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Finally, as the plane reached the preferred drop altitude of 2,000 feet, the pilot released the bomb and then pull out of his dive. The next dive bomber in the formation would use the trajectory of the bomb to refine his own bombing run to score the hit.

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During World War II, Dive Bombers such as the German “Stuka”, Japanese “Val” and American “Dauntless” were all noted for their massive kills, sinking more ships than any other planes in their respective forces

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