so how long IS an aircraft carrier
Silly question I guess but that topside minis thread got me thinking ....... If an aircraft carrier is 740 feet long (illustrious class) then how long would it appear to be in 1/200 scale from 1500 feet? I noticed that they said their largest model was 6.25 inches long and was thinking about a dive bomber release height of 1500. That would be a more practical option for my missions.
A 740 foot long vessel in 1/200 Scale would according to my calculations be 3.7 feet in length. So even with height elevation factors taken into account (1,500 ft) 6.25 inches or 0.52 feet sounds a little on the small side - more like the size of a 740 foot long vessel when viewed from around 10,500 ft or maybe slightly less.
I'd suggest something in the region of 2.7 - 2.8 feet in length when viewed from a height of 1,500 feet ... Just my reckoning to get this discussion under way and I hope that this is helpful in some way
Gary, I have used their ships for battles and I think the small size works fine. It shouldn't be easy to drop a bomb on a ship. An actual 1/200 model would be almost impossible to miss!
I give full damage if the center dot on the bomb card hits within the ship outline. If it hits the ship card then half damage. At least this is what I have played with so far in a couple of battles. Time will tell if I stay or move to larget ship targets.
May I politely add that I don't think that this is a silly question at all - ships just like trains make interesting and varied targets.
I for one had never considered using a ship as a target before now but that is probably because I am still a relatively new player (playing WGS since February 2015.) But the more I think of this discussion the more I am becoming interested ...
Intriguing question more like IMHO
I have found the Top Down ship cards ideal for WW2 scenarios & like Teaticket they make bombing them not so easy as was the case in real combat.
I personally can't WAIT to drop some bombs on some Topsideminis ships!
All the best,
Matt
All,Originally Posted by Teaticket
Actually, the hard part of this is not dropping the entire plane on the target. Ask Sue [ling], the latest pilot who attempt bombing runs on the Glorious, and others that have tried to bomb a 1/200 scale carrier.
As to how big? Try 47 inches long (Link: HMS Glorious in 1/200 Scale - Post326199).
As to how easy, or hard it would be, with fighter-bombers and dive bombers, it would be quite easy, if they made it through the Air Cover and AA. The target is Huge!
Last edited by OldGuy59; 07-02-2015 at 07:41.
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
I thought I would order some topside minis but they do not have Australia in their dropdown list of shipping destinations and the contact us information is not functioning. Looks like I will have to await the download PDF files.
I work with maps so this should be right up my sleeve 😄
The bomb is dropped from 1500 feet. And the aircraft is 1:200 scale. So in the game that is 7,5 feet.
The boat is 740 foot long in 1:200 that is 3,7 feet.
And 3,7 feet from 7,5 feet looks like 0,49 feet.
So I'd say that should be aboute half a foot long.
How does that sound.....
All sounding like excellent advice to me. Great to get the views and opinions of an expert when it comes to scale. In my Posting earlier I really was struggling in terms of the height elevation aspects of this question.
So with the largest model available in the OP being around 6.25 inches in length this according to your findings would actually replicate a 740 ft vessel as seen from 1,500 feet accurately / sufficiently. This entire Posting has now fuelled my interest in the use of ships in general as targets - but as mentioned just like trains they present very interesting and varied targets.
So, the original question was about the "release" of the bomb at 1500', but how big (small) would the ship look (what scale) at the "start" of the dive? Level bombing wouldn't change the size of the target, but the reason dive bombing was more accurate was that the pilot literally guided the bomb to the target as they dove, fine-tuning the drop. And as we can see, the target at 3,000' might be very small, it "grows" to 6" length at 1500' altitude, and 47" length at 0' altitude.
Stuka pilots could put bombs on tanks and bunkers, ships would be soo easy. Hmmm... How do we account for the movement of the ship? Cause a carrier at sea isn't sitting still. Time to dig out my "Slay the Leviathan" moving map!
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
There are some flat tops & battleships in amongst the WW2 mission cards of the files section Gary
Sapiens qui vigilat... "He is wise who watches"
Thanks guys. I also thought there must have been a mathematical formula because of the dam busters. They worked out a very crude bomb sight based on size and distance too. The files section suggestion looks promising.
Send a PM to Zoe Brain; I thought she had worked something out on these lines, but is busy with a PhD theses, so might not be seeing this thread.Thanks guys. I also thought there must have been a mathematical formula because of the dam busters. They worked out a very crude bomb sight based on size and distance too. The files section suggestion looks promising.
Karl
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
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