Why does it only have 3 x 100 kg bombs, when every reference I have shows It could carry 3 x 200 kg bombs externally, and that’s still only about a third of it’s rated internal capacity.
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In WT it’s 3x100 since years, and are you absolutely positive it has any internal bays at all?
Sources varry, but There does seem to be some confusion between the Bombay being either internal or external, when in fact it would seem it was semi-recessed not really a Bombay in the conventional sense, although the load stated as noted below as a maximum is far in excess of what it currently carries, there is of course historical reason for this notably its performance issues, but it would seem that a load of 2×250 kg basically what the 110 has would make it a bit more usefull
The bomb bay was semi-exposed and could accomodate a few different bomb load configurations: Three 50 kg (110 lbs) bombs, three 100 kg (220 lbs) bombs or two 250 kg (550 lb) bombs. There was also the option to install 40 small 2 kg (4.4 lb) bombs. Theoretically, the Ba.88 could be equipped with a total bomb load of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), but this was never done due to the airframe’s weight problems.
Being a big fan of all things Italian, in this case because I’ve always found the aircraft aesthetically pleasing, I just had to get it, but in game terms the small bombs seam to not hurt tanks…
I’m telling you because in WT forum (and unofficial Discord) we’ve been talking every single Italian plane inside out since 2017, together with some of the dudes who actually did the detailed info gathering for Gaijin.
First off, in WT the Ba88 sits at a much lower battle rating than the Mosquito, in fact the two planes are hardly comparable at all. The Mossie trumps the Ba hands down without even trying.
Second, the Ba88 suffers from the same common problem shared by all early Italian planes, they’re underpowered AF (I mean IRL, hence also in game, despite the Ba being even somewhat buffed).
Third, as you can imagine, in WT we had/have our share of Italian enthusiasts asking for buffs to Italian planes wherever possible. Conversely, Italian historical consultants happened to be very nitpicky and cautious, refusing to endorse any perk or loadout that wasn’t cross-confirmed by multiple firsthand official sources (“The Italian tech tree must be ‘pure’, historically accurate and rid of paper/fantasy bullshit” and yada yada). The bomb load of the Ba88 went through such discussions as well, multiple times, eventually that ended nowhere and it remained as it was.
Basically, the Ba88 is to be expected to fly at best like an early IL-2, SANS the armor and durability, and with no better load than those 3x 100kg (two of which drop at once in WT)
Yes, historically the Ba 88 was, kind of, Junk, and your right nothing at all like a Mossy, currently the bombs drop as you say 2 at once and one by its self, I don’t remember offhand which way that goes whether two go first or the one goes first.
It did handle better than I expected it to do based on my readings about the aircraft, and as I said above I purchased it largely because of my affinity for its Aesthetic qualities not because it was a war machine of note, the 202 or 205 were great aircraft, and the Italians had some other fantastic machines so I was kind of curious as to why they chose this one to add but I was still happy about it.
I intend to use it with some frequency but I don’t see it being all that effective against the aircraft’s primary target which are tanks and they are really really easy to kill with most other aircraft, at least the ones in Tunisia that are equipped with bombs, apart from this one.
I was messing around with it in practice mode, and I had to practically get a direct hit with the bombs to blow up the Shermans on the range.
I did find it to be surprisingly maneuverable, and after a few passes I was able to drop pretty accurately. It can probably out fly an SBD.
I found the mosquito to be a bit more challenging to fly, but that might just be me.
Ok, ya I was wondering if I just needed to be more accurate, having grown accustomed to using the 500 kg bomb load of the 110.
One thing I was a little bit surprised about yesterday was comparing the turn rates for 202,110,and Ba 88 there all similar, given the 202 was known for being a fairly maneuverable fighter.