User:Notjarvis/Public Cadet/Bombing/RegBbrsGunship
{{User:Notjarvis/publiccadet/Capship_Index
{{Title|Gunship Bombing}
From the bomber's point of view, gunship bombing is almost the same as regular bombing, so this article covers driving a gunship.
Escort
Gunships have a speed of 80 mps and corvettes have a base speed of 90 mps. 80mps is also the speed of enh constructors while bombers travel at 60mps. The biggest mistake I see gunship pilots make is they get too far in front of or behind the target of their escort. When you are escorting a bomber, it's really easy to end up too far in *front* of the bomber, and then figs start pounding its ass with dumbfires from behind, then the commander starts screaming and boots you for incompetence. Not at all a happy situation for anyone.
The first step you want to be right in front of them with a single nan (EVERYONE else should be on the bomber). In the immortal words of a commander, "I should boot that gunship for letting the bomber enter first." Never EVER let that happen to you: a bomber alone in a sector is very much a bootable offense in many commander's books, and whether it's you, the bomber pilot, or the nans who need to be booted depends on the situation. By entering FIRST (gunship enters first with its singular nan, then ints, then bomber and nans) you ensure that a ) there's a clear aleph (your ship costs $250 compared to $500) and b ) you can start picking off enemy fighters the moment you enter.
Once you enter the sector, you're going to start moving towards the enemy base, but watch closely for your bomber. It should be behind you, like with con pushes, and you should be using your main guns/quickfires/hunters/turrets to blast anything in front of you heading towards the bombers. This part is easy. Shortly after entry, or maybe a while after entry, the enemy defense will be behind the bomber (since, you know, that's where the nans are). At this point, you ALSO need to be behind the bomber. See, your job is to be between the defense and the bomber, because it makes it more difficult for the defense to shoot the bomber and it makes it much less difficult when your turret gunners don't have to try and shoot around the big 'ol honking bomber behind you.
With good turrets and heads up piloting (NEVER be more than 1k away from the bomber please), that enemy base is as good as toast. Excellent GS escorts can even make un-nanned bomb runs work (not that you should try this).
