Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide to the He-111

1. Introduction This manual will cover the basic operations of the He-111 (H2 and H6) from Take Off, to Bomb Run, to Landing. It will cover recommended speeds, procedures and checklists for basic operation. It will NOT make you an ace bomber. That takes practice and lots of it. It also is not intended to be based on historical operations of the He111. This manual strictly refers to in-game operation.

2. Take Off Checklist This is my Checklist. Using it I seldom have problems because I’ve forgotten something simple. One of the keys is deciding on your bombing altitude and speed BEFORE you take off. Pre-Flight Prep

• Start flight control software and load appropriate profiles. • If using trackIR make sure it is running. • If using voice comms verify it is up and running. • Start game. • Once in pit bring up your map and set to desired zoom level. Note any

key landmarks in target area that may aid in alignment (roads, rivers etc) • Decide your bombing altitude. • Set bombsight altitude to desired altitude. • Decide desired aircraft speed (IAS) • Convert desired IAS speed to TAS (use chart—see Appendix A) • Set bombsight desired speed (TAS) • Set bombsight elevation to 60 degrees. • Select Engine 1. Start it. • Select Engine 2. Start it. • Select all engines.

On Active

• Hold brakes • Throttle to 80% • Release brakes • At 100 kph lower combat flaps • At 150 kph lower take-off flaps

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

• At 160 kph rotate

Take Off/Climb • Post rotate lift gear • At 180 kph flaps to combat • At 200 kph flaps to raised • Throttle back to 100% • Best Climb Rate is between 200-225 kph (IAS) at 0-500 (see EC Charts) • At 2800m switch supercharger to stage 2 • At 3000m lower mixture to 80% • At 5000m lower mixture to 60%

Refer to Appendix B for the Energy Charts on the He111

Cruising

• (Online) At alt, pitch to 80%, throttle to 80%--goal is 2200-2300 RPMs • (Offline) pitch to 85% throttle to 65%-70% as needed to maintain

formation • Check that all gunners are on autopilot

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

3. Key Instruments I’m not going to discuss every instrument as you should know the functions of the basic ones. The two from picture 1 called Waypoint Alignment and Landing Beacon are not basic instruments so I’ll go over those. The Waypoint Alignment indicator is very useful in COOP missions or Single Player (Offline mode) since it tells you whether or not you are on a straight course to the next waypoint. This is what you use to line up on your target while still some distance away. The Landing Beacon will sport a second flashing green dot when you are close to your home field. You can actually use it to make somewhat of an instrument approach. Can also help you get your bearings around those grassy strips that are hard to see…especially in the early morning sunlight with fog…

Artificial Horizon

Slip/Bank Indicator

VSI

Waypoint Alignment

Landing Beacon

Altimeter

AirspeedIndicator (IAS)

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

These instruments should be self explanatory.

Heading and next waypoint

Compass & Slip Indicator

Manifold Pressure for Engines 1 & 2

Tachometer Engine 1 & 2 Temp. Gauges

Engines 1 & 2

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

Took me awhile to find the fuel gauges. They’re above your head to the right.

Fuel Gauge Left and Right Wing Tanks

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

4. Working The Bombsight This topic is perhaps the single most talked about and the hardest to get for most people. The very first thing you have to do is map keystrokes (or joystick/throttle buttons) to the various controls. Bombsight Key Mappings

• Toggle Level Stabilizer – This makes the aircraft fly wings level. You can still trim elevator and rudder

• Toggle Bombsight Automation – This turns the automatic tracker on and off. • Increase Bombsight Distance – This increases the angle of your bombsight • Decrease Bombsight Distance – This decreases the angle of your bombsight • Adjust Sight To Right -- This will adjust the site to the right to compensate

for wind • Adjust Sight To Left -- This will adjust the site to the left to compensate for

wind • Increase Bombsight Altitude -- This increases the altitude setting you wish

to bomb from • Decrease Bombsight Altitude -- This decreases the altitude setting you wish

to bomb from • Increase Bombsight Velocity – Increases the speed at which you will be

flying when you drop. IT HAS TO BE TRUE AIRSPEED NOT INDICATED AIRSPEED. See Appendix A for the conversion chart.

• Decrease Bombsight Velocity – Decreases the speed at which you will be flying when you drop. IT HAS TO BE TRUE AIRSPEED NOT INDICATED AIRSPEED. See Appendix A for the conversion chart.

I’ve never had to use the left and right drift correction on the sights. From about 20 kilometers out I try and line up on my target with the waypoint alignment indicator and then toggle back and forth between the bombadier and pilot to adjust my speed and/or altitude.

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

5. Bomb Run Checklist Here is the list of things I do. I’m not saying they are the best methods but they work pretty well for me.

• 30k to 40k out from target start line up. If you had a landmark you selected in preflight this would be the time to find it. Refer to your map

• If in COOP use the waypoint alignment indicator to set main course • Trim elevator up very heavy • Switch to bombardier, Shift-F1 view. Sight should be set around 60 degrees.

Use it to see if you are aligned on target. • If within a couple of degrees then engage Level Stabilizer • Use rudder trim to adjust course left or right. I use taps of the keyboard • Switch to pilot view to verify speed, attitude and altitude. • Most likely you are in a slow decent. Trim up as much as possible. Note rate

of decent • Adjust altitude setting accordingly. • Return to bombardier and check alignment. Adjust accordingly • Engage autotracker. Aim short of the target since this will mark the start of

your bomb trail. • If it drifts past target increase bombsight speed and/or decrease throttle • If drifting short of target decrease bombsight speed and/or increase throttle • Make adjustments as necessary to keep crosshairs just short of target. • Once bombs are dropped it’s time to go home

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

6. Landing Landing the He111 can be tricky at times. She doesn’t slow down easily and doesn’t tolerate a hard landing on her gear. It’s easy to lose sight of the runway because of the instrument panel. Here’s a checklist I run. It assumes you have entered the pattern at 500 meters and roughly 250-300 kph.

• On downwind extend beyond the runway approximately two runway lengths with flaps lowered to Combat

• Set pitch to 50% and adjust throttle to maintain speed • On base drop pitch to 25% lower flaps to landing • Keep VSI 7 to 10 • On final lower gear. Speed should be approximately 170 kph-190 kph.

Altitude should be 100m – 200m • Cross threshold at 160 kph. Touchdown at VSI 5 or less. • Raise flaps • Pitch to 100% • Taxi clear

7. Conclusion This isn’t intended to be an all encompassing Ops Guide. I’ll probably add more to it as I figure it out and get in the mood again. If you have better hints or suggestions then feed them to me and I’ll update this doc.

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

Appendix A

Indicated Airspeed to True Airspeed Conversion Chart*:

*This chart can also be found on Disc 2 of your IL2/FB disc set as a PDF file.

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111

8. Appendix B As one can see from the charts below (produced by Youss’ IL2Compare program) the sweet spots for speed are at 2000 and 6000 meters. For beginner bombardiers 4000 meters is a good speed because you are at your slowest.

Forgotten Battles Operations Guide

To the He-111