Skyfortress

**Key Features** | »» *"Earthshaker"* seismic bombs»» *"Firestorm"* napalm bombs»» Ball turrets with .50 cal machine guns (x2)»» Loud RR-Pennine piston engines (x4)»» *Please don't shoot me* lucky charms

*"Bomb goes in; corpse comes out. I can explain that."*

- Skyfortress Bomber
## Tactical Analysis

* **The Flying Fortress:** The Skyfortress is an aging WW2 heavy bomber. The Skyfortress mainly serves as a strategic bomber, crippling enemy bases with seismic bombs that shake the earth, collapsing buildings with ease.

* **Strategic Bombing at its best:** The Skyfortress also carries another type of bomb, which it can switch to dropping instead. Napalm bombs, which are small but numerous, burn for a for a significant amount of time, which lets them be be used for land denial.

* **Bullseye on wings:** The Skyfortress does have its Achilles' heel though. Fast-moving ground-based AA systems can avoid the deadly rain of bombs from the Skyfortress while dishing out hurt, and interceptors can easily bring down these bombers, though their gunners do afford Skyfortresses with a limited degree of protection.

* **Live to die another day:** Skyfortresses are infamous for their ability to resist damage. Once a crew has mastered damage control procedures, they can lock down almost any wound the plane might sustain in the air and quickly fix the problems.

## Operational History

The B-15 **Skyfortress** was already integrated into the United States Air Force before WWII had even started. It had yet to see any combat, but manoeuvres had hinted at a useful future. As soon as America had entered the war, entire squadrons of B-15s were shipped to England to begin strategic bombing. While Soviet industry was dampened, and many factory complexes were smashed, the B-15 had a severe vulnerability to interceptors. The ball turrets of the Skyfortresses had trouble following jet fighters, and entire wings of these planes were lost.

It wasn't until each bomber had a fighter escort that losses were minimised, but the damage had been done. These bombers were also shifted to front line duty, destroying Soviet bases and armour columns. To increase Skyfortress crews' drained morale, they were given the best luxuries in the Allied army. Colour televisions, ample leave time, actual prepared food, and high combat pay were made available to Skyfortress crews. This caused them to be resented throughout the Allied military, but they were quick to point out they'd gladly trade places with anyone else.

By the war's end the Skyfortress was obsolete, as newer fighters and anti aircraft systems were developed and deployed, limiting the bomber's effectiveness. Most Skyfortresses were retired in order to cut costs, dumped in the Arizona desert and left to slowly rust. There they stayed, however, until the fledgling Continentals decided they needed a stronger punch against Allied installations. However, this was easier said than done. Warfare had changed, and the Skyfortress was even more vulnerable to interception.

To that end, Continental sympathisers tuned the aging Skyfortresses to the best of their ability. Engines were supercharged, while the aircraft were stripped of as much weight as was possible to maximise speed. Old turrets were replaced by faster moving equivalents to better track Allied fighters. The original bomb load, however, had to go due to weight issues.

 File:CUSkyfortress.jpeg
Mechanics replaced the high explosive *"dumb"* bombs with a smaller amount of lighter bombs, which were more specialised and designed to cause more damage. Seismic bombs used the initial blast upon hitting the ground to force the heavier warhead underground, which itself detonated and caused a miniature earthquake below the structure. Napalm bombs are much less subtle; when they hit the ground, they spread napalm around, a jelly-like substance that ignites, causing a devastating firestorm!

## Behind the Scenes

The new Skyfortress model is based on the Consolidated B-32 Dominator, a limited production run bomber from the tail end of World War Two.