Rascal Dive Bomber

Rascal Dive Bomber
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Minor Faction	Republic of Vietnam Ranger Forces Cult of the Black Hand
Other Faction(s)	Confederate Revolutionaries
Unit Type	Ground Attack Plane
Designation	Anti Ground
Production Building	ARVN Command Tent
Secondary Ability	Drop Bomb File:AbilityARVNRascal.png
Cost	$1400
Production Time	0:15
Heroic Upgrade	Magnesisum Shells • 37mm does Burst damage
Dev. Status	In game

Country of Origin	United Kingdom
Produced by/ Recovered from	Da Nang Airfield, South Vietnam
Key Features	» 37mm autocannon (x2)  » 500 lb. gravity bomb  » Rear .30 cal machine gun turret  » CV Radio (Picks up radio talk show "Good Morning Vietnam")  » Tanya Adams Nose Art

ARVN propaganda picture of Rascal Dive Bombers soaring over the jungle foliage

"Look at them run!"

- Rascal Dive Bomber Pilot

Tactical Analysis

• Old, not rusty: The Rascal Dive Bomber is an old but very versatile attack plane that can rule the skies if no fighters engage it. Its primary purpose, as its name suggests, is to dive bomb enemies, strafing it with its autocannons as it goes.

• Out of the blue: While the rear machine gun is ineffective against modern jets, helicopters are much slower and can easily be shot at by the rear gunner, a fact which ensures a short life for (hostile) helicopters operating near the Rascal.

• Warning, single use only!: The Rascal can only carry limited weight, and has limited ammo storage. It can carry only one bomb, and though it can still strafe, it's only able to manage a few seconds of bursts.

Operational History

A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy and limit the exposure of anti-aircraft fire. This type of aircraft was most heavily used before and during World War II; its use fell into decline shortly afterwards. For its day, the Rascal was the most advanced dive bomber in the world. Using it as "aerial artillery" solved a major problem in the concept of how to attack dug in defensive positions.

However, despite their solid construction, Rascals could still be brought down by Flak Cannons, especially in numbers. Depending on how this occurred, the Rascal Dive Bombers might or might not have an opportunity to drop their bombs. Owing to their much smaller range and lesser anti-aircraft power, weapons fired by heavy infantry were generally ineffective by themselves, and would be quickly gunned down by the heavy autocannons.

After the Second World War, the Rascals quickly disappeared. Anti-aircraft warfare had improved as had the speed and effectiveness of fighter aircraft against the vulnerable, slow-flying Rascals. At the same time the quality of various bombsights allowed for much better accuracy from smaller dive angles, and the sights could be fitted to almost any plane, especially fighter aircraft, much improving the effectiveness of ground attack aircraft.

However, something unexpected happened. A squadron of Rascal Dive bombers was sent to the ARVN instead of the Hawker Jumpjets that they were supposed to receive. The ARVN took these outdated bombers and quickly deployed them along the border, before the Allied advisors could figure out what was happening. The Peacekeepers couldn’t bring themselves to take the Rascals away from the overjoyed South Vietnamese pilots, so they then pawned off a large collection of these old prop planes to the ARVN, who had roughly the same reaction as a kid told he could operate the sirens on the local fire truck. Nobody had the heart to tell them they could only use it effectively because the Allies established comprehensive air superiority first.

Just the Stats

Rascal Dive Bomber
Circling, Take-Off Speed(5)
Ground Attack Plane
Cost	1400
Build Time	0:15
Health	500
Speed	160
Armour Type	Thin Skinned

37mm Autocannons (Anti-Surface)
Move and Fire, Spread
Disruptor
Range	100
RPS	8
Damage	6
Suppression	8
DPS	48

Tail Gun (Anti-Air)
Move and Fire
Bullet
Range	250
RPS	3
Damage	10
Suppression	N/A
DPS	30

Bomb
Splash(80), Dumb-Fire, Limited Ammo(1)
Burst
Range	100
RPS	N/A
Damage	175
Suppression	100
DPS	N/A

Experience Levels
Default Kill Reward	800
Veteran	3200
Kill Reward	1600
Elite	6400
Kill Reward	3200
Heroic	12800
Kill Reward	6400

Erinys

Finishing what was left! This article (Rascal Dive Bomber), is part of the Paradox: Revival Project and is an attempt to finish off what was left of the wiki.

Template:Paradox: Rising Tensions

Erinys Strike Bomber
Minor Faction	Cult of the Black Hand
Other Faction(s)	Confederate Revolutionaries Republic of Vietnam Ranger Forces
Unit Type	Ground Attack Plane
Designation	Anti Ground
Production Building	Stolen Tech
Secondary Ability	Fuel Dump -Covers an area with gasoline before flying off screen to repair & rearm
Cost	Unknown
Production Time	Unknown
Heroic Upgrade	Volatile Incendiaries -Doubles length and damage of afterburn -Fuel Dump create firestorm, additional bombing increases duration
Dev. Status	Conceptual

Country of Origin	United Kingdom
Produced by/ Recovered from	Hidden Cult airfields
Key Features	» Wing Mounted Napalm Bombs  » Center Mounted Fuel Tank  »  »  »

"Rascal air support are here to save us!"

- Last words of an ARVN division getting caught in a friendly fire accident

Tactical Analysis

• I love the smell of napalm: Rascals modified in secret and piloted by sleeper agents, the Erinys carpets the area with bomblets filled with napalm. Due to their small size the bombs are not particularly powerful but set most targets alight and have decent splash radius.

• Terminate with extreme prejudice: The Erinys can also drop it fuel tank, covering an area in high flammable liquid. Units covered take additional damage from incendiary weapons and such weapons could also send whole area up in flames.

• A Flying Lighter: While ARVN might not have many anti air options, those few will find the Erinys an easy target due to its light armour and volatile payload. The Erinys also carries only so many bombs and must return to one of Cult’s secret airfields to restock, pilots generally do so after they’ve dumped their fuel reserves.

• Smells like victory: Mixing certain chemical compounds with napalm fuel can not only cause fires to burn longer, but the fuel tanks also create a short-lived firestorm when ignited, with additional bombs prolonging the blaze.

Background

Classified Information, Level 7 Clearance Required: the following conversation was recorded by undercover shinobi in Cambodia airport, an unidentified plane appearing to be modified Rascal dive bomber landed with pilot requesting asylum.

Cambodian Official (name unknown): So tell me why do seek refuge in borders and why should I grant it.

Pilot: Because I have vital information on the war in Vietnam.

CO: Interesting. Continue.

Pilot: The war is be manipulated by an undercover organization calling itself the Black Hand. I was recruited, probably because my hatred of the Vietcong would make me easy to indoctrinate, by their South Vietnam scouting cell, famously, and infamously by the Allies, known as the "Flaming Fist" air division, known for hiding their faces with masks and communicating in sign languages, apparently to instill fear in their enemies by hiding their identity from the Vietcong, and the Allies to avoid potential war crime trials. They were right, I had lost my sister in a guerrilla attack and was willing to lash out at anyone. (Breathes) They had me piloting modified dive bombers like the one I flew in.

CO: Modified? How?

Pilot: They ditched the cannons, machine guns, and some of the armour protection for greater range and bomb load. Instead of fragmentation bombs they used small ones filled with napalm. We were also taught to use our excess fuel to douse the enemy so we could set whole acres up in flames. We called them Erinyes, Greek furies of vengeance. (Sobs) I burned whole villages that I thought were filled with my enemies.

CO: What caused you to defect?

Pilot: After one successful mission I was told going to be among the first pilots chosen to use their new formula for our bombs and drop tanks, said it would make the fires continue to burn even longer and even erupt into firestorms that reduce anything to ash. I was so happy that I decided to disobey orders and left the base for night of drinking and to call my family. I was told we were forbidden to talk to others or contact anyone who was not part of the group, but I didn’t care. (More Sobs) Turns out my family was all dead, killed in a bombing attack that I realized I had led. (Sobs)

CO: I see, and then what happened?

Pilot: I snuck into the officer’s headquarters in search of answers. From the few documents I was able to read I found my attack was not a case of bad intelligence. In fact, they were multiple missions designed to sow chaos in the country. Reservists, ARVN, the Vietcong, and even civilians were being targeted all to prolong the war.

CO: Why did you not take this information to your authorities? Why come here?

Pilot: I didn’t know who to trust. The files showed that they had moles in everyone’s forces. I figured the only way to escape and warn everyone was to go someplace they weren’t.

CO: Sadly for you, there is no place we cannot reach.

Pilot: What? You're one of…

(Several gunshots)

CO: A pity, from what I was told you had such potential. But the Messiah has no place for the weak of faith.

Several hours later the airport was firebombed by a flight bomber now identified as Erinyes. North Vietnam and Soviets are outraged at this act of terrorism while ARVN and Allies have denied that they had ordered such an attack, and have stated that they will never stoop to such acts.