The Tactics of Bombing

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The Tactics of Bombing

Author: Lord;Saltaeon

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[b]A small holorecording would play once the file was downloaded. The voice of Lord Saltaeon accompanied images and on-screen text.[/b]

"Perhaps unsurprising that have noted the tactics I have employed in war, I proudly proclaim that one of the best weapons in the Imperial arsenal is the naval bomber. As far as tactics go, bombing as done by naval bombers or from warships in orbit can be one of the most devastating ways to hurt an enemy; in both physical damage and morale. Often the task of destroying land or naval forces requires too much time or resources, strategic bombing aims to harm the enemy much closer to home; wear down their willingness to wage war and destroy their economical abilities. Systematically organised and executed by bomber craft flying in atmosphere aimed to attack targets deemed vital to the enemies capability to wage war, though often civilians can be caught in the cross fire.

In our modern era it is often forgotten that a primary aim of war is to demoralize the enemy, to force the enemy into surrender. Strategic bombing has been used for this purpose, though terror bombing is a contrasting technique purposefully used to break down the enemies will to resist. The common targets of strategic bombing are: factories, transport lines, refineries, and resource extraction zones.

For this purpose the Imperial Navy makes use of bomber craft, with two models being the most prevalent: the B-28 Extinction, and the B-5 Decimus. However the B-28 is the more common model of bomber used in atmosphere bombing raids due to it’s production lines being all across the empire. On the underside of the wing pylons are mounting points for two missile launchers which can be loaded with vital armaments such as concussion missiles, proton torpedoes, or important to this information the VL-59 Proton Bomb, which is loaded from the front and ejected from the rear. Each missile launcher on the B-28 can fit a total of 36 proton bombs for a combined payload of 72 bombs of 110kg each. The B-5 is able to carry a similar though small payload, and while it was banned for bombing purposes by the Treaty of Coruscant, that has since been withdrawn due to the Republics aggression. The B-5 is best suited to rapid attacks on changing or moving targets while the B-28 is suited more to traditional bombing raids on large and stationary targets.

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During the Dubrillion Campaign the B-28 had multiple uses of note such as a bombing run by a squadron of just three craft that successfully hit a major reactor junction outside of Valadad City before dropping more proton bombs on the exterior defenses of the city. The high payload and wide range allowed the three bombers to achieve more than any infantry could have possibly have achieved and shocked the citizens of Valadad as they were shown how vulnerable they were from air attacks. Later in the campaign a B-5 bomber was used in the defense of the city, as the Republic launched a major offensive a B-5 was able to be scrambled in a short time and reach the battlefield to drop a light payload on the Republic who felt they were about to breach the final line.

Several bomber squadrons of B-28s would also be used at the end of the campaign in the final bombardment of Dubrillion. The turbo lasers and concussion missiles of Harrower Dreadnoughts and Terminus Destroyers were more than sufficient of dealing the first blow but it was the bomber squadrons that were scrambled to to finish the job. The bomber squadrons were able to hit more targets and change direction far faster than the warships and the bombs they dropped would thoroughly ruin any structures not targeted by the orbital bombardment. It is a common misconception that after the Empire bombarded Dubrillion that it was a left a pile of ash, that is not the case. The orbital bombardment did succeed at breaking down the major fortifications, many of which can be constructed by the Empire, while it was the the bombers that were able to break down factories and bridges and communication centres. The Empire did not leave Dubrillion as ash, it left Dubrillion as ruins and chemical leaks that will take years to repair. And much of that is thanks to the work of dedicated bomber crews.

A war can be won by naval warships or it can be won by infantry and their armour or it can be won by Sith. But none of these three have the sheet destructive power that can be delivered by bomber squadrons. Five squadrons of five bombers with support from fighters and scouts can effectively deliver enough ordnance to reduce industrial zones to unusable rubble in hours. During the Battle of Corellia, as lead by Darth Decimus, he made use of heavy ordnance from bombers to crack the surface of tunnels and to strip the first layer of defense from the Republic before the army moved in and assaulted the shocked defenders. This was a major part of the strategy that allowed Corellia to initially fall to the Empire. I hope this assessment will have lead future warzone commanders to consider the validity of strategic bombing, instead of sending infantry to their deaths in front of enemy guns. The Republic is dug in deep, bit we can root them out with just eight tonnes of proton bombs."

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