Im having trouble bombing with U2VS

[jokash]

Im trying to play a U2 campaign but my bombs are all duds.I cant throw from too high or il miss,cant throw from too low cause it will not arm.I managed to one bomb detonation once out of 20-30 try's in quick mission with unlimited ammo,and tried different timers-default,contact,few seconds nothing.Maybe also worth noting that the map i tried on was Velikie Luki winter so maybe the bombs are burying themselves in snow?

[jokash]

OMG this thing has a bomb sight...never occurred to me that it has one...guess I'm supposed to drop from 400m or so.That kinda sounds suspect for historical accuracy though

[Calos_01]

Set timer to 5 seconds and it should be OK even if dropping quite low. 

[Avimimus]

Yes, you can set it to 5 seconds or more and it should work.

I also create a mod at one point that fixed this - although I don't know if it still works.

[jokash]

I'm gonna try 5 seconds later,but i think i tried 15 seconds before and it didn't work...also tried on summer map...didn't matter. I tried diving on target,lot of things but nothing works except throwing from at least 350m.Weird cause other planes can throw from basically 10m and it detonates.

[ShamrockOneFive]

Flown the U-2VS on lots of missions and the 5 second fuse setting works just as well there as it does in other aircraft. The bombs are small so you really have to get on target to get anything to happen.

[jokash]

19 minutes ago, ShamrockOneFive said:

The bombs are small so you really have to get on target to get anything to happen.

Im following the bombs with F6 camera...they drop fine,but they don't detonate

[easterling77]

Do you have this problem with other aircraft too?

Maybe fuses not armed (win + s)?

[jokash]

Now it fricking works...i tried with 5 seconds,and works normally from very low heights.I tried 5 and 10 seconds and they both worked.Contact fuse didnt work on small height though.

It was not due to fuses, - when you load in the quick mission the tehnochat informs you that bombs are fused.

They didn't want to explode on contact,default,2 seconds and 15 seconds when dropped from below 300ish meters.2 seconds is what i normally use for low level bombing.I know i had some trouble with A-20 bombs when attacking ships but cant remember now what it was.

I'm glad that everything works now so i can enjoy the campaign.

[Czech693]

There's a difference between arming time and detonation time.  For some reason setting detonation time to 5 seconds over rides the arming time and allows low drops.  You can change the arming time (all the allied aircraft have long arming times, whereas the german aircraft have shorter times).  I created a mod that changes all the arming times and install it with JSGME after every update (updates change the arming time back to default).

[Czech693]

On 1/22/2026 at 9:36 AM, jokash said:

Now it fricking works...i tried with 5 seconds,and works normally from very low heights.I tried 5 and 10 seconds and they both worked.Contact fuse didnt work on small height though.

It was not due to fuses, - when you load in the quick mission the tehnochat informs you that bombs are fused.

They didn't want to explode on contact,default,2 seconds and 15 seconds when dropped from below 300ish meters.2 seconds is what i normally use for low level bombing.I know i had some trouble with A-20 bombs when attacking ships but cant remember now what it was.

I'm glad that everything works now so i can enjoy the campaign.

For some unexplained reason, 5 seconds on the detonation fuse setting allows a lower drop that arms in a shorter time.  There has never been an explanation why that is so.

Assuming you're using the fab50sv, in data/luascripts/worldobjects/ballistics/bomb/bomb_rus_fab50sv.txt the FuseArmDelay=-1 (-1 is default, whatever that might be) and HitDefaultDelay=2.  I've changed that to FuseArmDelay=1 (1 second after you release it) and left HitDefaultDelay=2 (2 seconds).  Several bombs I have changed the FuseArmDelay to 0.5 second and HitDefaultDelay=0.5.  This allows you a succesful arming at low altitude without the 5 second detonation time.  In RL the long detonation time is used for when you want the bomb to penetrate a bunker, ship's deck, or into the earth.  Not good for troops or vehicles in the open as most of the explosive power is below the ground surface.  The German FuseArmDelay=1 (1 second and not default).  If you want I can post my bomb mod that changes all the arming and detonation times.

[jokash]

i don't want to mod anything just yet...maybe if notice more problems with bombs.

the AI apparently thinks the bombs in IL2 GB bounce around and that's why the 5 second delay works and 10 seconds dont:

What’s happening physically:
•     You drop at 110 km/h → very low airflow
•     Bomb falls only 50 m → not enough distance
•     Bomb hits the ground unarmed
•     But with a 5‑second delay, it keeps moving
•     As it rolls/bounces, the fuse vane keeps spinning
•     It finally arms after impact
•     Timer reaches 5 seconds → boom
This is why it feels like “5 seconds magically makes it work.”
It’s not magic — it’s the bomb arming after it hits the ground.

With a 10‑second delay, the bomb stops moving before it arms
This is the key difference.
At 10 seconds:
•     Bomb hits the ground unarmed
•     Rolls/bounces for maybe 2–4 seconds
•     Then it stops
•     Once it stops, airflow = zero
•     Fuse vane stops spinning
•     Arming process freezes unfinished
•     Timer reaches 10 seconds
•     Game checks: “Is the bomb armed?” → No
•     Result: no detonation

[Aapje]

It still doesn't make sense why it would move less with a longer delay.

[Calos_01]

I don't think it's that simple to explain. Many different types of fuzes were used, each with different arming times. Some required several thousand feet of free fall. The sim simplifies this; the set 5-second delay simply shortens the arming time. I think it's different for German bombs in the sim (they generally have a shorter arming time). There's a pretty good article about fuses here:

 

American WW2 Bomb Fuzes & Pistols – Stephen Taylor, WW2 Relic Hunter

 

[jokash]

5 hours ago, Aapje said:

It still doesn't make sense why it would move less with a longer delay.

and it contradicts itself by saying you need arm first then delay,(which isn't tied to arming),but then goes to say that delay is tied to arming.

So idk what to believe anymore.

Is the ground hit also a type of arming? 

44 minutes ago, Calos_01 said:

I don't think it's that simple to explain. Many different types of fuzes were used, each with different arming times. Some required several thousand feet of free fall. The sim simplifies this; the set 5-second delay simply shortens the arming time. I think it's different for German bombs in the sim (they generally have a shorter arming time). There's a pretty good article about fuses here:

 

American WW2 Bomb Fuzes & Pistols – Stephen Taylor, WW2 Relic Hunter

 

Yea, but how the game handles it we don't know for sure

[JollyJack]

Rockets work fine with the Uv2s, it still works with 7.001, and you'll need the Moscow Freeflight mod.

Use Autopilot to watch the show, use Camera F12-11.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/7bysrj42pqy31c2/Angry_Mamas_v3b_JSGME.zip/file

Skins for your Uv2s skins folder (also on Haluter's: https://www.mediafire.com/file/ucze1nwdpl45p6p/%2B_U2VS_Ukraine_v1_JJ.zip/file

Edited February 7 by JollyJack