Here is a link to our resident bombing squadron. You will find that their CO has done a wonderful job of explaining bombing, much better than I could ever expect too.

Machine guns from the Great War were terribly inaccurate weapons on the ground, let alone in the air. Successful pilots closed to point-blank range before opening fire.
When you find yourself in a dogfight, don't waste precious ammunition on long-range shots.
Instead, choose your targets carefully, and then close the range until you are within about 30 yards of your opponent. (Visible call sign good indicator)
When you open fire, don't hold the trigger down too long. Snap out short, well-aimed bursts.
Long bursts are likely to jam the machine guns and will waste ammunition.

1. Straight on the target.

A dog fighting tactic can be roughly divided into two basic types. Turn & Burn (known as Angles) fighting is a tactic in which a fighter tries to gain a position advantage on his enemy by out-turning him. Energy is always an important consideration in any fight but the T&B fighter relies more on his ability to turn than he does on his energy. A Boom & Zoom (or Energy) fighter on the other hand is constantly building an energy advantage (zoom) and then converting that energy to a snapshot (boom) opportunity.

The tactic a fighter chooses depends to a large degree on the type of aircraft the pilot is flying and the type of aircraft of his enemy. The classic T&B aircraft is one with a light wing loading and a less than superior dive capability. Relatively low powered aircraft often find an advantage by employing a T&B style of dog fighting.. The T&B pilot will rely heavily on his aircraft's ability to turn inside his enemy so as to slip onto his six to obtain a good close-in opportunity. The pilot of a good T&B fighter will try to lure his higher wing loaded counterpart into a turn fight. If his opponent complies, the T&B pilot will allow his enemy to chase him into a turn until he eventually is able to turn inside the less capable aircraft and setup for a high percentage kill. A bad habit many T&B pilots develop is their tendency to rely entirely on the T&B tactic and forget about energy management. To illustrate, two similar aircraft utilizing T&B tactics to an extreme could result in both aircraft attempting to turn inside one another and continuing to chase one another around in a circle. Such a stalemate has been called a "Lufbery" named after the WWI American ace, Raoul Lufbery who was believed to have developed this tactic. The Lufbery is not considered to be a very effective tactic. In fact, many inexperienced fighters tend to fall into the Lufbery habit which more often than not results in loss of their life.

The B&Z fighter relies primarily on gaining an energy advantage over his enemy. Beginning from a higher altitude than the bogey, the B&Z fighter will enter into a dive developing maximum airspeed. He will then use this excess airspeed to attack (boom) the bogey and obtain a snapshot opportunity. Before the enemy can retaliate, the attacker will pull hard into a climb (zoom) and convert his airspeed back into altitude thus maintaining his energy advantage. A good B&Z pilot must be more patient than the T&B fighter. The T&B attacker will work his way into a position where he can slide "into the saddle" and line up for a sustained firing opportunity on his enemy's six o'clock position. The B&Z attacker will typically only possess a second or two to get off a shot before he must zoom out. Good marksmanship and lethal gunnery combine with a high powered aircraft capable of developing good diving speed and the power to climb out make up the ingredients of a classic B&Z aircraft. WWI examples of primarily B&Z aircraft are the Allied Camel, Snipe, Spad, N28 and SE 5 HUN DVii, Phalz and to some extent Alb D2-3-5. These aircraft possess excellent diving speed, tremendous horse power, and deadly fire power. Just as with the T&B fighter, the B&Z pilot must not rely entirely on the energy tactic. This is especially important when you have inflicted a significant hit on your bogey. Rather than continuing to boom and zoom, it may be that your opponent's capability to turn has been seriously lessened so that you can manoeuvre into position for a typical T&B kill. As with any kind of warfare, aggressiveness is the key to B&Z fighting and the tactician must always seek to take the offensive. Depending on the type of aircraft and the situation, a combination of T&B and B&Z tactics can give a fighter a significant advantage. Knowledge of the characteristics of his own aircraft and the other aircraft around him provide the pilot with proper style of fighting he should employ.