Found an interesting interview with a 3 RAAF fighter pilot, (flying Kittyhawk II and III) on fighter bomber missions:
Brian Eaton Interview Transcript
"
>Well moving on a little bit. The period that you joined No. 3 Squadron was really leading up to the end of the North African campaign. During that period what had been the main uses that the squadron had been put to?
Mainly ground strafing, stopping MT and troops and tanks, and ack-ack guns. We used to take off at night and try and spot the ack-ack guns that were shooting at our airfield.
>Did you do any reconnaissance flying?
Oh yes, all the time. We found them, and then our guns were sectored on to them, and that stopped them for a while, but I don't think it wiped them out.
>But the main role was –?
Mainly ground interdiction.
> And the aerial combat was just as a –?
Just as it happened, as it arose, yeah.
> But you weren't actually seeking –?
No, we weren't seeking aircraft.
> Right. How effective was the Kitty in that role of ground attack aircraft?
I think it was very good. It could take an awful lot of punishment and still get you home. It was a very, very –. You had six .5s, could carry two 250-pounds – later two 500-pound bombs – and still later carried a thousand pound bomb and two 500- pound bombs. So almost like a light bomber. Oh, it was a very good aircraft.
> Would it be possible to tell us the kind of typical sequence of a typical ground strafing attack, how it was set up, how you went in, how close you pushed the attack?
Well first of all you'd bomb from about 10,000 feet down to about 3,000 feet, then you'd pull up and see what was left, and then you'd get round, come in, come in low at speed and strafing. But the closer you got the more accurate you became, so the closer you got the more kills you got. And then try, always try and get a flame again.
> What do you mean by a flame?
We'd get it on flames – you'd hit his petrol tank – and then you were sure you had him.
> You're talking about aircraft here?
No, trucks. Trucks and tanks.
> Hm, How low were you flying when you came in on those strafing attacks?
Oh about a hundred feet.
> So, I mean, very very low.
Very, very low, yes, oh yes.
> Now much time did you have? I mean, from when you would see a target and begin firing, to when you were literally over it and beyond it?
About two minutes; oh two to three minutes I suppose.
> And how long would you have, what period of time would you have in which you could actually fire, you were close enough to actually fire?
About twenty seconds, and you only tried to do one strike and then get out of it. If you did too many strikes, you always got shot down. If you kept doing circuits and bumps on them, you're bound to get shot down.
> Right, so by and large, after the bombing you'd have …
You'd have one run-through and then get out.
>Right, and you wouldn't come back again?
You wouldn't come back, no."