If you were playing the latest version then that was the same as the video I’ve just uploaded. The bombs are just part of the combo. When you drop a bomb all of the other projectiles and small enemies are destroyed giving you a chance to dash in on a tougher target and fire everything that you can within that window. Then be sure to leave one bomb for the tank before the boss. If the carrier survives when the boss arrives then it’s already a bad run. If you go to the spoilers section, you can see a guy there that figured out everything already and wrote it down.
Just read your edit, I know you’re done with the game but I was curious as to what distance marker does the carrier appear in your run?