Troubleshooting the A-6M Zero/Zeke/Reisen series this time.
Because the early variants are so fragile, I didn't use my standard bad tactics and just hang out at the bomber formation's 6 o'clock. Also, it's a Zero, and how can you NOT climb and turn in a Zero?
Instead, I used modified "boom and zoom" and high-side attacks, keeping my speed up and making fast diving attacks from above and behind, usually starting from 5 o'clock or 7 o'clock high and describing a gentle "S" as I dove to attack from at least a 300 m height advantage.
This turned the A6M2 series into an effective bomber interceptor, but even so I picked up enough hits to effectively pick out any faults in DM.
All in all, the DM isn't that bad. The engine is reasonably robust against small caliber bullets, as is the airframe, and the later series (A6M5 and later) planes are about as good as most Western planes in their ability to take damage.
The early marks catch fire almost too easily - just one or two rifle caliber bullets are enough to make the wing fuel tanks catch on fire even on a full tank of gas.
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...1&d=1404791035
For example, in the picture above, two rifle caliber bullets in a single burst instantly made the port side wing fuel tank burst into flame.
All of the variants are vulnerable to fuel tank fires, and any fuel tank fire is more likely to run the engine out of fuel than burn the wing off, although on the early versions you might get a fuel tank explosion.
In a very few cases, the "bug" that the DM doesn't recognize that a fuel tank is filled with fuel also comes into play. As in this case where the bullet not only punched through the forward fuel tank but also injured the pilot:
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...1&d=1404791269
Other than systemic bugs in IL2's damage modeling mentioned above, there are also a few cases where clear fuel tank hits DON'T start fuel tank leaks:
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...1&d=1404791602
A6M5 - Notice two penetrating bullets to port wing fuel tank but no fuel tank leak.
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...1&d=1404791705
A6M3 - Ditto. Although on second look it appears that the bullets might be a bit outboard of the tank, in which case they might have damaged the wing cannon.
A6M7 - Congratulations to whoever did the damage modeling on this one. Not only are damage results reasonable, but FUEL FIRES GO OUT WHEN THE PLANE RUNS OUT OF FUEL!
Edit: Fuel tank fires only go out and stay out when: A) You run out of fuel, B) The fuel fire has already been reduced to black smoke due to a long-hard dive which partially extinguishes the fire.
Other than that, they keep on blazing away even after you've run out of fuel.