Daidalos Team's Room -QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS ONLY on IL2 Authorized Addons

[SaQSoN]

Originally Posted by Eldur

What's often?

Often enough for the Soviet command to issue a recommendation to never build an attack pattern on a tank column along this column, which would give tanks more time to aim at attacker.

Originally Posted by Eldur

And are there any accounts on successful use of this?

The most peculiar account of a Sturmovik pilot, downed by a tank, I found in Drabkin's book "I fought in Sturmovik". The guy was attacking German tank column going along it and from behind. When he started to turn his plane for a second approach, banking it to almost 90 degree right in front of the column, his plane was hit in a fuselage by 88mm AP shell right between him and his gunner. The shell passed through canopy, main fuel tank, blowing out all fuel and exited through the bottom of the plane. Fortunately for the guy, no fire was started and no controls were damaged.
Having only about 3 minutes worth of fuel, he managed to crash land his plane close to friendly troops and returned with his gunner to the airfield on foot. The plane was also salvaged few days later, since Germans were retreating from this area.

And there were few more accounts where pilots claimed, they saw tanks shooting at them, when they were flying low, attacking tank/vehicle columns on march.

PS Obviously, IRL hardly a tank, engaged in a ground battle would try to attack a plane, flying above. This only happened, when tanks didn't have any other target, i.e. on march, mostly. In the game the AI for ground units is simplified to save processing resources for a more important tasks. So they just choose a nearest enemy target, disregarding it's value, or danger level. That is why, they will shoot at you, instead of the enemy tanks, when you are flying too close to them. But that's a game, after all.