BF109's and Stukas too hard to shoot down? Anyone else finding this?

[FlushMeister]

I really hope it aint a bug hehehe, As people mentioned it could be convergence, in a QM I sometimes see the guns hitting each wingitp on the fighters when I'm close and dont do much damage, if they fixed the gun convergence settings thing then a good idea would be to set it similar to a thing I saw on discovery where they set all pairs of guns to one different convergence, so it becomes a "band" or "carpet" of bullets that works in a wider variety of distances..?

Originally Posted by ElAurens

You must remember that the .303" British cartridge was adopted in 1888 as the standard infantry rifle round. It was designed to kill unarmoured, soft skinned human beings, not shoot down machines that had not been invented yet.

Rifle caliber machine guns, while still in use in most air forces at the start of WW2 were inadequate at best in the air to air role. It was not uncommon for German bombers to get back to their bases in France with hundreds of bullet holes in them.

To take down a fighter you must hit something vital. Hard to do from astern with what amounts to a fast firing deer rifle.

[Rather peeved]

i actually reckon this is one of the few areas of the game they got absolutely right.

Read Len Deighton's book about the BoB, Fighter. he talks about british pilots being utterly frustrated about emptying every .303 bullet they had into an enemy plane and it simply sailing on unaffected. when they trialled canon the results were spectacular, but the early versions jammed badly.

[DB605]

These topics made me laugh..."i cant bring this and that down, is it too hard?" lol guys, all you need to do is sort out your aiming. More practise is key to succes

[ReconNZ]

Originally Posted by DB605

These topics made me laugh..."i cant bring this and that down, is it too hard?" lol guys, all you need to do is sort out your aiming. More practise is key to succes

My issue isnt "it's too hard" - far from it. My question though was is it realistic to score 250 hits on a single seat fighter and not even make it smoke? On a closer examination it had literally dozens of holes in the fuselage, all of which made from dead astern, and yet the damage model recorded no major damage to either the pilot, or any of the planes vitals.

My question was is the damage model inaccurate from dead astern? I think it may be -this wasnt a one off - its easily reproducable, both with the 109 and the stukka.

[pupo162]

i placed a full pack of 20 mils on a hurircane last night it kept flying, when i used my 303s the poor nbastard was put on fire

[ZaltysZ]

At least for BF109, convergence settings work (except, horizontal and vertical are mistakenly labeled) in QMB, only custom belts don't.

[lacusch69]

I have hit a Beaufighter with MG FF, 25 times. And fly away, without problems...

[TonyD]

I too have experienced this, but as Rather peeved and ElAurens ponted out, this is probably very realistic. I did change tack and aim for one of the engines on the Heinkel with better results, even hitting a fuel tank (I assume) and causing the wing to explode.

The Stukas have a very narrow cross-section from the rear, so logically it is very difficult to hit anything vital, but the damage model appears very realistic. I've seen one of the fixed wheels come off, been showered in an assortment of debris, and noticed the dead rear gunner slumped behind his gun.

The level of detail evident in this sim is impressive, and am massively enjoying the campaign. Having to take off, fly a mission and make it back to base in one piece is fantastic. Reminds me of my first introduction to the genre - M$ Combat Flight Simulator, way back when.

[baffa]

I usually find the BF109 catch fire quite easy or a pilot kill, just a few short bursts.

I find it more random to hit things with the BF109 because of the insane recoil from those cannons.

[Strike]

Actually, with guns set to 150yd convergence I managed to saw off a 109's wing with 1 pass deflection shot. My guess was that I hit the 20mm Ammo drum and blew off the wing. Also if you go AP rounds you'll penetrate the seat armor if you hit the plane's cockpit area. I usually get my 109 kills by pilot kill.