.50 cal?

[Viking]

Not to mention the effect of the .50 on Tiger tanks. Also “claimed” ; off course!

Viking

[*Buzzsaw*]

Originally Posted by Viking

Not to mention the effect of the .50 on Tiger tanks. Also “claimed” ; off course!

Viking

Of course you're right Viking, all those claims by USAAF or British pilots using .50 cal ammo are false... no Luftwaffe planes were ever shot down by Allied pilots, the Germans were just too polite to hurt the feelings of all those useless Allies, so they bailed out or crashed themselves into the ground.

More observations of 'polite' Germans, this time by P-47 pilots:







Hundreds more reports, all courtesy Mike Williams sites:

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.o...r-reports.html

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.o...t-reports.html

Note that all these reports were classified, not available for publication till the late '50's or '60's, were not released at all during the war, so obviously were not written for propaganda purposes, but simply as combat reports.

[Kira]

He's just saying that you can't use pilot acounts as proof.

[*Buzzsaw*]

Originally Posted by Kira

He's just saying that you can't use pilot acounts as proof.

Salute Kira

Well, he's wrong. The USAAF, RAF, Luftwaffe, VVS, Regia Aeronautica, and Imperial Japanese Army and Navy all used pilots reports as the basis of awarding kills.

The USAAF and RAF also had the benefit of guncam footage to back those reports up.

Pilots from all sides overclaimed during the war but pilot reports were still the best source for accurate assessment of enemy losses.

There are over 300 pilots reports in the links I gave:

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.o...r-reports.html

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.o...t-reports.html

If you take the time to read them, you might come to the understanding that there is a clear consistency in the reporting. No doubt some of the reports might be optimistic, but to suggest that all of them are false or unreliable is clearly nonsense, especially considering most of them were backed up with guncam footage, and confirmation from wingmen.

They all indicate the effectiveness of the .50 calibre.

[Ctrl E]

wow -didn't mean to trigger such a discussion. gives us something to do i while we wait for SOW i guess.

i would have thought a single .50 cal round fired square into the 6 of an aircraft would punch through the pilot's seat (and chest) and smash half way through the engine block - thus killing the pilot and the engine. of course in real life the round would bounce around a bit and fly off at odd angles.

i still reckon the current .50 cal round is a bit weak.

this is getting a bit like an episode of CSI.

[IceFire]

Originally Posted by Ctrl E

wow -didn't mean to trigger such a discussion. gives us something to do i while we wait for SOW i guess.

i would have thought a single .50 cal round fired square into the 6 of an aircraft would punch through the pilot's seat (and chest) and smash half way through the engine block - thus killing the pilot and the engine. of course in real life the round would bounce around a bit and fly off at odd angles.

i still reckon the current .50 cal round is a bit weak.

this is getting a bit like an episode of CSI.

If you're new to the community then this is just another day, another .50cal thread

Lots of topics posted on it since we got the weapon in the first place. Between that and the German MG151/20 cannon. I used to think it weak and then I adjusted my convergence, thought about my shooting, and then I solved most of my problems. Rapid strikes in the same location will do it...cut apart near anything. It may be a tad bit weak but the debate on that will go on endlessly so I stopped worrying and made sure I was effective with it.

With a little practice its a fine weapon. You can go home with 3-5 fighter kills with it if you're good. Not easy to do that given what happens in combat but its possible.

[*Buzzsaw*]

Originally Posted by IceFire

Between that and the German MG151/20 cannon. I used to think it weak

...the MG151/20 weak>>>????

Don't think so, ever since Oleg adjusted the ammo load to include the maximum number of Minen shells after a storm of complaints from the Luftwaffe side, the MG151/20 is now the most powerful 20mm gun in the game, even though the experts rate the Hispano as being superior.

[BadAim]

Originally Posted by Ctrl E

wow -didn't mean to trigger such a discussion. gives us something to do i while we wait for SOW i guess.

i would have thought a single .50 cal round fired square into the 6 of an aircraft would punch through the pilot's seat (and chest) and smash half way through the engine block - thus killing the pilot and the engine. of course in real life the round would bounce around a bit and fly off at odd angles.

i still reckon the current .50 cal round is a bit weak.

this is getting a bit like an episode of CSI.

Yeah, the .50 is incredibly powerful for a machine gun round, but it's not that powerful, especially against large and heavily built aircraft. I've had skilled pilots dismantle my Zero in short order with no trouble, but they lack punch for larger and more heavily constructed planes. Nothing, but nothing can replace good gunnery.

[Jughead]

I've noticed the 50's on the bombers are quite a bit more powerful than than the ones on the fighters. I get hit with one bullet from a bomber and my plane is useless. Not the case at all when they come from fighters.