-=<202nd>=- Exorcists Fighter / Bomber Squadron (GMT Time Zone)

[FOZ_1983]

just eager to get in the air now.... thinking a blast of the demo might be in order!!

[Soviet Ace]

Originally Posted by David603

Been flying the Yak-3 for a couple of fights vs the Bf109G10 and Spitfire IX. It is very good at turning fights, big advantage over the G10 in turn and roll, especially at high speed. Not so much over the Spitfire IX, if anything the Spitfire has an edge at low speed but the two planes are very close. Yak-3 and Spitfire very close in top speed, G10 is a bit quicker. Good climber, but both the IX and the G10 are very good climbers, so they have an edge here. Dive rates are very similar across the board but the Yak-3 has the best high speed control responses.

Only thing I'm not really happy about is the firepower. Duelling with a pair of G10s, and I shot down one, then went after the other. Hit him with a snapshot that get him smoking, but the single cannon runs out of ammo during the snapshot. So I thought, no problem, he's already in damaged, I'll just knock him down with the MGs. Haul round on his tail, open fire and the MGs run out of ammo in about 1 second. Cursed, turned and dived away, but the G10 didn't come after me so I started following it and it went down on its own a couple of minutes later.

So I was curious, because I hadn't been using much ammo even though the Yak-3's guns don't seem to do as much damage as a Bf109 with a similar armament of 1 20mm cannon and 2 13mm MGs. Timed the firing time and the Yak-3 has only 9 seconds for the 20mm Cannon and 10 for the 2 12.7mm MGs. A Bf109G with that armament has 13 seconds for the cannon and 20 for the MGs, and really it should be more, they only have 150 rounds of 20mm ammo when they could have 200 but the game has no option to increase the ammo loadout.

Yeah that's my problem with the Yak-3 on 1946, is I don't think they got the rate of climb good enough. In reality, the Yak-3 was superb in Maneuvering, Climbing, and guns. And the reason, there is only 150 rounds for the cannon, is because they wanted to keep the plane light, and I know that later Yak-3s like the Yak-3P and I think the Yak-3U something, had 210 cannon rounds, but both of those were designed produced after the war, and used for ground attack. The WW2 Yak-3, has no number or letter. It's just that Yak-3

[PedroTheGoat]

I wonder how much ammo my P47 can take on?

[FOZ_1983]

Originally Posted by PedroTheGoat

I wonder how much ammo my P47 can take on?

How do you mean?

[Soviet Ace]

Originally Posted by PedroTheGoat

I wonder how much ammo my P47 can take on?

Matters on the model. My favorite was the P-47D with the Razor-back canopy. I'm not a fan of the P-47 with the teardrop canopy. But anyway, with the plane being 10,000lbs empty, and a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-63 Supercharged engine. I'd say it could carry enough ammunition for its sorties. I mean it did have 6-8 .50 caliber MG's, which did eat up a lot of ammunition, but I can't give an exact number.

[vincent1989]

Originally Posted by Soviet Ace

Matters on the model. My favorite was the P-47D with the Razor-back canopy. I'm not a fan of the P-47 with the teardrop canopy. But anyway, with the plane being 10,000lbs empty, and a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-63 Supercharged engine. I'd say it could carry enough ammunition for its sorties. I mean it did have 6-8 .50 caliber MG's, which did eat up a lot of ammunition, but I can't give an exact number.

i dunno about that plane, it might be completely worthless info but i know at the outbreak of war hurricanes had 200 rounds for each gun and bf109s had 600

just thought you'd like to know

[FOZ_1983]

enough for 12 seconds of continual fire. That alot of ammo in 12 seconds.

[PedroTheGoat]

I am stoked.

I have another American that is going to join up on Eagle Wing who happens to be a WW2 History major. He seems to know his stuff as far as the aviation goes. (Much more than this Goat could ever wish to know)

[PedroTheGoat]

As long as I have enough ammo to shoot down five planes in a sortie I will be happy. Always wanted to become an Ace in one day with truly realistic settings.

[David603]

Originally Posted by Soviet Ace

Yeah that's my problem with the Yak-3 on 1946, is I don't think they got the rate of climb good enough. In reality, the Yak-3 was superb in Maneuvering, Climbing, and guns. And the reason, there is only 150 rounds for the cannon, is because they wanted to keep the plane light, and I know that later Yak-3s like the Yak-3P and I think the Yak-3U something, had 210 cannon rounds, but both of those were designed produced after the war, and used for ground attack. The WW2 Yak-3, has no number or letter. It's just that Yak-3

Sorry, I should have said it was the Bf109G I was talking about when I said it only had 150 rounds for the 20mm cannon and should have 200. The Yak-3 has 120 rpg for the 20mm and 170rpg for the two 12.7mm MGs. So that is firepower on the weak side of average for a late war fighter with below average amounts of ammo. Doesn't help that the Russian ShVAK cannon used by the Yak-3 is rather inferior to the Hispano or the MG151 20mm cannons.

Definitely agree with needing to keep the Yak-3 light, it only has a 1,290hp engine when the Spitfire IX has 1,720hp and the Bf109G10 has 1,800hp.

I think the Yak-3's climb rate is modelled quite well, the real life initial climb rate is 4,265ft/min, which puts it at the top end of climb rates, but both the Spitfire IX and Bf109G10 have initial climb rates in the order of a bit over 4,500ft/min so their having an edge over the Yak-3 here seems fair.

Still, having only one point of real weakness (firepower) as a dogfighter isn't bad, most of the Yak-3's rivals have several at least.