Taking a break from getting shot up by Wellingtons, to getting shot up by TBD Devastators. Why? Because there are some flyable planes in the game that can't keep up with the Wellingtons.
I initially tried a formation of 4 U-2VS and discovered that not only are they armed with 12.7mm tail guns (odd, since most of the specifications I've seen have them with 7.62 mm), but was unpleasantly reminded that they're one of the most overmodeled planes in the game in terms of accuracy and effectiveness of their guns. There are modern guided missile batteries that would envy the anti-aircraft effectiveness of the U-2VS in IL2.
So, I chose one of the most hapless planes in the game, the TBD. One formation of 4 Ace TBD Devastators vs. whatever I'm testing, so 4 .30 caliber MG aimed my way.
B-534: First off was the B-534, and I'm happy to report few problems.
The engine can take a fair bit of damage, possibly even a bit too much, before it dies.
The machine guns jam when the barrels are hit.
The fuel tank can take a bit of damage, but just one bullet won't ignite it. Even so, just a few rifle caliber bullets are sufficient to start a fire. Perhaps a bit too vulnerable there, although the tanks weren't self-sealing.
No weird control hits, but then I didn't collect that many bullets on the wing.
The pilot dies frequently, but then the B-534 didn't have any sort of armor glass or armor.
B-239: Next was the B-239 Buffalo. This one's a lot more problematic.
The main problem is the remarkable vulnerability of the engine, which suffers severe loss of power after just a few rifle-caliber bullet hits and dies after just a few more.
It's not just a Buffalo problem, but one of the systemic problems with IL2's damage modeling is that multiple hits to the same part of the engine count multiple times when they should count only once.
For example, in the picture below you'll see that the B-239 has taken a nose full of lead.
Normally, you'd think that it would be fair for the engine to die after that much abuse, but look more closely and you'll notice that many hits miss the engine and just shoot up the cowl, pass between the cylinders, or hit the same cylinders multiple times.
Look more closely, and you'll notice that the bullets really have only damaged 3 cylinders, and possibly some of the spark plugs/ignition harness and possibly put some holes in the crankcase. Since the bullets were fired from several hundred meters, you will have a severely damaged engine, but perhaps not a dead one.
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...1&d=1406486898
And what's going on with that big, black stain behind the engine? That's a severe damage texture and few of the bullets actually hit the forward fuselage.
The Buffalo is also vulnerable to strange control hits, where one bullet will take out one or more control surfaces.
It is also vulnerable to fuel tank hits, but then again, it didn't have self-sealing tanks. Despite that, it still takes several bullets to start a fire, so good damage modeling there.
TBD: Finally, let's look at the TBD damage model. I think that TD overmodeled just how fragile the TBD was. At the time of its introduction, the TBD was the first all-metal, stressed skin monoplane in the U.S. navy's inventory. For its time, it was reasonably tough.
But, in the game, it's incredibly vulnerable.
Additionally, they just made some DM mistakes.
Hits in these pictures are .50 caliber hits from a B-239.
Look at the screenshots below.
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...1&d=1406488117
1) The damage model for the wing is offset so that a bullet that actually missed the wing is modeled as if it hit it.
2) Hits to the inboard wing section trigger a damage texture on the outboard wing.
3) Two 0.50 MG hits are enough to trigger a Light Damage texture in the wing, giving the odd situation of more bullet holes than bullets which actually hit the plane!
4) While you can't really see it, one bullet in the horizontal stabilizer was enough to trigger a severe damage texture for that part, with a completely shredded control surface.
5) This damage is also somehow severe enough that the AI considers it to be worth aborting the mission.
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...1&d=1406488117
In the second screenshot, notice that damage to the middle fuselage actually triggers a light damage texture for the rear fuselage, and that one glancing hit to the inner wing is sufficient to trigger the light damage texture for that part.
Again, you've got the odd situation of more holes in the plane than there were bullets that hit it!
Ignore the "I'm on Fire" result, that's just part of the AI bailout routine triggered by the PK hit.