The Folgore is really growing on me.

[BlitzPig_EL]

 

Cruising above the Moscow map.  7000 meters at an indicated 370kph.

 

The Mc 202 is really a very smooth flying aircraft,  It can dive at very high speeds without shedding it's bits, it is agile and I have found it an easy plane to fly in combat situations, both against my mates and the AI.  I still manage to do good damage and take enemy aircraft out of the fight despite it's somewhat lack luster armament.

 

And, it's oh so pretty.

 

Che bella!

[=362nd_FS=RoflSeal]

The Pasta machine guns are trash though.

[BlitzPig_EL]

I like it because it just isn't the automatic win button that the F4 is.

[Rjel]

It's just a very fun airplane to fly doing aerobatics.

[ITAF_Rani]

Real good plane...flying it with a wingman..it becames really interesting in dogfights

[4thFG_Cap_D_Gentile]

It can make the Yaks deploy their flaps alright  

[ACG_pezman]

Don't forget about beast mode, it's like an "oh-sh!t" button for dogfights.

[pilotpierre]

I tried it when it first hit the streets and was somewhat unimpressed. When BoM was released and after I had unlocked the skins on most of the other A/C I decided to give it another whirl. Once I started I couldnt leave it alone until the green bar hit the end. A very enjoyable bird and not a bad ground attacker to boot.

[BlitzPig_EL]

Don't forget about beast mode, it's like an "oh-sh!t" button for dogfights.

 

Beast mode?

[ShamrockOneFive]

I hadn't flown it in a while but this thread got me to do just that. You're right El... It's a real joy to fly this thing. It doesn't have the firepower but otherwise its incredibly pleasant to fly around! I need to some more time spent flying this for sure!

[Sunde]

Beast mode?

Warp drive, also known as boost! I think ?

[ACG_pezman]

Warp drive, also known as boost! I think ?

This guy gets it.

[Venturi]

It is excellent. Fast and responsive to control input with good turning, rolling, climbing, and diving, and I find the engine even easier than the Bf109. Doesn't have the low speed / rough handling forgiveness which is inherent in the easy to fly Bf109 models with their slats, so at low altitude it can and will kill you. Only real serious downside is the slow rate of fire MGs, which make snap shots difficult, but this just makes for an enjoyable challenge.

[216th_Peterla]

Yeap. I am flying it in the campaign and love it more and more. The only draw back is the weak armament and the slow rate of fire.

[CUJO_1970]

It's one of the best, I'm flying it in the Moscow campaign right now.

 

Curious as to how common the extra wing mg option was used, or the twin MG/151?

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

I'm definitely not an expert on the Folgore but I remember reading somewhere here that the MG151 pods weren't used operationally. From what I can find with a quick Google the C.202 wing-mounted light machine guns weren't too liked either, and were often removed on the field.

[150GCT_Veltro]

I'm definitely not an expert on the Folgore but I remember reading somewhere here that the MG151 pods weren't used operationally. From what I can find with a quick Google the C.202 wing-mounted light machine guns weren't too liked either, and were often removed on the field.

 

Yes you're right, 100%.

Edited May 23, 2016 by 150GCT_Veltro

[ShamrockOneFive]

Is there a reason why they weren't liked? I get the cannon gondolas causing a huge performance hit but the light machine guns add at least a little to the weight of fire, give a backup to the slower firing heavy machine guns and the performance change is minimal so far as I can tell.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Veltro probably knows more about it but here's Wikipedia, consistent with other sources I found:

 

An additional pair of Breda 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine guns was fitted in the wings in the VII series onward, but these, along with 1,000 rounds of ammunition, added 100 kg (220 lb) to the aircraft's weight and were typically removed by pilots to save weight, since they were relatively ineffective against most enemy aircraft in 1942

 

I suppose it's a matter of preference - the Soviet pilots often removed the .303s on the Tomahawks as well to save weight since wing-mounted light machine guns aren't exactly the most powerful armament in the world and don't do much outside of convergence range.

 

If you like them, definitely keep them though. I'm thoroughly enjoying the wing-mounted ShKAS on the I-16 and the default nose armament on the MiG-3 simply because they give me a lot of firing time whereas the ShVAK either runs dry before I get anything done or makes me overly conservative with ammunition.

[KpgQuop]

The default armament can get the job done though.

 

[CUJO_1970]

Good to know about those cannons, I won't use them.

 

Will be interesting trying to take down an IL2 with just the two nose guns.

[Jade_Monkey]

I need the wing gondolas until i get better at aiming accurately. Brute force!!

 

Perhaps some JS calibration will help too! I feel like rudder input is really sensitive.

[PatrickAWlson]

Shoot the pilot (or engine) by coming in at an angle; I find most aircraft struggle to take out an IL2 particularly if you are behind it (except the 190). Although I read that historically pilots would approach below and behind... I 'sometimes' have success here by cutting a wing or piece of tail off.

 

I feel I kill things a lot easier in Allied fighter aircraft generally.

 

Erich Hartmann used the behind and below approach to take out the oil pan, which apparently was vulnerable.  That also keeps the gunner from getting a clear shot.

[GridiroN]

Shoot the pilot (or engine) by coming in at an angle; I find most aircraft struggle to take out an IL2 particularly if you are behind it (except the 190). Although I read that historically pilots would approach below and behind... I 'sometimes' have success here by cutting a wing or piece of tail off.

 

I feel I kill things a lot easier in Allied fighter aircraft generally.

There is a flight sim YouTuber who has been claiming there is a long-standing issue wih German cannons saying they do far less damage than they should be.

 

I sort of believe it...when I fly the MiG3 with dual berezins, I find it HYPER lethal...i was eating ju88s for breakfast in campaign.

[Asgar]

yeah they do...the German 20mm shells actually have more explosive filler than the Russian 23mm. but since we don't elven know the exact beting of the cannons in game it's hard to say. 

Edited June 2, 2016 by 6./ZG26_Asgar

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Can't comment on the 20mm effects but the Berezin has a high rate of fire coupled with very high muzzle velocity. In other words, you're throwing a lot of fire at high speeds. The design was so efficient that the VYa-23 actually uses the same mechanism, only redesign to fit the larger projectile. By 1945, you still had aircraft rolling out of the production lines with UB machine guns (Yak-3 and Yak-9U for example), and it was simply converted to fire 20mm rounds in order to become the B-20.

Edited June 2, 2016 by 55IAP_Lucas_From_Hell

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

The AI on the Il-2 is a beast. One time we came with two Il-2s to attack an artillery position, and we met two or three Bf-109F-4s over it. I shot down the first one in a head-on pass, and went about my business. Then as I am strafing the artillery positions the HUD pops up - "Il-2 destroyed Bf-109F-4"