No tracers on the MIG-3 2x20MM ShVAK loadout ?

[Sunde]

Just had a few awesome sorties on WOL, 6 victories and one crash. 
I noticed that i did not see any tracers with the 2x20mm loadout when firing. Can anyone confirm this? 
Cheers! 

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

The 20mm rounds used in the ShVAK not include tracer rounds for a certain period, so this was implemented

[Sunde]

This just became my favorite plane, epic! Thanks Lucas

[GridiroN]

I actually find the MiG significantly more competitive at dog fighting than any of the other Russian planes. It's only weakness is it's slow, so if you lose the dogfight, you cannot run and you're basically dead. 

 

It's rather odd considering historically, the MiG was highly disliked and it's inventor was executed for making such a bad plane. 

 

I also am finding the high velocity Berezin guns on the MiG EXTREMELY lethal; more lethal than any other weapon strangely...

Edited May 20, 2016 by GridiroN

[ShamrockOneFive]

I actually find the MiG significantly more competitive at dog fighting than any of the other Russian planes. It's only weakness is it's slow, so if you lose the dogfight, you cannot run and you're basically dead. 

 

It's rather odd considering historically, the MiG was highly disliked and it's inventor was executed for making such a bad plane. 

 

I also am finding the high velocity Berezin guns on the MiG EXTREMELY lethal; more lethal than any other weapon strangely...

 

Artem Mikoyan lived to age 65 and Mikhail Gurevich lived to age 83. Neither of them were executed.

 

The MiG-1 and early MiG-3s had some serious deficiencies but the two biggest problems were that the MiG was designed from the outset to use the AM-35 engine and to fight at high altitudes where it was assumed by the Soviet leadership that future air combat would be fought. The reality was in 1941 that the Germans were typically operating their bombers and attack aircraft at low altitudes than anticipated and that forced the MiG and its high altitude engine down into lower altitudes than expected. It could have received a lower altitude version of the engine but those were priority for the IL-2 and thus the MiG fell out of favour.

 

Later on the two aircraft designers went on to design a few little known types.... the MiG-15, MiG-21 and MiG-25 as just three examples

 

We're lucky in that our MiG-3 has the later model revisions (in IL-2 1946 it would be the MiG-3ud) and the leading edge slats really change the aircrafts stall handling. It was otherwise quite a handful in a turn fight.

[216th_Jordan]

I actually find the MiG significantly more competitive at dog fighting than any of the other Russian planes. It's only weakness is it's slow, so if you lose the dogfight, you cannot run and you're basically dead. 

 

It's rather odd considering historically, the MiG was highly disliked and it's inventor was executed for making such a bad plane. 

 

I also am finding the high velocity Berezin guns on the MiG EXTREMELY lethal; more lethal than any other weapon strangely...

 

The best dogfighter? You cannot be serious   Have you tried dogfighting with it? you'll spin all over the place, if you're not careful and if you're too low the mig-3 is a deathtrap. If in the hands of a good pilot it can truly shine, but it's still not easy. stability, especially sidewards is very low and front visibility is horrible. The UB berezin was a very potent MG, faster rate of fire than browning M2, higher muzzle velocity than M2 .50 cal. rounds and also more weight per round, making it essentially a much better browning M2. I find it modeled very well and also prefer it instead of the 2x20mm Shvaks, even though it makes the plane a little heavier.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

The main problem with the MiG-3 is that pilots went from the I-15/153/16, quirky but relatively docile aircraft with excellent manoeuvrability and average speed characteristics, straight into an extremely high-performance fighter with vicious stalls and with a focus on speed over manoeuvrability. Take a Yak-52 pilot and sit them onto a MiG-29 and you would get the same effect.

 

Pilots who did dominate the MiG-3 however were extremely successful in its employment, and the reason for its ultimate termination was above all the priority the Il-2 got in engine supplies, which meant AM-35 production was ceased and the production lines shifted onto the AM-38. Most of the 6 IAK-PVO which defended Moscow with nail and teeth were flying MiG-3s for example, and there were multiple aces formed there.

 

As ShamrockOneFive pointed out, its designers - Mikoyan, Gurevich and also Polikarpov - were not in any way executed or anything for the MiG-3. Historians have been unfair with this great aircraft.

 

Jordan, I think it's all a matter of taste. I more or less agree with GidiroN on the MiG-3 being an excellent dogfighter. It is extremely fast and above that it accelerates very well, it remains very controllable even at high angles of attack, you can pull all the way you need and it will obey you until the end. The downside of that of course is that if you make a wrong move, the aircraft will follow that into the ground, but if you listen to what the aircraft is telling you and fly with confidence it really is a world beater. My favourite armament so far has been the default one. The hitting power of the Berezin combined with the rate of fire from the pair of ShKAS makes targets disintegrate in front of you. I was so pleased when I got close and personal with a Heinkel and basically shredded it in a one-second burst. Visibility is also amazing to all sides except below the nose.

 

I suppose it's a matter of taste and style, but I feel the MiG-3 has all the good traits of the I-16 plus the speeds needed for high-altitude combat.

[GridiroN]

Artem Mikoyan lived to age 65 and Mikhail Gurevich lived to age 83. Neither of them were executed.

 

The MiG-1 and early MiG-3s had some serious deficiencies but the two biggest problems were that the MiG was designed from the outset to use the AM-35 engine and to fight at high altitudes where it was assumed by the Soviet leadership that future air combat would be fought. The reality was in 1941 that the Germans were typically operating their bombers and attack aircraft at low altitudes than anticipated and that forced the MiG and its high altitude engine down into lower altitudes than expected. It could have received a lower altitude version of the engine but those were priority for the IL-2 and thus the MiG fell out of favour.

 

Later on the two aircraft designers went on to design a few little known types.... the MiG-15, MiG-21 and MiG-25 as just three examples

 

We're lucky in that our MiG-3 has the later model revisions (in IL-2 1946 it would be the MiG-3ud) and the leading edge slats really change the aircrafts stall handling. It was otherwise quite a handful in a turn fight.

 

My mistake. It was the head of the quality control bureau for the MiG who was summarily executed for the poor quality of the plane...

 

"A number of reports had been received about poor quality aircraft received by the regiments which pointed directly at the NII VVS as it was responsible for monitoring the quality of the aircraft delivered to the VVS. On 31 May 1941 the People's Commissariat of Defense decreed that the NII VVS had been negligent. A number of senior managers were demoted and the head of the Institute, Major General A. I. Filin was summarily executed.^[2]"

 

The best dogfighter? You cannot be serious   Have you tried dogfighting with it? you'll spin all over the place, if you're not careful and if you're too low the mig-3 is a deathtrap. If in the hands of a good pilot it can truly shine, but it's still not easy. stability, especially sidewards is very low and front visibility is horrible. The UB berezin was a very potent MG, faster rate of fire than browning M2, higher muzzle velocity than M2 .50 cal. rounds and also more weight per round, making it essentially a much better browning M2. I find it modeled very well and also prefer it instead of the 2x20mm Shvaks, even though it makes the plane a little heavier.

 

I have very little trouble controlling the aircraft. Yes, if you push it too hard, it'll spin, but the spin is fairly easy to recover from, unlike a Focke Wolf. I've been more effective fighting Germany fighters in the MiG than any other soviet fighter thus far, but it's possible I've simply gotten a lot better since previously flying Russian fighters seriously....I'm not sure, I'll give it a shot. I do not like the flying charactertistics of the LaGG, I find the La5 much better, but it's armament is highly limiting, and the YaK1 is good, but I have less hours in it. 

 

Over all, i find the Fw190 the worst for me as if you do not pilot it in a specific fashion, you will almost surely die. The F2 probably being my best plane.