Fuel Fire Kills

[JetlinerX]

Just curious.  I was watching some real world guncam footage and it confirmed my frustration...

 

Why is it so hard to light an aircraft on fire in this game?  Usually you get another air to air kill by eventually putting enough holes in them that a wing falls off, the pilot dies, or the engine seizes... but when you make your first hits, 75% of the time you get a fuel tank shot, and then you fly around each other for another 30 mins scoring pot shots while a stream of highly flammable liquid is pouring all over their plane.  Not to mention the exhaust is literally running down the side of the fuel soaked plane... so why is it so hard to get a fire kill in this game?

 

Im sure you all have seen the video, since we are all enthusiasts, but if you need to see what I was watching, check this out:

 

[Field-Ops]

Your video consists of all .50 cal guns on jap planes, which are prone to fires with pretty much any incendiary ammunition. We do get fires in this game, and it feels right on the money for the frequency depending on armament of your craft and your target. Try the p40s .50 cals against bf110, ju52 and he111. I think youl find what youre looking for.

[JetlinerX]

Ah, I wasnt aware of the combination shown in the video.  I guess I was thinking too basically.  I figured if hot metal was tearing holes in a fuel tank - shouldnt it be easy to light?  Ill give your suggestion a go.

[-SF-Disarray]

Aviation fuel, really any petroleum based fuel, has to have some fairly narrow set of conditions met before it will ignite. The important factors here are the fuel-air mixture. If you throw a hot round into a fuel tank it will just cool off without any fire if there isn't enough air in the mix. That is why you see such success with the delayed action incendiary used in American .50 guns against Japanese aircraft in that film of yours. The round punches a fairly large hole in the fuel tank of the plan and lets fuel out and air in, this is exacerbated by the lack of sealing tanks in a lot of Japanese aircraft. After a little bit of time goes by, a very little bit of time mind you, the incendiary agent kicks off or is still burning and you have all you need to start a fire: fuel, air and heat.

 

The British 303's on the Spitfire in game also seem to be very capable fire starters in German bombers as well. Also the BS MGs on the MIG do the job, they are also .50 guns.

[HagarTheHorrible]

Also, be aware that you're watching the "highlights", not the thousands of other gun cam clips that show nothing very exciting.

[Finkeren]

Fuel inside a tank will very rarely ignite, but fuel vapor from a leaking tank might, but once it is out in the airflow there is little chance of the plane actually catching fire, because the burning fuel will be blown away from the plane itself (On many gun cam films we see a single burst of flame from leaking fuel vapor igniting outside the aircraft but no further fires - we see that in the video posted by the OP as well). The real danger comes, when leaking fuel ignites inside the airframe, away from the airflow but with access to oxygen. Many of the planes in the sim also have systems like the inert gas system on Soviet planes, that actively prevents fuel tanks from catching fire by filling them up with oxygen-deprived exhaust gasses.

Edited July 9, 2017 by Finkeren

[Elem]

I'm finding fires break out between 15% - 25% of the time which seems about right. I don't tend to shoot until destroyed, just enough to get visible smoke or vapour then break off for my own safety. If the foe does not go down within a few minuets and the air space is clear I can go back for the coup de gras. I would rather damage several A/c than destroy just one. In reality those a/c would be out of action for a while and this is more draining on the enemys resources.

[Finkeren]

It also really depends quite a lot on the ammunition being used. These past couple of days I find, that I cause far more fires when using the Spitfire with its HS cannons and Brownings than I do with Soviet ShKAS/ShVAK/UBS armed planes.

 

Edited July 9, 2017 by Finkeren

[Riderocket]

Wait till the pacific comes out, then you'll see alot of fires!

[Finkeren]

personally i prefer explosions to fire

 

Planes as a general rule do not explode. Ammunition might be set off and cause an explosion, and you might occasionally get a huge fireball that looks like an explosion (but isn't), but explosions where the plane completely disintegrates into a million pieces, like we saw all the time in the original IL2 does not happen, except in the very, very, very rare instance of a large bomb being set off inside the aircraft.

[JetlinerX]

Wow, this post reminds me why I used to love the IL2 Community when I played 1946, and still love the community today.  On any other forum you'd get berated and called an idiot for a post like this - where as here its a bunch of awesome and useful explanations.  You guys are the best. 

 

However I cant wait for Pacific content.  I know more about those planes than I do these. 

[InProgress]

I don't tend to shoot until destroyed, just enough to get visible smoke or vapour then break off for my own safety. If the foe does not go down within a few minuets and the air space is clear I can go back for the coup de gras. I would rather damage several A/c than destroy just one. In reality those a/c would be out of action for a while and this is more draining on the enemys resources.

Heh you are rare of your kind, I often see people keep shooting at my ju52 after me and entire crew ejected, won't even mention shooting at completely downed plane on the ground that crashlanded.

[hames123]

Heh you are rare of your kind, I often see people keep shooting at my ju52 after me and entire crew ejected, won't even mention shooting at completely downed plane on the ground that crashlanded.

How about the rarest kind of all, the Ju87 pilot that tries(and fails) to dogfight after dropping his load(although this consists of pitching up and down on the deck afterwards, running for home and giving the gunner a good shot).

[=TBAS=Sshadow14]

you know if you take a .50 cal rifle you could shoot a car fuel tank all day and it will only leak from the holes.

granted in the movies its easy.

[CUJO_1970]

What a noobtastic video, what server is that from?

[JetlinerX]

What a noobtastic video, what server is that from?

Thats footage from me against rookie AI...