Myth of the Tank-Busters fighters.

[Sokol1]

http://ftr.wot-news.com/2014/04/04/ground-attack-aircraft-myth-of-the-tank-busters/

 

[56RAF_Roblex]

That is one persons assessment, someone who was not there and was working off scarce and not necessarily accurate evidence.  On the other hand I watched a documentary on the Battle Of The Bulge in which they quoted Axis Command communications stating they cannot start the push until they have poor weather to keep the Allied air support grounded and, more importantly, they interviewed a German tank commander who was there and stated that once the Allied ground attack aircraft were able to fly the German attack was effectively over within days.   So German High Command and a tank commander on the scene both disagree with a researcher who was probably not born at the time. I am sure pilots  exaggerated their kills, often by accident, but the Soviets offered a reward for killing Rudel so they obviously found him effective without even having access to his exaggerated claims and even though the German sources from the 'Bulge' doc do not explicitly talk about how easy it was for Allied aircraft to disable a tank, they obviously had some reason to think they were a serious problem for them.

 

If BoX has a problem it may not be because 37mm shells cannot disable a tank but because the players who can get many tank kills are doing it at extremely close range, ranges that real life pilots would not attempt.  Same goes for rockets;   BoX has made the rockets quite inaccurate  but players are using them at pointblank range while real life footage shows typhoons etc firing from a long way out .   The bombs are correct,  even a very near miss with a 250kg bomb will leave a PzIV untouched but a direct hit will kill it.   I also wonder if the wartime tests with Typhoons attacking a single tank and getting few direct hits are representative. I would like to have seen the results of Typhoons attacking multiple targets lined up like a convoy where missing your intended target might still hit a different target.  The test they did was like saying "We tested a Thompson sub machine gun on a target range and only got a few bullseyes so it it is obviously useless against a trench full of enemies." :-)

Edited November 25, 2017 by 56RAF_Roblex

[BOO]

I always thought the Bulge offensive ground to halt because the GA took a further toll on the already overstretched supply lines, not necessarily because of the direct targetting for the armour by aircraft. Only a personal view though. I know the wiki article on the Typhoon supports the view of limited effect on target but great effect on moral and supply (but its wiki).

[56RAF_Roblex]

I always thought the Bulge offensive ground to halt because the GA took a further toll on the already overstretched supply lines, not necessarily because of the direct targetting for the armour by aircraft. Only a personal view though. I know the wiki article on the Typhoon supports the view of limited effect on target but great effect on moral and supply (but its wiki).

 

That is also feasible.

[Royal_Flight]

The Typhoon with rocket projectiles is described as having the firepower equivalent to the broadside from a light cruiser - being on the receiving end of a rocket attack (or a naval bombardment) would have a significant psychological effect, and even if a tank wasn't directly hit and disabled the potential for minor damage to degrade the effectiveness is high with all the fire and shrapnel flying about.

Several aircraft conducting rocket attacks one after the other would only heighten this effect.

 

I've obviously never been in a tank under enemy fire before but I imagine that knowing on an intellectual level that you're unlikely to be hit by something and even then thdtbehstever hits probably won't pierce the armour is very little comfort when you're caught by aircraft in the open and surrounded by explosions, with nothing you can do about it.

 

There's also no way in BoX to simulate spalling, and while it's unlikely that a near-miss by a 60lb rocket warhead would cause any appreciable damage, it's another factor at play.

[Lusekofte]

There is no myth around about the fighter bombers, yes sure there are people believing the P 47 ´s 50 cal ammo could penetrate armor of a Tiger, and the rockphoons was effective against them. 

But fact is , Panzer divisions was afraid of them, and halted during day light and traveled during night if possible. Main thing is Bombers and Fighterbombers was devastating to any form of convoy, making reinforcement and supplies almost impossible to reach their destination . 

A lot of armor was taken out by planes, surprisingly by heavies even, I do not think there is a myth, just high expectation on what a rocket armed Typhoon was capable of doing. No one think of the fact that Tigers was abandoned because of mail-function and lack of fuel. Even lack of ammo .