Developer Diary, Part 50

[StG2_Manfred]

The pitch wobble is still there for me in the Lagg, and I have a curve set for it as well - rudder is there as well, thought not as bad as the pitch.

Imho, both of these need tweaking.

I was only speaking about the 109. Comparing two different types of planes may mislead us.

 

Gonna give the LaGG a go in the afternoon...

[SOLIDKREATE]

EIGHT..............................TEEN.............................HUNDRED............................POUND...........................BOMB!

 

My heart almost stopped! Twin 37mm cannons, it's over for the tanks. The devil horns just popped out of my skull and the evil laugh has just started.

 

 

Thank You guys! Excellent work!

 

   

[Emgy]

This will stop your heart then, it's 1800kg, not pounds :-)

 

Edited January 26, 2014 by Calvamos

[Wulf]

EIGHT..............................TEEN.............................HUNDRED............................POUND...........................BOMB!

 

My heart almost stopped! Twin 37mm cannons, it's over for the tanks. The devil horns just popped out of my skull and the evil laugh has just started.

 

 

Thank You guys! Excellent work

 

   

 

Yeah, I suppose; if you manage to hit the things in the rear or on the upper decking, but these 37mm weapons are presumably no different to the 37mm anti-tank guns the Germans used in 1940 in France and then again in Russia in '41, which they found to be largely ineffective.  Maybe someone will know for certain but I'd have thought that strikes on the frontal armour or even the sides of a T 34 would do bugger all.

[LLv44_Mprhead]

Yeah, I suppose; if you manage to hit the things in the rear or on the upper decking, but these 37mm weapons are presumably no different to the 37mm anti-tank guns the Germans used in 1940 in France and then again in Russia in '41, which they found to be largely ineffective.  Maybe someone will know for certain but I'd have thought that strikes on the frontal armour or even the sides of a T 34 would do bugger all.

 

I would assume that you are right about frontal armour. About sides I don't know, the angle of strike is different compared to anti-tank gun on the ground, so that could make a difference. I am sure someone in here can come up with charts and stuff, so we can see if 37mm can penetrate T-34 side armour. Side note: not every Soviet tank was T-34, just like not every German tank was Tiger

[SOLIDKREATE]

This will stop your heart then, it's 1800kg, not pounds :-)

 

 

 

        

[unreasonable]

Yeah, I suppose; if you manage to hit the things in the rear or on the upper decking, but these 37mm weapons are presumably no different to the 37mm anti-tank guns the Germans used in 1940 in France and then again in Russia in '41, which they found to be largely ineffective.  Maybe someone will know for certain but I'd have thought that strikes on the frontal armour or even the sides of a T 34 would do bugger all.

 

That was my immediate reaction but I the experts pointed out that this was actually a 37mm gun based on a very different flak gun design with a higher muzzle velocity and tungsten cored ammo, which could penetrate Russian tank armour (often low quality cast steel).   But certainly deck hits would be better.

 

Though I still think upper deck hits are the best

[JtD]

Early T-34 frontal armour was 45 mm inclined at 60°, which basically made it impossible for the tungsten core round to penetrate in ground combat. The was quite sensitive towards angles, so there isn't much you can do with extra muzzle velocity. Sides were 40 mm at 40°, later 45 mm, which is about what was doable at short ranges.

 

Aircraft even in a shallow dive say at around 30° would greatly reduce this angle while adding to muzzle velocity, and penetration would be possible even through frontal armour, with no problem against sides, rear or top.

 

The SC1800, btw., was a high explosive gas pressure mine bomb, it wasn't supposed to be used tactically against tanks, but rather against large buildings and such. Apart from cluster bombs, it were SD bombs that generally were supposed to be used against vehicles. They produced more shrapnel and were thus far more effective than SC bombs in the open field, in particular when fitted with the Dinort rod that allowed them to explode a small distance above ground, and gave them some sort of daisy cutter effect. If Stalingrad is destroyed in the final release as it is now in the early access, we don't really need any SC bombs, but plenty of SD.

[Burning_Bridges]

I think 37mm aircraft cannon proved quite effective against tanks. Roof armor is very weak in all tanks. Also a plane usually would not approach and fire at the front armor under normal circumstances.

 

T-34 have been knocked out many times with 2cm vierlings-flak. The crews simply abandoned the vehicle because of the terrible noise created by so many explosive shells. The hull may function like a bell in such cases.

Edited January 27, 2014 by Burning_Bridges

[dburne]

I think 37mm aircraft cannon proved quite effective against tanks. Roof armor is very weak in all tanks. Also a plane usually would not approach and fire at the front armor under normal circumstances.

 

 

 

I have had pretty good success at disabling tanks by hitting the roof with the 37mm.

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

 There are pics in Rudel's book where he stands next to tanks he has destroyed and it seems the 37mm was fully capable of penetrating the sides of the turrets as well. One pic was of a T-34/85.

[=RvE=Windmills]

Early T-34 frontal armour was 45 mm inclined at 60°, which basically made it impossible for the tungsten core round to penetrate in ground combat. The was quite sensitive towards angles, so there isn't much you can do with extra muzzle velocity. Sides were 40 mm at 40°, later 45 mm, which is about what was doable at short ranges.

 

Aircraft even in a shallow dive say at around 30° would greatly reduce this angle while adding to muzzle velocity, and penetration would be possible even through frontal armour, with no problem against sides, rear or top.

 

The SC1800, btw., was a high explosive gas pressure mine bomb, it wasn't supposed to be used tactically against tanks, but rather against large buildings and such. Apart from cluster bombs, it were SD bombs that generally were supposed to be used against vehicles. They produced more shrapnel and were thus far more effective than SC bombs in the open field, in particular when fitted with the Dinort rod that allowed them to explode a small distance above ground, and gave them some sort of daisy cutter effect. If Stalingrad is destroyed in the final release as it is now in the early access, we don't really need any SC bombs, but plenty of SD.

 

 

So the SD bombs were capable of producing shrapnel that could actually cut through a tanks armour?

 

Or do you refer to lighter vehicles only?

[JtD]

I was referring to lighter vehicles, mainly, but shrapnel bombs also produce shrapnel that can penetrate (light) armour at ranges outside the gas pressure damage zone. However, they also worked against tanks without achieving penetration, by damaging optics, tracks etc. I wouldn't say bombs were generally effective against tanks, but SD would be better than SC.

[dimlee]

I think 37mm aircraft cannon proved quite effective against tanks. Roof armor is very weak in all tanks. Also a plane usually would not approach and fire at the front armor under normal circumstances.

 

T-34 have been knocked out many times with 2cm vierlings-flak. The crews simply abandoned the vehicle because of the terrible noise created by so many explosive shells. The hull may function like a bell in such cases.

 

I'd really like to see documented evidence of how many T-34 has been disabled by 2cm guns.

As for crew abandoning the tank because of the noise...did they prefer to be slaughtered in open?

[migmadmarine]

S!

 

 There are pics in Rudel's book where he stands next to tanks he has destroyed and it seems the 37mm was fully capable of penetrating the sides of the turrets as well. One pic was of a T-34/85.

As I recall, the T-34/85 had a bit of a reputation for having not particular good quality turret armor. 

 

edit in reply to Dimlee's post: I was watching the "Operation Think Tank" videos on Youtube today, and one of the experts that they had on for the discussion was mentioning the variants of the Sd.Kfz. 251 and 250 armed with 20 and 30 mm auto cannon, which often were requested by units, as they could be used to drive off enemy armor. While the 20 and 30 mm rounds would usually fail to penetrate or merely damage external components, but the impacts and volume of fire would compel the crews to fall back, for fear of being knocked out or drawing heavier fire. 

Edited January 28, 2014 by thenorm

[Burning_Bridges]

I'd really like to see documented evidence of how many T-34 has been disabled by 2cm guns.

As for crew abandoning the tank because of the noise...did they prefer to be slaughtered in open?

 

"... ordered them to concentrate automatic fire on the tracks of the advancing T-34s. Nobody was optimistic as to the likely outcome, but there remained little else they could do. ... They held their fire until the tanks had approached to within 200m. A burst of fire smashed the track of the leading T-34, which began to turn helplessly around on the same spot. Guns were then ordered to concentrate fire on the turrent. Even before the first magazine emptied, the turrent lid flipped open and a white flag appeared. The Russian crew clambored out and were taken prisoner. Meanwhile the cone of 20mm fire was switched to the left and another T-34 similiarly disabled.

Instead of surrendering, the crew of this vehicle chose to fight with small arms as they emerged. They were cut to pieces by multiple impacts of 20mm cannon explosions which sparked and spluttered around the hull. Other tanks met the same fate. Crews were scythed down at any sign of resistance. The rest of the T-34s turned back. It was inconcievable ...that their insignificant calibre cannon could have triumphed against tanks considered the heaviest of their type.

...They moved forward curiously to examine the results of their handiwork and discovered that, apart from cut caterpillar treads and damage to drive and sprocket wheels, there was nothing to explain the abrupt abandonment of the tanks. 'not until the prisoners were questioned did the riddle become clear'.... The answer lay in the resonant din produced by multiple 20mm strikes on cast steel turrents, which had the effect of transforming them into 'huge bells'.

'Continuous explosions on the turrent had produced a hellish noise which had grown louder from explosion to explosion. The sound had swollen beyond the realms of tolerance and had virtually driven the crews insane.'

... claimed his battery had disabled 32 T-34s tanks before the end of the year [1941], employing similiar tactics."

 

 

taken from "A War Without Garlands, operation Barbarossa 1941/42" by Robert Kershaw

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=26389

Edited January 29, 2014 by Burning_Bridges

[VR-DriftaholiC]

 

 

Full HD dev version of Oculus Rift tuning was completed last week. Thanks to our programming team, the game is absolutely compatible with this new technology. It’s truly hard to find words worth describing the whole range of emotions: delight, fear, curiosity, admiration, interest - all the feelings born by flying over Stalingrad in virtual reality. Yes, I know that the device  is not yet available to users on a true retail level and it will hardly be inexpensive, but trust me: HD Oculus suits BOS as great as cream suits hot borsch   A high level of immersion - usually featured by a quality sim game - becomes incredible due to the use of this thing. And yes, I don’t recommend it to faint hearted pilots. Although I don’t think there are a lot of those in our community, is there?

 

 

 

Bringing this back from the dead to ask why we can't try the Oculus support if you had it working (at least sorta) this long ago. Even the poor rift support in Elite Dangerous has boosted their sales. CHEERS!! 

Edited August 27, 2014 by driftaholic