.30cal effectiveness in career mode soft column attack missions

[Natives-Soul_Finger]

Can anyone speak to the effectiveness of .30cals in career mode soft column attack missions? I always choose the .30cal removal option for the P-39 but am considering keeping them for soft column attack missions.

[[N.O.G.F]_Cathal_Brugha]

Can't say for the P-39, but I have used the just the MGs on the 109F2 to kill soft targets.

[RedKestrel]

I would say they would probably be effective, but because they're wing-mounted they're only going to hit well at a certain range. You may want to increase your convergence setting a bit if you're closer than 400 yards or so.

Also IMO on soft column missions I find I act as a shepherd for the rest of my flight. If the coast is clear when we arrive, I'll join the first attack, then get to altitude and circle a bit, keeping an eye out for enemy fighters, while making periodic attacks. Assume you'll be flying against enemy fighters and outfit your plane accordingly. 

[Eicio]

Having more machineguns will make your fire wider thus will add more chances for you to hit especially at medium range.

 

However this is a small caliber and won't damage more than trucks but would be deadly against the infantry.

 

So IRL I'd said to keep them but ingame it won't really matter so do as you wish.

[Natives-Soul_Finger]

Thanks. I tried it twice and am not sure whether it was them or the .50s that got but one vehicle with about two passes each. I then had yet a third soft column attack mission in which I removed them and only took a 100kg bomb because I am usually running scared on the trip back as the Germans seem to get mad. The 100kg bomb was good for two of the tightly packed vehicles but the 37mm laid waste to twelve more. I usually suck at strafing so that was about as many vehicles as I usually get in about 15-20 such missions. They exploded as if they were carrying munitions and I was so low that I caught a lot of the debris - scared the crap out of me! Anyway, I will continue to remove the .30s for every mission.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2018 by VicNighthorse

[Ehret]

You can destroy soft-targets using the P-39' quad 0.30" in wings. At least they worked very well against trucks and the 1000 rounds per gun mod is very nice. However, it's not possible to fire them without firing 0.50"s at the same time. It wastes the precious and limited (200 rpg) 0.50"s ammo, needlessly.

If you look at the left side of the P-39' dashboard you will find individual on/off switches for guns. IRL it was possible to turn the 0.50"s off and then proceed to strafe with 0.30", only. Not implemented in the sim as yet, unfortunately.

[[TWB]80hd]

Rifle-caliber munitions are effective against all soft targets.  Where the damage model for the aircraft (and the tanks? At least the player controlled,I believe?) are quite extensive, the trucks and tents and AA guns seem to be more of a hitpoint based model.

 

Some things can had hardness settings adjusted via config, e.g. it seems much more easy to destroy tanks on Wings of Liberty than Tactical Air War, for example (or at least it was that way a year ago, with regard to 23mm AP versus AFVs) but soft targets just need a dose of any kind of damage to die.  

 

Trucks, AA guns, AT guns, some tents, all fall to dual-ShKAS no problem... in fact, you can definitely expand your lethality rating by saving your cannons and heavier ordnance for strong targets and practicing getting rounds on target with rifle cal MGs...

 

One thing to note is that you do have to HIT the target with the MGs... cannons with HE ammo will plaster soft-targets near the impact zone of each projectile, with the larger caliber cannons having of course a larger blast radius.  With your AP rounds and .30 cal/7mm range MGs, you need to get rounds directly on target before you'll see an effect.

 

That being said, I don't know how effect AA/AAA is in career mode... when you're up against heavy and/or accurate anti-aircraft fire, my opinion is that you should get in and get out as fast as you can... one pass, while the guns are still getting dialed in, and then make evasive maneuvers as you extend...

This little clip is from the TAW server, where the AAA will take your lunch money if given even half the chance.  In this case, I have found that a fast fighter (with as many projectile spewers as you can attach to it) in a single high-speed pass does the trick:

Here I had 2 MGs, the single MG 151 (20mm) in the hub, and then the two MG 151/20 pods underwing.  

 

While the heavy lifting was definitely handled by the explosive ammo going off all over these trucks, you absolutely want to throw as much weight of fire as possible on target since you only want to make one pass.

 

If you have time, and preferably allied fighter cover, you can take your time, line up your shots, and surgically apply your MG rounds as mentioned before.

 

In all other cases: