Armor piercing rounds

[Lusekofte]

I force myself to fly fighters and chosen LA and Lagg as main planes as a beginning. 

I like to arm myself with AP rounds in case I 

find armored vehicles on my way. 

Not having to bother with id any planes before I think I am a bit less aggressive than normal fighter pilots. I tend to come home with a lot of bulletholes and no spent ammo. 

However is AP rounds effective against planes or should I choose mixed ammo. 

I tried to search forum but probably used wrong search words. 

Fighter duty do bring another dimention, how to avoid a fight or engage. Flying planes I like do not give you much choice. 

[CanadaOne]

There are people from all over the world here. I think those of us who speak English as a first language, and enjoy the luxury of this site mostly being in English, can at least exercise some goodwill and understanding towards our friends from other countries.

[=621=Samikatz]

AP rounds can be effective against fighters, but you have to make sure you hit something important on them, like an engine or the pilot. High explosive rounds are generally better for doing structural damage like removing wings or control surfaces. Or you can just take a mixed belt

[Lusekofte]

15 minutes ago, Bilbo_Baggins said:

 

Could you perhaps speak in English please?

 

Regards

I thought I did

14 minutes ago, =621=Samikatz said:

AP rounds can be effective against fighters, but you have to make sure you hit something important on them, like an engine or the pilot. High explosive rounds are generally better for doing structural damage like removing wings or control surfaces. Or you can just take a mixed belt

So mixed ammo it is. 

Thank you

[LuftManu]

Mixed belts are usually the best. AP require aiming to a exact place whereas HE have better probability to damage parts around the impact.

That said, I find better to use AP to take out bombers. Aiming at the engines and cockpit. HE usually does almost the same but isn't as effective

 

Think of AP as a hole that punch trough and HE as a kick in the guts

 

PS: @Bilbo_Baggins if you can understand what he is saying, the communication was a success. Don't need to be so rude. 

Edited June 4, 2019 by LF_Gallahad

[Finkeren]

21 minutes ago, Bilbo_Baggins said:

 

Could you perhaps speak in English please?

 

Regards

 

Honestly I think Lusekofte's post made perfect sense. Maybe it's because he is Norwegian and I'm Danish, that I immediately grasp the, somewhat unusual but not technically incorrect, structure of his sentences. 

 

In answer to the OP: Yes, AP rounds are effective, but it matters a lot more, exactly where you hit the target. They obviously increase the chance of killing the crew and damaging other parts that might have armor protection such as fuel tanks, engine and cooling system, but they have no splash damage, meaning, that if they don't hit anything vital, they just tend to pass through without doing much damage at all.

 

In game terms, AP can be devastating to the engine and increases your chance for a pilot kill, but your stray hits will be less effective and generally you'll do less structural damage. 

 

I would use AP against bombers, where I have a better chance of lining up a shot, aiming at crew compartments and engines. One short burst to each engine with AP cannon ammo will drop almost any bomber immediately. Against fighters HE or HE/AP mixture is better IMHO.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Finkeren

[Leon_Portier]

You cant go wrong with mixed belts, its somewhat the best of both worlds.

The blue armor pierces do well against harder targets, like engine blocks or apcs.

The orange explosive ammo is easily my favorite, its always a great feeling to make things explode! They also tend to blow off parts of airplanes and I like using them against trucks and artillery guns.

[[DBS]MDS1]

I agree with everything said above, (LuseKofte your English is fine buddy - and far better than my Norwegian) AP rounds may have small benefit in busy Multiplayer servers, as the tracers are non-existent or very difficult to see. I have had quite a few occasions where I have shot at an enemy fighter with AP rounds, missed, and the enemy pilot was unaware I had shot at him, so giving me another chance to open fire undetected.

 

His Wingman didn't see my rounds being fired either. Helpful.... for a less talented pilot like myself

[Velxra]

As much as I love AP rounds in most circumstances in real life. The mixed belts are the best way to go. In game, explosive rounds seem to only damage the outer skin of an aircraft with minium interior damage. AP rounds seem to punch right through the aircraft and cause minimal damage even when fired directly into an engine. But when explosive and AP is combined. The "in game" result is more engine failures and more parts exploding apart. Plus the occasional fire or massive explosion of the plane is a bonus perk of mixed belts. 

However the exception to this result is the MK108. Those 30mm explosive shells punch through a target and explode without the need of AP. I have tested several Soviet special belts of only AP or only explosive and they seem to do very little individually requiring great expenditures of ammo to reach a kill. Even the P-39's 37mm AP round seems to do less then what one would expect to happen. If fired anywhere but directly into an A20's engine, the engine still sometimes requires two or more AP 37mm rounds to seize the engine. I would expect a 37mm hardened penetrating core to just go right through a paper thin plane without issue. 

Edited June 4, 2019 by Geronimo553

[Lusekofte]

I found that my aim is adequate, my approach to victim naive and escape abilities excellent. 

The choice to disengage smart. 

Dogfighting is more a kind of algorithm and less balls for me. 

[BornToBattle]

2 minutes ago, LuseKofte said:

I found that my aim is adequate, my approach to victim naive and escape abilities excellent. 

The choice to disengage smart. 

Dogfighting is more a kind of algorithm and less balls for me. 

Lol...well put! Same here...though “disengaging smart” for ground targets usually for me is just a precursor to getting greedy as I find myself dancing with trees on my way down into the thick of the woods.

[CrazyDuck]

Yes, AP rounds can be devastating in air to air! I tend to use pure AP ammo on nose mounted guns when I go bomber hunting, or when I want to add a stealth factor to my attacks (early Russian pure AP beltings don't have tracers).

 

You can snipe with those twin nose ShVAKs on a MiG or La from great distances, with your target not knowing they're under attack (no tracers).

 

In other words, if you know where to shoot (e.g. engines), and if it is easy to hit (non maneouvering bomber), use pure AP. If you have to spray in general direction of an elusive and/or maneuvering target (not knowing where on target your shots will land), use mixed or HE.

[Bert_Foster]

Whats the guide on the Arming load our screen with colour coded rounds ? Is there some documentation as to the significance of the colours ?

[LukeFF]

5 minutes ago, Bert_Foster said:

Whats the guide on the Arming load our screen with colour coded rounds ? Is there some documentation as to the significance of the colours ?

 

Blue, AP, Red, HE

[Bert_Foster]

Danke/Privet