LeFH 105mm Antiaircraft Gun

[Ram399]

So while reading the update log for this absolutely phenomenal update earlier today, I had a brief thought when I noticed the bit of information which stated that ground artillery pieces will now be firing actual projectiles which arc through the air rather than simply generating an explosion downrange without a shell.
That brief thought, as I'm sure I was not alone in having, was something along the lines of: wow that would suck to get hit by.
I quickly dismissed the notion however, as the odds of a moving aircraft being hit by a random howitzer shell seemed incredibly unlikely and I doubted I would ever see it happen.
As it turns out, I was wrong, and as an extremely unlucky AI P-39 pilot just discovered over Novorossiysk: HE 10.5 cm shells are very much not survivable.

So be advised, howitzer shells can kill you now lol.







"Gott im Himmel Herr Hawkeye"

[MercCrom175]

Awesome!

[Heliopause]

Reminds me of a story where Corsairs were landing on some Island in the pacific after attacking enemy positiones not to far away.

The Japanese troops using an artillery gun (not having anything better at that point). They hit one Corsair as it came in on finals.

(Anybody know where this happened btw?  Can't remember)

Edited May 21, 2020 by Heliopause

[Juri_JS]

Apparently occasional aircraft losses to artillery fire weren't uncommon.  I think I've read about Ju-87s and Hs-129s that were lost this way. Also fire from tanks brought down a few planes. I know of two Hs-129 that were shot down by T-34s and a Tiger gunner who shot down a Russian aircraft.

[[E621]dotDeutschland]

On 5/21/2020 at 10:50 AM, Juri_JS said:

Apparently occasional aircraft losses to artillery fire weren't uncommon.  I think I've read about Ju-87s and Hs-129s that were lost this way. Also fire from tanks brought down a few planes. I know of two Hs-129 that were shot down by T-34s and a Tiger gunner who shot down a Russian aircraft.

Yea the Tiger Gunner in question was supposedly Otto Carius' gunner, I got to talk to him in 2009 during a meeting I arranged with him via one of his Relatives for him and my Great Uncle to share their Experiences (my Great Uncle, in the Rank of Oberleutnant and leader of an Anti-Tank Unit, met him on the Eastern Front twice when) and have a re-union, and me and him also had a nice brief talk during that, since I served in the Bundeswehr at the time as a Tank Commander myself.
And I asked him if that story was true, that his gunner shot down an IL-2 and he said "It was never confirmed that WE indeed shot it down" he didn't see the plane himself either (go down or get hit) since he was trying to acquire a new target for the gunner to engage, he was only told after the fact by Infantry men who stood near the tank at the time that he supposedly hit a plane, he was confused at first why the gunner fired the gun at such an elevation, he thought it was a negligent discharge.
He said they found a wreck of an IL-2 after the Battle, but it couldn't be concluded if it was brought down by his Tiger.
He was also nice enough to Sign my Uncles Copy of Tigers in the Mud, and was generally a very pleasant man to talk to, he also told me about his Involvement in the Development of Tanks such as the Leopard 1 and Leopard 2, was quite interesting, I think we talked for like 5 hours. ?

[[DBS]Browning]

There are accounts of this happening in the first war and a museum in France that claims to have a shell "caught" by the gunner of an aircraft, although I suspect that is an untrue story.

[SYN_Ricky]

On 10/22/2020 at 10:21 AM, [DBS]Browning said:

There are accounts of this happening in the first war and a museum in France that claims to have a shell "caught" by the gunner of an aircraft, although I suspect that is an untrue story.

 

I've read accounts of WWI recon/artillery spotting crews whos said the felt sometimes shells passing close, shaking their planes, and in a few occasions even flying through the airplane, leaving nice holes in the canvas....so I guess it's quite safe to say that a certain number of aircrafts must have been brought down by artillery in WWI.

[BornToBattle]

Close...but no cigar.

 

https://www.americanairmuseum.com/media/9699
 

 

[=J18=FritzGerald]

?that was one lucky guy!

[Pinguim]

A soviet howitzer just killed my ironman pilot. I was feeling ultra-safe, the enemy AAA was destroyed. Just a "THUMP" and there goes my plane. Poor Werner... he was my first and only ironman pilot. ?

 

[Ram399]

4 hours ago, Pinguim said:

Just a "THUMP" and there goes my plane.

RIP
In an ironic twist of fate, a couple weeks after I initially posted this I too got blasted by a howitzer in a Hs-129.
Its quite a jarring experience, and a somewhat more common occurrence than I thought it might be- to date I think I've seen 3 IL-2s take one for the team lol.