Aircraft damage

[Knarley-Bob]

Just wondering why if I'm flying the plane, one burst, and I'm toast.....

But if I'm trying to shoot it down, same type plane, and  I pummel it,  it keeps on going? 

[keeno]

In a nutshell............ you're missing and they're not! ?

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

25 minutes ago, Knarley-Bob said:

Just wondering why if I'm flying the plane, one burst, and I'm toast.....

But if I'm trying to shoot it down, same type plane, and  I pummel it,  it keeps on going? 

 

Gunnery Accuracy. 

You shoud know that very good player (ACE) has around 20% for ww2 and 35+% in ww1.

So he or she miss 80% of his bullets in average ?

Edited December 3, 2020 by 1PL-Husar-1Esk

[Knarley-Bob]

24 minutes ago, 1PL-Husar-1Esk said:

 

Gunnery Accuracy. 

You shoud know that very good player (ACE) has around 20% for ww2 and 35+% in ww1.

So he or she miss 80% of his bullets in average ?

What is a good convergence point of the guns for different missions, "rule of thumb?"

[oc2209]

21 minutes ago, 1PL-Husar-1Esk said:

 

Gunnery Accuracy. 

You shoud know that very good player (ACE) has around 20% for ww2 and 35+% in ww1.

So he or she miss 80% of his bullets in average ?

 

This is mostly true, but there are other variables to consider in the OP's case.

 

Hitting a plane and hitting it fatally are two different things. Hartmann got so many kills because he had a plane with nose mounted guns, which he then rammed up the target's tail before firing. Even though he was a good shot at range, he still preferred pointblank for a reason. Probability. Probability is always in favor of pointblank. The closer you get to the target, the fewer bullets you will use to kill your target. This is true of virtually all kinds of ballistic weapon, of course.  

 

With wing-mounted guns, proximity means less. Wing mounted guns demand careful attention to range estimation and gun convergence settings for greatest effect. Pointblank with wing guns typically means shredding the wings of your target when you're aiming at the fuselage. Firing from a Tempest, that damage will still be fatal 9 times out of 10. A P-51 will be much less reliable in that situation.

[Noisemaker]

2 minutes ago, Knarley-Bob said:

What is a good convergence point of the guns for different missions, "rule of thumb?"

Well, it first depends a bit on the plane you're flying (Whether the guns are out on the wings or on the wing roots, or nose). For anti-air, I prefer for the fighters I fly (Spits, P40, Hurricane, Yak1b) between 200 and 250 meters/yards, simply because I like to get as close as possible with the minimal risk of damage to my plane from parts blown off from my prey.  For ground attack, I'm usually around 300 meters/yards.  Close enough to see what the hell I'm shooting at, but not auger into the ground.

[oc2209]

7 minutes ago, Knarley-Bob said:

What is a good convergence point of the guns for different missions, "rule of thumb?"

 

I'd say for wing guns, 200-300m is the average range of convergence.

[[DBS]Browning]

There is also a natural bias at play.

You can feel your damage in a way that you can't feel your opponent's damage. It often gives people a false impression that they are taking damage that their opponent isn't.

[oc2209]

21 minutes ago, [DBS]Browning said:

There is also a natural bias at play.

You can feel your damage in a way that you can't feel your opponent's damage. It often gives people a false impression that they are taking damage that their opponent isn't.

 

Actually, when you get close enough... you can feel their damage. Especially when bits of their damage fly in your face.

 

 

At this distance, I believe the enemy pilot's condition would be, in the modern parlance:

 

He dead.

 

And no, I didn't collide with him. A simple nose-down jerk and I'm clear. Nice thing about the seemingly smaller explosive round of Russian 20mm is that large pieces of your target will fly off less frequently than German 20mm. Therefore it's the solid AP shot that will kill the pilot reliably at pointblank. And I would never use the 30mm at this distance. Unless it was a snap shot in a turn.

[PatrickAWlson]

1 hour ago, Knarley-Bob said:

What is a good convergence point of the guns for different missions, "rule of thumb?"

 

I like 200 meters.  I almost never shoot from further than that and the spray is not bad when you are closer.  

[cardboard_killer]

For cannon wing mounted I tend to go farther out, around 300 meters, but for <13mm 220m is my rule of thumb.

[PatrickAWlson]

Per the OP, might depend on the plane you are flying.  I am in the Fw190 A3 now and I have found it to be a very tough plane.  Not only does it not fall apart but it maintains its speed quite well.  It loses some of the stability you might want if you were to continue fighting but it tends to remain plenty stable enough to fly and land.

 

So no, I feel like I am on the positive side of that equation.  

[Fritz_X]

For gun convergence setting I use the following rule: The further the guns are off from the plane's center line, the lower the value of the convergence setting.

 

In general I devide my choice into three options:

 

1. Planes with center line mounted guns (Bf-109 F/G/K, La-5, Yaks, etc.): 400 - 420m convergence.

 

2. Planes with a mix of center line and wing root mounted guns (FW-190, Bf-109 E, I-16, etc.) 300 - 320m convergence.

 

3. Planes with wing mounted (far from the plane's center line) guns (Tempest, Spitfire, etc.): 260 - 280m convergence.

 

Of course everybody has to find the values that match best with one's individual taste and playstyle. But the values I gave above do work like a charm for me.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Fritz_X

[Dutch2]

10 hours ago, Knarley-Bob said:

Just wondering why if I'm flying the plane, one burst, and I'm toast.....

But if I'm trying to shoot it down, same type plane, and  I pummel it,  it keeps on going? 

 

First of all, I’m also not the best gunner but I did learn lot from BoX specific instruction video’s. Maybe not always right as some will eventually write down, but in my case it did help a lot. Below is an sample check out this guy on Youtube. 

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Dutch2

[ksetuni]

2 hours ago, Dutch2 said:

 

First of all, I’m also not the best gunner but I did learn lot from BoX specific instruction video’s. Maybe not always right as some will eventually write down, but in my case it did help a lot. Below is an sample check out this guy on Youtube. 

 

great video thanks for sharing

[cardboard_killer]

Requiem's name should be attached to his videos. He has a series on differing gunsights in the game, specific to plane

[Angry_Kitten]

its a common fault.... the enemy can easily hit the oil filter or radiator and down you with two shots..

 

while shooting 1,000 rounds, rise of flight, into the tail of a Gotha or handley page merely makes an engine smoke..

 

Other times,  in rise of flight, range of .65 km i can snipe out a bomber engine with 100 rounds, when i can barely fit the ENTIRE handley page inside the aldis sight ring. the white circle in it. 

 

Once shot the tail off of a felix stowe with 500 rounds. Other times that doesnt even scratch the paint..

[Panzerlang]

I tell my brother that the modelling is very sophisticated, in as much that HE rounds can deflect off an airframe at very oblique angles and can detonate both internally and externally. This appears to be confirmed when attacking the Cement Mixers (Sturmies). They take incredible punishment from dead astern without going down but fire into them from a 'squarer' position, such that rounds penetrate and detonate, instead of deflecting and going off outside the airframe and they can be put down with one short burst, even from only one nose cannon.

Edited January 24, 2021 by JG51-Hetzer