Drop tanks - Will we see appropriate explosion effects? - The Fight For The Sky: Our Fighter Pilots Versus The Luftwaffe In Western Europe (1945) -

[BlitzPig_EL]

Indeed.  The footage of .50 Brownings shredding a truck with no explosion would not hold the interest of the average movie goer watching the newsreels. 

Yet, that truck would have been completely shattered by the gunfire and useful for nothing but scrap metal.

[-=PHX=-SuperEtendard]

From the guncam footage I recall seeing the drop tanks tend to go up in flames quite spectacularly, but most of the times consuming themselves and seemingly leaving the plane without much damage. More like rapid deflagration than an explosion I would say.

Edited October 10, 2021 by -=PHX=-SuperEtendard