That almost ended poorly…
But yes, most 20mm-armed planes also have very limited ammo capacities, so you end up getting much closer than you otherwise would if using 6 or 8 .50cals.
Earlier I played a match in the 109 E-7 and I also needed several hits from 20mm wing guns to get the desired “wings snapping off” result. Most of the time they hit and did damage but my enemy somehow did not spontaneously combust.
Here’s another image. Figure 25
The exact same testing jig was used since 1940. The large plume matches the initial image I showed.
“in my dreams” Nah. That’s what M1 actually looked like
The bullet realistically should also detonate striking something hard. Similarly there is some effect with the gas tank.
Funny part is. The large plume is actually somehwat similar in size to the plumes we see in gun-cam footage (Not counting the plume that’s inside the aircraft), and going by the DTIC document, there should be at least some TNT equivalency to the rounds, especially if 4-5 rounds hit on thin airframes Don’t forget that there is a spacer as well and you can see it quickly spread.
You can not see anything in that image.
What you posted before was definitely from a He 111 fuel tank replica set-up.
Even though I would imagine they would shoot them with .50cals, whats odd in the image you posted was that the round you showed only detonated on the third dural plate.
But they probably also shot them with 20mm rounds.
Nevermind, you are actually right.
But remember it’s just a short flash of fire.
It definitely has some blast power and can ignite fuel from fuel leaks and could cause more catastrophic damage under the right circumstances.
But it’s not wonder weapon.
There’s a reason why they switched to 100% API
thats not the point of this thread though
the thread exists because currently in game the US .50 incendiary rounds do not preform anywhere remotely like they do irl causing US 0.50s to be much less consistent than other aircraft guns relying on pilot snipe or other lucky shots
The incendiary rounds don’t perform like real life but API also doesn’t. Except that API overperforming makes completely up for Incendiary underperforming.
API can fly through the entire air frame and set fuel or engines on fire.
And wings getting cut off happens a lot more frequently too, since spars have such a basic damage model.
Likewise AP can penetrate armor it couldn’t in real life because there’s no bullet tumbling and plane armor isn’t made from high hardness armor in WT.
That’s exactly what’s .50cal API is supposed to do.
It’s a bullet. It’s supposed to kill or wound a pilot, damage engine and cooling system, cause fuel leaks and ignite it.
The entire point of US planes having 6-8 .50cals is because more guns are needed to make up for the lack of killing power of a single round.
And 6 .50cals will easily shoot down a fighter just like two 20mm cannons.
Both in RL and in WT.
