I made another custom mission to test how practical it is to score a pilot kill against a B-17 in a head-on attack.
To reduce the closing speed somewhat, the B-17 was set to fly at around 150 km/h, while I used an F8F-1 as the attacking aircraft.
The video only shows the successful attempts, so it should not be taken as an indication of the actual success rate.
The result is clear: if the shots hit the cockpit and kill the pilot, the B-17 can be brought down immediately.
However, even under these controlled conditions, the attack was quite difficult. The closing speed is still high, the firing window is very short, and in several attempts I either overshot the aiming point or ended up colliding with the aircraft, including the tail, after the pass.
This test confirms that pilot kills are highly effective, while also showing how demanding the required shot placement can be in an actual head-on engagement.
Is the bomber even shooting at you?
Now try this from behind the aircraft while it has altitude advantage by 1km or so
I feel like that would be a more realistic scenario when facing a competent bomber pilot
It may also be a good idea to compare different aircraft’s munition types instead of just .50 cals
Hi,
The bomber was intentionally not firing back.
This test was meant to isolate how practical a cockpit kill is under favorable conditions for the attacker, rather than simulate a complete real-match engagement.
I agree that attacking from behind against a bomber with an altitude advantage and active defensive guns would be much closer to an actual match, but that would be a different test with many more variables.
I have already done some separate tests with different aircraft and heavier weapons, including 20 mm, 37 mm, 57 mm and 75 mm guns, so I may compare those more systematically later. Thanks.
Ok fair enough
True, that would be harder to test
That would be awesome thanks
