There is often a negative or complaining spirit in our Forums, but perhaps because of the Holidays I wanted to throw out a topic I have thought many times. The wonderful F5 cannon.
I now have three variants of the F5 and they all have one thing in common, a very good accurate cannon, despite the BR they sit in. My latest F5 is the Thai Fighter and I am very pleased with it! What’s not to like about an F5 with four all aspect missiles. Yeah F5 engines are not strong, but we learn in all the BRs particularly starting in BR 8 or so how to keep our energy up.
Could some of you mates who really get into the technicalities perhaps expound on why the F5 cannon is so good?
I try to avoid head ons but I must say, the F5 is definitely one plane I will close to 100m in and take a few potshots. Another plane I will do this in is the F86-5 Sabre, another plane with really good cannon.
F5s are a reliable plane that are to me one of the first really good jets once you start progressing up the US BR ratings.
What makes it cannon so good mates? I do not know about in real life, but in game, very accurate and reliable. F5s have a lot of good things going for them, you just have to keep that energy up.
Good Luck Mates! Trolls stay silent LOL
From what I understand (and this could be wrong) . It has a long barrel, meaning quite a high muzzle velocity, so the rounds are fast and has little ballistic drop at closer ranges. (compare to something like the 30mm ADEN which has a really short barrel and terrible ballisitcs) Making it really accurate to fire. Combine with the decent nose authority the F-5s have (and even EEGS on the F-5E) and its quite a potent gun. They also often have the speed advantage to close into a good firing position.
The gun also has a half decent fire rate as well, so you dont need much time on target to land a lethal barrage.
And all that packaged onto a slighly cracked airframe that is the F-5. (Can survive hits it really shouldnt and has almost no IR signature)
Keep in mind as well that for some reason they seem to pack equal punch to DEFAs with none of the downsides.
Im gunna chalk that one up to the terrible damage models we have, that result in real-shatter being a bit… excessive on the damage front. To fix that ,we need a damage model overhaul for aircraft
Maybe then my lancaster would survive 7.62s 😿
Though I’m not entirely convinced it’s a damage model thing, just think the guns are a bit too potent. But real shatter is real shatter.
Nah, thats never gunna happen :D
That all makes very good sense, when you’re in other planes the F5 is a nuisance. People have commented in battle chat rolling down the runaway in F5 Thai Fighter BR 11.3, “sorry for you”, but the funny thing I would rather be in that plane than a lot of the others. It has one thing more I always wished the other F5s have, four missiles, all-aspect, two of which are really good. Nice breakdown.
In my limited experience, they are quite reliable. I think it’s mostly due to the high fire rate, having 2 of them, as well as good ballistics and gun placement. The gun placement makes a massive difference compared to the belly mounted ones on many Russian and American planes, or the side mounted ones found on other planes.
Yeah, gun placement makes a huge difference for getting the lead right. Can aim the Hunters rather easily but cant aim the lightning or harriers at all
I will add this, the F5 is a plane that is not going to overpower the field, it is a plane you need to have positional awareness in, but unlike some other planes where this is a NECESSITY, when you have gained a good position on the field, taking into the plan its strengths, you can close with authority in an F5. You also mentioned its low IR signature. Hmmm…one of the first things I thought about when I started running into missiles in AirRB, defense is just as important as offense, just like in a lot of sports. Yet another good quality of this plane.
I think the F-5 just creates a false perception of its cannon because of all the other factors the F-5 brings. It’s a tiny, nimble platform with great nose authority and maneuverability that other planes have trouble hitting first because they are generally larger, less maneuverable targets with less nose authority. You can commit in head-ons and come out unscathed in a lot of circumstances when larger targets can’t.
The F-5 also has more ammo than the Mig 21s and 23s, which objectively have more powerful cannons. However, the increased ammo on the F-5 means you can afford to be a bit less precise and still come out on top.
Good Point.
Because BR13 battles are becoming so short, I have just recently been flying Sabre again, and to be honest, I forgot how good that thing is, or rather, at the time I didn’t have the experience to realize it. The
F-86-5 is like a Jet Zero to me, with speed, maneuverability, and an awesome cannon. I might go so far to say, it may be the best jet at its BR, depending on what type of Mig15 pilots you run into. In a vertical fight the Mig15 is pretty tough, but if you refuse to fight them at their own game, they can be dealt with pretty easy in a Sabre at BR 8.7, at 8.0 in the 50cal Sabre its a little different story.