krattalak t1_j5zg6ab wrote
This is true of most WWII fighters to one degree or another. The p-51 mustang had 21 seconds of ammo. 380 rounds for the inboard guns, 270 rounds for the outboard guns. The Browning AN/M2 fired @ 750-850 rounds/min.
Minuted t1_j60o7o0 wrote
Honestly it seems like quite a lot if you sit and count out 20 seconds. Obviously up there in the heat of battle I'd imagine it didn't feel quite so generous, but I'd guess even a second or two of gunfire would do a lot of damage to anything in its way.
>A three-second burst from eight .303s produced 13 pounds of projectiles downrange while the 109’s combined cannon/MG battery yielded 18 pounds. But undoubtedly far less than 10 percent of all rounds fired connected with a target, which is why so few pilots became aces.
I guess you have to keep in mind the distances they would be firing from, and in a dog-fight the movement necessitating the huge amount of ammunition to increase the chances of a single hit.
I'm trying to find out how many rounds per second they'd put out, but still, 20 seconds of something that can put out nearly 5 pounds (2.2 kilos) of metal at supersonic speeds per second... I'm seeing about 20 rounds per second from each .303 gun, with eight guns on a Spitfire, so 160 rounds per second. Though there's a lot of variation across different types of aircraft and model.
I'd be morbidly curious about how much damage you could do if you could line up a Spitfire (or any WWII fighter) and unload all 20 seconds of ammunition onto a test target, if the guns could sustain 20 seconds. Even if not you could fire in burst rounds and see a similar effect.
My main point was that 20 seconds seems like a long time given just how much these guns put out but I ended up rambling. 20 seconds of watching a sunset is a lot different to 20 seconds of noise and fury.
dddxdxcccvvvvvvv t1_j60roti wrote
Roald Dhal writes very vividly about his ww2 flying experiences in going solo.
kelldricked t1_j60ufru wrote
20 seconds of shooting and fury is probaly longer since your so full of adrenilin that you percieve it a lot slower.
tminus7700 t1_j621s1g wrote
> But undoubtedly far less than 10 percent of all rounds fired connected with a target
I've heard far, far less than that. https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/1711/number-of-bullets-used-in-ww2
>The number of bullets fired per kill varies based on the source from 5k to 50k.
WesternOne9990 t1_j623m3q wrote
Yeah I’d hedge my bets on the far end of the estimates even.
Rexel450 t1_j69c67h wrote
> I'm trying to find out how many rounds per second they'd put out
P51P-51 Mustang armed with six Browning M2 .50 in machine guns, each firing at the exact equal rate, 13 rds a second, 800 rounds per minute: 1880 rds, (400 rds each inboard, 270 rds each outboard)
Shutterstormphoto t1_j64tqdz wrote
I’d imagine you shoot for less than a second at a time. It’s pretty hard to line someone up for a long time since they’re trying to dodge. Even a 1s arc would cover a lot of ground if you’re pulling the stick. Strafing runs in movies often are less than 10s too.
lennybird t1_j64ke60 wrote
Jericho_Falling t1_j67sv40 wrote
Here’s footage showing a captured German 30mm cannon firing Minengeschoß rounds at British aircraft, obviously the power is far higher than smaller calibers but even a few well placed .30cal shots would be more than enough to cripple control surfaces
Robocop613 t1_j60ldlh wrote
I feel like I've been lied to by every single game that included WWII fighter planes in them :|
HobgoblinKhanate1 t1_j60lqaa wrote
Now we need a WW2 dogfight sim where you fly to the front for two hours and have 20 seconds of shooting then fly back
Spot-CSG t1_j60mqtl wrote
DCS kinda
Puzzleheaded_Bus246 t1_j60t9b6 wrote
Yeah I was about to comment they should try DCS.
Cetun t1_j61u7ny wrote
Microsoft combat flight simulator WWII series
IL-2 sturmovik
krattalak t1_j60v56l wrote
That is 100% WWIIOnline. I am not kidding.
The_Thunder_Child t1_j61b51x wrote
Pretty brave of you to assume I even make it to the front. Normally get bounced by some dickwad flying CAP over the airbase I spawned at.
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