Bigger is Better....20MM vs .50 Cal (pic)

[discod]

Im no ammunition expert but heres some food for thought:  I always hear complaints about 20MM cannons being to powerful and single ping kills not being fair. So I decided to do a side by side comparison of a single burst from 4x20MM and 6x.50Cal

This diagram shows the size difference and an apporximate physical impact area of the bullets (if hitting sideways).  This diagram does not show actual damage area because that all depends on the angle the bullets hit, the convergence, and explosive HE rounds vs. non explosive rounds, and rate of fire.

But all that aside you can see that 4x20mm has a larger potential impact area on a single burst.  Now the .50Cal has a higher rate of fire so this diagram is only to illustrate why a CHOG can get a "single ping" kill and most .50cal planes can't.

Keep in mind that if you were to diagram the 20MM impact area and include the explosive damage, the area in the diagram could double the illustrated size.

Another thing to consider is that when you see a "flash" as you are hitting a plane it usually represents 1-5 bullets depending on distance to target and your bullet convergence.  For example...at 400yds my CHOG will drop a plane and I'll only see 2 flashes, but at 150yds I have seen 6 to 8 flashes and not even made the enemy plane start smoking.  The difference is obviously convergence.  Your bullets are always going to be more leathal within your convergence setting.    enjoy!

 

[-duma-]

Hmm, I looked at the diagram several times but was unable to find it. Where's the impact area for the late-war 5MM HB Mk 2 armour-piercing pencil displayed?  

[discod]

   he he he I didn't want to diagram the damage of the No.2 led pencil for fear that people would say it was overmodeled.   he he he

[Pongo]

The 20mm mg151 round due to its lower velocity and poor ballistic coeficient is much more likly to be going sideways on impact and is therefore supperior by this standard.
kidding

[easymo]

  Hmmmmm. Caliber envy. A lot of that going around.

[Hooligan]

Discod:

The .50s fire faster.  In this game about 800 rounds/minute for the .50 and 650 rounds/minute for the HS 20mm.  So if your picture were to represent the number of rounds which would hit for a burst of a given duration the impact area should contain about 7.4 .50 rounds compared to the 4 20mm rounds.  By the way your picture seems to only have 5 .50 spaces and not 6 in the impact area.

I just did a quick measurement on my screen.  The "impact area" of the 20mms is about 17.1 cm^2.  An impact area for 7.4 .50s would be about 14.7 cm^2.

Hooligan

[Naso]

Doesnt matter how big your bullet is, is how you use it that count!!  

[Jochen]

 

The .50s fire faster. In this game about 800 rounds/minute for the .50 and 650 rounds/minute for the HS 20mm. So if your picture were to represent the number of rounds which would hit for a burst of a given duration the impact area should contain about 7.4 .50 rounds compared to the 4 20mm rounds. By the way your picture seems to only have 5 .50 spaces and not 6 in the impact area.

I just did a quick measurement on my screen. The "impact area" of the 20mms is about 17.1 cm^2. An impact area for 7.4 .50s would be about 14.7 cm^2.

How about M or HE round from MG 151/20? Rate of fire is higher than of Hispano and blast will not leave small neat hole like AP rounds do but much larger round hole about size of palm.

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jochen

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