RAM, I think I have this book at home, so please tell me what page your talking about, it might help me find it.
However, I will still say, that one anecdotal (or even several) stories related by a pilot (or even worse an author that just spoke to a 75 year old pilot) are not worth the paper they're written on in regards to technical facts. Hell, I can produce hundreds of stories of Hispano's working flawlessly.
I can also produces pilot accounts of F4U's, P51's, and P47's, out turning Japanese pilots in planes like the Zero or Ki84. So does that mean that we need to change the Chog flight model to reflect this? Of course not.
Anecdotal stories are not equivalent to research programs and actual testing. Sorry, but its just the way it is.
RAM, I suggest you buy the book that contains the Report from the Joint Fighters Conference held in late 1944, and edited by the same guy who wrote America's Hundred Thousand. It contains a full chapter on ordinance, comparitive effectiveness of the US .50's and 20mm's, the Navy's representative discussing they're (the Navy) experience with these guns, and even a down right "debate" (read arguement) that the Navy and the Army representatives got into over this issue. In fact, many of the things you bring up constantly, were raised by the Army pilots, and were subsequently shown as false or inaccurate by the Navy representative.
Show me data from an ordinance study, a reliability study conducted during the war, or comments and data from an expert in the field and I will take them into consideration.
But this crap that is constantly posted as "fact" in nothing but that... crap.
------------------
Vermillion
**MOL**, Men of Leisure