Gun Convergence on the Spit V

[Mk10 225th]

I was just curious what kind of convergence folks were using with the Spit V.

I know that good convergence doesn't make up for lousy gunnery <sigh>, but just wondered what some folks were using for the cannon and guns.

I'm definitely not a long-range shooter, but it seems that even in the 300-400 range, or even shorter, I'm still not hitting as much as I should.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Mk

[Westy]

 Convergance setting sounds fine, are you "leading" your targets enough to account for bullet drop (good ole gravity) so that they hit the target where the guns are set to converge?

-Westy

[Mk10 225th]

Well, yes and no...  

I'm usually decent, though not proficient, at deflection shooting, and of course will need to practice more with AH, and with the .303/cannon combo of the Spit V of course.

But was just curious what other pilots who fly the Spit V sometimes use as their convergence, and thought I might give it a whirl.

I used to avoid the Spit like the plague in SDOE, as it had no punch whatsoever, and didn't last long in a fight.

I kind of like the Spit V against 109's in AH.  Seems to be a good matchup as long as you don't get suckered into following them low.  If you keep alt, and you can actually hit with them, they seem to do a nice job of killing things.

I've been firing the cannon and MG's simultaneously, and can hit okay sometimes, but just got a little frustrated after last night.  It seemed like I had a ga-jillion decent shots, both passing snap-shots and decent AOA shots from behind, but just wasn't hitting the broad side of a barn.  Got a couple to smoke, but I think I only put one down by myself.

Of course I'll have to say I was flying with just beer, and not whiskey, so that may have had something to do with it.  

But, was just curious what kind of convergence other folks were using, and any info on whether people preferred to stagger the convergence between the weapons, what distance they felt worked best, and if they used the cannon/MG's together, or seperately.

Thanks again in advance for any responses.

Mk

[funked]

I set the cannon for the longest convergence.  This seems to throw the rounds up a little higher which helps deflection shooting.  The guns aren't very far apart so it won't really hurt you to do this.

I set the 303's at about 300 yards.  This is about their maximum effective range.  Also they are way out near the wingtips so there is a benefit to getting them to converge.

I do not fire the 303's and the 20mm at the same time unless I am shooting at a big target (BUFF or building) or I am very close to the target (inside 100 yards).

I hope that helps.

[Fishu]

Yea.. longest convergence for spit is best, because it doesnt matter where those uber 20mm rounds hit, they'll do almost same as 30mm.

[Mk10 225th]

Thanks funked!

I'm going to try 300 for the .303's, and 325 for the cannon.

I'll try and remember the whiskey this time too!

Mk

[Mk10 225th]

Okay, just an additional thought, what would you guys think of .303's at 300 (which seems to be working well), and then maybe taking the cannon to 350.  Would 350 for the cannon be too long?

Thanks again guys,

Mk

[funked]

Well I don't fire both sets of guns at once.  The 20 mm are a longer range weapon and are not spaced very far apart.  That's two reasons they can have significantly longer convergence than the MGs.  So I would say yes, move those 20 mm out further.

Why don't I fire both sets of guns at once?  The ballistics are drastically different.  The 303 is like a ping pong ball vs the baseball of the 20 mm.  The ping pong balls drop off a lot more than the baseballs do.

So unless you are at point blank range, the path of the two sets of projectiles is so different that you will probably only hit with one.  And the one you want to hit with is the 20mm.  So leave the 303's alone until your cannon are gone, or if you want to scare a fleeing bandit into maneuvering.

If you were flying a real Spit, you could also save those 303s for use against halftracks and open-turret vehicles.  But for some reason those vehicles are completely invulnerable to rifle-caliber fire in AH.

[This message has been edited by funked (edited 02-17-2001).]

[Jigster]

I'm going to make a big generalization, by assuming the halftrack occupants duck and snug up against the armored walls, and the cabin is buttoned up, they should be, for the most part, safe from rifle caliber fire.

The M3 has between 6 and 12 mm (depending on model) of case-hardened armor, and that's enough to deflect most rifle caliber fire. In the case of .303 and 7.92mm fire, these were the calibers they had to face on a regular basis anyway.

Oh well, AP .303 or 7.92 firing into the upper compartment is going to nuke any occupants anyway.

- Bess

[Greebo]

I set all guns to 325 on the Spit 5. The 303s I mainly use for getting a few pings on fleeing planes or on difficult deflection shots. It doesn't do any damage, but I  occasionally get a kill out of it when they dweeb in or AA gets them later on.

[Andy Bush]

For a historical look at this question in the RAF in WW2, get a copy of:

Fighting In The Air
The Official Combat Technique Instructions For British Fighter Pilots, 1916-1945.

Barnes and Noble, $40.

The majority opinion was that 300 yards was on the long side of adequate.

Andy

[Fishu]

Too bad that close fights are not even nearly as common as they were in WB.

In WB I had default convergence for P-51 set to 175 yards.
Though, sometimes when I've been nutty in AH, I've grabbed out Spit V and flown with convergence set to 175 yards, makes up for nice christmas tree when opens up close to convernce with all guns  
(.303 does nice job too.. once surprised myself with F4u kill)