Spitfire

[Vector]

Hi

Just started to fly spit and now I'm curious of the differences between those two. Transition from P-47 to spit is quite difficult what comes to shooting. Spit seems to need much more lead? Any tips would be great.

Thx in advance

vector

[DanielMcIntyre]

Get up close and personal. Use .50's instead of .30s.  Fire your hispanos's without your mg's to get used to the cannon, which obviously go a lot slower then the jugs .50's.  If your hitting with your hispano's your gonna be hitting with your .50's but not vice versa.

[Kweassa]

I remember blowing up a P-51D with just 21 rounds of the pea-shooters and without cannons on the Bf-109F4. Of course, this was done at a distance of 68 yards  

 .303s would do enough damage just as much as any 20mms, IF, you are a superb flyer and can get real close enough... but considering all those 350mph+ on deck late war monsters around in MA... You won't get much chance getting within 400 yards unless you totally surprise someone. At least, since the Spit's relatively slow compared to many in MA.

 So, Zyg mentioned it good there  . Try setting .50s rather than .303s if your shooting preferences are with snap shots/deflection shots... giving as much damage in a short time if it hits. Take the lead shots with .50s and don't use cannons unless you feel that it is a lead shot you can't possibly miss.

 The cannons come in handy when you outmaneuver the guy with a Spit and you are lying right behind their 6 at 300~500 yards. 240 rounds of cannon ammo   isn't as pathetic as the 150 rounds, or 60 rounds of cannon on 109s, but compared to the thousands of .50s on US craft, it ain't much either. Save it and use it well

[Urchin]

UBB bug.

[Am0n]

The 303s will need much more of a lead than the 50 cals.

the 50cal has much more velocity so its doesnt drop as much under heavy G-load.

on the other hand the 303 has a much higher ROF(rate of fire). (aim for wings when possible)


Also for 303s you need to make the convergence close if you want them to have power, most people would say to set them out far but i disagree, the bullet is useless over 250-300 so you want to go closer to get the max power out of your round.

I fly the 202 for kicks some nights and it has 2-303s and 2-12.7mm machine guns, probably the weakest gun package in the MA. I set my convergence to 200 and only shoot when 300 or less. I had a 4 kill sortie in the 202 last night, so it is effective.

[ 11-13-2001: Message edited by: Am0n ]

[Angus]

I fly my spit9 with .50's and cannons converged at 450 yards!
Being somewhat slower than most of those late war monsters, I try to trick them into running away from me after some turns, and then I nail them when they think they are safe! Kill them at 800 easily. Last night I killed a B26 from behind low at 900 with a 3 second well aimed burst.
The Hispanos are very deadly, you just don't have too much ammo to spare, so you better hit.
With this convergience I often accept a HO, the spitfire being nimble enough to get me into a firing position sooner, and away quickly, I often blow up chogs, nikis and tiffys.
The Spitfire's problem in AH is the speed, or rather the lack of it. Keep her fast, most other fighters will underestimate your speed. When in autoclimb I often climb at 200 miles, so If I get bounced, I totally surprize the enemy by having maneuver speed.
Hope it helps  

[Nifty]

Spits have .50 cals?  Oh yeah, you're talking about the Spit IX.    

regardless, I don't see much difference from personal experience in the .303s and the .50s.  You get 4 .303s as opposed to 2 .50s so it evens out up close.  Like others have said, the .50s will reach farther.  I rarely use the MGs on the Spit though.  They are last resort for trying to get home after the cannon rounds are out.  240 rnds of cannon is plenty for 5 fighter kills easy.  It's nothing against GVs tho, so don't waste your time unless there's just nothing else to shoot at.

Try to get used to looking back when you're breaking to avoid a BnZer.  If you time it right, you can roll back onto him for a fleeting snapshot as he zooms.  If you hit, even if it causes no damage, 75% of the time, they'll break thinking they're in trouble.  Last night, was on the deck and someone came in fast, I broke right, rolled over left and took the snapshot.  Saw one hit sprite, no damage, but he flopped to avoid what he thought was danger and augered.  Also, you can use the MGs at long range to "scare" them into turning.  I think someone else said that already, but it might have been in another thread.  

Try out the Spit V.  She's not as fast and sexy as the Spit MkIX, but she's got a ENY of 30 as opposed to the IX's 18.  Perkies will rack up faster if you're into that sorta thing (like if they ever make the Spit 14.  )