The Il-2 already dominates GVs with cannons, and the HurriD, and Yak9T all carry more ammo, and have far better performance, than the Stuka. What's the big deal?
The
"big deal" is that the German BK3.7 firing
Hartkernmunition ammo, achieves penetration up to 140 mm at 100m distance, 90 degrees impact, and 70mm penetration at 60 degrees deflection.
In comparison, our "dominating" IL-2 carries the VYa 23mm cannon which penetrates 75~90 mm at 300m, 90 degrees impact, which drops down to 42-52 mm when impacting at 60 degrees. The Hurri2D carries Vicker-S 40mm cannon which is much less powerful than the other AT guns, and can achieve upto 50-55mm penetation only with the aircraft's speed working as a factor. Our Yak-9T's NS-37 37mm cannon is not using AP rounds in the first place.
In short, the Ju87G can penetrate a Tiger tank from the front with not much of an horizontall angular setup, as long as the firing distance is close and vertical angle is low.
None of our present AT aircraft can do that. Even the relatively frail Panzer sucks up enormous amounts of IL2/Hurri2D volleys if certain firing conditions are not met. In other words, the risk-reward ratio of the Ju87G in strafing (which is always far more easier than lobbing ordnance) is far higher than acceptable. Tanks are easy meat for people who have much experience in flying the AT role. They neutralize tanks by setting the right horizontal/vertical angle, maintaining enough speed, and firing at close distance a concentrated volley in the weakest spot visible. The Ju87G does not need such setting, and a round fired close enough
WILL penetrate.
An inexperienced pilot in AT planes might be unsuccessful, or even auger while attacking tanks with the gun, and it may take upto 4~5 respawns to kill or disable a single tank. However, with the Ju87G, you can just charge at the tank, let off one good hit and then crash, and still you'll be able to disable a tank with one suicidal attempt.
If a newbie can do that, imagine what an experienced AT pilot, who can take out 3~4 Panzers with current AT planes, would be able to do in a Ju87G - at least 4~5 tanks dead in a short span of time(whereas it takes much more time in a Hurri2D or an IL-2), one-shot kills, Tiger and Panzer (and T-34) alike. The
"big deal" is, nobody in their sane mind would ever drive a 50 perk Tiger again. Or even dare to take a free Panzer. What's the point in taking up a tank and attacking enemy fields or towns, when your own aerial defenses are hardly ever adequate(unless they achieve total hordeage over enemy base), and every newbie can kill your tank by lobbing off a single shot into it?
...
Every time there's a popular request for an aircraft, there are endless squeals about how it will have to be perked, or it will ruin gameplay. How does anyone know until the plane in question is added?
Because in this particular case, we have previous experience on what the gameplay will be like. During the course of years the tank armour model has been changed, making tanks considerably more resistant to aircraft fire, which set up a realistical aircraft-tank balance in Aces High.
Before that, with no exaggeration, nobody - and I mean nobody - used tanks. Every GV encountered was an Ostwind. There was no such thing as a "ground assault" or "armoured columns" or "GV missions" or "tank battles", because even a Zero can sneeze at a Panzer at it will start fuming black smoke. The balance between aircraft and tanks was hugely leaning towards the aircraft, so naturally, nobody used tanks because it was so inefficient.
Remember - in real life, things were opposite. The single most effective means of destroying tanks was by another tank. The aircraft alternative always much less efficient than that. Among those "aircraft alternatives", planes wielding great AT guns were always far ahead in efficiency, compared to planes that carried great ordnance loads, because lobbing ordnance was incredibly inaccurare in most cases. In our Aces High, nobody worries about a failed bomb run, or a premature and dangerous type of bomb dropping, or wasting bombs to no avail - because we have unlimited lives and planes and resources at our disposal... and yet still, the planes that have acceptable AT guns are used in the AT tank role, much more than other ground pounders such as the P-38 or the P-47, in Aces High. And, even with much of its pilots being largely average or meek in skill level, people still complain that the tanks are no match for IL-2s or Hurri2Ds, when the only real threat is when a much experienced pilot is toting his aircraft AT gun at tanks.
The delicate balance of aircraft and tank, is currently at an accpetable level in AH. The AT planes are fearsome, but if the spawn point is close enough, or if many people are gathered to up GVs to "Blitzkrieg" the town and sneak a M3 in, or if enemy ground defenses are weak and it is seems possible to overrun it with legions of tanks.. the risks are deemed acceptable and people choose to take up despite the risk of AT aircraft, because, they think they can achieve their purpose before being obliterated by it. We have a fun "ground warfare", which did not exist back in the "old days".
Add an unperked, unrestricted Ju87G to that equation and we go right back to the "old days" - no tank usage whatsoever, because it would be stupid to up a tank in the first place. We have that experience, and that's why I
KNOW it will ruin gameplay. It would be fun flying Stukas to hunt tanks, but I for one, would never up a tank again, unless our "horde" totally overruns the enemy field - in which case tanks aren't needed anyway, and you're only playing a game you know you've alreay won.
...
Chalk me up as a "add more planes whenever possible" guy. I'd assume this one wouldn't have a chance until ToD was up and running, and an eastern front campaign was being planned, but I don't see the harm in one more big lumbering target.
Ironically, if the tank usage drops, then the AT aircraft usage dies along with it. The past experience proves this. In the old days, nobody used tanks, and thus, nobody used Hurri2Ds and IL-2 at all. They were hangar queens. Only after tanks were made resistant to normal aircraft fire, did the Hurri2D and IL-2 begin to shine as capable tank busters.
Add an unperked Ju87G into the equation, and you not only kill off the tanks from the game, you also kill off the Hurri2D and IL2, and the newly introduced Ju87G, alongside it.
I'm a "add more planes whenever possible" guy myself.
However, the difference is, I don't approve of adding in a plane so it can commit a career suicide, and take an entire section of the gameplay with it.
The perks is suggested to keep alive the plane, and the type of warfare which makes that plane meaningful. Perks are to make it live, not to destroy it.
