Originally posted by Bronk
Not sure if it's .50 but I'm thinking it is.
Looks like something flies off. May not be catastrophic but I'd guess if enough hits were made, might just take off a bigger piece.
109
Breakup
Bronk
Edit: just checked what that fg flew . They flew 51/47 so it was .50s.
Very nice. Thanks for posting them!
In the "Breakup" clip it looks like the .50s shredded the skin on the 109's left wingtip. Aerodynamic forces then twisted the wingtip structure inducing uncontrolled clockwise roll (in opposite direction to if the left wing had lost lift).
This does not constitute a catastrophic structural failure in my opinion, but it is clearly catastrophic damage. In any case it is hardly "sawing" the wing in two as some have stated.
The British and US correctly identified fire as the primary cause of aircraft destruction. Thus the .50 API round was specifically designed to punch through light armor and ignite fuel.
I have now seen one guncam footage of arguable structural failure arguably caused by .50 cal fire. I think my earlier point stands. Structural failures as a result of .50 cal fire were the oddities in WWII. In AH they are the norm.