Why do Jap panes burn so long?

[bj229r]

I mean, they're made of F#%%N paper--I can flame a niki or zeke, guy drives into ack, does a go-around, drops wheels...lands, towers. My P47 gets flamed...20 seconds I'm in tower:furious

[Karnak]

No, they are not paper.  They were made out of a stronger, lighter aluminium alloy that was subject to long term corrosion.

As to why a given aircraft burns longer, who knows.

[1K3]

Ki 61 and Ki 84 offer the best protection.

[bj229r]

I never seem to shoot those, always nikis or zekes

[Karnak]

N1Ks were fully protected too.

The Japanese aircraft that fit the stereo type are the A6M (A6M2 and A6M3 in particular, they start getting some protection after that), Ki-43, G4M1 and G4M2 'Betty' (G4M3 was well protected, but woefully late), Ki-45 and Ki-49.

[RATTFINK]

Originally posted by bj229r
Why do Jap panes burn so long?

[OOZ662]

At least you can still make me laugh, ratt.

[Gulp]

Magnesium

[Krusty]

n1k2s catch fire easily enough if you shoot 'em hard enough, at least in this game. Kis seem to be the most fire resistant, and seem to take more damage than n1k2s. Zeros are undeniably the weakest of the lot.


P.S. I wouldn't say the later planes were "fully protected" -- that brings to mind images of P47s, IL2s, Fw190s with special armor so that bombers can't shoot them down. Just say they have "more" protection.

[Shuckins]

While the structure of late-war Japanese planes was undeniably more rugged than that of the Zeke, they still could not quite match the ruggedness of American aircraft such as the Hellcat, Corsair, or Jug.  These U.S. aircraft were classified by the Japanese as heavy fighters, while the Frank and George were considered to be middle-weight fighter aircraft.

Pilot armor was another area where some Japanese fighters fell short.  The N1K2 George, for instance, had no pilot armor.  With the exception of bullet-proof glass in the front pane of the canopy, pilot protection was of the passive variety and could not compare to that of American aircraft.

I have no data about the pilot protection provided in the Frank or Jack.

[Guppy35]

Missing the essential point.  Japanese birds like the Zero, did not have self sealing fuel tanks.  fuel burns quit well when it's lit up.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Japanese planes reportedly used higher pressure O2 systems as well. Several pilots said they aimed at the area where the high pressure O2 bottles were, in hopes of starting a fire and using the high pressure O2 to accelerate it. Combine  high pressure O2 with non self sealing fuel tanks and you have a recipe for fried rice kites.

Of course, maybe the question is why they last so long while they're blazing through the sky engulfed in flames. I don't know about the damage model, but the reason they fly and fight is because virtual pilots don't get burned, and they don't get blinded or scared by fire.

[Saxman]

Fire in here also doesn't degrade the effectiveness of control surfaces, or affect lift generated by the airfoil, or weaken the internal framework, or...

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Originally posted by Saxman
Fire in here also doesn't degrade the effectiveness of control surfaces, or affect lift generated by the airfoil, or weaken the internal framework, or...

Yeah, fire is an all or nothing thing here. There's no damage until catastrophic failure.

On the flip side, you cannot use the fire suppression systems on bombers either, nor can you dive and blow fire out.

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by Captain Virgil Hilts
Japanese planes reportedly used higher pressure O2 systems as well. Several pilots said they aimed at the area where the high pressure O2 bottles were, in hopes of starting a fire and using the high pressure O2 to accelerate it. Combine  high pressure O2 with non self sealing fuel tanks and you have a recipe for fried rice kites.

Of course, maybe the question is why they last so long while they're blazing through the sky engulfed in flames. I don't know about the damage model, but the reason they fly and fight is because virtual pilots don't get burned, and they don't get blinded or scared by fire.

In McGuire's Combat Tactics in the SWP, he recommends aiming for the O2 tanks that were located behind the cockpit in the Zeke.  His reasoning was if the explosion of the O2 tanks didn't kill the pilot, the resulting fire will.


ack-ack