37 MM guns HELP!

[Wildcatdad]

Any suggestions for using them? I'm trying to get good at using the p-39Q, and the Yak9-T. Any suggestions as to how/when to use them would be great. 

I also have a question. Ok, so i was playing around with the 39's, and noticed that the plane I was shooting ( a B25H) was losing parts lefat and right, and went down in very few shots. I thought it would be able to handle a bit more of a beating than this, so I uped one and headed to the nearest enemy base. The ack lit me up, and I took a lot of hits, but didn't go down nearly as fast as before. So, long story short, are the 37MM in the yak, IL, and 39 the same as the ground guns? If not, what are the differences? 

[LCADolby]

Convergence 300. Aim to begin firing at 200 or less indicated by the enemies icon.

[Randy1]

More planes explode when using the P39 canon but as already posted, get in close.  Lead with the MG gun then pot 2 or 3 shots with the canon.  Takes a bit of practice to get an eye for the canon shots.   Note the front gun on the PT boat is the same canon as the 39Q.

Fly the Q for a couple of weeks and you will note an improvement in all planes you fly.

[Karnak]

The muzzle velocities of the Oldsmobile 37mm and NS-37 37mm are very different.  Pick either the Yak or the P-39 and get used to that.

[JimmyD3]

Both the Yak and the 39 are good de-ackers from a safe distance, just need to practice. What I found was the best thing for me was to select a specific Gunsight and stick with it, my aim got a lot better then.  I prefer the Yak 9T it seems to be able to take hits better than the P39. As a point of discussion, the IL2 is firing AP rounds as opposed to the HE rounds in the Yak and P39.

[Volron]

You guys seem to miss one bit of the question, which appears to be the primary one in the end;

So, long story short, are the 37MM in the yak, IL, and 39 the same as the ground guns? If not, what are the differences? 

I myself cannot give an accurate answer on this, but I say the 37mm ground guns a more powerful.  Reason I say this is because I can shoot down aircraft 4k+ out with them.  The aerial variants don't even come close to reaching out that far.

[bustr]

NS-37 shoots about 880-900m\sec. The M4 37mm in the P39 shoots about 610m\sec. And the BK 37mm 770-820m\sec. Your aim for shooting planes with the M4 will be like shooting the Mk108 30mm at 500m\sec. At 400yds the M4 drops 6ft but , then it has a larger shell casing with more powder and a longer barrel than the MK108 which drops 11ft at 400yds. The strategy is the same because of the slow large round and crappy dispersion. The MK108 was designed to shoot at slow 100ft wingspan bombers and the M4 as a ground and sea strafing gun.

The ground based 37mm BK 37 has a 37x263 shell. In game around a 4000yd range.
 
The NS-37 a 37×198mm shell.  Haven't tested this but I de-ack from 1.2k straight up and Waystin says 1.2k, for fighters and bombers.

The M4 37mm has a 37x145mm shell. About 4k since it's really a flying field piece.

You can see by the shell capacity and barrel length how the ballistics will turn out.
 
NS-37, 880-900m\sec, 37x188 shell, Barrel 90 inches. <--Similar drop to 20mm, more recoil induced dispersion.
BK 37,  770-829m\sec, 37x263 shell, Barrel 89 inches. <--Should check out the dispersion at 2.5K against the target.
HS.404,      880m\sec, 20x110 shell, Barrel 80 inches. <--MkI 20MM in spitfire. Drops 3ft at 400yds.
M4 37,        610m\sec, 37x145 shell, Barrel 65 inches. <--(M4 and Mk108 have horrible dispersion
MK108,       500m\sec,  30x90 shell , Barrel 23 inches. <--due to the low InitV. And shorter barrels.)

Or you can fly offline against the target on auto level and watch your drop and dispersion. The M4 37mm has crappy dispersion and is a slow round useless for air to air much past 150yds. The NS-37 has the ballistics of the Hiso 20mm with crappy ballistics due to recoil. Your air to air range will be about 200yd with longer shots on occasion if you spend a lot of time in the Yak 9T. But, those longer shots will cost you putting a few out there from your small clip to get one hit. And who knows these days if that one will be enough.

[Latrobe]

I love the yak9T and its 37mm! I set mine to 300 and when I shoot I let at least 2 shots go. No 1 shot sniping, let 2,3, or 4 shots go and only fire the 37mm. Unlike the 109K4 which has decent MGs, the MG on the Yak9T is basically useless.

[Max]

  Reason I say this is because I can shoot down aircraft 4k+ out with them. 

What's the secret? I frequently have attackers flying straight at my manned ack gun at D1000 or less and I can't hit them. I aim hi, low, straight...just can't hit 'em. 

[Volron]

What's the secret? I frequently have attackers flying straight at my manned ack gun at D1000 or less and I can't hit them. I aim hi, low, straight...just can't hit 'em. 

Experience with a spot of luck.   I spend a lot of time in the manned gun.   What you do with targets at 4k+ is fire bursts in their predicted flight path and VERY SLOWLY track along it.    From there it's going to be the spot of luck.  While it may not hit them, it scares the crap out of a lot of them.  They will break hard, thinking a con had jumped them.   It's funny as hell, and on rare occasions has lead to them breaking their wings off for pulling too hard.

[Vinkman]

Any suggestions for using them? I'm trying to get good at using the p-39Q, and the Yak9-T. Any suggestions as to how/when to use them would be great.  

I also have a question. Ok, so i was playing around with the 39's, and noticed that the plane I was shooting ( a B25H) was losing parts lefat and right, and went down in very few shots. I thought it would be able to handle a bit more of a beating than this, so I uped one and headed to the nearest enemy base. The ack lit me up, and I took a lot of hits, but didn't go down nearly as fast as before. So, long story short, are the 37MM in the yak, IL, and 39 the same as the ground guns? If not, what are the differences?  

I thought the explosive round in the field 37mm and the P-39 is the same, maybe buster's post says otherwise. When the ack lights you up, it's only the 20mm. the 37mm field guns have to be manned. So you probably weren't being hit by 37mm.

[Volron]

I thought the explosive round in the field 37mm and the P-39 is the same, maybe buster's post says otherwise. When the ack lights you up, it's only the 20mm. the 37mm field guns have to be manned. So you probably weren't being hit by 37mm.

There are auto-37's on the field.  Not likely to hit you, but if you are in a fighter when they do, you are 9/10 instant tower.  Least that be my xp with em.

[Tank-Ace]

I thought the auto guns were 20mm, and the manned guns were 37mm...

[bustr]

When you are sitting in a 37mm on a field and things are slow, popup the target. You can use the azimuth to raise it 30-45, the dispersion is interesting.

.target range(1-32,000) heading(1-360) azimuth(1-360)

Some players have a well developed sight image for using the manned 37MM. The rest I suspect have never bothered to gauge the iron ring sight against the target to see what's actually going on. At 150 rounds per minute, that's a lot of space for a fighter to fly through. So getting your first round started with subsequent tracking is part of your problem. Kind of like syncing your rhythm to another person's.

Ever noticed when you are lucky enough to have really low bombers go by, even at 1.0k, how spaced your hits are around that huge area of parts?

The main ring for the manned 37mm against the offline target describes 180ft at 425yds. Comes out to 144Mil or roughly 4RAD. You can use the target to get an idea of drop at range related to the rings. You still need to shoot at that range to see what your dispersion ends up. Remember that old LTAR osti rule of zooming to full, then leading a fighter one full screen width at 1.0-1.5K while watching your tracers? That was how flack gunners were taught to estimate lead under 1000m against fast moving aircraft even with the range and lead bar set.

In effect below is what we are attempting. Kind of looks like a 4RAD ring.

You wish we would all fly 656yds from your 37mm......

[Wildcatdad]

Thanks a lot guys! 
BTW, Bustr, how might one set a plane offline to auto level? I'mm not good with files and dragging and dropping and such, so any help would be appreciated!