Add Incendiary ammunition

[Karnak]

          I've seen gun cam footage of a 109 going down from burst from a P-51B that was less than 1 sec. Then again, the rounds may have hit the engine and pilot, disabling the aircraft.

I've see a photo of a Ju88 that was shot down by a single hit to the tail from a Spitfire's 20mm Hispano as well.  I also have photos of a Mosquito Mk XVI that survived a 30mm hit to the tail and a 30mm hit to the #1 engine nacelle.

Don't read too much into things like that.  They can't be modeled without an insanely detailed damage model.

[bustr]

Cannon HE ammo did not all detonate exactly the same when contacting their target. One problem all cannon ammo suffered was surface detonation as soon as the fuse contacted the target's skin. Even if the fuse was designed to delay detonation, if the round hit at an oblique angle causing it to first push into, then lift the edge of the aluminum skin. Your resulting explosion would more likely roll up an area of skin while creating an area blast rather than a blast focused inside of the airframe structure. Bomber crews more often were killed by tiny bits of shrapnel from these kinds of explosions.

Even if the round penetrated on a delayed fuse, not all rounds detonated on the expected delay. Or a round would pass through say a rudder or the wing, detonating off the delay during the exit. MK108 30mm not destroying a target becomes more possible while being shot from farther out than 200m-300m. It's a very slow round, and at distance you can expect some number to not penetrate and surface detonating.

Just after the war the AAF continued testing on causing fuel tank fires. They found in most cases, the amount of explosive to actually create a fuel tank explosion would have been sufficient on it's own to blow up that section of the aircraft. And would not have been practical as any kind of fighter mounted weapon. Fires were started by igniting already leaking fluids trapped inside of wing or fuselage structures. Past 110mph, "most fires" will not stay lit in the slipstream and why many films and pictures show volumes of black smoke. Which is the result of internal fires burning in the doomed plane with the flame extinguishing at the exit hole exhausting the results of the internal fire.

Are we sure we are not like the player BNZ, attempting to describe a general feeling by players that the method of the damage function be revisited? Or is the OP and some others thinking, Hitech should be modeling a very gruesome manner of dying where you get to watch your virtual pilot roast to death in the cockpit? I've always enjoyed Hitech's wisdom in not going down the gore path that immature minds find so thrilling in the xBox generation.

[Oldman731]

Cannon HE ammo did not all detonate exactly the same when contacting their target. One problem all cannon ammo suffered was surface detonation as soon as the fuse contacted the target's skin. Even if the fuse was designed to delay detonation, if the round hit at an oblique angle causing it to first push into, then lift the edge of the aluminum skin. Your resulting explosion would more likely roll up an area of skin while creating an area blast rather than a blast focused inside of the airframe structure. Bomber crews more often were killed by tiny bits of shrapnel from these kinds of explosions.

Even if the round penetrated on a delayed fuse, not all rounds detonated on the expected delay. Or a round would pass through say a rudder or the wing, detonating off the delay during the exit. MK108 30mm not destroying a target becomes more possible while being shot from farther out than 200m-300m. It's a very slow round, and at distance you can expect some number to not penetrate and surface detonating.

Just after the war the AAF continued testing on causing fuel tank fires. They found in most cases, the amount of explosive to actually create a fuel tank explosion would have been sufficient on it's own to blow up that section of the aircraft. And would not have been practical as any kind of fighter mounted weapon. Fires were started by igniting already leaking fluids trapped inside of wing or fuselage structures. Past 110mph, "most fires" will not stay lit in the slipstream and why many films and pictures show volumes of black smoke. Which is the result of internal fires burning in the doomed plane with the flame extinguishing at the exit hole exhausting the results of the internal fire.

Are we sure we are not like the player BNZ, attempting to describe a general feeling by players that the method of the damage function be revisited? Or is the OP and some others thinking, Hitech should be modeling a very gruesome manner of dying where you get to watch your virtual pilot roast to death in the cockpit? I've always enjoyed Hitech's wisdom in not going down the gore path that immature minds find so thrilling in the xBox generation.

Thank you, Bustr, this is a most excellent post.

- oldman