Secrets of the IL2?

[Randy1]

 IL2s have had great success against my tanks when ords are down.   So far though, my IL2 kills have been limited to M3s. 

One internet source suggested the best attack angle was 30 degrees during WW2.  Is that the best angle in AH2?

What about aim points on the tanks?

[Lusche]

Get above the tank, dive down as steep as possible and pierce their thin top armor. The steeper, the better for max armor penetration but also more difficult to pull out in time.
This also protects you from getting main gunned.

[bustr]

What Lusche says but, the target is the engine hatch just back of the turret. T34 and lesser tanks if you begin shooting at 600-400, your first pass will kill the engine. Second pass the tank itself. Many tanks lesser than the T34's will die during the first pass. Play with your convergence between 350 and 600. Oh! and only 25% fuel or you will auger from diving at steep angles.

I don't know if you use TR or view keys so I don't know what to say about views to you. What I have done is reduced my TR to 2-axis so TR inherits the saved views. Then I pushed my head almost full up for the primary views other than the default pilot view. Once you do this your side view you can move your viewpoint forward which will give you a better out the side view. You can set a  reasonable 6 view and back side views. You can get them good enough to furball in the IL2. Yes very gamey but, even with 12 green guy fighters covering me, I always end up having to kill fighters for them before getting to the GV's I upped to kill.

IL2s needed fighter cover because of their lack of maneuverability and poor views due to the armor plating around the cockpit.

[Bruv119]

fly the hurri 2D for a bit with the angles lusche suggests then apply the same sorts of angles with an IL2 or any other tank killing plane. 

The other day I put 6 rockets on an M4 from a P51D with said approach and outright blew him up.  In all my time in AH I've only killed 2 tanks with non 190F8 rockets.   Only disappointment was a lack of a PM cheat accusation.   

If more people would learn the art of killing gvs with ords down AH would be a better place.   

[Randy1]

From y'all's replies I was definitely coming in at too low of an angle.  No doubt too I was using the default fuel supply.

Good tips.

Thanks so much for your replies.

[bustr]

In AH3 the new trees and how towns are laid out make the HurriD, IL2 and Ju87-G2 a bit unusable for pure guns platform GV attacking. Since the alpha and now the open beta, when testing with other players who were in GV while I was flying. The new trees are very realistic for them to hide in and create angle of attack problems for guns passes. All of the fighters with tank killing guns really need open country to be effective. AH2 even with trees is very open compared to AH3.

So far the simplest solution has been upping a Hurri2C with two 500lb bombs to defend the field and town. As much as the trees and new town layout is a problem for guns passes. The trees are a hindrance to GV really moving anywhere quickly.

[bozon]

So far the simplest solution has been upping a Hurri2C with two 500lb bombs to defend the field and town. As much as the trees and new town layout is a problem for guns passes. The trees are a hindrance to GV really moving anywhere quickly.

I hope those trees also hinder the whirbls from shooting at planes. At zero alt if you come across a nearly invisible whirb, the only way to escape is to fly so low that the line of fire is blocked by trees and structures.

Perhaps in the future AH will be more realistic towards GVs. Real tanks do not drive off in any direction they like. Sure they can trumple over low stone walls and ditches, but they do it slowly and take care not to flip over, or cause damage to themselves by their own weight and inertia.

[BuckShot]

Will the 23mm cannon kill anything besides planes and soft gvs?

[Lusche]

Will the 23mm cannon kill anything besides planes and soft gvs?

Tanks with little to moderate top like the Panzer IV, M4, Panther or the German tank destroyers can still be killed even with the 23mm. Actually, for a long time a 23mm equipped was the only tank busting option this game had beside the Hurricane D (which about nobody used). Tanks like the T-34 series or Tigers are going to be very difficult or virtually impossible to kill, though. (Back in the day, I picked up the Hurri D as my mainstay because it was the only way to cope with T-34s and Tigers without ords.) 

Another general word. Killing tanks with tankbusters is a bit as shooting down bombers at high altitudes, inasmuch as players frequently fail for the same reason: Impatience.
You gotta take your time to setup your attack properly. It actually doesn't take that long at all, but in reality you often see players flying straight and level and low from the field to a (spotted) tank and trying to kill it by shooting into it's face. And then screaming bloody murder because they have been maingunned 

[Randy1]

. . .Another general word. Killing tanks with tankbusters is a bit as shooting down bombers at high altitudes, inasmuch as players frequently fail for the same reason: Impatience. . . .

This was my first mistake for sure.

I spent more time in IL2.  Worked on top hits with better, steeper angles.  My hat is tipped to the players that can kill a tank in one pass.  I need much more practice to make the IL2 a tank killer.

[Owlblink]

I don't know if you use TR or view keys so I don't know what to say about views to you. What I have done is reduced my TR to 2-axis so TR inherits the saved views. Then I pushed my head almost full up for the primary views other than the default pilot view. Once you do this your side view you can move your viewpoint forward which will give you a better out the side view. You can set a  reasonable 6 view and back side views. You can get them good enough to furball in the IL2. Yes very gamey but, even with 12 green guy fighters covering me, I always end up having to kill fighters for them before getting to the GV's I upped to kill.

I use TrackIR and ironically took the IL2 up tonight to attack tanks for nearly my first time.
To reiterate on Bustr's TrackIR advice, you CAN actually use the saved head position view with all the other axeses (not sure of plural) turned on. How:
Make sure to have a pause button mapped on your TrackIR. engage it. Then adjust your toon's head position to where you'd like it to be. Now, Push the "Save Head Position" button. Finally, un-pause your  trackIR program. You may need to recenter the trackIR's tracking point but this should now be able to look around with trackIR, all axes engaged, in the new position.

There's a few planes this helps for if there are obstructions in your view.

[Nosara]

IL2? Geepers just drop two grand on top of them with a 38.

[EskimoJoe]

One thing I always did was change it up. Never try to be too predictable with your passes. This helps against those wirbles that are usually around looking for you. Maybe after a few high-angle passes, go prop to grass and attempt a few 90 degree broadside shots.

If you spend some time in the IL-2, it can hold its own in a 1v1 against some looking for easy kills. Just try not to bleed your E too fast.

And as always, have fun with it. Air to ground can be a fun and rewarding experience.

[Randy1]

Tanks with little to moderate top like the Panzer IV, M4, Panther or the German tank destroyers can still be killed even with the 23mm. . . .

I lost a Panther to a single pass of an IL2 the other night.  The IL2 came in at about a 45 degree angle.