Wulfie had this to say on a thread which was along the same subject matter:
Dig up some data on the best possible penetration of armor plate by the .50 MG carried by the P-47.
Dig up some data on the armor plate of any post '40 MBT that fought in WW2, *including* BHN and quality ratings.
In short - what you posted is wrong. Even aircraft carrying 2cm cannon couldn't really affect MBTs in WW2. MBT kills by aircraft were *massively* overclaimed.
Numerous books talk of 'hundreds' of German AFVs being 'destroyed' by 'rocket and cannon firing Typhoons' at the 'Falaise gap' during the battle for Normandy in 1944.
USAAF and RAF records, from a very detailed study that was undertaken only 1 month later found that ~6 (SIX) German MBTs were 'destroyed' by air attack at the 'Falaise gap'.
Destroyed = vehicle destroyed...set on fire, and/or exploded, or damaged to the point that repair is not an option.
LW pilots, being interviewed by USAF intel types in the 1950s when the USAF was planning for the possibility of fighting the Soviet Union, explained that even 3.7cm and 5.0cm cannon, along with bombs, were not very useful vs. the T-34. You had to hit too small an area while flying at too high a speed unless you got down to a slow enough speed that you were practically commiting suicide.
From 1944 onward German ground attack pilots...flying Fw 190Fs, etc., armed with 2cm cannon with AP ammunition, bombs, cluster bombs, rockets, etc. - were trained to attack the fuel supply vehicles of Soviet armored spearheads - because trying to kill individual Soviet MBTs was basically a waste of time and/or effort. Kill the fuel and all the MBTs aren't a threat in 100 or so miles, and then they are out of gas and ready to be easily killed by counterattacking German units.
The big problem with perception vs. reality = guys like Rudel write a book. It's too easy for some to assume that because Rudel could do it, that even 5, or 10 other pilots in the entire LW could do it.
MBTs were often 'mission killed' by air attack - meaning they had their tracks or wheels damaged, or their gunsight messed up, etc. And then they were useless for the next couple of hours at least, which was fine for the guys fighting said MBTs who called in the air support.
But it was very, very rare for any post '40 MBT to be 'exploded' or 'knocked out with significant crew casualties' as a result of an attack made by an enemy aircraft.
Read some armored unit AARs from WW2. I gurantee that the 'Tigers' that were 'killed' by the P-47s was a case of this...
1. P-47s strafe a column of German vehicles. They probably see some Pz IVs that they ID as Tigers (no shame here - 95% of all German MBTs were 'Tigers' in the opinion of most US and UK combat troops - be it pilots, riflemen, AT gunners, etc.).
2. Pz IV crews see they don't have AAA coverage. First pass is MG hits. No damage. Next pass could be bombs. Get the hell out of the tank and hide a safe distance away.
3. P-47 pilots see AFV crewmen abandoning AFVs. 'Looks like an AFV kill'.
4. P-47s leave. Pz IV crewmen check Pz IVs for damage and resume march.
Think this is crazy? Read some AARs from actual armored units (I have), or interview some actual armored unit veterans (I have) - very, VERY common to bail out of the tank when there is lots of smoke in the crew compartment (like from an exhaust that's been screwed up by cannon fire, or a near miss from a bomb or artillery shell). Smoke dies down, or gasoline burns off (any idea how hard it is to get gasoline to actually 'explode', as opposed to just burning?) and the crew gets back in the AFV.
I'm not saying you don't know anything, and I'm not saying you aren't a smart guy. But I have studied armor and penetration data a great deal. A P-47 could not destroy a Pz VIE with .50 MG fire.
The above was taken from this thread:
http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60811 This aspect of AH is curently one of the gamest features imo we have.
