Author Topic: tracers (Read 447 times)

Flyboy · « **on:** August 20, 2003, 04:45:07 PM »

how was the tracer setup in ww2?
did planes had all the bullets has tracers like we have in AH?
i saw some gun futage and it seemed to me like the plane only fire a bullet every 2 seconds or so (i belive i only saw the tracers)

can someone give me info about this?

DiabloTX · « **Reply #1 on:** August 20, 2003, 05:23:14 PM »

The armorers loaded the ammo trays according to the pilots wishes. It was a combination of tracer/incendiary/armor piercing. I have read that the tracers were every fifth round but I have also read some pilots did not like tracers as it gave their position away to the con.

Flyboy · « **Reply #2 on:** August 20, 2003, 06:10:27 PM »

anyone has some gun footage that seems like every bullet (or every fifth or whatever bullet) is a tracer

APDrone · « **Reply #3 on:** August 20, 2003, 09:18:26 PM »

Tommy Lynch, Operations Officer of the Fifth Fighter Command, USAAF, ( Pacific theatre) wrote a guide for fighter operations that was considered a 'bible', of sorts, in that theatre.. Though, for whatever reason, I can't find the book that it's in. He was flying P38s with Richard Bong at the time of his death after an attack mission against shipping.

He had a few instructions for those that flew under him:

1. Get rid of tracers. The enemy won't know you're shooting at him unless you hit him.

2. Never fly alone.

3. When leading your target, drag your gunsight through the tail of your target to the front .. this greatly increases your accuracy.

That's all I can remember, and if anybody does know where his guide is published, I'd like to get a hold of it.

Hope this helps!

Karnak · « **Reply #4 on:** August 20, 2003, 09:28:20 PM »

Not all rounds in AH are tracer. I seem to recall it is set to every fifth or tenth round in AH.

Toad · « **Reply #5 on:** August 20, 2003, 10:33:27 PM »

It's recently confirmed as one in five

MJHerman · « **Reply #6 on:** August 21, 2003, 10:49:53 AM »

And always remember that tracers work both ways.

As former infantry officer, my platoon would be instructed (a) no tracers for personal weapons (i.e., C7s, the Canadian equivalent to the M16), (b) if possible, C9s (the Canadian Minimi LMG) were on a ratio of 1 tracer in 10 rounds and (c) crew served weapons like a .50 cal may be at 1 tracer in every 5 rounds. Since the C9 fires the same ammunition as the C7 and can use the same magazine, C9 gunners would sometimes have no tracer content if they had already run through their belted ammuntion and resorted to C7 magazines.

The theory being that C7s and C9s are typically close in weapons that you don't want to be giving your position away, while a .50 cal is big enough and has a distinctive enough sound that the higher tracer content probably wouldn't give your position away anyway. Plus no/minimal tracer content makes for better marksmen.

Of course, all of that applies to a grunt and not to them flyboys....

Samiam · « **Reply #7 on:** August 21, 2003, 12:21:01 PM »

In AH I find that the number of times that tracers "give me away" such that my quary is able to evade and escape is insignificant compared to the number of times throwing some tracers past a 190 or P51 successfully extending at d800+ causes him to panic and break into a siituation that makes him an easy kill.

Of course, I'm usually in an FM2 and looking at the backend of a running 190 is such a common experience:D

Rutilant · « **Reply #8 on:** August 21, 2003, 07:26:57 PM »

Not every bullet in AH has a tracer.

B17Skull12 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 24, 2003, 02:45:43 AM »

Quote

anyone has some gun footage that seems like every bullet (or every fifth or whatever bullet) is a tracer

dont ask me i dont use em:D and yet that is how i get my kills. btw rutt very nice avatar

Rutilant · « **Reply #10 on:** August 24, 2003, 05:41:49 AM »

Thank you, thank you.