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Help and Support Forums => Help and Training => Topic started by: onan on February 01, 2010, 05:09:06 PM

Title: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: onan on February 01, 2010, 05:09:06 PM
I need some help please.
I've been flying the A6m2 for a while and gotten used to it.  I find I can get saddled up for a shortwhile before most of the cons outpace me.  Also getting ok at getting snapshot opportunities.
My ask, is how to shoot with it?
I've tried all different converge settings and spent a load of time in offline missions.
I don't think I kill in more than 3 out of 10 good close (D200) chances.
The ammo load for the cannon is only 120 so I only use short bursts.  The rate of fire is low, which isn't a bad thing if you want to conserve it.
I watched a film of one of the offline missions and saw me in a flat turn slow on the deck chasing a P38. I was closer than 70/80yds but  I could only hit the rear of the short fuselage if I aimed approx 15yds in front of his nose and 10 yds down. 
Looking thru the piper felt like I was aiming at the water.
In the arenas things get worse. 
I like the plane but am useless with it.
Any help appreciated.

KlunK
   
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Ghosth on February 01, 2010, 05:15:45 PM
Convergence 200 - 250, especially at first.

Come into the Training Arena, turn on the lead computing gunsight.
(Control Tab to enable friendly lock) (Then point the gunsight at someone and hit tab again)

That should show you where to aim.

The A6m5 has better cannons and more ammo, which is why it is used more.

Read up on lead turns, use the terrain, and anything else you can.
You'll need it all.

I'm in the TA most afternoons, or you can pm me to setup a time when we can meet.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Oldman731 on February 01, 2010, 05:41:06 PM
Convergence 200 - 250, especially at first.

200.  The cannon on the M2 are much worse than on the M5, really worlds apart.  Set your convergence for 200, wait until you're at 200 or less.

- oldman
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: ink on February 01, 2010, 05:48:54 PM
200 is a good overall convergence...saying that, you should really get into a new bird

the a6m2 is one of the easist planes to "saddle" someone, so it does not teach how to conserve your E, also it is so easy to destroy the thing just a couple 50's and poof you are a burning wreck.

seriously if you like the Jap planes try the KI-84 or KI-61

both are MUCH better the the  zero's.

just some food for thought.



INK
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: caldera on February 01, 2010, 08:36:22 PM
He wants aiming help with the A6M2.  Telling him to fly a "better" plane is not great advice.  We should all just fly perked Corsairs by that logic.
When A6M5s are upping off an enemy CV, the "inferior" Zeke is not a bad choice.  Take Ghost up on his offer, onan. 
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: ink on February 01, 2010, 08:59:23 PM
He wants aiming help with the A6M2.  Telling him to fly a "better" plane is not great advice.  We should all just fly perked Corsairs by that logic.
When A6M5s are upping off an enemy CV, the "inferior" Zeke is not a bad choice.  Take Ghost up on his offer, onan. 

lol


did I not say "200 is a good overall convergence"

and the advice I gave him is sound so piss off :aok
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: flatiron1 on February 01, 2010, 10:41:29 PM
I fly the A6m's a lot, if you would like I would be glad to meet you sometime in the DA or TA
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Bruv119 on February 02, 2010, 12:55:57 AM
I would go with ink's 200 yards,

whilst the cannons will do damage further than that with only a small amount you want to fire short accurate bursts.  The super turning ability can get you quickly on their tail and you have to kill them before they realise they have to leg it.

Just the other week I was ENY castrated   :t  but so were the Rooks.  (this is when nits all go to bed)  It led to an impromptu CV attack / defense with high ENY planes.

I managed to twist and turn myself around for several minutes snap shooting like minded early war planes.  Managed 7 kills from up close and the enemy were left  :headscratch:.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Delirium on February 02, 2010, 01:14:41 AM
whilst the cannons will do damage further than that with only a small amount you want to fire short accurate bursts.  

+1

I know of one dedicated zeke pilot that taps the enemy with his MGs and when the bandit turns (exposing the largest part of the aircraft, the top down view) he uses the cannons.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Krusty on February 02, 2010, 01:56:20 PM
The cannons, as mentioned, are not the best on the M2.

I'll describe why:

The cannons on the A6M2 are like the MG/FF on the 109E. They are explosive rounds so when they hit they can kill, but the problem is hitting. The have a slow velocity, so they "drop" quite badly, and they disperse (not overly accurate) in a pattern. So the reason you need to get in close is because the rounds won't go where you need them.

They won't kill if they don't connect.

Taking your "turning with a P-38" example, the 20mm on the A6M2 will drop much further behind a target, requiring much more lead than a plane with guns that fire in a "flat" trajectory. 50cals and hispanos have very flat trajectories, for example, and you need to lead much less. With the 109E4 and A6M2, you need to lead much more than you think. Try turning the lead computing sight on (the green "plus sign" that tells you where to aim) when you're offline or in the TA to figure out how much you need to lead.

Setting the cannons for long convergences can also screw up your aim, since this aims them "up" more. Setting them for "600 yards" then firing at a target "250 yards" away you can easily miss. You can waste ammo, or if your convergence is way off just hit with 1 gun on an unimportant part of the plane (an aileron or something).

So the general reason to get in close isn't because the guns are weak as much as it's because the guns have really low hit % further out.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: onan on February 02, 2010, 05:54:52 PM
Thanks guys <S>
All your help is appreciated.  Am working a lot but will look you guys up in the TA when I get chance.  Had the covergence way out long in the v P38 fight.  I thought the setting just altered the crossing point, I didn't take into account the drop of the cannon.  The further the cross/converge point the higher the trajecory.  Seemed real wierd to aim below a plane. 
Got them set at D200 and now staying there.
Any advice on shooting when getting inside someones turn?  Happens quite a lot.  I pull tight to give a good snap opportunity.  I lose sight of the con under my nose, so I shift the view using the arrow keys so I can still see him but I don't know what I aiming at and stiill trying not to blow all the ammo.  If I could get that right I'd be real happy.
Thanks for the tip on lead computing gunsight.  Will try and find someone to go round and round till I find the spot.

<Salute>



   
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Rolex on February 02, 2010, 06:34:10 PM
The #8 key on the Numpad is the "Look Forward View." Some people set it to their stick. Here is a tutorial from the trainers site on how to set it up (it's very easy):  Link>> (http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/overthenose/overthenose.htm)

While in the default forward view, put your mouse cursor in the exact center of the gunsight and use that for aiming when in a different view. Your guns always fire toward the center of your screen.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Krusty on February 03, 2010, 01:00:58 AM
Just to be clear, when perfectly level and un-moving, your rounds arc upwards then fall down onto the convergence point (your gunsight crosshair). Setting them further out lobs them further "up" so that they come down still on that "X" in your sight, but the problems crop up when you're closer than whatever-that-convergence-is. It's not as much an issue with some other planes with better weapons, but on the A6M2 it is noticable. You can still kill, just takes more practice.

As for how much lead you need, you have to practice. One good idea is to fire your MGs, and if you see hit sprites fire a burst of your cannons. Works pretty well most times. If it doesn't, wait til you hit with the MGs, pull a bit more lead than that, and fire another burst.


Or, just keep flying and positioning until you're comfortable with the shot and don't have to guess ;)
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: onan on February 03, 2010, 03:03:44 PM
Thanks Rolex, Krusty
Just tried the cursor on the gunsight and it helped loads.  Also just firing MG till I hit then letting the cannon take them apart.  Big improvement.
Thanks to you all for the help

<Salute>
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Ack-Ack on February 03, 2010, 03:30:56 PM
+1

I know of one dedicated zeke pilot that taps the enemy with his MGs and when the bandit turns (exposing the largest part of the aircraft, the top down view) he uses the cannons.

That was a common thing in real life with Zeke pilots.  Often enough that I've always wondered if that was drummed into their training.


ack-ack
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Peyton on February 09, 2010, 02:06:30 PM
Krusty,
This is great info for other planes too.  Do you have a link or have you published anything that shows what converg. to set on all aircraft.  I know it's personal preference but it would help us New Airmen. It gives us a place to start with the convergence.  Once we practice and get better we can play aroud with the converg.

Thanks
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Krusty on February 09, 2010, 02:47:53 PM
Whoops, I saw and replied to your PM (which asked the same thing) before I checked this thread. I'll put the same thing on here for public consumption:

There's a lot of info on the forums explaining how the convergence works (including some nice charts to help visualize it), but my main advice to new pilots is this: Find out what distance you actually kill at (not spray 1k out, not lucky hits, actual "I aimed, I shot, I killed" kills) by filming your sorties and reviewing them, then set your convergence to that distance.

Set your convergence to that, and then fire at that distance.

That's going to help any beginner in any plane with any type of guns.

I will say if you end up setting it at 400 or more you're not reviewing the films properly. Chances are most of your "killshots" come under 300 yards.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: mtnman on February 09, 2010, 02:54:24 PM
Just to be clear, when perfectly level and un-moving, your rounds arc upwards then fall down onto the convergence point (your gunsight crosshair).

This isn't always true...  But I agree with the rest of your post.

Your statement is true for nose-mounted guns, but generally not true for wing-mounted guns.  They all fly with an arched trajectory, but don't all "fall" into the convergence point.

Nose-mounted guns are closer to the line of sight, so the trajectory of the rounds will come up through the line of sight (so, firing closer than convergence causes hits to be high), and then fall back down and cross through the line of sight at the convergence point (assuming level flight at 1G loading...).  Firing beyond convergence range will always result in "low" hits.

Wing-mounted guns though, are mounted well below the line of sight.  This means that the rounds "climb" up to the line of sight, and don't meet it until the point of convergence (so, firing closer than convergence causes hits to be low).  

Depending on ballistics and convergence range, the rounds (from wing-mounted guns) may just meet the point of convergence at the "top" of the arch, and begin to fall (and never cross above the line of sight), or may actually come up through the line of sight at the convergence point and continue upwards for a while before falling.  This would mean that firing beyond convergence-range will result in "high" hits, then they'll be "right on" again, and then eventually "low".  Of course they'll be fanned out all over the place too...  In this example (with a convergence setting of 200yds), the rounds would be "low" all the way to 200 yards, then "high" from 201 yards to some point further out (lets just say 500 yards), where they'll cross/fall through the line of sight and hit "low" from that point on.

Those are just general rules, and will vary quite a bit depending on actual ballistics.  Setting convergence actually gets to be a pretty complicated thing.  It just gets worse when you factor in different mounting points and a wide range of ballistics.

The advice of getting close, and shooting with a fairly close convergence is definitely the way to go though.  Personally, with all the testing I've done in the TA I find it tough to beat a 275yd convergence across the boards, and firing when the counter switches from D400 to D200 (which is actually at 300 yds).  Different opinions are valid too, of course...
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: mtnman on February 09, 2010, 02:55:02 PM
I will say if you end up setting it at 400 or more you're not reviewing the films properly. Chances are most of your "killshots" come under 300 yards.

Man, is that ever true...
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Krusty on February 09, 2010, 02:57:44 PM
mtnman, they are set to arc up then fall down, it's just the trajectory of the bullets over distance. Wing or otherwise.

AH used to have them reach the "gunsight" at the top of the arc, then they would fall down further out. This was changed at some time (way back, AH2 introduction era if memory serves) so that they reached the top of the arc before the gunsight, then fell back down towards it -- to model real weapons ballistics.

This means a sharper drop-off if a target is further outside your convergence range, as compared to previous AH coding.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: mtnman on February 09, 2010, 03:14:55 PM
mtnman, they are set to arc up then fall down, it's just the trajectory of the bullets over distance. Wing or otherwise.

AH used to have them reach the "gunsight" at the top of the arc, then they would fall down further out. This was changed at some time (way back, AH2 introduction era if memory serves) so that they reached the top of the arc before the gunsight, then fell back down towards it -- to model real weapons ballistics.

This means a sharper drop-off if a target is further outside your convergence range, as compared to previous AH coding.

I understand that very well Krusty.  I'm much more familiar with "real world" ballistics than AH, but most of the testing I've done has shown me that AH is pretty dang close to RL.

Those "real world" ballistics are why I posted the above.  I could give you charts and stuff to back it up, but if you just sit back and think about it I think you'll see what I mean.

Many (most? all?) of the wing-mounted MG's should in no way cross "above" the line of sight and "fall" back down to it to hit the "bulls-eye" at 200 yards.  Heck, my smooth-bore muzzleloaders have better ballistics than that...

If they did, they would be far from real-world facts.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Krusty on February 09, 2010, 03:18:18 PM
smooth bore muzzle loaders probably won't fire 200 yards. Hence why "rifles" in the civil war were the first to be used reliably outside 25 yards.

Not that I'm nitpicking. You probably do know more about the matter than I do, but I do know that 200 yards is a long distance (2 football fields) and to say the 50cal doesn't drop over distance -- IMO that just goes against gravity's laws.


I'll quote a humurous line from way back I've always liked:

"Gravity: It's not just a good idea, it's the law"
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: mtnman on February 09, 2010, 04:51:00 PM
smooth bore muzzle loaders probably won't fire 200 yards. Hence why "rifles" in the civil war were the first to be used reliably outside 25 yards.

Not that I'm nitpicking. You probably do know more about the matter than I do, but I do know that 200 yards is a long distance (2 football fields) and to say the 50cal doesn't drop over distance -- IMO that just goes against gravity's laws.


I'll quote a humurous line from way back I've always liked:

"Gravity: It's not just a good idea, it's the law"

You're quote is pretty good...  The rest we can work on...

Smooth bore muzzleloaders will fire (and are dangerous) much further than 200 yards.  Their ineffectiveness was due to the lack of sights (most used a large bayonet lug instead of a front sight, and had no rear sight at all), and lack of stability imparted to the ball (due to the lack of rifling).  Even without rifling, smooth bores with crude front and rear sights are easily capable of shooting 3 inch groups at 50 yards, and are dangerous well beyond that.

Rifles in the civil war were not the first to be used reliably beyond 25 yards.  Not even close.  Even those cruddy ol’ smooth bores were more effective than that.  Even smooth bore pistols are that effective, if not a bit more.  Rifled pistols are effective beyond 50 yards...  Rifles from one hundred years prior to the Civil War were capable out as far as 400 yards, and possibly as far as 700 yards, depending on the source of the information.

But we stray...  I could go well beyond on this subject, but we can do that in another thread if you want.
_____________________________ ________

200 yards is not a long distance when it comes to ballistics on the guns we're looking at.  Heck, I use my .22-250 for shooting varmints out to 500yds. 

The bullets from a .50 MG drop of course, but to nowhere near the extreme you seem to think.  When it comes to the 50's I'm having trouble finding any bullet drop tables for the ranges we're discussing (they all seem to want to stretch things out to beyond 2000 yards).  However, if we take a rifle I'm familiar with (which likely doesn't shoot quite as "flat" as a .50, the point still becomes clear.

Setting a convergence of 200 yards is effectively the equivalent of "sighting in" a rifle for that range.  The first part of our problem is in visualizing the "correct" amount of arch in the bullets trajectory.  With a .270Win, if I sight it in at 200yds (I generally sight it in a bit further, but 200 will work fine here) the bullet will start below my line of sight (which is a few inches above the barrel; that becomes important later), crosses through my line of sight on an upward slant by about 25 yards, "climbs" to a maximum of about 1.5" above my line of sight at 100yds, and "drops" through the bulls-eye at 200yds.  Carried further, the bullet will be about 6.75" low at 300yds, and 20" low at 400yds.  In total, that's only about 21-22" of "drop" out to 400 yards.  The .50 won't much more than that, if at all.  I expect it actually flies "flatter" than that.

Here's the thing though, about how that applies to AH.  Our eye doesn't sit a few inches above the barrel.  It sits a few feet above it.  The line of sight in question in both cases stays the same though.  It's a line from your eye, through the sight, and out to the target.  In an airplane with wing mounted guns, the barrels are tilted upward much more than a hand-held (or nose mounted) barrel, in order to get the bullet to cross the line of sight at the sighted-in range.  The trajectory of the round stays about the same (although, technically, it'll actually fly "flatter", further, than one fired "level", but with a more pronounced drop in the end; for example, a bullet fired straight up will have no arch at all, until it stops and reverses direction).

Look at these diagrams (sorry, I don't have zero pictures).  In the side view you can see I added lines where the line of sight is in relation to the gun barrels.

(http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m309/Mtnman_03/F4Usideviewwithlineofsightvsgunplac.jpg)
(http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m309/Mtnman_03/F4U-4frontview.jpg)

An easy way to use these diagrams is to lay a ruler on it, and realize that in this case the propeller is 13'2".  That will allow you to realize that the pilots line of sight is about 4.5 feet above the guns.  Now, if the guns are sighted in "level" for 200 yards, the bullets will never cross the line of sight for the pilot, so will always appear to be "low".  That's because from zero to 200 yards they only "climb" 1.5".  In order to cross the line of sight though, they'd need to come up 4.5 feet (54 inches).  That means the gun barrels need to be angled upward more...

Now, the trajectory doesn't "bend" more to allow for this.  So where does that put the rounds at 400 yards?  How about at 100 yards?  If they shot like lasers, they'd be 2.25 feet low at 100yds, and 4.5 feet high at 400 yards (assuming a 200yd convergence).  Taking real world trajectory into effect, they'd actually be a little less in both places (less low, followed by less high...).  

This ignores that fact that the .50's probably shoot a bit "flatter" than my .270, and that the trajectory will initially "flatten" as the barrels are tipped more towards the vertical.  Take this into account, and the diagram will prove my point even further...

Now, a trip to the TA with the .target will also show this to be true (I've played with it a lot...).  These effects show...  However, they seem to be more subtle than you'd expect, until you realize that the center or "10" ring on the .target is 20 feet across.  That's one heck of a big bulls-eye, and the back of a plane can take up a deceptively small portion of it...

Keep in mind, this applies to wing mounted guns (like the A6M2's 20MM's).  Nose mounted guns are a bit different (and a bit easier).

Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Krusty on February 09, 2010, 05:13:36 PM
mtnman, first I have to call you out on muskets firing up to 700 yards. That's just bull. Max effective range was 50 yards or more, but the range to actually hit what you were aiming at was much shorter. Doesn't matter if it's "lethal" at 150 yards still, if the ball round is 100 feet off to the left and "missed by a mile."

Second, don't get me wrong when I say "they drop" -- they do, but not horribly so. They have a very flat trajectory for sure, but even considering the arc is a shallow one, it's still there. The issue with wing guns is that they're canted upwards (or the gunsight canted downwards?) so that they meet. If the guns were lasers it would be a straight line. They're aimed above the "laser level" and drop back towards the end point in a curve, but because they're lower on the airframe they never rise "above" the gunsights.

They do rise above the line-of-sight [from the barrel to the convergence point], though, and arc back towards the crosshair. When looked at from an angle, they may not rise above the gunsight line, but they do arc up then fall back to the target ever-so-slightly.

Much more noticable with cannons.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: mtnman on February 09, 2010, 08:18:07 PM
mtnman, first I have to call you out on muskets firing up to 700 yards. That's just bull. Max effective range was 50 yards or more, but the range to actually hit what you were aiming at was much shorter. Doesn't matter if it's "lethal" at 150 yards still, if the ball round is 100 feet off to the left and "missed by a mile."

You seem to be using the term "musket" and "rifle" interchangeably when discussing early firearms, which is incorrect, and may explain your confusion. 

A musket is a smooth bore (non-rifled) firearm, generally of large caliber.  Effective accuracy is at least 75 yards (to hit a man-sized target) for an "decent" shooter.  Since we're also relating this to trajectory, they're "dangerous" beyond that.  I've shot deer out to 100 yards with mine (musket/smooth bore), without difficulty.  That's putting the ball into a 6" diameter target...

A "rifle" has grooves running the length of the barrel designed to impart a rotation to the ball, which stabilizes it in flight.  They're generally of a smaller caliber.  They shoot a smaller projectile at a higher velocity, and have much improved accuracy at longer range (but aren't much more accurate than a smooth bore at ranges of 75 yards and less).

A quick quote on the early rifles-

"The long rifle is said by modern experts to have a range of 80 to 100 yards.[citation needed] This figure is meant for the normal or novice user. A trained, experienced shooter who knows how to take variables into account such as (gunpowder) load, windage, drop, etc. can easily extend the medium range of the long rifle to 400-500 yards.[citation needed] In 1778 at the siege of Boonesborough, Kentucky, one of the officers of the combined British/Shawnee assault force was hiding behind a tree. He stuck his head out from behind the tree and was instantly killed by a ball to the forehead fired by Daniel Boone, who was known for always firing the same fixed measure load of blackpowder in his rifle. This shot was later confirmed by witnesses on both sides and the distance measured at 250 yards. Hitting a target so precisely at that range would probably make the Kentucky Rifle comparable in total effective (long) range with the British Baker rifle at 700 to 800 yards.[citation needed]"

Now, the 500 yard shot sounds nuts, but I've seen it done repeatedly, using a 2' diameter steel plate as a target.  Personally, I can shoot mine (rifle) into a 6" target at 100 yards standing without a rest.  At 200 yards I can hit a paper plate (with a rest), and I seldom even practice at that range...

"Range to actually hit what you're shooting at"??  My flintlock single-shot "dueling pistol" will easily hit a tennis ball, every shot, at 50 yards.  With some effort, a golf ball isn't so tough either...  In competition with our rifles, we shoot the flames off of candles out as far as 50 yards, in the dark, standing, off-hand (no rest). 

I also don't really care for a "Wikipedia" backing, but in this case it ties in pretty close to my own personal experience...  My opinion on these weapons may vary from yours, because I own them and shoot them.

They do rise above the line-of-sight [from the barrel to the convergence point], though, and arc back towards the crosshair. When looked at from an angle, they may not rise above the gunsight line, but they do arc up then fall back to the target ever-so-slightly.

No, they don't.  A quick experiment with the .target will show you that.  Regardless of your convergence setting, your rounds will never rise above the line of sight, at least with wing mounted guns.  And I'm not saying that's correct, because they should rise above the line or sight at some point, just not where you say they will...

Set your convergence to 200yds, and put the .target at 50, then 100, then 150.  Your rounds will hit low on each target.  They'll never hit high.  That part of the trajectory model is correct.

Now, to make that point extremely evident, set your convergence to as close-in as you can get it (let's just say 100yds), and run the experiment again.  You'll see the same effect.  But, at 150 yards they should hit high for sure...  Do they?
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Krusty on February 11, 2010, 08:04:44 PM
Smoothbore = musket, on the first matter. I thought you were confusing the two with the comment:

Smooth bore muzzleloaders will fire (and are dangerous) much further than 200 yards.  Their ineffectiveness was due to the lack of sights (most used a large bayonet lug instead of a front sight, and had no rear sight at all), and lack of stability imparted to the ball (due to the lack of rifling).  Even without rifling, smooth bores [EDIT: Here's why I thought you were mixing them up, because smooth bores have no rifling, and aren't rifles] with crude front and rear sights are easily capable of shooting 3 inch groups at 50 yards, and are dangerous well beyond that.

Rifles in the civil [...] Rifles from one hundred years prior to the Civil War were capable out as far as 400 yards, and possibly as far as 700 yards, depending on the source of the information.

Since rifling was not found in many individual-carried (i.e. musket/rifle as compared to cannon/artillary) weapons before the civil war, I thought you were confusing them, not me. Sorry.

On the second, I was trying to suggest that "line of sight" was from the barrel to the target. As if you stood with your head where the gun ports were on the wing and looked at the convergence target. Not the gunsight crosshair. The bullets would rise above your line of sight (also the same line I suggested with the "laser" comment) and then fall back down, even if ever-so-slightly. I was trying to differentiate between the former and latter. From the cockpit you wouldn't notice, but from the gun you would.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: mtnman on February 11, 2010, 08:28:13 PM
Smoothbore = musket, on the first matter. I thought you were confusing the two with the comment:

Since rifling was not found in many individual-carried (i.e. musket/rifle as compared to cannon/artillary) weapons before the civil war, I thought you were confusing them, not me. Sorry.

On the second, I was trying to suggest that "line of sight" was from the barrel to the target. As if you stood with your head where the gun ports were on the wing and looked at the convergence target. Not the gunsight crosshair. The bullets would rise above your line of sight (also the same line I suggested with the "laser" comment) and then fall back down, even if ever-so-slightly. I was trying to differentiate between the former and latter. From the cockpit you wouldn't notice, but from the gun you would.


Ah, ok, some misunderstandings then...  No problem!

The idea of standing with your head next to the wing mounted gun seems odd to me, as that's not how they're sighted in, but anyway...  If you did that, it would effect the line of "sight" idea, for sure.  It would give you a sort of "spectators" view.

I've run some more tests, and will post some charts and screen shots in a different thread to help clear up what is really going on with the vertical convergence thing.  That way it won't be buried in one mainly on the A6M2...

Rifled weapons were carried by many individuals before the civil war though, just not so much by the military.  George Washington himself was initially opposed to rifles in his ranks (and that was pre civil war...).  The rifle wasn't popular in the military initially because the slower rate of fire was seen to be detrimental, and not offset by the much improved accuracy.  Also, rifles are more "picky" when it comes to projectiles, and how those projectiles are loaded.  Early rifles were all "custom", and weren't able to use ammunition interchangeably.  A rifle was sold with a mold to make balls for that individual rifle.  This was pre- industrial revolution...  Imagine how difficult it would be to supply your troops if they all had rifles that shot essentially "custom" ammunition...

The way wars were fought made long range accuracy (rifles) unnecessary, and "undignified".  The thought of using them to snipe officers was appalling...  Officers were supposed to direct their men like chess pieces across the field of battle.  The men were supposed to wear bright clothing, stand shoulder to shoulder, and act like "men".  Firing volleys was seen as the proper way to fight.  A rifleman killing officers at long range was cowardly...
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: Nemisis on February 11, 2010, 08:30:54 PM
I have the cowl gun set to D650, and the cannons set to D375.
Title: MUSKET RANGE QUESTION SOLVED!!!!
Post by: Peyton on February 14, 2010, 04:50:01 PM
Typical musket calibres ranged from 0.5 inches (13 mm) to 0.8 inches (20 mm). A typical smooth bore  musket firing at a single target was only accurate to about 50 yards (46 m) to 70 yards (64 m). Rifled muskets  of the mid 19th century were significantly more accurate, with the ability to hit a man sized target at up to 500 yards  (460 m).[1] The advantage of this extended range was demonstrated at the Battle of Four Lakes, where Springfield Model 1855 rifled muskets inflicted heavy casualties among the Indian warriors before they could get their smooth bore muskets into range.
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: TequilaChaser on February 14, 2010, 04:55:28 PM
Typical musket calibres ranged from 0.5 inches (13 mm) to 0.8 inches (20 mm). A typical smooth bore  musket firing at a single target was only accurate to about 50 yards (46 m) to 70 yards (64 m). Rifled muskets  of the mid 19th century were significantly more accurate, with the ability to hit a man sized target at up to 500 yards  (460 m).[1] The advantage of this extended range was demonstrated at the Battle of Four Lakes, where Springfield Model 1855 rifled muskets inflicted heavy casualties among the Indian warriors before they could get their smooth bore muskets into range.

it is nice to post your source for others

something like this  http://wapedia.mobi/en/Musket   helps others to possibly make a reply to your post  or respond to your post

hope this helps

Title: For Tequila....musket source
Post by: Peyton on February 15, 2010, 09:08:14 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musket
Title: Re: Convergence for A6m2....?
Post by: TequilaChaser on February 15, 2010, 09:19:27 PM
For Tequila....musket source



thanks Peyton, on the behalf of everyone who is interested in the Musket part of this thread on "Convergence for A6m2....?"

you do understand why I posted my reply to your original post I hope...