Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: Odee on November 25, 2017, 05:00:50 PM

Title: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Odee on November 25, 2017, 05:00:50 PM

With rumors of Subs coming, why not give the Allies some Mossie love and bring in the FB XVIII toting that 6 pounder under it's chin like a fat cigar?  Would be great against Resupply Convoys, Trains and base smashing like the 110 and 410 are for Axis.

"The Mosquito fights the U-boats
From November 1943 on wards the Mosquito was also used to attack U-boats shortly after, or just before they entered a port. Warning of these opportunities was provided by code breakers. At that moment the U-boats travelled on the surface, and therefore were vulnerable to rockets or the 57mm shells of the FB.XVIII. For safety, the U-boats usually formed small convoys, with an escort of mine sweepers or so called Sperrbrecher ships, which had hulls reinforced with concrete as a protection against mines; both types bristled with anti-aircraft guns. For example, on 27 March 1944 six FB.VIs and two FB.XVIIIs attacked a convoy towards La Pallice, formed by U-960 with a escort of four M-class mine sweepers and two Sprerrbrecher vessels. Three mine sweepers suffered light damage, U-960 was badly damaged, two Mosquitos returned home with serious damage, and one crash-landed.

Total production of the Mosquito was 7781, including 1034 built in Canada and 212 built in Australia."

source: https://www.uboat.net/allies/aircraft/mosquito.htm (https://www.uboat.net/allies/aircraft/mosquito.htm)
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: The Fugitive on November 25, 2017, 05:19:02 PM
I wouldnt call them "rumors" about the subs. Hitech has said he'd like to add them, but he has said that over the last ten years or so.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: MiloMorai on November 25, 2017, 05:26:43 PM
Only 17 Tse-tse were built.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Greebo on November 26, 2017, 02:58:49 AM
I imagine GVers would not be very happy about a Mossie with extra armour and a 57 mm AP-firing gun being introduced into the game. The original intended role for the aircraft was as a replacement for the Hurricane IID but then the RAF decided to go for rocket firing Typhoons instead. Given the low production number it should definitely be a perk plane.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: bozon on November 26, 2017, 03:55:51 AM
Only 17 Tse-tse were built.
The number I remember is 23, the difference may be a few converts on the production line vs. the number that were built as XVIII from the start.

The XVIII's were heavily used by coastal command. While the anti-sub work is more famous, most action was anti-shipping in mixed formation with FB.VI models and sometime with bomber models.

In AH Mossie XVIII will be a great addition. The mollins would be the most powerful flying cannon in the game. They will be something like the 410 with the 50mm guns, but with better performance. It will not be a hanar queen. I would not mind a token perk tag.

+1  :aok
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: atlau on November 26, 2017, 09:39:14 AM
How many rounds did it carry?
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Greebo on November 26, 2017, 09:57:49 AM
It carried 25 rounds.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Zimme83 on November 26, 2017, 12:58:45 PM
Not that i dont want the tse tse but i dont think it will see that much use, the gun is pretty much only efficient against guns and light GV:s like m3:s and the 4x20 mm of the mk VI is almost as efficient against those targets.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Greebo on November 26, 2017, 01:57:53 PM
The 57 mm should in theory be about three times better than the 40 mm gun used by the Hurri IID (double the round weight and 1.5 times the muzzle velocity) and the Hurri IID can kill tanks in AH. I think this Mossie's gun would do a lot more than just kill light skinned stuff when used against a tank's top armour.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Guppy35 on November 26, 2017, 02:26:14 PM
Beaufughter first by far.  Hunt subs with 25Hs if you need a big cannon
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: bozon on November 26, 2017, 02:58:13 PM
Not that i dont want the tse tse but i dont think it will see that much use, the gun is pretty much only efficient against guns and light GV:s like m3:s and the 4x20 mm of the mk VI is almost as efficient against those targets.
The Mollins will be yhe most powerful flying cannon we will have, by some margin. The B25 75mm gun fire HE rounds and it is much slower. The Mollins was a succesaful field gun in N Africa before it was adapted for naval use and installed on the Mossie. Indeed as tanks got heavier it was no longer considered effective against tanks front armor, but it was still plenty effective from the sides and top.

The 57mm 6 pound AP Mollins shell is a proper anti tank weapon. Dont be fooled by its caliber vs. tank guns, this is somewhat compensated by a high muzzle velocity.  It also fires about 1 round per second which allows you multiple shots per attack run.

With the range it will have you can do some serious damage to ships and base structures before you enter auto-acks range. It is not hard to imagine what this gun can do to a bomber from outside of the defending 0.5s range, or from any range :)

Finally, this thing is installed on a mossie. This means good performance for the platform, much better than 410 and definitely better than B25. It also looks better than any other plane. With the extra weight, it is like our FB.VI with two 500 lbs bombs in the bay. I sometimes dogfight the VI with the bombs still inside, and it pulls 3000+ fpm in a climb.

OK, it is not a Yak3 or spit16, but not a hangar queen either.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Lusche on November 26, 2017, 03:07:54 PM
Did the XVIII did actually use AP rounds in their missions?
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Greebo on November 26, 2017, 03:33:17 PM
Yes it had to use AP to penetrate a U boat's hull.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Zimme83 on November 26, 2017, 04:32:29 PM
The Mollins will be yhe most powerful flying cannon we will have, by some margin. The B25 75mm gun fire HE rounds and it is much slower. The Mollins was a succesaful field gun in N Africa before it was adapted for naval use and installed on the Mossie. Indeed as tanks got heavier it was no longer considered effective against tanks front armor, but it was still plenty effective from the sides and top.

The 57mm 6 pound AP Mollins shell is a proper anti tank weapon. Dont be fooled by its caliber vs. tank guns, this is somewhat compensated by a high muzzle velocity.  It also fires about 1 round per second which allows you multiple shots per attack run.

With the range it will have you can do some serious damage to ships and base structures before you enter auto-acks range. It is not hard to imagine what this gun can do to a bomber from outside of the defending 0.5s range, or from any range :)

Finally, this thing is installed on a mossie. This means good performance for the platform, much better than 410 and definitely better than B25. It also looks better than any other plane. With the extra weight, it is like our FB.VI with two 500 lbs bombs in the bay. I sometimes dogfight the VI with the bombs still inside, and it pulls 3000+ fpm in a climb.

OK, it is not a Yak3 or spit16, but not a hangar queen either.

Problem is the speed of the mossie, against a tank it will need a shallower angle than the IL-2 so it offset a bit of the hitting power. But just add it as an option to the Mk VI and let people decide for themselves what gun they want, there is no need to create a new model imo.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Bruv119 on November 26, 2017, 05:42:00 PM
Beaufughter first by far.  Hunt subs with 25Hs if you need a big cannon

err thats like saying fly a Hurricane instead of a spitty!!    :bolt:
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: pembquist on November 26, 2017, 06:02:52 PM
OK Bozon you don't have an excuse anymore, get out your checkbook and start tooling up: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-40873628 (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-40873628)
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: bozon on November 27, 2017, 01:31:53 AM
Problem is the speed of the mossie, against a tank it will need a shallower angle than the IL-2 so it offset a bit of the hitting power. But just add it as an option to the Mk VI and let people decide for themselves what gun they want, there is no need to create a new model imo.
XVIII also added more armor to the mossie. I don't think the game can change that in the hangar. It will be relatively cheap to make this variant, since much of the 3D model will be identical to our VI.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: bozon on November 27, 2017, 01:36:43 AM
OK Bozon you don't have an excuse anymore, get out your checkbook and start tooling up: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-40873628 (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-40873628)
I am already in the midst of a tree felling rampage for this project.
The estimated cost is 7m pounds. My kids are wearing rags, and I have eaten nothing but potato peels since August. By 2068 I should be able to afford it.  :aok
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Lusche on November 27, 2017, 01:43:08 AM
Yes it had to use AP to penetrate a U boat's hull.

Makes sense  :old:
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: bozon on November 27, 2017, 02:42:12 AM
Makes sense  :old:
Also,  you need an AP round in order to be able to hole the hull below the water line. HE will just explode on impact with the water.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Zimme83 on November 27, 2017, 08:25:22 AM
You dont need to make the hole below the water line, any hole will make the sub unable to dive and thus be an easy target for the sub hunters..
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: atlau on November 27, 2017, 09:05:13 AM
You dont need to make the hole below the water line, any hole will make the sub unable to dive and thus be an easy target for the sub hunters..

Nonsense. The sub can actually dive faster with the extra 57mm holes!
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Zimme83 on November 27, 2017, 10:14:38 AM
Nonsense. The sub can actually dive faster with the extra 57mm holes!

...Cannot argue with that..
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: pangea on November 28, 2017, 07:56:01 AM
This....

Beaufughter first by far.  Hunt subs with 25Hs if you need a big cannon

Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: bozon on November 28, 2017, 09:21:48 AM
Who said that the Beau and Mossie XVIII are mutually exclusive?
The Beau is my #1 on the list of planes curently not at all represented in AH (closely followed by the Whirlwind).

Hunting subs in B25... well, if the sub slows down enough, I suppose it is possible. But this is like saying "You don't need a Ferrari, you can just drive a Toyota pickup like ISIS does".
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: DaveBB on November 28, 2017, 03:23:01 PM
The B-25 was an incredible ship destroyer in the Pacific.  The B-25H was even equipped with a radar guided gunsight for it's 75mm in an experimental form.  It was extremely accurate.  In one test, the radar locked onto the steel mast of a ship, and it was severed with a direct hit from the 75mm.

But it still wasn't as effective as bombing.  A long straight cannon run left the B-25 vulnerable and at most allowed about 7 rounds to be fired.  The goal was to put out as much ordnance in the least amount of time possible.  Skip-bombing, para-frags, and 8 forward firing 50 cals were the best for that.  No reason to linger around the enemy too long.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: Vulcan on November 29, 2017, 02:31:40 PM
The B-25 was an incredible ship destroyer in the Pacific.  The B-25H was even equipped with a radar guided gunsight for it's 75mm in an experimental form.  It was extremely accurate.  In one test, the radar locked onto the steel mast of a ship, and it was severed with a direct hit from the 75mm.

Sorry Dave but my BS meter is pegging out that radar story. WW2 radar was pretty primitiveThe 75mm wasn't gimbaled so how you'd "lock on" to anything is beyond me.

The only reference I can find too B25H radar is the AN/APQ-13 which could be used as a bombing impact predictor or for ranging adjustments where the radar operator made manual adjustments to the pilots gunsight based on the AN/APQ-13 data. The pilot still had to aim the gun using the aircraft.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: DaveBB on November 30, 2017, 07:59:40 PM
I lost it in a fire, but details of the radar aiming system were found in the book "Warpath across the Pacific".  You are correct in that the pilot still had to aim the aircraft, but the gunsight was adjusted by radar.  It wasn't used operationally, just experimentally.
Title: Re: Mosquito FB XVIII 57mm Coastal Defense
Post by: RODBUSTR on January 03, 2018, 05:45:54 PM
    To prevent damage from their own gun, The Minimum firing distance of the 57mm in the mossy was 600 yards.   I the plane does come to AH3 , It would be nice to be able to adjust the sights out to 1500 yards to try to keep It somewhat in line with a real one.... It would be nice for the B25H too.