Yak-9T

[Animal]

Ok, I'm not one to whine about a plane (since back when the P-38 guns were REALLY bad and HT fixed them. Thank you   )

But I was testing the Yak9t in H2H and the 37mm cannon seems to be almost useless. It takes half its ammo to disable a tank and almost all its ammo to kill a tank.

Ive been waiting for this plane to use it as a panzer plonker, thinking that 4 rounds of the cannon would be enough for one tank.
For Ostwinds, it is good for taking the turret but you have to aim well and get close enough not to miss (low velocity round), the flak will eat you before you kill him.
Right now, the F4U-C kills tanks much better with the hispanoes.

So what is the Yak9t really good for? I mean, it doesnt perform well at high alt to be a good bomber hunter, and for tank busting it aint great. As a fighter, you have to get close enough not to miss with the cannon and if you run out of ammo, you only have one MG.

Hey Pyro, I want the Il2 then  

[Animal]

I forgot to mention, could lag been an issue?

I was hitting the panzers from above and behind. The cannons did work very well for killing the tracks on the tanks, but no better than the F4U-C guns.

And Ive been waiting for a russian plane dedicated for A2G fighting, with good anti tank cannons with plenty of ammo.

Maybe its IL-2 fever, and Ive been watching a lot of Sturmovick shows on Discovery Wings, and that game coming out also put me in the mood for panzer plonking in Aces High.

I WOULD LOVE THE IL-2 on ACES HIGH!!

[Soda]

Have you seen what that 37mm will do to airplanes?  I went offline to test it, firing single shots at drones to see what it could do.  I went 10 for 10 for single ping fatal shots.  1 hit of 37mm will dismember/obliterate/destroy/you pick the word, a P-51.  One hit took off a wing, 1 hit took off the rear fuselage, 1 hit exploded the entire plane...  yikes.

Maybe it's not very good at ground vehicle but don't let one hit you in the air... geez.

-Soda

[Animal]

yeah true but the same thing can be done with the 30mm in the G10 or the 190's, and the TA152

One ping death. Only that with the Yak you have much less ammo, and if you run out, you can hit them with anything else.

The single MG will only make them angry  

[Soda]

Pretty rare for me to get a one ping kill in a G10 or any other dual 30mm.  The 37mm was almost guaranteed when you got a single ping it was over.  I'd like to see what it does to a bomber though getting a Yak up to 30K to find some of these strato-dweebs would be interesting to say the least.

-Soda

[Fatty]

Seem to have better luck top-down shots, when I'm coming down vertical on them couple pings will take out turret if not destroy it completely.

[SpitLead]

Same was true for the P-39 in Warbirds.  That 37mm was great for taking out ack.  And, if you could sneak up on someone or they made the mistake of going head on with you, one shot would just obliterate them (especially those Zeke's).  It was actually quite enjoyable :-)

[BBGunn]

Think the yak-3 would have been better for dog fighting.  The Hurricane with the twin 40mm's would make a decent attack AC. Oh well -maybe next time.

[Tony Williams]

The NS-37 in the Yak-9T was a very high-velocity gun, able to punch holes in the rear or side armour of almost anything.  It was in a different league from the low-velocity M4 used in the P-39 - and it was faster-firing as well.

Firing more than about three shots at a time tended to push the plane off aim, though, so only short bursts were used.  It had a usefully longer range than other weapons in air-to-air fighting (which is what it was mostly used for) and was feared by the Germans.

It was not the best for ground attack because it was not armoured in the same way as the Il-2.  However, it was the only plane in the war which could reliably take out a Tiger tank and hold its own against enemy fighters.

Tony Williams
Author: Rapid Fire - The Development of Automatic Cannon, Heavy Machine Guns and their Ammunition for Armies, Navies and Air Forces.
Details on my military gun and ammunition website: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~autogun/

[Animal]

Hi,

I tested the Yak-9T with Nacho on the training arena, and found it its VERY innefective against bombers. I was very suprised by this, but seems the rounds on the gun are armor piercing, and instead of exploding like the german 30mm on this game, they go right thru the B17 causing no damage unless you hit a critical part.

I tested the gun against the bomber not firing long bursts, but firing shots about three by three, and had to use 12 rounds to finally down the B-17, and to do this, I had to get to around 200 yards and shoot right into the wing root and inner engine in the right wing.

This plane aint very effective against bombers, at least less so than the german 30mm.

Against fighters, it is always a one shot kill, except if you hit a P-38 from ABOVE into the fuselage, the round will go right thru.

This was with no lag whatsoever.

I again tested against the panzer and ostwind and was pleasantly surprised to see several one pass kills with about 7 rounds, but I had to do this almost straight from top, and its hard to hit from that angle an Ostwind that is also firing back, moving, and with a high recoil such as this cannon.
The cannon is much stronger than the hispanoes on this game (obviously) but its much easier to just pick a Chog for ground attack, you have much more ammo and can defend yourself in A2A.

Personally, I will be using the Yak-9T as a close support plane to help friendly panzers near bases. I find it much more fun and much more of a challenge than ground attack in any other plane, because in this plane you really need to practice.

I have yet to go with a wingman or group of Yak-9T and use teamwork to draw fire from an Ostwind while the other planes attack, but this tactic should be very effective, cant wait to try it out.

I definetly want the IL-2 Sturmovik in this game now  

[Westy]

Online in the MA that 37mm is the Demolisher

 Eats up Panzies for lunch with a few well landed shots and PT boats with one or two rounds apiece.

 Against other planes? It's no contest. Lancs and 51's Just crumble. So no idea what's happening for you Animal.

 -Westy

[This message has been edited by Westy (edited 03-10-2001).]

[Animal]

I just tried it on the Main Arena and killed Ripsnorts panzer with 3 pings.

Seems like the lethality is higher on the main arena.

[Tony Williams]

I think that only the Il-2 with NS-37 regularly loaded AP.  All of the photos I have of NS-37 ammo show it loaded with HE, which would be standard for the Yak-9T.  It used the same shells as the M39 AA gun.  One solid hit would be enough to bring down most aircraft.

Tony Williams
Author: Rapid Fire - The Development of Automatic Cannon, Heavy Machine Guns and their Ammunition for Armies, Navies and Air Forces.
Details on my military gun and ammunition website: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~autogun/

[Animal]

Hmm well, I gotta try that again, cause it took me many rounds to down a B-17, firing ONLY the cannon and aiming at the wings and rear fuselage.

[Tac]

Want a ground attack plane Animal?

P-38D!!!  

4X .50
1X 37mm
2 1k bombs
10 rockets

Yeeehaaw.