.50 Cal HE rounds for Pacific fighters??

[nuchpatrick]

Hey all.. I was reading some where on a website about the use of .50 cal HE rounds on some pacific fighters late into the war. Does anyone happen to know where this site is..I can seem to find what site this was on

Or even if this was true?

[fdiron]

There were alot of different types of .50 cal rounds.  A post war study found that API (Armor Piercing Incendiary) rounds were the most effective at downing enemy aircraft (of all the types of .50 cal rounds).  API rounds ignited fuel and ammo stores, while the other types of .50 cal rounds simply shredded or punctured.

The Japanese used a special type of 12.7mm explosive round near the end of WW2 that was especially effective at injuring and killing bomber crews.  It prompted that the USAF make it mandatory that bomber crews return to wearing full flak gear.

[Hooligan]

fdiron:

Do you have any details about that post-war study.  I'd sure like to get a copy of it.

Hooligan

[Tony Williams]

The USA did not use HE rounds in .50 calibre. One was developed as a private venture, but not adopted. At the start of the war the standard ammo was a mix of the M2 AP and the M1 incendiary (plus the occasional tracer). In 1944 the M8 API was introduced, which was basically copied from the standard Soviet 12.7mm design. This was like the AP but had a small quantity of incendiary material in the tip of the bullet jacket. This was found to be the most effective ammo, as it could penetrate through to fuel tanks (unlike the M1) and set them alight (unlike the M2). It was also useful as the incendiary flashed on impact, telling the pilot he was scoring hits.

However, the other rounds remained in service for some purposes. There was also an M23 incendiary right at the end of the war; this was a lightweight job with far more incendiary material than the M1, intended to set light to the less-flammable fuel used by the German jets.

The Italians adopted the British 12.7x81SR ammo for their Breda-SAFAT and Scotti aircraft guns, but developed their own ammo for it, including HEI. This apparently worked quite well, and was bought by the Japanese Army prewar, who used the same cartridge in their Ho-103 Browning-type gun (as used in the Ki-43 and Ki-44, etc). The Japanese both copied the HEI and developed it further, including some very hairy versions with neat PETN exploders in the bullet tip.

The Germans of course used HE shells in the 13mm MG 131 and 15mm MG 151.

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.quarry.nildram.co.uk
Military gun and ammunition discussion forum:
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