The 20mm gun is a cannon, with explosive rounds. You don't have to be directly hit by such a shell, as its shrapnel is bad for humans. The game does calculations for such shrapnel, taking into account the round's explosive power and the distance between explosion and object hit by shrapnel. Attacks in which you quickly settle toward the stern of your target are not wise when crew can shoot at you with much reduced deflection. Against planes equipped with defensive armament covering their behinds, your better approach is a high side run. Get well out to the side of and above your quarry, with some distance forward of his beam. Swing in so that when in range to fire you are abeam of your target; certainly not well aft of his 3-9 line. This of course requires maximum deflection. With good timing, you will finish your slashing firing pass while still in a moderate deflection solution, meaning the defending gunner has a similar deflection problem. Don't be tempted to continue to turn in and prolong your firing! The minimal deflection and close separation for the gunner are almost certain doom for you. Another reason that shooting planes from their 6 is not so good is that it usually requires more hits to take them down. The engines and pilot are to a certain degree protected by the structures behind them. Now, ir you can quickly shoot off both elevators--not so easy due to their thin profile from dead astern--then will you certainly take out your victim. But it usually takes some time to accumulate sufficient damage against tougher foes. The upshot? Practice deflection shooting! The fighter is first and foremost a gun platform intended for the destruction of other planes. Being able to obtain hits at all aspect angles is the preeminent skill to acquire in the offensive sphere. Fancy flying, while always useful, is more valuable when defensive. Not to say defensive flying is unimportant! But when bringing guns to bear, being still effective while the foe is least or less effective is no small advantage.
Have seen gun camera film of a U.S. Navy F-6 attacking an 'Emily'. The pilot made repeated passes and finally brought the 'Emily' down! Emily was much bigger than the 'Catalina', about the size of a U.S. Martin Mars and, very difficult to bring down unlike the Catalina!
![IL-2 1946: One Shot is All it Takes! [Ki-84 Frank vs Spitfire]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/T24-Oc2CsmI/mqdefault.jpg)
![IL-2 1946: One Shot is All it Takes! [Ki-84 Frank vs Spitfire]](/img/tr.png)
![IL-2 1946: Scramble Over Normandy! [Live Spitfire vs Stukas]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/owEs9dQJWPQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![IL-2 1946: Do You Have the Energy? [BF 109 vs Spitfire]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/q7OEo9rymbU/mqdefault.jpg)
![IL-2 1946: High Speed Jousting! [Me-262 vs Mustang Mk.III]](/img/n.gif)
When in doubt - don't dive so hard in a Spitfire!
The 20mm gun is a cannon, with explosive rounds. You don't have to be directly hit by such a shell, as its shrapnel is bad for humans. The game does calculations for such shrapnel, taking into account the round's explosive power and the distance between explosion and object hit by shrapnel.
Attacks in which you quickly settle toward the stern of your target are not wise when crew can shoot at you with much reduced deflection. Against planes equipped with defensive armament covering their behinds, your better approach is a high side run.
Get well out to the side of and above your quarry, with some distance forward of his beam. Swing in so that when in range to fire you are abeam of your target; certainly not well aft of his 3-9 line. This of course requires maximum deflection. With good timing, you will finish your slashing firing pass while still in a moderate deflection solution, meaning the defending gunner has a similar deflection problem. Don't be tempted to continue to turn in and prolong your firing! The minimal deflection and close separation for the gunner are almost certain doom for you.
Another reason that shooting planes from their 6 is not so good is that it usually requires more hits to take them down. The engines and pilot are to a certain degree protected by the structures behind them. Now, ir you can quickly shoot off both elevators--not so easy due to their thin profile from dead astern--then will you certainly take out your victim. But it usually takes some time to accumulate sufficient damage against tougher foes.
The upshot? Practice deflection shooting! The fighter is first and foremost a gun platform intended for the destruction of other planes. Being able to obtain hits at all aspect angles is the preeminent skill to acquire in the offensive sphere. Fancy flying, while always useful, is more valuable when defensive. Not to say defensive flying is unimportant! But when bringing guns to bear, being still effective while the foe is least or less effective is no small advantage.
so unrealistic. how dare a bomber survive more than 1 hit from a machine gun...
Have seen gun camera film of a U.S. Navy F-6 attacking an 'Emily'. The pilot made repeated passes and finally brought the 'Emily' down! Emily was much bigger than the 'Catalina', about the size of a U.S. Martin Mars and, very difficult to bring down unlike the Catalina!