Your armament?

[schwarzpanzer]

What armament would you choose for your WW2 plane?

I think a Mk103 through the propellor hub and 4 x .50's in the wings (both)wouldn't be unrealistic for, say a Ta152?

[Parmigiano]

Hmmm.. the Mk103 was very heavy and 'slow firing', maybe the Mk108 was a better compromise.

I think an interesting discussion would be to analyze the different approach in fighters armament: Germans (and Russians) favoured the concentration of weapons in the nose (the inner MG151 of the Fw190 are so close that can be considered fuselage mounted), while Americans and British spreaded the armament in the wings.

Both solutions have of course pro and cons, as a start for the 'nose solution' they could be (all other conditions being equal):

Pro
- No horizontal harmonization issues
- Wings are lighter : better roll? I suppose that a heavier wing has a bigger inertia
- Concentrated firepower
- less vulnerability to enemy fire (smaller area and ammo more protected than a wing mounted solution)

Con
- slower rate of fire, due to synchronization with propeller arc
- more complicated installation
- less probability to hit the target with a 'nearly miss'
- small changes in CG when the ammo are used up

[Jabberwocky]

For fighter to fighter combat on a real WW2 airplane, nothing beats the combination of 4 20mm MG 151s in the wings and 2 13.2 mm MG 131 in the cowling of a Fw190A-6 or later.

Close runner up would be the Tempest with the Mk V Hispanos with increased rate of fire and 200 rpg.

The Beaufighter and Mosquito also deserve special mention. The fighter bomber versions of the Mossie mounted 4 Hispanos with 300 rpg and 4 .303s with 3000 rpg! The Australian versions of the Beaufighter had 4 M2 Brownings with 500 rpg and 4 Hispanos with 250 rpg. British versions had 4 Hispanos and 6 Browning .303s!

Technically speaking, I prefer the British/Soviet approach of high velocity, flat trajectory cannons with a high AP and moderate HE value. Easier to shoot at small targets than with lighter shells, much better terminal and AP effects than a HMG and similar MV and ROF to a HMG.

So, my ultimate single seater fighter armament would probably be a FW-190A equipped with 4 Hispano Mk V in the wings and a Soviet UBS Heavy Machine gun in the cowling.

For bomber interception nothing can really better the He-219 'Uhu'. The A-R/7-1 had 2 Mk 108s in the wing roots, plus two more and 2 Mg 151/20s in the gun tray. It also carried 2 more MK 108s in a Schrage Musik installation. Total of 6 Mk 108s and two Mg 151/20s!

Fighter armament

1st Hispano Mk V 20mm
2nd Berezin B-20 20mm
3rd UBS 12.7mm

Bomber armament

1st Mk 108 20mm
2nd MG 151/20 (especially with MG shells)
3rd Hispano Mk V 20mm

[Erich]

There never was a He 219A-7 variant used in combat. I./NJG 1 reduced the armament to just 2cm weapons except for the Schräg waffen. two 2cm's in the wingroots and usually 4 2cm in the belley tray. the 2cm actually was a prefferred arms in the German nf force over the forward 3cm which caused too much debris to fly off and then having to fly through it.............

I./NJG 1 Uhu's were either the A-0 or A-2's; no A-5 variants or A-6 mossie chasers were ever given to the unit, nor any A-7's

[trackend]

Eight 13mm 131's with a total of 7440 rpm

[Erich]

8 MG 151/20's 2cm's forward armament as fitted to some ZG 26 Me 410B's in early 1944 ~ aka "Watering Can"

[MacArther]

Two .50s, two 40mms and 2 .30 caliburs to aim the 40mms and act as back up weapons.

[cheddar cheese]

Originally Posted by trackend

Eight 13mm 131's with a total of 7440 rpm

Id have 2xMG-151/20's in the wing roots, 4x .50's in the outer wings, and a 37mm firing through the Prop hub...

[syscom3]

For ground attack, id like to have seen the B25's with twelve .50's for the front and a pair of Hispano's in the tail (to finish up the job).

[Lunatic]

I'd go for 10 x B20 cannon mounted on a P-47M/N, with 300 rpg. They'd fit and even save a little weight over 8 x .50's. Range would still be adequate though only about 3/4ths that of the .50's, but with an RoF of 8000 rpm and initial velocity in the 850 m/s range this would be awsome fire power.

Or 8 x B20's on a P-51, P-38, or Corsair.

=S=

Lunatic

[cheddar cheese]

That would be pretty awesome...Especially on a -38...

[Gnomey]

Fighter

2 x Hispano MKV in wings
2 x MG151/20 in wings
1 x 37mm & 2 MG131 or 2 x MG151/20 and 2 MG131 in nose

Night Fighter

2 x MK108 in rear fuselage firing upwards (can't remember the name)
2 x Hispano MKV in wings
8 x MG151/20 in nose (like the ME410 "Watering Can" mentioned by Erich earlier)

Ground attack

4 x MK108 in nose
6 x 50" in nose
12 x 60lb Rockets
Bombs/Napalm

[the lancaster kicks ass]

2 x MK108 in rear fuselage firing upwards (can't remember the name)

i know what it's called but i'll be buggered if i can spell it........

[Erich]

Schräge Muzik or Schrägwaffen for short .............

it was general acceptance to remove the heavier Mk 108 3cm from this installation except on the He 219 A-0 and A-2's as the debris from the 3cm's was so severe that the Uhu's were damaged by it while underneath the RAF heavies. 2cm with Glimmspur ammo was used giving just a very faint tracer where the crew could follow it to it's destination in the Bf 110G-4 and Ju 88 variants, and thus not quite having the terrible "blowing out effect" from the heavier 3cm's. the 3cm's also had a very large flash when firing

[Gnomey]

Thats the one Erich. Thanks.