windswords
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- Joined
- 19 May 2009
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"But why turned for example the Spitfire and Ki-44 Tojo from machine guns to cannons?"
Since you asked I will tell you (this will be my last comment on this)
The Ki-44 switched because they had to shoot down bombers. Not just B-29s (bad enough), but B-24s, B-25s and B-26s. They need more punch. The Japanese were desperate for something to be effective against the B-29s - they tried the Ho-301 which proved to be ineffective, they tried phosphorus cluster bombs dropped on formations, ramming airplanes, Myrts and Judys with 30 mm cannons aimed obliquely. Small successes but nothing really worked well. Had the Ki-44 been used exclusively for fighter to fighter combat it could retain its heavy machine guns and still be effective. It seems that all the later Japanese fighter projects whether army or navy were intended to use 30 mm cannons in order to try to knock down the bombers.
The Spitfire conversion from British .303 to 20 mm with a short stint using heavy machine guns was a preference for cannon. I think the British were not happy with the performance of their heavy machine gun and had a very good auto cannon so they moved to it. The Germans of course had to shoot down bombers.
An interesting story is related by WWII ace "Lanny" Lanowski.
Witold "Lanny" Lanowski was a Polish fighter pilot and ace who escaped from Poland at the start of WWII and went on to fly with several different airforces flying many types of fighter aircraft, both British and American. "In autumn 1943 I was assigned to a desk job---to my disgust. By then I had completed 97 operational flights. There were many other experienced Polish pilots being similarly placed and many of us had no intention of being grounded if we could possibly help it. The question was resolved when the Americans invited us some of us to fly with them and eventually permission was obtained from Air Ministry for six of us to go on short-term loan to the 56th Fighter Group. Francis Gabreski was one of these American pilots of Polish descent and as a USAAF Lieutenant Colonel commanded the 61st Fighter Squadron in the 56th Group. So in May 1944, we went to Boxted and formed a Polish flight in Gabreski's squadron"...
"The most impressive thing about the Thunderbolt was the armament. There was no time for gunnery practices when I joined the 56th so I had no experience of what the heavy Browning machine guns would do in combat. The very first time I got on the tail of a Focke-Wulf and gave him a very short burst he absolutely exploded! It was fantastic! Nothing like this had ever happened in Spitfires due to the wide setting of the cannons (2) and machine guns (4), and small amount of rounds per cannon. Sometimes the enemy fighter would smoke but I had never seen one explode. The concentration and punch of bullets from those eight Point-Fifties in the Thunderbolt was tremendous. You could see where you were hitting which you rarely saw with other fighters I flew. And if you saw where you were hitting all you had to do was pull your deflection, and there it was--- explosion! I have always believed the principal reason the Thunderbolt did so well in air fighting was its firepower".
Since you asked I will tell you (this will be my last comment on this)
The Ki-44 switched because they had to shoot down bombers. Not just B-29s (bad enough), but B-24s, B-25s and B-26s. They need more punch. The Japanese were desperate for something to be effective against the B-29s - they tried the Ho-301 which proved to be ineffective, they tried phosphorus cluster bombs dropped on formations, ramming airplanes, Myrts and Judys with 30 mm cannons aimed obliquely. Small successes but nothing really worked well. Had the Ki-44 been used exclusively for fighter to fighter combat it could retain its heavy machine guns and still be effective. It seems that all the later Japanese fighter projects whether army or navy were intended to use 30 mm cannons in order to try to knock down the bombers.
The Spitfire conversion from British .303 to 20 mm with a short stint using heavy machine guns was a preference for cannon. I think the British were not happy with the performance of their heavy machine gun and had a very good auto cannon so they moved to it. The Germans of course had to shoot down bombers.
An interesting story is related by WWII ace "Lanny" Lanowski.
Witold "Lanny" Lanowski was a Polish fighter pilot and ace who escaped from Poland at the start of WWII and went on to fly with several different airforces flying many types of fighter aircraft, both British and American. "In autumn 1943 I was assigned to a desk job---to my disgust. By then I had completed 97 operational flights. There were many other experienced Polish pilots being similarly placed and many of us had no intention of being grounded if we could possibly help it. The question was resolved when the Americans invited us some of us to fly with them and eventually permission was obtained from Air Ministry for six of us to go on short-term loan to the 56th Fighter Group. Francis Gabreski was one of these American pilots of Polish descent and as a USAAF Lieutenant Colonel commanded the 61st Fighter Squadron in the 56th Group. So in May 1944, we went to Boxted and formed a Polish flight in Gabreski's squadron"...
"The most impressive thing about the Thunderbolt was the armament. There was no time for gunnery practices when I joined the 56th so I had no experience of what the heavy Browning machine guns would do in combat. The very first time I got on the tail of a Focke-Wulf and gave him a very short burst he absolutely exploded! It was fantastic! Nothing like this had ever happened in Spitfires due to the wide setting of the cannons (2) and machine guns (4), and small amount of rounds per cannon. Sometimes the enemy fighter would smoke but I had never seen one explode. The concentration and punch of bullets from those eight Point-Fifties in the Thunderbolt was tremendous. You could see where you were hitting which you rarely saw with other fighters I flew. And if you saw where you were hitting all you had to do was pull your deflection, and there it was--- explosion! I have always believed the principal reason the Thunderbolt did so well in air fighting was its firepower".
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