Michael Emrys Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I was perusing the manual tonight and came across this tidbit regarding the Spitfire IX: It is armed with 2 × 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon with 120 rpg in the outer bays, and 2 × .50 cal Browning M2 machine guns with 250 rpg in the inner bays. That is backwards. The 20mm cannons were mounted in the inner bays while the MGs were in the outer bays. Shame on you, BFC! Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I don't think it is wrong, the E type came in 1944: The .303 machine guns mounted in the outer wings were no longer fitted as most aircraft at that time had armour impenetrable by .303 bullets. During a turning combat the effectiveness of the outboard machine guns was low because if the aircraft was pulling 'g' the flexing of the wings meant that the rounds scattered in a large cone. The 20 mm Hispano cannon were moved outboard and a more effective .50 calibre Browning .50 cal M2/AN heavy machine gun with 250 rpg was added to the inner gun-bay. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_%28late_Merlin_powered_variants%29#E_type 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Okay, if I read this right: The outer machine gun ports were eliminated, although the outer machine gun bays were retained and their access doors were devoid of empty shell case ports and shell deflectors. The inner gun bays allowed for two weapon fits; 2 × 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon with 120 rpg in the outer bays. 2 × .50 cal Browning M2 machine guns, with 250 rpg in the inner bays. Both MGs and cannons were inboard of the outermost bays and shared the inner bays, the MGs inboard of the cannon. The wording is a bit confusing. We need a pic. I'll look for one. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Found something: Armament installation in the E wing. It's as I thought from the information on Wiki. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 This page is also very helpful in visualizing the arrangements. Apparently, from the C wing onward there were always two inboard cannon bays, allowing for the optional installation of a total of four cannon, two in each wing, although that configuration was seldom used. So it was a simple matter to fit the Browning .50 into the inner of the two bays. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP Jones Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 add this to your sig lines so that it takes up even more screen real estate: Michael Emrys seems to have been wrong while accusing BFC of being wrong. -JP Jones 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 FWIW, I was surprised to learn that early Typhoons had 12 .303's. I was skeptical of the information and double-checked it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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