I realize there are always exceptions... but in general... was "50 Caliber" deemed to be the best compromise for a single engine fighter.? I assume the 30 cal was too small to be effective .........and the 20mm was too big. The gun was much bigger and the plane could not carry sufficient numbers of rounds to suit the missions of the planes.? In hindsight, was there a better, general purpose ammo, for a single engine fighter, than the 50 Cal.....i guess that is about 12-13mm.?
No I don't think that was it as British aircraft veered towards a 20mm cannon main armament whilst the US went 0.5 mm. Thus Hawker Typhoon and Tempest each had four 20mm and the Spitfire IX had two 20mm cannon plus machine guns whereas the P47 and P51 were 0.5 armed
Ah..... OK. I did not realize the Spit used the 20 that much. I knew SOME versions had the 20, but i thought most were a 303 or 50. Thank You
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The enclosed article gives a good overview of the subject Cannon or Machine Gun? – The Second World War Aircraft Gun Controversy — Variants & Technology | history | Reference
The development of air to air weapon has the principle of designing a weapon calibre or rocket with adequate velocity,mass and explosive charge which when on impact will result in fatal damage to the target. ie,the aircraft airframe and its components.Weight of the weapon has to be within the design envelope of the aircraft to ensure that aircraft performance was not adversely affected.The number of rounds available is equally important for the aircraft to be a successful interceptor or fighter bomber. Probably the lead in development of air to air weapon was the Luftwaffe who had to contend with heavily armoured USAAF bombers and as a result accelerated their development in this field. It's interesting to look at the state of a few selected fighters of both sides which clearly indicate the principles considered. 1939.....Spitfire 8 x.303 inch machine guns...Weight of fire for 3 second burst 10 lbs 1939.....Bf 109E 2 x 7.9 mm machine guns and 2 x 20 mm cannons. Weight of fire for 3 second burst 18 lbs. 1942.....Thunderbolt 8 x .5 inch machine guns...Weight of fire for 3 second burst 20 lbs 1942.....Typhoon 4 x 20 mm cannon....Weight of fire for 3 second burst 18 lbs 1942.....Bf 109G 2 x 13 mm machine guns and 3 x 20 mm cannon Weight of fire for 3 second burst 35 lb 1944.....Fw 190 - A - 4 2 x 7.9 mm machine guns and 4 x 20 mm cannon.Weight of fire for a 3 second burst 37 lbs.This aircraft could also be loaded further with 2 x Wgr 210 mm rockets to give a delivery weight of 180 lbs 1945.....Me 262 4 x 30 mm cannon.Weight of fire for a 3 second burst 96 lb.This aircraft could also be loaded further with 24 x R4M 55 mm rockets to give a delivery weight of 53 lbs. I am sure that there is a abundance of armament data across the Allied air force inventory of fighters which can illustrate how they compared with the inventory of the Luftwaffe fighters. The RAF depended far too long on the standard .303 inch calibre which was was no march for the 20 mm cannons adopted by the Luftwaffe and entered the war with its fighters equipped with the .303 inch peashooter.For Bomber Command the dependency on the .303 inch calibre was disastrous throughout the war.The conversion of No 1 Group turrets to .5 inch with the introduction of the Rose/Rice turrets in the autumn of 1944 should have come much earlier.
