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Re: How effective was Schrage Musik?
Actually (AFAIK), the angle of the guns (about 60-65 degrees) was choosen as this proved to offer the least risk of debris from the target hitting the attacking night fighter.
The actual aiming of the guns was done using a separate Revi 16 A-N sight: this was usually mounted in the upper part of the canopy, slightly above and in front of the pilot.
During an attack using the S/M, the pilot of the night fighter didn’t actually look straight up at the target, but instead taking aim through the mentioned Revi 16 A-N sight.
It can be worth noting that the weight of the S/M (2 x MK108 w. 100 rounds each) in the He 219 was enough to prevent full use of all four weapon stations in the fuselage tray: when S/M was fitted to the He 219, the two rearmost (centre) under fuselage guns had to be removed in order to keep the total weight down, as well as to not upset the aircraft centre of gravity.
Each MK108 with 100 rounds weighed roughly the same as one MG151/20 with 300 rounds (standard ammunition load for the He 219).
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