Quote:
Originally Posted by Harri Pihl
Well, on other side, it's worth considering USAF experience; after all the M53 is by far the most succesfull fighter weapon of the WWII.
|
Better known as the Browning .50 M2...it depends on how you measure success. Certainly US fighters armed with the .50 shot down lots of planes, but there are other factors involved than the quality of the gun: such as the superiority of the aircraft, the superiority of pilot training, superiority in numbers (later) and so on. And of course the fact that few planes carried anything other than the .50 meant it was bound to shoot down a lot of planes. What that doesn't tell you is whether or not they would have been even more successful if armed with a good cannon: personally, I think they would.
I have analysed the US reliance on the .50 here:
http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/CannonMGs.htm