Quote:
Originally Posted by SimonE
Apologies for the thread necromancy, but I was trawling through some of the older threads and have some useful information to add.
These are the results from static tests of bomber defensive positions, from a test firing of 12 rounds at 600 yards. The dispersion is measured in feet and mils of arc (3600 mils in circle).
Boeing B-17:
Ball Turret: 15 ft/8.3 Mils
Sperry upper turret: 21 ft/11.7 Mils
Bendix chin turret: 23 ft/12.6 Mils
Waist K-6 mounts (closed windows): 26 ft/14.3 Mils
Side nose guns: 34 ft/18.7 Mils
Tail turret: 45 ft/25.0 Mils
Tail turret (early Stinger type): 61 ft/33.4 Mils
Consolidated B-24:
Ball turret: 15 ft/8.3 Mils
Martin upper turret: 20 ft/11.2 Mils
Emerson nose turret: 23 ft/12.9 Mils
Waist K-6 mounts (closed windows): 23 ft/12.9 Mils
Motor Products tail turret: 35 ft/19.3 Mils
Motor Products nose turret: 35 ft/19.3 Mils
Waist (open windows): 63 ft/35.6 Mils
Information is borrowed from one of the old Ubi-forum threads, but I believe it originally comes from a book in US turrets. I've seen the same figures reproduced on several different forums by several authors, so I'll assume its reliable until proven otherwise.
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Interesting, Simon. If they are this inaccurate from a fixed position, imagine what it was like with movement and bouncing up and down! A lot of the dispersion distances would hit a fighter, but again, movement would affect accuracy big time. Of course my infantry and tanker friends loved theirs, saying the weapon is the best ever produced. In Iraq and Afganistan, insurgents would hide behind mud/masonry walls and the .50 would blow right through them! Then there's the famous 1942 8th AAF mission to Lille where gunners claimed 102 damaged or destroyed and the actual loss was 2 damaged!
24th April 2013, 15:48
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