How do droptanks work in the game?

[scottott999]

How do droptanks figure into the game? If I remove them through the editor will I see a drop in their range radius during game play?

[Feinder]

If I remove them through the editor will I see a drop in their range radius during game play?

 
Yep.
 
And if you add them, and your range goes up (considerably).

[R8J]

Do they have any affect on air to air combat? Or are they dropped before the fight?

[wdolson]

I believe they are dropped before a fight or their affects are ignored. 

I did some testing with them a while back and found that most of the time they add 1 minute of endurance per gallon, but there appear to be some other factors in that calculation because it isn't always 1:1.  The number of engines does not appear to factor in (which isn't tracked for Allied aircraft in the currently released version of WitP).

Bill

[RevRick]

ORIGINAL: wdolson

I believe they are dropped before a fight or their affects are ignored.

I did some testing with them a while back and found that most of the time they add 1 minute of endurance per gallon, but there appear to be some other factors in that calculation because it isn't always 1:1. The number of engines does not appear to factor in (which isn't tracked for Allied aircraft in the currently released version of WitP).

Bill

Nor is the type of engine figured in. From past reading (Heaven alone knows how long ago) I recall figures which showed the Merlin engined Mustangs used half of the gas per hour that the radial engined P-47 did. One could assume that an equal amount of drop tank capacity in a radial engine aircraft could have half the effect of a V12 powered aircraft from that. However, two big caveats remain. The first is my memory. The second is that data, if corroborated, could only apply to Merlins as opposed to radials and have no bearing whatsoever on Allison powered aircraft.

[R8J]

Thanks.

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: RevRick
Nor is the type of engine figured in. From past reading (Heaven alone knows how long ago) I recall figures which showed the Merlin engined Mustangs used half of the gas per hour that the radial engined P-47 did. One could assume that an equal amount of drop tank capacity in a radial engine aircraft could have half the effect of a V12 powered aircraft from that. However, two big caveats remain. The first is my memory. The second is that data, if corroborated, could only apply to Merlins as opposed to radials and have no bearing whatsoever on Allison powered aircraft.

Not just the engine type, but different airframes were more efficient than others. The major factor in the P-51's performance was the radiator set up (I read an article written by a retired North American engineer proving it was the radiator and not the laminar flow wing). The radiator acted like a primitive jet engine and gave the plane about 20 pounds of net thrust. So something that was a net drag on most liquid cooled planes was a net gain on the P-51. It also almost certainly contributed to its fuel efficiency too.

No other liquid cooled fighter had the range of the P-51. Except the P-38 and that was due to raw fuel carrying capacity as well as techniques to run the engines as lean as humanly possible on long flights. The long range ideas were introduced by Charles Lindberg.

Bill