Aerodynamic effect of rockets

[npsergio]

Hi all,
Do any of you knows wich aerodynamic effects that planes suffer when being armed with 21cm rockets?
I try not to use them in numbers. The main negative effect that I see is that short range planes like Bf 109 can´t carry extra fuel if they carry rockets... so their patrol range will be reduced.
Is there any other effect? I supose that the speed and manoeuvrability will be also reduced... so a Bf-109 armed with rockets will be an easier target for the bombers' escorts...
Am I right about that?

Thanks in advance.

[lastdingo]

The additional drag is below the centre of gravity, thus I guess they had to trim their horizontal rudder to compensate for that. Aiming guns immediately after firing the rockets was certainly hard.

The weight increased wing loading and thus turning radius, the drag reduced top speed and acceleration, top speed in dive with the installation was likely low (vibrations!)...


I recall reading that all fighters with external equipment other than drop tanks were essentially bomber destroyers, not fighters any more. Merely capable of moderate evasive action, not really capable of dogfights (still got some lucky shots).

[Turner]

The WGr210 were essentially airborne mortars which propelled a arty grenade. Accuracy was very poor but when fired in large numbers they could have some effect on the formation, especially in scattering the formation thus reducing the effectiveness of defensive fire. One may call it a airborne AAA installation, a first indication of what lay ahead in military aviation (guided missile systems). The WGr210 was designed to be fired from outside the effective range of bomber defensive fire, some 1500 yards or so from directly behind the formation. After this initial mortar attack the fighter formation would break up in smaller groups to attack with guns. Sometimes the Luftwaffe units attacked in a coordinated manner, one fighter formation attacking from the rear with rockets and another one from above with guns. The bomber formation trying to reduce the hit probability of rockets by spreading out, would more easily fall victim to the fighters attacking from above. If the formation stayed tight, the rockets could potentially have a devastating effect. It happened that one rocket knocked out 3 bombers by hitting and exploding the bomber in the middle and seriously damaging the outer two on each side forcing crews to either bail out or turn back.

Once the bomber escort fighters were added to the equation, all zerstörer groups were easy prey and had to be protected by their own escort severely reducing the effectiveness of Luftwaffe fighter formations.

And yes, the weapons installation had adverse effects on aircraft handling and performance much like you described.

[PizzaDeOveja]

[font="Trebuchet MS"]Yesterday I started my first Axis campaing and boy I thought planing city fires and apocaliptic destruction with the USAF was hard...Those germans never had a chance, one can relate to why they run out of lufwaffe leaders due to suicide and why the supreme one became an addict to all known drugs...[:D]

Well anyways I decided to have a heavy punch unit next to italian airports in my glorious Short oil campaing, and so I did order my glorious fw190 based in italy almost at the frontline to be armed with rockets to get them bombers in and out of their raids for the day with some heavy german sausage...

Well that was the plan anyways...
What happened was a total failure. First they couldnt intercept them outbound of their bases, I suppose because of low speed and lower range without xtra fuel depots my whole glorious gruppen of 23 aircraft turned around after a few seconds when they were nowhere near the raid and latter when I tried to intercept them on return again the same thing happened. Im guessing that it was either due to bingo fuel and/or realising that they could never intercept the raid.

What I did notice was that the planes with heavier armament(If the airport is in the direct route of the raid it is a lot easier to intercept them raids) to deal with bombers got smashed by the allied scorts a lot more than my other planes so definetly they are getting who knows what kinds of penalties in the game combat, but a lot of that.

I tried to provide an "scort" for my bomber smashers sending all avaible in range fighters with antifighter doctrines but Im not really sure whether it did work out or not...I get appaling results againts enemy fighters, and a lot of my heavy punchers will have to wait for new planes to arrive after loosing theirs, thou its logical after all its like 15 glorious romanians against 50 allied planes...

I would say that only send your heavies with rokets and all they can carry if the airport will be in the raid's route and anyways...be ready to write a lot to condolence letters to a lot of mothers... [/font]