folgore vs beaufighterVIC

[MrBlizzard]

Hi all,
playing torch to tunisia 43-45 as axis, last beta.
My opponent has been flying naval interdiction in the Tunis gulf for some turns with unescorted beaufighters and beauforts based in malta.
So I issued an air directive of air superiority with my C202folgore based near Tunis.
The results were quite nasty for me.
The C202s managed to intercept 5 different days the enemy flight with 12 planes against 10 from higher altitude
but the only result was a folgore downed.
This is one of the encounters
On chart folgore is the only italian good plane and quite superior to beaufighters and beauforts.
What am I missing? [&:]

[MrBlizzard]

Also the Folgore italian pilots are quite good being in the 80 exp (the average italian fighter pilots are around 60...)
These are the 2 planes stats

Thanks for any explanation! [:)]

[xhoel]

I think because the bombers were flying so low the interception didn't go as planned. When there is a big altitude difference between the opponents there is a chance that the fighters will completely miss the bombers (eg they won't intercept/or will intercept too late to do any real damage). At least that's how I know it works. Try setting the altitude lower next time (around 7-8k)

[MrBlizzard]

Yeah thanks this could solve the problem of missed interception [:)]
I just wonder if I will not have 10 c202folgore downed as result [:D]

[xhoel]

Shouldn't happen as from what I can see that air group is a high exp one. I'd like to know if the tactic works though, would you be so kind as to PM me when/if you try it?

Cheers,
Xhoel

[MrBlizzard]

Oh expereince wasn't so high in reality, I checked and it was only around 60, maybe it's shown 80 in the report just for the FOW...
Some bf-109s in auto CAP managed to intercept the beaufighters at around 8000 feet and made a slaughter of them.
Now I couldn't change the c202s air directive this turn, because I already was in the ground phase so I canceled it.
let see if the c202 can intercept something in auto CAP mission

[xhoel]

So we can conclude that the altitude was the problem. Thanks for sharing the info!

[MrBlizzard]

Still no joy with folgore planes [:(]

the problem seems to be the plane itself not the altitude that I changed and lowered
they don't get kills even in very easy situations
look here, 24 folgore in air superiority intercept 12 hudson and 8 catalina 1 hex from Tunis.
much lower and slower enemy unescorted planes, it seems a very easy prey
but... no enemy planes are downed, just some holes and a light damage is done
it seems like Folgore hasn't any punch, just a peashooter

Any idea? [&:]

[Rusty1961]

Perhaps the fact it only has two HMGs and two LMGs is why they don't shoot down planes?

[MrBlizzard]

Yes you're right this could be a problem, they are undergunned expecially in comparison to allied fighters;
but bf-109 have one 20mm cannon and 2 light mg (so not a big difference) and have destroyed hundreds of planes in this match.
I suspect it's more related to low experience italian pilots.
In the other scenario I played, "battleground italy 43-45", RSI received few squadrons with very skilled pilots that got good results with italian planes.
(one could wonder where they did come from, provided that in this scenery italian pilots aren't able to fly at all [:D], same thing for US pilots)
I will run some test to understand better this issue [:)]

[LiquidSky]

Having done a lot of 'tests' with something I used to call 'Friday Night Flights' where I would pit different (or the same!) planes against each other I discovered a few things.

Experience is by far the most important factor. Some Luftwaffe pilot made a quote about the Me262 not being a war winning plane when piloted by a 17 year old that pretty much sums that up.

The next most important is altitude. (and speed) Every plane is rated for speed at different altitudes..you can go into the editor and see the graph. You want your planes to fight at their optimum altitude. I usually just look in wiki to figure it out.

Lastly..the plane. Every plane has guns..and those guns cause damage. Every plane has hitpoints and can take damage. Like somebody noticed...a couple machineguns aren't going to do a lot of damage compared to a pair of 20mm cannon. Some planes have loadouts which change the guns...The BF109G-6 can mount extra cannons for example.

It takes a wild swing in plane quality to notice a difference. Essentially Hurricanes, BF09's....are the same plane. Any differences will be overshadowed by altitude and quality.

Finally...randomness. You can fight the same 100 planes vrs 100 planes 10 times and get a different result each time...although the results will always favour the side with the most experienced pilots fighting at the correct altitude with the most guns.