IMPORTANT: Huge undefended "empty" zone in AA coverage!

[jwilkerson]

Can't find an Okinawa real quick - but here is a Saipan June 1944. Note 3 rounds each are loaded into the fuse setters - obviously setting lots of fuses fast was a big business at this point !!!

[Nikademus]

ORIGINAL: spence

As it stands right now all you IJN fanboys should just count your blessings that your planes don't get shot at with VT-fuzed shells.
BTW, there has been some doubt expressed as to whether the Japanese IJN/IJA developed this technology into an operational weapon. THEY DIDN'T!!!!

In WitP, the VT fuse effect is a hard coded modifyer that begins in 2/43 (or 3/43) and "ramps up" to full effectiveness by around 11/43.

Its in the game.

[spence]

Guess I'll have to look for this increased effect when I get to 1943.

The 5"/25s in jwilkerson's post look like they are using fixed (shell and powder in one piece-like a big rifle bullet)ammo. The 5"/38 used semi-fixed (separate shell and powder cartridge) ammo. Not sure if 5"/25s ever had VT-fuzed ammo.

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: Nikademus

In WitP, the VT fuse effect is a hard coded modifyer that begins in 2/43 (or 3/43) and "ramps up" to full effectiveness by around 11/43.

Its in the game.

I knew I remembered it right... [:D]


Leo "Apollo11"

[jwilkerson]

ORIGINAL: spence

Guess I'll have to look for this increased effect when I get to 1943.

The 5"/25s in jwilkerson's post look like they are using fixed (shell and powder in one piece-like a big rifle bullet)ammo. The 5"/38 used semi-fixed (separate shell and powder cartridge) ammo. Not sure if 5"/25s ever had VT-fuzed ammo.

Nah you're right 5"/25 never had VT .. but begs the question is the modifier "global" ?

As restrictions on use were real ... Feb 21 1944 ... "strict orders forbade its use over areas where a dud might fall into Japanese hands" ... p21 Lockwood, "Battles of the Philippine Sea", Crowell, NY, 1967.

Also obviously, not all ships ( USN or Allied ) had VT .. hence the modifier should not be global. While implementing a restriction based on location of TF vis-a-vis the enemy probably isn't in the game ... we could hope that applying the modifier only to 90mm ( US Army ) and 5"/38 ( US Navy ) and any other weapons that had VT would be in the game.

[elcid]

ORIGINAL: WiTP_Dude

Isn't working as designed? I've read that the big guns couldn't in many cases hit targets flying close to the ground.

The reason for "medium AAA" development was precisely this zone where light guns could not reach with effective fire
and heavy guns were not responsive enough to address. However, it is slightly misleading to disallow any impact:
heavy guns ARE useful in the case of a target on what we call "constant bearing, decreasing range" - where the rate
of traverse isn't a factor in the fire control problem.

Possibly the most famous example of this is described in Japanese Destroyer Captain by Hara -
worried about skip bombing - which rendered US bombers almost unable to miss - as they would have a long line of possible
impact points with the ship instead of needing to hit a specific, moving point in the sea -
he found a solution at the very moment he was attacked by such a bomber. Mystifying his crew - not using the
training they had - he ordered his ship to stay on course (rather than maneuver) - and come to full speed. This
gave him an unexpected bonus - the stacks erupted in black smoke from creosote - and flames - and the plane reported
he was hit! But his reasoning was based on two other considerations: (1) to give the guns a stable firing platform with
mimimal need to traverse (something his 5 inch were very poor at doing) and (2) to mess up the bomb aimer, who would
factor in the standard tactic of turning - and cause the bomb line to be astern of the ship. Both succeeded - the bomb
missed - unusual - and the plane was fatally hit at low altitude by heavy guns which normally would not have done.