SimHQ.com - Air Combat Zone - Feature: IL-2 Series: Ground Attack

When the crosshairs are at the base of the target and you’re about 400 meters distant, fire with both guns and cannon. At the speeds we’re going, the extra distance is required for us to take into account reaction time. Keep firing until sight is at the top of the target.

Here’s how it looks from a Bf-109/F4:


From the initial run aiming point, start bringing the target to the crosshairs. Gentle on the controls – keep the target on the center line! Begin firing just as the bottom of the target reaches the crosshairs. Continue firing until the crosshairs are over the target.

Please note that the tracers in frames one through three are not from the Bf-109; they are from the ZIS-5 truck, which missed me. Tracers in frame four are from the aircraft, with better results than he got!

Remember well that most pilots miss because they fire too high for the target, rather than too low; there is nothing wrong with firing low and allowing the natural nose rise to bring your rounds into the target, as you’ll still hit the target along with the dirt.

Be gentle on the controls! Either you’re lined up and can hit, or you aren’t and it’s a miss! Swishing around with the rudder isn’t going to help, as you’ll only put a smattering of your rounds on the target and are putting your faith in luck rather than skill for a kill.

Your rounds should look like this on the ground if you’ve done it properly:

Straight Shooting

If rudder is applied, one will see a J or S shape on the ground, or if yawing, a line that is askew to the line of attack.

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