Best aircraft weapon on a plane during WWII

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Wasn´t one of the MG213/20 mm guns experimentally installed as a engine mounted gun in one of those long nose Fw-190? This weapon could do all you ask for...

I have heard this too, but it overheated to much I think. Not sure though.

 

[Arrawin]

I think the 20mm Hispano II was probably the best air to air weapon.

The late war M3 .50 cal. with its extremely high rate of fire (approximately 1,200 rpm) was also quite excellent, especially when oufitted in a battery of eight on a P-47. (That's 158 rounds per second!)

I had no idea they developed a 50cal with that rate of fire in WW2, that is an astounding amount of lead in the air in a very short time.

 

[Madelman]

What about the soviet designs? How did compare the 12.7 Berezin UBN to the M2/M3? And the Berezin B-20 and ShVAK to the Hispano?

Thanks

 

[swampyankee]

What about the soviet designs? How did compare the 12.7 Berezin UBN to the M2/M3? And the Berezin B-20 and ShVAK to the Hispano?

Thanks

Arguably, the 12.7 mm Berezin was better than the 0.50 in M2/M3, but the Soviets thought it inferior to their 20 mm and 23 mm guns.

 

[Shortround6]

The 12.7 mm Berezin may have been slightly more powerful than the US .50 M2 and fired a bit faster. It may not have been slowed down as much by synchronization.
The Russians traded lighter weight for shorter gun life (barrel life is different ) but then the Russians weren't trying to support planes armed with 4 -12 guns each halfway around world.

The Russian 20mm vs the Hispano is a bit tougher. The Russian guns were lighter (the B-20 was a lot lighter) and fired faster but each cartridge was a lot less powerful than a 20mm Hispano round. The B-20 didn't show up until 1944 in small numbers (or late) and 1945.