Originally Posted by
Vern Humphrey
A high rate of fire is critical in aerial warfare. The sights are going to be on target only a fraction of a second, and you need to pump out as many bullets as you can in that time. Six .50 machineguns could pump out 60 shots a second, so in the quarter of a second when you were on target, you could get about 15 hits -- and the .50 was WAY more effective than the rifle caliber machineguns most of our enemies used.
Just before WWII our intelligence knew the Japanese Zero was faster than our new naval fighter, the F4F Wildcat and more maneuverable. We couldn't dogfight them and we couldn't run away from them. Lieutenant Commander John Thatch compared the two planes on paper.
Speed -- the Zero was faster.
Maneuverabiitiy -- the Zero could turn faster.
Construction -- the Wildcat was built like a truck. The Zero was almost flimsy.
Pilot protection -- the Wildcat had an armored seat. The Zero had none.
Self-sealing gas tanks -- the Wildcat had them, the Zero did not.
Armament -- the Wildcat hat .50 machine guns, the Zero had rifle caliber plus one 20mm. Advantage to the Wildcat.
He figured if he could arrange it so Wildcats and Zeros traded shots, the Zeros would fall out of the air before the Wildcats. The result was the Thatch Weave, and it worked.
Then in the Battle off Samar, our planes had no torpedoes or armor-piercing bombs -- they used .50s against battleships and cruisers and chewed their topsides up.