30 Cals in Aviation

[carman1877]

Im not comparing the two I just want to know if the 30 cals were just as good as 50s when mounted in planes such as the Beaufighter or the Hurricane.

[Gremlin29]

Im not comparing the two I just want to know if the 30 cals were just as good as 50s when mounted in planes such as the Beaufighter or the Hurricane.

Absolutely not. When the US entered the war, the 30 cal was the standard and quickly proved to be inadquate. Fighter aircraft were either upgraded ( if possible) or designed outright for the 50 cal. The Brits had the same problem with the .303 and the Germans stopped putting the 8mm in the wings of their aircraft. The .303 and 8mm have very similar ballistics. 30 cal was fine pre-war but when WW2 broke out aircraft were equipped with more and more armor which more or less made the 30 cal type weapons inadequate for aerial warfare.

[winnyfield]

Bigger guns were better against bombers.