P-51 Smoke Production when hit

[LeCuvier]

I fly mostly Bf-109K4 against P-51 AI and I'm wondering about the amount of smoke it produces when heavily hit. It has already been stated that the damage model of the WW2 birds seems very generous in that they can take an incredible number of hits and still fight at full performance, and I don't want to belabour that point.

But I'm struggling to believe that the real planes can produce so much dense smoke, sometimes both black and white, for a long time and still have a fight in them. It's so bad that I cannot see the wounded bird, and I have to fire into the cloud of smoke without knowing exactly where it is. And of course there is an increased risk of crashing into it. If that's the reality I'll accept it of course; but if it's unreal it ought to be fixed.

[Cykyrios]

If you're talking about AI aircraft, then things are different, but a player-controlled Mustang will probably not last long if it starts producing black smoke. White "smoke" can come from leaking fuel, but whenever you start releasing black smoke, you're pretty much toast in a few seconds/minutes.

Of course, the AI doesn't care about damage at all, unless they lose a wing. Sometimes they simply abandon the fight, turn their lights on and start heading home, others they keep fighting as if the plane was in perfect condition.

 

As for the actual amount of smoke, however, I cannot say, but you should be able to find some WW2 footage here and there to check that. It does seem to me that the amount is the same for every aircraft, even jets (in DCS, I mean, not in the real world).