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Rocket Counter Not Right


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I posted about this last year.  Rockets Problem - Bugs and Problems - ED Forums (eagle.ru)

What sense does it make to have a counter that goes to 24 when you only have 6 or 10 rockets??

When using unlimited ammo for practice sessions, it's a PITA to reset the counter back to 1.

The reset binding isn't working properly either. It only advances one digit and that's it.

Rocket counter binding not working correctly? - Bugs and Problems - ED Forums (eagle.ru)

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@NineLine  No I don't have any info other than Wikipedia which lists the rocket loadout as 10 HVAR's or 6 Bazooka Tubes.

The reset counter binding doesn't reset to 1. It only advances or retards 1 digit and no more.

What I usually do (with unlimited ammo) is when I'm empty, I take a quick peek and see where the counter is and then

count how many times I have to press the release button to return to 1. It's easier to do on the ground, but I still practice a lot

and "Unlimited Ammo" saves me time to be able to reload without landing every time. 

 

The P-51 and F-86 have counters that only go to 10, so there's no problem with these planes. They reset to 1 when empty.

 


Edited by rayrayblues
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🇺🇦  SLAVA UKRAINI  🇺🇦

MoBo - ASUS 990FX R2 Sabertooth,     CPU - AMD FX 9590 @4.7Gb. No OC
RAM - GSkill RipJaws DDR3 32 Gb @2133 MHZ,   GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 1660Ti 6Gb DDR5 OC'd, Core 180MHz, Memory 800MHz
Game drive - Samsung 980 M.2 EVO 1Tb SSD,    OS Drive - 860 EVO 500Gb SATA SSD, Win10 Pro 22H2

Controls - Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X,   Monitor - LG 32" 1920 X 1080,   PSU - Prestige ATX-PR800W PSU

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  • 2 months later...

I believe the rocket counter is correct, but that assumption comes with the caveat that I have never seen an operating manual that covers the P-47D-40 series. I do however have a copy of AN 01-65BD-1 "Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions For Army Model P-47N Series Airplane" (15 January 1945, Revised 20 July 1945). The 15 June 1945 revision within states:

 

"Model P-47N-5 airplanes are equipped to carry sixteen H.V.A.R. projectiles. Provisions are made for five to be attached to the under surface of each wing panel and three mounted in brackets which attach to each external tank adapter. The cockpit installation consists of a rocket selector panel with a visible counter and switches mounted beneath the parking brake handle. A safety switch and selector are mounted on the armament selector switch panel to the left of the parking brake handle. The rockets may be fired singly, in pairs or train as selected. The projectiles are are discharged by depressing the electrical release button on top of the control stick." Illustrations in the POI show a rocket control selector very similar to what is in the DCS P-47D-40.

 

We then turn to AAF Manual 51-127-4, "Pilot Training Manual For The Thunderbolt P-47N" (1 September 1945). Pages 58-59 describe the operation of the rockets ("From the P-47N-5 on you can carry 10 rockets under the wings") in similar detail as AN 01-65BD-1. The array for the counter's top line ("Counter Reads") is 1-17 to account for 16 rockets. This can be seen in high detail here: P-47_Pilot_s_Manual_2.pdf (413thfightergroup.com) It is also what is portrayed in the DCS P-47D-40.

 

Something to note from the historic operating manuals is that the counter progresses to the number of the next rocket to be fired. It should not count down to zero.

 

Following the P-47D-30 series production at both Republic plants the Farmingdale, NY plant focused on P-47M and P-47N production while the Evansville, Indiana plant produced the P-47D-40. The two lines were producing notably different aircraft but I'll argue were installing similar equipment, for example the tail warning equipment common to the P-47D-40 and the P-47N series. The D-40 and the N-5 were respectively the first models to be equipped with HVAR capability. (And as far as I can tell, the firing control box for M-10 rocket tubes was a field modification on earlier aircraft and was not factory equipped.)

 

Surviving P-47D-40's don't provide a definitive answer on what was factory equipped, unfortunately. I believe most or all served with foreign air forces before acquired by private collectors and restored and/or civilianized, and I haven't seen any with the rocket selector intact. Take the US Air Force Museum's P-47D-40 S/N 45-49167 for an example: https://media.defense.gov/2015/Aug/05/2001267184/-1/-1/0/150805-F-IO108-005.JPG. I've come to the conclusion that to understand the P-47D-40 you have to use use the POI covering the P-47D-25 through D-35 series AND the P-47N manuals together.


Edited by Thunderbolt Lightfoot
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Not sure about the PTO but there’s comments on the warbird forums that the USAAF didn’t use rockets much in the ETO. They did try them but bombs remained the preferred loadout for P47s. Conversely the RAF loved rockets.

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