Spitfire Mk II a & b Tracers

**alcanallen** · May 6th, 2020, 01:27

I`d like to ask my armorer to load my Spitfire`s brownings with tracer bullets,is there a way to edit the files to accommodate tracer rounds?
This would enhance my hits per squirt when firing my 8 brownings, i`m sure other Spitfire pilots would also like to have the guns firing tracers.

alcanallen.

**33lima** · May 6th, 2020, 10:35

With you on that one! Rounds which make a flash on impact are all very nice but as an aid to accurate shooting, are a bit hit and miss...literally

**mongoose** · May 6th, 2020, 14:05

There was a discussion on this in the Spitfire Mk !! thread.
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...-Package/page3
#59
"EDIT: Also, you won't see tracers on most aircraft, since they fell out of use in RAF fighters during late 1940. DeWilde incendiaries were used instead, which have a bright flash on impact to let you know you are hitting your target. Only the outboard two guns were loaded with DeWilde though, with the other guns being loaded with slugs or armor piercing rounds - neither of which have a visual indication of a hit, unless it's hitting the ground or water."

**33lima** · May 6th, 2020, 14:48

I saw that, but I still want my armourer to put some tracers in the belts too, and I don't care where or how he gets them!

IIRC Gordon Olive writing of his BoB experiences before late 1940 says the RAF fighters didn't use tracers or leave smoke trails but the Luftwaffe did, which seems at odds with guncam footage showing at least prominent smoke trails (his post-war paintings of 65's Spits in action from May - Sept 1940 show Sky spinners and fuselage bands which are circa November 1940 on, so even expert memory of details isn't always right).

Because the de Wilde (MKVIz) round was incendiary, doesn't mean it didn't also have a tracer fitted - though that is not mentioned in the detailed description here: https://sites.google.com/site/britmi...nch-incendiary

...OTOH if the research for the loadouts in CloD is right, the MkVIz was a tracer incendiary (see page 23): https://www.mudspike.com/wp-content/...r-Spitfire.pdf

Likewise having de Wilde rounds in a belt doesn't necessarily rule out putting in some tracer rounds, too. Anyway right or wrong I want some!

**gecko** · May 6th, 2020, 17:44

So from the historical side, as far as I know, the DeWilde never had tracer, or at least it was not used much by the RAF in fighters. The Buckingham tracer is what was in use in the RAF early in the war, and this is what some of the earlier Spitfires in the package have loaded in two of the guns. Standard RAF practice was to not mix different types of ammunition in a single belt. Instead, a typical Battle of Britain period ammo load for a Spitfire or Hurricane would be two guns loaded with Buckingham tracer, one with DeWilde incendiary, two with armor piercing, and three with ball. In the Spitfire package a variety of ammunition loads are represented on different aircraft depending upon when the aircraft depicted by the skin was active, and reflects how ammunition loadings evolved over the course of the first year or so of the war.

Now onto the requests for the armourer to flout the regulations and give the pilots what they want. In the weapons folder you will find the folders for the various types of .303 round that came with the package, such as SJ_gb_round_303cal_INC. SJ_gb_round_303cal_INC is a DeWilde incendiary. Suppose you want to make it a DeWilde tracer. You need to delete the .bdp file in the folder (it will regenerate itself the next time you fly) and then open the xdp in a text editor like note pad. Look for the following: TracerEffect="XXX". XXX is the name of the tracer effect as found in the effects.xml used for the round. Since XXX does not exist in the effects.xml, no effect is shown. Now open the xdp for SJ_gb_round_303cal_INCT (the Buckingham tracer), and you will see it uses a different effect - TracerEffect="tracer_303calinc". Replace XXX with tracer_303calinc and now you've got DeWilde tracers. If you don't like that particular effect, you can browse through the other rounds in your weapons folder until you find one you like. Alternatively, you can delete TracerEffect="XXX" entirely and a default tracer will be used. Now then, don't tell the Squadron Leader I told you this.

**Oliver** · May 7th, 2020, 03:23

Originally Posted by gecko

S

Now onto the requests for the armourer to flout the regulations and give the pilots what they want.
I Now then, don't tell the Squadron Leader I told you this.

Douglas Bader once said "Rules and regulations are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools!"