Talk:F4F-4/@comment-174.111.200.191-20161120024313/@comment-91.156.246.196-20161122205429

"late war planes focused more on machine guns than autocannons due to weight, ammo and RoF advantages"

But that's just bullshit.

Americans needed six 12.7mm MGs, which had the weight of an autocannon and all had to be placed on wings.

Other countries were fine with one or two 20mm cannons and few lighers MGs.

Later in the war the Germans and Japanese concentrated on heavier cannon weaponry to counter heavy bombers.

Many late war British and Soviet fighters didn't have MGs either.

The IJN 20mm cannons might have really been the worst cannons and for them it took the longest time to get rid of the rifle caliber MGs.

On the Pacific the MGs were indeed fine against all those Japanese models without armors and self-sealing fuel tanks.

Range was simply so valuable for those Japanese.