In regards to the .303s against bombers, in order for them to work like described by previous posters (sawing off parts of the structure by sheer number of rounds alone) you would need to have a perfectly controllable concentration pattern. Such a thing doesn't really exist.
Well, i was a relatively good shot during my time as a conscript in the local armed forces and it's still impossible to put two consecutive rounds through the same exact part of a stationary target a mere 100 meters away, and that's when firing
a) modern rifles with gas regulators that significantly decrease recoil
b) in single shot configuration that further helps with recoil in contrast to full automatic
c) modern ammo
d) from a comfortable, stable, prone position in a controlled environment with no risk to life and limb
No enemy firing back, no vibrating gun platform, better guns and ammo, smaller distances and it's still impossible to hit the exact same spot twice or manage to carefully put rounds one next to the other as if "stitching" the target, unless you just happen to have a one in a million lucky shot. If we could there would be no need for specialised sniper rifles, but it's impossible to put rounds on specific parts of any target with absolute accuracy without using telescopic gunsights and as stable a firing platform as possible with a very low rate of fire.
What happens with the .303s is a hail of rounds where the slightest deviation from optimal conditions hurts the intended concentration of lead on the target...rounds leave the barrel mere tenths of a degree apart and on the way to the target they end up separated by a few meters and you can have 10 rounds fired in a single burst impacting all over the place, from the tail all along the fuselage and even passing over the nose and missing completely. Multiply that by 8 rapid firing guns and you get a lot of swiss cheese unless you hit something vital which for most intents and purposes is human flesh, due to the tumbling effect making the rounds ineffective against metal after the initial hit.
I think the .303s are pretty accurate. I don't even try to aim for fuel tanks or engines anymore, i just come in from the sides, above or head-on and aim for those big sections of plexiglass that every Luftwaffe bomber has where the crew sits. I usually get anywhere between one (if i'm forgetting to target the crew) and three (if i conserve my ammo only for cockpit shots) bomber kills before i run out of ammo.
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