R Haskin wrote:

"Juvat" wrote in message
...

F-15's gun is angled slightly above the waterline...for air-to-air,
making it unsuitable for strafe.

At least that's the answer I got at a PACAF conference when I asked
why they didn't have a 51-50 requirement to strafe.

Unsuitable is certainly not the word for it. The F-15E community has not
traditionally strafed on a regular basis because of the upcanted gun -- a
10-degree low angle strafe puts you pretty close to the dirt by the time you
cease fire.

Because of the "demand" for bullets in Allied Force, Enduring Freedom, and
Iraqi Freedom, strafe is back in the F-15E vernacular bigtime.

An acquaintance who flew A-7s and F-16s has said that the former's M61A1 was
aligned a couple of degrees below the waterline to improve its A/G usefulness,
while the Viper's is mounted slightly above to improve A/A ditto. I don't know
how the F-18 is set up. Marine pilots definitely did a lot of low-angle strafe
in DS.

Guy