Ho-5 (20 mm)

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

• Default: HEF-I · P · AP-T
• Universal: HEF-I · HEF-I · AP-T
• Ground targets: AP-T · AP-T · HEF-I
• Tracers: AP-T
• Stealth: HEF-I · HEF-I · HEF-I · P
• Armoured targets (turret): AP-T · AP-T · HEF-I

Comparison with analogues

Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.

Usage in battles

Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Insane rate of fire at 800 RPM to 950 RPM makes the Ho-5 the fastest-firing WWII cannon in the game
• Excellent accuracy while in prolonged bursts once gun is upgraded
• High explosive (HE) shells have Incendiary (I) element which work better than the Type 99's

Cons:

• Not the best explosive effect compared to other nations
• Low ammo pool and high fire rate require for trigger discipline
• Armour-piercing (AP-T) is bad against planes and armour > 10 mm
• Tracer belt is full of AP-T
• Mediocre muzzle velocity

History

Like the other nations that participated in World War II, Japan initially armed their planes with magazine-fed autocannons. However, the limited ammunition supply of magazine-fed cannons was identified as a limiting factor in their effectiveness and so Japan followed the lead of other nations and transitioned to belt-fed cannons during the war. For the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, the belt-fed cannon of choice was the Ho-5, a scaled-up 20 mm version of the Ho-103 machine gun which was itself a copy of the American M2 Browning machine gun. The Ho-5 saw use on late war Japanese fighters in both the wings and engine cowlings and was retrofitted to be used in the flexible mounts of Japanese bombers.

Media

Videos

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.