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Originally Posted by Fishmachine
I wouldn't call a 3,7cm cannon "pea shooter". For the first half of WWII it was the main calibre for anti-armour cannons for both sides. And the flak cannons WERE used to attack merchants, along with the deck gun. I don't know if there were encounters of attacking merchants with flaks only, but 100 of 3,7cm holes right under the waterline surely could sink a small merchant ship (disregarding the full cargo of balsa wood inside  ) |
Your getting your weapons mixed up, the 37mm anti tank gun and the 37mm aa sub gun are completly different weapons, just like the 88mm sub gun is not the same as the infamous "88" anti tank/aa gun used by the LW.
The shell diameter doesnt indicate much of anything. Shell type, mass, and velocity give a much better idea of its capabilities. Anyhow the 37 AA gun is a near copy of the bofors 40mm gun. the shells it uses are completly different from the 37mm anti tank gun in all relivant stats other then diameter, infact the shells are totaly incompatable with each other. Neither the bofors 40mm or the 37 aa gun had much in the way of armor penetrating capability as they were designed as AA guns.
Oh and i should also add that the 37mm at gun was realy only effective against light tanks, mediums you had to get fairly close to penetrate, and you could forget about heavy tanks of the period, its why the germans quickly changed the 37mm gun on the pz3 to the 50mm at gun. Even if the 37mm AT gun was used on ships the damage would be minor, the holes small and easily plugged.
So again the 37mm aa gun is a pea shooter when used on ships. Problem is the game doesnt model the effects of armor properly. If they did the 20mm would not be able to sink a ship no matter how many times you fired at the hull, and the 37mm would mostly dent the hull and maybe put a few small holes. Neither is designed to penetrate ship plating, they are designed to rip aircraft apart.