Surely it is impossible that both types of weapons were equally effective given their contextual use within World War 2! That's not possible, is it?! Go away with your nuance and context, this is the internet and we don't deal with your types.

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- Sources -
AFATL-TR-84-03 Historical Development Summary of Automatic Cannon Caliber Ammunition.: 20-30 Millimeter

Antony G. Williams Dr. Emmanuel Gustin, Flying Guns World War II, Crowood Press: 2003
https://www.amazon.com/Flying-Guns-Wo...
Website: http://users.telenet.be/Emmanuel.Gustin/

AP15651, Pilot Notes Spitfire

B.R. 932, Handbook on Ammunition

D. (Luft) T.2109 F-1 bis F-4, T7, Heft 1

D.(Luft) T 6108, MK 108, Oktober 1943,

Dr Carlo Kopp, Early fighter cannon armament

Exploding Fuel Tanks - Saga of Technology That Changed the Course of the Pacific Air War,

https://www.amazon.com/Exploding-Fuel...

Fighting in the Air - The Official Combat Technique Instructions for British Fighter Pilots 1916-1945, RAF Museum Series Volume 7: 1978

George M. Chinn, The Machine Gun: 1951

G.F.Wallace, The Guns of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945: 1972

Handbuch der Flugzeugbordwaffenmunition, 1936-1945

Robert S. Johnson, Thunderbolt!
https://www.amazon.com/Thunderbolt-Ro...

Labbett & Mead TAG Series, Series 2 Pamphlet 6, S2 P11, S3 P5

L.Dv. 4000/10, Munitionsvorschriften für Fliegerbordwaffen Teil 10 – Handbuch der Munition für Fliegerschußwaffen

War Metallurgy Division, Metallurgical Examination of Armor Plate from Japanese Aircraft ‘Frank’, May 1945

- Timecodes -
00:00 - Intro
00:24 - .50cal as a aerial weapon
01:30 - German cannon/MG armament
02:32 - Of Apples and Oranges
03:40 - Introduction of some sources
04:32 - US aircraft weapons
06:32 - Weapon, aircraft and protection development
16:10 - Protection on/ of Bombers
21:09 - Conclusions on Pre-WW2 period
21:30 - Answering a Question with a Question
22:50 - .303s during Battle of Britain
28:47 - Never give a German a cannon
34:24 - Survivorship bias
36:00 - German & RAF thinking
39:04 - US .50cal + MK 108: A mortar pretending to be a cannon
42:44 - Gun stats comparison
44:31 - Thoughts about .50cal
46:55 - CONTEXT
52:00 - Conclusions