[Emperor Palpatine]

I was just making a point. Japanese planes had no armor at all. one shot into the tanks or engine and they became flaming tniderboxes.

However what about explosive decompression if said jetliner is at altitude?

Although personally I no longer fly commercially. I prefer the train.

;-)

[ChromeDome]

"Explosive" decompression of an airliner from a bullet hole is a myth. To get "explosive" decompression you need a hole the size of a door.

Even with explosive decompression, only those not buckled in are in real danger. There was an incident in the early 80s (I think) where an airliner lost a good section of the roof due to metal fatigue. Sadly a a flight attendant was killed because she was unbuckled performing her duties. The plane still managed to land.

[A Strict Constructionist]

“However what about explosive decompression if said jetliner is at altitude?”

Watch “Mythbusters” on Discovery Channel, they have covered this.

[DoughtyOne]

I suspect the decompression factor lessens the closer to earth an aircraft is. If a plane were close enough to the ground to be hit by a 50 cal, the decompression would be too minimul to be a real problem. The aircraft would have to land.

Unless the munition hit a critical component, the aircraft would probably not be taken out. Even hitting the thing at distance is almost impossible.