Difference between revisions of "Galer's F3F-2"

From War Thunder Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Description)
 
(3 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 12: Line 12:
 
== Description ==
 
== Description ==
 
<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of and the creation and combat usage of the aircraft, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the aircraft in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' -->
 
<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of and the creation and combat usage of the aircraft, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the aircraft in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' -->
'''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium rank {{Specs|rank}} American fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica"]]. The plane is painted after the camouflage scheme of American pilot Bob Galer in the USMC, whose plane can be viewed today at the National Naval Aviation Museum.
+
Bob Galer was a naval aviator in the USMC. While flying in his F3F-2 for a landing on the USS Saratoga, a mishap occurred and his F3F-2 was ditched into the ocean. Galer would later become a double ace during the battle of Guadalcanal and would survive the war. He also served in Korea until he retired in the late 1950s. Galer was shot down four times and managed to survive every time. Galer’s F3F-2, still resting at the bottom of the Pacific, was discovered by an American submersible in 1988 and recovered three years later. His plane is currently on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum.
 +
 
 +
Introduced as a premium fighter in [[Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica"]], '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a special version of the F3F-2. It mainly differs in the livery and higher reward modifiers compared to the regular F3F-2. Fitted with the 950 hp version of the Wright R-1820 Cyclone, the F3F is a relatively quick bi-plane and can reach an astounding ~506 mph (810 km/h) before overspeeding. Its armament consists of one 12.7 mm and one 7.62 mm machine gun mounted in the nose. Although lacklustre, the F3F-2’s performance more than makes up for it.  
  
 
== General info ==
 
== General info ==
Line 92: Line 94:
 
|-
 
|-
 
! Optimal altitude
 
! Optimal altitude
! 900% Engine power
+
! 100% Engine power
 
! WEP Engine power
 
! WEP Engine power
 
|-
 
|-

Latest revision as of 00:33, 19 January 2024

Rank VI | Premium | Golden Eagles
Chinese A-5C Pack
This page is about the premium American fighter Galer's F3F-2. For the regular version, see F3F-2.
Galer's F3F-2
f3f-2_galer.png
GarageImage Galer's F3F-2.jpg
360://https://wiki.warthunder.com/images/3/3b/Cockpit_f3f-2_galer.jpg
Galer's F3F-2
Purchase:250 Specs-Card-Eagle.png
Show in game

Description

Bob Galer was a naval aviator in the USMC. While flying in his F3F-2 for a landing on the USS Saratoga, a mishap occurred and his F3F-2 was ditched into the ocean. Galer would later become a double ace during the battle of Guadalcanal and would survive the war. He also served in Korea until he retired in the late 1950s. Galer was shot down four times and managed to survive every time. Galer’s F3F-2, still resting at the bottom of the Pacific, was discovered by an American submersible in 1988 and recovered three years later. His plane is currently on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum.

Introduced as a premium fighter in Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica", Galer's F3F-2 is a special version of the F3F-2. It mainly differs in the livery and higher reward modifiers compared to the regular F3F-2. Fitted with the 950 hp version of the Wright R-1820 Cyclone, the F3F is a relatively quick bi-plane and can reach an astounding ~506 mph (810 km/h) before overspeeding. Its armament consists of one 12.7 mm and one 7.62 mm machine gun mounted in the nose. Although lacklustre, the F3F-2’s performance more than makes up for it.

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear
Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier
Max speed
at 4 300 m425 km/h
Turn time13 s
Max altitude10 120 m
EngineWright Cyclone R-1820-22
TypeRadial
Cooling systemAir
Take-off weight2 t
Galer's F3F screenshot 5.jpg

The F3F-2 is a highly manoeuvrable aircraft as would be expected from its biplane configuration, this allows it to competitively turn with majority of the enemy aircraft that it encounters, the energy retention is good at lower speeds (<250 km/h), but at higher speeds the F3F-2 will lose energy quickly when in a hard turn, problems will be found when facing higher BR monoplane fighters which will have a considerably superior top speed this can cause problems due to the slower speed of the F3F.

Despite the slower speed of the F3F-2 it does have good early acceleration (0-240 km/h) and will usually be one of the first aircraft in the air at the start of the match thanks to its 210 m needed takeoff distance, the 16 m/s climb rate will also allow for the F3F-2 to have an altitude against majority of the enemy fighters that it will face.

Characteristics Max Speed
(km/h at 4,300 m)
Max altitude
(metres)
Turn time
(seconds)
Rate of climb
(metres/second)
Take-off run
(metres)
AB RB AB RB AB RB
Stock 407 392 10120 13.5 13.9 11.9 11.9 57
Upgraded 444 425 12.8 13.0 19.9 15.6

Details

Features
Combat flaps Take-off flaps Landing flaps Air brakes Arrestor gear
X X X X
Limits
Wings (km/h) Gear (km/h) Flaps (km/h) Max Static G
Combat Take-off Landing + -
810 320 N/A N/A N/A ~13 ~6
Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons Rudder Elevators Radiator
< 220 < 280 < 420 > 250
Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude 100% Engine power WEP Engine power
1,600 m 850 hp 952 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude 100% Engine power WEP Engine power
4,214 m 750 hp 840 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person
Speed of destruction
Structural810 km/h
Gear320 km/h
  • 8.5 mm steel boxes in the rear fuselage
  • Critical components located in front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
  • Two self-sealing fuel tanks located in the fuselage

Modifications and economy

Repair cost
AB323 Sl icon.png
RB220 Sl icon.png
SB264 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications4 390 Rp icon.png
445 Sl icon.png
Crew training150 Sl icon.png
Experts1 000 Sl icon.png
Aces20 Ge icon.png
Research Aces145 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
Talisman.png 2 × 20 / 30 / 110 % Sl icon.png
Talisman.png 2 × 75 / 75 / 75 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Flight performance Survivability Weaponry
Mods aerodinamic fuse.png
Fuselage repair
Mods radiator.png
Radiator
Research:
600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
60 Sl icon.png
55 Ge icon.png
Mods armor frame.png
Airframe
Mods compressor.png
Compressor
Mods aerodinamic wing.png
Wings repair
Mods new engine.png
Engine
Mods armor cover.png
Cover
Mods metanol.png
Engine injection
Mods engine extinguisher.png
EFS
Research:
720 Rp icon.png
Cost:
75 Sl icon.png
65 Ge icon.png
Mods ammo.png
bmg30_belt_pack
Research:
600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
60 Sl icon.png
55 Ge icon.png
Mod arrow 1.png
Mods ammo.png
bmg50_belt_pack
Research:
500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
50 Sl icon.png
45 Ge icon.png
Mod arrow 1.png
Mods pilon bomb.png
Mk.41
Research:
500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
50 Sl icon.png
45 Ge icon.png
Mods weapon.png
bmg30_new_gun
Research:
750 Rp icon.png
Cost:
75 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods weapon.png
bmg50_new_gun
Research:
720 Rp icon.png
Cost:
75 Sl icon.png
65 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Offensive armament

Ammunition200 rounds
Fire rate750 shots/min
Ammunition500 rounds
Fire rate1 000 shots/min

Galer's F3F-2 is armed with:

  • 1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, nose-mounted (200 rpg)
  • 1 x 7.62 mm Browning machine gun, nose-mounted (500 rpg)

Suspended armament

List of setups (1)
Setup 12 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bomb
Main article: AN-M30A1 (100 lb)

Galer's F3F-2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

  • Without load
  • 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (200 lb total)

Usage in battles

Galer's F3F screenshot 3.jpg

The F3F is first and foremost a fighter aircraft, this is a role in which it thrives with its brilliant manoeuvrability allowing it to deal with majority of enemy aircraft in a turn fight, trying to get an enemy aircraft to turn with you will be the best way to engage and win a fight, if the enemy is a monoplane they will usually have worse performance at slower speeds, so making them turn and lose energy is a good way to gain an advantage with your superior slow speed performance, if the enemy aircraft is also a biplane your main focus should be preventing them from getting guns onto your aircraft, if you can gain a turning advantage you should move into position and attempt to down the enemy aircraft, your two guns can end up putting lots of rounds into an enemy, but a hit to any critical component such as the pilot or engine will either end the fight or put it strongly in your favour. It is best to avoid "head on" engagements with enemy aircraft, as the engine on the F3F has a large frontal profile (Radial engine) along with the engine front being exposed, this makes the engine being hit a common occurrence and without your engine survival is unlikely.

The F3F will commonly come across aircraft with superior top speed, such as many of the early Bf 109 variants (A,B-1,E-1 & F-1), these aircraft will usually attempt to use a "boom & zoom" attack style against your aircraft, the best you can do is to keep a good amount of energy and be ready to evade when the commit to an attack run, if you can evade them for long enough you will hopefully receive some help from some of your other team members or you might be able to make the enemy try and commit to a turn fight where you should have an advantage and be able to critically damage or down their aircraft.

As for using the F3F for close air support (CAS) you will have a few possibilities, the most popular choice will be to take the two 100 lb bombs (AN-M30A1), these only contain 24.5 kg of explosive mass so you will need to land them very close to the intended target to do any meaningful damage. A second option is to use your .50 cal (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine gun to destroy ground targets, all belts for this gun have 26 mm of penetration, although the ground targets belts are best as they contain more AP rounds, these will be able to go through SPAA (Self Propelled Anti Aircraft) vehicles as well as some light & medium tanks, firing for the upper armour or side armour on enemy vehicles will usually prove to be the most effective way of going through enemy armour.

It is recommended not to hold the brakes on landing, as the F3F will likely flip over, it is best to tap the breaks on and off to avoid this occurring.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer Pitch Radiator Supercharger Turbocharger
Oil Water Type
Controllable Controllable
Not auto controlled
Not controllable
Not auto controlled
Not controllable
Not auto controlled
Separate Controllable
2 gears
Not controllable

Pros and cons

Galer's F3F screenshot 4.jpg

Pros:

  • Excellent manoeuvrability
  • Very low stalling speed
  • Controls are extremely responsive
  • Powerful .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine gun
  • Climb rate is competitive against aircraft of similar BR
  • Two 100 lb bombs for attacking ground targets

Cons:

  • Small primary armament which can be inadequate against large targets
  • Low ammunition count for the 12.7 mm machine gun
  • Can flip over the nose when landing if the brakes are held down too long
  • The 100 lb bombs have a small explosive warhead and therefore aren't very effective against ground targets

History

Galer's F3F-2 on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, NAS Pensacola, after being recovered from the Pacific Ocean.

Galer’s F3F-2 is the F3F-2 flown by then-First-Lieutenant Bob Galer, USMC, who was forced to bail out during landing operations. Lt. Galer would become a double-ace during WWII, having survived being shot down four times, received the Medal of Honor for heroism at Guadalcanal, and retired as a brigadier general. Galer’s F3F-2 was recovered in 1988 from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean; following a reunion with the aircraft’s former pilot, the plane is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum of the United States.

Robert ‘Bob’ E. Galer was a naval aviator in the United States navy, having joined the navy in 1936. While assigned to Marine Fighting Squadron two (VMF-2), he was attempting a landing on the USS Saratoga (CV-3) when his F3F-2 failed; as a result, he was forced to ditch the aircraft into the ocean. He was later stationed in Hawaii for most of 1941, promoted to the rank of captain. He was stationed with VMF-211 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941.

Galer was given command of VMF-224 in May of 1942 and later fought at the Battle of Guadalcanal; it was during this conflict that he shot down 11 enemy aircraft, becoming a double-ace and receiving the Medal of Honor for his actions. Galer was also awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross, a rare occurrence for the time. Afterwards, Galer served as assistant operations officer at Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar; he was not permitted to fly in combat due to his status as a medal-of-honor recipient, exacerbated by the fact that he had been shot down three times already.

By 1945, Galer had obtained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Staying with the navy, he was sent to Korea in 1952 as a full Colonel, received a Gold Star (in lieu of a second Distinguished Flying medal) for leading an aerial attack on Pyongyang. He was shot down once more in August of 1952 after being hit by anti-aircraft fire. Galer returned to the United States after the end of the Korean conflict and retired in 1957 at the rank of Brigadier-General; he later served as vice-president of Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) later as an executive with Bright & Co. He would be reunited with his former F3F-2 in 1988 after the aircraft was recovered from the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Brigadier General Galer died of a stroke on 27 June 2005 in Dallas, Texas; he is survived by his wife, four children and six grandchildren. Galer’s F3F-2 is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum, restored to its markings when flown by Galer in 1940.

Media

Skins
Images
Videos

See also

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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


Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
Aircraft 
Fighters 
F3F  F3F-2 · Galer's F3F-2
F4F Wildcat  F4F-3 · F4F-4
XF5F Skyrocket  XF5F · XP-50
F6F Hellcat  F6F-5 · F6F-5N
F7F Tigercat  F7F-1 · F7F-3
F8F Bearcat  F8F-1 · F8F-1B
Jet Fighters 
F9F Panther/Cougar  F9F-2 · F9F-5 · F9F-8
F-11 Tiger  F11F-1
F-14 Tomcat  F-14A Early · F-14B
Jet Strike Aircraft 
A-6 Intruder  A-6E TRAM
Bombers  TBF-1C
Export  ▄Martlet Mk IV · ▄F6F-5 · ▄F6F-5N · ▄F8F-1B · ▄Avenger Mk II · ▄Hellcat Mk II
  ▄F-14A IRIAF
Naval Vehicles 
Patrol Gunboat Hydrofoil (PGH)  USS Flagstaff

USA fighters
P-26 Peashooter  P-26A-33 · P-26A-34 · P-26A-34 M2 · P-26B-35
P-36 Hawk  P-36A · Rasmussen's P-36A · P-36C · ○P-36C · P-36G
P-39 Airacobra  P-400 · P-39N-0 · P-39Q-5
P-40  P-40C · P-40E-1 · P-40E-1 TD · P-40F-10
P-43 Lancer  P-43A-1
P-47 Thunderbolt  P-47D-22-RE · P-47D-25 · P-47D-28 · P-47M-1-RE · ⋠P-47M-1-RE · P-47N-15
P-51 Mustang  P-51 · P-51A (Thunder League) · P-51C-10 · P-51D-5 · P-51D-10 · P-51D-20-NA · P-51D-30 · P-51H-5-NA
P-63 Kingcobra  P-63A-5 · P-63A-10 · P-63C-5 · ␠Kingcobra
Prototypes  XP-55
F2A Buffalo  F2A-1 · Thach's F2A-1 · F2A-3
BF2C  BF2C-1
F3F  F3F-2 · Galer's F3F-2
F4F Wildcat  F4F-3 · F4F-4
F4U Corsair  F4U-1A · F4U-1A (USMC) · F4U-1D · F4U-1C · F4U-4 · F4U-4B · F4U-4B VMF-214 · F2G-1
F6F Hellcat  F6F-5 · F6F-5N
F8F Bearcat  F8F-1 · F8F-1B
Other countries  ▃Ki-43-II · ▃Ki-61-Ib · ▃A6M2 · ▃Bf 109 F-4 · ▃Fw 190 A-8 · ▃Spitfire LF Mk IXc

USA premium aircraft
Fighters  Thach's F2A-1 · Galer's F3F-2 · F2G-1 · F4U-4B VMF-214 · P-26A-34 · Rasmussen's P-36A · P-40C · P-43A-1
  P-47M-1-RE · ⋠P-47M-1-RE · P-51A · P-51D-10 · P-51D-20-NA · ␠Kingcobra · XP-55
  ▃A6M2 · ▃Ki-43-II · ▃Ki-61-Ib · ▃Bf 109 F-4 · ▃Fw 190 A-8 · ▃Spitfire LF Mk IXc
Twin-engine fighters  XP-38G · Bong's P-38J-15 · P-38K · YP-38 · P-61A-11 · XF5F · XP-50 · F7F-3
Jet fighters  P-59A · F-86F-35 · F-89B · F-89D · F-4S Phantom II · F-5C · F-20A
Strike aircraft  A-1H · A2D-1 · AU-1 · XA-38 · AV-8A · AV-8B (NA) · A-6E TRAM · A-10A
Bombers  A-26C-45DT · B-10B · BTD-1 · PBM-3 "Mariner" · PBM-5A "Mariner" · PV-2D