BV 138 C-1

BV 138 C-1 in flight

BV 138 C-1

He 115 C-1

He 111 H-3

BV 138 C-1

He 115 C-1

He 111 H-3

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.7	1.7

Class:

Bomber

Light bomber

Hydroplane

Research:2 000

Purchase:2 100

Show in game

Description

The BV 138 C-1 is a rank I German bomber at with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB) and 1.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Direct Hit".

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 0 m283 km/h

Turn time39 s

Max altitude2 800 m

Engine3 х Junkers Jumo 205D

TypeInline

Cooling systemWater

Take-off weight16 t

The BV 138 isn´t made for speed, it´s also not made for having a big payload or high survivability, the BV 138 is nothing less than the perfect low-tier gunship. Average speed in level flight will be between 180 km/h and 280 km/h, manouverability is very good for such a large plane, accelaration is mediocre at best, all 3 depending on damage and altitude.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at _,___ m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	266	253	2800	41.0	44.2	0.6	0.6	700
Upgraded	302	283		37.3	39.0	4.0	2.2

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
_	✓	✓	_	_

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
440	x	x	410	380	~4-5	~-24

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 230	< 210	<220	> ___

Survivability and armour

Crew5 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear450 km/h

The survivability is very good, in short term. That means you are very likely to survive oncoming enemy fire, but as soon as you take damage to the engines or wings, it will be very hard to fly back to base. Even just an orange wing can be fatal if you don´t have the necessary altitude to get back to base. There is no armor on the plane, the gunners and pilot however are unlikely to be fatally hit due to the planes´ size - most bullets will hit into the middle of the plane where no crew are situated.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB229 → 291

RB337 → 429

SB477 → 607

Total cost of modifications4 440

2 670

Talisman cost300

Crew training600

Experts2 100

Aces45

Research Aces110 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

20 / 40 / 80 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 300 Cost: 180 55 Radiator Research: 300 Cost: 180 55 Compressor Research: 330 Cost: 200 60 Wings repair Research: 370 Cost: 220 70 Engine Research: 370 Cost: 220 70 Engine injection Research: 480 Cost: 290 90	Airframe Research: 330 Cost: 200 60 Cover Research: 480 Cost: 290 90	mg131_turret_belt_pack Research: 300 Cost: 180 55 mg15120_turret_belt_pack Research: 330 Cost: 200 60 mg131_turret_new_gun Research: 370 Cost: 220 70 mg15120_turret_new_gun Research: 480 Cost: 290 90

It is extremely important to get flight performance upgrades ASAP, but 20-mm-belts modification can be researched before all flight performance mods have been unlocked due to the increased firepower. After flight performance the survivability comes next, the remaining 3 firepower mods coming last on the priorities.

Armaments

The BV 138 is very well armed. Having one 20mm gun on the nose, infront of the pilots, and one on the tail section along with a 13mm gun placed behind the upper engine. All guns have excellent firing angles, all guns are exceeding 100° horizontally.

-front 20mm gun: +-110° horizontally; -30° depression; +55° elevation

-backside 20mm gun: -100°/+140° horizontally; -10° depression; +55° elevation

-13mm gun: +-130° horizontally; -55° depression; +15° elevation

The most effective firing angle is the classic broadside, all 3 guns can aim at the same target in a ca. 40°x15° window directly to each side of the plane. Other than that the backside is more heavily armed.

Suspended armament

List of setups (1)

Setup 16 x 50 kg SC50JA bomb

The BV 138 C-1 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 6 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs ((300 kg total) - that being just enough to destroy one base in most matches)

Defensive armament

Turret20 mm MG 151 cannon

Ammunition1000 rounds

Fire rate750 shots/min

Turret20 mm MG 151 cannon

Ammunition900 rounds

Fire rate750 shots/min

Turret13 mm MG 131 machine gun

Ammunition1450 rounds

Fire rate900 shots/min

The BV 138 C-1 is defended by:

• 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon, nose turret (1,000 rpg, 750 RPM)
• 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon, tail turret (900 rpg, 750 RPM)
• 1 x 13 mm MG 131 machine gun, dorsal turret (1,450 rpg, 900 RPM)

Usage in battles

Due to the bad high altitude performance, it is recommended to drop to 2-2.6km in altitude at the beginning of the battle. After that you either defend against incoming fighters (which shouldn´t be a problem) while going for an enemy base or you go straight for the enemy planes, the latter also being the task after bombing the base. The extremely low wing-rip speed will most likely force you to start decending around 8km before the runway, if you want to land at all, that is. If you feel like an enemy is too dangerous, try to get your back pointed at them, even better would be to get them into the broadside-window mentioned earlier. Watch out for enemy AA as they can easily send you back to the hangar with on shot in an engine or wing.

Pros and cons

Pros:

-Absolutely deadly defensive armament

-Good manouverability

-Easy to get to maximum speed (<20 seconds to get from 180 Km/h to 280 Km/h)

Cons:

-Even non-critical damage can send you crashing

-Low maximum altitude

-Very slow -> engines inadequate

History

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Media

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See also

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• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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