Stirling B Mk III

Stirling B Mk III

Stirling B Mk I

Lancaster B Mk I

Stirling B Mk III

Stirling B Mk I

Lancaster B Mk I

Britain

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	4.7	5.3

Class:

Bomber

Long Range bomber

Research:20 000

Purchase:135 000

Show in game

This page is about the British bomber Stirling B Mk III. For the other version, see Stirling B Mk I.

Description

The Stirling B Mk III is a rank III British bomber with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB/RB) and 5.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.55 "Royal Armour".

The Stirling has a huge payload, but delivering it may be challenging because the plane is really weak for the BR. Going straight as soon as you spawn is suicide. Keep in mind that if an enemy plane finds you, you are dead. It is much bigger than a Wellington and catches fire easier, a short burst from a Bf 109 or La-7 and you go down in flames. Stay away from any enemy plane, your defensive armament is almost useless and you can only rely on stealth (like WWII Stirlings in night missions). Depending on the map, you can choose to go at tree top level, or take a long route away from the combat zone, hidden in the clouds. When attacking ground targets at low altitude, pay attention to anti-aircraft guns and trucks, they can set you on fire easily.

General info

Flight Performance

The general flight performance of this aircraft is poor, similar to the Stirling B Mk I, although slightly improved. The Stirling has a very poor climb rate - especially when stock. The turn time is sluggish, as well as acceleration and top speed.

Without performance upgrades, this aircraft will struggle to climb at all carrying a payload.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,537 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
391	376	6402	48.7	50.6	1.8	1.7	1,060
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,537 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
431	410	6402	45.4	47.0	6.7	4	1,060

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		350	~4	~2

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 350	< 350	< 350	> 308

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
3,000 m	1,550 hp	1,751 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
5,700 m	1,430 hp	1,615 hp

Survivability and armour

• 8 mm Steel plate in the left pilot's seat.
• 9 mm Steel plate in front of engine cooling systems.

The survivability of the Stirling B Mk III is very poor. Any encounter with a fighter or bomber hunter will end badly. The entire structure is relatively weak, and it wont take many cannon rounds to tear off the tail or a wing. The fuel tanks are vulnerable and catch fire easily too. For armour, there is a 9 mm plate in front of the cooling systems of each engine, and an 8 mm plate protecting the pilot from rounds coming from the rear of the aircraft.

Due to the engines being radial, you do not have to worry so much about cooling as there is no liquid cooling system. Oil leaks and high temperature are still a concern though.

If a player does decide to sit on your rear, you do have six 7.7 mm machine guns that can shoot in that direction. Good preparation and a few well placed shots will quickly shred them, if they have not destroyed you first.

Armaments

Suspended armament

The Stirling B Mk III can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 27 x 250 lb G.P. 250 lb Mk.IV bombs (6,750 lb total)
• 27 x 500 lb G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bombs (13,500 lb total)
• 9 x 1,000 lb M.C. 1,000 lb Mk.I bombs (9,000 lb total)

Defensive armament

The Stirling B Mk III is defended by:

• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine guns, nose turret (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine guns, dorsal turret (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
• 4 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine guns, tail turret (1,000 rpg = 4,000 total)

Usage in battles

Offensive

The Stirling B Mk III is very large and very heavy. It has multiple loadout options of bombs, which can get 3 bases with its heavier bombloads. This is also the heaviest bombload at its tier.

Defensive

Its onboard LMG defensive armament most probably will not be effective against targets at BR 4.7/5.3. Defensive armament does not have 360° coverage, although it is somewhat effective against attacks from behind, where you can fire the dorsal/ventral and tail guns in unison.

Mobility

The Stirling B Mk I has 4 engines with enormous wing surface area, It makes for a good climb rate but it also struggles with heavier bombloads. Fortunately, the control surfaces are extremely large as well, which helps a lot with controlling the plane.

Tactics

The Stirling has a huge payload but delivering it may be challenging. This is because the plane is very weak for a BR 5.0. Going straight to bomb and enemy base as soon as you spawn is suicide. Keep in mind that if an enemy plane finds you, you are dead. It is much bigger than a Wellington and catches fire easier; a short burst from a Bf 109 or La-7 and you go down in flames. Stay away from any enemy plane if possible as your defensive armament is almost useless and you can only rely on stealth (WWII Stirlings were used primarily on night missions). Depending on the map, you can choose to go at tree top level, or take a long route away from the combat zone, hidden in the clouds. When attacking ground targets at low altitude, pay attention to anti-aircraft guns and trucks, they can set you on fire easily.

Specific enemies worth noting

Any fighter is very dangerous for the Stirling B Mk I. The Bf 109, La-5, La-7, A6M, and the C.205 are the most lethal opponents. If any risk of engagement is present, the player should seek fighter support. If any heavy fighter or bomber hunter reaches you, you can expect to be sent back to the hangar immediately.

Counter-tactics

Directly firing and not using any tactics is enough to kill the Stirling B Mk I. Its defensive armament can be ignored, although attacking from the top will minimize damage. Aiming at wings where the fuel tanks are is recommended, as it will most probably result in a fire.

Manual Engine Control

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

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator			SUBC mk.I
II		Compressor	Airframe	Turret 7 mm
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 7 mm MGs (turret)	MBC mk.III
IV		Engine injection	Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Best payload in Rank III, enough to destroy 3 bases.

Cons:

• Big target
• Not "short" at all
• Cannot take many hits
• Catch fire easily
• Mediocre LMG defence
• Almost no armour
• Vulnerable fuel tanks
• Very bad climb rate with full payload

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

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

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.