PB4Y-2

Italic text

PB4Y-2

B-17E/L

B-17G-60-VE

PB4Y-2

B-17E/L

B-17G-60-VE

USA

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	4.7	5.7

Class:

Bomber

Long Range bomber

Research:40 000

Purchase:135 000

Show in game

This page is about the aircraft PB4Y-2. For other uses, see B-24/PB4Y (Disambiguation)

Description

The PB4Y-2 Privateer is a Rank III American heavy bomber with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB/RB) and 5.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica".

Historically a maritime patrol/reconnaissance aircraft derived from the B-24 Liberator, the Privateer in War Thunder is unfortunately not able to be used in this role. Instead, it performs the function of a heavy bomber, optimized for dumping large amounts of high explosive on enemy bases.

The Privateer carries the most potent payload (4 x 2,000 lb bombs) of any American bomber until the B-29 Superfortress. These will do more damage to a base than the equivalent weight in 1,000 lb bombs that the B-17 Flying Fortress or B-24 Liberator can carry.

It also features a large amount of .50 cal heavy machine guns as defensive armament. However, these guns have incomplete coverage (most notably from below), and even when all of them can be brought to bear, it may not be sufficient to protect the bomber against determined and/or skilled fighter opposition. It is also very important to note that only the tail turret can engage enemies attacking directly behind the Privateer, as the vertical stabilizer blocks the dorsal turrets (gunner dead-zone).

The Privateer's maneuverability is unsurprisingly poor since it is a heavy four-engine bomber. Unfortunately, it is also very slow, at nearly 100 km/h slower than the B-17E Flying Fortress. Its maximum speed in a dive is 580 km/h, and it has absolutely no chance of evading any of the fighters it might face using its speed or diving away. As a maritime patrol aircraft, the engines are optimized for low-level performance, thus its performance will suffer noticeably above 6,000 m.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 7,620 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
382	370	10,000	39.9	41.1	0.3	1.3	950
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 7,620 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
???	404	10,000	??.?	38.0	?.?	3.5	950

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
0	263	394	~??	~?

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 200	< 180	< 180	> 300

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,346 m	1,100 hp	1,331 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,389 m	1,000 hp	1,133 hp

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in front of nose gunner
• 12.7 mm Steel plate in front of nose gunner
• 9.5 mm Steel plate underneath nose gunner
• 9.5 mm Steel plates behind pilots
• 9.5 mm Steel plates inside fuselage x 3
• 9.5 mm Steel plates behind and under radial engines
• 12.7 mm Steel plates behind dorsal gunners
• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in front of beam gunners
• 9.5 and 6.35 mm Steel plates in front of beam gunners
• 55 mm Bulletproof glass in front of the tail gunner
• 9.5 mm Steel plate in front of the tail gunner

Armaments

Suspended armament

      Main article: Bombs

The PB4Y-2 can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• 20 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 8 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 4 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (4,000 lb total)
• 8 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (8,000 lb total)
• 4 x 2,000 lb AN-M66A2 bombs (8,000 lb total)

Defensive armament

The PB4Y-2 is defended by:

• 2 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine gun, nose turret (600 rpg = 1,200 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine gun, 2 x dorsal turret (380 rpg = 1,520 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine gun, 2 x beam turret (400 rpg = 1,600 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine gun, tail turret (400 rpg = 800 total)

Usage in the battles

There are two ways to play the Privateer. One of them is as a conventional heavy bomber, attempting to gain as much altitude as possible while utilizing cloud cover to evade enemy fighters. Unfortunately, the Privateer does not have very good high altitude performance, and it will struggle to climb to high altitude. This approach will also expose the aircraft to attacks from below, against which the Privateer has very little protection.

The other approach is to fly at very low altitude. This has two advantages: it makes it extremely difficult for enemies to attack from below, and the engines are optimized for this altitude. It will also tempt enemy fighters to dive on an "easy" target, which will, in turn, make them easy targets for your own fighters. Unfortunately, flying at low altitude will make the aircraft very vulnerable to anti-aircraft guns.

In general, when engaged by fighters, one should attempt to force them to attack from oblique angles from above. This will allow the largest amount of machine guns to engage the attacker. Only the rear turret can engage aircraft directly behind the Privateer; thus, one should turn the Privateer or use the rudder to "wag the tail" which will allow other gunner positions to engage tail-chasing fighters. Under no circumstances should the belly be exposed to enemy fire; it usually becomes quickly fatal for the bomber.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable	Not controllable	Controllable	Combined	Controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator	Protective Vest		SBC mk.I
II		Compressor	Airframe		LBC-24
III	Wings Repair	Engine		Turret 12 mm	FLBC mk.1
IV		Engine Injection	Cover	New 12 mm MGs (turret)	LBC-17

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Best payload of any American bomber before the B-29
• Side turrets can fire down giving 360° coverage in all directions
• Waist turrets can swivel nearly 180° vertically and horizontally
• Nose and tail turrets have excellent fields of fire
• Large amount of .50 cal machine guns, the same as the B-29
• No fuel tanks in the fuselage and fuel tanks are self-sealing
• All payload options are internal, barely affecting performance

Cons:

• Extremely slow, even for a heavy bomber, especially at its BR
• Near-useless stock payload
• Very poor climb rate
• Easily damaged, a large vertical stabilizer which blocks (gunner dead zone) the dorsal turrets from firing directly to the rear
• Poor engine performance at high altitude (optimized for low altitude)

History

The Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer is a variant of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator made for the US Navy. The Privateer was powered by four 1,200 HP Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines. The aircraft also included a twin tail design and tricycle landing gear.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

• [Devblog] PB4Y-2 Privateer: Pirate of the Skies

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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