Beaufighter Mk 21
| This page is about the British strike aircraft Beaufighter Mk 21. For other versions, see Beaufighter (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Beaufighter Mk 21 is a rank II British strike aircraft with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB), 3.7 (RB), and 4.0 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. This variant of the Beaufighter represents a version which was manufactured in Australia by the Australian government's Department of Aircraft Production (DAP).
The Beaufighter Mk 21 plays very similarly to its predecessor, the Mk X. However the Mk 21 features heavily improved weapons, boosting its ground attack abilities significantly. As before, you are still able to fulfil the roles of a heavy fighter, torpedo bomber, and an attacker. Once again though, added weapon mass will make you slower, and less manoeuvrable, so remember that you cant turn like the Mk 6c. In the ground attack role, the available rockets, combined with the cannons make it very good at defeating convoys. This option also has the benefit of allowing you to largely sidestep the Mk 21's issues of poor top speed and a bad climb rate. When used for bomber hunting as a heavy fighter, you will quickly find the replacement of the Mk X's 7.7 mm machine guns with 12.7 mm machine guns to be of great benefit. The climb rate works heavily against you however, so only medium and low altitude bombers should be targeted. The torpedo bomber role, however, should still be avoided. The torpedo drop requirements are still very bad, making any run against an enemy ship a very risky move. Long story short, stick to medium and low altitude and attack any bombers or ground targets you get the chance to. You should also equip your ammo belts accordingly, to ensure maximum effectiveness. Lastly, try to get fighter cover. More than any other version of the Beaufighter, the Mk 21 will struggle with lighter, more nimble opponents. Stick to what this aircraft is good at, and you can greatly improve your teams chance at victory.
General info
Flight performance
As mentioned earlier, the flight characteristics of the airplane are very similar to its predecessor, the Beaufighter Mk X. Both fighters carry Bristol Hercules XVII engines, however, Mk X carries variant optimized for low-altitude performance, featuring 1581 hp engines that can carry the plane up to 4575 meters, while the Mk 21 features 1369 hp engines for the maximum altitude of 9382 meters. This, combined with the upgraded armament makes it far more suitable to engage enemy bombers, even though the climb rate is still rather unimpressive 14.6 m/s (AB, Upgraded).
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 5,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 498 | 480 | 9382 | 43.3 | 44.2 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 478 |
| Upgraded | 545 | 520 | 41.0 | 42.2 | 14.6 | 10.1 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 0 | 242 | 354 | 242 | 216 | ~7 | ~4 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 330 | < 390 | < 410 | > 300 |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 152 m | 3,640 hp | N/A |
| Setting 2 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 2,438 m | 3,200 hp | N/A |
Survivability and armour
- 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Armoured windscreen
- 25 mm Steel - Armoured plate in the nose
- 25 mm Steel - Armoured plate in front of gunner (note that the gunner is facing backwards)
- 1 mm Steel - Armoured plates behind the engine
- Self-sealing fuel tanks (2 in each wing)
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The Beaufighter Mk 21 is armed with:
- 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannons, belly-mounted (283 rpg = 1,132 total)
- 4 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (600 rpg = 2,400 total)
Suspended armament
The Beaufighter Mk 21 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 1 x 450 mm 18 inch Mark XII torpedo
- 8 x RP-3 rockets
Defensive armament
The Beaufighter Mk 21 is defended by:
- 1 x 7.7 mm Vickers K machine gun, dorsal turret (1,000 rpg)
Usage in battles
The final Beaufighter in the research tree can be characterized primarily by its main armament. In its BR there's barely anything that comes close to the combination of 4 x 20mm cannons and 2 x 12.7 mm machine guns, especially considering the superior layout of the cannons, with all four clustered right under the cockpit, making precise aiming far easier. If there's anything to be desired - it's the Minengeschoß of the German counterpart for the 20 mm cannons. Beaufighter can swiftly tear apart enemy fighters and bombers alike, typically in a single sweep if aimed accurately. This makes it a potent fighter in a number of circumstances and giving it a fighting chance even if its an underdog in the encounter.
In the Arcade Battles, the most favorable encounters are against unsuspecting targets, and ideally, only such should be picked, preferably diving in and out of the main battle, or picking off strugglers nearby. Good survivability, combined with outstanding firepower allows it to quickly take the enemies down before they manage to react. What should be avoided at all costs are turn fights or prolonged chases. Mk 21 neither has speed nor a turning rate to stand a chance against anything but bombers or other heavy fighters. Similarly fighting against high-altitude fighters (such as Fw 190 A-4) might be extremely problematic due to their superior climb rate, which will give them the energy advantage, and through that - an opportunity to easily outfly you at any given time.
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 |
Combined | Controllable 2 gears |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Very heavily armed; has arguably the heaviest offensive firepower of any British aircraft
- Fairly rugged aircraft that can survive a fair share of damage
- Radial engines don't overheat easily
- Can carry rockets for the ground attack role
- Fuselage mounted cannons assist in accuracy
- Excellent at strafing ground targets
- Crew is surprisingly well armoured against attacks from behind
Cons:
- Astonishingly low at all altitudes; will be outpaced even by the slowest of enemies
- Chronic lack of energy retention and climb rate
- Handles like a heavy bomber
- Large control surfaces are torn off easily by enemy fire
- Massive tail-gunner dead-zone
- Added weapon mass over predecessor, making flight performance the worst of all Beaufighters
- Cannons overheat quickly, even when upgraded
- Turret is very ineffective, given the small weapon calibre of 7.7 mm
- Torpedoes have notoriously bad drop requirements
- As with most British aircraft, the cockpits frontal armoured glass is thin, at only 38 mm
- All M2 Brownings are placed centre-wing away from the fuselage, requires setting close convergence of guns to be effective
History
In-game description
A design rapidly born from the wings and tail of the earlier Beaufort, the Beaufighter was a two seat, twin engine heavy fighter designed for long range, ground strike and night fighter duties. Equipped with an early AI radar, the Beaufighter was one of the world's first successful night fighters.
In 1944, after Australia's aircraft manufacturing contract expired, the Australian Department of Aircraft Production was commissioned to build 500 aircraft based on the Beaufighter Mk X. The Australian version of the aircraft was named the Beaufighter Mk 21 and differed from its predecessor in its armament; the nose mounted 0.303 inch Browning machine guns were replaced with Browning M2 50 calibre guns now fitted in the wings, and the Hercules XVII engines were replaced with Hercules CVIIs. Only 365 of these aircraft were built, since the war ended before completion of the first order and the rest of the torpedo bombers' production was cancelled.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
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
| Bristol Aeroplane Company | |
|---|---|
| Strike Aircraft | Beaufighter Mk I (40-mm) · Beaufighter Mk VIc · Beaufighter Mk X · Beaufighter Mk 21* |
| Bombers | Blenheim Mk IV · Beaufort Mk VIII* · Brigand B 1 |
| * License-produced in Australia by Department of Aircraft Production. | |
| Britain strike aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Blackburn | Firebrand TF Mk IV · Firecrest |
| Bristol | Beaufighter Mk I (40-mm) · Beaufighter Mk VIc · Beaufighter Mk X · Beaufighter Mk 21 |
| CAC | ▄Wirraway |
| Fairey | Firefly F Mk I · Firefly FR Mk V |
| de Havilland | Mosquito FB Mk VI · Mosquito FB Mk XVIII |
| Hawker | Hurricane Mk IV · Tempest Mk V (Vickers P) |
| Westland | Wyvern S4 |
