Wyvern S4
Contents
Description
The Wyvern S4 is a Rank IV British fighter
with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB/RB) and 5.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.59 “Flaming Arrows”. The Wyvern S4 can carry great amounts of payload due to its distinctive feature, the turboprop powerplant. This engine enables it to exceed 600 kph in level flight.
The Wyvern is an aircraft that can carry a large payload so it can be used in the strike fighter role. One of its most popular payloads, 16 * RP3 , enables it to kill a large amounts of targets with medium armour like light pillboxes and up to heavy tanks. The Wyvern is also a strong fighter, below 3,000 m. As the Wyvern does not have a compressor of any sorts, engine power drops significantly above 3,000 m. Keeping altitude at 3,000 and doing Boom & Zoom or Boom & Run attacks are of the most successful fighting doctrines. Although the Boom & Zoom attack will most likely bleed your speed very quickly, employing Boom & Run instead of this attack is recommended when possible.
The Wyvern S4, being the only turboprop aircraft in the game, is an exceptionally fast aircraft for its battle rating. Though a prop aircraft, the Wyvern functions very similar to jet aircraft in play style, due to the nature of its weight and engine.
At sea level, where the engine functions at maximum capacity, the Wyvern is almost uncatchable. Being able to maintain nearly 640 km/h in level flight without a payload, even enemies diving on the Wyvern will have trouble catching up, and will quickly fall behind as they lose energy. This is the strength that any pilot of the Wyvern should always exploit, by employing Boom & Run tactics on enemies. With four Mk V Hispano cannons, and a staggeringly large ammo reserve, the Wyvern is more than equipped to quickly dispatch any aircraft that end up in front of it.
Though the Wyvern does have an above average climb rate due to its powerful engine, it functions best near sea level. The pilot should only take the plane up to a maximum of a couple thousand meters, unless bomber hunting, and use the Wyvern's excellent acceleration and top speed to quickly annihilate any enemies who end up on low altitude. The Wyvern can also use this speed to bait enemies, who see the Wyvern as an easy target, down to low altitudes. This will allow allied fighters to easily establish high altitude air superiority, which can often end up in victory by itself, without the Wyvern pilot actually putting himself in any great danger.
Speed, climb rate, and armament are the Wyvern's only real method of taking out enemy aircraft. Though it can go incredibly fast, this is solely due to the aircraft's powerful turboprop engine. Coming in at a heavy 7 tonnes with no payload, or 9 and a half tonnes with its maximum payload, the Wyvern's speed suffers when performing any maneuver bar going in a dead straight line. Even minor adjustments will cause the fighter to bleed speed at an alarming rate, with full-out turns able to halve the aircraft's speed before it has even completed a 180. Whilst it has the speed, the Wyvern can turn very fast but as mentioned it will lose this speed in the turn very quickly. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid performing any but the most gentle of maneuvers in this 7 tonne beast.
This focus on simply flying straight is further amplified by the turboprop's ability, or lack thereof, to quickly react to input changes. As happens in jet aircraft, the turboprop engine found on the Wyvern will take a fairly long amount of time to react to changes to the throttle meaning the Wyvern pilot will struggle to regain speed if the throttle is dropped at any point, such as to recover from a vertical stall maneuver.
General info
Flight Performance
| Characteristics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level) |
Max altitude (meters) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| ? | ? | 9,000 | ??.? | ??.? | ??.? | ??.? | 700 |
| Upgraded | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level) |
Max altitude (meters) | Turn time (seconds) | Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| ? | ? | 9,000 | ??.? | ??.? | ?.? | ?.? | 700 |
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flap | Take-off flap | Landing flap | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Limits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wing-break speed (km/h) |
Gear limit (km/h) |
Combat flap (km/h) |
Max Static G | |
| + | - | |||
| ??? | ??? | ??? | ~?? | ~? |
| Optimal velocities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons (km/h) |
Rudder (km/h) |
Elevators (km/h) |
Radiator (km/h) |
| < ??? | < ??? | < ??? | > ??? |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| ?,??? m | ??? hp | ?,??? hp |
Survivability and armour
- 64 mm Bulletproof glass - Armored windscreen
- 12.7 mm Steel plate behind the pilot
Armaments
Offensive armament
The Wyvern S4 is armed with:
- 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk V cannon, wing-mounted (300 rpg = 1,200 total)
Main article: Bombs, Rockets, Torpedoes
The Wyvern S4 can be outfitted with the following ordinance:
- Without load
- 3 x G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bombs
- 3 x M.C. 1000 lb Mk.I bombs
- 8 x AP Mk I rockets
- 8 x RP-3 rockets
- 16 x AP Mk I rockets
- 16 x RP-3 Rockets
- 1 x 18 inch Mark XV torpedo
- 16 x RP-3 rockets + 1 x 18 inch Mark XV torpedo
Usage in the battles
As a gift aircraft, the Wyvern's main role in a player's lineup will usually be to grind Silver Lions and Research Points. With its wide variety of secondary armaments, the Wyvern is one of the best aircraft available to the British for this purpose. Typically, you will wish to load up three 1000 lb bombs, and use them to fully destroy one bombing point. The Wyvern is taken to its maximum weight whilst carrying this payload, and will only be able to maintain around 550 km/h at sea level, so the pilot should attempt to drop the bombs as soon as he can, to regain the Wyvern's 640 km/h top speed. Using your four Mk V Hispano cannons, preferably with Air Targets ammunition loaded, you should now employ the Wyvern as was detailed in the above section, as a boom-and-zoom aircraft at low altitude. If you have flown any jet aircraft in the past, use the Wyvern exactly as you would your jets. Do not turn for anyone, if you miss then continue onwards until you have opened a great distance, then turn around for another guns run.
While fighting, any pilot should refrain from turn fighting and perform energy fighting whenever possible
In Ground Forces, the pilot has the choice between using three 500 lb bombs, three 1000 lb bombs, sixteen RP-3 rockets, or sixteen AP Mk I rockets. With such an armament, the Wyvern's distinctive engine sound can signal in the death of any tank unfortunate enough to end up in the pilot's vision.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Separate | Not ontrollable | Not controllable |
Modules
| Tier | Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Fuselage Repair | Radiator | |||
| II | Compressor | Airframe | |||
| III | Wings Repair | Engine | |||
| IV | Engine Injection | Cover | |||
- As a gift aircraft, the Wyvern S4's modifications are automatically unlocked upon purchase of the aircraft.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Exceptional low-altitude engine performance (550 km/h-640km/h with payload/no payload)
- Powerful offensive armament, with large ammo reserves
- Diverse selection of secondary armament
- Above average maneuverability at high speeds
- Excellent dive performance
- Surprisingly high climb rate
- Reasonably capable of Boom & Zoom, which will allow this premium plane to make even more money
Cons:
- Exceedingly heavy (7 tonnes unloaded, 9+ tonnes with a payload)
- Large fuel tanks located in front of the wings
- Turboprop engine is more fragile than traditional piston-engines planes
- Very bad roll rate
- Below average high-altitude engine performance
- Poor engine response to throttle adjustment
- Distinctive engine sound, unlike any other aircraft
History
The Wyvern was one of the only turboprop aircraft ever fully developed, and entered service long after World War II had ended. The design was a relic of an era past, with jet-powered aircraft now entering. The aircraft also suffered from a long development period, beginning in 1944 as the P.10. This lead to the Wyvern seeing very little combat use and being quickly retired. The Wyvern S.4 variant contained an Armstrong Siddeley Python 3 turboprop engine, able to output 3670 horsepower, and was the first and only variant of the Wyvern to enter service with the British Royal Navy.
Plagued with various engine problems during its brief period in service, the Wyvern S.4 only saw actual combat in late 1956 during the Suez Crisis, racking up 79 sorties and 2 losses, and was retired soon after in 1958. This marked the Wyvern as the only British turboprop to ever see combat.[1]
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
Read also
Sources
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- page on aircraft encyclopedia;
- other literature.
