A6M6c
This page is about the Japanese fighter A6M6c. For other versions, see A6M (Family). |
Contents
Description
The A6M6c is a premium gift rank IV Japanese fighter with a battle rating of 5.0 (AB/RB) and 4.7 (SB). It was introduced during Update "Red Skies" as a reward for Battle Pass: Season IV, "Fearless Voltigeur".
General info
Flight performance
Due to the weight of the self-sealing fuel tanks, pilot armour, and the additional heavy machine guns, the climb rate on this plane is rather poor for its BR. The engine won't overheat under combat conditions. The A6M6c can feel quite sluggish as it cannot turn as well as other planes in the A6M family. However, while the plane's turning ability is hampered by the extra weight, you will still be able to out-turn every other plane.
On top of that with the new Sakae 31a engine, the A6M6c has a water-methanol injection that makes the WEP slightly stronger and doesn't overheat the engine as much in trade-off having only limited WEP.
Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 5,500 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
Stock | 522 | 506 | 10900 | 20.9 | 21.7 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 350 |
Upgraded | 566 | 543 | 19.1 | 20.0 | 14.4 | 10.7 |
Details
Features | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | ✓ |
Limits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
0 | 300 | 398 | 369 | 220 | ~14 | ~6 |
Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
< 280 | < 420 | < 410 | > 336 |
Survivability and armour
The A6M6c has self-sealing fuel tanks and has three armoured components:
- 45 mm bulletproof glass in front of the pilot, angled at 68°
- 55 mm bulletproof glass behind the pilot, angled at 12°
- 8 mm of steel behind the pilot, angled at 12°
This armour is enough to survive light machine gun fire and light AA fire. However, the A6M6c is still very fragile: don't rely solely on this armour, because the guns you will be facing at its battle rating will not be stopped by it. The self-sealing fuel tanks allow you to put out wing fires.
Modifications and economy
Armaments
Offensive armament
The A6M6c is armed with:
- 2 x 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 cannons, wing-mounted (125 rpg = 250 total)
- 1 x 13.2 mm Type 3 machine gun, nose-mounted (230 rpg)
- 2 x 13.2 mm Type 3 machine guns, wing-mounted (240 rpg = 480 total)
Suspended armament
The A6M6c can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 2 x 60 kg Navy Type 97 Number 6 bombs (120 kg total)
- 1 x 250 kg Navy Type Number 25 Model 2 bomb (250 kg total)
- 10 x Type 3 No.1 Mod.28 Mk.1 rockets
- 2 x Type 3 No.6 Mod.27 Mk.1 rockets
Usage in battles
- Realistic Battles
In Air RB, your primary focus is to engage fighters. Do not bring any payload options for this plane, as it will weigh you down significantly. Select 400 m for the gun convergence, use the Ground Targets belt for your 13 mm guns, and the Universal or Tracers belts for your 20 mm cannons. Climb at a 15° angle and you may want to try a slight side climb on smaller maps. Try climbing and staying with your team. You will be outclassed by many fighters, so play to your strengths. Engage targets that have low energy states, and try to dogfight them. Do not engage in head-ons or high altitude fighting and stay close to your allied aircraft, as the A6M6c works well when an enemy is overfocused on an allied plane. Try not to stall out in this plane, as your weight is increased and the relatively weak engine won't allow you to recover from stalls easily.
- Arcade Battles
In Air Arcade, this plane is extremely versatile: it can engage enemy ground units with rockets, intercept bombers and hunt enemy fighters. Engage in turnfights to reduce your exposure to enemy fire and play with caution, as this plane is fragile.
- Mixed Battles (Ground/Naval)
In mixed battles, the 250 kg bomb is your best option. You can fly extremely low to the ground thanks to the plane's superb manoeuvrability. Set a 1.5 second fuse on the bomb and drop it really close to the target. Once you have spent all ordnance, you can either take on fighter duties or return to the airfield and rearm.
- Specific enemies worth noting
- P-51 (Family): as always, anything with 0.50 cal Brownings is a threat to the A6M6c. These planes will always try to boom and zoom and light you an fire. These planes will usually have an altitude advantage, thanks to their amazing climb rate. To engage these fighters, make sure you have a good speed and room to dodge attacks. Try to bait a P-51 to lower altitudes or close to friendly fighters. The best way to kill an energy fighter is when it is low and slow.
- Bf 109 (Family): this planes' superb climb and energy retention allow them to make multiple boom and zoom attacks on you. Dodge these by making evasive loops to throw off the pilot and make them overshoot. Do not engage in head-ons with a Bf 109.
- XP-55: the XP-55 outperforms you in every way possible. Play smart when facing these planes, and stick with your team.
Manual Engine Control
MEC elements | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
Oil | Water | Type | ||||
Controllable | Controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Separate | Controllable 2 gears |
Not controllable |
The Zero's manual engine controls are simple to learn. The propeller pitch should be kept at 95% at all times. The radiators both should be kept between 5 and 15% depending if you are on a hot or cold map. The second supercharger gear should be activated at 3,500 m and above.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- A6M as a carrier-based fighter:
- Arrestor hook
- Strictly air-to-air role
- Gets 2 x 60 kg Type 97 No. 6 Land Bombs, though strongly ill-advised for air battles
- Decent cannon armament
- Extremely manoeuvrable
- Excellent turn rate
- Excellent roll rate
- Very short takeoff distance
- Common Navy plane construction:
- Decent offensive armament: 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 Cannon
- Ground targets: Great for Ground battles
- AP-I:
- Shreds soft targets, and can weaken/destroy tanks with weak top armour, especially engine decks
- Easily sets fire to air targets
- HEF(T):
- Tracer can help you aim on target
- The few rounds in the belt can still wreck havoc on enemy planes with their HE filler
- Stealth: Great for Air battles
- No tracers
- HEF:
- Near full HE belt
- Wrecks havoc on enemy planes with HE filler
- AP-I:
- Easily sets fire to air targets
- Excellent manoeuvrability
- Little radiator drag
- A6M5+ specific:
- Can mount a bomb rack for a single 250 kg bomb, still strongly ill-advised for air-battles
- A6M6c specific:
- Gets rid of the 7.7 mm's and has 2 x Type 3 (13.2 mm) in the wings and 1 x in the nose
- Gets air-to-air time fused rockets
- Up-armored compared to its previous variants
- New Sakae 31a Engine
- Slightly more HP over other previous models
- Has more powerful WEP
Cons:
- A6M as a carrier-based fighter:
- Mainly air-to-air role
- Limited ammo
- Slow
- Low dive speed, and compresses easily in a dive
- Common Navy plane construction:
- Poor offensive armament when stock: 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 Cannon
- No HE filler
- T & FI rounds usually do nothing
- Poor offensive armament when stock: 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 Cannon
- A6M6c specific:
- Heavier than your average A6M
- Turns slightly longer
- Slightly worse climb rate
- Heavier than your average A6M
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 === In-game description ===
, also if applicable).
Media
- Skins
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
Japan fighters | |
---|---|
Navy | |
Carrier-based fighter | |
A5M | A5M4 · Hagiri's A5M4 |
A6M | A6M2 mod. 11 · A6M2 · A6M3 · A6M3 mod. 22 · A6M3 mod. 22Ko · A6M5 · A6M5 Ko · A6M5 otsu · A6M5 Hei · A6M6c |
A7He | A7He1* |
A7M | A7M1 (NK9H) · A7M2 |
Land-based Fighter | |
J2M | J2M2 · J2M3 · J2M4 Kai · J2M5 · J2M5 (30 mm) |
J6K | J6K1 |
J7W | J7W1 |
N1K-J | N1K1-Ja · N1K2-J · N1K2-Ja |
Fighter seaplane | |
N1K | N1K1 |
A6M-N | A6M2-N |
Army | |
Ki-10 | Ki-10-I · Ki-10-I C · Ki-10-II · Ki-10-II C |
Ki-27 | Ki-27 otsu · Ki-27 otsu Tachiarai |
Ki-43 | Ki-43-I · Ki-43-II · Ki-43-III otsu |
Ki-44 | Ki-44-I · Ki-44-I 34 · Ki-44-II otsu · Ki-44-II hei |
Ki-61 | Ki-61-I ko · Ki-61-I otsu · Ki-61-I hei · Tada's Ki-61-I hei · Ki-61-I tei · Ki-61-II Otsu Kai |
Ki-84 | Ki-84 ko · Ki-84 otsu · Ki-84 hei |
Ki-87 | Ki-87 |
Ki-94 | Ki-94-II |
Ki-100 | Ki-100 · Ki-100-II |
Other countries | ▅F4U-1A · ▅P-51C-11-NT · ▅Bf 109 E-7 · ▅Fw 190 A-5 |
*Imported designation of the He 112 (A6M was in development - A7M would take A7 designation after the cancelation of the A7He) |
Japan premium aircraft | |
---|---|
Fighters | Hagiri's A5M4 · A7He1 · Ki-27 otsu Tachiarai |
Ki-44-II otsu · ▅Bf 109 E-7 · ▅F4U-1A · Ki-100-II · Ki-44-I 34 | |
▅Fw 190 A-5 · A7M1 (NK9H) · Tada's Ki-61-I hei · ▅P-51C-11-NT | |
J2M4 Kai · A6M5 Ko · A6M6c · J2M5 · Ki-87 · J6K1 | |
Twin-engine fighters | Ki-96 |
Jet fighters | F-86F-40 JASDF▅ · T-2 Early · F-4EJ ADTW |
Strike aircraft | ▄AV-8S |
Bombers | Ki-21-I hei · Ki-48-II otsu · H8K3 · B7A2 (Homare 23) · ▅B-17E |