CW-21
Contents
Description
The CW-21 was a fighter interceptor based on the CW-19. Intended to be a high altitude fighter with good climb rate and good armament, it caught the interest of the Chinese government. China received 3 fully built CW-21s and 27 kits to be armed. Another three were sent to China and given to the Flying Tigers group. Other variants of the CW-21 were developed, like the CW-21B, which was used by the Dutch in an effort to modernize their air force. However, after the defeat to Germany, these aircraft were given to the Dutch East Indies. The CW-21 ended up being an easy prey to the Japanese fighters, and their lightweight construction meant that cracks and structural failures were more common than in other planes.
Introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision", the CW-21 is a unique and capable fighter that excels in high altitude capabilities. It has an amazing climb rate good top speed, and so will it leave most of the other planes behind when it takes off and starts climbing. Unlike many aircraft, it's very competitive even in uptiers when facing aircraft like the A6M2 or the P-51, and in downtiers, it outmatches almost every opponent as long as it uses its good climb rate to get an advantageous position. The CW-21s armament is average for its rank, with 2 x .50 calibre M2s and 2 x .30 calibre M1919s. Even though this armament is not the best and lacks cannons, is enough to destroy any plane that it will fight with a few well-placed shots, while also having a good ammo pool and good range compared to most cannons at its BR. Thanks to its lightweight construction, the CW-21 is also very nimble, outmanoeuvring most aircraft in battle, except for biplanes and Japanese planes which are notorious for their extremely good agility.
General info
Flight performance
The CW-21 is excellent at diving because of its slick wing design. The wings enable the planes ultimate flight performance with the 1,000 hp (750 kW) Wright R-1820-G5 nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine. The wings are thin but long producing enough lift with the smallest amount of drag. The speed comes with the extremely light semi-monocoque structure which decreases the weight hence improves the performance.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 3,700 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 480 | 465 | 10800 | 14.2 | 15.0 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 343 |
| Upgraded | 533 | 505 | 13.8 | 14.0 | 24.5 | 18.2 | ||
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 | + | - | ||
| 735 | 290 | 355 | 322 | 240 | ~10 | ~5 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 280 | < 260 | < 450 | > 250 |
Survivability and armour
The CW-21 is about as fragile as it looks as far as combat damage is concerned. It does not have any sort of armour protection whatsoever, a historical design decision to minimize weight and maximize its rate of climb. While the resulting flight performance is nothing short of spectacular, it renders the pilot very vulnerable to being knocked out, even by low-calibre machine guns. For this reason, head-ons should be avoided, and when being tailed by an enemy, evasive manoeuvres are very important. The fuel tanks are located in the wings and are at the very least self-sealing.
Upon its initial release, the CW-21 was quite infamous for having literally unbreakable wings that would stay intact after suffering critical damage, but this has since been patched. Attempting to use the wings as a melee weapon is no longer recommended.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Offensive armament
The CW-21 is armed with:
- 2 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, nose-mounted (200 rpg = 400 total)
- 2 x 7.62 mm Browning machine guns, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
The armament of the CW-21 is fairly respectable compared to other aircraft it faces, although is nothing particularly special. While the ammo count is fairly standard in comparison to similar aircraft it can still leave something to be desired and can cause you problems, particularly if you have poor trigger discipline. All the guns are nose mounted, this makes aiming easier and means you do not need to worry about convergence.
Usage in battles
The CW-21 should be mainly used as a fighter. Excelling in turns, acceleration, with hard-hitting guns, it is very easy to dogfight other planes at its battle rating. Your main composition will sometimes be biplanes and some biplanes can out turn you. However, the CW-21 against monoplanes is where it really shines. It can easily out turn other planes like the He 100 or even the He 112 which is crucial in a dogfight. The CW-21 does not have any close air support potential other than knocking out light targets like anti-aircraft artillery and armoured vehicles, so the main targets will be other planes.
The CW-21 can outclimb practically any other fighter on the battlefield. While it is a good dogfighter, it excels in diving attacks, where enemies can be eliminated in a pass or two, and if not, the extra energy advantage makes the ensuing dogfights much easier. Cruise at high altitude, pick out a target and swoop down to begin the engagement, using the great handling to stay on the target's tail. If the fight is not going as well as expected, it is not difficult to disengage and climb back to safety, though it pays to fly carefully and watch out for bullets coming in from behind.
While intercepting bombers is easy, even the weakest of defensive armaments can do a serious number on the CW-21, possibly ending the engagement abruptly with a pilot snipe. Study the layout of enemy bombers and only approach from angles that are not covered by turrets, or alternatively wait for a teammate to join in and distract the opponent's fire. Note that bringing down large aircraft can use up a large amount of the CW-21's limited ammunition supply.
Something to note is that the CW-21's incredibly lightweight (it weighs less than an I-16) means that the energy retention after dives leaves something to be desired. The climb rate compensates for the mediocre top speed somewhat since altitude can be converted into speed, but this bonus will be quickly lost. Avoid prolonged chases against faster aircraft, otherwise one may be both unable to catch up and drained of energy.
Perhaps the only other opponent capable of giving the CW-21 a run for its money in terms of performance is the German He 100 D-1. The Heinkel also has a very good climb rate and enjoys superior speed, though it has worse manoeuvrability and inferior armament. While the CW-21 still has a better climb rate, He 100 pilots can build up speed in level flight and zoom climb to catch up, and the three 7.92 mm machine guns are still more than enough to dispatch the CW-21. Watch He 100s warily, be prepared to dodge them, and try to land a few hits - the He 100 is incredibly fragile and even a stray bullet can ruin its cooling system, forcing the pilot to return to base or burn up.
Against the CW-21:
- Turnfighter (or biplane): all reserve biplanes (e.g. Ki-10, He 51) can easily out-turn the CW-21, though they cannot out-climb or out-run it, thus the aggressive and active side will usually be the CW-21, forcing turn-fighters into a passive disadvantage. When a CW-21 dives on you, start banking to one side and turn under its negative G area as soon as the distance is <700 m. This is a very common tactic to force an abortion on a BnZ fighter. After a few successful dodges, the CW-21 will usually lose some altitude and speed. They might even run out of 12.7 mm bullets. If they lose patience and try to turnfight you, lure them into flat, continuous turns. Although the CW-21 is also a great turner, it still cannot sustain its turn rate better than a biplane/dedicated turn-fighter (e.g. A6M2), but you can. Try not to get into vertical manoeuvres, as that might allow the CW-21 to use its energy & climb rate advantage.
- Jack-of-all-trades fighter: this may be the hardest situation to deal with and requires more skills on combining manoeuvres and managing energy, as the CW-21 itself is a jack of all trade aircraft, so it is a duel between the same type. As mentioned before, the CW-21 climbs, turns and runs really well against common fighters at this BR (e.g. Ki-43). If you have an altitude advantage over it, perform conventional BnZ. Do not lose patience if they dodge your dives again and again, instead keep the pressure up and gradually force it down to the deck, then it is your prey. If it gets on your tail, combine evasive manoeuvres like barrel rolls, scissors, etc to force an overshoot or even a reversal. Remember to keep your speed up even if that means diving and losing altitude, most planes require some airspeed to manoeuvre the best.
- High-speed BnZ fighter: these aircraft generally require an altitude advantage to unleash their speed. Unless you are so fast that you can simply outrun the CW-21 (e.g. He 100), get higher before diving. You have to pull up high after each dive, no matter how little damage the pass did, because if you do not pull up the CW-21 can follow up or even stick to your tail for some split seconds, and you will get hit. Speed is your best friend at all times.
- Attacker/bomber: a good choice when being boom-and-zoomed by a CW-21 is to steeply dive to the deck. This does two jobs: 1) it gains you speed and separation between you two, making the CW-21 harder to aim at you, and 2) it drags the CW-21 to the deck too, if they want to get this kill. This eliminates their altitude advantage and creates opportunities for your teammates. With you racing at treetop level and the CW-21 following behind, you should get quite some time to aim carefully at its big radial engine. If you are rugged (e.g. Do 17 Z-7) or heavily armed (e.g. B18) you might even make it run out of ammo or destroy it with your gunners.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Controllable Not auto controlled |
Not controllable Not auto controlled |
Not controllable Not auto controlled |
Separate | Controllable 2 gears |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Respectable firepower for the rank
- Turn rate is on par with the early Spitfires and even A6Ms
- Climb rate is very good for its rank
- Good dive characteristics - difficult to induce compression, wings will not readily break
- Speed is respectable and can be used to outrun opponents
Cons:
- Mediocre energy retention
- No armour
- Ammo can run out fast with poor trigger discipline
History
The Curtiss-Wright 21 was a lightweight fighter-interceptor based on the CW-19. CW-21 designer, George A. Page, only emphasized the plane to have an incredible rate of climb and to not dogfight. It would climb away from a dogfight instead of dog-fighting. The U.S. wouldn't adopt the plane as they wanted a plane with low-level dogfight capability, and to not only excel solely in climbing. George A. Page knew this and designed the plane mainly for exporting.
Intrigued by the CW-21's performance, China looked into the CW-21 furthermore with a prototype being delivered to China. During a discussion about the CW-21, a prototype CW-21 shot down an Italian BR.20. China decided to buy some with China receiving 3 completely built CW-21's and 27 kits. Another three CW-21's were delivered to China and sent to the "Flying Tigers" group. They intended to use the CW-21 for attacking Japanese reconnaissance but ended up crashing due to poor visibility.
Meanwhile, Curtiss-Wright was developing the CW-21B. The CW-21B had inward retractable gears, instead of the gears being retracted into the fairings beneath each wing. The CW-21B also sported hydraulic control surfaces. The CW-21B did end up having a lower climb rate but did have a higher top speed. The Dutch ordered 24 CW-21B's in an effort to obtain modern aircraft, however, it was too late to receive them as they surrendered to the Germans. The Dutch ended up giving the CW-21B's to the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). After assembling the newly acquired CW-21B's, they started using them. They later ended up finding cracks on some of their CW-21B's and grounded them. This was due to the very lightweight construction of the CW-21B. These CW-21B's were easy prey to Japanese planes and most were destroyed on the ground as well as the few which were able to fly.
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
| Curtiss-Wright Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | BF2C-1 |
| P-36A · Rasmussen's P-36A · P-36C · P-36G | |
| P-40C · P-40E-1 · P-40F-10 | |
| Bombers | SB2C-1C · SB2C-4 |
| Floatplanes | SOC-1 |
| Experimental | XP-55 |
| Export | H-75A-1 · H-75A-4 · H-81A-2 · ▂P-40E-1 · ␗P-40E-1 · ▄P-40F-5 Lafayette · CW-21 · Hawk III |
| ▄SB2C-5 | |
| Captured | ▀Hawk H-75A-2 |
| China fighters | |
|---|---|
| British | ␗Gladiator Mk I |
| French | D.510C |
| Japanese | ␗A6M2 · ␗Ki-27 otsu · ␗Ki-43-III ko · ␗Ki-44-II hei · ␗Ki-61-I otsu · ␗Ki-84 ko |
| American | CW-21 · Hawk III · P-66 · ␗P-40E-1 · H-81A-2 · ␗P-43A-1 |
| ␗P-47D-23-RA · ␗P-47D-30 · ␗F-47N-25-RE · ␗P-51C-11-NT · ␗P-51D-20 · ␗P-51K | |
| Soviet | ␗I-15bis · ␗I-153 M-62 · ␗I-16 Chung 28 · ␗I-16 type 5 · ␗I-16 type 10 · ␗I-16 type 17 · ␗La-11 · ␗La-9 |
