Ho 229 V3

Ho 229 V3

Me 410 B-6/R3

◄G.91 R/3

Ho 229 V3

Me 410 B-6/R3

◄G.91 R/3

Germany

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	7.0	7.7

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:105 000

Purchase:300 000

Show in game

Description

The Ho 229 V3 is a rank V German jet fighter with a battle rating of 6.7 (AB), 7.0 (RB), and 7.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.43.

The Ho 229 V3 is the first jet in the "Zerstörer" tech tree of the Luftwaffe and currently comes before the G.91 R/3. Ironically, it goes against much of the doctrine set by the previous planes, favouring speed and manoeuvrability over armament and durability.

Something that will immediately stand out with the Ho 229 V3 is how incredibly manoeuvrable it is compared to most other jet fighters. The Ho 229 V3 can almost quite literally turn on a dime and can even in some circumstances out-turn late super props such as the P-51H if manoeuvred correctly. However, if its manoeuvrability is used to its full extent, it also causes the plane to bleed speed at a crippling rate, making a sustained turn fight impossible to win. As such, it is advised to use the Ho 229 V3 as a Boom & Zoom fighter in order to maintain airspeed and altitude. Remember that jet engines' efficiency is directly proportional to the IAS, due to the increased air intake, meaning the Ho 229 V3 will be accelerating very slowly between 0-500 km/h, but beyond will be able to outrun any propeller-driven aircraft.

General info

Flight performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 8,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	871	847	12,000	24.8	25.4	17.0	16.1	850
Upgraded	947	910		23.7	24.0	25.3	21.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
		580	___	380	~10	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 570	< 600	< 420	N/A

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
0 m	1,050 kgf	N/A

Survivability and armour

Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Ho 229 V3 is armed with:

• 2 x 30 mm MK 103 cannons, wing-mounted (170 rpg = 340 total)

Ammunition

• Default: HE-T(M) - HE(M) - IT; okay against planes.
• Air targets: HE-T(M) - HE(M) - HE(M) - IT; each Minengeschoß (mine-shell) has the same HE power as a 37 mm round, wonderful against anything that flies and light ground targets.
• Armored targets: HVAP-T - I - I - AP-I; the armoured target belt is different for the Ho 229 V3, compared to all other Mk 103 armed aircraft, and is only a 1/4 as effective, due to the belt being filled with incendiary shells.
• Stealth: AP-I; useless, cannot destroy tanks/pillboxes, lacks the destructive force of HE against planes.

Usage in battles

Horten 229 Version 3 with its wings attached by the USAF in 1950.

The Horten 229 flying wing is a dogfighter, heavy-fighter, or even an attacker.

Its single wing design allows for unseen manoeuvrability despite the overweight of up to 8 tonnes, when equipped with full fuel load. This is, however, the Horten's literal downfall, the weight. Acceleration is awful, even the slowest of all jets. But the energy retention is great and climb acceptable. With that in mind rule number one of jet battle comes into play: "Do not turn fight!" The 229 will tempt anyone though. The low wing loading for a jet and even some piston planes allows for tight turning circles. Being heavy also allows to keep that velocity well in the initial turns, but with the inability to regain that speed afterwards... leads to a flaming prototype wreck thanks to an opportunistic enemy. The classic dogfight is thus only for emergency situations!

As a fighter stick with Boom & Zoom, the Ho 229's real heavyweight is of assistance in zoom climbs. However, it will also dampen the Horten's starting acceleration in a dive, making out diving an enemy difficult. The bad roll rate makes it hard to get that shoot on the target. But watch out! Don't pull too hard on the elevator to get that shot, or the Horten will lose to much speed (which cannot be regained quickly) or even worse, lose a wing.

The heavy fighter role equals the fighter one in every aspect, just that the targets are usually bombers. Stay fast, and try to get shots off in head-ons, or in slight diving turns from the bomber's six (tail), to make it difficult for the defensive gunners to hit the Ho 229.

The attacker role is a dangerous one. The Ho 229 will have to fly slow, in order to have time to properly aim, hit & evade trees. While all of these aren't difficult in the Horten 229 V3, it leaves the plane in a dangerous spot: low and without speed. Both are vital though for the sluggish 229. If in this role, be sure to have good escort fighters, as enemies can come at any time in jet combat.

Once the Horten is fully upgraded, or at least the performance parts are, one detail to notice is that the wings won't rip so easily like before, but the Ho 229 still has to turn cautiously because it is still a wooden plane after all.

The most dangerous enemy when in the Horten 229 is the F-84 Thunderjet. Since the Thunderjet gets an air spawn it already has all the energy it needs to get around the map quickly. There have been numerous occasions of players spawning in late only to be strafed by an F-84 Thunderjet on the runway. The Ho-229 is decent at accelerating once up to about 550 Km/H, past that point, the Ho 229 becomes a V2 rocket in terms of acceleration until about ~750-800 Km/H, then there will be a hard time accelerating again.

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair			Offensive 30 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe
III	Wings repair			New 30 mm cannons
IV		Engine	Cover

Given the Horten's weight, the acceleration is an issue on the stock plane. Go for ammunition, engine and compressor upgrades first.

After that, any upgrade is equally good. Weapon upgrades can wait, as the Mk 103 is the best gun in-game, with high accuracy and long bursts stock. The belts also aren't a priority unless using the Ho 229 as an attacker. In that case, the "Armored targets" belt is very useful against tanks & light pillboxes.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent armament, MK 103 is one of the best guns in the game
• Great ammunition supply with 170 rounds per gun
• Low wing loading, incredibly good at turning when flown at medium speeds (400-600 km/h)
• Good energy retention if not manoeuvred harshly
• Large range of different ammunition types proves suitability for fighter and attacker role
• Outruns piston-engine aircraft and all jets the Allies have except for the F-84 Thunderjet when not up-tiered
• Thin body makes it difficult for enemies to hit it when chasing it from behind
• Low stall speed of 165 km/h
• Fast when diving if flown at medium to high speeds before committing to a dive
• Super-effective air brake, can bleed the speed in a matter of seconds
• Extremely sensitive ailerons

Cons:

• Initial dive-acceleration is slow
• Its armoured target belt is only comprised of 1/4th HVAP-T shells, unlike all other MK 103 equipped aircraft, who has pure HVAP-T belts
• Big target to hit when turning
• Rate of climb is worse than late World War 2 and post-war piston engine aircraft
• Rips wings when applying full elevator at above 520 km/h IAS
• Poor Rudder Authority - It yaws using independently controlled air brakes near the wingtips
• Poor Roll Rate - Significantly hinders the ability to counter defensive scissors
• Slow fire rate results in low firing density
• Troublesome to land down, particularly with joystick control
• Loses speed quickly in elevator turns

History

The Ho 229 had three prototypes before the facility was overrun.

Pilot with Draeger suit in Ho 229

1. V1 was a glider to test the design.
2. V2 was a down-scaled prototype fitted with the Jumo 004B.
3. V3 was a testbed for the serial production, it was however not completely finished when the US Army arrived.

Originally the V3 was intended to have the Jumo 004C jets, these weren't ready though and the Me 262A's 004B was installed. The final production version would have had the ability to load bombs, switch the main armament to four Mk 108 and the pilots were to be equipped with the Draeger pressure suit (G-Suit).

Twitter announcement by Downed Warbirds of the Smithsonian Institution's restoration.

In January 2015, the Smithonian Institution initiated the restoration of the V3 prototype for static display, despite its desolate state. The flying wing is currently housed in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Virginia.

Media

TheZansibar review

PhylDaily review

BestHotVideosHD review

Screenshots and fan art

Camouflages

Skins and camouflages for the Horten 229 from live.warthunder

• "HYDRA Ho229" by Bowenabc
• "JG400 'RED 13'" by fjpdll
• "Costum Ho 229 V3. Heavy-fighter" by Mira_58
• "Propaganda Ho229" by Bowenabc
• "All Metal Finish" by Pacifica

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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