Su-6 (AM-42)
| This page is about the Soviet attacker Su-6 (AM-42). For other versions, see Su-6 (Family). |
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Contents
Description
The Su-6 (AM-42) is a rank IV Soviet attacker with a battle rating of 5.0 (AB/SB) and 4.7 (RB). It was introduced in Update 1.71 "New E.R.A.".
The Su-6 is a ground attack aircraft made with a bit of the IL-2 mindset, but with some improvements to manoeuvrability and speed, however lacking in some aspects like armour and the tail gunner. Despite the improvements, it is still not recommended to go for enemy planes as, unless it is a head-on, you will lose energy quickly and perish. The gunner can help deal with some opponents that stick to your tail, but it has only a 24° horizontal guidance, so it won't help in most cases. The armour is good at the back, but it won't stop much more than a 12.7 mm bullet. Everything is compensated by the wide array of payload options, even allowing you to change the NS-37 (37 mm) for a weaker but higher capacity and easier to aim VYa-23 (23 mm), which can still take out pillboxes and light tanks.
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 3,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 478 | 459 | 6000 | 25.8 | 26.7 | 8.6 | 8.2 | 800 |
| Upgraded | 531 | 501 | 23.9 | 25.0 | 15.2 | 11.2 | ||
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 | + | - | ||
| 0 | 330 | 458 | 431 | 290 | ~10 | ~5 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 350 | < 380 | < 395 | > 323 |
Survivability and armour
- 4 mm steel surrounding the engine
- 4 mm steel on both sides of gunner
- 6 mm steel behind propeller spinner
- 6 mm steel behind wing oil cooling systems
- 6 mm steel beneath fuel tank
- 6 mm steel on both sides of pilot
- 6 mm steel beside gunner's head
- 6 mm steel directly in front of windshield
- 6 mm steel above windshield
- 10 mm steel between pilot and gunner
- 10 mm steel in front of gunner*
- 12 mm steel in front of gunner*
- 64 mm bulletproof glass in front of pilot
- 64 mm bulletproof glass in front of gunner*
- Self-sealing fuel tank with neutral gas pressurization system underneath pilot
* (Note: the gunner is rear-facing)
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The Su-6 (AM-42) is armed with:
- A choice between two presets:
- 2 x 37 mm NS-37 cannons, wing-mounted (45 rpg = 90 total) + 2 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns, wing-mounted (750 rpg = 1,500 total)
- 2 x 23 mm VYa-23 cannons, wing-mounted (120 rpg = 240 total) + 2 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns, wing-mounted (750 rpg = 1,500 total)
Suspended armament
The Su-6 (AM-42) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 16 x 25 kg AO-25M-1 bombs (400 kg total)
- 6 x 50 kg FAB-50 bombs (300 kg total)
- 4 x 100 kg FAB-100 bombs (400 kg total)
- 6 x 100 kg FAB-100 bombs (600 kg total)
- 2 x 250 kg FAB-250M43 bombs (500 kg total)
- 6 x 50 kg FAB-50 bombs + 10 x RS-82 rockets (300 kg total)
- 6 x 50 kg FAB-50 bombs + 10 x RBS-82 rockets (300 kg total)
- 16 x 25 kg AO-25M-1 bombs + 10 x RS-82 rockets (400 kg total)
- 16 x 25 kg AO-25M-1 bombs + 10 x RBS-82 rockets (400 kg total)
- 10 x RS-132 rockets
- 10 x RBS-132 rockets
Defensive armament
The Su-6 (AM-42) is defended by:
- 1 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun, dorsal turret (196 rpg)
Usage in battles
The Su-6, like previous Ilyushin attackers, is a tough aircraft that excels at taking out enemy ground targets. The most unique aspect of the Su-6 in comparison to previous attackers is that it features two 37mm cannons as standard, which can be swapped out for 23mm cannons if the pilot so chooses. With the 37mm cannons, the aircraft can take out most ground targets with ease - even heavy tanks don't stand a chance with well-aimed shots to the sides or rear, though controlled semi-auto fire is required to make the most out of the 37mm cannons, as they rapidly lose accuracy in full-auto fire. With the 23mm cannons, it may be easier to take out most ground targets (given they're far more accurate than the 37mm cannons in full-auto). With either choice of cannon armament, the Su-6 can even be a lethal foe for enemy attackers who aren't too careful, though the 23mm cannons are better suited to anti-air attacks compared to the 37mm's. Apart from the higher BR and different cannon options compared to previous Soviet attackers, the Su-6 plays much like the Il-2s that precede it.
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 | Not controllable 1 gear |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Well armoured
- Powerful, multi-purpose canons to attack ground and air targets
- Good short term manoeuvrability at moderate speeds
- Gunner & pilot are very well protected
- Good payload options, including 10 x RS/RBS-132 rockets
Cons:
- Gunner has restrictive firing angles
- Defensive armament doesn't keep up with the opposition offensive armament
- Bad sustained turn rate
- Bad climb-rate compared to fighters
- Uncontrollable at high speeds and bad redline speeds
- Engine overheats easily
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
- 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
| Sukhoi Design Bureau (Сухого Опытное конструкторское бюро) | |
|---|---|
| Jet fighters | Su-9 · Su-11 |
| Su-27 | Su-27 · Su-27SM |
| Strike aircraft | |
| Su-2 | BB-1 · Su-2 (M-82) · Su-2 MV-5 · Su-2 TSS-1 |
| Su-6 | Su-6 · Su-6 (AM-42) · Su-6 (M-71F) |
| Su-7 | Su-7B · Su-7BKL · Su-7BMK |
| Su-8 | Su-8 |
| Su-17 | Su-17M2 · Su-17M4 · Su-22M3 |
| Su-24 | Su-24M |
| Su-25 | Su-25 · Su-25BM · Su-25K · Su-25T · Su-25SM3 · Su-39 |
| Su-34 | Su-34 |
| Export | ◊Su-22UM3K · ◔Su-22M3 · ◊Su-22M4 · ◄Su-22M4 WTD61 |
| J-11* | |
| *CKD and SKD kits assembled by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation | |
| USSR strike aircraft | |
|---|---|
| IL-2 | IL-2 (1941) · IL-2 (1942) · IL-2M (1943) · IL-2M type 3 · IL-2M "Avenger" · IL-2-37 · IL-2 M-82 |
| IL-8 | IL-8 (1944) |
| IL-10 | IL-10 · IL-10 (1946) |
| Pe-3 | Pe-3 (e) · Pe-3 · Pe-3bis |
| Su-2 | BB-1 · Su-2 MV-5 · Su-2 TSS-1 · Su-2 (M-82) |
| Su-6 | Su-6 · Su-6 (AM-42) · Su-6 (M-71F) |
| Su-8 | Su-8 |
| Tandem MAI | Tandem MAI |
| TIS MA | TIS MA |
| Tu-1 | Tu-1 |
| Yak-2 | Yak-2 KABB |
