Hs 129 B-3

Hs 129 B-3

Ju 87 G-2

Hs 129 B-2

Hs 129 B-3

Ju 87 G-2

Hs 129 B-2

Germany

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.0	2.0	3.0

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:7 900

Purchase:10 000

Show in game

Description

The Hs.129 B-3 is a Rank III German attacker with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB/SB) and 3.3 (RB). It was introduced in Update 1.37.

The Hs 129 is a pure ground attack aircraft, designed mostly to take out tanks and armored vehicles. The anti-tank gun PaK 40 is capable of knocking out medium tanks, while the 7.62 mm LMGs can destroy armored cars and mobile AAAs. The plane is both slow and sluggish, meaning that it practically has to go after ground targets, but the armament and armor somewhat compensate for that and enable the plane to take out nearly all ground targets except pillboxes and heavy tanks.

The plane is very heavy, which makes it nearly impossible to take out fighters, even most medium bombers are more maneuverable, however the plane is heavily armored, so it can last a while even under heavy fire, even to such a degree that some planes run out of ammunition before taking out a Henschel.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 3,550 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
418	405	7,500	30.2	31.4	4.3	5.4	331
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 3,550 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
?	?	7,500	??.?	??.?	?.?	?.?	?

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
700	450	???	~13	~13

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 310	< 320	< 300	> 230

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
3,??? m	1,300 hp	1,530 hp

Survivability and armour

• 5 mm Steel - Oil cooler covers
• 5 mm Steel - Lower engine cowl protection
• 2 mm Steel - Cockpit side plates
• 12 mm Steel - Cockpit back plate, floor, and front plates
• 75 mm Bulletproof glass

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Hs 129 B-3 is armed with:

• 1 x 75 mm BK 7,5 cannon (13 rpg = 13 total)
• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)

The two machine guns are arranged on each side of the fuselage. The 75 mm cannon is mounted to the underside of the fuselage.

Usage in the battles

The Hs 129 B's instrument panel.

Tactics

The Hs 129 B-3 is capable of destroying most mission relevant ground targets. Tanks of all sorts as well as light pillboxes can be destroyed in one hit, provided armor piercing ammunition is used. Thanks to the 13 shells available, this can make a single Hs 129 B-3 a game-changing aircraft.

The Hs 129, however, does have major drawbacks. Its engines are weak which results in poor top speed, acceleration and climb rate. This, combined with the armor of nearly one ton weight, makes it perform poorly in air combat and very vulnerable to attacks of enemy fighters. This, however, goes so far that sometimes enemy pilots underestimate the Hs 129 and overshoot it after a tight turn, which gives the Hs 129 pilot a moderate chance of defending himself.

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, Raidiator		Offensive 7 mm
II	Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
III	Wing Repair, Engine		Offensive 75 mm
IV	Engine Injection	Cover	New 75 mm Cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• The combination of the 7.92 mm machine guns and the 75 mm anti-tank gun can make short work of armored columns
• A well timed shot from the 75 mm gun when firing High Explosive can tear an aircraft apart
• Extremely effective in tank RB with air superiority. The 75 mm can take out even the most heavily armoured allied tanks
• The 7.62 mm machine guns allows for engaging unarmoured targets without wasting 75 mm ammunition
• Can take a fair amount of punishment
• Quite a stable gun platform

Cons:

• Extremely slow from under-powered engines
• Very poor climb rate
• Not particularly maneuverable
• Poor energy retention
• Damage to engines can lose enough power to the extent that the plane simply falls out of the sky
• No defensive armament translates to a "sitting duck" in some combat situations, especially without friendly fighters in the air

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 big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

• [Ugly Ducklings] - Hs 129

Sources

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