Stirling B Mk I

Stirling B Mk I

Halifax B Mk IIIa

Stirling B Mk III

Stirling B Mk I

Halifax B Mk IIIa

Stirling B Mk III

Britain

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.0	4.0	5.0

Class:

Bomber

Long Range bomber

Research:26 000

Purchase:76 000

Show in game

This page is about the aircraft Stirling B Mk I. For the other version, see Stirling B Mk III

Description

The Stirling B Mk I is a Rank III British bomber with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB/RB) and 5.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.55 "Royal Armour".

The Stirling B MkI plays as a standard long range bomber. Climbing to high altitudes and using alternative routes to bomb targets to prevent engagement is recommended as the Stirling B MkI likely wont survive any. It is not well defended at all with low calibre machine guns, which is less effective at the battle rating of 4.3/5.0. It is extremely flammable and fragile when engaged with cannons, although it may survive machine gun fire lower than 10mm calibre.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,268 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
369	358	6098	52.4	53.8	5.3	5.3	1,170
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,268 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
?	?	6098	??.?	??.?	??.?	??.?	???

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
			+	-
0	258	217	~1	~1

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 350	< 350	< 350	> 270

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
762 m	5,300 hp	6,625 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,267 m	4,800 hp	6,000 hp

Survivability and armour

• 8 mm Steel plate in the left pilot's seat.
• 9 mm Steel plate in front of engine cooling systems.
• No armour glazing
• Critical components located in the wings of aircraft (fuel, engine, controls)

Armaments

Suspended armament

The Stirling B Mk I can be outfitted with the following ordinance"

• 27 x G.P. 250 lb Mk.IV bombs
• 27 x G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bombs
• 9 x M.C. 1,000 lb Mk.I bombs

Defensive armament

The Stirling B Mk I is defended by:

• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, nose turret (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun, dorsal turret (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
• 1 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun, ventral turret (1,000 rpg)
• 4 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun, tail turret (1,000 rpg = 4,000 total)

Usage in the battles

Offensive

The StirlingB MkI is very large and very heavy. It has multiple loadout options of bombs, which can get 3 bases with its heaviest bombload. This is also the heaviest bombload at its tier.

Defensive

Its onboard LMG defensive armament most probably will not be effective against targets at 4.3/5.0. Defensive armament does not have 360º coverage, although it is somewhat effective against lower attacks from behind, where you can fire belly and tail guns in unison.

Mobility

The StirlingB MkI has 4 engines with enormous wing surface area, It makes for a good climb rate but it also struggles with heavier bombloads. Fortunately, the control surfaces are extremely large as well, which helps a lot with controlling the plane.

Tactics

The Stirling has a huge payload but delivering it may be challenging. This is because the plane is very weak for a BR 5.0. Going straight to bomb and enemy base as soon as you spawn is suicide. Keep in mind that if an enemy plane finds you, you are dead. It is much bigger than a Wellington and catches fire easier; a short burst from a Bf 109 or La-7 and you go down in flames. Stay away from any enemy plane if possible as your defensive armament is almost useless and you can only rely on stealth (WWII Stirlings were used primarily on night missions). Depending on the map, you can choose to go at tree top level, or take a long route away from the combat zone, hidden in the clouds. When attacking ground targets at low altitude, pay attention to anti-aircraft guns and trucks, they can set you on fire easily.

Specific enemies worth noting

Any fighter is very dangerous for the StirlingB MkI. The Bf 109, La-5, La-7, A6M, and the C.205 are the most lethal targets. If any risk of engagement is present, the player should seek for a fighter support.

Counter-tactics

Directly firing and not using any tactics is enough to kill the StirlingB MkI. Its defensive armament can be ignored, although attacking from the top will minimize damage. Aiming at wings where the fuel tanks are will most probably result in a fire is recommended.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable	Not controllable	Controllable	Combined	Controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator
II		Compressor	Airframe
III	Wings Repair	Engine
IV		Engine Injection	Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Rear gunner and top fuselage gunner can fire in unison (If the rear gunner gets knocked-out, The top gunner will still be able to defend)
• Best payload at rank III, enough to destroy 3 bases

Cons:

• Not "short" at all
• Cannot take many hits
• Flammable
• Mediocre LMG defence
• Almost no armour
• Vulnerable fuel tanks
• Very bad climb rate with full payload
• Sways very heavily in RB when trying to climb
• Huge glass cockpit means near-certain death from head-on attacks

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

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.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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