J11
Contents
Description
Sweden bought a large number of CR.42 Falco biplanes between 1939 and 1941 as an emergency measure during the outbreak of WWII. A total of 72 fighters were delivered to Sweden with additional equipment such as radio sets, and these fighters were designated J11. During its lifetime, the CR.42 Falco gained a troubled reputation since it suffered many accidents, often due to the poor quality of materials used by Fiat. As with most biplanes, pilots appreciated its excellent dogfighting abilities, but complained about the poor top speed, insufficient armament, and open cockpits that were not suited for the cold weather of Sweden. The aircraft was decommissioned in 1945 for good, and some were sold to civilian contractors while others were used as target practice.
Introduced in Update 1.95 "Northern Wind", the J11 is almost the same as the CR.42 Falco, which is one of the best biplanes in game. With a very high top speed for a biplane, it will outrun even some early monoplane fighters around its BR. It is also armed with twin 12.7 mm HMGs that are devastating against early planes due to their lack of armour and self-sealing fuel tanks. The J11 is also very good at climbing. However, the aircraft suffers the same issues that most biplanes have, with a lack of flaps, extremely poor energy retention, and a weak airframe.
General info
Flight performance
The J11 is a rank one Swedish fighter with 2 x 12.7 mm Akan m/40 machine guns, which are devastating when they hit an enemy biplane but they have a slow rate of fire. The plane has a high top speed of 447 km/h which can outrun most biplanes at its rank, when fully upgraded.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 5,200 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 413 | 402 | 8500 | 20.0 | 20.6 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 294 |
| Upgraded | 447 | 429 | 18.5 | 19.2 | 21.1 | 17.2 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| X | X | X | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 578 | 580 | N/A | N/A | N/A | ~16 | ~7 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 280 | < 240 | < 450 | > 250 |
Survivability and armour
- 10mm steel pilot's seat
- Self-sealing fuel tanks (one below the pilot's feet, one between cooling system and machine guns)
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The J11 is armed with:
- 2 x 12.7 mm Akan m/40 machine guns, nose-mounted (450 rpg = 900 total)
Usage in battles
- Climb slightly to avoid large dogfights
- Dive on unsuspecting opponents
- Keep altitude and turn only when necessary
- When losing a dogfight try to use the J11's speed advantage to run away especially in mode(s) RB
The J11 plays identical to the Italian counterpart, capable of high speeds without sacrificing the agility a biplane offers. The engine is almost twice as powerful compared to the J6B found before it, and the strong framework allows for even higher speeds, allowing the J11 to chase down opponents in battle. Most importantly, however, is that the J11 offers greater climb and energy retention, allowing for a bit more boom & zoom compared to other biplanes. The J11 turns a bit worse than other biplanes, which is logical considering the powerful engine and heavy steel structure it features. This makes extended dogfights against other biplanes difficult, but should be avoidable by most J11 players if speed is kept at an all-time high.
One large downside to this J11 is the firepower. The Akan. m/40 are identical to the Italian guns found on the CR.42. Although the calibre is 12.7 mm, the Italian guns are quite lacklustre in performance due to the ammunition used. This requires the J11 to put a lot of gun-time down compared to planes such as the J8A, which is incredibly potent at dealing with biplanes. The guns do still have some tricks up their sleeve, especially when it comes to wing, and engine damage. The .50 cal ammunition can spread damage effectively, allowing for high wing-root damage, and the higher penetration and calibre size allows for additional damage to engine components, which are crucial at this BR.
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The landing brakes used by the J11 are incredibly powerful and puts the plane at risk of nosing over due to the heavy engine. Make sure to gently tap the brakes at lower speeds, in order to prevent the plane from potentially crashing! |
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Controllable Not auto controlled |
Not controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Separate | Not controllable 1 gear |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Nose mounted machine guns allow for better accuracy
- Air targets belts can easily shred biplanes and start fires
- High top speed
- Fixed landing gear makes landings easier
Cons:
- No flaps
- Longest turn time of all biplane fighters
- Loses speed quickly in turns
- Guns have worse penetration than 8 mm machine guns due to the lack of available ground targets ammo belt
- Fixed landing gear creates more drag
History
The J11, also known as the Fiat C.R.42, is an Italian-made fighter that was bought and maintained by the Swedish Air force "Svenska Flygvapnet" in the late 1930's. As World War 2 broke out, the Swedish air force felt the necessity to increase its air defence and yet due to the ban on exporting weapons and war machines during the war the Air force was relying on older and less capable fighters. When Italy showed interest in selling the Fiat C.R.42 the Air force placed an order of 120 planes and named the aircraft "J11". While the plane was mainly used as a fighter, it could also serve as a scout/recon vehicle. During the war the J11 was already outdated and could not withstand the superior German fighters and it was made with poor quality forcing most of the aircraft to become scrap metal. Today, few stand unharmed or restored and are located in aircraft museums around Sweden.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Related development
External links
| Fiat Aviation (Fiat Aviazione) | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | CR.32 · CR.32 bis · CR.32 quater |
| CR.42 · Marcolin's C.R.42 CN · ▀Marcolin's C.R.42 CN | |
| G.50 serie 2 · G.50 AS serie 7 | |
| G.55 sottoserie 0 · G.55 serie 1 · G.55S | |
| G.56 | |
| Jet fighters | G.91 pre-serie · G.91 R/1 · G.91 Y · G.91 YS |
| ▄F-86K* | |
| ▄F-104G* · F-104S* · F-104S.ASA* · ▄F-104S TAF* | |
| Strike aircraft | F.C.20 Bis |
| Bombers | B.R.20DR · B.R.20M M1 |
| Export/Captured | J11 · ▀CR.42 |
| ▀G.50 serie 2 · ▀G.50 AS serie 7 | |
| ◄G.91 R/3 · ◄G.91 R/4 · G.91 R/4 | |
| *Licensed | |
| See also | North American Aviation · Lockheed Martin |
| Sweden fighters | |
|---|---|
| ASJA | J6B |
| Saab | J21A-1 · J21A-2 · A21A-3 |
| FFVS | J22-A · J22-B |
| Foreign Import | J8A · Iacobi's J8A · J9 Early · J11 · J20 · J26 David · J26 |
| Finland | |
| VL | Mörkö-Morane · VL Myrsky II · VL Pyörremyrsky |
| (NL) Fokker | ▄Fokker D.XXI-3 · ▄Fokker D.XXI |
| (DE) Messerschmitt | ▄Bf 109 G-2 · ▄Bf 109 G-6 Erla · ▄Bf 109 G-6 |
| Other | ▄B-239 · ▄Hurricane Mk I/L |
