SM.92
Contents
Description
The SM.92 was an Italian twin engine fighter/bomber prototype designed and produced in 1943. It was an improvement of the SM.88, a similar aircraft. The aircraft was powered by two German Daimler-Benz 605 engines. Development of the prototype was slow, being finished in 1943 and tested in 1944. The aircraft's performance was below expectations, and the prototype was damaged after an Axis pilot in a C.205 mistook the prototype for an American P-38 Lightning and engaged it. The aircraft was grounded for repairs and destroyed on the ground due to Allied bombing.
It was introduced in Update 1.87 "Locked On". The SM.92 is a decent jack of all trades, it has good offensive and suspended armament, a decent climb rate with air spawn and average agility. The aircraft is more ideal for boom and zoom tactics in case of air combat, due to its offensive armament a short well placed burst is enough to destroy most fighters, and the armament is also sufficient to engage bombers at high altitudes. For ground battles the 2 x 500 kg bombs can destroy any target in sight, even heavy tanks, so you can attack ground units and then switch to intercept enemy bombers or ground attackers.
General info
Flight performance
The SM.92 has a better performance than its predecessor, despite the engines staying the same. It has been made much more aerodynamic with the removal of the gondola on the SM.91 and the moving of the crew to the left fuselage, behind one of the 2 powerful Daimler-Benz 605A1 engines. Part of this improvement is also due to the change on the defensive armament, changing from a 20 mm cannon with a decent traverse to an aerodynamically mounted fixed 12.7 mm Breda-Safat
This plane also has leading edge slats, which help it on its roll rate (as they get deployed on one wing when doing a roll manoeuvre) and its low speed performance.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 6,500 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 606 | 590 | 12000 | 20.5 | 21.2 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 375 |
| Upgraded | 656 | 630 | 18.9 | 19.5 | 16.0 | 12.0 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 845 | 300 | 535 | 450 | 260 | ~10 | ~5 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 300 | < 240 | < 500 | > 380 |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 6,000 m | 1,232 hp | 1,387 hp |
Survivability and armour
- Fuel tanks located in wings and behind the engines
- 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Armoured windscreen
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Offensive armament
The SM.92 is armed with:
- 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, centre-mounted (300 rpg = 600 total)
- 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon, mounted in right propeller hub (300 rpg)
- 4 x 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, nose-mounted (350 rpg = 1,400 total)
Suspended armament
The SM.92 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 6 x 50 kg GP 50 bombs (300 kg total)
- 6 x 100 kg GP 100T bombs (600 kg total)
- 2 x 250 kg GP 250 bombs (500 kg total)
- 2 x 500 kg GP 500 bombs (1,000 kg total)
Defensive armament
The SM.92 is defended by:
- 1 x 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun, tail turret (350 rpg)
Usage in battles
The SM.92 has average manoeuvrability, good armament and good suspended armament, the 4 x 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT and 3x 20 mm MG151 are very good to destroy the enemy planes by burning them, destroying parts of the enemy planes and knocking out the enemy pilot, the position of armament differs from its predecessor, the SM.91.
Most enemy planes can be destroyed with a head-on and Boom and zoom attacks. Your guns you can destroy every aircraft at your BR. In Ground RB the situation is different because there are some tanks that you can't penetrate so you need to use your suspended armament, the best payload is 2x 500 kg bombs but a downside is that you drop all bombs at once. You can use the SM.92 in pretty much any role you want, here under are some tactics that can be used in battles. At start of the battle, always climb at either 10° (stock) or 12,5° (upgraded) with WEP until 2,000 m and then chose the most suitable tactics depending on the scenario:
- Ground attack
In Air RB, focus on the enemy light casemates, AA and artillery with your guns and destroy enemy light tanks and pillboxes with your bombs.
- CAS (Close Air Support)
In Ground RB and Naval RB, you can do dive attacks or sea level attacks on ships behind cover
For a dive attack, climb to the altitude of 2,000 m, dive to increase your speed and drop the bombs to the enemy ground vehicles, use 1,5 secs of time fuse. In Naval RB, use Assault fuse and drop the bomb to the enemy ships at circa 300-400 m so you can escape from the enemy AA and your explosion blast wave. After you've spent the bombs, you can destroy little ships and armoured boats with your guns.
For a hedgehopping attack, approach enemy ground vehicles sideways and drop the bombs, the attack is more accurate as you drop altitude but be careful, enemy AA could kill you more easily. In naval RB, use the 1,5 secs fuse so you can bounce the bomb in water and hit the target precisely. After you dropped the bombs you can use the SM.92 as a interceptor and take down enemy planes, so you can protect your team by achieving an air superiority.
- Interceptor
After you climbed at 3,000 m, chase enemy bombers: attack them frontally or from. If there are enemy fighters under you, do a boom and zoom attack on them, you can use combat flaps for more manoeuvrability. But your flaps have a rip speed of 535 km/h so don't destroy them or you'll lose speed and manoeuvrability. Some fighters are very manoeuvrable, and if played correctly will evade your BnZ attacks (for example "Zeros" A6M2/A6M5 and Spitfires). In that case, use your attacks as deterrent to prevent them from reaching your altitude.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Not controllable | Controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Separate | Not controllable 1 gear |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Potent offensive armament with huge ammo count
- Great for Head-on and Boom and zoom attacks
- Can be used as interceptor
- Gets an attacker spawn (AB/RB)
- Good diving manoeuvrability
- Good turn rate
Cons:
- Poor gun convergence due to gun placements resulting into poor accuracy while turning
- Defensive turret is almost fixed (only ±2° in each direction); the target has to be at exactly 6 o'clock to be engaged
- Poor acceleration even when diving
- Big target for AA and fighters
- The pilot and gunner are in the same place so they can be knocked out easily
- Carrying the largest payload has a noticeable effect on performance
- Wings are littered with fuel tanks
- Tail is prone to snapping when shot at
History
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.92 was an Italian prototype heavy fighter/bomber aircraft developed during the Second World War. Based on the previous SM.88 prototype heavy fighter, the aircraft featured a dual-boom design with two engines and two crew members both in a single cockpit. Like its predecessor, only a single prototype was built; this aircraft was tested but later damaged when an Axis fighter pilot mistook it for the similarly-shaped American P-38 Lightning. After being grounded for repairs, the single aircraft was destroyed by Allied bombing, thus ending the life of this unique Italian heavy fighter.
Design and development
In 1939, the Italian aircraft firm Savoia-Marchetti produced the SM.88 fighter - this was a prototype heavy fighter aircraft with twin booms, two engines and a crew nacelle nestled in between the booms. Despite being quite successful in tests, the project was abandoned due to the introduction of the German Bf 110, a heavy fighter with similar performance. However, in 1942, Savoia-Marchetti began the development of a new heavy twin-boom heavy fighter aircraft, similar to the SM.88 - this would ultimately become the SM.92.
The SM.92 was developed at the same time as the earlier SM.91 heavy fighter, enabling the use of common components for both aircraft. The aircraft featured a twin boom design, meaning that there were two separate fuselages on the aircraft, one on each side. For simplicity, the SM.92 utilized the fuselage booms, tailplane and wing structure of the SM.91. However, the aircraft had just a single cockpit mounted asymmetrically on the portside or left fuselage. The two crew members consisted of a pilot and dedicated rear gunner, who operated the remote controlled turret at the rear.
The SM.92 was powered by two Daimler-Benz DB 605 engines producing a combined 2580 hp - fitted to the front of each boom, the engines drove three-bladed propellers. This powerplant enabled the SM.92 to reach a maximum speed of 630 km/h at altitude, with a service ceiling of 12 km. The armament consisted of three MG 151/20 cannons mounted on the centreline and inside the starboard propeller hub, as well as four Breda-SAFAT machine guns mounted firing forwards. A single additional Breda-SAFAT gun was mounted firing rearwards in the tailcone, though this weapon had a very narrow defensive arc.
Prototype history
Construction of the first SM.92 prototype was slow and only completed in late 1943; the prototype took flight for the first time in October of that year. The actual performance of the aircraft was worse than expected, but despite this, the prototype still flew for over 20 hours. In March of 1944, the prototype was airborne when it was engaged by an axis pilot, flying a Macchi C.205, who had mistook the aircraft for the Allied P-38 Lightning. Having taken severe damage, the aircraft limped home and was grounded for repairs; it was in this state that the aircraft was destroyed by Allied bombing, ending the development of this interesting aircraft design.
Media
- Skins
- Images
- Videos
See also
- Related development
Vehicles of similar configuration
External links
- [Devblog] SM.92: Second Chance for a Second Tail
- [Wikipedia] Savoia-Marchetti SM.92
- Official data sheet - more details about the performance
- [The World At War] Might Have Beens: Italian Twin-Engined Fighters, 1943
| Savoia-Marchetti | |
|---|---|
| Bombers | S.M.79 serie 1 · S.M.79 serie 8 · S.M.79 AS · S.M.79 bis/T.M |
| S.81 | |
| Attackers | SM.91 · SM.92 |
| Export | S.M.79 B |
| Captured | ▀S.M.79 serie 1 · ▀S.M.79 serie 4 · ▀S.M.79 serie 8 |
| ▀S.M.79 AS · ▀S.M.79 bis/N · ▀S.M.79 bis/T.M · ▀S.M.79 B | |
| Italy strike aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Ba.65 (K.14) L · Breda 88 (P.XI) · F.C.20 Bis · P.108A serie 2 | |
| Ro.57 Quadriarma · SM.91 · SM.92 | |
| Hungary | ◐Bf 110 G-4 · ◔IL-10 |
| Romania | Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) |
