Attacker FB 1

Attacker FB 1

Sea Fury FB 11

Sea Hawk FGA.6

Attacker FB 1

Sea Fury FB 11

Sea Hawk FGA.6

Britain

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.3	7.0	7.3

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Naval aircraft

Research:95 000

Purchase:270 000

Show in game

Description

The Attacker FB 1 is a Rank V British jet fighter with a battle rating of 7.3 (AB/SB) and 7.0 (RB). It was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory".

Attackers on-board HMS Eagle

Following on from the Sea Fury in the Fleet Air Arm branch is the first operational carrier based jet within the Royal Navy’s arsenal, the Supermarine Attacker. The Attacker is Britain's first Naval jet and offers good all round performance for a first generation jet design as well as ground attack and fighter bomber payload capabilities for a variety of situations. Available to research after the Sea Fury, the Attacker is a different approach The most unique and unusual trait of the Attacker is its tail dragger configuration and wing mounted armament. As the wing and undercarriage was shared with another of Supermarine’s aircraft, the Spiteful, the Attacker is the only British jet of the period to have a wing mounted cannon armament. Unlike the other British jet fighters which adopt nose mounted configurations, the 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk V cannons on the Attacker do require careful use of convergence much like the Sea Fury and Seafires before it as a result of their positioning.

X-Ray View of the Attacker FB.Mk 1

Mounted in pairs with two in each wing, 624 rounds of Hispano ammunition is available to the cannons providing a greater capacity than the piston fighters before it. The Attacker can also amount 2 x 500 lb or 1,000 lb bombs as well as 12 x 76 mm RP-3 rockets with the GLBC Mk 3 and GRC Mk 8 Modifications respectively. This combined with the “Universal” or “Ground Targets” belts allows the Attacker to live up to its namesake, should pilots choose to use it in the fast ground attack fighter-bomber role.

Utilizing the Air Targets be to jet fighter aircraft by comparison to the Meteors, Vampire or Venom. lt and adopting the pure fighter role in the Attacker is equally as effective thanks to the aircraft's good all round performance, a "Bubble" canopy that offers good all round visibility for simulator pilots as well as a set of air brakes situated in the wings to aid in slowing the aircraft and energy management.

The unusual undercarriage is also very forgiving upon landing, both on land bases and aircraft carriers due to the wide track. However, this can also prove to be a hindrance for fans of the Simulator Battles game mode and pilots who prefer cockpit view, as the aircraft is indeed a "tail dragger". This causes extremely restricted view on the ground and when landing, especially on a carrier.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
885	859	12,191	26.2	26.9	22.8	21.5	950
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
936	922	12,191	23.9	25.0	33.8	28.0	950

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
895	351	520	~16	~9

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 491	< 600	< 620	> 250

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Armored windscreen
• 12.7 mm Steel - Armor plate behind the pilot's seat

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Attacker FB 1 is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.V cannon, wing-mounted (167 rpg inner, 145 outer = 624 total)

Suspended armament

      Main article: Bombs

The Attacker FB 1 can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• 2 x G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bombs (1,000 lb total)
• 2 x G.P. 1,000 lb Mk.I bombs (2,000 lb total
• 12 x 76 mm RP-3 rockets

Usage in the battles

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair			Offensive 20 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		GLBC mk.3
III	Wings Repair	Engine		New 20 mm Cannons
IV	G-Suit	Cover			GRC mk.8

The Supermarine 510 swept wing development of the Attacker would ultimately lead to the Swift

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful armament of 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk V cannons
• Wide track undercarriage for easier and more stable landings
• Carrier arresting hook for extra versatility on realistic and simulator battle maps
• Clear visibility cockpit with good all round vision
• Good ground strike payloads for multi-role capabilities
• Air brakes

Cons:

• Poor Acceleration due to early jet technology
• Cannons all mounted in the wings whilst other jets offer nose mounted armament
• "Tail dragger" configuration that makes for difficult carrier take-off's and landings, particularly in simulator battle
• Slow rate of climb

History

Supermarine Type 398

The Attacker was part of the first generation of jet aircraft to enter service with the Royal Navy and had the distinction of being the first operational combat jet on a British carrier. Whilst the Royal Air Force was already equipped with Meteors and Vampires, the Fleet Air Arm fell behind due to the difficulty of operating such a radical new technology from the Navy’s existing carriers. This was partially the reasoning the FAA showed interest in the Sea Fury and the later Griffon Seafires as a “make-do” solution.

After trials with the De Havilland Sea Vampire, the Navy wanted a jet aircraft that could be operated from its current ships. Supermarine’s failed Spitfire replacement, the Spiteful, was rejected by both the FAA and RAF due to already sufficient stocks of operational piston engine aircraft. However, this led to a jet engine design incorporating the same wing and undercarriage from the Spiteful, along with a tail wheel configuration as a result, and utilized a Rolls Royce Nene jet engine.

This rather primitive and rushed design was operational from 1951; however it had an extremely short career - being taken out of front-line service by 1954. This was primarily due to the aircraft's limitations being a “tail-dragger” that made operating on anything other than the deck of an aircraft carrier problematic because of the jet exhaust. The rear tail wheel only made the already hazardous task of operating a jet on a carrier even more problematic for pilots.

The Attacker quickly became superseded by the Hawker Sea Hawk and De Havilland Sea Venom, both of which were much more modern and refined designs featuring more powerful engines, tricycle undercarriages, and possessing superior performance. The Attacker did however serve as the base of Supermarine’s first swept wing jet for the RAF, the Swift, as can be seen by the similarity of the nose and fuselage. It would also lead to the more successful Supermarine Scimitar naval jet fighter in the later part of the 1950's.

Whilst the Attacker saw no major service and was relatively short lived from an operational standpoint, it nonetheless holds the distinction of being the very first of a very new breed of carrier borne aircraft and the first chapter in a rapidly advancing era of aviation evolution.

Media

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

Read also

• [Devblog] Attacker FB.1 and M10 & M36 Slugger
• [Vehicle Profile] Supermarine Attacker

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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