Vampire FB 52A
Contents
| This page is about the Italian jet fighter Vampire FB 52A. For other versions, see Vampire FB 5 and J28B. |
Description
The Vampire FB 52A is a rank V Italian jet fighter
with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB/SB) and 8.0 (RB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision". It is the first jet in the Italian tree's export fighter line, and is placed after the Re.2005 serie 0. It is followed by the rank VI fighter, the CL-13 Mk.4. The Vampire FB 52A is an upgraded version of the British Vampire FB 5, with a more powerful engine.
General info
Flight performance
The Vampire cannot reach the speeds a MiG-9 (l) or an F2H-2 can, it cannot accelerate as well as many of its counterparts, and it is appalling in a dive against most of its opponents. However, the Vampire has one impressive advantage against its jet-powered opponents: it can turn incredibly well. In fact, a good analogy to flying the Vampire is fighting jets in propeller aircraft.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 4,572 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 842 | 816 | 10668 | 24.8 | 25.6 | 16.6 | 15.5 | 650 |
| Upgraded | 917 | 882 | 23.8 | 24.0 | 26.0 | 21.0 | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 888 | 330 | 520 | 520 | 300 | ~10 | ~5 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 550 | < 600 | < 600 | N/A |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Empty mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | ||||
| de Haviland Goblin 3 | 1 | 3,385 kg | 191 kg/m2 | ||||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Takeoff Weight | |||||
| Weight (each) | Type | 11m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 39m fuel | ||
| 705 kg | Centrifugal-flow turbojet | 3,754 kg | 4,034 kg | 4,345 kg | 4,625 kg | 5,606 kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%) | ||||||
| Condition | 100% | WEP | 11m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 39m fuel | MTOW |
| Stationary | 1,410 kgf | N/A | 0.38 | 0.35 | 0.32 | 0.30 | 0.25 |
| Optimal | 1,410 kgf (0 km/h) |
N/A | 0.38 | 0.35 | 0.32 | 0.30 | 0.25 |
Survivability and armour
- Armour Plates
- 38 mm Bulletproof glass in front of pilot.
- 12.7 mm Steel plate behind the pilot's head.
- 3 mm Steel plate below the engine.
The Vampire provides adequate protection to the pilot, as well as some armour under the engine. As with most jets, damage to the wings or fuselage greatly hampers flight performance, decreasing top speed and manoeuvrability. There are quite a few fuel tanks located in this plane's wings, so fuel fires may be common, especially when taking a high fuel loadout.
Armaments
Offensive armament
The Vampire FB 52A is armed with:
- 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.V cannons, chin-mounted (150 rpg = 600 total)
Suspended armament
The Vampire FB 52A can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 2 x 1,000 lb G.P. Mk.I bombs (2,000 lb total)
- 8 x RP-3 rockets
Usage in battles
The Vampire is well-known for its ability to turn on a dime, but its incredible manoeuvrability also means that it has poor manoeuvring energy retention. Climbing is important for this plane, as is careful airspeed maintenance. When in a battle situation, it is advisable to always stay above 400 km/h; any slower, and the Vampire will greatly struggle to evade enemy fire.
If the Vampire is able to keep its energy, it becomes one of the best dogfighters at this rank. It can outturn nearly every other jet of its tier, and has a powerful engine to boot. Thanks to its great manoeuvrability, it is often quite easy to line up a shot against the enemy. One common tactic is to try luring the enemy into a turnfight. The Vampire will almost always come out on top. However, never commit to a dogfight if there are multiple enemies nearby. Turning will cause the Vampire's airspeed to fall dramatically, at which point enemies can easily swoop in and destroy it.
It is valuable to note that the Vampire has a low top speed for a jet, at only ~880 km/h. It also tends to compress as higher speeds. The Vampire may have difficulty in chasing down a faster enemy. Also note that firing the main cannon armament causes a downward recoil.
For attacking ground targets, the Vampire can be equipped with either bombs or rockets.
Modules
| Tier | Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Fuselage repair | Offensive 20 mm | |||
| II | Compressor | Airframe | GLBC mk.3 | ||
| III | Wings repair | Engine | Cover | New 20 mm cannons | |
| IV | G-suit | GRC mk.8 | |||
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful armament
- Great manoeuvrability
- Decent payload options
- Good cockpit visibility
- Good at gliding without engine power
Cons:
- Low top speed and acceleration
- Weapon create significant recoil
- Poor dive rate
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 long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
Skins:
- Skins for the Vampire FB 52A are available on WT Live.
Videos:
See also
- Vampire FB 5: an equivalent in the British tech tree
External links
| De Havilland Aircraft Company Limited | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Hornet Mk.I · Hornet Mk.III · Mosquito FB Mk VI · Mosquito FB Mk XVIII |
| Jet fighters | Vampire F.B.5 · Venom FB.4 · Sea Venom FAW 20 · Sea Vixen F.A.W. Mk.2 |
| Export | ␗Mosquito FB.Mk.26 · ▄Vampire FB 52A(Italy) · ▄Vampire FB 52A(Finland) · A28B |
| Italy jet aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Aerfer | Sagittario 2 · Ariete |
| Fiat | G.91 pre-serie · G.91 R/1 · G.91 R/4 (Portugal) · G.91 Y · G.91 YS |
| AMX International | AMX · AMX A-1A (Brazil) |
| Panavia | Tornado ADV · ▄Tornado IDS · ▄Tornado IDS (1995) |
| Foreign: | |
| Vampire | Vampire FB 52A |
| F-84 | ▄F-84F · ▄F-84G-21-RE |
| F-86 | CL-13 Mk.4 · ▄F-86K |
| F-104 | ▄F-104G · F-104S · ▄F-104S TAF (Turkey) · F-104S.ASA |
| F-16 | ▄F-16A ADF |
| AV-8 | ▄AV-8B Plus |
| Hungary | |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich | ◔MiG-15bis · ◔MiG-17PF · ◔MiG-21MF · ◔MiG-21bis-SAU · ◔MiG-23MF · ◔MiG-29 |
| Ilyushin | ◔IL-28 |
| Sukhoi | ◔Su-22M3 |
| Saab | ◔JAS39EBS HU C |
