LeO 451 early
Contents
Description
The LeO 451 early is a Rank II French medium bomber with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.73 "Vive la France".
The LeO 451 is a versatile high-speed medium bomber that is capable of undertaking low-level ground attack strikes against tanks, pillboxes, and other small target. It also carries a fairly respectable bomb load for its battle rating, and can be used to destroy bases efficiently. The sleek, graceful lines of the LeO 451 represent a complete departure from the very angular, slab-sided Farman F.222.2 and SNCAC NC.223.3 heavy bombers. The LeO 451 sacrifices bombload for high speed, although at a 1,900 kg maximum load it still carries a respectable amount compared to similar bombers like the Petlyakov Pe-2 and the CRDA Cant.Z.1007bis Alcione series. It is also quite maneuverable for a twin-engine bomber.
General info
Flight Performance
| Characteristics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at ?,000 m) |
Max altitude (meters) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| ? | ? | ?,000 | ??.? | ??.? | ??.? | ??.? | ??? |
| Upgraded | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at ?,000 m) |
Max altitude (meters) | Turn time (seconds) | Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| ? | ? | ?,000 | ??.? | ??.? | ?.? | ?.? | ? |
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flap | Take-off flap | Landing flap | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| X | X | X | X | X |
| Limits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wing-break speed (km/h) |
Gear limit (km/h) |
Combat flap (km/h) |
Max Static G | |
| + | - | |||
| ??? | ??? | ??? | ~?? | ~? |
| Optimal velocities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons (km/h) |
Rudder (km/h) |
Elevators (km/h) |
Radiator (km/h) |
| < ??? | < ??? | < ??? | > ??? |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| ?,??? m | ??? hp | ?,??? hp |
Survivability and armour
- 12 mm Steel plate behind the pilot.
- 12 mm Steel plate in front of dorsal gunner.
Armaments
Offensive armament
The LeO 451 Early is armed with:
- 1 x 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns (1,500 rpg = 1,500 total)
The single machine guns is nose mounted on the aircraft.
Suspended armament
The Leo 451 Early can be outfitted with payload options of:
- 16 x 50 kg G.A.M.Mn 50 bombs
- 7 x 100 kg №.1 (100 kg) bombs
- 1 x 100 kg №.1 (100 kg) bombs + 6 x 200 kg №.1 (200 kg) bombs
- 2 x 500 kg №.2 (500 kg) bombs + 1 x 100 kg №.1 (100 kg) bombs + 4 x 200 kg №.1 (200 kg) bombs
Defensive armament
The LeO 451 Early is defensively armed with:
- 1 x 20 mm Hispano 404 cannon, dorsal turret (120 rpg)
- 1 x 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine gun, ventral turret (500 rpg)
Usage in the battles
The LeO 451 can operate as a low-level attacker with relatively decent chances of survival thanks to the 20 mm dorsal gun and its relatively high performance. Flying at low altitudes also prevents enemies from attacking it from the rear and below, which is only covered by the 7.5 mm ventral gondola machine gun.
If pursued, it is best to maneuver in such a way that the enemy is forced to attack from the rear, which is covered by the 20 mm cannon. The LeO 451 is otherwise very vulnerable to attacks from any other angle.
Defensive armament is concentrated against rear attackers, featuring a powerful Hispano HS.404 cannon in the dorsal gunner position, with a relatively ineffective 7.5 mm machine gun in the ventral gondola. The historical LeO 451 could retract this gondola to reduce drag; a feature that is sadly not represented in the game, as the lower drag would probably be more useful than the machine gun. The LeO 451 otherwise has no other defensive armament besides a fixed forward-firing 7.5 mm machine gun in the nose. This machine gun is useful for strafing soft targets like vehicles and artillery or taking pot shots at aircraft, but is generally not very useful otherwise.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Separate | Not ontrollable | Not controllable |
Modules
| Tier | Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA | |||
| II | |||
| III | |||
| IV |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Decent maximum bombload (2 x 500 kg, 4 x 200 kg, 1 x 100 kg for 1,900 kg total).
- Powerful dorsal turret with 20 mm cannon.
- Relatively fast and maneuverable for a bomber.
- Fixed 7.5 mm nose machine gun for strafing ground targets or attacking aircraft.
Cons:
- Very limited defensive gun arcs: only the rear is covered.
- Can only rely on the fixed 7.5 mm machine gun to defend against frontal attacks.
- Ventral gunner is not protected by armour and easily knocked out.
- Ventral turret armed with only one 7.5 mm machine gun.
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.
