Sea Venom FAW 20

This page is about the British naval jet fighter Sea Venom FAW 20. For the standard version, see Venom FB.4.

Sea Venom FAW 20

Sea Hawk FGA.6

Scimitar F Mk.1

Sea Venom FAW 20

Sea Hawk FGA.6

Scimitar F Mk.1

Britain

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	7.7	8.0

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Naval aircraft

Research:61 000

Purchase:340 000

Show in game

Description

The Sea Venom FAW 20 is a rank V British naval jet fighter with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB/SB) and 7.7 (RB). It was introduced in Update 1.57 "Battle March".

The Sea Venom FAW.20 is a carrier-based jet fighter located in the British naval line after the Sea Hawk FGA.6. The Sea Venom has very good diving characteristics, good roll rate making it a notable defensive flyer, and decent speed characteristics for a jet of its battle rating. It should be played as a Boom & Zoom aircraft, and it's very important to keep its speed up as the acceleration is somewhat lacklustre.

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Max speed

at 3 048 m985 km/h

Turn time25 s

Max altitude12 192 m

Enginede Havilland Ghost-103

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight7 t

The Sea Venom is a relatively light jet but heavy compared to other planes it will face, specially prop planes. Despite the high agility of the venom compared to other jet, it is really mediocre agaisnt prop planes as most of them will outturn you within seconds. It maintains energy much better than it is to turn, meaning the Sea Venom should be flown as a Boom and Zoom plane rather than a turn fighter. Its acceleration is impressive compared to other jets and almost superb to even prop planes. It should be noted that the venom will lose a tremendous amount of energy when trying to turn fight a plane. Fighting at sea level is the way to go of this plane as only couple planes, like the MiG-15 will be able to catch you up. Be aware of jets like Sea Hawk Mk.100 as they have anti air missiles which will catch you up.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 3,048 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	935	908	12192	26.1	26.8	22.9	21.5	850
Upgraded	1,033	985		24.2	25.0	33.5	28.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	420	425	393	320	~13	~6

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 650	< 640	< 640	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Empty mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
de Havilland Ghost-103		1	4,520 kg		239 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max take off Weight
Weight (each)	Type		10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	33m fuel
1,000 kg	Centrifugal-flow turbojet		5,036 kg	5,545 kg	6,054 kg	6,207 kg	7,080 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%)
Condition	100%	WEP	10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	33m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	2,100 kgf	N/A	0.42	0.39	0.37	0.34	0.30
Optimal	2,100 kgf (0 km/h)	N/A	0.42	0.39	0.37	0.34	0.30

Survivability and armour

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear420 km/h

• 3 mm Steel plate under the jet engine.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 474 → 4 742

RB9 800 → 13 377

SB12 459 → 17 006

Total cost of modifications102 300

164 000

Talisman cost2 200

Crew training98 000

Experts340 000

Aces1 800

Research Aces780 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

130 / 370 / 600 %

202 / 202 / 202 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 340 Compressor Research: 7 600 Cost: 12 000 260 New boosters Research: 7 600 Cost: 12 000 260 Wings repair Research: 8 500 Cost: 14 000 290 Engine Research: 8 500 Cost: 14 000 290	Airframe Research: 7 600 Cost: 12 000 260 EFS Research: 17 000 Cost: 27 000 580 Cover Research: 17 000 Cost: 27 000 580	hispano_belt_pack Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 340 hispano_mk5_new_gun Research: 8 500 Cost: 14 000 290

The engine is somewhat underpowered, so it is recommended to research compressor and engine modifications first for better acceleration and top speed.

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 14 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.V cannon

Ammunition600 rounds

Fire rate750 shots/min

The Sea Venom FAW 20 is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.V cannons, nose-mounted (150 rpg = 600 total)

Usage in battles

The Sea Venom has a fully air fighting role as the lack of ordnance and penetration for the 20 mm cannons make the aircraft useless for CAS or ground attack. The Sea Venom has 2 primary combat roles, as well as 1 last resort:

Bomber hunter:

The radar, speed, acceleration, and firepower make this jet usable for bomber hunting, especially when on cloudy maps as many planes at the BR lack radar. Pilots should use 30° climb to gain speed and altitude to be able to hunt bombers (always use aircraft carrier take off when possible). Depending on the type of bomber that the Sea Venom encounters (jet bomber or prop bomber), tactics should vary.

For jet bombers:

Ar 234 B-2, Ar 234 C-3, IL-28 (all variants), etc, the pilot must try to use their agility to their advantage as most of them carry both offensive and defensive weaponry and sometimes will try to dogfight you (with exception of Ar 234 B-2 and B-57A). IL-28 should be aproached carefully as the 23 mm offensive and defensive cannons can tear the Sea Venom apart with small bursts. Use your speed to your advantage.

For prop bombers:

B-29/Tu-4, etc, the pilot must use boom and zoom tactics as big planes lack agility but have powerful firepower. These aircraft should be approached as any other prop bomber (head-on or from below). Be aware of B-29 and Tu-4 as both have ventral turrets that will harm you, approach them in a head-on or in a frontal arc of 45° (blind spot for most turrets) or in a very steep angle from above (although this should not be the main angle of approach as both B-29 and Tu-4 have a turret elevation of 89°).

Air superiority fighter:

The Sea Venom is one of the fastest jets at its BR (909 km/h at sea level with no upgrades) and will outrun most planes when energy is kept. Do not attempt to turn fight as you will lose a tremendous amount of energy and most planes will outturn you (Ho 229, Kikka, etc). Boom and zoom and do not be afraid of running, most planes will not be able to chase you. Do not attempt to outrun enemy jets when uptiered as aircraft like MiG-15 will catch you easily.

Bait':

This tactic should be a last resort when you are unable to take down any aircraft. The Sea Venom is a pretty easy target due to its small and tight cabin and small wingspan (although this can sometimes be beneficial) but can be used as bait for enemy planes for the same reason. Let friendlies deal with them while you grab their attention.

Radars

The sea venom is equipped with an AI Mk. X search radar, located in the nose of the aircraft.

AI Mk. X
Target Detection Radar
Maximum Detection Range	Guaranteed Detection Range	Max Azimuth Scan Angle	Max Elevation Scan Angle
14,000 m	8,500 m	±75°	-20°/+40°

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Adequate ammo supply of 600 rounds (150 RPG)
• Able to land on carriers in case an airfield is not available
• Able to take off from carriers, allowing acceleration from 0 to 300 km/h in couple seconds
• Good turn time and roll rate
• Good at defensive flying
• Very good at diving with a high rip speed of 1,040 km/h IAS
• Retains energy well
• Low compression at high speeds
• Faster than most aircraft it faces when down-tiered
• Has access to a search radar (max range 18 km, fast sweep)

Cons:

• G-LOCs easily
• Does not prepare you well for top rank combat (for new top tier pilots in air realistic battles)
• No payload (for tank realistic battles)
• Subpar acceleration
• Rudder effectiveness is inadequate, due to small size

History

Development

The Sea Venom, designed to succeed the de Havilland Sea Hornet, was the first all-weather jet-propelled fighter aircraft of the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. Initially without folding wings, the initial Sea Venom prototypes were trialled aboard HMS Illustrious in July 1951. After a further two years of testing, the Sea Venom F.A.W. 20 designation models entered production in March 1953, forty were constructed over two years, finishing in June 1955.

Further Sea Venom developments culminated in the production of F.A.W. 21 and 22 variants, respectively. These variants made improvements to the control surfaces and canopy; and incorporated upgraded ejection seats and American manufactured radar. The Sea Venom made great strides in safety in many areas, examples include the strengthened catapult and arrestor hook capability which increased the safety of take off and landing; and the canopy advancements which allowed it to be jettisoned from the aircraft when submerged underwater. These were essential upgrades as the early F.A.W. Sea Venoms lacked any ejector seat at all which caused pilots great risk.

Overall, 256 units of the de Havilland Sea Venom were produced and delivered to the Fleet Air Arm.

Operation

During their service life, Sea Venoms saw significant combat. Their activity peaked with their involvement in the 1956 Suez Crisis, in which five squadrons of Sea Venoms conducted ground-strike sorties from their deployed carriers HMS Albion and HMS Eagle.

Due to the all-weather nature of the aircraft, they were uniquely able to intercept jet bombers at night. Slight modifications to the breathing apparatus and oxygen distribution allowed the aircraft to reach these heights, though after the late mid-fifties they were decreasingly in consideration for interception duties.

The Sea Venom is also credited with the first operational firing of Firestreak infrared guided missiles by a Royal Navy fighter squadron aircraft, after successfully destroying drone targets in an exercise off the coast of Malta in 1959.

After the Sea Venom’s retirement from carrier service in 1960, it was subsequently replaced by the de Havilland Sea Vixen. It was retired from ground service at RNAS Yeovilton in October 1970.

Dev Blog

The carrier-based Sea Venom FAW.20 fighter appeared as a version of the two-seater (seats for the pilot and radar operator) ground-launched Venom NF.Mk2 fighter, fitted with radar equipment. At the request of the navy, the base interceptor was equipped with an arrestor hook, a “folding” mechanism to store the wings for convenient storage on aircraft carriers, and a tail bumper to protect the tail unit from strikes on the deck. The aircraft completed testing and went into service with the “all-weather fighter” designation (FAW – Fighter, All-Weather).

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

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See 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.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance
• [DevBlog] Sea Venom FAW.20: Two-seat Jet-Fighter