Attacker FB 1

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RANK 6 BRITAIN
Rooikat 105 PACK
attaker_fb1.png
Attacker FB 1
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Description

GarageImage Attacker FB 1.jpg


The Attacker FB 1 is a rank V British jet fighter with a battle rating of 7.0 (AB/RB) and 7.3 (SB). 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 to jet fighter aircraft by comparison to the Meteors, Vampire or Venom.

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 20mm 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.

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 500lb or 1000lb bombs as well as 12 x 76mm 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.

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

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

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 - Armoured windscreen
  • 12.7 mm Steel - Armor plate behind the pilot's seat

Armaments

Offensive armament

Main article: Hispano Mk.V (20 mm)
X-Ray View of the Attacker FB.Mk 1

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

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 battles

Utilizing the Air Targets belt 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.

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

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


Britain jet aircraft
Blackburn  Buccaneer S.1 · Buccaneer S.2 · Buccaneer S.2B
British Aerospace  Harrier GR.7 · Sea Harrier FRS.1 (e) · Sea Harrier FRS.1
British Aircraft Corporation  Strikemaster Mk.88
English Electric  Canberra B Mk 2 · Canberra B (I) Mk 6 · Lightning F.6 · Lightning F.53
Gloster  Meteor F Mk 3 · Sea Meteor F Mk 3 · Meteor F Mk 4 G.41F · Meteor F Mk 4 G.41G · Meteor F Mk 8 G.41K · Meteor F Mk.8 Reaper
  Javelin F.(A.W.) Mk.9
de Havilland  Vampire F.B.5 · Venom FB.4 · Sea Venom FAW 20 · Sea Vixen F.A.W. Mk.2
Hawker  Sea Hawk FGA.6 · Hunter F.1 · Hunter F.6 · Hunter FGA.9 · Harrier GR.1 · Harrier GR.3
Panavia  Tornado GR.1 · Tornado F.3
SEPECAT  Jaguar GR.1 · Jaguar GR.1A · Jaguar IS
Supermarine  Attacker FB 1 · Attacker FB.2 · Scimitar F Mk.1 · Swift F.1 · Swift F.7
Foreign  Phantom FG.1 (USA) · Phantom FGR.2 (USA) · F-4J(UK) Phantom II (USA)
  JAS39C (Sweden)