CL-13A Mk 5 (Germany)
This page is about the German jet fighter CL-13A Mk 5 (Germany). For other versions, see F-86 (Family). |
Contents
Description
In 1949, Canada wanted a new fighter to supplement its growing air force. The F-86 Sabre was a good option, but the Canadian government didn't want to have another American aircraft in service. As a compromise, Canada received a license to build their own Sabres and thus birthed the Canadair Sabre. At first, they were essentially the same as the US F-86A. As development and production continued, Canadair Sabres were growing different and even had their own engine installed, the Avro Orenda jet engine. The Mk5 was powered by the Orenda 10, fitted with a new wing, and other aerodynamic changes. It was close to the US F-86F-30 in terms of performance. During this time, the German Luftwaffe was revived and also looked to purchase modern aircraft. Germany placed an order for over 200 Mk6 Sabres, but as a stop-gap measure, 75 ex-RCAF Mk5 Sabres were also supplied. Many of the Mk5 Sabres were scrapped in 1962.
The ◄CL-13A Sabre Mk 5 was introduced in Update 1.39. The main difference between the CL-13 and the American-built Sabres was the engine. The CL-13A was powered by the Avro Canada Orenda 10 engine, which produced around 2,800 kgf. For comparison, the F-86F-40 is powered by the General Electric J47-GE-27 engine, which only produced around 2,600 kgf. This provided an 8% increase in thrust and gave it substantially better performance in terms of acceleration, climb rate, and more. Other than that, the ◄CL-13A Sabre Mk 5 still retained the six nose-mounted 12.7 mm M3 machine guns. It also retains the same suspended armament options of HVAR rockets, 750 lb and 1,000 lb bombs, as the F-86F-30.
General info
Flight performance
Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
Stock | 1,103 | 1,097 | 14700 | 24.5 | 25.7 | 39.9 | 36.4 | 650 |
Upgraded | 1,123 | 1,114 | 23.7 | 24.0 | 59.8 | 49.3 |
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 | + | - | ||
1,170 | 350 | 590 | 550 | 350 | ~11 | ~6 |
Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
< 850 | < 600 | < 650 | N/A |
Engine performance
Engine | Aircraft mass | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | |||
Avro Canada Orenda 10 | 1 | 5,432 kg | 238 kg/m2 | |||
Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Takeoff Weight | ||||
Weight (each) | Type | 7m fuel | 20m fuel | 24m fuel | ||
1,160 kg | Axial-flow turbojet | 5,817 kg | 6,487 kg | 6,716 kg | 9,530 kg | |
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%) | |||||
Condition | 100% | WEP | 7m fuel | 20m fuel | 24m fuel | MTOW |
Stationary | 2,818 kgf | N/A | 0.48 | 0.43 | 0.42 | 0.30 |
Optimal | 2,818 kgf (0 km/h) |
N/A | 0.48 | 0.43 | 0.42 | 0.30 |
Survivability and armour
- 6.35 mm steel - in front of cockpit
- 12.7 mm steel - pilot's seat
- 20 mm steel - pilot's head rest
- 38 mm bulletproof glass - armoured windscreen
- Engine and fuel tanks take up most of fuselage
- More fuel tanks in wings
Modifications and economy
Armaments
Offensive armament
The CL-13A Mk 5 (Germany) is armed with:
- 6 x 12.7 mm M3 Browning machine guns, nose-mounted (300 rpg = 1,800 total)
Suspended armament
The CL-13A Mk 5 (Germany) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 16 x HVAR rockets
- 2 x 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs (1,500 lb total)
- 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 Fin M129 bombs (2,000 lb total)
Usage in battles
Speed is everything. Reach around 1,000 km/h and then 10 to 20 degree climb then level out before dropping below 750 km/h IAS.
Watch out for planes like F-86F-2 Sabres and Hunters. These two you'll see the most and they will see you as a big threat since you pretty much out-perform them in every aspect. Destroy them before they pose any threat to you.
The CL-13's energy fighting capabilities outperform most if not all enemies of the same BR. Engagements should always occur on your terms, if you are in a bad situation make use of the Mk. 5's acceleration and roll rate to pull away if possible, then re-engage in an advantageous position.
The Mk.5's main pitfall is its lacklustre armament of six M3 machine guns. Often, sustained fire is the only way to down an enemy short of a pilot snipe. Snapshots will often result in a few hits and an enemy still very much in the fight. However, the high velocity and large ammo count makes accuracy a secondary concern. Pilots should not hesitate to douse their enemies in a hail of machine gun fire, as even a few hits can cripple the enemy and open them up for a second, fatal pass. Engaging in head-on passes with enemies sometimes leads to success owing to the velocity of the M3s, but pilots should be careful to start firing at significant distance and peel off before the 1.0 km mark to avoid enemy fire. Whilst dogfighting, the best shot of finishing engagements lies in exploiting the CL-13's energy superiority and forcing the enemy to bleed speed to the point where they are sitting ducks for your guns. This should not come at the cost of losing one's own speed, however, as the Mk. 5's high speed manoeuvrability falls off very quickly and can leave you as the sitting duck instead.
Radars
The CL-13A Mk 5 is equipped with an AN/APG-30 rangefinding radar, located in the nose of the aircraft. It will automatically detect other planes within the scanning area and display the range to the closest target. It is linked with a gyro gunsight and can help with aiming at close range.
AN/APG-30 - Rangefinding radar | |||
---|---|---|---|
Maximum Tracking Range |
Minimum Tracking Range |
Azimuth Tracking Angle |
Elevation Tracking Angle |
2,750 m | 300 m | ±9° | ±9° |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent roll rate at all speeds
- Flying tail elevator provides insane manoeuvrability at higher speeds
- High velocity heavy machine gun armament
- High rate of fire .50 cal M3 machine guns
- Turn rate is very good (not better than F-86A-5/F-40 Sabre)
- Very good climb rate against all jets
- Better acceleration than most jets at its BR, accelerating more than any other Sabre in game
- All round aircraft (good at AB, RB, and SB)
Cons:
- Low speed manoeuvrability worse than earlier jets
- Installed boosters breaks your wings if pulled over 12 G
- Weak landing gear
- Its excessive flight performance very often causes overconfidence, which can prove deadly
History
The CL-13 Series
The CL-13 series of aircraft were built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. These fighters would be operated by Canada until 1958, and a variety of other nations until much later, with the last variants being retired by the Pakistani Air Force in 1980. There were two major production runs of the aircraft. The first, the Mk. 2 and Mk. 4s with just under 1,000 built, were very similar to their US counterparts, with minor differences. The second run, the Mk. 5s and Mk. 6s of similar numbers, were patterned on the later versions North American Sabre, with larger wings for improved manoeuvrability. The major difference lay in the replacement of the General Electric J47 engine with the locally-designed more-powerful Avro Canada Orenda. The Mk. 6, with a more powerful two-stage version of the Orenda and improved control surfaces, is generally considered the best of all Sabre variants.
The CL-13 Mk. 5
On 30 July 1953, the first Sabre Mk.5 flew with the Orenda 10 engine, which gave it a clear rate of climb and ceiling advantage over earlier variants. This improvement was accompanied by a new oxygen system and superior manoeuvrability and low-speed characteristics achieved by increasing the wing chord by six in. (15.2 cm) at the root and three in. (7.2 cm) at the wing tip. The aircraft also made use of a small vertical wing fence, a modification originated by North American on the F-86F, which dramatically improved manoeuvrability. Earlier variants of the CL-13 were equipped with leading edge wing slats that were removed in the Mk.5, leading to increased landing speed and considerably degraded low speed handling. The increase in engine power also came at the cost of range, a full 20 percent less than that of the F-86F. Canadair built 370 Mk. 5s with the majority designated to replace older Sabre variants in RCAF air squadrons.
Service in the Luftwaffe
In 1956 the newly-revived West German Luftwaffe ordered 225 Canadair CL-13 Mk. 6s to outfit 3 day-fighter wings. In advance of the delivery, 75 retired Royal Canadian Air Force Mk. 5s were supplied to the training unit Waffenschule 10 to facilitate the conversion of pilots to the Sabre. By April of 1960 about 25 of these aircraft remained airworthy, down from a peak of 65 in early 1959. All of the remaining Mk. 5s were scrapped or sold by March of 1962.[1]
Media
- Skins
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
- Grumman F9F Cougar
- Lavochkin La-15
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (Family)
External links
References
Canadair Limited | |
---|---|
Fighters | ▄CL-13 Mk.4* · ◄CL-13A Mk 5* · ◄CL-13B Mk.6* |
* These aircraft were license-built from North American Aviation who developed and built the F-86 Sabre fighter. |
Germany jet aircraft | |
---|---|
Luftwaffe | |
He 162 | He 162 A-1 · He 162 A-2 |
Me 163 | Me 163 B · Me 163 B-0 |
Ho 229 | Ho 229 V3 |
Ar 234 | Ar 234 B-2 · Ar 234 C-3 |
Me 262 | Me 262 A-1a · Me 262 A-1a/Jabo · Me 262 A-1a/U1 · Me 262 A-1/U4 · Me 262 A-2a |
Me 262 C-1a · Me 262 C-2b | |
LSK | |
Fighters | ◊MiG-15bis · ◊Lim-5P · ◊MiG-19S |
◊MiG-21MF · ◊MiG-21bis-SAU · ◊MiG-21 "Lazur-M" | |
◊MiG-29 | |
Attackers | ◊MiG-23BN · ◊MiG-23MF · ◊MiG-23MLA |
◊Su-22UM3K · ◊Su-22M4 | |
◊IL-28 | |
Luftwaffe | |
F-84 | ◄F-84F |
F-86 | ◄CL-13A Mk 5 · ◄CL-13B Mk.6 · ◄F-86K |
F-104 | ◄F-104G |
F-4 | ◄F-4F Early · ◄F-4F · ◄F-4F KWS LV |
G.91 | ◄G.91 R/3 · ◄G.91 R/4 |
Tornado | ◄Tornado IDS WTD61 · ◄Tornado IDS MFG · ◄Tornado IDS ASSTA1 |
Other | Alpha Jet A · ◄Sea Hawk Mk.100 |
Ex-LSK | ◄MiG-21 SPS-K · ◄MiG-29G |
Swiss Air Force | |
◌Hunter F.58 · FFA P-16 |