Galer's F3F-2

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Rank IV USSR | Premium | Golden Eagles
Tu-1 Pack
This page is about the premium aircraft Galer's F3F-2. For the regular version, see F3F-2.
Galer's F3F-2
f3f-2_galer.png
GarageImage Galer's F3F-2.jpg
360://https://wiki.warthunder.com/images/3/3b/Cockpit_f3f-2_galer.jpg
Galer's F3F-2
Purchase:250 Specs-Card-Eagle.png
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Description

Galer's F3F-2 is a premium rank I American fighter with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica". The plane is painted after the camouflage scheme of American pilot Bob Galer in the USMC, whose plane can be viewed today at the National Naval Aviation Museum.

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear
Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier
Max speed
at 4 300 m425 km/h
Turn time13 s
Max altitude10 120 m
EngineWright Cyclone R-1820-22
TypeRadial
Cooling systemAir
Take-off weight2 t
Galer's F3F screenshot 5.jpg

The F3F-2 is a highly manoeuvrable aircraft as would be expected from its biplane configuration, this allows it to competitively turn with majority of the enemy aircraft that it encounters, the energy retention is good at lower speeds (<250km/h), but at higher speeds the F3F-2 will lose energy quickly when in a hard turn, problems will be found when facing higher BR monoplane fighters which will have a considerably superior top speed this can cause problems due to the slower speed of the F3F.

Despite the slower speed of the F3F-2 it does have good early acceleration (0-240km/h) and will usually be one of the first aircraft in the air at the start of the match thanks to its 210m needed takeoff distance, the 16m/s climb rate will also allow for the F3F-2 to have an altitude against majority of the enemy fighters that it will face.

Characteristics Max Speed
(km/h at 4,300 m)
Max altitude
(metres)
Turn time
(seconds)
Rate of climb
(metres/second)
Take-off run
(metres)
AB RB AB RB AB RB
Stock 407 392 10120 13.5 13.9 11.9 11.9 57
Upgraded 444 425 12.8 13.0 19.9 15.6

Details

Features
Combat flaps Take-off flaps Landing flaps Air brakes Arrestor gear
X X X X
Limits
Wings (km/h) Gear (km/h) Flaps (km/h) Max Static G
Combat Take-off Landing + -
810 320 N/A N/A N/A ~13 ~6
Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons Rudder Elevators Radiator
< 220 < 280 < 420 > 250
Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude 100% Engine power WEP Engine power
1,600 m 850 hp 952 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude 100% Engine power WEP Engine power
4,214 m 750 hp 840 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person
Speed of destruction
Structural810 km/h
Gear320 km/h
  • 8.5 mm steel boxes in the rear fuselage
  • Critical components located in front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
  • Two self-sealing fuel tanks located in the fuselage

Modifications and economy

Repair cost
AB323 Sl icon.png
RB220 Sl icon.png
SB264 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications4 390 Rp icon.png
445 Sl icon.png
Crew training150 Sl icon.png
Experts1 000 Sl icon.png
Aces20 Ge icon.png
Research Aces145 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
Talisman.png 2 × 20 / 30 / 110 % Sl icon.png
Talisman.png 2 × 75 / 75 / 75 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Flight performance Survivability Weaponry
Mods aerodinamic fuse.png
Fuselage repair
Mods radiator.png
Radiator
Research:
600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
60 Sl icon.png
55 Ge icon.png
Mods armor frame.png
Airframe
Mods compressor.png
Compressor
Mods aerodinamic wing.png
Wings repair
Mods new engine.png
Engine
Mods armor cover.png
Cover
Mods metanol.png
Engine injection
Mods engine extinguisher.png
EFS
Research:
720 Rp icon.png
Cost:
75 Sl icon.png
65 Ge icon.png
Mods ammo.png
bmg30_belt_pack
Research:
600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
60 Sl icon.png
55 Ge icon.png
Mod arrow 1.png
Mods ammo.png
bmg50_belt_pack
Research:
500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
50 Sl icon.png
45 Ge icon.png
Mod arrow 1.png
Mods pilon bomb.png
Mk.41
Research:
500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
50 Sl icon.png
45 Ge icon.png
Mods weapon.png
bmg30_new_gun
Research:
750 Rp icon.png
Cost:
75 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods weapon.png
bmg50_new_gun
Research:
720 Rp icon.png
Cost:
75 Sl icon.png
65 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Offensive armament

Ammunition200 rounds
Fire rate750 shots/min
Ammunition500 rounds
Fire rate1 000 shots/min

Galer's F3F-2 is armed with:

  • 1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, nose-mounted (200 rpg)
  • 1 x 7.62 mm Browning machine gun, nose-mounted (500 rpg)

Suspended armament

List of setups (1)
Setup 12 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bomb
Main article: AN-M30A1 (100 lb)

Galer's F3F-2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

  • Without load
  • 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (200 lb total)

Usage in battles

Galer's F3F screenshot 3.jpg

The F3F is first and foremost a fighter aircraft, this is a role in which it thrives with its brilliant manoeuvrability allowing it to deal with majority of enemy aircraft in a turn fight, trying to get an enemy aircraft to turn with you will be the best way to engage and win a fight, if the enemy is a monoplane they will usually have worse performance at slower speeds, so making them turn and lose energy is a good way to gain an advantage with your superior slow speed performance, if the enemy aircraft is also a biplane your main focus should be preventing them from getting guns onto your aircraft, if you can gain a turning advantage you should move into position and attempt to down the enemy aircraft, your two guns can end up putting lots of rounds into an enemy, but a hit to any critical component such as the pilot or engine will either end the fight or put it strongly in your favour. It is best to avoid "head on" engagements with enemy aircraft, as the engine on the F3F has a large frontal profile (Radial engine) along with the engine front being exposed, this makes the engine being hit a common occurrence and without your engine survival is unlikely.

The F3F will commonly come across aircraft with superior top speed, such as many of the early Bf-109 variants (A,B-1,E-1 & F-1), these aircraft will usually attempt to use a "boom & zoom" attack style against your aircraft, the best you can do is to keep a good amount of energy and be ready to evade when the commit to an attack run, if you can evade them for long enough you will hopefully receive some help from some of your other team members or you might be able to make the enemy try and commit to a turn fight where you should have an advantage and be able to critically damage or down their aircraft.

As for using the F3F for close air support (CAS) you will have a few possibilities, the most popular choice will be to take the two 100lb bombs (AN-M30A1), these only contain 24.5kg of explosive mass so you will need to land them very close to the intended target to do any meaningful damage. A second option is to use your .50cal (12.7mm) Browning M2 machine gun to destroy ground targets, all belts for this gun have 26mm of penetration, although the ground targets belts are best as they contain more AP rounds, these will be able to go through SPAA (Self Propelled Anti Aircraft) vehicles as well as some light & medium tanks, firing for the upper armour or side armour on enemy vehicles will usually prove to be the most effective way of going through enemy armour.

It is recommended not to hold the brakes on landing, as the F3F will likely flip over, it is best to tap the breaks on and off to avoid this occurring.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer Pitch Radiator Supercharger Turbocharger
Oil Water Type
Controllable Controllable
Not auto controlled
Not controllable
Not auto controlled
Not controllable
Not auto controlled
Separate Controllable
2 gears
Not controllable

Pros and cons

Galer's F3F screenshot 4.jpg

Pros:

  • Turning circle is very tight
  • Very low stalling speed
  • Extremely control responsive aircraft
  • 12.7mm MG can be used to destroy light ground targets
  • Climbrate is competitive against aircraft of similar BR

Cons:

  • Small primary armament, inadequate for bombers
  • Low ammunition count for the .50 cal
  • Bright paint scheme makes it harder to stay hidden
  • Can flip on landing with continued brake use

History

Galer's F3F-2 on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, NAS Pensacola, after being recovered from the Pacific Ocean.

Galer’s F3F-2 is the F3F-2 flown by then-First-Lieutenant Bob Galer, USMC, who was forced to bail out during landing operations. Lt. Galer would become a double-ace during WWII, having survived being shot down four times, received the Medal of Honor for heroism at Guadalcanal, and retired as a brigadier general. Galer’s F3F-2 was recovered in 1988 from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean; following a reunion with the aircraft’s former pilot, the plane is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum of the United States.

Robert ‘Bob’ E. Galer was a naval aviator in the United States navy, having joined the navy in 1936. While assigned to Marine Fighting Squadron two (VMF-2), he was attempting a landing on the USS Saratoga (CV-3) when his F3F-2 failed; as a result, he was forced to ditch the aircraft into the ocean. He was later stationed in Hawaii for most of 1941, promoted to the rank of captain. He was stationed with VMF-211 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941.

Galer was given command of VMF-224 in May of 1942 and later fought at the Battle of Guadalcanal; it was during this conflict that he shot down 11 enemy aircraft, becoming a double-ace and receiving the Medal of Honor for his actions. Galer was also awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross, a rare occurrence for the time. Afterwards, Galer served as assistant operations officer at Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar; he was not permitted to fly in combat due to his status as a medal-of-honor recipient, exacerbated by the fact that he had been shot down three times already.

By 1945, Galer had obtained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Staying with the navy, he was sent to Korea in 1952 as a full Colonel, received a Gold Star (in lieu of a second Distinguished Flying medal) for leading an aerial attack on Pyongyang. He was shot down once more in August of 1952 after being hit by anti-aircraft fire. Galer returned to the United States after the end of the Korean conflict and retired in 1957 at the rank of Brigadier-General; he later served as vice-president of Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) later as an executive with Bright & Co. He would be reunited with his former F3F-2 in 1988 after the aircraft was recovered from the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Brigadier General Galer died of a stroke on 27 June 2005 in Dallas, Texas; he is survived by his wife, four children and six grandchildren. Galer’s F3F-2 is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum, restored to its markings when flown by Galer in 1940.

Media

Images
Videos

See also

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
  • other literature.


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