P-36C (TheRussianBadger)
| This page is about the gift American fighter P-36C (TheRussianBadger). For other versions, see P-36 (Family). |
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Contents
Description
In the early 1930s, the Curtiss-Wright Corporation began a private venture to build a fighter aircraft which was a revolutionary departure from earlier cloth-covered biplanes of World War I. This project aircraft under development was named the Curtiss Hawk Model 75 (later it would be known by P-36 Hawk, Hawk-75 – or just H-75 and Mohawk). The P-36 was an all-metal monoplane (although the control surfaces were fabric-covered) with a 900 hp radial engine, enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear. Even though this aircraft touted some of the state-of-the-art development in aircraft design, several aspects remained lacking, such as the original two machine guns firing through the propeller arc, a 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm and other critical components such as the absence of armour in the cockpit and self-sealing fuel tanks. The P-36 was known as an outstanding turning aircraft due to its extremely low wing loading and had a beefy power-to-weight ratio of 0.186 hp/lb that placed this aircraft as one of the best climbing aircraft of the time. One drawback noted was that the P-36 was not outfitted with a supercharger which hampered its ability to operate at high altitudes, requiring it to stay under 10,000 ft in altitude. For all of this aircraft's positive attributes and unfortunate shortcomings, it performed well mostly for other nations such as Finland where the Hawk was known as "Sussu" or Finnish for "Sweetheart" as between 58 Finnish pilots flying the Hawk, they scored 190.3 aerial victories. The P-36 was the proving ground and stepping stone to the later great fighter, the P-40.
The ○P-36C Hawk is a unique seal clubbing vehicle in affiliation with the Youtuber TheRussianBadger, boasting a unique crying seal camouflage. It reminds the player that is only a P-36C carrying only a singular .50 and 3 x .30 machine guns. It was introduced during Update "Sky Guardians", obtainable by using the affiliate link of YouTuber TheRussianBadger. The ○P-36C Hawk is a very competent aircrafts thanks to its good agility and decent engine power. It can be compared to midtier Japanese fighters in the sense that its flight performance is not the best, having a decent enough engine power and an average rate of climb, but it relies on its very capable dogfight ability, because of its good low speed handling and tight turn radius. It is armed with 7.62mm and 12.7mm guns, good enough to deal with enemy fighters around its BR, however it lacks the firepower to be effective against enemy bombers. The P-36C is relatively fragile, since it lacks enough armour to stop MG fire against the pilot, at best it can stop fragments from destroying some critical components.
General info
Flight performance
The P-36C (TheRussianBadger) is a relatively easy fighter aircraft to fly and requires only a relatively short space to both take off and land. During World War II the P-36 was ferried over to Pearl Harbor aboard an aircraft carrier from which they took off and then landed at the Army Air Corps base.[1] In the game, due to the very low stall speed, the P-36 can land on an aircraft carrier to a complete stop and take off again. Due to the fantastically low wing loading rate of 23.9 lb/ft2[2], this fighter is an excellent turning aircraft and accompanied by a strong rudder can spiral climb easily, especially during WEP cycles. This aircraft has the advantage of being both a turn fighter and a Boom & Zoom fighter, depending on the situation, type of aircraft which are flying against, and mission type. The P-36 will out-turn many fighters of its rank and can prove difficult to follow if attempting to shoot it down. The P-36A and P-36C utilise the same engine, however, with the extra two machine guns and associated ammunition, the C model lags slightly behind the A with flight characteristics, but not noticeable enough for the upgrading pilot to realize while manoeuvring the aircraft. The trade-off for more guns is a slightly hampered flight model, but it is well worth it.
| 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 | 479 | 464 | 9754 | 17.7 | 18.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 183 |
| Upgraded | 524 | 501 | 16.8 | 17.0 | 15.2 | 10.6 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 770 | 290 | 488 | 446 | 232 | ~12 | ~7 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 290 | < 380 | < 420 | > 300 |
Survivability and armour
- 9.5 mm armoured pilot seat
- Self-sealing fuel tanks
As with many early pre-war fighters, not much emphasis was put on the survivability of the aircraft. The best course of action was for the pilot to not let anyone get behind them. The P-36's only sources of protection for the pilot is the engine block and the 9.5 mm (angled at 24° for an effective thickness of 13 mm), that being said, depending on the engine block to save the pilot may do so at the expense of the engine, thus requiring the pilot to glide back to base if possible or bailout. There are also two unprotected oil coolers if they are punctured, the aircraft will leak oil until depleted eventually causing the engine to seize up.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Offensive armament
The P-36C (TheRussianBadger) 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)
- 2 x 7.62 mm Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
Armament weaknesses found in the P-36A were addressed when outfitting the P-36C fighter, as the armament of a single 12.7 mm and 7.62 mm machine gun was found lacking. While the engine cowling was already crowded and no more machine guns could be centrally mounted which required wing modifications to install two more 7.62 machine guns, one in each wing. For this aircraft, two machine guns are mounted in the engine cowl and fire through the propeller arc while the other two are mounted one in each wing. Due to the wing-mounted machine guns, convergence is a factor to deal with with the optimal range being 100 - 200 m, anything beyond this will still work, however, the bullets significantly start losing their punch. The increase in armament increased the damage output ability of the fighter, however, the next generation P-36, the P-36G increased the deadliness of the fighter by adding two more wing-mounted machine guns for a total of six guns. Options in ammunition will allow the pilot to select the type best suited for their mission whether it be as an interceptor, ground target hunter, or a stealthy pouncer.
- Option 1 Configuration (optimal 200 - 400 m convergence)
- 12.7 mm = Ground target rounds
- 7.62 mm = Stealth round
- The use of ground target rounds gives you access to hard-hitting ammunition rounds with tracers to help guide in the rounds, however, the 7.62 mm should be set up with stealth rounds as providing a good mix of armour-piercing and incendiary rounds without the tell-tale tracers. Without the tell-tale show of tracers flying by, the pilot of the aircraft may assume a weakly armed aircraft is on their tail with intermittent tracers from the 12.7 mm machine gun. This can be a huge advantage for the attacking aircraft by sneaking in a large amount of lead and incendiaries while still having the ability to walk in the shots with the tracers (especially helpful in realistic and simulator battles where the aiming helper is not available for use).
12.7 mm ammunition
- Default: T · Ball · I · AP
- Universal: AP · AP · AP · T · I
- Ground targets: T · AP · AP · AP
- Tracers: T · T · T · AP
- Stealth: AP · I · AP
7.62 mm ammunition
- Default: T · Ball · Ball · Ball · AP · I
- Universal: T · AP · I
- Tracers: AP · T · T · T · T
- Stealth: AP · AP · AP · I · I
This aircraft does not have the option to select any additional suspended armaments nor does it have any defensive weapons to counter any attackers.
Usage in battles
Energy retention lends this fighter to be a great boom and zoomer, dropping in for a shot and then speeding back up to regain the energy advantage. With this aircraft having such a low stall speed; it makes a great fighter to practice Rope-a-dope energy depletion manoeuvres. This requires the P-36 pilot to bait another fighter into following them in a climb, as the attacker attempts to get guns on, the P-36 pilot can start to spiral climb which will cause the attacking aircraft to pull a tighter circle haemorrhaging their energy. If done correctly, the attacking fighter will stall out and be completely helpless as they begin to fall back to the ground allowing the P-36 to roll over or Split-S and take out the stalled fighter below.
Most fighters are typically only good at one thing whether it's turning, speed, or weapon systems, however, the P-36 is good at two, speeding and turning. This fighter has the ability to not only boom and zoom attack but can also turn fight competitively with most other aircraft. There are few aircraft (notably the A6M Zero fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy) that outshine while turning, however, when utilizing flaps and rudder while turning, the P-36 can manoeuvre into some tight turns and allow guns to get on target.
Even with all of its power and mobility, the P-36 is a relatively fragile aircraft. Without much armour on the aircraft, many of its critical systems are exposed and it will not take much even from lower calibre machine guns to cause fuel fires, oil leaks, and the engine shutdowns, not to mention a knocked-out pilot. Situational awareness is critical to potentially know not only where the targets are, but also the enemy aircraft which are manoeuvring into position and ready to pounce. The weakness of only having four machine guns will require the pilot to get in close (50 – 200 m) to make the most of their shots as anywhere past 150 m, bullet penetration drops off considerably.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Not controllable | Controllable Not auto controlled |
Not controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Combined | Not controllable 1 gear |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent climb rate
- Excellent dive speed
- Better-than-average turn rate
- Good energy retention for Boom & Zoom manoeuvres
- Two more machine guns (four total) for increased firepower over the P-36A
Cons:
- Weapons have a low damage output compared to contemporary aircraft
- No suspended armament options
- Lower-than-average roll rate at high speeds
- Very little armour protection
- Poor in a head-on, engine and pilot exposed
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 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
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Related development
- Analogues of other nations
External links
- Official data sheet - more details about the performance
- Technical Order 01-25CB-1 - Handbook of Operation and Flight Instructions for the Models P-26A and P-26C Pursuit Airplanes
References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Aviationhistory.com website. The Curtiss P-36 Hawk. The Aviation History Online Mueseum website, On-line 12 June 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- Baugher, Joe. Curtiss P-36A Curtiss P-36A. Joebauer.com website", On-line 12 June 1999. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- Militaryfactory.com website (2019) Curtiss P-36 Hawk (Hawk 75 / Mohawk). Militaryfactory.com website, On-line 10 May 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
| USA fighters | |
|---|---|
| P-26 Peashooter | P-26A-33 · P-26A-34 · P-26A-34 M2 · P-26B-35 |
| P-36 Hawk | P-36A · Rasmussen's P-36A · P-36C · ○P-36C · P-36G |
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| P-47 Thunderbolt | P-47D-22-RE · P-47D-25 · P-47D-28 · P-47M-1-RE · ⋠P-47M-1-RE · P-47N-15 |
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| P-63 Kingcobra | P-63A-5 · P-63A-10 · P-63C-5 · ␠Kingcobra |
| Prototypes | XP-55 |
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| BF2C | BF2C-1 |
| F3F | F3F-2 · Galer's F3F-2 |
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| F6F Hellcat | F6F-5 · F6F-5N |
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| Other countries | ▃Ki-43-II · ▃Ki-61-Ib · ▃A6M2 · ▃Bf 109 F-4 · ▃Fw 190 A-8 · ▃Spitfire LF Mk IXc |
