#fighters

The F2H-2 Banshee, is an early American jet fighter produced from 1947 to 1953 to be used by the US Navy. This aircraft was surprisingly good in real life and in game, and this article will cover how to use it in battle and a history on its real life usage, variants, and development.

Mörkö-Morane (“Bogeyman-Morane” or “Ghost-Morane”), also known by its official designation MSv, was a Finnish modification of the French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 and M.S.410 fighter aircraft serving in the Finnish Air Force during the Second World War. It was an attempt to improve the obsolete Morane fleet for use during the late war period and to help retain the capabilities of the Finnish Air Force. Designed and converted by Valtion Lentokonetehdas (“The State Aircraft Factory”), Mörkö-Morane was considered to be the second most capable fighter aircraft operated by the FAF during the Second World War, though it arrived too late to have any significant impact.

During the Second World War, the Finnish Air Force was very diverse when it came to equipment. This was the result of multiple procurement programs, donations from other nations, and the continuous process of pushing captured or even downed enemy aircraft back into service on the home front. In this article, we’ll go through all the aircraft classified as fighters that served in the Finnish Air Force during this period, how they ended up in Finnish service, and what their service was like.

The P-26 Peashooter is a family of American monoplane fighters developed by Boeing during the interwar period. In War Thunder, it serves as an introduction to the USA’s aviation tech tree, where it stands out for being a monoplane fighter, rather than a biplane, contrary to what other nations have at its tier. That being said, its flight performance and armament is not too dissimilar from those biplanes, albeit with some minor differences.

The Fokker D.XXI was a single-seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Dutch aviation company Fokker. It served primarily with the Netherlands’ Luchtvaartafdeeling (LVA) (Aviation Department) during the late 1930s, the Finnish Air Force in the Winter War and played a notable role during the opening phase of the Second World War. Although already obsolescent by the standards of 1940, the D.XXI demonstrated surprising effectiveness in combat, particularly in Dutch and Finnish service, where skilled pilots exploited its strengths to compensate for its technical shortcomings. This article focuses chiefly on the Dutch and Finnish variants and their operational history, while also addressing foreign use, like Danish variants.

As World War II reached its final stages, Japan faced increasing challenges in maintaining air superiority. The introduction of the Type 5 Fighter (Ki-100) marked an important attempt by the Imperial Japanese Army to adapt to wartime conditions by replacing unreliable liquid-cooled engines with more dependable air-cooled alternatives. Developed from the Type 3 Fighter (Ki-61 Hien), the Type 5 Fighter proved to be one of the most effective Japanese interceptors of the war.

The Supermarine Spitfire is one of the most famous propeller aircraft ever made, and easily one of the best of its time. Initially a high performance, short range interceptor, the Spitfire could be found fighting in every theatre of the World War II. In War Thunder, its high speeds, unparalleled maneuverability, and heavy armament make it a pleasure to fly and a force to be reckoned with. In this article, I will be talking about the two main types of Spitfires, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as tactics, how to fight common enemies, and how to use this plane in battles.

The Republic P-43 Lancer, introduced in 1940, was a transitional American fighter that bridged the gap between prewar designs and the more advanced aircraft of World War II. It offered respectable high-altitude performance for its time, along with decent armament, similar to its more popular successor, the P-47 Thunderbolt. The P-43 provided valuable experience in high-altitude operations and combat testing, with some serving in China under the American Volunteer Group and later the Chinese Air Force.

Back in WW2, the Finnish air force had to rely on foreign planes for the war such as the Fokker D.XXI, F2A, Bf 109Gs and Fiat G.50. Although using these planes was cheaper, the Defense Council decided to produce a local fighter in order to lessen reliance upon foreigners. This led to the VL Myrsky (translates as Storm), the first domestically produced Finnish fighter. Although the VL Myrsky had worse performance than other contemporary aircraft such as the Yak-9s and Bf 109Gs, the VL Myrsky still served in the Finnish air force with reconnaissance and ground attack missions. Added in the Summer Landing 2021 event, the VL Myrsky II remains a rare example of the few Finnish aircraft in the game.

The Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat, introduced in 1944, marked the peak of the Hellcat’s development, featuring a more powerful R-2800-10W engine, aerodynamic refinements, and the ability to carry bombs and rockets in addition to its six .50 caliber machine guns. Renowned for its durability and combat effectiveness, it secured Allied air superiority in the Pacific. Its night-fighter variant, the F6F-5N, carried the AN/APS-6 radar in a wing-mounted radome and paired four .50 caliber machine guns with two 20 mm cannons, giving U.S. forces the ability to hunt enemy aircraft at night and extending the Hellcat’s dominance into night operations.