Warbirds Dogfights LINK Download
Neomi Schlensker
By Robert, Grumpy & Bollok
All made possible by Bcamel (creator of the program used to model the airplanes), and Idunno (who has shared a vast amount of aerodynamical knowledge).Please visit the Warbirds forum for performance details of the new flightmodels.Update FL2064---== UPDATE FL2064: SAMURAIS OF THE SKY ==---
--= Ki-61-I Hien (Flying Swallow), "Tony" series =--
Full rehaul of the Ki-61-Ib and Ki-61-Ic flightmodels. See further down for details.
--= Ki-84-Ia Hayate (Gale), "Frank" =--
Full rehaul of the Ki-84-Ia flightmodel. See further down for details.
--= N1K1-J Shiden, "George"=--
Time increased before the oil tank goes empty when leaking oil, now on par with other radial engines.
--= F6F-5 Hellcat =--
Flaps now also have a 20 setting. This to better represent the complex flaps mechanism of the Hellcat which had the flaps lower to varying angles, depending on the planes relative airspeed.
--= F4U Corsair series =--
Landing gear dragco has been reduced down to more logical numbers. The landing gear still causes much drag when extended and reduces acceleration in a dive, but no longer unrealistically so. This fix will make it easier to take off from carriers with heavier loads.
--= Global fighter hitpoints rehaul =--
When looking into the hitpoints setup for fighters in Warbirds it was quickly evident that they had been set quite arbitrary (note: understatement) for the various fighters by several different designers during the long life of this flight simulator. The lightly constructed A6M Zero could take the same amount of bullets as the huge P-47 Thunderbolt, a plane renown for it's ruggedness. Even fighters of the same series could have completely different hitpoint setups relative to each other. Firstly all hitmaps have been completely rebuilt based on blueprints and "x-ray" drawings of all the WW2 fighters in Warbirds. Now all hitpoints for all plane parts like the rudder, elevator, wings, engine, fuselage, stabilizers etc have been thoroughly recalculated based on the hitmap size of the parts, the materials the fighter was constructed of in real life, reported fragility/ruggedness, blueprints etc. A fighter with a radial engine will now be more durable to engine damage than an inline engine'd fighter. Laminated wooden parts are somewhat more durable to machinegun fire than metal/duraluminium ones. A larger plane will generally have more overall hitpoints than a smaller plane, although of course a larger plane is easier to hit due to it's size. A fuselage with an extra sturdy inner construction will be thougher than a really lightly constructed fuselage. Self sealing fuel tanks can now sustain more damage than non-self sealing fuel tanks etc etc. Hopefully this extensive work, that has been ongoing since before the summer of 2018, will now result in a more realistic relative damage modeling between the fighters than what Warbirds has ever seen.
--= New Skins =--
There are four beautiful new skins made by IArt7.
* F4U-1A: Lt. "Ike" Kepford and Lt. Tommy Blackburn skins
* F4U-4: Thomas Hudner skin
* Me 262: New default skin
---== THE KAWASAKI KI-61 HIEN (FLYING SWALLOW), "TONY" SERIES FULL REHAUL ==---
The Japanese Ki-61 made it's combat debut in early 1943 and was a leap in design compared to earlier Japanese fighters. It was nicknamed "Tony" by the Americans since it resembled an Italian plane, and it is indeed quite similar to the Macchi C.202 in appearance. This is partly due to the fact that the Ki-61 was also fielding a license built German DB 601Aa engine (Kawasaki Ha-40), the same engine as used by the Messerchmitt Bf 109E-4Aa and Macchi C.202. The problem is just that this engine was outdated by several years when the "Tony" arrived in 1943, and this fighter was as such quite underpowered compared to the US planes it was up against. Even worse the Japanese built their engine version lighter than the original, resulting in constant reliability problems. Being underpowered aside, the Ki-61 airframe is very well designed. This plane can outdive American fighters and also hold a tight turn radius. It is very maneuverable at slow speeds and is provided with armor plating behind the pilot, which wasn't very common in earlier Japanese fighters. Another good trait of the Flying Swallow is that it has quite good armament. In a fürball the "Tony" can do really well, but will have trouble against faster opponents of it's era if the enemy pilots keep their speed up.
--= Ki-61-Ib =--
Armed with 4x 12.7 mm machine guns and weighing 6504 lb at full load. It's top speed is 363 mph at 20000 ft and it can bring 2x 250 kg bombs as well as use drop tanks.
--= Ki-61-Ic =--
In all aspects similar to the earlier Ki-61 with the exception fielding 2x 20 mm cannons in the wings instead of 2x 12.7 mm machineguns. The Ki-61-Ic is only slightly heavier and can pack a good punch.
---== THE NAKAJIMA KI-84-IA HAYATE (GALE), "FRANK" FULL REHAUL ==---
Entering combat service in Aug 1944, the KI-84-Ia was a formidable fighter plane. Unfortunately for Japan their plane production was vastly inferior in numbers compared to the fighter production of the U.S.A., and the Ki-84 suffered constant maintanance problems in the harsh conditions of war, with especially the engine often experiencing reliability problems. When fully functional though, this fighter made a good account of itself even against the outnumbering odds the Japanese pilots faced. The top speed of the Ki-84 can match several of the fastest fighters of WW2, although the pilot needs to be careful of running the WEP for to long. It has good firepower with 2x 12.7 mm machineguns and 2x 20 mm cannons. The stall warning is good and the rudder and aileron controls are functional even at higher speeds. The elevator quickly gets heavy above 300 mph IAS though, requiring the pilot to use elevator trim to pull out of a high speed dive. The "Hayate" can also engage enemy bombers, having a shielded windscreen protecting the pilot against machinegun rounds. What makes the "Frank" a great fighter is foremost the combination of a high top speed coupled with it's maneuverability and great sustained turning ability. High speed turns aren't it's best trait due to thin wings and a low max AoA. In slower sustained turns though it can easily outturn American late war fighters, and the Ki-84 is fairly on par with a Spitfire XIVe in turn rate.
Overall this is a very well designed fighter that can competete with the cream of crop. Pilots facing the Ki-84 can engage it in high speed turns, but should often be vary of getting tangled in, depending on their own ride. For fast fighters that can't turn with the Ki-84 the key is patience and surviving when extending away from it, as the "Frank's" engine will quickly overheat when running at WEP, allowing one to eventually create distance. Fighters with great diving performance can also outdive the Ki-84. Against most late war opponents the Ki-84-Ia pilot should try to make it a climbing turn fight, but can also resort to boom n zoom energy tactics depending on the foe. All in all the Nakajima engineers produced a great fighter, but Japan had to few of the "Hayates" to make an impact on the outcome of the Pacific war.---== UPDATE FL2063: THE PEREGRINE FALCON AND THE DEMON ==---
--= Ki-43-II Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon), "Oscar" =--
Full rehaul of the Ki-43-II flightmodel. This was a very maneuverable and fast turning Japanese fighter, very similar to the A6M3 Zero. See further down for details.--= Ki-44-IIc Shôki (Demon), "Tojo" =--
Full rehaul of the Ki-44-IIc flightmodel. This fighter was different from other Japanese fighters in that it had small thin wings and was designed for speed rather than turning ability. See further down for details.--= Fully revised hitmaps =--
The hitmaps for nearly all fighters were earlier in an awful state. The hitmaps have lately been retweaked one by one. In this update though the hitmaps have now been carefully redone for all fighters that were still awaiting to be corrected. Affected fighters:Brewster Buffalos, Polikarpov I-16, Macchis, Fokker D.XXI, MiG-3, Hawker Typhoons, P-39 Airacobras, J2M's, Ki-43, ki-44, Ki-61's & Ki-84.--= Ki-27b "Nate" =--
A few minor corrections to the flightmodel.--= Bf 110's =--
Slight increase to manual trim allowance.--= Polikarpov I-16 "Ishak" =--
Landing gear brake efficiency reduced. The I-16 was reported to have quite poor brakes.--= MiG-3 =--
Fuel tank system retweaked (93.8 gal fuselage tanks, 2x 39.6 gal wing tanks).--= De Havilland Mosquitos =--
Wheel brakes tweaked so that the plane won't nose over as easily.--= British early fighters =--
The .303 cal machine guns have all been set to the primary trigger. This since these early British fighters only used a single button to fire all guns at once. This fix affects the:Hurricane I, Hurricane I *87 octane, Sea Hurricane Ib, Spitfire I, Spitfire I *87 octane and Spitfire II.--= Spitfire IXa =--
Now has the neg G's cutout performance like the Spitfire Vc. This since the Spitfire XIa also used the "Miss Shillings Orifice" quick fix for the carburetor, not the Bendix Stromberg carburetor like the Spitfire IXe. ---== THE NAKAJIMA KI-43-II HAYABUSA (PEREGRINE FALCON), "OSCAR" FULL REHAUL ==---
The Ki-43-II was a Japanese land based fighter designed for superior maneuverability. It was light and had a good wingloading, fielding the Nakajima Ha-115-II radial engine capable of 1174 hp at 2800 m (9200 ft). This engine is quite similar to the Sakae 21 engine of the A6M3 "Zero", and in fact the Ki-43-II is very similar to the A6M3 in both speed, climb and turning performance. It has a low top speed for it's era, but has an excellent turning performance. It's dive performance is very poor so the Hayabusa will have a hard time catching Allied fighters diving out. The armament is also quite weak with only 2x 12.7 mm machine guns in the nose. That being said though at slow speeds it's an excellent fighter that can easily outmaneuver and out turn fighters of the same era, and it was quite liked by the Japanese army pilots. It's butterfly low drag flaps are also great for turn fighting.---== THE NAKAJIMA KI-44-IIC SHÔKI (DEMON), "TOJO" FULL REHAUL ==---
The Shôki was very different from traditional Japanese fighter design in that it was built for speed, not turning performance. It's a large nosed fighter with small and very thin wings, fielding the strong Nakajma Ha-103 radial engine capable of nearly 1600 hp at 2100 m (7000 ft). It could match a P-38G in top speed up to 5200 m (17000 ft). The most impressive performance of this fighter is it's climb rate though, outmatching most fighters of WW2. It's armament is decent with 4x 12.7 mm machine guns and the short wingspan gives it a good roll rate. In contrast to the Ki-43, the Ki-44 is a very good diver and can sustain high speeds. It has no armored windscreen so machine gun fire from bombers can be dangerous. The thin small wings of the Ki-44 hampers it's turn radius at high speeds, but it's relatively light weight and strong engine still ensures that this bird is a decent turn fighter at slower speeds, especially in a spiral climbing turn. The low drag butterfly flaps also help improve it's turning performance. Overall the Ki-44-IIc Shôki is a quite competitive fighter, and had the Japanese Army pilots been better trained then it would have been a much more dangerous opponent for the U.S. pilots.---== UPDATE FL2062 TURNING ON A DIME ==---
--= Nakajima Ki-27b Nate=--
The Ki-27b has been fully remodeled. While lacking top speed and firepower, it is the best turning ww2 monoplane in Warbirds. See further down for details.--= Propeller wash =--
The Propwash of all remodeled flightmodels has been retweaked. The wind washing over control surfaces, as a result of the propeller spinning, has now been set on a basis of the engine's horsepower. Earlier all planes just used a few standard numbers for propwash. Hopefully the propwash should now be more accurate for each individual flightmodel. A high propwash from a strong engine means more reactive controls at especially lower speeds (For the elevator and rudder) while a low propwash results in less reactive controls. For a majority of the airplanes this change will be quite subtle and hardly noticable, while fighters with a very strongweak engine will see a slighty more notable change in reactiveness. The P-38's and Bf 110's will be most notable, and will now be more stable, as with better understanding of the propwash code Bollok found out that these twin engine fighters had been given a twice as high propwash value as they should have.--= De Havilland Mosquito series =--
The Mosquitos were previously modeled with a stall speed based on Power OFF values. They have now been remodeled based on Power ON values like the other flightmodels. This results in a 14-15 mph lower stall speed. As such they will now be significantly more agile and able to keep a tighter turning radius.---== THE NAKAJIMA KI-27B NATE FULL REHAUL ==---
The Ki-27 is a Japanese fighter that entered service a few years prior to ww2. It was used effectively against early Polikarpov i-16 fighters as it was a easily able to outturn them, and had a similar top speed until the i-16's got stronger engines. The Ki-27b is an extremely light monoplane fighter at 3523 lb with 200 square feet wings. As a comparison the A6M21 Zero weighs 5555 lb. The Nate has a weak engine though producing only a max power of 780 hp at 11480 ft. The drawbacks of this fighter is it's low top speed, fragile construction, non self sealing fuel tanks, it has no pilot armor and is very underarmed, fielding only two 7.7 mm machine guns in the nose. This Nakajima fighter's dive speed performance is also quite poor. The positive traits on the other hand is it's great maneuverability and outstanding turning perfomance, being able to out turn any competition in Warbirds. Owing to the Ki-27b's low weight it also holds an impressive climb rate for it's era.The best way to fight the Ki-27b is by booming n zooming, and for fighters with cannons to even go HO against it. Just remember to veer off before you collide! Don't be a dweeb! Defensively diving out is also a good option, but it should be fairly easy to outrun the Nate if you keep a good situational awareness. As the Nakajima pilot you want to make it a close quarter turn fight. Enemy pilots who try to turn fight with you will be in for a rude awakening, especially those in a Zero, P-36C or Hurricane who put to much trust in their fighter's turning performance. The Ki-27b's good climb rate means that spiral climbing can also be used as an effective combat tactic. Just be aware that you might need to put a steady stream of bullets into an enemy plane before it goes down.---== UPDATE FL2061: ZERSTÖRERS ==---
--= Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstörer series =--
Full rehaul of the Bf 110C-4 and Bf 110G-2. See further down for details.--= Bf 109K-4's =--
The MW50 WEP has been reduced from 1.98 ata to 1.80 ata. This since the absolute majority of Bf 109K-4's used B4 fuel and not C3 fuel during their service. As such both Bf 109K-4's have had their engine setup rebuilt from the DB 605DC to the DB 605DB engine. This results in 10 mph loss at Bst2, but the K-4's gain 5 mph at lower altiudes, at Bst1, due to better low alt power output when using manifold pressures at 1.45 ata and lower with the DB 605DB engine.--= Lavochkin series =--
* Liftco increased for a lower stall speed for all La5's and La7's. From 102 to 95 mph IAS at 7015 lb.
* Wing efficiency somewhat reduced to better simulate the effects of leading edge slats.
* Flaps liftco adjusted, slightly lowered at smaller angles.
* Small dragco increase for the La7's. From 413 to 411 mph top speed at 20 000 ft.
* Stall behaviour slightly harsher than before. All in all though the Lavochkins will turn a bit better now.
--= Hitmap fixes =--
Reworked hitmaps for the Focke Wulfs, Mustangs, Zeros, Hawks, Macchis, Lavochkins, Wildcats and Hellcat.--= P-40F =--
Cockpit fix, the cockpit of the P-40F should be rendered at it's correct location with this update.---== THE BF 110 ZERSTÖRER SERIES FULL REHAUL ==---
The Messerschmitt Bf 110 was designed as a twin engine long range fighter for escort missions, and as a fighter-bomber. In the invasions of Poland and France this Messerschmitt saw good success, but did not fare as well in it's fighter role in the Battle of Britain. The British fighters were simply faster and more agile. This plane can be very effective as a bomber-killer or fighter-bomber though, packing a heavy punch and able to carry payloads of 2x1000 kg bombs. Against Bf 110's, a bomber is in big trouble without escort. It is quite hard to dogfight nimbler opponents 1v1 with the Zerstörers, but they are not terrible at turning and if working in wingpairs the Bf 110's can actually be lethal by using Thach weave tactics, letting their big guns speak. Smart Bf 110 pilots would do well to enter the combat area at a higher altitude than their opponents, allowing them to pounce on bombers or avoid bad match-ups. If left unmolested, the Zerstörers can also be very effective at dive bombing and strafing fields.--= Bf 110C-4 =--
The Bf 110C-4 is equipped with two Daimler-Benz DB 601B engines, which are the similar to the engines used by the Bf 109E-3, but with a different propgear ratio. It is armed with four 7.92 mm MG's and two 20 mm cannons. The Bf 110C-4 is not as nimble as the majority of early era fighters but is decently fast unless matched against Bf 109's or Spitfires. This Messerschmitt is best used as a bomber-killer or for jabo missions, but can be effective if boom n zooming through fürballs or going head on. The single rear-facing 7.92 mm MG can bring down an enemy if lucky, but shouldn't be counted on as an adequate defence.--= Bf 110G-2 =--
The Bf 110G-2 packs a very heavy punch with two 30 mm cannons and two 20 mm cannons, and can be even better armed with two extra 20 mm cannons in a gunpod, air-to-air rockets or even a devastating 3.7 cm BK cannon. The engines are of the DB 605B model, with the same power output as the DB 605A engine used by the Bf 109G-6. The Bf 110G-2 is best used for killing bombers and for jabo missions, but enemy fighters need to beware as this Zerstörer will often kill with a single burst. It has a somewhat upgraded defensive armament with a double barreled 7.92 mm MG, the MG 81Z, but still shouldn't rely on this gun for defence. Contemporary fighters will usually have a higher top speed than this Messerchmitt so always keep a good situational awareness, and while smaller fighters will out turn the Bf 110G-2, it can actually turn inside many of the heavier late war fighters. ---== UPDATE FL2060: ADLERTAG ==-----= Bf 109 series =--
After months of remodeling and getting this series as close to historical performance as possible, we are happy to finally announce the full rehaul of the whole Messerchmitt series. See further down for details.--= Yakovlevs =--
Slight roll rate improvement for the Yak-9D, Yak-3 and Yak-9U.--= Lavochkins =--
Slight wing efficiency reduction fix due to data found that leading edge slats increases induced drag when extended. This fix affects all the La5's and La7's.--= Focke Wulfs =--
The Fw 190A-8, F-8 and D-9 have had their Bst2 renamed from "MW50 injection" to "MW50 injektion" with correct German spelling.--= Macchis =--
The C.202's and C.205 have had minor fixes in dragco and engine setup from better data found while remodeling the Bf 109 series.--== THE BF 109 MESSERSCHMITT SERIES FULL REHAUL ==--
There were no other aces in ww2 with as many kills as the German Bf 109 pilots