Today we’re taking a look at the British Fulmar fighter! This classic aircraft will be joining the research tree in the Eagle’s Shadow major update.
Fulmar Mk.II: A Naval Fighter for Britain at Rank I |
At a glance:
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Introducing the Fulmar Mk.II
We’re happy to say hello to a new British fighter! Despite having a fair few aircraft in Rank I, Britain lacked a researchable monoplane fighter, until now. The Fulmar will bring some strong firepower and endurance to the lower ranks, let’s have a look!
Feature Spotlight: 8000 Rounds
The Fulmar Mk.II features the largest base ammo count of any fighter in the game, which gives it a fair amount of endurance in the air. Its eight machine guns do eat up this ammo supply quickly, but it allows you to engage a large number of aircraft and light ground targets in a single flyout. As long as you do not take too much damage, the Fulmar will be able to stay active in the air for the entire match, likely with more than enough ammo to spare.
Using the Fulmar Mk.II in battle
The formidable ammo count of the Fulmar gives it a lot of potential, but does increase its overall weight. The Fulmar can hold its own in a fight against early monoplanes, but is not remarkably agile. It has a slow roll and will struggle to shake many early aircraft off of its tail. Positioning is key here. Overall it is best to avoid being the first to engage, aim to gain some altitude and join the fight after the first engagements have begun. You can then use your impressive dive speed to catch enemies unaware, and blast them with a heap of machine gun fire.
The Fulmar is one of the most heavily armed aircraft at the rank, and only a small burst will be able to bring down many of the usually fragile fighters encountered around the Battle Rating. Pick your one-on-one fights well, the Fulmar has enough energy for a few good turns before its performance starts to stagger, so avoid sustained engagements where you can, and focus on supporting the team. The Fulmar also has some use in combined battles, able to equip one 500 lb or a couple of 250 lb bombs that drop separately. With an accurate hit these can easily disable light tanks, and the machine guns will make quick work of anything with exposed crew.
Developer comment: While War Thunder steadily moves in a modern direction, we can’t forget our roots! Classic Second World War additions like this are still a key part of the game, and we’re always happy to include them, even at this stage. To ensure that we have a steady supply of interesting historic vehicles to add we avoid adding too many all at once, but rest assured we know many of you want to see more vehicles like this one, and we have many of them in our longer term plans.
Vehicle History
When the Royal Navy regained control of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937, it was clear the fighter force it inherited was in desperate need of modernization, and work began on a new design. The Admiralty wanted this new fighter to have a second crew member who could handle navigation and observation, which would let the pilot focus more on their flight. With little time to develop a completely new aircraft, Fairey put forward an idea: adapt its P.4/34 light-bomber prototype into a carrier-based fighter. Their second prototype would become the test bed for the new aircraft, and was steadily refined for its new role, receiving the name Fulmar.
The resulting Fulmar Mk.I was a two-seat all-metal monoplane powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin VIII engine and armed with eight 7.7 mm machine guns. The first production fighters flew on January 4th 1940. Fairey later developed the Fulmar Mk.II, which introduced the more powerful 1,300 HP Merlin 30 engine. This improvement did increase the previously lacking rate of climb, but did not meaningfully improve the top speed overall.
The Fulmar entered service with No. 806 Naval Air Squadron in June 1940, sailing aboard HMS Illustrious. They protected convoys in Malta, fought over Crete, and even helped to shadow Bismarck. Its service later extended to East Africa, and while it was slower and less agile than most Axis aircraft, the Fulmar provided much needed endurance and reconnaissance to the fleet. It retired from the day-fighter role in 1942, but received a new lease of life in the night-fighter role. The Fulmar NF Mk.II flew from escort carriers with relative success, with their front-line service ending in February 1945.
That’s all for today! You can look forward to giving the Fulmar Mk.II a try in the next major update. Until then keep an eye out for more devblogs and we’ll see you soon!
Please note that vehicle specifications may be subject to revision and change before being added to the game.
