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About this aircraft and its interest in War Thunder
This suggestion focuses on the last prototype fully built and tested of the serie, the Arsenal VG.39. Benefiting from a more powerful engine, and a better armament, it is in my opinion the most interesting variant of the VG.33 and an absolute must to fill the gap that exists in the French fighter line between 3.7 and 5.0.
Arsenal VG30 serie, an easy to produce and efficient fighter
In 1936, the Spanish civil war unveiled many modern aircrafts and weapons. The French airforce, realising it couldn’t keep up anymore with the new fighters used by Germany, decided launch a new program aimed at modernising its own air fleet.The Arsenal VG.30 serie stems from that necessity, and was created by two engineers, Marius Vernisse and Jean Galtier (hence the acronym VG). The idea behind the Arsenal VG.30 was that it would be built using mostly wood and easy to manufacture parts, so that any woodworker or craftman would be able to produce the aircraft. As such, if France major industrial regions were invaded and occupied by the enemy, like it was the case during WW1, France would still be able to mass produce aircrafts easily. The VG30 had numerous prototypes, 31,32,34,35… or projects, like the 37 and 38. The mass produced version was the Arsenal VG 33 that we have in-game, which used a Hispano-Suiza HS.12-Y31 engine.
Arsenal VG39, more power, more machineguns.
The VG39 was the ultimate variant of the VG30 serie fully built and tested. It was quite different from the previous versions. While the wings kept their overall shape, the internal structure was modified to fit 6 machineguns instead of 4, and the nose lengthened to house a 1200HP Hispano-Suiza HS.12Z engine. It was built late 1939 and first flew on may 3rd, 1940. The war, and catastrophic turn of the Battle of France forced the Arsenal company to ship the aircraft in southern France to save it. Its production version, the VG.39bis, was supposed to house a 1600HP, HS.12Z-17,but it was never built, as the Armistice condemned the plane and its development.
General Characteristics :
Empty Weight: 2 210 kg
Take-off Weight: 3 000 kg
Wingspan: 10,80 m
Length: 8,81 m
Height: 3,32 m
Wing Area: 14,00 m2
Wing Loading: 214,286 kg/m2
Engine: Hispano-Suiza 12Z (1200HP)
Fuel Tank Capacity: 440 l
Maximum Speed: 625 km/h at 5 700 m
Cruise Speed: 586 km/h
Climb Rate: 17,02 m/s (5000m in 4m55s)
Service Ceiling: 11 000 m
Armament : 6 x 7.5mm MAC 34-39 Mgs in the wings (500 RPG), 1 x 20mm HS-404 canon firing through the propeller hub (60 rounds)
PHOTOS AND IMAGES
Plans and artist depiction :
Spoiler
VG 39 is the third from the top. It’s compared to the VG 33 and the VG 36 variants. Below is a summary of all the VG 30 variants.
Comparison between the VG.36 prototype and the VG.39
PHOTOS :
Spoiler
Close up of the HS 12Z engine.
SOURCES :
Spoiler
- Cuny, Raymond 1986a : CUNY Jean, DANEL, Raymond, Les Arsenal VG 30 à VG 70 (1), Le Fana de l’aviation , no 197, avril 1986, p. 17
- Cuny, Raymond 1986b : CUNY Jean, DANEL, Raymond, Les Arsenal VG 30 à VG 70 (2), Le Fana de l’aviation , no 198, mai 1986, p. 20
- Cuny, Raymond 1986c : CUNY Jean, DANEL, Raymond, Les Arsenal VG 30 à VG 70 (3), Le Fana de l’aviation , no 199, juin 1986, p. 20
- Cuny, Raymond 1986c : CUNY Jean, DANEL, Raymond, Les Arsenal VG 30 à VG 70 (4), Le Fana de l’aviation , no 200, juillet 1986, p. 45
https://www.aviafrance.com/arsenal-vg-39-aviation-france-4587.htm
Arsenal VG 33,36,39...... - Maquettes 17 (Website where i found the scans of the FANA DE L’AVIATION magazines mentioned above)