Welcome to the main aviation prize of the upcoming season of the War Thunder Battle pass called “Tropical Storm”, the Strikemaster Mk.88 strike jet aircraft!
Strikemaster Mk.88: A Premium Strike Aircraft for Britain at Rank IV!
Features:
- Subsonic.
- Good payload!
- Weak guns.
The concept of the Strikemaster light attack jet came to fruition after the successful conversion of the Jet Provost trainer aircraft by some foreign operators into a strike aircraft, ready to use in combat against insurgents. The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) began to equip the aircraft with a more powerful engine, front-facing machine guns, and weapon mounts for export sales, so that even countries with modest economies could afford an inexpensive attack aircraft. The Mk.88 was specifically designed for the New Zealand Air Force — with the first aircraft of this modification being delivered in 1972, which remained in service until 1993. The Strikemaster set a world record as the most frequently ordered aircraft for export, and was in service with the air forces of 10 foreign countries!
Meet the Strikemaster Mk.88!
The grand prize of the new Battle pass season, “Tropical Storm” is the very unusual British Strikemaster Mk.88 attack jet, originally designed as an inexpensive attack aircraft. A vibe of the late 70’s, rainforests and VHS action movies, the Strikemaster Mk.88 is certainly a cool vehicle. Let’s dive into the details!
Interesting: The Strikemaster Mk.88 earned the unofficial nickname of “Blunty” in the New Zealand Air Force, due to its overall round appearance, especially the nose!
Arriving as a premium at rank IV in the British aviation tree, the Strikemaster Mk.88 is a compact and nimble subsonic attack aircraft which can carry a very respectable payload! This includes 4 x 500 lb bombs, including the American Mk.82 Snake Eye bombs, as well as SNEB, Mighty Mouse and Type 80 Sura rockets, plus machine gun pods. This is all quite impressive considering its size and predecessor aircraft, which was designed as a light trainer.
The main weakness however of the Strikemaster Mk.88 is its guns, which are only rifle-caliber machine guns. Due to the nature of these guns, the Strikemaster will be fairly weak to use against enemy aircraft and expectedly, will do little to no damage against ground vehicles, apart from the occasional open-top vehicle that you might encounter in battle.
Did you know? BAC produced several Strikemaster variants based on the needs of foreign operators. For example, Mk.80 for Saudi Arabia, Mk.81 for South Yemen, Mk.87 for Kenya and Mk.89 for Ecuador!
In other roles, the Strikemaster Mk.88 will be fun to use as overall, its flight characteristics combined with good ordnance options will make it a viable option in ground matches or bombing air bases. In addition to this, it’s a premium aircraft that will help you research the lower ranks made up of piston aircraft in the British aviation research tree!
In your matches: Pro-tips when using the Strikemaster Mk.88 by Jan (Copsi), Marketing Manager: “When you see a plane, pretend you are dead, or try to. You are *technically* able to shoot down enemies if they can’t see you, but realistically, you should probably focus on bombing tanks, those that can't run from you. You have a good loadout to come in low, avoid AA guns, and have a good platform to give good CAS support.”
The premium Strikemaster Mk.88 will be available in the upcoming Battle pass season “Tropical Storm” which starts on October 25th. Until then, keep an eye out for news surrounding this Battle pass, enjoy your matches and see you soon!
