Bf109s and FW190s are the worst experience i've had in this game

Game Discussion Realistic Battle
522

I mostly find myself agreeing with what you’ve said about the merits of German aircraft and the ever decreasing skill of German players, though I’d say that this decrease in skill is present in other nations as well, and only so noticeable in German pilots because of their former prowess, especially compared to the Americans, who would struggle to get worse.

That said, I think you are viewing German aircraft with rose-tinted glasses. If they were everything that they should be, and were not facing planes dreamt of by Allied and Soviet propagandists, then your high opinions would be entirely justified. As is, the majority of German aircraft manage only by the mistakes of their enemies, and fall short against any competent enemy flying a similar BR plane in a comparable energy state.

Bf 109s are, generally, either overtiered or face mostly undertiered enemies. They still do well with energy, but either they climb worse than they use to, or the planes they fight climb a bit better, because I notice less disparity in climb rate than I used to. They just aren’t fully competitive, and I’d say that they range from below-average to thoroughly mediocre in actual performance, even though I like their playstyle.

There was a solid period of 2-3 years where I considered myself an Fw 190 main, and if the Fw 190s weren’t in their current state, and were not facing the issues common to German aircraft, then I would likely still consider myself one. As of now, their guns have been nerfed multiple times; they lack the boosters they historically had, to my knowledge; they overheat rapidly despite all historical evidence, objective and anecdotal, to the contrary; their elevator authority is artificially limited; and once again, against all evidence to the contrary, they now compress at high speeds quite a bit more than they used to.

Fw 190s have suffered the fate of Me 262s, and exist now as fodder for Allied and Soviet players. I do not believe they are intended to be playable in their current state, and in my view the deluge of nerfs have passed from the realm of incompetent indifference and into that of deliberate action.

I still mostly play German aircraft, still finding their playstyles more to my liking, and being overall more impressed by the engineering choices in their historical designs. I just don’t fly them with nearly the same enthusiasm or fun as I used to, and more often than not become frustrated after little time playing them; doubly so if I then switch to flying a P-51 afterwards and can feel the difference in performance.

5 Likes
523

This is one of the best reviews of the Bf-109 I’ve ever read, from the G6 variant up.

G6
The Bf 109 G-6 in War Thunder has an “old” type airframe (similar tail to the G-2), but its engine has MW-50 injection, so in terms of performance it is a 1944 aircraft. G-6/Late would be an acceptable designation.

G-14 (German)
The German Bf 109 G-14 in War Thunder has the external appearance of a regular G-14, but has a high altitude engine, so its performance is closer to the G-14/AS. The reason Gaijin did this is to differentiate the G-6 (which has late series performance) from the G-14 (which would normally be virtually identical to the late series G-6).
The G-14 in the game also has an Erla cockpit canopy, which improves the pilot’s visibility. This later became standard on the G-10 and K-4.
Another point that distinguishes the G-14 from the G-6 is the landing gear covers on the upper wings. It appears to use the same type that was later used on the G-10.

G10
The G-10 was a larger, redesigned version of the Gustav and was equipped with the new Daimler-Benz DB 605D engine.
The DB 605DB had a take-off power of approximately 1,850 hp, offering a slight increase in power over the older DB 605AM and 605ASM engines. The high-octane variant, the DB 605DC, had a power output of up to 2,000 hp. Both of these variants were used on the G-10 and K-4, and varied from one type to the other depending on the availability of fuel and MW-50 fluid. In War Thunder, the G-10 is modeled with the DB 605DB engine. The new engine also had an enlarged oil cooling assembly, which required minor changes to the forward fuselage, but these small bulges are only really noticeable if you know exactly what you are looking for.
Otherwise, the G-10 was largely similar to the G-6/Late and G-14 models. One notable modification was the increase in the height of the tail wheel strut, which slightly reduced the nose-up position of the aircraft on the ground. This made the aircraft easier to control on the ground, and also safer to land, as it was possible to perform a three-point landing without having to raise the nose as high.
However, since ground attacks were not a high priority for Germany at the end of the war, weapons options were limited compared to the G-6 and G-14. More than anything else, Germany needed fighters to counter the seemingly endless Allied bomber attacks, and the designs of their aircraft from the end of the war reflected this need.

K4
Other than that, the K-4 airframe was very similar to the G-10. The engines were also the same - either DB 605DB, or 605DC depending on fuel availability. In War Thunder, the aircraft is modeled with the DB 605DC engine which makes it the highest powered and fastest Bf 109 in the game. In raw numbers, the K-4 should also be the most maneuverable of these four late 109s, but this only applies to sustained turn performance with full engine power, which the K-4 has aplenty. In terms of handling characteristics, though, the G-6 and G-14 may have a slight edge since they have slightly lower empty weight. There are some dubious inconsistencies in the relative empty weights of the K-4 and G-10, though - with the same armament options, they should have nearly identical empty weights, but the K-4 is marked as quite a bit heavier in the official data sheets, so that might be making a difference there…
K-4 also changed the default motor cannon into a MK 108, though MG151/20 could also be used. Other armament options included MG151/20 or MK 108 gun pods on the wings.

In general, it can be said that they are demanding in terms of shooting skills (especially be careful with frontal attacks, the ballistic curve of the weapons is quite disadvantageous compared to other aircraft, it first rises above the horizontal axis of the aircraft and at the target it drops a little below the axis) and it is an energetic aircraft that ideally exchanges height for speed and also quickly loses speed in tight turns) so in dogfights near the ground it can often be defeated…

524

The G-6 and G-14 in WT are virtually identical.

What is that? Some AI summary?