- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #156
I want to suggest one of the most unique Bomber of the game which could make China look much more unique, the Curtiss BT-32 Condor II
the BT-32 is a plane designed by Curtiss. it was a military version of the T-32 freighter. China operated 6x T-32 and likely only 1x BT-32 from 1934. the plane was a bomber and personal transport for Chiang Kai-shek. in 1940 after negotiating with the US airforce, Kung Hsiang-hsi obtained the transfer of 7 additional AT-32s. 5 of which were usable. they were mostly operating for cargo missions between Hongkong and Nanxiong. at least 1 was captured by the Japanese in 1941 at Kai Tak Airport and other crashed into the sea on the 23th October 1941 near Kowloon.
while the plane was seldom used as a bomber, it remained a bomber and had performed a few bombing missions. Sadly the record of that mission seems to be unclear. it might not have been a success. regardless this plane is an interesting plane to have.
Armament
well, this plane is a bomber, and as such it carries bombs (no one will be surprised I am sure) in its case, the bombs are carried under the wings. 9 bombs of 100 kg each are been carried under each wing. which makes a total of 1900 kg of bombs. this is fairly decent for a low-rank bomber. because it is carried under the wings, it is possible to use it in a dive as well as while flying high.
for the defensive armament, a 2x turret with a single machine gun, likely the M1919, is placed on the forehead and the dorsal of the plane. it is possible for the plane to also have two waist turrets near the tail.
additionally, for the offensive (if you are reduced to it) he plane has a single machine-gun in the right side of the nose.
there is no known mix of bombs. it is likely the bomber could only carry the 100kg bombs.
Performance
the plane is powered by two Wright SGR-1820-F3 Cyclone 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines providing 740 hp each. that is rather weak but more than enough for an early bomber. the plane weighs 5192 kg empty and can get up to 7900 kg for take off. The biplane design makes it more agile than the usual bomber of his size which allows it to be used fairly well as a dive bomber for accurate hits. the plane has a top speed of 283 km/h at an unknown altitude which is a bit slow. the wheels are retractable for a lower drag in the air. the plane has a ceiling of 6700 m which is rather low. the climbing rate is 6.2 m/sec which is not normal for a bomber. the plane has a flap, but likely just for take-off and landing. the plane has a fairly good range of 2700 km empty or 550 km with bombs.
survivability
the plane is made of a mix of hardwood, plywood, and metal. usually, the metal is 3mm thick. it is used for the frame and spar. overall, the plane will not be particularly hard to destroy. the crew of 4 men is also fairly small. 2 of which are the defensive gunner. The fuel tank’s placement is unknown to me but I can assume it’s mainly in the belly.
sources
- Curtiss T-32 Condor II - Wikipedia
- Linea ALA: Curtiss Cóndor en la Aviación Naval Argentina, ejemplares únicos
- Curtiss BT-32 Condor - bomber, transport
- Fleet - Curtiss Condor
中国飞机全书 第一卷 Encyclopaedia of Chinese Aircraft(Vol.1) (魏钢 WEI GANG,陈应明 CHEN YING MING,张维 ZHANG WEI)
