- Yes
- No
Hello again! and welcome to my third suggestion for the Grumman Martlet (aka F4F Wildcat) in UK service, today I bring you a rather forgotten about version in the service of the RAF, the Martel Mk.III, I feel this would fit well as a Premium variation of the Martlet since the Mk.IV is locked behind the Marketplace.
History
Spoiler
Now Technically there are two types of Mk.III, The Mk.III(A) and III(B) however, I will mainly be focusing on the Mk.III(B) variants as the III(A) were a name for the few Fixed wing Mk.IIs following the successful delivery of the full Mk.II order. the III(B) however is a unique aircraft, and the story starts in a rather peculiar place, Greece.
Early in 1940, Greece had realised war was on its doorstep, with the Axis powers looking to expand their influence in both the Balkans and Mediterranean. This lead them to put out an urgent order for a slightly downrated version of the F4F-3, known as the F4F-3A. The F4F-3A was modified with the slightly less powerful Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90 engine compared to the F4F-3, this was due to a significant shortage in the two stage superchargers in the F4F-3s production, and the F4F-3As cheaper and quicker built times made it ideal for Greece.
The Order was signed on the 8th of May 1940, with the US allowing for the diversion of the first 30 F4F-3As to fulfill greeces order, slightly modified to remove the Folding wings which the Greeks did not need since they lacked any aircraft carriers at the time. The War soon followed, with the Italians invading from Albania in October that year, and although the Greeks held their own, the the aircraft were only in transit by the time the joint British and Greek forces capitulated in April 1941, and as the majority of these aircraft were already in the Mediterranean, they were delivered to 805 and 806 Naval Air Squadrons, whom were disembarked in the in the Egyptian desert.
Here they provided Land based air support to British and Commonwealth forces, They were used in both the Air defence and Ground attack roles, in which their 4 12.7mm M2 machine guns were more than capable of taking on most Axis aircraft at the time, as well as being able to do significant damage to ground targets, including armoured vehicles like the German Panzer Is,IIs and IIIs as well as the Italian M13/40 and L3 tanks. The Martlets life here was short however, with 806 NAS requipping with Hurricanes in February 1942, and 805 NAS disbanded at the Start of 1943.
Images
Spoiler
A Martlet Mk.III operating from a landing strip deep in the african bush
A Martlet Mk.III of 805 NAS, still with its US serial
A Pilot Climbing in to his Martlet Mk.III
Several Mk.IIIs lined up in Early 1942
Specs/Armament
Spoiler
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 28 ft 9 in (8.76 m)
- Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
- Height: 10 ft 0 in (3.61 m)
- Wing area: 260 sq ft (24 m2)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 23015; tip: NACA 23009
- Empty weight: 4,907 lb (2,226 kg)
- Gross weight: 7,423 lb (3,367 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Pratt and Witney R-1830-90 radial engine, 1,200 hp (890 kW)
- Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 331 mph (533 km/h, 288 kn)
- Range: 845 mi (1,360 km, 734 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 39,500 ft (12,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,303 ft/min (11.70 m/s)
- Wing loading: 28.5 lb/sq ft (139 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.282 kW/kg (0.172 hp/lb)
Armament
Guns
- 4 x 12.7mm Machine guns (240 Rounds per gun)
Place in game
Spoiler
I feel this would likely sit best as either a Premium or Battlepass Vehicle, mainly due to the fact that it offers very little over Martlet Mk.II and would not be enough to Justify a BR change, It would also sit well as a premium as the Only other Premium Martlet is currently locked behind the Gaijin Market which Console players cannot access, this coming as a premium would give players a Premium Martlet for all to play.
In Terms of BR it would most likely sit at 2.7, the same as the F4F-3 currently in game, and where the Martlet Mk.II would most likely go, due to that fact that compared to these two it offers very little advantages or disadvantages meaning it would perform almost identical to the two aircraft.
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