New World War II-era Models for American Bomber Crew

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Reposting and revising from my original suggestion in old forums.

Many years ago, German, Russian, British, and Japanese pilots received their skin remodels in the game, and the American pilots have yet to get their overhaul. It was way overdue.

Therefore, I’d like to suggest applying skin remodels for American bomber pilots and gunners with accurate flight suit equipment in its retrospective time.

Below is what bomber crew models look like in-game:

 

Old USAF B-17 Pilot

 

It appears the model is low quality and is missing a bright gold life preserver and other equipment.

I suggest updating the old models almost exactly like what bomber aircrewmen wore in real life. Here are some historical photos of the American bomber crew during WW2.

 

Bomber Aircrewmen



 

Bomber Gunners

I propose to separate the bomber crew model into two models: one for officers who operated the bomber aircraft and one for technical sergeants who operated the gunner turrets. Add the missing bright gold life preservers to the models as well. I am going ahead and listing the most commonly issued pieces of flight gear for the American bomber aircrew below for your reference.

Flight Gear Specifications

  • Pilots and Officers:

    • Helmet
      • Crusher cap with headset
      • Leather AN-H-16 helmet
    • Goggles
      • Silver AN-6530 goggles
      • Black B-8 goggles
    • Flak vest (when protective vest module is researched and activated)

  • Gunners and Technical Sergeants:

    • Helmet
      • Drab brown shearling cap with headset
      • M3 flak helmet (when protective vest module is researched and activated)
    • Goggles
      • Silver AN-6530 goggles
      • Black B-8 goggles
    • Flak vest (when protective vest module is researched and activated)

  • All:

    • A-9 to A-14 Oxygen Masks
    • Flight Jacket
      • Thicker leather B-3 flight jacket
      • Warmer B-10 flight jacket
    • Leather Gloves
    • B-3 / B-4 Life Preservers
    • Parachute Pack
      • Chest Parachute Pack
      • Back Parachute Pack
    • A-3 or A-9 Flying Trousers
    • Leather Flight Boots

Conclusion

The current old bomber crew is dated and could receive some overhauls with added flight gear equipment to accurately represent both officers and technical sergeants in the European Theater of Operations and Mediterranean Theater of Operations during 1942-1945.

The Bottom line: the old American pilot model is showing its age with low quality and desperately needs to be overhauled in War Thunder. This would make the new American models more accurate and have high visual quality to stay relevant in the fast-growing game with every new patch.

Sources I have used to find pieces of flight gear.

WWII Uniforms - Flight Gear 1943

WWII Uniforms - Flight Gear 1944-1945 / F-2 Heated Suit

WWII Uniforms - Flight Gear 1944-1945 / F-3 Heated Suit

WWII Uniforms - Headgear / Oxygen Masks / Boots

WWII Uniforms - Flak Vests / Helmets / Misc

WWII Uniforms - Parachutes 1943-1945

 

This is an excellent video presentation of USAAF bomber crew’s historical flight gear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4L7BQrDrPQ

Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestion! 😃

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+1, good to improve game fidelity to history. Additionally, IIRC some US bombers have flak vests as an upgrade module, so I suggest they should have vest-less crew in the visual model until the upgrade is unlocked

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