Renard R.40

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Renard R.40

The Renard R.40 was a belgian fighter prototype and an unfinished variant of the Renard R.38, the only difference between the two being the cockpit, the cabin on the R.40 being pressurised and ejectable. The R.40 was developed as a high-altitude fighter at the request of the french air force.

Despite not being completed, the R.40 was being built and was partially constructed by the time the germans invaded Belgium (about 70% completed) and as such doesn’t qualify as a ‘paper’ vehicle (see pic below).

Picture of the R.40 being built

R.40-3.jpg.9bb7d5699c6669b0e03f9f8db56b0

Specifications

The R.40 being an almost identical copy of the R.38 apart from the cabin ejection system, its performances and specifications are the same.

Engine: Rolls-Royce Merlin II (1050 hp)
Wingspan: 11.64 m
Length: 8.8 m
Height: 2.9 m
Wing area: 20 m²
Empty weight: 1950 kg
Loaded weight: 2600 kg

Max speed: 545 km/h at 5000 m, 430 km/h at sea level
Armament: 4 × 7.7 mm FN-Browning machine guns or 4 × 13.2 mm FN-Browning machine guns or 4 × 20 mm cannons (most probably HS-404s)*
Payload: 8 × 10 kg bombs + 1 grenade launcher with 30 grenades
Climb rate: 17.5 m/s
Service ceiling: 12900 m
Range: 1350 km

*About the 20mm cannons preset, i would put them as a researchable modification, since the 20mm rounds are more powerful but only 240 rounds make for a tradeoff suitable for a modification, and i would keep the 7.7 mm preset for a separate, lower BR plane, let me know if you disagree though

Spoiler

(Source for the 4 × 20mm cannons, from “Renard R-36/37/38 & 40” by Nicolas Godfurnon)

Just like the other Renard fighters, the R.40 would have been very maneuverable, with a playstyle similar to the japanese fighters due to the lack of any armor on the plane!

The 8 × 10 kg bombs may seem useless (because they are, except with small AI targets) but they can provide a bit of a fun challenge, and if that’s too easy for you, well the plane included a grenade launcher behind the cockpit, containing 30 grenades, yes, anti-infantry grenades! If Gaijin chooses to implement this, you bet you could spend hours trying to slip a grenade into an open-top or a milk truck for the ultimate challenge!

Overall, this plane would be armed to the teeth with 4 hard-hitting 13.2 mm machine guns or 20 mm cannons, and be very maneuverable as it is light and unarmored like the nimblest japanese fighters!

Its only downsides would be the lack of armor and an unimpressive top speed, but you can’t have everything can you?

Blueprints and data

Spoiler

R40-02.jpg.7db74b7954ec288d1ac5b1eae2354286
(below are the R.38’s specs, but they are the same as the R.40’s. For the performance graph, please refer to the R.38’s values)


Sources

Nicolas Godfurnon, “Renard R-36/37/38 & 40”

2 Likes

All 3 armament presets should be available! +1