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Seversky A8V1 ( セバスキー陸上複座戦闘機)
The Seversky A8V1 is an American Seversky 2PA-B3 fighter that was purchased in 1938 by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. The Japanese bought 20 planes. The aircraft served from 1938 to 1942. The code name of the Allies is “Dick”.
History
When the 2nd Sino-Japanese War began in 1937, the Japanese Navy had a serious problem. It turned out that their own bombers had a much longer operational range than the fighters that were supposed to cover them, the Japanese had been designing short-range fighters even before the war, betting that they would be able to build an appropriate network of airports. The Japanese navy sought a solution to this problem in two ways. The first solution was to start working on improving the range of the Mitsubishi A5M (which eventually led to the development of the A6M), which was a very time-consuming process, and the second ad hoc solution was to purchase aircraft from abroad. To this end, Japanese military attachés in Germany and the USA began to look for companies that would be willing to sell aircraft to Japan. In Germany, the Heinkel plant was chosen, where the He-112 (A7He1) aircraft were bought, and in the United States, it was possible to reach an agreement with the Seversky plant. At that time, Seversky had two-seat versions of the P-35 for sale, which were not popular for export and were losing to the competition. In addition, at this point Seversky was in financial trouble, so the Japanese offer was accepted with joy. It was decided to sell 20 2PA-B3 aircraft with spare parts for the sum of $1,623,267. However, at this point, a serious problem arose - the War Department, which prohibited the sale of arms to countries that were at war. The Japanese solved this problem by buying planes through the intermediation of friendly Siam. In 1938, 2PA-B3 aircraft on a Babb & Co. ship were sent to Glendale, where the planes were packed onto the Hokkai Maru and sailed to Yokosuka. After reaching Japan, the planes were assembled and pre-tested under the supervision of engineers from the Seversky plant. In April 1938, one of the 2PA-B3 aircraft was transferred to the Yokosuka Kokutai experimental squadron, where tests were carried out before being put into service. During testing, it was discovered that the aircraft tends to fall into a high-speed autorotation barrel. However, the aircraft was accepted into service as the Seversky Two-Seat Land Fighter or A8V1. In June 1938, two A8V1s were delivered to No. 12 Kokutai based in Nanjing, where they served as reconnaissance and bomber guidance aircraft. Japanese pilots quickly liked the planes for their reliable radios and engines. Later, the number of A8V1 aircraft was increased to six, but they were quickly withdrawn to training units due to a change in the layout of the front. Three planes were sold to press companies to serve as communication planes. Two were sold to the Asashi Shimbun, where the former was given the name “潮風” (sea breeze) and the designation J-BAAN, and the latter was given the name “海風” (Sea wind) and the designation J-BAAQ. One of these planes survived until the end of the war and was destroyed only by the American occupation forces. In 1941, the Mainchi Shimbun newspaper purchased one A8V1 aircraft, also for communication purposes, but this aircraft was destroyed shortly after the purchase and 3 people were killed, due to the fact that the aircraft was not repainted after its purchase. The Japanese Navy used the A8V1 aircraft until 1942 as training aircraft, until they finally ran out of spare parts. Although the plane did not take part in the war in the Pacific, the Americans gave it the code name “Dick”.
Photos of the Seversky A8V1 aircraft
Construction description
The Seversky A8V1 aircraft is a two-seater all-metal monoplane fighter with an air-cooled engine, retractable landing gear and a low-wing configuration. The aircraft is equipped with an 850 hp Wright R-1820-G2 engine, which drove a triple propeller. The aircraft was equipped with two 7.62 mm Browning M1919 machine guns in the nose and one M1919 mobile machine gun at the rear of the cockpit for self-defense. The aircraft could carry up to 270 kg of bombs under the wings.
Technical sketches
Cockpit photo
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 7,75 m
- Wingspan: 10,9 m
- Height: 2,99 m
- Wing area: 20,45 m2
- Empty weight: 1900 kg
- Gross weight: 2920 kg
- Powerplant: 1 × Twelve-cylinder air-cooled Wright R-1820-G2 engine with 634 kW (850 hp)
- Propellers: Three-bladed metal propeller with variable pitch
Performance
- Maximum speed: 490 km/h
- Cruise Speed: 435 km/h
- Range: 1930 km
- Maximum Range: 4180 km
- Service ceiling: 9 150 m
- Climb Rate: 16 m/s
Armament
- Guns:
- 2 x 7.62mm Browning M1919 fixed machine guns in the nose
- 1 x 7.62mm Browning M1919 movable machine guns at the rear of the cockpit
- Bombs:
- Maximum payload 270 kg
Summary
The Seversky A8V1 is an interesting aircraft for Japan in War Thunder. It is a fighter with an interesting history and a non-standard design. In the game, it would be perfect either for the naval line before the Mitsubishi A5M4 aircraft, or as a premium aircraft. I encourage you to discuss in the comments and to share your own knowledge on this subject.
Finally, I apologize for the linguistic and logical errors because unfortunately English is not my main language and I had to use google translator.
Internet sources
セバスキー陸上複座戦闘機 - Wikipedia
Seversky A8V - Wikipedia
A8V1: American Import - Japan - War Thunder - Official Forum
A8V1 : Import
samolotypolskie.pl - Seversky EP-1 (EP-2)/2PA (2PA2)/P-35
Seversky P-35A
Seversky A8V1 Type-S (Dick) Info
Уголок неба ¦ Seversky 2PA
Aviation of Japan 日本の航空史: Kora A8V1 Navy Type S Two-seat Fighter in 1/72nd Scale
Seversky 2PA - fighter, fighter-bomber
Seversky A8V - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia
Book sources
Japońskie Samoloty Marynarki 1912-45 (Japanese naval aircraft 1912-45) page 93-94
Thank you for reading the suggestion, see you in the next one. Good luck pilots
