I’m looking for the best plane from every rank in the Israeli Tech Tree. From tier 1 to tier 8. Any recommendations will be gladly appreciated in the comments below!
What it really comes down to is what your preferred play style, whether boom and zoom, energy fighting ect. To expand on that previous point what I like and do well in, may not work as well for you. I will provide you the best planes in the Chinese tech tree in my opinion, also this will be relevant to RB and will exclude premiums.
Rank I:
Cw-21
Br: 2.7
What a plane, an amazing climber, turn fighter and holds it is quite fast, and is decently quick. A good set of weapons 2 50 cal and 2 30 cal machine guns good enough to shred the competition though maintain trigger discipline as they will run out quickly otherwise. This plane is a little rocket that does it all, the only down sides are the lack of armour therefore survivability, and a bomb or rocket loadout. Due to this I would recommend it sticks to ARB. Does suffer partially in uptiers. Overall 9/10
Rank II
Ki-6-1 Otsu
Br: 3.7
A jack of all trades is a master of none. This phrase sums up the Ki-61, so why am I recommending it? Because it is often better than a master of one. This is a plane that can do it all but won’t excel at one thing in particular. You can turn decently well but you won’t beat a zero. You have a good climb, but may get beaten by Bf-109 players. A great energy retention but might be outmatched by the P-51 series. A good amount of ammo, however unreliable damage from the 12.7 Ho-103 machine guns. However this plane has bomb loadouts. I personally run the 250kg x2 as you can only carry 2 bombs may as well take the bigger ones. This plane is great for both ARB and GRB so go crazy just remember you may get outclassed in certain fights. Overall 7/10 ARB 8/10 GRB.
Rank III
P-47D-30
Br: 5.0
A CAS monster to be sure, with a competent pilot at the helm you guarantied to send a few tank players to the hangar. While not as capable in ARB as GRB, its GRB performance pushes it to the top in my book. With 2 1000lb bombs, a 500lb and some hvar rockets you are destined to cause a headache for tank players. An added bonus of 8 12.7mm 50 cals will shred any open top and light tanks from above and even the sides in specific cases. The 50 cals are also amazing against enemy air combatants, when running tracer belts you will light up planes with ease and can watch em burn. However these abilities come at a cost, maneuverability especially at low speeds and a lower end climb rate. This limits what you can really do in ARB as you are almost exclusively forced to fight as a boom and zoomer which can be a pain as your climb rate can let you down and other planes of the enemy will more than likely reach a higher altitude before you. Also in a scenario where a head on is the only option the engine/ the plane in general is a massive target and won’t be that difficult to hit and knock out the engine and perhaps get set on fire, however the mount of fire you can send an enemies way may dissuade them from taking this approach in the fist place. Overall 4/10 ARB 10/10 GRB.
Rank IV
Tu-2s-44
Br: 5.3
Our first bomber on the list. I had a hard time pick in rank IV, the P-51 did not impress me, the La-9 while a decent fighter was more of a buddy up with a friend and bait for them. That left the Tu-2 as the one to pick as the other planes not mentioned hardly account for “Best”. A decently fast aircraft you will have little problems getting to the battlefield or that base you want to bomb. What makes this plane special is it’s offensive armament. It consists of a pair of ShVAK 220 mm cannons these enable it to act as a heave fighter or even a bomber hunter. Its defensive guns are a trio of 12.7 heavy machine guns. All three point to the rear with 2 looking up and one looking down. It is a decent pick for GRB as CAS as it can carry up to 3 1000KG bombs however the 500KG will do just fine. It is a shame it lost its 4th 500 kg bomb as that was there when I spaded the bomber. It also has access to the custom load out creator. It is a perfect fit for the 5.7 GRB lineup that China has and may be in competition with the P-47 for the CAS Spot. Overall 7/10ARB 8/10GRB.
Rank V
F-86F-30
BR: 8.7
Welcome to Jets, or have you been here before? This was a hard choice between the J-2 (mig 15) and F-86. However I picked the F-86 because its usage in GRB as well as the roll rate or lack there of in regards to the J-2. The F-86 is a fantastic fit in the 8.7 GRB line up and has x2 1000LB bombs. It has decent top speed and in a down tier almost nothing can run successfully, It has a decent turn but is beaten out by the Mig-15 and the roll rate is just incredible, while not a guarantee rolling wildly or in a defensive manner while an enemy is chasing you can make it incredibly hard to get hit. However its offensive armament 6 12.7 mm 50 cals are one of the weakest weapons around this Br, though it can be said it is much easier to aim than 37mm and 2 23mm on the J-2 . The plane is susceptible to wing overload crashes so do not tun too hard at higher speeds. Overall ARB 8/10 GRB 6/10
Rank VI
J-6A
Br: 9.3
Rank 6 has a massive issue with all but one of it’s planes. Flares or countermeasures should I say, these 9.3 and 9.0 vehicles are very vulnerable to uptiers and at 10.0-10.3 there is abundance of 20g+ missiles such as R-60, Aim9G/J and Magic 1. As well as the first taste of all aspect missiles like the R-60m and Aim-9L on the Su-25 and A-10 vehicles respectively. Making the best out of this situation is the J-6A which happens to be a license copy of the Mig-19. The J-6 has 2 afterburning engines making a hard task of intercepting it in a sub-sonic jet, and allows you to catch up quickly in a reverse scenario. It also has amazing energy retention meaning using a vehicle maneuver may earn you a kill, as well as incredibly useful airbrakes that can be used to force an over shoot. As an added bonus it can also carry 2 PL-2 Missiles which while only 10 G can kill in certain situations or used to scare an enemy in to bleeding speed. The J-6A has one major flaw and that is it compresses heavily and especially in a dice you may have trouble pulling out and saving yourself. Over all ARB 8.5/10 GRB 2/10
Rank VII
J-7E
BR:11.0
The former king of top tier still packs a punch. A modified Chinese Mig 21 with superb flight characteristics, meaning you can out dogfight any plane at your BR and keep competitive albeit at a disadvantage against 12.0 aircraft such as MIg-29, F-16, F-14. Four PL-5B missiles while great and slightly flare resistant are only rear aspect limiting your options in a head on or a merge. The J-7E contains only one 30mm which is sided to right making it some what difficult to aim as well as only 60 rounds of ammo. Due to its Double Delta Design it negates or limits some of the downsides of the Mig-21 series, for example the energy retention is a step above the other Mig-21 aircraft. Overall ARB 9.5/10
GRB 5/10
Rank VIII
F-16A MLU
Br: 12.0
Need I say more. Its peak air design a good Air to Air load out of 2 Aim-7F and Aim9L as well as a competent radar. As well as a Decent Ground load out which consists of dumb bombs, both normal and drag bombs, and AGM 65B Mavericks. What more to say you want it, and you need it. Overall ARB 9/10 GRB 8.5/10.
I agree with the CW21 for Rank I, but I’d put the Ki-43 as the best plane of Rank II. A wonderfully nimble turnfighter!
CW21
Ki44hei / Ki61otsu
P47D30
P51K / P38L
F30 / Mig9L / J2
F100A / J7II
F5E / F5A
F16
I-16 or Chaika,
P-43, I-16 Type 17,
P-51 & La-9,
F-86 Mig-9L & F-84G,
F-100A Q-5A & J-7II,
F-5E J-7E & J-8B,
J8F & F16A.
Fair point the Ki-43 is exceptional with a great turn and a good speed for 3.0, however it’s turn is arguably worse than spitfires, and zeros at or around its br, and while the Ki-43-III otsu at 4.0 in Japan holds a special place in my heart, this variant in the Chinese tree has the Ho-103 machine guns that contain the aforementioned damage issues as the Ki-61 part of my answer. The silver lining is it at a lower br so it may be performing better at lower br matches. There is also the very weird rudder on the Ki-43 to take into account, as it makes it difficult to maintain your position. However what really decided it for me was the bombs on the Ki-61 or lack thereof in regards to the Ki-43. I suppose it really comes down to personal preference and your thoughts on this matter are as valid as mine. BTW sorry for the grammar and spelling mistakes on original post I wrote it a 1am at night.