V-156-F

This page is about the French dive bomber V-156-F. For the British version, see V-156-B1.

V-156-F

Br.693AB2

360://https://old-wiki.warthunder.com/images/3/37/Cockpit_v_156_f.jpg

V-156-F

Br.693AB2

France

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.0	1.3

Class:

Bomber

Dive bomber

Naval aircraft

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

Description

The SB2U-2 was developed in the early 1930s and was sold to the French as the V-156-F in February 1939. Some minor changes were made during reassembly in France, including French radios and 7.5 mm machine guns, and the installation of dive brakes which had originally been rejected during American testing. These aircraft were deployed on the French aircraft carrier Béarn; however, at the outbreak of the war, the carrier was deemed too slow for service, and both squadrons of V-156-F aircraft were transferred to land-based duty. The V-156-F was used continually until the French Armistice.

Introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance", the V-156-F is a fairly slow but sturdy aircraft. Built as a dive-bomber, it excels at diving down above a target to release its bombs. The V-156-F is one of the few early aircraft in War Thunder which features dive brakes (key-bound to 'H' by default) to aid in slowing down during a dive, thereby helping prevent the ripping off of the wings in RB and SB. The V-156-F differs from its American siblings (SB2U-2/-3) in that it has additional air brakes mounted on the upper and lower surfaces of the wings which extend 90 degrees to the wing when utilized. Wing-mounted machine guns allow for this aircraft to strafe softer ground or water targets in addition to its rather small payload (up to 200 kg total). The rear-facing dorsal gunner helps to ward off enemy attackers, however it is not a game changer for this aircraft.

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Max speed

at 4 084 m360 km/h

Turn time22 s

Max altitude6 800 m

EnginePratt & Whitney R-1535-2

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight4 t

Similar to its American and British counterparts, the V-156-F suffers from rather abysmal flight characteristics. It has a mediocre top speed of ~300 km/h at sea level stock, and slightly higher once spaded. However, the aircraft's main performance problem is its lack of engine power. The poor engine power output results in a terrible climb rate and almost-nonexistent acceleration. This means that the plane is realistically limited to terrain-hugging bombing runs as the plane will take half the match to climb to bombing altitude. As well, the engine overheats quite quickly when applying WEP meaning that the maximum throttle setting should not be used too often.

The aircraft's manoeuvring characteristics are also lacking, but have a few quirks. The plane has a poor turn rate at low speeds (<250 km/h) but can turn very quickly when travelling at higher speeds - in fact, it may be able to out-turn some fighters when entering the turn at 300-350 km/h. However, it cannot continuously turn at that rate, as its poor energy retention results in it bleeding speed quite quickly. The plane's flight controls are quite responsive, but will suffer from significant buffeting and lock-up past 550 km/h.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,084 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	343	328	6800	23.2	24.5	4.5	4.5	300
Upgraded	380	360		20.9	22.0	8.2	6.2

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	✓	✓	✓

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
740	440	N/A	N/A	700	~15	~7

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 300	< 350	< 320	> 299

Survivability and armour

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural740 km/h

Gear440 km/h

• 3 mm steel boxes behind the gunner
• Self-sealing fuel tank located behind the pilot

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB109 → 147

RB139 → 187

SB175 → 236

Total cost of modifications2 970

905

Talisman cost190

Crew training200

Experts1 000

Aces20

Research Aces96 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

20 / 30 / 50 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 200 Cost: 60 55 Radiator Research: 200 Cost: 60 55 Airframe Research: 165 Cost: 50 45 Compressor Research: 165 Cost: 50 45 Wings repair Research: 250 Cost: 75 70 Engine Research: 250 Cost: 75 70 Cover Research: 240 Cost: 75 65 Engine injection Research: 240 Cost: 75 65	EFS Research: 240 Cost: 75 65	7_5mm_belt_pack Research: 200 Cost: 60 55 mac39_new_gun Research: 165 Cost: 50 45 100 GPs Research: 165 Cost: 50 45 7_5mm_turret_belt_pack Research: 250 Cost: 75 70 mac39_turret_new_gun Research: 240 Cost: 75 65

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 12 x 7.5 mm Mle 1923 machine gun

Ammunition2 000 rounds

Fire rate1 350 shots/min

The V-156-F is armed with:

• 2 x 7.5 mm Mle 1923 machine guns, wing-mounted (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)

Suspended armament

List of setups (2)

Setup 12 x 50 kg G.A. MMN. 50

Setup 22 x 100 kg No.1

The V-156-F can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 2 x 50 kg G.A. MMN. 50 bombs (100 kg total)
• 2 x 100 kg No.1 bombs (200 kg total)

Defensive armament

Turret7.5 mm Mle 1923 machine gun

Ammunition750 rounds

Fire rate1350 shots/min

The V-156-F is defended by:

• 1 x 7.5 mm Mle 1923 machine gun, dorsal turret (750 rpg)

Usage in battles

The V-156-F is a slow aircraft which leads it to having two options. The first is to hug the terrain. While flying to your target of choice (AAA sites, AA Vehicles or bases), fly along the terrain, utilize what hills and valleys there are to fly through. Time on target may be limited before the enemy gets there so line up your bombing run and drop bombs. This aircraft can manoeuvre fairly well, utilizing elevator and rudder controls and a nice turn time (upgraded) of 22 seconds (RB), you can quickly flip this aircraft around and return to ground attacking targets you just flew over.

The second option will be to gain altitude. Going too high will render your bombs ineffective. The idea here is to gain several thousand feet, fly towards your target of choice and then dive on it. During your dive, your aircraft will build up speed, to prevent too much speed build up and control stiffening, reduce your throttle and engage dive brakes (h). This will allow you a controlled descent and the ability to line up your target easier, the unfortunate downside is that now you are slowly moving in a straight line, an easy target for enemy fighters. Once you swoop on your target and release your bombs, engage full throttle and retract dive brakes.

Although this aircraft is slow, it can be utilized to attack fighters if in a pinch. The manoeuvrability of this aircraft along with its slow speed can aid in forcing an attacking enemy to overshoot or underestimate the capabilities of this aircraft.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Manoeuvrable
• Dual role dive bomber/attacker
• Good diver
• Has air brakes

Cons:

• Large target
• Slow speed
• Weak defensive armament
• Armament is smaller calibre than its American and British counterparts
• Worse payload options than its American and British counterparts (max payload 200 kg)
• Rather long take off run
• Only has landing flaps
• The air brakes are the flaps, meaning that landing flaps cannot be deployed when the airbrakes are, and vice versa

History

The V-156-F had its origins in a French variant of the American Vought SB2U Vindicator carrier-based dive bomber. The aircraft was intended to operate as a naval dive bomber off of the French aircraft carrier Béarn. The aircraft underwent a series of major modifications before entering service with the French - the airbrakes were changed to include outerwing split brake flaps, the avionics were replaced with French versions, and the armament was changed to consist of French Mle 1923 machine guns. The aircraft also had its "bomb crutch" bomb displacement system removed due to security reasons, and was replaced by French Alkan bomb sets.

The French government ordered two batches of 20 aircraft for the Aéronavale, which were delivered by late 1939. The aircraft were shipped via Canada to avoid being embargoed due to the US Neutrality act. The first of these aircraft formed Escadrille AB1, the first squadron to operate from the aircraft carrier Béarn. When the old carrier was deemed too obsolete for active service, the aircraft were moved ashore and served as land-based bombers.

In November of 1939, the aircraft started making regular air patrols over the English Channel. Its first combat action occured in early 1940 when French V-156s were ordered to bomb a number of vital bridges in northern France. The aircraft managed to do significant damage despite the fact that the pilots hadn't been trained in ground attack; however, 5 aircraft were lost when Bf-109Es intercepted the bomber formation. The aircraft also assisted in the Dunkirk evacuations, and sank an Italian submarine. However, their success was rather short-lived, as the many of the aircraft were shot down; by the time of the French Armstice in June of 1940, only a few aircraft remained.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the V-156-F from live.warthunder.com.

See also

• V-156-B1 - A variant of the same aircraft in the British tech tree

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

France bombers
Farman	F.222.2 · N.C.223.3
Latécoère	Late 298D
Potez	Potez 633
Liore et Olivier	LeO 451 early · LeO 451 late
Bloch	M.B.174A-3 · M.B.162 · M.B.175T
American	V-156-F · Martin 167-A3 · ▄A-35B · ▄SB2C-5 · B-26C · ▄PBY-5A Late · ▄PB4Y-2
British	Lancaster MR.7