Su-6 (AM-42)

This page is about the Soviet strike aircraft Su-6 (AM-42). For other versions, see Su-6 (Family).

Su-6 (AM-42)

Su-6 (M-71F)

IL-10

Su-6 (AM-42)

Su-6 (M-71F)

IL-10

USSR

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.0	4.7	5.0

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:46 000

Purchase:155 000

Description

The Su-6 was a project by Sukhoi with the objective of creating an attack aircraft capable of surpassing the Il-2. The Su-6 AM-42 was the name given to its last version. Compared to previous prototypes, it featured the same rear gunner as the third prototype, Su-6 (M-71F), but now with a liquid-cooled inline engine instead of a radial engine, the Mikulin AM-42. While this engine was less powerful than the M-71F, it proved to be more reliable. The Su-6 AM-42 was tested against the Il-10 in 1944, but the tests favoured the design from Ilyushin and the Su-6 never went into serial production.

It was introduced in Update 1.71 "New E.R.A.". The Su-6 is a ground attack aircraft made with a bit of the IL-2 mindset, but with some improvements regarding manoeuvrability and speed, while lacking protection. Despite the improvements, it is still not recommended to go for enemy planes as, unless it is a head-on, you will lose energy quickly and perish. The gunner can help deal with some opponents that stick to your tail, but with only 24° of horizontal guidance, it won't be able to help in most cases. The armour is good at the back, but it won't stop much more than a 12.7 mm bullet. Everything is compensated by the wide array of payload options, even allowing you to change the 37 mm NS-37 cannons for weaker but higher capacity and easier to aim 23 mm VYa-23 cannons, which can still take out pillboxes and light tanks.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 3 000 m501 km/h

Turn time25 s

Max altitude6 000 m

EngineMikulin AM-42

TypeInline

Cooling systemWater

Take-off weight6 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 3,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	478	459	6000	25.8	26.7	8.6	8.2	800
Upgraded	531	501		23.9	25.0	15.2	11.2

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	+	-
680	330	458	431	290	~10	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 350	< 380	< 395	> 323

Survivability and armour

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear330 km/h

• 4 mm steel surrounding the engine
• 4 mm steel on both sides of gunner
• 6 mm steel behind propeller spinner
• 4 mm steel behind wing oil cooling systems
• 4 mm steel beneath engine, fuel tank, and gunner
• 2 mm steel on both sides of fuel tank
• 6 mm steel on both sides of pilot
• 4 mm steel on both sides of gunner
• 6 mm steel directly in front of windshield
• 4 mm steel above windshield
• 12 mm steel between pilot and gunner
• 8 to 12 mm steel in front of gunner*
• 12 mm steel in front of gunner*
• 55 mm (55°) and 50 mm (24°) bulletproof glass in front of pilot (centre/sides)
• 60 mm (35°) bulletproof glass in front of gunner*
• Self-sealing fuel tank with neutral gas pressurization system underneath pilot

* (Note: the gunner is rear-facing)

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB1 742 → 2 306

RB3 167 → 4 193

SB6 011 → 7 958

Total cost of modifications43 800

84 900

Talisman cost1 400

Crew training45 000

Experts155 000

Aces820

Research Aces440 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

90 / 150 / 530 %

160 / 160 / 160 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 170 Radiator Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 170 Airframe Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 500 195 Compressor Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 500 195 Wings repair Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 210 Engine Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 210 Cover Research: 2 600 Cost: 5 000 280 Engine injection Research: 2 600 Cost: 5 000 280		shkas_belt_pack Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 170 ub_turret_belt_pack Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 170 DZ-40 Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 170 shkas_new_gun Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 500 195 ub_turret_new_gun Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 500 195 RO-82 Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 500 195 RO-82 Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 500 195 ns37_belt_pack Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 210 VYa-23 cannon Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 210 VYa-23 cannon Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 210 RO-132 Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 210 ns37_new_gun Research: 2 600 Cost: 5 000 280 vya_belt_pack Research: 2 600 Cost: 5 000 280 vya_new_gun Research: 2 600 Cost: 5 000 280

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Su-6 (AM-42) is armed with:

• 2 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns, wing-mounted (750 rpg = 1,500 total)

Suspended armament

The Su-6 (AM-42) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
23 mm VYa-23 cannons (120 rpg)			1		1
37 mm NS-37 cannons (45 rpg)			1*		1*
25 kg AO-25M-1 bombs				16
50 kg FAB-50sv bombs		1		4		1
100 kg FAB-100sv bombs		1*		4		1*
250 kg FAB-250sv bombs		1*				1*
M-8 rockets	5						5
M-13UK rockets	5						5
RBS-82 rockets	5						5
RBS-132 rockets	5						5
Maximum permissible loadout weight: 670 kg Maximum permissible wing load: 335 kg Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 280 kg
* When equipping 2 x 37 mm NS-37 cannons on hardpoints 3/5, it is not possible to carry 100 kg FAB-100sv bombs and 250 kg FAB-250sv bombs on hardpoints 2/6, respectively.

Default weapon presets
2 x 37 mm NS-37 cannons (45 rpg = 90 total) 2 x 23 mm VYa-23 cannons (120 rpg = 240 total) 10 x M-8 rockets 10 x RBS-82 rockets 10 x M-13UK rockets 10 x RBS-132 rockets 16 x 25 kg AO-25M-1 bombs (400 kg total) 6 x 50 kg FAB-50sv bombs (300 kg total) 6 x 100 kg FAB-100sv bombs (600 kg total) 2 x 250 kg FAB-250sv bombs (500 kg total)

Defensive armament

The Su-6 (AM-42) is defended by:

• 1 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun, dorsal turret (196 rpg)

Usage in battles

The Su-6, like the previous Ilyushin attackers, is a tough aircraft that excels at taking out enemy ground targets. The Su-6 comes equipped with two 37 mm cannons as standard armament, which can be swapped out for 23 mm cannons. With the 37 mm cannons, the aircraft can take out most ground targets with ease: even heavy tanks don't stand a chance with well-aimed shots to the sides or rear. As they rapidly lose accuracy in full-auto fire, controlled semi-auto fire is required to make the most out of the 37 mm cannons. It may be easier to take out most ground targets with the 23 mm cannons (given they're far more accurate than the 37 mm cannons in full-auto). With either choice of cannon armament, the Su-6 can even be a lethal foe for enemy attackers who aren't too careful, though the 23 mm cannons are better suited to anti-air attacks compared to the 37 mm. Apart from the higher BR and different cannon options compared to previous Soviet attackers, the Su-6 plays much like the Il-2s that precede it.

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:

• Well armoured
• Powerful, multi-purpose cannons to attack ground and air targets
• Good short term manoeuvrability at moderate speeds
• Gunner & pilot are very well protected
• Good payload options, including 10 x RS/RBS-132 rockets

Cons:

• Rear gunner has restrictive firing angles
• Defensive armament doesn't keep up with the offensive armament of opposing aircraft
• Bad sustained turn rate
• Bad climb-rate compared to fighters
• Uncontrollable at high speeds and bad redline speeds
• Engine overheats easily

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Su-6 (AM-42) from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The bane of tanks discusses the Su-6 (AM-42) at 2:46 - War Thunder Official Channel

Best after-party picks discusses the Su-6 (AM-42) at 4:56 - War Thunder Official Channel

You can customize every weapon in this plane - Su-6 (AM-42) - HowToPlay1337

The Shooting Range #117 - Pages of History section at 04:42 discusses the Su-6.

Realistic: SU-6 (AM-42) [Cute and Cuddly] - Jengar

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

Sukhoi Design Bureau (Сухого Опытное конструкторское бюро)
Jet fighters	Su-9 · Su-11
Su-27	Su-27 · Su-27SM
Strike aircraft
Su-2	BB-1 · Su-2 (M-82) · Su-2 MV-5 · Su-2 TSS-1
Su-6	Su-6 · Su-6 (AM-42) · Su-6 (M-71F)
Su-7	Su-7B · Su-7BKL · Su-7BMK
Su-8	Su-8
Su-17	Su-17M2 · Su-17M4 · Su-22M3
Su-24	Su-24M
Su-25	Su-25 · Su-25BM · Su-25K · Su-25T · Su-25SM3 · Su-39
Su-34	Su-34
Export	◊Su-22UM3K · ◔Su-22M3 · ◊Su-22M4 · ◄Su-22M4 WTD61
	J-11*
	*CKD and SKD kits assembled by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation