Ju 188 A-2
Contents
Description
The Ju 188 A-2 is a rank IV German bomber with a battle rating of 5.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 495 | 477 | 11200 | 33.4 | 34.5 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 750 |
| Upgraded | 547 | 520 | 30.7 | 32.0 | 11.3 | 8.0 | ||
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 | + | - | ||
| 0 | 310 | 457 | 428 | 280 | ~12 | ~9 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 370 | < 360 | < 450 | > 290 |
Survivability and armour
- 5 mm steel in front of rearmost dorsal gunner*
- 6 mm steel on top of dorsal gun ammo
- 6 mm steel under and in front of ventral gunner*
- 6 mm steel around turret ring of dorsal gunner**
- 6 mm steel in front of dorsal gunner
- 6 mm steel in front of dorsal gunner's face
- 6 mm steel behind base of pilot's seat
- 8 mm steel - pilot's seat
- 60 mm bulletproof glass in front of rearmost dorsal gunner*
- Self-sealing fuel tanks (1 in central fuselage, 2 in each wing)
*Note that the gunner is rear-facing.
**The "dorsal gunner" and not the "rearmost dorsal gunner" is the one closer to the pilot.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Suspended armament
The Ju 188 A-2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (500 kg total)
- 6 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (1,500 kg total)
- 6 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs + 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (2,000 kg total)
- 2 x 500 kg SC500K bombs (1,000 kg total)
- 2 x 500 kg SC500K bombs + 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (1,500 kg total)
- 2 x 500 kg SC500K bombs + 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs + 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (2,000 kg total)
- 2 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bombs (2,000 kg total)
- 2 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bombs + 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs + 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (3,000 kg total)
- 1 x 1,800 kg SC1800B bomb + 1 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bomb (2,800 kg total)
- 1 x 1,800 kg SC1800B bomb + 3 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (2,550 kg total)
Defensive armament
The Ju 188 A-2 is defended by:
- 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon, nose turret (250 rpg)
- 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon, top dorsal turret (250 rpg)
- 1 x 13 mm MG 131 machine gun, lower dorsal turret (500 rpg)
- 2 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine guns, ventral turret (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
Usage in battles
While utilising a stock version of the aircraft, choosing the option to use the 50SC x 10 payload performs best for when rushing ground troops, of course, when possible, drop them more on one target. As soon as you have better payload options, you also have the opportunity to go for bases.
At the beginning of the match, you should always go into a shallow dive to maximise your speed, and by that the chance to get to your target before anybody else, and cover the underside of the plane by simply flying close to the ground. Your 20 mm cannon on top of the the canopy is deadly, and as soon as you have the universal belt unlocked, you can shoot down multiple enemy fighters before going down yourself. However, try to avoid head-ons because of your glass cockpit and mind that your 20mm can't fire directly behind the plane because the rudder blocks it.
If you have all loadouts unlocked, the one with the 2x1000kg, 2x250kg and 10x50kg is the best for destroying bases. The 2x250kg drop at the same time from your wingtips and with one 1000kg bomb, the other 11 bombs are enough for a second base in Arcade mode. In Realistic mode, it is advised to open the bomb door before reaching the target, and to tap the bomb key 4 times to drop the appropriate number of bombs. This will guarantee the destruction of one base, and leave you with a total of nine 50 kg that can then be used for ground striking or to possibly damage another base. This is also the loadout with the most payload so you should use it for the airfields as well. Concerning ground targets, you can use the loadout you prefer, just make sure you have 3 bomb drops before you get to the 50 kg bombs in the bomb bay.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Not controllable | Controllable Auto control available |
Controllable Auto control available |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Separate | Not controllable 2 gears |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fast bomber, faster than the Do 217 series
- Manoeuvrable, even better with empty payload when returning to base
- Versatile payload options with 3,000 kg of maximum payload
- Defensive armament is an upgrade from the Do 217 series
- Durable, can survive hits that might down other bombers of similar size
- Rear gunners are protected by several armour plates
- Top 20 mm turret has a full circle traverse
- Powerful engines
- Fast-deploying landing gear
- WEP can be used for long periods of time
Cons:
- Doesn't have the ability to dive bomb accurately
- No armour from the front
- Abysmal stock payload
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
- Videos
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
| Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke Aktiengesellschaft) | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Ju 88 C-6 · Ju 388 J |
| Strike Aircraft | |
| Ju 87 | Ju 87 G-1 · Ju 87 G-2 |
| Bombers | Ju 88 A-1 · Ju 88 A-4 · Ju 188 A-2 · Ju 288 C |
| Ju 87 | Ju 87 B-2 · Ju 87 D-3 · Ju 87 D-5 · Ju 87 R-2 · Ju 87 R-2 Libya |
| Export | ▄Ju 87 D-3 · ▄Ju 87 R-2 · ▄Ju 88 A-4 |
| Germany bombers | |
|---|---|
| Arado | Ar 196 A-3 |
| Blohm & Voss | BV 138 C-1 · BV 238 |
| Dornier | Do 17 E-1 · Do 17 Z-2 · Do 217 E-2 · Do 217 E-4 · Do 217 K-1 · Do 217 M-1 |
| Focke-Wulf | Fw 189 A-1 · Fw 200 C-1 |
| Henschel | Hs 123 A-1 |
| Heinkel | He 111 H-3 · He 111 H-6 · He 111 H-16 · He 115 C-1 · He 177 A-3 · He 177 A-5 |
| Junkers | Ju 87 B-2 · Ju 87 R-2 · Ju 87 R-2 Libya · Ju 87 D-3 · Ju 87 D-5 · Ju 88 A-1 · Ju 88 A-4 · Ju 188 A-2 · Ju 288 C |
| Messerschmitt | Me 264 |
| Savoia-Marchetti | ▀S.M.79 serie 1 · ▀S.M.79 B · ▀S.M.79 serie 4 · ▀S.M.79 serie 8 |
| ▀S.M.79 AS · ▀S.M.79 bis/N · ▀S.M.79 bis/T.M | |
| Trophies | ▀Wellington Mk Ic |
