Bf 109 F-4 (USA)

▃Bf 109 F-4

▃Bf 109 F-4

USA

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.3	4.0	4.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:1 450

This page is about the premium American fighter Bf 109 F-4 (USA). For other uses, see Bf 109 (Family).

Description

The ▃Bf 109 F-4 is a rank III premium American fighter with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB) and 4.0 (RB/SB). It was in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Maximum speed, maneuverability, speed and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
635	623	11600	20.3	20.7	14.2	16.3	363
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
695	665	11600	18.2	19.0	28.3	20.0	363

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
790	360	460	~17	~10

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 450	< 390	< 450	> 250

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,950 m	1,185 hp	1,333 hp

Survivability and armour

• 60 mm bulletproof glass - armoured windscreen
• 6 mm steel - bulkhead behind cockpit
• 8 mm steel - pilot's seat
• 10 mm steel - pilot's headrest
• Critical components located at front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Bf 109 F-4 is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon, nose-mounted (200 rpg)
• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

Usage in the battles

The BF-109 F-4 represents the pinnacle of the Friedrich line of Messerschmidt. With a powerful engine and decent armament, the F-4 is an extremely powerful fighter in any hands. It is mainly a dogfighter, with a well-rounded mix of good climb rate, speed, manoeuvrability, and weaponry.

As the Bf 109 F-4 USA Premium comes with all upgrades, it is an extremely effective aircraft at purchase. Its main strengths lie in its astounding low-speed/mid-altitude climb rate. Use this to your advantage in a dogfight. Your opponents will be caught off guard when you rocket away at 25 m/s with your WEP. Compared to other aircraft of the 4.3 BR, the F-4 is more than able to take on most enemy aircraft.

Unfortunately, for a premium plane, the F-4 isn't quite so stellar. It is relatively under-gunned, with only one 20mm cannon and two MGs. Pilots must be precise- as the single MG-151 will jam under intensive fire, even though the mods are all equipped.

The F-4 is also only average in its energy retention capabilities. It's redeeming feature for Boom and Zoom is its climb rate. It does have a relatively good turn rate but is also hampered by its lack of good energy retention. Stay in middle altitudes and dive and engage slower fighters. Avoid tangling with extremely manoeuvrable fighters such as the Yaks.

The F-4 performs poorly at high altitude. Do not try to chase planes above 4000-5000 km. In a dive, the F-4's wings will tear relatively quickly. Avoid diving at speeds above 800 km/h.

One could consider the F-4 a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. It has an average-to-good turn rate, decent weaponry, astounding climb rate, and poor energy retention.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable	Not controllable	Controllable	Combined	Not ontrollable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
III	Wings Repair	Engine		Offensive 20 mm
IV		Engine Injection	Cover	New 20 mm cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• It's a Bf 109 (very good rate of climb, very good dive speed).
• It is a Premium aircraft, all modifications are equipped. It can perform better than some other Bf 109s on the battlefield.
• MG 151 that can fire HE shells.
• Decent turn rate.

Cons:

• No gunpods as the R6 modification is only available for Germans.
• No bombs.
• Poor energy retention.
• Wings tear easily.
• Average for a premium aircraft- nothing unique.

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 big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read 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.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.