S.O.8000 Narval

S.O.8000 Narval

S.O.8000 Narval

France

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.7	5.7	5.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Interceptor

Purchase:6 090

STORE

Description

The S.O.8000 Narval is a gift Rank IV French strike fighter with a battle rating of 5.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.73 "Vive la France".

The Narval (Narwhal in French) is designed to be an interceptor and it excels in this role with a good climb rate, interceptor spawn, high speed and 6 powerful cannons.

Underneath the sleek and eye-pleasing design of the Narval lies a monster of a plane when piloted well. It wields an extremely powerful sextet of the previously mentioned cannons, which happen to be the German MG 151's, wielding the dreaded minengeschoß ammunition round which gives ballistics similar to most 37 mm cannons while keeping the various upsides of 20 mm cannons (light weight, high muzzle velocity and universal use) allowing you to shred bombers in a few well aimed bursts.

However, the plane is not without its weaknesses. The rear mounted engine and propeller makes it easy for the engine to get knocked out when being tailed. It also has a particularly poor turn rate, so turning versus most planes is a death sentence, as it will make it easy for an opponent to snipe your pilot. Having 6 cannons means that you are completely defenceless after running out of ammo in them, with no extra machine guns to defend yourself with (though with 250 rounds per cannon and 6 cannons, you shouldn't run out of ammo easily).

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 8,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
698	680	11,500	26.4	27.3	10.8	12.6	800
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 8,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
762	730	11,500	23.2	25.0	23.6	16.0	800

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
			+	-
???	???	???	~??	~?

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< ???	< ???	< ???	> ???

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
?,??? m	??? hp	?,??? hp

Survivability and armour

• 10 mm Steel plate in the nose.
• 50 mm Bulletproof glass in front of pilot.
• 10 mm Steel plate behind pilot.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The S.O.8000 Narval is armed with:

• 6 x 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons (250 rpg = 1500 total)

The six cannons are arranged in bundles of three each of which is cheek-mounted towards the underside of the fuselage. Each are armed with the same amount of ammunition, which means that all guns will fire with each other until empty.

Suspended armament

The S.O.8000 Narval can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• Without load
• 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 Fin M129 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 8 x T10 140 rockets
• 8 x T10 151 rockets

Usage in battles

The Narval has a very distinguished silhouette, almost looking like a cross between a P-38 lightning and a Me 163 Komet. The first thing you will notice is the interestingly designed pair of wings. The inboard leading edge of its wing was sweptback 24 degrees, while the outboard section was sweptback 13.5 degrees and incorporated a dihedral angle. The superb roll rate was achieved with a combination of small ailerons at the tip of the wings and spoilers along with clipped wings which only slightly reduced the plane's turning capability. It also wears large double slotted flaps designed to decrease speed for carrier operations.

The powerful Arsenal 12H (which was a copy of the Junkers Jumo 213) allows the plane to get to a very high top speed at around 8,000 meters and gives it brutal speed in a dive.

The plane is also made entirely out of metal, which allows it to take some punishment from enemy fighters.

The Narval is an exceptional interceptor, however due to its ability to mount either 2 x 1,000 lb bombs or 8 x T10 151 AP rockets, it can also make an effective strike fighter.

If going the interceptor route, you must climb to a high altitude in order to not only attack bombers, but make the most out of the 12H, where it performs the best.

On the flip side, if you are going for the strike fighter role, be weary that mounting rockets and bombs will throw the centre of gravity back, which worsens the already bad turn rate.

Manual Engine Control

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

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 20 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		LBC-25
III		Engine		New 20 mm cannons	Mantra T10 140
IV	Wings repair	Engine injection	Cover		Mantra T10 151

• This premium aircraft comes furnished with all modifications unlocked upon purchase.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very strong forward armament (6 x MG 151/20s)
• Plenty of ammo
• Very high rip rate for a prop aircraft
• Solid roll rate
• 50 mm sloped bulletproof glass
• The heavy weight gives it brutal acceleration in a dive at altitude and decent energy retention
• Engine located at the back makes it less likely to be knocked out by bomber/attacker gunners or in a head-on attack
• Gets an interceptor spawn which allows gives it an opportunity to climb well above its opponents
• Good visibility in the cockpit
• All guns are mounted in the aircraft's nose, making them accurate and having little to no convergence

Cons:

• During takeoff, pulling on the stick too early will damage the tail
• Feels sluggish at low speeds due to the massive weight
• Takes a bit of time to accelerate
• Climbs rather slowly, even with air spawn, so enemies may still be able to out-climb the Narval
• Poor turn-rate
• Rather fragile wings
• Wing sweep means that when you carry bombs, the centre of mass is thrown way back, affecting the already poor turn-rate

History

The Narval was a prototype twin-boom pusher Naval Fighter prototype created by Sud-Ouest (or SNCASO) during the late 1940's. It was to be powered by an Arsenal 12H02 V-12 which was a French postwar development of the Junkers Jumo 213 that famously powered the FW 190D series. The 12H would make a max 2,250 Hp that would power contra-rotating pusher propellors and could propel the Narval to 730 km/h (454 mp/h) at 8,000 meters. The Narval also would've been armed with 6 x 20 mm cannons mounted vertically on the cheeks, with 3 on each cheek and hard points that could mount 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of ordinance were placed under the wings. Because the 12H02 was tuned for high altitudes and had a turbo-supercharger, it likely would've been used as a High Altitude Bomber Interceptor, but due to the hard points, it could've also been used as a Strike Fighter, which gives it a similar role to the famed Republic P-47 Thunderbolt; a Strike Fighter/Interceptor.

However, only two prototypes were created, and the development of the Narval was abandoned by 1950 since the design was already obsolescent due to the advancements in jet engine technology. Even if SNASCO had continued development for the Narval, it is likely that it wouldn't have been accepted due to the cost of producing the plane, the massive weight (7 tonnes!) and the unorthodox design.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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

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