Sunderland Mk IIIa

Sunderland Mk IIIa

Hampden TB Mk I

Sunderland Mk V

Sunderland Mk IIIa

Hampden TB Mk I

Sunderland Mk V

Britain

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.0	1.7	1.7

Class:

Bomber

Long Range bomber

Hydroplane

Research:7 900

Purchase:10 000

This page is about the British bomber Sunderland Mk IIIa. For the other version, see Sunderland Mk V.

Description

The Sunderland Mk IIIa is a rank II British bomber with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB) and 1.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.57 "Battle March".

General info

Flight performance

The Sunderland Mk IIIa is rather finicky in the air. Handling is not all that bad, turn time is about 20-25 seconds spaded with flaps. However, the wings can only take 3-4Gs before they snap off. Due to the low rip speed, this means you can potentially rip your wings when flying a spaded aircraft at top speed.

If there is no water available to land on, it will be necessary to belly land on the airfields. If so, take care to not let the pontoons touch the ground. However, after descending all the way for the landing, it will be necessary to continue the fight at a low altitude due to the Sunderland's atrocious climb rate forbidding any chance of reaching back to optimal bombing altitude in a timely manner. It's very hard to regain your energy once lost. Research engine upgrades as soon as you can, as these will make a massive improvement in your performance, in both level flying and climbing.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,267 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
374	366	6096	36.0	36.9	4.2	4.2	740
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,267 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
418	394	6096	34.1	35.0	9.7	6.5	740

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		520	~3	~2

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 350	< 350	< 250	> 312

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,450 m	815 hp	1,019 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,500 m	750 hp	938 hp

Survivability and armour

There is no armour protection on this aircraft. It is a very rugged aircraft so as a result small calibre machine guns common at this BR aren't going to hurt you that badly.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Sunderland Mk IIIa is armed with:

• 4 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine guns, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 2,000 total)

Suspended armament

The Sunderland Mk IIIa can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 8 x 250 lb G.P. 250 lb Mk.IV bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 4 x 500 lb G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bombs (2,000 lb total)

Defensive armament

The Sunderland Mk IIIa is defended by:

• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine guns, nose turret (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine guns, dorsal turret (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
• 4 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine guns, tail turret (1,000 rpg = 4,000 total)

Usage in battles

Side climbing is essential for the Sunderland Mk IIIa as, whilst it is a very rugged aircraft, the combination of slow climb rate and large bright (white) air frame makes you a very obvious target, meaning that you won't be flying for very long and find upgrading a real chore.

However don't be scared if an enemy plane is coming at you, chances are that if they don't have anything more than small calibre machine guns, they aren't going to hurt you that badly. Focus on getting to your target, bombing and then returning to reload. Flying the Sunderland is like a shuttle-bus, focus on your target and try not to get distracted along the way, as it's very hard to regain your energy once lost. Research engine upgrades as soon as you can, as these will make a massive improvement in your performance, both level flying and climbing.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm	HMBC mk.2
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
III	Wings repair	Engine		Turret 7 mm
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 7 mm MGs (turret)

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very rugged air frame.
• Very good durability, will absorb a lot of bullets before going down.
• The Sunderland is a flying boat and thus it can land on water.
• Good handling with full fuel load.
• Excellent manoeuvrability and handling with minimum fuel load out.
• Excellent handling at low speeds.
• Good acceleration.
• Excels in destroying ground targets.
• Has four frontal machine guns.
• Powerful defensive armament that will deter enemy planes especially biplanes.

Cons:

• Structural damage (wing rips) occurs at 414 km/h (260 mph).
• Landing too hard (on water) can cause major internal damage (i.e. The control cables breaking).
• No wheels and thus cannot land safely on an airfield.
• No armour or protection at all.
• Cannon armed planes will destroy it very easily .
• Will be ripped to shreds easily by certain planes with large cannons like the Hurricane Mk IV, Ki-45 otsu and the Ki-44-II otsu.
• Red lines at 400 km/h (250 mph)
• Engines overheat very fast
• Not responsive when red lining.
• Only one pilot, no co-pilot unlike other bombers at the tier.
• Bombs are rather inadequate for its size.
• No bomb bay, the bombs are slid from the fuselage onto the wings, thus there is a delay from pressing the space bar (or whatever key is bound). This must be taken into consideration when flying.

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

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

See also

• Sunderland Mk V
• Catalina Mk IIIa (Great Britain)
• PBY-5 Catalina

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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