Venom FB.4

This page is about the British jet fighter Venom FB.4. For the naval variant, see Sea Venom FAW 20.

Venom FB.4

Vampire F.B.5

Hunter F.1

Venom FB.4

Vampire F.B.5

Hunter F.1

Britain

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	8.7	9.0

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:120 000

Purchase:340 000

Description

In 1948, de Havilland began working on an improved development of their first jet aircraft, the Vampire. While initially envisioned as the Vampire FB.8, a new Air Ministry specification was issued calling for an interim fast, manoeuvrable fighter-bomber that could bridge the gap between the Vampires and Meteors in RAF service and pioneering new designs such as the Hawker Hunter and Supermarine Swift; thus, while visually similar to the preceding Vampire, an entirely new design was created and designated the Venom, notably featuring the significantly more powerful de Havilland Ghost engine. The prototype took its first flight in September 1949, and the type entered operational service in 1952. The FB.4 variant was the last operated by the RAF, modified from the FB.1 to fit ejector seats, surface modifications, and hydraulically powered ailerons.

Introduced in Update 1.43, the Venom retains the great manoeuvrability of the Vampire, while also being equipped with a significantly more powerful engine, allowing it to fight more equally against common opponents in both energy and manoeuvrability-dependent situations. However, with the emergence of increasingly powerful opponents, some even equipped with afterburning engines, the Venom will tend to fall back on the same playstyle as the Vampire, maintaining its speed by default, but baiting, turning with, and gunning down lone enemies when the opportunity arises.

General info

Flight performance

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Max speed

at 0 m1 027 km/h

Turn time22 s

Max altitude12 192 m

Enginede Havilland Ghost-103

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight7 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	1,013	998	12192	22.2	23.5	28.2	26.0	850
Upgraded	1,038	1,027		21.8	22.0	41.1	34.2

Details

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

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1,045	420	498	469	320	~10	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 650	< 640	< 640	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
de Havilland Ghost-103		1	4,157 kg		230 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	35m fuel
1,000 kg	Centrifugal-flow turbojet		4,700 kg	5,175 kg	5,683 kg	5,966 kg	7,080 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%)
Condition	100%	WEP	10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	35m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	2,120 kgf	N/A	0.45	0.41	0.37	0.36	0.30
Optimal	2,120 kgf (0 km/h)	N/A	0.45	0.41	0.37	0.36	0.30

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear420 km/h

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Armoured windscreen
• 12.7 mm Steel - Armoured plate behind the pilot
• 3 mm Steel - Armoured plate under the engine

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB2 962 → 4 271

RB8 464 → 12 205

SB9 151 → 13 195

Total cost of modifications101 500

162 400

Talisman cost2 200

Crew training98 000

Experts340 000

Aces1 800

Research Aces780 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

120 / 380 / 600 %

202 / 202 / 202 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 440 Compressor Research: 5 700 Cost: 9 100 250 New boosters Research: 5 700 Cost: 9 100 250 Wings repair Research: 8 500 Cost: 14 000 380 Engine Research: 8 500 Cost: 14 000 380 G-suit Research: 8 300 Cost: 13 000 370	Airframe Research: 5 700 Cost: 9 100 250 EFS Research: 8 300 Cost: 13 000 370 Cover Research: 8 300 Cost: 13 000 370	hispano_belt_pack Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 440 GLBC mk.3 Research: 5 700 Cost: 9 100 250 hispano_mk5_new_gun Research: 8 500 Cost: 14 000 380 GRC mk.8 Research: 8 300 Cost: 13 000 370

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 14 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.V cannon

Ammunition600 rounds

Fire rate750 shots/min

The Venom FB.4 is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.V cannons, chin-mounted (150 rpg = 600 total)

Suspended armament

List of setups (6)

Setup 12 x 1000 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.13 bomb

Setup 22 x G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bomb

Setup 34 x RP-3 rockets
4 x RP-3 rockets

Setup 42 x G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bomb
4 x RP-3 rockets
4 x RP-3 rockets

Setup 52 x M.C. 500 lb Mk.I bomb

Setup 62 x M.C. 500 lb Mk.I bomb
4 x RP-3 rockets
4 x RP-3 rockets

The Venom FB.4 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (1,000 lb total)
• 2 x 500 lb M.C. Mk.I bombs (1,000 lb total)
• 2 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs + 8 x RP-3 rockets (1,000 lb total)
• 2 x 500 lb M.C. Mk.I bombs + 8 x RP-3 rockets (1,000 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.13 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 8 x RP-3 rockets

Usage in battles

The Venom's play style should be a healthy mix of the two dominating ways of flying jet fighters. The Venom is a fast aircraft, and keeping it fast is important in order to keep up with enemies and to have enough energy to sustain manoeuvres - so the Venom is indeed a good high-speed performer. However, it does not best either the MiG-15bis or the F-86F-2 in level flight. Therefore, speed alone cannot be relied on for fighting jets.

On the other hand, the impressive thrust-to-weight ratio of the Venom's engine means that pilots should use its sustained rate of climb as an advantage. When fighting Soviet opposition - mostly MiG-15s, the advantage in rate of climb falls in relevance, since that is one of the MiG's great trump cards. However, Venom pilots should always climb a bit instead of "mowing the lawn". 600 to 800 km/h is a good range of speed to climb into the battlefield, maintaining airspeed, yet gaining altitude and opening the range of opportunities to engage.

Venom pilots should avoid being alone - in fact, the Venom can excel at baiting enemies and/or making them lose energy, leaving them vulnerable to engagement by allied fighters. The fact that the Venom is not the fastest jet means that being alone vs two or more enemies requires a multitude of defensive manoeuvres (the Venom excels at lag displacement rolls aka. barrel rolls) to come out alive. Sometimes, all it takes is a barrel roll to get behind an enemy and shoot it down, but against multiple opponents that think before manoeuvring, being alone can spell disaster.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very manoeuvrable for a jet, comparable to the Meteor Mk 8 with a better roll rate
• Good sustained climb rate, capable of catching up to Me 163s in a sustained climb
• Stable gun platform
• Better cockpit visibility than the Vampire by a bit, depending on your preference it may be the second best to the Hawker Hunter

Cons:

• Inefficient air brakes
• Tail strikes on take-off and landings may be devastating
• Reaches wing-ripping G-forces easily (+12 G)
• Reaches G-LOC easily thanks to manoeuvrability

History

Archive of the in-game description

The de Havilland DH112 Venom was a single engine jet fighter which entered service with the Royal Air Force in 1952. Initially developed as a private venture with plans for the export market, the Venom was a direct successor to the de Havilland Vampire and shared the earlier fighter's twin tail boom design and composite structure. However, the Venom was fitted with a more powerful de Havilland Ghost jet engine which had begun testing as early as 1944 and had a new, thinner wing. The aircraft was armed with four 20mm Hispano cannon and provisions for up to 2000 lbs of bombs or eight 60 lb rockets. A prototype first flew on September 2nd 1949 and after a successful period of testing, the first production model Venoms to enter service were the FB1, equipping No.11 Squadron based in Germany in August 1952. A two-seat night fighter variant equipped with radar - the NF2 - entered service with No.23 Squadron at Coltishall in November 1953. After a maiden test flight on 29th December 1953, the Venom FB4 variant entered service with the RAF in 1955. Featuring a modified tailplane, an improved de Havilland Ghost 105 jet engine rated at 5150 lbf and an ejector seat, some 250 were manufactured. This was the final land based version of the aircraft to see service in Britain, although variants of the Sea Venom continued to serve in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. RAF Venom FB4s of Nos 6, 8 and 249 Squadrons operating out of Akrotiri in Cyprus flew alongside Royal Navy Sea Venoms in the Suez Crisis of 1956. Venoms were mainly used in the strike role, attacking Egyptian airfields and shipping. Further conflicts where the Venom saw operational use included Malaya, Aden, Oman and Kenya, as well as part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force based in Germany. Although the Venom's performance built considerably on that of the Vampire it was still, in effect, a first generation jet fighter and was largely outperformed by contemporaries such as the F86 Sabre or MiG 15. The last RAF Venoms were retired in 1962, although export variants were also used by Sweden, Venezuela, Iraq, Australia and Switzerland – the final Swiss Venoms were not retired until 1983.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Venom FB.4 from live.warthunder.com.

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

• [Devblog] Venom FB.Mk.4
• Official data sheet - more details about the performance