Units, current and possible future, and perk status.

[Karnak]

Calling for things to be perked, either due to the effect they have on AH or because of the affect it appears they will have when added, seems to be common here.

I have compiled a list of units that I feel, or have seen debated about, that could be perk units.

I actually don't want these added with only a crude perk system to control them, but I felt it might be an interesting discussion about the reasons for perk status.

Please add your thoughts and comments.

Fighters

Definate Perk Fighters:

F4U-4 Corsair: Why? F4U, but with good acceleration and climb, great top speed as well.

F7F Tigercat: Why? Fast with 4 Hispano M2 cannon and 4 50 calibre Brownings.

F8F Bearcat: Why? Great speed, acceleration and climb.

P-47M Thunderbolt: Why? P-47, except incredibly fast, 470mph.

P-51H Mustang: Why? Lightened, faster P-51D.  480mph and more manuverable.

P-80A Shooting Star: Why? 550mph jet fighter.

Meteor MkIII: Why? 480mph jet fighter with 4 Hispano MkII cannon.

Spitfire MkXIV: Why? Spitfire, except faster and better climbing.

Spitfire F.21: Why? Spitfire MkXIV, but with fixed high speed handling and 4 Hispano MkII cannon.

Tempest MkV: Great low altitude speed, hadling and climb rate with 4 Hispano MkV cannon.

Yak-3: Why? Good top speed, good maneverability and a great climb rate.

Do335A-1 Pfeil: Why? 477mph fighter with a MK 103 30mm cannon.

He162A Salamander: Why? 560mph jet fighter with good manuverability and 2 30mm cannon.

Me163B-1 Komet: Why? 596mph rocket fighter with 2 30mm cannon and a 16,400 ft climb rate.

Me262A-1a Schwalbe: Why? 540mph jet fighter with 4 30mm cannon.

Ta152H-1: Great high altitude performance, good mid altitude performance, nice handling.

A7M2 Reppu: Why? 390mph with better manuverability than an A6M5 and armed with 4 Type 99 MkII cannon.

Possible Perk Fighters:

F4U-1C Corsair: Why? Great ordinance load with 4 Hispano M2 cannon, each with 231 rounds.  Why not? Poor acceleration and poor climb rate.

Spitfire LF.MkIX: Why? Spitfire F.MkIX, but with better speed and climb.  Why not? Not very fast.

La-7: Why? 380mph on the deck and great climb rate.  Why not? Poor performance at altitude.

N1K2-J Shiden-Kai: Why? Great manueverability and armed with 4 Type 99 MkII cannon with 900 rounds. Why not? 369mph top speed.

Ki84 Ib Hayate: Why? Great manuverability and armed with 4 Ho5 cannon.  Why not? 392mph top speed and only 150 rounds per gun.


Bombers

Definate Perk Bombers:

B-29A Superfortress: Why? 20,000lb bomb load at a speed of 357mph and well armed.

B-32B Dominator: Why? 20,000lb bomb load at a speed of 365mph and well armed.

Ar234A Blitz: Why? 480mph jet bomber.

Possible Perk Bombers:

Mosquito B.MkXVI: Why? 4,000lb bomb load at 410mph. Why not? Completely unarmed.

Tu-2: Why? 342mph with a 3,000kg bomb load and decently armed. Why not? Still reasonably easy to intercept.


Vehicles

Definate Perk Vehicles:

Panther V G: Why? Fast, well armored, low profile and armed with a 75mm high velocity gun.

Tiger II: Why? Extremely well armored and armed with a 88mm high velocity gun.

Possible Perk Vehicles:

T-34/85: Why? Fast, well armored and armed with an 85mm gun. Why not? High profile and no AA defense.

[Urchin]

I agree with most of your "picks" as it were.

I disagree with your "why not" reason for perking the N1K2 and the C-Hog.  A 369 mph top speed is not slow, especially when it is capable of doing 350 or so on the deck.  I probably don't have to tell you this, but of fighter vs. fighter engagements that I have been in, easily 99% of them are under 10k, and probably 90% were under 5k.

As far as the C-Hog goes, low acceleration is not a good enough reason for me, at least not to unperk it.  Same with the poor climb.  The 4 hispanos more than make up for any performance "shortfalls" the plane may have.

Also, in my fairly limited experience with the La7, whats your definition of "poor performance" at altitude?  Whats altitude, and what kind of performance.  The La7 still climbs at just under 3k fpm at 20k, that isnt exactly poor.

[Karnak]

Urchin,

The N1K2-J does 336 on the deck.  That's not very fast compared to most of the fighters we have in AH.  It also has a poor roll rate.

Here's a rough deck speed sample:

A6M5b: 295mph
Seafire MkIIc: 305mph
Spitfire MkVb: 305mph
C.202: 315mph
Ki61-I-Kai: 315mph
Spitfire F.MkIX: 321mph
C.205: 330mph
Bf109F-4: 330mph
N1K2-J: 336mph

All other fighters are faster than the N1K2 on the deck.  The N1K2-J does accelerate very well. There is no denying that the N1K2-J is a very good fighter as it is modeled in AH, but its not fast and I can't see any way that 369mph can be seen as fast for a WWII fighter, particularly a 1944/45 fighter.  I don't even consider 425mph fast for a WWII fighter in 1944/45.

I agree that the F4U-1C should not be unperked, but those are the pros and cons of the aircraft as I see them.

I don't like the La-7 for the same reason I don't like the Fw190D-9, Bf109G-10, P-51D and Typhoon, they speed the game up too much.  But that said, I'll live with them.
The La-7 is, IMO, the best unperked fighter in AH.

[Vermillion]

Karnak, explain the Yak-3 thing please, you've really got me confused on that one.

Or is your La7-aphobia showing   ?

[Seeker]

So far, the perk system seems to have been used as a play balance (rather than numbers balance) system; I.E. we've lot's of D9's running about, although they were quite rare, and the Temp's been perked, which was a lot more common.

So, why perk anything at all unless and untill it seems to have an unduly high presence in the arena?

this sort of agenda seems only to spark off arguments before we even know if HTC are even considering half the planes on this list.

Why worry what anyone else flies?

[Karnak]

Vermillion,

The stats I have on the Yak-3 with the VK-107 engine give it a top speed of 447mph and an initial climb of 5,250 feet per minute.

True, it is light on the firepower, ammo endurance and fuel endurance, but that speed and climb coupled with a Yak's manuverability says perk to me.  A cheap perk, but a definate perk.

For what its worth, I don't have an La-7 phobia, I would just prefer a 1943 sim to a 1944/45 sim.  The La-7 doesn't warrant any special attention over any of the other 1944/45 aircraft that we have in AH.

[Urchin]

Karnak- I actually tend to agree with you that the La-7 is the "best" plane in the arena.  However, it is the "best" because it can run from every other plane in the set if the pilot realizes he is in trouble in time.  If the pilot would chose to stay and fight at a disadvantage, the N1K2 then becomes the "best" plane, again in my opinion.

Oh also- I'm sorry about my loose usage of the term "the deck".  Pretty much what I mean when I say "on the deck" is at 5k or below.  I don't mean literally within 10 feet of the ground.

[ 08-01-2001: Message edited by: Urchin ]

[Nashwan]

Very few Yak-3s had the VK-107, and I think they only saw service in 45, or very late 44.

[Karnak]

Nashwan,

My info says the Yak-3 with the VK-107 engine was available "not later than January 1944".

I therefore assumed that it was the standard version of the Yak-3.

[juzz]

The more common Yak-3 with VK-105PF only did about 410mph at 10k. Not a perk.

Tu-2 would be reduced to about 310mph with a 3000kg bombload, because two of the bombs must be carried externally. Tu-2 should not be perked, but the A-26B/C might be worthy of perkage.

Ar 234 top speed with it's external bombload is about 370mph, Mosquito B.XVI with it's internal bombload would be over 400mph...  

[Karnak]

Further reading on my part revealed that the Yak-3 with the VK-107 engine entered testing in January, 1944, but was too late to see service.

I agree that the Yak-3 with the VK-105 engine would not be a perk.

Juzz,

You are quite correct about the Tu-2 with 3,000kg of bombs.  I missed that.  The Tu-2 can carry 2,270kg of bombs internally.  That's still pretty good, but it might still be a cheap perk.  I don't know.

Does the Ar234's speed get reduced that badly by its bombs?  Ouch.

Yes, the Mosquito B.XVI is one fast cookie, literally.