Vultee V-12D is a new strike aircraft in the low ranks of the Chinese aviation tree!

V-12D, strike aircraft, China, rank II.

Pros

• Comparatively good controls
• Heavy MGs in the nose

Cons

• Modest bomb load

Attack aircraft from the US-based Vultee company attracted great interest from foreign military authorities. Thus, Soviet strike aviation began from the assembly of a licensed copy of the Vultee V-11. The Chinese commission for purchasing military equipment showed no less interest than the Soviets. The Chinese side negotiated the start of serial production of Vultee light bombers in the second half of the 1930’s, when these aircraft were already outdated. According to agreements reached, the production of the V-12C version was to begin at facilities of the CAMCO aircraft building company in China from 1939, but during the implementation of the contract, the commission became interested in the V-12D version that was being finalized according to the requirements of the Chinese side.

The aircraft had a more powerful engine, forward armament of two heavy machine guns in the nose, a modified version of the cockpit cupola, and an additional lower turret. According to the contract,  a total of 50 V-12D’s were to be assembled from American components, but almost immediately after the start of assembly, production had to be moved to India. The aircraft building facilities were dangerously close to the front line and were damaged by Japanese bomber raids. In 1940, about a dozen V-12Ds were produced in India, after which the further release of the attack aircraft was considered gainless.

In our game, the V-12D will become a rank II strike aircraft in the Chinese aviation tech tree. The V-12D is especially good in Mixed combat, where it is much preferable to a clumsy bomber or a fragile fighter. In the arsenal of the Chinese attack aircraft, there are only two bomb suspension options: one 500 pound bomb or a pair of 250 pound bombs with separate release. The aircraft is quite slow, but for its weight and dimensions it can be efficiently controlled, which is very useful for precision bombing. Unlike rank II bombers, the V-12D is armed with a pair of heavy machine guns, and unlike the V-11, the machine guns are located in the nose. In addition to the upper defensive turret, the V-12D has another rifle calibre turret located on the bottom of the fuselage behind the cockpit.

The V-12D will be a good addition to the Chinese setup at the earlier ranks in mixed battles. Here it has a good chance of making one or two tank frags per sortie, featuring. at the same time a  sufficient survivability and defensive armament to get to the airfield even with a fighter on her “six”. Thinking of starting research on China? Take a closer look at the V-12D, which will appear in the game with the release of the next major update!

You can greatly speed up the research on this vehicle with: Hawk III