In today’s blog, we’ll be taking a look at the rather interesting P-16, an experimental Swiss attack jet aircraft that has been modeled by War Thunder players!
[h2]
P-16: A Premium Strike Aircraft for Germany at Rank VI[/h2]
At a glance:
- Excellent low-speed control!
- Light in weight with a variety of ordnance that can fit onto 4 wing hardpoints.
- Sidewinder AIM-9B air-to-air missiles.
- Model created by a War Thunder player!
Vehicle History[expand]
In 1948, the Swiss Air Force announced a competition to develop a jet fighter capable of performing ground-attack missions and taking off from unpaved airfields. Two Swiss companies took part in the competition: EFW (Eidgenössische Flugzeugwerke Emmen) with a project for four-engine tailless aircraft and FFA (Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke AG) with the more conservative P-16 project. The P-16 was a single-seat, low-wing monoplane with a short wing and a British Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet engine; for takeoff from unprepared terrain, the aircraft was equipped with twin landing gear wheels and a brake parachute. The first prototype, P-16-01, took to the air on April 25th 1955. The second prototype exceeded the speed of sound the following year. By 1958, four prototypes had been built, two of which had a more powerful version of the engine and showed acceptable flight characteristics.
In March 1958, the Swiss government, inspired by the test results, ordered 100 P-16 aircraft. However, the third prototype soon crashed due to problems with the hydraulic system. The production order was canceled. FFA made the necessary adjustments to the design and built two more prototypes on its own initiative, but the Swiss Air Force no longer showed interest in them. In the end, the Air Force purchased British Hawker Hunters.
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[h2]Pre-order – FFA P-16 Pack[/h2]
Can be purchased through the store in-game. Shop > Online Store
Price: 59.99
- FFA P-16 strike aircraft
- (Rank VI, Germany);
- Premium account for 15 days;
- 2000 Golden Eagles;
- Pre-order bonus: unique "Slashing Pike" title;
- Pre-order bonus: unique “Swiss Guard” decal.
* - available after the next major update.
[h2]Meet the P-16![/h2]
We’ve got a rare guest to show you in this dev blog: a combat aircraft that comes from Switzerland, the P-16! And today, we’re going to be telling you all about this experimental strike aircraft and its unique features coming to the game in the Dance of Dragons major update, available for pre-order starting today. Let’s take a look!
The P-16 was conceived as an aircraft that could be capable of taking off from unprepared, short airfields in the mountains. Because of this, its designers aimed to make it as compact as possible in size; it features short wings that have a large area and a high-thrust engine. In terms of being able to control the P-16, it’s easy — this is because although it cannot reach the speed of sound, it can get close to it, giving it good control at low speeds. Being great in dogfights, the P-16 is best used turning at extremely low altitudes and speeds, where other jet aircraft would risk stalling and crashing. But thanks to the P-16 working magic, it can stay in the air and maintain control with the flaps down!
Moving onto the weaponry of this Swiss aircraft. The P-16 features AIM-9B air-to-air missiles plus two high velocity HS 825 30 mm cannons located at the center of the fuselage (the same cannons used on the Italian Sagittario 2 and Ariete). Despite only having a total ammunition count of 240, these cannons are capable of taking down enemy aircraft with one or two hits. Let’s take a look at the P-16’s payload for attacking ground targets, which is rather impressive considering the size of this aircraft. On four hardpoints under the wings, the P-16 can carry bombs of various sizes up to 2,000 lb, or even napalm bombs too. This aircraft can also carry a total of 48 R80 SURA rockets, or 44 SNEB rockets that are located in a special retractable launcher under the fuselage. Even when carrying a maximum payload, the P-16 is still capable of effectively attacking ground targets thanks to its excellent control at low altitudes!
This amazing aircraft was created as part of the revenue share program by War Thunder players Vitaly “NovA29R” Vostokov (aircraft model) and Vladimir “Reg25RUS” Stanislavsky (cockpit model). The development team would like to express their gratitude to the Air Force Center in Dübendorf for providing access to the only remaining example of the aircraft, as well as to the members of the Swiss War Thunder community for taking photos of the aircraft and providing other materials that helped in the creation of the model!
That’s today’s blog! The premium P-16 can be purchased starting today as a pre-order pack for the German aircraft tree and will be available in the Dance of Dragons major update. Until then, keep an eye out for other vehicles on the way. Happy battles ahead!
Please note that this vehicle's characteristics may be adjusted before being added to the game.
“V-J Day 2024” decal 
