Altitude vs Performance - simple rules

[Zoe Brain]

Aircraft operating outside their optimum altitude range count as if engine damaged - they may not voluntarily do fast maneuvers, and if they take engine damage must dive until they reach an optimum altitude or reach low level, whichever comes first.

Altitudes are classed as Low, Medium and High, corresponding to 1-4,5-8, and 9-12 altitudes, respectively.

Optimum Altitudes:
Spitfires : MH
Bf109E : MH
P-40B : L
P-40E : LM
P-39 : L
I-16 : L
D520 : MH
Hurricanes : MH
Zero : MH
Wildcat : LM
Val : LMH
Stuka : LM
Dauntless : LM
Yak1 : LM
Gladiator : M
Fiat 42 : M
R2002 : M
Ki-61 : M
Ki-100 : MH
Hayabusa: MH

[CappyTom]

Nice comparison, thanks for sharing Zoe.

Thomas

[Lord_Ninja]

Just be prepared to calculate in new altitudes when the late-war birds are released. Also I believe the Zero needs Low added to it's classes. We had to create really High altitude planes to escape it's turning prowess at low levels . Love the idea behind it and I will see about my group giving it a try out next time we do a scenario with Alt rules.

[Kaiser]

I doubt that High Altitude is optimal for the Zero.
It is said that the Lightning could outturn a Zero at High Altitude (and only there).

[Lord_Ninja]

I doubt that High Altitude is optimal for the Zero.
It is said that the Lightning could outturn a Zero at High Altitude (and only there).

Early war Zeros did have good high altitude performance but mostly only because High altitude was considered 33,000 feet. Late war high altitude ceiling was considered 39,000+ while the Zero never really made it past it's 33k mark. That's the reason I was warning Zoe about having to add in another set of alt as "Really High" or something.

[Zoe Brain]

Early war Zeros did have good high altitude performance but mostly only because High altitude was considered 33,000 feet

A6M2 - MH
A6M3 - LM
A6M5 - LM

The A6M3 had clipped wings, higher roll rate, not so much drag in thick air, and thickened skin. The A6M2 was really too fragile, but better performing higher up - ceiling was limited by engine power. By the late war, A6M2s were nearly extinct. The A6M5 (visually similar to an A6M3, but wingtips rounded) had even heavier construction, a slightly more powerful engine, but still not good at high altitudes.

The stats for the Zero in WoW are OK for the A6M5 - the A6M2 should have a 90' turn in its deck, but hit points 10 at most (A6M3 maybe 13). It couldn't dive worth a darn either, over 420mph the plane disintegrated, and over 400mph the skin started wrinkling and shedding. Same thing happened with the A6M3 at 420mph, disintegrating at around 450.

[brucewallace]

I wonder if there have been any further developments of this idea, and also whether it has been extended to cover World War I. It seems like a very sound idea, and now that I am just getting into WW2 in a serious way, I'm going to give it a try.