Hs 129 B-2 (Romania)

Description

The Hs 129 B-2 (Romanian Air Force) is a premium gift rank German strike aircraft with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced as a premium pack in Update 1.41.27. This vehicle can no longer be obtained in the German Tech Tree but can now be found instead in the Italian tree as the Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) (Italy).

General info

Flight performance

Details

Survivability and armour

• 5 mm Steel - Oil cooler covers
• 5 mm Steel - Lower engine cowl protection
• 2 mm Steel - Cockpit side plates
• 12 mm Steel - Cockpit back plate, floor, and front plates
• 75 mm Bulletproof glass

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, fuselage-mounted (250 rpg = 500 total)
• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, fuselage-mounted (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)

Suspended armament

The Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 1 x 30 mm MK 103 cannon, belly-mounted (100 rpg)
• 1 x 37 mm BK 3.7 cannon, belly-mounted (12 rpg)
• 4 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (200 kg total)

Usage in battles

The plane is very heavy, which makes it nearly impossible to take out fighters (unless the fighters come to the Hs 129 B-2, see below), even most medium bombers are more manoeuvrable, however the plane is heavily armoured, so it can last a while even under heavy fire, even to such a degree that some planes run out of ammunition before taking out a Henschel. That combined with the heavy armament makes it ideal to attack B-17 formations, even though it requires time and effort to climb and match the speed of the formation. The armour around the cockpit makes it nearly immune to 7.92 mm rounds and could also fly with one engine, albeit with great difficulty. The planes incredibly stable flight behaviour makes aiming even for joystick pilots very easy and accurate thus not wasting too much ammunition.

Once the 30 mm additional gun with its impressive 100-round belt has been researched (the 37 mm with its smaller belt and low rate of fire should be avoided), the plane has very heavy firepower. In combination with the great stability and thus firing accuracy, this makes it an ideal heads-on fighter. With a bit of experience, it's relatively easy to finish off enemy fighters with one or two short bursts before they are even in range for the target indicator to appear. In situations where enemy planes coming at 0.5 to 1.0 km interval from the same direction, the Hs 129 B-2 can easily achieve triple or even quadruple air victories before needing to turn around for reloading.

Tactics

Using the 30 mm MK 103, which can be unlocked as an additional armament option, the Hs 129 B-2 is capable of destroying most mission relevant ground targets. Tanks of all sorts, as well as light pillboxes, can be destroyed in up to three hits, provided armour piercing ammunition (HVAP-T) is unlocked. Thanks to the 100 rounds of ammunition available, this can make a single Hs 129 B-2 a game-changing aircraft. The same can be achieved using the BK 3.7, however, it is generally considered harder to use and thus not a viable option.

The Hs 129 B-2, however, does have major drawbacks. Its engines are weak which results in poor top speed, acceleration and climb rate. This, combined with the armour of nearly one-ton weight, makes it perform poorly in air combat and very vulnerable to attacks of enemy fighters. This, however, goes so far that sometimes enemy pilots underestimate the Hs 129 and overshoot it after a tight turn, which gives the Hs 129 B-2 pilot a moderate chance of defending itself.

Enemies worth noting:

Yak-2 KABB: Do not think that the Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) can confidently outmanoeuvre this plane just because it is twin-engined. The Yak-2 has an amazing turn rate for a heavy fighter, thus the Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) must avoid turning with it, if not dogfighting with it in general. It bears a pair of ShVAK cannons that can easily damage vital parts like engine or cooling systems. It has green camo, greatly resembling an Me 410 but with an H-tail like a Bf 110's.

ZSD63: A deadly enemy to face in Tank Realistic Battles. Though it is hard to identify specific SPAA vehicles on the ground (especially when they are shooting tracers at the plane), if a ZSD63 is identified, avoid it at all costs and do not attempt head-ons with it, ever. It can easily snap a wing off by causally putting a short burst in the Hs 129 B-2 (Romania)'s flight path. Don't even get close to it unless it is occupied with another friendly or if the Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) is equipped with a bomb that it can use. The Hs 129 B-2 (Romania)'s 30mm / 37mm cannons in the secondary armaments cannot effectively damage it as its hull is overall quite empty, causing your shells to do little to no damage. Some identifying features of the ZSD63 is its rather boxy and tall hull with a geometric turret sitting at the back, slightly similar to a Wirbelwind's. The firing manner is also distinctive: the sound and green tracers are very rapid, much like a buzz saw, but then it will remain silent for half a minute reloading. Note that an experienced ZSD player will hold its fire or shoot in single salvos with long halts between, making it look like that it's reloading. Armour piercing belt is recommended since their high penetration can tear through the ZSD's armour with ease and knock out its crews.

Manual Engine Control

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Resistant to light machine guns and Russian heavy machine guns
• Very good firepower when carrying either the 30 mm or 37 mm cannon pods
• 30 mm MK 103 is a high-velocity cannon with a decent rate of fire, which allows for versatility in targets, and is especially devastating against armoured vehicles
• 30 mm HVAP-T generally destroys air targets in one to three hits with a high potential to combust targets
• 30 mm HE-I/HEI-T Minengeschoß in the default belts means grinding once the 30 mm is available isn't that difficult
• 30 mm has a reasonable ammo pool of 100 rounds and the low fire rate combined with hit success allows it more than enough to obtain down five planes before running out
• Cockpit has 70 mm of armoured glass at the front, reasonable all-round protection for the pilot
• Great at head-on passes in all game modes (shoot and duck/roll away)
• Centrally mounted armament, need for gun harmonisation minimalized

Cons:

• Poor climb rate, bad manoeuvrability, heavy aircraft
• The engines are underpowered and if even one is shot-up, the plane will fall from the sky
• Engine uses a carburettor, preventing prolonged inverted G-load state
• Has no defensive armament compared to other attack aircraft of its rank
• Engine and internal wing fuel tanks are ideal targets for enemy pilots
• Needs the gun pods to do well
• Cockpit armour is very thin
• Pilot can be killed by SPAAGs or by machine guns larger than .30 cal
• Thick cockpit armoured glass causes some distortion (Simulator)

History

At the start of WW2 Romania had adopted a position of neutrality. However following the Soviet Annexation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in June - July 1940, the loss of Northern Transylvania to Hungary on 30 August 1940, and the loss of Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria on 7 September 1940 the popularity of the Romanian government plummeted. This led to a series of government changes, followed by a Coup and the instalment of Ion Antonescu as the country's leader. Antonescu promptly got Romania to join the Tripartite Pact on 23 November, becoming allied with Nazi Germany.^[1]

Becoming allies with Nazi Germany gave Romania access to German aircraft. It is reported that Romania received Hs 129 A series aircraft.^[2] The Hs 129 A was known for being extremely underpowered with its Argus As 410 engines, and B series aircraft were soon produced with more powerful Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engines. Romania received the latest Hs 129 B-2 version in June 1943; and they were put to use against Soviet forces on the Eastern Front^[3]. The Romanian Hs-129 B-2s typically carried a 30 mm cannon under the fuselage, and proved to be very effective in the ground attack role, reportedly "bringing Soviet tank and infantry attacks to a halt time and again".^[3] On 23 August 1944 after Romania had been suffering heavy losses against the advancing Soviet forces King Michael I of Romania ordered Antonescu to surrender. When Antonescu refused the king had him arrested and declared war on Nazi Germany, joining the Soviet advance.^[4] It is unclear if the Hs 129s were used against Germany.

One Romanian ace to fly the Hs 129 was Teodor Zăbavă, who achieved four air-to-air kills in his Hs 129 (and more in his IAR 80). One kill occurred on 25 October 1943 against a Soviet Yak fighter.^[5]

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Related development

• Hs 129 (Family)
  • Hs 129 B-2
  • Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) (Italy)

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Bernad, D. (2012). Rumanian Aces of World War 2. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Joseph, F. (2012). The Axis Air Forces Flying in Support of the German Luftwaffe. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.
• Kretaner, N. (n.d.). Hs 129. Retrieved from WW2 Weapons
• Williamson, M. (2017, August 19). Romanian Air Service WWII part I. Retrieved from Weapons and Warfare
• Williamson, M. (2017, August 19). Romanian Air Service WWII part II. Retrieved from Weapons and Warfare