Merica! F*** Yeah! The lot of em make good energy fighters but the .50 cals will be your friend one day and piss you off the next.

You will do well to start thinking about your speed as a valuable commodity as the Americans live and die off their energy management. I'm only getting into the mustang with this lot but the planes here should cover all the surprises. I also threw in some tips on how handling these things with a joystick should feel like. So with out further ado...

God this thing looks dumb, like the frigging short bus.

Let's face facts. Your reserves are not going to be all that great but here is an introduction to the Americans. Semi-decent at everything, great at nothing, prepare to throw this one out of your hanger pretty quickly and get something with .50 cals ASAP.


How to Kill: As a reserve, there is really nothing special about this plane you can exploit assuming you are flying a similar ranked aircraft. Thus said, shooting it works well enough.

With Joystick: Touchy. Turns on the slightest whim, but that's just par for the course for reserves. Thankfully this crate is pretty stable so abuse your rudder authority.

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

The A1 buffalo is very maneuverable but then again, so is everything else in it's rank group. It's actually stands a better chance vs higher ranked aircraft. With 3 .50s and 1 .30, the beefalo can deliver a pretty respectable punch. Overall I think it's one of the most powerful low ranked planes in the game. If you are fortunate enoungh to have Thach's f2a-1 then you can plow though the first 2 tiers of US in no time flat.

F2A3 has 4 .50 cals and the idotic addtion of a larger fuel tank that bricks the thing pretty hard.

How to kill: Don't try to turnfight the A1 in anything less than a chika. The A3 has energy management problems due to it's weight so it's easier to decline a head-on and set up a good attack run. The armor on both is very tough and can shrug off .30s all week.

With Joystick:
A1: Watch it when your speed gets low, it gets bouncy in a sharp turn. Not very stable and that's a problem with only 2 MGs up front.
A3: Careful when using the rudder as it will get nose divey and bouncy. Go easy on the controls and concentrate on energy fighting. Those 4 .50 cals will still make short work of everything around your tier.

Never had the privilege of flying the Hawk. It was added in after I cleared the progression range. Pity

A pretty solid offering from the mericans that really start to kick in once you get the C Hawk and it's guns. A good roll rate, it can pitch with the best of em, and maintain some resemblance of some low speed performance. A pretty good anti-brit to be honest.

How to Kill: No crippling weakness here except for the armament and armor. Just don't let the Hawk get on your tail. You will never get rid of it.

With Joystick: The FM updates have treated the Hawk series pretty well so no major issues with stability. Just have fun keeping those .30 cals on target, as if they where not already on the north side of useless.

Why the hell does this thing not suck!?!

I don't know what's with the Wildcat. On paper it does not look all that impressive. 4 .50 cals and low top speed but good mobility and acceleration = one surprising plane for it's tier. This thing is ultra stable (which is a godsend for a stick user) and accelerates quickly so don't be afraid to spend your energy. This is the first plane I've had real success with (and I have the video to prove it). The next plane in the line is the F4F-4 with 6 .50 cals but it doesn't handle as well due to the extra weight. Overall a very solid plane but gets outdated quickly.

How to kill: Don't be an idiot and bleed all your speed in a turnfight. The cat's low speed performance is better than yours. Otherwise this thing is vulnerable to high speed slashing attacks.

With Joystick: Ultra stable, just go nuts with what little rudder authority you have.

So... meet the new replacement hawk. Just as ridiculous as the old one.

The P-36 with a piston engine and a extra 7 and 12 MM gun up front. Sweet christ... the yaw and pitch performance is off the wall at high speeds and with an engine that is good enough to match. Roll rate is not bad either making for one complete package. Overall a great dogfighter but yeah... 7MMs. Oh about those, you will run out of .50 cal ammo long before the 7MMs run dry. As of 1.39, they have seperate ammo counters.

How to kill: Like the other Hawks, this one will rip you apart below ~250 KPH in anything other than a zero. Maintain your speed as best you can as the roll rate of the Hawk can tank to almost nothing. Just note that a stiff breeze will force this one into a nose first landing.

With Joystick: Go nuts with this thing in AB. It's a nice little machine in good hands.

More dakka! I wish that was the American answer to everything but that stops being the case after the P-40 and 47.

At 6 .50 cals this crate is very well armed, fast, and has enough mobility although not enough to win a turn fight. Don't be afraid to lay on the trigger as you have plenty of ammo and watch out for those damn spits and Ki-s. Your armor is actually pretty decent but once that breaks the P-40 cannot cope with damage worth a damn. It's simply too unstable.

How to kill: Turnfight it if your craft is capable. Otherwise secure an energy advantage before you engage or run screaming. You will get pulverized by those guns.

With Joystick: The rudder is super bouncy so go easy on it. Thankfully the roll rate is impressive and the elevator won't lock up at high speeds. Keep your energy up so you can abuse it later to keep your guns on target... If you can. Like I said, this thing is unstable as all hell.

That's a twin .50 cal ball turret on top and another .50 cal turret on the bottom tail. Yeah, you can scratch "tailing a A-20" off the list of fun an healthy things to do.

I guess I have to add attackers to this list as well... For a "not quite a bomber" the A-20G is pretty damn fast, ridiculously so in a dive and it climbs pretty well (despite what the stat card says). It carries 6 .50 cals in the nose for anything stupid enough to get in front of it and those turrets are actually worth something for anything stupid enough to stay behind (you'll want to take command of the turrets yourself if your AI gunner sucks). As an added bonus, it gets faster bomb reloads in arcade so don't be afraid to drop em if you need to get out of a jam. It doesn't get bomber spawns oddly enough. Finally, the A-20 can swing it's nose around pretty well but I wouldn't want to take on a beaufigher in it. The A-20's energy retention in a turn is absolutely horrid.

How to kill: Watch out for those turrets. They will ruin your day if you sit in front of em especially if the player is manning the guns himself. Low and to the side is a good approach. This is a tough ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ if you ain't packing a couple of cannons.

With Joystick: One hand on the stick keeping your plane up, the other hand on the mouse for your turret gunners. Have fun with that. Thankfully the controls are all almost perfectly steady so you shouldn't have any problems dropping your care packages. Just go easy on your inputs to preserve your speed. You will need it later.

(The Carrier cats are taking 1.51 off it seems. Their flight models and DMs are all wonked up. Clip them and they go down.)

History lession folks: While the Americans where waiting for Chance Vought to quit ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ around with the Corsair for carrier opperations, and for the Brits to come up with the solution, they needed an interm solution to replace the Wildcat. Enter the F6F Hellcat. Even after the faster Corsair got onto the carrier decks, Navy pilots still perfered the Hellcat for being a docile flyer and a great gun platform. That is exactly what the War Thunder F6F gives you.

Continuing in the grand tradition of American carrier cats, the F6F maintains the surprising turn-rate and stability of it's predecessors. The difference here is that the Hellcat has a well-needed engine upgrade so imagine a wildcat that can actually chase down ♥♥♥♥ and you got the hellcat in a nutshell. The hellcat's dive speed is pretty redic. 600+ KM, 12Gs in RB and those wings are still plasterd on). Overall, a fantastic aircraft that can tango with aircraft well above it's BR and win handedly.

However the F6F has no armor what so ever and is a pretty whopping big target. This makes survivng a head on a pretty dicey proposition even if you go full evasive. Don't get hit! Forturnetly if you do, the F6F is stable enoungh to withstand a couple critical hits and keep on trucking if you are lucky.

How to kill: Well the good news for you is a lot of players tend to play the F6F as a figher/bomber as in, weigh their planes down with bombs and go low to strike ground targets (Max payload of 2000lbs worth of bombs and 6 rockets. Even in arcade that weighs the cat down like a lead balloon).

Now if you actually have to fight one on even footing, pray the pilot doesn't know how to turn effectively and don't bleed too much speed. Only the Spitfire MK1/2 and Zeros can match the Hellcat's low speed prefromance but it suffers from control stiffening.

With Joystick: There is rock solid, then there is the hellcat which brings stability and turns it up to eleven. I'm not kidding. Go into realistic or simulator mode and try to spin this thing out by pitching too much. You can't do it.

NOTE: Currently my best american plane hands down and my second/third (with the Spitfire 2b) best aircraft in all of War Thunder (The A6M3s holds the top spot for me).

Is it just me or do the Americans have a habit of building a plane around a big ass gun that they still to this day haven't gotten over (A-10 warthog anybody)?

This thing has 6 other guns on it? It's 37mm steals the show but the P-39 moves like a fat pig. Maintain good energy discipline as you will need the speed to get out of trouble. Overall, I don't think it's that good but it's cannon is HONKING! The 39Q trades out the 2 7MMs for proper .50 cals with a bit lower performance. Like you even care.

How to kill: Just get the hell out of the way and you got this one mostly in the bag if your aircraft isn't a complete cow. Once you got the energy over it (which won't take long) it's goodnight Airacrobra. Honestly, you should not be losing to this gun heavy slug.

With Joystick: Bouncy rudder, go easy on it. The recoil on the 37mm will quite literately shake things up. It's roll rate isn't great either so keeping your gun on target is a problem. Not a friendly plane but you get the idea why they weren't popular with the Americans.

The plane the Americans couldn't wait to get rid of. If you are curious, the P-400 is an export model of the P-39 given to Great Britain made uniquely British with the 20mm hispano replacing the 37mm cannon. Technically you get the P-400 before the airacrobras but what the hell right?

The brits might of been on to something with ditching the 37mm. The P-400 flies exactly what I would expect if the P-39 wasn't a gun heavy slug. It accelerates better, turns snappier and has better energy retention. As for guns, the 20mm hispano in the nose is a nice addition to your 4 wing mounted 7mms and 2 nose mounted .50 cals. Overall the P-400 is actually a very capable high speed dogfighter (and not too bad low speed come to think of it if you don't forget about the combat flaps).

How to Kill: If this thing gets an energy advantage over you outside a spit IIb or zero then you are toast (if the guy is competent). Don't let it happen. In a head on, hope you have a good turn fighter or can otherwise GTFO. Other than that the P-400 shares the P-39 weakness of being a huge target.

With Joystick: Much more stable than the airacrobra. Doesn't rudder bounce nearly as much and once you hit 250+ KPH the oversteer bounce disappears. A pretty fun plane to fly overall but you do have to worry about the gun recoil. Thus said, in my very first battle in the P-400 I went on a 10 kill streak before idiocy got the better of me. What does that say about anything? I don't know.

Someday I'll get a good killstreak going and then create a montage set to the music of the 19XX series of arcade games.

Welcome to the world of pure BnZ fighting. Hope you are a fast learner cause you'll need those skills to keep this oversized clay pigeon alive. The P-38 cannot take a hit worth a damn but at least you got a cannon to supplement the 4 .50 cals. Also the guns are nose mounted for extra annoyance. Overall, it's alright but not great. Note that if you are caught in a dogfight, drop those combat flaps. They will give a nice boost to your mobility that can catch the odd BF-109 off guard.

To be clear, boom and zooming does not mean climbing as fast as fricking possible after whizzing by your adversary (A common misconception). #1: Your break should be a bit earlier. #2: Don't get me wrong, altitude is important but all that potential energy will be for naught if you get sniped out going 250 KPH (Like holding up a big neon sign saying "FREE KILL! SHOOT HERE!"). Climbing costs speed. Speed which you should be using getting the hell out of range. Just be careful when sacing speed for altitude thinking it can only help. Unless you have and idea on what you are going to do with the position, 9 times outta 10 it will only make you an easier target.

How to kill: If it comes down to an even fight, I'm pretty sure my cockatiel can win against Gaijin's P-38. Thing is, a good P-38 driver will never fight fair.

With Joystick: pretty stable but doesn't turn that well. Rudder authority non-existent. Thankfully the roll performance doesn't get worse at high speeds (a major saving grace). Just do your best to maintain energy and for gods sake don't let anybody get a bead on you.

1.43 has been pretty nice to the corsair. it's a much better gun platform then before. Historicaly the Corsair was a faster alternative to the F6F though many pilots perfered the stability of the hellcat. The engine is still pretty underpowered though.

The first corsair feels like a carrier kittyhawk but not as crappy. Nothing too special about this one. Thankfully next you get the 1D which can climb like a BOSS!... at least in AB. At speeds the Corsair is pretty stable and can swing it's nose around very well. However you lose the turning at around 400 KPH but that big engine will let you get your energy back in short order. Keep in mind that the Corsair was built as a strict BnZer so don't go messing it up with 109s, Spitfires, yaks and certinaly not the zeros.

The upgrade to the 1D is the 1C with 4 cannons (frickin finally!). The handling still sucks ass but at least you only need one good plug, have ~630 rounds to do it with, and it plays into the BnZ role much better than the brownings. As of 1.43 the corsair can finally take it's place in my American line-up, at least untill the F6F get's over it's binge drinking hangover.

How to kill: Move out of the way and sucker it into a dogfight. The infamous glass tail that Gaijin gave this plane will cause it to skip town the instant you scratch the paint and the F4U gets out maneuvered by pretty much everybody with an elevator. If you get jumped, get low and turn hard.

With Joystick: Keep em FM fixes comming Gaijin and we will get along great. Little bounce on the rudder but nothing to cause you too many problems.

Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president? Failing that, we will also accept taking the War Thunder P-47 out for a spin.

You may of gotten used to the American planes compensating for your shortcomings with one gimmick or another (stability, engine power, big honking guns) but this one... oh no. This fat bastard will teach you proper energy fighting or you WILL DIE! a lot! Go easy on your turns, lay off the rudder and don't pull hard unless it's time to put those 8 .50 cals on target. When it is time to shoot, lay on the guns with full force. The P-47 has a ridiculous amount of ammo. Also as of 1.39 the fire-rate of the P-47s and P-51s guns was increased to match thier historical counterparts. Those 8 .50 cals will spew lead like nothing else.

Speaking of ammo, this is the first american plane that gets better ammo for it's .50 cals once you get the offensive gun upgrade. And speaking of upgrades, from this point on you will be hurting for them. The American planes will suck until you get fuel injection so it's a hard grind.

Thankfully as of 1.37, someone lit a fire under the 47's butt. This Fat-♥♥♥♥ can really move once it gets going (reminds me of the Raptor in Wing Commander). Also the roll rate of the 47 can rival that of most russian planes. Kinda impressive really.

How to kill: If it ain't high and/or behind you then this one is a freebie. On the flip-side, a fast moving 47 can really swing itself around and those 8 guns up front hurt so don't nod off.

With Joystick: Pretty stable if you don't overdo it on the roll and it can swing it's nose around if it needs to. Bear in mind that doing so will cost speed which is a valuable commodity for the P-47 so do it only when absolutely necessary (IE: getting your guns on target or dodging a head on). Patch 1.39 added compression to the P-47 so you won't be able to make boneheadded moves as easily amymore.

"New and improved! we promise!" Well the Americans were not buying any of Bell's crap but the Soviets did, the suckers.

Like the P-39 but better in every respect. The A-5 is a pretty decent figher in it's own right but the A-10 is the real show stealer. A good mix of speed, energy efficiency, and turning can make this one nasty bugger in the right hands. Then there is the C-5 which is over ranked so screw it.

How to kill: Same as the Airacrobra. Decline the head-on and brawl it out if able. If you don't have a dedicated turn-fighter well... your probably screwed in a straight up fight without altitude.

With Joystick: Go easy on the turns as this plane will get bouncy on you if you pull too hard. Thankfully the recoil isn't as bad as the P-39.

I'll add more when I get to em but that should cover your bread and butter. At this point you should be capable enough to handle everything else in the tree.