War Thunder - Premium Aircraft Buying Guide 

Table of Contents- Since no one else has done so yet. American Thatch's F21-1 - Rating:Not Rated 0:35 B-10B - Rating:3 1:15 Galer's F3F-2 - Rating:2 2:04 XP-38G - Rating:4 2:37 Ki-43-II Hayabusa - Rating:2 3:19 XP-55 - Rating:4 3:55 Ki-61-lb - Rating:2 4:22 A6M2 - Rating:2 4:34 XP-50 - Rating:4 4:55 Bf 109 F4 - Rating:2 5:23 BTD-1 - Rating:4 5:36 P-61A-1 - Rating:2 6:34 P-47M-RE - Rating:5 7:58 P-51D-20 NA - Rating:3 8:58 Fw-190 A-8 - Rating:2 9:40 Spitfire LF. Mk.IXc - Rating:3 10:04 Germany He 112 B-1/U2 - Rating:2 10:40 Marcolin's C.R.42 CN (Not Mentioned) Flegel's Bf.109A - Rating:2 11:02 IL-2 (1942) - Rating:2 11:40 Wellington Mk 1c - Rating:2 11:56 BV 238 - Rating:5 12:15 Yak-1B - Rating:2 12:47 Ta 154 A-1 - Rating:5 12:55 P-47D - Rating:3 13:25 LA-5FN - Rating:1 13:51 Fw 190 D-13 - Rating:4 14:19 Tempest Mk V - Rating:1 15:13 Do 335 B-2 - Rating:2 15:35 He 219 A-7 - Rating:4 16:09 USSR Zhukovsky's I-153-M62 - Rating:2 16:31 Hampden TB Mk1 - Rating:2 16:47 PBY-5a Catalina - Rating:2 17:23 I-153P - Rating:5 17:40 Hurricane Mk IIB - Rating:4 18:39 I-16 type 28 - Rating:2 19:07 P-40E-1 - Rating:2 19:34 P-39k-1 - Rating:3 19:50 B-25J-30 - Rating:3 20:15 P-63A-5 - Rating:3 20:37 P-47D-27 - Rating:3 20:50 La-11 - Rating:4 21:15 Fw 190 D-9 - Rating:1 21:37 Yak-3 (VK-107) - Rating:3 21:51 British Tuck's Gladiator MkII - Rating:2 22:21 Havoc Mk1 - Rating:3 22:42 Wirraway - Rating:4 23:28 Catalina MkIIIa - Rating:2 24:22 Boomerang Mk1 - Rating:4 24:28 Boomerang MkII - Rating:4 24:57 Avenger MkII - Rating:2 25:16 Hudson MkV - Rating:4 25:26 Typhoon Mk1b - Rating:3 25:56 Hellcat MkII - Rating:3 26:40 Mustang Mk1a - Rating:3 26:54 Spitfire F MkXIV - Rating:2 27:36 Wyvern S4 - Rating:4 28:05 Spitfire FR Mk XIVe - Rating:4 28:48 Japan Hagiri's A5M4 - Rating:2 29:08 A7He1 - Rating:2 29:17 F4U-1a - Rating:3 29:30 Bf 109 E-7 - Rating:3 29:44 Ki-44-II otsu - Rating:4 29:58 H8K3 - Rating:3 30:33 Ki-100-II - Rating:5 31:03 A7M1 (NK9H) - Rating:4 32:02 Fw 190 A5 - Rating:3 33:03 Ki-96 - Rating:4 33:48 J2M4 kai - Rating:3 34:46 J2M5 - Rating:2 35:13 A6M5 ko - Rating:2 36:09 B-17E - Rating:2 36:46 Ki-87- Rating:4 37:17 Italy CR.32 bis - Rating:2 37:47 G55S - Rating:4 38:12

Some more info on the Aleutian Zero: It was captured mostly intact, but not entirely intact, so the Americans had to put it together again the way they thought it was supposed work. However, they didn't do a perfect job of it, and the Aleutian Zero was given a float point carburettor which flooded the engine when pulling negative G's. No real Japanese Zero had this problem, as confirmed in interviews with Saburo Sakai himself. The Americans then used this incorrect information when they were developing tactics for dealing with the Zero, telling pilots to pull negative G's and go into a right hand turn dive to get away from a Zero. This mistake is such a common misconception, for the longest time even the Japanese Zeros in the game had this supposed issue modeled. But thanks to the effort of the Japanese faction War Thunder community, this eventually got fixed. However, Gaijin changed all of the Zeros, including the Aleutian Zero in the American tech tree, which is the only Zero that is supposed to have the problem. - Chihayaburu, SSTai

The third XP-55 is in my home town. I go to visit it sometimes. I have it whisper its secrets to me before I go home and fly my XP-55 to curb stomp some Axis with true American bias. Makes me a better XP-55 pilot.

For those who dont realize, tier 1 premium planes and tanks are a trap to get new players to spend their starting golden eagles early so when they need it later on they must buy more This is not completely true with vehicles that are not skins/ paint jobs because they may be *unique* but please for gods sake dont buy tier 1 premiums

lol the guy that made the ta 154 must be so rich, i bought it and its honestly my favorite german aircraft along with the d9

0:01 US and A 10:35 Germany 16:30 Russian 22:20 The UK 29:05 The Kingdom of the rising Sun 37:40 All the Spaghetto Aircraft

you guys forget that captured aircraft, especially the ones fron the enemy, will perform differently from the original one, since they have different enemies and different maps as well as different allies.

The BTD also gets two torpedoes which is pretty damn rare even among dedicated bombers in game as far as I remember. Maybe a little more relevant with the naval stuff coming out.

My 2 cents, I can only really speak for german arcade: He 112 B-1/U-2 has that high BR for a good reason. 2 20mm HE-Frag guns are deadly against pretty much any airtarget. The capacity is a bit low, but good aim and controlled bursts make this plane a nightmare for the enemy. BV238 is almost a must-buy. As a recommendation before deploying I'd disable the convergence for the guns. With a good crew this thing will open up at 1.2km which will take down most enemies or at least grant you an assist. But the fact that the plane shots at targets from 200m-1200m means convergence is more of a hindrance than a useful tool. TA 154 is a mean destroyer. It's the earliest chance to get access to 30mm MK108s as far as I'm aware and they eat bombers for breakfast. P-47 captured is the best boom-and-zoom plane for germany in the BR 2.7-5.0 with ease. None of the 190s come even close to the performance of this baby. At high altitude you can just bounce between targets setting them on fire before they can even react. 8 50cals with stealth-ammo also make this a ridiculously good dogfighter for a plane that shouldn't even dogfight because it's almost as bad in flightbehaviour as a two-engine destroyer at low altitude. Pilotkills and ripped wings galore all day with the P-47. While it's missing the boost-upgrade of the american techtree it also lacks hardpoints, which makes it better in turnfights against most american P-47 pilots who chose to take bombs or rockets on their plane, adding additional drag to the plane.

As someone who has also spent over $1,000 on WT, I wholeheartedly agree with this this and what to look for when buying. Also strongly emphasizing waiting for WT Birthday (Around Halloween/first few days of November) and Christmas deals is a more affordable way of getting premium and Golden Eagles. The GE costs the same, but it'll buy you twice as much during those sales.

Where did you get those adorable squirrels at 0:30? Also how much did you have to pay Bismarck to use his secret squirrel communicating method to get them to all stand in a line like that?

Have to disagree with some since you can get discounts very often in battletrofees. I got the griffon spitfire wich is about 7000 eagles with discount of 75% for about 1700 eagles. Best purchase ever

OHH This is a hella good video to watch! Thanks for remaking it!

AS AN ARCADE PLAYER. I will tell you my thoughts on the ones I own from personal experience. 4:37 The only turn fighter I know in the merican tree. Plays just like other zero's. Worth it if you wanna out turn people while flying the red white and blue 11:49 Just an early IL2, no tail gunner and no rockets. Nothing really special about it. 12:43 It is often target priority #1 as it is a dam good gun boat and can one pass base destroyed bases. Can take a punishment and when in pairs, all the fighters wanna touch you with their guns. 14:14 If it wasn't an expensive traitor, it be a wonderful purchase as it plays just like its free russian brothers. 18:36 Pure Glass Cannon Troll in arcade. WORTH THE PURCHASE. 24:49 It is a decent fighter, turns well like a zero almost. I am a proud kangaroo. :D 26:14 Worth the buy if you want a superb support and bomber hunter. Just don't turn fight with it. Great climb rate too. 28:46 Excellent support and bomber hunter. Terrible turn fighter, loud as hell in the cockpit. 30:14 40mm guns fire to dam fast. Gotta bolt action the shots for maximum effect 32:00 Wonderful fun in arcade. Just don't turn fight those who can out turn you. 38:02 No No No No No, why would you say that about this aircraft. In arcade, it is quite the adversary. 39:13 It too is one hell of an adversary. Great climb rate and turns well at altitude. Needs energy to turn fight well and avoid those who can out turn you.

need some updates maybe do a 2019 what have changed revision

I sank a lot of money (not going to disclose the amount...it's a lot when taking into consideration what I do to earn what little I have) with this past sale, so this really eases my conscience and was very much needed. Many thanks, and keep up the good work!

The Ki-100-I in the regular tech tree has a razorback canopy and a normal supercharged engine. The premium Ki-100-II has a teardrop canopy and a turbocharged engine for better high altitude performance. In terms of value, I like to consider the historical relevance of the aircraft. This means the lend-lease aircraft in Soviet tree have some extra value to them, like the P-40E, Hurricane Mk.IIb, P-47D, P-39, P-63 etc. Also applies to British aircraft in US tree, and US aircraft in British tree. The Hellcat Mk.II is one of my favourites in the British tech tree, for example. Captured premiums, on the other hand, get a penalty because they weren't generally used in combat by the main combatant nations, but rather for evaluation and testing. Uniqueness is also usually good value, but sometimes the historical relevance of an aircraft is so minimal that I don't really like them on the premium tree. XP-55, XP-50, and the BV-238 are good examples of this.

i thought my sound died at 36:00

Can you also do one about tanks?

I hope we can get a revisit again sometime to this, maybe not for a whole rehash, but an addendum for some of the new premiums like the french narval

The Hudson mk.V was my first premium aircraft. I have had a blast with it, and I have grinded out most of the British tier 1 and 2 with it. Love it!

I got the Boomerang free for an hour and it was a freaking blast. Absolutely loved it, and when I have the money I will be buying.

The BV-238 is the plane that got me 5000 hours in war thunder, I flew against so many fighters and it's served me well, it got me down to the Jets in the tech tree and a special spotlight for the G.91 I used the BV 100% to get that jet, BV is great, bullet hell, great for grinding.

One thing I think you have missed is that not everyone immediately develops all tech trees. So it is true that you can get a captured plane for free elsewhere, that means that tree has to be grinded (ground??) out first. No big deal at 2.3, but maybe a big deal at 4.0. I have bought a few premium planes, and I have done so because they add a special je ne sais quoi to the lineups. That is, they fill a gap. For example, the US Bf 109 F-4 is a great plane. I can add it to BR 3.3 lineups and it's a killer. This is a great way to get a US fighter that doesn't have a disappointing cannon. (P-39 family, I'm looking at YOU!) At this BR, there aren't many... Similarly, the Russian lend-lease P-40E gets a heavy-MG plane into a lineup that has single cannon planes. The P-40E is a ton of fun to fly, too. And a final example is the Stalincane, a Hurricane with 2x 20mm ShVAK cannons. At 3.0, it is deadly and adds a turn-fighter to your Russian BNZ line-ups. Finally, don't forget to ask yourself... is this plane fun to fly?

this is kinda misleading. a lot of great aircraft on here are 2 or 3 out of 5 because you can get them on a different tech or the same tree for "free" yet youre not factoring how some people (like myself) enjoy german aircraft, or american aircraft, but also like to fly a tempest or a spitfire without flying them on the british tree. The german tempest although at a ridiculous price, performs amazingly, even when up tiered to higher aircraft. yet its only received 1 squirrel. this is more of a bang for your buck video rather than a performance evaluation of each craft.

Don't forget the random lottery crate premium discount drops too! I got both the XP-55 and the Do 335 B-2 as 75% discount planes from Wheel Of Poverty crates in random drops after battles. Really makes the expensive premiums attractive options.

US captured Bf-109 F4 is my workhorse, I bought it with discount and because it matches with German planes and kicks USSR planes to their butts and since I'm not really enjoying US planes other than jets and some honorable exceptions... I'm still using it for gain lions and are most of the time no.1 of the team, earning around 100k per battle with premium.

Just when i happen to have 6400 golden eagles flying around with no idea how to spend em. Well a 50% discount on the british mustang solved one question but the rest i had no idea how to spend it wisely. Guess I'll be getting the TA154 and the XP50.

I about lost it when I saw the squirrels... what a great running gag... then they are so cavalier about them, it just makes it even more funny!

Another update vid for 2019?

I should point out that the German Wellington (I suppose one might call it the "Jerry Welly") is, as of now, the only premium captured aircraft in War Thunder that actually saw action post-capture for anything besides training or evaluation, in this particular case as a recon plane with KG 200 for about a year or so before being put into storage.

The BF109 F4 is actually really good. Especially at 4.0 to 4.3. The climb rate is impeccable. The armament is a little lackluster, you don't get too much ammo, but it's boom and zooming capability and speed make up for that.

The bf109 is such a great grinder for tier III-V Its a turn fighter which the Americans don't have and it's amazing with the rpm booster and really performs well in realistic

Thank you for the Advice for some of these. The M-1 is a plane that does need a lot of discipline, but it can punish anything. I also bought it when it was on sale. Quick Fact:The Wirraway was a licensed built AT-6 Texan

Amazing video! As a long term veteran player of Warthunder, I agree with all your ratings. Also it's rare for me to watch whole videos that are almost an hour long but this one had me hooked. Will enjoy the ground vehicles video when it comes out.

You should do an updated video of this guide since so many vehicles have been removed from the store

The La5FN's ludicrous price was because its flight model was incredibly broken when it was introduced at a reasonable price. Gaijins solution was to increase the price and even though its FM is fixed it still is at that ludicrous price today. So in my opinion its the worst value for the money out of any premium plane.

smh just spend $3000 on decals

Thank you so much for the video. I've been thinking of buying a good grinding aircraft and needed some insight into the premiums. Helped me out so much in making a choice.

The Spitfire Mk XIVc is indeed very expensive, but it is honestly one of the best planes at 5.7 if used correctly. It will outclimb everything it faces and the guns are deadly. As a Dutchman, I do also very much like the RNLAF emblems on it :D

Gives the BV 238 5 out of 5. As a BV 238 pilot that is true and so far within every 2-4 games I would have a aircraft unlocked and it is fun to see pilots who think they can get you but you have three quad guns in the back that go right through everything practically even other BV 238s (that's a story for another's time) but there was there was three built but two were not completed and one was

I bought the Chaika after watching this, and _holy hell_ is it fun. WAY more fun than a four-dollar premium plane should be.

Hello Bo, I have been a fan of your work for a bit over 2 years and i have seen your channel grow a lot. I have also seen the rise of the squirrel running gag. So I ask the question what made this joke, I love it and any aircraft that dare touches the trees will have to face the wrath of the squirrel's. I would love to see a whole video about what goes on in the trees and the actions these furry creatures take in case of an emergency.

Man, I love the Hampden, its the main Brit bomber I can enjoy without it feeling grindy. Plus two of my grand uncles flew and died in them. Okay, they were terrible irl, but I just like how most enemies just ignore you because you're a small target compared to most bombers, and I really like how you can throw it around.

+Bo Time Gaming If you're talking about the Blohm & Voss, they're actually working on bringing it back from the depths.

Not a lot of people will probably see this comment, but for as long as I can remember before this game even came out I've always loved CAS. So naturally I'm in love with tank RB, so my question Bo, is could you make a list of each nations best CAS per Rank in Tank RB ? If anyone else agrees and would like to see this as well, please upvote for visibility.

One thing i think you guys need to do in the sense of premium vehicles is make a video that is solidly about the premiums that you can't obtain anymore. I think doing this will help the people who don't have these aircrafts and tanks fight against them. I personally got the LaGG-3-23 and it's a beauty of an aircraft to fly at 2.3 BR for the Russians. But the fact that you can't look at it is the problem i think people have the most, they want to know specs for when they come across these vehicles and they can't get the information they need and just have to guess at how they should approach them.

Really great video Bo! I've personally waiting for this video and i wasn't let down.

I bought the Admiral Graf Spee for WoWS two weeks ago: I never enjoyed the game as much as I do now, without any grinding. I may just do the same with War Thunder... Unfortunately there are many captured and lend-lease aircraft in the WT premium store. But still, better than the ridiculous grind. Thank you for the guide, Bo!

the 190 d-13 is my all time favorite prop in the game, takes some skill to fly sure but boy does it punish.

You totally overlooked the Soviets's B25 in how it earns a ton of lions and RP. 5 squirrels!

27:50 It's a WW2 spitfire flown by a Dutch squadron in the RAF you can tell cauze the dorito whit the black edge under the cockpit it's a WW2 Dutch airforce marking.

I had 20 dollars I bought The Ta-154 A-1 and The Ki-96

It may be worth mentioning that many of the mid-tier premiums (mostly tier II) can be purchased with "war bonds" (daily battle tasks). Some of those are not regularly available at the moment; i.e. which were either removed from the premium tree or which were previously available through (limited) events.

23:27 wow, as a aussie that loves these planes and flys them very often and is normally told its bad from everyone tho i love and got very surprised by what bo gave it, i thought (the wirraway especially) was gonna be rated lower but im glad someone else loves it and sees the great, useful and fun side of em and rated em high, AUSSIE BIAS FOREVER!!!

Why aren't the badges on the squirrels shaped like acorns?

Please note that having the exactly same or similar plane in another nation's tech tree is not a reason you are buying or not buying a premium aircraft. Not every player unlock all the nations or even every lines in a single nation (sometimes you just wanna skip the bombers/attackers to jump into higher tiers right), and there are many tank players (actually much more than the air battles). The main reasons for buying premiums are boost and performance. All T4 premiums give very good boost, so I think you want analyze and explain more about their performance (good in AB? good in RB? good in ground pounding?) at their tiers, instead of saying "I'll give it 3 stars or 5 stars" randomly, or "because it is fun". Buying T3 premium planes are very good for starting a new line. You can quickly skip biplanes and early planes to join the T3 and T4 battles, which have the largest player group. For example, I would say 109 F-4 is a very good choice for starting the US line, considering its good speed, armament, and maneuverability, whether in AB or RB, and if you are a German line player, you are already used to the play style, ballistics, etc. Having the one for "free" in the German line is not the reason for not buying it. Of course it's not free tho. Why Gaijin gives several nations 109, because it is a good plane. Why Gaijin gives several nations P47, because it is a good plane. Why Gaijin gives several nations a Spitfire IX, because it is just too damn OP. So definitely not a reason for not buying it if you are gonna fly it for "free" in the British line. Same reasons apply to Soviet B25, German P47, British mustang and hellcat, etc, all good T3 premiums, because they are just good planes in original nations. Apart from these, you would like to buy it for "fun", like XP-50, XP-55, BTD, BV238, etc. T4 premiums are more cost-effective comparing to T3 or lower, because you may only need one to research all the way down the jets. US: I would recommend Spit IX of course, best T4 fighter, and also P47 M, which is much better than the P47 N in terms of high altitude performance. P38 K is also a OP plane. FW190 A-8 only do good in AB battles. I do agree buying a talisman for like P51 D-30 is better than buying D-10/D-20. UK: Wyvern is worthy buying for its great ability to mount secondary weapons. Any other premium spits are also good to buy if you want to start British lines, regardless of you will have a "free" one later. (Don't know the price to buy and upgrade the plane and the repair costs for T4 spits are huge?) German: 190 D-13 maybe the only one worthy buying I think. Tempest, good plane, but you can always fly it "for free", no need for RP, no need for SL, right? Japanese: A6M5 A and B17. Soviet: La-11 and 190 D-9 if you've played it in the German line at it. Italian: no comments. Basically just some suggestions when you consider buying a premium, first look at whats your game mode and play style, then choose the right plane. For example, AB air battles - mainly looking for good guns and the location of the guns, speed, acceleration, structure strength, etc. RB air battles - looking for good climb rate, maximum speed, dive rate, energy retention, maneuverability, roll rate, etc. Ground battles - looking for good low altitude performance, the ability to mount bombs, etc. These are the factors that should be based on them, not on if "you can fly it for free".

You need to do an updated version of this.

I love you having Mr. Dragun In these Tec briefings. Thanks for posting.

I love the Ki-87 "Geabdilabdeabd" ! Very strong armament !

I got the XP-55 with a 75% off coupon, but having flown it in ~200 matches I would absolutely pay the full price. I think they nerfed the climb rate since then, but it's still a speedy boi!

When talking about capture aircraft u should consider what other aircraft will fly with u. When all ur Japanese plane are turn fighting , a bz plane might have dramatic outcome

Great guide...I brought the Air Force Mega bundle for myself for Christmas...Came with 10 premium planes, 135 days of Premium and 18,000 GE...Cost me $80.00 which was worth it, but I have yet to fly a single one of the planes I got...P-47M, P-51D-20, XP-38G, Fw 190D-13, Dolgushins La-7, Spit FR Mk XIVe, Wyvern, Typhoon Mk Ib, Ki-87 and A6M5 Ko...One day...

I either wait for them to show up in the monthly bond offering, are a prize for completing tasks, or, as a last resort, wait until I get a discount and use the GEs I get from challenges. I haven't paid for a premium plane yet and own most of them.

Bo, any plans to do a 2020 update?

About the German p-47, I personally despise this p47 because of how much it gets put down to 2.7 and annihilates EVERYTHING because of its strong armament seemingly god like survivability and goes like a rocket and the other aircraft at its tier struggle to fight it, its like the cobra king of the air

40 MINUTES, good thing I rolled 2 spliffs. :) I have the Ah64D aced and the M1A2 - Abrams family lineup aced, now I just need the Phantom, but I'm only researching the P-51H-5-NA, IV Rank, BR 6.3.. I calculated it's about 2,3 million RP left, that's a good 50000 golden eagles which is roughly 200+ Euro, or one million hours of gameplay left. 8O

To be fair the German P-47 is insanely good for realistic battles because of the ammo you carry and opposing American P-47 will often fly with ordnance, making them easy pickings. Also this plane outruns everything in a straight line at altitude...

I'd give the P-47D Deutsch Edition a solid 3.5 squirrl, put talsman on it and had 10 500 SL booster and 8 500 RP booster and in 8 games grinded the entirety of the Bf109 K-4

The cannon Chaika.... I always keep breaking my wings on that one... LOL

My premium buying way of doing things is going for the odd ones. The ones I do not get in the regular tree and focused on fun. KV2-100, Su-100Y, Brummbar, German comunity heavy fighters, japanese 40mil plane, some bundles, XP-50 etc. So yeah, fun odballs and things not available in the regular tree.

What I would recommend for any player is to wait for the holiday season to buy bundle packs for a reduced price. I was able to buy every bundle aircraft for every nation with only 80 dollars. Also, I have to disagree with you in the regards of the P-51D-20 NA. I have flown in it and noticed that its wings do not rip easily. For any P-51 pilot that's not surprising, but I have gone past 650 knots plus and never received a " Reduce Speed " warning. Besides that, it is regular P-51D.

25 dollar bill?

Thanks. You guys rock. This was long but well worth a view.

Hey you have the royal dutch airforce embleem on the Spitfire in the first few seconds.. nice!

As a new player, thanks for your tips and insights.

I-153 is the deadliest plane in game , I took it out against Jets with a Squad mate, the white premium with the 7s , and even though I couldn't chase anything I stayed alive and managed a kill or two per match

people please stop asking wether he is gonna make the same vid but on tanks. Watch the entire video and he will tell you..*sigh*

Yes, the Wirraway is a blast indeed!

My Great-Great Grandfather was on the team that recovered the Ilution Island Zero

The p40 e1 in the Russian tree is an absolute blast, those guns take no prisoners.

I'd argue with you on the Soviet P-40. It's extremely useful for ground attack, and I've killed plenty of planes with it.

I buy my premium planes when I get those sale battle chests. Great video and majorly informative. Kinda wish this video came out 5 months ago when I started this game. 😆

In all honesty, I prefer the D-12 to the D-13 (I own both), just because of the 30mm sparklegun in the nose. When it hits, it hits hard. Plus its free.

I buy whatever I get my hands on.... I think I'm almost on Cobey's level of premium plane collecting.

This needs to be updated

I rather would have given the BTD-1 5 points, because it is in its main role currently the best plane in WT (torpedo bomber) the US torpedo can oneshot everything exept for BBs as of now. the plane has a really good payload and is overall a beast to fly. for a rather fair price. its my favorite plane in WT propably.

Guys do you not watch the whole vid? He literally says they will be doing a tank one in the near future

I would have to argue your rating of Zhukovsky's chaika. I had some eagles lying around and nabbed it for 250 GE. At its BR, in AB or RB, it is an absolute sealclub. Not only do you get 8(!) rockets (airburst is fun) which barely effect performance, you also get four flamethr- I mean shkas. You can outturn everything bar a select few japanese fighters and you outgun about half of everything you face. That said it's not something to buy to grind. I haven't got the cannonchaika, but I'd imagine the sheer ammo pool you have in zhukovsky's (or the regular) is worth it more than the stopping power of the 20s, especially for a new player. Not to mention you can get it for free by playing your first ever match in the russian air tree. None of the other "free" premiums really competes, perhaps the new 109 because of better energy fighting characteristics, or the CR42 with the BREDASAFlamethrowers (and speed off the top of my head). In all you have a very forgiving, very well armed fighter which fits the meta of tier 1 perfectly. I dont think I'd give it 5 squirrels because it lacks any longterm gain in terms of grind, but i would happily give it anywhere between 4 and 4-1/2 squirrels.

Don't forget the 219 also can ground pound tons of tanks with the 30mm MK 103 HVAP

Nice video Bo! It help a lot. Love the rating system! Perfect for TBLF

Bv238 carried me to late tier4

I heard from a Boomerang owner in Reddit that both Boomerangs are a waste of money, he affirms its super slow and is underperforming badly against enemy aircraft on its BR, he also mentions you could get the Spitfire Mk V with Hispano IIs at the same BR... I'd say a 2-3 Squirrels is more appropriate from what I've read

I have destroyed multiple jets with the cannon chaika, I adore that thing so much.

I'd say the "you can get this in the other tech tree for free"-argument isn't always valid. In some cases a plane can perform differently within the meta of another tech tree than the one it normally belongs in. At least back in the day the German La-5 and the Japanese FW-190 made sense because both tech trees were more specialized and those two planes went against the grain, especially the FW-190, because back then it was basically the only good Boom-and-Zoom fighter in the Japanese tech tree. That made for very interesting games, in which the enemy team would be booming-and-zooming your low flying, maneuverable but slow Japanese team mates, while you could use them as bait and boom-and-zoom the Americans/Russians/British, who didn't expect that. The German La-5 was worth it because it was a way to buy into the Russian bias that was rampant back in the patch 1.2 to 1.4 days, without the lameness and shame of actually flying and grinding Russian UFO fighters. For people grinding the underpowered and consta-nerfed German tech tree it was nice to fly something that didn't overheat like crazy and had cannons that produced more than just sparks. You got similar "synergy" effects with the Russian B25, because back then the Russians didn't have a fast, well protected medium bomber like that, at least not a good one. For them it was a way of buying into the "American .50 cal defensive gun death bubble" bullshit, that was very prevalent back then too. Of course now the Japanese have their own B&Z planes and from what I heard Russian fighters don't play in their own league anymore, so those two examples have diminished in usefulness, but in general I think a consideration of how a plane fits into the meta of another tech tree, should be taken into consideration when making a premium plane guide.

Ki-87 is by far my favorite prem plane.

Russian Spitfire Mk IXc By far my most favorite premium and the skin look wicked cool, I believe it only come up once a year.

Perhaps it might be worth making a follow-up video to take into account planes added since this was made, plus stuff on the French tree (even though there's not much as of now)? Maybe even look at planes that are for sale on the Gaijin market too, a lot of them being sold at ripoff prices of course, but some are good values and a handful are just a steal right now. There's also a handful of stuff that's available only on the Steam store too that could be worth looking at.

D13 and Dolgushin la7 are my fav prems atm

Thanks guys really appreciate this!