Jet power started to be considered as a potentially revolutionary step in aviation in the 1940s when aircraft designers of major world countries began experimenting with full-scale engines. Great Britain was one of the first to implement the technology, as undeveloped as it was, into real combat aircraft. The first jet aircraft to enter service in the RAF during World War II was the Gloster Meteor. It was followed by another fighter — the de Havilland Vampire.

The single-engine fighter-interceptor, codenamed DH.99, was conceived back in 1941 as de Havilland’s own initiative. The company already had an early version of a working jet engine, developed in-house, the Halford H.1. At the time, the main obstacle to building a successful aircraft — obtaining a powerplant — was therefore removed.



Somewhat later, de Havilland received an official specification E.6/41 for a jet-powered fighter. The H.99 fit that specification well. It was renamed the DH.100 and finalized by 1943. The most unorthodox decision made by the design team was using a twin-boom configuration. Early jet engines lost a lot of power if their exhaust plume was forced through a long pipe. Therefore, the engine was fitted inside a short fuselage, while tail planes were moved to the sides on two parallel booms. The horizontal stabilizer was elevated relative to the fuselage axis to avoid it being affected by the jet stream. Two rudders were located directly on the boom ends. The fuselage was partially metal and partially composed of wooden parts manufactured using a special process mastered by de Havilland while building the legendary Mosquito.



The aircraft received a codename: Spider Crab. The first prototype performed its maiden flight on 20 September 1943, soon joined by two more aircraft. Pilots noted the excellent responsiveness to controls, the excellent maneuverability, and that the future Vampire was easy to master. Considering that jet engines were completely unfamiliar to most pilots, this was a major achievement. The machine required several improvements, but as soon as in April 1944, the first batch of 120 Vampire F.1 aircraft was ordered. Initially they were fitted with Goblin engines — the production variant of the Halford H.1. Armament included four nose-mounted 20 mm Hispano autocannons. The fighter was progressively improved and modified in the following years, receiving new powerplants, equipment, a pressurized and heated cockpit, additional hardpoints for outboard armament, and fuel tanks.



The naval version, called Sea Vampire, affected the carrier fleet outlook a lot, being used for research in carrier-based jet-powered aircraft extensively. Some sources even say that it was the Sea Vampire tests that formulated the need for the aircraft carriers’ designs to have the flight deck angled from the longitudinal axis of the vessel. This design is still the most common for carriers to this day. But the main role played by the Vampire in all its years of service was training pilots to fly jet-powered aircraft and prepare them for more powerful and fast machines.

The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire F.1 in World of Warplanes is a Premium Tier VIII British fighter. Its main features are maneuverability and firepower. Four 20-millimeter cannons provide good damage and accuracy at medium and short range, while great handling allows the Vampire to follow its target and keep it in the gunsights quite easily. As with the historical Goblin engine, the in-game one is not very powerful, but the speed and altitude characteristics are quite sufficient for comfortable dogfighting at medium altitude. All this makes the Vampire a great fighter for dogfighting fans that deals a lot of damage and outturns most of its rivals in the air.

© Eugene Pugach, "Developers Blog"

Pilots!

NA
From October 12 04:20 PT / 07.20 ET till October 15 04:20 PT / 07:20 ET keep an eye out for:

EU
From 12 October at 07:00 CEST to 15 October at 07:00 CEST (UTC +2) keep an eye out for:

Triple XP for the first victory of the day.


Target

☆ Earn 8,000 personal points in one battle

Conditions

☆ Aircraft from tiers IV+ only
☆ Repeatable

Reward

☆ +100% XP

Target

☆ Score top 1 of your team on Personal Score
☆ Win a battle

Conditions

☆ Twice per account

Reward

☆ x2 credits

Target

☆ Deal 50,000 damage to air targets in any amount of battles

Conditions

☆ Once per account

Reward

☆ х1 Stock Long Gun Barrels, period III

Check out videos about Airacobra and The Osuzumebachi warbirds.





More details on Special Offer!

Due to technical reasons the first phase of the first stage («Fog of War») of «Flaming Shores» will be prolonged till

NA: October 6 10:00 PT / 13:00 ET.

EU: October 6 9:00 (UTC).

Pilots!

For almost the entirety of October, battles will rage above the flaming shores. Completing missions during this event will reward you with Supplies that can contain operation orders to obtain Premium aircraft, including the following ones:

☆ Junkers Ju 86 E
☆ Heinkel He 111 H-2
☆ Henschel Hs 129 A
☆ Vickers Venom
☆ Gloster Meteor F. I.
☆ Dornier Do 335 A-1 Pfeil
☆ De Havilland Vampire F.1

Operation orders can be executed at any time during the event until November 4. However, if completing the missions of operation orders requires too much of your time and effort, there is an alternative — certificates for completing missions automatically. They will be available in the Premium Shop from
NA
October 4 08:00 PT / 11:00 ET to November 4 22:00 PT / November 5 01:00 ET.
EU
5 October at 11:20 CEST (UTC +2) to 2 November at 11:20 CET (UTC +1)

Important information!

• After the end of the event all certificates will be withdrawn from the account.
  
• Withdrawn certificates will be compensated according to the fixed exchange rate - 25 gold for 1 certificate.

Dates of withdrawing certificates (UTC ):

EU - November 6 at 03:00
NA - November 6 at 11:00

Pilots!

NA
From October 5 04:20 PT / 07.20 ET till October 8 04:20 PT / 07:20 ET keep an eye out for:

EU
From 5 October at 07:00 CEST to 8 October at 07:00 CEST (UTC +2) keep an eye out for:

Triple XP for the first victory of the day.

50% discount on slots in Hangar

50% discount on:

☆ TSh-2
☆ TSh-3
☆ BSh-2
☆ IL-2

30% discount on:

☆ IL-2(t)
☆ IL-10
☆ IL-8

15% discount on:

☆ IL-20
☆ IL-40
☆ IL-40П

50% discount on Premium warplanes:

☆ Kochyerigin BSh-1
☆ Kochyerigin Sh (LBSh)
☆ IL-2 with rear gunner

Target

☆ Win and destroy 5 ground targets in one battle

Conditions

☆ Only for attack aicraft Tier IV–X
☆ Repeatable

Reward

☆ +30% XP

Target

☆ Siege 50 sectors per any amount of battles

Conditions

☆ Once per account

Reward

☆ x1 Improved Reinforced Skin (Period III, Tier VIII–X)

Target

☆ Destroy 2 enemy attack aircraft in one battle

Conditions

☆ 5 times per account

Reward

☆ +100% Crew XP

In the new Bomber Escort game mode you have to fight for one of the sides: escorting group or intercepting group. The goals and missions of the teams are completely opposite. The aim of the escorting group is to escort waves of strategic bombers across enemy territory, which is defended by the intercepting group.

• Battle consists of 3 phases.
  
• In each phase, strategic bomber flights are sent from the side of the escorting group.
  
• Strongholds, sectors with powerful AA guns, appear on the way of the strategic bomber flight. AA guns are powerful enough to destroy all bombers in the flight if the escorting group does not take care of air defense.
  
• Strongholds initially belong to the intercepting group, but can be captured.
  
• Capturing the first Stronghold moves the respawn of the escorting group aircraft to this sector, allowing you to quickly return to battle and not waste time on a long flight from the initial respawn point.
  
• Sector re-capturing is impossible.
  
• The main goal of the escorting team is to escort 10 strategic bombers to the targeted area.
  
• The main goal of the intercepting team is to prevent 10 strategic bombers reaching the targeted area.
  
• NB: if the number of strategic bombers left does not allow the escorting team to escort required number of strategic bombers (including all phases), the intercepting group wins.
  
• If all enemy aircraft are destroyed the team (either escorting or intercepting) wins as the number of respawns is limited.

Pilots!

Prove your skill in the new Bomber Escort mode, flying with courage through the enemies defense, and testing your favourite fighters!

The Flaming Shores event will run from October 4 to October 28. It will be divided into four stages consisting of two equal phases, during which you will fight in the Bomber Escort, Conquest, and Attrition modes.

The first phase of each stage will last from Thursday to Friday, the second one — from Saturday to Sunday.

Only Tier IV to X aircraft can join the event.


During each phase, you will be able to complete:

• Three personal missions for each aircraft type. Completing a personal mission rewards you with *Supplies.
  
• One common mission for all players. Its completion doubles the number of Supply crates earned where you can find a host of useful rewards.

Progress for personal and common missions is reset after each phase ends.

• Aircraft and Missions (Operation Orders)** to receive them;
  

  ☆ Junkers Ju-86E, Tier III German Bomber
  ☆ Heinkel He 111 H-2, Tier IV German Bomber
  ☆ Henschel Hs 129A, Tier IV German Ground Attacker
  ☆ Vickers Venom, Tier V British Fighter
  ☆ Gloster Meteor F. I., Tier VII British Fighter
  ☆ Dornier Do 335 A-1 Pfeil , Tier VIII German Heavy Fighter
  ☆ De Havilland Vampire F.1, Tier VIII British Fighter
  

• Pilots with XP points;
  
• Gold ;
  
• Premium Days;
  
• Free XP;
  
• Materials;
  
• Equipment;
  
• Premium Consumables;
  
• Certificates for the completion of Missions in Operation Orders;
  
• Hangar Slots.

Besides this, you can get two Supply crates per day in exchange for tokens.

Operation orders can be executed at any time before the event ends.

After all stages of the event end, you can finish executing operation orders and opening Supplies from October 28 to November 4.

Pilots!

We're showing a little love this week with missions especially for bombers (except one), which will provide equipment and consumables rewards.

The following missions are available from 4 October at 05:00 UTC to 14 October at 05:00 UTC.


Objective

☆ Destroy 50 anti-air guns per any amount of battles

Conditions

☆ Bombers only
☆ Once per account

Reward

☆ 1 Improved Strengthened Hardpoints I (period 1, valid for tiers I-IV)
☆ 1 Improved Strengthened Hardpoints II (period 2, valid for tiers V-VII)

Objective

☆ Siege a sector 35 times per any number of battles

Conditions

☆ Bombers only
☆ Once per account
☆ Must have completed Point Strike part 1

Reward

☆ 1 Improved Reinforced Airframe I (period 1, valid for tiers I-IV)
☆ 1 Improved Reinforced Airframe II (period 2, valid for tiers V-VII)

Objective

☆ Deal 10,000 damage to ground targets per any amount of battles

Conditions

☆ Bombers only
☆ Once per account
☆ Must have completed Point Strike part 2

Reward

☆ 1 Improved Bombsight I (period 1, valid for tiers I-IV)
☆ 1 Improved Bombsight II (period 2, valid for tiers V-VII)

Objective

☆ Be first in your team by Personal Points
☆ Win the battle

Conditions

☆ Bombers only
☆ Three times per account

Reward

☆ 2x Improved Fragmentation II (period 2, valid for tiers V-VII)
☆ 1 Heavy Warhead II (period 2, valid for tiers V-VII)

Objective

☆ Destroy one enemy bomber in a battle
☆ Win the battle

Conditions

☆ 15 times per account

Reward

☆ 1 Fire Extinguisher II (period 2, valid for tiers V-VII)

Pilots!

Meet Update 2.0.7 for World of Warplanes.

The update is released!

Total size of this update from previous version:
SD part: 1,44 GB
SD + HD parts: 2,44 GB

For new players size of client to download:
SD part: 7,5 GB
SD + HD part: 16,2 GB

An entirely new game mode appears in Update 2.0.7 — Bomber Escort Mode! Players from one team will escort strategic bomber waves through enemy territory, while the other team will try to intercept and destroy them. Firepower and close coordination are especially important in this game mode as solo players cannot cope with the entire formation of steel giants.

Heavy October clouds are torn apart by the powerful roar of an armada of bombers, which are the main characters of the new "Flaming Shores" event. The warring parties will clash again in a protracted battle that will last for 4 weeks. Each week, the battle will take place in a different game mode and have a particular global goal for all participants of the event. Pilots will be awarded with valuable prizes for their courage and persistence. As usual, the main prizes will be new rare airplanes: two German bombers and one attack aircraft, British fighters Vickers Venom and de Havilland Vampire F.1, as well as Dornier Do 335 A-1 and Gloster Meteor that are already familiar to many players. These aircraft will be available for accomplishing Operation Orders that players can find in Special Supplies gained in battles.

One of the major changes in update 2.0.7 is increased functionality of all paint schemes, nose arts and emblems which now provide various economic and gameplay advantages. Moreover, the update includes balance adjustments for the Conquest Mode, some sectors, bots, and AA guns, in addition to improvements for the matchmaking system that should shorten the Queue Time and make teams in battles more equal. And finally, the new "Cold Peak" map.




New promotional planes added

Junkers Ju 86E — German Tier III bomber;
Henschel Hs 129A — German Tier IV attack aircraft;
Heinkel He 111 H-2 — German Tier IV bomber;
de Havilland Vampire F.1 — British Tier VIII fighter.

A new global event “Flaming Shores” will run from October 4 to October 26. The event will be divided into 4 stages, during which the players will have to fight in battles in the all-new Escort game mode as well as in Conquest and Attrition game modes. Each of the stages will be divided into 2 identical battles, the first of which lasts (EU from 15:00 UTC Thursday till 20:00 UTC Friday; NA from 19.00 ET / 16.00 PT Thursday till 24.00 ET / 21.00 PT Friday), and the second one – ( EU from 15:00 (UTC) Friday till 20:00 (UTC) Sunday; NA 9.00 ET / 16.00 PT Saturday to 24.00 ET / 21.00 PT Sunday). Players will receive Special Supplies for active participation in battles. Inside these Special Supplies a variety of valuable awards can be found, including Premium Days, gold, consumables, equipment, materials for enhancement and calibration, and hangar slots. The most valuable and rare prizes among the others are Operation Orders for obtaining 7 premium aircraft: Junkers Ju 86E, Henschel Hs 129A, Heinkel He 111 H-2, Dornier Do 335 A-1, Vickers Venom, Gloster Meteor and de Havilland Vampire F.1. Players can accomplish the missions from the Operation Order to get these planes in their hangars for free. Moreover, each stage and every battle will have a Global Goal, which can be achieved by players’ joint efforts. For example, the Global Goal of the first stage will be destroying strategic bombers and anti-aircraft guns. When the Global Goal is reached during the battle, the players will receive twice the number of Special Supplies.


Bomber Escort Mode

Bomber Escort Mode is a new game mode, which is divided into 3 phases. In each phase, waves of strategic bomber flights are sent from the attacking team’s side. These flights need to be escorted to the opposite side of the map, and the defending team needs to prevent this. Strongholds appear in the path of strategic bomber flights. Strongholds are well protected territories with powerful AA guns, designed to effectively attack bomber flights.

Every aircraft type will have a role in the escorting group. The fighter aircraft’s mission is to protect bombers from enemy attacks and escort 10 of them to the appointed target. Attack aircraft and aircraft with outboard weapons will have to ensure the safe passage of their bomber flight waves through the defense line of the intercepting group. They will be busy with attacking and destroying the AA guns of enemy Strongholds. AA guns are powerful enough to destroy a whole wave of bombers, which is why breaking through the air defense system is one of the main tasks of the escorting group. Capturing the first Stronghold will allow players from the escorting team to respawn over it—much nearer to the core battle without the need to catch up with the formation from the very edge of the operation area. The intercepting group cannot recapture a Stronghold.

The intercepting group consists of fighter aircraft only. Their global mission is to prevent 10 strategic bombers from reaching the appointed target. For this purpose, the intercepting group needs to not only attack and destroy the bomber formation, but also protect the Strongholds, as their fire support is essential for winning.

• Added new aircraft type-specific missions for the Bomber Escort Mode. Missions are connected to destroying strategic bombers, attacking aircraft, AA guns etc.
  
• Added new achievements for accomplishing new aircraft type-specific missions.
  
• Added new map layouts for the Bomber Escort Mode:
  

  ☆ Sea Gate: Bastion Towards the Sun — Tiers IV–V;
  ☆ Peripheral Mission: Formidable Challenge — Tiers V-VI;
  ☆ Asian Border: Cataclysm — Tiers VI-VII;
  ☆ Archipelago: Test of Endurance — Tiers VI-VIII;
  ☆ Plateau: РUltimate Stakes — Tiers VII-VIII;
  ☆ Cold Peak: True Calling — Tiers VIII-IX;
  ☆ Road to Rome: Culmination — Tiers IX-X;
  ☆ Albion: Rolling Thunder — Tiers IX-X.

• Map layout "Albion: Trump Card" has been reworked. Now it is completely symmetrical.
  
• New map "Cold Peak" and 4 new map layouts for the Conquest Mode for Tiers V-VIII have been added:
  

  ☆ Cold Peak: Walls of Stone
  ☆ Cold Peak: Trial by Fire
  ☆ Cold Peak: Cornerstone of Control
  ☆ Cold Peak: Gem of the Mountain

• "Superiority" now has less impact on the gameplay: the speed of gaining resources is lowered but still depends on the overall number of sectors on the game scheme.

Air defense aircraft and AA guns

• AA gun balance has been reworked, damage models have been changed. It has become easier to dodge AA gun fire, the time for the player to respond to the threat has increased. The influence of randomness on the AA gun fire spread was decreased. At the same time, damage to a straight-flying aircraft has increased and now depends on size, aircraft type, and speed. Thus, AA guns and their number on different types of sectors is still an essential factor, though maneuvers for evading their fire have become more effective.
  
• Added accurate AA gun models and their effects.
  
• Reworked AA gun sounds.
  
• Added armored AA guns for sector Stronghold.
  
• Added the influence of some paint schemes to the damage received from AA guns.
  
• Decreased damage from certain air defense aircraft models, the heavy Beaufighter model in particular.

"Command Center"

• The flight trajectories of attack flight bombers on all map layouts have been changed: now they fly off from the side of the battle entry point of the team controlling the Command Center.
  
• The speed of attack flight bombers has been slightly decreased.
  
• The number of hit points of attack flight bombers has been slightly increased.
  
• The damage of attack flight bombers' gunners has been slightly increased.
  
• Attack flight bombers’ gunners prioritize damaging certain aircraft types. As well as AA guns, they will try to damage the most dangerous target.
  
• Attack flight aircraft are no longer a target for high-altitude AA guns of sectors near which these aircraft fly.
  
• The marker system for attack flight bombers has been reworked. Their display on the mini-map and radar has been improved.
  
• Positions in attack flights are now spread across different altitudes.

"Stronghold"

• The Stronghold icon has been changed.
  
• The number of Capture Points needed for capturing a Stronghold has been increased from 140 to 150 CP (neutral) and from 180 to 220 CP (enemy).
  
• Ground targets’ compositions have been changed, their overall armor has been increased.
  
• The number of AA guns has been increased to 14.
  
• Stronghold AA guns are now armored.

• Changed algorithms for calculating credits reward to balance income for players of varying skill levels. This change involves all aircraft in the game. Average reward for battles of all Tiers will remain the same. Advantages of premium aircraft will not change.
  
• Based on statistical analysis income ratios for several aircraft from the tech trees have been adjusted to correspond to other aircraft from their Tiers. Reduced income rates for: F5U, Il-40, Me P.1099 B-2, Me P.1092, Yak-30, Il-40P, Me P.1102 B, Me P.1101. Increased income rates for: P-72, Swift, Fw 252, F7U, F-84F.
  
• Restored rewards with Tokens for achieving Ace, Thunder or Winged Legend service awards once a day.

Matchmaker settings have been changed to decrease the Queue time and improve balancing:

• PvE arena will be launched when waiting time exceeds 100 seconds for all game modes.
  
• Aircraft type disbalance no longer leads to increased Queue Time. The Matchmaker will make team compositions equal by adding AI of corresponding aircraft types.
  
• AI aircraft tier correlation has been changed. Now 70% of AI are on planes one tier down from the overall tier of the battle.

• The skill levels of AI at different battle tiers have been changed:
  

  ☆ Tiers I–III — all Beginners;
  ☆ Tiers IV–V — all Warriors;
  ☆ Tiers VI–X — all Veterans.

• Heavy Fighters’ priorities have been changed. Now they won't hunt bombers all battle long but will attack sectors: Military Base, Command Center, Airbase, and so on.
  
• Now ground attack aircraft will be less distracted by air combat.
  
• The influence of distance on strategic priorities has been increased—now bots attack the most distant sectors with a lower probability.
  
• The influence of the number of aircraft on sectors has been slightly reduced—now bots can focus on one sector with a large number of planes, the situations when a bot doesn’t act according to its strategic priorities if its priority sector has too many planes will appear less often.

New gaming and economic advantages have been added to all additional (not stock) paint schemes:

• Seasonal paint schemes — concealment bonus has been increased from 10% to 20%, + 10% resistance to AA gun damage has been added, +5% resistance to gunner damage has been added. As before, seasonal paint schemes work only on corresponding maps.
  
• Universal paint schemes — +10% concealment and +5% resistance to AA gun damage have been added. Bonuses work on all types of maps. Before, these paint schemes gave no advantages.
  
• Special, unique, and awarded paint schemes have received different additional bonuses according to their idea. They are bonuses to crew experience, aircraft experience, cruise speed, and so on.

All emblems and nose art now provide an economic advantage. Emblems have +2% bonus to crew experience, and nose art — +3% bonus to crew experience.

The cost of all decorations has been revalued according to the period the aircraft belongs to.

• Discount for early accomplishment of Specialist missions for Tokens has been added. It depends on the degree of accomplishment for main and secondary missions and may reach 50%.
  
• The winning condition for the main Specialist missions has been removed.
  Secondary Specialist missions for multirole fighters now include destroying air defense aircraft and AA guns.
  
• Secondary Specialist missions for multirole fighters now include destroying air defense aircraft and AA guns.
  
• The relative progress (as a percentage) of Specialist missions has been saved on all players accounts.

Battle Interface

• In the manual turret control mode, blind zones are now more visible.
  
• The bomb load display and bombsight form have been changed for bombers dropping several bombs at a time.
  
• The bombsight marker at large climb angles (more than 20%) is no longer displayed.

Equipment

• The "Reassemble" button has been moved to the main panel next to the buttons for "Enhance" and "Calibrate".
  
• The reassembling interface has been changed.
  
• A special icon will appear if there are enough materials for enhancing equipment mounted on the plane.

Hangar

• The values of integral characteristics can now take values greater than “100” taking into account equipment, consumables, and pilot skills.

• Fixed issues with incorrect propellers on SB, Hurricane Mk. IA and Hurricane II.
  
• Fixed most issues that caused white artifacts in the center of the screen in battles.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused aircraft filters to reset when creating or closing a training flight room.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused black screen to appear in some cases after pressing "Battle!"