HS 129 B-2/R2 Tank Buster is a German Air unit in Steel Division II.
Background[ | ]
The experiences of the Spanish Civil War were instrumental in the development of the precepts of modern warfare in Nazi Germany and aviation was no exception. The concept of a dedicated ground-attack aircraft, once balked at, was vindicated by the Kondor Legion and its use of the Henschel Hs 123 against Republican targets, spurring the development of dedicated aircraft.
The Henschel Hs 129 was the result of this program, created after three years of experimentation and iteration. It was built with survivability in mind, with the entire nose area enclosed in steel armored plating, angled to increase effective protection from anti-aircraft fire. The cramped cockpit was almost impossible to move in, with some of the instruments and the gunsight mounted outside the canopy. The pair of counter-rotating engines were also armored and provided an excellent, stable platform for tank-busting weaponry.
The B-2 variant of the Hs 129 entered service in May 1942, after just 50 units of the B-1 were delivered. At first indistinguishable from B-1, with a mix of changes between the two, the B-2 eventually accumulated enough to come into its own. It was continuously upgunned to keep pace with Allied and Soviet weapon development, replacing the original MK 101 with MK 103 30 mm cannon and eventually the famous BK 3,7 proven on the Ju 87G.
The Rüstsatz 2 kit fitted the B-2 with a conformal gun pod with the MK 103 30mm autocannon and a supply of ammunition three times larger than normal, for ground support duties.