[Top 5] War Thunder Best Ammo for Planes

Updated:

05 Apr 2022

We know it can be confusing to choose which ammo to bring to battle with you. Let’s fix this, shall we?

A Japanese Zero fighter plane shooting.

There are many types of ammunition to choose from for your air engagements in War Thunder, but, especially if you’re a newer player, it might be hard to know what to pick and when to use it. In this guide, we will examine all seven main ammo types for aircraft in the game, to let you know which one in our opinion is the best for what types of engagements and users.

We’ll take into consideration what the “ideal” type of belt would do, but bear in mind that each nation has a different shell type ratio, so you will hardly encounter the same exact ammo belt in two different factions. Also, usually, a plane will only have certain ammo belts and not every single one.

We will not cite specific examples regarding singular vehicles or special types of ammo, and since there are no premium ammo types in War Thunder, everything that is mentioned in this guide will be available for everybody. Let’s start

#5 Tracer Ammunition (Best for new players)

Ooh, lasers!

Tracers are the quintessential “training wheels” of Realistic Air Battles.

Tracer rounds are great for those that are just starting playing Realistic Air Battles since in this game mode the HUD will not tell you where your shots will land and you’ll have to calculate it yourself.

This type of ammo will make it a lot easier to trace (well, duh) every single shot you fire and understand what the bullet trajectory is, allowing for easier aiming. Watch out though, these rounds tend to have worse ballistics than other types, so you’ll need to land more shots in critically vulnerable areas, like engines.

What Tracer Ammunition belts excel in:

Making aiming easier for new players
Letting you know where each shot is going
Calibrating a shot for other guns on your plane

#4 Stealth Ammunition (Best for ambushes/experienced players)

A British fighter plane flying in formation with some other aircraft.

Death from above!

If you’re looking to get in and out of a situation without your shots giving away your position and you know what you’re doing, then equip Stealth Ammunition. With this ammunition, you will not give away where your shots are coming from, but you will be able to tell where they land from the bullet impacts.

They’re also the best when it comes to Arcade battles since there you will already have the HUD telling you where your shots will land, so there’s little to no reason not to equip them in this game mode. Very useful, but hard to master, in night battles.

What Stealth Ammunition belts excel in:

Ambushing targets
Arcade Battles
Night battles (only for experienced players)

#3 Universal Ammunition (Best for versatility)

A German jet fighter destroying an enemy plane.

Jack-of-all-trades extraordinaire.

Universal belts are, well, universal. They can deal with most soft targets like other planes, trucks and open-top vehicles, have some nice ballistics and are not hard to aim since tracer shells can still be found inside the belt, but they don’t excel in anything else.

If you’re not sure what you’re going to fight against, just equip universal and go on your merry way, but if you know what you’re supposed to do during the match, check out the next two entries.

What Universal Ammunition belts excel in:

Dealing with most air targets
Destroying trucks and open-top ground vehicles
Versatility

#2 Air Targets Ammunition (Best for killing aircraft)

An American fighter/CAS destroying an enemy airplane. Note the rockets strapped to the wings.

Pretty self-explanatory isn’t it?

These Air Targets ammo belts will allow you to take planes down much more easily, so if you’re looking to get into dogfights or plan to ambush smaller planes then pick this one up.

They don’t do extraordinarily well against armored bombers and other heavy aircraft, since the shells don’t penetrate as much, but usually, you won’t have problems taking them down as well if you aim for their weak spots.

What Air Targets belts excel in:

Shooting down planes (duh)
Killing soft ground targets
Doing the same as Universal belts, but better

#1 Armoured Targets (Best for killing tanks and heavy aircraft)

A modern jet fighter preparing to strafe some enemy ground troops.

Damn, these hit hard as hell!

Honestly, Armoured Targets and Air Targets belts could be switched up or could share the number 1 spot, since both are aimed at specific targets but are very good at what they do.

The decision to put Armored Targets as number one stems specifically from one fact: It will disintegrate planes while also being able to penetrate armored plates like the ones on heavier aircraft or even tanks. Equip it and feel the power!

What Armored Targets belt excel in: