Well there you have it people – a totally unironic War Thunder post. More will be coming steadily in the future, since I got appointed to spread the Russian bias))))
Category: War Thunder
Australian AC Tanks – Part IV: AC IV 17-pdr armed Sentinel Cruiser Tank
The one with the big gun
The AC IV prototype, based on the AC E1 – Illustrator: David Bocquelet
Article by Thomas Anderson from Tanks-Encyclopedia
Part I: AC I Sentinel
Part II: AC II Cruiser Tank
Part III: AC III Thunderbolt
Another offspring of the AC I Sentinel was the AC IV, which was to be equipped with the new British Ordnance QF 17-pounder anti-tank gun. After the July 1942 decision to proceed with increased armament for the Australian Cruisers, a plan for expedited local production of 17 pounders was initiated to replace the previously planned 6 pounder production.
Artists rendition of the AC IV. Source: National Australian Archives MP730 10
Continue reading “Australian AC Tanks – Part IV: AC IV 17-pdr armed Sentinel Cruiser Tank”
Australian AC Tanks – Part III: AC III Thunderbolt
Article by Thomas Anderson from Tanks-Encyclopedia
Part I: AC I Sentinel
Part II: AC II Cruiser Tank
The inadequate 2 Pounder
In 1941, The QF Vickers 2-Pounder had been recognised as likely to become obsolete by the time that the AC tanks were scheduled entered production. The armament of the Mark I “Sentinel” was seen as transitional since the beginning, and the tank had been designed and balanced with the intent of mounting the Ordnance QF 6 Pounder (57 mm/2.24 in) gun before said gun was even available, shadowing the evolution of the British cruisers such as the Crusader.
Artists rendition of the AC III Tank. Source: National Australian Archives MP730 10
Continue reading “Australian AC Tanks – Part III: AC III Thunderbolt”
War Thunder: Available now, Rank IX!
Australian AC Tanks – Part II: AC II Cruiser Tank
By Thomas Anderson
From Tanks-Encyclopedia
The Sentinel that never was
Artist’s rendition of a production AC II
Contrary to a popular misconception the AC II was not a design for the installation of an Ordnance 6 pounder gun in the AC I Sentinel cruiser. Such a design did exist, entitled AC IA, but this is covered more appropriately with the AC III Thunderbolt. In reality the AC II was a simplified design intended to expedite production of the tanks Australia so desperately needed.
Due to the lack of progress by mid-1941, doubts were raised about the practicality of Australia attempting to manufacture such a complex tank design as the AC I. As a result, Australian AFV engineer Alan H Chamberlain proposed a competing design in June of 1941. The proposed design, entitled AC II, was intended to overcome the limitations of Australian industry by substituting the complex M3 drivetrain and gearbox for a commercially available Mack truck gearbox and drive, imported from the USA.
Due to the Mack components not being required for US munitions production it was estimated that deliveries could begin in October of 1941 with series production of the AC II beginning in January of 1942 at a rate of 8 tanks per week. Compared to 5 tanks per week in mid-1942 for the AC I. The Mack components however required a reduction in the weight of the vehicle and were limited in the horsepower that could be used to power the tank. It was alternatively mooted that the Mack gearbox could simply be substituted into the AC I design. However concerns that in a 28 tonne tank the Mack gearbox would be overloaded, risking the gear teeth stripping at low gears, put an end to this idea. As proposed, the AC II weighed 19.5 tonnes with a hull armor basis of 2 ¼ inch (57.15 mm) frontal and 1 inch (25.4 mm) side and rear, and 2 ½ inches (63.5 mm) of all around turret armor.
The intended engine was to either be a twin mounting of the same Cadillac V8 engines used in the AC I or a 225 horsepower GM 6-71 diesel engine. A Curtiss aircraft engine was also investigated but found to be overly powerful for the Mack gearbox and thus unsuitable without substantial modification . Despite the decreased weight, the corresponding decrease in engine power resulted in an estimated top speed of 19 mph (30 km/h). The armament was the same as on the AC I.
Line drawing and armour specifications of AC II. Source: National Archives of Australia MP730/13 14
Continue reading “Australian AC Tanks – Part II: AC II Cruiser Tank”
Australian AC Tanks – Part I: AC I Sentinel
An article by Thomas Anderson
Site: Tanks-Encyclopedia
http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/acone-trails.jpg
The only WWII Australian tank design
Among the Commonwealth nations, Canada probably had the best industrial capacities and helped Allied tank production during the war. Canadian factories built Shermans and Valentines, as well as the Ram or the Sexton, which were indigenous designs.
Australia and New Zealand had more limited industrial capacities, but nevertheless pushed on with their own designs, especially as the Japanese threat grew steadily in early 1942.
If the Bob Semple tank was an oddity, more conceived as a last ditch defensive vehicle than a real frontline tank, the Australian AC I Sentinel was a fully-fledged cruiser tank. First intended for combat in North Africa, the AC I was the first and only domestic production tank in Australia’s history.
Sketches of what would become the Australian Cruiser (AC) tank were first drawn in June 1940, when the situation in Europe was so dire that the Commonwealth was mobilized, and later dramatically escalated when war broke out with Japan in 1941.
To save time, the automotive basis had to be the American M3 Lee but with a British cruiser style low-profile turret and hull, and British armaments. However industrial limitations repeatedly hampered production, by late 1941 no prototype was ready and production only began on a limited basis in mid-1942.
The design was altered at several points along its development resulting in several distinct variations that, while innovative, ultimately did not enter production. While the AC tanks never reached substantial production they did display a remarkably refined design for a country that had no prior history with the production of AFVs, as well as several notable features such as the mostly cast hull, whereas most contemporary British tanks still had welded/riveted plates.
Preserved RAAC Sentinel AC1 Cruiser Mk.1 Australian WW2 Tank in the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Continue reading “Australian AC Tanks – Part I: AC I Sentinel”
Enlisted: New WW2 FPS by Gaijin
Enlisted – New WW2 FPS from Gaijin Entertainment and Darkflow Software
Gaijin Entertainment, developer and publisher of War Thunder, announces Enlisted, a new multiplayer squad-based shooter, developed by the Darkflow Software studio. The game is dedicated to the most important large scale battles of World War II.
Surprise surprise, it’s crowdfunded! (I saw like 2 other WW2 FPS proposals, both being crowdfunded before – seems eager Gaijin Ent. learned the ropes for workless cash).
https://enlisted.net/en/campaign
Let’s hope this turns out well and that they will eventually fix War Thunder – because of their limitation of freedom of speech on the game forums, WT still has a TAP embargo. And that you, readers, don’t like Thunder Show. I don’t plan to change this policy unless they change too.
Ivan Zhiviza Q&A
PR-manager Ivan Zhiviza was interviewed on radio “Maximum” (Thanks Vlad for translating).
Nothing new came out of it, but his wording was impressive:
– Asking whether the balance is adjusted regarding the winrate, he said “This has not been proven”;
– Asking about the relations to War Thunder: “We were first. They copied. We have 50 million registered users”;
– On a question from a listener on why he should switch from DotA to tanks, the answer was “The person is likely a pupil, we don’t have DotA, we have a game about tactics and strategy”
The P in PR is for professionalism.
Armed Neutrality: Swiss Tanks Part 2
By Mizutayio with help from Vollketten
Big thanks to Mizutayio for allowing me to post this.
In part 1, I set the scene for the Swiss defensive mindset and hopefully you will see the defensive needs refelcted in Swiss tank design. Having looked at WW2 and the Panzer 39 projects, next we shall look at the last project of the 1946-1948 period and take a look at the NK II, probably one of the most ridicilous looking, yet oddly charming tanks I’ve ever seen. After that, some completely new deisgn I hope shall pursuade you to support a full Swiss tree for World of Tanks.
Back in 2015 Yuri Pasholok wrote a article on the NK II here.
What that Article doesn’t tell however were all the other options I have found in the Swiss archives for the NK II.
First of all there weren’t only 2 guns planned, there were 4 more;
- a 7.5cm Pak L/73,
- a 9cm Pak L/60,
- a 10.5 cm Pak L/60, and
- a 15 cm HB 16 L/14.
Additionally there were plans to add 15mm of spaced armor to the front of the NK II.
However, despite the rather lovely NK II, Switzerland wasn’t quite done yet with secret projects. In 1950, 3 new tank designs were made in 14 ton, 16ton and 30 ton versions.
The first two, the 14 and 16 ton tanks were called the ‘Laupen light tanks’. They were very light vehicles with rather big guns, namely the 9cm L/40 guns to be exact. Ingame they would have low penetration concerning caliber and gun length, in the region of 120mm which in my opinion makes them ideal candidates for tier 5 and 6 with a top speed of 50kph.
http://i.imgur.com/g7h8eZi.jpg