Category: War Thunder

War Thunder’s M6A2E1: The First Paper Tank in the US Ground Forces

~ Sirchby ~ 6 Comments
War Thunder has just released a devblog for the upcoming Battle Pass vehicle: The M6A2E1 Heavy Tank.
The first U.S. paper tank in War Thunder: The M6A2E1
M6A2E1 will be the first paper tank available for the US Ground Forces Tech Tree as an event vehicle. While there were two existing M6A2E1 (M6A2E1-1 & M6A2E1-2), this tank won’t be either of them. It’s caused by the additional slab of rolled armor in front of the M6A2’s main hull. The armor setup was a part of the uparmoring project to allow the deployment of M6A2E1 to the Europe Theater of Operation by increasing the effectiveness of frontal armor by up to 7.5″ (190.5 mm). However, it was rejected, simply because of how nigh impractical it would be. And so, the two aforementioned pilot vehicles were never welded with the addon armor, and retained their original hull armor thickness of 4″ (101.6 mm).
The second pilot M6A2E1-2. Notice the lack of welded addon armor on the front hull, and bolted on machine gun port.

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The Largest APCR Projectile on a Tank Gun: T35E1 HVAP

~ Sirchby ~ 1 Comment
This was the largest APCR projectile to be developed for a tank gun in WWII. Designated as Shot, H.V.A.P., 155MM, T35E1, or just simply called as T35E1
HVAP.
The 155 mm T35E1 HVAP, and 90 mm M304 for scale.
Grown out of the concern from encountering enemy heavily armored tanks, the U.S. Army Ground Forces was pressed to develop a necessary anti-tank munition for their latest heavy tank in development, the T29 and T30. These tanks were intended to support allied forces with combined heavy armor and heavy firepower to defeat the most well-fortified enemy positions with different roles. The T29 would be used to combat other tanks with its 105 mm gun, and the T30 would be relegated for anti-fortification with its 155 mm gun. Leaving the T29 aside since it was was built to confront hostile armor anyway, the T30 was stuck with no self-defense munition to hit back should it come across opponents like King Tiger or Jagdtiger.

WT – Celere Sahariano: The Desert Cheetah

~ Sebastianul

The Celere Sahariano was a late war experimental Italian medium tank, developed in response to the highly mobile British cruiser tanks encountered in the deserts of North Africa. Although the war ended before the Celere Sahariano could enter production, it will soon reinforce the lower ranks of the Italian ground forces tree in the upcoming “New Power” War Thunder update!

Briefly: A late war experimental Italian medium tank, engineered with a strong focus on mobility.

Celere Sahariano, medium tank, premium, Italy, rank II.

Pros

  • Superb mobility
  • Good firepower
  • Low profile

Cons

  • Light protection
History

After clashing with British armored forces in the desert of North Africa in the early 1940’s, the Italian Army became impressed with the performance of the various cruiser tanks fielded by the British. As a result, the army issued an order to tank manufacturers to develop a new light vehicle whose mobility and firepower would outmatch that of the cruiser tanks.

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War Thunder – Chi-Ha Long Gun: The Last Chance Gun [Devblog]

~ Sebastianul ~ 1 Comment

120mm naval guns on the chassis of Japanese Chi-Ha tanks were supposed to hit the landing American troops with direct fire. The mobile coastal artillery was to be the last-chance weapon to save Japan from the Allied invasion.

Type 97 Chi-Ha Long Gun, SPG, Japan, II rank

Pros

  • Extremely powerful gun
  • Decent mobility

Cons

  • Lacks gun protection
  • Limited ammo
History

This curious prototype of a self-propelled gun was discovered in the territory of the Yokosuka naval base after Imperial Japan surrendered in WWII. The 120mm naval gun was installed on a turntable mounted to the chassis of a Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank. It was obvious, that the self-propelled gun was assembled in a rush – the high losses of Japan in the final stages of WWII and a shortage of military production forced the army and naval commands to look for any way to protect the island metropolia of the Empire from the threat of an Allied landing.

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