War Thunder Community Magazine Issue 5.pdf

Issue 50 • December 2013 1 • GameOn Magazine

Battlefield 4 Review

http://www.gameonmag.com/url/gameonmag

Introduction to War Thunder

Within the heart of War Thunder is

a multiplayer online combat game

for aircraft and armored vehicles.

Developed by Gaijin

Entertainment, this game is

available across a variety of

platforms: from Windows to

Macintosh OS X to Linux, as

well as on the Playstation 4

console, with casual game

modes in arcade battles

to realistic and simulator

battles for the enthusiasts.

The game spans the era from the

Spanish Civil War to the Korean

War, with a huge emphasis

on the Second World War.

Players cross swords in historical

maps of impressive scale

ranging from the city outskirts

of Stalingrad to the vast oceans

surrounding Pearl Harbor.

With hundreds of accurately-

rendered vehicles available

and more being added with

every update, players are spoilt

for choice when it comes to

cutting-edge planes to take

to the skies, or menacing

tanks to tear up the earth.

Relive the action in huge

aerial dogfights and armored

spearhead clashes with friends,

learn about the rich historical

significance behind the wars

through War Thunder.

2 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine

letter from the general

Welcome to the fifth edition of

the War Thunder Community

Magazine! With the ‘Weapons

of Victory’ update dropping

at the end of last month, we

are certainly excited to bring

you new content about it!

We’ve brought you feature

articles on the Fleet Air Arm

this month from John Moore,

showcasing the new planes

added to the British tech tree as

well as bringing you on a walk

through time with the FAA from

its humble beginnings in WWI.

As with past issues, this month

we cast our eyes on the US planes

for War Thunder 101 and Guns

of the USA, giving you an insight

to flying them as a nation.

The usual diverse selection of

monthly WWII articles awaits

you - whether you are a history

buff or a fiction lover, with ‘This

Month in WWII’ by David King, the

continuation of a PoW’s journey

by Ted, or interesting facts related

to WWII - we got you covered.

On the Reviews side, Daniel

covers our first jet feature ever

- the MiG-9, probably the first

jet for many of you as well.

Are you interested in writing

historical articles, war machines,

or War Thunder gameplay? We

are still actively looking out for

more writers, photographers and

artists to come on board the team!

Do you also happen to know

someone who has a story from

WWII? They don’t have to have

be in the war, we are interested

in their story if they are willing

to share it. Please contact us

[email protected]

- The Editor

War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 3

Contents Page‘Weapons of Victory’ Update 6

Find, Fix and Strike 14

Funny Corner 21

Wonderful And

Fabulously Unique 22

MiG-9 Review 28

World War 2 Facts #5 32

This Month in WWII: 34

May 1940 34

Stars and Stripes 36

Guns of the USA 50

Historical Fiction - Life as a POW 62

Gun, Projectile and

Armor Terms 68

Tank Projectile Types 76

Wordsearch 84

Comic 85

KEEP IN TOUCH!

ContributorsEditor-in-Chief Steve Greenfield

Editor Kris West

Production Mgr Chock Wee Boon

Writer John ‘Zoso’ Moore

Writer Daniel “Heinkel280” Hoffman

Writer David ‘HJFarnsworth’ King

Writer Ted ‘Extreme_360’ Theisinger

Photos Alex ‘Fodder09’ Beard

Photos Martin “Marty” Gutierrez


CONTENTS

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‘WEAPONS OF VICTORY’ UPDATE

With Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) being celebrated

on May 7-8 as peace finally returned to Europe

after the tumultuous half-decade till 1945, the 70th

anniversary certainly carries a big significance in the

hearts of many, and definitely so for War Thunder.

The developers at Gaijin Entertainment have dedicated

this patch to the 70th anniversary celebrations,

with a new series of premium vehicles used by

Soviets, British and American tanker heroes

and flying aces in their final push for victory.

Sequentially, this is Update 1.49, but Gaijin has decided to move the patch numbers forward by quite a

bit (and quite a mouthful) in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the V-E day in 1945, hence the

70.1945. We’re not too sure if the new numbering will stay or get reverted back to the old sequence.

UPDATE 1.70.1945 … WAIT WHAT? NOT 1.49!?!


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PREMIUM VEHICLES

This new approach to premium vehicles is a big

improvement for premium offerings in the game,

and definitely a nice trend to watch, offering players

who wish to pay for that extra push in progress

something that’s not drastically different from the

regular in-game vehicles, while at the same time

having educational value by introducing the brave

acts of these soldiers to the younger generation

through an interactive platform in gaming.

Names like Sergei Dolgushin (La-7), Ioannis

Plagis (Spitfire Mk. IXc), and James Prendergast

(Spitfire Mk. FR XIVe) are remembered in this

series, alongside with the tanker heroes of 805th

Tank Destroyer Battalion (M18 Hellcat) and the 5th

Canadian Armored Battalion (M5A1 Stuart) and

other new additions, giving players more options

for premium vehicles to drive out in War Thunder.

FLEET AIR ARM

The next significant item is the Fleet Air Arm, with

the British plane tree receiving lots of love with

the injection of a full naval plane tree from Tiers I

through to V. Some are modified from their land-

based counterparts, like the Sea Hurricanes and

Seafires, while others, like the Fairey Firefly and

Supermarine Attacker are entirely new planes which

should offer the British players more variety. We

have a British FAA plane roundup in this issue as well

as a historical article on their progress from their

origins through the years, so do take a look at these!


US TANK DESTROYERS

Steel Generals in 1.45 not too long ago added

the US tank tree, albeit with the tank destroyer

lineup not implemented yet. The ‘Weapons of

Victory’ update sees this come into fruition from

the developers, with the American tank tree now

featuring comparable vehicle numbers to the Soviet

and German tank trees with 5 regular tank destroyer

additions (and an oddly placed new M2A2 light tank

as reserve vehicle at the start of the TD tree).

With the US tank destroyers in-game, they should

provide a very big contrast to the tank doctrines

adopted by the Soviets and Germans. The US tank

destroyers are mostly built around speed, with armor

a secondary concern as most of these vehicles are


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open-top but with fully-rotating turrets equipped

with a powerful gun. This is reflected by the direction

taken by the US armor doctrine back then, to swarm

the Wehrmacht with mass-produced Shermans

and calling on the tank destroyer hunter teams to

engage whatever the Shermans couldn’t kill.

Of course, we do get the oddball that’s different

from everyone else now and then. The T95 Super

Heavy Tank (dubbed the ‘Doom Turtle’) – a slow

and heavily armored tank destroyer with a nasty

gun, crawling along at a leisure 12km/h and

dethroning the Maus as the slowest tank along its

way. The premium line also gets the T28, which

is essentially a T95 with the outer set of tracks

removed, making it lightly armored at the sides).

NEW VEHICLES

Germany and Japan might feel left out this time

round, as the content update is less massive

for them than for the Allied nations, although

they haven’t been forgotten entirely.

Germany gets a long-overdue armed jet bomber

in the Arado 234C-3, with two MG151 20mm

cannons in the nose and two extra engines, as

an upgrade to the first unarmed Arado 234 in-

game. The Bf 109 series get an early Bf 109B-1

variant that fought in the Spanish Civil War, with

Ground Forces getting the StuH 42G assault gun.

Japan gets the J2M2 Raiden interceptor, an earlier

variant of the J2M3 Raiden already in-game with a

lighter weapons load. For their bomber tree, they

get the Ki-21-1a at Tier I, a light and fast bomber

that should serve early Japanese lineups well.

On top of the tank destroyer tree, US gets the AD-2

Skyraider bomb truck, an attacker at Tier IV with

the capacity to carry 4000 lbs of bombs and 12

rockets; the P-51 early Hispano-armed variant


(most of which went into British service, but some

were retained by the USAAF); and the Sherman

Calliope premium tank, a rocket artillery version

carrying 60 rockets (in addition to its 75 mm main

gun) capable of unleashing hell on enemy tanks

but at a hefty premium currency cost (9740 GE)!

NEW LOCATIONS & MAP UPDATES

Many of the existing tank maps, from Poland

to Mozdok to Karelia have been tweaked, with

obstacles and locations reworked to provide

a better sense of balance for both sides.

The map roster gets three new exotic locations:

• Hürtgen Forest, the scene of a drawn-out

Battle of the Hürtgen Forest between the

US and German forces in 1944, features an

interesting combination of urban and open

environments for tanks to do combat in.

• Berlin features the location of Nazi Germany’s

last stand, including famous locales such

as the Reichstag and the Brandenburg

Gate surrounded by gutted buildings and

an eerie sense of doom and gloom, and

• Normandy features the heavily fortified

Atlantic Seawall overlooking the beaches


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strewn with hedgehogs and obstacles, the

landing site for D-Day in 1944 in a bid to

retake Europe by the Western Allies.

DAMAGE MODEL REVAMP

The damage model (DM) revamp has been

significant in this update, with aircraft finally able

to make emergency landings thanks to the new

DM improvements, allowing for individual sections

and bits of aircraft to take damage. This has other

implications as well, with larger planes more

likely to survive ramming with smaller planes.

The effect of aircraft rounds have been improved

as well, with armour-piercing rounds penetrating

deep into components and incendiary rounds setting

parts on fire. The effect of aircraft materials have

been modelled in as well, which means planes

made of flammable materials like percale fabric

are more vulnerable to incendiary rounds, while

differing materials mean that different aircraft have

different structural strength in absorbing shots.

The new X-ray model that was introduced

earlier on for tanks has also been implemented

for planes, allowing the players to see which

parts of their plane is damaged/destroyed.

For Ground Forces, the DM of tank rounds have been

further refined with more accurate physics, with

kinetic rounds being greatly reduced in efficiency

when hitting armor at an angle; different types of

rounds (APHE, APCR, APCBC etc) having differing

effectiveness in penetrating angled armor as well.


OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Cockpits have also been added to more planes, such

as the Il-28 and the Canberra, along with both variants

of the Hs 129 attacker, complete with the engine

cowling gauges being modelled to extensive detail.

Elsewhere, there have been changes to the

flight models, guns and loadouts for planes,

modelling of the guns and armor for ground

forces which are too many to list.

Battle trophies, the one where you were previously

awarded random amounts of Silver Lions after the

game, have also been revamped. Battle trophies

now include other items such as discounts on


ARTICLE

other planes, talismans, backup vehicles, as well

as modification parts to vehicles used in combat.

There’s the usual decal and skin additions as well,

along with several highly detailed and beautiful

skin modifications being inducted into the Revenue

Sharing Program, which recognizes accomplished

modders for their effort into making these skins.

CLOSING

This is definitely the most substantial of recent

updates in terms of content, with over 40 new

vehicles and 3 new maps. That’s not to say that

under the hood, things have remained stagnant –

far from it. Tweaks to the game economy with the

new Battle Trophy implementation will definitely

make players very happy. The new DM updates

have been fairly significant, on top of other

gameplay fixes, in ensuring a better gameplay

experience; that bunch of new content will surely

keep lots of players busy in the coming months.

Until the next update, ciao!By Chock Wee Boon


FIND, FIX AND STRIKE

THE EARLY YEARS

Parallel development of Army and Navy aviation in

the United Kingdom resulted in overlaps between the

Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service

(RNAS), duplication of effort, and competition for

aircraft and engines. German bombing of England,

particularly the Gotha raids of 1917, brought criticism

of the government over ineffective air defences

and calls for reprisal, leading to two reports from

General Jan Smuts on air defence and the strategic

employment of airpower. Smuts recommended the

formation of an independent air force, the Cabinet

accepted the recommendation, and on April 1st 1918

the RFC and RNAS amalgamated to form the Royal

Air Force, taking control of all military aviation.

The Royal Navy were at the forefront of aircraft carrier

development during and after the First World War

as the now familiar “flat top” evolved from earlier

seaplane carriers, commissioning HMS Argus in

1918 (the first ship with a flat full-length flight deck),

and HMS Hermes in 1924 (one of the first purpose-

designed aircraft carriers). Though the Navy operated

the carriers, the Air Force were responsible for the

aircraft that flew from them, a particular point of

friction in ongoing inter-service rivalry. In 1924 of

the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force was created

to cover naval aviation. Only 30% of carrier aircrew

would be RAF officers, the remaining 70% being

naval officers, though Navy pilots held a dual rank

in both the RAF and RN, as only the RAF could fly.

A brief history of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy from its formation, through its peak during the Second World War, to the present day.

A BRIEF FAA HISTORY


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PART OF THE NAVY AGAIN

Naval aviation was a low priority for the Air Force.

Skirmishes between the Admiralty and Air Ministry

for control of the FAA increased in intensity as

the prospect of war loomed, and rearmament

became a priority. A new cabinet post, Minister

for Co-ordination of Defence, was created in

1936, and the first incumbent, Sir Thomas Inskip,

recommended that the Admiralty should have full

operational and administrative control of the FAA.

The recommendation was accepted in July 1937, but

took until May 1939 to implement; technically the

Fleet Air Arm became the Air Branch of the Royal

Navy, but the name “Fleet Air Arm” remained in

informal usage, and was officially re-adopted in 1953.

The political wrangling left the Fleet Air Arm in a

parlous state at the start of the Second World War, with

a shortage of personnel and modern aircraft. The Navy

were operating six active carriers, with 147 Swordfish,

26 Skuas and 12 Sea Gladiators. The Blackburn Skua

was the only monoplane; a typical result of pre-war

compromises, it had to fulfil the contradictory roles of

dive bomber and fighter, inevitably excelling at neither.


WORLD WAR II - THE NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN

The first major action for the FAA was the Norwegian

campaign, achieving early success when Skuas

operating from the Orkney Islands sank the German

cruiser Königsberg, but HMS Glorious was sunk

by German battleships as the Allies withdrew.

FAA aircraft continued to attack targets in Norway

throughout the war, including raids on the Tirpitz

in 1944, the last offensive action being a raid on

Kilbotn anchorage just four days before VE-Day.

MALTA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN

Over the summer of 1940 the Battle of Britain

raged, with some FAA pilots flying with RAF fighter

squadrons. Overseas, the fall of France left the

Mediterranean dominated by Italy and the island

of Malta vulnerable, defended by the legendary

“Faith”, “Hope” and “Charity” (actually at least

six Sea Gladiators, originally of 802 Naval Air

Squadron (NAS)). November 1940 saw perhaps

the greatest triumph of the FAA, the raid on the


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Italian fleet at Taranto, in which Swordfish from

HMS Illustrious sank or damaged three battleships

and a heavy cruiser for the loss of two aircraft.

Malta continued to be a focal point for much

action in the Mediterranean, a thorn in the side

of Axis supply lines to North Africa. The FAA were

heavily involved in covering convoys to the island,

carrying supplies and reinforcements, as well

as offensive action. Operation Pedestal in 1942

was one of the fiercest battles, a heavily battered

convoy just managing to resupply Malta, laying

the foundations for victory in North Africa.

Over the course of the campaign HMS Ark Royal

and HMS Eagle were torpedoed by U-boats, but the

armoured carriers HMS Illustrious, HMS Formidable

and HMS Indomitable proved resilient, surviving

heavy bombing attacks, albeit with significant

damage. As the Allies took to the offensive, from

1942 to 1944 FAA aircraft were involved in the

landings in North Africa (Torch), Sicily (Husky), Italy

(Avalanche) and Southern France (Dragoon).

ATLANTIC AND ARCTIC CONVOYS

In the Atlantic the sinking of the Bismarck in 1941,

with the assistance of a Swordfish torpedo attack,

and the repositioning of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau

to Norway in 1942 left U-boats as the main threat,


assisted by long-range Fw 200 aircraft spotting and

attacking convoys. As a stop-gap measure Navy

Fighter Catapult Ships (FCS) and Catapult Armed

Merchantmen (CAM) carried Sea Hurricane or

Fulmar fighters, launched to drive away shadowing

aircraft, pilots then having to try and find their way

to land, or bail out or ditch near friendly ships. From

late 1941 small escort carriers, mainly converted

from merchant ships, came into service carrying

Martlets (the FAA name for the Grumman Wildcat),

Sea Hurricanes and Swordfish, protecting Atlantic

and Arctic convoys from air and submarine attack.

THE PACIFIC THEATRE

Focused on the European theatre, there was little

FAA involvement in the Pacific theatre until 1944,

when fleet carriers could be made available for

operations against Japan. Now equipped with much

more capable aircraft including Seafires, Fireflies,

Barracudas and US-built Hellcats, Corsairs and

Avengers, carriers of the British Pacific Fleet attacked

several oil installations and supported the invasion of

Okinawa. By the end of war the Navy was operating

11 fleet carriers and over 40 smaller escort carriers,


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with 75 first-line Naval Air Squadrons. FAA Seafires

were involved in perhaps the last fighter combat of the

war, a dogfight with Zeros on the morning of VJ-Day.

THE KOREAN WAR

Joint operations with the US Navy during and after

the war stood the FAA in good stead in 1950 when

the Korean War started. The light fleet carrier HMS

Triumph linked up with the US 7th Fleet to form

Combined Task Force 77, and FAA Seafires, Sea

Furies and Fireflies flew 23,000 sorties during the

conflict, mostly patrols and ground attack, though Sea

Furies downed one MiG-15. HMS Triumph rotated

with other light fleet carriers HMS Theseus, HMS

Glory and HMS Ocean, and also HMAS Sydney, flying

aircraft of the recently formed Australian FAA.

DAWN OF THE JET AGE

Legendary test pilot Eric “Winkle” Brown made

the first jet landing on an aircraft carrier in a de

Havilland Vampire in December 1945, though it

took until 1951 for the first jet squadron, flying

Supermarine Attackers, to become operational.

Three key Royal Navy developments of the early

1950s improved the efficiency and safety of jet aircraft

operation from carriers: the angled flight deck, the

mirror landing sight, and the steam catapult.

The 1950s also saw the increased use of helicopters

by the FAA. 705 NAS had become the first all-

helicopter squadron in 1947, flying the Hoverfly, and

Dragonflies were used for air-sea rescue in Korea.

Whirlwinds were used to deploy assault troops


during the Suez Crisis, and the first anti-submarine

helicopters came into service with 845 NAS.

CUTBACKS AND NEW THREATS

Carrier battle groups were deployed to numerous

minor conflicts around the world through the

1950s and 1960s. In 1960 the Navy still operated

eight carriers, but most were of Second World

War vintage, and the increasing size and

weight of jet fighters required large ships.

Plans were put in place for CVA-01, a class of large

carrier operating Phantoms and Buccaneers, but the

1966 Defence White Paper scaled down worldwide

commitments and cancelled the new carrier, the

first step in phasing out fixed-wing naval aviation.

The Navy were instead to focus on anti-submarine

warfare, but managed to retain light aircraft carriers

in the guise of the three Invincible-class “through

deck cruisers”, anti-submarine platforms carrying

Sea Harrier vertical take-off aircraft to defend

against Soviet reconnaissance planes. The 1981

Defence White Paper threatened even this capability,

but the Falklands conflict of 1982 demonstrated

the continuing requirement for naval air power.

The Sea Harrier proved its worth, shooting down

20 Argentine aircraft with no air-to-air losses, and

FAA helicopters flew transport, supply, anti-ship

and anti-submarine missions. Sea Harriers were

deployed again in the Balkans over the 1990s.

THE FUTURE

Planning for new aircraft carriers for the Royal

Navy began in the late 1990s, contracts finally being

signed in 2008. The two 65,000 tonne Queen Elizabeth

class carriers will be the largest surface warships

ever to serve in the Royal Navy, carrying the F-35

Joint Strike Fighter, allowing the Fleet Air Arm to

continue its proud heritage into the 21st century.

By John ‘Zoso’ Moore


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FUNNY CORNERWe present a look at the lighter side of things with some military humour doing the rounds on the Internet.

PASSPORTS PLEASE

An elderly army veteran arrived in Paris by plane.

As he was fumbling in his bag for his

passport, a stern French customs agent asked

angrily if he had been to France before. He

admitted he had indeed been previously.

The lady sarcastically said, “Then you should know

to have your passport out and ready, Monsieur.”

The gentleman said, “I didn’t have to show it last time.”

“IMPOSSIBLE!” the customs agent said.

“ALL foreigners have always had to show

a passport to enter the country!”

The man responded by whispering, “Well, when I

came ashore on the beach on D-Day in 1944, I couldn’t

find any French customs agents to show it to!”


WONDERFUL AND FABULOUSLY UNIQUE

HAWKER NIMROD MK. I AND II

A naval development of the Hawker Fury, the

Nimrod served as a fighter with the FAA for most

of the 1930s. Retired from front-line service

shortly before the war, a handful of Nimrods

were still in use in 1939, but saw no combat.

The Nimrods are standard starter aircraft in War

Thunder; the Mk. II used to be a reserve aircraft,

before reserves were slimmed down to three per

country, and returns to the FAA line in 1.70.

GLOSTER SEA GLADIATOR MK. I

The Sea Gladiator was, unsurprisingly, a naval

version of the Gladiator with an arrestor hook and

catapult points. With more modern types being

delayed, the Navy procured a batch of Sea Gladiators

to replace older Nimrods and Ospreys just before

the war. They flew in the Norwegian campaign, and

famously (“Faith”, “Hope” and “Charity”) from Malta.

The Sea Gladiator, along with the regular Mk. II and

Tuck’s premium version, pads out an early Tier I

A brief history of the Fleet Air Arm aircraft in Update 1.70, and some first impressions of how they perform in War Thunder

FAA AIRCRAFT IN 1.70 UPDATE


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Arcade line-up for new British players, but apart from

that is just a stepping stone to the rest of the FAA tree.

HAWKER SEA HURRICANE MK. IB

Desperate for modern fighters, a naval version of

the stable and rugged Hurricane was an obvious

option for the FAA, but with the Battle of Britain

raging, airframes were not available for conversion

until 1941. The first Sea Hurricane, the Mk. IA or

“Hurricat”, was launched by catapult from Navy

Fighter Catapult Ships (FCS) or Catapult Armed

Merchantmen (CAM). The Sea Hurricane Mk. IB was

a more conventional carrier aircraft, with catapult

spools and an arrestor hook, converted from a motley

assortment of ex-RAF aircraft. Sea Hurricanes

were heavily involved in the convoys to resupply

Malta during the Mediterranean campaign, and

also flew from small escort carriers to cover other

convoys such as on the Arctic routes to Russia.

The Sea Hurricane Mk. IB has similar performance

to the regular Hurricane Mk. I, giving British Arcade

players a useful addition to an early Tier II line-up.

HAWKER SEA HURRICANE MK. IC

The Mk. IC differed from the Mk. IB in mounting

four 20 mm Hispano cannon instead of eight .303

machine guns, a very useful extra punch, especially


against bombers. ‘Dickie’ Cork of 880 Squadron was

credited with five kills in a single day flying a Sea

Hurricane Mk. IC during Operation Pedestal in 1942.

The Mk. IC is a great addition to War Thunder as

the first cannon-equipped Hurricane to appear

in the game. The extra weight makes it a little

sluggish, not best suited to Realistic mode, but the

firepower makes it an absolute beast in Arcade.

FAIREY FIREFLY F MK. I

The often overlooked Fairey Fulmar gave sterling

service to the FAA in the early years of the war.

A long-range two-seat fleet fighter, the Fulmar

was a hastily procured stop-gap solution while

its successor, the Griffon-powered Fairey Firefly,

was in development. Similar in appearance to

the Fulmar, the Firefly entered service in 1943.

An interesting feature of the Firefly was its Youngman

retractable aerofoil flaps, allowing for efficient

cruising and easier deck landing. A hefty aircraft, as

heavy as a Blenheim bomber, the Firefly could not

compete as a pure fighter with lighter land-based

equivalents, but its versatility allowed it to fulfil

multiple roles, taking part in strike operations with

the British Pacific Fleet towards the end of the war.

Much slower than single seat fighters around


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its Battle Rating, the Firefly is surprisingly

manoeuvrable for a heavy two-seater; take some

time to admire the modelling of the flaps, if you’re

not frantically deploying them to avoid incoming

fire. It can carry a useful range of ordnance, and

the cannon pack a punch, but with only 60 rounds

per gun you need to pick your shots very carefully in

Realistic, or pump up the Reload skill in Arcade.

FAIREY FIREFLY FR MK. V

Successful enough to be further developed in post-war

service, the Firefly FR Mk. V fitted a more powerful

Griffon engine, with the oil cooler moved from the chin

to the wing roots. Several squadrons of Fireflies took

part in the Korean War, mostly with the FR Mk. V, flying

armed reconnaissance and ground attack missions.

In War Thunder, the Mk. V is similar to the Mk. I;

quicker, but still not close to single-seat rivals,

especially with the commensurate increase in Battle

Rating. The extra cannon ammunition is a great help,

especially in modes without mid-air reloading.

SUPERMARINE SEAFIRE MK. XVII

The potential of the Spitfire was obvious as it came

into service, and the Admiralty soon expressed

interest in a navalised version, but no production

capacity could be spared. By 1941 the FAA’s need for

a high-performance fighter was acute, the Fulmar

and Hurricane increasingly outmatched, and the

Sea Spitfire (soon shortened to Seafire) was finally

ordered. The Seafire Mk. IB was a hasty adaptation

from the Spitfire Mk. VB, the Seafire Mk. IIC from

the Mk. VC, then the Seafire Mk. III was a more

thorough naval conversion with folding wings.

After the Mk. III, Seafire variants were assigned

numbers along with the Spitfire, so the next was

the Seafire Mk. XV, combining the Griffon VI engine

used on the Spitfire Mk. XII with a navalised airframe.

The Mk. XVII was similar, with a teardrop hood.

The Mk. XVII in War Thunder has similar performance

to the early Griffon Spitfires, though optimised for

lower altitude work. It currently has the same Battle

Rating across all three modes, perhaps reflecting

the scarcity of high altitude encounters in Arcade

Mode, though expect a little fluctuation as it beds in.


SUPERMARINE SEAFIRE MK. 47

The final Seafire variants, Mk. 46 and 47, were

developed from the Spitfire Mk. 22. Along with

the usual naval modifications of an arrestor hook,

folding wings etc., the most striking thing about the

ultimate Seafires was the use of contra-rotating

propellers, negating the powerful torque of late Griffon

engines and making handling on a carrier easier.

It seems the initial Seafire Mk. 47 flight model in War

Thunder may need a little more tuning; at the moment

there’s not much of a reason to use the Mk. 47 over

the Mk. 22/24, except perhaps in Simulator mode.

HAWKER SEA FURY FB 11

As the war drew to a close, Hawker were developing

a lighter version of the Tempest for both the RAF


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and Navy as the Fury and Sea Fury. With jet aircraft

entering service and large stocks of Spitfires and

Tempests, the RAF saw no need for a new type and

cancelled their order, but the Seafire was not an

ideal carrier aircraft so the Navy proceeded with

the Sea Fury as a replacement. The FAA’s last prop

fighter, the Sea Fury had excellent performance,

serving into the 1950s before being replaced by jets.

In War Thunder, there is some debate over the Sea

Fury’s flight model; with slightly worse performance

than the Tempest Mk. II/V, and lower Battle Rating

to match, it’s a strong late Tier IV fighter, but not

the ultimate prop that some were expecting.

SUPERMARINE ATTACKER FB 1

The Supermarine Attacker was the FAA’s first

jet aircraft. Attempts to update the Spitfire

had resulted in the Spiteful and naval Seafang,

elements of which were adapted for jet propulsion

as the Attacker. An undistinguished fighter, the

Attacker was only with front-line squadrons

for a few years and saw no combat.

The Attacker pads out an early jet line-up for British

players, but many will still be waiting on the Hawker

Hunter for a really competitive late-game option.



MIG-9 REVIEWHISTORY

In early February 1945, Stalin realized that the

Soviet Air Force was quickly falling behind its

western counterparts in aircraft development. In

April, a directive was ordered listing requirements

for an aircraft that would become the first Soviet

aircraft to be solely powered by a jet engine.

Because the Soviet Union at the time had no viable

engine for the aircraft, they reluctantly decided

to use the reverse-engineered German BMW-

003 jet engine instead, which would be entering

production soon under the RD-20 designation.

The first prototype was built and tested by the MiG

OKB after a year of development. Testing showed

that the aircraft suffered from poor performance

and ruthless handling but due to government

persistence, in 1948 the MiG-9 entered service

with the Soviet Air Force and later with the

People’s Liberation Army Air Force in China.

There was only one main production model; however,

there were multiple prototypes, including one that

was equipped with two afterburning versions of the

RD-20 and another prototype which was a major

redesign of the MiG-9, designated the MiG-9M.

After completing its first test flight, it was found

that the MiG-9M prototype corrected all of the

problems found originally in the MiG-9 and had

greatly increased performance. However, due to


REVIEW

the impressiveness shown by the MiG-15 prototype

the development and production of the MiG-9 was

stopped after a short run of roughly 600 airframes.

IN-GAME

For the longest period of time there were only

two jet aircraft lines available for Russian

players. The mediocre Yak-15s lead to the equally

mediocre Yak-17; the MiG-9s lead to the superb

MiG-15. After looking at the options available,

I, like most players, chose the MiG-9, and after

spending about a month unlocking and trying my

first War Thunder jet… I was not impressed.

The MiG-9 has good performance in some categories

and very poor in others. At sea level, the MiG-9 can

achieve a top speed exceeding 800 km/h, making

it more than capable of eventually catching most

early jets excluding planes such as the F-80C. The

diving characteristics of the MiG-9 as of right now are

astonishing but certainly not realistic; in a dive the

MiG-9 can get to speeds exceeding 1,000km/h without

any risk of the wings ripping. While jets in general

are not very capable turn fighters, the MiG-9’s turn

time is extremely sluggish, worse than the Me 262.

The MiG-9 is equipped with two 23mm NS-23 auto

cannons mounted in the cheeks of the nose and one

37mm N-37 gun mounted on the centerline. The

23mm cannons are relatively easy to aim along with

the 37mm gun and are there mostly just to support

the main gun considering the velocity of the cannons

are almost identical. The 37mm cannon can destroy

enemies with one shot and forty rounds of ammunition

allows for speculative bursts but the high rate of fire

empties the drum quickly if you fire for too long.

The MiG-9 has a BR of 7.0 and because of that, it

usually gets into games where it is fighting aircraft

that were built in a relatively short time period

of one another, so the performance differences

between various nations is not as large as it

would be if the aircraft were fighting Korean Era

aircraft (which it rarely does). Some of the planes

that MiG-9 pilots should expect to frequently face

include the F-80C, Meteor Mk. 3, and the Me 262,

all of which have similar performance to the MiG-

9 and in most cases will be an equal match.


PROS AND CONS

+ Unbelievable dive speed

+ Good high speed performance

+ Nearly impossible to rip wings

+ Hard-hitting guns

+ Guns are relatively easy to aim after some practice

+ Two variants; the second is a nice

upgrade from the first

+ Good top speed at sea level

+ Clear cockpit

- Horrible maneuverability

- Overall sluggish acceleration

SUGGESTED STRATEGY

From the aircraft’s high speed and sluggish turn

time it’s reasonable to assume that most players

flying the MiG-9 will do so by climbing to altitude

and then proceeding to dive on to targets before

zoom climbing back to altitude. However, the climb

rate of the MiG-9 is average, if not slightly lacking,

in comparison to other early tier 5 aircraft. The

overall performance of the MiG-9 is certainly average

at best except for the astonishing dive speed.

RATINGS

Firepower: 9/10 (Usually easy to

aim with devastating effects)

Speed: 9/10 (Unbelievable dive speed

and good top speed at sea level)

Climb Rate: 6/10 (Outclimbed in most situations)

Maneuverability: 4/10 (Sluggish for a jet)

Overall Rating: 7/10

By Daniel “Heinkel280” Hoffman


REVIEW

WORLD WAR 2 FACTS #5 NORWAY - Nortraship, the Norwegian Shipping

and Trade Mission, was the largest shipping

company in the world. Formed in April 1940 after the

German invasion of Norway, it played an important

role in supplying the Allies through the war.

USA - In a bid to prevent coded messages

being passed by radio, the War-Time Code of

Practices for Broadcasters suggested that radio

stations stopped accepting “Lost and Found”

announcements and music requests by telephone

or telegraph for the duration of the war.

AUSTRALIA - The first Allied shots in both

World War I and II were warning shots fired by

the battery at Fort Nepean near Melbourne.


FACTS

USSR - The Soviet Union deployed

“Teletanks”, unmanned radio-controlled

T-26 tanks, in the Winter War.

UK - Squadron Leader John Gillan became

famous in 1938 when he flew a Hawker Hurricane

from Edinburgh to Northolt at an average speed

of 408 mph. The considerable assistance of

a heavy tailwind to record such a speed gave

him the nickname “Downwind Gillan”.

AUSTRIA - Eight colossal flak tower complexes

were built across Germany and Austria housing

radar installations and anti-aircraft guns as well as

sheltering people, artwork and museum collections.

Many still survive; since 1957 one of these towers in

Vienna has housed the Haus des Meeres aquarium.



THIS MONTH IN WWII:MAY 1940

On May 1st, the 1940 Summer Olympics, known

at the time as the “Games of the XII Olympiad,”

are cancelled due to war. The summer games

were originally slated to occur from September

21st until November 6th in Tokyo, Japan.

On May 9th, the British Parliament elected to raise

the conscription registration age to 27. The previously

passed “National Service (Armed Forces) Act of 1939”

made all males within the United Kingdom age 18

to 41 eligible to be called into conscription. It would

not reach older citizens for several more years.

On May 10th, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain

resigned from office, feeling he had lost the confidence

of the nation to lead effectively. After a meeting

between Chamberlain, Lord Halifax, Winston Churchill,

and David Margesson, King George VI appointed

Winston Churchill as the new Prime Minister.

After the aborted invasion of France and Belgium

that was supposed to occur during January 1940,

Nazi Germany finally attacked the western countries

on the 10th of May. In the operation known as Fall

Gelb, German forces advanced via an unexpected

route, cutting through the Ardennes Forest and then

along the Somme in order to flank Allied forces

already positioned in Belgium. Germany also attacked

Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

During their May 10th invasion of the Netherlands,

the Germans suffered the first failed air invasion in

history as the Dutch beat back the fallschirmjäger


ARTICLE

(paratrooper) forces that dropped over The Hague. The

attack failed to capture the city or the airfields. Despite

the Dutch military surrendering less than a week later,

Queen Wilhelmina escaped to the United Kingdom.

On May 14th, Prime Minister Churchill wrote to

President Franklin Roosevelt, asking the American

leader to, “help us with everything short of actually

engaging armed forces.” Specifically requested in

the letter were several dozen destroyers, aircraft,

anti-air guns and ammunition, and an American

presence near Ireland. Finally, Roosevelt was asked

to “keep that Japanese dog quiet in the Pacific,”

and was offered the use of Singapore in whatever

capacity the United States may have required.

Allied forces are pushed back to Dunkirk in northern

France on May 25th; Hitler called for his ground

forces to stop their advance, and instead sent in the

Luftwaffe to finish off the Allied units. With support

from the Royal Air Force, the Allies managed to

hold on to the port long enough to begin a massive

evacuation effort the next day. Over the next

week, nearly 350,000 troops were removed from

Dunkirk and relocated to the United Kingdom.

By David “HJFarnsworth” King


STARS AND STRIPES

PROS

• Competitive end-game fighter jets

• Strong bomber lineup with a focus on heavy

defensive armament (although survivability

is an issue as of this current meta)

• Good jet bomber lineup similar to the British

• Fighters are usually dual-role, with impressive

secondary loadouts of bombs and rockets

• Strong Tier II-III fighter lineup

CONS

• Cannon armaments is not standard for fighters

and only found on a handful of planes

• Planes in the same tree can have very

different playstyles and not recommended for

beginners until they know the differences

• Relatively weak Tier IV fighter lineup with

the exception of the F8F Bearcats

A pacesetter in military air power way since the very beginning, from using aircraft to support its troops and expanding into air superiority and strategic bombing roles in WWII, the different US air services have certainly come a long way.

Today, in War Thunder 101, we look at how to kickstart your journey through the versatile American planes.

WAR THUNDER 101 - US PLANES RESEARCH AND LINEUP


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INTRODUCTION

Unlike most nations that splits aircraft lines according

to manufacturers, the US tree splits it according to the

air services it operates under, according to the planes

that served under the US Army Air Force (and the

newly-formed US Air Force after WWII) and the naval

services (US Navy & US Marine Corps aviation), with a

separate fighter and attacker/bomber branch for each.

As with previous suggested lineups, they will be

presented according to a 5-plane format, mostly

with a balanced setup of fighters and bombers. The

lineups are optimized according to the Battle Rating

and matchmaking system and the information

below is accurate as of May 2015 (1.70.1945.51)

BR 1.0

Suggested lineup: 3 x P-26 Peashooter

reserves (3 fighters)

Right off the bat, the P-26 Peashooter reserve planes

available to US are slightly different from that of

other countries; they are basic monoplanes. Turning

performance will be inferior compared to the reserve

biplanes in other countries, so don’t engage in turnfights

with them. Instead, use Boom and Zoom passes on

them and keep your energy up and retain your speed,

never allowing it to drop too much as it is your lifeline.

As with most early tier games, the key to winning

the battles will be through killing the soft ground

targets, which means setting your 7.62 mm MG

to Stealth belts (as they contain most AP rounds).

The three Peashooters can carry bombs, which

can be effective against small clusters of vehicles

and these should be dropped at the start of the

battle to reduce the flight performance penalty.

One of the Peashooters, the P-26A-34 M2, has one

12.7mm M2 machine gun and a 7.62 mm MG, packing

a slightly heavier punch than the rest of your reserve

planes. For the 12.7 mm M2, the ground targets belt

with the AP rounds can kill ground targets slightly

quicker, while the Stealth belt has more AP-I and

Incendiary rounds, allowing you to set planes on

fire relatively easily and these can be absolutely

devastating against earlier tier reserve biplanes.


BR 1.3

Suggested Lineup: P-36A Hawk, F2A-1 Buffalo,

3 x P-26 Peashooter reserves (5 fighters)

Several planes at BR 1.3 are available to you, and I’ll

start off with explaining the ones that are not useful.

The OS2U-1 (and OS2U-3) Kingfisher is a novelty float

plane researched as prerequisite for the planes later

and to open up Tier II, and they are just about inferior

in every way. With only one 7.62 mm forward firing

machine gun, the same bomb load, much poorer

flight performance due to the bulk of the floats, the

Kingfisher is a downgrade from your Peashooters.

The P-36A Hawk in Army line should be your next

research target, and flight performance and durability

wise will be an upgrade to your Peashooters, while

rolling somewhat like a brick. The F2A-1 Buffalo is also

available in the Navy line, which is somewhat more

agile than the P-36A. As with the Peashooters, restrict

yourself to Boom and Zoom tactics on other planes

with the P-36A and F2A-1, as they aren’t the most

capable turnfighters against the enemiesthey will face.

Recommended Research: P-36A Hawk → F2A-

1 Buffalo → OS2U-1 Kingfisher (prerequisite)

BR 2.0

Suggested lineup: P-36C Hawk, P-36A Hawk,

F2A-1 Buffalo, SBD-3 Dauntless, TBF-1c

Avenger (3 fighters, 2 dive bombers)

By now, Tier II should have opened up, but this

lineup is more of a transition as your lineup isn’t

particularly strong at BR 2.0, so move on to BR 2.3

the moment you get enough planes for that.

The P-36C Hawk is a slight improvement over the

P-36A Hawk that you have, with more 7.62 mm

MGs to ease things a little, but not by much.


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The SBD-3 Dauntless and TBF-1c Avenger are relatively

effective bombers at BR 2.0, with good bomb loads to

quickly take out soft targets in groups and twin 12.7

mm M2 MG to clear up the remaining ones. The tail

gunners can be quite a handful for early tier fighters

who sit on your tail, getting you some easy kills.

While the PBY-5 and PBY-5a Catalina bombers are

available, they are not exactly needed yet as most of the

targets do not require a heavy duty bomber to clear; a

dive bomber with forward firing machine guns might

be more efficient here. On top of that, the Catalina

bombers are relatively slow and not maneuverable at

all, making them highly vulnerable at low altitudes.

These are much more useful for bombing bases

from high altitudes (which will only appear later).

Recommended Research: P-36C Hawk →

SBD-3 Dauntless → TBF-1c Avenger

BR 2.3

Suggested Lineup: P-40E-1 Kittyhawk, F4F-3 Wildcat,

P-36C Hawk, TBF-1c Avenger, SBD-3 Dauntless

or PBY-5a Catalina (3 fighters, 2 bombers)

With two new planes in the P-40E-1 Kittyhawk

and the F4F-3 Wildcat, you get planes with decent

firepower that can compete against other planes

near your BR. These planes share similar traits akin

to the P-36 Hawk vs. F2A Buffalo comparison, with

the P-40E-1 more ideally suited to Boom and Zoom

attacks and the F4F-3 Wildcat slightly more agile.

With 4 & 6 12.7 mm M2 MG for the F4F-3 and P-40E

respectively, these planes pack a considerably

heavier punch compared to the previous fighters

in your lineup. Do set your convergence as the

increase in number of M2 machine guns mean

that most of them from now on are shifted to the

wings rather than being mounted in the nose.

At BR 2.3, you should see an increase of ground

strike maps among your map rotation, so

feel free to rotate a Catalina into your lineup

to take out minibases and airfields.

Recommended Research: P-40E-1 Kittyhawk

→ F2A-3 Buffalo (prerequisite) → F4F-3 Wildcat

→ PBY-5 Catalina → PBY-5a Catalina


BR 2.7

Suggested Lineup: P-400 or F4F-4 Wildcat,

P-40E-1 Kittyhawk, F4F-3 Wildcat,

A-20G-25 Havoc, TBF-1c Avenger

At 2.7, you only have one plane to add in Tier II,

which is the A-20G, so you can put another BR 3.0

plane for an average BR of 2.7 (with your next two

fighters at BR 2.3). You could add the F2A-3 Buffalo

(BR 2.7) as well, which means no BR 3.0 planes, but

the P-400 or the F4F-4 Wildcat supplemented by the

F4F-3 is superior and more effective for research.

The A-20G-25 Havoc is an attacker that should serve

you well into researching your Tier III planes. With 6 x

M2 machine guns from a nose installation, this plane

sends serious lead downrange, allowing it to defend

itself from head-ons (though not advisable) or planes

in front of you. It can destroy ground targets with ease;

with the Ground Targets belt, this monster can even

chew up Light Pillboxes and Medium Tanks all day. The

12 rockets or 4 x 500 lb bombs it can carry, the crew

armor at vital positions and that rearward defensive

armament are just icing on the cake. Just be cautious

around cannon-armed fighters and you should be able

to take out plenty of ground targets every match.


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The F4F-4 Wildcat at BR 3.0 is an upgrade to the F4F-3

with two additional machine guns for a slight sacrifice

in performance, especially in climb rate. If I were to

choose only one BR 3.0 fighter, I would choose the P-400

over the second Wildcat, for reasons explained below.

The first Airacobra that you get is the P-400 export

version meant for the British. This is another of the

BR 3.0 planes that will be accessible for research

if you followed the recommendations closely.

The P-39 Airacobra airframes (and the P-63 Kingcobras

later) are relatively agile for Army fighters (You still

shouldn’t be trying to join turnfights against Spitfires and

Zeroes), with decent energy retention, good low-altitude

performance and good climb rates up till an altitude

of 4.5km. Armament usually consists of a high-caliber

cannon firing through the propeller hub, with machine

guns supplementing the firepower, making them rather

distinctly different from other planes in the Army tree.

The P-400 is armed with a 20 mm Hispano cannon

in the nose (which is actually rather accurate

compared to the 37 mm cannons in the other Cobras).

A well-aimed burst from the 20 mm should take

out most fighters with the HEFI rounds from the

Hispano cannon, with the machine guns configured

for incendiaries to light up tougher opponents.

Recommended Research: P-400 → F4F-

4 Wildcat → A-20G-25 Havoc


BR 3.0

Suggested Lineup: P-400, F4F-4 Wildcat. F4F-

3 Wildcat, F4U-1a USMC Corsair, A-20G-25

Havoc (Tier 2 - 4 fighters, 1 attacker)

Suggested Lineup: P-47D-25 Thunderbolt,

P-47D-28 Thunderbolt, P-400, F4U-1a USMC

Corsair or P-51 Mustang (new, see notes),

A-20G-25 Havoc (Tier 3 - 4 fighters, 1 attacker)

This is probably the golden era for US planes,

as they are very effective between BR 3 – 4

with very good planes available to them.

The F4U-1a USMC (the second one in the F4U-1a

stack) is also at BR 3.0. It is definitely worthwhile to

research past the F4U-1a to get to the USMC version,

as the F4U-1a can be used when your lineup is pushed

to BR 3.3. Both F4U-1a are the same airframes, with

the USMC version not being able to carry external

ordnance. The F4U-1a is primarily an energy fighter,

with pretty decent dive capabilities to execute Boom

and Zoom attacks and well-armed with 6 x M2 MG.

The P-51 Mustang is a new addition introduced in the

1.70.1945 Update at Tier III and BR 3.0, and is essentially

the same early model export Mustang found on the

British tech tree as a premium at BR 5.0. Armed with

4 x 20 mm Hispano cannons and generally good flight

performance for a Boom and Zoom fighter (See the

P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51D Mustang descriptions

for an idea how to play the plane to its strengths),

this plane performs extremely well against the

opponents it faces at BR 3.0. There will most likely be

revisions to its BR in a future balance update to reach

a compromise with the British premium airframe.


ARTICLE

Getting the P-47 Thunderbolt at Tier III (and bypassing

the P-38G Lightning) is a good idea as well, as that

plane shines at BR 3.0 if used to its strengths. The

P-47 is a strictly Boom and Zoom interceptor, being

exceptionally good in dives and hits hard with 8 x M2

MG, especially with the late-war Tracer belt loadout of

pure API-T rounds. The good high altitude performance

of the Thunderbolt makes it an ideal interceptor against

bombers climbing to the edge of space. This plane is also

built like a tank and able to take quite a bit of punishment.

Of course, all these come at a disadvantage, with

maneuverability its biggest problem. Under no

circumstances should you be making sharp turns with

the P-47 as this will bleed your energy very quickly,

and speed should be kept high at all times. One of my

favourite tactics is to climb at the start for bombers,

making a pass at all of them and shooting down as

many as possible. After that, dive out behind the

enemy lines towards your own side, taking out any

climbing fighters who can’t evade, or enemy fighters

heading towards the front lines but did not see you

coming from their six. Once over in friendly airspace,

climb back to altitude and repeat the process.

The P-47 can be used as a ground attacker in a pinch,

with the plane being able to carry quite an impressive

payload of bombs and rockets. One thing to note is to

equip the P-47 for the role you are flying, and not strap

on everything just because you can. In an interceptor

role, the P-47’s bombs and rockets can be its death

sentence, turning it into a highly vulnerable target.

Recommended Research: F6F-3 Hellcat →

F4U-1a Corsair → F4U-1a Corsair (USMC) →

P-38G-1 Lightning → P-51 Mustang → P-47D-25

Thunderbolt → P-47D-28 Thunderbolt


BR 3.3

Suggested Lineup: P-47D-25 Thunderbolt, P-47D-28

Thunderbolt, P-38G Lightning, A-20G-25 Havoc, B-25J-1

Mitchell (2 fighters, 1 heavy fighter, 1 attacker, 1 bomber)

BR 3.3 is quite the oddball for the US planes, with

some planes in Tier II being available while the

P-47D Thunderbolts sit at Tier III with BR 3.0 and

being effective throughout BR 3.0-4.0. It all comes

down to a matter of trying out new planes and

choosing effective ones to unlock the next tiers.

For the Corsair series, the F4U-1a is available, and

as described earlier, is exactly the same as the USMC

model earlier save for the ability to carry bombs

now. The F4U-1d Corsair has a more powerful

engine, slightly better flight characteristics and

bomb load, while being positioned at Tier III and

more effectively placed to unlock Tier IV planes.

The P-38G Lightning is quite maneuverable for a heavy

fighter, boasting impressive climb rate at this tier and has

relatively good fighter armament with 1x AN/M2 20mm

cannon and 4 x M2 MG all mounted in the nose, which can

be deadly against planes it manages to get its sights on.

The F6F-3 Hellcat is a more powerful version of the

F4F Wildcat, with much better climb and top speeds.

It also boasts a relatively good lineup of external

ordnance, with HVAR supplementing a decent bomb

load and the ability to fire Tiny Tim rockets that can

take out heavily armored ground targets easily.

If you do decide to go the way of the P-47D and include

only one BR 3.3 plane, it may be worthwhile to equip

the B-25J-1 Mitchell medium bomber (BR 3.7) as well

to still get an average player BR of 3.3. The Mitchell

bombers are quite effective against ground targets or can

be used as a high altitude bomber against minibases,

while possessing an ability to defend itself with 5 x M2

MG in the nose. The bomber is relatively well armored

with defensive guns placed in very good positions,

especially the tail sting and the top defensive barbette.

Recommended Research: B-25J-1

Mitchell → F4U-1d Corsair


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BR 3.7

Suggested Lineup: P-47D-25 Thunderbolt,

P-47D-28 Thunderbolt, P-39Q-5 Airacobra,

A-20G-25 Havoc, B-25J-1 Mitchell (2 fighters,

1 heavy fighter, 1 attacker, 1 bomber)

At BR 3.7, you get two P-39 Airacobras from

Tier II. Researching them might be easier with a

lineup with the P-400 in it at BR 3.0, and take note

that the P-47 Thunderbolt suffers from a 10%

research penalty with Tier 2 planes, although the

increased killing power should make up for it.

The P-39 Airacobras are slightly different from the

P-400 version in that they are armed with a 37mm

cannon firing through the nose rather than the 20 mm

Hispano in the P-400. The 37mm cannon comes with

some quirks. First off, the cannon is wildly inaccurate

and rapidly firing it would see the rounds flying off to

the side sometimes, and it is for this reason that the

Bell Cobra series is not everyone’s cup of tea. However,

if it does connect, the results are almost usually fatal,

as the default HEFI round is capable of taking out most

fighters with a single hit, and bombers in just a couple.

Therefore, the trick to firing the cannon is to close in

as much as possible to the target before unleashing

a hail of 37 mm rounds, with the machine guns

providing more reliable damage at longer range.

Since the cannon is mounted on the centerline, you

need not worry too much about convergence.


Differences with the P-39N-0 and the P-39Q-5 are

fairly minor in the flight performance department;

the biggest is in the armament, where the ineffective

4 x 7.62 mm machine guns are replaced with 2

x 12.7mm M2 MG for more killing power.

Recommended Research: P-39N-0 → P-39Q-5

BR 4.0

Suggested Lineup: P-47D-25 Thunderbolt, P-47D-28

Thunderbolt, P-63A-10 Kingcobra, PBJ-1H, B-25J-20

Mitchell (3 fighters, 1 attacker, 1 bomber)

At BR 4.0, the choices you have are generally

upgrades of the previous ones, with only the PBJ

attacker series being something new, although

it is mostly based on the Mitchell bomber.

The P-63 Kingcobra series become available with the

P-63A-5, having marginal improvements over the late

P-39 models. The P-63A-10 features an expanded

bomb-carrying capability of 3 x 500 lb, but the biggest

change is a 37 mm cannon with double the rounds in a

clip in exchange for less rounds in the nose-mounted

M2 MG. The C-5 variant is similar, although oddly

it is only allowed to mount a single 500 lb bomb.

The PBJ-1 series is the navalized version of the B-25

series, being designated as patrol bombers and hence

the name. They are also commonly called Peanut

Butter Jelly, in reference to its abbreviations sounding

somewhat like its popular sandwich namesake. Two

variants are available; the PBJ-1H armed with a 75 mm

cannon and 8 x M2 forward firing MG, and the PBJ-1J

armed with 12 x M2 forward firing MG. They carry a

slightly lower bombload compared to the B-25 in the


ARTICLE

other tree, but the additional guns more than make up

for that in ground attacks and the occasional crazy head-

on attack. With the ground belts, the M2 machine guns

with AP ammunition should tear up softer ground targets

more quickly; the 75 mm ‘derp’ cannon on the PBJ-

1H can pretty much kill light pillboxes and up to heavy

tanks (from the rear) in just one hit with the AP rounds.

The B-25J-20 is a slight upgrade to the J-1 although

the most significant thing is its position on the research

tree at Tier III, giving you a good mix of fighters and

bombers to unlock your Tier IV planes effectively.

Recommended Research: B-25J-20 Mitchell →

P-63A-5 Kingcobra → P-63A-10 Kingcobra →

P-63C-5 Kingcobra → PBJ-1H → PBJ-1J

BEYOND 4.0

Beyond 4.0 at Tier III-IV, the American heavy

bombers start to become available, reflecting their

late war strategic bombing capabilities. The B-17

Flying Fortresses (3 variants: E, Late E and G), B-24

Liberator and B-29 Super Fortress. These bombers

are characterized by heavy defensive firepower,

while being large and slow. The bomb loads can be


devastating if they reach the enemy bases, but as of

current situation, they are relatively easy to shoot down

at higher tiers due to potent cannon-armed fighters

unless they are being provided with escort fighters.

The instantly-recognizable P-51D Mustangs also

make their debut. Flight characteristics wise, they

are replacements for the P-47 somewhat, while being

more maneuverable and faster (although Boom and

Zoom tactics still work best). They are somewhat less

durable, with less guns and less bombs, which is a small

price to pay for the upgrades in flight performance.

The naval tree features the F4U-1c cannon-armed

Corsair, which is a potent plane armed with 4 x AN/

M2 cannons. The Bearcat series are pretty crazy stuff

too, with a good climb rate, being highly maneuverable

with good firepower. In particular, the F8F-1b brings

this to the extreme with the AN/M3 cannons, making

it a one of the most potent late-game prop fighters.

At the end of the Tier IV fighter trees we have two

heavy fighters in the F-82E Twin Mustang and the

F7F Tigercat. Both are very heavily armed: The

Twin Mustang can carry a gunpod, bringing its total

firepower to 14 M3 MG, giving it a ridiculous burst

mass in excess of 10 kg/s; The Tigercat has 4 x

AN/M2 cannons and 4 x M2 MG all mounted near

the centerline, which isn’t too shabby either.

Jets wise, with the B-57 variants and the F-86F

Sabres as endgame planes, the US has ideal end-


ARTICLE

game contenders for good jet bomber and jet fighters.

The F9F Panthers offer some middle ground in jet

fighters’ flight performance (pretty deadly middle

ground in fact, with the entire line armed with AN/M3

cannons from the Banshee through to the Panthers.

CLOSING

With the US planes’ lineups relatively fleshed out,

what remains is individual planes receiving different

variants, especially the late-war optimized ones.

The US planes is somewhat different from the other

countries in that there isn’t a main design where a

whole series is developed from start till the end of the

war; with their abundant resources during the war

period, they have multiple designs running concurrently

while being optimized from variant to variant.

That being said, there are still several new designs

that have yet to make their debut, such as multiple

interesting early jet designs, even as the focus is

firmly on the more prominent and successful ones

like the F-80 Shooting Stars and F-86 Sabres. The

American attackers and heavy fighters represented

in the tech tree right now is really just the tip of the

iceberg, although this is set to change in the coming

few patches; already the AD-2 Skyraider has been

added in the most recent 1.70.1945 update.

This is what makes War Thunder so interesting;

the seemingly endless possibilities of seeing all

these more obscure planes making their way into

the hands of the ‘fellow War Thunderers’.

By Chock Wee Boon


GUNS OF THE USA

Between 1925 and 1962, standardised weapons

received an “M” (“Model”) designation. Each type of

weapon had its own sequence of “M” numbers, so

there was an M2 .50-cal machine gun, M2 .30-cal

machine gun, M2 carbine, M2 light tank, M2 medium

tank, M2 ball ammunition, M2 tripod, etc etc.

Weapons in development received a designation

starting with “T” (for “Test” or “Trial”); if standardised,

the weapon received a new “M” number unrelated

to the “T” number, for example the T25E3 .50

machine gun was standardised as the M3.

INTRODUCTION

John Moses Browning was an outstanding gunsmith,

particularly in the field of automatic weapons. Though

Browning died before the Second World War, many US

aircraft weapons were based upon his designs, most

notably the .50 calibre machine guns that equipped the

vast majority of American fighters through the conflict.

THE BROWNING AIRCRAFT MACHINE GUN, CALIBER .30

The fledgling US Air Service took delivery of the

first units of John M. Browning’s M1918 .30 calibre

(7.62 mm) aircraft machine gun shortly before the

The third in our series about the development of World War II aircraft guns, this month

looking at the armaments of the United States Air Force and Navy.

US ARMY NOMENCLATURE


ARTICLE

Armistice of 1918, but problems with early models

meant they were not immediately placed in service. In

the aftermath of World War I, with no pressing need

to immediately remedy the issues, time was taken to

review and revise the design over the next ten years.

Numerous small improvements ultimately resulted

in the Browning Aircraft Machine Gun, Caliber .30,

M2, which was adopted as the standard gun of the US

Army Air Corps in 1929. Typical ammunition loading

by 1941 was a mix of M2 Armour Piercing, M1 Tracer,

and M1 Incendiary, the latter a simplified version

of the British B Mk VI Dixon/”De Wilde” round.

.30 GUNS IN WAR THUNDER

As with other light machine guns in War Thunder,

.30-cal Brownings don’t do much damage to

aircraft, especially past the early biplanes, and can

only destroy soft targets and armoured cars on the

ground. The Stealth belt, with its mix of AP and I, is

about the best choice for ammunition loading, but

there isn’t very much in it. Fortunately, very few US

aircraft have .30-cal guns as their only armament.

MA DEUCE - THE BROWNING MACHINE GUN, CALIBER .50, M2, AIRCRAFT

Towards the end of World War I armoured targets

were becoming more common both on land and

in the air, the German “J” series armoured aircraft

proving resistant to small arms fire. Concerned

about the ineffectiveness of rifle calibre machine

guns against armour, General Pershing of the

American Expeditionary Force requested a heavier

machine gun from the Army Ordnance Department.

The US Air Service were already fielding a small

number of 11 mm guns. Seeking an effective bullet

to ignite hydrogen filled observation balloons, the


French had designed an incendiary loading for their

old Gras cartridge. A number of British Vickers guns

were manufactured in America as “Balloon Guns”,

chambered for the French 11 mm cartridge, and

fitted to American and French aircraft. Investigation

revealed that an 11 mm cartridge was not powerful

enough to meet Pershing’s specification, so work

started on a new 0.5 inch (12.7 mm) round and

gun, essentially a scaled up version of the standard

.30-06 cartridge and Browning’s .30 machine gun,

resulting in the water-cooled Browning Machine Gun,

Caliber .50, M1921, and an air-cooled aircraft gun.

With no time pressure and dramatic reductions in

post-war military spending, further development

was gradual. Following John M. Browning’s death

in 1926, Dr. Samuel G. Green was instrumental in

refining the design, and with additional funding

from the Navy developed a weapon system with

maximum commonality for both Army and Navy

use in multiple roles. In 1933 the Browning Machine

Gun, Caliber .50, M2 was adopted in three main

variants: with water cooling for sustained anti-

aircraft fire, with a lightweight barrel for aircraft

use (either fixed, or in a flexible or turret mount)

and with an air cooled Heavy Barrel (HB) for

vehicle mounting. The latter version, with minor

modifications, remains in service to this very day.

The M2 .50 did not immediately supersede the M2 .30,

the additional weight being an issue with less powerful

engines of the time. Many late interwar aircraft used

a mixed armament, but from 1942 the vast majority

of Army and Navy fighters were armed with a battery


ARTICLE

of four, six or eight M2 .50 guns (also known as the

AN-M2 .50 under the joint Army/Navy nomenclature

system introduced during the war). Defensive

armament for bombers also gradually standardised

on the M2 .50 in turrets or flexible mounts, .30-cal

guns being generally phased out over the war.

Described by the Commanding General of the Army

Air Forces as “the most outstanding aircraft gun

of World War II”, the merits of the M2 compared

to other aircraft armament, especially 20 mm

cannon, is a subject guaranteed to cause a debate,

both sides having fierce adherents. Though the

general consensus tends to favour cannon, the

M2 was undeniably effective against most targets

faced by US aircraft, and very reliable. With it

rolling off production lines in massive quantities,

there was little impetus from the USAAF to

introduce heavier guns during the war.

SPEEDING UP - THE .50 M3

One area in which there was felt to be room for

improvement was rate of fire, ideally from 750

rounds per minute to 1,000 or even more. Some

improvement could be found in relatively minor

changes, but to achieve the desired target a

more fundamental overhaul was necessary.

The Frigidaire division of General Motors had already

turned over their manufacturing plants from fridges

to aircraft and weapon components; they built a

whole new factory to produce the M2, simplifying

the design for mass production in the process. In

1943 the Ordnance Department engaged them to

produce a new high speed weapon, resulting in

1945 in the M3 (or AN-M3) .50, capable of firing

1,200 round per minute. Though similar in general

appearance to the M2, the changes meant there were


few directly compatible components. Few M3s were

produced before the end of World War 2, but they

continued in service on first generation jet fighters

in Korea, and in helicopter gun pods in Vietnam.

.50 BMG AMMUNITION

Standard early .50 Browning Machine Gun (BMG)

rounds were M2 Armour Piercing, M1 Tracer, and

M1 Incendiary, essentially scaled up versions of the

same .30-06 rounds. Further development allowed

the functions to be combined without a major sacrifice

in performance. The M8 Armour Piercing Incendiary

round had similar armour penetration to the M2

AP with an added incendiary component, generally

supplanting the individual AP and I rounds by 1944;

the M20 Armour Piercing Incendiary Tracer also

added a tracer component for visibility. Towards

the end of the war, with the Germans fielding jet

aircraft using kerosene as a fuel rather than more

flammable gasoline, a new round was developed,

the M23 “super incendiary”, containing more than

twice as much incendiary material as the M1.

THE BROWNING .50 IN WAR THUNDER

In War Thunder, .50-cal guns are best suited to

Realistic or Simulator battles, where engagements are

slightly more considered and the larger ammunition

capacity is an advantage; in the whirling maelstrom

of Arcade dogfights the immediate destructiveness

of cannon is more desirable, and mid-air reloading

makes low ammunition capacity less of an issue

(though machine guns do have a shorter reload time).

A decent burst or two from a battery of .50s should

be enough against most fighters but bombers

can be tougher, especially four-engine heavies;

taking out the pilot is a quick way to bring them

down but needs considerable accuracy or luck,

focusing on one wing and its engine(s) is more

efficient than pumping a lot of bullets into the

fuselage, but don’t hang around too long flying

straight and level in the face of defensive fire.

With most US fighters having wing mounted guns it’s

important to take account of harmonisation, the “Gun

targeting distance” option on the aircraft selection


ARTICLE

screen that represents the point at which your shots

will converge. Typical harmonisation distance in

WWII was around 300 yards (275 m), and a setting

of 300 m works well in War Thunder when you can

close to that range before opening fire. If using a

short targeting distance with wing mounted guns,

avoid long range head-on engagements, especially

against opponents with nose-mounted weapons.

Aircraft with .50-cal guns in War Thunder fall into

three main groups: early M2, late M2 and M3. For

early aircraft with the M2, starting with the first

reserve P-26 Peashooter and including the P-36,

P40, F4F and F6F, once you unlock the “Offensive

12mm” upgrade the Omni/Universal belt is a good

choice, with good proportion of M8 AP-I rounds,

effective against both air and ground targets.

Later aircraft such as the P-47 and P-51 get slightly

different ammunition options that include M20

API-T and M23 incendiary rounds. Unless you have

a lot of trouble adjusting your aim it’s seldom worth

using dedicated Tracer belts in War Thunder, as

tracer rounds tend to be less damaging than the

alternatives, but the late .50 Tracer option consisting

entirely of M20 API-T is an exception to the rule.

Prior to patch 1.47 it was devastating, with a very

high chance of setting aircraft on fire; in 1.47 the

effects were toned down somewhat; at the time of

writing (weapon and damage models always being

subject to change) patch 1.70 has made it an excellent

choice again. The combination of M8 API and M23

I in the late Stealth belt also works well, without

the light show of the tracer belt, if you prefer not to

alert an opponent that you’re shooting at them.

Aircraft equipped with the M3 such as the Air Force

jets after the P-80 have access to the same late

ammunition options, but fire a lot faster; you need


to exercise a little more trigger discipline with M3s,

as they do burn through ammunition quickly.

With most .50-cal ammunition options containing

a good number of AP, AP-I or API-T bullets, they

also work well for ground attack; light pillboxes

and tanks are vulnerable, even medium tanks

can be engaged at close range from the rear,

giving US fighter-bombers a strong ground attack

arsenal when combined with bombs or rockets.

M4 AND M10 37 MM GUNS

Some large cannons were used in World War I

aircraft, such as the Spad XII with a manually loaded

37 mm gun firing through the propeller shaft,

and after the war the US Ordnance Department

expressed an interest in a fully automatic weapon

of the same calibre. Early developments did not

go well; when John M. Browning was engaged to

cast his eye over an unreliable 37 mm gun to see

if improvements could be made, he reputedly said

“Where do they put the bait? This thing surely is

some kind of a rat trap, as it can’t possibly be an

automatic gun.” Inspired to develop a weapon himself,

Browning constructed a number of prototypes, but

further funding was unavailable in the 1920s.

Interest was revived in the late 1930s when Benjamin

Kelsey and Gordon Saville of the Army Air Corps

issued specifications for new cannon-armed aircraft,

described as “interceptors” to circumvent the

restriction that pursuit (fighter) aircraft could carry

no more than 500 lb (227 kg) of armament. The Bell

Aircraft Corporation’s response, the P-39 Airacobra,

was built around a derivation of one of Browning’s


ARTICLE

37 mm gun designs, standardised as the M4 37

mm cannon and manufactured by Oldsmobile.

Compared to .50-cal MGs, the M4 had a low rate of

fire, limited ammunition capacity, and low muzzle

velocity, giving shots a noticeably arcing trajectory.

Though the sheer size of a 37 mm round offered

good destructive potential, the US faced few targets

necessitating such firepower, and there was little

interest in further development and deployment

of the M4. Relatively minor modifications slightly

increased the rate of fire and ammunition capacity

through the use of a disintegrating link belt, resulting

in the M10 cannon fitted to later P-63 Kingcobras.

37 MM GUNS IN WAR THUNDER

The US have several P-39 and P-63 variants in War

Thunder with 37 mm cannons, but the previously

outlined characteristics make it a tricky gun to use,

especially against rapidly manoeuvring fighters.

Carefully aimed single shots or short bursts have

a better chance than “spray and pray”, so it can be

worthwhile to go into the control options where you

can bind machine guns and cannons to different

keys or buttons, allowing for more selective

use of the mixed armament of the P-39/63.

If firing at long range you’ll need to take account

of the shell drop; unless lobbing shots at someone

flying straight and level, where you can observe

the tracer and adjust accordingly, it’s usually

best to save ammunition for close range.

Against ground targets, the M4/M10 are not as

effective as higher velocity German and Russian

37 mm guns, but a few Armour Piercing shells

can take out light pillboxes and medium tanks.

Ammunition choice is fairly straightforward; if

hunting planes the Default belt of HEFI is ideal, if

mainly interested in ground targets then the Ground

Targets belt is all AP, or alternate the two with the

Omni belt for multi-role missions at the cost of

reduced effectiveness of taking out the targets.


US 20 MM CANNON

In the late 1930s, the US Navy Bureaus of Aeronautics

and Ordnance concluded that the most suitable

armament for naval aircraft would be a gun of 20-

23 mm. Unable to find a suitable native design, they

assessed what was available elsewhere, and like the

British decided that acquiring manufacturing rights

for the Hispano-Suiza HS.404 20 mm cannon would

be the best option. Negotiations were completed

in 1940, the first US-made guns were completed

in late 1941, and minor changes soon resulted

in a second version that received the designation

“Gun, Automatic, 20 mm, AN-M2 (Aircraft)”.

As in British service, early Hispano cannons proved

unreliable. Testing and investigation of the faults

continued through 1942 and 1943, but with high

demand for the guns from the US Navy and the

RAF, mass production had been started before the

faults could be resolved. Some US aircraft did fly

with Hispano cannon during the war, most notably

the P-38 Lightning; the single cannon it carried in a

rigid mount in the nose with adequate heating was

less susceptible to jamming than wing installations.

The Navy used the AN-M2 on some variants of the

SB2C dive bomber, F6F-5N night fighters and a

small number of F4U Corsairs, but the reliability

issues prevented mass deployment during the war.

After the war most of the issues of the AN-M2

were resolved by the improved AN-M3 20 mm

cannon, used by the Navy in post-war aircraft,

including early jets such as the F9F Panther.

The Korean War provided the push that the Air Force

needed to upgrade from .50-cal guns, the Browning

M3s of the F-86 Sabre proving unsatisfactory against

the MiG-15. As part of an evaluation project, a small

number of F-86F aircraft were fitted with 20 mm T160

cannon. The T160 (standardised later as the M39)

was based on a revolutionary German design, the

Mauser MG 213C revolver cannon, that was developed

too late to see action with the Luftwaffe but inspired

many Western post-war guns including the M39 and

British ADEN cannon. The revolving chamber allowed


ARTICLE

for both a high rate of fire and high muzzle velocity,

important attributes in high speed jet combat.

20 MM CANNON IN WAR THUNDER

In War Thunder, US Hispanos are similar to the British

guns (see Issue 3 of this magazine); use short bursts

to avoid jamming, especially before you can research

the “New 20mm cannons” upgrade. The ammunition

belts use the three shell types deployed by the US:

High Explosive Incendiary, Armour Piercing Tracer and

Practice (a plain steel slug that ought to be labelled

“Ball”, really). There isn’t too much difference between

the belts, the “Default” HEI/HEI/AP-T works well

so there’s no pressing need to upgrade, “Universal”

just changes the ratio to 50/50. “Stealth” swaps the

AP-T shell in the Default belt for a Practice shell,

little different in terms of damage; the cannon can

only destroy soft ground targets and light tanks, so

the “Ground Targets” belt isn’t the best choice.

The T160 cannon of the F-86F-2 are excellent

weapons; use either the “Air Targets” or “Stealth”

belts, depending on whether you like tracer or not.

75 MM CANNON

USAAF and RAAF units of the Allied Air Forces in

the Southwest Pacific Area under General Kenney

specialised in low level attacks, especially against

shipping, strafing and skip-bombing rather than

carrying out more conventional level bombing from

higher altitude. Major Paul ‘Pappy’ Gunn made field

modifications to B-25 bombers to reflect this change

in role, removing the ventral turret in favour of extra

fuel, and mounting additional fixed guns for strafing.

Working with North American Aviation representative


Jack Fox, details of the modifications were provided

to other units in the field, and fed back to the US.

This resulted in new B-25 variants, manufactured

from the outset for low-level attack. Trials had

been carried out before the war with a 75 mm

field gun in a B-18 bomber, and the B-25 offered a

platform to deploy the weapon operationally. The

B-25G mounted a 75 mm M4 cannon in the nose,

essentially the same gun used in Sherman tanks;

the B-25H (known as the PBJ-1H in Naval service)

used a lighter version of the gun modified for

airborne use, the T13E1 (standardised as the M5).

The M4 and M5 were manually loaded, limiting the

rate of fire, and it was not an easy task to load 15

lb (6.8 kg) shells if the aircraft was manoeuvring.

A fully automatic gun was developed and tested

in the form of the 75 mm M10, mounted in the

nose of the experimental XA-38 attack aircraft,

but was not put into production as rocket

projectiles supplanted large calibre guns as

the weapon of choice for ground attack.

75 MM CANNON IN WAR THUNDER

The 75 mm T13E1 gun of the PBJ-1H is highly

effective against ground targets: with Armour

Piercing ammunition it can destroy light pillboxes

and any tank with a single shot. The High Explosive

shells are little use against armoured targets,

so the all-AP “Armored Targets” belt is the best

choice once unlocked. The low rate of fire makes it

rather unsuitable for most air-to-air engagements

with the exception of head-on attacks against

anybody foolish enough to point themselves

directly at a 75 mm gun *and* eight .50-cal MGs.



ARTICLE

HISTORICAL FICTION - LIFE AS A POW

We finally arrived at Luckenwalde and marched

to Stalag 111a, a camp of many prisoners of all

nationalities. Our camp was on the opposite side of

the road to that of the R.A.F. officers from Sagan. They

came out to their fence to greet us, Gene and Pat, our

crew pilot and bombardier, were now within hailing

distance. It was the first time we had seen them since

Dulagluft. David Balchin and Clem Pearce had learned

just before leaving Stalug Luft 7 that their promotions

to Pilot Officers had come through. I think there was

automatic promotion for Canadians in operational

squadrons. They went to join the officers. John Lovatt

and I remained with the men from Stalag Luft 7.

We assembled in our new camp in a barrack-

type hut that had a stone floor and no furniture.

We were asked to strip by our Medical Officer for

examination. The most emaciated were designated

to the only hut with a wooden floor that was also

bereft of furniture. I had lost three stones in weight

on the journey. I could see my ribs but I was not

classed as being bad enough for the hut with the

wooden floor. This was called the hospital!

This 2-part fictional story is about life as a British P.O.W. in Germany. Based off historical research and information,

the final part puts the reader in his shoes to experience the end of the war from a prisoner of war perspective.


FICTION

I did however eventually end up in the wooden

floored hut, together with John Lovatt and about 10

others. We occupied an area at the end of the hut

with a 6’ wide, slightly sloping floor. We all occupied

our own bit of floor, with just enough space to lie

down and leave a gap between as a walkway.

We had nothing but our clothing, a blanket

and a few personal belongings that

we carried with us from Silesia.

I realised how weak I really was when, on going to

the ablutions, where there were five steps to climb,

I found that I had to take a rest on the third step in

order regain enough strength to climb the other two.

After a few weeks in the wooden floored hut we

were moved into one of the stone floored huts

to make room for R.A.F. prisoners-of-war from

Lansdorf. These men had walked all the way,

about 350 to 400 miles, from Silesia. They were

in really poor shape and had lost around four

hundred men out of a thousand on their trek.

The Russian prisoners-of-war, hated by the

Germans, had to survive on the rations they

provided, which was less than a starvation diet. I

was told that an average of six would die in a week.

They had to work on their meagre rations, and

were not covered by the Red Cross convention.

Thanks to the Red Cross, and the parcels we received,

we had enough to survive. An example of the food

provided by our German hosts was dehydrated

cabbage leaves, most of which had turned yellow,

boiled in water. It produced a dirty brown liquid.

The leaves also finished up the same colour.

Often a Russian prisoner would be passing

along the main road and would push his mug

through the barbed wire in an attempt to beg


food from us. He would be lucky only if we had

some of the dehydrated cabbage leaves.

Ersatz coffee was made from acorns, and tea from

herbs. We found that the herbs made a better

cigarette than tea, although it did burn rather quickly.

On rare occasions we were supplied with soft

cheese-like cakes. These you could smell before

they even arrived in the camp. The smell was so

strong I would have to hold my nose to eat one.

When the American and Russian advances were

getting near Berlin it was decided to move all R.A.F.

prisoners-of-war to Moosberg in the south.

We were marched down to Luckenwalde railway

station where trucks were ready for transportation.

The Germans were unable to obtain the use of

an engine to take us. During our wait some of

the men managed to loosen floorboards in the

trucks ready for possible escape attempts.

After two days of trying to obtain an engine, the

Germans gave up and we returned to camp.

On the 22nd April the Germans had largely deserted

the camp, leaving their machine guns still mounted

in the watchtowers. These were collected up

by the prisoners-of-war and the six remaining

guards were captured and imprisoned in the

punishment block, known to us as ‘the cooler’.

When the German Command learned what had

happened they sent a message to say that they would

surround the camp and start shooting unless the

arms and the guards were returned immediately.

The battalion we were being threatened with

was made up of some of Germany’s crack troops

who were held up in a forest west of the Elbe for

eight weeks after V.E.(Victory in Europe) Day.

In the early hours of the 23rd April a single plane

strafed the main road of the camp. This may

have been a warning. There were no injuries.

Later on that day the Russian Army broke into camp

with their tanks and started flattening the fences.

They were asked not to do this in order to prevent the

camp being overrun by prisoners from other lagers.

Marshall Zhukov arrived sitting on one of the tanks.

He asked everyone to collect all the arms and join

him on the assault on Berlin. A number of Russians

followed the tanks out of camp. Our senior officer, a


FICTION

group captain, said that we must not go. I am pretty

sure that none of us would have gone anyway.

Six Russians were found dead in their huts. It was

the practice of the Russians to conceal the deaths of

their comrades as long as possible, by carrying them

onto parade, in order to receive their food ration.

A military funeral was held for these dead men

and they were buried in the camp mass grave.

It was now the Russians’ responsibility to supply

food to thousands of men throughout the camp. The

rations we were given were even less than we received

from the Germans, but the supply of Red Cross

parcels was better as stocks could now be used up.

As the days went by V.E. Day came and went.

We had little in the way of celebrations,

not having anything to celebrate with.

It was about fifteen miles from Luckenwalde to

the River Elbe and the American lines. We were

all getting impatient with the Russians for not

getting us on our way home. A few American

and British prisoners-of-war decided to chance

walking to the River Elbe, despite there still being

pockets of German troops holding out en-route.

After the first men got through the Americans

came with a convoy of trucks to pick us up. It

was now two weeks since we were liberated.

We all piled in the trucks overjoyed to know

that at last we were on our way home.

Alas, this was not to be. The Russian soldiers

surrounded the trucks and ordered us off.

Any attempt to get back on the trucks would


result in us being shot. The Americans had

no alternative but to leave without us.

The Russians said that we had to be properly

repatriated with a fair exchange of prisoners. It

took another two weeks before the Russians were

ready to repatriate us. Before leaving we had to fill

in lengthy forms giving our personal details. We

were taken in Russian trucks to the Elbe, where

we walked across the river over a pontoon bridge

and towards true liberation on the other side.

The Americans took us to Halle via Leipzig where

there was a large P.O.W. reception centre.

After about forty-eight hours we flew to Brussels by

Dakota. The following day we flew on to somewhere

in the South of England. From there we were

taken on a top priority train, non-stop, to R.A.F.

Cosford, Shropshire which was a rehabilitation

centre and hospital for former prisoner-of-war.

Here we were debriefed and medically examined. I was

found to be suffering from physical debility and stress.

A year later I was back to physical fitness, but it

took many years to get over stress. Recalling the

past can still cause me to feel deeply emotional. It

is only recently that I have felt ready to recount my

experiences in full, in the hope to help others.

By Ted ‘Extreme_360’ Theisinger


FICTION

GUN, PROJECTILE AND ARMOR TERMS

HORIZONTAL TURRET DRIVE

This is the assembly that rotates the turret of the

armored vehicle and usually comprises of a geared

ring of the tank linked to a set of geared controls,

which can be manual (like the US M10 Tank

Destroyer) or electrically/hydraulically powered.

In War Thunder, damage to the horizontal turret

drive in Arcade mode means that the turret stops

rotating temporarily. After a timer, the turret is able

to rotate again at 2 degrees per second until it is

In today’s Tanks 201 Knowledge Article, we will be doing a breakdown of common shell types in War Thunder. However, as the Damage Model (DM) is a system including the rounds and the armor they are supposed to defeat, we will be

introducing some of the more advanced terms about the gun, projectiles and armor types as a prelude to that.

TANKS 201 - KNOWLEDGE ARTICLE


ARTICLE

repaired. For Realistic and Simulator modes, this

completely takes out turret rotation, leaving you

to pivot the entire tank in order to aim the gun.

VERTICAL GUN DRIVE

The vertical gun drive controls the

elevation or depression of the gun.

In War Thunder, damage to the vertical turret drive in

Arcade mode means that the gun elevation will be locked

in the position it is originally in when it is damaged, but it

is possible to make a minor adjustment of +/- 1 degree.

GUN BREECH

The gun breech is the part of the weapon where

the shell is loaded into the chamber and readied

for firing. Found at the end of the gun barrel, this

is the part which is usually inside the armored

vehicle where the loader has access to.

MISFIRE

A gun round misfiring is usually taken to mean that

the round is not discharged in the intended way.

In War Thunder, when the gun barrel or the gun

breech is damaged, gun rounds will go off inside

the chamber if the damage is not rectified, causing

a misfire; this could lead to a chamber explosion,

taking out the gun and the crew. For Arcade mode,

there would not be damage to the crew, but the

shot would not be fired. The probability of misfiring

depends on the rate of fire and the weapon caliber.


ROLLED HOMOGENEOUS ARMOR (RHA)

RHA is a type of armored steel that is strengthened

by drawing steel into plates in a process

called hot rolling that creates a uniform grain

structure, allowing the treated metal plate to

take stresses (from round impacts) better.

The downside of RHA is that it cannot be formed into

very complex shapes, which would require the use of

cast armor. RHA is found on most parts of the tank

where the shape is simple enough to be tempered,

or on flat parts like the side chassis or the roof.

CAST HOMOGENEOUS ARMOR (OR SIMPLY CAST ARMOR)

Cast Armor is made by pouring molten metal

into prefabricated shapes called moulds, then

heat treated to strengthen it slightly and get

rid of imperfections near the surface.

Cast armor is not strengthened as much compared to

the hot rolling process in RHA, and as such is more easily

penetrated by a round if both have the same thickness.

In War Thunder, the two main types of armor are RHA

and Cast Armor, although there is some High Hardness


ARTICLE

Rolled Armor on some Panzer III late models. Tanks are

also modelled based on the different armor compositions.

However, it has not been explicitly stated yet (as

of 1.70.1945) that the difference in strengths of

different armor would affect the penetration

values, and hopefully a future update will bring

this bit of historical accuracy in-game.

FACE HARDENED ARMOR (FHA)

Face hardening is a process to increase the armor

hardness of RHA on the outward facing side using

heat treatment. The process is a tedious one and

requires significantly more man-hours than a piece

of RHA and used only on critical areas that require

more protection, such as the glacis plate and turret.

The purpose of the FHA is to shatter the round

before it can penetrate, and is particularly effective

against solid-shot Armor Piercing (AP) rounds.

Later Armor Piercing Capped (APC) rounds and

variants were introduced counter the advantage

offered by FHA, which we will talk about later.

However, in War Thunder, FHA is not modelled yet

though it could be part of the development plans,

in order to be more historically accurate.

SPACED ARMOR

Spaced armor is usually placed a distance away

from the inner armor, designed to deflect or

prematurely shatter AP-based rounds. It can also

trigger rounds with fuzes well before they reach

more critical parts of the tank, by detonating HE

or HEAT rounds at a safer standoff distance.

One popular implementation is on side skirts

to protect the tracks and the chassis (and

known as Schürzen in German use), which

are relatively vulnerable to enemy fire.

OVER-PENETRATION

Over-penetration occurs when the round strikes an

area where armor is very thin, causing AP-based shots

to go right through without breaking into shrapnel

for added collateral damage. This also happens with


APHE-based shots, where the fuze sensitivity is set

to a much higher thickness and does not activate,

causing the round to punch a hole and fly through

harmlessly without detonating the HE filler.

One common example in War Thunder is the

gunshield on the ZiS-30, an early-tier Soviet tank

destroyer. The gunshield is a thin plate of only 5

mm thick - too thin to trigger the fuzes in many

rounds or break up solid shots into shrapnels.

FUZE

The fuze is essentially a small device that initiates

ignition when certain conditions are met. In

War Thunder Ground Forces, the current DM

mechanic specifies this in two parameters:

• Fuse Sensitivity – This is the amount of armor

penetration (in mm) required to activate the fuse;

if the armor is too thin, the round will just fly

harmlessly through the hole and not activate.

• Fuse Delay – Upon activating the fuse by reaching the

required armor penetration, the fuse delay kicks in

and starts the countdown to detonate the explosive

charge. This is measured in metres in War Thunder,

which gives you a guide how far the shell will go into

the vehicle/past the impact point before exploding.


ARTICLE

MUZZLE VELOCITY

The muzzle velocity refers to the speed of the

round as it leaves the gun muzzle. This is slightly

different from the speed of the round at any point

during the flight, as the speed will decrease as

it travels through air due to air resistance.

The lower speed of the rounds downrange results

in less penetration at longer ranges; this affects

kinetic rounds that rely on the projectile’s speed to

defeat enemy armor, such as the AP-based rounds.

Rounds that rely entirely on chemical energy (such

as HE and HEAT) are independent of range.

Rounds with higher muzzle velocities take a shorter

time to reach the target, and thus have lower drop

compared to a round moving more slowly. In War

Thunder, this makes it easier to aim the gun; the

vertical notches which are used to compensate

for the drop are much closer together.

LINE-OF-SIGHT THICKNESS/EFFECTIVE THICKNESS

Line-of-Sight Thickness, or ‘Effective Thickness’ in

the Armor Preview of War Thunder, is the thickness

of the armor the round has to move through

when not hitting the armor perpendicularly.

The LOS thickness (Llos) is calculated from

the normal thickness (Ln) of the armor and

the angle the round makes with the normal

(@) using this formula: Llos = Ln / cos@.

Sloped armor makes use of this principle by

placing the armor plates at an angle to effectively

increase the vehicle protection without increasing

the thickness and mass of the armor.

ANGLE OF ATTACK

The angle of attack (AoA) is the angle the longitudinal

axis of the round makes with the surface.


Rounds impacting the armor at very low angles

of attack (and at a large angle to normal) have to

overcome a higher line-of-sight thickness and have a

higher chance of ricocheting off the armor surface.

NORMALIZATION (OF ROUNDS ON IMPACT)

Normalization refers to the effect of distortion in the

angle of attack when the round strikes the surface.

This in turn affects the effective penetration, and a lot

of factors are in play here: Ballistics, type, materials,

velocity and length-to-diameter of the round the

material; thickness and slope of the armor; the

interdependent relationship during the projectile-

armor interaction. A lot of information relating to the

normalization and its resulting effect on penetration is

empirical and comes from firing range tests, which is

then extrapolated to give a more complete set of data.


ARTICLE

As an example, certain blunt-nosed rounds, upon

hitting the target, turn into the armor, decreasing the

armor thickness it has to pass through; sharp-nosed

rounds are rotated away from the armor, increasing

the thickness of the armor it has to penetrate. APCR

shells in WWII have the biggest effect, giving large

drops in penetration values at low angles of attack.

In War Thunder, normalization affects the probability

of the ricochet happening, as well as the effective

penetration at different angles of attack (which changes

the thickness of the armor it can penetrate). Rounds

turning into the armor are marked with a positive

angle value (better penetration), while rounds turning

away have a negative one (worse penetration).

OVERMATCH

Overmatch relates to a type of failure mechanism

for armor, which is a function of armor thickness

(T) and projectile diameter (D), or the T/D ratio.

At low T/D ratios where the round diameter is much

bigger than the armor thickness (described as

‘overmatched’), the armor could fail in a way where

a solid plug is ejected, allowing the round to punch

through more easily, rather than having the round to

push through the armor material. This is currently

not modelled in War Thunder Ground Forces.

SPALLING

Spalling in the anti-tank sense occurs when a

projectile impact or explosion on the outer armor

surface creates a shock wave travelling through

the armor, and the resulting compression shock

causes a fracture on the the inward facing armor,

breaking off metal pieces (spall) on the inside.

The resulting spall can be extremely dangerous

in the narrow confines of a tank, which can injure

or kill crew members and damage equipment.

This effect is deliberately used in a High-Explosive

Squash Head (HESH) round filled with plastic

explosives, designed to flatten against the armor

plating before exploding and knocking off armor

pieces on the inside. Other tank rounds can exhibit

varying degrees of spalling as well. In War Thunder

Ground Forces, spalling is not modelled yet either.

By Chock Wee Boon


TANK PROJECTILE TYPES

ARMOUR PIERCING-BASED ROUNDS

An Armor-Piercing (AP) is the most basic projectile

for a tank round, designed to punch through armor

plating using kinetic energy. The AP round is a solid

shot, usually made from hardened steel alloys.

Germans made extensive use of FHA on their tanks

on their Pz III & IV, and later tanks such as Panthers

and StuGs. FHA was particularly useful in stopping

the AP rounds as they would shatter on striking

the hardened outward surface. A protective armor-

piercing cap (APC) was introduced to protect the

projectile noses of AP shots from shattering and

allowing the round to penetrate FHA. Such rounds

are designated Armor Piercing, Capped (APC).

APC rounds have better normalization values

relative to regular AP rounds (such as the M74 vs.

M51 shot on the US 37 mm M5 or M6 cannons), can

penetrate more effective at higher angle to normal,

but have worse-off penetration (The projectile

caps reduce homogeneous armor penetration

due to energy absorbed during impact).

With the vast array of projectile types available for each tank in Ground Forces, it can get quite intimidating trying to choose which types of rounds to bring with you when you spawn into the game. In today’s Tanks 201

article, we will take you through the common projectile types available and how to use them effectively.

TANKS 201 - KNOWLEDGE ARTICLE


ARTICLE

Soviet AP-based rounds and derivatives usually have a

flat-nosed design, while the protective cap in the APC

round is designed for penetration of FHA and is not

optimized aerodynamically. Ballistic caps (BC), also

commonly called windscreens in Soviet use, are usually

fitted to these rounds to counter the poor aerodynamic

shape of the nose, which helps to reduce air resistance

acting on the round and increasing penetration at longer

ranges. These rounds are particularly useful on open

maps at longer engagement distances, as the drop

in penetrating power with range is not that drastic.

The ballistic cap is usually made of a softer material and

crumples upon impact, allowing the actual projectile to

strike the armor. Soviet AP rounds with the windscreen

are designated APBC, while US armor-piercing

capped rounds with ballistic caps are called APCBC.

Both of the Ballistic Cap (BC) and Armor Piercing

Cap (C) designations also apply to other types

of rounds with similar modifications.

Some of the AP-based rounds do not carry explosives,

and break into shrapnel in an approximate forward

cone after penetrating, hitting any equipment or crew

for secondary damage. Due to a lack of collateral

damage, the AP-based round is usually not the

first choice against tanks in general. However,

some AP rounds for the US and Germany do carry

a HE filler in the round, and damage modelling

wise is closer to an APHE round below.

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF AP-BASED ROUNDS

+ Typically has higher penetration values compared

to composite rounds such as APHE

– Limited collateral damage due to a lack of HE filler

USES OF AP ROUNDS

• Penetrating tanks with thicker armor

when APHE rounds cannot penetrate

• Used to snipe specific crew members

if you know their location exactly

• Used to kill vehicle parts if you know their position

• Shooting through engine blocks


ARMOR PIERCING (HIGH EXPLOSIVE) ROUNDS

Some armor piercing rounds are hollowed out to

varying degrees and filled with high explosives with

a fuze attached. Penetration is achieved via kinetic

means like a regular AP warhead. Upon penetration,

part of the round break off to form some shrapnel in

an approximate forward cone. Next, the fuze ignites

the explosives and breaks the rest of the projectile

up with a fragmentation radius, causing collateral

damage from the explosive filler and shrapnel.

American and German tank rounds of the APHE

variety are not called as such (with smaller amounts

of HE), unlike the Soviet APHE rounds, although

they do behave similarly with a fuze governing the

ignition of the high explosives in the round.

APHE rounds can come with the Armor Piercing

Cap (C) and Ballistic Caps (BC) as well.

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF APHE ROUNDS

+ Decent middle-ground penetration values, although

not as high as some AP, APCR or APDS rounds

+ Good collateral damage from HE filler

– Fuze may not trigger against thin armor, allowing

the round to fly straight through; one way around

this is to fire near the vehicle on the ground or


ARTICLE

terrain feature, allowing the shell to detonate and

kill the lightly-armored vehicle by shrapnel

USES OF APHE ROUNDS

• These rounds are generally sound choices against

most tanks and available for most as well; they should

be the default ammunition loaded and ready to fire

• Moderate penetration allows it to be used on the sides

or the rear of the vehicle where armor is less thick

• Penetration and detonation in crew

compartments usually results in a vehicle kill,

especially turrets and driver compartments,

or taking out multiple crew members

SHRAPNEL ROUNDS

Shrapnel rounds are found only on a few earlier Soviet

tanks, such as the T-28, T-34 and KV-1. These rounds

have buckshots filled in the shell; upon penetration, the

fuze ignites a charge which pushes out the buckshot.

Damage mechanics wise, they are similar to APHE

round, although some key differences exist: there is a

significant increase in the generated shrapnel, both in

the forward cone and the fragmentation radius, and the

shrapnel produced provides most of the killing power;

the penetration for shrapnel rounds is not high, which

makes them useful only on tanks in the earlier tiers.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SHRAPNEL ROUNDS

+ High collateral damage from shrapnel

after penetration and detonation

– Small HE filler blast radius

– Poor penetration power of projectile

USES OF SHRAPNEL ROUNDS

• Generally limited for use against earlier-tier

tanks that can be penetrated from the sides

• Against thin armor of open-top

tank destroyers & SPAA

• Firing into crowded crew compartments

such as the driver’s seat or the turret

usually results in a vehicle kill


ARMOR PIERCING COMPOSITE-RIGID

Armor Piercing, Composite, Rigid (APCR) is another

type of kinetic round designed to increase penetration

over the standard AP shot. In American service, the

APCR is also known as the High Velocity Armor Piercing

(HVAP) round. The APCR has a small penetrator core

made from a high-density material to reduce shatter

(such as tungsten), wrapped in a lightweight shell

made from lighter metals such as aluminum. The

small penetrator usually has a smaller diameter than

the diameter of the gun barrel or other rounds such

as the AP shot, and is usually called a sub-caliber.

The idea behind the APCR round is to reduce the mass

of the projectile through this method, which will bring

about a higher muzzle velocity when fired from the gun

using the same amount of propellant as a standard

shell. The sharper tip of the high-density penetrator

applies a larger pressure on the impact area than

a full-caliber AP shell, allowing the APCR round to

penetrate more effectively, while leaving behind the

lightweight shell before achieving penetration.

The Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS) is a

further evolution of the APCR round taken to the

extreme. For APDS, it has a sub-calibre high density

penetrator as well, but the shell (sabot) wrapped

around the penetrator is designed to fall off after

leaving the muzzle. The travelling projectile is less

affected by air resistance than the APCR projectile

and thus loses less penetration downrange.

APCR and APDS rounds do not carry HE fillers as the

high-density penetrator is of a very small diameter. The

penetrator breaks into shrapnel after penetration like

the AP round, but with less collateral effect as there is

less material in the penetrator compared to an AP shot.


ARTICLE

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF APCR/APDS ROUNDS

+ Very high penetration values

+ Higher muzzle velocity; drop in round

is not drastic and easier to aim

– Higher chance of ricochet at high angles to normal

– Low collateral damage due to absence

of HE filler and smaller penetrator

USES OF APCR/APDS ROUNDS

• Same as AP rounds

• Penetrating thicker armor from the front

• Use against heavy tanks

• Sniping crew members, vehicle parts, ammo racks

or fuel tanks if their exact location is known

HIGH EXPLOSIVE ANTI-TANK ROUNDS

The High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) round is a shaped

charge using high explosives to achieve penetration

utilizing a discovery called the ‘Munroe Effect’. The


penetration effectiveness is independent of the velocity of

the projectile, unlike the previous kinetic rounds earlier.

The HEAT round has explosives packed behind

an inverted cone lined with metal such as

copper. Upon impact, the explosive is ignited,

forming a jet of plasma from the conical lining at

hypersonic speeds to penetrate the armor..

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HEAT ROUNDS

+ Penetration is unaffected by range (but

difficult to land shots at long range)

+ Unaffected by normalization and effective penetration

is directly determined by line of sight thickness

+ Only ricochets at extremely low angles

of attack (high angle to normal)

– Easily countered by spaced armor as the plasma

stream is formed too early (in some cases though,

the spaced armor allowed the plasma stream to

develop fully and achieve better penetration)

– Low velocity of HEAT round makes it

difficult to aim at long ranges

– Low collateral damage from plasma stream

USES OF HEAT ROUNDS

• Can be fired from low-velocity guns (such

as the short-barreled early-model Panzer

IV) and has respectable penetration

• HEAT rounds from high-calibre weapons (with bigger

explosive charges) and end-game tanks (with better

design) can penetrate thick armor effectively

• Sniping crew members, vehicle parts, ammo racks

or fuel tanks if their exact location is known

HIGH EXPLOSIVE ROUNDS

A High Explosive (HE) round is a shell packed with

high explosives and detonates on impact, with an

explosive radius that will take out crew members if

they are caught in it, and generates some shrapnel.

Generally, for tank vs. tank combat, HE rounds are

not of much use except in a few situations against

light armor. However, large calibre (100+ mm) HE

shells can be quite devastating against most tanks.


ARTICLE

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HE ROUNDS

+ Large collateral damage

+ Penetration is unaffected by range

and line-of-sight thickness

+ Ricochets only at low angles of

attack (high angle to normal)

– Can be detonated easily by spaced armor

– Low penetration effect

– Low velocity of HE round makes it

difficult to aim at long ranges

USES OF HE ROUNDS

• Against open-top tank destroyers & SPAA

• Exposed tank turret roofs and chassis top

• Mid-tier tanks with 75+ mm calibre HE shells

can knock out external components relatively

easily, such as the gun barrel and tracks

• On large calibre guns, such as the KV-2 and the SU-

152 (both with 152mm calibre cannons), the rounds

can penetrate quite a bit of armor (75mm thickness)

with the sheer amount of explosives they pack

By Chock Wee Boon


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Issue 48 • October 2013 86 • GameOn Magazine

Brothers: The Thoughts of Two Gamers

Have a safe flight!See you in next issue.

War Thunder Community Magazine Issue 5.pdf

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