Hello everyone,

as you probably know from earlier FTR entries, parch 0.8.8 will bring the alternative Soviet medium branch. But the question is: how will this branch look and where will it start? First, here are some articles on vehicles, suspected to be in the branch:

Tier 6 – A-43
Tier 7 – A-44
Tier 8 – Object 416
Tier 9 – ???
Tier 10 – Object 430

However, as stated earlier by Storm or SerB, it’s possible the T-44-122 will fill in the branch at tier 7. Does that mean there will be two tier 7 tanks, or is the A-44 getting scrapped? Or perhaps kicked up to tier 8? I don’t know.

The original branch idea, presented last year by Wargaming, was:

T6 – A-43
T7 – A-44
T8 – Object 416

And that was it. No tier 9 and 10. Since then, the Object 430 was confirmed to be the tier 10, making the line a “Kharkov” line (all the vehicles in it were tied to the Kharkov plant, temporarily evacuated to Nizhny Tagil during the war). I very much doubt that everything will simple be shifted one tier up – Object 416 seems too underpowered for tier 9 (though – with unhistorical buffs, everything is possible), so we are looking for one more vehicle, that would fill in the tier 9 role, something comparable to the T-54 and worse than Object 430.

Now, I am not a Soviet tank expert, but when looking thru various experimental tanks and Objects, I found one that could fit, so it’s possible it will come at tier 9: the Object 140

Object 140

This vehicle was mentioned as a tier 9 candidate several times on Russian forums, but never officially, so this is just a speculation. As the name suggests, it’s a Soviet experimental tank. Basically, what happened was that in 1950 or so, it was decided to design a brand new medium tank in Nizhny Tagil (Ural), designated “Object 430″, under the supervision of A.A.Morozov (this name is probably known to you, if you have read the A-43/44 articles). In 1952, there were some internal disputes between the designers and the directorate of the Ural Plant, resulting in a whole bunch of designers and technicians (including Morozov himself) moving to Plant No.75 in Kharkov (where he took many of the Object 140 solutions and used them to designt Object 430).

The work on Object 140 continued in Nizhny Tagil under the leadership of L.N.Karcev – a decorated tank designer, responsible for the T-55 and later T-62 and T-72 tanks (he died cca two months ago by the way, he was 90 years old). Some solutions, implemented into Object 140 were later used in Object 430 (so there’s a clear connection there).

By 1957, two prototypes were ready – one took part in comparative tests against Object 430. During these tests, a number of serious flaws (mostly connected with the engine and the transmission) was uncovered and by the initiative of Karcev himself, it was withdrawn from the tests and the project was basically scrapped. Later, some of its components however were used in the T-62A/T-62 tanks. This way, the vehicle is tied to both Soviet branches, but the T-54 is tied to Nizhny Tagil more, so I guess this would do just fine as a tier 9 “Kharkov” vehicle.

Characteristics

Another reason why this vehicle could become the T9 of the Kharkov branch is that it is in almost all aspects inferior to the Object 430. Let’s make a comparison – first number is Object 140, second number Object 430.

Crew: 4 – both
Weight: 36 tons (35,5 tons)
Engine: TD-12, 580hp (5TD, 600hp)
Power-to-weight ratio: 16,1 hp/t (16,9 hp/t)

As you can see, engine-wise, Object 430 has the upper hand. Both vehicles suffered from engine issues, but Object 430 apparently had it worse, so engine hitpoints might be somewhat better for Object 140.

Hull armor: 100/80/55 (120/55/40)
Turret armor: 240/183/65 (248/185/63)

The armor, as you can see is roughly comparable. While the Object 430 has the upper hand in frontal armor thickness, Object 140′s armor is somewhat better sloped.

Gun: D-10T (stock)/D-54TS (D-54TS or U-8TS)

Here, the Object 430 clearly is better. The U-8TS performance is roughly comparable to the L7, while D-54… we know that gun, don’t we.

It’s also worth noting that the Object 140 characteristics are practically identical to T-54, with one exception (frontal armor – the turret is 40mm thicker, but T-54′s frontal hull has better slope), including the same weapons and engine.

Verdict

IF this tank makes it to the game, it would roughly be a T-54 clone. Why on earth do would we need more of those, I have no idea, but… *shrugs* Maybe they found something better to fit the line in. Either way, historically this vehicle would fit.

Source: http://sa100.ru/armor/USSR/ob140/ob140.php

Thanks to Dom1n for this one :)

Looks like the WoT tanks have grown up quite a bit. Check this out. If you zoom in on the newest July wallpaper, you will find tiny sheep :)

Source: Edrard, wot-news.com

Arty stats for EU server this time

Hey everyone,

as you all probably know, the EU forums’ language sections are sometimes running separate competitions. These competitions are intended for the players of that section (since they are written in that respective language and all), but other nations’ players are not banned from participating (that would be discrimination! They are just not expected to participate due to language barrier).

The Czech community is running an interesting competition. Wouldn’t it be a shame if players of other nations took the prizes instead? :)

Here goes:

Design a tank for women!

Source page on CZ forums

You can probably see where this is going. You make a picture of a tank that is designed for women and post it in this thread (important!)

Rules of the contest:

- must be in jpg or png format
- no bigger than 1024*768 pixels
- pictures must be hosted online (for example on imgur) and posted in that thread I linked above
- one picture per account
- no animation
- the tank must be functional (must have a gun, must be capable of winning battles).

Prizes:

1-3rd place: 1000g
4-6th place: 800g
7-9th place: 500g
10-20th place: 200g

So, here’s your chance to win and grab some gold, the competition closes on 17.7.2013.

Please note I am not suggesting you do some silly and immature stuff, like making troll accounts and spam the thread with let’s say penis tanks…. that would be very rude and immature (almost as much as my sense of humor is) :D

Source: http://world-of-ru.livejournal.com/2176164.html

Some interesting info about new vehicles (official descriptions) from our Russian friends:

T-34-3
The T-34-3 medium tank was to be a modification of the T-34-2. Unlike the Type 59, the T-34-3 featured reduced armor. The design was developed in 1957. However, mass production of the Type 59 was started in 1958, and the T-34-3 project was discontinued.

Loyd Gun Carriage
A proposal to mount a 76.2-mm gun on the chassis of the Loyd Carrier artillery truck. Developed from 1940 through 1941. No prototypes were manufactured.

Birch Gun
The first SPG originally designed in Great Britain. Development started in 1923. The prototype was built on the basis of the Vickers Medium Mark II in 1925. A few prototypes were manufactured, and underwent trials starting in 1925. The project was canceled in 1928 due to lack of interest by the British government.

Bishop
Developed by Birmigham Carriage and Wagon in June 1941 on the basis of the Valentine II infantry support vehicle. From 1942 through 1943, a total of 149 SPGs were produced. In general the vehicle was unsuccessful. The vehicle was used for training purposes since 1943.

Crusader 5.5-in. SP
A modification of the Crusader featuring a 140-mm howitzer. Soon after WWII a prototype was completed. However, the vehicle never entered mass production, nor saw service.

FV3805
A modification of the Centurion featuring a 140-mm howitzer. A total of 2 prototypes were built in 1956. The development of the FV3805 was discontinued in 1960. The vehicle never saw service.

Conqueror Gun Carriage
A proposal to mount a 234-mm howitzer on the chassis of the Conqueror. Existed only in blue prints.

FV304
Prototype light SPG developed by Vickers. Development started in 1947. However, the prototype was not manufactured until 1953. The design of the SPG was already obsolete by this time, and the project was canceled.

FV207
An SPG variant on the basis of the А45 Conqueror. It was planned to mount either a 105-mm, 140-mm, or 152-mm howitzer in a closed armored cabin. The vehicle existed only in blueprints.

LTP
A proposed light vehicle developed by Lieutenant Provornov in the summer of 1942. No prototypes were manufactured.

MT-25
A proposed project of a light wheeled caterpillar vehicle. The draft was completed in February 1943. The most innovative feature was the suspension design. The suspension wheels were interleaved, and power was delivered to all wheels. No prototypes were manufactured.

Maps:

Empire Border
Scout vehicles and SPGs are vital on this map. Other vehicles have little choice but to stick to the conventional line of attack: directly through the town.

Belogorsk-19
A town is the primary setting for combat actions. Mountain trails can offer tactical advantages. High-speed vehicles should provide cover for friendly SPGs that will probably linger near their base.

Hello everyone,

just to let you know, TOMORROW at 20:00 CEST I will be a guest at Circonflexes’ stream. My first streaming ever, so I hope I won’t screw up…. too much :)

Silentstalker

Hello everyone,

so, here’s an idea: this year, I plan to visit Gamescom (for those who don’t know, it’s a huge game fair in Germany in late August) and I kinda decided to have my own T-shirt made for the occasion, something with our beloved and favourite game developer: SerB.

What I was thinking is something along the lines of:

Nevermind the low picture resolution, it’s just a stupid preview system. I’ll probably have something like the second made, “How terrible…” with SerB giving a finger.

So, I was thinking, anyone else is going? If so, does anyone else want a T-shirt like this? I could obviously have more than just the one for me made and the price would get lower. Of course, shipping would be a problem, but if there aren’t too many, I am willing to have them made and send them around Europe just for the manufacture+shipping costs.

Or you can just make them yourselves in your country, would probably come cheaper… dunno. It’s just a thought for now.

Would anyone be interested in something like this? Could be kinda funny to wear them around Wargaming stand there, especially the one with SerB giving a finger… :)

Hello everyone,

this article continues with the introduction of the (potential) 8.8 Soviet vehicles. Earlier:

Tier 6 – A-43
Tier 8 – Object 416
Tier 10 – Object 430

The A-44 project was initiated by the Kharkov KB-24 construction bureau, under the supervision of famous Russian tank designer, A.A.Morozov. Morozov himself worked on the project to improve the T-34 tank (the A-43), but was always wondering, whether the armament of the medium tank could be improved even further.

The basic idea that led to the development of the A-44 was: if you equip your heavy tanks with the same armament as your medium tanks (or rather, with the guns taken from the medium tanks), they lose their combat worth. Consequently, if you manage to equip a very light tank with a very powerful gun, it becomes a rather cheap to produce, but very dangerous enemy (the same line of thinking actually led to the German development of light tank destroyers, which proved to be rather effective). And so the idea was born to equip the A-43 suspension (that could withstand bigger loads than the T-34 one) with a sleek hull and the 107mm F-42 gun, or with the 57mm ZiS-4.

The 57mm was probably the most suitable gun, because it was basically a re-worked 76,2mm F-32, with longer barrel and a different breech. The F-42 gun, developed by F.Petrov’s bureau, was probably more suited for heavy tanks, it was big and had a long recoil, but even so, according to Morozov’s calculation, the weight of the vehicle wouldn’t be over 34 tons (the armor was counted on to be cca 45mm). Results of firing tests of captured German guns were also taken into account and in March 1941, after seeing Morozov’s tank idea, it was decided to develop such a vehicle under the designation of A-44 (sometimes T-44, but do not confuse this tank with the ingame tier 8 T-44, they are not related).

The technical documents for this tank mentioned two variants: a “faster” and a “slower” one. Both variants were to weight around 35 tons, with the “faster” having 75mm and 65mm frontal and side armor, while the “slower” had up to 120mm frontal armor and 100mm armor on the sides. The projected speed was to be somewhere between 50-55km/h. Three guns were considered: the 57mm ZiS-4, 76,2mm F-34 and 107mm F-42. In the end, it was decided to implement only the 57mm one.

In order to archieve all this, the vehicle had to be designed unconventionally – with the turret in the back. In the frontal part of the vehicle, there was the transmission and steering mechanism, the engine was in the middle and the crew as in the back. The suspension was (just like with the A-43) solved by implementing torsion bars, the vehicle had 7 roadwheels, 4 idlers and the frontal wheel was propelled by the engine.

The preliminary project was ready on 20.4.1941 and in May, a 1/10 scale model was built and introduced to the mock-up committee. It was basically approved and there were plans to build a prototype by 1942, but as with the A-43 project, the war intervened: the Kharkov factory was evacuated to Nizhny Tagil and lots of valuable stuff was lost. In the light of changed wartime priorities, the development of this project was scrapped soon after.

The model is already apparently implemented into the game:

Official (leaked) Wargaming description of the vehicle:

The project was begun in April 1941. Development was led by I. S. Behr, lead engineer of Plant No. 183. Three different versions of the vehicle were proposed, varying in armor, armament, combat load, and speed. The estimated production date for the prototype was early 1942. However, when the German invasion forced the evacuation of the facility, development was discontinued.

Characteristics:

Weight: cca 35 tons
Crew: 5
Armament: 57mm ZiS-4 (I have no doubt that the 107mm version will appear in the game, we can expect cca 170mm penetration on that)
Frontal armor: 75-120mm (the lightly armored variant will likely be introduced)
Side armor: 60-100mm
Engine: diesel, unknown horsepower
Speed: 50-55km/h

Verdict:

It’s hard to say, how exactly will Wargaming implement this tank. It could really be anything, but since the following vehicle is a light and rear-turretted tank too, my bet would be that WG will simply opt for the lightly armored variant and make it similiar in gameplay.

Thanks to Vipez for sending me this one.

Player Pesusieni from the Eye for en Eye (EFE) clan managed to score 15 kills on T1 Cunningham. Pretty impressive overall!

Here’s the video:

 

And here’s the debriefing table: