Source: http://world-of-ru.livejournal.com/3442938.html

First footage of the upcoming “D-Day” Normandy-themed map. Looks interesting…

Hello everyone,

some (not many, but some) people blame me that I include posts related to Ukraine on FTR. Well, the truth is, I try not to at all costs, unless they are related to tanks, but on the other hand, when we are already talking about it, I will not hide my opinion. But of course I am a private person, just one guy.

Wargaming on the other hand is a company. A large company. And it has business analysts. Lots of them. SerB himself for example wrote that he (and Wargaming) is aware of the specific requirements of Russian market for example (this includes Russian patriotism – and why not, it’s their market, their rules). On the other hand, Russian market is not European market. Three largest communities on EU server are German, Polish and Czech, two of which with… let’s say problematic attitude towards Russians and the history related to them.

So who the fuck did have the brilliant idea of naming a set of premium shop offers “From Russia with Love“? Especially with the recent events in Ukraine (that, however you look at it and no matter what side you are on, are tragic and involve Russia)? And to name the “main feature” offer “Hammer and Sickle?”

I can’t decide whether that’s just a gross incompetence and deliberate trolling.

As you can imagine, the Polish and Czechoslovak communities did not appreciate this very much, but neither did anyone else, considering it (ironically enough given its name) a ripoff. Some of the reactions seriously made me laugh though. Here are the best of them:

- “I see that the Buk and Grad launchers are missing. Weak offer.”
- “Good that there are no apples in the offer, although they would be pretty cheap :D”
- a certain picture
- (reacting at “get the 50 percent skill crew for free”) – “green men with 100 percent skill will go after you”
- “the offer is missing white trucks with volunteers straight from Specnaz”
- “one of the offers should be called ‘humanitarian aid’ and the other ‘white convoy’”

Etc. Perhaps next time, instead of “realizing the special conditions of RU markets”, conditions on EU server should be considered as well.

Source: http://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/3475033.html

Hello everyone,

Yuri Pasholok posted a scan of drawings of one of the Panther Sfl. (GW Panther in game) versions. What was interesting about these vehicles was the fact that some models had the gun removable, using a mechanism that looks… well… you be the judge. Thus, the gun could be converted into a sort of fixed emplacement.

Continue reading →

Thanks to Vvothan for this one.

Hello everyone,

an interesting post appeared on one pro-Russian blog regarding Ukraine. The blog itself is the usual Russian crap about “junta”, “fascists” and all that, but what is interesting is the part, where it claims that the Ukrainian armed forces started seizing and using tanks, meant, paid for and built for export to foreing customers.

Please note that commandeering tanks meant for export is not something shocking or new. During the 1938 crisis and mobilization connected with the nazi terror in Czech borderlands, Czechoslovak army commandeered numerous tanks meant for export (they were released after the crisis was over).

But is the article really correct?

One of these tanks is allegedly the T64-B1M, a modernized T-64 tank with improved armor, designed to fight in city areas. Since late July, these tanks were transferred to the National Guard of Ukraine. It is not known, whether it’s actually an export tank at all, but it was presented as the tank for the guard. The blog claims it was intended for export, but I haven’t found any mention of anything like that or where it was supposed to be sold (such things are usually not secret anyway).

Continue reading →

Hello everyone,

in the last part, we talked about the Škoda T-12, an improved version of the original LT Vz.35. Today, we are going to have a look at the ultimate evolution of the Vz.35 series (and possibly the best descendant of the original Vickers ever designed), Škoda T-13M.

As noted above, Škoda T-13 was derived from the original Š-IIa (LT Vz.35) and was the most advanced version of the tank ever built. Its advantages were its stability, relatively smooth running, track durability and the fact the tank was very resistant to throwing a track and – last but not least – large, roomy and comfortable fighting compartment. Relatively, of course.

Continue reading →

Hello everyone,

ever wondered how the hangar looks with bigger zoom, or – in this case – from the outside? Check this out.

It’s a bug, that happens occasionally to all players. It is not the fault of mods – I know that for a fact simply because it happened to me too not so long ago and I do not use any mods. Interesting to see the stuff untextured from the other side and all that (it’s done intentionally to increase the performance of the hangar).

Hello everyone,

we all know the Panzer 35t – its original name being LT Vz.35 (light tank, 1935 pattern), but what fewer people know is that not only the Vz.38, but also the Vz.35 were developed during the war. In the beginning of the war, the older LT Vz.35 was clearly inferior to the Vz.38 (often cited as the best light tank in the world during the early stage of the war), but that does not mean no development was going on.

In fact, there were numerous versions of the original Š-IIa (LT Vz.35), mostly for export markets (specifically for Yugoslavia, where Czechoslovakia tried to export the tank with a diesel engine, an attempt that ended in failure). One of the first developments was the Škoda T-11, a well-documented tank, that actually fought in the war in Bulgarian service. It is described well-enough in the Bulgarian armor article, if you are interested, check it out.

The T-12 tank that came next already used the wartime Škoda designation system (the first number meant first the category (1 – light tank), the second number meant the project number in the category) and came to be as an attempt to correct the failure of the original Škoda Š-IIa-j tank, intended for export to Yugoslavia. The original attempt to sell the vehicle to Yugoslavia failed, as written above, due to the fact that the diesel engine broke down completely during trials and the Yugoslavian officers were less than amused, let alone impressed.

Continue reading →

Thanks to achtungbitte for this one.

Hello everyone,

you probably have already heard of the infamous Bob Semple, possibly the worst tank ever built (with serious intentions at least). If you haven’t, I suggest you look it up, because the story behind it is hilarious. Here’s how it looked (and yes, this was a completely serious tank project, designed to protect New Zealand from Japanese invasion – how well that went, you can probably imagine).

What you might not know however is that recently, the spirit of Bob Semple haunts the sandy areas of the Kurdish part of Iraq, where the infamous tank was reincarnated… into this:

The Kurdish security forces (YPG), not having access to either lawfully obtained (like the Iraq army) or looted (IS) modern arms, resorted to the good old human resourcefulness and built some of these weird improvised armored vehicles, based usually on the chassis of tracked tractors or bulldozers. They are planning to use these vehicles to fight the Islamic State fanatics – one must admire their bravery – riding into battle in such contraptions surely is a heroic act.

Continue reading →