Hello everyone,

if you are following the world of war games closely, you are probably aware of the new upcoming game with modern tanks called Armored Warfare. Recently, there was a video issued – a first part of the developer diaries. Check it out.

Although the developer, Obsidian Entertainment, is clearly western – as you can see in the video (getting rid of that “some guy with weird haircut speaking Russian with English voiceover added” issue), the producer of Armored Warfare is actually Russian. You might see the “my.com” logo on the Armored Warfare webpage – after quick googling, you discover that the my.com service actually belongs to Mail.ru.

For those who do not know, Mail.ru is to Wargaming what Apple is to Microsoft or Sega to Nintendo – something like the main competitor on the Russian market (last year, Mail.ru games made more money off Russians than Wargaming). It is the most influential and widespread Russian internet provider and website owner and their portfolio includes (in Russia) very popular browser games. It is also not their first attempt to “ride the wave” of armor popularity started by World of Tanks – previously, they created what was essentially a World of Tanks clone (with shitty graphics, browser based). After some legal skirmishes the dust settled and Wargaming came out as the winner, keeping its large share of the pie. And now, Mail.ru is back with a vengeance and they are going real smart about it.

Continue reading →

Hello everyone,

apparently, this series of videos are widely known, but I didn’t know about them until like yesterday, so – in case it’s unfamiliar to you as well…. enjoy :) Thanks to Ig for sending me the link. Damn, a lot of work was probably invested in making this.

Author: sp15 (US server)

The list of previous parts is at the bottom of the article.

In 1958, as a part of the defense materiel plan for the 1960s, it was decided that the Swedish army should acquire a new tank to replace the Centurion. This was more or less a response to the development of the new generation of tanks in the west, such as the Leopard 1 and the Chieftain. Although Sweden had interest in these foreign designs (most notably the Chieftain), it was decided that a native design would be preferable. Based on different ideas about tank development at the time, these designs were categorized as three different classes of tank.

Type A (Based on the English and American model of building heavy and well armored tanks)
Type T (Based on the French and German idea of a lightly armored tank with good mobility)
Type S (Original Swedish concept of a turretless tank that would combine the armor of a heavier tank but with the weight and mobility of a lighter one)

However these were not just categories for foreign tank designs, but these also became the basis for three Swedish proposals called Strv A, Strv T and Strv S.

Comparison of the proposed tanks with the Strv 81 (Centurion Mk 3)

Continue reading →

Author: Juuso ‘Kantti’ Marttila

As a small nation, Finnish Armored Forces resorted mostly to captured or bought equipment. They still had one unique vehicle that should prove interesting to WoT players and could easily be seen implemented in the game. This vehicle was the BT-42, an improvised Finnish Assault Gun.

In order to add more firepower to their armored Brigade – mostly equipped with obsolete T-26s, the Finnish army resorted to indigenous improvisation. Finnish troops had captured a plethora of BT-7s which couldn’t be put into use as such, but they were erroneously deemed suitable as platform for a new improvised assault guns, the BT-42. In total, 18 captured BT-7s were converted to BT-42s from 1942 onwards. In Valtion Tykkitehdas, they were fitted with a new turret, that shared some likeness with the dreaded KV-2, although it could be only barely called armored.

Blueprints of the turret

KV-2-like look was even more clear after the guns were installed. They were the British Q-F. 4.5 inch Mk II howitzers, that had been donated by the British to the Finnish army in the Winter War. Finnish called this gun 114Psv.H/18 (114mm tank howitzer).

Continue reading →

Hello everyone,

ComradeYouri recently visited two Belgian sites – December 44 museum in La Gleizer (that’s where the Tiger II is) and Bastogne Barracks Museum and he was kind enough to share the pictures with us. Enjoy!

40mm Bofors AA gun

Comet

Continue reading →

Hello everyone, today we have another guest article, this time about Finnish armor. Enjoy!
- SS

Author: Juuso ‘Kantti’ Marttila

Finland is one of the more obscure nations, when it comes to armored warfare in WW2. Although Finland’s success in stopping the Red Army in Winter War has gained nearly mythological proportions and international fame, only little is usually said about Finnish armored forces in World War 2. With mixed equipment and nearly as mixed reputation, they still form an interesting part of Finnish Army’s endeavors in WW2.

Finnish armored forces got their first equipment from France in 1919-1921, when the newly independent state acquired 32 FT-17′s. Of these, 14 had 37mm Puteaux gun, rest were machine-gun versions. Some had original angular Renault turret, the rest had circular Berliet turret. As a curiosity, some of the Finnish tanks were lent to White Russians of North Western theatre of Russian Civil War. When the Winter War started in November 1939, these tanks still formed the core of Finnish armored forces (2 of 4 tank companies of Finnish Tank Battalion fielded FTs), but it was already clear that these tanks were completely obsolete and unable to engage any Russian armor (mainly BT-series, T-26, T-28 and some tankettes). Thus, these tanks were dug in as pillboxes, but most were left behind without a fight, when Soviet breakthroughs in other sectors forced the Finnish defenders to withdraw.

Finnish FT-17s parading in front of Helsinki Central Railway station

To replace their obsolete Renaults, Finnish army started to test four different British-made Vickers tanks in the 1930s. These were Vickers 6-ton (Vickers Mark E), Vickers Mk VI B, Vickers-Carden Loyd Light Tank m1933 and Vickers-Carden Loyd Light Amphibious tank m1931. In 1936, Finnish army placed an order for 32 Vickers 6-ton tanks, which were considered the most modern and most suitable for Finnish heavily forested environment. Unluckily for the Finnish Armored Forces, Finland couldn’t afford to buy the tanks with armament, but decided to arm the tanks themselves. Thus, most of the Vickers were still in process of being armed with 37mm guns and only one tank company was ready for action in late February, when the Winter War was already nearing its end. They were sporadically used as fire support for infantry and their only major armored clash against the Red Army was in Honkaniemi. There, Finnish troops were ordered to make a counter-attack against Soviet breakthrough near Lake Näykkijärvi.

Continue reading →

Rita reviews the AMX 12t – enjoy!

Another video by Chickentikka – this time, from inside the T-54.

A little note: coaxial machinegun is used to fight infantry. The “test where the shell goes” thing is so-called “ranging machinegun”, that was usually tied to the gun itself, while the coax is mounted next to the gun to rotate with the turret.

The quality of the camera work is quite poor, but some details can be nicely recognized.