Avenger

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Rank VII | Premium | Golden Eagles
Challenger DS Pack
This page is about the British medium tank Avenger. For the dive bomber, see Avenger Mk II (Great Britain).
Avenger
uk_a30_sp_avenger.png
GarageImage Avenger.jpg
Avenger
AB RB SB
4.7 4.7 4.7
Class:
Research:26 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:76 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The A30 SP Avenger was a further development of the A30 Challenger, intended to resolve some of the design issues including the tall turret and limited mobility. No longer having the need for a fourth crewmember in the turret, the turret was able to be significantly shortened, and was also mounted on a lower superstructure. The turret was made open-top, but could be screened with armoured covers when necessary, providing the commander and loader with a full range of visibility. Additionally, return rollers were added to alleviate the track-throwing tendencies of the Challenger. However, by the time a prototype was completed, development of the vehicle had been deprioritised with the introduction of the 17-pdr-equipped M10 in favour of the Comet I, and it suffered in trials against the Archer and Alecto. The Avenger project was eventually dropped in 1950.

Introduced in Update 1.55 "Royal Armour" along with the initial British ground tree, the Avenger performs well in sniping and flanking roles. The powerful gun, along with good gun depression capabilities, allows it to make good use of ridgelines and unexpected locations, allowing easy shots on unsuspecting opponents. It also has great mobility (though not quite as capable as the Cromwell that it is based on), allowing it to be an effective flanker. However, note that Avenger's poor reverse speed and slow turret traverse, as well as weak armour, mean that attempting to battle opponents head-on will often end poorly.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull64 / 28 / 38
Turret51 / 40 / 40
Crew4 people
Visibility75 %

The Avenger is one of the most unexpected survivors on battlefields of War Thunder, both arcade and realistic mode.

All of this is due to fact that its crew sits in very specific places and the vehicle's armour doesn't have any small, weird weak spots. In fact, armour and overall module placement is so solid, it can sometimes hold off a SPAA attack, some bombs, and even a 75 mm from an M4A3E2 with some angling and range.

Even if shells penetrate (usually through the angled sides of the turret), usually only 2 crew members get knocked out.

The only strange weak spot the Avenger has is the windows on top of turret. While roof windows seem to be a flaw, as it creates potential for HE shells to simply fly inside of the Avenger and decimate entire crew, in reality nobody uses those types of rounds at this BR. Even if decently strong HE hits the hull, the tank won't take overpressure damage despite windows having nonexistant protection or even being destroyed. Even strafing planes have hard time hitting anything through those windows, and rather penetrate the roof directly, which is still a challenge.

Because of that, the windows instead give enemy APHE shells a high chance to bounce around and fly out of window without exploding inside of vehicle. In fact, this happens so often, a single Avenger can survive up to six direct shots while losing only gunner or loader, while vehicles like the Sherman Firefly would be destroyed in one hit by those.

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour
Armour Front Sides Rear Roof
Hull 63.5 mm (1°) Front plate
30 mm (71°) Front glacis
57.15 mm (19°) Lower glacis
14 mm 38.1 mm (1°) Top
38.1 mm (13-59°) Bottom
20 mm
Turret 63.5 mm (0-49°) Turret front
40 mm (30-31°) Gun mantlet
40 mm (0-1°) 40 mm (8-40°) 20 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
  • Rack on top of the hull rear seems to be stacking 38.1 mm armour. No concrete evidence of their effectiveness as of yet.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB58 / 4 km/h
RB and SB52 / 4 km/h
Number of gears5 forward
1 back
Weight31.5 t
Engine power
AB1 145 hp
RB and SB600 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB36.3 hp/t
RB and SB19.0 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 58 4 31.5 930 1,145 29.52 36.35
Realistic 52 4 531 600 16.86 19.05

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB1 106 → 1 423 Sl icon.png
RB1 300 → 1 673 Sl icon.png
SB1 640 → 2 110 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications24 600 Rp icon.png
44 600 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost1 100 Ge icon.png
Crew training22 000 Sl icon.png
Experts76 000 Sl icon.png
Aces400 Ge icon.png
Research Aces320 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
70 / 110 / 130 % Sl icon.png
142 / 142 / 142 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
1 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 200 Sl icon.png
105 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
1 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 000 Sl icon.png
95 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
1 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 000 Sl icon.png
95 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
2 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 800 Sl icon.png
180 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
175 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
175 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
1 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 200 Sl icon.png
105 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
1 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 000 Sl icon.png
95 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement uk.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
2 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 800 Sl icon.png
180 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
76mm_britain_17pdr_APC_ammo_pack
Research:
1 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 200 Sl icon.png
105 Ge icon.png
Mod arrow 0.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
1 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 200 Sl icon.png
105 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
76mm_britain_17pdr_APCBC_ammo_pack
Research:
1 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 000 Sl icon.png
95 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
1 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 000 Sl icon.png
95 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
2 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 800 Sl icon.png
180 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
175 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
76mm_britain_Smoke_ammo_pack
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
175 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition55 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
7.2 → 5.6 s
Vertical guidance-10° / 17°
Main article: QF 17-pounder (76 mm)
76 mm QF 17-pounder Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 55 -10°/+17° ±180° N/A 13.3 18.4 22.4 24.8 26.4 7.28 6.44 5.94 5.60
Realistic 8.3 9.8 11.9 13.2 14.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
Shot Mk.6 AP 171 168 155 139 126 113
Shell Mk.1 HE 20 20 18 16 15 13
Shot Mk.4 APC 171 168 155 139 126 113
Shot Mk.8 APCBC 190 187 172 155 140 126
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
Shot Mk.6 AP 883 7.71 - - - 47° 60° 65°
Shell Mk.1 HE 883 6.98 0.2 0.1 580 79° 80° 81°
Shot Mk.4 APC 883 7.71 - - - 48° 63° 71°
Shot Mk.8 APCBC 883 7.71 - - - 48° 63° 71°
Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Screen radius
(m)
Screen deploy
time (s)
Screen hold
time (s)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
17pdr Shell SS Mk.1 229 8.44 13 5 20 50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Avenger
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
7th
rack empty
8th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
55 48 (+7) 37 (+18) 31 (+24) 25 (+30) 19 (+36) 13 (+42) (+48) (+54) Yes

Note:

  • Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
  • The visual discrepancy concerns rack n°2: 6 shells are modeled but it contains only 11 shells.
  • Turret empty: 48 (+7) shells.

Optics

Avenger Optics
Which ones Default magnification Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics x3 x6
Comparable optics VFW

The Avenger is the first tank in the British tank destroyer line to have a X6 scope. It will not get any better than this until rank VI, so get used to it - it will be the same across entire tech tree for a while with SPAA being the only exception.

Compared to other tanks in rank III, this scope is slightly or moderately superior to most medium and heavy tanks, but do not expect to outsnipe German SPGs as they have same optics or even better.

Usage in battles

The Avenger plays like an upgunned and a bit more sluggish Cromwell. There are two main play styles possible with this vehicle.

Close range flanker: The Avenger's mobility allows it to sneak up to the enemy's flank without too much problems. With its awesome gun depression, it can pop over a hill and shoot before engaging a "turn fight" (running around the enemy's tank too fast so he can't aim at you). Such manoeuvre has a greater chance of success on isolated enemies since you need to get at least 2 shots to destroy any tank you might encounter. This kind of strategy is great early in the game, to counter-capture a point by , for example, an enemy Hellcat that rushed it. A small note there: make sure to pre-aim in the general direction of your enemy since the turret turning rate is not so great.

Sniper: As said earlier, the Avenger's crazy depression angles and good gun, combined with its great mobility and good climbing characteristics makes it ideal for the sniper role. Its mobility allows the Avenger to get anywhere on the map, an intelligent pilot will avoid main roads where encountering enemies upfront is often a death sentence and prefer unexpected roads, surprising camping spots, your enemy must never know where to expect a shot from. When firing, make sure to change position every 2-3 shots (every time you destroy a tank). With a good mix of luck and skill, you can even find a good viewing point on the enemy's base pretty early in the game (even in AB). Make sure sure to hide your turret top since HE and some APHE can detonate from the thin plate of your half open-topped turret, resulting in a crew knock out. One last thing to consider: the Avenger's functional elevation angle is lower than its characteristics says: the optics gets blinded in the last 1-2 degrees.

What's great with this vehicle is it can change role pretty fast in the game. A great way to use this vehicle at its plains potential is on a map like Mozdok or El Alamein. A good example of tactics is being flanker early game, then sniper to clear the next capture point and then flanker again to go get it (provided you do not get shut down).

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Cromwell-esque controls with good acceleration and speed
  • Neutral steering allows for quick alignment of the hull
  • 17-pounder "Quickfire" cannon has high penetration and good accuracy
  • Good gun depression of -10° allows it to fight comfortably among hills
  • Very fast rate-of-fire
  • Great gunsight zoom allows for long-range sniping
  • Not as vulnerable to overpressure as Achilles or Concept 3

Cons:

  • No machine gun
  • AP shells don't have explosive filler, hard to one-shot larger tanks like Panthers
  • Overall poor survivability due to thin & unsloped armour
  • Turning can be sluggish at times
  • Terrible reverse speed
  • Gun traverse speed is subpar

History

Basis

The A30 Challenger tank was an improved variant of the Cromwell tank made to improve the firepower of the armoured brigades in the British Army. While equipped with the 17-pounder, the Challenger ran into issues with production and mechanical issues, along with design deficiencies that was much criticized by the crew that manned the tank. The Challenger had thin armour, had a tendency for track throwing, and had a high profile. However, it was praised for its speed, agility, and firepower with the 17-pounder gun. The Challenger was ordered in February 1943 for 200 vehicles, but the development of the Firefly from the Sherman tank proved much easier and cheaper than the Challenger and was thus cancelled.

The Avenger

An attempt to improve on the Challenger was the A30 SP Avenger, which used a different open-topped turret to save weight on the tank design. However, due to priorities on the Comet tank in the Vauxhall Motors plant, they were not being built until 1945 and weren't used until after the war in Europe is over. 250 units were built and formed part of the British Army of the Rhine stationed in Germany after the war. They did not see any combat action during their service life.

Media

Skins
Images
Videos

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the series of the vehicles;
  • links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links


Britain medium tanks
Valentine  Valentine I · Valentine IX · Valentine XI
Cromwell  Cromwell I · Cromwell V · Cromwell V (RP-3)
Cromwell derivatives  Challenger · Avenger · Comet I · Comet I "Iron Duke IV" · Charioteer Mk VII
Centurion  Centurion Mk 1 · Centurion Mk.2 · Centurion Mk 3 · Centurion Mk.5 AVRE · Centurion Mk 10 · Centurion Action X · FV4202
Vickers MBT  Vickers Mk.1 · Vickers Mk.3 · Vickers Mk.7
Chieftain  Chieftain Mk 3 · Chieftain Mk 5 · Chieftain Mk 10
Challenger 1  Challenger Mk.2 · Challenger Mk.3 · Challenger DS
Challenger 2  Challenger 2 · Challenger 2 (2F) · Challenger 2 TES · Challenger 2 OES · Challenger 2E · Challenger 2 Black Night
Challenger 3  Challenger 3 TD
Australia  A.C.I · A.C.IV · Centurion Mk.5/1
South Africa  Olifant Mk.1A · Olifant Mk.2 · TTD
India  Vijayanta · Bhishma TWMP
Israel  ▄Sho't Kal Dalet
Jordan  Khalid
Sweden  ▄Strv 81 (RB 52)
USA  Grant I · Sherman II · Sherman Firefly · Sherman IC "Trzyniec"