Today, folks, we're going to look at a big hopper, namely the M3 Lee or Grant. These weren't its only names; it was mockingly called the Cathedral by the Americans because of its silhouette, while the Germans called it “Grab für sechs Freunde” (Grave for six friends), making fun of the tank's flammability. However, it not only had many names but also many variations and versions, some of which you've never heard of, are fake, or are among the most famous in the world. It was also operated by a wide variety of users. And that’s not all: Bernard Montgomery (also called “Monty”) even used an M3 Grant as his personal tank; its nickname was also “Monty“.
One of the most important and painful events in the history of the Russian Navy in the early 20th century was its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. After the losses suffered by the Pacific squadrons, the naval command began seriously considering a major modernization of the fleet. The war had exposed numerous shortcomings: from logistics, reconnaissance, and communications to the armor and armament of the ships themselves.
Some vehicles in War Thunder are especially long-awaited by players. A perfect example is this experimental General Dynamics project, which has finally made its way into the game as the main reward of the Space Program event. We’re talking, of course, about the F-16XL. Be honest, were you waiting for this one? Then welcome aboard!
The F-102A was set to become the U.S. Air Force’s ultimate interceptor. However, the first prototypes could not even reach supersonic speeds, so the aircraft was redesigned. The production models also failed to meet expectations, which is why the more advanced F-106, based on the F-102A, was developed. In War Thunder, the aircraft can carry up to six AIM-4 missiles, including radar-guided variants, in its bomb bay. However, it can only accelerate to Mach 1 at sea level and it lacks a cannon. So how does one play it?
The diminutive Scimitar armed reconnaissance vehicle is one of the more famous British armoured vehicles from the Cold War. It is one of the members of the versatile Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) or CVR(T) family and has seen service in all corners of the globe. Its small and almost endearing shape has been flown the British flag in conflicts all across the world for 50 years, and has become something of a favourite among its crews and the wider public.
The summer of 1943 was hot in more ways than one. Near Kursk, one of the largest battles of the Second World War was about to begin. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, along with thousands of armored vehicles and aircraft, were concentrated on both sides of the front. The Wehrmacht was preparing Operation Citadel, hoping to regain the strategic initiative after its defeat at Stalingrad. The fields of the Belgorod and Oryol regions became a vast staging ground, where thousands of fighting vehicles started their engines in the early morning haze.
Some combat vehicles get a special kind of attention from War Thunder players, and sometimes even earn their own nicknames, although not always flattering ones. The French AML-90 wheeled light tank and its South African cousin, the Eland 90, are perfect examples. Today, we’re taking both of them for a spin to see why players have grown so fond of these little machines.
The Soko J-22 Orao (Yugoslavia) and the IAR-93 Vultur (Romania) were twin-engine, subsonic ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft. Jointly developed in the 1970s, they represented the industrial and military independence of both nations from the Soviet bloc; Yugoslavia and Romania signed an agreement to share costs and engineering under the codename “Project YuRom” (Yugoslavia-Romania) with the shared objective of creating a light tactical fighter capable of replacing Soviet ground-attack aircraft and operating from short or improvised dirt runways.
In the Pacific War, it quickly became apparent after the initial deployments of the Japanese Chi-Ha tanks that they lacked sufficient armor and firepower to contend with the American M4 Shermans and M3 Lee/Grant. Consequently, development of successors began as early as 1940; one of these was the Type 5 Chi-Ri (五式中戦車 チリ / Medium Tank Type 5 Chi-Ri). Parallel to this, the Ho-Ri, intended to serve as a heavy tank destroyer, was designed based on the Type Chi-Ri. However, due to a shortage of raw materials, which were allocated to the Type 4 Chi-To rather than the Chi-Ri, it never entered serial production; only a single unfinished Chi-Ri prototype was built, while the Ho-Ri project was abandoned entirely, with only a scale model ever being constructed.
