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After Operation Uranus, the counteroffensive of the Battle of Stalingrad, it became painfully obvious that the USSR needed mobile heavy guns in order to destroy German fortifications and heavy tanks. The Red Army did have the KV-2 heavy tank for this duty at the time, but mass production of the KV-2 had ceased when the Kirov Plant was moved to Chelyabinsk. The new anti-fortification vehicle had to be faster than the KV-2, with thicker armor, and mount the powerful and more accurate ML-20 howitzer on a less expensive platform. The gun was too long and its recoil too powerful for it to be mounted in a turret, so a casemate structure was opted for. This would result in the soon-to-be-famous SU-152 'Zveroboy'.
In 1944, the Sukhoi Design Bureau started working on a new twin-engine fighter. The design process was slow, but the bureau soon acquired a captured German Me 262 Schwalbe ("Swallow"), which profoundly influenced the project's subsequent development. This culminated in the Su-9 in 1947, which retained the Me 262’s layout but had a different fuselage and wing design. Soon after, the Su-11 was created based on the Su-9, featuring more powerful TR-1 engines. However, in the game, the Su-11’s performance is much superior than that of the Su-9 or the Me 262. It stands out for its excellent acceleration and incredible energy conservation. Is it really that good?
The T-26 mod. 1939 was one of the final variants of the T-26 tank, featuring significant improvements over the earlier versions such as a conical turret and thicker, better armor. Around 1300 such vehicles were manufactured by 1940. In War Thunder, this tank is a reserve in the Soviet tech tree. Although it’s slow and has weak armor, this tank features a good gun, making it a powerful weapon in skilled hands.
The T-34-57 was developed as a specialized tank destroyer capable of going head-to-head with the Wehrmacht’s new armored vehicles. In the game, this vehicle is valued for its powerful 57 mm gun, which can penetrate virtually any opponent. However, this firepower comes at the cost of weak armor and a cramped layout. So, how should this vehicle be used in the game, taking all its pros and cons into account?
Among the few helicopters with a coaxial rotor system that do not have a tail rotor is the Ka-29, a small multi-role shipborne helicopter. It’s not only cute, but also very dangerous, being one of the best early Soviet helicopters. How does it perform in the game? What’s the history of the bun? Read more in this article!
The SMK is a very unique vehicle. Featuring a highly unusual layout and weapons complement, presenting a very large profile and offering surprisingly adequate mobility, it can be very challenging to use for new owners. The aim of this article is therefore to help the reader understand how to best utilize and combat this monster of a tank.
The 9K35 Стрела-10 (Arrow-10) “Gopher” is a Soviet-made, mobile surface-to-air missile launcher conceived in the late 1960s and 1970s. It utilizes the 9M37 and 9M333 surface-to-air missiles. The launcher system is mounted onto a modified amphibious MT-LB chassis. Despite being put into service in the 1970s, the Strela-10 is still in service today in over 10 countries!
The MiG-25PD “Foxbat-E” was the Soviet Union’s brute-force answer to the blistering pace of technological advances in speed as the United States worked to produce Mach 3-capable aircraft. While the threat of Mach 3-capable nuclear bombers never came to fruition with the advent of ICBMs, the Lockheed A-12 and later SR-71 Blackbird presented a threat to the USSR’s national security sufficient to justify the production of a unique, record-breaking Mach 3-capable interceptor. In War Thunder, the MiG-25PD presents itself as a very unique aircraft that doesn’t fit the playstyle many players at Rank VII are accustomed to, but when played to its strengths, it becomes one of the most fun and enjoyable aircraft to fly in all of War Thunder.
The Tu-95 (NATO reporting name: “Bear”) is a renowned Soviet turboprop strategic bomber. Originally developed as a replacement for the Tu-4, the Bear served as a heavy bomber, capable of carrying various bombs and missiles and even as a carrier for the “Tsar Bomba” — the most powerful nuclear bomb in the world. But how does the Tupolev perform in the game? What is the history of the world’s loudest turboprop bomber? Read the article to find the answers!
The British Vickers Mk. E had an unusual fate. In its home country, it never entered service or was produced in significant quantities. However, it became known as one of the best tanks of its time thanks to its production in the USSR under the designation T-26. Soviet tanks saw action in Spain, Finland, and China, and more than 10,000 were produced.
