war thunder community magazine issue 6.pdf

Issue 50 • December 2013 1 • GameOn Magazine

Battlefield 4 Review

Introduction to War Thunder

Within the heart of War Thunder is

a multiplayer online combat game

for aircraft and armored vehicles.

Developed by Gaijin

Entertainment, this game is

available across a variety of

platforms: from Windows to

Macintosh OS X to Linux, as

well as on the Playstation 4

console, with casual game

modes in arcade battles

to realistic and simulator

battles for the enthusiasts.

The game spans the era from the

Spanish Civil War to the Korean

War, with a huge emphasis

on the Second World War.

Players cross swords in historical

maps of impressive scale

ranging from the city outskirts

of Stalingrad to the vast oceans

surrounding Pearl Harbor.

With hundreds of accurately-

rendered vehicles available

and more being added with

every update, players are spoilt

for choice when it comes to

cutting-edge planes to take

to the skies, or menacing

tanks to tear up the earth.

Relive the action in huge

aerial dogfights and armored

spearhead clashes with friends,

learn about the rich historical

significance behind the wars

through War Thunder.

2 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine

letter from the general

Welcome to the sixth

edition of the War Thunder

Community Magazine!

This issue, we focus our attention

on the Japanese side of things,

with WT 101 looking at the

Japanese Tech Tree and our

guns series looking at Japanese

guns and ammunition; their

bewildering array of weapons

is simply mindboggling to

say the least, but John ‘Zoso’

Moore breaks it down into

digestible bits for you.

With the focus on Japan, we

also take a look at Tales of

Codebreaking & Espionage in

the Pacific theatre of war in an

all new segment, presenting

facts and short stories in an

all new format after receiving

feedback that readers want to

know more about the back-

story for our Facts articles.

We also take a look at what

happened in June 1940 with David

King in ‘This Month in WWII’,

as well as a brief introduction

to the WT Economy by Zoso!

On the Reviews side, we take a

look at the Panzer IV F2; find out

how it fares against its opponents

in a new vehicle review format.

Are you interested in writing

historical articles, war machines,

or War Thunder gameplay? We

are still actively looking out for

more writers, photographers and

artists to come on board the team!

Do you also happen to know

someone who has a story from

WWII? They don’t have to have

be in the war, we are interested

in their story if they are willing

to share it. Please contact us

[email protected]

- The Editor

War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 3

Contents PageFlying the Rising Sun 6

Guns of Japan 22

Panzer IV F2 Review 30

This Month in WWII:

June 1940 34

Tales from World War II -

Codebreaking and Espionage 38

Lions, Eagles and Trophies 42

Funny Corner 50

Wordsearch 52

Caption Competition 53

KEEP IN TOUCH!

ContributorsEditor-in-Chief Steve Greenfield

Editor Kris West

Production Mgr Chock Wee Boon

Writer John ‘Zoso’ Moore

Writer David ‘HJFarnsworth’ King

Photos Alex ‘Fodder09’ Beard

Photos Martijn ‘mhockx’ Hockx


CONTENTS

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FLYING THE RISING SUN

PROS

• Fighters usually prioritise maneuverability

over other combat characteristics

• Some interesting bomber selections (H6K4 flying boat,

B7A2 Ryusei, G8N1 Renzan, R2Y2 Keiun-Kai series)

CONS

• Fewest planes among the 5 countries

• Many big BR jumps along the way, rather

than a smooth transition to ease players

of Japanese planes into the game

• No heavy bombers with 4000kg+ bomb loads

(Closest is G5N1 Shinzan at 3200kg)

In this final article of the five-part series on aircraft research and lineup, we cover the Japanese tech tree, which, of the five nations, is arguably one of the harder ones to do well in.

WAR THUNDER 101 - JAPANESE PLANES RESEARCH AND LINEUP


ARTICLE

• Poor bomb loads on medium bombers; dive bombers

are disappointing except maybe the B7A2 Ryusei

• Fairly average late Tier IV fighter up with

no strong points (Update 1.49)

• Relatively poor end-game jet lineup

with very few fighters

• Poor heavy fighter lineup

• Earlier cannons and HMG are quite horrible with

low muzzle velocities; engagement distances are

typically shorter than their contemporaries

• Aircraft are mostly unarmored or

are only lightly armored

INTRODUCTION

The Japanese tree, like the US tree covered in Issue

5, splits the aircraft lines according to the services

they operate under, with the Imperial Japanese

Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Services each

getting a fighter tree. The Navy also gets a bomber

tree that is more geared towards dive bombers and

torpedo bombers, while the Army gets a bomber

tree with more medium and heavy bombers;

some of the bigger Navy bombers, like the H6K

and the G4M, are under the same tree as well.

As with previous suggested lineups, they will be

presented according to a 5-plane format, mostly with

a balanced setup of fighters and bombers. The lineups

are optimized according to the Battle Rating and

matchmaking system and the information below is

accurate as of June 2015 (Proposed changes - 15.06.15)

BR 1.0

Recommended Lineup: Ki-10 x 3, F1M2 (4 fighters)

At BR 1.0, the Ki-10 reserve planes available at the start

are pretty standard except for one characteristic – speed,

which is the highest among all the reserves. However,


with the matchmaking, you’ll still be meeting BR 2.0-

2.3 monoplanes that are faster than you in every way.

Where the Ki-10 really shines is in the biplane races

the developers dole out from time to time, but that’s

about it. Your best bet would be the Stealth belt for

ground targets due to the sheer number of AP rounds,

or Universal if you need a tracer or two in air combat.

The F1M2 floatplane would be a good addition to your

lineup as you try to get enough planes to make the next

hop in BR, with a somewhat useful tail gunner to take

out other new pilots who so often stay on your tail as they

shoot at you. It also comes with 2 bombs to clear ground

targets somewhat faster and is a little tougher, but

otherwise, this is not a big jump from your reserve plane.

Suggested Research: F1M2

BR 1.3

Recommended Lineup: A5M4, Ki-27

otsu, F1M2, Ki-10 x 2 (5 fighters)

The A5M4 and Ki-27 otsu available at BR 1.3 are

monoplane upgrades of your reserve plane with the

same gun armament and a boost in speed, but still

leaves you horribly outgunned against other nations

that start to get improvements over their armaments

in the form of larger caliber weapons or more guns.

As soon as you get the required number of

planes to make the jump to BR 1.7, do so.

Suggested Research: A5M4 → Ki-27 otsu


ARTICLE

BR 1.7

Recommended Lineup: A5M4 or Ki-27, Ki-43-I,

Ki-43-II, D3A1, B5N2 (3 fighters, 2 bombers)

Things look slightly better with the earlier Ki-43

Hayabusas becoming available at Tier II. The Ki-43-I

start off with the same horrible pair of 7.7mm Type

89 guns you have been so used to by now, but you

eventually gain the option to swap them out for the

12.7mm Ho-103 HMG, which fires a shorter cartridge

and consequently much lower muzzle velocity and killing

power compared to other guns of the same caliber

(although to their credit, they do have a faster firing rate).

However, the Ki-43 is nimble enough to get on the tails of

other monoplanes most of the time in a turn fight, so try

to close in to around 300 m or so (with the convergence

set to be that as well) before opening up with a short

burst. Ki-43-II spares you the trouble of dealing with

the horrifying 7.7 mm guns and gives you 2x 250kg

bombs, useful for taking out clusters of ground targets.

The D3A1 and the B5N2 are relatively standard

bombers; the D3A1 dive bomber has a pair of 7.7

mm forward firing guns for tearing up softer targets

while carrying a decent bomb load (250kg, 2x60kg),

while the B5N2 torpedo bomber forgoes the forward

firing machine guns and instead has a more useful

bomb load depending on what you’re hitting.

If you’re staying at BR 1.7, you’ll hardly have a need for

the 800 kg bomb unless the ground units are neatly

clustered together; the 6 x 60kg or 2 x 250kg bomb loads

might be more useful. Torpedoes are seldom worth

taking as 250kg bombs can destroy most ships, as well as

ground targets. These planes are fairly huge, defenceless,

not the most durable and present themselves as

easy targets, so be conservative when using them.

Suggested Research: Ki-43-I → Ki-

43-II → D3A1 → B5N2


BR2.0

Recommended Lineup: Ki-43-I, Ki-43-II, Ki-45 Ko, D3A1

or B5N2, Ki-21-Ia (2 fighters, 1 heavy fighter, 2 bombers)

The Ki-21-Ia medium bomber, a new addition in 1.49, is

a much more capable bomber than the dive bombers

that you already have, and can win you matches easily

especially if you’re sent into games where you’re not

ranked at the bottom in terms of BR. The 19x50kg bomb

load can end games fairly quickly if enemies are not too

careful about you, with the plane offering a relatively

tough structure, decently defended with gunners and

neat flight characteristics for an early bomber.

The Ki-45 Toryu series of heavy fighters (and its

replacement, the Ki-102) come with a mish-mash of

high-caliber gun types, while the flight performance is

actually decent for a heavy fighter, with decent climb

rates and maneuverability. Later ones have bigger

cannons which can be devastating against enemy planes

if you score a hit, but the low rate of fire, high recoil and

huge drop at longer ranges make it difficult to actually

hit something. These rounds should NOT be used

against armored ground targets; they are more suited

for hitting slow moving aerial targets like bombers.

The Ko variant, at BR 2.0, comes with 1x20mm

cannon and 2x12.7mm MG, which is decent enough


ARTICLE

for Boom and Zoom attacks As with most heavy

fighters, players have to be conservative with their

attacks and always be in the vicinity of team mates

as your tail gunner is usually not of much help.

The Tei variant, also at BR 2.0 is the weirdest among

the oddballs, having a Schräge Musik configuration

similar to some of the German heavy fighters for the

20mm cannons, leaving only a slow-firing 37 mm as

the forward armament. The Schräge Musik 20mm fires

at approximately a 45 degree angle to the plane’s nose

and requires the player to switch to something like a

gunner’s mode and hold the aircraft in steady flight

under the bomber, making it notoriously difficult to use

effectively especially when bombers usually flip you

inside out the moment you get in range. In other words,

don’t use this plane unless you know what you are doing.

Suggested Research: Ki-21-Ia → Ki-45 ko Toryu

BR 2.3

Recommended Lineup: Ki-61-I ko Hien, Ki-

61-I otsu Hien, Ki-45 ko Toryu, Ki-21-Ia, H6K

(2 fighters, 1 heavy fighter, 2 bombers)

The Ki-61 Hien series become available in the

Army line, offering a lightweight energy fighter

with a studier airframe in the mould of the Bf 109

and has the same licence-built DB 601 engine as


the Bf 109 ‘Emil’ and ‘Friedrich’ series. While the

handling is quite similar, the armament isn’t.

The Ki-61-I ko variant opts for 2x7.7mm and 2x12.7mm

MG, while the otsu variant comes mounted with

4x12.7mm MG, both of which requires you to practice a

bit of gun discipline by closing the gap and firing bursts

at vulnerable areas. The Ki-61 is not exactly a turn

fighter, although it does retain energy relatively well

compared to other fighters, so getting a guns solution

on a rapidly maneuvering fighter desperately trying

to get away from your guns might be more difficult.

The H6K4 has a decent bomb load at BR 2.3, coupled

with a relatively nasty 20mm tail gunner that can take

out early interceptors relatively easily if they decide to

stay on your tail for too long. It can also climb pretty well,

and at this BR, interceptors are not exactly available in

abundance. It is also surprisingly maneuverable and fast

for its size compared to the Catalina. The 1.49 update

seems to improve bombers’ durability and the lethality

of the gunners a little bit more, so the H6K4 is not as

vulnerable as in previous versions especially at this tier.

The bad news is that the H6K4 is is the bomber with the

biggest bomb load until Tier IV when the G5N1 Shinzan

and G8N1 Renzan heavy bombers become available.

Suggested Research: Ki-61-I ko Hien

→ Ki-61-I otsu Hien → H6K

BR 2.7

Recommended lineup: A6M2-N, Ki-61-I ko

Hien, Ki-61-I otsu Hien, Ki-45 otsu Toryu, H6K

(3 fighters, 1 heavy fighter, 1 bomber)

The A6M2-N, the floatplane variant of the A6M2

Reisen fighter (or Zero), is the first decent plane

with decent cannons at BR 2.7. Unfortunately,

the floats that the plane comes with kill off any

maneuverability and energy retention advantage you


ARTICLE

may have, leaving you with a very slow fighter that

packs a heavy punch but it’s almost a death sentence

if you get caught with someone on your tail.

The Ki-45 otsu is equally bad, with a slow firing 37mm

cannon that’s nothing like what the US have on their P-39

Airacobras or the Yak-9. As mentioned above, these are

more suited for hitting bombers with the HEFI-T rounds

but the effects are usually quite devastating if the rounds

actually manage to hit a plane in one of the critical parts.

The experience with BR2.7 planes is that matchmaking

usually up-tiers them against BR3+ planes At the

moment, the Japanese do not have sufficient quality

planes for a lineup to do well at this level; it might be

better to stick with BR 2.3 while advancing down the

path of research for the other planes for BR 3.7. The

same story goes for BR 3.0, with only the J2M2 that’s

reasonably competitive (The J2M2 is at BR 3.3, but can

form part of a lineup with an average BR of 3.0) and

the G4M1 bomber. The Ki-45 hei and Ki-102 otsu (at

BR 3.0 for both) are average heavy fighters for a very

specialized role at best and it might be better for players

not to field them as main line fighters in their lineup.

This is one of the reasons why the Japanese plane

tech tree is very unfriendly for new players; there

are simply too few quality planes here to form a

decent lineup to learn the game as they slowly

move up the BR early on, making Japan one of

the toughest nations to play for a new player.

Suggested Research: A6M2-N → Ki-45 otsu Toryu


BR3.7

Recommended Lineup: A6M2 mod.11, A6M2, J2M2,

Ki-49-IIa, Ki-49-IIb (3 fighters, 2 bombers)

The next decent lineup occurs at BR 3.7, with the

A6M2 fighters available for selection. The A6M

Reisen series are the epitome of Japanese fighter

design thinking, valuing maneuverability over other

factors such as protection and raw engine power.

The A6M series are decently armed with a pair of 20mm

cannons and a pair of MG, can out-turn almost any

contemporary fighter and has great energy retention to

boot. However, that does not mean you go into any fight

looking to out-turn your enemy, burning through your

energy pool and having a blatant disregard for conserving

your energy. Use vertical maneuvers to conserve energy

in dogfights, and only go into sharp turns if you are

confident of getting a good burst on an enemy fighter

within, say, a complete turn or so, otherwise you will be

left very vulnerable if you are caught at low speeds.

On the flip side, the A6M series have poor top

speeds, making chasing down enemies and high

speed diving passes a distant dream as most planes


ARTICLE

have the ability to just out-run you in a straight line

especially if they have the energy advantage or given

the time to accelerate. The protection is also horribly

poor on a fighter at this level (BR 3+ and 4+), with

no armor protection at all. This makes bomber-

hunting a risky proposition, as a stray round from the

defensive turrets might just take out the pilot or the

plane easily; the same goes for head-on passes.

The A6M2 variants come with Type 99 Mark 1 cannons,

which are not the most ideal 20mm cannons to

have, with low muzzle velocities, slow firing rates

and low ammunition count (only 60 rounds per gun).

Gun discipline is definitely necessary, close in to

around 300 m before firing a burst at vital spots by

outmaneuvering the enemy (which should be easy

considering you’re in a Zero). Later variants address

this shortcoming by mounting the Type 99 Mark 2 with

much better muzzle velocities and ammunition count.

The J2M2 Raiden is also another new plane introduced

in Update 1.49 with a BR of 3.3. As with new planes, the

BR may not be final and subjected to changes by the

developers for balance purposes. The Raiden airframe

is slightly different from most other Japanese designs

in that it is not optimized for maneuverability; instead, it

packs a much more powerful engine in a stubby airframe

and used specifically as an interceptor to counter high-

altitude bomber raids. Interestingly, the A6M and J2M

series, two very diverse and different designs, are

from the same creator at Mitsubishi, Jiro Horikoshi.


The J2M2 boasts relatively good climb rates and top

speeds; it is used mainly for Boom and Zoom attacks.

With a pair of Type 99 Mark 2 cannons and a pair of

7.7mm MG to supplement it, this is essentially the

same J2M3 airframe at BR 5.0 with a slightly weaker

armament (but still devastating nonetheless) and

without the turbocharger for high-altitude performance,

which shouldn’t matter much at low to mid altitudes

which is the norm in War Thunder arcade.

The Ki-49 bomber in its multiple variants, with slight

performance upgrades and defensive armament

changes, remains largely the same bomber through

from BR 3.3 to 4.0. Although a medium bomber

by Japanese classification, the useful bomb loads

are 4x250kg and 800kg bombs, considered light by

medium bombers’ standards in other countries.

Relatively fast, decently armored and maneuverable,

the Ki-49 is good for tactical strikes on ground targets

such as tanks and pillboxes, but strategic targets

might take a while due to its small bomb load.

Suggested Research: A6M2 mod.11 → A6M2 → J2M2 →

G4M1 (prerequisite) → Ki-49-I → Ki-49-IIa → Ki-49-IIb

BEYOND 4.0

The J2M3 Raiden, like the J2M2, is an interceptor

but improved with a turbocharger for high altitude

performance. The armament is beefed up with

a pair of Type 99 Mark 1 replacing the useless

7.7mm MG at this stage in the J2M2 for a much


ARTICLE

heavier punch. Unfortunately, research wise you

have to get past the N1K2 Shiden-Kai at BR 5.7,

which you probably won’t use for a while yet.

The A6M3 and A6M5 boast slight engine upgrades

over the A6M2, making the Zero go that little bit

faster but not by much. The same disadvantages

and advantages still remain, with the exception of

the armament, which is finally upgraded to Type 99

Mark 2 cannons, which are better at engaging targets

slightly further out and with more ammunition.

The Ki-43-III Hayabusa comes with a much better

engine and a pair of 20mm cannons and is a capable

fighter with an emphasis on maneuverability, much

like the earlier variants of the Ki-43. The Ki-61-I hei

Hien comes heavily armed with 2 x German 20mm

MG151 cannons (with the devastating mineshells) at

the price of some degradation of flight performance.

The B7A2 Ryusei is a dive bomber that can dogfight

fighters reasonably well, although it is not recommended

unless absolutely necessary. While the bomb load is


fairly standard for Japanese bombers (800kg), the

Ryusei comes armed with two Type 99 Mark 2 cannons

along with a high altitude air start at the bomber

spawn, with a pretty decent climb rate to boot as well.

This allows the bomber to do some fairly incredible

things, such as building up an unassailable altitude

advantage relatively early and conducting Boom

and Zoom style attacks on climbing interceptors,

essentially turning itself into a bomber escort; it can

also hunt bombers quite effectively, all while dropping

an 800kg bomb every time the reload timer is up.

Moving further down the BR, the N1K Shiden-Kais

and the Ki-84 Hayates are fairly average late-Tier

IV planes as of the current patch, overshadowed by

other superprops like the Fw 190 Dora series, F8F

Bearcats and the Griffon Spitfires. These are essentially

energy fighters, and as with Japanese fighter design

philosophy, these planes are relatively maneuverable

(although not as well as a Zero), pack a powerful engine

in a light airframe and armed with a relatively potent

cocktail of cannons across the different variants.

Heavy bomber wise, the G5N1 Shinzan has the biggest

bomb load in the Japanese bomber lineup, but has

horrid flight performance. The G8N1 Renzan , which is

quite maneuverable for a heavy, can carry fewer bombs,

but possess a strong suite of defensive armaments

that sprays 20mm rounds in practically every direction,

earning it the nickname ‘Death Star’ of Star Wars fame


ARTICLE

in previous versions. The damage model and gunner

accuracy is definitely not as strong now with the nerf

to bombers a while back, but it is still quite deadly for

fighters who wish to just sit on the tail and not dodge

the gunner fire. The best bet for these Japanese

heavy bombers is still to climb and bomb strategic

targets while out of sight of enemy interceptors.

For jets, the R2Y2 Keiun-Kai series is at a low enough

BR to fight early jets and late-war props, with some

bombing capability although it is good at neither. The

Ki-200 Shusui is pretty much a Japanese copy of the Me

163B Komet rocket interceptor. The current BR changes

make the Shusui see more superior jets unfortunately,

like its German counterpart. The Kikka is just plain

horrible even when up against the superprops and the

F-86F-30 is a standard American sabre with the 6 x

Browning MG configuration, all in all which makes for

a very limited jet showing compared to other nations.


CLOSING

Unfortunately for the Japanese air services, the tides

of war meant that conditions were too unfavourable to

produce advanced aircraft in large quantities in 1944-

1945. Some prototypes and limited production runs

were achieved for newer designs could yet make an

appearance in War Thunder, such as the A7M Reppu,

which would have been a considerable upgrade

over the A6M Reisen series for the Navy tree.

There are also a few other mass production Japanese

planes that have not been represented as yet, which will

fill out the Japanese tree more nicely considering that it

has the least planes out of the tech trees represented.

Planes such as the Ki-44 and later versions of the Ki-

61 have been mooted for the Imperial Japanese Army

fighter tree, with the Ki-51 assault plane and Ki-48 light

bomber being added for the bomber tree. The navy

could eventually receive the D4Y Suisei dive bomber

and the upsized H8K2 flying boat for the bomber

trees and something to fill the gaps in their fighter

trees, like the N1K Kyofu early floatplane variant of

the same N1K2 Shiden-Kai fighter already in game.

By Chock Wee Boon


ARTICLE

GUNS OF JAPAN

Japanese aircraft mounted a wide variety of cannons

and machine guns, mostly based on licensed and

imported weapons. Ferocious rivalry between the

Imperial Japanese Army and Navy meant that

each developed their own weapons with little or

no commonality. The two services even differed on

weapon classification; in the Navy, weapons of a

calibre up to and including 20 mm were classified

as machine guns, whereas in the Army weapons

of a calibre over 11 mm were machine cannons.

This article, as per the current general consensus,

splits the difference and uses “cannon” to refer

to weapons with a calibre of 20 mm and above.

LIGHT MACHINE GUNS

As was common at the time, the standard armament

for Japanese fighters of the mid-1930s was a pair of

light machine guns (LMGs). Both the Army and Navy

used 7.7 mm weapons based on the Vickers Class

E gun, but where the Navy Type 97 used a rimmed

The fourth in our series of articles about WW II aircraft armament looks at the

guns of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy Air Services.


ARTICLE

cartridge based on the British .303, the Army Type

89 used a slightly longer semi-rimmed cartridge, so

ammunition was not compatible between the services.

For defensive weapons, early Navy aircraft used

the 7.7 mm Type 92, a license-built version of the

Lewis gun, while the Army had a flexibly mounted

7.7 mm Type 89 gun. Later, both the Army and the

Navy used 7.92 mm guns based on the German

Rheinmetall MG 15, designated the Type 98 and Type

1 respectively. In a rare case of co-operation, minor

differences between the two weapons (such as a

second pistol grip on the Type 1) were eliminated,

and the same manufacturer supplied both services.

In addition to armour piercing, incendiary

and tracer ammunition, the Japanese were

unusual in using explosive rifle-calibre rounds

containing a small quantity of PETN. With no

fuse, these rounds were rather volatile.

LMGS IN WAR THUNDER

Japanese LMGs are typical starter weapons in War

Thunder, not much use against aircraft after Tier I,

and only capable of destroying armoured cars and

soft targets on the ground. As with most LMGs the

Stealth belt is just about the best choice for damage,

or the Universal belt if you find tracers helpful.

Once past reserve planes, other nations tend to

get aircraft with more, or larger calibre, guns;

unfortunately armament is a weakness of many

low-tier Japanese fighters, with the Ki-27 and

A5M stuck with a pair of 7.7 mm guns.

HEAVY MACHINE GUNS

The Army 12.7 mm Type 1 heavy machine gun

(HMG), also known as the Ho-103, was based on

the American Browning mechanism but used an

Italian 12.7 mm round derived from the Vickers .5”

cartridge. This was a shorter cartridge than the .50

BMG, so the Ho-103 was less powerful than the

Browning .50-cal, but had a higher rate of fire. The

Ho-103 was a staple weapon through the war on

army fighters such as the Ki-43, Ki-61 and Ki-84.

The Navy introduced an HMG towards the end of

the war, also based on the Browning mechanism,

but true to form they used a different round, a

13.2 mm Hotchkiss cartridge as used in some


navy anti-aircraft guns. The resulting weapon,

the 13.2 mm Type 3 machine gun, was fitted to

some late variants of the A6M Zero and N1K.

Defensively, the Army used the 12.7 mm Type

1 on flexible mounts in bombers such as the

Ki-49. The Navy introduced yet another calibre

of weapon with the 13 mm Type 2, a licensed

version of the German MG 131. Due to concern

about reliability in tropical conditions, the Type

2 used percussion ammunition rather than the

electrically-primed ammunition of the MG 131.

HMGS IN WAR THUNDER

The most important HMG for Japanese players is

the 12.7 mm Ho-103, the primary armament of Tier

II Ki-43 and Ki-61 variants. Though an improvement

on 7.7 mm MGs you’ll still be outgunned by many

opponents of similar Battle Ratings, and will

need persistence, or a bit of luck, to secure kills;

closing to short range (under 300 metres) helps.

Ammunition-wise, the mix of Immediate Action

Incendiary (game terminology for explosive 12.7

mm rounds) and Armour Piercing Incendiary of the

Stealth belt works well, or the Air Targets belt if you

prefer to have tracers. Against ground targets the

Ho-103 is capable of defeating light tanks with AP

ammunition from close range, but nothing heavier.

20 MM CANNON

The Navy were early to appreciate the need for a

shell-firing cannon, to give carrier-based fighters

a powerful punch when intercepting bombers

threatening the fleet. A license was obtained for the

20 mm Oerlikon FF Type F (the weapon adapted in

Germany into the MG FF), and was put into production

as the Type 99 Model 1 cannon. The light weight

and compact size of the Type 99 made it ideal for

the A6M Zero, where weight was of paramount

importance. The trade-off was low muzzle velocity,

slow rate of fire and limited ammunition capacity.


ARTICLE

Later variants of the Zero, from the A6M3, used a

more powerful weapon, the Type 99 Model 2, based

on the Oerlikon FFL, which used a longer cartridge.

Ammunition capacity was also improved on later

Type 99 cannon with the initial 60 round drum being

replaced first with a 100 round drum, then a belt feed.

The first Army cannon was a design based on the

Type 97 semi-automatic anti-tank rifle, the 20 mm

Ho-3. This used a powerful cartridge but was heavy

and slow firing, seeing limited use on the twin-

engine Ki-45. More successful was the 20 mm Ho-

5, a scaled up version of the 12.7 mm Ho-103. The

Ho-5 was a good weapon, but lack of high quality

materials and strain on production meant it had to

use cartridges with a reduced quantity of propellant,

so it didn’t live up to its full potential. The Army

also imported a number of German MG 151/20

cannons, which were used on some Ki-61 fighters.

Needless to say, in a continuing bid to drive

logistics officers mad, the five cannons all used

different, incompatible 20 mm cartridges.

20 MM CANNON IN WAR THUNDER

The Ki-45 ko at least gives Japanese pilots one

cannon-armed aircraft in Tier I, with a reasonable

amount of ammunition for its Ho-3. The Type 99


Model 1s on Tier II A6M Zeros are not particularly

good cannons, but at least an improvement on

LMGs; they work best at close range (under 300

metres), and a high Reload skill in Arcade goes some

way to offsetting the low ammunition capacity.

MG 151s and Ho-5s give the Tier III Ki-61 and Ki-43

variants a solid punch, but watch out as the Battle

Ratings jump markedly compared to the MG-armed

variants, so be careful when putting them in an Arcade

line-up. In Tier III and IV, as the Type 99 Model 2 and

Ho-5 become the standard Navy/Army armament,

Japanese aircraft are reasonably competitive in

terms of weaponry, though seldom the strongest.

None of the 20 mm guns can penetrate the armour of

medium tanks, so strafing is limited to softer targets.

Ammunition options vary slightly between the

cannons. Naval Tracer belts are made entirely

of High Explosive Fragmentation Tracer rounds,

and can be effective against lighter aircraft; the

Army Ho-5 Tracer belts are all Armour Piercing

Tracer, and not as effective. Generally the Universal

or Stealth belts contain the most useful mix of

High Explosive and Armour Piercing shells.


ARTICLE

30 MM CANNON

Facing heavy US bombers, late in the war both the

Army and Navy looked to more potent weapons.

Continuing with the Browning mechanism, the Army

Ho-155 was a scaled-up version of the 20 mm Ho-5

(itself a scaled up version of the 12.7 mm Ho-103) that

saw limited service on fighters such as the Ki-84.

The Navy’s 30 mm Type 5 was unusual in being an

original indigenous design, potentially a good weapon,

but arriving too late in the war to see widespread

service. The Type 5 was the intended armament for

late designs and prototypes such as the J7W Shinden.

30 MM CANNON IN WAR THUNDER

In War Thunder the 30 mm cannon are powerful

weapons in late Tier IV and Tier V. Ammunition

is primarily High Explosive; the ammunition

upgrades slightly vary the mix of Incendiary and

Tracer shells, along with plain steel Practice shells.

Practice shells have superior armour penetration

to the HE rounds and can be more effective against

sturdy parts of aircraft such as engines, but not

medium tanks; the “Ground targets” belt is rather

a misnomer. Stealth or Universal, depending on

your fondness for tracers, are good choices.


37 MM AND 57 MM CANNONS

The IJA used several large calibre guns on the Ki-

45, -96, and -102 twin-engine Kawasaki fighters.

One of the first was an adaptation of the 37 mm Type

94 field gun, manually loaded, not a great success

due to the low rate of fire. The 37 mm Ho-203 was

based on another infantry weapon, the Type 11 gun,

with an automatic loading mechanism; the Ho-203

was scaled up to use a 57 mm round as the Ho-401.

Finally the 37 mm Ho-204 was another weapon

based on a scaled-up Browning mechanism.

LARGE-CALIBER CANNONS IN WAR THUNDER

In War Thunder, ammunition choice for the the

large calibre guns is simple: there is only a Default

belt filled with High Explosive Fragmentation

Incendiary - Tracer (HEFI-T) rounds. As a result

the 37 mm and 57 mm guns are ineffective against

armoured ground targets; their primary use is

taking down bombers. The low rate of fire (especially

of the Type 94) and limited ammunition capacity

makes them less than ideal for engaging agile

fighters, but very damaging if you can score a hit.

By John ‘Zoso’ Moore


ARTICLE

PANZER IV F2 REVIEWHISTORY

The Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks were

designed around the roles of anti-armour and infantry

support respectively. The original PzKpfw IV Ausf. F

was ordered and built with the 7.5cm KwK37 from

April 1941, firing low velocity high-explosive shells.

However, within a few months, events in Operation

Barbarossa saw German tanks come up against the

new T-34 and KV-1 heavy tanks, which the Panzer

III was ill-equipped to handle with its 5cm cannon.

Much stronger anti-tank guns were needed and

Rheinmetall’s 7.5cm anti-tank gun design was

under consideration. However, the Panzer III’s turret

ring was too small. The Panzer IV, with the larger

turret ring, took on the modified 7.5cm gun which

became the KwK40 L/43, going toe-to-toe with the

T-34 and KV-1 and taking on the anti-armour role.

The urgency of the situation meant that the German

Army High Command (OKH) issued an order to

mount the KwK40 as soon as possible, with 25 of

the original F models being converted, and another

175 being built between March and July 1942 for a

total of 200, given the revised designation of Ausf.

F2. These tanks served on the Soviet and Western

Desert campaigns and were superior to the

Russian, British and American armour they faced.


REVIEW

IN-GAME

The Pz. IV F2 represents the turning point in the

Panzer IV operating role from infantry support to

anti-armour, reflected in the greatly increased

lethality of its main gun. As such, the BR

increases significantly from the Ausf. F1 to F2.

The PzGr39, the main AP shell with a HE filler, has a

penetration of 121mm at 500m and 107mm at 1000m,

allowing it to penetrate even the KV-1 anywhere

and Sherman turrets as well. The PzGr40 APCR

shell should take care of any thick frontal armour,

being able to achieve a penetration of 127mm at

1000m range. This is essentially the same gun

mounted on its more menacing late-model Panzer

IV brothers who happen to be at least 1.0BR higher.

Being a hastily strapped-on conversion of the Pz. IV

F1, it comes with the horribly thin armor that was

originally intended for the infantry support role.

Frontal armor is not sloped and 50mm in thickness on

the chassis and front, with 30mm protecting the sides.

PROS AND CONS

+ Good gun with respectable accuracy

+ Good selection of rounds with high penetration

+ APCBC with HE filler has a very good chance

of taking out any tank it faces in one hit

+ Relatively decent top speed for a medium tank

+ Good gun depression (-10 degrees)

- Ammo racks line the entire fighting compartment

- Horribly poor armor for a medium; most tank

rounds will penetrate even the frontal armor

- Poor turret traverse speed

SUGGESTED STRATEGY

This tank is a ‘glass cannon’; any hits to the tank will

most likely take it out in one hit, but anything it hits will

be taken out in one hit as well, including heavy tanks.

Always stay concealed at all times behind objects,

or hide behind crests while observing over the

hilltop, only popping out to fire when the enemy is

not pointing in your direction. Adopt a hull-down

position and make full use of the good gun depression

to present the smallest target possible when

firing. Trading shots with this tank is a no-no; you

probably won’t survive the first round that hits you.

By Chock Wee Boon


Tier (BR): II (3.7, 3.3, 3.3)

Mass: 22.3 tons

Spd: 43 km/h

Hull: 50/30/30 mm

Turret: 50/30/30 mm

Reload: 7.6 s

Main Gun: 75 mm KwK40 L/43 cannon (Ammo: 87)

APCBC 121mm, APCR 151mm at 500m

Main Gun: 7/10

High muzzle velocity, good gun depression

(+10/-20 degrees) but slow turret

rotation speed (16.5 degrees/sec)

Rounds: 10/10

Good mix of rounds with high penetration;

can kill any tank it encounters

Mobility: 6/10

Decent top speed

Armor: 3/10

Unsloped thin armor offers minimal protection

Overall: 6.5/10

Pz.Kpfw IV Ausf. F2

Tier (BR): II (3.3, 3.3, 3.3)

Mass: 30.6 tons

Spd: 38 km/h

Hull: 50/38/38 mm

Turret: 76/50/50 mm

Reload: 6.5 s

Main Gun: 8/10

Fast turret traverse (28.5 degrees/sec) and very

good gun depression & elevation (-12/+25 degrees)

Rounds: 7/10

Decent penetration for rounds, APCBC

offers decent collateral damage

Mobility: 5/10

A little on the slow side

Armor: 8/10

Sloped and thick turret armor, good gun

depression allows the Sherman to go hull-

down and hide the weak side chassis armor

Overall: 7.0/10

M4A1 Sherman

Main Gun: 75 mm M3 cannon (Ammo: 90)

AP 92mm, APCBC 81mm pen at 500m


REVIEW

Tier (BR): III (3.7, 3.7, 3.7)

Mass: 22.7 tons

Spd: 43 km/h

Hull: 70/35/50 mm

Turret: 77/35/35 mm

Reload: 4.8 s

Main Gun: 50 mm KwK39 cannon (Ammo: 92)

APC 79mm, APCR 108mm pen at 500m

Pz.Kpfw III Ausf. M Main Gun: 9/10

Very high muzzle velocities with small-caliber

round makes this easy to aim; fast reload

Rounds: 6/10

Sufficient penetration but poor collateral

damage with smaller-caliber kinetic rounds

Mobility: 7/10

Decent top speed with fast reverse gear

Armor: 8/10

Frontal armor is relatively thick but unsloped,

schürzen and turret armor plates can detonate

rounds away from fighting compartment

Overall: 7.5/10

Tier (BR): II (3.3, 3.3, 3.3)

Mass: 26.5 tons

Spd: 49 km/h

Hull: 45/45/40 mm

Turret: 45/45/45 mm

Reload: 7.2 s

Main Gun: 76 mm F-34 cannon (Ammo: 77)

APHEBC 87mm pen at 500m

T-34 1941 Main Gun: 6/10

Fast turret traverse (29.4 degrees/sec) but average

muzzle velocity, good for short to medium range

engagements; poor gun depression (-5/+28 degrees)

Rounds: 6/10

BR-350B has decent penetration and

good collateral damage but will struggle

against more heavily-armored tanks

Mobility: 8/10

High top speed among contemporary medium tanks

Armor: 6/10

Armor thickness is average but

sloped, turret armor is poor

Overall: 6.5/10


THIS MONTH IN WWII:JUNE 1940

The Dunkirk evacuations, codenamed “Operation

Dynamo” ended on the 3rd of June, 1940. Nearly

225,000 British troops, and 150,000 Belgian,

Dutch, and French troops were evacuated to the

United Kingdom. 861 vessels, many of which were

civilian in nature, were used in the evacuation;

243 of those were documented as sunk during the

operation. Unfortunately, between 30 and 40,000

French soldiers were unable to be evacuated, and

were forced to surrender to the German army.

On June 7th, the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious

and its two destroyer escorts, the HMS Acasta

and HMS Ardent, were sunk by the German

battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the

Norwegian Sea. Of the roughly 1560 men aboard

the three vessels, only 40 survivors were recorded,

with one each from the two destroyers.


ARTICLE

After months of talks with Hitler’s government,

Benito Mussolini declared war on France and Great

Britain on June 10th. The Allies responded quickly,

placing into internment centers any Italians that had

lived in Britain for fewer than 20 years. The United

States also responded, with President Roosevelt

stating that “the material resources of this nation”

would be used to support the Allied efforts.

Also on the 10th of June, Norway surrendered

to the German army. King Haakon and most

of his government had been evacuated to

Great Britain several days before.

On June 14th, the Soviet Navy began a blockade

of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The Soviet

government had previously, and unsuccessfully,

attempted to set up military pacts with these

countries in order to establish forward military

bases. Over the next several days approximately

500,000 Soviet troops were used to invade and occupy

these countries. Several government leaders were

imprisoned, with some later dying, in Siberia.


On the 17th of June, the RMS Lancastria was

sunk while in service as a British troop transport

during Operation Ariel. After an air raid by Junkers

Ju 88 bombers, the vessel listed, rolled over,

and sank within twenty minutes of the attack.

This incident claimed the lives of approximately

4,000 people, more than the combined losses

of the RMS Titanic and RMS Lusitania.

That same day, General Charles De Gaulle fled

France with 100,000 francs given to him by

ex-Prime Minister Paul Reynaud. He openly

denounced the French government’s willingness

to seek an armistice with Germany. He is later

recognized by the British government as the

leader of “Free France” on June 27th.

On June 21st, negotiations began in in Compiègne,

France for a Franco-German armistice. Adolf

Hitler chose the site personally. As it was the


ARTICLE

location of the 1918 Armistice ending World War I,

he saw it as payback for the reparations Germany

was forced to make after the Great War. Not only

was it the same location, but the same railcar

was pulled out of a museum and placed in the

exact same spot as in 1918, and Hitler himself sat

on the very same chair that Marshal Ferdinand

Foch sat on during the 1918 negotiations.

On that same day, Italian forces invaded France.

The armistices were signed with Germany and

Italy on June 22nd and 24th respectively.

June 25th saw the last evacuations of Operation Ariel.

In total, nearly 200,000 military personnel and civilians

were evacuated from France. Over 130 artillery

pieces, 2,300 vehicles, and 24 tanks were left behind.

On June 26th, the Soviet Union demanded territory

from Romania. Despite having been given notice

two days earlier, the German government did not

inform the Romanian government, and agreed not

to provide support. Knowing that they could not put

up an adequate defense against the Soviet military,

the Romanian government agreed to the demands

and withdrew their officials from the territory.

On June 30th, after days of bombing by the

Luftwaffe, Germany invaded the Channel Isles. The

islands were occupied by infantry, communications

equipment, and anti-air emplacements. The

Channel Isles remained under German occupation

until the end of the war in May 1945.

By David “HJFarnsworth” King


TALES FROM WORLD WAR II - CODEBREAKING AND ESPIONAGE

The US Navy cracked several Japanese codes, most

importantly the main naval code designated JN-25.

In the spring of 1942, messages regarding an attack

on a target designated ‘AF’ were intercepted, but

the identity of ‘AF’ was not known. Midway Island

was one possibility, so the commanding officer

was ordered to send a radio message in the clear

saying that the island’s water purification plant

had broken down, and fresh water was needed. An

intercepted Japanese message stating ‘AF is short

of water’ confirmed that Midway was the target,

allowing Nimitz to position his carriers for the

decisive attack on the Japanese fleet on June 4th.

Another critical piece of information gained from

a JN-25 message in April 1943 was a detailed

itinerary for an inspection tour by Admiral Yamamoto,

commander of the Combined Fleet. The message

revealed that Yamamoto was due to fly to a small

airfield in the Solomon Islands, just within range

of US fighters on Guadalcanal. 18 P-38 Lightnings

were despatched on Operation Vengeance,

successfully shooting down the two G4M ‘Betty’

aircraft transporting Yamamoto and his staff.

A collection of notable, unusual and curious stories from the Second World War. This month

we take a look at tales of codebreaking and espionage in the Pacific Theatre.

A FALSE MESSAGE ABOUT A BROKEN WATER PURIFICATION PLANT CONFIRMED MIDWAY

AS A TARGET FOR JAPANESE ATTACK


ARTICLE

Not all codes were as difficult to crack as JN-25.

From 1942, the FBI became aware of several odd

letters. Mailed to an address in Buenos Aires from

several different senders in the USA, the letters had

been returned, undelivered. Intercepted by censors,

or handed over to the FBI by puzzled citizens who

denied having sent them, the letters contained

suspicious phrases such as “I just secured a lovely

Siamese Temple Dancer [doll], it had been damaged,

that is tore in the middle, but it is now repaired” (a

reference to repairs to USS Saratoga, torpedoed in

January 1942), and “Mr. Shaw, who had been ill but

would be back to work soon” (USS Shaw, damaged

at Pearl Harbor, ready to rejoin the fleet again).

The FBI traced the letters to Velvalee Dickinson, a

doll seller in New York, who had used her customer’s

addresses and forged signatures on the letters.

Dickinson had been recruited by the Japanese Naval

attaché in New York City to provide intelligence, but

her contact in Buenos Aires had been exposed and

fled, leaving the letters to be returned to sender.

Dickinson was sentenced to ten years in jail.

A DOLL SELLER IN NEW YORK TRIED TO PASS ON INFORMATION ABOUT THE STATUS OF US SHIPS

IN LETTERS DESCRIBING DAMAGE TO DOLLS


A rather more effective agent was Takeo Yoshikawa.

Sent to Honolulu in April 1941 under diplomatic

cover, he gathered a mass of intelligence on

American forces in Hawaii, observing Pearl

Harbor from many vantage points (including the

Shunchoro tea house), hiring aircraft from Rodgers

Airport for “pleasure flights”, and surveying

underwater obstacles in the guise of a fisherman.

The information supplied by Yoshikawa greatly

assisted in the planning of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

He was arrested with the rest of the consulate

staff, and returned to Japan as part of a diplomatic

exchange in 1942. He received no official recognition

for his work, and died in 1993 with no pension.

JAPANESE NAVAL INTELLIGENCE OFFICER TAKEO YOSHIKAWA OFTEN ENJOYED

DINNER AT THE SHUNCHORO TEA HOUSE, OVERLOOKING PEARL HARBOR


ARTICLE

Knowledge of Japanese intentions was also critical

in Europe, and was provided by Richard Sorge.

A Soviet agent working as journalist, Sorge joined the

Nazi party for cover, and was sent to Tokyo in 1933.

Gradually building a network of informants, Sorge

was able to gather information on both Germany

and Japan. He warned of the German military

build-up on the Soviet border in 1941, but his

information was regarded as suspicious, possibly

deliberate misinformation to provoke a response.

Following the German invasion of the USSR,

Sorge was vindicated, and Moscow requested

information on Japanese intentions; the hard-

pressed Soviet Union could ill afford a two

front war if Japan invaded from Manchuria.

The Japanese military had two options: To strike

north at the USSR, or south to the colonies of France,

Britain and the Netherlands. The rapid German

advance into Russia was encouraging, but with the oil

embargo imposed by the United States the resources

of the Dutch East Indies became a critical objective.

By September, the decision had been made

not to attack the USSR and to prepare to turn

south. Sorge learned of this, and transmitted

the information to Moscow, allowing Stalin to

redeploy troops from the far east of the USSR

to take part in the counter-attacks of December

1941 that relieved the pressure on Moscow.

SOVIET SPY RICHARD SORGE IS SOMETIMES KNOWN AS “STALIN’S

JAMES BOND” DUE TO HIS FONDNESS FOR

FAST MOTORCYCLES, WOMEN AND ALCOHOL



LIONS, EAGLES AND TROPHIES

CURRENCY

War Thunder has two types of currency:

Silver Lions and Golden Eagles.

Silver Lions, the regular currency, are earned during

battles (or sometimes found in trophies), and used

to buy regular vehicles, purchase modifications,

rearm and repair vehicles between battles, and to

buy up to two additional crew slots per nation.

Golden Eagles, the premium currency, are usually

bought using real money from the War Thunder store;

you can also earn a few Eagles by completing some of

the tutorial missions, or from Golden Battle wagers.

Golden Eagles can speed up progress in several ways,

In this article we introduce the basics of the War Thunder economy - the two types of currency, premium items that can be bought with Golden Eagles, and trophies

WAR THUNDER 101 - GAME ECONOMY


ARTICLE

but they are not essential, almost everything in the

game can be unlocked without spending any money.

Some of the items that can be purchased

with Golden Eagles include:

PREMIUM ACCOUNT TIME

Upgrading to a premium account increases Research

Point and Silver Lion gain. A premium account is

a good way to speed up research, especially if you

play a lot; if you play infrequently then other options

such as premium vehicles may be better value.

Click on the diamond icon at the top of the screen to buy

premium account time with Golden Eagles; the more

time you purchase, the cheaper per day it is. Sometimes

for big celebrations such as game anniversaries,

premium time is offered at a discount; one year of

premium time with a 50% discount works out quite

reasonably, if you think you might be playing that long.

PREMIUM VEHICLES

Premium vehicles, shown with a brown background

on the right hand side of the tech tree screen, are

often more unusual models or variants such as

prototypes or foreign vehicles, either captured or

supplied via lend-lease. Some are specific vehicles

from history, associated with a particular pilot

or crew with an appropriate paint scheme.

The Golden Eagle price of a premium vehicle is

show on the bottom of the icon; some are labelled

‘Bundle’, these are bought as part of bundles in the

game store (http://warthunder.com/en/store/).

Premium vehicles do not have superior performance to

regular vehicles, but have three advantages. Firstly, you

can buy and use them at any point rather than having to

research and unlock them. Be careful in Arcade mode,


http://warthunder.com/en/store/

though, slotting in a Tier IV premium vehicle next to your

reserves is not a good idea. Secondly, they start off with

all modifications and upgrades available; there’s no

need to grind out better engines, types of ammunition

etc. Finally, most premium vehicles give better silver

lion rewards and research point bonuses than regular

vehicles; check the stat cards to see the exact value.

PREMIUM UPGRADES - BACKUP VEHICLES & TALISMANS

Most modifications and upgrades can be researched,

then bought with Silver Lions. If you’re impatient,

though, you can immediately purchase an upgrade

with Golden Eagles. There are also two upgrades that

can only be bought with Eagles: Backup Vehicles,

that allows you to use the vehicle more than once in

a battle (each use must be purchased separately),

and a Talisman, that permanently doubles Research

Points gained using that vehicle. A regular vehicle

with a Talisman is a good way of speeding up

research of other vehicles within one tier of it.

CREW SKILLS, SILVER LIONS AND RESEARCH POINTS

You can also use Golden Eagles to buy crew skill

points (via the “Accelerated Training” option) or Silver

Lions (click on the Silver Lion icon at the top of the

screen). You can change Convertible Research Points

(shown next to the yellow light bulb icon at the top of

the screen) into actual Research Points to assist with

unlocking new aircraft by clicking on the icon and using

the “Accelerated Research” option. Generally these

are quite expensive ways of speeding up progress.

TROPHIES

In update 1.47, War Thunder introduced Trophies.

These are virtual boxes containing a random

item or selection of items, similar to lockboxes

or crates in other free-to-play games.

There are four ways to get trophies, and they

can contain several types of items.


ARTICLE

DAILY REWARD TROPHIES

The first thing you notice when logging in to War Thunder

is the Daily Reward screen, giving you a free trophy every

day. Most days you get a Medium Trophy that usually

contains a small Booster (with a chance of a larger item),

but every 7 and 14 days you get a more exciting Huge

Trophy with larger boosters, wagers or game currency.

POST-BATTLE TROPHIES

After every battle, you have a chance of receiving a trophy.

These random battle rewards were first introduced

in update 1.31 and were always a quantity of Silver

Lions, the jackpot being 1,000,000 Lions (though of

course there was only a very small chance for that!)

Update 1.49 changed the system; as well as Silver

Lions, battle trophies can now also contain discounts on

premium vehicles, and modifications or upgrades for

your planes or tanks. As well as regular modifications

(e.g. upgraded engines or fuel, new ammunition types),

battle trophies can include premium backup vehicles

(allowing you to use a plane or tank more than once

in a battle) and, if you’re especially lucky, talismans

that boost all research point rewards for a vehicle.

SPECIAL EVENT TROPHIES

Sometimes there are events in War Thunder that offer

trophies as rewards. Events often have a series of stages,

each with a goal such as getting 25 player kill or 15 match


victories, with a trophy for each stage that might contain

Silver Lions, boosters or wagers; trophies for the final

stage may contain a guaranteed premium vehicle. Keep

an eye out on the game launcher or main War Thunder

website for news of events; when they are running you

can usually track your progress by clicking on your

username at the top of the screen, then “Achievements”.

ITEM SHOP TROPHIES

Trophies can also be bought for Golden Eagles in the

item shop. The contents of the trophies on offer varies

over time; hover your mouse over them to see what

they might contain. The key word here is “might”, a

299 Eagle trophy might have a chance of containing a

premium plane or tank that would cost far more than

that, but it’s a very small chance. Item shop trophies are

like lottery scratchcards, if you have money to burn and

don’t mind losing it then by all means take a gamble,

but if you really want something in one of the trophies

most people will be better off saving up for it instead.

BOOSTERS

Boosters are found in trophies or bought in the item

shop. As the name suggests, they boost the amount of

Silver Lions or Research Points you gain after a match,

from a minor 10% boost up to a whopping 500%.

Boosters from the Daily Reward Trophy expire if you don’t

activate them within three days (the amount of time left

is shown in your inventory, which can be accessed via the

crate icon at the top of the screen), so don’t hang around

too long. To use a booster, just open your inventory, and

click “Activate” under the booster you wish to use.

Multiple boosters can be used at the same time, but

boosters of the same type have diminishing returns; the

game will warn you of this before you activate the second

booster, and tell you the reduced boost that will apply.


ARTICLE

Once activated, a booster lasts for 24 hours or a number

of missions, whichever comes first. The larger boosters

(100% and up) generally only apply to a single mission,

smaller boosters may last for several missions; hover

your mouse over a booster to see the details.

WAGERS

Wagers are also found in trophies, less frequently than

boosters. As the name suggests, the idea of wagers

is that you make an initial stake using your Silver

Lions, usually from 1,000 and 10,000, then try and

complete a task a number of times. The tasks can be

to win matches, to get a certain number of kills within

a match, or to get a particular achievement such as

“Mission Maker”, “Wing Breaker” or “The Best Squad”.

Mouse over a wager to see the specific requirements;

often there will be additional conditions such as

“You must have at least one vehicle of Tier III - V”,

so you can’t get out the starter biplanes and go up

against brand new players. If you activate a wager

and it does not seem to be progressing, double check

the conditions. You will also see the list of rewards;



generally you will make your money back if you

succeed once, and profit after that. Wagers may have

between 5 and 20 stages of rewards for successfully

meeting the requirements, and will allow you to fail

between 3 and 10 times before the wager is over.

After each battle (where you meet the conditions),

you will see an icon with a green tick or red cross

on the battle results screen to show your progress

with the wager. Mouse over this, or the wager in

your inventory, to show further details; you will also

see a summary of the wager at the bottom of the

screen between battles, just over the vehicles.

After you have succeeded or failed the maximum

number of times, the wager ends, and (if you

succeeded at least once) you receive your reward.

One notable type of wager is the “Golden Battles”

wager. Sometimes found in the 7 or 14 day Huge Trophy

daily rewards, these pay out Golden Eagles rather

than Silver Lions, and you do not need to use your own

Eagles to make a stake at the beginning (so it’s not

really a ‘wager’!) The objective of Golden Battle wagers

is just to win matches; your best chance is to group

up with some really skilled squadmates if you can,

otherwise pray for some decent random team-mates!

MORE ABOUT THE ECONOMY

This article is meant as a guide to someone who’s new to

the game and may be confused by the game currencies

& economy mechanisms, and we hope this helps!

In future articles in this series, we’ll delve a little

deeper, such as the most cost-effective way of

speeding up vehicle research, and the different types

of wagers and tips on how to complete them.


ARTICLE

FUNNY CORNERWe present a look at the lighter side of things with some military humour doing the rounds on the Internet.

FUNNY SQUAWKS

‘Squawks’ are problems that pilots leave for

maintenance crews to fix before the next

flight. Here’s a collection of squawks and their

replies from wacky maintenance crews.

Problem: Left inside main tyre

almost needs replacement

Action: Almost replaced left inside main tyre

Problem: Dead bugs on windshield

Action: Live bugs on backorder

Problem: Evidence of hydraulic leak

on right main landing gear

Action: Evidence removed

Problem: Something loose in cockpit

Action: Something tightened in cockpit

Problem: DME volume unbelievably loud

Action: Volume set to more believable level

Problem: Aircraft handles funny

Action: Aircraft warned to straighten

up, fly right, and be serious

Problem: Sounds like someone’s

hitting engine with a hammer

Action: Took hammer from that guy and

made him promise not to do it again

Problem: #2 ADF needle runs wild

Action: Caught and tamed #2 ADF needle


ARTICLE

Problem: Autopilot in altitude hold mode

produces a 200 feet per minute descent

Action: Cannot reproduce problem on ground

Problem: Unfamiliar noise coming from #2 engine

Action: Engine run for four hours, noise now familiar

Problem: 3 roaches in cabin

Action: 1 roach killed, 1 wounded, 1 got away

Problem: Whining sound heard on engine shutdown

Action: Pilot removed from aircraft

Problem: Target Radar hums

Action: Reprogrammed Target Radar with the lyrics

Problem: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick

Action: That’s what they’re there for

Problem: IFF inoperative

Action: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode

Problem: Suspected crack in windscreen

Action: Suspect you’re right

Problem: Mouse in cockpit

Action: Cat installed

Problem: Test flight OK, except autoland very rough

Action: Autoland not installed on this aircraft


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Issue 48 • October 2013 54 • GameOn Magazine

Brothers: The Thoughts of Two Gamers

Have a safe flight!See you in next issue.

war thunder community magazine issue 6.pdf

Documents

world war

heart of war thunder

war thunder gameplay

war thunderwithin

korean war

war machines

spanish civil war

pacific theatre of war