Hello WOTers!
In terms of the appearance of the tanks in the game, except for the tracks that can run and the main gun that can fire, most of them are limited to decorative parts and have no practical effect. But have you ever wondered how the performance of tanks would be improved if they had the opportunity to restore their true function? In this issue, let's make a bold guess about the offensive equipment in the game based on historical parameters!
Anti-tank missiles
In the Fortuna style, the Rhino of the I series is equipped with a twin BGM-71 "Tao" missile launcher at the tail of its turret, and the ammunition to be fired is stacked in storage baskets on the top and rear of the turret. This is a 152 mm wire-guided weapon using Six-Automatic Command of the Line of Sight (SACLOS), the flight speed varies from 278~320 meters per second, and the armor-piercing depth gradually increases from 430 mm in the early model to 900 mm in the later model!
The C-series 122 TM has two canvas-wrapped missile launchers on each side of the gun, which are connected to the gun shield by a connecting rod and pitched together with the gun. It is planned to be equipped with Type 302 anti-tank missiles with a caliber of 120 mm, also with SACLOS guidance. Although halted in the early stages of development, it was later speculated that its performance metrics may be closer to those of the earlier Red Arrow 73 – with a penetration of 400 mm and a flight speed of 115 m/s. In addition, the "Baby" in the style of the 60TP "Bernard" and the "Milan" in the style of the No. 4 advanced tank "Levante" are also well-known wire-guided anti-tank missiles.
▲ Triple launcher in the style of 60TP "Bernard".
The above-mentioned wire-guided anti-tank missiles are all first-generation products, and the biggest problem is that they cannot be "launched and left alone", and the shooter must continue to guide until he hits the target. In the current game framework, we may be able to make it a one-time "big killer", which has a top-level penetration and moderate power, but the flight speed is extremely slow, the player needs to manually guide the whole flight, and the tank cannot move during the guidance. Although this weapon is difficult to pose a threat to highly mobile tanks, it is "a dozen and one without squeaking" against slow heavy armored tanks!
mortar
There are quite a few tanks equipped with mortars in the game, such as the B-series V-class mid-tank 25TP, which has a fixed 81mm wz.31 mortar deployed between the two small machine gun towers at the front of the hull to support infantry operations, and some designs in the Y-series AT series, the Tortoise Mk.I, etc., are also equipped with mortars in the fighting room to deal with the fortifications on the German defense line. In addition, the Bison C45's "Aurora" style is a special existence, with a 60mm light mortar mounted on the platform at the rear of the turret top, but it is not intended to kill enemy troops, but as a rescue equipment for preventive fire in areas at risk of avalanches.
There is also no shortage of mortars on high-end tanks, such as the "thirteenth" style of the KRV, in which two 71 mm "Lyra" illuminated mortars fixed at 45 and 50 degrees angles are installed on the top of the turret tail compartment, and are fired remotely by the crew. The rear of the ST-II "Saiga" style is fixed with a part of the PM43 120 mm heavy mortar, and in the Vz.55 "Hurricane" style, a temporary launch platform for the Vz.82 120 mm mortar is built directly at the rear of the turret!
To this day, the mortar is still an indispensable warp firepower in the army, and it can be considered as a secondary weapon in the game, similar to the existing Y-series FV304, but with less power, shorter range, and higher trajectory, which will easily cross natural cover such as rocks and ravines and hit stationary enemy targets hiding behind them. The unique illumination mortar can be considered as an additional reconnaissance method for the tank, firing flares that can continuously illuminate enemy targets in a fixed area for a period of time without being affected by the cover.
Heavy machine guns
Most of the decorative cannons in the game are between 7.62~25 mm, and there are also models equipped with larger caliber heavy cannons, such as the rat "Desert Ship" style, where a single 30mm MK103 cannon is installed on the top of the turret, with a unique muzzle brake shape. Historically, it was equipped with HE/APCR ammunition, the former has a sufficient charge, and the latter has a high muzzle velocity, which has enough power both air and ground, and has also become the main weapon of the "Lori Leopard" VK1602 in the game. Project 268 "Sviato-Gore" style installed a captured German 37-mm Flak 36 anti-aircraft gun in the rear of the vehicle.
The Type 5 Heavy Combat "Monster" style is equipped with the largest caliber cannon secondary weapon to date - the 40mm 62 times diameter / Type 91 cannon, the technology of which is derived from the Navy's Vickers QF 2-pounder "ping pong cannon" imported from the United Kingdom, which has been shared with the army for the first time in the overhead world. However, in terms of performance, this gun was outdated in the 30s, with a theoretical maximum rate of fire of only 200 rounds per minute, a muzzle velocity of 600 m/s, and a lack of fire continuity due to the use of a 50-round chain feed.
▲ In reality, it was replaced by another expensive object - the 25mm "96 magic cannon".
Unlike the existing cannon mechanics in the game, the author envisions that it will be a secondary weapon similar to the secondary gun of a battleship like the navy next door, which can automatically aim and shoot at targets within range, and the player can choose to fire automatically or remain silent through specific buttons. Cannons have a reload time, and there is a period of fire vacuum after the reserve is depleted. However, for balance reasons, it will only be equipped with high-explosive shells, which can only threaten some tanks with very thin and light armor. In this way, tanks equipped with heavy cannons (usually super heavy tanks) no longer have to worry about being "lambs to the slaughter" when they are approached by highly mobile tanks!
Recoilless gun
The AMX 50B "Javan Rhino" style features an American-made 75 mm M20 recoilless gun mounted at the rear of the swing turret top, equipped with HEAT, HE and smoke grenades with an armor-piercing depth of 100 mm and a muzzle velocity of 300 m/s. Although the anti-tank effectiveness of this weapon proved to be mediocre (even difficult to deal with the T-34), it was very good at supporting their own infantry and destroying enemy fortifications, and the French even developed a mobile version mounted on a Weissi 150 motorcycle!
The TVP T50/51 "Tempest" style has a disassembled 82 mm Vz.59 recoilless gun fixed to the rear of the vehicle, which can be used for both direct anti-tank and indirect fire support, mounted on a two-wheel mount, and usually mounted a 12.7 mm ZH-59 rangefinder machine gun on the left side of the gun hull. The long barrel gives the gun a muzzle velocity of 565 m/s, a maximum effective distance of 1,200 m when firing in direct fire, and is capable of penetrating homogeneous armor of around 250 mm when using HEAT.
▲ The assembled Vz.59, pay attention to the rangefinder machine gun on the side of the barrel
In reality, the anti-tank function of recoilless guns was quickly replaced by various anti-tank missiles and rockets, and judging from the current parameters of the X-level room in the game, it is expected that these calibers are small, the penetration depth is decent, It may seem impractical for infantry weapons that don't fly very fast to play an important role, but they can be used as a supplement to artillery firepower, such as to dismantle buildings or vehicles in the line of fire to save ammunition for the main gun, or to deliver a final blow to a bloody enemy that slightly increases the kill line of the magazine.
flamethrower
Although the Spitfire is a special vehicle that has not yet been implemented, there are already some 3D styles in the game that are equipped with flamethrowers. The C-series WZ-111 5A "The Last True Dragon" style has eight Soviet-made TPO-50 heavy flamethrower gas tanks installed in the boxes on both sides of the barrel, each of which can be fired separately for 1 shot, with a maximum range of about 180 meters. The styling in the game is undoubtedly borrowed from our army's modification of the T-34/85, but the latter has a total of 12 flamethrowers installed in a more exaggerated 6*2 layout!
▲ A unique modification of the T-34/85, as well as the most common state of the TPO-50
The ST-II Saiga is also stylistically equipped with a unique flamethrower, which is actually inspired by the experimental minesweeper tank of the late 70s, the Project 190 "Lira" - two nozzles in the front of the hull first spray the aerosol of the combustible mixture to a distance of 16-18 meters, and then the combined launcher at the rear of the hull fires an incendiary bomb, similar to the principle of thermobaric bombs, by initiating a detonation to remove mines. Ideally, the Lira would have been able to clear a safe passage 320 meters long and 6 meters wide in the minefield after running out of ammunition.
In reality, flamethrowers are not only the "big killers" of living units, but also the threat to armored units cannot be underestimated. Based on the two different principles of flamethrowers mentioned above, we can consider two mechanics in the game. For conventional flamethrowers, consider inflicting a small but sustained loss of blood on enemy tanks over a period of time, which can cause damage that is inversely correlated with the thickness of the armor at the point of hit. Flamethrowers, on the other hand, can be modeled after the gun's mechanics, which give the enemy tank a stun for a certain amount of time while dealing one-time minor damage. Of course, range is usually not a flamethrower's strong point, and the game can set it up as a kind of melee presence.
Remote-controlled blasting tank
At the rear of the rat-like "Land Cruiser" style is the famous "Golia", and it is also a later Sd.Kfz.303 with a gasoline engine and wired control. It weighs about 430 kg and contains 100 kg of high explosives, protected by 10 mm of armor around it, and has a maximum speed of about 6 km/h. The 650-meter-long cable, which consists of three wires twisted together, is stored in a drum at the rear of the hull in normal times, and is remotely controlled by the operator to advance, steer and detonate during combat.
Although "Goliath" was very famous, it had few actual results, and many of them were blown off the wire by artillery fire during the journey, or were directly destroyed. In the game, we can consider setting it up as a one-time weapon of the sneak attack type. It has a certain distance (or operating time) limit, and the length of the car can operate from a first-person perspective. In addition, it also has the same collision model, observation range, and concealment factor as a normal tank, but it has weak armor and slow speed, and can be easily destroyed if detected by the enemy. In actual combat, it can launch self-detonating attacks on the enemy from some unexpected positions.
The above is the inventory of those offensive "black technology" equipment that has not yet had actual effect! The follow-up will bring you an inventory of defensive equipment, don't go away, we'll see you next time!