war thunder community magazine issue 6.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
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
- 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
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CONTENTS
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
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• 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,
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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
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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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 9
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
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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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 11
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
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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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 13
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
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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.
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 15
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
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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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 17
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
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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.
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 19
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
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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.
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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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 23
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.
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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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 25
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.
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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.
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 27
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
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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.
30 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine
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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 31
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
32 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine
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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 33
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.
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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.
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 35
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
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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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 37
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
38 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine
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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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 39
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
40 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine
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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
By John ‘Zoso’ Moore
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 41
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
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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,
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 43
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.
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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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 45
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.
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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;
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 47
By John ‘Zoso’ Moore
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.
48 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine
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
50 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine
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
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 51
WORDSEARCHClick anywhere on this page to download the wordsearch
52 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine
WORDSEARCH
CAPTION COMPETITIONClick anywhere on this page to caption the image below and be in with a chance to win 1,000 Golden Eagles!
War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 53