War Thunder Devblog Roundup

Gaijin Entertainment has been releasing news about content in development on the War Thunder Devblog on an increasingly regular basis after the last patch, unveiling the British tanks and a new Cologne map, as well as destructible environments set to be released in 'an upcoming major update'.

Of course, nothing gets players more hyped than the new vehicle releases that come with every patch, and today, we sum up the new vehicle reveals for the past week or so. Let's take a look:

Hawker Hunter F.1

The Hawker Hunter F.1 will finally make its way into War Thunder, after fans of the British aviation tree have been clamouring for its addition for ages. The Hawker Hunter will become the top-tier British jet fighter, taking over from the Meteor which was somewhat lacking compared to end-game jets like the F-86F Sabres and MiG-15bis.

This plane doesn't just look sleek; it flies fast and is potently armed, though its looks alone should be enough to get players excited about flying this beauty.

Rocket Tanks

With the release of the Sherman Calliope earlier this year, the US became the first country to get tanks armed with rockets. That status is going to change with the next major patch, with Germany and Soviet Union getting theirs as well (Panzerwerfer 42 Auf.Sf and BM-8-24 respectively).

Both tanks will be premium vehicles, just like the Calliope. The German rocket tank, Panzerwerfer 42 Auf.Sf, will be mounted on a standard model of the Sd Kfz 3a Opel Maultier half-track. This could open doors to more of such half-track vehicles or armored cars that can hurt tanks in Ground Forces (Puma, anyone?) in the future. The 10 x 154 mm rockets have very high hitting power and will be introduced at Tier II.

The BM-8-24 for the Soviets is essentially a T-60 light tank chassis with Katyusha launching mechanism and rockets, but without the main gun. The chassis provides good maneuverability and mobility for the 24 x 82 mm rockets it carries, and will make its appearance as a Tier I premium vehicle.

T25 Medium Tank

The US Ground Forces get a new medium tank to supplement the M4A3(76) against late-war heavy tanks in the form of the T25 medium tank, which sits just before the M26 Pershing in the hierarchy.

 Up-gunned with a 90 mm cannon and decent armor protection, the T25 is an experimental vehicle with a lot in common with the Pershing and will be a welcome addition to the lineup.

More P-38 Lightning Variants

The US aviation tree also gets new additions in the form of two P-38 Lightning variants. The P-38E was one of the first combat variants of the Lightning twin-tailed heavy fighter, and will be the first plane of the P-38 tree in War Thunder, added before the P-38G currently in-game.

The P-38K is essentially an upgrade over the current P-38G, with better engines and propellers. The aircraft will be well-protected with cockpit armored glass and armored backrests, improving its survivability.

Yak-9B fighter-bomber

Before you dismiss this as another Yak fighter added to the gazillion Yaks in the Soviet aviation tree, give this plane a chance. While developed from the Yak-9 airframes, this Yak-9B is special in that it has an internal bomb bay for its ground ordnance of 4 x 100 kg bombs, which is highly unusual for adapted fighters tasked to do ground strikes.

The bombs can be seen from the cockpit and stored in a vertical rack, and this reduces the drag penalty compared to fighters slinging ground ordnance using underwing or fuselage pylons. The air-to-air combat capability of the plane is still retained with the usual ShVAK cannon and Berezin UB machine gun configuration, allowing the Yak-9B to go up against other fighters.

So far, there's still no news yet on the expected release date of the next War Thunder patch, though usually the patch would probably be within weeks of its final release with the frequency of the reveals, so stay tuned!