Lord_James

Why do most (if not all) indirect fire artillery still use rifled barrels? 

3 hours ago, TWMSR said:

Maybe it is a matter of being prototype - but turrets on both vehicles that were shown are a bit different. Not only armament (gun itself, it`s craddle, mask) but look also at lower edge of turret. Looks like different masking of "core" turret. 
We need more better pictures, not just stills from video. Leo 2 turret would need some rework to not only look like Altays, but to be functional (f.e. reposition of sights, slight in case of gunner's, bigger in case of commander's). Sit and wait.

I don’t think the point is to “turn the leopard into the Altay”, but instead to use the same equipment and similar armor on both, to bring both to a common standard. 
 

The closest vehicle I can think of that’s comparable would be the French Unic P107s that were modified by the Nazi’s to be like their own Sd.Kfz 251s. 

20 hours ago, Serge said:

 

Leopard 2 upgraded with an Altaÿ turret ?

16 hours ago, Stimpy75 said:

nope, Altay turret, with LEO II 120/44 gun, my 2 cents

could be also LEO II turret....we will know later, not quite sure

Making them look similar/ the same would help with identification and recognition (hopefully less friendly fire), and might help with easing logistics or training between the vehicles. 

21 hours ago, Sturgeon said:

 

Nope.

What do you mean by “Nope”? 

20 hours ago, LoooSeR said:

   Best Korea new grenade launcher

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

I’m almost completely convinced this is just an XM25 ripoff 

3 hours ago, Stimpy75 said:

M113 UGV. an autocannon equipped version will follow

 

It really does amaze me what you can do with the M113; It might just have more variants and spin-offs than the M4 Sherman, by now. 

On 12/7/2020 at 2:42 AM, Toxn said:

I feel like there should be a separate thread for cunning mechanisms with applications in tanks:

would this count? It’s not a mechanism, but it’s pretty pertinent to armored vehicles. 

7 minutes ago, Alzoc said:

AFAIK, 35 mm AHEAD on the Oerlikon millenium are already quite anaemic and it need to compensate with a burst rate of fire of 1000 rds/min.

So while airburst ammunition exist for calibres as small as 20 mm their charge isn't particularly effective as far as I know (which is admittedly not much on such small calibres)

I don’t think the round has to be particularly big or powerful to be used against infantry and (unarmored) technicals. Though, maybe they’re hoping to dust off some old F2s or M621s, or ask the Germans for some Rh202s. 

1 hour ago, Alzoc said:

 

Appart from the 40mm CTA, none that I can think off.

To be even remotely useful it would need to be at least a 35mm in order to have some kind of programmable ammunition.

 

It is likely that it is at least a 12,7 mm like on the Leclerc, high caliber coax have been a constant on french MBT designs since the AMX 30.

That said since the turret is likely unmanned, the problem of ammunition capacity that existed on the AMX 30 may not be a problem anymore (you could just store the ammo externally).

But on the other hand limiting the caliber to 20-25 mm exclude the use of programmable ammunition, which would be pretty stupid, and that coax doesn't look remotely as big as what is, I assume, a 40 mm on the C² version.

 

Since we are looking at what is probably artist vision there's no telling what it really is. Not to mention that it is only the French point of view (Rhm is apparently leaning toward a single platform for the MGCS).

Doesn’t the new MK 30-2/Abm have airburst?

7 hours ago, Alzoc said:

Not sure either, the RCWS should be a 7,62 and the coax looks a bit big for an HMG.

Given that the French have history with coax autocannon I guess it could be possible.

Any recent autocannon developments in France? I would hope it’s a newer weapon. 

So, as I was looking around for music to fill the empty silence, and bored of the more mainstream songs (and radio), I found a site called the Extreme Music Library. Basically, they’re a publishing site, with lots of composers, singers, musicians, and the like, and supposedly backed with several established musicians and singers (you can look for yourself on their site). Lots of songs and talent, which is what I’ve brought here. I stumbled onto this while looking through recommended after I finished listening to my first album, which I might post later if the reception to this isn’t cold. I’m going to format this as:

Track number: Name

Youtube video 

Some lyrics, typically the chorus, in italics

My thoughts

With my favorite roughly 1/3^rd of the album at the top, open, and arranged in order of my liking. The remaining songs will be in a spoiler together (this doesn’t mean they’re bad, they just weren’t my favorites).

So, with that said, let me introduce the Epic Rock 2 album. The album as a whole is an 8.5/10 (to me), with some great sounds and a wide array of sub-genres, all packed up into one neat little package. 

Track 13: Hurricane

And as you’re waiting, for the remedy

On the horizon, all you can see

Is a hurricane

And you can’t get away

It’s a hurricane

You’ll remember the day

You were blown away

My favorite song in the album. Lots of strings and backing vocals like a choir make it sound orchestral and grand (having lived through several large hurricanes, it’s quite fitting). If you look this song up on youtube (Hurricane epic rock 2), there's another video with an interesting picture that you may want to hide from your significant other 

Track 9: Cold Light

But the cold light of morning

Brought her its warning

Calling her home

As she walked through the daylight

Silent but inside

Heavy like a stone

My old favorite song from this album, and what turned my attention to this album in the first place. Dark and brooding, paced well, and lyrics that tell a story, set this one apart from most of the other tracks.

Track 3: Everything New

You, yeah you do

You make everything new

And far, though you are

You’re stuck to my heart

I’m stuck to your heart

Like glue

Great song to sit back and relax to. Voice reminds me of Alanis Morissette. It’s a love song, plain and simple, and I like it.

Track 12: Tear it Down

Just turn it up, and tear it down

You can’t stop this, you can’t stop this now

Break it up, and tear it down

You can’t stop this, you can’t stop this now

Short and sweet. Riffs are great, and the composers have 2 more songs in this album that are great (both fight for 5^th place).

Track 4: One Day

…

Show me, something, more

Just for one day

Let’s start again

Don’t be afraid

Darlin don’t break this heart again

This track fights for 5^th place with another song by the same 2 guys, with the winner being decided by my mood at the time (I’m in a good mood, and trying to relax, so this song wins). Another love song, with music that swells and flows nicely.

44 minutes ago, Toxn said:

The name is iconic as well.

 

Those birds are all over the shop around here, and look like little pteradactyls.

Hornbill? 

17 minutes ago, DIADES said:

Note that the front camera has been replaced bu a mirror!  So, the strategy is cheap and nasty 

Considering they seem to be 2 equally appealing options, they gotta do what they can to seem more appealing than the Lynx, even if the strategy is “we are cheaper than our competitors”. 

Gaijin cannot into balance 

Gaijin Went Insane Again - 12x14 Inch Guns IJN Hyuga [War Thunder] - YouTube

Thanks for the drawings, but could you put some of them in a spoiler next time? 

Quick update: the IJN received the Hyuga (Ise class battleship) this update, giving them the biggest and most guns of all the nations; 12x 14 inch guns. Would’ve though they would introduce the Kongos first, being battlecruisers like the recent Von der Tann and HMS Invincible. 

@Toxn

[Development] Class 3 - News - War Thunder 

On 12/16/2020 at 2:32 PM, SH_MM said:

Images are broken for me. Anyone else have that problem? 

Allow me to introduce one of the more interesting DDs that fought in WWII: Z-31 (Later D601 Marceau) 

Z-31 started life as the first ship of the 1936a (mob) type, and was unique in that she was the only ship in her (sub)class to not receive the 150mm twin turret on completion (Z-32 through 39 were completed with the twin), being closer to the previous 1936a type (Z-23 through 30). 

A 1936a type destroyer. Z-31 would have looked like this when commissioned by the kreigsmarine. Notice that the 20mm veirling on the rear deckhouse is missing, however. 

She was upgraded during the war, first replacing the super-firing single 20mm infront of the bridge with a 20mm flakveirling, sometime in late 1942 or 1943, and finally equipping her 150mm twin turret in March 1944. But this wouldn't last: on the night of January 27th, 1945, only 10 months after the refit, Z-31 and 2 of her sisters (Z-34 and Z-38) were intercepted by British cruisers HMS Mauritius (Crown Colony class) and HMS Diadem (improved Dido class), and it went about as well as expected. The forward turret on Z-31 had blown up, and was irreparable; with no replacement twin turret or even 150mm single turret, the turret cavity was plated over, and a single 10.5cm SK C/32 gun was mounted on top of the platform (unspecified if the mount was single or dual purpose). During this time, her anti-aircraft armament was also upgraded to 6 twin 37mm KM42 (custom kreigsmarine automatic AA gun) 4 of which were mounted between the bridge and A turret, 2 single 37mm M43 (army 37mm flak 43), a 20mm flakveirling on the aft deckhouse (per usual), and between 2 and 4 twin 20mm C/38s (sources vary). 

The wrecked forward turret, trained far to port. There is still an unfired round stuck in the damaged breach of the left gun! Notice the 20mm veirling in the top left. 

After her repair, she was again sent to the front lines, bombarding the approaching soviet army in late March, and towed the gutted hull of Gneisenau to be sunk outside Gotenhafen, to prevent the use of the port. In early April, she and the destroyer Z-34, as well as the cruisers Leipzig, Lutzow, and Prinz Eugen, left Gotenhafen, and were attacked by soviet aircraft, with Z-31 receiving 2 bombs hits. For the rest of the war, she was in and out of repair, being constantly harrassed by the soviet airforce. 

Marceau 

Marceau in 1951, painted in a similar style to late war USN DDs. 

After the war, Z-31 was interned by the British, who then handed her over to the French in February, 1946 (along with several other former German DDs), were she was christened Marceau. Between 1948 and 1950, she was modernized by again removing the A turret, and again mounted a single 150mm gun (as she did in 1942). Her AA was removed and changed to 8 single 40mm Bofors but she kept the 20mm veirling on the rear deckhouse until after 1951, for some reason. Marceau (now D601) was also equipped with radar from the US (maybe an SC or SR, the rectangular air search radars mounted on top of the foremasts on most US DDs). In this configuration, she served until 1954, where she was decommissioned, and in 1958, finally sent off to the scrap yards. 

Marceau in late 1950, just after her refit. Notice the shields for the 40mm guns, very similar to the shields on German 4cm flak 28s. Also notice the 20mm veirling still sitting on it's pedestal, unchanged since her commissioning in 1942.  

8 hours ago, Beer said:

by ammunition produced in Ukraine (explicitely stated that imported ammo is up to twice more expensive).

Imported ammo also probably has higher quality control than anything Ukraine can produce right now, so I take this with a grain of salt. 

I’ve started to notice a really heavy power creep in the “blue water” fleets; even ships that are 0.3 BR lower can be significantly outmatched when simply not top tier. 
 

Also, USN tree is the way to go, the Porter / Somers can spit out 4.5 tons of ammo every minute, while most nations can’t reach 3 tons with a max crew. 

5 hours ago, Toxn said:

So, to amuse myself I sometimes think what game I'd rather play in the same genre, and what I've come up with so far is something sim-esque in the same way, but divorced from historical teams and vehicles. Preferably where you could put together components (at least to a limited extent). And where you'd get rewards based partly on how hard you've handicapped yourself (kind of like the system used in Brigador).

 

So, basically, WoT in the WT engine but with a handicap system where your rewards (XP, currency) are higher for taking out underpowered vehicles.

I had an idea like that: a game where you could modify WWII vehicles in a cross-out kind of way, and bring those in, like a Sherman with a KV-2 gun and other such nonsense. Of course, I can never do anything about it, because I am inept at such things, but I think it would be fun to chop and mod vehicles like that. 
 

3 hours ago, Toxn said:

Ya, the fucking german 20mm that can run all-tungsten all the time and shows up at tier 1. So fucking historically accurate.

Pz.2c is the most OP vehicle (per tier) in the game, absolutely crushes reserve and low BR tanks. Only thing that can make them run is the T-50 at top BR. 

2 minutes ago, Toxn said:

So I fired up WT after a six-month hiatus and... it still sucks  Or, at least, realistic ground forces still does.

 

I'm not sure how Gaijin manages it (and honestly you'd need a PhD in game design to do the topic justice), but it's just so frustrating on so many levels. It's like an anti-game.

 

 

Bad teammates, bad level design, or bad vehicles? 

23 minutes ago, Scolopax said:

Which is why I suggested it as a joke, hence the /s sarcasm tag.  Guide rails sound like they would help, but I think we both agree that something greater than two 30mms would be more desirable.

They did just make that new 57mm for the BMP derivatsiya. I doubt it would fit in the current terminator turret, and the derivatsiya probably won’t fit on a T-72, but it’s the only auto cannon I know they have that’s more powerful than the 2A42 or 72 (unless the navy will give some of their old AK-230s, if it still exists in stock). 

23 minutes ago, Ramlaen said:

https://www.army.mil/article-amp/241277/game_changer_for_rcvs_at_fort_benning

[spoiler]Robotic Combat Vehicles (RCV) are being called “game changing” following a month-long Soldier Operational Experiment (SOE) at Fort Benning, Georgia.

During the SOE, Soldiers from A Company, 1-28th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division used four RCV (Light) surrogates, known as the Project Origin vehicle fleet, to rapidly test emerging technologies relevant to the RCV portfolio. As the Soldiers employed the platforms in tactical scenarios, Army engineers and technicians collected the Soldiers’ feedback and will use that feedback to further develop company capabilities against a notional near-peer adversary.

“The SOE re-enforced our idea that RCVs will not operate as a standalone system, but will provide new capabilities to an integrated fighting force,” said Major Cory Wallace, RCV lead for the Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross Functional Team.

During the SOE, the Army’s Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) and Army Capabilities Manager- Infantry (ACM-I) integrated the Project Origin platforms into a grueling multi-week experiment to determine the potential value a RCV can provide a Rifle Platoon. During this experiment, Soldiers conducted movements to contact, attacks, and defense missions with their organic force structure and later conducted the same mission with the Project Origin platforms to clearly delineate these platform’s value.

“Anytime we have an interaction with Soldiers it’s a success, but Project Origin was a significant win,” said Todd Willert, Project Origin project manager with GVSC. “Project Origin’s five-month iteration is critical to defining the RCV’s requirements and giving our Soldiers the best possible equipment to fight and win future wars.”

GVSC has conducted several Soldier touchpoint events in the past which affected the capabilities they fielded during this most recent SOE, which concluded in mid-November. During the SOE, Soldiers from Attack Company employed a tethered Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), a counter-UAS jammer, modular smoke obscuration module, a Commonly Remote Operated Weapon System (equipped with both a M240 machine gun and a Javelin), as well as an autonomous drive function. The RCV operators controlled the vehicles using the Warfighter Machine Interface integrated on dismounted operator control units. All of these capabilities correspond to some aspect of the draft requirements for future RCVs. Additionally, the Project Origin team “swam” a platform across Fort Benning’s Victory Pond to validate the amphibious use case for RCVs.

The Soldiers unanimously stated the Project Origin platforms provided immense value in certain use cases, but failed to provide a similar value while maneuver in tandem with the Rifle Platoon in terrain favorable to dismounted maneuver. While the Project Origin team did not anticipate the Project Origin vehicles performing well in dense vegetation, they did not foresee the positive impact the platforms had on defensive operations.

“GVSC, ACM I and NGCV CFT will use this feedback to shape and inform potential force structures within the Infantry Brigade Combat Team during the ongoing RCV Campaign of Learning,” said Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the NGCV CFT. “Our knowledge of how we can utilize RCVs and what technologies and capabilities they need to posses continues to expand exponentially based on the inputs from our Soldiers.”

Project Origin continues to be an extreme “low cost, high reward” endeavor within the Army’s robotic initiatives, Coffman said.

The next item on Project Origin’s agenda is to test how the vehicles could be integrated into the Opposing Force’s force structure at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, in summer 2021.[/spoiler]

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