Brrrrrrrrrrrrt - yes, if you already recognize this gunfire, you know something special is coming. It is the sound of a hydraulically-driven, six-barrelled, 20mm Vulcan minigun that can fire up to 3,000 rounds per minute! We present to you the M163 Vulcan SPAAG.

The M163 VADS (Vulcan Air Defence system) is a self propelled anti-aircraft gun used by the US Army that was based on the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. It was a fast, lightly armored, amphibious (can reach up to 4 mph, but only forward), nimble platform that could carry up to 13 personnel to the battle - including crew. The M163 was put in service in 1969 and while it’s no longer produced (671 vehicles were built), it was never decommissioned. M163 VADS was powered by a GM 6V53 diesel engine with a maximum of 212 horsepower. With its low weight of 12.5 tons, it was capable of reaching 40 mph (64 km/h). The SPAAG itself was operated by a four-men crew.





Its primary and only weapon was the powerful 20mm M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon with a maximum rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute (that is incredible 50 rounds per second!). It uses an automatic feed system and thanks to its high muzzle velocity provides flat trajectory. The maximum range of the cannon is just over 3 miles (5 km) and its elevation angle range from +80 to -5. The M163 standardly carried 2 100 pieces of ammunition. While the vehicle uses a small radar for range calculation, its weapon was not radar guided and was dependant on an optical lead-calculating sight operated by the gunner.

Read the full Dev Blog article here!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrt - yes, if you already recognize this gunfire, you know something special is coming. It is the sound of a hydraulically-driven, six-barrelled, 20mm Vulcan minigun that can fire up to 3,000 rounds per minute! We present to you the M163 Vulcan SPAAG.

The M163 VADS (Vulcan Air Defence system) is a self propelled anti-aircraft gun used by the US Army that was based on the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. It was a fast, lightly armored, amphibious (can reach up to 4 mph, but only forward), nimble platform that could carry up to 13 personnel to the battle - including crew. The M163 was put in service in 1969 and while it’s no longer produced (671 vehicles were built), it was never decommissioned. M163 VADS was powered by a GM 6V53 diesel engine with a maximum of 212 horsepower. With its low weight of 12.5 tons, it was capable of reaching 40 mph (64 km/h). The SPAAG itself was operated by a four-men crew.





Its primary and only weapon was the powerful 20mm M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon with a maximum rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute (that is incredible 50 rounds per second!). It uses an automatic feed system and thanks to its high muzzle velocity provides flat trajectory. The maximum range of the cannon is just over 3 miles (5 km) and its elevation angle range from +80 to -5. The M163 standardly carried 2 100 pieces of ammunition. While the vehicle uses a small radar for range calculation, its weapon was not radar guided and was dependant on an optical lead-calculating sight operated by the gunner.

Read the full Dev Blog article here!

Summer is full of surprises, sometimes these are not so pleasant, August ends with an invasion... of pirates!
Modern bounty hunters are not limited to use an old sailboat, but still prefer to travel in groups. So while their appearance may have changed over time, what you can never change, is their insane love for treasure.

Or can you?

Our intelligence reports: large groups of ships sailing Under the black flag closing in on our support depots. Obviously, the sea bandits decided to capture the warehouses and use them as cargo transit bases. So don’t relax, a pirate is not a one-eyed, one-legged bearded man with a need to say “Yaaaaaaarrrr!” these days, he is a skilled captain who will fight for his cargo till the bitter end!

Pilots, prepare to go hunting for the pirates “Black Spots”!



Join the battle between aircraft and pirate ships in the special “Under the black flag” Event!

Use the aircraft of any nation to destroy pirate ships with torpedoes. Completing these tasks will be possible in both the “Under the black flag” Event and in regular battles. Destroy 30 pirate ships in the “Under the black flag” Event to earn a “Black Spot”.

Read the full Event Announcement on the Official War Thunder Forums!

Summer is full of surprises, sometimes these are not so pleasant, August ends with an invasion... of pirates!
Modern bounty hunters are not limited to use an old sailboat, but still prefer to travel in groups. So while their appearance may have changed over time, what you can never change, is their insane love for treasure.

Or can you?

Our intelligence reports: large groups of ships sailing Under the black flag closing in on our support depots. Obviously, the sea bandits decided to capture the warehouses and use them as cargo transit bases. So don’t relax, a pirate is not a one-eyed, one-legged bearded man with a need to say “Yaaaaaaarrrr!” these days, he is a skilled captain who will fight for his cargo till the bitter end!

Pilots, prepare to go hunting for the pirates “Black Spots”!



Join the battle between aircraft and pirate ships in the special “Under the black flag” Event!

Use the aircraft of any nation to destroy pirate ships with torpedoes. Completing these tasks will be possible in both the “Under the black flag” Event and in regular battles. Destroy 30 pirate ships in the “Under the black flag” Event to earn a “Black Spot”.

Read the full Event Announcement on the Official War Thunder Forums!

We would like to invite you to take a part in the testing of the new respawn mechanics for ground battles. Tests will be held in the “Events” tab as, [Domination] “Advance to the Rhine” in the RB game mode.

This game mode portrays the clash of two armies. Both armies have a specific setup of vehicles which are distributed randomly among the players. If all the vehicles are allocated out, it will not be possible to spawn.

The list of vehicles available for use in the event:

Germany

• Jagdpanzer 38(t)
  
• Jagdpanther
  
• Panzer IV/70(V)
  
• Pz.IV J
  
• Tiger II (H)
  
• Tiger E
  
• Panther A
  
• Panther G
  
• StuG III G

USA

• M18 GMC
  
• M26
  
• M36 GMC
  
• M4A1 (76) W
  
• M4A2 (76) W
  
• M4A2
  
• M4A3 (105)
  
• M4A3E2 (76) W

• Vehicles that are chosen will be done so from the list randomly, and the probability of getting a particular model depends on the remaining amount of vehicles in the team.
  
• For example, the team only has two types of vehicles, the ‘Tiger II (H)’ with the amount of 99 units, and the ‘Panther G’ with the amount of 1 unit. Therefore, the chance of receiving the Tiger II (H) will be 99%.
  
• From the start, players will have 3 vehicles, one of which will be replaced when a vehicle is lost in battle after each respawn (there will always be 3 vehicles available to the player).
  
• Players will have 3 vehicles available. Vehicles that are available at the same time can be either a single model or indeed different models. For example: it is possible that a player will have the Tiger II (H) twice, along with one Panther G.

• The Event will be available from 13:00 GMT on the 24th of August.
  
• Event [Domination] “Advance to the Rhine” is in the “Events and Tournaments” tab.
  
• To participate in the event you should have researched at least one ground vehicle of the 3rd rank for USA or Germany.

We would like to invite you to take a part in the testing of the new respawn mechanics for ground battles. Tests will be held in the “Events” tab as, [Domination] “Advance to the Rhine” in the RB game mode.

This game mode portrays the clash of two armies. Both armies have a specific setup of vehicles which are distributed randomly among the players. If all the vehicles are allocated out, it will not be possible to spawn.

The list of vehicles available for use in the event:

Germany

• Jagdpanzer 38(t)
  
• Jagdpanther
  
• Panzer IV/70(V)
  
• Pz.IV J
  
• Tiger II (H)
  
• Tiger E
  
• Panther A
  
• Panther G
  
• StuG III G

USA

• M18 GMC
  
• M26
  
• M36 GMC
  
• M4A1 (76) W
  
• M4A2 (76) W
  
• M4A2
  
• M4A3 (105)
  
• M4A3E2 (76) W

• Vehicles that are chosen will be done so from the list randomly, and the probability of getting a particular model depends on the remaining amount of vehicles in the team.
  
• For example, the team only has two types of vehicles, the ‘Tiger II (H)’ with the amount of 99 units, and the ‘Panther G’ with the amount of 1 unit. Therefore, the chance of receiving the Tiger II (H) will be 99%.
  
• From the start, players will have 3 vehicles, one of which will be replaced when a vehicle is lost in battle after each respawn (there will always be 3 vehicles available to the player).
  
• Players will have 3 vehicles available. Vehicles that are available at the same time can be either a single model or indeed different models. For example: it is possible that a player will have the Tiger II (H) twice, along with one Panther G.

• The Event will be available from 13:00 GMT on the 24th of August.
  
• Event [Domination] “Advance to the Rhine” is in the “Events and Tournaments” tab.
  
• To participate in the event you should have researched at least one ground vehicle of the 3rd rank for USA or Germany.

The biggest game show in Europe - Gamescom 2016 - has come to its end in the German city of Cologne. Hundreds of thousands people arrived there to check out what’s new in the world of computer games. The Gaijin Entertainment booth offered 2 new projects.

In Crossout, thousands of players had an opportunity to try out the role of an engineer and a soldier in the tournament and brand new modes in the post-apocalyptic online action game. Intensely commanded battles and unprecedented fighting for survival gathered crowds of fans at the stage.

Also Gamescom visitors were some of the first who could watch and play our main premiere feature - War Thunder naval battles. Half of the booth was constructed as the deck and cabin of a vessel, under the shadow of an iron mast there was a special zone that looked like an undercover bridge with a real; 40-mm AA-gun on the deck in the bow. Naval battles in 3 vs. 3 format took place on the map that was designed specifically for the show. All participants could choose vessels from different nations, you can read more about them in our Devblogs. Later, during the closed beta-test the amount of available craft will increase, also the maps will grow bigger and will become suitable for 10 vs. 10 format battles.

Also there was a magnificent show with awesome prizes and gifts prepared for our visitors. Every 30 minutes there was a giveaway of the various prizes on offer - from souvenirs, Crossout CBT and War Thunder naval battles CBT access codes to high-end gaming devices from Roccat and graphic cards and computers from ZOTAC.







Players could watch what was happening at our booth on a live stream on our official Twitch channels. We have been streaming from day one until the very end of the show and every day our players were able to get a sneak peek on the new vessels in War Thunder as well as win valuable prizes. On Saturday our team showcased the gameplay of naval battles on a map that was designed specifically for Gamescom.

The blistering torpedo and fast attack boats not only engaged other vessels but also had to watch the skies for attacking enemy aircraft. You can watch the recorded battles on our twitch channel.

So, Gamescom 2016 is now over but there is a lot of interesting stuff waiting for you. This year War Thunder players will join the closed testing of the brand new part of our game - the naval battles. The players and the development team both will decide together how naval battles in War Thunder will look like.

If you want guaranteed access to the CBT you may purchase one of the two special packs: either the famous American PT-109 torpedo boat that John Kennedy captained during WW2, or Soviet Project 1124 motorboat armed with the infamous “Katyusha” rocket launcher system and a T-34 tank turret mounted forward. Be one of the first players to try the naval battles of War Thunder!

The War Thunder Team

The biggest game show in Europe - Gamescom 2016 - has come to its end in the German city of Cologne. Hundreds of thousands people arrived there to check out what’s new in the world of computer games. The Gaijin Entertainment booth offered 2 new projects.

In Crossout, thousands of players had an opportunity to try out the role of an engineer and a soldier in the tournament and brand new modes in the post-apocalyptic online action game. Intensely commanded battles and unprecedented fighting for survival gathered crowds of fans at the stage.

Also Gamescom visitors were some of the first who could watch and play our main premiere feature - War Thunder naval battles. Half of the booth was constructed as the deck and cabin of a vessel, under the shadow of an iron mast there was a special zone that looked like an undercover bridge with a real; 40-mm AA-gun on the deck in the bow. Naval battles in 3 vs. 3 format took place on the map that was designed specifically for the show. All participants could choose vessels from different nations, you can read more about them in our Devblogs. Later, during the closed beta-test the amount of available craft will increase, also the maps will grow bigger and will become suitable for 10 vs. 10 format battles.

Also there was a magnificent show with awesome prizes and gifts prepared for our visitors. Every 30 minutes there was a giveaway of the various prizes on offer - from souvenirs, Crossout CBT and War Thunder naval battles CBT access codes to high-end gaming devices from Roccat and graphic cards and computers from ZOTAC.







Players could watch what was happening at our booth on a live stream on our official Twitch channels. We have been streaming from day one until the very end of the show and every day our players were able to get a sneak peek on the new vessels in War Thunder as well as win valuable prizes. On Saturday our team showcased the gameplay of naval battles on a map that was designed specifically for Gamescom.

The blistering torpedo and fast attack boats not only engaged other vessels but also had to watch the skies for attacking enemy aircraft. You can watch the recorded battles on our twitch channel.

So, Gamescom 2016 is now over but there is a lot of interesting stuff waiting for you. This year War Thunder players will join the closed testing of the brand new part of our game - the naval battles. The players and the development team both will decide together how naval battles in War Thunder will look like.

If you want guaranteed access to the CBT you may purchase one of the two special packs: either the famous American PT-109 torpedo boat that John Kennedy captained during WW2, or Soviet Project 1124 motorboat armed with the infamous “Katyusha” rocket launcher system and a T-34 tank turret mounted forward. Be one of the first players to try the naval battles of War Thunder!

The War Thunder Team

The PT-810 was one of four experimental boats built in 1945 with various armaments, but with an identical powertrain. She is a rather large patrol torpedo boat with a draft displacement of 90 tons. The craft was designed to be equipped with armaments of several types at once. The first, of course, was torpedoes: four torpedo tubes with Mk 16 torpedoes were located along the vessel’s sides. In the stern, the engineers placed two depth charge launchers. They also didn’t skimp on artillery armament: the experience of real-life battles had resulted in some significant corrections to the requirements for patrol boats. Two single Bofors 40 mm guns were placed in rotating turrets in the bow and stern of the boat. Two twin Oerlikon 20mm guns were mounted on the bridge and above the engine compartment. As if this wasn't enough, the boat was also equipped with an 81 mm Mk 2 Mod 0 mortar with the ability to fire shells not only in a high arc, but also with direct aim.





The vessel was propelled by four engines, each putting out 1,200 hp. Thanks to the boat’s small mass, these engines gave her an excellent speed of 44 knots (over 80 km/h). In the game, the vessel has a crew of 24.

Read the full article and leave your comments on our website!

The PT-810 was one of four experimental boats built in 1945 with various armaments, but with an identical powertrain. She is a rather large patrol torpedo boat with a draft displacement of 90 tons. The craft was designed to be equipped with armaments of several types at once. The first, of course, was torpedoes: four torpedo tubes with Mk 16 torpedoes were located along the vessel’s sides. In the stern, the engineers placed two depth charge launchers. They also didn’t skimp on artillery armament: the experience of real-life battles had resulted in some significant corrections to the requirements for patrol boats. Two single Bofors 40 mm guns were placed in rotating turrets in the bow and stern of the boat. Two twin Oerlikon 20mm guns were mounted on the bridge and above the engine compartment. As if this wasn't enough, the boat was also equipped with an 81 mm Mk 2 Mod 0 mortar with the ability to fire shells not only in a high arc, but also with direct aim.





The vessel was propelled by four engines, each putting out 1,200 hp. Thanks to the boat’s small mass, these engines gave her an excellent speed of 44 knots (over 80 km/h). In the game, the vessel has a crew of 24.

Read the full article and leave your comments on our website!