The advanced Soviet Su-6 attack plane, found itself in the shadow of its world-famous colleague, the Il-2. Nonetheless, it was an excellent assault aircraft that we are pleased to present in War Thunder update 1.63.

At the end of the 30s, a true race began between designers in the Soviet Union. Their aim was to create the best attack plane the Red Army had ever seen. The country's leaders, designers and engineers were well aware that soon, the Soviet people would have to withstand an assault from the strongest army in the world – that of Hitler's Germany. This attack plane couldn't just be good – it had to be the best! The competition between the design bureaus was dramatic, full of emotion, victories, and alas, defeats. In the end, the Ilyushin Design Bureau’s Il-2 rightfully took the garland of victory owing to its numerous advantages. But was it an easy victory? Not by any means!





The best minds in the aviation industry competed in the race to design an attack plane for the looming war. Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi was one of them. His attack aircraft, the Su-6, demonstrated complete superiority over the Il-2 in terms of its flight characteristics during testing. The Su-6's armour also surpassed that of Ilyushin's creation. Its shortcoming was in its armament – Sukhoi did not plan for the mounting of rockets, the aircraft's usable bomb load amounted to a mere 120kg, and it had no cannons. The criticisms of the expert committee were taken into account and the aircraft was equipped with VYa-23 cannons. The bomb capacity was increased and the attack plane was given the ability to carry 10 RS-82 or RS-132 rockets. However, testing was never fully finished with the new armaments – the only available specimen of the M-71 engine broke down.

Read the full Dev Blog article on the Official War Thunder Forums!

The advanced Soviet Su-6 attack plane, found itself in the shadow of its world-famous colleague, the Il-2. Nonetheless, it was an excellent assault aircraft that we are pleased to present in War Thunder update 1.63.

At the end of the 30s, a true race began between designers in the Soviet Union. Their aim was to create the best attack plane the Red Army had ever seen. The country's leaders, designers and engineers were well aware that soon, the Soviet people would have to withstand an assault from the strongest army in the world – that of Hitler's Germany. This attack plane couldn't just be good – it had to be the best! The competition between the design bureaus was dramatic, full of emotion, victories, and alas, defeats. In the end, the Ilyushin Design Bureau’s Il-2 rightfully took the garland of victory owing to its numerous advantages. But was it an easy victory? Not by any means!





The best minds in the aviation industry competed in the race to design an attack plane for the looming war. Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi was one of them. His attack aircraft, the Su-6, demonstrated complete superiority over the Il-2 in terms of its flight characteristics during testing. The Su-6's armour also surpassed that of Ilyushin's creation. Its shortcoming was in its armament – Sukhoi did not plan for the mounting of rockets, the aircraft's usable bomb load amounted to a mere 120kg, and it had no cannons. The criticisms of the expert committee were taken into account and the aircraft was equipped with VYa-23 cannons. The bomb capacity was increased and the attack plane was given the ability to carry 10 RS-82 or RS-132 rockets. However, testing was never fully finished with the new armaments – the only available specimen of the M-71 engine broke down.

Read the full Dev Blog article on the Official War Thunder Forums!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXthtFdCKBo
“Gladiators” Duel Championship - prize fund - over 200,000 Golden Eagles

For the first time, the tournament will take place in Arcade Battles mode! (automated tournament)

Realistic and Simulator battles will take place in automated tournament and play-off stages



Gaijin Entertainment together with our official partners - Mad Catz, announces the start of the “Gladiators” duel championship with a prize fund of more than 200,000 Golden Eagles! The Tournament is available in the “Events and Tournaments” section in the game.

Gladiators is a team duel match, which incorporates practically all formats of air battles:

• 1st round - duel: one vs one
  
• 2nd round - air battle pairs: two vs two
  
• 3rd round - final air battle as a squad: four vs four.

Especially for this tournament, a new mission has been developed - the “Gladiators 4x4”, where all three air battles are started one after the other. The following score system is used for the different rounds:

• 1st round = 1 point
  
• 2nd round = 2 points
  
• 3rd round = 3 points

In case of a draw after 3 rounds, an additional 4th round will be played in the format of four vs four.

For more information, read the full Event Announcement here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXthtFdCKBo
“Gladiators” Duel Championship - prize fund - over 200,000 Golden Eagles

For the first time, the tournament will take place in Arcade Battles mode! (automated tournament)

Realistic and Simulator battles will take place in automated tournament and play-off stages



Gaijin Entertainment together with our official partners - Mad Catz, announces the start of the “Gladiators” duel championship with a prize fund of more than 200,000 Golden Eagles! The Tournament is available in the “Events and Tournaments” section in the game.

Gladiators is a team duel match, which incorporates practically all formats of air battles:

• 1st round - duel: one vs one
  
• 2nd round - air battle pairs: two vs two
  
• 3rd round - final air battle as a squad: four vs four.

Especially for this tournament, a new mission has been developed - the “Gladiators 4x4”, where all three air battles are started one after the other. The following score system is used for the different rounds:

• 1st round = 1 point
  
• 2nd round = 2 points
  
• 3rd round = 3 points

In case of a draw after 3 rounds, an additional 4th round will be played in the format of four vs four.

For more information, read the full Event Announcement 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!

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.