USS Texas is one of two New York-class battleships constructed for the U.S. Navy prior to the outbreak of WWI. Considered as one of the most powerful warships at the time of its construction, in its 1945 configuration the USS Texas will soon reinforce the top rank of the American bluewater fleet in War Thunder as it docks in player ports with the arrival of the next major update!

Briefly: The first American super dreadnought built at the eve of WWI, serving through both world wars and introducing many technological innovations throughout its service.


Features:

• Heavy primary battery guns.
  
• Excellent anti-air armament.
  
• Competitive protection.
  
• High displacement.
  
• Low mobility.
  
• Air search radar.

In War Thunder, USS Texas will be a powerful new battleship awaiting seasoned captains at the top rank of the American bluewater fleet in the next major update. Sporting a superior mix of offensive and defensive weapons, coupled with excellent protection, USS Texas will soon become a formidable adversary to face in the high seas of naval battles!




USS Texas’ main battery consists of ten of the already familiar 14”/45 Mk.8 (356mm) cannons, which veteran captains may recognize from USS Arizona and USS Nevada. Unlike these later designs however, the guns on USS Texas are mounted in five pairs of centerline mounts. Although possessing fewer total guns than USS Arizona, the added redundancy in having an additional turret reduces the impact a critical blow to the main weapons can have on the ship’s overall fighting capability. Furthermore, the vessel’s primary guns are augmented by a strong secondary battery consisting of six 5’’ (127 mm) and ten 3” (76 mm) cannons, which come in handy especially when dealing with smaller and more nimble targets at closer ranges.




In stark contrast to most other American battleships currently present in War Thunder, USS Texas has notably improved anti-aircraft defenses, thus making the warship an excellent AA platform. The previously mentioned 10 dual-purpose 3’’ (76 mm) guns are complemented by 10 quad 40 mm Bofors and 44 single 20 mm cannons providing an impressive level of firepower against not just hostile aircraft but also torpedo boats. As a result, allied vessels with poorer AA capabilities can effectively team up with USS Texas to remain under its protective umbrella.

Fun Fact: After 33 years of active service and a long list of accomplishments in the US Navy, the USS Texas is the only Super Dreadnought class battleship existing anywhere in the world today and is listed as a world historic engineering marvel. The warship is currently undergoing a major restoration in Galveston, Texas.

Like other U.S. dreadnought battleships of time, USS Texas features a formidable armor layout, with its main belt going up to 305 mm in thickness which is additionally reinforced by torpedo bulges to increase the protection against this deadly underwater threat.. Furthermore, 356 mm of armor plating shields the gun turrets, thus resulting in excellent overall protection against incoming enemy fire. This coupled with a high crew count of 1,810 sailors gives USS Texas superb combat endurance. However, the ship’s high displacement also results in comparably low mobility with USS Texas only being able to reach a top speed of 21 kts (39 km/h)



USS Texas will appear in the game with the release of the next major War Thunder update. We’d also like to share some photos with you of this majestic ship in the process of restoration from a volunteer on the project. These are from Joe “Pony51” Kudrna, who is a devoted fan of the game and Technical Moderator on the international forum. Thank you, Joe!

• A bug that caused server crashes has been fixed.

The current provided changelog reflects the major changes within the game as part of this Update. Some updates, additions and fixes may not be listed in the provided notes. War Thunder is constantly improving and specific fixes may be implemented without the client being updated.

The TO-55 is a Soviet flamethrower tank based on the T-55 medium tank coming to the game in the next major update!


Features:

• Coaxial flamethrower
  
• Mediocre protection

The premium Soviet TO-55 will be added to the game with the release of the next major War Thunder update. An overall good T-55A medium tank with an excellent gun gets a coaxial flamethrower and Premium bonuses!




The T-55A medium tank is widely used by War Thunder tankers in high rank battles. The tank compensates for its moderate mobility with high firepower, while featuring somewhat better protection than its main opposite, the German Leopard 1. Stabilized 100mm gun offers a good APCBC with devastating beyond-armor effect while the 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun on the roof often comes in handy against early helicopters. The premium TO-55 adds a flamethrower to the firepower of the T-55A! As a weapon it is useful for destroying light vehicles, but the flamethrower will find its most frequent use in blinding an enemy gunner in close quarter combat. After all, the flamethrower is pure fun!




As already noted, the speed and protection of the TO-55 can hardly be called its strengths. Like the T-55A, the new tank takes a long time to reach its maximum speed, but the chassis itself turns very well and does good on the raw terrains. The armor of the TO-55 is capable of withstanding some of the tank guns kinetic rounds, while the dome-shaped turret sometimes ricochets armor-piercing shells. However due to the dense fighting compartment, the first shell that pierces the armor of the habitable compartment is often the last in the session.




The premium TO-55 will be a good alternative to regular T-54 and T-55 tanks and will greatly boost the research of any Soviet armored vehicle up to rank VI. We’ll ‘burn it up’ in the next major War Thunder update!

We’re continuing to move along with our Roadmap that we released back in June. First and foremost, we’d like to start off by saying thank you for your patience and understanding whilst we progress through it. Recently, after releasing other roadmap changes, we’ve noticed your anticipation and enthusiasm about progression changes and today we’re pleased to announce that we’re ready to talk about these changes with you.

When we initially released the roadmap, we set out to improve research and progression by condensing tech trees by grouping vehicles with each other, and alongside this, reduce the required amount of Research Points by 50% for these grouped vehicles, except the first in the group. We’re happy to say that this change has been worked on extensively and will be implemented, as previously promised.

As we have been doing throughout the roadmap cycle, we’d like to explain the inner workings and decisions made whilst we looked into these changes, and how they will affect your time playing War Thunder.



We'll be open with you: War Thunder’s research trees have not gone through much reshaping over the years — we add vehicles in logical positions within the tree, group a limited number of similar vehicles, and make research point adjustments down the line where necessary. Because of this, the planned grouping of vehicles within research trees can be considered one of the largest progression changes that we’ve made since the game's inception, and will affect almost all players.

When we sat down to make these changes, we also realized that we could carefully look into the position and ranks of all vehicles, and streamline them where possible. Therefore, we are not only reducing the amount of vehicles to research to progress down a tree by grouping vehicles, but we are also making trees more logical and better structured — taking into account the large number of vehicles that have been added to the game in the past few years.

The result of these changes, for many nations in the game, are significant. For this reason, we'd like to give you time to prepare for them, while also ensuring these long requested changes arrive to the game in a quick manner. Your valuable feedback and suggestions about this topic are very important to us, and we’ll be collecting and considering them as much as possible. Because of the magnitude of these alterations, we’ve decided that the best way forward would be to announce these changes to you today, and release them with the next major update, which is scheduled for September. Going ahead with this decision will allow you to test these changes in real-time on the dev server before they come to the live server, and, as mentioned, leave feedback and suggestions.

We also want to talk about some additional changes that we’ve been working on alongside the grouping of vehicles. Previously, we removed the requirement to research and purchase a previous vehicle for some, in our eyes, easier rank II and rank III vehicles. This in turn allowed players to easily switch to a more convenient vehicle (and the branch that follows it) if their initial choice was not to their liking. However, with smaller, newly added nations that have arrived to War Thunder, the amount of vehicles in ranks I-II was not sufficient enough to have this rule function effectively and therefore there are no gaps in newer research trees. We also actually noticed that gaps between ranks didn’t actually help new players in a meaningful way.

Therefore, for all nations, we have decided to remove the research link between rank I and rank II vehicles for the Ground Forces (Army) and Aviation research trees. This in turn will make rank I feel like more of a “preview” rank for each research tree, giving players a small taste of how the nation’s vehicles may play. This will also give new players the ability to learn how vehicles are linked in a research tree, and what the requirements are for unlocking the next rank. All this whilst being able to research any vehicle they want when they reach rank II.

We’d like to note that each nation is different: they have a different number of vehicles with different characteristics, and because of this, some vehicles that are similar or the same, but in different nations, may be at slightly different ranks. This is similar to how Battle Ratings of the same rank may significantly vary between nations and vehicle types.

Let’s take a look at an example of these changes. For instance, Israel, where the Magach line within rank IV of the ground forces tree has 6 vehicles in it, will now only have 3 vehicles in it (with the other 3 being grouped with them). With the upcoming changes, all ranks will not exceed 3 vehicles vertically downwards.





We’re not forgetting and would like to mention the 50% reduction in the required amount of Research Points for vehicles that are nested into groups of similar vehicles (which we also call folders). This welcomed change will allow you to research and expand your vehicle line-ups much faster!

Let’s show you another example: the new research route from rank VI, starting from the Chieftain Mk 3 to the Challenger 2E in the British research tree will now take 1,600,000 Research Points, instead of the previous number of 2,690,000 Research Points — quite the difference, and also almost half as much! Another example we’d like to share is the Shermans within the US research tree at ranks II-III — they’ll now take 100,700 instead of 162,000 Research Points.



You can take a look at each research tree in full screen in a separate tab with this link



When purchasing a premium vehicle, or completing tasks during one of our events to obtain an event vehicle, players are already familiar with its characteristics, what the vehicle may be capable of achieving, as well as its position and rank within a nation’s research tree. Over time, the effectiveness of these vehicles may change, and alongside it, the Battle Rating. As a result, these vehicles may no longer correlate with other vehicle Battle Ratings within its rank.

We’d like to mention that in the past, a general rule we’ve followed is that we try not to change the rank of premium and event vehicles. We do this because these vehicles already had a set rank when purchased or obtained, and increasing or decreasing of these vehicle’s ranks may positively or negatively affect its ability to research vehicles within a tree. But because of the scale of the changes to vehicles in research trees, we’ve decided to adapt some premium and event vehicles to better fit trees. We would like to make a clear note that these changes will only increase the rank of a premium or event vehicle, which in turn will allow its owners to boost the research of more vehicles! No premium or event vehicle will be lowered in rank.

Moreover, we’d also like to let you know of some premium vehicle price changes. Premium vehicles that are available to purchase in our store and for GE that will have their rank increased in the next major update will also receive an updated price in relation to their new rank in the tree. There is still time until the next major update in September to purchase these premium vehicles at their current prices.

We’d like to also note that premium vehicles whose Battle Rating corresponds to the maximum rank will be moved to the maximum rank in that vehicle’s research tree. Having said this, we do not plan to add premium vehicles that have a maximum Battle Rating and the best combat abilities to the game. These types of vehicles will still remain in the regular research tree for all players to research towards if they pique their interest.



That’s all for now! To wrap things up, we appreciate that these planned changes are a lot to digest and would like to reiterate that we thank you for your patience whilst waiting for these changes. We would like to emphasize that we are reading all of your comments: be it either on our official forums, social media, on Steam, Reddit, as well as other platforms that we read. We greatly appreciate your support through this process — please let us know what you think of these changes: we’re listening.

August 23rd, 1943 marked the end of the Battle of Kursk — the largest tank battle in history, with around 3000 tanks from the German side and over 5000 tanks from the Soviet side. It was the first time a German offensive on the Eastern Front failed with no significant gains. The decisive victory of the Red Army led to it gaining a strategic initiative and defined the way the rest of the war was fought.



Play 3 battles using USSR ground vehicles (rank III or higher, with an activity of not less than 70%) to receive the “Vehicles of Victory: SU-152” decal. Winning 5 battles under the same terms will earn you a “Molotov cocktail” decoration.


“Molotov cocktail” decoration


“Vehicles of Victory: SU-152” decal

Complete the task in random battles, except for Enduring Confrontation missions and [Assault] mode. Track your progress in the hangar by clicking Nickname → Achievements → Holidays → 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the Battle of Kursk.

You can find the decal in the “Holidays” tab in the Customisation menu, and the decoration in the “Other” tab.

• The hit camera for recently respawned enemies that are in a state of temporary invulnerability has been returned.
  
• We’ve made changes to the rotation of missions of Ground Arcade and Realistic Battles:
  
  • Breslau (all missions) — A session’s minimum BR has been increased from 2.7 to 5.7.
    
  • Mozdok — We’ve temporarily disabled all missions except for [Domination #1] Mozdok, so that we can assess map preference data for this specific mission. The decision to change the rotation of the mission on Mozdok will be made after we’ve collected and studied statistics.
• We’ve also made changes to the rotation of missions in Ground Realistic Battles:
  
  • European Province (all missions) — A session’s minimum BR has been increased from 4.0 to 5.7.
    
  • [Domination #1] Pradesh — A session’s minimum BR has been increased from 6.3 to 6.7.
    
  • [Domination #2] Maginot, [Battle #2] Maginot, [Domination #2] Vietnam, [Battle #2] Vietnam, [Domination #2] Gold Quarry and [Battle #2] Gold Pit — A session’s minimum BR has been reduced from 7.3 to 6.7.

The current provided changelog reflects the major changes within the game as part of this Update. Some updates, additions and fixes may not be listed in the provided notes. War Thunder is constantly improving and specific fixes may be implemented without the client being updated.

The Pvkv IV is the final design of a series of experimental Swedish tank destroyers, developed in the postwar period in an effort to equip the armed forces with modern fighting vehicles. Soon, the Pvkv IV will reinforce the early ranks of the Swedish ground forces tree with its arrival as part of the next major War Thunder update!

Briefly: A prototype Swedish tank destroyer based on the Strv m/40L chassis, fitted with a powerful 57mm anti-tank cannon.


Features:

• Punchy 57 mm cannon
  
• Good mobility
  
• Light protection
  
• Low turret traverse rate

In War Thunder, the Pvkv IV will complete the family of Swedish postwar experimental tank destroyers which began with the introduction of the Pvkv II in a previous update. Compared to its close relatives, the Pvkv IV brings with it some interesting differences which we’re keen to discuss with you in today’s devblog.



The most notable feature differentiating the Pvkv IV from its related designs is the fact that the vehicle is fitted with a fully enclosed fighting compartment, offering a higher degree of protection from enemy fire and shrapnel when compared to the familiar Pvkv II and III. Furthermore, the Pvkv IV is armed with the 57 mm Pvkan m/43, which tankers may be familiar with from the Pvkv III. Featuring overall good ballistic properties, the m/43 cannon is capable of punching through the armor of hostile vehicles at most common engagement distances at this rank. In contrast to the Pvkv III, the cannon of the Pvkv IV has a lengthier reload time caused by the cramped ergonomics of the turret which aspiring commanders of this vehicle ought to take into account before committing to intense brawls.




Having already mentioned the vehicle’s new turret as an improvement over the open fighting compartments on the other Pvkv’s, the Pvkv IV’s overall protection is comparable to the vehicle it’s based on - the Strv m/40L. However, as this is a light tank, commanders shouldn’t expect incredible levels of protection. In fact, the Pvkv IV’s hull can withstand machine gun and autocannon fire, but its relatively large turret is only protected by 13 mm of armored plating, thus making it very vulnerable to incoming enemy fire.



On the other hand, being a light tank ensures that the Pvkv IV possesses decent mobility, regardless of the terrain type. Being powered by a 142 hp gasoline engine, the Pvkv IV can reach a comfortable speed of 45 km/h under ideal conditions while its respectable power-to-weight ratio ensures quick acceleration and good mobility in off-road conditions.

Meet the Pvkv IV as it arrives at the medium ranks of the Swedish ground forces tree as part of the next major War Thunder update. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to the news as we continue to keep you posted on all the latest developments surrounding the upcoming update. Until then, happy hunting tankers!

Development of the MiG-15 jet fighter lasted throughout the entirety of 1947, while over half of 1948 was spent testing it. On August 23rd, 1948, two days before the official end of the tests, the MiG-15 officially entered service with the USSR Air Force. It prevailed against its competitor, the La-15, and became the most produced military jet aircraft in history.





To commemorate the anniversary, from August 23rd (10:00 GMT) until August 29th (10:00 GMT) the MiG-15bis ISh jet fighter, located in the USSR research tree, will be available to purchase for Golden Eagles. This aircraft is an experimental version of MiG-15bis, which, in turn, was an improvement over the original. The MiG-15bis ISh can quickly gain an impressive speed and is very good at climbing. Its main armament can shred enemy bombers to pieces, while ground targets can be disposed of by its wide assortment of bombs and rockets.

Eastern exotics in War Thunder! Meet the MBT-2000 main battle tank designed in collaboration with China and Pakistan.


Features:

• Good protection
  
• Thermal vision
  
• Autoloader

The MBT-2000 main battle tank will strengthen the already formidable Chinese lineup, and in the research tree, will be placed within the light tank line. Let's take a look at the details of this interesting Chinese-Pakistani tank that will be waiting for you with the release of the upcoming major update!



The MBT-2000 is based on the experimental Type 90-IIM tank, which in turn is an upgraded Soviet T-72 of the early production series. Hence the familiar layout, three members crew, an automatic loader and a 125 mm smoothbore gun. The MBT-2000 widely used domestic developments of China and Pakistan, as well as technologies from other countries. The tank received complex armor using both traditional homogeneous armor and more advanced protection means, such as NERA composite and FY-2 and FY-4 ERA protection, which, compared to the Soviet ancestor, significantly increased the tank's protection from both kinetic and shaped charge projectiles.




The 125-mm ZPT-98 gun, controlled by a modern FCS with a laser rangefinder and a gunner's thermal imager, has automatic feed from a large automated ammunition rack and has a range of available ammunition. Two types of kinetic APFSDS shells, two types of high-explosive fragmentation rounds (conventional and variable time fuze), as well as HEAT rounds.

The MBT-2000 received an automatic transmission from Leclerc tanks and a new 1,200 HP engine, granting the tank with perfect mobility. The maximum speed of the tank reaches almost 70 km/h, quite good for an MBT!

The MBT-2000 and other great new vehicles will be waiting for you in the next big War Thunder update, don't miss our devblogs to be the first to see the news!

The first massively produced amphibious SPG, the Soviet 2S1, comes to the game in the upcoming War Thunder update!


Features:

• 122mm howitzer
  
• HEAT rounds
  
• Amphibious
  
• Lightly armored

The development of a new self-propelled gun for the Soviet army was based on the well-proven D-30 howitzer and the chassis of the MT-LB multipurpose amphibious towing vehicle. The D-30 towed howitzer was modified to be placed in the SPG turret, the MT-LB chassis was lengthened by adding a wheel pair to improve the driving performance and increase the room of the fighting compartment. After a year of testing, the vehicle was put into service in September 1970 under the designation 2S1 Gvozdika. Serial production of the SPG continued until 1991. The vehicle was produced in the USSR, as well as in Bulgaria and Poland under license. The 2S1 is still in service with the armies of many countries of the world.




The 2S1 Gvozdika (Russian for ‘carnation’) self-propelled gun will be added to the game with the release of the upcoming War Thunder major update. The 2S1 is built on a modified chassis of the “workhorse” of the Soviet army, the MT-LB multi-purpose towing vehicle. Weathered commanders are well acquainted with this chassis: dynamic, good for rough terrain, amphibious, although very lightly armored and with a low reverse speed. The Gvozdika’s top speed is 60 km/h on paved roads, but the average off-road speed rarely exceeds 30-35 km/h.



The new self-propelled gun is armed with an adopted 122mm howitzer of the D-30 family, armed with HE and up to 5 HEAT rounds. The former is good at destroying light and medium vehicles, while the HEAT shaped-charge comes in handy against heavy tanks and self-propelled guns with conventional steel armor. Due to the long rifled part of the barrel, the gun is comfortable to shoot over medium and medium-long distances. A large, but expected drawback is the meager declination angle of the gun.

The 2S1 armor is only bulletproof, so the self-propelled gun is exposed to autocannons and forward-facing aircraft weapons with armor-piercing belts. It would be wise for the commander to change positions frequently and use the relatively small silhouette of the Gvozdika for ducking into the terrain. The 2S1 is an amphibious vehicle, but the waterborne speed is, to put it mildly, poor, so long sea trips are definitely not for the 2S1



The 2S1 Gvozdika will appear in the hangars of War Thunder in the next major game update - stay tuned to our devblogs to be the first to know about the news!