Meet the protagonist in the Freedom Fighter event: the Norwegian F-5A(G) multi-role jet fighter!

At a glance:

• AIM-9L Sidewinders!
  
• Penguin Mk.3 guided missile.
  
• Countermeasures.
  
• RWR.
  
• Unique camouflage on the missiles!

Vehicle History
[expand type=details]
The first foreign operator of the F-5A jet fighter was the Royal Norwegian Air Force. At request from the Norwegians, an export modification was developed for operation from Arctic airfields. Deliveries of the aircraft began in 1966, and several air squadrons were equipped with the F-5A and two-seat F-5B. During upgrades, this Norwegian variant received an updated cockpit, a new sighting system with the ability to control advanced weaponry such as the AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and Penguin anti-ship missiles, an RWR and countermeasure pods. The F-5A was in service with the Norwegian Air Force until December 31st 2007 and also took part in the Eye of the Tiger (EoT) program, where the aircraft tested anti-ship guided missiles.
[/expand]




The Norwegian F-5A(G) has arrived to War Thunder in the Freedom Fighter event! This is a very special variant of the F-5 with new combat capabilities and a cool unique camouflage. Let’s take a look at the details!




The F-5A(G) is an export modification of the American Northrop F-5A jet fighter, developed for the Norwegian Air Force and represented in its latest modification when it participated in testing anti-ship missiles. This Norwegian variant differs from the American one both externally and internally — the shape of the nose cone has changed, the pods for launching countermeasures are located on the vertical stabilizer, and a tail hook was added!




There has been some improvements in the weaponry department as well. Instead of the early rear-aspect AIM-9E air-to-air missile, the F-5A(G) is capable of carrying two all-aspect AIM-9L missiles with an increased launch range and a much higher maximum overload. In addition to this, the central pylon under the fuselage can hold the new Penguin anti-ship missile with IR+IOG guidance. Despite ships being the intended target, this heavy missile with a large explosive load can combat tanks in Ground Battles — capture a target from a long distance and then fire the missile, which will then operate in “fire and forget” mode. The destructive power is enough to destroy any tank upon impact!




For flight performance, the F-5A(G) retains all the great features of the F-5 series. That’s excellent maneuverability, high resistance to overloads, a good rate of climb and fast-firing 20 mm cannons. In addition to the guided weaponry mentioned above, the F-5A(G) can also carry regular and incendiary bombs, plus Zuni and Mighty Mouse rockets.

That’s it for this one! The Norwegian F-5A(G) is the main reward in the Freedom Fighter event that started today, featuring a special Eye of the Tiger camouflage, with a grinning tiger on the vertical stabilizer and tiger stripes on the fuselage, external fuel tanks and even Sidewinder missiles!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.

Click here to find out more details about the Freedom Fighter event

Today, we’ve rounded up and will be going over some of the bug fixes and improvements that we’ve made to the game today and over the past few weeks. If you’d like to catch up on every fixed bug, then be sure to check out the changelog section on our website.

If you’ve found a bug that you’d like to report, you can do so on our community bug reporting platform.



Helicopters are pretty fragile vehicles, but a couple of bugs that crept into the game made them much more durable. One of these bugs allowed bombs to pass through helicopters without causing any damage. Another gave helicopters the ability to deflect bombs with its rotor blades, with the slower the bomb fell, the more chances the blades had to deflect it. Both of these bugs have been fixed.



You aim your gun, fire and hit your target and smile — however, your crew said that it was a miss and to adjust your aim. What kind of shenanigans were going on here? There was a bug where the crew called out a hit a miss when the discarding sabot part of an APFSDS shell flew past the enemy vehicle, even though the armor-piercing part of the shell itself hit the target. We’ve fixed this bug!



When launching air-to-surface guided missiles, the launch zone is outlined with a green line for clarity. But a bug caused this line to remain on the screen if you were destroyed and respawned in another aircraft, even if you left the battle and went into another. This bug has been fixed!



Aircraft capable of carrying different bombs either externally on hardpoints or internally in the bomb bay were found to have strange behavior. If you opened the bomb bay and then selected bombs on the external hardpoints, the bomb bay closed by itself and did not open again until either selecting the bombs in it or deselecting the external weapons. We’ve fixed this bug too.

You’ll find the full list of improvements in separate update notes. The display of water near the shore has been improved, the voice announcer no longer reports the direction of the previous missile, and the hit analysis no longer shows shells that are not in the feed.

• Tu-2S-44, Tu-2S-44 (China), Tu-2S-59 — the M44 bombs have been replaced with the M43, with more explosives.
  
• Mirage 2000-5F — Mirage 2000-5F — a bug where the HMD wasn’t being displayed when the pilot’s head was turned away from the sights at small angles has been fixed. (Report).
  
• F-8E, F-8E(FN) — EEGS (unsynchronized shooting) has been added.
  
• Matra R550 Magic 2 — engine operating time and total thrust have been clarified. Operating time has been reduced from 2.2 to 2s, total thrust has been increased from 55,000 N to 55,900 N. Source: Solid propellant rocket motor manufacturer website www.bayernchemie-protac.com

• MIM-146 — the burn time has been changed from 2s to 3.17s while maintaining total thrust impulse. (Report).
  
• MIM-146 — missile autopilot has been updated, trajectory sway has been reduced. Rocket dynamics have been updated.

• RN Duilio — the thickness of aft casemate armor belt has been increased from 20 to 70 mm.
  
• Nurnberg — the display of main caliber ammunition in the ship’s X-ray has been fixed.
  
• HMS Spey — elevation angles of the 40 mm Bofors 90 mounts have been reduced to 85 degrees.
  
• A bug where on some vehicles it was possible to buy and accordingly take into battle fewer shells than were in the ammunition has been fixed.
  
• For playability reasons, the following naval weapons have been stabilized:
  
  • “Plamya” 30 mm automatic grenade launcher
    
  • 57 mm Type 97 mod. 1937 gun
    
  • 75 mm anti-aircraft Type 88 gun
    
  • 76 mm/40 F-34 gun
    
  • 85 mm/54.6 ZIS-S-53 gun

• A bug where the hit analysis could show shells that were not in the feed has been fixed.

• The delay for sending messages to the in-game chat has been reduced: for unique messages the delay is 2 seconds, for repeating messages the delay is 5 seconds.

---

Patch notes reflect only key changes, meaning they may not include a complete list of all improvements made. Additionally, War Thunder is constantly being updated and some changes may not require an update. Changes reflected in patch notes are formed by taking reactions and requests of the community from the bug reporting service, forums and other official platforms into account. Bug fixes and changes are implemented in order of importance, for example a game-breaking bug will be worked on and implemented sooner.

• A bug that caused the sight in the cockpit to display incorrectly and move when the player’s camera moved in aircraft with gyro sights that were turned off has been fixed. (Report).
  
• A bug where a line from the missile launch zone was sometimes displayed in another battle on another aircraft has been fixed. (Report).
  
• A bug where collisions with friendly AI aircraft would in most cases not result in damage to the player’s aircraft has been fixed.
  
• A bug where opening the bomb bay and then selecting bombs on the external hardpoint would cause the bomb bay to close and then not be possible to open until the bombs in the bomb bay were selected or until the external hardpoint selector was disabled has been fixed. (Report).
  
• A bug where helicopter blades could deflect bombs without taking damage has been fixed.
  
• A bug where bombs could fly through helicopters without causing damage has been fixed.
  
• A bug where the voice announcer announced the incorrect launch direction and instead reported the direction of the previously fired missile has been fixed.

• A bug where the crew would voice a notification about a missed shot due to the discarding sabot flying past the target even though the armor-piercing part of the APFSDS shell hit the target has been fixed.
  
• A bug where it was possible to attach the tow cable to an enemy vehicle that was still alive after they had respawned for the second time has been fixed.

• Arkhangelsk — a bug where the last two gun indicators did not show the reload time has been fixed.

• Water display near the shores has been improved, making the boundary between calm and turbulent currents less noticeable.
  
• Green Mountains Gulf, Palau Islands — these Coastal only missions have been removed from the rotation in all game modes. This has been done due to the large distance between the spawn points and taking 4 minutes on average to make it to the first capture point. We plan to change and reintroduce them in the future.

• A bug where Market camouflages might have not been displayed to other players even if the “Show content in the battle” setting was selected as “Any” in the settings has been fixed. (Report).

Patch notes reflect only key changes, meaning they may not include a complete list of all improvements made. Additionally, War Thunder is constantly being updated and some changes may not require an update. Changes reflected in patch notes are formed by taking reactions and requests of the community from the bug reporting service, forums and other official platforms into account. Bug fixes and changes are implemented in order of importance, for example a game-breaking bug will be worked on and implemented sooner.

The auction is a new way to distribute player-created content. In addition to trophies, we’ll now select a few more pieces of work from those not included in them and release them to the auction in limited edition.

How does the auction work?

Trading is carried out using a special currency called Gaijin Coin, the same currency already used on the Gaijin Marketplace.

“Lots” with a minimum bid are put up for auction, which will open for bids at a set time and date. Bidding lasts for a certain amount of time so that everyone who wants to can make their bids.

There is a starting price for each item, so to make a bid you’ll need at least that amount of GJN on your account. The amount you bid is frozen until the end of the bidding or until you make a new bid. Be careful, as you cannot cancel the bid. If you win, you receive the item and the amount is debited from your account, otherwise the amount you bid is returned to your account.

If you’re outbid, (or in the case of multi-item auctions, if your bid is no longer high enough to win the item), you’ll receive a notification about this. At the end of the auction, you’ll also receive a notification of the auction result.

An auction may contain several identical items in the form of many lots — one item per lot. If this happens, they’ll be received by the players who made the highest bids, and the number of winners will be equal to the number of auction lots. For example, if there are 1,000 participants in an auction for 100 lots, the item will be received by 100 players who had the highest bids at the end of the auction.

If players with the same bid compete for the remaining item, then the first bidder will have the advantage since they bid first. One player can only buy one lot from an auction.

In the auction interface, you’ll see the values ​​of the current leading bids.

Auction Rules

• After the auction ends, items that are not declared as coupons will be automatically activated on your account. Camouflage coupons will be added to your inventory.
  
• Players who purchased camouflage coupons will not be able to sell them on the Market immediately, but after at least 180 days.
  
• Items that are put up for auction cannot appear there again for a year.

Testing the Auction
To test out the new auction system, we’re offering the first lots dedicated to the Lunar New Year:



Lot #1 “Spring Festival” avatar frame
Quantity: 100 pieces
Starting price: 0.50 GJN
Bid Increment: 0.50 GJN



Lot #2: Coupon for the VT4A1 “Year of the Snake” camouflage
Quantity: 100 pieces
Starting price: 1 GJN
Bid Increment: 1 GJN

Possible to sell on the Market from August 11th 2025.



Lot #3: Coupon for the J-10A “Year of the Snake” camouflage
Quantity: 100 pieces
Starting price: 1 GJN
Bid Increment: 1 GJN

Possible to sell on the Market from August 11th 2025.

Click here to go to the Auction

Bids on these lots will be accepted until February 10th (15:30 GMT).

Players who purchase at least one of these lots will also receive the “Inverted Jenny” decal. This is a 1918 U.S. postage stamp, where the Curtiss JN-4 airplane was mistakenly depicted upside down. This stamp has become especially rare and valuable among philatelists.


“Inverted Jenny” decal

Today, we’d like to give you a heads up regarding the removal of the R2Y2 V1, V2 and V3 for research so that you can get them before they’re gone.

In War Thunder, we want to include vehicles that were complete and built; either in full, in the prototype phase or in the experimental phase. Much like the removed German ground vehicles in 2019, the three R2Y2 aircraft are unhistorical “paper” vehicles that were never built in any capacity, added in 2014 to fill a gap due to the severe lack of possible aircraft available for Japan at the time.

Detailed history and context of the R2Y2
[expand type=details]
The Yokosuka R2Y was an unarmed Japanese reconnaissance aircraft prototype that flew in the very late months of the Second World War in May 1945. This version (R2Y1 Keiun) was a piston engined version of the aircraft that featured twin coupled engines. Naturally the war stopped before its development could be taken any further and of the 3 prototypes, just one was completed. However, plans were made for a jet engined version of this aircraft, featuring twin Ne-330 engines in an attacker configuration. It is this version (R2Y2) that we decided to introduce in 2014 to the game, as it most closely matched the existing or planned jet bombers / attackers for other nations at the time. For example, the Canberra, B-57, Ar 234 and IL-28.
As the R2Y1 was destroyed and its development was not taken further, the R2Y2 was very much a mystery. There were only estimations of its performance, based on a combination of known R2Y1 details and the performance of the Ne-330 engines. Its overall design was very much speculative in terms of the “V2” and “V3” configurations and it’s questionable if they were even part of the original design plans to begin with. Back in 2014, we worked with what resources there were on the aircraft and brought it to some form of reality, being virtual reality, in War Thunder.
[/expand]

Our stance on the R2Y2 series is that they would be removed when functional replacements became available. Fast-forward to 2025, the Japanese aircraft tree now features many new aircraft, including Thai aircraft that fill enough spots and cover various Battle Ratings so that this can happen. We know that many players will want to obtain these vehicles before they are removed from being able to be researched, so there are just under 3 months to research them before they’re gone.

On April 30th 2025, the following three will be removed from research from the Japanese aircraft tree:

• R2Y2 Kai V1
  
  
• R2Y2 Kai V2
  
  
• R2Y2 Kai V3
  

Key information:

• These vehicles will no longer be available for research after the above removal date and will become collectable vehicles to everyone that currently owns them. They will not be hidden from anyone who already owns them.
  
• If you’ve put at least 1 RP into one of these vehicles (through RP earned or converting RP), you’ll be able to fully finish the research even after the removal date. Remember, there are three in the game — if you want to keep all three, you’ll need to put research into each individually. Since they are in a group, this would require researching V1 and V2 fully to be able to put research into V3.
  
• We currently have no plans to ever return the R2Y2’s to the game to be researched or obtained after the removal.

Your screenshots from last week looked great, thanks for sharing! This week is simple - Take a picture of whichever vehicle is your favorite! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!


Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen157. You have time until the 7th of February to submit your screenshot.

After that date, 6 winners will be selected (3 of which will be the highest rated by the community and 3 selected by our judges), each of which receive a reward of 300GE.

• Your screenshot must feature a player vehicle.
  
• You must add the #WTscreen157 tag (title cannot have any other text in it).
  
• Artists may only win by popular vote once per four screenshot competitions.

[/b]

Screenshots need to be compliant with the War Thunder rules.

You need to be the author of the screenshot.

Screenshot needs to be new. You cannot use those which have previously been published or used in other competitions.

We will only accept raw screenshots from the game. You cannot use any editing software nor any other visual enhancements (like Nvidia Ansel filters).

You can use filters and settings built into War Thunder.

You can use the replay functionality built into War Thunder.

Rewards will be delivered to the author's account within 14 working days.

[/list]


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3414573737
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3414638622
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3414660915

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3414520930
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3416001386
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3414983328

Each winner will get 300GE! Congratulations and see you next week!

In this next aviation event, we’re celebrating the Norwegian Air Force. Take part in air battles to get unique decals as well as this special version of the F-5A fighter, nicknamed the “Freedom Fighter”, designed for export to Norway!

From February 6th (11:00 GMT) until February 24th (11:00 GMT), earn mission points in Air Battles, unlock stages and receive rewards!

The F-5A(G) is a Royal Norwegian Air Force multi-role fighter jet. This modification is equipped with a new sighting system, all-aspect AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, and the Penguin guided anti-ship missile with a thermal imaging homing head, which will prove itself in battles against tanks. The F-5A(G) is the first Norwegian aircraft in War Thunder and also has a unique “tiger” camouflage!



Special camouflage

Among the rewards in the event is also this chest, where, when opened, brings the chance to receive one of the following items:

• 50,000 - 100,000 Silver Lions
  
• Silver Lion and Research Point boosters
  
• Random Wagers and Orders
  
• Universal Backups (1 - 3)
  
• A random camouflage for a vehicle you own
  
• 1 day of Premium Account

Each stage is unlocked for 45,000 mission points and brings a new reward.

Please note: Once the stage is unlocked, you will need to claim your reward manually. To do this, click on your profile, select the Freedom Fighter category, and click Claim Prize.

You’re able to earn mission points in Air Battles at Rank III or above in Arcade, Realistic and Simulator Battles. The number of mission points to complete a stage depends on the game mode and the maximum Rank of the vehicle that you use in battle. There’s a multiplier for earning mission points, which is shown in the task description in-game.

You can also earn mission points by using event vehicles that are Rank I and II. Event vehicles that can be used have the name of the event that they were obtainable in on their stat card.

Stages change every two days at 11:00 GMT: February 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th and 22nd.

• For 1 Stage: trophy with a random reward
  
• For 2 Stages: one of the decal rewards
  
• For 3 Stages: a silver chest “Snake Box”
  
• For 4 Stages: one of the decal rewards
  
• For 5 Stages: trophy with a random reward
  
• For 6 Stages: “Emblem of the 336th squadron” decal
  
• For 7 Stages: a silver chest “Snake Box”
  
• For 8 Stages: a non-tradable coupon for the F-5A(G)
  
• For 9 Stages: unique camouflage and four random modifications for the F-5A(G)

Unfinished stages can be purchased for Golden Eagles, but if you’re significantly close to completing a stage, its price will now be significantly reduced.

Let’s say you have earned 85% of the required mission points to complete a stage, then the price of purchasing this stage will be halved. If you’re near the finish line for a stage and are at 95% progress, then the price will be reduced by five times. For example, if you’ve scored 39,000 mission points, then the price for unlocking this stage will be 499 Golden Eagles. If you’ve scored 43,000 mission points, then you’ll only need to pay 199 Golden Eagles. Remember to keep this in mind if you cannot complete a stage on time!

When you complete 8 stages, you’ll receive a non-tradable coupon for the F-5A(G) where using it will immediately activate the vehicle onto your account. If you don’t want the vehicle and would like to sell the coupon on the Market, you’ll need the “Upgrade for coupon” item.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item can be earned in parallel with the stages throughout the event from February 6th (11:00 GMT ) until February 24th (11:00 GMT) for 750,000 mission points.

After receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” item, you can convert a non-tradable coupon for the vehicle into a tradable one and sell it on the Market. The tradable coupon can be sold after 5 days from the moment it’s created.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item is valid until February 27th (11:00 GMT). Until this time, you can use it or exchange it for War Bonds. Afterwards, it’ll disappear from your inventory.

To make a tradable coupon, select the “Coupon F-5A(G) (Sweden)” in your inventory and click the “Modify” button.

You can track the progress of completing stages and receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” by clicking on your Nickname > Achievements > Freedom Fighter. If you don’t manage to complete a stage on time or would like to purchase a stage, until February 27th from the Achievements window, you can purchase each stage with Golden Eagles which will give you the corresponding rewards.

2024 was an incredible year — we held several major Esports events that were high-intensity, with many teams taking part and coming out with success, victory and lots of emotion. Now it’s time to find out who will take home the Grand Champion title of 2024!

What better way to do this than to bring together the 8 best teams of the 2024 season and have them battle it out in a unique tournament featuring a variety of new game modes? Will the DODEC Team continue their success story with 3 major wins out of 4? That’s what we’ll find out in Thunder CUP 2025.

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This year, we’ve decided to make the teams compete in a variety of formats that are representative of the Esports 2024 season.



Each team will consist of a roster of 8 players.

We’ll start with the first weekend in 4v4 tank format for our tank commanders.

During the second weekend we’ll feature a 4v4 jet format with 4-point maps that include the much sought-after “D” point.

During the last weekend, the final of this event will take place in a format most known and loved by Esports players, the 5v5 mixed format. Teams will clash on the beloved Advance to the Rhine map, which has been reworked to make gameplay truly epic!

---

From January 31st until February 28th, these packs dedicated to the 8 participating teams will be available in the store. Make sure to check them out!

• Rafale C F3 DODEC Esports Team camouflage
  
• "DODEC Team Fan" title
  
• "DODEC Team" decal
  
• 300 Golden Eagles

• Su-27SM Hide Esports Team camouflage
  
• "Hide Team Fan" title
  
• "Hide Team" decal
  
• 300 Golden Eagles

• Leclerc AZUR Restart Esports Team camouflage
  
• "Restart Team Fan" title
  
• "Restart Team" decal
  
• 300 Golden Eagles

• F-15E RAWR Esports Team camouflage
  
• "RAWR Team Fan" title
  
• "RAWR Team" decal
  
• 300 Golden Eagles

• ◄EF-2000 BIH Esports Team camouflage
  
• "BIH Team Fan" title
  
• "BIH Team" decal
  
• 300 Golden Eagles

• F-2000A AVReS Esports Team camouflage
  
• "AVReS Team Fan" title
  
• "AVReS Team" decal
  
• 300 Golden Eagles

• Typhoon FGR.4 Leet Esports Team camouflage
  
• "Leet Team Fan" title
  
• "Leet Team" decal
  
• 300 Golden Eagles

• TKX LetsGo Esports Team camouflage
  
• "LetsGo Team Fan" title
  
• "LetsGo Team" decal
  
• 300 Golden Eagles

[expand type=details]
Clearly the favorite team of the tournament, will they succeed in continuing their legendary rise and end up as the team that imposed their supremacy in 2024?
Will the team that won the last Air Superiority tournament, shaking their opponents in the air, be able to do the same on the ground?
Cocoricoo! The only full French-speaking team in the event, with ever-increasing results, this group of friends is aiming for greatness in this one!
A team accustomed to podium finishes and a complete, varied team that has every chance of making history!
Finishing at the top level of all the air tournaments this year, this international team is made up of exceptional pilots who never give up. They’ve been training hard for Thunder CUP 2025!
With a roster made up of mainly the MRCLS Esports team, this season AVReS spiced up the competition with their unique style of play.
One of today’s oldest Esports teams. Equipped with a new roster, Team Leet is back with vengeance and is ready to take on the world! Their goal? Victory!
They impressed everyone in the Armored Apex Major tournament and did well in the Air Superiority Major tournament, let’s see what they’ve prepared for in Thunder CUP 2025.
[/expand]


You can also buy a discounted bundle containing all the packs at -20%.
$23.92 $19.14

This bundle includes:

• Team DODEC Pack
  
• Team Hide Pack
  
• Team Restart Pack
  
• Team RAWR Pack
  
• Team BIH Pack
  
• Team AVReS Pack
  
• Team Leet Pack
  
• Team LetsGo Pack

---

There will be a total of 9 days of events broadcast on multi-language Esports channels! Watch the tournament and claim your Twitch Drops on the official English, German, French and Russian and our new Polish War Thunder Esports channels!

---

Login to your Twitch account → link your Gaijin account → click “Allow” to be able to receive Twitch Drops!

• 1 day of Premium
  
• 50% Silver Lion Booster
  
• 50% Research Point Booster
  
• “Thunder CUP” avatar frame
  
• Snake Box
  
• “Night Sword” camouflage for the PzH 2000

• 1 day of Premium
  
• 50% Silver Lion Booster
  
• 50% Research Point Booster
  
• “Team mountain” decal
  
• Snake Box
  
• “Tale of Fenrir” camouflage for the Rafale C F3

• 1 day of Premium
  
• 50% Silver Lion Booster
  
• 50% Research Point Booster
  
• “Unexploded Bomb” decoration
  [expand type=details]
  [/expand]
  
• Snake Box
  
• “Nocturne” camouflage for the Yak-3U

---

To keep up with all the happenings in the world of Esports in War Thunder, join our community on Discord! Starting today, we’ll be giving away premium bundles there:

• RDF/LT Pack
  
• AH-64D (Netherlands) Pack
  
• BMD-4M Pack
  
• PzH 2000 Pack
  
• Mirage F1C-200 Pack

In this month’s Pages of History, you’ll be at the center of events that took place in different theaters of war. The Philippines and Burma, the Strait of Dover and the Ruhr River: take part in battles with the vehicles corresponding to these historic battles and receive prizes. 



Douglas MacArthur is among the most renowned American military generals. During World War I, he achieved the rank of Brigadier General, and in 1925 at just 44 years old, he became the youngest major general in the U.S. Army before serving as Army Chief of Staff. In World War II, MacArthur commanded U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, leading successful counteroffensives in Papua, New Guinea, and the Philippines. He later accepted Japan’s surrender and was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.

You can immediately purchase this profile icon for Golden Eagles until March 3rd, 11:30 GMT without completing tasks. To find it, go to your Nickname → Achievements → Pages of History.


Completing each individual task will give you a trophy with one of the following rewards:

• 20-50% RP booster for 3-10 battles;
  
• 20-50% SL booster for 3-10 battles;
  
• 3-5 universal backups;
  
• Premium account for 1 day;
  
• A random camouflage for ground vehicles (out of the selection of camouflages currently obtainable in game for completing tasks, or purchasing with Golden Eagles).

• Tasks are available from 11:00 GMT until 11:30 GMT on the final day of each task.
  
• Tasks can be completed in random battles except for “Assault” mode.

On February 3rd 1945, the largest urban battle of the Pacific theater began. U.S. troops led by General MacArthur began storming the capital of the Philippines. Within a month, the “Asian Stalingrad” was reduced to ruins, and the entire Japanese garrison in Manila was destroyed.

In 1942, the Japanese army was able to occupy almost all of Burma, often bypassing British troops along routes that were considered impassable. The same thing happened to the 7th Division of the Indian Army on February 5th 1944. Surrounded by Japanese troops, they decided not to retreat but instead fortify their administrative area. For two and a half weeks, the defenders of the “Admin Box” managed to hold off the enemy advance, largely thanks to tanks that the Japanese had no means to counter. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but due to a shortage of food and ammunition, Japanese forces were forced to retreat.

On February 8th 1971, South Vietnamese forces, backed by the United States, invaded Laos to cut off supplies and troops from North Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos. The operation was named after the village of Lam Son, the birthplace of Vietnamese national hero Le Loi. The South Vietnamese army was unprepared for the large-scale operation. After suffering heavy losses, it withdrew from Laos in late March and the Ho Chi Minh Trail was reopened shortly after.

The operation to redeploy battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen from Brest in western France to German ports was successfully carried out from February 11th to February 13th 1942. The operation took place without preparation to ensure Great Britain could not learn of the plans and bomb the ships before they sailed. The German fleet made a daring dash across the Strait of Dover and successfully fought off attacks from the Royal Air Force, inflicting significant losses.

Narva, an Estonian city on the border with Russia, was of great strategic importance. By taking it, Soviet troops could advance to Tallinn and drive the Wehrmacht out of Estonia, freeing the Baltic Fleet and opening the possibility of an attack on Finland from the sea. Stalin ordered that Narva be taken by February 17th 1944 at all costs, but the offensive faltered and Germany continued to hold the city for another six months.

On February 19th 1943, American troops first engaged Axis forces in Tunisia. Due to their relative inexperience, they suffered a crushing defeat. Despite their numerical superiority, they retreated 80 km and lost about 10,000 soldiers and a thousand vehicles. As a result, the Battle of Tunisia dragged on for several more months.

The Allied crossing of the Ruhr began on February 23rd 1945. A week earlier, as the Allies approached, the Germans had opened the floodgates on the dams upstream to hinder their advance. After crossing the Ruhr, the Allies routed the inferior Wehrmacht forces, capturing some 30,000 prisoners.

During the Gulf War, U.S. forces named a major Iraqi supply depot in the south of the country “Norfolk”. Nearby on February 27th 1991, the largest tank battle of the war — and the second largest in American history after the Battle of the Bulge — took place. U.S. and British forces destroyed more than a thousand Iraqi vehicles while suffering minimal losses. A ceasefire was agreed upon the following day.

January 29th marks the Lunar New Year, and we at War Thunder have traditionally prepared a ton of activities and discounts for you to celebrate it properly!

Get this Year of the Snake related decal!


“Red envelope” decal

When: From today until February 5th (12:00 GMT).
Task: Play 3 battles using Chinese vehicles to receive the “Red envelope” decal!

Additional details:

• You must use a minimum of rank III.
  
• Your activity must not be below 70%.
  
• You can complete the task in random battles, except for Enduring Confrontation missions, [Assault] mode and Helicopter PVE battles.
  
• Track your progress in the hangar by clicking Nickname → Achievements → Holidays → Lunar New Year.
  
• You can find the decal in the “Holidays” tab in the Customisation menu.

These two vehicles are back on sale and will not be going away. Each cost 9,270 Golden Eagles.

When: From January 29 (12:00 GMT).
Where: China > Aviation / Army > Premium vehicles.

• The ZTZ96A (P) is an MBT that features a unique turret armor layout and the JD-3 optical-electronic suppression system. This tank can fire 125mm HEAT-FS, or a heavy hitting APFSDS shell with over 450 mm of armor penetration. Additionally, the ZTZ99A (P) can find enemies with a thermal imager, and fire these rounds accurately with its laser rangefinder, making it a strong tank at rank VII!
  
  
  
• The A-5C is a rank VI export variant of the Q-5, created at the request of the Pakistan Air Force. This attack aircraft features two 23 mm cannons, countermeasures and powerful Matra Magic air-to-air missiles. For ground targets, it features large high-explosive rockets as well as bombs, which can be aimed accurately with the ballistic computer.

These two tanks are temporarily available for 8,380 and 8,730 Golden Eagles respectively.

When: From January 29th (12:00 GMT) until February 5th (11:00 GMT).
Where: China > Army > Premium vehicles.

• The Type 69-IIa is an export variant of the Type 69, created for the Iraqi Army. This tank is better protected and equipped with a laser rangefinder and smoke grenades. Thanks to its 100 mm rifled gun found on the Type 59, the Type 69-IIA is great in the sniper role at rank V!
  
  
  
• The Т-62 №545 is a Soviet tank that was captured by the Chinese Army. It has everything needed for a good MBT — mobility, a two-plane stabilizer that allows you to maintain accuracy, good frontal armor and powerful shells. This tank can be found at rank VI in the Chinese ground forces tree.

When: From January 29th (11:00 GMT) until February 5th (11:00 GMT).

Special bundles and starter packs are temporarily available at a discount for the Lunar New Year!

• USA Starter Pack -50%
  
• Chinese Starter Pack -50%
  
• USSR Starter Pack -50%
  
• Swedish Starter Pack -50%
  
• Japanese Starter Pack -50%
  
• Italian Starter Pack -50%
  
• French Starter Pack -50%
  
• German Beginner’s Pack -50%
  
• British Starter Pack -50%

Price: 125 62.49

• A-5C Pack
  
• Type 96A Prototype Pack
  
• Unique title: “Snake Charmer”
  
• Unique decal: “Beauty rat snake”
  

Price: 140 69.99

• Al-Khalid Pack
  
• J-7D Pack
  
• Unique title: “Serpent Rising”
  
• Unique decal: “Horned pit viper”
  

Players on all platforms who already own the A-5C and ZTZ96A (P) can earn the “Snake Charmer” title and the “Beauty rat snake” decal by playing 3 battles with either vehicle before February 5th.

Players on all platforms who already own the Al-Khalid and J-7D can earn the “Serpent Rising” title and the “Horned pit viper” decal by playing 3 battles with either vehicle before February 5th.

Note! This offer is valid for PC, Mac and Linux users only. PlayStation and Xbox users will be able to purchase the “Snake Charmer” Bundle and the “Serpent Rising” Bundle in their respective stores.

When: From January 17th (11:00 GMT) until February 4th (11:00 GMT).

This event is dedicated to the Lunar New Year where you can get fantastic snake decals and the awesome British FV4030/3 Shir 2 tank!

Check out the details of this event here

When: From January 29th (11:00 GMT) until February 28th (11:00 GMT).

You can purchase the Snake Box from the in-game Item Shop for 60,000 Silver Lions. This box contains vehicles and items from past events and doesn’t need a key to be opened!

Check out the Snake Box details here