War Thunder News

[h2]Welcome to the 4th War Thunder Steam Screenshot Competition![/h2]
So many reserve vehicles in one place! Great job soldiers! It was really hard to select the three best! But with an additional three selected from the community votes, we manage to find this week's winners!
Before we announce them, let’s start the 4th edition of our competition!

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub (link for instructions) with the tag #WTscreen04. You have until 12.12.2021 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.

[h2]Important addition: Screenshot theme - Fire and Smoke[/h2]

[h3]Terms:[/h3]

• Your screenshot needs to be focused on fire and smoke (burning vehicle, fire from barrel, smoke on horizon etc.).
  
• 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).
  
• 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 7 working days.
  

[h2]And now, time for the winners of the competition’s 3rd edition:[/h2]

[h3]Winners selected via community votes:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2669692767
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2668850452
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2668847733
[h3]Winners selected by our judges:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2668294169
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2255551496
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2669205977
Each winner will get 300GE! Congratulations and see you next week!

[h2]Scharnhorst, Battlecruiser, Germany, Rank V[/h2]
[expand]The battleship (or, according to another classification, the battlecruiser) Scharnhorst was the lead ship of the Kriegsmarine battleship series, built at the Wilhelmshaven shipyard and commissioned on January 7th, 1939. Almost immediately after entering service and until the very last day of her combat career, Scharnhorst took an active part in the Kriegmarine combat operations. The battleship was baptized by fire during a sabotage operation near Iceland, where the British Navy's auxiliary ship HMS Rawalpindi, adapted for military operations from an ocean liner, was sunk by her fire. Thereafter, Scharnhorst took part in the invasion of Norway. Here, together with her sister ship Gneisenau, the ships met the British battlecruiser HMS Renown, and after a quick firefight both German ships were forced to retreat due to the technical issues of Scharnhorst and damage to Gneisenau from HMS Renown’s fire. In early summer, German battleships met the British aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and sank it along with two escort destroyers. In this battle, Scharnhorst received the first significant combat wound from a torpedo from the destroyer, HMS Acasta (H09). After repairs that lasted until the end of 1940, Scharnhorst operated in the Atlantic, destroying Allied commercial ships and tankers.

After a raid of British heavy bombers near the French port of Brest, Scharnhorst was forced to dock for repairs that took the whole of 1941. In the winter of 1942, the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, supported by destroyers, torpedo boats and aircraft, made a daring dash along the English Channel into Germany. In March 1942, Scharnhorst was sent to reinforce the battleship Tirpitz for attacks on Arctic convoys. On December 26th, 1943, during an attempt to attack the convoy JW-55B, the battleship was discovered by the cruiser, HMS Belfast, followed by a battle between the convoy escort cruisers and the German battleship. Scouted and illuminated by the escort cruisers, Sharnhorst came under fire from the British battleship HMS Duke of York, the first volleys of which deprived the German of two main battery turrets and damaged the ship's power plant. After a short chase, Scharnhorst was sunk by torpedo attacks from destroyers and short range salvos from HMS Duke of York. Of the 1968 crew members, only 36 survived.[/expand]

Scharnhorst will appear in our game with the release of the next major update as a rank V battlecruiser in the German bluewater fleet research tree. Due to political restrictions, this well-protected and fast ship received “only” 283 mm guns. Within the game, however, Scharnhorst is more than competitive in comparison with other battleships: record protection in the main armour belt area (350 mm armour belt plus 105 mm armoured deck slope), a record maximum speed of 31.65 knots among battleships and battlecruisers, excellent main battery turret defense and a good selection of shells offer gameplay more typical for light cruisers more than battleships.

The auxiliary calibre of the battlecruiser Scharnhorst is single and twin mounts with 150 mm guns, quite well protected as well. Numerous anti-aircraft artillery is represented by twin mounts with 105mm cannons, as well as in 37mm and 20mm autocannons. The weak point of this brilliant ship is the lack of anti-torpedo bulges. The area below the ship's waterline is very vulnerable to torpedoes and artillery fire, hits there often lead to fires and damage to the propellers and rudders.

In other great news for all fleet commanders: in the upcoming update, War Thunder will have mechanics for launching shipbourne reconnaissance aircraft! We plan to have reconnaissance seaplanes on ships of all playable nations, and we will definitely add new aircraft in future major updates. The reconnaissance aircraft will allow you to better examine the enemy grouping, scout a ship hidden behind rocks, fight enemy aircraft, destroy an enemy boat with cannons and machine guns, or damage an enemy cruiser or destroyer with bombs. Just like regular seaplanes, reconnaissance hydroplanes will be able to capture points - a small plane can decide the outcome of a battle for large ships!
Let's see how this mechanic works in the example of the battlecruiser Scharnhorst, which is armed with Arado Ar.196 hydroplanes. When you press the button for activating the reconnaissance aircraft, the catapult starts turning the seaplane to a ready for take off position in the direction set by the player. When the take-off indicator changes color from red to blue - take-off is allowed! Pressing the aircraft control button again will take you to the cockpit, and the ship will continue to move on a preset course at a preset speed. When the situation around the ship requires the participation of the player, press the aircraft control button again - the scout aircraft will be controlled in automatic mode, and you will again find yourself on the ship's bridge. If the reconnaissance aircraft is lost, and the ship has spare aircraft and free catapults, after a certain period of “recharging” , the seaplane will be able to fly out for reconnaissance once again.

For a complete list of reconnaissance seaplanes, as well as the ships on which they will appear in the next update, see the changelog that we will publish on the day of update’s release. We believe that reconnaissance seaplanes will make the battles of big fleets even more interesting, and commanders of sea giants will have something to have fun with during their long maneuvers!

December the 5th is a day of Military Glory in Russia. 80 years ago, the Soviet army began the counteroffensive along the entire front line near Moscow that became one of the turning points of the Second World War.
[h3]From the 3rd of December (11:00 GMT) until the 6th of December (11:30 GMT) complete the special tasks to get Battle of Moscow prizes.[/h3]

• Play 3 battles while controlling USSR vehicles of rank III or above, and an activity 70% or above, to achieve a special decal: the “Battle of Moscow”.
  
• Destroy 40/20/20 (AB/RB/SB) enemy vehicles in random battles, while controlling T-34 (1940), T-34 (1941), T-28, T-34-57, GAZ-AAA (4M), T-26, KV-1 (L-11), T-60, T-26 (1 Gv.T.Br.), T-34 (1 Gv.T.Br.), ZiS-30, MiG-3-15 (BK), LaGG-3-11, IL-2 (1941), I-153 M-62, Zhukovsky’s I-153-M62, I-16 type 24, I-16 type 18, I-16 type 28, Pe-2-1, Pe-3, LaGG-3-8, or Yak-1, to achieve a “Maxim Gun” decoration for ground vehicles.
  
• Track your progress by clicking your nickname, then Achievements → Memorial Date.
  

[expand]
[h2]Temporarily on sale for Golden Eagles: T-34 (1st Gv.T.Br.)[/h2]

The premium T-34 (1st Gv.T.Br.) in unique winter camouflage will be available for purchase for Golden Eagles in the game in the Soviet research tree until 11:30 GMT on the 6th of December.

The tank is armed with a 76mm F-34 cannon which confidently destroys heavy and lightly armoured enemy vehicles. The main shell in battle is the BR-350B and also smoke D-350A shell which comes in handy for hiding your location in dangerous situations. It is also possible to take several high-explosive OF-350M shells to destroy lightly armoured enemy vehicles.[/expand]

The long-awaited top-tier Japanese main battle tank arrives in War Thunder. Meet the Type 10!
[h2]Type 10, main battle tank, Japan. Rank VII[/h2]
Features:

• Automatic loader
  
• Hydropneumatic suspension
  
• High reverse speed
  
• Exposure warning system
  

[h3]History[/h3]
[expand]The major goals in creating a new Japanese MBT were to increase all the primary tactical and technical characteristics, compared to the previous Type 90 design, while reducing the cost of production and the weight of the tank. The first prototype was ready by 2006, and in 2010 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries began serial production of the new Type 10 main battle tank. The engineers managed to create a vehicle that fully met the modern requirements for tanks of this class, while reducing its weight. In 2012, the Type 10 main battle tank began to enter military units in the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces and currently continues to serve.[/expand]

Japanese main battle tanks of the Type 90 series are deservedly loved by the players of top-tier tank battles in War Thunder. These are high-tech vehicles from the "western" school of tank building with remarkable characteristics. Japan's new Type 10 MBT does not create a revolution - it is a further development to the Type 90 concept, while the new tank is slightly better in almost everything than its predecessor. One of the main changes to the Type 10 is the automatic loader located in the rear of the tank, that allows it to keep the firerate similar to that of the Type 90. The new diesel engine is inferior in power to the Type 90 and is slightly inferior to it in maximum speed, but the reverse speed has doubled! The Type 10 also receives a new APFSDS round, that has the same name as the tank itself - Type 10. It complements the range of shells, already familiar with the JM12A1 HEATFS and the JM33 APFSDS rounds.

All the best qualities of the Type 90 are retained in the Type 10. Like its predecessor, the Type 10 uses a hydropneumatic suspension that allows play from slopes. The functional fire control system with the gun stabilizer, a laser rangefinder, a gunner thermal imaging channel and an override in the fire control are preserved as well. As in the Type 90, the crew consists of three tankers: commander, gunner and driver. The new Japanese MBT also features a laser warning system that is extremely useful in top tier battles.

The new Japanese MBT Type 10 will arrive in War Thunder with the upcoming major update. Follow our devblogs and be the first to know about all the news!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]Introducing the next major update teaser for War Thunder - 'Winged Lions'![/h2]