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[Development] Chapayev: The Commander at Sea



The ships of the Project 68K class are a group of Soviet light cruisers initially laid down before WWII, but were later completed during the early Cold War. Soon, Soviet captains in War Thunder will have the chance to take command of Chapayev - the lead ship of the class - after its arrival to the game with the upcoming update 1.91 “Night Vision”!

In War Thunder, the Chapayev will become available to all captains at rank IV of the Soviet naval tree. Sporting excellent firepower for a light cruiser, combined with good mobility, a sizeable crew complement and decent protection, the Chapayev will provide captains and fans of Soviet naval vessels in War Thunder with a highly versatile ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ type of warship.





Despite sharing some visual similarities with the Kirov-class, the Chapayev is quite distinctly different from its predecessor. For starters, unlike the Kirov, Chapayev was roughly built around the terms dictated by the Second London Naval Treaty. As such, the Chapayev didn’t receive 180mm guns, but was instead fitted with four triple 152mm main guns, more befitting of a light cruiser design. This also makes the Chapayev the first Soviet cruiser in War Thunder to be equipped with 152mm guns.

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

[Development] HMS Arethusa: Mistress of the Seas



HMS Arethusa is the lead ship of her class of four light cruisers, built for the Royal Navy between 1933 - 1937. This class of British light cruisers saw extensive action during WW2, mainly in the Mediterranean, and now HMS Arethusa herself will come to War Thunder as part of the upcoming update 1.91 “Night Vision” to join the ranks of the Royal Navy once more!

In War Thunder, HMS Arethusa will be a new light cruiser coming to rank IV of the British naval tree, with the release of the upcoming update 1.91. With her light protection, good mobility and typical early light cruiser firepower, HMS Arethusa will help bridge the gap between older and newer, more powerful British cruiser designs by combining certain aspects found on both into a single vessel.





HMS Arethusa’s primary armament consists of six BL 6-inch (152mm) Mk.XXIII cannons, split between three dual turrets. While this may seem a bit modest to veteran captains, well versed in the capabilities of some of the more powerful cruisers, for a lower ranked light cruiser, this primary armament will prove itself as quite sufficient in dealing with most threats that this vessel will likely face in battle.

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

[Development] Type 75: The Pulverizer



The Type 75 is a Japanese self-propelled howitzer, developed in the early 1970s for the JGSDF. Still serving as one of Japan’s primary mobile artillery units to this day, the Type 75 SPH will soon become available to all Japanese tankers, coming soon to War Thunder as part of the upcoming update 1.91 "Night Vision"!

In War Thunder, the Type 75 will be a new SPG, coming to the game as part of the next major update and will become available to all tankers at rank V of the Japanese ground forces tree. Combining the destructive power of a massive 155mm howitzer with a high rate of fire and a very nimble chassis, the Type 75 is bound to quickly find many fans among tankers who enjoy simply blasting away bits and pieces of tanks with big guns!





The biggest and most noticeable feature of the Type 75 is of course its 155mm NSJ L/30 howitzer. Although generally performing similar to other canons of this caliber in the game, tankers will have access to several key features on the Type 75, which distinguish it from other vehicles of this class in War Thunder. Namely, the Type 75 is fitted with a fully rotatable turret, giving it far more flexibility and tactical opportunities in engagements than other SPGs in the game. Furthermore, the Type 75 is also equipped with a drum-fed autoloading mechanism for its main gun. As a result, the vehicle has a flat 10 second reload time before the next round is ready to reduce another tank to ashes. Thanks to this handy feature, the Type 75 is also the first SPG in the game to offer such a fast reload for this gun caliber.

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

[Development] Chengdu J-7II: Domestic Technologies



The Chengdu J-7 is the Chinese reverse-engineered counterpart to the Soviet MiG-21F-13, which first appeared in the mid 1960s. In upcoming update 1.91, pilots in War Thunder will have the chance to fly the later J-7II version - the crowning jewel of the brand new Chinese aviation tree also coming as part of the next update!

In the early 1960s, the Sino-Soviet relationship was quickly deteriorating. In an effort to improve relations, the USSR invited top Chinese military officials to Moscow to oversee the production of the state-of-the-art MiG-21 interceptor and to negotiate possible licence-production. However, further deterioration of relations had a negative impact on the agreement, but in the end, technical documentation and components of the MiG-21 were eventually shared with China.





The J-7II will appear in player hangars following the release of upcoming update 1.91 and will represent the top machine available to pilots in the brand new Chinese aviation tree, also coming to the game as part of the next major update. Until then, clear skies and happy hunting pilots!

Check out the full Dev Blog here!

[Development] Mogami: Going All Out



Mogami is the lead ship of her class of four Japanese heavy cruisers, initially designed as light cruisers around the limits set by naval armament treaties at the time. Docking at player ports with the release of the upcoming update 1.91, Mogami will soon become the new crowning jewel of the Japanese cruiser line in War Thunder!

Development of the Mogami-class cruiser dates back to the early 1930s, when the IJN launched its development as part of a naval rearmament program. Wishing to substantially strengthen their navy’s cruisers, the IJN high command ordered for a new design to be drawn up which would practically reach the very limits of the London Naval Treaty in effect at the time.





Despite its impressive displacement of over 14,100 tons, Mogami is still able to reach a very respectable top speed of 34.7 knots (64 km/h). The ship is able to achieve such speeds, despite its sizeable displacement, mainly thanks to the 152,000 horsepower generated by its four geared turbines, powered by 10 steam boilers.

For more information, read the full Dev Blog article here!