War Thunder News

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The next major update for War Thunder — “Alpha Strike”!

[h3]Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus (Happy St. David’s Day)![/h3] 
On March 1st, Wales celebrates St. David’s Day! On this day, parades and music festivals take place all around the country, as well as the wearing of the daffodil and leek. We’re joining in by temporarily bringing back the Welsh flag decal for the first time since 2016.


This flag is available for 500 Golden Eagles over the weekend period.

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When: From February 29th (12:00 GMT) until March 4th (07:00 GMT).
Where: You can find this decal by going to Nickname → Decals → Common → World Flags.

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“Wales” flag decal

We’ve got more to talk about regarding the work on improvements and bug fixes to the game over the past 2 weeks! Let’s take a look at what we’ve been working on.

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

[h2]The Severe Damage mechanic has been implemented[/h2]



We recently spoke about this mechanic in a separate news post here. Briefly, this mechanic rewards both the player who inflicted severe damage, and the player who destroyed this enemy aircraft. A test for this mechanic happened last week and now we’ve enabled it for aircraft in all game modes!

[h2]Some interface improvements![/h2]
In the previous It’s Fixed update, we released a new HUD that was specific to the “Battle” mode for ground forces which featured a better indicator with the number of vehicles destroyed and time left. Thanks for the feedback that you’ve provided on this. We’ve gone ahead and made some cosmetic changes to further improve this HUD.

We’ve now made the animation when a vehicle is destroyed to be more simple, so that it’s not as distracting as before: it’ll now only blink once when there’s a destruction instead of pulsate. We’ve also made some changes to the capture point icon: being directly on a capture point is now indicated, with the icon becoming larger. The colors, outline and background of the capture point icon have been improved in general as well as when capturing a point, to help with readability overall.

In addition to this interface improvement, we’ve added an additional window to let you know if you’re sure you want to enable the ability to research helicopters with ground vehicles. This has been added because players have accidentally enabled this option without knowing, causing many to become confused as to why no research was going towards their ground vehicles. This additional window will help to avoid these situations.

[h2]Scouting made better[/h2]



Also in the previous It’s Fixed, we made some changes to active scouting on ground vehicles, and since then there’s been another improvement.

You know those times when you were going to scout an enemy, but right before pressing the scout button, the enemy you had in your sights was engaged by an ally and destroyed. Since you scouted right at that moment, your active scouting gets a lengthy cool-down as it was counted as a miss.

We’ve reduced this timer if this occurs: if an enemy was destroyed less than 1 second ago, your active scout will not be counted as a miss, which means you’ll be able to scout again after 6 seconds — the same amount of time for a successful scout — rather than 45 seconds.

[h2]Tracer rounds and a stealth belt for some Swedish aircraft![/h2]



Several Swedish aircraft had no tracer rounds in their belts, which meant there wasn’t a separate stealth belt as it was not needed. This made shooting difficult for these aircraft, so we’ve decided to add the type 5876 armor-piercing tracer round to the existing belts for the Akan m/55 cannon, and a separate stealth belt to this gun as well on the following aircraft: SAAB-105G, SAAB-105OE, AJ37, AJS37, J29D, J32B, J35A, J35XS, J35D and SK60B.

We’ve also expanded the range of belts available to the GSh-30 cannon. All Mi-24 helicopters and Su-25 aircraft will now be able to use stealth belts.

[h2]That’s not all[/h2]
The full list of improvements can be found in each separate update note. Here’s some others: Aircraft without horizontal stabilizers no longer receive severe damage from any type of hit, gun stabilization in the rear hemisphere of a tank has been corrected, and the correct grid square is now announced in voiceover when an artillery strike is made.

• Update 2.33.0.145
• Update 2.33.0.135
• Update 2.33.0.132

[h2]Today's update: Update 2.33.0.156[/h2]

[h2]From the Roadmap[/h2]

• The Severe Damage mechanic carried over from the previous Roadmap has now been added to all gamemodes for aircraft.
  

[h2]Ground Vehicles[/h2]

• A bug with the gun stabilizer which caused them work with a delay when moving the gun horizontally in the rear hemisphere has been fixed.
  
• VT-4A1, Black Night — a bug causing the APS launchers to sometimes make an extra rotation when activated has been fixed.
  
• A bug where leaving a fighter during an air event in Ground Arcade Battles caused ground vehicle markers to appear to a spectating player has been fixed.
  

[h2]Aircraft[/h2]

• F-111A — missing limitation on wing folding when attaching underwing 20 mm cannons in the Dynamic Campaign mode has been fixed.
  
• For the Akan m/55 gun, the type 5876 armor-piercing tracer round has been added to the ammunition range. A stealth belt for the Akan m/55 gun has been added to the following aircraft: SAAB-105G, SAAB-105OE, AJ37, AJS37, J29D, J32B, J35A Saab, J35XS, J35D, SK60B.
  
• Mi-24P (all variants), Su-25 (all variants) — a stealth belt has been added to the GSh-30 cannon.
  
• A bug where aircraft without horizontal stabilzers received severe damage from any hit has been fixed. (Report)
  

[h2]Naval Vessels[/h2]

• A bug where the reload time for main caliber guns increased up to 2 times when a feed elevator was destroyed has been fixed.
  
• A bug where the aiming indicator remained visible while torpedoes were being reloaded has been fixed.
  

[h2]Interface[/h2]

• The new “Battle” mode HUD has been improved:
  
  • The destroyed vehicle counter animation has been simplified;
    
  • Indication of when a player is at a capture point has been added;
    
  • The color of the font, outline and background of the capture points has been changed so that they are similar to the spatial HUD (font and outline to black, background to white) for better readability of capture point progress;
    
  • Thickness of the outline for a capture point has been reduced for better readability of the capture progress.
    
• A confirmation window when enabling the “Researching of helicopters playing ground vehicles” option has been added.
  
• A bug that caused crew qualifications to not be updated in the crew window after purchasing an expert or ace crew has been fixed.
  
• A bug that caused an unobtainable camouflage to be shown in the modification window after unlocking all camouflages for a vehicle has been fixed.
  
• A bug where flag tooltip background in the customization window could have been smaller than the flag itself has been fixed.
  

[h2]Sound[/h2]

• A bug causing the voiceover to say an incorrect grid square and number when calling an artillery strike 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.

In this blog we’ll be talking about the most advanced variant of the Buccaneer that will soon be taking to the skies in War Thunder: meet the Buccaneer S.2B!

[h2]Buccaneer S.2B: A Strike Aircraft for Britain at Rank VII[/h2]

Features:

• AIM-9L missiles.
  
• Laser-guided bombs.
  
• Internal Countermeasures.
  
• Large payload.
  

Vehicle History
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Initially intended for the Royal Navy, the RAF showed little interest in the Buccaneer until the cancellation of both TSR-2 and the RAF’s own version of the Aardvark, the F-111K, led to a decision to adopt the Buccaneer into service to fill a gap in capabilities. This coincided with the gradual retirement of Aircraft Carriers from the Royal Navy freeing up aircraft that could be provided to the RAF, as well as new build aircraft to the S.2B standard. This variant would initially see an enlarged “bulged” bomb bay and the capacity for Martel Anti-Ship missiles.

Operation Pulsator, supporting British forces in Lebanon in 1983, would see a further significant upgrade for the Buccaneer, introducing internal countermeasures to the aircraft for better self defence. AIM-9G and AIM-9L capability was also added, a notable improvement over earlier AIM-9Bs on earlier S.2s.

Despite its age, the Buccaneer would however still prove its worth as late as the 1991 Gulf War, acting as a laser designator aircraft for Tornado GR.1s to deliver their laser guided bombs before early TIALD pods became available for operations. Later in the conflict, Buccaneers would themselves take part in direct bombing attacks.

Initially not planned to take part in “Operation Granby”, a handful of Buccaneer S.2Bs from No.12, 208 and 237 OCU were rushed over to the Gulf, hastily repainted in “Desert Pink” and equipped now with AIM-9Ls and Pave Spike pods. The pilots that would operate them dubbed themselves the “Sky Pirates” and were famous for their skull and crossbones flag and colourful nose art adorning many of the aircraft that took part.

The Tornado would however fully replace the last Buccaneers in service shortly after the Gulf War, covering all roles that it had previously maintained. The last Buccaneers would bow out of service with the RAF in 1994, 36 years after the first Buccaneer took to the skies.

[/expand]


[h2]Meet the Buccaneer S.2B![/h2]

In the next major update, the RAF’s Buccaneer S.2B variant will be joining the Strike aircraft line of the British tree, taking its place at Rank VII and filling a noticeable gap. This variant of the Buccaneer addresses many of the shortcomings of the previous variant, improving both defensive and offensive capabilities. Let’s take a look at what’s on offer!

Firstly, the S.2B has both internally mounted countermeasures and also more of them in total. Unlike the previous version, you won’t have to use valuable wing stations in order to have protection from missile threats. This means you can instead use those pylons for more strike weaponry, or the expanded Sidewinder arsenal this variant offers with both the AIM-9G and L available.

Interesting: Buccaneers in the Gulf War that were originally based in RAF Lossiemouth, flown by the “Sky Pirates”, were aptly named for their Scottish heritage after Malt Whiskeys adorned on the side of the aircraft.

The other key focus of this Buccaneer is its precision air-to-ground loadouts. Armed with a Pave Spike targeting pod, the S.2B can deploy Paveway II bombs as well as the regular conventional bomb types found on the previous variant. This gives a noticeable level of flexibility, allowing you some degree of standoff against more dangerous targets from a far, all while retaining the capacity to come in afterwards with conventional bombs and take full advantage of the CCIP system onboard. Lastly, the S.2B offers Martel anti-ship missiles for larger targets that really require a sizable strike!

In your matches by Scott, Community Manager: “The Buccaneer is a real personal favourite of mine thanks to its distinctive character. The S.2B rounds off the aircraft family nicely as a perfect CAS choice for many ground lineups surrounding the Challenger Is, and offers some significant improvements over the existing variant available in the tree. The internal countermeasures widen your strike options and mean you don't have to choose between Sidewinders and Flares/Chaff anymore. Whilst you still should not directly seek out combat with other aircraft, having that extra defence and the all-aspect offence really improves your chances in tricky situations. Use your Paveways to deal with SPAA/SAMs and keep out of harm’s way as much as possible, following up with your standard bombs. Armed with both guided bombs and AIM-9L missiles, it can strike hard, keep itself reasonably well defended and still make it home safely for tea!”

This improved Buccaneer variant will shortly be joining the ranks of the British tree, bridging the gap between the earlier Buccaneer S.2 and Tornado GR.1. As always, stay tuned to the news to see what else we have lined up for the next major update in War Thunder. Until then, enjoy your battles!

In this month’s Pages of History, you’ll be at the center of events that took place in different theaters of war. The Pacific Ocean and North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the Rhine: take part in battles with the vehicles corresponding to these historic battles and receive prizes. 

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From March 1st until March 31st, you’ll be offered 8 tasks consecutively. Completing each will reward you with a trophy, and completing all of them will earn you a unique player icon.

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[h3]Jan Zumbach[/h3]
Jan Zumbach was a Polish pilot who served in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He flew a Supermarine Spitfire and shot down at least 12 enemy aircraft. Zumbach rose to the rank of squadron leader and was awarded the War Order of Virtuti Militari, the highest Polish military decoration.

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

[h2]Trophy reward for each task[/h2]

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).
  

[h2]Other terms[/h2]

• 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.
  

You can read a detailed description of which task is for which day and your overall progress by going to your Nickname → Achievements → Pages of History.

[h2]March 1st — March 4th [/h2]
[h3]Battle of the Bismarck Sea[/h3]
From the 2nd to the 4th March 1943, Allied air forces attacked a Japanese naval convoy transporting soldiers from Rabaul to Lae in Papua New Guinea. American-Australian forces managed to sink all transport ships and half of the covering ships.

[h2]March 5th — March 8th[/h2]
[h3]First flight of the Supermarine Spitfire[/h3]
On March 5th 1936, the Supermarine Spitfire, one of the fastest fighters of its time and the pride of the Royal Air Force during World War II, took off for its first test flight. In total across all variants, more than 20,000 Spitfires were produced. They were actively used during the Battle of Britain and several other fronts such as the Eastern front where they were supplied under Lend-Lease.

[h2]March 9th — March 12th[/h2]
[h3]Pskov Operation[/h3]
On March 9th 1944, the Pskov offensive operation began. The Red Army wanted to encircle Wehrmacht forces near Pskov, defeat them and liberate the city. However, after a month of fighting, Soviet troops were only able to advance 15 km forward.

[h2]March 13th — March 16th [/h2]
[h3]Saar-Palatinate Offensive[/h3]
On March 15th 1945, a large-scale Allied offensive began in Germany. In ten days, they went from Saarbrücken to Karlsruhe, completely taking control of the western bank of the Rhine.

[h2]March 16th — March 19th [/h2]
[h3]Vienna operation[/h3]
On March 16th 1945, Soviet and Bulgarian troops launched an attack on German fortifications near Vienna. Battles took place literally for every block and street. After a month of fierce urban fighting, the capital of Austria was completely cleared of Wehrmacht forces.

[h2]March 20th — March 23rd [/h2]
[h3]Battle of El Guettar[/h3]
The defeat of Allied forces in the Kasserine Pass encouraged German command in North Africa to launch a further counteroffensive. On March 23rd 1943, Axis tank units launched an attack on American positions near El Guettar, but minefields and artillery held back their onslaught, inflicting notable losses. An Allied offensive conducted at the same time also proved fruitless, and the front line did not move at the end of March.

[h2]March 23rd — March 26th [/h2]
[h3]Battle of Najaf[/h3]
At the outset of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, offered significant resistance. As a result of the fighting, which began on March 24th and ended on April 4th, the Americans lost 4 vehicle units while the Iraqi side lost more than 100.

[h2]March 27th — March 31st [/h2]
[h3]Battle of Cape Matapan[/h3]
In March 1941 Germany planned to invade Greece, which required disrupting British shipping in the eastern Mediterranean. The Italian fleet was supposed to carry out this task, but it was unprepared for battle in night conditions and greatly underestimated the British forces. In addition the Italians, unlike the British, did not have an aircraft carrier and as a result, suffered a crushing defeat.