War Thunder News

The trees are turning colors and losing their leaves! Your fall-themed screenshots were superb. This week we want to see your vehicle with decals and decorations, or even a whole new skin! See details below. The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

[h2]Let’s begin the 90th edition of our competition![/h2]

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen90. You have time until 27.10.2023 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.


[h3]Terms:[/h3]

Your screenshot must include decals, decorators, or a customized skin!
You can find a wide selection of skins on live.warthunder.com You must add the #WTscreen90 tag (title cannot have any other text in it).
• 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.
  

[h2]And now, time for the winners of the competition’s 89th edition - Fall Colors![/h2]

[h3]Winners selected via community votes:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3052028451
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3051464603
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3051617247

[h3]Winners selected by our judges:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3051611082
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3051401055
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3052302813

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

Welcome to the main aviation prize of the upcoming season of the War Thunder Battle pass called “Tropical Storm”, the Strikemaster Mk.88 strike jet aircraft!

[h2]Strikemaster Mk.88: A Premium Strike Aircraft for Britain at Rank IV![/h2]

Features:

• Subsonic.
  
• Good payload!
  
• Weak guns.
  

[h2]Meet the Strikemaster Mk.88![/h2]

The grand prize of the new Battle pass season, “Tropical Storm” is the very unusual British Strikemaster Mk.88 attack jet, originally designed as an inexpensive attack aircraft. A vibe of the late 70’s, rainforests and VHS action movies, the Strikemaster Mk.88 is certainly a cool vehicle. Let’s dive into the details!

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Interesting: The Strikemaster Mk.88 earned the unofficial nickname of “Blunty” in the New Zealand Air Force, due to its overall round appearance, especially the nose!

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Arriving as a premium at rank IV in the British aviation tree, the Strikemaster Mk.88 is a compact and nimble subsonic attack aircraft which can carry a very respectable payload! This includes 4 x 500 lb bombs, including the American Mk.82 Snake Eye bombs, as well as SNEB, Mighty Mouse and Type 80 Sura rockets, plus machine gun pods. This is all quite impressive considering its size and predecessor aircraft, which was designed as a light trainer.



The main weakness however of the Strikemaster Mk.88 is its guns, which are only rifle-caliber machine guns. Due to the nature of these guns, the Strikemaster will be fairly weak to use against enemy aircraft and expectedly, will do little to no damage against ground vehicles, apart from the occasional open-top vehicle that you might encounter in battle.

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Did you know? BAC produced several Strikemaster variants based on the needs of foreign operators. For example, Mk.80 for Saudi Arabia, Mk.81 for South Yemen, Mk.87 for Kenya and Mk.89 for Ecuador!

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In other roles, the Strikemaster Mk.88 will be fun to use as overall, its flight characteristics combined with good ordnance options will make it a viable option in ground matches or bombing air bases. In addition to this, it’s a premium aircraft that will help you research the lower ranks made up of piston aircraft in the British aviation research tree!

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In your matches: Pro-tips when using the Strikemaster Mk.88 by Jan (Copsi), Marketing Manager: “When you see a plane, pretend you are dead, or try to. You are *technically* able to shoot down enemies if they can’t see you, but realistically, you should probably focus on bombing tanks, those that can't run from you. You have a good loadout to come in low, avoid AA guns, and have a good platform to give good CAS support.”

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The premium Strikemaster Mk.88 will be available in the upcoming Battle pass season “Tropical Storm” which starts on October 25th. Until then, keep an eye out for news surrounding this Battle pass, enjoy your matches and see you soon!

The TAN-SAM-1C is the result of an effort to develop a modern, missile-based anti-air system for the JSDF which up until then primarily relied on conventional weaponry. Arriving to top rank battles as part of the upcoming “Kings of Battle” major update, the TAN-SAM-1C will reinforce the Japanese SPAA line with a highly capable new SAM system!

[h2]TAN-SAM-1C: An SPAA for Japan at Rank VII![/h2]

Features:

• Fire and forget missiles.
  
• Excellent mobility.
  
• Lightweight protection.
  
• Large silhouette.
  
• Two man crew.
  

[h2]Meet the TAN-SAM-1C![/h2]

Coming to War Thunder as part of the upcoming “Kings of Battle” major update, the TAN-SAM-1C will arrive to Japan's ground research tree as a top ranked SPAA vehicle! Succeeding the Type 93 in the game, the TAN-SAM-1C will offer you more powerful and longer-reaching missiles, thus increasing the level of protection it can provide for allied ground units. Let’s dive into the details!

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Developer’s comment: “The TAN-SAM missiles will have photo contrast mode, which allows for long-range capture against the sky in good daytime visibility. In this mode, the interference immunity is also higher. However, during night it’s not possible to capture targets against the ground background. For example, when you’re on the ground and you try to capture a target against the background of a mountain slope. We’ll tell you more about the photo contrast mode in another dev blog.”

[/h3]

Being accustomed to the compact Type 93, you may be left stunned by the bulky appearance of the TAN-SAM-1C at first glance. However, with its larger size also comes an expanded combat capability not least of which can be attributed to the vehicle’s formidable missiles. Bearing the same designation, the SAMs of the TAN-SAM-1C are also IR guided, similar to those found on the Type 93, but feature a vastly superior range and G-tolerance over their already familiar counterparts.



As a result, you’ll be able to engage hostile aerial threats at greater distances and with greater efficacy. However, despite the missiles’ convenient fire-and-forget feature, they are still susceptible to being thrown off course by the timely use of countermeasures by their prey. Conserving ammunition and ensuring its efficient use is imperative with the TAN-SAM-1C as it only carries 8 missiles in total. This means that during a heated engagement with hostile air presence, the TAN-SAM-1C can’t boast about excellent combat endurance. Therefore, make sure to either pick your shots carefully or stay relatively close to strategic points in order to quickly rearm!

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Did you know? TAN-SAM SAMs have been in service with land, sea and air units of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the country has never exported the system to foreign operators.

[/h3]



Fortunately, being based on a truck chassis, the TAN-SAM-1C features excellent mobility. Powered by a 286 horsepower diesel engine, the vehicle can reach a very respectable top speed of 90 km/h on paved surfaces and can quickly shift positions on the battlefield — a highly useful trait, especially when bearing in mind the need to rearm frequently in between engagements. On the flip side of the coin however, the TAN-SAM-1C is a very light vehicle and as a result features practically no protection to the threats of a modern battlefield.

[h3]

In your matches: Pro-tips when using the TAN-SAM-1C by Tom (Oxy), WT Community Manager (TL): “Due to the limited ammo capacity it’s really important to pick your shots carefully. With any kind of anti-air it pays to be patient, as soon as an aircraft is aware of you they will become a lot harder to shoot down, so even if your target is within range I’d recommend holding off on the trigger for just a little longer until you have the clearest shot possible — the further away they are, the more time they have to avoid your missile.”

[/h3]



The TAN-SAM-1C will soon be making its way to the top rank of the Japanese ground forces tree as a much anticipated reinforcement to the SPAA line as part of the upcoming “Kings of Battle” major update. Until then, keep an eye on our website for more devs, enjoy your matches and see you soon!

On October 22nd 1956, the Bell UH-1 Iroquois (commonly known as the “Huey”) multi-role helicopter took to the skies for the first time. This helicopter was put into service in 1959, and is still in active use today! Over 70 countries use or have used this famous helicopter, where it is ranked amongst the top 3 in terms of number built.



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When: From October 20th (12:00 GMT) until October 23rd (07:00 GMT).
Where: USA > Helicopters > Premium vehicles.

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[h3]About the helicopter[/h3]

• The UH-1C XM-30 is easy to fly and operate, and thanks to its great optical sights, you’ll be able to take out enemy ground vehicles from a distance with its TOW missiles. The UH-1C also features other ordnance options such as minigun pods, FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets, and powerful experimental 30 mm XM140 cannons. But the most interesting weapon that this helicopter can carry is the nose-mounted 40 mm M75 grenade launcher, which can come in handy when firing at open-top ground vehicles!
  

On October 21st 1805, the British fleet commanded by Admiral Nelson caused a crushing defeat to the combined naval forces of France and Spain at the Battle of Trafalgar. This victory not only prevented Napoleon’s invasion of England, but also made Great Britain the ultimate ruler of the seas. For this reason, October 21st is the main holiday for the Royal Navy in the UK!



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When: From October 20th (10:00 GMT) until October 23rd (07:00 GMT).
Where: Britain > Bluewater fleet > Premium vehicles.

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[h3]About the ship[/h3]

• HMCS Haida is a fast and maneuverable Destroyer, with outstanding air defensive weapons in the form of 20 mm Oerlikon cannons! In addition to this, the Haida also poses a threat against enemy boats and destroyers with its 6 x 120 mm main caliber guns and torpedo capability. A well rounded ship capable of many things.
  

For this day, you’ll be able to get this decal by completing the following task.

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When: From October 20th (10:00 GMT) until October 23rd (07:00 GMT).
Task: Play 3 battles using British ships to receive the “Famous Ships: HMS Victory” decal!

[/h3]

“Famous Ships: HMS Victory” 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 → Trafalgar Day.
  
• You can find the decal in the “Holidays” tab in the Customisation menu.