Gaijin Entertainment has announced today the Fire and Ice update for War Thunder, an update already available to all players.
New Finnish aerial and ground vehicles are coming, including the famous carro armato BT-42, dozens of other tanks, ships, and aircraft such as the modern American main battle tank M1A2 SEP con il kit TUSK, the legendary corazzata giapponese Fuso, the latest Russian anti-aircraft system 2S38 "Derivatsia-PVO", plus two new maps: "Arctic" e "Rocky Canyon". The game also introduces the first tanks and boats equipped with flamethrowers. Finally, aircraft fuselages will now feature realistic volumetric holes, along with local smoke and fire effects, and hitting water will now produce a newly reworked splash effect.
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The Churchill Crocodile British tank is one of the most famous flame-throwing armoured vehicles in history. It is built on the design of the Mk.VII with a 75 mm cannon and excellent protection, but also equipped with a flame-thrower, powered by a trailer carrying fuel fixed behind the fuel tank. Thanks to this trailer, the Churchill Crocodile has the largest capacity of flammable mixture among armoured vehicles and is also the longest armoured vehicle in the game. The American flame-throwing boat "Zippo" makes its debut in War Thunder, created during the Vietnam War on the LCM(6) landing craft design. Flame-throwers positioned on either side at the bow will be an excellent tool in close-quarters battles. Spectacular jungle fires can also be set by the American attack aircraft A-1H Skyraider with napalm bombs in its arsenal. These three vehicle models are available with the release of the Fire and Ice update as rewards for the new Battle Pass season.
Flame-throwing tanks are effective in roughly the same situations as the napalm bombings presented earlier in the game. Flames won’t cause damage to the crew of a heavily armored vehicle, but light vehicles are extremely vulnerable to them: the fire mixture will instantly destroy the crew in an open cabin and ignite equipment. Tanks fire long, pressurized jets of fire in a high arc and can reach the enemy even behind a small cover. Additionally, the wheels of ground vehicles can now catch fire with napalm: so be careful when driving through a flaming puddle if you don’t want your tank to look very infernal.
The Fuso battleship entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1915, was significantly modernised during the interwar period and took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle of World War II. The latest version of the Fuso is now available in War Thunder. The ship’s main armament consists of six twin 14-inch guns, evenly distributed across the entire deck. Good aiming angles and ballistic characteristics are sufficient for the Fuso to inflict massive damage on the enemy.
And finally the 2S38 "Derivatsia-PVO", an anti-aircraft artillery module equipped with a 57 mm cannon mounted on a modified BMP-3 chassis. The first prototype of the vehicle was presented in 2018. The unmanned turret includes a target-tracking system for aerial targets, a laser rangefinder, a coaxial machine gun, a laser alarm sensor, and a thermal camera. Using the APFSDS rounds, the 2S38 can even engage an armoured vehicle if it takes it from the flank.
