MISSION STATEMENT

This website is to serve as a catalog of historical information for various tanks, across various stages of development, created for use by the United States from Pre-WWII through to the 1970s. However, the primary purpose for this website is to illustrate a proposal for what an "endgame" could look like for the US tech tree in the game, World Of Tanks, and to show that there's still plenty of life left to breathed into this game.

My aim is to see as many tanks in the game about tanks as possible, and I hope to show that in a way that respects both the historicity of the tanks shown and the balance of the game overall. As such, I will not be going into great detail on individual statistics. Rather, I will only be showing the possible modules for each tank, changes that could be made to make it more historically authentic, a historical overview, and how the tank's playstyle may be represented in-game. I will also attempt to future-proof this by including alternate hulls, half-tracks, and wheeled vehicles.

This is certainly not perfect and everything is subject to change. This is still a work in progress, and updates are frequent if not daily. This is a fan project and a labor of love. Do enjoy.

Saturday, October 7, 2017

T79/T80


Artistic rendition of the T79 GMC.

Very little is known about these two SPGs. Following the success of the M12, a new 155 mm SPG was proposed based on the T23 medium tank chassis. This vehicle was designated as the T79 Gun Motor Carriage. Another version was proposed using the 8-inch Howizter M1, designated as the T80 Howitzer Motor Carriage. However, objections by the Army Ground Forces towards the use of vehicles equipped with electric drives resulted in the rejection of these designs.

Beyond what Hunnicutt provides, there isn't much I've been able to uncover about these vehicles. One might imagine it would have a visually similar superstructure to the M40/M43, but simply with the chassis of the T23, as I've rendered. 

This tank would essentially replace the M40/M43 as we have it now, at Tier VIII. This would move the M40/M43 to Tier IX where it would receive some handling and mobility improvements.

The T79/T80 also starts a new trend for the rest of this SPG branch. As the M12 branch favored accuracy and gun handling, and the M44 branch favored damage output and splash, the T79/T80 offers a choice of either flavor. The 155 mm gun would be more accurate and have better characteristics, while the 8-Inch howitzer does more damage and has a larger splash radius. This makes either weapon a viable choice.

Guns: 155 mm Gun M1; 8-Inch Howitzer M1

Engines: Ford GAF (500 hp); Ford GAN (525 hp)

Suspensions/Alternate Hulls, Total Weight (metric tons): T79 (??); T80 (??)

Hull Armor (mm): ??/??/??

Top Speed: ?? km/h

Crew: 6 (Driver; Gunner; Loader; Loader; Commander; Radio)

Parents: M12, M44
Children: M40/M43

Sources:
Hunnicutt, R. P., Pershing, 2015

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