- Yes
- No
Introduction:
Hi everyone, today i would like to suggest a 90mm equipt light tank for the british tech tree based on the stormer chassis. This concept vehicle was originally proposed as an alternative to the scorpion 90, and was on the leangthened Stormer CVR(T) chassis (one more road wheel over the scorpion family) fitted with a Giat TS90 turret, equipt with a rather powerful 90-mm CN90F4 cannon. This gun should be familar to players in game, as the same turret is mounted on the Mars 15 in game currently, and the storm 90 would be capable of using the same ammunition types avalible to the Mars 15. Because of this comparable vehicle already present in game, i belive this would make a nice 8.0 light tank to the british tech tree, as it offers a mobile chassis and a gun with sufficient oof to get the job done 
Vehicle history:
Alvis Vehicles Limited, as part of its private venture created a Low Profile Experimental Vehicle (LPXV) programme, which sought to create a light tank armed with a 90 mm gun for potential export sale. To do this they drew from experiance gained with the scorpion 90 and stormer range of light armoured vehicles, including the stormer flatbed which was designed and built in only 14 weeks for use during operation desert storm. To minimise costs it was decided to use existing technologies to create a fast turn around time, and as such the automotive components incorporated into the storm 90 are similar or identical to the Alvis Stormer, which was in production at the time for the british army as a platform for the Starstreak High-Velocity Missile System.
This elongated CVR(T) chassis of the stormer was mated with a Giat TS90 turret, equipt with a 90-mm CN90F4 cannon to create a functional, air portable light tank. This vehicle had a combat weight of 12.9 tonnes, enabling rapid deployment to even remote theaters of operation. This was done by utilizing an all-welded aluminium construction, with a compact layout placing the driver front left, powerpack to his right, with the two man turret mounted towards the rear. using this economical positioning the armour protection was able to resist up to 14.5mm AP rounds and 155mm artillery splinters all around, and the frontal arc was protected from attack up to 30mm rounds. The vehicle is propelled by a turbocharged and charge cooled diesel engine, coupled to a fully automatic, microprossessor controlled transmission with full override capacity, though in regards to the power train the interesting part is the hybrid type hydropneumatic suspension units present on the first, second and sixth road wheel, with the third fourth and fifth wheel being normal torsion bar type suspension. the drive sprocket for the vehicle is in the front, with a rear idler and two return rollers.
Overall for a prototype vehicle the Storm 90 is rather standard, possessing off the shelf technology, and reliable performance, unfortunately the vehicle was never aquired by any armed forces due to its emergence at that awkward transitional period just before the end of the cold war, where there was a sudden abundance of surplus armoured vehicles. Because of this a low cost alternative as no longer required, as nato was down sizing, and the nations wishing to grow their forces suddenly had acess to large numbers of pattons and t55’s, meaning the market for this vehicle no longer existed. Just because of this commercial failure though, doesnt mean it would not be a good addition to the game, and the Alvis Storm 90 has the opportunity to prove itself in the battle fields of war thunder, even if it never got the chance irl.
Historical Photos:
The initial concept demonstrator on display at the British army Equipment exhibition 1988 (Farnborough)
Company mock up of the project for promotional material:
Image of the storm 90 concept demonstrator out in a field, probably undergoing company trials or a demonstration:
Vehicle specification:
official Alvis line drawing of the storm 90:
The turret is the French Giat Industries TS-90 two-man turret with a 90 mm CN90F4 cannon and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. A total of 55 rounds of 90 mm and 2200 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition could be carried in the vehicle for combat operations. In terms of its automotive components it used as many as possible from the stomer it was derived from, this results in it having the same engine and transmission, with the slight increased weight going up to 12.9 tonnes from the stormers normal 12.7 tonnes. Asside from this it is nearly mechanically identical to the stormer, and as such it should have the following general charictaristics:
Specifications
Mass 12.9 tonnes
Length 5.27 m
Width 2.76 m
Height 2.49 m
Crew 3 (gunner, commander, driver)
Engine Perkins 6-litre, 6-cylinder diesel
250 hp (186 kW)
Power/weight 21 hp/tonne
Transmission David brown TN15D
Suspension Torsion bar
Operational
range 400 miles, 650 km
Maximum speed 50 mph, 80 km/h
In regards to the turret, it should have a Vertical guidance of around -8° / 15° and a rotation speed of around 24.0 based on the information availble for the turret. but as it has the same turret as the Mars 15 the capabilities should be the same in game, as with other tanks that share their components. This extends to the ammunition, with the gun being able to fire apfsds, he, heat and smoke shells depending on the situation required.
Sources:
- Army Guide (overview of the project)
- Мечты о легком танке: Alvis LPXV, как английская версия мечты. - Не теряйте мужества - худшее впереди! — ЖЖ (Additional info and photograph)
- https://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/british-army-medium-weight-capability/the-eighties/ (Project metioned in relation to other stormer variants)
- x.com (Excerpt from Wheels and Tracks magazine, showing the LPXV among other projects)
- Army Guide (Info on the gun)
- Army Guide (Info on the turret)
