I would like to propose a Czechoslovak helicopter tree.
Some basic history
Czechoslovakia had one of the strongest armies in the Europe during both the interwar and the cold war period. It maybe did not have as many troops as some larger nations, but by quality of equipment it was among th best. One important thing a good miitary needs are helicopters. Czechoslovakia, similiarly to Sweden, Japan or Israel, did not produce any helicopters on its own. Instead, they used Soviet helicopters. Some of them were produced under license in domestic variant (MI-4B to be exact), others were later upgraded with new systems and received new armaments. MI-35 (export variant of MI-24V build specifically for Czech Republic which received upgraded engines, new IFF and some other smaller changes) received FLIR pod and glass cockpit. MI-171Š also received FLIR pod, glass cockpit and in addition new pilons with ability to carry up to 4 000kg. Some interesting armaments that Czech helicopters can carry are the JRRO-130 and LR-122 rocket launchers, which are basically 130mm and 122mm rockets used on RM-51 Praga and RM-70/Grad, respectivelly. These days, both Czech Republic and Slovakia are buying American helicopters, with Slovakia using the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and Czechia going to receive 1st of its AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters just in few months/weeks.
How would the tree look like
Rank 5 starts with MI-4B, which is a domestically produced variant of the Soviet MI-4 helicopter. This variant didnt receive Falanga ATGMs like the Soviet MI-4 we have in game did. Instead, it received ability to carry up to 16 JRRO-130 rockets, which are the same rockets used on RM-51 MLRs. It also could also carry up to 96 S-5K rockets and it was even tested with Malyutka ATGMs. Following it is the UH-1Y Venom, which, even though it is a preety modern helicopter (first flight was 2001) and it has some modern equipment like FLIR pod, its still a Huey, and its not armed very heavily. It can actually carry just 38 Hydra rockets, thats all. It can also use the guided APKWS rockets, but these aren´t very great (atleast not in the game AFAIK) + Czech Republic doesnt use them, or atleast there is no info about it. It would basically be like the Japanese UH-1B, just slightly faster, with ballistic computer and FLIR, 0.6 BR higher. Other helis on rank 5 include the premium MI-8T and optionally-researchable MI-2URP (this heli was IRL only tested with armament and disarmed shortly after the tests as it couldnt hit anything and almost crashed twice, so it could be removed from the tree completely if Gaijin wants)
Rank 6 starts with modernised MI-171Š, which is equipped with FLIR, glass cockpit an better pylons amongst other things. IRL it can also be equipped with miniguns that can be used by door gunners, which would probably be useless in game, but still interesting. Next is the Mi-35, which is an export version of the MI-24V (the name can confuse some, as Russians also produced a more modern version of the MI-24 under designation MI-35M later on). This heli differs from the in-game counterpart mainly by the ability to be equipped with FLIR pod and some different armament options (Grad rockets). It also has a slightly different cockpit. Then there is a Slovak Black Hawk
and an MI-24D, which is a direct copy of the MI-24D we already have in game.
In rank 7 you can find only the AH-1Z Viper, which is the most modern helicopter in the Czech (and possibly soon in the Slovak) use. Its a preety decent heli, currently siting at the 11.0 in-game. Good maneuverability, FLIR pod with up to 84x zoom and ability to carry up to 16 hellfires along 2 AIM-9L missiles make it a perfect toptier helicopter
The tree itself
(open it on this link if you want to take a better look at the vehicles/look at their armament, top speed and protection): Czechoslovak helicopter tree
(plese note that the BRs are approximate only)
Vehicles on the tree:
Researchable helicopters
Rank V
MI-4B (8.0)
Armament:
16x JRRO-130 rockets
96x S-5 rockets
4x Malyutka ATGMs
Max speed: 185km/h
MI-2URP (8.0) *
Armament:
1x 23mm NS-23KM
32x S-5 rockets
4x 9M14M Malyutka
Max speed: 210km/h
UH-1Y Venom (8.3)
Armament:
38x Hydra rockets
2x 12.7mm GAU-16/A
Max speed: 304km/h
Rank VI
MI-171Š (9.3)
Armament:
128x S-5 rockets
80x S-8 rocket
4x 250kg bombs
4x 23mm Gsh-23
8x 9M114 Shturm missiles
8x 9M120 Ataka missiles
Max speed: 250km/h
UH-60M Black Hawk (10.0) *
Armament:
2x GAU-19/A
Hydra rockets
Hellfire missiles
Max speed: 280km/h
MI-35/MI-24V (10.0)
Armament:
1x 12.7mm YakB
8x 9M114 Shturm
2x UPK-23-250 gunpod
2x 9-A-669 gunpod
128x S-5 rockets
80x S-8 rockets
20x S-13 rockets
4x S-24 rockets
18x LR-122 rockets
4x 250kg bombs
2x 500kg bombs
Max speed: 335km/h
Rank VII
AH-1Z Viper (11.0)
Armament:
1x 20mm M197
76x Hydra rockets
16x AGM-114 Hellfire
2x AIM-9X
Max speed: 282km/h
Premium helicopters
Rank V
MI-8T (8.0)
Armament:
64x S-5 rockets
4x 250 kg bombs
2x 500 kg bombs
7.62 mm PKT
Max speed: 260km/h
Rank VI
MI-24D (9.3)
Armament:
1x 12.7mm YakB
4x 9M17P Falanga-PV
128x S-5 rockets
4x 250 kg bombs
2x 500 kg bombs
Max speed: 335km/h
( * behind a name means that the heli is optionally researchable after you unlock the heli left to it in the tree)
Sources
Mil Mi-4B [Kód NATO: Hound-A] : Mil
Mil Mi-2URP Salamandra [Kód NATO: Hoplite] : Mil
Bell UH-1Y Venom : Bell
Mil Mi-171Š [Kód NATO: Hip-L] : Mil
Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk : Sikorsky
Mil Mi-24V [Kód NATO: Hind-E] : Mil
Bell AH-1Z Viper : Bell
Mil Mi-8T [Kód NATO: Hip-C] : Mil
Mil Mi-24D [Kód NATO: Hind-D] : Mil
Number of vehicles as of now:
Rank V: 3 researchable vehicles + 1 premium vehicle
Rank VI: 3 researchable vehicles + 1 premium vehicle
Rank VII: 1 researchable vehicle
Total vehicle count: 9
Original vehicles: basically none, but majority of the helicopters are either not in the game yet (MI-8T, MI-171Š, UH-60M, MI-2URP) or are upgraded and differ from their in-game counterparts either by armament, equipment, FLIR, engines or all of these combined (MI-4B, MI-24D, MI-35, UH-1Y), which makes the Viper the only completely copy-paste vehicle in this tree.
As you can see, there is fairly big ammount of helicopters in this tree compared to other minor nations. 9 helicopters make it actually larger than all nations in the game exept for US and USSR trees. That means not only that there is more than helicopters in this tree, there is actually way more than even needed. Even if we removed 2 or 3 helicopters, there would still be more of them than in the Japanese, Italian or Swedish trees.
Few interesting facts about Czechoslovakia that (atleast IMO) make it a more viable addition into the game:
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It was the largest arms exporter in the world during 1934 and 1935
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2nd largest tank exporter of the interwar period
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The largest producer of military trainer aircraft in the world
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Democratic nation with the largest military spening during 1938
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It was spending almost 20% of its GDP on military during few stages of Cold war
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2nd largest arms producer and exporter of the Warsaw pact
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Czechoslovak goverment in exile fought on most theathers of the WW2 (all exept for pacific AFAIK). Czech pilots are, for example, famous for their participation in the Battle of Britain
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It has 100% winrate of naval battles (won the only battle it ever participated in - the battle of lake Baikal)
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Bren and BESA machineguns, used by the British forces during WW2, are licences of Czechoslovak firearms (Bren literally means Brno-Enfield)
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Czech Hussites were the 1st fighting force to use gunpowder in Europe en-mass. They even invented Howitzers (or atleast the word used to describe that weapon). Word pistol also comes from Hussite ,Píšťala´´
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Czechoslovakia was the 3rd nation in space
And now for the pools:
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Yes
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Maybe
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No
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As the next nation
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in about 2-3 years from now
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I don´t know
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I´ve said no to the 1st question
Thank you fo your attention o7.
