Fig 1. Achilles (65 Rg.), now with over a decade of service.
Like me, perhaps you took advantage of the current Tracks of Victory bundle, in which some very rare British, Soviet, and American equipment is discounted.
Personally I only wanted the elusive Achilles (65 Rg.); the premium version of the tech tree Achilles. This unassuming vehicle has now been available only six times since 2017 and is currently available at 30% discount for in-game GE.
Fig 2. I need it.
The Achilles (65 Rg.) harks back to an older, simpler time, in which re-skinning an existing vehicle and slapping a Premium bonus on it kept players happy. These days we are so much more sophisticated with our novelty decorations, fireworks, twitch drops, and flamethrowers.
Achilles, or as it should perhaps be titled the 17 pdr SP M10 Mk II Achilles IIC, is a conversion of the American M10 Gun Motor Carriage to carry the ever-ferocious Ordnance QF 17 pdr Mk 5, Britain’s WW2-era medium-calibre high-velocity gun. From Archer at BR 2.7 to Black Prince and Centurion Mk 2 at BR 6.7, the 17 pdr destroys Britain’s enemies on the regular in War Thunder.
Initially equipped with 3 in SP M10s (later called Achilles I), the 17 pdr-armed model was service with the 65th (Norfolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment from May 1944 until its demobilisation in February 1946, with the 17 pdr-armed vehicles being issued solely to the regiment’s 260 Battery.
Figs 3&4. “An M10 Achilles from the 65th Anti-Tank Regiment RA winds its way through Giberville and rolls across the Caen-Troarn railway.”
In the IWM footage, we can clearly see that 65 Anti-Tank Regiment applied the hessian sacking camouflage nets now also seen in game on vehicles in the Echoes of Overlord pack! I think this visual upgrade would be very cool to see applied to an older Premium vehicle.
From my own research, the “Achilles I” was the Style of turret that had the “Wedge” type Counterweight (see M10 in game), while the “Achilles II” was the one with the “Duckbill” type counterweight (See Achilles in game)
afaik we just called the M10s in british Service M10 Mk.1 (wedge counterweight) and M10 Mk.2 (Duckbill counterweight)
as far as i’m aware, Achilles I and Achilles II is not dependent on which gun is fitted, And that Achilles is unique to that of the 17pr equiped vehicles
Yes, the nomenclature seems to have been clarified postwar but not used by the troops, who just called them 3in SP or 17 pdr SP in the war diaries.
65 ATR in particular seem to have named their 17 pdr SP M10’s “Mayfly”, perhaps intending to continue the “Firefly” name theme from Sherman-based 17 pdr SP to M10-based.
In his book, Dennis Oliver lists this one as being 65th and, based on what little is visible of the unit marking above the battery marking, I’m inclined to agree. It’s a later hull, unlike the one in-game, so couldn’t mount the side plates anyway but I think the frontal plate on its own plus the hessian tape would be a nice improvement for it.
He also posits that the fully up-armoured one may also be from the 65th based upon another image which appears to be the same crew but with one of their cap badges visible.
Having said that, I’d much rather an Achilles with the full applique kit be a separate vehicle so we could have three of them.
