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TL;DR: An LVT(A)(4) modified to use the 37mm M6 cannon.
History:
Water and swampy terrain have always been a massive obstacle for advancing armies, often requiring special equipment to cross or, even worse, a massive detour. These obstacles have, time and time again, wholly ceased the movement of entire units, killing any momentum they had. One of the ways developed to, at least partially, overcome these obstacles was the development of amphibious vehicles, both armored and unarmored as well as armed and unarmed. One the most iconic results of these developments was the American LVT family of vehicles. The LVT had its beginnings as a tracked civilian rescue vehicle named “Alligator” developed by Donald Roebling, which was intended to perform rescue operations in swampy environments where cars and trucks could not tread without risking getting stuck. The Alligator would later be redesigned with improved water speed in mind. This improved vehicle would be displayed in the October 4th, 1937 issue of Life magazine. Around the same time, the US military had been developing a doctrine for amphibious warfare. Upon seeing the Alligator in Life magazine, the military got in contact with Roebling and expressed their interest in the development of a more seaworthy model for military use. Roebling refused as he did not like the idea of his design being used for non-peaceful purposes, however, his mind was changed upon war breaking out in Europe. This would lead to the development of the LVT and its many variants, one of which was the LVT(A)(4), a variant fitted with the turret of the M8 Scott, which was armed with a 75mm howitzer for fire support purposes. This variant found itself in service with countless countries across the world, one of these being China, under the command of the Kuomintang (KMT) military. These vehicles would see service against the Japanese as well as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) when the Chinese Civil War broke out, during which countless examples would be captured by the PLA and used against the KMT. Unfortunately for the PLA, the LVT(A)(4)s being captured vehicles meant that vital supplies like ammunition for the 75mm howitzer was always in limited supply, especially so considering that the 75mm howitzer was less common than other weapons possessed by the KMT. Unless something was done, wouldn’t be long until these vehicles were effectively useless. The PLA knew this as well and quickly began to look for ways to keep these vehicles combat capable. The most famous result of this was the development of the LVT(A)(4) ZiS-2, a very simple conversion that, as the name implied, simply replaced the 75mm howitzer with the 57mm ZiS-2 cannon, which the PLA had much more ammunition for. One of the lesser known results of the same desire to keep LVT(A)(4)s in service was the LVT(A)(4) M6, which, similarly to the aforementioned conversion, simply replaced the 75mm howitzer with the 37mm M6 cannon found on Stuarts, which the PLA had captured in numbers high enough to have a stable ammunition supply. This conversion was also very simple in nature. The 75mm howitzer would be taken out of the turret, and the 37mm cannon would be put in its place, with the gap left behind being covered by a basic metal cap. This conversion effectively returned the LVT(A)(4) to a standard resembling the LVT(A)(1), albeit with a slower turret traverse. While it is ultimately unknown how many of these conversions existed, two have been seen at the same time.
Place In War Thunder:
It’s no secret that War Thunder Chinese ground tree is littered with errors. From the incorrect M36 model to the T-34 China never had, there’s a lot of issues. One of these issues is with the T-26s being of incorrect models. While, of course, it would be great to see these fixed, at the end of the day, they’re just T-26s. Mediocre or bad in just about every aspect. They’re slow, poorly armored, and not very maneuverable. One could even argue they they’re the worst 1.0s in the game aside from the cursed trio of the Ha-Go, FCM.36, and H.35. The LVT(A)(4) would not only be a much better reserve but would also be more unique despite it pretty much just being a slightly worse LVT(A)(1). Playstyle would be near identical to that of the LVT(A)(1). You’re big and thinly armored but you can still move about relatively quickly, especially compared to the T-26, and the large empty space in your hull can easily absorb poorly placed shots. Being based on an LVT(A)(4) does introduce a new weakspot, however, in the form of your open top turret, making you more susceptible to death via overpressure. In my opinion, the LVT(A)(4) M6 should replace the T-26 as one of China’s reserve vehicles, with the T-26 being given the Ha-Go/FCM.36/H.35 treatment and disconnected from the line, not removed outright. Or, better yet but more unrealistic, the LVT(A)(4) M6 could become China’s third reserve vehicle and serve as the first in a fifth line occupied by other amphibious vehicles.
Specifications:
Armament: 37mm M6 cannon and 1x .50 cal HMG
Dimensions: 7.95m, 3.25m, 3.11m (L,W,H)
Weight: 18000~kg
Armor: Same as LVT(A)(4) in-game
Crew: 5
Ammunition: Same as M5A1 in-game
Speed: 40kph
Horsepower: 250hp
Pictures:
Historical Photo:Side View:Old Museum Picture:
Sources:
LVT(A)-4 - 나무위키
https://kknews.cc/military/ra3eyqo.html
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Landing Vehicle Tracked - Wikipedia