LVT(A)(4) M6 - Making Do With What You Have

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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
美国支持国民党打内战,给了多少援助?谈谈国民党军武器装备来源 - 知乎
Landing Vehicle Tracked - Wikipedia

6 Likes

I was going to suggest this a while ago, but I couldn’t find enough info on it. This would be very fun to play, though I don’t think it should replace the T-26. Instead, I’d just like to have the T-26 model corrected and this added before the M8 LAC, as that has no reason being a reserve vehicle. It really ought to be 1.3, even 1.7. +1

6 Likes

That’s fair, which is also why I suggested that this vehicle be the first in a new fifth line of amphibious vehicles. Your suggestion is good too.

I didn’t even realize China only had four lines. That could work too.
EDIT: It looks like there is a .50 mounted on a pintle in the first photo with the two in the water.

2 Likes

could the us maybe get this foldered under the LVT? or did the US only make for for export

The US didn’t make this. It was a Chinese modification made in China.

1 Like

+1 but does it have a limited traverse turret like the LVT-ZiS-2? If yes then it would not be ver fun to use.

Nope. It’s literally just a 37mm gun in place of a 75mm howitzer. Aside from that, it’ll function pretty closely to the LVT(A)(4) already in-game.

It was armed with a 7.62 huh interesting.

It’s actually a probably .50cal. The .30 cal text was a leftover from me copypasting stats from a previous suggestion of mine.

Hmm, should put in (possibly a .50 cal as both used the barrel shroud)

Kinda off topic, but if they take off the 75mm and just ploped on the 57mm on the LVT-ZiS-2, why would the turret have limited traverse? Shouldnt it have 360 traverse like this vehicle?

I’m almost certain that the LVT(A)(4) ZiS-2 was capable of 360 degrees of traverse in real life, at least theoretically, however, it is also entirely possible that pointing the gun off the side would make the vehicle too unbalanced to fire properly. The LVT-2, the vehicle the LVT(A)(4) is based on, has a carrying capacity of 2900kg. The ZiS-2 weighs around 1200kg. LVT-2 is also an unarmored vehicle, meaning that the carrying capacity of the LVT(A)(4) itself is actually lower than 2900kg due to the added weight of the armor, turret, ammoracks, etc. It is absolutely possible that the suspension might not have been able to handle the unbalanced load of the ZiS-2 pointing off the side, at least not for long. Hell, firing the ZiS-2 off the side while swimming might even drown the vehicle. The in-game traverse limitation may be an attempt to reflect that. It’s probably a relic of War Thunder’s “more realistic” past or something. At least that’s the best explanation I can come up with. I do think that Gaijin should remove the traverse limitation, however, I can also see why it’s there in the first place.

2 Likes

Was curious didn’t know for sure

This is a locally modified LVT tank in China, I have already gone to the museum to investigate, the main gun is a American 37mm M3A1 anti tank gun, M3A1 anti tank gun were nomal after 1945 in Chinese Army.

1 Like

+1

An interested modified in M8 Scott and M3A3,same with LVT A-4, which gun be change to the 37mm M3A1 anti tank gun. I found them in a Chinese 50s military exercise documentary.
M8 scott modified with 37mm M3A1
QQ图片20240606151725

M3A3 modified
QQ图片20240606151718
QQ图片20240606151712

5 Likes

other some pictures
PLAMC_1950s_LVT


lvt2.PNG

5 Likes

Those last few pictures seem to show an M1919 .30 and an M2HB. 50 mounted on either side of the turret. Interesting.

1 Like

i believe this would be a perfect reserve for China

I do not think the T-26 should be replaced by this one. maybe the M8 LAC

The M8 LAC is way too strong. the M8 LAC with the 12.7mm alone could be a decent reserve but with the 37mm M6 it’s kind of too strong. I take it to fight the Tiger once in a while. i only had one, but I got a few dozen Panthers with this armored car
the M8 LAC might be 1.7 if it wasn’t a reserve vehicle.

the T-26 is doing the job well as a reserve. but the current T-28 Mle 1938 we have should be replaced by the Mle 1935 which is the same only with the BT-5 turret (which is called T-26 cylindrical turret) and the premium one be replaced by the T-26 Mle 1937 (same as the 1935 but with a Roof machine-gun)

1 Like