Hello commanders!
Speaking of Xiafei tanks, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is probably the "cute big head" in the old version, that is, the "super Xiafei" who has now reappeared as a level 6 light tank. In fact, many tanks in the game are descendants of Xiafei, and there are many designs based on Xiafei in history, and may become a member of World of Tanks in the future! Want to know who they are? Don't worry, this is slowly introduced for everyone!
In addition to the Level 5 M24 Xiafei, there are also 4 tanks in the game that use its hull, namely the Level 4 gun M37, the Tier 5 gun M41, the Tier 6 Light Tan M24E2 Super Xiafei and the Level 6 Tanjing T78. The M37 and M41 are historical 105 and 155mm gun vehicles, respectively, which were originally developed based on Stuart, but were robbed of business by the latecomer Xiafei; The T78 was a 90mm gun proposed by Xiafei while still on the drawing board, and it was planned to use the M36 Jackson turret that was already in production at the time, but it was only studied briefly in July-August 1943.
▲ M37 and M41 on top. T78 due to "too short life",
Not even the blueprints were left
Unexpectedly, the well-known "Big Head Fly" is a fiction product - the turret from the T37 is 69 inches in diameter, while the seat of the Xiafei is only 60 inches in diameter, and the two obviously cannot match. In addition, the M24E2 model did not exist in history, and the similar T24E1 was a modification of Xiafei in the prototype stage, replacing the engine with a more powerful Continental R-975 type, increasing the unit power to about 20 horsepower / ton, the biggest difference in appearance is to lengthen the heightened power compartment, which was abandoned in 1945 due to reliability problems.
Side view of T24E1. The maneuverability of Xiafei in the game is obtained
Greatly strengthened, T24E1 also lost the meaning of appearance
And when it comes to the real Xiafei derivative models that exist in history and have the opportunity to meet everyone, there are really a lot! Let's start with this strange combination - a Xiafei with staggered load wheels. It was actually one of the subjects of a comparative test by the US military in 1946, in order to compare the advantages and disadvantages of tank tracks and suspension in various countries. The No. 594 Xiafei tank was equipped with the traveling mechanism of the Sd.Kfz.8 half-track vehicle, and the test found that the German design can reduce power consumption at low speeds on hard roads, but the last thing Xiafei lacks is power. Coupled with frequent failures during testing, this seemingly unreliable project was quickly stopped.
▲ The staggered load-bearing wheel version of Xiafei on the test site,
Below is an imaginary image after installing the turret.
Another "permutation combination" may have been heard of - AMX-13 and Xiafei. In 1956, France decided to upgrade the M24 Xiafei with a large number of armaments but completely outdated performance, and initially considered using the AMX-13 FL-10 swing turret with the chassis of the Xiafei, but because the CN-75/50 gun's HE shell fuse is more sensitive, it is very dangerous to store in a small space, and finally decided to install the Xiafei turret on the AMX-13 chassis, and the result of this modification is called AMX-US, which is mainly used for security warfare in French overseas colonies. After returning home, the main gun was removed and turned into a tank driver training vehicle, which was used until the 80s.
Of course, in addition to the simple change of head and change of car, there are also many "Xiafei firepower upgrades" of the Eight Classics. Among them, the most powerful is a batch of M24 HVMS modified by Chile. In the context of the military embargo, in order to cope with the threat of the massive introduction of T-54/55 by neighboring Peru, Chile had to cooperate with Israel to modify a batch of old Xiafei on hand and replace it with cheap and reliable 60mm HVMS ultra-high-speed guns, whose APFSDS were powerful enough to penetrate the first generation of post-war tanks represented by the T-62 from the front. The 21 Xiafei were in service until 2002, when they were finally replaced by the Leopard 1 and AMX30B.
▲ M24 HVMS and mounted on a 6-pounder gun mount
60mm HVMS gun
The NM-116 is another Norwegian light tank destroyer (Panserjager) modified by Xiafei. Constrained by cash, the Norwegian military had to modernize its active equipment to extend its service life, including 125 U.S.-aided Xiafei between 1946 and 1950. The NM-116 uses a French 90 mm D.925 low-pressure main gun (similar to the D.921, the transition 90 gun of the game Bobcat 6*6), and the main ammunition is HEAT-FS, which is enough to penetrate 320 mm vertical armor. In addition, a laser rangefinder was installed on the top of the gun, and two groups of 8 smoke grenade launchers were added on both sides of the turret.
▲ Line diagram and real vehicle of NM-116. There is also a T-shape in the later period
A model of the muzzle brake (similar to the M48).
You may have heard of the M19 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed on the basis of Xiafei, but in fact it also has a successor model with a 75mm gun installed for the construction of anti-aircraft fire in the middle and upper airspace for armored forces. For this reason, the original twin 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun and its shield were removed from the M19 and replaced with an open platform for the installation of the 75 mm T22 anti-aircraft gun, which used the rear recoil of the gun to achieve automatic reloading, with a theoretical rate of fire of 40-45 rounds per minute. However, tests in 1946-1948 revealed several fatal flaws: the automatic loader could only function in flat fire, and the rate of fire of the gun was quite close to the natural frequency of the suspension, which directly sentenced the project to death, although its design experience was applied to the later M51 Skysweeper.
▲ 75mm T22 anti-aircraft gun (T18 gun mount) mounted on the body of the Xiaping car
▲ M51 "Sky Sweeper" 75mm anti-aircraft gun
Write at the end
If you don't know if you don't know, you may not have thought that such a light and flat installed in the late World War II can shine in other countries' armies until the 21st century! So, in the several "Magic Transformation Xiafei" mentioned in this article, who do you want to appear in the game? Welcome to share your thoughts in the comment area!