Armored fighting vehicles produced and fielded by the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth, focused primarily on Britannic development. British tanks normally will be found with one or two great strengths and one or two great weaknesses at the same time. Their guns in particular sacrifice caliber (and thus alpha damage and sometimes penetration) for improved rate of fire and accuracy.
In addition, high-tier British tanks get a unique HESH (High Explosive Squash Head) round either in place of standard HE or as a premium round; HESH is basically HE rounds with extra penetration. While this does mean that these tanks suffer against very tough armor that could be neutralized by a premium APCR or HEAT round, HESH can tear up thinly-armored targets that are otherwise armored enough to shrug off standard HE.
The tank doctrine of the United Kingdom during World War 2 dictated that tanks be used as either infantry tanks or cruiser (cavalry) tanks. Infantry tanks were designed to move up with infantry and as a result they were characterized by their slow speed and heavy armor. Cruiser tanks were designed to act like cavalry and exploit openings in the enemy defense and as a result they were characterized by their high speed and low armor. In World of Tanks, these classifications have been applied to the standard light, medium, and heavy tank model of other nations for simplicity. Nonetheless, the British tank doctrine still applies and results in oddities like heavily armored light tanks (e.g. the Valentine) and very lightly armored and fast medium tanks (e.g. the Cromwell).
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U.K Light Tanks
British light tanks were built as combat tanks in their time, so they don't have dedicated scouting tanks (at least so far). At low tiers, the light tanks have somewhat higher top speeds than the mediums, but their maneuverability is almost indistinguishable.
Tier 2 British light tank.
Tier 3 British light tank.
Lines:
- (T2) Cruiser I > Cruiser II > Valentine - The "armored" light line. Branches off into the SPG line or the "refit" TD line at tier 5.
- (T2) M2 > Stuart I-IV - The "lend lease" line. This theme is continued through tiers 4 through 6 but as a medium line.
- (T2) Cruiser III > Cruiser IV > Covenanter > Crusader - The speedy lights. Shifts into mediums at tier 6.
Cruiser Mk. I
M2
Cruiser Mk. III
Tier 2 British light tank.
The vehicle was developed on the basis of the M1931 Christie tanks, purchased by the British Army in 1936. The vehicle was intended to be a fast, lightly-armored breakthrough tank. The modified design was deemed successful and became the basis for other cruiser tanks. A total of 65 vehicles were built. They saw combat in France and North Africa in 1940–1941.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Trades everything for a slow-moving howitzer shell... that will one shot everything at tier 3, and many tier 4 tanks.
- Fragile Speedster / Moveset Clone: It performs similarly to Soviet BT light tanks, both being inspired by the development of Christie suspension system. With good speed and thin armor, the Mk.III plays best as a flanker. Though it should be noted that it's hull traverse is sluggish at speed.
Light Mk. VIC
- Close-Range Combatant: Like the T7 car, it's armed with a .50 cal machine gun. It carries less shells per magazine in exhchange for a better reload time.
- Fragile Speedster: Averted. It has good top speed, but its awful engine means it will never hit it. Combined with its laughable armor, its nothing but one giant target.
Stuart I-IV
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Fake Nationality: It's a Lend-Lease US tank. The only thing British about it is the optional 2 pounder gun.
Cruiser Mk. IV
- More Dakka: The Bofors fires 4 shots in 2 seconds, with only a 6 second reload and acceptable penetration. With premium rounds, it's very capable of killing a KV-1 in 2 clips.
Cruiser Mk. II
Tier 3 British light tank.
The A10 Cruiser Mk. II was a further development of the A9 modification designed by John Carden. The A10 had enhanced armor and no machinegun turrets. A prototype was built in July 1937 and adopted for service as a heavy cruiser tank. A total of 175 vehicles were ordered between 1938–1939, which were manufactured by September 1940. The vehicles saw combat in France (1940), Greece (1941) and North Africa (1941).
- Glass Cannon: Compared to its cousins in UK light tanks line, the Mk.II could be compared to Cruiser Mk.III but with worse mobility and better gun. It is best played as second line tank.
Valentine
- Always Someone Better: It suffers from a much lower rate of fire on its 6-pounder gun than other tanks equipped with it, and the 75mm gun isn't much better. It's much less popular than the similar Matilda.
- Glacier Waif: It's extremely small, but extremely slow and well-armored. Of course, when you're not top tier, you cannot count on the armor of the Valentine.
Covenanter
- Anti-Air: It's 40mm Bofors gun was originally an anti-aircraft gun. It was never fitted to the tank, but an AA version of the similar Crusader with that gun did exist (although it was open topped)
- Every Covenater Is a Pinto: A few patches ago, the top engine on the Covenater had a whopping 40% chance of catching fire. It has been lowered to 20% in a later patch, much to the relief of Covenater drivers (and to the displeasure of Covenater firelighters).
Crusader
- Every Crusader Is A Pinto: Combine thin rear armor with a rear-mounted engine that is exceptionally susceptible to getting set on fire, and you've got a retreating light tank that's rolling the dice on getting burnt to a crisp.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: It's not a scouting light tank like many other tier 5 lights, instead playing more like a medium with its awesome 6 pounder gun.
- As of 9.18, Wargaming has dropped the pretext and made it a full blown medium tank.
U.K Medium Tanks
British medium tanks start out as the ponderous infantry tanks at low tiers. They have terrible armor but good guns. Starting at T6 the British get medium cruiser tanks which are fast with quick firing but low damage guns, then at T8 they finally evolve in to powerful universal tanks, with good mobility, speed, and accuracy.
The Matilda is a British tier 4 medium tank.
The Matilda Black Prince is a British tier 5 premium medium tank.
Lines:
- (T1) Medium I > Medium II > Medium III > Matilda - The infantry tanks. While the Medium I is required to play any other tank in the British tree, continuing down this line leads to the heavies.
- (T4) Grant > Sherman III > Firefly - The continuation of the lend-lease tanks. Merges with the "refit" TD line after tier 6.
- (T6) Cromwell > Comet > Centurion I > Centurion 7/1 > Centurion Action X - The cruiser and universal mediums.
Vickers Medium Mk. I
- Glass Cannon: Of all the tier 1 tanks, this is the only medium tank. Compared to the rest of the tier 1 tanks, it's enormous and has all the armor of a cardboard box wrapped in tin foil... but it also has the biggest gun.
- Joke Character: All three of the Vickers medium tanks are amongst the worst medium tanks in the game.
Vickers Medium Mk. II
Vickers Medium Mk. III
Matilda
The Matilda is a British tier 4 medium tank.
Developed from 1936 through 1938. A total of 2987 vehicles were manufactured by August 1943. It was the only British tank to remain in service throughout World War II.
- Conservation of Ninjutsu: Its combination of thick armor and dreadful speed means it's not uncommonly the last tank left on its team. In the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, it will be the last tank left on the battlefield, period.
- Death of a Thousand Cuts: The top gun on the Matilda does pitiful damage per shot, but has an absurd rate of fire. Enemies that stay in the line of fire are quickly reduced to Swiss cheese.
- Magikarp Power: The grind to the Matilda takes you through three tiers of
Vickers Mediums. It's not difficult to consider the diamond-hard, low-profile Matilda (and the following Churchill heavy tank) to be a fitting reward for your troubles. - Mighty Glacier: It is slower than most heavy tanks, but has thick armor all around, not unlike low tier French lights. It's not uncommon for a top tier Matilda to be surrounded and take out at least half of the attackers before falling.
Grant
- Moveset Clone: Of the M3 Lee, the main difference being improved turret armor (along with a slightly smaller turret), and the option of a 6-pounder gun.
AC 1 Sentinel
- Always Someone Better: It's outdone in defense by the Matilda, firepower by the Grant, and speed by the Covenanter. And all of these tanks, including the Sentinel, sit at the same tier.
- Close-Range Combatant: Low damage and a horribly long aim time for a 2-pounder gun (2.7 seconds!) combined with average armor, mobility, and accuracy means that it has no utility at long range and is better suited to knife-fights.
- Death of a Thousand Cuts: While the 2-pounder gun does very little damage, it fires a shot roughly once every 2.25 seconds. It adds up, eventually.
- Freud Was Right: Let's face it, the Sentinel has a very, ah, distinctive machine gun shroud.
- Master of None: While not as weak in its tier as some other premium tanks, its lack of a specific strength makes the AC 1 Sentinel one of the least-seen tanks in the game.
Sherman III
- Moveset Clone: Of the M4 Sherman, the main difference being improved soft stats on the 76mm at the cost of a worse premium round. It also can claim to have a few of the faster-firing British 6-pounders, though few players employ them due to the Sherman chassis being too fragile to make use of their great rate of fire.
Matilda Black Prince
The Matilda Black Prince is a British tier 5 premium medium tank.
This vehicle features a 6-pounder gun fitted in the A27 turret. Only one prototype was produced, after which development was discontinued due to complications with the turret mounting. The vehicle never entered service.
- Mix and Match Tanks: The Matilda BP is essentially a Cromwell turret mated into a Matilda chassis.
- More Dakka: Its 6-pdr gun reloads extremely quickly, giving it a fire rate of 26 shots per minute.
- Stone Wall: Subverted. The aforementioned Cromwell turret actually has thinner armor than the regular Matilda. This tank is also a tier higher, which means it faces more heavily armed tanks that should have no trouble penetrating it.
Sherman Firefly
- Do Not Run with a Gun: Averted, it's one of the lowest tier vehicles in the game capable of mounting a Vertical Stabilizer note . With a crew that's been trained in Snap Shot and Smooth Ride, it becomes a frighteningly accurate mobile sniper.
- Glass Cannon: It's got the same hull armor as an M4 Sherman a tier higher. It's also armed with the same 17-pdr that is the best gun on the tier 7 Black Prince.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: It calls itself a medium tank, but between the low top speed and the unusually good penetration on the 17-pounder gun, it plays much more like a turreted tank destroyer. This probably explains why it leads to the Challenger rather than another British medium.
Cromwell
- Do Not Run with a Gun: No, seriously, DON'T. It's one of the few drawbacks of the tank; the bloom while moving is atrocious, and that is compounded by the inability to mount a vertical stabilizer. Trying to hit anything past 100 meters while moving is like playing a slot machine.
- Fragile Speedster: A top speed of 60km/h, coupled with its lack of armor, means this tank must rely on speed to not end up as a flaming pile of scrap.
- Complacent Gaming Syndrome: One of the few tanks ever used for tier 6 strongholds.
AC 4 Experimental
- Do Not Run with a Gun: No, really, don't. Whatever other strengths it has, the AC 4 Experimental is wretched at firing on the move; shells will sometimes fly off at seemingly impossible angles from the sheer awfulness of its reticle bloom.
- Glass Cannon: A lot like the Sherman Firefly, it is a thinly armored tank whose main selling point is the impressive penetration on its 17-pounder gun.
- Geo Effects: Good gun depression and a small size makes it very strong when put on hills or in the bushes, or in bushes on hills.
- Fragile Speedster: Of a sort. It uses the same armor layout as its two-tiers-lower cousin, the AC 1 Sentinel, making it quite weak for tier 6. While it accelerates slowly, if it goes down even the slightest slope it quickly zooms around at nearly 60 kph. Oh, and it's carrying the high-penetration 17-pounder gun.
- Freud Was Right: The AC 4 still has the Sentinel machine gun on the front, but now it has an even longer gun barrel above it.
- Stealth Expert: The sneakiest medium tank at tier 6. It is so stealthy that it can hide better than some same-tier lights and tank destroyers!
- Took a Level in Badass: The Australian Cruiser chassis used here shares almost all of its basic handling characteristics with the 2-tiers-lower AC 1 Sentinel, which is infamous for being a Master of None and thus rarely used. The AC 4 Experimental specializes entirely in its gun and turns into a useful tank at long last, namely a sneaky, medium-range support tank with enough penetration to blow holes clean through a Tiger I.
Comet
- Death of a Thousand Cuts: Extremely good damage per minute and decent mobility, offset by terrible penetration.
- Do Not Run with a Gun: Averted. One of the few major improvements it has over the Cromwell is better gun handling, which combines with its ability to mount a vertical stabilizer to give it excellent accuracy on the move.
- Power Up Let Down: While it's not a horrid tank, there is a feeling that it doesn't quite get enough upgrades after playing the Cromwell.
- Tough Act to Follow: The Cromwell is one of the most popular Tier VI medium tanks for a reason, so naturally it's hard for the Comet to offer too much after that.
Centurion Mk. I
- Acrofatic After the 9.17 buff, all the Centurions can go 50kph, quite quick for such large tanks.
- Master of None: It tries to be a generalist, but the low damage per minute and mediocre mobility let it down. 9.17 finally gave it a DPM buff to help it keep up.
FV4202
Formerly the Tier 10 Tech Tree UK Medium, it became a Tier 8 premium instead. It was given free to those who owned it at a tier 10, and unlocked via a grind mission for owners of the Action X.- Mighty Glacier: The mighty part is debatable... But it does have a punchy 20 pounder, but suffers from a low top speed and a weak engine. Partially averted in Patch 9.17, where its top speed was buffed to 50kph. However it still has a weak engine compared to the Centurion, and the terrain resistances don't make up for this. Actually hitting that top speed can be a challenge.
- Master of None: While the Centurion is below average, it's at least acceptable. The 4202 is worse in most regards, and winds up being one the weakest tier 8's.
Chimera
The Chimera is a Tier 8 British premium medium tank rewarded for completing the Operation: Chimera campaign.A heavy tank proposal designed to counter the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank. Despite unorthodox solutions and the application of Germany armor technology, the project was discontinued in the blueprint stage.
- Artistic License – History: Boy howdy, even for Wargaming this tank has some funky history. For example, the Chimera was a heavy tank project and its 5" gun was planned to solely fire high explosive HESH rounds.
- Blind Without 'Em: Has the worst viewrange in its class, meaning that unless it has a forward spotter a Chimera will often not know where the enemy is until it's right on top of them.
- Do Not Run with a Gun: Has horrific reticle bloom when on the move, making mobile shots nearly impossible to land.
- Hard Head: Has a respectible 203mm front turret armor along with a well-sloped upper glacis giving it frontal protection values more in line with heavies a tier higher.
- Lightning Bruiser: Zigzagged where is has an excellent top speed (50 km/h) and acceleration, its track traverse is abysmally slow meaning it can only really make use of its speed in straight lines.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: Plays extremely differently to other high-tier U.K. mediums, focusing on mobility and firepower as a frontline bruiser over the accuracy and hulldown potential of its fellows.
Centurion Mk. 7/1
- Abnormal Ammo: Gains access to HESH rounds, a very high penetration HE round that will make mincemeat out of low armor targets.
- Acrofatic After the 9.17 buff, all the Centurions can go 50kph, quite quick for such large tanks.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Gets absurd penetration on its gun, but pays for it with long reload and bad gun handling. It plays more like a TD.
Centurion Action X
- Abnormal Ammo: Gains access to HESH rounds, a very high penetration HE round that will make mincemeat out of low armor targets.
- Acrofatic: Despite its huge size, it will very easily hit 55kph and stay there.
- Jack of All Stats: It's a pretty well rounded medium tank, with its only drawbacks being its large physical size.
U.K Heavy Tanks
British heavy tanks start off as mid-tier infantry tanks, and as such are slow and ponderous, reasonable guns for their tier with an emphasis on fire rate over alpha damage. They eventually become incredibly accurate support tanks, better at moving to positions and giving covering fire than engaging head to head. They also get good on the move accuracy and low aim times. Their armour is generally on the weak side, with only a few strong spots at best. The guns on most British heavies have more in the way of sustained Damage Per Minute than alpha damage and have the best penetration for their tier with the exception of the Black Prince.
The TOG II* is a British tier 6 premium heavy tank.
Lines:
- (T5) Churchill I > Churchill VII > Black Prince > Caernarvon > Conqueror > FV215b
Churchill I
A heavy tank developed by Vauxhall Motors in 1940, the Churchill was designed primarily with the trench warfare and infantry tactics of the prior war in mind. Despite this, the Churchill proved its worth against the Axis forces and saw continuous development throughout its service.
- Crippling Overspecialization: One of the best tier 5 heavy guns, but slow speed and a turret that's easily penetrated make it difficult to fulfill it's sniper role.
- Glass Cannon: Holds the awkward position of being this as a heavy, with excellent DPM but overall poor armor for its class and tier.
Excelsior
Developed by the English Electric Company in 1942 as a potential replacement for the Churchill, the Excelsior was a prototype "universal infantry tank" based on the A27 Cromwell with the intent of improving on the Churchill's flaws. Development was discontinued after the production of two prototype vehicles in favor of the improved Churchill designs.
- Acrofatic: Surprisingly mobile for its size.
- Stone Wall: The best armored tier 5 heavy, but a pitiful peashooter for a gun.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: Unlike most tanks, it's weakest armor is its sides with the rear of the tank being as well protected as the front!
Churchill VII
An development of the A22 Churchill with improved armor, developed just prior to the Allied landings at Normandy. Also served as the basis of specialist tanks such as the Churchill AVRE and Churchill Crocodile.
- Joke Character: Very slow, has weaponry that struggles to hurt enemies, and it's thick armor is littered with easily hit weakspots. This tank is often cited as one of the most painful to play as.
TOG II*
The TOG II* is a British tier 6 premium heavy tank.
Developed for trench warfare. Initially, armament was to be placed in the front part of the hull and side sponsons. However, later it was decided not to add sponsons but to mount a turret. By 1943, when TOG 2* was completed and ready for trials, it was already obsolete. The vehicle never entered service.
- Bottomless Magazines: Holds over 140 shells. Could theoretically kill the entire enemy team by itself!
- Mighty Glacier: Heavy, ridiculously large, and with Patch 9.17.1, the slowest tank in the game note . It also mounts a fast-firing 17-pounder gun and has a ton of hitpoints.
- Lethal Joke Character: While widely made fun of (a solo TOG is regarded as an XP and credit dispensing piñata for the enemy team), a platoon of 3 TOGs is no joke. The DPM and penetration will shred anything, and they have over 4200 HP! Having 3 of those excellent 17-pounder guns controlled by 3 different players allow the platoon to cover each other very effectively.
Black Prince
The A43 Black Prince was developed by Vauxhall Motors in 1943 as a further improvement on the "infantry tank" design, featuring a widened chassis to mount a 17-pounder gun and improved turret. By the time prototypes were produced in 1945 the design was already rendered obsolete, and development on the Black Prince and all other infantry tanks was discontinued.
- Stone Wall: Great all-around armor, but the 17-pounder struggles to hurt targets at this tier.
Caernarvon
The FV221 Caernarvon was an offshoot of the FV214 Conqueror's development. Due to delays in the Conqueror program in 1949,FV200 series hulls were mated with 17-pounder and 20-pounder turrets to serve as potential main battle tanks. However, the success of the A41 Centurion rendered the Caernarvon obsolete, and the produced vehicles were later converted to Conqueror heavy tanks.
- Underground Monkey: It's essentially an up-armored Centurion, similar to the T32 and Sherman Jumbo.
Conqueror
The FV214 Conqueror came out of the FV200 "universal tank" program, featuring a 120mm main gun alongside heavy armor as a potential counter to Soviet heavy tanks of the period. From initial production in 1955, nearly two-hundred Conquerors were mass produced and deployed to West Germany before eventually being replaced by the FV4201 Chieftain in 1966.
- Abnormal Ammo: Gains access to HESH rounds, a very high penetration HE round that will make mincemeat out of low armor targets.
- Attack Its Weakpoint: Has an abysmally weak lower glacis, which just so happens to be where the ammo rack is located.
- Jack of All Stats: Well rounded, with it only really losing out on hull armor.
- Hard Head: Went from having one of the weakest to one of the strongest turrets after its HD remake.
FV215b
- Attack Its Weak Point: It suffers from terrible hull armor. Sidescraping would normally be a good idea with a rear mounted turret but where the turret ring bulges out is a large weakpoint.
- Hard Head: Shares a turret with the Conqueror, making it extremely effective when hulldown or shooting over distances.
- Lightning Bruiser: Good mobility, quick-firing and accurate 120 mm gun, decent armour, bouncy turret, it's a wonder why it's not seen as often in Random Battles as other heavy tanks.
Super Conqueror
An up-armored variant of the FV214 Conqueror featuring burster plate spaced armor and an improved turret. Never saw service nor entered production. The Super Conqueror marks the end of the U.K. Heavy tree.
- Always Someone Better: Is outclassed in nearly every way by the new T95/FV4201 Chieftain heavy, with the latter having stronger frontal armor, a superior gun, better mobility, and better hulldown potential. This is mitigated somewhat by the Chieftain being a Clan Wars reward tank.
- Artistic License – History: The "Super Conqueror" is actually based on an up-armored hull used as a target for missile testing rather than any proposed fighting vehicle.
- Attack Its Weakpoint: Shares the weak lower glacis and frontal ammo rack of the Conqueror.
- Hard Head: Like the Conqueror and FV215b before it, now made harder the the presence of space-armour panels to disable HEAT shells.
- Heavily Armored Mook: Shares a basic chassis with the Conqueror, but now has several pieces of spaced-armour panels bolted to its upper glacis and turret, making it very effective at negating HEAT shells while upping its already considerable defense.
- Jack of All Stats: Has strong armour, a powerful. quick firing, and accurate 120 mm gun, and only a little less mobility than the FV215b.
T95/FV4201
The FV4201/T95 is a Tier 10 British heavy tank introduced as a Clan Wars reward in update 1.3.
An offshoot of the FV4201 Chieftain MBT program in 1951 intended to provide interchangeability between the Chieftain and the American experimental T95 medium tank. The project was discontinued due to issues with crew cross-training.
- Achilles' Heel: While its frontal armor is nearly impenetrable, its side and rear armor is very thin and prone to damage, especially against large-caliber guns which can overmatch it.
- BFG: While not the largest gun in the game, its L11 120mm gun deserves mention for its absurd stats, having more penetration than some tank destroyers, great damage, and excellent handling which makes it arguably the best heavy gun currently in the game.
- Bragging Rights Reward: Has this status as a Clan Wars reward tank.
- Hard Head: Has an incredible 350mm frontal turret armor along with nigh-microscopic weak spots rendering its turret effectively invulnerable to anything except extreme-penetration premium and large-caliber high explosive shells.
- Jack of All Stats: Has an excellent top speed and acceleration, incredibly strong frontal armor, and arguably the best heavy gun in the game. It only loses out on overall hull armor and health points.
- Lightning Bruiser: Is blisteringly fast for such a heavily armored vehicle, having a top speed of 46 km/h and a specific power of 17 hp/t.
- No-Sell: The extreme angling of its upper glacis, a historic development of the Chieftain MBT, allows it to autobounce everything save for high-explosive shells.
U.K Tank Destroyers
British Tank Destroyers, up to tier 4, are mostly conversions of other tanks into Tank Destroyers, which are fast and lightly armored. However, their gameplay reverses from tier 5 to tier 9, becoming extremely thick skinned, but somewhat unwieldy and sluggish assault guns with low damage but very fast firing guns and health pools which rival medium or even heavy tanks of the same tier. Between these tiers their guns get increasingly capable while their armor becomes increasingly mediocre, but they all have the same large, weak commander's hatch. Despite their armor artillery is still capable of dealing a lot of damage with a direct hit. The alternate TD line consists of older hulls refitted with new turrets and armament, and focuses more on higher-alpha (and slower reloading) guns and turret capability at the cost of armor. Both lines end in TDs that mount a monstrous 183mm gun.
Formerly tier 10 tank destroyer, now a special vehicle after it is replaced by FV217 Badger.
Tier X tank destroyer, replacing FV215b (183) in turret-less tank destroyer line from version 9.21 onward.
Lines:
- (T2) UC 2-pdr > Valentine AT > Alecto > AT 2 > AT 8 > AT 7 > AT 15 > Tortoise > FV215b (183) - The first, and for a long time only, TD line for the British, featuring the slow but well-armored AT-series of tanks.
- (T5) Archer > Achilles > Challenger > Charioteer > Conway > FV4005 - The "refits". Bigger guns and turrets, but less armor.
- (T6) Churchill GC - Serves as a rarely-taken transition from the heavies to the AT-series of TDs. Researched from the Churchill I, and leads to the AT 7.
Universal Carrier 2-pdr
Valentine AT
- Badass on Paper: In regards to the armor. It's decent, until you realize the gun shield is only 14mm thick.
- Glacier Waif: looks pretty unassuming, and despite the aforementioned lack of armor it packs a nasty punch with a choice of high power howitzer or a DPM 6 pounder.
Alecto
- Fragile Speedster: One of the last in the Traditional TD line, but the turreted line has a few more examples.
Archer
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: Since the gun is actually facing the rear by default, the tank drives faster in reverse. Great for popping someone and running off before retaliation occurs.
AT 2
The AT 2 is a British tier 5 tank destroyer.Design for an assault tank to break through enemy defensive lines. The design was completed by May 15th, 1943. No prototypes were built, the project helped set the stage for another heavy assault tank, the A39 Tortoise.
The AT 2 leads to the AT 8.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Common to the entire like of AT tanks, the cupola is usually much less armored than the rest of the tank. and prior to 9.17, the mantlet was also fairly weak, often resulting in both HP and gun damage.
- Mighty Glacier: Painfully slow (as fast as a Maus) but it's a tough nut to crack from the front and has decent guns to return fire with.
- Stone Wall: Subverted. It can take APCR, AP and HEAT shells to the front all day (provided they don't aim for the cupola), and while the top gun has low alpha damage, you really don't want to stand in front of a gun that fires every 2 seconds, unless you like being punctured to death.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: The AT 2 marks a turning point in the United Kingdom's original tank destroyer line in terms of performance. It is preceded by the fast and fragile Alecto before the player earns the slow, heavily armored AT 2.
Churchill Gun Carrier
The Churchill Gun Carrier is a British tier 6 tank destroyer.The vehicle was developed on the basis of the Churchill tank. The cabin with the 3-inch gun was placed in the front. Initially, 100 vehicles were ordered. Later, the order was reduced to 24 vehicles. Eventually, a total of 50 vehicles were manufactured from 1941 through 1942. However, they never saw action.
The Churchill Gun Carrier leads to the AT 7.
- Crippling Overspecialization: About the only thing good about this tank is the top gun. Otherwise, it's slow, poorly armored (and what armor it does have is unsloped too) ,can be seen from a mile away, and has an abysamal gun arc.
- Glass Cannon: Like the German Sturer Emil, it can hurt an enemy badly but won't survive long if shot at.
- Master of None: When stock and armed with an poorly trained crew the Gun Carrier is blind and a easy target due to it's abysmal stealth rating and limited view range. Even when fully upgraded, it's a very difficult tank to play with.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: The The Churchill Gun Carrier is traditionally unlocked by playing an moderately armored heavy tank, that is somewhat slow and difficult to maneuver. What makes the Gun Carrier different from the Churchill I is that not only that it lacks an turret; it is also slower, the gun can only fire in an limited arc, and the armor is weaker than the preceding heavy tank's chassis.
Achilles
- Moveset Clone: It's an M10 Wolverine rearmed with a 17 pounder.
AT 8
- Elite Tweak: Can mount either the blisteringly fast firing 77mm or the 17 Pounder, which fires slightly slower but has slightly better damage and much better penetration.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The machine gun port opposite of the gun has even worse armor than the cupola. It is so thinly armored that a 150mm HE round can punch straight through, usually killing the AT 8 in one hit. Bad news when you're the same tier as the KV-2...
Challenger
- Acrofatic: It's got a large hull (quite similar in size to many heavy tanks of the same tier), but it's very fast- on level ground it can easily hit 50 kph with excellent maneuverability and acceleration.
- Difficult, but Awesome: Like the Charioteer, the Challenger has plenty of problems that make it frustrating to play. However, with it's excellent mobility and fast-firing 17-pounder, in the hands of anyone who can drive it competently it is a force to be reckoned with.As of the 9.2 update it now can mount the fearsome 32 pounder, making it much more capable against higher tiers.
- Foil: to the AT-15A; another Tier 7 tank destroyer armed with a 17-pounder gun. Whereas the AT-15A has excellent armor but abysmal mobility and no turret, the Challenger lacks armor but gets a (slow-traversing) turret and excellent mobility.
- Death of a Thousand Cuts: Its 17-pounder is pretty weak for a Tier VII Tank Destroyer, but with its fantastic speed and good accuracy and camouflage it can maneuver around scoring hit after hit at an enemy's vulnerable sides or rear until they succumb to it.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Uses the Cromwell's chassis, with its stock turret eventually being the one selected for the TOG II*.
AT 15A
- Death of a Thousand Cuts: The rate of fire on this 17-pounder is obscenely high, allowing you to wreck opponents foolish enough to expose themselves.
- Foil: To the Challenger; both are British Tier 7 tank destroyers armed with weak (for tier) 17-pounder guns that has excellent accuracy, rate of fire, and aiming time. However, whereas the Challenger has a (slow) turret but no armor and excellent mobility, the AT-15A has a hull-mounted gun and abysmal mobility but has excellent armor.
- Stone Wall: The 17-pounder is already past it's prime in Tier 7, and as a result the AT 15A has difficulty damaging well-armored targets. However, it's got the armor of the Tier 8 AT 15 a tier lower, and it never sees beyond Tier 8, meaning most of the guns it faces (with some exceptions, most notably well-armed tank destroyers like the Rheinmetall-Borsig Waffentrager or the ISU-152) lack the punch to pierce the armor.
- Weak, but Skilled: The 17-pounder gun may lack punch, but it has a rapid rate of fire, combined with quick aiming time and excellent accuracy.
AT 7
- Balance, Power, Skill, Gimmick: It's gimmick is that you can hide most of the hull and still fire, allowing you to shoot with impunity.
- More Dakka: It's stock 6-pounder gets a 10 shot autoloader, with a blisteringly fast 1 second interclip time. The 110 penetration, however, will cause problems at this tier unless heavy/full compliment of APCR is used.
AT 15
- Power Up Let Down: Other than HP and a bit of armor, it doesn't get any significant improvements over the AT 7. The gun is basically the same but it's now fighting up to Tier X matches where it's simply unable to compete and the improved frontal armor is insufficient against a lot of the guns that it commonly faces.
- Stone Wall: It's tougher than the AT 7 but doesn't get any significant improvements in firepower (its best weapon, the 20 Pounder Type B Barrel is identical in penetration and damage to the 20 Pounder Type A Barrel that the AT 7 gets, it just has better fire rate and accuracy). Unfortunately, it's reached the point where it's too commonly facing foes who are more than able to overpower its improved armor.
Charioteer
- Acrofatic: Quite large and boxy (and a not-inconsiderable 32 tons besides), but it does 52 kph with a power to weight ratio of over 21 horsepower per ton.
- A Taste of Power: Gets the Centurion 7/1's gun a full tier lower.
- Difficult, but Awesome: This is a very unforgiving tank to play due to its weaknesses, but when mastered it is simply devastating.
- Do Not Run with a Gun: It's colossal bloom when moving negates any ideas of using its good mobility and turret to play it as a psuedo-medium tank.
- Glass Cannon: Large and very thinly armored (its armor would be considered thin on a Tier IV TD: on a Tier VIII it basically counts as unarmored), but it gets a very powerful weapon in exchange.
- Stealthy Colossus: Weighs 32 tons and is the size of a semi, yet is somehow able to hide behind some surprisingly thin shrubbery.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Its lack of gun elevation or gun depression means that it has a bad time in hilly terrain, and has a generally tough time hiding behind cover that isn't situated on a flat surface.
Tortoise
- Attack Its Weak Point: Sometimes it seems like this tank is more weakpoints than armor. It has significantly more than the AT 15 did, at a higher tier where penetration starts getting VERY high. You need to abuse cover as much as possible if you want to survive long enough to make use of your DPM.
- More Dakka: Features the fastest-firing 120mm gun of all tanks, giving it the highest DPM in the game despite many other TD lines having higher-caliber weaponry.
- Meaningful Name: For something big, slow and devastating, Tortoise is highly fitting.
- Mighty Glacier: The Tortoise is able to take out enemy tanks very quickly due to it's monstrously high DPM, but it's also very slow.
FV4004 Conway
- Attack Its Weak Point: While not durable to begin with, the Conway's massive, thinly armored turret makes an excellent target since a shot there will usually knock out several components as well.
- A Taste of Power: Gets the Tortoise's top gun, the 120mm AT Gun L1A1, in stock form; no upgrades needed.
- BFG: While at first limited to the (extremely potent) 120mm L1A1, the 9.2 update gave the Conway access to the massive BL 5.5 inch gun which in real life served as a medium artillery battery.
- Fragile Speedster: The main difference between the Tortoise and the Conway is this; the Conway is more agile and faster, but the Tortoise can absorb more punishment.
FV215b (183)
Formerly tier 10 tank destroyer, now a special vehicle after it is replaced by FV217 Badger.
- BFG: Notorious for its 183mm gun, especially when loaded with HESH and fired at soft enough targets.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: In regards to the gun. You go from high firing rate but middling damage to the highest-caliber gun in the game that isn't on a SPG.
- Unblockable Attack: Has 310 millimeters of penetration with it's standard AP ammo. That is enough penetration to blow clean through the front of a T95 head on. Coupled with over 1000 alpha damage, you do not want to get shot by this gun.
FV4005 Stage II
- Always Someone Better: VERY rarely seen compared to its older brother due to its awful turret armor, and not being that much faster than the Death Star.
- BFG: Also comes with a 183mm gun.
- The Dreaded: Now carries HESH ammo, with 1750 average damage if the shell penetrates. This tank destroyer is feared for a very good reason.
- Fragile Speedster: The main difference between this TD and the FV215b (183). The 4005 is faster, but the fridge-like turret is about as durable as a Waffentrager's turret.
- Glass Cannon: A result of the atrocious turret armor.
- Unblockable Attack: Has 310 millimeters of penetration with it's standard AP ammo. That is enough penetration to blow clean through the front of a T95 head on. Coupled with over 1000 alpha damage, you do not want to get shot by this gun.
FV217 Badger
Tier X tank destroyer, replacing FV215b (183) in turret-less tank destroyer line from version 9.21 onward.
A project for a tank destroyer based on the Conqueror chassis was developed in the late 1940s. Existed only in blueprints.
- Artistic License – History: Real FV217 self-propelled gun project never exists outside of paper. The tank as you see in game is largely made up by Wargaming to cap off the line with fully turretless vehicle, especially with it's unrealistic armor numbers. The term "Badger" was never even used for it, instead being an epithet for the FV 421.
- Attack Its Weakpoint: The "based on the Conqueror chassis" isn't just flavor text, sadly having the same weak lower glacis marring its otherwise insane frontal armor. Thankfully it at least lacks the front-mounted ammo rack. Additionally, when fired upon from a slight offset, it's weak side armor also applies to the protruding central section right above the gun, which isn't angled.
- BFG: While not as immediately devastating as the 183mm, its 123mm AT gun combines excellent handling, accuracy, and damage to make it absolutely monstrous from both up close and afar. Unfortunately, it's penetration doesn't quite come up to the standards of other top-tier tank destroyers, which becomes especially worrisome given that the Badger's main fighting style is to face it's enemies head-on.
U.K Self-Propelled Guns
British Self Propelled Guns feature wide horizontal gun arcs but a short firing range. Most of the SPGs are lightly armored and have low alpha damage, but have good rate of fire. They vary in qualities in the tiers, such as the Birch Gun having a turret and the Crusader 5.5-in SP having its gun facing the rear, resulting in an unusually high "reverse" speed. At tier 8 and above, they have very big superstructures with serious guns and armor. The tree ends with the Conqueror Gun Carriage with damage nearly as high as that of the T92 but it is also the least accurate gun in game.
Lines:
- (T2) Loyd GC > Sexton II > Birch Gun > Bishop > FV 304 > Crusader SP > FV 207 > FV 3805 > Conqueror GC
Loyd Gun Carriage
Sexton II
Sexton I
- Ditto Fighter:To the Sexton II.
- Joke Character: When it was still sold, sometimes was given as a gag gift.
Birch Gun
- Master of None: Tries to have good rate of fire combined with a turret, but the accuracy and damage is so low that it does not work.
- Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: Claims to go 40kph, will barely hit 11 due to the atrocious engine power.
Bishop
- Blatant Lies: The 60mm of armor is on the hull; the tall,flat superstructure is only half as thick.
- Mighty Glacier: It's based on the Valentine chassis, so it has good hull armor (by SPG standards) that can be a nasty surprise to those who fires HE shells at artillery and expected an easy kill. Unfortunately it also has the Valentine's slow speed.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: Unlike the Birch Gun that precedes it, the Bishop has an extremely narrow firing arc to contrast the Birch Gun's turret, and the Bishop also has a short range owing to the sharing the FV304's top gun.
FV304
- Fragile Speedster: One of the fastest SPG's, coming close to the mobility of a light tank. Indeed, some players consider it to be a better light tank than it is an SPG.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: While most arty usually sit far away from the action and deliver a few powerful hits with their BFG, the FV304 can zip around all over the place like a light (albeit the turning radius isn't so hot), hide itself easily, and usually inflicts Death of a Thousand Cuts.
Crusader 5.5-in. SP
- Powerup Let Down: Has worse stats on its stock gun (the 304's top gun) when in every other case in the game, the stock gun from the previous tank will be better. It's top gun is nothing to write home about either.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: Like the Archer, it drives backwards.
FV207
- Jack of All Stats: Loses out on raw alpha damage, but has pretty good soft stats.
FV3805
- Acrofatic Will hit 40kph despite its large size, making it the fastest of the high tier British artillery.
- Jack of All Stats: Loses out on raw alpha damage, but has pretty good soft stats.
Conqueror Gun Carriage
- Artistic License – History: The Conqueror Gun Carriage never actually existed even on paper, and the BL 9.2 inch howitzer was made in 1881 and never entered service.
- BFG: Mounts a 9.2 inch howitzer, and is notorious for not only the absurd damage and splash radius of it's shots but the ability to get those shots where other arty can't.
- Crippling Overspecialization: It trades pretty much every single stat for that gun.
- Powerful, but Inaccurate: It has the worst accuracy in the game; 1.2m dispersion at 100m.
