Avenger

This page is about the British medium tank Avenger. For the dive bomber, see Avenger Mk II (Great Britain).

Avenger

Achilles

FV4005

Avenger

Achilles

FV4005

Britain

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	4.7	4.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:26 000

Purchase:76 000

Description

The A30 SP Avenger was a further development of the A30 Challenger, intended to resolve some of the design issues including the tall turret and limited mobility. No longer having the need for a fourth crewmember in the turret, the turret was able to be significantly shortened, and was also mounted on a lower superstructure. The turret was made open-top, but could be screened with armoured covers when necessary, providing the commander and loader with a full range of visibility. Additionally, return rollers were added to alleviate the track-throwing tendencies of the Challenger. However, by the time a prototype was completed, development of the vehicle had been deprioritised with the introduction of the 17-pdr-equipped M10 in favour of the Comet I, and it suffered in trials against the Archer and Alecto. The Avenger project was eventually dropped in 1950.

Introduced in Update 1.55 "Royal Armour" along with the initial British ground tree, the Avenger performs well in sniping and flanking roles. The powerful gun, along with good gun depression capabilities, allows it to make good use of ridgelines and unexpected locations, allowing easy shots on unsuspecting opponents. It also has great mobility (though not quite as capable as the Cromwell that it is based on), allowing it to be an effective flanker. However, note that Avenger's poor reverse speed and slow turret traverse, as well as weak armour, mean that attempting to battle opponents head-on will often end poorly.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull64 / 28 / 38

Turret51 / 40 / 40

Crew4 people

Visibility75 %

The Avenger is one of the most unexpected survivors on battlefields of War Thunder, both arcade and realistic mode.

All of this is due to fact that its crew sits in very specific places and the vehicle's armour doesn't have any small, weird weak spots. In fact, armour and overall module placement is so solid, it can sometimes hold off a SPAA attack, some bombs, and even a 75 mm from an M4A3E2 with some angling and range.

Even if shells penetrate (usually through the angled sides of the turret), usually only 2 crew members get knocked out.

The only strange weak spot the Avenger has is the windows on top of turret. While roof windows seem to be a flaw, as it creates potential for HE shells to simply fly inside of the Avenger and decimate entire crew, in reality nobody uses those types of rounds at this BR. Even if decently strong HE hits the hull, the tank won't take overpressure damage despite windows having nonexistant protection or even being destroyed. Even strafing planes have hard time hitting anything through those windows, and rather penetrate the roof directly, which is still a challenge.

Because of that, the windows instead give enemy APHE shells a high chance to bounce around and fly out of window without exploding inside of vehicle. In fact, this happens so often, a single Avenger can survive up to six direct shots while losing only gunner or loader, while vehicles like the Sherman Firefly would be destroyed in one hit by those.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	63.5 mm (1°) Front plate 30 mm (71°) Front glacis 57.15 mm (19°) Lower glacis	14 mm	38.1 mm (1°) Top 38.1 mm (13-59°) Bottom	20 mm
Turret	63.5 mm (0-49°) Turret front 40 mm (30-31°) Gun mantlet	40 mm (0-1°)	40 mm (8-40°)	20 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Rack on top of the hull rear seems to be stacking 38.1 mm armour. No concrete evidence of their effectiveness as of yet.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB58 / 4 km/h

RB and SB52 / 4 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

1 back

Weight31.5 t

Engine power

AB1 145 hp

RB and SB600 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB36.3 hp/t

RB and SB19.0 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	58	4	31.5	930	1,145	29.52	36.35
Realistic	52	4		531	600	16.86	19.05

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB1 106 → 1 423

RB1 300 → 1 673

SB1 640 → 2 110

Total cost of modifications24 600

44 600

Talisman cost1 100

Crew training22 000

Experts76 000

Aces400

Research Aces320 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

70 / 110 / 130 %

142 / 142 / 142 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 105 Suspension Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 95 Brake System Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 95 Filters Research: 2 100 Cost: 3 800 180 Transmission Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 600 175 Engine Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 600 175	Improved Parts Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 105 Improved FPE Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 95 Crew Replenishment Research: 2 100 Cost: 3 800 180	76mm_britain_17pdr_APC_ammo_pack Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 105 Horizontal Drive Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 105 76mm_britain_17pdr_APCBC_ammo_pack Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 95 Adjustment of Fire Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 000 95 Elevation Mechanism Research: 2 100 Cost: 3 800 180 Artillery Support Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 600 175 76mm_britain_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 600 175

Armaments

Main armament

76 mm QF 17-pounder cannon

Ammunition55 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

7.2 → 5.6 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 17°

76 mm QF 17-pounder					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	55	-10°/+17°	±180°	N/A	13.3	18.4	22.4	24.8	26.4	7.28	6.44	5.94	5.60
Realistic					8.3	9.8	11.9	13.2	14.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Shot Mk.6	AP	171	168	155	139	126	113
Shell Mk.1	HE	20	20	18	16	15	13
Shot Mk.4	APC	171	168	155	139	126	113
Shot Mk.8	APCBC	190	187	172	155	140	126

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Shot Mk.6	AP	883	7.71	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
Shell Mk.1	HE	883	6.98	0.2	0.1	580	79°	80°	81°
Shot Mk.4	APC	883	7.71	-	-	-	48°	63°	71°
Shot Mk.8	APCBC	883	7.71	-	-	-	48°	63°	71°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
17pdr Shell SS Mk.1	229	8.44	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Avenger

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
55	48 (+7)	37 (+18)	31 (+24)	25 (+30)	19 (+36)	13 (+42)	7 (+48)	1 (+54)	Yes

Note:

• Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
• The visual discrepancy concerns rack n°2: 6 shells are modeled but it contains only 11 shells.
• Turret empty: 48 (+7) shells.

Optics

Avenger Optics
Which ones	Default magnification	Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics	x3	x6
Comparable optics	VFW

The Avenger is the first tank in the British tank destroyer line to have a X6 scope. It will not get any better than this until rank VI, so get used to it - it will be the same across entire tech tree for a while with SPAA being the only exception.

Compared to other tanks in rank III, this scope is slightly or moderately superior to most medium and heavy tanks, but do not expect to outsnipe German SPGs as they have same optics or even better.

Usage in battles

The Avenger plays like an upgunned and a bit more sluggish Cromwell. There are two main play styles possible with this vehicle.

Close range flanker: The Avenger's mobility allows it to sneak up to the enemy's flank without too much problems. With its awesome gun depression, it can pop over a hill and shoot before engaging a "turn fight" (running around the enemy's tank too fast so he can't aim at you). Such manoeuvre has a greater chance of success on isolated enemies since you need to get at least 2 shots to destroy any tank you might encounter. This kind of strategy is great early in the game, to counter-capture a point by , for example, an enemy Hellcat that rushed it. A small note there: make sure to pre-aim in the general direction of your enemy since the turret turning rate is not so great.

Sniper: As said earlier, the Avenger's crazy depression angles and good gun, combined with its great mobility and good climbing characteristics makes it ideal for the sniper role. Its mobility allows the Avenger to get anywhere on the map, an intelligent pilot will avoid main roads where encountering enemies upfront is often a death sentence and prefer unexpected roads, surprising camping spots, your enemy must never know where to expect a shot from. When firing, make sure to change position every 2-3 shots (every time you destroy a tank). With a good mix of luck and skill, you can even find a good viewing point on the enemy's base pretty early in the game (even in AB). Make sure sure to hide your turret top since HE and some APHE can detonate from the thin plate of your half open-topped turret, resulting in a crew knock out. One last thing to consider: the Avenger's functional elevation angle is lower than its characteristics says: the optics gets blinded in the last 1-2 degrees.

What's great with this vehicle is it can change role pretty fast in the game. A great way to use this vehicle at its plains potential is on a map like Mozdok or El Alamein. A good example of tactics is being flanker early game, then sniper to clear the next capture point and then flanker again to go get it (provided you do not get shut down).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Cromwell-esque controls with good acceleration and speed
• Neutral steering allows for quick alignment of the hull
• 17-pounder "Quickfire" cannon has high penetration and good accuracy
• Good gun depression of -10° allows it to fight comfortably among hills
• Very fast rate-of-fire
• Great gunsight zoom allows for long-range sniping
• Not as vulnerable to overpressure as Achilles or Concept 3

Cons:

• No machine gun
• AP shells don't have explosive filler, hard to one-shot larger tanks like Panthers
• Overall poor survivability due to thin & unsloped armour
• Turning can be sluggish at times
• Terrible reverse speed
• Gun traverse speed is subpar

History

Basis

The A30 Challenger tank was an improved variant of the Cromwell tank made to improve the firepower of the armoured brigades in the British Army. While equipped with the 17-pounder, the Challenger ran into issues with production and mechanical issues, along with design deficiencies that was much criticized by the crew that manned the tank. The Challenger had thin armour, had a tendency for track throwing, and had a high profile. However, it was praised for its speed, agility, and firepower with the 17-pounder gun. The Challenger was ordered in February 1943 for 200 vehicles, but the development of the Firefly from the Sherman tank proved much easier and cheaper than the Challenger and was thus cancelled.

The Avenger

An attempt to improve on the Challenger was the A30 SP Avenger, which used a different open-topped turret to save weight on the tank design. However, due to priorities on the Comet tank in the Vauxhall Motors plant, they were not being built until 1945 and weren't used until after the war in Europe is over. 250 units were built and formed part of the British Army of the Rhine stationed in Germany after the war. They did not see any combat action during their service life.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Avenger from live.warthunder.com.

Images

• 

  Avenger heading to the frontline in Vietnam Hills

Videos

A30 Avenger (Ground Forces Gameplay) - MagzTV

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Wikipedia] Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger - Variants