Merry X-Mas !

So probably the number on the picture should read 2012, but since I liked the picture in general I didn’t care bout the number.

You could always post in our forum.
Our RO2 server is running at 85.236.101.71:7877.
If you’d like to have a talk join our Mumble at 85.236.100.59:64963.
And finally: get the Advanced Tactical Center here.

By fullmj|McSChwoartZ

My fourth part of the Weapon Facts Articles will go away from displaying small arms infantry weapons. Today I will present you another weapon you can see, use or fight against in Tripwire Interactives Red Orchestra 2:Heroes of Stalingrad.

The Panzer IV F2

Despite of the legendary german tanks, like the Tiger, the King Tiger or the Panther, the Panzer IV had always been the backbone of the german Panzerdivisions.

In 1934 the Heereswaffenamt (Office For Army Affairs) requested a medium armored fighting vehicle which every fourth Panzercompany should be equipped with.

Three different designs, by three different german companies were developed and showcased.

Rheinmetall-Borsig built the VK2001(Rh), MAN built the VK2002(MAN) and Krupp built the

VK2001(K). It was very difficult to find pictures of those models, so I can only show you the VK2001(Rh).

In the End Krupp was selected to built the new Vehicle. Under the Name of Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. A or SdKfz 161 the new german medium tank was being produced in the Krupp-Gruson Works in Magdeburg.

The Panzer IV Ausf.A was armed with a short 7,5 cm cannon, a coaxial 7,92 mm machine gun and a hull mounted machie gun of the same type. The armor thickness was 20mm on the turret and 14,5 mm on the hull front.

Over the next years, the Panzer IV was adjusted to the new combat situations, since it’s early design proved to be not well enough armed and armored.

A typical Panzer IV of the improved type was the Panzer IV F2, with it’s fully welded steel construction. 60 mm frontal armor and 50 mm on the turret. It was armed with a long barreled 7,5 cm Kampfwagenkanone (KwK – Combat Vehicle Cannon), a very strong and reliable anti-tank weapon which could fire various types of ammunition like Splintershells, High Explosives, Smokeshells, Antitank- and Hollowchargeshells.

The crew consisted of five men. The drivers seat was on the left side in the front part of the vehicle. Next to him on the right was the radio-operater who also manned the hull MG. In the turrets left side was the Richtschütze (Gun Operater) on the right the loader and in the central position the Tank Commander.

The tank weighed about 25 tonnes and had a maximum travel speed on road of 38 km/h. It was a versatile fighting vehicle, capable of destroying other tanks at long range, supporting infantry with high explosives and machine gun fire or lay aimend smoke screens and due to it’s armor it was a hard nut to crack. The fact that all german tanks were equipped with a radio and had a seperate commander and gun operater gave a huge advantage in tactical awareness and in combat operation.

Some experts say that if the germans had focused on the mass production and improvements of the Panzer IV instead of producing expensive and hard to produce types like the Tiger or the Panther they would have been off way better. I think they might be right.

Facts in Numbers.:

Crew: 5

Weight: 25 t

Lenght: 5,89 m

Width: 3.29 m

Height: 2.68 m

Engine: 12 Zylinder Petrol Engine Maybach HL 120 TRM with 300 HP

Main Gun: 7,5 cm Kampfwagenkanone

Others: 2x 7,92 MG34 Machine Guns

The game features WW2-gameplay on 10 maps and 3 game modes, including “Territory” which is the classic “capture or hold objectives until maptime is over” mode known from it’s predecessor RO: Ostfront. Battlefield experience is rewarded by a honor ranking (and 79 Steam achievements) which provides skilled players with weapon unlocks and improved gun efficencies.

While the game delivers the well awaited intense playing experience, there are still several bugs that need to be ironed out. Thus, the first patch has already been released and will apply itself via Steam download.

Accompanying Tripwire’s release, the ROLadder community website has been relaunched and will host tournaments and ladder rankings for Heroes of Stalingrad in which fullmj will participate.

By fullmj|McSChwoartZ

In the third part of my Gun Facts I will go away from displaying main infantry weapons. I will focus on a very famous sidearm, another legend and for many allied soldiers of World War II a war trophy, the Walther P 38 Pistol.

After the National Socialists took over the power in Germany in 1933, they decided in cooperation with the military that a new pistol model is needed to replace the old Luger P 08, which was a very good weapon, but difficult and expensive to produce. An easy and cheap to produce weapon was needed.

It took five years until 1938 till the Walther P 38 was mass produced. It was developed out of a series of designs beginning in 1929 with the Walther PP (PP stands for Police Pistol). The PP was designed for police purposes and wasn’t suitable for military use, so the design was altered with a smaller cock handle and the ability to fire 9 mm Parabellum rounds and named Walther AP ( Army Pistol) or later Walther Heerespistole. That was the prototype of the Walther P 38 pistol.

The P 38 is an outstanding sidearm. Easy to dismantle and maintain, cheap to produce and very accurate and reliable. It is acutally so good that it is still in production and under the label of P1 still in use by the German Bundeswehr (German Army).

Facts in Numbers:

Caliber: 9 mm Parabellum

Lenght: 219 mm

Barrel Lenght: 124 mm

Weight: 0,96 kg

Muzzle Velocity: 350 m/s

Magazine: Clip with 8 Cartridges

By fullmj|McSChwoartZ

In the second part of my Gun Facts articles I will cover another legendary weapon.

The Mosin Nagant M 91/30 rifle.

In the late 80′s of the 19^th century the Russian Army decided to replace it’s datet Berdan-Rifles with modern multi-feed rifles. The choice fell on a construction by the russian captain S. I. Mosin and belgian manufacturers Emil and Leon Nagant. The Mosin Nagant M 1891 was born. It was a long and reliable rifle with a 5 cartridge stripper clip loaded magazine. The Rifle was first used by the zaristic army and adopted by the red army after the october revolution in 1918.

It was in service until 1930, when it was replaced by the modernized Mosin Nagant M 91/30 Rifle, which basically was a shortened and less weighing version of the M 1891. The Mosin Nagant M 91/30 is by far the most popular version and the version we all know pretty well.

This easy to produce, reliable and very accurate rifle became the standard issue of red army rifle batallions. It could be equipped with scopes for sniping duty and a stilet like bayonet for hand to hand combat. Just like the Kar98k, the Mosin Nagant M 91/30 had its weaknesses in close quarter combat due to it’s length, weight and slow rate of fire. But nontheless it could easily match the characteristics of the Kar98k which many people falsely find superior.

Facts in Numbers:

Caliber: 7,62 mm

Length: 1,232 m

Barrel Length: 0,729 m

Weight: 4 kg

Muzzle Velocity: 811m/s

Magazine: Box with 5 Cartridges

My first article will focus on a legendary weapon. The Karabiner 98 kurz (Carbine 98 Short) or Kar98k.

The Kar98k is the successor of the Gewehr 98 ( Rifle 98) which was introduced to the German army in 1898. Like the Gewehr 98 was the common infantry weapon of the German army in the first World War, the Kar98k fullfilled this role during the second World War. It was introduced in 1935. However both rifles were used by the German army during WW2.

There is little difference between both rifles. The Kar98k is mainly a shortenend version of the Gewehr 98. Both rifles use the controlled-feed Mauser M98 bolt action system. A simple, strong and reliable system.

The rifle was loaded with a 5-cartridge stripper clip to the internal magazine box. It could also be loaded by pushing single cartridges one by one into said magazine.

The weapon was known to be very accurate and reliable. It’s standard range of fire was up to 500 metres. But due to it’s accuracy and power, a skilled marksman could hit his target at up to 1000 metres.

The Kar98k could also be equipped with different scopes for sniping purposes.

Also part of the accesories of the rifle was the „Seitengewehr 98/05“, the bayonet.

During the heights of the war, the Germans developed the so called „Schiessbecher“ (Shooting Cup). This device allowed the Kar98k to be used to fire rifle grenades up to a distance of 300 metres.

The Kar98k was a very accurate and reliable rifle but it had its drawbacks. Due do it’s length and weight it wasn’t very handy in tight situations like trench fighting and urban close quarters. Another huge drawback was its slow rate of fire.

Facts in Numbers:

 Caliber: 7,92 mm

Length: 1,1075 m

Barrel Length: 600 mm

Weight: 3,9 kg

Muzzle Velocity: 755 m/s

Magazine: Box with 5 cartridges

Pre-Purchase Offer

Owners of the original Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 will receive the following:

• Pre-purchase now and receive 10% off or get 20% off if you already own the original Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45.
• Day 1 unlock of the Kar98 and Mosin rifle bayonets:
  
• Special in-game item – Russian Guards Badge and German Close Combat Badge:
  

Steam Digital Deluxe Edition

Steam Digital Deluxe Edition adds the following extras on top of the Standard Edition:

• Access to the final phase of closed beta before the August 30th launch
• Day 1 Unlock of the Elite Assault Weapons (MKb 42(H) and AVT-40) and Semi Auto Sniper Weapons (SVT-40 and G 41(W):
  
• Team Fortress 2 German and Russian hats (“vintage” if bought during pre-purchase):
• Two new characters for Killing Floor – Russian and German Soldier Re-enactors:
  

So head on over to steam to bag your copy!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/35450/?snr=1_4_4__13

Minimum:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Dual Core 2.3 GHz or better
RAM: 2 GB
Graphics card: 256 MB SM 3.0 DX9 Compliant NVIDIA® GeForce 7800 GTX or better ATI® Radeon® HD 2900 GT or better
Sound: Windows Supported Sound Card
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 8 GB free hard drive space

Recommended:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Quad Core 2.6 GHz or better
RAM: 3 GB
Graphics card: 512 MB SM 3.0 DX9 Compliant NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 260 or better ATI® Radeon® HD 5750 or better
Sound: Sound Blaster Audigy or better
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 8 GB free hard drive space

You can read the news post and see the box art on the Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad official website.

A number of leaked shots from the Battlefield 3 alpha, something I’m sure many people here had no idea even existed until right now, have been making their way onto the Net. These shots come from 4chan’s /v/ and the Facepunch forums.

The in-game screens apparently come from a user running the game on the “low” visual settings though we cannot validate these claims at this time.

Link to the news article here along with screenshots.

Updated:

Some videos have also been leaked: