FV4005 Stage II
FV4005 Stage II
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[Client Values; Actual values in
6,100,000  Cost |
| 1850370 HP Hit Points |
| 51.01/5422.19/54 t Weight Limit |
- Commander (Radio Operator)
- Gunner
- Driver
- Loader
- Loader
| 950950 hp Engine Power |
| 32/8 km/h Speed Limit |
| 2626 deg/s Traverse |
| 18.6242.81 hp/t Power/Wt Ratio |
| YesYes Pivot |
| // mm Hull Armor |
AP/HE/HE
AP/HE/HE Shells |
2250/8000/1900
2250/8000/1900 Shell Cost |
| 1150/1750/17501150/1750/1750 HP Damage |
| 310/230/92310/230/92 mm Penetration |
|
2 r/m ▲
2 r/m Standard Gun ▲ Rate of Fire Standard Gun |
|
2300 ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun ▲
2300 Standard Gun ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun ▲ Damage Per Minute Standard Gun |
|
0.42 m ▲
0.42 m With 50% Crew: 0.52 m ▲ Accuracy With 50% Crew: 0.52 m |
| 3.7 s 3.7 s Aim time |
| 1616 deg/s Gun Traverse Speed |
| 180° Gun Arc |
| -10°/+8°-10°/+8° Elevation Arc |
| 2020 rounds Ammo Capacity |
| 2020 % Chance of Fire |
| 390 m 390 m View Range |
| 750 m 750 m Signal Range |
X
6100000
The FV4005 Stage II is a British tier 10 tank destroyer.
This tank destroyer project was developed on the basis of the Centurion Mk3 tank in the early 1950s. The vehicle was initially tested with a mechanized ammo rack. However, the ammo rack did not fit the turret, and it was canceled. One prototype was manufactured and underwent trials, but the vehicle never entered mass production.
Wielding the most devastating gun in the game protruding from a massive box turret, the FV4005 Stage II affectionately became known as "Sh*tbarn" or "Doombarn". The FV4005 Stage II was released as an alternative to the FV215b (183). This featured increased mobility and gun handling, while sacrificing surviveability. It has almost no hull armor & a very large paper-thin turret. When the FV215b (183) was removed from the tech tree but kept as a collector's vehicle, the FV4005 Stage II received a "balancing update" to its gun handling and mobility. In the current state, this means inferior gun accuracy, aiming time, and movement speed to the FV215b (183). At this point one might ask... Why would anyone get this over the FV215b (183) or the FV217 Badger? Well, the FV215b (183) is no longer obtainable, and the FV217 Badger doesn't have the 183mm cannon with 1750 damage HESH shells, it has a 120mm that does 400 damage respectively. With this monstrous weapon, the FV4005 Stage II is arguably the deadliest support weapon in the game. Try popping out & shooting heavies while they are reloading, or giving the "Thor's Hammer" of fire support to a pack of protecting mediums. It is a lot less forgiving than the FV215b (183), so patience with aiming and timing of the attack is essential. You will need to keep an eye on the mini-map at all times, if a flank is failing go & lend your massive 183mm gun. The accuracy is extremely unreliable, thus AP shells are ineffective at medium to long range. Using HE (preferably HESH), The medium to long range shots will deal respectable damage, and taking the time to aim for weak spots will melt the HP of any vehicle who was unfortunate enough to be in front of you. If your patience is strong, awareness is keen, and with a little bit of luck, your gun will become the enemies living hell.
The FV4005 Stage II marks the end of its British tank destroyer line.
Modules / Available Equipment and Consumables
Modules
Guns
| Tier | Gun | Penetration (mm) |
Damage (HP) |
Rate of fire (rounds/minute) |
Dispersion (m/100m) |
Aiming time (s) |
Weight (kg) |
Price (  )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | 183 mm L4 | 310/230/92 | 1150/1750/1750 | 2 | 0.42 | 3.7 | 5400 | 335000 |
Engines
| Tier | Engine | Engine Power (hp) |
Chance of Fire on Impact (%) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | Rolls-Royce Griffon | 950 | 20 | 952 | 100000 |
Suspensions
| Tier | Suspension | Load Limit (т) |
Traverse Speed (gr/sec) |
Rmin | Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | FV4005 Stage II | 54 | 26 | 0 | 11000 | 82500 |
Radios
| Tier | Radio | Signal Range (m) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | SR C45 | 750 | 40 | 45600 |
Compatible Equipment
Compatible Consumables
Player Opinion
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Ridiculous premium shells - amazing damage and workable penetration
- Great gun depression
- The turret's arc, while not a full 360°, is quite wide
- Fear factor, this tank is notorious for its devastating HESH shells
Cons:
- Useless armor, Tier 1 tanks can penetrate the turret with HE
- Very poor mobility
- Slow turret traverse and terrible gun elevation
- Abysmal reload speed, gun handling and aim time, and bad accuracy
- Extremely poor camouflage
Performance
The FV4005 Stage II is akin to an artillery piece, though without the option for indirect fire. It enjoys absolutely monstrous firepower with all its types of ammunition, especially HESH and HE (a full penetration can reliably destroy a full health Tier 9 tank, and even some Tier 10s!), but pays dearly for it with terrible gun handling, very slow aim time, glacial reload speed and inadequate shell velocity and accuracy.
In terms of survivability, the tank's healthpool is on the low side for a Tier 10 tank destroyer, and its armor is downright pathetic, being a Tier 8 Centurion hull with a massive, boxy turret that any and all HE rounds in its tier spread can reliably penetrate. Further complicanting things, the FV's camouflage is appallingly poor, comparable only to the largest SPGs and heavy tanks.
Last but not least, the FV4005 Stage II is a slow tank, with mediocre top speed and horrible reverse speed, as well as mediocre hull traverse and very slow turret traverse.
This is a fully dedicated support vehicle. Given its characteristics, it is best used do deliver devastating hits to enemy tanks while relying on as much cover as possible to minimize return fire.
Early Research
Comes elite in its stock configuration.
Suggested Equipment
Gallery
Historical Info
Anti-IS QF L4 gun and its variants
In order to meet these requirements, the designers had to find a much more powerful gun than the L1A1. The British didn't bother with the small stuff & went right up to a caliber of 7.2 inches (183 mm). Using such a powerful caliber was no accident. This new gun was based on the 183 mm BL 7.2 inch Howitzer, which dates back to WWI. Initially, the howitzer had a barrel length of 22.4 calibers, but this was extended to 33.1 calibers. Unfortunately, even this extension was not enough to fight Soviet tanks.
In 1950, work started on the QF L4 gun, the most powerful tank gun in the world. The gun weighed a little under 4 tons & had nearly 87 tons of recoil force. In order to clear the fighting compartment of propellant fumes, the gun had a fume extractor fitted. Only one type of shell was planned for this gun: HESH (High Explosive Squashed Head). Not only is the caliber of the L4 stunning, but also the weight of the rounds. The propellant was separate from the shell, but this didn't make the loader's job much easier: the mass of the shell was 72 kg, & the mass of the propellant was 32.8 kg.
On November 9th, 1950, the War Office held a meeting to determine what vehicle this super-powerful gun would be placed on. The meeting resulted in four variants:
A fully armoured fighting machine (effectively a tank) with a fully rotating turret. An SPG with powerful front armour, but a limited traverse angle. An SPG with a fully rotating turret, but thin armour. An SPG without armour. Variant 1/2: FV215
The contract to develop the first variant went to Morris and was later transferred to Vickers-Armstrong. The chassis of the heavy FV200 tank was used, with the suspension from the heavy FV214 Conqueror tank. The project had multiple names: Heavy Gun Tank No.2, Heavy Anti-Tank SP No.2, FV215 Heavy Anti-Tank SP No.2 or simply FV215. The index Heavy Gun Tank No.2 was incorrectly interpreted by historians, resulting in a mythical project called FV215B. In reality, all these indices pointed to the same vehicle armed with the 183 mm L4 gun.
This project combined the first and second variants. Theoretically, the turret could rotate fully, but the gun was limited to firing within a 90 degree arc. The turret was placed in the rear in order to prevent the huge barrel from sticking out too far. The ammunition capacity was only 20 shells. The rate of fire of the tank was supposed to reach 6 RPM. but whoever set that requirement was a hopeless optimist. The size of the turret did not allow for a loading mechanism, and loading that quickly by hand was not possible. Aside from the gun, the tank had two machineguns: one coaxial and one AA machinegun on top of the turret.
The 65 ton vehicle was supposed to accelerate to 31.7 kph. In order to achieve this, the tank would have an 810 hp Meteor Mk.12 engine. As for the armour, it kept changing throughout the development process. The thickness of the upper front plate varied between 125 and 152 mm, the sides were 50 mm thick (plus spaced armour). As for the turret, the specification was only for the front, which was 254 mm (10 inches) thick.
The FV215 Heavy Anti-Tank SP No.2 was not meant to be. Morris was supposed to first build a full scale model and then two prototypes: one for mobility trials and one as a target for armour testing. In June of 1954, Vickers-Armstrong, the new owner of the contract, was given the same task. Development of the SPG continued until January of 1957. At that point, the full scale model and 80% of the blueprints were ready. But, the War Office got its own Khrushchev and the development of the FV215 Heavy Anti-Tank SP No.2 was shut down in favour of ATGMs.
Variant 4: FV4005 Stage I
As for the main subject of this article, the FV4005, work on it started a while later. Interestingly enough, the third variant was rejected outright, and designers went to the unarmoured option. This is linked to the fact that the required rate of fire of 6 RPM was unattainable without a loading mechanism. Vickers-Armstrong decided to not reinvent the wheel and use a loading system similar to the one on the 104 mm QF 127/58 SBT X1 AA gun, better known as Green Mace. The SPG with a 183 mm gun and an autoloader was known as FV4005 Stage I. An altered chassis of the Centution Mk.3 served as the base for the design. A huge trail was added to the rear, lowered during firing, and the front plate received a travel lock for the gun.
After trials that primarily tested stability of the vehicle wile firing, this design was rejected. It was decided that an SPG of this size that was completely devoid of armour was excessive, and even an automatic loader doesn't make it worth putting crewmen at such a risk. The fully rotating turret was also rather deceptive, as the powerful recoil limited the firing angle of the gun.
Variant 3: FV4005 Stage II
In July of 1955, specifications for a simpler 183 mm SPG were developed, the FV4005 Stage II. The massive automatic loader was discarded, replaced with two loader crewmen. Since even this variant couldn't carry more than 12 shells, this solution was considered acceptable. The vehicle received a massive turret. The height of the 50 ton SPG was 3.6 meters, making it the tallest vehicle built in Britain.
The turret armour was only 14 mm thick, meaning that it couldn't reliably protect the crew from even a high caliber machinegun. On the other hand, it was better than nothing. The Stage II also had a coaxial machinegun, which improved its chances against enemy infantry. A large turret was added to the rear of the turret to load ammunition. The creators of the FV4005 Stage II designed a system to rapidly supply ammunition from trucks, which somewhat compensated for the small ammunition capacity. The new turret was still installed on the Centurion Mk.3 chassis with a trail and a travel lock for the gun.
In March of 1956, the FV4005 Stage II underwent trials to determine the stability of the vehicle when shooting. 32 shots were made at various elevations in the first round. At an elevation of 0 degrees, the front of the vehicle moved up to 22 cm, and the rear up to 12 cm. The greatest oscillations were reached at an angle of 3 degrees, when the front moved up to 27 cm and the rear up to 19 cm. The trials were performed without a crew, who were replaced by mannequins. The trials showed that shooting does not injure the crew.
As a result of the trials, a list of improvements was composed, futilely. In August of 1957, the FV4005 program was closed. Various theories exist for why the super-powerful tank destroyer program was shut down. In reality, the reason was the same as with the FV215 Heavy Anti-Tank SP No.2. In 1958, the British army received Malkara ATGMs on light Humber Hornet cars. The system was much more compact and mobile, making the 183 mm SPG a relic of the past.
After completion of the trials, both FV4005 prototypes were disassembled. The Centurion Mk.3 hulls were used for other programs and the gun systems ended up in training facilities. The turret of the Stage II spent a lot of time in storage near the Bovington Tank Museum, and was only recently installed on a Centurion Mk.8 chassis. Even in this form, it is of great interest, serving as a epitaph for British tank destroyers. The FV4005 Stage II stands near the eastern entrance to the museum. Perhaps someday there will be funding to move it indoors and restore it.
Historical Gallery
Historical Accuracy Errata
The FV4005 Stage II's turret could actually rotate 360 degrees. FV4005 Stage I's gun however didnt rotate 360 degrees.
- HESH was the only ammunition of the 183 mm L4 gun. The AP and HE shells are fake.
- Due to "balancing" reasons; the premium HESH round type was changed into HE in order to make sure it can deal damage to enemy tanks even if it hits spaced armor.
