Britain Makes Worst Tank Destroyer, Asked To Leave Allies

The Archer has got to be one of the worst vehicles in War Thunder. You would expect something with a 17-pounder cannon to perform pretty well at a battle rating of 2.7, but its odd configuration and slow reverse speed make it a massive pain to play. It's funny that it's a 1944 vehicle. Historically it should be facing stuff like the Tiger and Panther, but it faces Panzer IIs instead. Not that I think Gaijin should move it up.

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#warthunder​​​​​​​​​​​​ #tanks​​​​​​​​​​​​ #tankhistory
Britain Makes Worst Tank Destroyer, Asked To Leave Allies

[falfill]

The funny thing to point out is that this vehicle is in battlefield 5 and it’s reverse speed in that game is just as fast as it’s regular speed

[lbgstzockt]

I loved the part where british engineers took a 30 ton heavy tank and used a lawnmower engine as the powerplant

[gamersunite]

As lazerpig once said, the British really tried to Wallace and Gromit their way through WWII

[oliverrugg]

I remember unlocking the Archer and being seriously confused as to why it spawned facing backwards the first time I used it.

[FWildcat]

To understand how British anti-tank doctorine worked, TD's like achilles & Archer were ment to provide mobile anti-tank support while towed 17PDR's were set up in positions. this is completly diffrent than US & German TD doctorine. edit after toilet break= This is the reason why British classified them as SPG's. They litteraly were self propelled guns. They equipped royal artillery and anti-tank regiments wich consisted of 2x Towed 17 PDR's, one achilles/archer & 1 M10 battery. The role remained the same. Towed guns get into position, SPG's covered them.

[s_c_r_i_b]

Spookston: "it's a bad tank"

Also Spookston: "proceeds to get more kills in one game than i do in one day"

[OddBawZ]

I really expect to do really poorly with this thing and then it ALWAYS goes really well. It's a lot of fun to play after you've gotten a bit more experienced at the game. It's just a shame some newer players get this when they start Britain as their main nation and are completely mind f'd by how you need to drive it! 😂

[bassbatterer]

From what I remember, it was used by the Royal Artillery as a mobile antitank gun and it was well liked by the crews who had previously had 17pdrs on carriages.

[Zorro]

I really do love the odd designs you get at low BR. By mid-BR everything gets samey and loses those gimmicks and weaknesses that really differentiate vehicles. The Archer really is a lovely tank destroyer for that reason, even though its gun outshines every other aspect of it.

[mikelong]

And yet in reality it was very popular with it's crews, a low sillhouette, 17pdr gun and the ability to reverse into position, put rounds on target and then escape return fire with all your forward gears, it was in reality very good.

[adamloxley]

I am compelled to remind people that the Archer isn’t a TD but merely an SPG, and it was effective and well-liked by the artillery men who used them.

[magisterrleth]

Wow. On the one hand, I can see sort of what it's for. You drive to position, you set up, you shoot stuff, and if shot back, you scoot backwards(which is actually forwards) at full speed and get out of there quickly. On the other, it really is dreadful in a video game. And they probably could have updated the drive train.

[rileyfitzsimons]

Could you do a video on the British striker please? As a British main this would make me very happy

[dmitryivanov]

The Archer is in general really fun to use once you learn to not treat it as a tank but as a mobile 17 pounder sniper rifle. You play by either finding a nice defensive spot and snipe people from it, or, if you are in arcade mode and are planning to meme on people, play Initial D and drift shot people from the flanks. That actually got me 6 kills in the thing before I got HE shelled because in arcade people generally forget to check the flanks, like the German mains at 4.0-6.0

[Valentine]

This TD has a special tactic in the arcade: reverse, then swing the tank around and shoot. Gamble, but fun trick. The 17 pounder is strong in this BR ( pens everything, everywhere) but these limitations ( slow speed, reverse mount) and making it balanced for that br. 6+/10

[malakov]

I mean, this tank kind of makes sense in a real world sense. They can have a relatively static long gun but still traverse terrain by itself. It doesn’t really make sense in a fast paced team death match

[desertfalcon]

I just adore these "X makes worst Y, asked to leave Z"
You're a genius Spooks, keep doing these lmao 🤣 😂

[solidshot]

I actually really like the Archer, at 2.7 I find the 17pdr to be a good old point and click adventure

[ice__cube_]

I actually love the Archer, It's my favourite British tank in War Thunder. You figured out the best method of use part way, and that is not going -4km/h towards your enemies at all times. Instead doing 180s on them when the least expect it. other than that, get into a good sniping position then 180. if you take a hit go 'forward' to hull down and repair. My kill record is on this tank, IIRC it is >20.

[pacocinco]

As a British main (yes, I know), I always kinda like playing the archer. It also was very painful.

I always went with the "drive backwards and the just whip 'er around when you find baddies" strategy.