I've been playing World of Tanks Blitz for almost 2 years now and after all this time of driving digital tanks, making YouTube videos about them and going to events such as TankFest in Bovington, U.K. and seeing those steel beasts in the metal, my father-in-law decided it was time for me to ride in a real tank. I want to share my story with you guys to maybe inspire you to go do the same thing, because I can tell you, it is the ride of a lifetime!
First let me give you a short summary about the T-55 and it’s time in the Polish Army.
The T-54 and T-55
tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced just as the
Second World War
ended. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end

of 1945.
Initial production ramp up settled for 1947 at Nizhny Tagil, and 1948 for Kharkov
were halted and curtailed as many problems were uncovered; the T-34-85 still accounted for


88 percent of production through the 50's.
The T-54 eventually became the main tank for
armoured units of the
Soviet Army, armies of the
Warsaw Pact countries, and many others.
T-54s and T-55s have been involved in many of the world's armed conflicts since the later
part of the 20th century. 

🇬🇧Harry Harrison
 
With a growing requirement for faster ships the US Navy commissioned the first of a new line of craft in 1905. Initially classified as a “Scout”, the cruiser CS-1 (later to be re-designated CL-1), was one of three ships built to explore the concept, each with their own unique design. Launched by the Bath Iron Works in Maine in 1907, she was commissioned in April 1908 under the captaincy of Commander H. B. Wilson.
 
Named Chester after the city in Pennsylvania, she was 120m long and 3,750 tons displacement. When launched, she was armed with 2 single mount 5 inch cannon, and 6 smaller 3 inch secondary guns. She was the first US warship to be fitted with reaction turbine engines (compression bladed turbines), built by Parsons of Newcastle, England and generating a total of 23,000 horse power at the shaft. Her armour was limited but with over 2” of steel around the hull belt, she was capable of taking on her contemporaries at range and provided ample protection for her 350+ crew.
 
Three Chester class cruisers were built, and her two sister ships were fitted with different power systems. The Salem was fitted with an American derived version of an impulse turbine engine manufactured by Curtis, and the Birmingham carried the more conventional reciprocating steam engine we would all recognise. The US Navy held a competition between all 3 craft to establish which design was the most effective in April 1905.
 
The test was a 24 hour run at full speed the ships being set off at 3 mile intervals and running along the same route. After just 12 hours the Birmingham had to pull out of the trial with a broken engine, the crew complaining that they had “run of the mine” coal where as their competitors had “hand selected” fuel. The Chester and the Salem remained locked in contest, sailing back and forth along the course, after over 625 miles of racing the Chester edged out the Salem to take the victory by 12.8 miles.
 
Prior to the outbreak of WWI Chester was predominantly used as a training ship off the East coast of the US and down in to the Caribbean. She also carried out diplomatic duties including a Congressional tour of North Africa in 1909. During the “Banana” wars, American interests in the Caribbean were threatened and Chester patrolled off Mexico and Haiti carrying a Marine occupation force in 1911 to Honduras.
 
Between December 1911 and November 1913 Chester was put in to fleet reserve but in April 1912 she was ordered to escort the Cunard Line’s RMS Carpathia back to New York. Carpathia had just recovered the survivors from the sinking of RMS Titanic.
 
In January 1914 Chester was in action again, President Wilson held conference on-board with John Lind the envoy for Mexican affairs to discuss the occupation of Veracruz, and in April of that year Chester was ordered to travel to Veracruz. Under the command of William Moffett she held top speed from port at Tampico and neared the port at around midnight on a moonless night, the radio operator contacted the USS Prairie AD-5. Commander Fletcher aboard warned the Chester that the harbour lights were out and navigation in to the port was hazardous before dawn. With time against them, Commander Moffett chose to head straight in, and holding both nerve and speed he safely negotiated the narr

ow entrance to the harbour and brought Chester to dock. For his actions on that day Moffett was awarded the Medal of Honor. Having disembarked her troops on the pier she prepared to support and at first light began shelling strategic buildings in Veracruz. Later she was required to transport refugees to Cuba, mail and stores to the squadron off shore and other diplomatic activities before returning to Boston for overhaul and a second period in reserve until 1915.
 
Chester spent a further period bolstering American interests in the Mediterranean, providing assistance in relief work across the Middle East and off the Liberian coast supporting the government there who were threatened by insurrection. Chester then returned for duty as a training ship in Boston where she was put back in to reserve between May 1916 and March 1917.
 
Chester was once again brought back in to commission in April 1917 and performed her duties patrolling off the East coast of America where U-boat activity had been increasing. In August she sailed for Gibraltar to begin her escort role, supporting convoys between Gibraltar and Plymouth England. On the 5th of September she sighted a U-boat at close range and attempted to ram the enemy sub. She passed directly over the diving German craft and damaged her own para-vane, although depth charges were launched at the fleeing submarine no further contact was made.
 
As the Great War came to a conclusion Chester was enrolled in carrying several allied armistice commissions on tours of the German sea ports (a dangerous task due to the number of sea mines in the area), before she carried troops to the army units operating in Northern Russia. Homeward bound she carried army veterans back to New York before returning to Boston for overhaul where she was de-commissioned in June 1921. In 1927 she was towed to Philadelphia Navy Yard and in July 1928 her name was changed to York. She was finally sold for scrap in May 1930.
 
Over her career at sea USS Chester convoyed 426 ships with just a single loss to the enemy. She travelled over 60,000 miles across European waters in her wartime duties and set the standard for the light cruiser class that followed her in to service.
 
In game the Chester is highly manoeuvrable and has excellent speed for her size and class. She is however quite a large craft and as such is easy prey for the ever present destroyers and those nasty torpedoes, so keep your distance. Although her armaments are typical of the period, their range and firepower are not great when compared to cruisers from the IJN at the same tier, and when bottom tiered she can really struggle against T3 battleships.

So today I'm starting a new initiative.  I play Wows Blitz...I'm doing videos all the day long for Tanks and streams and podcasts..and this page is not getting the love it deserves.  So I'm doing what very few men seem to be able to do.  Which is obviously accept help from other people :). This kicks off today with my good mate Harry and his article on the Erie, the tier 1 US Cruiser in the Game that is fresh to the App Store in Australia and coming soon to other parts of the globe  :)

​ENJOY HUMANS!

n the early 1930’s the US Navy needed a new class of multi-purpose craft to satisfy a diverse range of naval roles from military applications to diplomatic flagship duties, and the designs for the Erie class were drawn up in 1932. Her keel was laid down in dry dock #1 in the New York Naval Yard, Brooklyn in 1934 and following a two year build out she was launched in February 1936 for outfitting. Construction continued and with the outfitting nearing completion Commander Hanson signed the docket and became the first Captain of USS Erie PG-50 on 1st of July. Her sister ship and the only other Erie class gunboat: the USS Charleston PG-51 was completed at the same time in South Carolina.
 
At 100m in length and 2,000 tons displacement, armed with 4 single turret 6 inch cannon, she packed a punch for her size. She was equipped with 2 Parson’s turbines which gave her a respectable 20 knot operating speed. She carried a Curtis-Wright “Seagull” reconnaissance float-plane on a small flight deck and also boasted spacious comfortable quarters for visiting dignitaries. A purpose designed movie projector room in the rear superstructure allowed films to be played on to a large portable screen mounted on the rear deck for the pleasure of the crew and visiting diplomats.
 
Her service displacement approached 2,800 tons and she had an operational range of up to 8,000 nautical miles. Her decks and gun shields had 1 – 1.25 inch steel plate armour and the hull varied with up to 3.5 inch plate over the vital areas, the coning tower was protected with hefty 4 inch plate armour.
 
In August she was set to sea for her initial trials which revealed some issues with the propulsion system so after another brief period of adjustment she was finally ready for service in late September 1936. Further tests and trials were conducted in early October and Commander Hanson was issued with her first service orders.
 
Sailing from New York on the 31st of October 1936 she joined service on her shake-down cruise with squadron 40-T as they monitored the ongoing Spanish Civil War. Erie visited the Royal Naval shipyards at Plymouth for re-supply and then began service with 40-T under orders to visit Spanish sea ports and checking on the American citizens and foreign nationals and evacuate them if needs be.
 
It was while at anchor at the port of Gijón in northern Spain December 1936 that she first saw live action, the rebel Spanish battleship España firing 3 rounds from her 12 inch guns which landed close to Erie. Evasive action was ordered although no orders to return fire were given, and immediately the España steamed away. The US government deemed the incident as inadvertent and shortly after the Erie was recalled to New York via the Azores, a particularly difficult crossing in the rough seas of December which resulted in several hull plates being damaged during the trip and a brief spell in dry dock to repair the damage.
 
On completion of the repairs in late February 1937 Erie went on training operations along the Eastern seaboard of the US and in early May she was tasked with her role as a training vessel at Annapolis Naval Academy, Maryland. For the next 6 months she was used to train midshipmen as part of the Costal Cruising Detachment.
 
In late October she was ordered to visit New York Navy Yard for refit and installation of ordinance, a process that would take 3 months. Following the refit in January 1938 Erie was made ready to join the Special Service Squadron, SPERON, at Balboa, Panama, a location that would become her home port until she was eventually transferred to the Caribbean Sea Frontier Task Force in 1942.
 
In March she would formally take control of the SPERON flag, the squadron commanding officer and all of the flag personnel were transferred to the ship and her sister ship the PG-51 sailed north to the shipyard at Charleston, South Carolina. In April of 1938 Commander Hanson was transferred to the Naval Station at Samoa, to be replaced by Commander Ashbrook.
 
The rest of 1938 was a goodwill tour of Central and South America, 10 ports and 8 countries later, as this was the first time she had gone beyond the equator the crew upheld the “Crossing the Line” tradition where all her polliwogs (US novice sailors) were initiated in to the “Ancient Order of the Deep”. She finished the year exploring the potential of the Galapagos Islands to provide further defensive support to Panama.
 
In January 1939 the Erie was called to assist in the search and rescue of the Cavalier, an Imperial Airways Short Empire Flying boat which ditched and sank in the Atlantic before recommencing her role in the Panama Canal Zone. The role continued until 17th September 1940 when the Special Service Squadron was disbanded.
 
When America found itself drawn in to WWII the Erie was still stationed at Balboa in the Pacific, where she carried out numerous duties including the movement of Japanese nationals from Costa Rica, and a number of boardings and support missions across the area.
 
In June 1942 Erie was transferred to Cristóbal at the Atlantic end of the canal, thereby joining the Battle of the Caribbean against the German U-boats. On June 12th 1942 she rescued 46 seamen and other survivors of the British steamship Fort of Good Hope which had been attacked and sunk by U-159. On the 15th she rescued the Master and 22 survivors from the US bulk carrier Lebore after it was attacked and sunk by U-172. The following day she rescued 8 armed guards and 49 other survivors from the Dutch steam ship Crijnssen.
 
On the 10th of November Erie left Trinidad leading convoy TAG-20 on-route to Guantanamo Bay Cuba, accompanied by the destroyer Biddle, corvette Spry and three 461 class submarine hunters. She was two days out of port and approaching Curaçao when late in the afternoon the convoy was attacked and 3 torpedoes fired by U-163 struck her starboard quarter. The oil bunker on-board was damaged and caught light, and all electrical power was lost.
 
Half an hour later with partial power restored two severe explosions rocked the ship, the powder stores in #4 gun went up and the ship stopped again. 3 emergency lifeboats were launched to search for casualties and with injured personnel. Limping forward with only one engine working the crew began emptying the #3 powder store over the side to avoid further explosions. An hour after the attack the Erie beached herself 100m off shore, with oil on the water and the ship on fire the captain called “all hands abandon ship”. The attack had killed 7 crew and injured 11 more. She burned for several days before listing further. A couple of week’s later Erie was moved to the inner harbour of Willemstad where se capsized at her moorings. She was left until 1952 when she was raised, towed to deeper water and finally sunk to rest.
 
In game the Erie has great armour at tier I and a gun range of 7.5km. The guns are accurate and although only equipped with HE shells, they are capable of causing significant damage with a high rate of fire. However the ship has quite poor concealment statistics and will be targeted by the enemy, her good speed and handling mean that it is easy to become isolated so remain close to your convoy.

Copped some stick for using the Panther 1 in the recent "NO ARMOUR" playstyle video from various humans who shall remain nameless.  This is taken from the gun of the comet a tier 7 med with a decidedly standard 148mm's of AP pen.  Green is a guaranteed penetration...Seems legit no armour to me...