Hi!

Classic here. I’m coming out of hiatus temporarily to publish a new series I’ve been working on for my personal WoT news server (WoT InfoCord), titled “WoT Icons: A History of Leaks”. This series will primarily discuss the icons leaked all the way back in Update 0.8.0 over 11 years ago(!) (as well as a few later icon leaks), covering what’s since been added and what still remains untouched.

(This was prompted by at least one of the posts from this series getting poached by a certain other WoT news site which we don’t speak of, without any sort of permission or credit… so, I figured I may as well beat them to it for the next parts by posting them in a more visible spot, with proper formatting etc. 😏)

UPDATE: To their credit, the aforementioned news site has since taken down the posts from their site (though, only after a bit of kerfuffle in my chat), so I will at least give them that. Doesn’t change the fact that it happened in the first place (and took a bit of… persuasion, to put it lightly), but still worth mentioning.

Anywho – without further ado, let’s take a look back for a moment:

The recent appearance of the III 🇬🇧A7E3 on supertest had me inspired to post a recap of all the icons leaked in the Update 0.8.0 files (over 11 years ago now!), as well as a few more recent ones. This will take place in multiple parts, one for each nation covered by the leaks.

To provide some brief backstory, a large batch of vehicle carousel icons was accidentally included in the Update 0.8.0 files, which was promptly leaked on wot-news.com. Many of these vehicles were added shortly after the initial leak, followed by a pretty large gap, after which some more have been added over the past few years — a surprising number of which have appeared very recently! However, even still, there are still some from these leaks which haven’t yet made it into the game.

🇫🇷 France

To start with France, these have included (in order of their release):

Released Vehicles

March/April 2015 – III 🇫🇷Somua S35, V 🇫🇷Renault G1 R

• Added with the introduction of theAMX 30 mini-branch in Update 0.9.7.0 (Mar/Apr 2015).
• The G1R has since been removed from the tech tree, but is still available in the game, having been moved to the Collector’s Vehicle section in 2020 (along with the global tech tree cleanup).
  • Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from 2012:
    
  • New/current carousel icons (released in 0.9.7.0) from 2015:
    

December 2017 – VIII 🇫🇷AMX 65 t

• Added with the introduction of theAMX M4 54 mini-branch in Update 0.9.21.0 (Nov/Dec 2017).
  • Original carousel icon (leaked in 0.8.0) from 2012:
    
  • New/current carousel icon (released in 0.9.21.0) from 2017:
    

December 2019 – II 🇫🇷AMR-35

• Added as a premium gift vehicle for Holiday Ops 2020 (Update 1.7.0.0, Dec 2019). Original icon labelled AMR_P103.
  • Original carousel icon (leaked in 0.8.0) from 2012:
    
  • New/current carousel icon (released in 1.7.0.0) from 2020:
    

August 2023 – V 🇫🇷AMX 13 FL-11

• Added as a premium gift vehicle for World of Tanks’ 13th Anniversary (Update 1.21.1.1, August 2023).
• Was originally seen in an article + trailer cca. ~2012, but never ended up releasing until recently.
  • Original carousel icon (leaked in 0.8.0) from 2012:
    
  • Original screenshot from 2012:
    
  •   New/current carousel icon (released in 1.21.0.0) from 2023:
    
    
  • New model (official renders) from 2023:
    
    

    

    

    

    

    

Unreleased Vehicles

A number of vehicles from the old leak have either been scrapped or have yet to be introduced, including:

🇫🇷28/32 Pz. 38H(f)

• A German-captured version of the Hotchkiss H39 – same as the Pz. 38H, except also fitted with four 28/32 Wurfrahmen 40 rocket launchers.
  
• This one is among the most bizarre, though is not alone — check back for parts 4-5, which will include another vehicle along a similar vein.
• It is fairly unlikely this vehicle would ever appear in the game, simply because it would likely function identically to the existing Pz. 38H (the rockets were most likely never intended to serve a functional purpose). Likewise, I suspect this vehicle was axed due to the addition of the Pz. 38H (and perhaps to avoid confusion, given the rockets wouldn’t actually do anything?).

🇫🇷AMC 35

• A cavalry tank fitted with a 47 mm SA35 cannon in a two-man turret (uncommon for French vehicles of the time). Developed in the mid-1930s; also known as the Renault ACG.1.
  
• Fun fact — this vehicle actually does exist in the game already… or well, half of it does… sort of? While no model for this vehicle was ever shown publicly, and the standard vehicle still does not exist in the game to this day, the hull is used as a basis for the 🇫🇷Arlequin light tank in the Steel Hunter mode. The Arlequin is also labelled “F43_AMC_35_SH” internally, making it the only Steel Hunter vehicle to be based on a tank which does not exist in the standard game yet.
  
• It is unclear exactly why this vehicle was chosen, since the standard version doesn’t exist yet. (Perhaps this indicates that an HD model did exist at some point internally/currently sits unused?)
• I imagine the AMC 35 could still have some potential to appear in the game eventually, given it could serve as either fairly-standard low-tier gift material or as filler for the Holiday Ops Large Boxes. Furthermore, the vehicle would likely fit at tier 3, where there currently does not exist any French vehicle of similar concept (pretty much every tier 3 French tank with this gun is slow + armored to varying degrees, whereas this would be more of a relatively-nimble light vehicle, something a bit unique for France at this tier [surprisingly]). The vehicle would likely be a bit similar to the existing AMR 35, albeit with a much better gun. Only time will tell, however.

🇫🇷Lorraine G1 L

• One of several designs created as part of the G1 project, intended to replace the aging D2. Five competing designs were presented by SEAM, Fouga, BDR, Renault, and Lorraine; however, none were fully-completed by the time WW2 broke out.
• Two other vehicles from this project exist in the game: the BDR G1 B and Renault G1 R (the latter of which was also included in the 0.8.0 leaks). However, this version was cut, likely due to the selection of the G1R as the tier 5 for the fragmented AMX 30 branch (which has since been relegated to Collector’s Vehicle status).
• I could see this appearing as another low-tier filler tank for the Holiday Ops Large Boxes, seeing how the Pz. IV F2 and M24 no. 594 were both recently introduced as likely candidates for this year’s boxes (Holiday Ops 2024). Only time will tell.

🇫🇷FCM 2C, 🇫🇷FCM 2C bis, and 🇫🇷FCM F1

• Three designs for multi-turreted superheavy tanks, ranging from 1921-1940. The former two vehicles (2C and 2C bis) were both produced and fielded (10 FCM 2Cs + one converted to FCM 2C bis), while the FCM F1 only ever existed as a mockup.
• Some historical background on each:
  • The FCM 2C featured one turret at the front with a 75 mm gun, along with a machine gun turret at the back. The vehicle famously sat at over 10 meters (~33 ft) long and 4 meters (~13 ft) high, came in at a whopping 69 (early models)-75 (late “Lorraine”/”Normandie” modifications) tonnes, and had a crew consisting of 12-13 members(!).
    
  • The FCM 2C bis existed as an upgrade to an existing 2C (known as “Champagne”), which replaced the primary turret with a cast unit fielding a 155 mm Mle. 1917 Schneider howitzer. The vehicle was eventually converted back to its original form in 1939, with the unique turret + 155 mm gun having been sent to Tunisia (for use as a fortification turret).
    
  • The FCM F1 was designed to replace the FCM 2C. This vehicle also fielded two turrets, though unlike the 2C, both were able to fire forwards. The primary turret was positioned rearwards, fitting a 90 mm cannon in a large, barn-shaped turret, while the secondary turret fitted a smaller 47 mm SA37 cannon towards the front of the hull. A reported 12 were ordered, but only a wooden mockup was completed before the fall of France in June 1940.
    
• Info on these vehicles in the game will be presented further down in this article (see below). To give a brief hint, there’s a fair bit more to discuss in regards to where these came from as far as the game’s history goes, and they’re also not alone…
  

🇫🇷AMX M4 1948

• One of several designs created as part of the AMX M4 project. Existed only in blueprints.
• It is suspected this vehicle was initially planned to appear as part of the AMX M4 sub-branch (which is thought to have been a full branch at some point; more on this below); however, the VIII 🇫🇷AMX 65 t (which also came from this leak) took the tier 8 spot instead. The vehicle also closely-resembles the premium VIII 🇫🇷AMX M4 1949, which may further explain why we haven’t seen this vehicle released to date.

🇫🇷Panzerjäger 35R

• A German modification to a number of captured 🇫🇷Renault R35s. The vehicles had their turrets removed, and had their hulls refitted with a 4,7 cm PaK gun in an open-topped armored compartment.
• The vehicle was originally intended to be introduced as a tier 2 premium for the French tree (similar to the FCM36Pak40 and leFH18B2, both of which were also German modifications to French vehicles introduced into the French tree); however, it ultimately never came to be.
• Of all the vehicles in this list, I could see there being some potential for this, given it would effectively just be a slower version of the Panzerjäger I with moderately-trollish hull armor but an equally-weak casemate, nullifying the “armor” outside of the occasional trollbounce. This would make it somewhat similar in concept to the Pz.Kpfw. 35 R, exchanging the turret for a better gun. Perhaps it could appear as low-tier filler vehicle for future Holiday Ops Large Boxes (like the Pz. 35 R)? Only time will tell.

🇫🇷Lorraine 37L AC

•  A modification of the Lorraine 37L supply tractor, fitted (in this instance) with a 47 mm SA37 anti-tank gun. Several other variations of this vehicle existed in different configurations, including the German Marder I (a captured Lorraine 37L with a superstructure placed on top, in order to fit a 75 mm PaK 40 anti-tank gun) as well as several French designs, perhaps most notably including one fitting a 17 pounder gun(!) with a very unique muzzle brake. The French versions with the 47 mm and 17 pdr can both be seen here:
  
  
• In regards to the game version, this appears to have been replaced by the UE 57 (another French tank destroyer wielding a British gun with the same style of muzzle brake) in the French tank destroyer branch. However, while theLorraine 37L AC itself doesn’t exist in the game to this day, a similar vehicle appeared in the French tree as an SPG: the III 🇫🇷Lorraine 39L AM (a similar tractor tractor equipped with a 105 mm field howitzer).
• Regardless, this could be an interesting low-tier tank destroyer… at least, visually-speaking (it likely wouldn’t be very different to other low-tier tank destroyers). This is a vehicle which would likely exist more for its meme value than anything — it’s a bit goofy, after all.

🇫🇷ACL 135

• A prototype SPG built on the chassis of a 🇫🇷D1, fitted with a 75 mm Mle 1929 gun.
• The in-game description for this vehicle was leaked along with its icon:
  • The first prototype was manufactured in 1931 by the ACL company on the basis of the Char D1. Two prototypes were produced. Work on the vehicle was discontinued due to a faulty suspension and other unreliable parts.
• This originally appeared in the French tree as a low-tier SPG candidate, but was never added to the game, perhaps due to Wargaming’s reluctance to add premium artillery to the game (thankfully). According to For the Record, there was even one more French premium artillery vehicle candidate that never appeared: the AC R35, though nothing is known of it.
• It is unlikely this vehicle would ever be introduced into the game, at least in its original form — however, it could be repurposed into low-tier a tank destroyer. Personally, I doubt this will happen, as it closely resembles two low/mid-tier “stinkers” – the Sau 40 and ARL V39 – however, it could be a novel (if not very good) low-tier tank destroyer.

Bonus – Full Second Branch of French Heavy Tanks (Unreleased)

Huge thanks to leggasiini for his original compilation of some of the info regarding this section!

The FCM 2C, FCM 2C bis, and FCM F1 didn’t stand alone as the only superheavy French vehicles seen in leaks — at least, not for very long. When they were first leaked, it seemed there was some consideration towards making them tech tree vehicles, but they then appeared to have been rearranged for release as premium tanks (with 🇫🇷FCM 2C appearing at tier 4, 🇫🇷FCM F1 appearing at tier 6, and 🇫🇷FCM 2C bis appearing as a tier 8 tank destroyer of all things), and all three vehicles had full visual models created for them. The FCM F1 was leaked by WoT-News.com, and the FCM 2C bis was even shown in Wargaming’s official trailer for the French TDs and SPGs — however, none of these three ever wound up releasing.

A little while after this initial round of appearances, two of the three vehicles resurfaced, along with rumored plans for a brand-new French branch of superheavy tanks. Initially, these plans were seemingly put on hold due to the multi-turret mechanism not yet existing — however, when the Japanese heavies were added in 2015, these French heavies suddenly appeared much more viable (seeing how similar the O-I, along with several other vehicles from the branch, shared some similarities to the French superheavies). The result of this was a second French heavy tank branch, with superheavy tanks spanning all the way from tier 2-7.

This is what would’ve led up to the sub-branch of French heavies we received in December 2017 — initially, these would have occupied the tier 8-10 spots at the top of the aforementioned superheavy branch. However, by the time the AMX 65 t appeared on Supertest in 2016, plans for the superheavies were seemingly scrapped altogether (if not indefinitely shelved).

It is likely this was done due to balance concerns on both ends:

• Around the same time as the 65 t appeared on Supertest, Yuri Pasholok wrote a rather heated post stating that he proposed a French heavy tank line spanning from tiers 2-7 (as described above) to Wargaming, but some “evil people” from the balancing department threw his proposal out the window and only added the tier 8, 9 and 10 vehicles (AMX 65 t, AMX M4 51, and AMX M4 54) into the game.
• Some debate exists over whether it would’ve been a good addition or not, but it was thought that much of this original branch would’ve likely consisted of vehicles behaving in a manner similar to the TOG II*, leading some at the time to question whether it would’ve been a good addition.
• On the other hand, with how much of a problem the mid-tier Japanese heavy tanks posed back in 2016, it is likely this was also a consideration in the canning of the branch — it is also possible these vehicles could’ve wound up behaving similarly to them as well (what with all the derp gun options and all, i.e. FCM 2C bis). As such, only the tier 8-10 vehicles were implemented, having been delayed by about a year.

That wasn’t the last of the superheavies, however — both the FCM F1 (“Franken”) and FCM 2C (“Stein”) made yet another appearance in 2017, having been re-used for the Leviathan Halloween mode. Both vehicles did even feature multiple functional turrets, though they were rather janky and a bit unintuitive to use (perhaps contributing yet further to the branch’s canning).

Around the same time as the mode’s release, renders of both vehicles without all the mud/rust overlays were released on ArtStation, showing these tanks’ brand-new HD visual models in their full glory:

FCM 2C

Credit to Alex Buryak on Artstation.

FCM F1

Credit to Kirill Cherkasov on Artstation.

Furthermore, in 2018, an art dump from one of the UI artists for the game appeared on Artstation, including icons for a number of unreleased tanks (which were quickly removed from the posts). More of which will be featured in later articles — however, notably for the French tree, four (4) icons depicting French superheavies were included, including updated versions of the FCM 2C and FCM F1 + two more which hadn’t been seen before:

• 🇫🇷FCM 2C
• 🇫🇷FCM F1
• 🇫🇷FCM 1A
• 🇫🇷AMX Tracteur C 1939

(Listed in order from left-to-right)

Given that the super-heavies were meant to fill tiers 2-7, two tanks remain unknown to this day.

It is thought that the FCM 1A would’ve sat around tier 3, FCM 2C at tier 4-5, AMX Tracteur C 1939 at tier 5-6, and FCM F1 at tier 7 — however, their tiers were never confirmed either.

The branch’s existence appears to be further confirmed by the index numbers used in the files — there exists a gap in the internal index numbers used for French vehicles, from F75-F80 (F81-F83 are occupied by the AMX 65 t, AMX M4 54, and AMX M4 51, respectively). Furthermore, the Halloween versions of the FCM F1 (Franken) and FCM 2C (Stein) shared the same IDs with their parent tanks — F80 and F77, respectively. This crucially confirms that the indexes of the FCM 2C and FCM F1 were also F77 and F80, meaning that the ID numbers F75, F76, F78 and F79 were almost certainly used for the missing super-heavies — confirming that the branch did exist internally.

Unfortunately, the French superheavies have since being stuck in limbo. Since a prototype of the multi-turret mechanism was tested in 2017’s Halloween mode, as well as the removal of team damage from random battles (accidental team damage being one of – if not the most major – concerns regarding multi-turreted vehicles), it could be possible for these vehicles to return — especially now that the Console version of the game now features a multi-turret mechanism.

Yes, you heard that right — WoT Console has its own version of a multi-turret mechanism, which was implemented in June 2022. A brief explanation of the system could be seen in the launch trailer for the Orochi O-Ni (a console-exclusive reskin of the O-Ni):

While the system was demonstrated on the Orochi O-Ni, the system applies to multiple other vehicles in the game, including the infamous M3 Lee. The implementation is crucially NOT the same as the one tested in the 2017 Halloween mode — instead of being able to fire from all turrets at once using multiple buttons, there is instead a button to switch between each of the guns (and a delay between each). Furthermore, anytime you switch between guns, you have to wait for the newly-selected gun to reload before you can fire (so you cannot quickly switch back-and-forth between the two).

All this being said, back to the PC version of the game: it has once again been rumored that the French super-heavies could be a “possibility” to appear in the game at some point. Given how much Wargaming seems to love giving new tech trees their own unique gimmicks, these could very well be a real possibility for the future. Some speculation regarding these vehicles first appearing on WoT Console has been circulating ever since the multi-turret mechanism was implemented there, and given the new mechanics appear to have been received relatively-well by console players, it could very well happen. Don’t forget — Blitz and Console have both been used as testing grounds for new vehicles/lines in the past (such as the recent addition of the Japanese tank destroyers from Blitz). If these vehicles do wind up appearing in the PC version of the game, some restructuring will likely take place from the original line, cutting some low-tier vehicles and possibly even introducing new high-tier vehicles.

Regardless, if these vehicles are planned to appear in the game, this will likely not take place anytime soon.

References for the historical info used in this series include Tanks Encyclopedia, Catainium’s Tanks.

References for the in-game info used in this series include WoT-News.com (the source of the original icons/some tank screenshots from 2012), For The Record, ArtStation (the second set of leaks from 2018 + the FCM 2C and FCM F1’s HD models), leggasiini on Reddit (French superheavy branch info).

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