Welcome back to WoT Icons: A History of Leaks! For part 2, it’s time to dig into the nation from which a recent vehicle spurred this whole series in the first place.

As a quick refresher, for those who weren’t here for Part 1:

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. This series is dedicated to taking a look back at all of these (and more), covering what’s since been added as well as what still remains untouched.

Now, without further ado: next up in this series comes Britain (UK).

The vast majority of the British vehicles included in the initial 0.8.0 leak were added to the game shortly afterwards, as part of Update 0.8.1 in October 2012.

For those long-time players who want a trip back down memory lane (or anyone else curious about how the game looked back then), here’s the preview trailer for Update 0.8.1:

🇬🇧 UK

Released Vehicles

All of the following vehicles from the 0.8.0 icon leak were released as part of the initial British tech tree’s introduction in Update 0.8.1 (listed with their original names/tiers):

Primary branch leading to Churchill (Update 0.8.1, October 2012):

October 2012 – I 🇬🇧Medium Mk. I

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
  
• This vehicle originally occupied the tier 1 spot in the British tech tree.
• However, it was moved to the Collector’s Vehicles section in Update 1.9 (April 2020), having been replaced by the Cruiser I in the tech tree.
• This remains the only tier 1 medium tank in the game to this day.

October 2012 – II 🇬🇧Medium Mk. II

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This vehicle was moved to the Collector’s Vehicles section in Update 1.9 (April 2020).

October 2012 – III 🇬🇧Medium Mk. III

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This vehicle was moved to the Collector’s Vehicles section in Update 1.9 (April 2020).

October 2012 – IV 🇬🇧Matilda

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• Very little about this vehicle has changed overall since its initial release, yet it still remains a fan-favorite heavy medium tank ever since its introduction in Update 0.8.1 (October 2012).
• It is worth noting that early on, the vehicle used to have higher damage per-shot than it does now; however, this was quickly nerfed (though, I was not around for this personally, and could not find a source on exactly which update this change took place in).

October 2012 – V 🇬🇧Churchill I

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This vehicle was recently buffed in Update 1.22 (September 2023) along with the Churchill VII and Black Prince.

October 2012 – VI 🇬🇧Churchill VII

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• Since its original release in 2012, the vehicle has undergone a few changes, including a recent buff in September 2023 (Update 1.22).
• Appearance-wise, the vehicle notably lost the spare track links draped over the upper corners of the turret face when it received its new HD model. These track links were purely cosmetic, however, and did not affect the vehicle’s armor protection.

October 2012 – VII 🇬🇧Black Prince

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• Like the Churchill VII, this vehicle’s model was changed a fair bit when it was upgraded to HD quality in Update 9.10 (September 2015).
• Of recent note, the vehicle received a fairly-substantial buff in September 2023 (as part of Update 1.22), making it surprisingly decent — especially compared to the state it was in before the buff.

October 2012 – VIII 🇬🇧Caernarvon

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.

• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This particular vehicle has a very storied history, and has undergone several major changes since its initial release. To give a brief overview:
  1. The vehicle originally featured turret from the previous vehicle (Black Prince) as its stock turret, and fielded a Centurion-like turret when upgraded (the one used on the real Caernarvon heavy tank project).
     

     

      

  2. When its new HD model was introduced in Update 0.9.9 (July 2015), the vehicle was fairly-substantially nerfed due to its turret armor being brought down to historical levels (down from ~254 to ~152 mm around the mantlet, and receiving a couple large armor “holes” in the mantlet itself).
     Caernarvon’s original HD model from July 2015
  3. After suffering in this state for a while, the vehicle received a new top turret in Update 0.9.12 (November 2015), borrowed from the newly-introduced Centurion Action X (which replaced the FV4202 as the tier 10 in the medium tank branch in the same update). However, this had problems of its own (not the least of which was its appearance), and left much to be desired.
     

     

      

  4. Finally, as part of the branch’s October 2017 rework in Update 0.9.20.1 (which replaced the FV215b with the Super Conqueror at the top of the branch), the vehicle’s top turret was changed again, this time to a unique prototype designed to fit a larger gun in the conventional Centurion turret (with a different + MUCH stronger gun mantlet). The vehicle’s top gun was also changed as such, replacing the two 20-pdr guns with a larger 32-pdr (hence the choice to use this unique turret design). The whole model was also given a refresh, both in regards to its visuals and characteristics, making it a much more solid vehicle overall. The Caernarvon has remained in this form ever since (and is still considered a very solid tier 8 heavy tank to this day).

     

      

• • Additionally, the third iteration of the Caernarvon (the one with the Action X turret) was later revived as a separate premium tank with substantially-reworked characteristics (including better maneuverability, reduced side armor, the addition of turret armor screens, and perhaps most notably, a significantly faster reload): VIII 🇬🇧Caernarvon AX, which was first made available to earn via marathon event in September 2018 (Update 1.1).
    

October 2012 – IX 🇬🇧Conqueror

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• Notably, the vehicle has been changed quite a bit since its initial release in 2012, including a fairly-major improvement to its armor + the installation of new Advanced Ballistic Protection plates on its top turret (and the replacement of its stock turret/gun) introduced as part of the branch’s October 2017 rework (Update 0.9.20.1). To counterbalance this, however, several of this vehicle’s characteristics were slightly nerfed as a result of said rework (its rate of fire and turret traverse speed were both reduced slightly).

  

Secondary branch leading to Churchill (Update 0.8.1, October 2012):

October 2012 – II* 🇬🇧A9 Cruiser Mk. I

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• *This vehicle has since been moved to the tier 1 spot in the British tech tree, replacing the Medium I in Update 1.9 (April 2020). However, note that the Medium I is still available via the Collector’s Vehicles system (which was also introduced in this update).

October 2012 – IV* 🇬🇧Valentine

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• *This vehicle has since been moved to the tier 3 spot in the British tech tree, replacing the Medium III’s spot leading up to the Matilda in Update 1.9 (April 2020). However, note that the Medium III is still available via the Collector’s Vehicles system (which was also introduced in this update).
  • While originally an alternative to the Matilda, it was outshined almost completely due to having less formidable armor protection (60 mm vs 75 mm on the Matilda), while still being stuck with the same slow speed. It did have larger guns than the Matilda, but neither performed well enough for most to justify choosing this vehicle (when it was a tier 4) over the Matilda.
  • Speaking of which, fun fact — the Valentine originally had two top guns available to it, those being the 6-pdr Mk. V (57 mm) and 75 mm Mk. V, representing the historical Mk. IX and Mk. XI Valentines respectively. However, since its repositioning down to tier 3, the 75 mm gun was removed (as the 6-pdr is already quite large + potent for a tier 3 tank).
  • When it was moved, a number of its other characteristics were also rebalanced to fit the tier (including a nerf to its penetration, rate of fire, and a significant nerf to its gun handling, among other changes), though it notably retained its armor protection, making it fairly-impressive for its tier in this regard. This made it a much more logical progression to the Matilda, especially when compared to the original transition from the Medium III (which itself was a large, unarmored boat of a vehicle, with reasonable speed/mobility by comparison).

Medium branch:

October 2012 – V* 🇬🇧Crusader

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• *This vehicle has since been moved up to the tier 6 spot in the British light tank branch, with the Cavalier having replaced its spot leading up to the Cromwell in Update 1.9 (April 2020).
• The vehicle started first as a tier 5 light tank, albeit it originally functioned more like a medium than a light, having been introduced as a competitor to vehicles such as the T-34 at tier 5. This was reflected in its characteristics, particularly in that it did not feature improved concealment on the move unlike other light tanks at tier 5. (Furthermore, it featured regular matchmaking, seeing only up to tier 7 rather than up to tier 8-10.)
• The vehicle received its original HD model in Update 0.9.14 (January 2016).
• To reduce confusion, the vehicle was then reclassified as a medium tank in Update 0.9.18 (April 2017), the same patch where the infamous global light tank rework took place (scout branches were extended to tier 10, etc).
• It then remained as a tier 5 medium tank all the way up until the tech tree reshuffling in Update 1.9 (April 2020), where – as mentioned above – it was changed to a tier 6 light tank (serving as the new starting point for the Manticore sub-branch, which had originally branched off from the Cromwell).
  • Very little about the vehicle’s characteristics were changed when it was first bumped up to tier 6, which made it a bit slow for scouting, but also meant that the vehicle had (and still has) significantly higher DPM than most same-tier scouts (albeit, with lower damage per-shot). That being said, it should serve as no surprise that moving a tier 5 tank up to tier 6 without changing much about its characteristics left a lot to be desired.
  • As such, it should also come as no surprise that the vehicle very quickly received a small slew of buffs in Update 1.9.1 (June 2020), along with the other tanks which were bumped up a tier as part of the previous patch.
• That isn’t all for this vehicle, however — sometime around the latter half of 2020 (possibly as part of a micropatch sometime in/around October 2020), the ability to mount a vertical stabilizer was restored (to it + the Covenanter), after it was accidentally removed in a previous update (the tier 5 version was not able to mount one, but when it was moved to tier 6, it was intended to be able to mount one, just like the rest of the post-rework scout tanks from tier 5 up [excluding the T-50-2 for… nostalgia reasons?]).
• Finally, while the vehicle originally received its HD model in Update 0.9.14 (January 2016), this was later replaced by a brand-new, significantly-improved visual model as part of a hidden visual model refresh to several vehicles in Update 1.11.1 (January 2021).

October 2012 – VI 🇬🇧Cromwell

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This vehicle has received remarkably few changes since its initial release, still remaining one of the most favored tier 6 vehicles in the game to this day (undoubtedly a result of its excellent speed/maneuverability making it a fun vehicle to play for many).

October 2012 – VII 🇬🇧Comet

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• The vehicle first received its HD model in Update 9.13 (December 2015). This notably made the gun mantlet cover more of the turret front, albeit at the cost of some (read: a little, not very much) armor thickness.
• Along with the three tech tree Centurions, this vehicle was recently buffed, including significant improvements to its gun handling characteristics as part of Update 1.20 (February 2023).

October 2012 – VIII 🇬🇧Centurion I

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This vehicle (along with the Centurion 7/1) suffered similar troubles to the Caernarvon above (at least, in regards to its turret armor), where its turret (primarily the gun mantlet) got nerfed significantly upon receiving its HD model in Update 0.9.15 (May 2016).
• However, despite having received a number of buffs in Update 0.9.17 (February 2017) in an attempt to bring its performance up-to-snuff without changing the armor, it (along with the 7/1) was ultimately given its turret armor back (even more than it originally had in some areas, including the turret face surrounding the gun mantlet) in Update 0.9.20.1 (October 2017).
• Both Centurions were recently buffed once more, giving them much-improved gun handling characteristics in Update 1.20 (February 2023).

October 2012 – IX 🇬🇧Centurion 7/1 (labelled “Centurion Mk3” in the files)

• This vehicle was released in October 2012.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• Like its predecessor (the Centurion I), this vehicle received some nerfs to its turret armor when it was first given its HD model.
• Interestingly, however: unlike the earlier Centurion and Caernarvon, this vehicle received its HD model much earlier. In fact, the 7/1 was among the first batch of vehicles to receive upgraded HD models in Update 0.9.0 (April 2014).
• This original HD model existed until March 2016, at which point the model was given a nice visual refresh as part of Update 0.9.14 (March 2016) along with several other vehicles from the original batches (+ a few of the following patches). However, the armor was mostly left alone (and the Centurion I received similar nerfs shortly afterwards, once it received its HD model in Update 0.9.15).
• After this, the vehicle (along with its predecessor) received a number of buffs in Update 0.9.17 (February 2017), NOT including the turret armor.
• Then, after a few more months, the vehicle was given vastly-improved turret armor in Update 0.9.20.1 (October 2017).
• Finally, its gun handling characteristics were significantly improved recently, as part of Update 1.20 (February 2023).

Beyond these, a number of additional vehicles were added in later updates:

March 2013 – IX 🇬🇧Tortoise

• Added in Update 0.8.4, along with the first British tank destroyer branch originally crowned by the FV215b 183 (March 2013).
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• A fan favorite, this vehicle was among the first in the game to receive an HD model, as part of Update 0.9.0 (April 2014).
• This original HD model existed until March 2016, at which point the model was given a nice visual upgrade as part of Update 0.9.14.
• Along with the introduction of the FV217 Badger as the new crown vehicle for the British tank destroyer branch in Update 0.9.21 (December 2017), the vehicle was given a significant buff to its armor. While the vehicle was already respected for its outstanding damage per-minute before the buff (but was prone to having its armor buttered through by a number of high-tier guns/especially by gold rounds), this made it a particularly-strong choice for fans of assault tank destroyers (albeit, still not  quite the nigh-impenetrable fortress that was the American T95), and has remained a favorite ever since.

July 2013 – III 🇬🇧Sexton II

• Added in Update 0.8.7, along with the rest of the British SPG branch (July 2013).
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This vehicle was moved to the Collector’s Vehicles section in Update 1.9 (April 2020), along with all the other low-tier SPGs from tiers 2-4.

Second British tank destroyer branch* (added in Update 0.9.5, December 2014):

December 2014 – II 🇬🇧M2

• Added in Update 0.9.5 (December 2014).
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This vehicle was moved to the Collector’s Vehicles section in Update 1.9 (April 2020), along with the rest of the lend-lease vehicles in the British tree.
• Notably, this was one of the vehicles included in the hidden visual model refresh to several vehicles which took place in Update 1.11.1 (January 2021). Why this vehicle was chosen to receive a refresh (and not others in the same branch, especially considering their comparitive notoriety) is still not known to this day, but at least it looks a lot nicer now…?

December 2014 – III 🇬🇧Stuart I/IV (originally listed as Stuart I)

• Added in Update 0.9.5 (December 2014).
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This vehicle was moved to the Collector’s Vehicles section in Update 1.9 (April 2020), along with the rest of the lend-lease vehicles in the British tree.

December 2014 -IV 🇬🇧Grant I

• Added in Update 0.9.5 (December 2014).
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• This vehicle was moved to the Collector’s Vehicles section in Update 1.9 (April 2020), along with the rest of the lend-lease vehicles in the British tree.

December 2014 – V 🇬🇧Sherman III (originally planned as Sherman II*)

• Added in Update 0.9.5 (December 2014).
• Original Sherman II carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model + Sherman III):
  
• *It appears that at some point in its history, this vehicle was planned to instead represent the Sherman II, which itself was the British lend-leased version of the American M4A1 Sherman. However, this vehicle did not match the leaked icon, which depicted a welded-hull Sherman (whereas the M4A1/Sherman II historically had a cast hull). As such, the vehicle was changed to the Sherman III (British lend-leased M4A2 Sherman) upon its release in Update 0.9.5 (December 2014), correcting this discrepancy.
  • NOTE: The original vehicle is technically considered separate in the files: the original vehicle icon was named GB18_Sherman_II, whereas the current Sherman III uses the internal name GB50_Sherman_III. Despite this, no Sherman II exists in the game files today.
• This vehicle was moved to the Collector’s Vehicles section in Update 1.9 (April 2020), along with the rest of the lend-lease vehicles in the British tree.

December 2014 – VI 🇬🇧Sherman Firefly

• Added in Update 0.9.5 (December 2014).
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• Unlike the Sherman III above, this vehicle’s internal name does match the original version from the leak.
• This vehicle was moved to the Collector’s Vehicles section in Update 1.9 (April 2020), along with the rest of the lend-lease vehicles in the British tree. The Achilles now serves as the start of the FV4005 branch in the tree, which itself is researchable via the AT 2.

March 2016 – IV 🇬🇧AC 1 Sentinel

• The first 🇦🇺 Australian vehicle in the game, added as a premium in Update 0.9.14 (March 2016).
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  

June 2016 – VI 🇬🇧AC IV Experimental

• The second 🇦🇺 Australian vehicle in the game, added as a premium in Update 0.9.15 (June 2016).
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
  

And yes, this shows that the Sentinels were both planned to be in the game from as early as 2012!

September 2023 – III 🇬🇧A7E3, which just appeared on Supertest this past Thursday (September 2023)!

• Arrived on Supertest as recently as late-September 2023.
• Original carousel icons (leaked in 0.8.0) from September 2012:
  
  
• New/current carousel icons are not yet available, since the tank is not yet released. However, WoT Express has provided some early previews of the vehicle on Supertest:
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
• This vehicle will likely be released in the Large Boxes as low-tier “filler” material during the Holiday Ops 2024 event — however, this has not yet been confirmed. Stay tuned!

Bonus – VI 🇬🇧 A38 Valiant (August 2020)

• Original carousel icons, leaked in the 2018 UI art dump:
  
  
• New/current carousel icons (HD model):
  
• While this particular vehicle was NOT included in the 2012 icon leaks, it was part of a later leak — specifically, the much-more-recent UI art dump from 2018 (in short: an art dump from one of the game’s UI artists appeared on ArtStation, including icons for a number of unreleased tanks).
• This vehicle was introduced in August 2020, as part of the final act (Act V) of the 10th Anniversary event.

Unreleased Vehicles

This actually leaves very few vehicles left unreleased from the 0.8.0 leaks, though some did receive minor changes before release — for example, the tanks in the secondary TD branch released in the midst of the HD-ifying process of vehicle models, which meant they were introduced with different models to the ones shown in the leaks (and furthermore, a couple of vehicles in the branch were merged/replaced).

That being said, there are still three vehicles from this leak which remain unreleased to this day:

🇬🇧Stuart VI (GB16_Stuart_VI)

• This vehicle represents the American M5A1 Stuart in British service (under the lend-lease program, which also included vehicles such as the M3 Grant and numerous marks of the M4 Sherman).

  

• In-Game Fate: It was never confirmed what exactly became of the 🇬🇧Stuart VI, but it is likely this vehicle was cut due to its similarity to the existence of two other M5 Stuart variants in the game already: IV 🇺🇸M5 Stuart and IV 🇨🇳M5A1 Stuart. Furthermore, the IV 🇬🇧Grant I was chosen as the tier 4 vehicle for the original FV4005 branch, likely both due to the other two Stuarts’ existence as well as the Grant being a bit more of a broadly-known lend-lease vehicle in British service historically (and a British-specific variation at that, given its unique turret design compared to the M3 Lee).

🇬🇧Matilda Mk. I (GB36_Matilda_I)

• The Matilda I was an early infantry tank design, fitting a Vickers .303 or .50 calibre machine gun in a small turret placed atop a heavily-armored chassis.
  
• In-Game Fate: Very little is known about the Matilda I in the game – let alone why it was originally chosen for inclusion to begin with – but its exclusion was most likely due to some pretty glaring balance troubles. The vehicle was historically very slow, and featured only a .303-calibre machine gun as its main armament (or a .50-calibre Vickers MG on some examples), making it very lacking in these areas; however, it also featured very strong frontal armor for the time period (reaching 60 mm at the front), making it very strong in that department. Whereas the gun and poor mobility would effectively limit it to tiers 1 or 2, the armor would likely be far too strong for either of these tiers (where even the H35/R35 are considered well-protected, at 40 mm of armor) — especially back in 2012.

🇬🇧Ram II (GB34_RAM)

• The 🇨🇦Ram II was a Canadian design for a medium tank based on the M3 Lee/Grant, created to fill the role of a cruiser tank after it became clear that the M3 Lee/Grant would not be sufficient (being the stopgap designs they were). However, by the time the vehicle was ready for production, the Sherman arrived, and the factories which originally planned to mass-produce the Ram had their priorities adjusted — ultimately, production of Sherman tanks for the allies was prioritized. This left an insufficient number of Ram tanks left to properly fit into Canadian armored divisions. As such, the remaining Rams were used for training purposes.

  

• In-Game Fate: This vehicle should look familiar to most already, as Ram II was introduced into the American tree as the premium V 🇺🇸Ram II — in fact, the American version came long before the British version was leaked, existing even in the some of the earliest closed beta phases (~2010-2011)! However, it should be noted that the visual model used on the British version appears different, lacking the machine gun turret on the front-left hull (among other small details). Nonetheless, given the existence of the vehicle as an American premium, it is unclear exactly what this British version was intended for.

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).

And with that, we’ve reached the end of Part 2! Part 3 will dive into the German section of the icon leaks, including a number of unusual vehicles — from captured tanks to Hetzers, crouching tigers, hidden… bears?, and even a tractor with a gun!

Thanks for stopping by — I hope you enjoyed this one. Stay tuned for part 3, coming soon!

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FastestClassic

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