The Heavy Tank No. 6 is a hybrid vehicle, combining the hull of the Tiger H1 with the turret of the mid-production Tiger E. In theory, it should bring together the strengths of both tanks, but instead it manages to inherit all their flaws. Yet in the current version, it sits at BR 5, which in my opinion is unfair to Japan. Let me break this down in detail.
Vehicle Stats
| Vehicle Name | Acquisition | Rank | Crew | Horizontal (°/s) | Vertical (°/s) | Horizontal Limits | Vertical Limits | Magnification | Sight FOV | Main Gun | Magazine | Ammo Capacity | Reload (s) | RoF (rpm) | Shell Types & Count | Horizontal/Vertical | Horizontal | Vertical | Machine Gun | Mount Type | Magazine | Ammo | RoF (rpm) | Reload (s) | Smoke Grenades | Vertical Stabilizer + Speed Limit | Forward (km/h) | Reverse (km/h) | Brake Force | Damping | Power-to-Weight (hp/t) | Max Power (hp) | Weight (t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger H1 | 122,000 RP | IV | 5 | 12.0 | 4.0 | ±180° | -8°/+16° | 1.9-3.5 | 40°-21° | 88mm KwK36 | - | 92 | 7.4 | 8.1 | 46 APCBC / 46 HE | - | - | - | 7.92mm MG34 ×1 | Coaxial | 150 | 4,200 | 900 | 8.0 | 6 | - | 44.87 | 8.33 | 220,000 | 200,000 | 11.34 | 650 | 57.3 |
| Tiger E | 122,000 RP | V | 5 | 14.0 | 4.0 | ±180° | -8°/+16° | 2.5-5.0 | 30°-15° | 88mm KwK36 | - | 92 | 7.4 | 8.1 | 46 APCBC / 46 HE | - | - | - | 7.92mm MG34 ×1 | Coaxial | 150 | 2,250 | 900 | 8.0 | 6 | - | 44.87 | 8.33 | 220,000 | 200,000 | 12.22 | 700 | 57.3 |
| Heavy Tank No.6 | Event | V | 5 | 14.0 | 3.0 | ±180° | -8°/+16° | 2.5-5.0 | 30°-15° | 88mm KwK36 | - | 92 | 7.4 | 8.1 | 46 APCBC / 46 HE | - | - | - | 7.92mm MG34 ×1 | Coaxial | 150 | 2,250 | 900 | 8.0 | - | - | 44.87 | 8.33 | 220,000 | 200,000 | 12.22 | 700 | 57.3 |
Looking at the comparative data, we can see that the Heavy Tank No. 6, like the Tiger H1, lacks a roof-mounted machine gun. Its mobility is comparable to the Tiger E, with only a 50 horsepower difference from the Tiger H1. It does not have the smoke grenades that the other two vehicles have, and its vertical traverse speed is the slowest of the three at 3°/s. With only one machine gun, its suppressive firepower against infantry is significantly weaker. The lack of smoke grenades means that once it is caught in the open or has its tracks broken, its survival rate drops sharply. The slowest vertical aiming also makes it less responsive when aiming in the rugged, uneven terrain of the Pacific.
Armor Performance
The Heavy Tank No.6 has 2mm less armor than the Tiger in multiple locations. Although this seems insignificant, it makes the vehicle marginally more vulnerable to shells that only narrowly penetrate the Tiger’s armor.
Its turret roof armor is also inferior to that of the Tiger E. This makes it more susceptible to penetration by aircraft cannons and rockets.
Since the Tokyo Arsenal SMG was moved up to BR 5, few players bother to put together a dedicated Japanese BR 4 lineup. But when I saw in the new update announcement that the developers were adding two new weapons to Japan’s BR 4 lineup by moving them down from 5, I finally saw a glimmer of hope for Japan BR 4. Right now, Japanese tanks at BR 4 struggle against vehicles at the same battle rating, and can even be easily destroyed by BR 3 tanks. What Japan BR 4 really needs is a heavily armored tank that can hold the line.
Moreover, the Heavy Tank No.6 is an event vehicle, so not all players have it. Its rarity means it sees lower usage rates than tech tree vehicles, and in my opinion, it does not affect game balance.
Japan still sits at zero semi-autos at BR 4 , but I’m confident that once the devs add the ZH-29, the Japanese lineup at that BR will start to come together, at least enough to somewhat keep up with other factions.
- Yes
- No
