ground vehicles CATI 90

WayOfTheWolk · October 29, 2019

CATI 90 "Canon Antitank d'Infanterie 90 mm"

Introduction:

In the early 1950s the Belgian Army sought to find use for its rusting surplus of lightly armored British vehicles in particular with the venerable Lloyd carrier. Assistance from the United States under the Mutual Defense Act was possible but internal politics warranted the creation of an indigenous armored vehicle that could rely without constant foreign imports and still reliably support infantry units. It was not the first time it had been considered to mount a large caliber gun onto a small chassis as seen on the American M18 Hellcats but military designers quickly ran into a wall with limited resources at their disposal. In response Belgian arms company MECAR developed a low pressure 90mm gun that not only had low recoil but was light enough to fit onto the Lloyd chassis mitigating the earlier concerns. A prototype was successfully tested in 1953 and shortly then after it was mass produced with a single army battalion receiving four vehicles each. The CATI 90 would serve the Belgian Army well throughout the Cold War before being retired sometime in the 1960s replaced by the FN-4RM armored car. In War Thunder this "speedy boi" can traverse the battlefield with relative ease taking up strategic fighting positions and engaging the enemy before they know what hits them. How do you like those stroopwafel rounds Fritz!

Vehicle Characteristics:

The CATI 90 is equipped with a rifled 90mm low pressure gun manufactured by the MECAR Company. The gun is semi-automatic and features automatic breech ejection for the ease of the loader with a maximum fire rate of 10 rpm. The two rounds players will use include a HEAT-FS and HE shell with 350mm of penetration for the former. A ammo rack of 18 rounds is provided in the vehicle itself with an additional 54 rounds that can be carried in a trailer behind the main vehicle. It should be noted that the armor of the Lloyd carrier is incredibly thin and can be easily hull broken by large caliber munitions. This is not a brawler by any means and any attempt to make it one will result in the quick death of the player by small arms fire. Remember speed is your key to success in battle, the CATI 90 is the unofficial rally car of the Belgian Army.

Place in War Thunder:

You might have noticed at the top of the suggestion I give the choice for players to either choose a Benelux or French tech tree for the vehicle's representation. In the International community some of our forum members including myself have been diligently working on a dedicated Benelux tech tree to represent vehicles from Belgium and the Netherlands. This goes a major step from pursuing single nation trees and focuses on a more regional setup giving both countries a fair chance of having their domestic designs make it to War Thunder. In the event this is not possible I am recommending the CATI 90 for France which desperately requires additional content. The CATI 90 will likely hold a place at Rank 4 with its high penetrating rounds making up for its lack of armor. If you have any additional questions about the proposed Benelux Ground Forces Tree do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your time!

Specifications:

Dimensions (L-W-H)	5.7 x 2.06 x 1.42 m
Total weight, battle ready:	4.8 Tons
Crew :	4 (Driver, Commander, gunner, loader)
Propulsion:	Ford V8 Petrol 90hp at 3500 rpm
Suspensions:	Torsion arms & shock absorbers
Top Speed	48 kph(29 mph)

Armament	MECAR 90 mm low-pressure gun with 18 rounds Vertical Gun Traverse: -13/15
Armour	maximum of 7mm RHA at front

Sources:

Spoiler

http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar-belgium-canon-antitank-dinfanterie-90mm-cati-90/
F. von Senger und Etterlin.Taschenbuch der Panzer 1943-1957. pp.49. Munich. 1957
Jane’s Armoured Fighting Vehicle Retrofit Systems 1993-94. pp. 26. Online.De Carapat, Vriendenkring Carabiniers en Carabiniers-Grenadiers, 2017. PDF.

Edited October 31, 2019 by Private_Wolk