Gaijin, the makers of War Thunder have announced that patch 1.69 will be called “Regia Aeronautica” adding Italy to the list of nations and opening up an entirely new dedicated tech tree of Italian aircraft for the first time.
You’ve seen Italian aircraft in War Thunder before
Aircraft like the SM.79, CR.42 and MC.202 are currently featured in War Thunder, however, for many years they have been part of the Germany tech tree. The Italian fighters and one bomber feature fairly early on in the tree and they don’t go that far either topping out in Tier II. Doing the Italian side in this way was always a half measure.
These aircraft haven’t been given a lot of attention either. They feature old models with lower resolution textures than the latest War Thunder types. Clearly that is about to change.
New focus on Italian aircraft
Two new Premium Italian aircraft have appeared on the War Thunder site and they are the CR.32bis and the G.55S.
The CR.32bis is a pre-war biplane that featured heavily in the conflicts of the late 1930s. A Rank I aircraft for Italy, players can pre-order this Premium aircraft from Gaijin for $9.99 (USD). That gets you:
- Fiat CR.32 bis aircraft (Rank 1 Italy) – will become available after 1.69 update;
- Pre-order bonus: “Sagittario” decal, 1 Stormo CT;
- Pre-order bonus: “Legionnaire” in-game title;
- Premium account for 7 days; 500 Golden Eagles;
- Italian planes closed beta access (will start with 1.69 patch).
Also as an option, the G.55S, a specialized version of the G.55 fighter that comes with torpedo carrying capabilities is open for pre-order for a much pricier $29.99. That pre-order pack comes with the following:
- Fiat G.55S aircraft (Rank 4 Italy) – will become available after 1.69 update;
- Pre-order bonus: “Scarecrow” decal, 22 Gruppo Autonomo CT;
- Pre-order bonus: “Centurion” in-game title;
- Premium account for 15 days;
- 1000 Golden Eagles;
- Italian planes closed beta access (will start with 1.69 patch).
Evidently the Italian aircraft will be in closed beta early on and will open up to the general public later.
The developers have also reported that players who have previously unlocked Italian aircraft on the German tree will keep those aircraft but will have to unlock them again on the Italian tech tree. New players will not see the Italian aircraft on the German tech tree.
War Thunder continues to expand its scope adding dozens of new tanks and aircraft in the last set of patches and the new naval battles continues to expand in scope as well. Clearly the CR.32bis and G.55S are not the only types that will be added and there is a rich history of Italian aircraft from World War II to model here.
Read all about the 1.69 patch and the new Italian tech tree here.
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