FV230 Canopener is the new UK double barreled heavy tank with incredibly strong turret and hull armor when it’s using it’s gun depression. Let’s see how it stacks against the only other double barreled heavy in the game, the ST-II and how you can take this beast down if you run into it on the battlefield.
List of content:
Firepower
| Spec | Canopener | ST-II |
|---|---|---|
| DPM | 2,628 | 2,458 |
| Penetration | 258 | 258 |
| Gold Pen | 318 APCR | 310 HEAT |
| Alpha Dmg | 420 | 440 |
| Reload time | 9.59 | 10.74 |
| Caliber | 120 | 122 |
| Shell velocity | 1,050 | 940 |
| Ammo capacity | 80 | 40 |
FV230 packs a good firepower, a better DPM then ST-II by a quite a margin, but has a bit lower alpha damage, so the double shots won’t be devastating as they can be on the soviet counterpart.
Shell velocity is better by around 100 m/s, not a big difference, but it will be easier to snipe at longer ranges then that would be the case with the ST-II. Amount of shells you can carry is 80 which is really nice, you don’t have to worry about running out of ammo when constatntly using the double shots.
Gun Handling
| Spec | Canopener | ST-II |
|---|---|---|
| Aim time | 1.92s | 2.88s |
| Dispersion | 0.32 | 0.38 |
| … moving | 0.16 | 0.14 |
| … tank traverse | 0.16 | 0.14 |
| … turret traverse | 0.12 | 0.06 |
| Depression | 10 | 8 |
| Elevation | 20 | 20 |
It’s a pretty interesting situation here when it comes to the gun handling, Canopener has actually amazing aim time and dispersion values for a heavy tank, feels more like something that a sniping medium or TD would have.
Bad part about the gun handling are the dispersion values when not stationary, especially the turret traverse dispersion which is double then what the ST-II has. It is quite annoying when you have such a big dispersion even with good aim time, with any slight movements you’ll have to take your time again to aim.
Gun depression is standard for a UK heavy at 10 degrees, while not as flexible as some of the tanks with 12 degrees, you are still very capable of working a ridgeline.
Mobility
| Spec | Canopener | ST-II |
|---|---|---|
| Forward speed | 34 km/h | 40 km/h |
| Reverse speed | 14 km/h | 13 km/h |
| Power/weight | 13.89 | 12.12 |
| Turret traverse | 31.29 | 23.99 |
| Tank traverse | 22.95 | 27.12 |
| Terrain resist (hard) | 1.05 | 1.15 |
| … (medium) | 1.25 | 1.53 |
| … (soft) | 2.21 | 2.59 |
Canopener feels more mobile eventhough the stats when compared are mixed. Primarily because of the better power to weight ratio and better ground resistances allowing the vehicle to reach and keep the speed a lot easier then the ST-II can.
The only area where the tank does feel sluggish is the top speed at only 34 km/h, turbo is a must on this tank otherwise it will take you ages to reach positions or relocate.
Armor
| Spec | Canopener | ST-II |
|---|---|---|
| Hull armor | 200/100/40 | 150/140/100 |
| Turret armor | 260/110/70 | 325/160/160 |
| Health | 2,400 | 2,500 |
This is the highlight of the vehicle, on paper the hull seems a lot better frontally then it is on the ST-II, but the turret is not that well armored all around as it is on the russian tank.
FV230 Canopener
ST-II
This is kinda how the armor layout looks like when you compare these 2 tanks side by side. Hull is a lot more solid on the canopener, you will need good gold rounds to get through the front part of the hull reliably.
Both tanks have similar weakspot locations, the commander’s hatch on the right side of the turret, driver’s hatch in the middle of the hull and the lower plate.
All of these weakspot areas have around 200 mm of effective armor, you should be able to pen them with standard rounds from tier 8 heavies.
When using it’s gun depression, this tank is an absolute monster frontally, turret cheeks and upper plate is around 370 mm thick while the manlet is in some places over 500 mm. Only tank destroyers with HEAT rounds will have a chance penetrate this kind of armor.
Also worth nothing is, when using the gun depression, the commander’s and driver’s hatch are no longer weakspots.
Side is where the armor falls apart pretty much, it’s very flat without any spaced armor, high penetrating HE and HESH shells will be able to go trough your side.
Rear is disgustingly weak at only 40 mm and very flat, light tanks will give you a lot of trouble if they get behind you, especially the autocannon light tanks will obliterate you.
Miscellaneous
| Spec | Canopener | ST-II |
|---|---|---|
| Stationary camo | 4.27 | 6.67 |
| … after firing | 0.77 | 1.20 |
| Moving camo | 2.16 | 3.36 |
| View Range | 390 | 390 |
| Fire chance | 20% | 15% |
| Shell cost | 1,084 | 1,130 |
While camo is not really a characteristic important for a heavy tank, it worth noting that Canopener has a horrible camo in every area, combine this with weak view range for a tier 10, most of the tanks will outspot you fairly easily.
Crew skills and equipment
Crew skills
Commander
- Recon
- Emergency
- Coordination
- Practicality
Radio operator
- Situational awareness
- Firefighting
- Side by side
Loader
- Adrenaline rush
- Safe stowage
- Intuition
- Ammo tuning
Gunner
- Deadeye
- Designated target
- Quick aiming
- Armorer
Driver
- Clutch breaking
- Smooth ride
- Off-road driving
- Engineer
Equipment
- Vents
- Aiming device
- Turbo
Conclusion
A very strong tank, great frontal armor, very good gun handling, mobile enough to get into positions and relocate. It might be one of the best heavies actually once it gets released, if it gets released with these stats. Minor adjustments might happen before the final release.
When it comes to how to deal with it if you face it, you can’t really beat it on the ridgeline, you just don’t have enough penetration to go through this monster, best bet is to flank it and use the HE rounds to cripple it.
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