Squall is the new autocannon Czechoslovakian premium light tank at tier 8 avaliable from 2024 lootboxes. It is pretty strong on paper, with better gun and better gun handling then the Blesk, but having worse mobility and a larger profile then the Blesk. Let’s take a closer look into the characteristics in this review.
List of content:
Let’s compare it to the tech tree counterpart, the Blesk.
Firepower
| Spec | Squall | Blesk |
|---|---|---|
| DPM | 2,107 | 2,177 |
| Penetration | 182 | 163 |
| Damage | 8 | 6 |
| Reload time | 19.18 | 19.18 |
| Clip size | 100 | 140 |
| Clip damage | 800/3.6s | 840/3.97 |
| Intra-clip reload | 0.04 | 0.03 |
| Caliber | 50 | 37 |
| Shell velocity | 750 | 900 |
| Ammo capacity | 1,600 | 2,240 |
So the Squall is using a bigger caliber gun, something like the Šelma, a 50 mm. A bigger caliber means more damage per shot as we can see and also a lot better penetration, almost 20 mm more which is quite significant.
More damage per shell means you don’t have to be exposed as long to be able to deal a significant amount of damage. In this regard the Squall is a lot more effective.
Shell velocity is lower on Squall, but that shouldn’t be a factor because you are definitely not going to be sniping with an autocannon tank.
Gun Handling
| Spec | Squall | Blesk |
|---|---|---|
| Aim time | 2.11 | 2.3 |
| Dispersion | 0.38 | 0.4 |
| … moving | 0.12 | 0.14 |
| … tank traverse | 0.12 | 0.14 |
| … turret traverse | 0.08 | 0.10 |
| Depression | 6 | 10 |
Gun handling wise, Squall is better, but it is all marginaly better characteristics that would be really hard to notice in battle.
What you will notice very easily if you jump from Blesk to the Squall is the horrible gun deppression at on 6 degrees compared to full 10 degrees. Therefore Squall is not nearly as flexible on different terrain as the Blesk is.
Mobility
| Spec | Squall | Blesk |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed | 55 km/h | 60 km/h |
| Weight | 21 tons | 15 tons |
| Power/weight | 27.14 | 28 |
| Terrain resist (hard) | 0.29 | 0.48 |
| Terrain resist (med) | 0.38 | 0.58 |
| Turret treverse | 44.81 | 52.15 |
| Tank traverse | 46.93 | 44.85 |
Bad news for this tank, top speed is horrible at only 55 km/h, it means most of the mediums will be arriving to positions sooner then you, hell, even some heavies are faster then you are.
The good news is the power to weight ratio, combined with great ground resistances means you will be able to reach the top speed very quicky and maintain it easily.
While turret and tank traverse is not bad, it’s not great either for circling your opponents while trying to unload the clip.
Armor
| Spec | Squall | Blesk |
|---|---|---|
| Hull armor | 20/20/20 | 15/15/12 |
| Turret armor | 30/20/20 | 20/20/15 |
| Health | 1,100 | 1,000 |
Tank is made out of paper pretty much, don’t expect to bounce any shells because most of the guns you’ll meet will just overmatch your armor. With that being said, it still has better armor then the Blesk, at least you have a bit more protections vs enemy HE shells.
The thing I would like to point out here tho is the difference in profile size between these 2 tanks, Squall is a real chonky boi, quite a bit longer, but it is a little bit shorter.
Miscellaneous
| Spec | Squall | Blesk |
|---|---|---|
| Stationary camo | 18.24 | 18.24 |
| Moving camo | 18.24 | 18.24 |
| View Range | 380 | 380 |
| Shell cost | 12 | 9 |
Camo is pretty much the same on both vehicles and it is really good, when using good equipment and crew skills you can get a really high camo rating.
View range is mediocre at 380 meters, you’ll have to work a bit harder to spot for your team.
Crew Skills and Equipment
Crew Skills
On all crew members, make sure to take: Brothers in Arms, Concealment, Repairs and then also these unique skills on these crew members:
Commander
- Recon
- Emergency
- Practicality
- Coordination
Radio Operator
- Situational Awareness
- Jamming
- Communcations Expert
Gunner
- Deadeye
- Designated target
- Armorer
- Concentration
Loader
- Safe stowage
- Intuition
- Ammo tuning
Driver
- Smooth Ride
- Off-road driving
- Engineer
Equipment
- Coated optics
- Vision system
- Exhaust system
Tips
Eventhough the tank is quite large, the camo rating is good, use it to your advantage, you can be sneaky and catch people by surprise by getting in very close and dumping your magazine.
Autocannon tanks don’t really have gold rounds, they have rounds with higher penetration and lower damage. Switch the types of ammo as much as possible to maximize the damage to tanks with different amounts of armor. Intution will help you out a lot to switch the shell types a lot faster.
Don’t be afraid to go 1v1 vs other light tanks, you have an amazing damage output in single magazine, especially with the HE ammo loaded.
As the tank is quite large, be careful about getting spotted, it will be hard to disengage and you are an easy target.
Conclusion
Seems like an underrated lootbox tank. It is different and a lot harder to play then something like the Contradiction or DZT-159, but in right situation and in right hands it can be absolutely devastating for any enemy tank.
Check out the review of other 2024 lootbox tanks:
