War Thunder's massive update coincides with 70th anniversary of end of WWII in Europe

Victory Day, the European holiday marking the capitulation of Nazi Germany and ending the war on WWII's Western Front, is May 9. Marking the 70th anniversary, War Thunder is dropping what may be its most ambitious update yet with more than 40 new vehicles and three new maps.

War Thunder allows players to fight against one another in accurately modeled WWII-era aircraft and ground vehicles, including fighters, bombers, tanks, anti-aircraft units and self-propelled guns. Players even have the opportunity to fight against one another, in the sky and on the ground, on the same map.

The Weapons of Victory update, as it's called, adds many new vehicles to the game, including:

• American M18 Hellcat - the new fastest tank in the game, which can hit 56 mph on the road
• American Calliope - a standard Sherman tank with a 75 mm main gun, it sports 60 rockets on an overhead rack and is the first of its kind in the game
• Russian T-95 - a monstrous device with two sets of side-by-side tracks
• Multiple British sea-based aircraft

Grid View

In addition to new planes, Wings of Victory also updates the aircraft damage model, applying different burn rates to the various materials that make up aircraft. This will add additional punch to incendiary rounds, and make some powerful planes vulnerable in new ways.

Finally, the update adds three new maps including Normandy, Hürtgen Forest and Berlin 1945. The later map features a pitched battle in front of the famous Reichstag building, where the iconic photograph of a Russian infantryman waving the Soviet flag was taken.

Check out the gallery above, and see War Thunder's full changelog for more details.