Girls und Panzer: Downfall

62nd Senshado Championships

"Today is the day we show everybody what Kuromorimine is made of. Make me proud." 

All the students answered with a strong and convinced "yes!", then they all headed to their tanks and drove to their starting points. In the previous month, the school had allowed the tankers to...customize their vehicles to their liking, while still keeping it simple and leaving the school markings noticeable. On agreement of all his crew, Michael had opted for a summer camouflage. Brown, tan and green spots, along with some bushes to cover the gun and the front of the tank. He thought his Panzer IV looked way more...professional like that. In the official markings, platoon identification numbers and symbols had also been introduced. Kuromorimine's logo was painted on both sides of the Panzer IV's hull, but "R13" was written in red capitals on the back of the turret, to identify his tank's call sign: Rheinland 13. Last but not least, Michael, with his friends' help had nailed a flag to the turret's roof. It was Kuromorimine's cross surrounded by a white circle and red background. He couldn't wait to get his shiny new tank in battle. The first match of Kuromorimine was against a not so simple opponent: BC Freedom. 

"Miho?" 

As Miho received Michael's voice through her headphones she sighed and shook her head. She wasn't feeling very well those days, not physically but emotionally. And she wasn't exactly in the mood to talk to Michael.

"Yes, Michael?" 

"What tanks does BC Freedom have?" He asked curiously. 

"Well, you see, BC Freedom is the union of two different schools, both inspired by French culture. They have...Somua S35s, FT-17s and a big tank destroyer of which I don't remember the name." Miho explained, trying to remember the name of BC Freedom's third kind of tank. 

"I believe it's the ARL-44." Erika said, joining the conversation. Upon hearing that sentence, Michael's face went blank and he cursed under his breath. 

"You mean that big tank with the 90mm croissant launcher?!" He shouted. 

"Which tank are we talking about here exactly...?" Koume said, joining in as well. 

"Well, it was made right after the war, but it was reputed an unsuccessful project. It was made with the same track and suspension system of the Char B1, and It had numerous mechanical flaws. About 50 were made. That big tank with the gun as long as the whole chassis, very tall, looks good from the front but horrible from the back..." Michael continued, not noticing he was going away from the main point.

"Oh yeah, I got it! Thanks Michael!" Koume said happily. 

"No problem." 

Maho, having heard her tankers' conversation, and seeing that Michael had once again proven to have a good tank knowledge, decided to speak up as well.

"Anything else useful on the ARL-44, Michael?"

"Ah! Well, Kommandant...the turret is very wide, but that isn't necessarily an advantage. It takes more time to reach and load the shells, which are very heavy and long. In addition, the breech takes up a big part of the space in the turret, and so does the elevation mechanism. If I'm not mistaken, it's linked to the transmission and powered by a small electric engine. The tank has very serious overheating problems due to its transmission system, furthermore its side armor is terrible. If anywhere, shoot it in the gun mask, the front plate of the hull is very thick and well angled, or if you just have a sliver or side armor, shoot it there. Last but not least...if it takes like 8 seconds to reload an 88, it'll take them at least 10 to reload that big of a shell. The mobility is something like a Panzer III, IV and Tiger mixed together. It's heavy, so a bit sluggish, the speed is about the same as my tank and the tracks are really good and offer great pivoting capabilities without neutral steering, like a Panzer III."