Wiesel 1A4

2023-08-13T22:10:36Z

U10214862: Removed Video

{{About
| about = German SPAA '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Wiesel (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_wiesel_1_mk20
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German SPAA {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Ground Breaking"]].

The Wiesel 1A4, while very weak in both armour and armament, is very small and fast compared to most other vehicles at its BR. Given the ability to spot, use thermals, and help teammates with repairs, the Wiesel handles a lot closer to a light tank than an SPAA as it has very limited gun elevation at 45°. Even with its poor elevation, the Rh202 is capable of taking down aircraft found at its BR such as the [[Su-9]] as well as lightly-armoured vehicles like the [[U-SH 405]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

The armour is very thin throughout the vehicle, only able to protect from shrapnel and rifle-calibre machine gun fire. Anything with a calibre of 12.7 mm or larger will penetrate. The external fuel tank provides a minor increase in protection, but is still able to be penetrated by large-calibre machine guns. The interior armour provides minor protection to spalling and small shells, but isn't guaranteed to stop anything above 12.7 mm upon penetration. Two vents can be found on the tank with 5 mm of armour, one on the top above the radiator and the other in the middle of the left side, while not much of a difference, if shot at the right angle rifle-calibre machine gun fire can penetrate. The driver and gunner are sitting in a line if looking directly from the front or at a slight angle, which increases the likelihood of getting both knocked out with a single shot. Moreover, as there are only 2 crew members, losing even 1 man will knock out the vehicle unless on a point with crew replenishment.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (Front, side, rear, roof, turret)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 8 mm (61°) ''Upper glacis'' 8 mm (10°) ''Lower plate'' 8 mm (67°) ''Lower glacis'' || 8 mm (33°) ''Top'' 8 mm ''Bottom'' 8 mm (34°) ''Lower glacis'' || 8 mm (47°) ''Upper plate'' 8 mm (29°) ''Lower plate'' 8 mm (29°-55°) ''Fuel Tank'' || 8 mm (29°) ''Front glacis'' 8 mm (29°) ''Driver compartment'' 6 mm ''Fighting compartment'' 5 mm ''Engine vents''
|-
| Turret || 8 mm (51°) ''Turret front'' 6 mm (6°) Optic 6 mm (3°-7°) Ammo || 8 mm (21-40°) Turret || 8 mm (27°) || 6 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* There is a 5 mm RHA internal plate separating the engine compartment from the crew.
* Tracks, suspension wheels, and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
* Mudguards and storage boxes are 5 mm thick, mud flaps are 2 mm thick.
* The gun breech is 150 mm thick and the gun mount is 6 mm thick (including ammo boxes).

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=124|rbMinHp=77}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|Rh202 (20 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Rh202 (20 mm)|20 mm Rh202]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 400 (100) || rowspan="2" | 800 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+45° || rowspan="2" | ±110° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 52.8 || 73.1 || 88.8 || 98.2 || 104.5 || rowspan="2" | 10.40 || rowspan="2" | 9.20 || rowspan="2" | 8.48 || rowspan="2" | 8.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 35.7 || 42.0 || 51.0 || 56.4 || 60.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''Default:''' {{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}
* '''DM51A1:''' {{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}
* '''DM43:''' {{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}
* '''DM63:''' {{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}

{{:Rh202 (20 mm)/Ammunition|HVAP-T, HEFI-T, APDS}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! Ammo type
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''4''' '''400''' || ''Magazines'' ''Rounds'' || 3 ''(+1)'' 300 ''(+100)'' || 2 ''(+2)'' 200 ''(+200)'' || 1 ''(+3)'' 100 ''(+300)'' || 0 ''(+4)'' 0 ''(+400)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* The ammunition is modeled as 4 magazines of 100 rounds.
* Even though racks 3 & 4 both are fed into the gun, the gun still reloads when switching from rack 3 to 4.

== Usage in battles ==

The Wiesel 1A4 is small, light and thus has great acceleration, which can help you to get to positions early and to arrive at capture points before the enemies. Given its very low profile, it can hide behind almost everything and can provide support for the team. The Wiesel 1A4 is very lightly armoured, thus it should not be used to attack enemies face-to-face and it should be where fire support is available because the Wiesel 1A4 cannot effectively destroy a medium tank on its own. The 20 mm is effective against lightly armored vehicles, but it has low post-penetration damage, so it's not as useful against medium tanks. It is very effective if used as a spotter because it has Gen 3 thermals at 7.0, and with its low profile, it is hard to be spotted. As for anti-aircraft purpose, it has limited elevation of 45 degrees that hinders its performance, but the gun makes quick work of any low flying aircraft. Although beware when using the Wiesel in this role as the firing will gives away your position.

In conclusion, the Wiesel 1A4 has a rather passive playstyle, which is to rush a capture point, and to eliminate any opposing light tanks, and then hide behind some cover and spot as much as possible, shoot down low flying planes, and if any lightly armored targets are present, then they should also be taken out.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent acceleration and mobility
* Good anti-air capability
* Low profile, can hide in small areas
* Its 20 mm has a high rate of fire
* Access to 3rd generation thermals, night vision and a laser rangefinder

'''Cons:'''

* Almost no armour
* Can't penetrate tanks reliably
* Low post-penetration damage
* Turret can't rotate a full 360°
* Its gun heats up quite quickly
* Poor gun elevation compared to other SPAA
* The rounds don't have a lot of range, maximum effectiveness is around 1,500 - 2,000 meters

== History ==

=== Development ===
Initially developed in 1979 by Rheinmetall for the Bundeswehr as an airborne light armoured vehicle, the Wiesel was equipped with Rheinmetall's own Mk 20 RH-202 20 mm autocannon and designed to be small enough to fit inside standard NATO transport aircraft and even the CH53G Sea Stallion helicopter. The Wiesel was supposedly capable of being air dropped alongside airborne elements and was meant to act as armoured support for airborne troops though this idea was abandoned due to many failed tests. The Wiesel 1A4 was designed to combat infantry, tanks, armoured vehicles, and even aircraft. The Wiesel program was temporarily shut down in 1978 due to a lack of adequate funding though continued development later after interest was heard from other countries. The Bundeswehr eventually ordered 343 Wiesels in 1985.

=== Combat usage ===
The Wiesel 1A4 first saw service in 1993 as a part of the UN mission to Somalia ([[wikipedia:United_Nations_Operation_in_Somalia_II|UNOSOM II]]) as part of the German peacekeeping force. Soon after, the Wiesel participated in NATO's Implementation Force ([[wikipedia:Implementation_Force|IFOR]]) which took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1995-1996. Continuing after was NATO's Stabilization Force ([[wikipedia:Stabilisation_Force_in_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina|SFOR]]) also taking place in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1996-2004. It participated in yet another NATO mission in Kosovo as part of the Kosovo Force ([[wikipedia:Kosovo_Force|KFOR]]) from 1999-Present (2022). The Wiesel then was a part of [[wikipedia:Operation_Essential_Harvest|Operation Essential Harvest]] taking place in the Republic of Macedonia in 2001 to combat insurgencies. Lastly, Wiesel took part in the International Security Assistance Force ([[wikipedia:International_Security_Assistance_Force|ISAF]]) in Afghanistan from 2001-2014.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_wiesel_1_mk20 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== See also ==


; [[Wiesel (Family)]]

* [[Wiesel 1A2]]
* [[Ozelot]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/7376-development-wiesel-armored-vehicles-mk20-tow-2-adwc-en|[Devblog] Wiesel armored vehicles: MK20/TOW/2 ADWC]]

{{Germany anti-aircraft vehicles}}

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Wiesel 1A4