War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

T 80 U (Sweden)

2023-02-01T03:02:09Z

U104281976: /* Survivability and armour */

{{About
| about = medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = T-80 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=sw_t_80u
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a squadron rank {{Specs|rank}} Swedish medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Fire and Ice"]].

A contender in Swedish trials for a possible adoption of new tank in the 1990s, the T 80 U is not too dissimilar from the Soviet [[T-80U]]. The most significant difference of the T 80 U from the T-80U in the game is the lack of ''3BM46'' APFSDS round for the cannon. While the T 80 U lacks the most powerful kinetic round, it still has the same armour and mobility performances for players used to the T-80U playstyle to quickly acclimate to.

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

''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.'' -->
The armour protection of the {{PAGENAME}} is adequate, especially if the incoming round hits one of the KONTAKT-5 ERA plates while newer shells such as the DM53 can still frontally penetrate the hull armour at close range. The strongest parts of the tank are the turret front and a majority of the upper front plate. It does, however, have some weaker areas, the most important being the driver's hatch, the immediate areas of the turret surrounding the gun and its breech, and its lower frontal plate. These weak spots are however pretty small targets at range, and thus by hiding them properly, the risk of being hit can be minimized. Owing to its very low profile, a hull-down T-80U is a small target in itself; the weaker parts of its armour are even smaller.

Fuel tanks on either side of the driver cannot soak up some shrapnel as recent changes have added fuel explosions, and these tanks detonate dramatically. As with all Russian auto-loaded MBTs, there are only three crew members so a well-placed shot is capable of causing a crew knock-out. It's also worth noting that the placement of the ammo rack, below the turret in a carousel-style setup, leaves the T-80U particularly vulnerable to side shots causing ammunition detonation. The protection of the T-80U is very similar to the T-64B in terms of the size and placement of the weak areas. The sides of your tank should always be protected, and when engaging an enemy, your front armour should always be aligned directly towards him to reduce the risks of a shot penetrating your weaker side. The tank does, however, have some KONTAKT-5 ERA on its upper front skirts, meaning that you have some extra protection against kinetic penetrators, and a lot against chemical shells, until the ERA bricks are detonated (leaving the area vulnerable for another hit).

As mentioned above, the T-80U also benefits from the typical low silhouette Russian tankers will be accustomed to, with the vehicle being significantly smaller than its competitors. This allows the T-80U to be hidden behind small terrain deformities which other MBTs would otherwise be visible. It's also harder for an enemy tank commander to immediately tell which area is the most vulnerable. But armour cannot be relied on in any circumstance, the tank is no longer new, and weaknesses are well known. Most tankers will have a steady aim at hitting weak spots even on the move.

'''Armour type:''' 


{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || ___ mm || ___ mm ''Top'' ___ mm ''Bottom'' || ___ mm || ___ - ___ mm
|-
| Turret || ___ - ___ mm ''Turret front'' ___ mm ''Gun mantlet'' || ___ - ___ mm || ___ - ___ mm || ___ - ___ mm
|-
| Cupola || ___ mm || ___ mm || ___ mm || ___ mm
|-
|}

'''Notes:''' 


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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,937|rbMinHp=1,106}}

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

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

{{main|2A46M-1 (125 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[2A46M-1 (125 mm)|125 mm 2A46M-1]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 45 || rowspan="2" | -5°/+15° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 22.8 || 31.6 || 38.4 || 42.5 || 45.2 || rowspan="2" | 6.50 || rowspan="2" | 6.50 || rowspan="2" | 6.50 || rowspan="2" | 6.50
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.3 || 16.8 || 20.4 || 22.6 || 24.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:2A46M-1 (125 mm)/Ammunition|3BK18M, 3OF26, 3BM42, 9M119 (T-80)}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_T-80U.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! Ammo part
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''45''' || ''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 45 ''(+0)'' 45 ''(+0)'' || 44 ''(+1)'' 44 ''(+1)'' || 43 ''(+2)'' 43 ''(+2)'' || 38 ''(+7)'' 41 ''(+4)'' || 37 ''(+8)'' 39 ''(+6)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty*
! Visual discrepancy
!
|-
| 34 ''(+11)'' 38 ''(+7)'' || 31 ''(+14)'' 37 ''(+8)'' || 30 ''(+15)'' 30 ''(+15)'' || 29 ''(+16)'' 29 ''(+16)'' || 1 ''(+44)'' 1 ''(+44)'' || No
!
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* The {{PAGENAME}} uses two-piece ammunition, composed of projectiles (yellow) and propellant bags (orange). Both have separate racks.
* Projectiles and charges are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
* The T 80 U's first stage ammo rack consists of a mechanized carousel at the bottom of the turret which carries 28 propellants and 28 projectiles.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|NSVT (12.7 mm)|PKT (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[NSVT (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm NSVT]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 500 (100) || 700 || -5°/+60° || ±180°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[PKT (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm PKT]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 1,250 (250) || 700 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Ability to use ATGM
* Thermal and laser telemetry
* Effective armour at its BR, protected by ERA blocking explosive munitions or some type of APFSDS.
* Effective acceleration in muddy terrains.

'''Cons'''

* Does not have the projectile APFSDS 3BM46 available like the Russians.
* Reverse gear is very slow only 11 km/h
* Very sluggish vertical cannon aiming
* Frontal armour on the underbody of the vehicle does not protect against APFSDS projectiles at all

== History ==

''Family page:'' '''[[T-80 (Family)|T-80 Family]]'''

At the end of 1993, following the de-scalation after the end of the Cold War, the Swedish army created a programme for the procurement of new MBTs, and held a competition between NATO tanks and after Russia gave 2 T-80U for trial.

The competition featured M1 Abrams from the USA, which had an old 105mm gun, Leclerc from the French and the Leopard 2 from the Germans, but later two T-80Us from Russia were loaned for both combat and technical trials in the 1993/94 semester.

Due to the government's rapid announcement that the Leopard 2 would be acquired and placed at the disposal of mechanised brigades, the trials had to be prematurely discontinued, and the Leopard 2A5 with some Swedish modifications was chosen and entered service as Strv 122.

== Media ==


;Skins
* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=sw_t_80u Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== See also ==


* [[T-80UK]]
* [[T-80U]]

== External links ==


* [[wikipedia:T-80|[Wikipedia] T-80]]

{{Sweden medium tanks}}
{{Squadron ground vehicles}}
[[Category:ATGM vehicles]]

BT-42

2023-01-23T02:48:19Z

U104281976: /* Description */

{{Specs-Card
|code=sw_bt_42
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Swedish tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Fire and Ice"]].

Perhaps one of the most iconic light tanks in Finnish service as well as being a "meme" tank among players due to its screen time in the Japanese animation film "[https://girls-und-panzer.jp Girls und Panzer]"; this captured BT-7 modified with a huge QF 4.5 inch howitzer will strike fear into enemies with its fearsome firepower while still retaining the iconic fast and nimble playstyle of a BT light tank.

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

When only looking at the hull alone, the BT-42 is exactly like any other BT-7 tank; but what makes it stand out among its "ancestors" is the turret - the Finnish upgraded its gun with a British QF 4.5-inch (114 mm) howitzer and installed it inside a new welded turret that somewhat resembles the infamous [[KV-2 (Family)|KV-2]] from the Soviet Union. But the common feature of BT tanks still persists on the BT-42, namely its poor protection; other than the mantle, any high-calibre machine gun will have no trouble penetrating its armor even at longer ranges, especially its hull. So be extra careful on where to appear in uptier battles where HMGs such as the M2HB start to be common.

'''Armour type:''' 


{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull ||5 mm (61°) ''Upper front glacis'' 20 mm (18°) ''Driver's hatch'' 20 mm (5-52°) ''Lower front glacis''||20 mm ''Driver compartment'' 15 + 4 mm ''Fighting & engine compartments''||10 mm (55°) ''Upper glacis'' 13 mm (15°) ''Centre plate'' 13 mm (58°) ''Lower glacis'' ||10 mm 4 mm ''Engine vents''
|-
| Turret || 16 mm ''Turret front'' 16 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 16 mm || 16 mm || 9 mm
|-
|}

'''Notes:''' 


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

The Finnish didn't upgrade the BT-42's powerplant as it was deemed sufficient, so it retained the same Mikulin M-17T engine and transmission. Players of the Soviet BT tanks should be well familiar with its excellent mobility at its rank, which lets the BT-42 flank its enemies with ease.

{{tankMobility|abMinHp=419|rbMinHp=354}}

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

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

{{main|Psv.H/18 (114 mm)}}

The most iconic feature of the BT-42 is the QF 4.5-inch howitzer from Great Britain (named "114 mm Psv.H/18" in Finnish service); although the revised turret that fits this very gun turns even slower than the original BT-7. If aimed properly, it can even hit tanks behind cover due to having the ballistics of a howitzer.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Psv.H/18 (114 mm)|114 mm Psv.H/18]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 22 || rowspan="2" | -5°/+25° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 5.3 || 7.3 || 8.9 || 9.8 || 10.4 || rowspan="2" | 13.00 || rowspan="2" | 11.50 || rowspan="2" | 10.60 || rowspan="2" | 10.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 3.6 || 4.2 || 5.1 || 5.6 || 6.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| akr 32/41 || HE || 25 || 25 || 25 || 25 || 25 || 25
|-
| hkr 42/C || HEAT || 115 || 115 || 115 || 115 || 115 || 115
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| akr 32/41 || HE || 350 || 14.4 || 0 || 0.1 || 2 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| hkr 42/C || HEAT || 357 || 13.5 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 2.55 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
|}
The stock akr 32/41 round is an HE shell, although its velocity at barely supersonic makes it unsuitable for hitting mobile targets at distance; but thanks to its 2 kg of explosives, if it hits the roof armour of tanks or spots that will cause overpressure, it can make sure the crew will be knocked out right away, let alone a near-miss to truck-based SPAAs at its rank with minimal protection; alternatively, the curve ballistic also means bad news for enemies who took cover at longer ranges- there are still chances of being hit in the roof.

The only researchable round, hkr 42/C is a HEAT round; while it can functionally replace the stock shell and penetrates up to 115 mm of armour at any given range. The HEAT has very few spalling against heavier targets, so make sure to hit the ammunition racks of enemy vehicles.

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''22''' || 17 ''(+5)'' || 12 ''(+10)'' || 6 ''(+16)'' || 0 ''(+22)'' || No
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

Although the name "BT" still exists on the BT-42, the only thing left of a BT tank is the chassis itself; the biggest difference is the huge turret, some might even compare it to a KV-2 as they shared some similarities in terms of the angular shape. While some might think the Finnish installed a medium-calibre cannon, upon closer inspection, they will know that it is not a good idea running into the QF 4.5-inch howitzer at 114 mm; although having only HE or HEAT at its disposal and barely having supersonic muzzle velocity, a precise hit on overpressure weakspot or even a near miss from the HE shell will very likely knock down the target right away, while having more explosive content than HE, HEAT is more suitable for direct hits on heavy targets such as the infamous B1 series or KV series at higher tiers. Thanks to the excellent mobility of the BT chassis, it can make sure that it would arrive at vantage points at the first place, alternatively flanking enemies from their sides and places they didn't expect. Its 13 second base reload time does give the BT-42 extra time to take out crippled targets as vehicles at this tier with even larger calibre takes up to 20 seconds for the next shot. For those who didn't finish off unprotected targets in one take, the bad news is BT-42 doesn't comes with any co-axial machine guns so do make sure your shot blows the target up into pieces, else you might become the prey instead.

Mobility is the best friend of the BT-42 and it still trades protection for its speed, showing up in front of tanks with HMG or autocannons will make the BT-42 meet its miserable demise as well; due to the fact that it has a huge howitzer onboard, avoid rushing into enemies or fire before a full stop, the imbalance of the turret does affect the center of gravity and makes severe "wobbling"; a miss means at least 13 second reload and this will give enemies some time to fight back.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* Large-calibre gun for its rank
* Fast and nimble for flanking
* Both HE and HEAT have high explosive contents
* HEAT has extremely high penetration for its rank

'''Cons:'''

* Lightly armoured
* Big profile
* Slow turret traverse
* Long reload time
* HEAT round post-penetration damage is unreliable
* Lacks a coaxial machine gun for gunning down exposed targets

== History ==

The BT series light tanks have been the cornerstone of the Red Army in the late 1930s and have been used extensively between the Interwar Period and WWII; while it has been supplied to some countries including China and Spain, some quantities of them were also captured by the Axis and their allies, one of them was Finland.

During the Winter War and the subsequent Continuation War, the Finnish captured some quantities of BT tanks (2/5/7) series from the Red Army where some of these tanks became the composition of Finland's armoured platoons, one of them is known as the "Christie Detachment" from the use of mostly Christie suspension-equipped BT tanks; while the tanks gained some infamy within the army due to its reliability, but the demand for assault gun battalions ("Panssaritykkipataljoona") for their armoured units with 3 guns per platoon and the some numbers of repair-pending BT-7s led Finnish came up with an unique hybrid between BT tanks and military-aid British QF 4.5-inch howitzer: the assault gun that's commonly known as BT-42, or '''15 tonnin rynnäkkötykkipanssarivaunu BT-42''' (15-ton assault gun tank BT-42). After some developments especially on the turret design, the gun was first seen in September 1942 and was finally delivered to different battalions from February 1943 with 18 of them in total; after the game-changing Battle of Viipuri (the site is now a part of Russia Federation after the Moscow Armistice) for the Soviet Union in July 1944, 9 of these BT-42s were lost during the battle and the remaining 8 were pending for scrapping.<ref>https://www.jaegerplatoon.net/ASSAULT_GUNS.htm#BT-42</ref>

But one of these 8 BT-42s, numbered R-708/Ps. 511-8 was saved for display and being the sole surviving example of this interesting conversion of BT tanks, now displayed at the Parola Tank Museum ("Panssarimuseo") alongside with dozens of captured/purchased tanks.

== Media ==


;Images
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200">
File:BT-42_WTWallpaper001.jpg
File:BT-42 WTWallpaper002.jpg
File:BT-42 WTWallpaper003.jpg
File:BT-42 WTWallpaper004.jpg
File:BT-42 WTWallpaper005.jpg
File:BT-42 WTWallpaper006.jpg
</gallery>

== See also ==


* [[BT-7 (Family)]]
** [[BT-7M]]
** [[BT-7A (F-32)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/7931-development-bt-42-from-tank-to-tankhunter-en|[Devblog] BT-42: From Tank to Tankhunter!]]

=== References ===
<references />

{{Sweden tank destroyers}}