War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

T-62M-1

2022-06-12T08:36:48Z

U117647910: /* Fighting the T-62M-1 */

{{About
| about = Soviet medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = T-62 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_t_62m1
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png|ArtImage2_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.79 "Project X"]].

A modernized version of the famous [[T-62]], the T-62M-1 chiefly features improved firepower, fire control, and protection in a similar manner to the [[T-55AM-1]]. The hull and turret feature add-on composite armour, including the conspicuous "brow" arrays on the turret cheeks. The gun is now equipped with a thermal sleeve and can fire improved APFSDS, HEAT-FS and HE shells in addition to a potent ATGM. A laser rangefinder is mounted in a large box above the gun barrel, smoke grenade launchers are added to the turret side, and a more powerful engine has been installed to compensate for the increased weight of all these new features. Though the T-62M-1's gun handling and speed are still inferior to most of its competitors, it has many tools at its disposal and can be a formidable opponent despite its old chassis and somewhat crude nature.

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


The T-62M-1 has very similar armour to the T-55AM-1, having similar composite add-on armour. The turret cheeks are protected by large curved composite blocks, sometimes historically referred to as "Brezhnev's Eyebrows" due to their appearance. These mean the turret can withstand many kinetic rounds, including any APFSDS that has less than 400 mm of penetration. The protection against chemical munitions is even greater, able to stop between 450-750 mm of chemical penetration depending on the angle. The brow armour's composite covers less than it might seem; the sectors closer to the gun are not backed by metal-polymer layers and only the outer steel provides extra protection. It can help to point the turret slightly away from opponents to reduce the chances of getting hit in the non-composite zones.

The hull protection is less, although still relevant. The hull composite will stop APDS and HEAT rounds from the L7 105 mm gun, but any more powerful rounds will penetrate. The hull sides are relatively well protected. 80 mm RHA will stop most autocannon rounds, and the composite skirts as well as flaps can stop HEAT rounds at an angle.

Frontal weak points include the cannon breech area, as it is not covered by the add-on composite. Additionally the lower front plate is not protected by composite. These areas are easy to penetrate. The hull sides also are only 20 mm near the bottom, which is a weakness that can be exploited by autocannons. That said, there is essentially nothing important in those areas. The rear armour is not worth mentioning, as it will not stop anything larger than a heavy machine gun.

Side flaps similar to those used on the [[T-64A (1971)]] can be equipped on the T-62M-1 with an unlockable modification. They add 30 kg of mass to the tank, which is a negligible penalty, and help to block HEAT-FS projectiles and ATGMs from side-aspect shots. Each flap will fall off after being hit, so do not count on being able to body-block an entire barrage of chemical rounds.

The T-62M-1 also has wet ammunition storage bins. 16 rounds are placed within the fuel tank located beside the driver, acting as a spaced armour, protecting the ammunition from HEAT. Successive HEAT shots might still detonate the ammunition. Note that APFSDS can detonate the rounds with ease, so avoid being shot in the hull if possible.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull)
* Cast homogeneous armour (turret, cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 100+30 mm (59°) ''Upper glacis'' 100 mm (55°) ''Lower glacis'' || 80+8 mm ''Top'' 80 mm (spherical) + 8 mm ''Turret ring bulge'' 20 mm (28°) ''Bottom'' || 45 mm (2°) ''Upper plate'' 20 mm (cylindrical) ''Lower glacis'' || 30 mm (0-3°) 12 mm ''Mudguards''
|-
| Turret || 214-240 mm (spherical) + 65-85 (spherical) ''Turret cheeks'' 40-50 mm (0-63°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 115-196 mm (spherical) || 65 mm (spherical) || 60 mm (74-78°) ''Front'' 30 mm (78-85°) ''Centre'' 60 mm (29-67°) ''Rear''
|-
|}

'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick, while torsion bars are 10 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 20 mm thick.
* Commander cupola is 40 mm thick.
* Composite armour is present on the front glacis and turret front:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Composite armour !! Front
|-
| Hull || '''Upper glacis''' ~300 mm ''Kinetic'' ~450 mm ''Chemical''
|-
| Turret || '''Turret cheeks''' ~400 mm ''Kinetic'' 450-750 mm ''Chemical''
|-
|}

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,069|rbMinHp=610|AoAweight= 0.03}}

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

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

{{main|U-5TS (115 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[U-5TS (115 mm)|115 mm U-5TS]] || 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" | 42 || rowspan="2" | -5°/+16° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 14.3 || 19.8 || 24.0 || 26.5 || 28.2 || rowspan="2" | 11.96 || rowspan="2" | 10.58 || rowspan="2" | 9.75 || rowspan="2" | 9.20
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.9 || 10.5 || 12.8 || 14.1 || 15.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* The stock 3BK15M HEATFS has high penetration for its class, but its 500 mm of flat penetration while overkill against steel armour, is less effective versus reactive or composite armour, and deals less post-penetration damage than the APFSDS rounds.
* The 3OF27 HE shell is surprisingly strong and can be lethal against even MBTs; however, it is not as powerful as the 125 mm HE rounds used by top-tier Soviet and Chinese MBTs and needs fine aim for best results. Considering the tank's long reload time, the HE shell is a situational choice.
* The 9M117 gun-launched ATGM has 600 mm of penetration and is mouse-guided. It is the most versatile of the chemical rounds since it can be used against helicopters, can cause Overpressure on lightly armored and open-topped vehicles, and has the highest penetration. Taking a few into battle is a good idea.
* The 3BM21 APFSDS far exceeds any of the APFSDS rounds available to the original T-62.
* The 3BM28 APFSDS significantly improves on the angled penetrative performance of 3BM21, at the expense of lower flat penetration.

APFSDS rounds should be the primary ammo choice for the {{PAGENAME}}, but its selection of three types of chemical rounds should not be overlooked either.

{| 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
|-
| 3BK15M || HEATFS || 500 || 500 || 500 || 500 || 500 || 500
|-
| 3OF27 || HE || 40 || 40 || 40 || 40 || 40 || 40
|-
| 9M117 || ATGM || 600 || 600 || 600 || 600 || 600 || 600
|-
| 3BM21 || APFSDS || 420 || 415 || 405 || 390 || 380 || 370
|-
| 3BM28 || APFSDS || 386 || 384 || 377 || 369 || 361 || 352
|-
|}
{| 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) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| 3BK15M || HEATFS || 1,060 || 12.2 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 2,280 || 65° || 72° || 77°
|-
| 3OF27 || HE || 800 || 17.82 || 0 || 0.1 || 4,820 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| 3BM21 || APFSDS || 1,600 || 4.55 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 76° || 77° || 80°
|-
| 3BM28 || APFSDS || 1,600 || 4.88 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 78° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Range (m)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| 9M117 || ATGM || 370 || 5,000 || 18.8 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 4,620 || 80° || 82° || 90°
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''42''' || 41 ''(+1)'' || 21 ''(+21)'' || 17 ''(+25)'' || 1 ''(+41)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
* Rack 4 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 16 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
** This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 4 - 1 - 2 - 3.
** Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-3 into rack 4. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.
* If you pack 17 ''(+25)'' shells, it will fill only the frontal wet stowage ready rack.

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

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DShK (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm DShK]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 300 (50) || 600 || -10°/+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 || 3,000 (250) || 700 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The T-62M-1 should be played like other high tier Soviet MBTs, though with an higher emphasis on range and cover. Hide your hull and use your almost impenetrable turret armour to deflect hostile fire. If possible, try to use cover to conceal your cannon breech, as a well-placed APFSDS can disable your cannon and, depending on which side of tank you were hit from, kill your gunner or loader. A turret penetration may result in a one-shot kill if it hits your ammo. Do not allow yourself to fall into close-range combat areas if at all possible.

Those who have fought and/or used the T-55AM-1 will find the same tactics and assumptions work against the T-62M-1, as well. It performs similarly, mostly just having upgraded the strengths the T-55AM-1 is known for; the turret armour is even better, and the power of the variety of rounds these tanks are known for has been increased, thanks to the increased calibre of the cannon (from 100 mm on the T-55AM-1 to 115 mm on the T-62M-1). This allows the T-62M-1 to have ways of dealing with vehicles all the way up to 9.7.

Thanks to the incredible turret armour, and highly effective and varied ammunition choices, the T-62M-1 is highly suited for a long-range sniping and support role. Players of tanks such as the Chieftain will have an idea of the playstyle. Use your fast and powerful APFSDS rounds to quickly disable targets travelling quickly at ranges out to several kilometres, use your potent HEAT-FS to dispatch targets at closer ranges, or fire the breech-loaded ATGM for highly accurate shots against exposed targets, both ground and air (especially against helicopters).

Try to avoid close-range engagements at all costs. The T-62M-1 suffers in almost all regards compared to other tanks at closer ranges. Compared to other common tanks, such as the [[XM-1 (GM)]], the T-62M-1 has a far longer reload, worse acceleration and top speed, a larger and slower turning circle, and a poorer turret traverse speed. If you get caught out, try to take quick shots to disable the mobility of enemy tanks if you cannot out-right kill them, and make your goal of upmost importance to leave the area immediately. Use your smoke launchers to hide your retreat, and cover your upper frontal plate at all costs; a penetration on the left side of your front plate will spell instant death.

Beware of fast MBTs like the [[Leopard A1A1]], as their mobility allows them to easily flank you and get a shot into your weaker side armour. The T-62M-1 is currently unlikely to face many tanks capable of penetrating its turret composite armour. The majority of deaths will likely result from being shot through weak spots or from flanking, so avoiding these should be your primary concern.

Your tank also has a large amount of weak-spots from even the slightest angle above you, so make sure you take enemy helicopters seriously and deal with them as fast as possible. Your gun elevation isn't the greatest, so make sure you use terrain to help lift your gun as well as present thicker armour profiles.

===Fighting the T-62M-1===
The T-62M-1's core strengths lie in the frontal armour and versatile ammunition choices. Do not attempt to out-snipe a T-62M-1 in anything short of a hull-down British MBT. Instead, abuse the T-62M-1's inferior mobility to out-flank it and quickly disable the gun. At closer ranges with higher penetration shells (260+ mm penetration, chemical or kinetic), shooting the cannon breech can also serve to turn the T-62M-1 into an easy kill.

If you're engaging a wary T-62M-1 at closer ranges, try to bait out a shot or wait until he fires. The T-62M-1, depending on crew skills, has a reload of up to 12 seconds, giving a smart opponent plenty of time to take out a T-62M-1 after he fires. Using smoke to hide a quick change in your position can also work well, as both the T-62M-1 itself and its turret turn slowly compared to vehicles it will face, giving you time to drive around it in the confusion. You can also fire at the lower glacis to knock out the dirver and gunner.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Varied selection of shells - APFSDS, HEAT-FS, high explosive, and a barrel-launched ATGM for long ranges or dealing with helicopters.
* Laser rangefinder and high-velocity ammunition allow long-range engagements.
* Tough turret cheek armour for the battle rating, as well as a composite armour add-on on the glacis.
* Wet ammunition storage within the frontal fuel tank holds the ready ammunition, reducing vulnerability to HEAT rounds.
* Four crew members, compared to three on most Soviet MBTs, increase its survivability on the battlefield.
* Frontal composite armour makes the front immune to 105 mm APDS and HEATFS.
* Researchable armour package adds panels to the side of the tank which reduce the impact of HEAT-FS rounds.
* Anti-tank guided missile can be fired on the move.

'''Cons:'''

* Frontal composite armour is not resistant to common APFSDS shells and HEAT-FS shells larger than 105 mm.
* Not very mobile, no neutral steering.
* No thermal sights.
* Substandard gun handling: mediocre traverse speed.
* Three crew members lined-up on the right side of the tank, one shot may knock them out.
* Weak gun mantlet, leaving cannon breech highly exposed at closer ranges.
* Very long reload time compared to most contemporaries leaving you unable to deliver quick follow-up shots.

== History ==

By the early 80s, the USSR began deploying new tanks: the [[T-72A|T-72s]], the modernized versions of the [[T-64B|T-64]], and its derivatives, the [[T-80B|T-80s]]. However, the country also had a rather large fleet of "old-school" models that were no longer a match for the newest tanks but still possessed some modernization potential. So, in 1981 the government approved a project on the complex modernization of the [[T-62]]s. The aim of the project was to upgrade the defenses and augment the tanks' firepower. Following several radical design changes, the tank's combat effectiveness – despite the resurfaced issues and substantial age of the model – was significantly increased, putting the modified T-62M-1 on the same level as the third-generation tanks.

''- From [[wt:en/news/5538-development-t-62m-1-the-fight-continues-en|Devblog]]''

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_t_62m1 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|LufGqZTfvoI|'''MBTs with Best Armor''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 00:41 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|UoJmO-g3UWE|'''T-62M-1 - The Russian Black Sheep''' - ''JustinPlaysYT''|7oYbFh9QxZo|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|goszFx1uQCw|'''The Shooting Range #103''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 04:18 discusses the T-62M-1.|cnH3SbDA1RY|'''T-62M-1 - High Tier Feelings - First Impressions''' - ''Napalmratte''}}

== See also ==


;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[T-54/55 (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/5538-development-t-62m-1-the-fight-continues-en|[Devblog] T-62M-1: the fight continues!]]
* [[wikipedia:T-62|[Wikipedia] T-62]]
* [https://weaponsystems.net/system/634-T-62M <nowiki>[Weapon Systems]</nowiki> T-62M]

{{USSR medium tanks}}
[[Category:ATGM vehicles]]

T-62M-1

2022-06-12T08:33:26Z

U117647910: /* Ammunition */

{{About
| about = Soviet medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = T-62 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_t_62m1
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png|ArtImage2_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.79 "Project X"]].

A modernized version of the famous [[T-62]], the T-62M-1 chiefly features improved firepower, fire control, and protection in a similar manner to the [[T-55AM-1]]. The hull and turret feature add-on composite armour, including the conspicuous "brow" arrays on the turret cheeks. The gun is now equipped with a thermal sleeve and can fire improved APFSDS, HEAT-FS and HE shells in addition to a potent ATGM. A laser rangefinder is mounted in a large box above the gun barrel, smoke grenade launchers are added to the turret side, and a more powerful engine has been installed to compensate for the increased weight of all these new features. Though the T-62M-1's gun handling and speed are still inferior to most of its competitors, it has many tools at its disposal and can be a formidable opponent despite its old chassis and somewhat crude nature.

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


The T-62M-1 has very similar armour to the T-55AM-1, having similar composite add-on armour. The turret cheeks are protected by large curved composite blocks, sometimes historically referred to as "Brezhnev's Eyebrows" due to their appearance. These mean the turret can withstand many kinetic rounds, including any APFSDS that has less than 400 mm of penetration. The protection against chemical munitions is even greater, able to stop between 450-750 mm of chemical penetration depending on the angle. The brow armour's composite covers less than it might seem; the sectors closer to the gun are not backed by metal-polymer layers and only the outer steel provides extra protection. It can help to point the turret slightly away from opponents to reduce the chances of getting hit in the non-composite zones.

The hull protection is less, although still relevant. The hull composite will stop APDS and HEAT rounds from the L7 105 mm gun, but any more powerful rounds will penetrate. The hull sides are relatively well protected. 80 mm RHA will stop most autocannon rounds, and the composite skirts as well as flaps can stop HEAT rounds at an angle.

Frontal weak points include the cannon breech area, as it is not covered by the add-on composite. Additionally the lower front plate is not protected by composite. These areas are easy to penetrate. The hull sides also are only 20 mm near the bottom, which is a weakness that can be exploited by autocannons. That said, there is essentially nothing important in those areas. The rear armour is not worth mentioning, as it will not stop anything larger than a heavy machine gun.

Side flaps similar to those used on the [[T-64A (1971)]] can be equipped on the T-62M-1 with an unlockable modification. They add 30 kg of mass to the tank, which is a negligible penalty, and help to block HEAT-FS projectiles and ATGMs from side-aspect shots. Each flap will fall off after being hit, so do not count on being able to body-block an entire barrage of chemical rounds.

The T-62M-1 also has wet ammunition storage bins. 16 rounds are placed within the fuel tank located beside the driver, acting as a spaced armour, protecting the ammunition from HEAT. Successive HEAT shots might still detonate the ammunition. Note that APFSDS can detonate the rounds with ease, so avoid being shot in the hull if possible.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull)
* Cast homogeneous armour (turret, cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 100+30 mm (59°) ''Upper glacis'' 100 mm (55°) ''Lower glacis'' || 80+8 mm ''Top'' 80 mm (spherical) + 8 mm ''Turret ring bulge'' 20 mm (28°) ''Bottom'' || 45 mm (2°) ''Upper plate'' 20 mm (cylindrical) ''Lower glacis'' || 30 mm (0-3°) 12 mm ''Mudguards''
|-
| Turret || 214-240 mm (spherical) + 65-85 (spherical) ''Turret cheeks'' 40-50 mm (0-63°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 115-196 mm (spherical) || 65 mm (spherical) || 60 mm (74-78°) ''Front'' 30 mm (78-85°) ''Centre'' 60 mm (29-67°) ''Rear''
|-
|}

'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick, while torsion bars are 10 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 20 mm thick.
* Commander cupola is 40 mm thick.
* Composite armour is present on the front glacis and turret front:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Composite armour !! Front
|-
| Hull || '''Upper glacis''' ~300 mm ''Kinetic'' ~450 mm ''Chemical''
|-
| Turret || '''Turret cheeks''' ~400 mm ''Kinetic'' 450-750 mm ''Chemical''
|-
|}

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,069|rbMinHp=610|AoAweight= 0.03}}

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

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

{{main|U-5TS (115 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[U-5TS (115 mm)|115 mm U-5TS]] || 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" | 42 || rowspan="2" | -5°/+16° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 14.3 || 19.8 || 24.0 || 26.5 || 28.2 || rowspan="2" | 11.96 || rowspan="2" | 10.58 || rowspan="2" | 9.75 || rowspan="2" | 9.20
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.9 || 10.5 || 12.8 || 14.1 || 15.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* The stock 3BK15M HEATFS has high penetration for its class, but its 500 mm of flat penetration while overkill against steel armour, is less effective versus reactive or composite armour, and deals less post-penetration damage than the APFSDS rounds.
* The 3OF27 HE shell is surprisingly strong and can be lethal against even MBTs; however, it is not as powerful as the 125 mm HE rounds used by top-tier Soviet and Chinese MBTs and needs fine aim for best results. Considering the tank's long reload time, the HE shell is a situational choice.
* The 9M117 gun-launched ATGM has 600 mm of penetration and is mouse-guided. It is the most versatile of the chemical rounds since it can be used against helicopters, can cause Overpressure on lightly armored and open-topped vehicles, and has the highest penetration. Taking a few into battle is a good idea.
* The 3BM21 APFSDS far exceeds any of the APFSDS rounds available to the original T-62.
* The 3BM28 APFSDS significantly improves on the angled penetrative performance of 3BM21, at the expense of lower flat penetration.

APFSDS rounds should be the primary ammo choice for the {{PAGENAME}}, but its selection of three types of chemical rounds should not be overlooked either.

{| 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
|-
| 3BK15M || HEATFS || 500 || 500 || 500 || 500 || 500 || 500
|-
| 3OF27 || HE || 40 || 40 || 40 || 40 || 40 || 40
|-
| 9M117 || ATGM || 600 || 600 || 600 || 600 || 600 || 600
|-
| 3BM21 || APFSDS || 420 || 415 || 405 || 390 || 380 || 370
|-
| 3BM28 || APFSDS || 386 || 384 || 377 || 369 || 361 || 352
|-
|}
{| 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) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| 3BK15M || HEATFS || 1,060 || 12.2 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 2,280 || 65° || 72° || 77°
|-
| 3OF27 || HE || 800 || 17.82 || 0 || 0.1 || 4,820 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| 3BM21 || APFSDS || 1,600 || 4.55 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 76° || 77° || 80°
|-
| 3BM28 || APFSDS || 1,600 || 4.88 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 78° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Range (m)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| 9M117 || ATGM || 370 || 5,000 || 18.8 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 4,620 || 80° || 82° || 90°
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''42''' || 41 ''(+1)'' || 21 ''(+21)'' || 17 ''(+25)'' || 1 ''(+41)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
* Rack 4 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 16 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
** This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 4 - 1 - 2 - 3.
** Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-3 into rack 4. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.
* If you pack 17 ''(+25)'' shells, it will fill only the frontal wet stowage ready rack.

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

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DShK (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm DShK]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 300 (50) || 600 || -10°/+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 || 3,000 (250) || 700 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The T-62M-1 should be played like other high tier Soviet MBTs, though with an higher emphasis on range and cover. Hide your hull and use your almost impenetrable turret armour to deflect hostile fire. If possible, try to use cover to conceal your cannon breech, as a well-placed APFSDS can disable your cannon and, depending on which side of tank you were hit from, kill your gunner or loader. A turret penetration may result in a one-shot kill if it hits your ammo. Do not allow yourself to fall into close-range combat areas if at all possible.

Those who have fought and/or used the T-55AM-1 will find the same tactics and assumptions work against the T-62M-1, as well. It performs similarly, mostly just having upgraded the strengths the T-55AM-1 is known for; the turret armour is even better, and the power of the variety of rounds these tanks are known for has been increased, thanks to the increased calibre of the cannon (from 100 mm on the T-55AM-1 to 115 mm on the T-62M-1). This allows the T-62M-1 to have ways of dealing with vehicles all the way up to 9.7.

Thanks to the incredible turret armour, and highly effective and varied ammunition choices, the T-62M-1 is highly suited for a long-range sniping and support role. Players of tanks such as the Chieftain will have an idea of the playstyle. Use your fast and powerful APFSDS rounds to quickly disable targets travelling quickly at ranges out to several kilometres, use your potent HEAT-FS to dispatch targets at closer ranges, or fire the breech-loaded ATGM for highly accurate shots against exposed targets, both ground and air (especially against helicopters).

Try to avoid close-range engagements at all costs. The T-62M-1 suffers in almost all regards compared to other tanks at closer ranges. Compared to other common tanks, such as the [[XM-1 (GM)]], the T-62M-1 has a far longer reload, worse acceleration and top speed, a larger and slower turning circle, and a poorer turret traverse speed. If you get caught out, try to take quick shots to disable the mobility of enemy tanks if you cannot out-right kill them, and make your goal of upmost importance to leave the area immediately. Use your smoke launchers to hide your retreat, and cover your upper frontal plate at all costs; a penetration on the left side of your front plate will spell instant death.

Beware of fast MBTs like the [[Leopard A1A1]], as their mobility allows them to easily flank you and get a shot into your weaker side armour. The T-62M-1 is currently unlikely to face many tanks capable of penetrating its turret composite armour. The majority of deaths will likely result from being shot through weak spots or from flanking, so avoiding these should be your primary concern.

Your tank also has a large amount of weak-spots from even the slightest angle above you, so make sure you take enemy helicopters seriously and deal with them as fast as possible. Your gun elevation isn't the greatest, so make sure you use terrain to help lift your gun as well as present thicker armour profiles.

===Fighting the T-62M-1===
The T-62M-1's core strengths lie in the frontal armour and versatile ammunition choices. Do not attempt to out-snipe a T-62M-1 in anything short of a hull-down British MBT. Instead, abuse the T-62M-1's inferior mobility to out-flank it and quickly disable the gun. At closer ranges with higher penetration shells (260+ mm penetration, chemical or kinetic), shooting the cannon breech can also serve to turn the T-62M-1 into an easy kill.

If you're engaging a wary T-62M-1 at closer ranges, try to bait out a shot or wait until he fires. The T-62M-1, depending on crew skills, has a reload of up to 12 seconds, giving a smart opponent plenty of time to take out a T-62M-1 after he fires. Using smoke to hide a quick change in your position can also work well, as both the T-62M-1 itself and its turret turn slowly compared to vehicles it will face, giving you time to drive around it in the confusion.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Varied selection of shells - APFSDS, HEAT-FS, high explosive, and a barrel-launched ATGM for long ranges or dealing with helicopters.
* Laser rangefinder and high-velocity ammunition allow long-range engagements.
* Tough turret cheek armour for the battle rating, as well as a composite armour add-on on the glacis.
* Wet ammunition storage within the frontal fuel tank holds the ready ammunition, reducing vulnerability to HEAT rounds.
* Four crew members, compared to three on most Soviet MBTs, increase its survivability on the battlefield.
* Frontal composite armour makes the front immune to 105 mm APDS and HEATFS.
* Researchable armour package adds panels to the side of the tank which reduce the impact of HEAT-FS rounds.
* Anti-tank guided missile can be fired on the move.

'''Cons:'''

* Frontal composite armour is not resistant to common APFSDS shells and HEAT-FS shells larger than 105 mm.
* Not very mobile, no neutral steering.
* No thermal sights.
* Substandard gun handling: mediocre traverse speed.
* Three crew members lined-up on the right side of the tank, one shot may knock them out.
* Weak gun mantlet, leaving cannon breech highly exposed at closer ranges.
* Very long reload time compared to most contemporaries leaving you unable to deliver quick follow-up shots.

== History ==

By the early 80s, the USSR began deploying new tanks: the [[T-72A|T-72s]], the modernized versions of the [[T-64B|T-64]], and its derivatives, the [[T-80B|T-80s]]. However, the country also had a rather large fleet of "old-school" models that were no longer a match for the newest tanks but still possessed some modernization potential. So, in 1981 the government approved a project on the complex modernization of the [[T-62]]s. The aim of the project was to upgrade the defenses and augment the tanks' firepower. Following several radical design changes, the tank's combat effectiveness – despite the resurfaced issues and substantial age of the model – was significantly increased, putting the modified T-62M-1 on the same level as the third-generation tanks.

''- From [[wt:en/news/5538-development-t-62m-1-the-fight-continues-en|Devblog]]''

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_t_62m1 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|LufGqZTfvoI|'''MBTs with Best Armor''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 00:41 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|UoJmO-g3UWE|'''T-62M-1 - The Russian Black Sheep''' - ''JustinPlaysYT''|7oYbFh9QxZo|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|goszFx1uQCw|'''The Shooting Range #103''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 04:18 discusses the T-62M-1.|cnH3SbDA1RY|'''T-62M-1 - High Tier Feelings - First Impressions''' - ''Napalmratte''}}

== See also ==


;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[T-54/55 (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/5538-development-t-62m-1-the-fight-continues-en|[Devblog] T-62M-1: the fight continues!]]
* [[wikipedia:T-62|[Wikipedia] T-62]]
* [https://weaponsystems.net/system/634-T-62M <nowiki>[Weapon Systems]</nowiki> T-62M]

{{USSR medium tanks}}
[[Category:ATGM vehicles]]

T-72A

2022-06-11T05:42:37Z

U117647910: /* Pros and cons */ Added commander cant fire main gun in cons

{{About
| about = Soviet medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = T-72 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_t_72a
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.85 "Supersonic"]].

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


'''Armour type:'''

* Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)
* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 60 mm (68°) 16 mm ''Add-on steel plate'' (68°) || 80 mm ''Top'' 20 mm ''Bottom'' || 40 mm || 30 mm ''Frontal roof'' 20 mm ''Engine deck roof''
|-
| Turret || 200-280 mm ''Turret front'' (variable angles) 150 - 400 mm ''Gun mantlet'' (variable angles) || 130-240 mm || 75 mm || 45 mm
|-
| Cupola || 100 mm (variable angles) || 100 mm (varible angles) || 100 mm (variable angles) || 45 mm
|-
|}

The T-72A's hull armour is practically the same as the T-64A's; textolite middle sandwiched between two RHA plates. The difference is that the T-72As upper glacis is angled at one degree further back than that of the T-64A and the use of Quartz core instead of Hard Hardness Rolled Armour (HHR) in the turret. Like the T-64 and T-80 line, the T-72A has a carousel-type autoloader centred under the turret. This means that a penetrating hit to the centre of the tank has a high chance of leading to an ammunition detonation and subsequent launch of the turret. This is however slightly less likely to happen with the T-72As type of autoloader, where the charges are stored horizontally (as "=") in comparison to the T-64/-80 type, where the charge sits vertically and is easier to hit.

Spare ammunition not inside the 22 round carousel is however spread more randomly around the fighting compartment. Therefore, bringing only 23 rounds (for 1 in the gun and 22 in the carousel) limits the chance of the spare ammo detonating in the case of i.e. a turret hit. There are two diesel tank ammo racks within the tank - one to the right of the driver and one between the engine and fighting compartment (with some loose ammo above it). It doesn't take much to realize that like most Soviet MBTs, the T-72A is rather explosive if extra ammo is taken, so great care is needed when showing the hull. The driver should also be aware of having only 3 crew members; if one is knocked out they should be sure to return to an objective point as soon as possible to get a new one.

'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and torsion bars are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 1209|rbMinHp= 690|AoAweight= 0.8}}

The T-72A is a slow and sluggish tank which has poor acceleration and handling. It has really poor reverse speed as well as hull traverse. However, it has a powerful engine which makes it capable of pulling and pushing enemy tanks as well as move through rough terrain with ease. It does not have enough horsepower to climb over steep elevations. Speed-wise, it has a decent top speed (~60-70 km/h) which under specific situations it is able to be reached.

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

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

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

The T-72A has the powerful 2A46M 125 mm smoothbore cannon. It has a powerful selection of rounds, each with different uses and similarities between same types.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[2A46M (125 mm)|125 mm 2A46M]] || 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" | 44 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+13° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 19.0 || 26.3 || 32.0 || 35.4 || 37.6 || rowspan="2" | 7.10 || rowspan="2" | 7.10 || rowspan="2" | 7.10 || rowspan="2" | 7.10
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* 3BK12M: this is the stock ammunition which can be seen as poor when in frontal engagements against modern MBTs. However, the HEAT shaped charge as well as not losing penetration over distances makes it a decent round for sniping. However, the speed in said round is not fast and will be hard to aim at long distances.
* 3OF26: HE shell with a massive amount of explosive filler. This shell will destroy lightly armoured vehicles such as SPAA with overpressure.
* 3BM9: this is a tier I steel core APFSDS which has the highest muzzle velocity over all the APFSDS seen. However, the weight as well as penetration make it unreliable when facing top tier MBTs frontally.
* 3BM15: this is a tier 2 tungsten core APFSDS which has slightly less muzzle velocity compared to the 3BM9. However, this is the highest pen shot seen in the T-72A with increased weight over the 3BM9.
* 3BM22: this is a tier 4 APFSDS which has same ballistic performance as the 3BM15. However, penetration is reduced for a greater weight.

{| 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
|-
| 3BK12M || HEATFS || 440 || 440 || 440 || 440 || 440 || 440
|-
| 3OF26 || HE || 42 || 42 || 42 || 42 || 42 || 42
|-
| 3BM9 || APFSDS || 321 || 317 || 303 || 285 || 268 || 249
|-
| 3BM15 || APFSDS || 440 || 430 || 420 || 410 || 405 || 400
|-
| 3BM22 || APFSDS || 425 || 420 || 415 || 405 || 393 || 380
|-
|}
{| 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) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| 3BK12M || HEATFS || 905 || 19 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 2,530 || 65° || 72° || 77°
|-
| 3OF26 || HE || 850 || 23 || 0 || 0.1 || 5,240 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| 3BM9 || APFSDS || 1,800 || 3.6 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 72° || 76° || 78°
|-
| 3BM15 || APFSDS || 1,780 || 3.88 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 76° || 77° || 80°
|-
| 3BM22 || APFSDS || 1,760 || 4.83 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 76° || 77° || 80°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x450px|[[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
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''44''' || ''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 40 ''(+4)'' 40 ''(+4)'' || 29 ''(+15)'' 29 ''(+15)'' || 23 ''(+21)'' 23 ''(+21)'' || 1 ''(+43)'' 1 ''(+43)'' || No
|}
'''Notes''':

* The {{PAGENAME}} uses two-piece ammunition, composed of propellant bags (orange) and projectiles (yellow). Both have separate racks.
* Shells are modelled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
* A propellant charge remains in rack 2 after it is emptied and is later fired as part of rack 3. For the purpose of clarity, rack 2 is considered empty even if that charge is still present.
* Rack 4 (autoloader carrousel) is a first stage ammo rack containing 22 projectiles and 22 propellant charges.
** This rack gets filled first when loading up the tank and is also emptied first.
** As the {{PAGENAME}} is equipped with an autoloader, manual reloading of the gun is not possible.
** Once the autoloader magazine has been depleted, you can't shoot until the loader has restocked the autoloader with at least one shell. The restocking time is longer than the normal reload time of the gun. Take this into account when playing.
** Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 to 3 into rack 4. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.

=== 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 || 300 (150) || 700 || -4°/+75° || ±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 || 2,000 (250) || 700 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The T-72A play-style is near identical to the [[T-64A (1971)|T-64A]] (and also subsequent Soviet MBTs). One of the key differences between the two vehicles is the T-72A's stronger armour. The quartz core composed turret will also bounce many shots and can even eat up some of the strongest ATGMs. In terms of armament, the T-72A boasts the very powerful and accurate [[2A46M (125 mm)|2A46M]] that Soviet high-rank tankers will quickly become familiar and fall in love with. Make sure to research the 3BM15 sabot rounds as soon as you can (after Parts and FPE of course), as the stock round has mediocre penetration for a sabot.

'''Enemies worth noting:'''

* [[XM-1 (Chrysler)]]/[[XM-1 (GM)|(GM)]]: Avoid attempting combat with the 3BK18M HEATFS shells, despite their having thin composite armour
* [[AMX-30B2]]/[[AMX-30B2 BRENUS]]: DM23/33 have enough armour penetration to penetrate T-72 driver frontal plates, though all shells are effective against them in return.
* [[Leopard 2K]]: Turret mantlet is resistant to 3BK18M.
* [[AMX-40]]: Turret mantlet and lower frontal plate are highly resistant to 3BK18M.
* [[Strv 103 (Family)|Strv 103]]: Depending on the hull angling, HEAT-FS rounds such as the 3BK18M might ricochet. APFSDS is recommended to be used when facing it frontally.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Mounts the same powerful 125 mm 2A46 gun as on the T-64 and T-80 (though an earlier version)
* Low profile, small target compared to other countries' main battle tanks
* Early unlocked laser rangefinder makes sniping long distances easier
* Has both smoke grenade launchers and ESS
* Due to thick frontal armour and correct angling, able to deflect most rounds from counterpart tanks of other countries
* Very accurate gun due to the high muzzle velocity of the APFSDS rounds, very effective long-range sniper
* Autoloader continues working even if fighting a fire or replacing a crew member, ready to use upon the fire being extinguished or the gunner having been replaced

'''Cons:'''

* Ammo carousel means your first stage rounds all are centred below the turret, can be easily detonated through a hit to the hull
* Very slow reverse speed and traverse speed, a problem in situations where you cannot back away from an attacking enemy
* 3-man crew makes tank able to be knocked out easier, once one crew member is knocked out, you have to be very careful not to get hit again
* Gun depression inadequate for most hull-down situations, e.g. sniping from a hill or down a valley
* Driver's port is still a weakness
* Poor top speed
* Inferior optics with only one 8x zoom level
* 1st APFSDS modification is inferior to most contemporary rounds and 3BM22 is a Rank IV modification
* Its 2A46 125 mm gun is an early type; the stock ammunition is lacklustre and it cannot fire ATGMs like the T-64B, T-80B, and T-80U
* Glacis armour is not reliable until the add-on armour plate is unlocked (a tier IV modification)
* Tank commander cant fire main gun, it will take some time for the commander to replace the gunner if the gunner is knocked out.

== History ==


Development of the T-72 began shortly after the production of the T-64 highlighted several problems which negatively impacted production rates. Among these problems was an unreliable engine, which couldn't be produced at the high rates needed for a smooth production of the T-64 to take place.

In response, the Uralvagonzavod plant began working on a modified version of the T-64, which would use a more reliable and readily available engine, in order to provide the army with a tank fit for mass-production. Apart from this, changes were also made to the armour layout, in order to simplify production and decrease costs. This work resulted in the creation of the Object 172.

Development of the Object 172 continued, and after some trials, the vehicle entered service with the Soviet Army in August 1973, receiving its official designation T-72. Shortly afterwards, the vehicle was permitted for mass production, following the issuing of an official decree in 1974.

The T-72 was also heavily exported to and produced by nations of the Warsaw Pact as well as other countries worldwide, although these vehicles received certain downgrades compared to native Soviet models. Despite this, the T-72 quickly became one of the most widely used tanks in the world, participating in more conflicts than a single devblog could ever cover.

Since production began in 1974, over 20,000 T-72 tanks were built across several modifications in the Soviet Union/Russia alone, with production of more modern variants still ongoing today, even in other countries as well.

''- From [[wt:en/news/5945-development-t-72a-the-globetrotter-en|Devblog]]''

The T-72 series tank was developed as a direct prototype of the T-64 mechanical issues correction. In 1962, while working on the corrections of production problems, specially engine and firepower, a new prototype was developed with the 2A46M 125mm smoothbore gun and the V-45K diesel engine. This prototype was renamed to Object 172. While being in an unclear political process, decree number 326-113 was issued, freeing Uralvagonzavod from the production of the T-64A. The first batch was produced and set under the name of "Object 172M". It was tested again in 1972 and accepted to service under the name of T-72. License production was sold to multiple countries as well as unit batches to Warsaw pact nations and exported to other countries such as India, Syria, Finland, Iraq and Yugoslavia. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, some of the independent countries kept the tanks such as Ukraine.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_t_72a Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Images
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:T-72A WTWallpaper 01.jpg|
File:T-72A WTWallpaper 02.jpg|
File:T-72A WTWallpaper 03.jpg|
File:T-72A WTWallpaper 04.jpg|
File:T-72A WTWallpaper 05.jpg|
File:T-72A WTWallpaper 06.jpg|
File:T-72A WTWallpaper 07.jpg|
</gallery>

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|Q6sYNcaVVO0|'''The Shooting Range #88''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 05:01 discusses the T-72.|pW4fRtXKUgs|'''The Shooting Range #132''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:35 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|CJ9sCL1BGy4|'''M1 Abrams vs {{PAGENAME}} vs T-80B''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|_xCgMBOiA8U|'''High-explosive power''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 1:50 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|UMmdozyPgpU|'''Tanks Chats #110 - T-72''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==


;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[T-64 (Family)]]
* [[T-80 (Family)]]
* [[ZTZ96]]{{-}}[[ZTZ96A]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/5945-development-t-72a-the-globetrotter-en|[Devblog] T-72A: The Globetrotter]]
* [[wikipedia:T-72|[Wikipedia] T-72]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/USSR/soviet_T-72.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> T-72]

{{USSR medium tanks}}

StuH 42 G

2022-05-29T08:52:33Z

U117647910:

{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_stuh_III_ausf_G
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png|ArtImage2_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or just '''StuH 42 Ausf. G''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory"]]. The StuH 42 is essentially a [[StuG III G]] with a 10.5 cm howitzer.

While the StuH 42 bears much resemblance to the [[StuG III F]] and [[StuG III G]], its play style is much, much different. While StuG is most effective at medium to long range combat, StuH is much more suitable for close to very close range.

The reason is its gun - it is equipped with a large 10.5 cm howitzer. This gun has much lower penetration and shell velocity than that of StuG, but it can cause crippling damage with a single hit. Therefore, to be effective, StuH has to come very close to their opponents, to be able to hit their weakest parts of armour. Fortunately, its armour is reasonably good, at 80 mm, and good mobility of Panzer III chassis now becomes even more useful.

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 30 mm (86°), 80 mm (50°) ''Front glacis'' 80 mm (19°) ''Lower glacis'' || 30 + 5 mm || 30 mm (77°) ''Tlop'' 50 mm (15-42°) ''Middle'' 50 mm ''Bottom'' || 16 mm
|-
| Superstructure || 80 mm (10-11°), 30 mm (50-69°) || 30 (9°) + 5 mm ''Left'' 30 (11°) + 5 mm ''Right'' || 30 mm || 11 mm
|-
| Cupola || 50 mm || 50 mm || 50 mm || 11 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Sides of the tank are covered by additional 5 mm thick armour plates, protecting the tank against HEAT and HE shells, as well as reducing damage from nearby explosions.
* Some areas of the front armour are still only 30 mm thick. With a bit of luck they can be penetrated even by much weaker guns
* Belly armour is 30 mm thick.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=426|rbMinHp=265|AoAweight=0.45}}

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

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

{{main|StuH42 (105 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[StuH42 (105 mm)|105 mm StuH42]] || 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" | 36 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±10° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 10.6 || 14.6 || 17.8 || 19.6 || 20.9 || rowspan="2" | 13.00 || rowspan="2" | 11.50 || rowspan="2" | 10.60 || rowspan="2" | 10.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.1 || 8.4 || 10.2 || 11.3 || 12.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''PzGr''', Armour Piercing High Explosive round - It has awesome post-penetration damage but penetrates armor poorly making it, difficult to use against the front armour of most enemies, it is very good to finish off enemies from the side.
* '''F.H.Gr.''' - Can be used to great effect by skilled players but has little explosive mass compared to howitzer rounds such as the KV-2 or the Sturmpanzer II.
* '''Gr.39 rot Hl/B''', High-Explosive Anti-Tank round - This one should be just skipped, it has no advantage over the better HI.Gr.38C.
* '''Gr.39 rot Hl/C''', High Explosive Anti-Tank round - For beginners HEAT is a good option as it wont struggle to penetrate most tanks and will over pressure on the lightest and open topped foes and easily detonate ammo racks.
* '''F.H.Gr.Nb''', Smoke round - Useful to blind a sight line that you want to cross or cover an escape.

Many players will ask themselves which round to main, for newer players, considering the inaccuracy of the gun HEAT is a good choice as it will penetrate most armour and is easy to use.

In order to maximize survivability bringing 12 HEAT, 5 APHE and two smoke rounds is a good idea.
{| 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
|-
| PzGr || APHE || 70 || 69 || 62 || 54 || 47 || 42
|-
| F.H.Gr. || HE || 22 || 22 || 22 || 22 || 22 || 22
|-
| Gr.39 rot Hl/B || HEAT || 105 || 105 || 105 || 105 || 105 || 105
|-
| Gr.39 rot Hl/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) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| PzGr || APHE || 475 || 14 || 1.2 || 19 || 238 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| F.H.Gr. || HE || 472 || 14.81 || 0 || 0.1 || 1,750 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Gr.39 rot Hl/B || HEAT || 495 || 12.35 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 2,530 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| Gr.39 rot Hl/C || HEAT || 495 || 12.35 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 2,550 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | Smoke shell characteristics
|-
! Ammunition
! Velocity (m/s)
! Projectile Mass (kg)
! Screen radius (m)
! Screen deploy time (s)
! Screen hold time (s)
! Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
|-
| F.H.Gr.Nb. || 472 || 13.9 || 20 || 5 || 25 || 50
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.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
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''36''' || ''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 25 ''(+11)'' 31 ''(+5)'' || 19 ''(+17)'' 7 ''(+29)'' || 13 ''(+23)'' 1 ''(+35)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* The {{PAGENAME}} uses two-piece ammunition, composed of projectiles (yellow) and propellant bags (orange). Both have separate racks.
* Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
* Left side empty: 19 ''(+17)'' shells.

== Usage in battles ==

The StuH 42 G boasts a front armour impenetrable to most enemies it encounters at its battle rating. With the Add-on armour modification, the StuH's armour is brought up to 100 mm with quite good angles. Only a few foes will manage to crack through its defences. The Sturmhaubitze 42 performs best in urban environment, where the low gun's velocity won't matter as much. The StuH can do very well as a "Heavies Killer" as its strong frontal armour will protect it against the guns carried by heavy tanks around this BR and the HEAT round will deafeat even thicker armour, making the StuH a real headache to Matilda, Churchill and KV-1 tankers. Another strategy for close-quarters engagements is to wiggle the tank from side to side while engaged in a 1-vs-1 frontal battle. This will make it more difficult for stationary enemies to hit any weak spots on the front plate as they cannot get an accurate shot off.

A very important thing to keep in mind is to never expose the StuH's weak sides to the enemy as they are only 35 mm thick (with the side skirts), so even the weakest guns and SPAAG autocannons can take you out from the side. Therefore, avoid crossing a long sightline as any enemy covering it will easily destroy the StuH 42 G with a well aimed shot at the side.

When facing a tank from the side it is recommended to aim for the engine (if HEAT is loaded) this way the enemy won't be able to flank you, then retreat into cover and load APHE and fire in the side to destroy the enemy with the massive explosive filler.

When facing a tank from the front use HEAT to disable their driver and/or transmission then aim for ammo or other crew members.

Where to shoot common foes:

* M4 Sherman - Aim for the driver first then shoot in the one of the upper corners off the front plate as that is where ammo is stored.
* T-34 - Aim for the left middle (right from your perspective) part of the front plate that will disable the gunner and driver leaving the tank completely debilitated, then shoot the other side of the UFP to disable the other two crews (a shot in the middle of the UFP will often one shot the T-34,but that depends on crew vitality).
* KV-1 - If it doesn't angle you can penetrate the front. Aim for the left side to knock out the driver then the turret cheeks are good ways of disabling turret crew.

:Enemies worth noting:

* M4A3 (105) and Su-122. Those two foes are quite similar to each other and to the StuH in multiple regards. They both have heavy calibre howitzers, firing high penetrating HEAT rounds (130 mm and 160 mm respectively) that will rip through your armour with ease. Secondly they both boast above average frontal armour, but weak sides. However the StuH can easily penetrate their armour as well , thus when facing them the winner is usually whoever gets the first shot off. It is worth mentioning that the StuH can use its side skirts against those foes, a smart StuH tanker will angle heavily, exposing the sides which will tempt most of them to take a shot at them, but the skirts will set off the sensitive HEAT fuse prematurely thus causing a Non-Pen once the HE jet reaches the actual armour, leaving the StuH a 15 or so seconds window to shoot themselves.
* Very mobile tanks e.g. M22, M3 and M5 Stuart, Crusaders, Cromwell's etc. Those can flank the StuH with ease and destroy it. Your best bet with those is to detect them as early as possible and expose your front armour, that is invulnerable to their guns.
* Russian tanks. Despite being known for their poor firepower at the BR their guns deal with angles exceptionally well, thus a shot to the heavily angled 30 mm plates above the driver's hatch will often penetrate, luckily the Add- on-Armour modification ads 20 mm of track armour, making this kind of penetration much rarer.

Achilles, Archer and M10 GMC. The former two boast the infamous British 17-pounder 76 mm gun which will rip through your armour in all places. The latter is equipped with the American M7 76 mm canon while having less penetration this gun won't pen you everywhere but it will in a lot of places, and has some HE filler increasing the damage once the shell penetrates. They all can easily be penetrated with the APHE round causing a one shot destruction because of the massive HE filler.

'''Counter tactics''':

If your gun is too weak to deal with the StuH's front armour (which most are), and the StuH is unaware of your presence, it is best to wait for it to expose its side, then take a shot at the rear part, in order to knock out the engine - preventing them from swinging their hull around and positioning their thick front armour and fearsome 105 mm howitzer. Then it is just a matter of finishing it off: from the left side simply fire at the front/middle section, to decimate the three crew members there, thus destroying the StuH. From the right (after disabling the engine) shoot the very front upper section, hitting an ammo rack and very likely detonating it. If a head-on encounter is inevitable, aim for the driver's port, a penetration there will knock out 3 out of 4 crew members - instant destruction. However, few guns can penetrate even there so a head-on encounter should be avoided at all costs.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* HEAT won't struggle to penetrate even heavier opponents
* Very destructive APHE especially from the side
* Good mobility, especially for a tank that armoured
* Side skirts can be used to protect against HEAT/HE projectiles, very useful when attacked by a plane with rockets
* Awesome Armour, frontal penetrations are very rare.
* Good at destroying heavy tanks - which often cause a lot of trouble to weaker allies
* Quick hull traverse, very useful for a turretless tank

'''Cons:'''

* Very weak sides vulnerable to flanking
* 105 mm howitzer performance lacking compared to [[StuK 40 (75 mm)|75 mm StuK 40]] in penetration even with HEAT
* HEAT damage lacking compared to APHE, trading off significant post-pen for penetration
* Low reload speed, maximum of 13 seconds
* Low accuracy (even at close range) makes weak spot targeting harder
* Low gun depression of -6°
* Very low shell velocity, less than 500 m/s
* If the loader dies, the vehicle's reload rate decreases dramatically and the StuH becomes rather useless in combat
* Huge ammo rack on the right side of the tank (and loader behind it) - clever players will often target this area
* Lack of a turret means reacting to flanking enemies is harder
* Cupola and machine gun shield on superstructure roof are weak points that can be targeted with HE to penetrate through the 11 mm roof top
* Difficult to climb in snow and sand
* Very difficult to target anywhere other than flat ground.
* With only a main cannon, very hard to use if loader is knocked out or if cannon is damaged

== History ==

===Development===
[[File:StuG III Production (Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1985-100-33).jpg|right|x300px|thumb|none|The Alkett factory producing both StuG III (right) and StuH 42 (left).]]
The role of a self-propelled gun came from combat experiences in World War I. During the German offensives on the Allied front, infantry lacked artillery support against fortifications in places out-ranged by their heavy artillery behind the lines. A need for a mobile artillery piece was necessary to keep up with the German infantry and fight enemy fortifications with a direct-fire assault role. The father of this concept was German General Erich von Manstein and was coined as the ''Sturmartillerie'' (assault artillery), and these units were to be embedded in infantry divisions.

The result of this concept was a vehicle known as the [[StuG III A|StuG III]], a vehicle built on the Panzer III chassis that fits the role of a support vehicle in the artillery branch. It was meant to give close support to advancing infantry against fortifications or other lightly armoured oppositions. As such, it was initially armed with a 75 mm StuK 37 L/24 howitzer. However, as World War II progressed, the appearance of newer and better tanks such as the [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and the [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks forced the Germans to upgun their existing StuG IIIs in order to be able to combat these tanks. This resulted in the StuG III design being armed with a 75 mm StuK 40 L/43 and L/48 cannon in the [[StuG III F|StuG III Ausf. F]] and [[StuG III G|Ausf. G]] respectively, turning the design into something of a tank destroyer.

===StuH 42 Ausf. G===
The StuG III designs are now bona fide tank destroyer, but an infantry support role was still needed from these assault gun to support the advancing infantry. In 1942, some StuG III Ausf. F were equipped with the 105 mm leFH 18 howizter rather than the usual 75 mm cannons. This variant was designated the '''StuH 42''' (''Sturmhaubitze 42'', or "assault howitzer") and was meant to support the infantry with heavier artillery power than the 75 mm could provide. The StuH 42 was made from the StuG III Ausf. G chassis (though the first 12 were built on refurbished StuG Fs). About 1,300 of these StuH 42 were built between March 1943 to 1945.

=== In-game description ===
A modified version of the StuG self-propelled assault mount adapted to strike undefended targets, including those beyond direct firing range. The first models of the vehicle armed with 105 mm howitzers were assembled in October, 1942, and on November 22 they were used in combat by the 185th Assault Artillery Division.

The first vehicles were based on the StuG.III Ausf.F8. However, all other vehicles were assembled on the basis of the StuG.40 Ausf.G, whose chassis was a better fit for the 105 mm howitzer. The vehicles with this modification were built at Allket's factories right up until April, 1945.

== Media ==


;Skins

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

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|LiE6tZ-MveI|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|YZeFerI9YiI|'''Unforgotten: StuH 42''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

== See also ==


;Related development

* [[StuG III (Family)]]

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Germany tank destroyers}}

BT-5

2022-03-19T10:26:40Z

U117647910: /* Pros and cons */

{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_bt_5
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a reserve rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet light tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]]. It is a very fast tank with a heavy-hitting 45 mm gun but at the cost of light armour.

Fitting to its designation of "fast tank", it has virtually no armour, weighs only 11.5 tons and has a massive 400 HP engine (442 HP fully upgraded), giving it a massive 38 HP/tons ratio. This paired with excellent Christie suspension allows it to drive like a race car among tanks. The gun is a strong 45 mm 20-K cannon with decent penetration, good damage, and a quick reload. This makes the BT-5 an ideal flanker. The safest tactic would be to shoot and scoot, never staying in the same place for long. But a more aggressive and exciting approach is to run rings around the enemy and take shots while circling them. Overall, the rule with the BT-5 is to shoot the enemy first; if they try to shoot, don't get hit.

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 13 mm (62°) ''Front glacis'' 20 mm (18°) ''Driver port'' 30 mm (62°) ''Lower glacis'' 40 mm (13°) ''Plate joint''|| 15 mm (1°) || 13 mm (0-59°)|| 10 mm
|-
| Turret || 20 mm (11-43°) ''Gun mantlet'' 15 mm ''Turret front'' || 15 mm || 15 mm || 10 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes''' 

* Tracks and suspension wheel are both 15 mm thick.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=396|rbMinHp=323}}

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

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

{{main|20-K (45 mm)}}

The BT-5 has a decent cannon for a light tank. Stock round has a maximum penetration of 70 mm. Combined with the 29 g TNT, it is almost certain that the BT-5 will frontally one-shot every tank it will see. Even at more than 500 m away from the target, it still has 40-50 mm of penetration which is still enough to go through a lot of tanks' frontal armour. The 3-4 second reload allows the player to quickly fire more shells if the first shot didn't kill. The tank has 8 degrees of gun depression which is enough for most terrain.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[20-K (45 mm)|45 mm 20-K]] || 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" | 86 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+25° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 15.23 || 21.08 || 25.60 || 28.31 || 30.12 || rowspan="2" | 3.77 || rowspan="2" | 3.34 || rowspan="2" | 3.07 || rowspan="2" | 2.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 9.52 || 11.20 || 13.60 || 15.04 || 16.00
|-
|}

==== 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
|-
| BR-240 || APHEBC || 70 || 68 || 59 || 50 || 42 || 35
|-
| BR-240SP || AP || 73 || 71 || 62 || 52 || 44 || 37
|-
|}
{| 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) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| BR-240 || APHEBC || 760 || 1.43 || 1.2 || 9.0 || 29.26 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| BR-240SP || AP || 757 || 1.43 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''86''' || 72 ''(+14)''|| 57 ''(+29)'' || 43 ''(+43)'' || 29 ''(+57)'' || 15 ''(+71)''|| 1 ''(+85)''|| No
|-
|}

Turret empty: 29 ''(+57)''

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

{{main|DT (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DT (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm DT]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 1,890 (63) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The BT-5 is really flexible when it comes to usage, as it has great mobility and firepower, which is pretty much all you need for a good tank. Given its great 53 km/h top speed, it is good to use the BT-5 as a point-capping tank at the start of the match. It is better to travel on-road to fully utilise its speed to get to the point before the enemies do. Another good tactic is to manoeuvre to the flank of the frontline/point and attack from the side. Its speed makes it possible to go the furthest in the shortest time, surprising the enemies.

Once capped, the player can either quickly set an ambush behind nearby cover waiting for the enemy to re-cap it, or just drive around the battlefield and help teammates. Its 70 mm penetration and 29 g TNT APHEBC shell will one-shot pretty much anything around its BR. If not, the 3 second reload allows it to finish them off easily. A sudden, close encounter is a hard test to the player's skills because the BT-5 isn't very good at turning as its tracks are quite long and narrow. Its turret traverse of around 11 deg/sec is certainly not the best. Thus those two factors can sometimes cause the death of the BT-5 so the player must respond fast and accurate.

'''Enemies worth noting:'''

* [[Pz.II (Disambiguation)|Pz.IIs]]: Although not as fast as the BT-5, the Pz.IIs still have an average speed of around 40 km/h. Also, they are equipped with a deadly 20 mm autocannon that will punch holes on the BT-5 with ease, and their rate of fire can quickly kill multiple crew. The BT-5 has thin armour protecting only 3 crew, making it extremely vulnerable to those autocannons.

* [[Sd.Kfz.234/2|Sd.Kfz.234 series]]: These wheeled vehicles all have scary on-road speeds of more than 60 km/h, so in any map, with roads connecting to the points they can always get there first and set up an ambush. However, these vehicles are wheeled meaning they cannot turn in place, they are rather sluggish when trying to turn, and they have either slow turret traverse or no turret at all, so the player can use this to their advantage. Wiggle/circle around them to avoid their guns and force them to turn, then aim carefully and immobilise them. Note that the DT machine gun on the BT-5 only has 10 mm penetration at most, making it almost impossible to go through their armour and kill any crew, so don't think of destroying these wheeled vehicles with the MG.

* [[M8 Greyhound]], [[M3 Stuart (Family)|M3 Stuarts]]: These vehicles are equally fast, and the M8 can outrun the BT-5 if it's travelling on road, allowing them to get to the point before the BT-5 does. Therefore, if America is on the other side the player might want to change their tactics and not rush the point since low tier battles are always filled with fast tanks. The M8 has a roof-mounted .50 cal MG which easily tears the BT-5's armour apart and kills the crew inside. Also, most of them have a vertical stabiliser that works at low speed, so avoid firing on the move with them.

* [[B1 bis]]: A heavily armoured tank for its BR, but do not panic when you see it. Don't fire at a distance unless you are directly aiming at its side armour. The best option is to try and get as close to it as possible (point-blank range is ideal) and shoot straight at its side. However sometimes due to a variety of reasons the player might be unable to flank it and has to face it frontally. If that is the case, shoot the rather vertical driver's compartment and there's a great chance of penetration, killing the driver and the commander (which is also the gunner for the turret). Or, shoot between the two guns on the turret to kill the commander/gunner. Or, shoot at the near-vertical part of the curved gun mantlet of the big hull-mounted gun.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Deadly firepower at its BR: high penetration of up to 70 mm, with the 29 g TNT it can frontally one-shot most tanks like [[Pz.II (Disambiguation)|Pz.II]], [[Chi-Ha (Family)|Chi-Ha]] or [[M3 Stuart (Family)|M3 Stuart]]; its firepower is effective even in high tier battles if aiming at the right spot
* One of the fastest tanks in the game, great acceleration and overall mobility makes it a nice point-capper and flanker- can outrun the M3 Stuart
* 3-4 second reload time is quick enough to destroy opponents it cannot one-shot, like [[Pz.IV C]] and [[LVT(A)(1)|LVT(A)]] series
* Adequate gun depression of 8 degrees allows it to adapt to hilly terrain well
* Small and low profile allows it to easily hide behind cover or bushes

'''Cons:'''

* Poor survivability: non-existent armour on all sides plus the closely packed crew makes it vulnerable to autocannons ([[Pz.II (Disambiguation)|Pz.II]], [[Flakpanzer I]]), heavy machine guns like .50 calibers ([https://wiki.warthunder.com/M2HB_(12.7_mm) M2HB]) found on the [https://wiki.warthunder.com/M8_Greyhound_(Family) M8 greyhounds], and even solid shells.
* Turret and hull traverse is rather slow, meaning it may not be able to keep track of fast targets- this is also a disadvantage in a close-quarters duel, as other light tanks like [[M3 Stuart (Family)|M3 Stuart]] can turn way faster
* Although fast, it is still slower than the [[Sd.Kfz.234 (Family)|Sd.Kfz.234]] series on the road

== History ==

===Development===
The '''BT''', or ''Bystrokhodny tank (Fast tank)'', was a strange combination of national engineering. Its origin lies with the American automotive designer Walter Christie, who developed a suspension system that can be converted between tracked and wheeled travel. His first attempt was the M1919 tank submitted to the US army in February 1921, but was withdrawn for improvements in Spring 1921. It was rebuilt as the M1921 and tested until May 1923. While his design had garnered interest, the deficiency of the cramped crew compartment and unreliable had the design rejected in July 1924. Christie improved the suspension again and patented the design in April 1928. The new suspension used large road wheels with a smaller idler and drive sprocket, with a chain to drive the vehicle track-less when needed. The suspension wheels were supported by large springs in the hull to provide a relatively smooth ride compared to the usual suspension design of the day. This design, today is known as the Christie Suspension, was put onto the M1928 tank and presented on October 1928, with a public demonstration by driving the tank from Maryland to Pennsylvania on an average 28 mph speed. The attention grabbed overseas interest, one was the Polish Army, but another country interested in the design was the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, using its ties with Amtorg Corporation in New York, offered to buy the M1928 design and its license production rights. The deal was done on 30 April 1930 with two M1928 tanks for $60,000 and the production rights for $100,000.<ref name="Zaloga American">Zaloga 2016, ''American Origin''</ref>

The tanks that arrived at the Soviet Union were designated the M1940 convertible tank. Polish interest in the vehicle vanished upon learning of the transaction with the Soviet Union. However, while the Soviet Union was aware of Polish interest in the vehicle, they did not hear of the cancellation and made estimations that Poland could have up to 100 Christie tanks with 300 Vickers tanks by 1931, prompting a hasty production schedule of their own tank designs. Though with flaws, the M1940 was accepted for production on 23 May 1931 as the BT-2. Manufacturing difficulties led to a delay in the production tables of the BT-2. Another issue was the choice of armament, with the Red Army jumping from the 37 mm PS-2 gun derived from the French Hotchkiss gun, the [[KwK 36 (37 mm)|37 mm Pak 36]] developed by Germany, then the [[20-K (45 mm)|45 mm]]. The changes in armament, each larger than the other, created fitting issues with the BT-2 turret design. Despite 620 units produced by 1944, the BT-2 was deemed near useless except for practice.<ref name="Zaloga American" /> An improvement was needed for the service of the Red Army.

The BT-2 design was improved at the KB-T2K tank bureau, with BT-3 being a measurement conversion from imperial to metric, and the BT-4 changing the rivet construction with welds. In 1932, the plan was to upgrade the BT-2 and equip it with 45 mm. The next iteration, the '''BT-5''', was completed on 21 October 1932 without a turret, though with the complete model made on 01 January 1933. The most notable change between the BT-2 design and the BT-5 was the enlarged turret for the 45 mm gun with a coaxial machine gun. Most BT-5 were equipped with the M-5 Liberty gasoline engine, but some were equipped with a BD-2 diesel engine designated the ''BT-5diz''.<ref name="Zaloga BT5">Zaloga 2016, ''The BT-5 Tank''</ref>

A total of 1,946 BT-5 were produced during its production life between 1933 and 1934.<ref name="Zaloga BT5" /><ref name="Zaloga BT-7">Zaloga 2016, ''The BT-7 Tank''</ref> Aside from the tank model, many different variants were produced on the BT-5 design. Such as the ''BT-5PKh'' designed for deep-wading<ref name="Zaloga Amphibious">Zaloga 2016, ''The PT-1 Amphibious Tank''</ref>, the ''[[RBT-5]]'' that equipped two 250 kg 305 mm Tverskiy "Tank Torpedoes" on the turret, a BT-5 with two [[BM-8-24|Katyusha]] launch rails,<ref name="Zaloga Artillery">Zaloga 2016, ''BT Artillery Tanks''</ref> the ''KhBT-5'' with a KS-34 flamethrower,<ref name="Zaloga Flame">Zaloga 2016, ''Flamethrower Tanks''</ref> and the ''SBT-5'' bridge-layer engineer vehicle. <ref name="Zaloga Engineer">Zaloga 2016, ''Engineer Support Tanks''</ref> All were built with varying levels of success and practicality, only the SBT-5 were made in noticeable numbers, of which was five units.<ref name="Zaloga Engineer" />

===Combat usage===
The BT-5 was first used to equip the 5th Kalinovskiy Mechanized Corps. 325 BT-5 were equipped with the 71-TK Shakal radio transceiver, designated the ''BT-5RT''.<ref name="Zaloga BT5" /> Tanks without radio had to communicate via signal flags, hand signals, or by flare.<ref name="Zaloga BT-7" />

The BT tank's first combat usage was during the Spanish Civil War in 1937 in foreign hands, with 50 BT-5 sold to the Spanish Republic, delivered on 10 August 1937. The Spanish troops using them regarded the BTs as the best tanks in Spain. Soviet advisors from the 5th Kalinovskiy Mech. Corps were also supplemented among the Spanish troops during the war. However, the lack of tactics in the Spanish Republicans led to heavy losses among the BT units. Some BTs were even captured by the Spanish Nationalists and used against their owners. <ref name="Zaloga Combat">Zaloga 2016, ''Combat Use''</ref>

The Soviet's first usage with the BT tanks was in the border conflicts with Japan at Khalkin Gol. At this point, the [[BT-7]] was starting to succeed the BT-5 in Red Army service, but the BT-5 still served in the 11th Tank Brigade in three battalions. Though the BT were successful in stopping Japanese advances and driving them back, the BT tanks suffered casualties under the 37 mm anti-tank guns and 70 mm field guns in Japanese service. While experience with the BTs was still satisfactory, the fighting revealed flaws in the design. The BT armour was becoming too thin to resist standard anti-tank weaponry, radio sets were too easily damaged, rubber on the wheels would melt off in prolonged march in hot weather,<ref name="Zaloga Combat" /> and the tank's petrol were catching fire due to combat damages, leading to a change in Soviet power design from petrol engines to diesel.<ref name="Zaloga T34">Zaloga 1994, ''Design and Development''</ref>

The BT-5 also saw use during the Soviet's invasion of Poland in 1939, with only 147 BT-2 and BT-5 in four tank regiments but these did not see much combat. A number were also used in the Winter War against Finland in 1940. In April 1941, months before the German's Operation Barbarossa, the Soviets still had 1,658 BT-5 of all variants in inventory, but wear and tear had begun taking their toll on their reliability. Mechanical problems became rampant and when the Germans invaded Russia on 22 June 1941, many BT tanks were lost from breakdowns. Those that were able to encounter the German Panzer divisions were clearly outmatched by the [[Pz.III F|Panzer III]] and [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IV]]. They were only a match against light tanks like the [[Pz.38(t) F|Panzer 38(t)]], but the German's more experienced tank formations were able to win even when outnumbered.<ref name="Zaloga Combat" />

The drastically reduced BT tank numbers meant they were almost a rarity past 1941. In the Summer 1942 fronts, there were only 65 BT tanks fighting the Germans. By June 1945, only 299 BT tanks were still available in all parts of the European theatre. The BT's last major campaign was in Manchuria during the Soviet's offensive against Japan. Though majorly BT-7s, 190 BT-5s were present by September 1945. In 1946, all BT tanks were retired from Soviet service.<ref name="Zaloga Combat" />

===Legacy===
Perhaps the most important impact of the BT light tanks series was that it was the predecessor of the [[T-34 (1940)|T-34]] medium tank<ref name="Zaloga BT-7" />, which would go on as the most-produced tank of World War II. During work on improving the BT design that would become the [[BT-7]], a separate design project at Kharkov headed by a designer named Mikhail Koshkin in October 1937 focused on a ''BT-20'',<ref name="Zaloga BT-7" /> which had a wider hull and a BD-2 diesel engine. Inside the design bureau, however, the design was renamed the ''A-20'', which was further improved into the ''A-32'' which had improved armour and a bigger 76.2 mm gun. Finally, in December 1939, Stalin approved the A-32 design, which was accepted under the name ''T-34''<ref name="Zaloga T34" />

=== In-game description ===
The BT-5 light tank was built as a result of a project to upgrade the BT-2. The first vehicles were released in March, 1933. The new tank's main distinction was that it had a new turret with enhanced weaponry installed on it. A pair of 45mm 20К cannon and a 7.62mm DT machine gun were installed on the turret. Other less significant changes were also made that enhanced the tank's build quality. 230 BT-5 tanks with enhanced turrets were produced.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_bt_5 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|p9_XD0TgdiA|'''TOP 5 Reserve Tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 4:26 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|_Urf8Dvop5w|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''}}

== See also ==

''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/3452/current/|[Vehicle Profile] A very Soviet Reserve: BT-5 Light Tank]]
* [[wikipedia:BT_tank|[Wikipedia] BT tank]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_BT-5.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> BT-5]

===References===

;Citations
<references />

;Bibliography

* Zaloga, Steven. ''BT Fast Tank: The Red Army's Cavalry Tank 1931-45'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2016
* Zaloga, Steven. ''T-34/76 Medium Tank 1941-45'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1994

{{TankManufacturer Morozov}}
{{USSR light tanks}}

Tiger E

2022-03-19T10:16:34Z

U117647910: Tiger E's Commander cupola at Pro's of the tank.

{{About
| about = German heavy tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Tiger I (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_e_tiger
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or '''Tiger E''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.47 "Big Guns"]]. The Tiger E is the late production model of the Tiger I featuring steel road wheels and Zimmerit paste on the armour. The Tiger E also introduces the more powerful APCR ammunition for the 88 mm KwK 36 gun.

The Tiger E is an improved variant of the previous [[Tiger H1|Tiger H1]], featuring a few small enhancements to its protection, firepower and mobility.

While the hull armour is largely unchanged, turret armour has been improved a bit - the large, flat commander's cupola has been replaced by a much smaller, angled variant. The turret roof armour has been increased to 40 mm (historically as a reaction to increasing numbers of Allied attack planes) and the gun mantlet is slightly more durable with a 140 mm thick armour plate on the area that used to be the weakest part. Spare tracks now cover the entire lower front glacis.

Firepower-wise, the Tiger E gains the access to the new PzGr 40 APCR ammunition, with penetration of up to 200 mm at average combat ranges. Lastly, in mobility-specifications, the Tiger E is powered by a slightly more powerful engine (700 HP, H1 has 650 HP).

It is easily differentiated from the Tiger H1 by its Zimmerit anti-mine coating.

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

[[File:TigerIHTank Armour Angling.png|right|thumbnail|The ideal angling of hull armour on Tiger I for maximum effective armour all-around|300px]]
The armour of the Tiger E is decent at its rank for a heavy tank however if it is angled like the picture below ups its armour from the lacklustre 100 mm of flat homogeneous armour to an extreme 200-400 mm thick. The turret suffers from the same problem of flat armour but this is impossible to angle while still engaging an enemy tank. The side and rear armour are also pretty strong in comparison to the rest of the tanks in this rank however the armour will not protect you from most shells due to it being flat. If you don't angle, your front plate will be an easy target for your opponents.

'''Armour type:'''

*Rolled homogeneous armour
*Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 102 mm (9°) ''Front plate'' 62 mm (80°) ''Front glacis'' 102 + 30 mm (25°) ''Lower glacis''|| 82 mm ''Top'' 62 mm ''Bottom''|| 82 mm (9°)|| 26 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 90 - 200 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 82 mm || 82 mm || 40 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 40 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

*Commander's cupola is smaller and nicely rounded for better protection compared to [[Tiger H1|Tiger H1]].
*Almost entire frontal lower plate is covered by attached tracks, adding 30 mm of armour.
*Turret front covered by gun mantlet has variable thickness depending on exact place, ranging from 90 to 200 mm of armour.
*Lower side hull armour is only 62 mm thick, exploitable when flanking the Tiger, or when facing them angled.
*Parts of the turret side armour are covered by attached tracks, adding additional 30 mm of armour.
*On paper, the best angle is roughly 38.8° with armour all-round being from the front 130 mm.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=904|rbMinHp=619}}

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

For Tier I modifications obtained the vital ''Parts'' and ''Horizontal Drive'' modifications as the former will give the Tiger the ability to repair and the latter will provide a much-needed boost to the Tiger's slow turret traverse rate.

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

{{main|KwK36 (88 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK36 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK36]] || 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" | 92 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+16° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 11.3 || 15.7 || 19.0 || 21.1 || 22.4 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.3 || 9.8 || 11.9 || 13.2 || 14.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''PzGr 39''': You should stick with this type of shell as it's the best. It will do incredible damage to any tank you encounter, except SPAA, AA guns, or AI artillery. You may struggle with some heavier tanks like the IS-1, IS-2, or American heavy tanks at long ranges, but well-placed shots from close range or sides will do the job; all other medium and light tanks will be history as soon as this shell make a contact with them. This shell, however, will almost always over-penetrate all but the most armoured SPAA vehicles, so it is best to use HE or machine gun fire.
* '''PzGr 40''': As the APCR round for the gun, this will give you the greater edge needed to take out heavily protected tanks at the cost of post-penetration damage.
* '''PzGr.''': This shell has similar characteristics as the PzGr 39, but sacrifices some penetration for about 50% more explosive filler. It is recently given the ability to cause overpressure damage and thus has unrivalled post-penetration damage. It It is recommended to carry some of these shells and use them regularly, as the penetration is still enough to deal with most targets (at least when being top rank), and switch to PzGr 39 when shooting targets far away, or those that are heavily armoured.
* '''Hl.Gr. 39''': On paper the HEAT rounds don't bring anything new to the table, however they can be used as a substitute for the HE shells due to the greater explosive mass and still gives you a fighting chance if you get caught with your pants down.
* '''Sprgr. L/4.5''': The HE shell is completely ineffective against all but SPAA or the AI artillery on the Kursk and Ash River maps, and the machine gun mounted on the Tiger has proven quite capable of dealing with these. Keep a small supply of this shell on hand if you plan to flank the enemy and take out their SPAA or artillery, but avoid them for everything else.

{| 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
|-
| PzGr 39 || APCBC || 165 || 162 || 151 || 139 || 127 || 117
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 211 || 207 || 191 || 172 || 155 || 140
|-
| Pzgr. || APCBC || 153 || 151 || 140 || 128 || 116 || 106
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.5 || HE || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11
|-
|}
{| 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) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39 || APCBC || 773 || 10.2 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 930 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
| Pzgr. || APCBC || 810 || 9.5 || 1.2 || 14 || 285.6 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.64 || 0 || 0.3 || 1,100 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.5 || HE || 820 || 9 || 0 || 0.1 || 698 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''92''' || 77 ''(+15)'' || 61 ''(+31)'' || 45 ''(+47)'' || 29 ''(+63)'' || 25 ''(+67)'' || 21 ''(+71)'' || 17 ''(+75)'' || 13 ''(+79)'' || 7 ''(+85)'' || 1 ''(+91)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
'''Note''':

* Large sides empty: 29 ''(+63)'' shells.

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

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,350 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -55°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The main role of the ''Tiger'' tank was to eliminate enemy tanks at a far range, similar to behaving like a sniping tank, or a Tank Destroyer. Nonetheless, the Tiger can excel at brawling with other tanks at medium, even possibly against two [[Panther D|Panther]] tanks to close range and escape undamaged. It's recommended to not stay in one place for too long or risk getting outflanked, spotted, or bombed.

While guns like the Soviet [[D-5T (85 mm)|85 mm]] cannon can easily penetrate the Tiger at close range, the Tiger can stay nearly invulnerable at long range. The 88 can take out any tank on Rank 3 at any combat range but may have problems with the [[IS-1]]'s 120 mm front armour at some ranges. When having to close in a bit it is generally advisable to angle the hull to the sides by about 30°, improving the armour rating enough that it can keep away 85 mm shells very well, even at closer ranges. The Tiger is still vulnerable to the [[SU-152|SU-152s]] howitzer and its HE shell at any range. So whenever encountering these heavy-calibre vehicles, it should be prioritized and eliminated first.

Mobility-wise the Tiger is pretty good for a heavy tank. It is much faster than a [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|KV-1]] and about as equally fast as the [[IS-1]], although medium tanks like the [[T-34-85]] can easily outmanoeuvre all three at close range. Try to use the Tiger's mobility to keep a distance rather than for closing in on a target. Don't be afraid to use the speed to fall back if necessary as the Tiger cannot survive close range engagements on open terrain vs. mediums, due to the slow turret and the vulnerability to the 85 mm guns on Soviet medium tanks.

The Tiger E has a better turret traverse than the H1, but the same precaution of managing a lower than average turret traverse should be taken into consideration. It is still recommended to get the Horizontal Drive traverse modification as fast as possible. Even then, the Tiger will have to turn the tank in the direction of the traverse to make the most of the time to quickly engage a target. This, together with very exposed ammo racks on both sides (though one side can be emptied by reducing the ammo stowage) means that facing multiple enemies at once is almost a certain end to the Tiger tank. The best option is to take cover from one tank and fire on the other.

As far as ammo is concerned, the default PzGr 39 will be the standard AP rounds many players will use. The second AP round available, the Pzgr., is also a good round to use against the enemy as the shell contains more explosive filler than the default, but suffers from a lower penetration value compared to the PzGr 39. The HEAT rounds only offer more penetration at extreme ranges (> 2,000 m) and do less damage upon penetration, so it should just be omitted from the Tiger's combat load. The best upgrade for the Tiger I E would be the PzGr 40 APCR ammunition now available to the tank, necessary ammunition to fight the heavier vehicles in the Rank IV area, so always bring a few just in case. Upgrading the tank should mainly be dedicated to turret traverse, hull traverse (as this is needed even with the turret traverse upgrade) and engine upgrades. The Tiger's 88 has massive destructive power. Unlike the other German tank of its rank, all armed with 75 mm guns, the Tiger can easily one-shot all the mediums like the T-34s, M4 Shermans, and still be a threat against heavy tanks like the IS-1s. If it doesn't destroy a tank in one hit, most of the enemy crew will be wounded or incapacitated. The best place to aim with the 88 is either at the gunner's side of the enemy turret to incapacitate an enemy's firepower, or between the driver and the gunner which would usually wound or knock out most of the enemy crew at once. Attacking from the side also presents a good shot opportunity, as the best shot placement is right below the turret on the hull where most of the tank ammunition is stored, giving a big chance for an ammo-rack explosion.

When driving the Tiger, plan ahead on where it will drive. Even with engine and track modifications, the Tiger is still a heavy tank and a 90 degree or more turn will almost always mean an immediate standstill as the tank try to make the change in movement. Even small adjustments can knock the speed down a bit. Thus, knowing the terrain and destination is of the utmost importance to preserve its mobility to its fullest extent.

The Tiger is best used on the flanks of the current maps, as these are usually more open and allow good use of its armour and excellent gun. The centre of the map would seem more logical as there are a lot of enemies, but as has already been established a Tiger taking fire from multiple directions won't last long. Going in a flank and taking down light and medium tanks is an easy task for this beast, and thus a flank can be easily secured if the Tiger is driven carefully. Then, work the Tiger into the enemy sides and rear of the main force in the centre, doing much more damage than if the Tiger faced the force head-on because a shot to the side and rear will set most enemies alight if not outright exploding the ammunition. Quickly destroying enemies, the Tiger can quickly jump from target to target and eliminate a good number of enemies in its lifespan. During all this, make sure to always angle the hull armour to maximize longevity.

With a BR of 5.7, the Tiger E faces most of the enemies the Tiger H1 could face, meaning a BR matchmaking range of 4.7-6.7. Many of the enemies in this range could effectively engage the Tiger, like the [[Panther (Disambiguation)|Panther medium tanks]], the [[T-34-85]], and even as high as the [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger IIs]].

* [[M26|M26 Pershing]]: The American medium tank has a 90 mm cannon comparable to the 88 mm plus with sloped 100 mm armour compared to the Tiger's vertical one. However, a clean shot on the centre of the front armour when it is not angled can have the 88 mm shell penetrate straight through. The turret front is also a weak point.
* [[T26E1-1|T26E1-1 "Super Pershing"]]: The "Super Pershing" has a 90 mm gun comparable to the 88 mm on the Tiger II, so extra caution must be exercised when on the business end of the gun. The added armour on the Super Pershing compared to the regular Pershing also improves its frontal resistance to shells. However, there is a big weak point on the right side on the front hull, with a large hull cut in the additional armour for the machine gun. A round through here would negate the extra armour and have the 88 mm only deal with the base armour.
* [[T34]]: The T34 is on the same level as the Tiger II and as such outclasses the Tiger I by a large margin. If faced in the front, the only weak points present would be the commander's cupola, the gun optic on the right side of the gun mantlet, and the lower glacis armour. Facing this tank would require the use of the APCR or fancy manoeuvring to its side to plant a 88 mm onto its sides.
* [[Panther D]], [[Panther A|A]], [[Panther G|G]], [[Panther F|F]]: At standard ranges, the weakest point on the Panther's front is the turret. Aim at the flat areas of the turret such as the bottom sides or straight into the curved gun mantlet. The Panther F presents a smaller turret target with its design, but the larger flat area still makes it a viable target for an 88 mm.
* Tiger II [[Tiger II (P)|(P)]]/[[Tiger II (H)|(H)]]: A menace to the Tiger I, the Tiger II outclasses its predecessor in armour and firepower. The biggest frontal weak point, the turret front, is invulnerable to standard AP rounds from the Tiger I. Thus, an APCR is a must to have a reasonable chance of penetrating the Tiger II from the front. However, if the Tiger I can get a good shot at its side armour, a standard PzGr 39 APCBC round can take it out with ease.
* [[T-34-85]]: The T-34-85 with it's 85 mm gun can take out a Tiger very easily if it gets a jump on its flat hull armour. However, an 88 mm shell onto the T-34-85 hull can take it out with ease.
* [[IS-1]]: The IS-1's front hull and turret armour can be penetrated by the 88 mm, but beware of the 85 mm cannon
* [[IS-2]], [[IS-2 (1944)]]: The IS-2's 122 mm cannon can very easily deal with the Tiger I with one shot. In the original IS-2 version, the front armour is still the same on the turret and hull so the same advice from the IS-1 applies. However, the 1944 version introduces a new front hull design that makes it impervious. In the 1944 version, aim for the lower glacis armour or the turret cheeks for a penetration.
* [[Centurion Mk 1]]: With the heavily sloped frontal armour, strong turret and access to APDS, the Centurion can easily take out a Tiger I at long range. If the enemy could target an ammo rack is, they will easily take out the Tiger in one shot.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* The gun mantlet, MG port and driver's port are particularly hard to penetrate due to their complex, varying shape and thickness. Can absorb quite some shells sometimes. The cupola is shorter than the [https://wiki.warthunder.com/Tiger_H1 Tiger H1] and it also has a better shape which makes it not so vulnerable
* Decent cannon with adequate accuracy and a range of shells to choose. Stock shell has great penetration and damage, and can one-shot common opponents easily (eg. T-34-85, M4, IS-1, M6A1). Has access to a piercing APCR with 200+mm penetration, which is effective against thick, flat armour found on the Churchill Mk.VII or [[Ho-Ri Production|Ho-Ri]] (mixed battle)
* Pzgr. shell can cause overpressure damage (higher explosive filler mass than the Soviet 122 mm APHE round).
* One of the fastest heavy tanks with its top speed of 45 km/h, meaning it can get to some positions quickly alongside friendly medium tanks.
* The box-like hull shape gives the ability to angling tactic. When angling the hull at around 40° and placing yourself far from the enemies (at least 500 m away) the Tiger E can resist common tanks like the 76 mm Sherman, T-34-85 and [[M36 Jackson (Family)|M36]].
* Good reverse speed and hull traverse allows it to quickly angle for deflecting shells.
* -8° gun depression works well in most hilly terrain
* Unlike the Tiger H1, the Tiger E does not have the S-Mine dischargers which limit gun depression.
* Smoke shells allow it to escape from danger or to cover allies.
* Has access to a pintle-mounted MG which can fend off low-flying aircraft or knock out the exposed crew of some vehicles (eg. GAZ trucks, [[M18 GMC|M18]]'s commander)

'''Cons:'''

* Weak and unsloped armour protection. If not angling, the Tiger E can be destroyed easily by the T-34-85 or 76 mm Sherman. Even if the Tiger is angling, watch out for the [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]] that can still knock you out with one shot.
* Might struggle to penetrate heavy targets frontally. For example the [[T29]], [[M26 (Family)|M26]], [[T26E1-1|T26E1]] and IS-2 1944.
* Rather slow acceleration limits its short range manoeuvrability.
* Slow turret traverse makes it hard to respond to flankers quickly. The [[M18 GMC|M18]] is very common at this BR
* Ammo storage at the hull sides are very easy to explode when hit.
* Is a big and tall target, easy to get spotted and shot at.
* Other then APCR, not much of a upgrade over the Tiger H1 despite a higher battle rating.

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Tiger I''' heavy tank was arguably the most infamous tank of World War II. The design for this tank began as early as January 1937 when Henschel & Sohn worked on a large "breakthrough" called the Durchbruchwagen that weighed about 30 tons on request by the German military.<ref name="ImagesOfWarTiger">Anthony Tucker-Jones. ''Images Of War Special: Tiger I & Tiger II'' Great Britain: Pen & Sword Military, 2013</ref> The request was modified over time for more armour and better gun that increased the weight to 36 tons, but this project was dropped in 1938 in favour of the better prototypes VK 30.01(H) and VK 36.01(H). These new prototypes were the start of the usage of the Schachtellaufwerk wheel arrangements, but these also never passed prototype stages and were both cancelled in 1942.

During the development of the prototypes above, the German invasion of France showed that the Allied tanks such as the Somua, Char B1, and [[Matilda Mk II|Matilda II]] were impervious to their current anti-tank weaponry and a need for better armoured and armed tanks was emphasized. So on May 26, 1941, Henschel and Porsche were asked to submit designs for a 45-ton heavy tank that was to be ready for demonstration by June 1942. During their development in June 1941, Germany initiated Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union and was shocked by appearance of the [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|KV-1]] tanks that were invulnerable to all but the most potent anti-tank weapon in German inventory, one of which was the [[KwK 36 (88 mm)|88 mm FlaK cannon]]. The potency of the 88 mm cannon against the heavily armoured tanks that the Germans faced had Hitler ordered that the heavy tank design undertaken by Henschel and Porsche to utilize the 88 mm as its main armament instead of a 75 mm cannon.

The designs of the tank were finalized and ready for demonstration on April 20, 1942, Hitler's birthday, and showed the VK 45.01(H) and the [[VK 45.01 (P)|VK 45.01(P)]]. The demonstration and subsequent evaluations on the two designs determined that the Henschel variant was superior to the Porsche variant, proving more reliable, more mobile, and more easily produced than the Porsche. This caused the Henschel variant to be adopted as the '''Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger''' and production started in August 1942. The Porsche variant had many chassis produced as Ferdinand Porsche thought the design would win, so the chassis was instead used in the [[Ferdinand|Ferdinand]] tank destroyer.

===Design===
What perhaps made the Tiger I so unique in tank development and German doctrine is a change of focus between the three characteristics of the tank; with more emphasis to firepower and armour than to mobility. The Tiger I contained the large [[KwK 36 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK 36 cannon]] which was very accurate and powerful, being able to penetrate every Allied armour present at its introduction. The armour on the Tiger I was also one of the greatest at the time, with an astounding 102 mm of armour on the front hull armour, 82 mm on the side superstructure and rear, and 120 mm on the gun mantlet. The armour was vertical faced so no sloping benefits were present like on the [[Panther D|Panther]]. All these armour thicknesses proved invulnerable to most Allied anti-tank weaponry at the time, requiring more creative methods in a shot placement to disable the tank. The mobility, while taken with less emphasis in the development, was still respectable at the time as the tank weighed about 57 metric tons, about 20 tons more than other country's main tanks, yet is able to keep up a speed of 38 km/h (Maximum speed was 45 km/h, but an engine governor was installed to preserve the engine life).

The tank utilized a torsion-bar suspension system in a Schachtellaufwerk overlapping pattern, making the Tiger one of the first German tank design to use the pattern. While the design gave the Tiger I great flotation due to the use of a wider track for lower ground pressure, it had disadvantages in environment and maintenance. In the Eastern Front, mud and other foreign objects could be jammed in between the overlapping wheels, which would freeze in the winter and jam the wheels; the overlapping wheels also were a hassle to change out, in order to replace one wheel in the inside of the suspension, it requires the removal of at least nine other wheels in order to access it. The first 250 Tiger tanks used a Maybach V-12 HL210 engine with 650 hp before switching over to the more powerful Maybach V-12 HL230 engine with 700 hp. The engine proved adequate in propelling the tank but was still considered underpowered for the tank weight.

The Tiger I, as innovative as it is to tank warfare, was a strain on German war production. The tank was over-engineered, taking much more man-hour and materials for its worth as a war machine. Cost-wise, two [[Pz.IV G|Panzer IVs]] or four [[StuG III G|StuG IIIs]] can be built for the cost of one Tiger I. The tank was also expensive to maintain and took lots of fuel to run. These attributed to the low number of only 1,354 Tiger Is produced from 1942 to August 1944.<ref name="ImagesOfWarTiger">Anthony Tucker-Jones. ''Images Of War Special: Tiger I & Tiger II'' Great Britain: Pen & Sword Military, 2013</ref>

===Variants===
There are three main production Tiger I variants known today, the "early-production", "mid-production", and "late-production" models. The Early-production model was designated as the '''[[Tiger H1|Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H]]''' the first few batches and is distinguished by its drum-style cupola with over-swinging hatch, the model also had two vehicle lights on the front side of the tank. The Mid-production featured Zimmerit paste and a side-swinging cupola with accommodation for a machine gun mounted on the cupola, the vehicle light was also changed to just one placed right in the front of the hull armour. The mid-production was also redesignated in May 1943 as the '''[[Tiger E|Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. E]]'''. Late-production models featured the removal of the Zimmerit paste as there was an assumed flaw with it, and the overlapping wheels were instead made into interleaving with full-steel road wheels as well, in a manner similar to the [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]].

Other specialized variants of the Tiger I was produced as well. A small number of demolition carrier models were field-made in Italy, where it had its main gun replaced by a crane to carry demolition to clear minefields or destroy obstacles. The demolition carrier version was interpreted by Allied intelligence as a BergeTiger, an armoured recovery vehicle, though it is not known if it ever saw service in this role. Another specialized variant produced in 1944 in some numbers was the Sturmtiger, an heavy assault gun with a 38 cm rocket launcher made from a depth charge. 19 of these were made and saw use in all fronts, though its most noteworthy combat action was in the Warsaw Uprising.

===Combat usage===
In its introduction, Hitler ordered the new Tigers to be used in the Leningrad siege in September 1942. However, as the faults of the tank were still not yet fully ironed out at this stage, the mechanical unreliability and the unsuitable terrain caused one of the Tiger Is to be stuck in the swamps and abandoned by its users. This example was then captured by the Red Army and tipped off the Allies of the development of the new Tiger tanks and so developments in countermeasures began. In North Africa, the Tigers saw the first action against the Western Allies in Tunisia in December 1942. Its impact there left an impression on the Allied armour forces, but its myth as an invulnerable tank was shattered when two Tigers were taken out by the British [[Ordnance QF 6-pounder Mk.III (57 mm)|6-pounder anti-tank guns]]. The total loss in that campaign was seven Tigers by February 1943.

Once mass-numbers of Tiger Is were available, they were employed in heavy tank battalions that were to be deployed in breakthrough operations or counter-attacks. Field experience with the Tiger showed that the Tiger's heavyweight proved a nuisance in operational mobility, an example being that small bridges were unable to support the Tiger tank's weight. An attempt to remedy this was to use a snorkel device so the tank could ford rivers as deep as 4 m, however, this system was phased out of later production models for cost-savings. The Tiger suffered reliability problems in all of its service life that impeded its effectiveness and its high fuel usage limited its combat operations. Armour recovery of the vehicle was also terrible as three heavy recovery half-tracks were required to tow the tank away, causing a strain on the German support line to keep the Tiger tanks in running order. Despite that, the Tiger I proved superior in terms of armour and armament against the Allies and created massive losses among their armoured forces, causing many soldiers to keep an eye out for the infamous "Tigers".

The impact the Tiger had on the battlefield as the superior tank at its introduction created fame to the commanders and crew operating this tank, further fueling the Tiger's reputation in the war as a killing machine. Some Tiger units were able to achieve kill ratios up to 10:1, and some even higher. Some notable Tiger aces known were Kurt Knispel (168 tank kills), Otto Carius (150+), Johannes Bölter (139+), and Michael Wittmann (138).

However, as the war progressed and the impact of the Tiger's surprise in Kursk and Italy has dissolved, Allied developments gave forth more capable tanks able to defeat the Tiger I tanks. The Soviets solution was to up-gun their [[T-34 (1942)|T-34s]] with an [[D-5T (85 mm)|85 mm gun]] to make the [[T-34-85]], and the Western Allies with the [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm]] and [[Ordnance QF 17-pounder (76 mm)|17-pounders]] on the [[M4A1 (76) W|M4 Sherman]] and [[Sherman Firefly|Firefly]] respectively.. The Tiger went as an highly-invulnerable tank design into a simple heavy tank as the war went on, and it was replaced by the more powerful and more heavily armoured [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]] in 1944. Despite its replacement, many Tiger I models still saw use up until the end of World War II.

===Survivors===
Due to the low number of Tiger Is made during the war (1354, compared to [[Pz.IV H|Panzer IV]]'s 8,550 and the [[M4|M4 Sherman]]'s ~50,000), very few intact Tiger Is are left in the world. Today, only seven tanks in various conditions exist in the world. The most famous of these is Tiger 131, captured by the British in Tunisia in April 1943. The crew abandoned the tank due to a [[Ordnance QF 6-pounder Mk.III (57 mm)|6-pounder]] shot from a [[Churchill Mk III|Churchill tank]] jamming the gun mantlet and turret ring, causing it to be unable to aim. This intact tank is also famous for being the only fully operational Tiger I in the world due to a restoration effort by the Bovington Tank Museum in the 1990s. It is still there as a display and remains as the museum's most popular exhibit.

=== In-game description ===
A late modification to the Pz.Kpfw heavy tank. The VI Tiger was intended to reduce the expense of production and make the vehicle more easily adaptable to specific combat conditions.

Late-model Tigers had an upgraded track assembly, including full-metal rollers with internal amortization, which allowed them to be used for longer without degrading the smoothness of the ride. The number of rows of rollers was reduced from four to three on each side. The external row was removed. A new track adjusting wheel with a reduced diameter was installed.

The design of the turret was altered: the thickness of the armour at the top of the turret was increased to 45 mm, and a new gun mantlet was installed under the TFZ-9's monocular sight. To defend the tank in close combat a Nahverteidigungswaffe bomb discharger was installed that fired anti-personal mines. A Zimmerit coating was used that was supposed to protect the tank against magnetic mines and grenades.

== Media ==


;Skins

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

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|MhjI_h5FhG4|'''IS-2 vs Tiger E''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|9_txEPailKc|'''The Shooting Range #92''' - ''Tactics & Strategy'' section at 10:50 discusses the Tiger I.|kFQd8TYt6Ew|'''Tank Chats #17 Tiger I''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/devblog/current/745/|[Devblog] IL-2 AM-38 1941 and Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. E Tiger]]

=== References ===
<references />

{{Germany heavy tanks}}

Tiger H1

2022-03-19T10:09:27Z

U117647910: Cons regarding the Commander's cupola.

{{About
| about = German heavy tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Tiger I (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_h1_tiger
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''', also known as the '''{{PAGENAME}}''', is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. The {{PAGENAME}} carries its reputation from real-life to its in-game performances, armed with the infamous 88 mm KwK36 gun that can easily destroy most tanks it meets. The armour of the {{PAGENAME}} is strong at 102 mm and can be easily increased by angling the tank approximately 30° to the side, with the side armour thick enough for glancing side fire as well. Mobility is also decent for a heavy tank due to its 650 hp engine and suspension, making the {{PAGENAME}} a near jack-of-all-trades at its level.

The {{PAGENAME}} is an early production variant of the Tiger I tanks. However, it is the basis of the Tiger I tanks with the three features: the long 88 mm KwK36 gun, the Schachtellaufwerk interleaving torsion suspension system, and a box armour shape of the hull with a circular turret housing the 88 mm gun. The tank is painted in a flat Dunkelgelb yellow coat, though there are large swatches bare metal from scratched off paint.

The Tiger H1 tank is most distinctive from its later production models is its drum-shaped, cylindrical cupola protruding from the top left of the turret. Turret-mounted smoke dischargers known as the Wurfbecher are mounted to the turret sides slightly behind the gun mantlet. On the hull-roof, there are also five S-Mine dischargers, with three on the left side and two on the right side. On the hull rear, there are two Feifel air cleaner units that were intended for dusty environments.

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

[[File:TigerIHTank Armour Angling.png|right|thumbnail|The ideal angling of hull armour on {{PAGENAME}} for maximum effective armour all-around|300px]]
One may feel the need to charge head-on into battle, blaring that 88 mm gun as shells bounce off the front armour while the Schachtellaufwerk suspension system runs over the ground; this is a short-lived strategy.

The {{PAGENAME}} should be played more like a bulky medium tank rather than a heavy tank despite its status, supporting allies from the sideline or from a distance rather than leading directly from the front. This is due to the poor armour arrangement with its "boxy" features, providing no sloping benefits alone. One must remain a distance, exploit the 88 mm long-distance power, and maintain a diamond-shape compound angling to maximize armour thickness against the trailing enemy shells that will inevitably come towards the Tiger's way.

The {{PAGENAME}} is equipped with 12 smoke grenades that can help cover the vehicle while it escapes or repairs. Smoke grenades discharge in 2 salvos of 6 (3 to each side of the turret) covering a 120° sector 10 m in front of the vehicle. The grenades deploy smoke in 4 seconds and last 25 seconds. Both salvos are separated by a 1-minute reload time.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 102 mm (9°) ''Front plate'' 62 mm (80°) ''Front glacis'' 102 mm (25°) ''Lower glacis''|| 82 mm ''Top'' 62 mm ''Bottom''|| 82 mm (9°)|| 26 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 90 - 200 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 82 mm || 82 mm || 26 mm
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 80 mm (cylindrical) || 26 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Turret front covered by gun mantlet has variable thickness depending on exact place, ranging from 90 to 200 mm of armour.
* Turret side (about 1/3) is covered by attached tracks, adding additional 30 mm of armour.
* While the hull side of the tank is 82 mm, the side where the suspension is located is only 62 mm thick so be aware of this weak point.
* On paper, the best angle is roughly 38.8° with armour all-round being from the front 130 mm.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 839|rbMinHp= 575}}

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

For Tier I modifications obtained the vital "Parts" and "Horizontal Drive" modifications as the former will give the Tiger the ability to repair and the latter will provide a much-needed boost to the Tiger's slow turret traverse rate.

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

{{main|KwK36 (88 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK36 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK36]] || 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" | 92 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+16° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 9.71 || 13.44 || 16.32 || 18.05 || 19.20 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.10 || 8.40 || 10.20 || 11.30 || 12.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''PzGr 39''': The go-to shell for all Tiger H1 drivers as this is arguably the best. It will do incredible damage to any tank shot by it, except SPAA, or any extremely thin armoured vehicles. Heavier tanks like the IS-1, IS-2, or American heavy tanks are able to resist the round at longer ranges, but well-placed shots from close range or sides will do the job. All other medium and light tanks will be history as soon as this shell make contact with them. This shell, however, will almost always over-penetrate all but the most armoured SPAA vehicles, so it is best to use HE or machine gun fire on thin-skinned vehicles.
* '''PzGr ''': This shell is also very useful. It has very similar characteristics as PzGr 39, but sacrifices some penetration for about 50% more Explosive Filler, meaning even more damage than already powerful PzGr 39. It is recommended to carry some of these shells and use them regularly, as the penetration is still enough to deal with most targets (at least when being down-tiered), and switch to PzGr 39 when shooting targets far away, or those that are heavily armoured.
* '''Sprgr. 39''': The HE shell is completely ineffective against all but SPAA or the AI artillery on the Kursk and Ash River maps, and the machine gun mounted on the Tiger has proven quite capable of dealing with these. Keep a small supply of this shell on hand if planning to flank the enemy and take out their SPAA or artillery, but avoid them for everything else.
* '''Hl.Gr. 39''': On paper the HEAT rounds don't bring anything new to the table, however they can be used as a substitute for the HE shells due to the greater explosive mass and still gives a fighting chance if caught with pants down.

{| 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
|-
| PzGr 39 || APCBC || 165 || 162 || 151 || 139 || 127 || 117
|-
| Pzgr. || APCBC || 153 || 151 || 140 || 128 || 116 || 106
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.5 || HE || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11
|-
|}
{| 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) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39 || APCBC || 773 || 10.2 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Pzgr. || APCBC || 810 || 9.5 || 1.2 || 14 || 285.6 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.64 || 0 || 0.3 || 1,100 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.5 || HE || 820 || 9 || 0 || 0.1 || 698 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''92''' || 77 ''(+15)'' || 61 ''(+31)'' || 45 ''(+47)'' || 29 ''(+63)'' || 25 ''(+67)'' || 21 ''(+71)'' || 17 ''(+75)'' || 13 ''(+79)'' || 7 ''(+85)'' || 1 ''(+91)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
'''Notes''':

* As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set
* Large sides empty: 29 ''(+63)'' shells.

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

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 4,350 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The main role of the Tiger tank was to eliminate enemy tanks at a far range, similar to behaving like a sniping tank, or a Tank Destroyer. Nonetheless, the Tiger can excel at brawling with other tanks at medium, even possibly against two [[Panther D|Panther]] tanks to close range and escape undamaged. It's recommended to not stay in one place for too long or risk getting outflanked, spotted, or bombed.

While guns like the Soviet [[D-5T (85 mm)|85 mm]] cannon can easily penetrate the Tiger at close range, the Tiger can stay nearly invulnerable at long range. The 88 can take out any tank on Rank 3 at any combat range but may have problems with the [[IS-1]]'s 120 mm front armour at some ranges. When having to close in a bit, it is generally advisable to angle the hull to the sides by about 30°, improving the armour rating enough that it can keep away 85 mm shells very well, even at closer ranges. The {{PAGENAME}} is still vulnerable to the [[SU-152|SU-152s]] howitzer and its HE shell at any range. So whenever encountering these heavy-calibre vehicles, it should be prioritized and eliminated first.

The Tiger's hull has many flat areas that can be easily penetrated. To maximize the angles and thus the protection, the tank should be angled about 40º to either side. The side armour is strong enough for such angling, and is flat as well. The turret is more complicated. It features many pieces of armour that overlap and such, and as such will either be exceptionally strong or be penetrated easily. As such, avoid relying on the turret to absorb shells. On the other hand, opponents will also try to avoid hitting the turret, as there is a chance to not penetrate.

Mobility-wise the {{PAGENAME}} is pretty good for a heavy tank. It is much faster than a [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|KV-1]] and about as equally fast as the [[IS-1]], although medium tanks like the [[T-34-85]] can easily outmanoeuvre all three at close range. Try to use the Tiger's mobility to keep a distance rather than for closing in on a target. Don't be afraid to use the speed to fall back if necessary as the Tiger cannot survive close range engagements on open terrain vs. mediums, due to the slow turret and the vulnerability to the 85 mm guns on Soviet medium tanks.

The Tiger has a very bad turret traverse, it is recommended to get the "Turret Drive" traverse modification as fast as possible. Even then, the Tiger will have to turn the tank in the direction of the traverse to make the most of the time to quickly engage a target. This, together with very exposed ammo racks on both sides (though one side can be emptied by reducing the ammo stowage) means that facing multiple enemies at once is almost a certain end to the Tiger tank. The best option is to take cover from one tank and fire on the other.

As far as ammo is concerned, the default PzGr 39 will be the standard AP rounds many players will use. The second AP round available, the Pzgr., is also a good round to use against the enemy as the shell contains more explosive filler than the default, but suffers from a lower penetration value compared to the PzGr 39. The HEAT rounds offer consistent penetration at all ranges including more than 2000 m. However, they provide less damage upon penetration. HEAT rounds usually are usually not used as the primary ammunition type for this sole reason. Upgrading the tank should mainly be dedicated to turret traverse, hull traverse (as this is needed even with the turret traverse upgrade) and engine upgrades. The Tiger's 88 has massive destructive power. Unlike the other German tank of its rank, all armed with 75 mm guns, the Tiger can easily knock out all the mediums like the T-34s, M4 Shermans with a single shot, and still be a threat against heavy tanks like the IS-1s. If it doesn't destroy a tank in one hit, most of the enemy crew will be wounded or incapacitated. The best place to aim with the 88 is either at the gunner's side of the enemy turret to incapacitate an enemy's firepower, or between the driver and the gunner which would usually wound or knock out most of the enemy crew at once. Attacking from the side also presents a good shot opportunity, as the best shot placement is right below the turret on the hull where most of the tank ammunition are stored, giving a big chance for an ammo-rack explosion.

When driving the Tiger, plan ahead on where it will drive. Even with engine and track modifications, the {{PAGENAME}} is still a heavy tank and a 90 degree or more turn will almost always mean an immediate standstill as the tank try to make the change in movement. Even small adjustments can knock the speed down a bit. Thus, knowing the terrain and destination is of the utmost importance to preserve its mobility to its fullest extent.

The {{PAGENAME}} is also best used on the flanks of the current maps, as these are usually more open and allow good use of its armour and excellent gun. The centre of the map would seem more logical as there are a lot of enemies, but as has already been established a Tiger taking fire from multiple directions won't last long. Going in a flank and taking down light and medium tanks is an easy task for this beast, and thus a flank can be easily secured if the {{PAGENAME}} is driven carefully. Then, work the {{PAGENAME}} into the enemy sides and rear of the main force in the centre, doing much more damage than if the Tiger faced the force head-on because a shot to the side and rear will set most enemies alight if not outright exploding the ammunition. Able to destroy vehicles in one hit, the Tiger can quickly jump from target to target and eliminate a good number of enemies in its lifespan.

The Tiger H1 is very effective at long range, and should be used accordingly. Players should try to avoid point blank fights with other tanks, since this will often result in the vulnerable sides being exposed. As a sniper or flanker, the tank is wonderful and as long as its sides are not exposed, it will last a long time.

There will be many hard eggs to crack such as the IS- Series, T-34 Series, American Jumbos, and several other tanks that will give the {{PAGENAME}} trouble.

* The Russians have many tanks at the BR able to handle the Tiger H1 easily. The main tank at this BR is the T-34-85's. While it may have very thin armour and is easy to penetrate it is easy to angle and the T-34 is a franking machine, it will drive circles around the Tiger so it needs to be destroyed quick. The IS- Heavy tanks are the second worst nightmare situation. Thick armour and a huge gun. If the IS tank is not destroyed first, it will definitely destroy the Tiger.
* The American Jumbos are similar to the T-34. The 75 mm variant would have trouble to penetrate the Tiger's armour at long ranges, but caution needs to be exercised when they are armed with a 76 mm gun.
* The Japanese tanks all have very thin armour that the 88 mm gun can easily penetrate through with no problem, but their guns at this BR all have enough penetration to deal with the {{PAGENAME}} if it gets a hit on.

'''Against the Tiger H1:'''

'''Light tank''': when dealing with a Tiger I, you must utilise your superior speed and agility to your advantage, to compensate for your weak firepower. If your penetration is less than 100 mm, then manoeuvre to the Tiger's side as that is where you can destroy it. The upper part of the hull side is 80 mm thick, without any angling, meaning that light tanks such as [[M24 (Family)|M24]] can reliably penetrate there. Even the reserve [[BT-5]] can punch through that armour section, though guns with less post-penetration damage will have to shoot several times to ensure that all crew are knocked out. The lower section of the hull side is only 60 mm, meaning that even if the player does not have a high tier light tank and can only use low tier tanks like the M3A3 Stuart, that area can still be penetrated. The Tiger's turret turns slowly, but still be careful to move out of its gun's way. Facing a Tiger I is a hard job because it can penetrate most places on your light tank so a frontal strike against it has a high chance of failing.

'''Medium tank''': with a medium tank, you can more confidently target the Tiger's frontal weak spots. Medium tanks such as [[M4A3 (76) W]], [[T-34-85]], and [[Sherman Firefly]] can all pierce through the Tiger's frontal hull armour when it is not angling. The turret armour is way harder to penetrate as it has some complex bulges, leading to the shells being absorbed. However, an experienced Tiger commander will angle its hull, stacking up the effective thickness to more than ~130 mm thus making it immune to all the above medium tanks. Now, if you cannot flank, aim for the commander's cupola. An explosive-packed shell through there will knock out ~1-3 crew in the turret. If the gunner is knocked out, wait for around 12 seconds for it to replenish a new gunner, then shoot at the cupola again. You can also try breaking the gun barrel, since the muzzle brake is quite large and therefore easier to catch onto shells, damaging the barrel. Note, it is better to avoid shooting at the lower front plate as the transmission behind it will absorb all incoming shells for the crew. Throughout this whole process, the player should be very careful not to get hit as the 88 mm cannon is very potent against most tanks.

'''Heavy tank/tank destroyer''': with a more powerful cannon and perhaps better armour, the player can finally duel the Tiger I with relative ease. For a heavy tank or tank destroyer who sacrifices mobility and/or armour just for superior firepower (e.g. [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]], [[ISU-122]]), a Tiger H1 can be penetrated in the hull even if it is angling. Still, do not shoot at the turret and lower front plate where the shells tend to do no damage. Also, try aiming for armour plates that are free of any obstruction, because vehicles who can easily penetrate the Tiger usually have a large calibre gun, their large shells will be bounced or lose penetration should the shell edge impact anything. For example, if you shoot at a Tiger who is facing you, target the dead center of the upper front plate where there is nothing but armour, instead of aiming right next to the driver's port where the armour blocks sticking out will absorb the shell.

'''SPAA''': anti-aircraft guns at this BR cannot really penetrate the Tiger I's armour effectively, but thanks to their fast-firing autocannons SPAAs are great for breaking the Tiger's gun barrel and tracks, assisting your teammates in destroying it. If no supporting fire is near, drop an artillery strike after immobilising the Tiger. Some SPAAs (e.g. [[Phòng không T-34]], [[M42 Duster (Family)|M42]]) have access to AP shells, any shell with more than 60 mm penetration is adequate to penetrate the lower side of the hull. Other than this area, the minimum thickness is 80 mm which is hard for any SPAA. This is an advantage of the Tiger I, although its flat armour performs poorly against heavier cannons, its all-round armour protection is fairly effective against low-penetrating vehicles like SPAAs.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* The gun mantlet, MG port and driver's port are particularly hard to penetrate due to their complex, varying shape and thickness.
* Decent cannon with adequate accuracy and a range of shells to choose. Stock shell has great penetration and damage, and can knock out common opponents easily with a single shot (e.g. [[T-34-85]], [[M4A2 (76) W]], [[IS-1]], [[M6A1]]). Has another AP that sacrifices a bit penetration for more TNT.
* One of the fastest heavy tanks with its top speed of 45 km/h, meaning it can get to some positions quickly alongside friendly medium tanks.
* The box-like hull shape gives the ability to angle. When angling the hull at around 40° and placing yourself far from the enemies (at least 500 m away) the Tiger H1 can resist common tanks like the 76 mm Shermans, T-34-85s and [[M36 Jackson (Family)|M36]].
* Good reverse speed and hull traverse allows it to quickly angle for deflecting shells.
* -8° gun depression works well in most hilly terrain.
* The rear is surprisingly hard to penetrate, partially due to the slightly-angled armour and partly due to the large exhaust pipes which seem to deflect shells.
* The strong gun makes it easy to destroy most opponents at the its battle rating with a single shot, even M4A3E2 Jumbo, as long as you carefully aim for the machine gun port.
* The tank is equipped with smoke grenades, which can help escape an undesirable situation alive.

'''Cons:'''

* Weak and vertical armour protection. If not angling the Tiger H1 can get destroyed easily by the T-34-85 or 76 mm Sherman. Even if the {{PAGENAME}} is angling, the [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]] can still knock it out with a single shot easily.
* The upper front plate is extremely vulnerable if it is not angled. It will be penetrated by any vehicle at its BR.
* Struggles to penetrate heavy targets frontally like the [[M4A3E2]], [[M26 (Family)|M26]] and [[IS-2 (1944)]].
* Rather slow acceleration limits its short range manoeuvrability.
* Slow turret traverse makes it hard to respond to flankers quickly. The [[M18 GMC]] is very common at this BR
* Ammo storage at the hull sides are very easy to explode when hit.
* Commander's cupola is tall and well protected, but this can lead to most APHE shells to detonate inside knocking out the commander, loader, and gunner
* Is a big and tall target, easy to get spotted and shot at.
* S-Mine dischargers on the hull limits gun depression in certain areas
* Tracks are rather loud so enemies will most times hear you and will be alert, so surprise attacks will be difficult.

== History ==

===Development===
The Tiger I heavy tank was arguably the most infamous tank of World War II. The design for this tank began as early as January 1937 when Henschel & Sohn worked on a large "breakthrough" called the "Durchbruchwagen" that weighed about 30 tons on request by the German military.<ref name="ImagesOfWarTiger">Anthony Tucker-Jones. Images Of War Special: Tiger I & Tiger II Great Britain: Pen & Sword Military, 2013</ref> The request was modified over time for more armour and better gun that increased the weight to 36 tons, but this project was dropped in 1938 in favour of the better prototypes VK 30.01(H) and VK 36.01(H). These new prototypes were the start of the usage of the Schachtellaufwerk wheel arrangements, but these also never passed prototype stages and were both cancelled in 1942.

During the development of the prototypes above, the German invasion of France showed that the Allied tanks such as the Somua, Char B1, and [[Matilda Mk II|Matilda II]] were impervious to their current anti-tank weaponry and a need for better armoured and armed tanks was emphasized. So on May 26, 1941, Henschel and Porsche were asked to submit designs for a 45-ton heavy tank that was to be ready for demonstration by June 1942. During their development in June 1941, Germany initiated Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union and was shocked by appearance of the [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|KV-1]] tanks that were invulnerable to all but the most potent anti-tank weapon in German inventory, one of which was the [[KwK36 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK36 cannon]]. The potency of the 88 mm cannon against the heavily armoured tanks that the Germans faced had Hitler ordered that the heavy tank design undertaken by Henschel and Porsche to utilize the 88 mm as its main armament instead of a 75 mm cannon.

The designs of the tank were finalized and ready for demonstration on April 20, 1942, Hitler's birthday, and showed the VK 45.01(H) and the [[VK 45.01 (P)]]. The demonstration and subsequent evaluations on the two designs determined that the Henschel variant was superior to the Porsche variant, proving more reliable, more mobile, and more easily produced than the Porsche. This caused the Henschel variant to be adopted as the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger and production started in August 1942. The Porsche variant had many chassis produced as Ferdinand Porsche thought the design would win, so the chassis was instead used in the [[Ferdinand]] tank destroyer.

===Design===
What perhaps made the Tiger I so unique in tank development and German doctrine is a change of focus between the three characteristics of the tank; with more emphasis to firepower and armour than to mobility. The Tiger I contained the large 88 mm KwK 36 cannon which was very accurate and powerful, being able to penetrate every Allied armour present at its introduction. The armour on the Tiger I was also one of the greatest at the time, with an astounding 102 mm of armour on the front hull armour, 82 mm on the side superstructure and rear, and 120 mm on the gun mantlet. The armour was vertical faced so no sloping benefits were present like on the [[Panther D|Panther]]. All these armour thicknesses proved invulnerable to most Allied anti-tank weaponry at the time, requiring more creative methods in a shot placement to disable the tank. The mobility, while taken with less emphasis in the development, was still respectable at the time as the tank weighed about 57 metric tons, about 20 tons more than other country's main tanks, yet is able to keep up a speed of 38 km/h (Maximum speed was 45 km/h, but an engine governor was installed to preserve the engine life).

The tank utilized a torsion-bar suspension system in a Schachtellaufwerk overlapping pattern, making the Tiger one of the first German tank design to use the pattern. While the design gave the Tiger I great flotation due to the use of a wider track for lower ground pressure, it had disadvantages in environment and maintenance. In the Eastern Front, mud and other foreign objects could be jammed in between the overlapping wheels, which would freeze in the winter and jam the wheels; the overlapping wheels also were a hassle to change out, in order to replace one wheel in the inside of the suspension, it requires the removal of at least nine other wheels in order to access it. The first 250 Tiger tanks used a Maybach V-12 HL210 engine with 650 hp before switching over to the more powerful Maybach V-12 HL230 engine with 700 hp. The engine proved adequate in propelling the tank but was still considered underpowered for the tank weight.

The Tiger I, as innovative as it is to tank warfare, was a strain on German war production. The tank was over-engineered, taking much more man-hour and materials for its worth as a war machine. Cost-wise, two [[Pz.IV G|Panzer IVs]] or four [[StuG III G|StuG IIIs]] can be built for the cost of one Tiger I. The tank was also expensive to maintain and took lots of fuel to run. These attributed to the low number of only 1,354 Tiger Is produced from 1942 to August 1944.<ref name="ImagesOfWarTiger">Anthony Tucker-Jones. Images Of War Special: Tiger I & Tiger II Great Britain: Pen & Sword Military, 2013</ref>

===Variants===
There are three main production Tiger I variants known today, the "early-production", "mid-production", and "late-production" models. The Early-production model, designated as the Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H, were the first few batches and are distinguished by their drum-style cupola with an over-swinging hatch. The model also had two vehicle lights on the front side of the tank and dished steel wheels with rubber tyres. The Mid-production featured Zimmerit paste and a side-swinging cupola with accommodation for a machine gun mounted on the cupola. The vehicle light was also changed to just one placed right in the front of the hull armour. The mid-production was also redesignated in May 1943 as the [[Tiger E|Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. E]]. Late-production models featured the removal of the Zimmerit paste as there was an assumed flaw with it, and the overlapping wheels were instead made into interleaving with full-steel road wheels as well, in a manner similar to the [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]].

Other specialized variants of the Tiger I was produced as well. A small number of demolition carrier models were field-made in Italy, where it had its main gun replaced by a crane to carry demolition to clear minefields or destroy obstacles. The demolition carrier version was interpreted by Allied intelligence as a BergeTiger, an armoured recovery vehicle, though it is not known if it ever saw service in this role. Another specialized variant produced in 1944 in some numbers was the Sturmtiger, an heavy assault gun with a 38 cm rocket launcher made from a depth charge. 19 of these were made and saw use in all fronts, though its most noteworthy combat action was in the Warsaw Uprising.

===Combat usage===
In its introduction, Hitler ordered the new Tigers to be used in the Leningrad siege in September 1942. However, as the faults of the tank were still not yet fully ironed out at this stage, the mechanical unreliability and the unsuitable terrain caused one of the Tiger Is to be stuck in the swamps and abandoned by its users. This example was then captured by the Red Army and tipped off the Allies of the development of the new Tiger tanks and so developments in countermeasures began. In North Africa, the Tigers saw the first action against the Western Allies in Tunisia in December 1942. Its impact there left an impression on the Allied armour forces, but its myth as an invulnerable tank was shattered when two Tigers were taken out by the British [[Ordnance QF 6-pounder Mk.III (57 mm)|6-pounder anti-tank guns]]. The total loss in that campaign was seven Tigers by February 1943.

Once mass-numbers of Tiger Is were available, they were employed in heavy tank battalions that were to be deployed in breakthrough operations or counter-attacks. Field experience with the Tiger showed that the Tiger's heavyweight proved a nuisance in operational mobility, an example being that small bridges were unable to support the Tiger tank's weight. An attempt to remedy this was to use a snorkel device so the tank could ford rivers as deep as four meters, however, this system was phased out of later production models for cost-savings. The Tiger suffered reliability problems in all of its service life that impeded its effectiveness and its high fuel usage limited its combat operations. Armour recovery of the vehicle was also terrible as three heavy recovery half-tracks were required to tow the tank away, causing a strain on the German support line to keep the Tiger tanks in running order. Despite that, the Tiger I proved superior in terms of armour and armament against the Allies and created massive losses among their armoured forces, causing many soldiers to keep an eye out for the infamous "Tigers".

The impact the Tiger had on the battlefield as the superior tank at its introduction created fame to the commanders and crew operating this tank, further fueling the Tiger's reputation in the war as a killing machine. Some Tiger units were able to achieve kill ratios up to 10:1, and some even higher. Some notable Tiger aces known were Kurt Knispel (168 tank kills), Otto Carius (150+), Johannes Bölter (139+), and Michael Wittmann (138).

However, as the war progressed and the impact of the Tiger's surprise in Kursk and Italy has dissolved, Allied developments gave forth more capable tanks able to defeat the Tiger I tanks. The Soviets solution was to up-gun their [[T-34 (1942)|T-34s]] with an [[D-5T (85 mm)|85 mm gun]] to make the [[T-34-85]], and the Western Allies with the [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm]] and [[Ordnance QF 17-pounder (76 mm)|17-pounders]] on the [[M4A1 (76) W|M4 Sherman]] and [[Sherman Firefly|Firefly]] respectively. The Tiger went as an highly-invulnerable tank design into a simple heavy tank as the war went on, and it was replaced by the more powerful and more heavily armoured [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]] in 1944. Despite its replacement, many Tiger I models still saw use up until the end of World War II.

===Survivors===
Due to the low number of Tiger Is created during the war (1,354, compared to [[Pz.IV H|Panzer IV]]'s 8,550 and the [[M4|M4 Sherman]]'s ~50,000), very few intact Tiger I pieces are left in the world. Today, only seven tanks in various conditions are existent in the world. The most famous of these is the Tiger 131, captured by the British in Tunisia in April 1943, when the crew abandoned the tank due to a [[Ordnance QF 6-pounder Mk.III (57 mm)|6-pounder]] shot from a [[Churchill Mk III|Churchill tank]] jamming the gun mantlet and turret ring, causing it to be unable to aim. The intact sample is also famous for being the only fully operational Tiger I in the world due to a reconstruction effort by the Bovington Tank Museum in the 1990s. However, the Tiger 131 does not run on its original Maybach HL210 engine, as it was taken out to be used as a separate display; rather, it uses the HL230, which was mostly used for the Tiger II. It is still there as a display and remains the museum's most popular exhibit.

=== In-game description ===
Work on the creation of a heavy tank began in 1937. Only after the attack on the USSR were the tactical and technical requirements needed for this new war machine met. The tank was designed by the Henschel company, led by Erwin Aders.
Production was handled by Henschel and Weggman factories, which made about 450 tanks from July 1942 to August 1943.

The first 495 vehicles included equipment that enabled the crossing of water obstacles up to 4 meters deep. Beginning with the 251st tank, the Maybach HL 230 P30 engine (600 hp) was replaced with a Maybach HL 230 P45 (700 hp). The Tiger was armed with an 88 mm 8,8 cm KwK-36 L/56 gun, which was a tank version of the famous Flak 18/36 anti-aircraft gun. In the spring and summer of 1943, the tank received smoke grenade launchers and mortars for launching anti-personnel mines.

The Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger entered service with heavy tank battalions. The tanks were first used in the fall of 1942, on the Leningrad front, in the 502nd heavy tank battalion. In December 1942, in North Africa, Tigers entered service with the 501st battalion.

The first tanks which arrived often broke, owing to the haste with which they were put into mass production. The vehicle was very heavy, with low manoeuvrability. It consumed 10 liters of fuel every 1 km. A full fuel tank, 567 liters, was enough for only two and a half hours of combat work, which was one of the tank's major drawbacks. But this was all compensated for by the battle machine's simplicity and ease of operation. Tank operators who served in Tigers were constantly praising its transmission and steering. The tank's armour also gave the crew a high chance of surviving battle, even if the tank was disabled.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_h1_tiger Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|ryx7Uxo_3X0|'''The Shooting Range #250''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 03:40 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|tcIeR_s6fp8|'''The Shooting Range #204''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 04:50 discusses the Tiger I and the VK 45.01 (P).|9_txEPailKc|'''The Shooting Range #92''' - ''Tactics & Strategy'' section at 10:50 discusses the Tiger I.|QEz1MgTjUAw|'''War Thunder: Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger Ausf. H1''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|kFQd8TYt6Ew|'''Tank Chats #17 Tiger I''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/4528-profile-pz-kpfw-vi-tiger-ausf-h1-en|[Vehicle Profile] Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger Ausf. H1]]
* [[wt:en/news/2641/current|[Vehicle Profile] Pzkpfw VI "Tiger" Ausf. H1]]
* [[wikipedia:Tiger_I|[Wikipedia] Tiger I]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer-VI_Tiger.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf.E (Sd.Kfz.181) Tiger I]
* [https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=72 <nowiki>[Military Factory]</nowiki> SdKfz 181 Panzer VI / Tiger I]

=== References ===
<references />

{{Germany heavy tanks}}