War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

M22

2023-11-19T14:26:18Z

U136017007: /* Usage in battles */ I added some stuff about Godmode with the locust. please fix any errors, and feel free to delete it if you feel it is unnecessary

{{Specs-Card
|code=us_m22_locust
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''M22 Locust''', also known as the Light Tank (Airborne) M22, is a World War II airborne light tank designed by the U.S. Army for the British Airborne Forces. In 1941, the British War Office requested that the American government design a purpose-built airborne light tank that could be transported by military glider into the battlefield to provide direct armoured fire support for the British Airborne Forces. The British War Office had previously decided that the British Airborne Forces would be equipped with the [[Tetrarch I|Light Tank Mark VII Tetrarch]]. However, as the Light Tank Mark VII Tetrarch had not been designed specifically for airdrop operations, the British War Office determined that a new tank would be necessary. The M22 Locust was one of the smallest tanks ever manufactured by the United States, having a three-crew configuration. The commander, who also took on the role of loader, was stationed in the turret with the gunner, while the driver was stationed on the right side of the hull. The initial order of around 1,900 M22 Locust tanks was cancelled later during World War II, resulting in only a total of 830 units being produced.

Introduced in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]], the M22 Locust delivers a new experience for US Army ground forces gamers based on a different doctrine. The M22 Locust, with its low profile, takes full advantage of any mountainous terrain while scouting enemies for friendly units. The M22 Locust has acceptable firepower, comparable to other light tanks in the US Army's rank I ground forces. However, because the tank was designed to be lightweight, a vertical stabilizer is not integrated into the main gun position, making accurate fire on the move difficult.

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


Outside of heavy machine guns, autocannons rounds, and low-calibre AP shells fired at a bad angle-of-attack, the M22's armour offers very little ballistic protection against the standard kinetic shells encountered, while any substantial APHE shell will knock out the tank instantly. With only three men in the tank clumped together around the centre, a single penetrating shot through the centre is bound to knock out two or more crew member and leave the tank immobile or incapacitated. Angling the tank is still a good idea, try to angle the front 30 degrees to increase effective thickness, though do not overangle as that will expose the weak sides of the tank.

Aircraft coming in at certain angles can possess the necessary penetration values to utterly shred apart the Locust, especially the thin roof armour of 9.5 mm at the turret and hull. However, an oblique angle towards the front armour is already enough to get through the sloped 12.7 mm armour plate present.

'''Armour type:'''

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

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 12.7 mm (64-65°) ''Front glacis'' 25.4 mm (7-62°) ''Lower glacis'' 25.4 mm (9-85°) ''Driver's port'' || 9.5 mm (34-51°) ''Top'' 12.7 mm ''Bottom'' || 12.7 mm (11-15°) ''Lower''
12.7 mm +9 mm ''Upper''
| 9.5 mm
|-
| Turret || 25.4 mm (25-36°) ''Turret front'' 25.4 mm (22-53°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 25.4 mm (3-6°) || 25.4 mm || 9.5 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, the bogies and tracks are 10 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=297|rbMinHp=170}}

Aside from its small size, the M22's next famous value is its speed as a light tank. This allows the light tank to zip across the battlefield, possible getting to locations that can annoy enemies like a locust.

In Arcade Battles, be wary of going too fast with the enhanced engine power, especially on paved roads, as it could put the M22 in a speed the transmission would not be able to steer properly without "snaking" the tank. Another worst case scenario is running full speed into an immovable object, which can disable certain components or even flat out knock out the tank.

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

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

{{main|M6 (37 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M6 (37 mm)|37 mm M6]] || 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" | 50 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+30° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 19.5 || 27.0 || 32.8 || 36.3 || 38.6 || rowspan="2" | 3.77 || rowspan="2" | 3.33 || rowspan="2" | 3.07 || rowspan="2" | 2.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 12.2 || 14.4 || 17.4 || 19.3 || 20.5
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''M74B1; AP''' - Solid shot, stock shell. Poor penetration and post-penetration damage. The M74B1 should not be used after having unlocked the M51B1 shell.
* '''M63 Shell; SAPHEI''' - Semi armour-piercing high-explosive incendiary shell. The M63 has negligible penetration with little HE filler, it should only be used at point blank range against extremely poorly armoured vehicles and/or open-topped vehicles.
* '''M51B1; APCBC''' - Solid Shot. The M51B1has a decent penetration for the tier and better angled performance compared to the M74B1, but will still struggle against heavily armoured targets.

{{:M6 (37 mm)/Ammunition|M74B1, M63 shell, M51B1}}

==== [[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
! Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''50''' || 39 ''(+11)'' || 25 ''(+25)'' || 1 ''(+49)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* Racks disappear after firing all the shells in the rack.
* Left side empty: 39 ''(+11)'' shells.

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

{{main|M1919A4 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M1919A4]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,500 (250) || 500 || - || -
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


'''Primary Role'''

Perhaps the best word to describe this tank is "tiny". Along with the [[ASU-57]] and the [[L3/33 CC]], the M22 is among the smallest ground vehicles in the game, which is both pro and a con,. The Locust is a light tank and has the primary role of scouting and harassment. The Locust's small size also means the crew is compacted into a small area and a crew knock-out is very likely.

;'''Run and Gun'''

The Locust is very fast, but requires a high degree of caution and skill to handle at high speeds. Use this advantage to get to favorable positions, typically on the flanks of the enemy. The tiny size of the tank helps by presenting a smaller target to the enemy and allows the usage of cover that could not be typically used by an larger vehicle. With fast maneuvering and sneaky movements that best utilize the terrain, the Locust can cross the battlefield quickly and carry out harassing strikes against the enemy. A skilled player can swiftly move from one capture point to another, destroy any opposition there, and capture the point, though this can be extremely risky, as much of the other team will be "cap rushing" as well as frequently calling down artillery onto cap points, and aircraft tend to focus their attention on caps. Use your best judgment as to the best way you can use the Locust's strengths to support your team, and adapt to the changing battle...something the Locust, with its great speed, excels at.

;'''Get in Close'''

A riskier tactic, but one that can be extremely effective against a lone enemy is to close to point-blank range. Many tanks cannot hit an adjacent Locust due to their slow turret traverse and/or their gun depression—notably early Soviet tanks and taller German ones (when facing an up-tier). Circling the tank and avoiding their gun while using the Locust's fast reload time to put shots into their rear and weak points can yield success. However, Locust players must be careful if there are any other enemies around they will easily destroy you while you are preoccupied. One must also be careful to not accidentally destroy themselves by being too close to the tank when it explodes.

'''Uptiering/Godmode'''

Locust's can be found at any BR, their players attempting to achieve the famed "Godmode" achievement. This is when you destroy a tank five (5) battleratings above yours. This achieves you 20k or more silver lions, depending on if you have a booster or not. The first tip is to target light tanks. Most of the time, you will only be able to penetrate medium tanks if their side is at a 90 degree angle to you, so just avoid them. Secondly, try to target tanks that are distracted. They will most likely have less crew and/or be distracted by something else, allowing for an easier kill. Third, target tanks that are alone. You'll be able to get your kill without having to worry about getting shot. Finally, don't worry about dying. Remember; the Locust is a low-tier tank, and thus has a low repair cost. At most, you'll only have to worry about losing time. Instead of focusing on Godmode entirely, try to have fun while doing it.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* High hp/ton ratio, allowing fast acceleration
* Great speeds across flat terrain
* Extremely low profile; tanks without a lot of gun depression can't shoot at the Locust at close range
* Locust is shorter than the hulls of many tanks, so many opponents may not even be able to aim at the Locust if it's close enough
* The gun has no trouble penetrating tanks at its BR range
* Easy to turn a complete 180° at low speed and at a stop

'''Cons:'''

* High acceleration and speed make tank handling rather difficult unless familiar with specs
* Handling becomes sluggish at higher speeds, noticeably in 3rd Gear
* Small crew of 3 confined in tiny space, no spare crew members to take over incapacitated ones, a penetrating shot can take out two of them easily
* Relatively weak armour
* Due to its low suspension, it may get stuck in the soft or uneven ground
* Strange driving issue, in arcade mode, that causes the Locust to shudder, wobble, and not accelerate at a constant rate
* Doesn't have armour-piercing rounds with explosive filler, and solid shots have poor post-penetration

== History ==

===Development===
The development of this tank began in late 1941 as a request from the British military for an airmobile light tank that could travel on a glider. The British airborne forces used gliders as a mean to transport troops and equipment, and by 1941 the gliders were rated to be able to carry a tank weighing about 5.5 tons in a 300 to 350-mile flight. The British had a light tank design, the [[Tetrarch_Mk_I|Mk. VII Tetrarch]], but it was not built for the focus of airborne operations so the request was made for a purely-built airborne light tank to replace the Tetrarch, and for the tank to be made not in Britain due to constraints in industrial capacity.

The request to the Americans called for a tank weighing between 9-10 tons with a 37 mm cannon and a coaxial machine gun with a crew of three. The tank was to have a maximum speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) and could operate in a 320 km radius (200 miles). The turret and front armour thickness were to be between 40-50 mm and the sides 30 mm thick. US Ordnance Department requested three companies, General Motors, J. Walter Christie, and Marmon-Herrington to design a suitable tank, of which the Marmon-Herrington design was accepted. The design was made into a prototype in late 1941 and was designated the ''Light Tank T9''. This design had a crew of three and weighed 7.4 tons, with a 37 mm gun and coaxial machine gun, plus two more machine guns on the right side of the bow. The turret was powered and had a gun stabilizer. The tank was powered by a 162 hp six-cylinder Lycoming engine and the armour thickness was 12.5 mm on the entire hull side of the tank while the sloped area on the sides of the hull was 9.5 mm thick. The tank could go up to 40 mph (64 km/h) with the engine. The T9 was built to be mounted on a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane, but it could still fit into a glider due to its dimensions and weight. The tank underwent a few changes, such as improvement in the tank suspension and removal of the two machine guns on the bow, the gun stabilizer, and the power traverse on the turret to reduce the weight. The result was designated the ''Light Tank T9E1''. Production was meant to start somewhere in 1942, but issues in the design change and factories caused the production to be delayed until April 1943. The tanks were produced from then until 1945, with a total unit of 830.

The tank was specified the '''Light Tank M22''' at some time in 1943, but this classified it as a "limited standard" equipment due to some faults discovered. Testings showed that loading the M22 tank on a C-54 plane required lots of time and complex equipment, plus the plane had to be landed on an airfield to be unloaded. The durability and reliability of the M22 were also brought into question, concerned that these factors would make it unsuitable for airborne operations and that the design was effectively obsolete. The M22 never saw service in American combat units except for training, and even with the establishment of two units with the M22s, they saw no combat due to America's lack of investment in airborne tanks. The British on the other hand believed that the M22 would be adequate at its role so adopted it as the '''Locust''', giving the name '''Light Tank M22 Locust''' to the tank.

===Combat usage===
The British usage in World War II had the airborne light tanks used in 1st and 6th Airborne Division as the Light Tank 'C' Squadron. Although the M22 Locust started replacing the Tetrarch before the initiation of Operation Overlord, the Tetrarch was still used until October 1944, when a restructuring retired all Tetrarch and replaced them with Locusts. The 6th Airborne Division was involved in Operation Varsity in 1945, where eight Locusts were loaded onto Hamilcar gliders and flown to the battlefield on March 24. Of the eight Locusts sent, six landed intact, but two never reached their rendezvous point due to enemy action or mechanical breakdown. Of the four remaining Locusts, only two were undamaged at the rendezvous point. The tanks were deployed at a fortified area, where they engage German troops while being supported by an infantry company, the Locusts were forced to withdraw after the heavy losses in infantry denied them support. The four tanks and what is left of the infantry were finally relieved by the 44th Royal Tank Regiment and the rest of the 6th Airborne Division. Operation Varsity was the only operation the Locust would ever see action in World War II.

The M22 Locust, while serving rather well as an airborne tank, was reported to be obsolete by January 1946 by the War Office in Britain. New designs were to take over the Locust's role in the airborne formations. What's left of the Locusts in British inventory were given to foreign militaries. Belgium used some as command tanks in their armoured regiments. America received a few tanks back which was converted into agricultural tractors. Egypt used the Locusts in a large number to replace their ageing tank models from the interwar period, these saw service in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Today, sixteen M22 Locusts are known to have survived, though many have replica turrets. Of the batch, only three are known to be in running condition.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
In 1941 an airmobile light tank designated the T9 entered development, with three major companies assigned the project: Christie, GMC, and Marmon-Herrington. The design provided by Marmon-Herrington proved the winner, as it satisfied practically every client requirement.

Trials of the new tank began in the fall of 1941, and in November 1942 the third T9E2 pre-production prototype was built.

Production began in March 1943 and continued through February 1944. Marmon-Herrington assembled and delivered over the space of that year 830 of the 1,800 tanks ordered. The first 26 had a box-shaped compartment for the driver, though it was removed for subsequent models. The frontal plate was then made from a single piece.

The tank was designated the M22 beginning September 1944, though the lack of heavy transport planes in the American army kept it out of the war.

The UK acquired 260 M22s via Lend-Lease, referring to them as Locusts. The British liked the tank thanks to its good mobility, small size, and reasonable weight. Its weak armament and armour, which was no thicker than 25 mm, were considered drawbacks. Some 37 mm cannons were equipped with Littlejohn adaptors, which were designed to boost initial velocity with special shells.

The M22 only saw combat in 1945. Its biggest battle was Operation Varsity, when 12 tanks were flown in using Hamilcar gliders on March 22, 1945. Some M22s may have taken part in the 1944 Normandy invasion.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=us_m22_locust Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|YuBjyMQLRy0|'''Airmobile tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 2:43 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|Cdd0WWkWvRE|'''Tank Chat #87''' - ''Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==


;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[Tetrarch Mk I]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/devblog/current/716|[Devblog] Developers about the M22]]
* [[wikipedia:M22_Locust|[Wikipedia] M22 Locust]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/us/light-tank-airborne-m22-locust <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Light Tank (Airborne) M22 Locust]
* [https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=252 <nowiki>[Military Factory]</nowiki> M22 Locust (Light Tank, Airborne, M22)]
* [http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Panzers.html <nowiki>[The Shadock]</nowiki> Surviving M22 Locusts]

{{TankManufacturer Marmon-Herrington}}
{{USA light tanks}}

M4A3E2

2023-01-04T22:57:46Z

U136017007:

{{About
| about = American heavy tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other M4 Shermans
| link-1 = M4 Sherman (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = M4 (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=us_m4a3e2_sherman_jumbo
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was one of the first American tanks to be released with the American ground tree in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]]. A variant of the M4A3 Sherman, the M4A3E2 has a new T23 style turret and extra armour clapped on nearly every surface. This additional armour gives the M4A3E2 nearly 10 cm of protection sloped at 47 degrees, which is a massive upgrade over the previous M4 Shermans. As a side note, the nickname "Jumbo" was likely never used during WWII, as there is no record of it. However, its use both on the Wiki and in-game is still prevalent.

Though the M4A3E2 looks like a regular Sherman, it is able to soak up a lot more damage than your average M4 and is able to assault positions effectively. A majority of common guns around the Jumbo's BR really struggle to frontally penetrate this beast. Using the M4A3E2 to lead an aggressive push can often force your enemies to direct their fire on you, allowing your stronger-gunned allies to take out tougher targets.

Despite broadly resembling an [[M4A2]], this tank is a much tougher target. The 38.1 mm of armour added to the frontal glacis and upper side of the Jumbo offer significant protection against most guns at this BR, especially when angled at about 30 degrees. The T23-esque turret is another departure from the standard Sherman formula, as it offers an astounding 152mm of protection at all angles and has a large, blocky gun mantlet that surrounds the rather underwhelming 75 mm gun. To help with mobility, the M4A3E2's tracks have been widened with duckbill connectors to spread the greater weight of the tank along a larger area and a beefier engine was installed.

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


'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret roof, cupola roof)
* Cast homogeneous armour (turret, cupola, gun mantlet, transmission housing, MG port)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 63.5 + 38.1 mm (47°) ''Front glacis'' 25.4 + 34 mm ''MG port'' 114.3-139.7 mm (cylindrical) ''Transmission housing'' || 76.2 mm ''Top'' 38.1 mm ''Bottom'' || 38.1 mm (10°) ''Upper plate'' 38.1 mm (7°) ''Lower plate'' 38.1 mm (24°) ''Lower glacis'' || 63.5 + 38.1 mm (42°) ''Front glacis'' 19.5 mm ''Centre'' 19.5 mm (8°) ''Rear - Centre'' 19.5 mm (24°) ''Rear - Sides''
|-
| Turret || 152.4 mm (0-52°) ''Turret front'' 177.8 mm (4-60°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 152.4 mm (4-42°) || 152.4 mm (0-79°) || 63.5 mm (28°) ''Front'' 25.4 mm ''Centre''
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 51 mm (conical) || 51 mm ''Outer ring'' 25.4 mm ''Centre''
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, while bogies are 10 mm thick and tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 25.4 mm thick.
* Hull underside right above the tracks is 9.5 mm thick.

While >160 mm of line-of-sight thickness is nothing to sneeze at, there are still a few guns around the M4A3E2's BR that can cleave through it with little effort. Give the German Long 88, Soviet 122mm, and 152mm guns the respect they deserve; they can easily knock the Jumbo out in one shot regardless of angle.

However, if you can't penetrate the M4A3E2's glacis, there are still points that were not (or could not be) well-armoured; namely, the machine gun port, cupola, and lower side.

The M4A3E2 presents very little frontal weak spots in an engagement. If possible, it is best to try and force the Jumbo to try and angle his vehicle. An angle of more than 30 degrees can expose the much weaker 38mm thick lower side armour. With a powerful enough gun, a round can penetrate this area and damage the crew, immobilize the tank, or detonate the ammo.

If the M4A3E2 decides not to angle significantly enough to expose its weak lower side, there are a few other areas to try and penetrate. The semi-spherical machine gun port is only about 60 mm thick, so nearly any gun around this BR can attempt to penetrate it. However, it is an extremely hard target to hit, especially when the Jumbo angles and moves back and forth. Make sure to aim for the gun port proper, as a shell that clips the horseshoe shaped bit of armour around it will generally fail to penetrate.

The cupola of the M4A3E2 is another small weak point. Tanks like the Tiger 1 that lack the penetration to cut through the glacis can float a shell through the Jumbo's low cupola. An APHE shell that manages to detonate will generally kill the entire turret crew, crippling the tank.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=646|rbMinHp=442|AoAweight=|abMaxHp=795}}

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

In Tier I, Parts should, of course, be the prioritized module for field repairs. This will unlock Tier II modifications and grant access to the very vital FPE and M61 shot, the former for preservation against fires and the latter to improve combat effectiveness.

In Tier III, Crew Replenishment should be obtained for crew survival improvement and the APCR T45 shot for improved armour-piercing power. After that, everything else could be done at one's own priorities, but Engine should be invested for better automotive performances and M89 for the smoke shell. Fully upgraded, the Jumbo can glide around very fast for a heavy, so mobility upgrades are recommended.

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

{{main|M3 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm M3]] || 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" | 104 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+25° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | {{Annotation|Vertical|up to 24 km/h}} || 19.4 || 26.9 || 32.6 || 36.1 || 38.4 || rowspan="2" | 6.50 || rowspan="2" | 5.75 || rowspan="2" | 5.30 || rowspan="2" | 5.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.3 || 16.8 || 20.4 || 22.6 || 24.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* M72 shot - {{Annotation|AP|Armour-Piercing}} - Solid shot, stock shell. An armour-piercing shell with acceptable penetration but poor post-penetration damage.
* M48 shell - {{Annotation|HE|High-Explosive fragmentation shell}} - A low-velocity shell useful against soft targets, in particular when hitting an open-topped vehicle. Harmless against any enclosed vehicle with more than 10 mm of armour.
* M61 shot - {{Annotation|APCBC|Armour-Piercing Capped Ballistic Capped}} - A capped armour-piercing shell with a better penetration than the M72 thanks to its ballistic cap and a good post-penetration damage thanks to its explosive filler.
* T45 shot - {{Annotation|APCR|Armour-Piercing Composite Round}} - Subcalibre round with high penetration but only on flat surfaces, with a high muzzle velocity but a poor post-penetration damage potential.
* M89 - Smoke shell - A very low-velocity shell deploying a smoke screen on impact, useful to blind enemy vehicles that are too remote for you to disable so that you can progress towards objectives.

{| 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
|-
| M72 shot || AP || 91 || 88 || 78 || 67 || 57 || 49
|-
| M48 shell || HE || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10
|-
| M61 shot || APCBC || 104 || 101 || 90 || 78 || 68 || 59
|-
| T45 shot || APCR || 139 || 135 || 121 || 105 || 91 || 79
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| M72 shot || AP || 619 || 6.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| M48 shell || HE || 463 || 6.3 || 0 || 0.1 || 666 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| M61 shot || APCBC || 618 || 6.79 || 1.2 || 14 || 63.7 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| T45 shot || APCR || 868 || 3.81 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}
{| 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)
|-
| M89 || 259 || 3 || 13 || 5 || 20 || 50
|-
|}

==== [[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
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''104''' || 100 ''(+4)'' || 50 ''(+54)'' || 0 ''(+104)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set.
* Turret empty: 100 ''(+4)'' shells.

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

{{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)|M1919A4 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 600 (200) || 577 || -10°/+30° || ±60°
|-
|}
The roof-mounted M2HB .50 cal heavy machine gun is very good at knocking out tracks, punching through lightly armoured vehicles and shooting down low-flying aircraft. Use it sparsely because of its low ammo count.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M1919A4]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 3,000 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}
The small calibre of the M1919A4 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.

== Usage in battles ==


The M4A3E2 is best in assaulting enemy positions with allies. Its great mobility for a heavy tank, especially with its armour, makes it a vehicle able to charge into battle and take anything head-on with confidence. It can act as a bullet magnet against enemy tanks more worried about the M4A3E2, diverting fire that would've gone to more vulnerable teammates. Though the 75 mm gun's AP performance is not suited to the type of enemies expected at the BR, it can still harass enemies and the gun is lethal enough that enemies will be forced to show their front armour towards the Jumbo else a 75 mm penetrates their side armour. Their focus on the Jumbo can allow allies to move around and eliminate them. During all this, take care not to over-angle and show the lower side armour too much as this will allow vehicles to penetrate through down there and damage modules, even the ammunition storage if they are lucky.

Another role the M4A3E2 is good it is as a flanker. Due to its great mobility as a heavy tank, the M4A3E2 Jumbo can manoeuvre like a medium tank around the battlefield. This is also beneficial to the 75 mm gun as it would permit the M4A3E2 a chance to attack the weaker side armour of enemy vehicles. Once flanking around and finding a prime position in a firing angle right into an enemy chokepoint, minimize exposure to anything but the front armour and the M4A3E2 can remain a formidable obstacle to all opponents. Take care not to be outflanked by enemy players aware of the M4A3E2 position.

Due to the M4A3E2 Jumbo having a slightly higher battle-rating than the other M4 Shermans, it can face tanks such as the [[Panther D]] and [[Tiger_H1|Tiger H1]], meaning its 75 mm cannon starts becoming less effective. For this reason, it is advisable to take the T45 APCR ammo into battle once unlocked, at least enough to take on the armoured targets the Jumbo will face.

The Soviet 85 mm can be a threat, so caution is advised when going up against tanks armed with the 85 mm, such as the [[T-34-85]], [[SU-85]], and [[IS-1]]. The [[Jagdpanzer 38(t)]] and [[Jagdpanzer IV]] can be tricky when facing off against them. Their frontal armour is too thick and sloped for the 75 mm M3 gun to have any effect on it. For these two targets, it is advised to target their tracks and transmission and then flank for a side shot, where the armour is much weaker. Also, the [[Dicker Max]] wields a 105 mm that can penetrate the front plate of the M4A3E2 Jumbo, so caution is advised against those as well. The 2 last common threats from the German tree are the [[Panzer IV/70(A)]] and [[Panzer IV/70(V)]]. The same advice can be taken from the Jagdpanzer 38(t) and Jagdpanzer IV but also considering that these tank destroyers can penetrate your frontal hull and turret under 500 m. The [[SU-152]] and [[ISU-152]] with the stock APHE round can sometimes penetrate your frontal plate, however, special caution should be paid to the ISU-152. From the front, the 75 mm gun will struggle to penetrate the armour of the ISU-152 but an ISU-152 using the HEAT shell can easily penetrate anywhere in the front hull and turret. The best tactic to countering the ISU-152 is to attempt to flank it as the side armour is only 75 mm thick. If flanking it is not possible, aim for the barrel, as it will reduce the accuracy of the ISU-152's main gun, and many ISU-152 players will not shoot the main gun if the barrel is damaged. Remember to wait for the ISU-152 to shoot before engaging it, as the reload time of the ISU-152 is very long. Finally, there is one more common opponent from the Soviet/Chinese tree: [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]]. Its 122 mm gun can easily penetrate the Jumbo, regardless of angle and distance. To destroy it, shoot at it when it's reloading or is unaware of your presence. For the 1943 model, aim at the cupola or the curved part of its hull armour that blends into the side. It has only 4 crew so killing all the turret crew (3, which is easy) will destroy it. For the [[IS-2 (1944)|1944 model]], only aim at the turret or the cupola as its hull is very strong.

The tank's BR makes it regularly uptiered, and as such will face tanks that make the single useful thing about this tank (armour) completely useless. 38.1 millimeters of sloped armor isn't going to stop an Object 170's early APFSDS round, nor will it stop an M-51's HEAT ammunition.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Decent 75 mm gun with APCR rounds
* High rate of fire for the main gun
* Excellent gun depression
* Very strong turret armour from all sides, very good at hull down position
* Very good at leading a spearhead towards a capture point where it can provide cover to weaker allied tanks with more powerful guns
* Decent frontal armour and excellent all around turret armour
* Can absorb a lot of damage
* Good mobility
* Equipped with gun stabilizer working up to 24km/h, making it more to shoot while moving
* Good acceleration
* Incredibly tough when angled
* Wide tracks enable it to have decent off-road mobility
* Learning curve from previous Sherman variant will help a lot at mastering this tank

'''Cons:'''

* [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm M3 gun]] lacks penetration against [[:Category:Heavy tanks|heavy tanks]]
* It needs allies support to be effective in battle as it cannot deal serious damage on its own
* Armour weak spot above the gun mantlet
* Small bottom corners on M4A3E2 gun mantlet can serve as shot traps
* Side armour better than normal, but still weak, but the lower side hull armour is even worse
* Very thin rear armour
* Inability to compound angle greatly due to very weak lower side hull armour that would be penetrated
* Tall profile makes it a bigger target
* Bad off-road manoeuvrability
* Low top speed
* Reverse speed is bad
* Hull MG is a weak spot
* Due to the layered armour at the front and the armour over-matching mechanic, the upper glacis armour can be dubious in that it does not reliably ricochet shells, particularly those from large calibre guns like the T-34-85
* Stock round struggles a noticeable amount at this BR, struggling to penetrate common enemies
* Regularly faces opponents above its BR, making its armor and gun negligent.

== History ==

===Development===
Even before the invasion of Normandy, the Allied commanders had to figure out a method in order to breach heavily-defended fortification lines such as the Siegfried Line blocking the path from France to Germany. One of the solutions was for the implementation of "assault tanks" to enter enemy territory and root out the enemy fortifications. The initial plan was for the production of the [[M26|M26 Pershing]] tanks to fulfil this role, but setbacks in its development caused the M26 deployment to be delayed until 1945. A quick solution must be made to fill this "assault tank" role for the invasion of Europe in 1944.

US Ordnance then took their abundant [[M4|M4 Shermans]] in stock and fixed them up for the new role they've been assigned in. Although keeping the same engine, the armour was upped from around 76.2 mm initial thickness to 102 mm and angled at 47 degrees from vertical. This angle would influence later Sherman design such as the M4A3 by changing the original 56 degrees angled glacis with protruding crew hatches to 47 degrees angled glacis without any protrusion from the crew hatches. This modified M4 Sherman's armour when angled would then be 150 mm line-of-sight (LOS) thick and 180 mm effective. The side armour is also increased to 76.2 mm thick and the turret is redesigned to provide more protection. These modified Shermans were designated the '''M4A3E2''' by the Ordnance Department, whereas the nickname "Jumbo" was likely a post-war invention. At the end of the modifications, the Sherman "Jumbo" now weighed about 42 tons and moves a lower speed of 22 miles per hour. A drawback to the increased weight of the Sherman is that the Vertical Volute Suspension System (VVSS) from the Sherman was unable to take the weight easily, so extra care was taken by the crew members to not break the suspension.

In March of 1944, the US Army ordered for 254 of these vehicles to be delivered for use for European Operations. Intended for the assault on the Normandy Beachhead, it was deployed in Normandy after D-Day to assist the infantry push through German defences. The M4A3E2 originally came with the 75 mm guns to support infantry with its better HE shells compared to the planned 76 mm instalment, but the 76 mm was installed later in the campaign and called the [[M4A3E2 (76) W|M4A3E2 (76) W Jumbo]].

===Combat usage===
The M4A3E2 was well-liked by the crew and commanders due to its protection value. Despite the weight difference and strain on the suspension, it performed reliably and could absorb damage that would otherwise destroy regular Shermans. Later in the war, when the quantity of the M4 Sherman "Jumbos" were unable to meet the demand, George S. Patton ordered for existing M4 Shermans to weld on armour plates scavenged from knocked out tanks to makeshift "on-the-field" Jumbos. This caused the newer Shermans such as the [[M4A3 (76) W|M4A3 (76) W HVSS]] could have the same protection by welding metal onto the hull. One of the Jumbo's notable participation in the war was in Patton's Third Army where it spearheaded the assault to Bastogne to relieve the pinned down 101st Paratroopers (though they deny needing a "rescue").

When the war in the European Theater ended, the M4A3E2s were then placed stateside for the preparation for the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. However, this was never to be fulfilled as Japan then surrendered to the United States in September 1945. The M4A3E2 Shermans proved to be a very effective stop-gap solution until heavier armoured tanks such as the Pershing could come into play. In 1948, about 96 Sherman Jumbos still remained in US inventory.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
The M4 Sherman went through its most interesting modification at the end of 1943, when American builders presented a compromise design. It was a direct infantry support tank to be used at the beginning of 1944 during infantry landings in Northern Europe. The solution, which was quite simple, came about after it became clear that the T26E1 heavy assault tank would be ready for full-scale production no earlier than January 1945: boost the tank's armour to 10 cm. At the same time a heavier turret was designed with 10.5 cm armour, the changes together resulting in a tank that weighed in at 38 tons. Experience on the front showed that modernized tracks with fixed grousers were the best option, and they ended up giving the new tank a significant speed boost. It was able to traverse rough terrain at a top speed of 22 mph.

The Fisher Tank Arsenal launched production of the M4A3E2 in May 1944 and finished in June of the same year. The tanks, which were bequeathed the nickname "Jumbo", were delivered to Europe that fall and served successfully through the end of the war.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=us_m4a3e2_sherman_jumbo Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|kmLZDtH7FpU|'''The Shooting Range #208''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 05:42 discusses the {{PAGENAME}} Jumbo.|WglgTOAzkEw|'''Heavy tanks are loved and hated for their armour. {{PAGENAME}} Jumbo''' - ''HowToPlay1337''|l31USzTa5EQ|'''How to destroy the Jumbo''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|WqofzCegX98|'''{{PAGENAME}} Jumbo Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''}}

== See also ==


;Other M4A3E2 vehicles in the game

* [[Cobra King]]
* [[M4A3E2 (76) W]]
* [[M4A3E2 (France)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/devblog/current/704|[Devblog] Steel Generals: M4A3E2]]
* [[wikipedia:M4_Sherman#M4A3E2|[Wikipedia] M4 Sherman - M4A3E2]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/m4a3e2-jumbo-assault-tank <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Assault Tank M4A3E2 Jumbo]

{{USA heavy tanks}}

L3/33 CC

2023-01-03T00:17:42Z

U136017007:

{{Specs-Card
|code=it_l3_cc
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_L3_33_CC.jpg|ArtImage_L3-33_CC.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (shortened to ''{{Specs|pseudonym}}'') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Italian tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.85 "Supersonic"]].

The L3/33 CC is an Italian tankette that is the War Thunder equivalent of a shoe-box on tracks (with a gun, of course). This vehicle has very little to no armour, which allows for it to quickly and deftly manoeuvre across the battlefield, scouting for pockets to position the vehicle in for tactical advantages against the slower and heavier enemy vehicles it faces.

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


The protection of the L3/33 is mediocre. Its small size and profile also expose it to being simply run over or rammed against a wall.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 8 mm (79°) ''Front glacis'' 14 mm (0°) ''Lower glacis'' || 14 mm || 8 mm (0-32°) || 8 mm 5 mm ''Hatches''
|-
| Superstructure || 14 mm (13-64°) 14 mm (0-62°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 14 mm (0-15°) || 14 mm (0-17°) || 8 mm 5 mm ''Hatches''
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick, while torsion bars are 10 mm thick.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=61|rbMinHp=38}}

The L3/33 CC is very mobile both on and off-road. Thanks to its light weight, it accelerates quickly and can cruise at 40 / 25 km/h (AB/RB) in seconds. It does not lose much speed when turning but tends to oversteer when turning while driving over 40 km/h (in AB). With only -6 km/h in reverse (AB & RB), turning around and driving away is easier to retreat form unwanted situations.

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

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

{{main|Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39 (20 mm)}}

Wielding an anti-tank rifle with a 10 round magazine capable of launching a small APHE shell every second, the L3/33, in the hands of a competent commander, is able to deal with multiple lightly-armoured vehicles in quick succession. The only thing holding this quick-firing gun back is a lack of effective penetration to deal with all tanks at its battle rating, requiring the commander of this vehicle to be up close and personal and/or flank in order to deal with well-armoured targets ([[M3 Stuart]], [[Pz.38(t) F]], [[T-70]]). Certain heavy targets ([[B1 bis]]) should be avoided altogether.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39 (20 mm)|20 mm Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 110 (10) || rowspan="2" | 60 || rowspan="2" | ±15° || rowspan="2" | ±10° || rowspan="2" | Vertical || 17.6 || 24.4 || 29.6 || 32.7 || 34.8 || rowspan="2" | 7.80 || rowspan="2" | 6.90 || rowspan="2" | 6.36 || rowspan="2" | 6.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable" 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
|-
| Perforante mod.35 || APHE || 38 || 36 || 27 || 19 || 14 || 10
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" 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%
|-
| Perforante mod.35 || APHE || 832 || 0.14 || 1.2 || 9 || 1.7 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
|}

==== [[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
! 11th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''11''' || 10 ''(+1)'' || 9 ''(+2)'' || 8 ''(+3)'' || 7 ''(+4)'' || 6 ''(+5)'' || 5 ''(+6)'' || 4 ''(+7)'' || 3 ''(+8)'' || 2 ''(+9)'' || 1 ''(+10)'' || 0 ''(+11)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_L3_33_CC.png|right|x250px|thumbnail|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

== Usage in battles ==

The L3/33 CC is best used in ambushes, as this tactic allows it to strike from a close distance; a hill can provide a nice spot for this, as the L3 has 15 degrees of gun depression and can get to cover by simply reversing if it is spotted in time. It is also useful as a flanker due to its small size (hard to spot) and high mobility. You can also get into a lot of small hiding spots due to the tanks small size and low profile. This is particularly useful when capturing points, as enemy tanks cannot capture a zone when an ally is inside of it. Simply get to a capture point, hide somewhere within the point, and prevent enemy tanks from capturing it. You can also hide in plain sight and turn off your engine, though this is much riskier. This works only in RB/SB since the nametag gives your position away in arcade.

Due to the L3's harmlessness at higher BR's, some enemies will simply ignore it. Note that most will kill you.

When playing the L3/33, incoming fire should be avoided at all costs. Due to the cramped layout of internal modules and crew of 2, any penetrating shell is enough to destroy the vehicle. In addition, the armour is so weak that it cannot even protect against .50 calibre machine guns: play carefully.

'''Enemies worth noting:'''

[[B1 bis|B1]]:

The B1 is covered by thick armour of at least 50 mm in all directions, even the turret ring and the cupola are 40 mm which all exceed the maximum penetration of the L3 (38 mm). Do anything to avoid fighting this tank, leave it to your teammates by pinning its position on the map. But if unfortunately, you have to confront it, you must avoid its guns. Don't think you are small enough to slide beneath its guns, as it's hull-mounted 75 mm cannon has a whopping -20° depression, and the 47 mm in the turret has -18°, meaning that even if you are squeezing right between its tracks, it can still hit your fragile roof armour and eliminate a crew member with shrapnel. The only real damage you can do to it is to repeatedly shoot at its tracks to immobilize it.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Extremely tiny profile is sometimes a big advantage
* It utilizes small amounts of cover/bushes effectively
* Can easily sneak into lots of unexpected positions and set up for an ambush, advance or retreat
* Low silhouette can be fully covered behind a single one big bush decoration. It can even be covered with normal grass
* Amazing gun depression of -15° makes it a great mountain combat tank; combined with its tiny profile it can poke out only its gun to shoot from behind cover
* Quick firing cannon with an autoloading magazine can pinpoint enemy crew, especially with the spread-out ones like the LVT(A)
* Short stock grind, the best (and only) shell comes stock

'''Cons:'''

* The 20 mm rounds' penetration isn't great and drops dramatically over range: over 400 m away it can effectively penetrate nothing except soft targets like T-26, GAZ trucks or Flakpanzers.
* Thin armour with only two crew cramped together makes it very vulnerable
* Vulnerable to .50 calibre fire, one bullet to the crew can eliminate the tank
* Low cannon calibre of 20 mm makes it difficult to destroy obstacles like walls
* 3rd person camera is low to the ground, preventing the player from looking behind obstacles such as low fences
* The vehicle has such small mass that even trivial obstacles like fences can cause significant deceleration

== History ==

The '''Carro Veloce L3/33''', also known as the '''CV-33''' was a tankette produced by Ansaldo for the Regio Esercito beginning in 1933. The design was an adaptation of the British Carden Loyd tankette, which had seen wide success on the international export market and became the basis for a number of similar tankette designs throughout the 1930s. Because Italy lacked the industrial base to produce large numbers of more complex and advanced tank designs, the L3/33 and later L3/35 tankette formed the backbone of the Italian armoured corps and became the most widely produced Italian armoured fighting vehicles of the war, seeing service from the Italian invasion of Ethiopia to the very end of WW2. Several variants were produced, including a flamethrower variant (the L3/33 LF, standing for "LanciaFiamme"), a bridge carrier variant (L3/33 Passerella, with a 7 m bridge transported on a trailer that could be assembled by the crew in seven minutes and placed with two small cranes fastened on the chassis) and a command radio variant (L3 Centro Radio, equipped with a Marelli RF1 CA radio at level of platoons and companies). For the use of a radio station powerful enough to serve a regimental radio center, the L3 chassis was considered not suitable and replaced with a more spacious [[L6/40]] CR (Centro Radio = Radio Center).

As the war progressed, and the Italians faced the Allies in France and North Africa with their more heavily armed and armoured tanks and long-range anti-tank guns, the deficiencies of the L3/33 and 35 became apparent. Although fast and possessing a low profile, it was too thinly armoured, capable of only withstanding infantry rifle calibre munitions. In addition, its standard armament of a 6.5mm machine gun proved inadequate for long-range combat or engaging other armoured vehicles. While the Regio Esercito began slowly upgrading its armoured units to more modern standards, stopgap solutions to make up for the difference were considered and adopted. One of these was to mount a 20 mm Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39 anti-tank gun in a small number of L3/33s and 35s, replacing the 6.5 mm machine gun and creating an ad hoc tank destroyer platform. These were designated as the '''L3/33 CC''', which stood for "controcarro" ("anti-tank"). Arriving too late to see action in Libya before the Axis retreat, they saw only limited action in Tunisia. Gradually, the L3/33 and L3/35 would be withdrawn from front line service, serving largely in behind-the-line roles such as artillery towing vehicles and police vehicles in Axis-occupied territories. After the Axis fell, many tanks were captured and either destroyed or repurposed, although several examples survive in museum collections.

The L3/33 and L3/35 were both sold for export to other nations, including Afghanistan, Bulgaria, the Republic of China, Nicaragua, Iraq and Brazil. Although many of these tanks are now museum pieces, a few have been spotted in operation in combat zones some decades after the end of their service in the Italian military, including one recovered in Iraq by the US army after the 2003 invasion, one seen in operation in Afghanistan in a parade organised by the Taliban in 2022 and also used in the parade to hand over command of the Brazilian 3rd Armoured Division on 6 April 2022, almost 90 years after it was first produced.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=it_l3_cc Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|VFEv4q3G5Us|'''Most unusual vehicles''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 3:56 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|pLppoebKK6c|'''Tank Chat #146 Carro Veloce <nowiki>|</nowiki> The Tank Museum''' - ''The Tank Museum''|XwQXJkEK8oE|Tank parade on the occasion of the passing of commandos of the 3.ª Divisão de Exército}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles of comparable role, configuration and era

* [[AMR.35 ZT3]]
* [[ASU-57]]

== External links ==


* [[wikipedia:L3/33|[Wikipedia] L3/33]]

{{Italy tank destroyers}}

L3/33 CC

2022-12-15T13:06:34Z

U136017007: Added a bit more info about usage in battles (capping and holding a point) and added one more Pro to the Pros/Cons section.

{{Specs-Card
|code=it_l3_cc
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_L3_33_CC.jpg|ArtImage_L3-33_CC.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (shortened to ''{{Specs|pseudonym}}'') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Italian tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.85 "Supersonic"]].

The L3/33 CC is an Italian tankette that is the War Thunder equivalent of a shoe-box on tracks (with a gun, of course). This vehicle has very little to no armour, which allows for it to quickly and deftly manoeuvre across the battlefield, scouting for pockets to position the vehicle in for tactical advantages against the slower and heavier enemy vehicles it faces.

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


The protection of the L3/33 is mediocre. Its small size and profile also expose it to being simply run over or rammed against a wall.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 8 mm (79°) ''Front glacis'' 14 mm (0°) ''Lower glacis'' || 14 mm || 8 mm (0-32°) || 8 mm 5 mm ''Hatches''
|-
| Superstructure || 14 mm (13-64°) 14 mm (0-62°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 14 mm (0-15°) || 14 mm (0-17°) || 8 mm 5 mm ''Hatches''
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick, while torsion bars are 10 mm thick.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=61|rbMinHp=38}}

The L3/33 CC is very mobile both on and off-road. Thanks to its light weight, it accelerates quickly and can cruise at 40 / 25 km/h (AB/RB) in seconds. It does not lose much speed when turning but tends to oversteer when turning while driving over 40 km/h (in AB). With only -6 km/h in reverse (AB & RB), turning around and driving away is easier to retreat form unwanted situations.

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

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

{{main|Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39 (20 mm)}}

Wielding an anti-tank rifle with a 10 round magazine capable of launching a small APHE shell every second, the L3/33, in the hands of a competent commander, is able to deal with multiple lightly-armoured vehicles in quick succession. The only thing holding this quick-firing gun back is a lack of effective penetration to deal with all tanks at its battle rating, requiring the commander of this vehicle to be up close and personal and/or flank in order to deal with well-armoured targets ([[M3 Stuart]], [[Pz.38(t) F]], [[T-70]]). Certain heavy targets ([[B1 bis]]) should be avoided altogether.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39 (20 mm)|20 mm Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 110 (10) || rowspan="2" | 60 || rowspan="2" | ±15° || rowspan="2" | ±10° || rowspan="2" | Vertical || 17.6 || 24.4 || 29.6 || 32.7 || 34.8 || rowspan="2" | 7.80 || rowspan="2" | 6.90 || rowspan="2" | 6.36 || rowspan="2" | 6.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable" 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
|-
| Perforante mod.35 || APHE || 38 || 36 || 27 || 19 || 14 || 10
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" 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%
|-
| Perforante mod.35 || APHE || 832 || 0.14 || 1.2 || 9 || 1.7 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
|}

==== [[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
! 11th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''11''' || 10 ''(+1)'' || 9 ''(+2)'' || 8 ''(+3)'' || 7 ''(+4)'' || 6 ''(+5)'' || 5 ''(+6)'' || 4 ''(+7)'' || 3 ''(+8)'' || 2 ''(+9)'' || 1 ''(+10)'' || 0 ''(+11)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_L3_33_CC.png|right|x250px|thumbnail|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

== Usage in battles ==

The L3/33 CC is best used in ambushes, as this tactic allows it to strike from a close distance; a hill can provide a nice spot for this, as the L3 has 15 degrees of gun depression and can get to cover by simply reversing if it is spotted in time. It is also useful as a flanker due to its small size (hard to spot) and high mobility. You can also get into a lot of small hiding spots due to the tanks small size and low profile. This is particularly useful when capturing points, as enemy tanks cannot capture a zone when an ally is inside of it. Simply cap a point, hide somewhere within the point, and watch as enemy tanks slowly go insane trying to re-cap it.

You can also hide in plain sight and turn off your engine, though this is much riskier.

When playing the L3/33, incoming fire should be avoided at all costs. Due to the cramped layout of internal modules and crew of 2, any penetrating shell is enough to destroy the vehicle. In addition, the armour is so weak that it cannot even protect against .50 calibre machine guns: play carefully.

'''Enemies worth noting:'''

[[B1 bis|B1]]:

The B1 is covered by thick armour of at least 50 mm in all directions, even the turret ring and the cupola are 40 mm which all exceed the maximum penetration of the L3 (38 mm). Do anything to avoid fighting this tank, leave it to your teammates by pinning its position on the map. But if unfortunately, you have to confront it, you must avoid its guns. Don't think you are small enough to slide beneath its guns, as it's hull-mounted 75 mm cannon has a whopping -20° depression, and the 47 mm in the turret has -18°, meaning that even if you are squeezing right between its tracks, it can still hit your fragile roof armour and eliminate a crew member with shrapnel. The only real damage you can do to it is to repeatedly shoot at its tracks to immobilize it.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Extremely tiny profile is sometimes a big advantage
* It utilizes small amounts of cover/bushes effectively
* Can easily sneak into lots of unexpected positions and set up for an ambush, advance or retreat
* Low silhouette can be fully covered behind a single one big bush decoration. It can even be covered with normal grass
* Amazing gun depression of -15° makes it a great mountain combat tank; combined with its tiny profile it can poke out only its gun to shoot from behind cover
* Quick firing cannon with an autoloading magazine can pinpoint enemy crew, especially with the spread-out ones like the LVT(A)
* Short stock grind, the best (and only) shell comes stock.
* The sloped part of the frontal armour can (rarely) bounce shells.

'''Cons:'''

* The 20 mm rounds' penetration isn't great and drops dramatically over range: over 400 m away it can effectively penetrate nothing except soft targets like T-26, GAZ trucks or Flakpanzers.
* Thin armour with only two crew cramped together makes it very vulnerable
* Vulnerable to .50 calibre fire, one bullet to the crew can eliminate the tank
* Low cannon calibre of 20 mm makes it difficult to destroy obstacles like walls
* 3rd person camera is low to the ground, preventing the player from looking behind obstacles such as low fences
* The vehicle has such small mass that even trivial obstacles like fences can cause significant deceleration

== History ==

The '''Carro Veloce L3/33''', also known as the '''CV-33''' was a tankette produced by Ansaldo for the Regio Esercito beginning in 1933. The design was an adaptation of the British Carden Loyd tankette, which had seen wide success on the international export market and became the basis for a number of similar tankette designs throughout the 1930s. Because Italy lacked the industrial base to produce large numbers of more complex and advanced tank designs, the L3/33 and later L3/35 tankette formed the backbone of the Italian armoured corps and became the most widely produced Italian armoured fighting vehicles of the war, seeing service from the Italian invasion of Ethiopia to the very end of WW2. Several variants were produced, including a flamethrower variant (the L3/33 LF, standing for "LanciaFiamme"), a bridge carrier variant (L3/33 Passerella, with a 7 m bridge transported on a trailer that could be assembled by the crew in seven minutes and placed with two small cranes fastened on the chassis) and a command radio variant (L3 Centro Radio, equipped with a Marelli RF1 CA radio at level of platoons and companies). For the use of a radio station powerful enough to serve a regimental radio center, the L3 chassis was considered not suitable and replaced with a more spacious [[L6/40]] CR (Centro Radio = Radio Center).

As the war progressed, and the Italians faced the Allies in France and North Africa with their more heavily armed and armoured tanks and long-range anti-tank guns, the deficiencies of the L3/33 and 35 became apparent. Although fast and possessing a low profile, it was too thinly armoured, capable of only withstanding infantry rifle calibre munitions. In addition, its standard armament of a 6.5mm machine gun proved inadequate for long-range combat or engaging other armoured vehicles. While the Regio Esercito began slowly upgrading its armoured units to more modern standards, stopgap solutions to make up for the difference were considered and adopted. One of these was to mount a 20 mm Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39 anti-tank gun in a small number of L3/33s and 35s, replacing the 6.5 mm machine gun and creating an ad hoc tank destroyer platform. These were designated as the '''L3/33 CC''', which stood for "controcarro" ("anti-tank"). Arriving too late to see action in Libya before the Axis retreat, they saw only limited action in Tunisia. Gradually, the L3/33 and L3/35 would be withdrawn from front line service, serving largely in behind-the-line roles such as artillery towing vehicles and police vehicles in Axis-occupied territories. After the Axis fell, many tanks were captured and either destroyed or repurposed. The last recorded use of an L3/33 in service was during the Iraqi war, where the US captured the tank.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=it_l3_cc Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|VFEv4q3G5Us|'''Most unusual vehicles''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 3:56 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|pLppoebKK6c|'''Tank Chat #146 Carro Veloce <nowiki>|</nowiki> The Tank Museum''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles of comparable role, configuration and era

* [[AMR.35 ZT3]]
* [[ASU-57]]

== External links ==


* [[wikipedia:L3/33|[Wikipedia] L3/33]]

{{Italy tank destroyers}}