War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

F-4F (Germany)

2023-02-03T09:05:01Z

U35599929: Edited pros and cons section; some were vague and not aircraft-specific (i,e AIM-9J is good vs. AIM-9J is flare-resistant).

{{About
| about = German jet fighter '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = F-4 Phantom II (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=f-4f_late
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German jet fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Red Skies"]]. A dreaded sight for aircraft and ground vehicles alike, the F-4F Phantom II provides a strong air superiority fighter and supremely potent ground attacker to German pilots.

== General info ==
=== Flight performance ===
{{Specs-Avia-Flight}}

Equipped with twin MTU Aero J79-MTU-17A engines (licensed copies of the [[F-4E]]'s engines), each providing 8010 kgf of thrust when spaded, F-4F provides solid performance at any altitude.

While not as fast a climber as the [[F-104G]], it can still climb incredibly well. Its acceleration is above average thanks to its twin engines.

F-4F also has incredible roll rate and thanks to its "Agile Eagle" wing slats and all-flying tail, it can also pull high-G manoeuvres without any issues.

However, pilots should be aware, that while the newfound agility of this Phantom might tempt them to dogfight, they should still stick to Boom'n'Zoom tactics as the F-4F is heavy, and any prolonged turning will bleed a lot of speed - and a slow jet is a dead jet.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="70%"
! rowspan="2" | Characteristics
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 12,192 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb (metres/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB
|-
! Stock
| 2,066 || 2,020 || rowspan="2" | {{Specs|ceiling}} || 26.5 || 27.8 || 162.3 || 152.4 || rowspan="2" | 850
|-
! Upgraded
| 2,216 || 2,140 || 25.5 || 26.0 || 224.2 || 192.0
|-
|}

==== Details ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="6" | Features
|-
! Combat flaps !! Take-off flaps !! Landing flaps !! Air brakes !! Arrestor gear !! Drogue chute
|-
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ 
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="7" | Limits
|-
! rowspan="2" | Wings (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Gear (km/h)
! colspan="3" | Flaps (km/h)
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
|-
! Combat !! Take-off !! Landing !! + !! -
|-
| {{Specs|destruction|body}} || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} || 607 || 583 || 463 || ~11 || ~4
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities (km/h)
|-
! Ailerons !! Rudder !! Elevators !! Radiator
|-
| < 810 || < 750 || < 700 || N/A
|-
|}

==== Engine performance ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine
! colspan="4" | Aircraft mass
|-
! colspan="2" | Engine name || Number
! colspan="2" | {{Annotation|Basic mass|Mass of the aircraft with pilot and engine oil, but no fuel or weapons load}} || colspan="2" | Wing loading (full fuel)
|-
| colspan="2" | MTU Aero Engines J79-MTU-17A || 2
| colspan="2" | 14,375 kg || colspan="2" | 398 kg/m2
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine characteristics
! colspan="3" | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) || rowspan="2" | Max Takeoff Weight
|-
! Weight (each) || colspan="2" | Type
! 8m fuel || 20m fuel || 27m fuel
|-
| 1,724 kg || colspan="2" | Afterburning axial-flow turbojet
| 15,941 kg || 18,196 kg || 19,595 kg || 24,000 kg
|-
! colspan="3" | {{Annotation|Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)|The maximum thrust produced by each engine, while mounted in the aircraft. NOTE: Thrust varies significantly depending on speed & altitude.}}
! colspan="4" | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
|-
! Condition || 100% || WEP
! 8m fuel || 20m fuel || 27m fuel || MTOW
|-
| ''Stationary'' || 5,200 kgf || 8,008 kgf
| 1.00 || 0.88 || 0.82 || 0.67
|-
| ''Optimal'' || 5,200 kgf (0 km/h) || 10,170 kgf (1,400 km/h)
| 1.28 || 1.12 || 1.04 || 0.85
|-
|}

=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Avia-Armour}}

In terms of armour, there is no armoured glass in the cockpit of the F-4F, nor any relevant armour protecting any crucial part of the plane. There is an 8.5 mm thick steel plate just below the forward fuel tank of the plane, but due to its size relative to the size of the plane, it might as well not be there at all.

All fuel tanks are self-sealing, but this is pretty much standard at this battle rating. Pilots should note that right behind the cockpit, the middle and back section of the plane is littered with modules - fuel tanks, engines, and control surface controls are all tightly packed together and thus any hit to this part of the plane will cause critical damage to at least one component.

The F-4F is equipped with a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) from the get go and can unlock a countermeasures launcher as a tier I modification (unlike the [[F-4F Early]]).

Countermeasures are either Flares or Chaff. Flares are crucial to defeating IR guided missiles, while Chaff confuses enemy radars. Pilots should note that since F-4F is equipped with two engines, its heat signature is enormous, especially with afterburner active; thus they need to turn afterburner off in order to successfully evade IR missile.

RWR issues a warning to the pilot when it detects active radar pulsing towards the player; this will be heard as beeps. It also warns pilots when their plane gets "radar locked" by continuous tone. It also displays the approximate position of active radar relative to the plane and highlights radar that achieved "radar lock".

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

Pilots should start researching countermeasures from the get go, since it can be almost impossible to dodge advanced missiles such as Matra Magics without them. After that, pilots' focus should be on getting [[AIM-9J Sidewinder|AIM-9Js]], as those are F-4F strongest missiles and best weapon against enemy planes.

Order of modifications:

Countermeasures > AIM-9B FGW.2 > New boosters > AIM-9E > G-suit > Wings repair > AIM-9J

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Avia-Armaments}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | [[Ballistic Computer]]
|-
! CCIP (Guns) !! CCIP (Rockets) !! CCIP (Bombs) !! CCRP (Bombs)
|-
| {{Tick}} || {{Tick}} || {{Tick}} || {{Tick}}
|-
|}
=== Offensive armament ===
{{Specs-Avia-Offensive}}

{{main|M61A1 (20 mm)}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is armed with:

* A choice between two presets:
** 1 x 20 mm M61A1 cannon, chin-mounted (640 rpg)
** 1 x 20 mm M61A1 cannon + 90 x countermeasures

The M61A1 is an excellent cannon at its rank, its only disadvantages being the spool-up time and somewhat limited ammo count relative to rate of fire.

Armed with anti-air belts for Air RB, even a short connecting burst will be fatal to any enemy aircraft.

The cannon excels even in Ground RB equipped with armour-piercing belts, giving it 53 mm of penetration, which is enough to get through most SPAAs and light tanks armour and can even pierce the roofs and engine decks of MBTs such as T-90A.

With its extremely high rate of fire, trigger discipline is a must.

=== Suspended armament ===
{{Specs-Avia-Suspended}}

{{main|LDGP Mk 81 (250 lb)|LDGP Mk 82 (500 lb)|M117 cone 45 (750 lb)|LDGP Mk 83 (1,000 lb)|LDGP Mk 84 (2,000 lb)}}
{{main|AGM-65B|AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder|AIM-9E Sidewinder|AIM-9J Sidewinder}}
{{main|BLU-27/B incendiary|M118 (3,000 lb)|FFAR Mighty Mouse|Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP|GAU-4 (20 mm)}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:

* Without load
* 2 x 20 mm GAU-4 cannons (1,200 rpg = 2,400 total)
* 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
* 4 x AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder missiles
* 4 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
* 4 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles
* 24 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (12,000 lb total)
* 17 x 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs (12,750 lb total)
* 13 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs (13,000 lb total)
* 3 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs (6,000 lb total)
* 1 x 3,000 lb M118 bomb (3,000 lb total)
* 285 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
* 60 x Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets
* 2 x AGM-65B missiles

==== Custom loadout options ====
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" style="text-align:center"
|-
! !! width="6%" | 1 !! width="6%" | 2 !! width="6%" | 3 !! width="6%" | 4 !! width="6%" | 5 !! width="6%" | 6 !! width="6%" | 7
| rowspan="16" width="30%" | <div class="ttx-image">[[File:Hardpoints_{{PAGENAME}}.png]]</div>
|-
! 20 mm GAU-4 cannons (1200 rpg)
| 1 || || || || || || 1
|-
! 250 lb LDGP Mk 81 bombs
| 6 || 3 || || 6 || || 3 || 6
|-
! 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs
| 6 || 3 || || 6 || || 3 || 6
|-
! 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs
| 3 || 3 || || 5 || || 3 || 3
|-
! 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs
| 2 || 3 || || 3 || || 3 || 2
|-
! 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs
| 1 || || || 1 || || || 1
|-
! 3,000 lb M118 bombs
| || || || 1 || || ||
|-
! BLU-27/B incendiary bombs
| 1 || || || 2 || || || 1
|-
! FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
| 57 || 57 || || 57 || || 57 || 57
|-
! Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets
| 12 || 12 || || 12 || || 12 || 12
|-
! AGM-65B missiles
| || 1 || || || || 1 ||
|-
! AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder missiles
| || || 2 || || 2 || ||
|-
! AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
| || || 1, 2 || || 1, 2 || ||
|-
! AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles
| || || 2 || || 2 || ||
|-
| colspan="8" | Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 1,500 kg
|-
|}

'''GAU-4 gunpods''' - additional gunpods with M61A1 cannons, providing 1,200 rounds per gun. These basically allow pilot to put a wall of lead between their plane and the enemy, however, they severely hamper flight performance.

'''Air-to-air'''

'''AIM-9B FGW.2''' - Bravo version are F-4F stock missiles, should be used only until better options become available, as they are obsolete at this BR.

'''AIM-9E''' - First upgraded missiles available to F-4F, Echo Sidewinders provide much needed performance boost over the AIM-9B. Better speed, better range and wider seeker window allow Es to hit more reliably. Still, they retain its predecessor's poor G limit and should be used only as stop gap solution.

'''AIM-9J''' - Final upgrade available to F-4F, AIM-9Js provide excellent performance and are the best Sidewinders available to German pilots. They can pull twice the G limit of its predecessors, are resistant to flares, and can be radar-slaved (which helps in high traffic airspace or when leading a target). These bad boys should be the pilot's weapons of choice for engaging air targets.

'''Air-to-ground'''

As F-4F is equipped with a ballistic computer, coupled with its ability to equip massive amounts of ordnance, F-4F can become an extremely potent ground attacker with any ground attack payload.

'''FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets''' - Mighty Mouse rockets provide solid performance against ground targets. Sporting 290 mm of penetration, these can easily get through roof armour of most vehicles in-game, though some ERA equipped tanks can survive a few hits. While not having enough explosive mass to score kills with indirect hits, the ballistic computer can help with their aiming, and as F-4F can equip up to 285 of them, pilots can easily compensate accuracy with quantity.

'''Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets''' - Basically Mighty Mouse rockets on steroids, Zunis are an anti-everything tool. Their HEAT warhead provides up to 457 mm of penetration and thanks to their explosive mass equivalent to 8.91 kg of TNT, they can severely damage light targets with indirect hits.

'''AGM-65B missiles''' - Unique to the F-4F (compared to other German planes) are AGM-65Bs, more commonly known as Mavericks. These are fire and forget anti-tank missiles with TV guidance and a maximum range of 6 km. Their warheads can penetrate up to 830 mm of armour. As they are fire and forget, they are great to use in contested airspace when compared to bombs, though F-4F can carry only 2 of them at once.

'''Bombs''' - F-4F, being equipped with a ballistic computer, turns any bomb payload into a much more viable option. Turning on the ballistic computer allows pilot to use arcade-style crosshairs, so any pilot is capable of hitting ground targets with laser accuracy.

F-4F is capable of carrying up to 24 x 500 lb bombs and these are dropped individually, allowing the player in theory to achieve a whopping 24 kills per payload, thus completely wiping the enemy team from existence (in practice however, there will be enemy AA units, and F-4F carrying all that ordnance practically becomes a rock with wings). All bombs carried by F-4F are viable, so it is up to the pilot's personal preferences.

== Usage in battles ==

'''Ground battles'''

Most air-to-air combat in ground battles happens inside cannon range; thus it is not recommended to take Sidewinders to ground battles, and focus purely on CAS.

As stated above, the F-4F is an extremely potent ground attacker. Since there are currently only two AA vehicles armed with IR missiles ([[PGZ04A]] and [[Type 93]]) in-game, pilots should prioritise chaff when picking up countermeasures. Chaff helps with confusing enemy search and tracking radars, increasing probability of miss and thus increasing F-4F survivability.

Flying high above the battlefield is ill-advised, as this approach puts pilots in range of most enemy SAMs.

Radar needs an unobstructed line of sight to work properly, so flying low and utilizing ground obstacles helps with plane survival. Pilots should approach the battlefield at low altitude and do a flyby over enemy spawn in order to determine whenever the enemy team has active AA or not. RWR helps with this task, but pilots should note that lack of active radar does not necessarily mean that there's no AA active; some skilled players turn off search radars in order to drawn out enemy air assets out of cover. If there's enemy AA, it needs to be taken out first. Only then should the pilot gain altitude necessary for ground attacks. If the pilot gets warning that radar lock has been achieved, immediately deploy chaff, start evasive manoeuvres, and should consider disengaging for the time being.

Pilots should not be afraid to inform their teammates in chat while approaching the battlefield, as forward observers help immensely with locating enemy ground assets; F-4F working this way in tandem with squadmates on ground can turn the tide of battle in a matter of minutes.

'''Air battles'''

Generally speaking, pilots should always try to stick with their teammates. While the F-4F's agility might be tempting, due to its weight it bleeds speed a lot. Dogfighting a single plane might be doable, but doing so often leaves F-4F in low energy state and thus extremely vulnerable. Pilots also tend to tunnel vision on a single enemy, thus exposing themselves to other enemy planes; teammates can provide much needed cover in this scenario, allowing pilots to survive longer.

As for fuel load, F-4F performs best when afterburner is activated - but pilots should be aware that afterburner devours a lot of fuel. Thus it is not advised to take lighter fuel loads; pilots should take either 20 or 28 minutes load, depending on how much they plan to be active.

At the start of the game, pilots should first accelerate to a speed of 1,000-1,100 km/h, then climb to around 3 km altitude, and head towards the battlefield. As the F-4F is not armed with SARH missiles, climbing higher is ill-advised, as higher altitudes tend to be dominated by planes equipped with SARH missiles - those don't need rear aspect to achieve lock, as they use radar guidance and thus they can lock onto enemies from front and side. However, SARH missiles need continuous radar lock of enemy planes in order to score a hit; older radars (those without look down/shoot down ability) tend to pick up a lot of clutter (reflection of radar waves from the ground) when aimed towards ground. This means older radars lose their lock when aiming at the enemy that is below them, significantly reducing SARH missile effectiveness. By simply staying lower than SARH equipped enemies, pilots should be relatively safe (as long as they keep situational awareness). On top of that, pilots can equip chaff as another layer of protection against SARH missiles.

Pilots should not turn fight and instead stick to boom'n'zoom tactics. Luckily, thanks to excellent AIM-9Js, F-4F doesn't need to turn fight in most cases. Optimal launch range is from 1 to 3 km - closer and the missile might not be able to keep track, farther and the missile might run out of fuel before reaching its target. Missile range is dependent on several factors - altitude, the speed of the launching and targeted aircraft, their mutual distance, and the amount of manoeuvring the missile needs to do. Generally speaking, missile traveling in a straight line will have better range than maneuvering missile. Also, missile launched from higher altitude and with initial speed advantage will also have better range. As for evading missiles, it depends on distance and type of missile launched. It is not advised to pull high G manoeuvres when the missile is launched outside 3.5 km range, as the missile still has time and energy to correct itself before impact, while the target plane just bleeds all of its energy and is left defenseless.

Missiles launched at 3-3.5 km range or greater can be dodged without need for high G manoeuvres - simply slowly zig-zagging while going fast is often enough to defeat them; this manoeuvre does not waste precious countermeasures nor energy. Of course, pilots can also turn off the afterburner and deploy flares as another layer of protection.

Missiles launched below 3 km require different tactics. As most modern missiles can pull 20 Gs or more, pilots need to get as many countermeasures as they can between them and the incoming missile; this often requires a combination with high G evasive manoeuvres, as countermeasures are not 100% guarantee and a missile that locked onto countermeasures might still continue in its path and hit an escaping plane.

If pilots need to counter ground based AA, the best tactic is to break line of sight; by either flying behind cover such as mountains or flying close to the ground.

'''Specific enemies worth mentioning:'''

* [[Mirage III (Family)|Mirage IIIs]], [[F-5C|F-5s]] and [[J35D|J-35s]]: While F-4F, thanks to its Agile Eagle upgrade, can get these planes in its crosshair, they are more than capable of out-turning F-4F in prolonged turns. On top of that, Mirage is armed with a dreaded [[Matra R550 Magic 1|Magic]] AAM that is capable of pulling 30 Gs.

* [[MiG-21 (Family)|MiG-21s]]s: Same case as above; Most of these planes are armed with [[R-60]] AAM, capable of pulling 30 Gs.

* [[F-4E Phantom II|F-4E]], [[F-4EJ Phantom II|F-4EJ]], [[Phantom FG.1]] and [[Phantom FGR.2|FGR.2]]: While these planes offer similar flight performance, they are armed with [[AIM-7E Sparrow|SARH]] missiles, and thus have significant advantage while fighting at high altitudes.
* [https://wiki.warthunder.com/A-10A A-10A]/[https://wiki.warthunder.com/A-10A_Late A-10 Late]: The A-10 presents itself as nucisense for the F-4F in a way that SARH-carrying F-4's do not have to worry about in the same way: the AIM-9J does not have the range to be able to hit A-10's out of visual range (i.e to prevent flaring) and in closer ranges the AIM-9J will be countered by the massive flare reserves available for A-10's. This necessitates CQC in the form of dogfighting; the F-4F's Agile Eagle package allows this to be done relatively easily, as the A-10 cannot rate/turn fight for a sustained amount of time (be wary about your first push onto one however, as they will still have enough energy to potentially launch an AIM-9L or get its lethal 30mm autocannon onto you).
** It is strongly advised to not engage A-10's in groups, as they can effectively protect each other due to their missiles and will rapidly drain you of energy and flares.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* AIM-9J's in top loadout are decently flare-resistant (especially compared to Russian counterparts such as the R-60).
* Comes with internal 20mm Vulcan cannon rather than having to equip it as an external pylon (unlike other Phantoms).
* Equipped with RWR and 90 Countermeasures
* Variety of large air-to-ground payloads, including the potent AGM-65B Maverick fire and forget missiles.

'''Cons:'''

* Heavy, bleeds a lot of speed in turns
* AIM-9J has very short range and is slower than other IR missiles that are comparable.
* Lack of SARH missiles requires different approach than with other Phantoms and presents less opportunities for kills.
* Pure CAS loadout reduces flight performance
* Large size of airframe makes head-on attacks extremely risky, even with the potency of internally mounted 20mm Vulcan cannon.
* Limited ammunition for its internal cannon

== History ==

''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=f-4f_late Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|zuMxIkT1jLQ|'''Germany Suffers - Should You Grind The F-4F Phantom - Vehicle Review''' - ''Sako Sniper'' (Review starts at 0:53)}}

== 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 aircraft;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==

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

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

{{AirManufacturer McDonnell}}
{{Germany jet aircraft}}

F-4F (Germany)

2023-02-03T08:55:53Z

U35599929: Added detail on A-10 as specific enemies worth noting (as they are quite common in Air Realistic battles).

{{About
| about = German jet fighter '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = F-4 Phantom II (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=f-4f_late
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German jet fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Red Skies"]]. A dreaded sight for aircraft and ground vehicles alike, the F-4F Phantom II provides a strong air superiority fighter and supremely potent ground attacker to German pilots.

== General info ==
=== Flight performance ===
{{Specs-Avia-Flight}}

Equipped with twin MTU Aero J79-MTU-17A engines (licensed copies of the [[F-4E]]'s engines), each providing 8010 kgf of thrust when spaded, F-4F provides solid performance at any altitude.

While not as fast a climber as the [[F-104G]], it can still climb incredibly well. Its acceleration is above average thanks to its twin engines.

F-4F also has incredible roll rate and thanks to its "Agile Eagle" wing slats and all-flying tail, it can also pull high-G manoeuvres without any issues.

However, pilots should be aware, that while the newfound agility of this Phantom might tempt them to dogfight, they should still stick to Boom'n'Zoom tactics as the F-4F is heavy, and any prolonged turning will bleed a lot of speed - and a slow jet is a dead jet.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="70%"
! rowspan="2" | Characteristics
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 12,192 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb (metres/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB
|-
! Stock
| 2,066 || 2,020 || rowspan="2" | {{Specs|ceiling}} || 26.5 || 27.8 || 162.3 || 152.4 || rowspan="2" | 850
|-
! Upgraded
| 2,216 || 2,140 || 25.5 || 26.0 || 224.2 || 192.0
|-
|}

==== Details ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="6" | Features
|-
! Combat flaps !! Take-off flaps !! Landing flaps !! Air brakes !! Arrestor gear !! Drogue chute
|-
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ 
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="7" | Limits
|-
! rowspan="2" | Wings (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Gear (km/h)
! colspan="3" | Flaps (km/h)
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
|-
! Combat !! Take-off !! Landing !! + !! -
|-
| {{Specs|destruction|body}} || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} || 607 || 583 || 463 || ~11 || ~4
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities (km/h)
|-
! Ailerons !! Rudder !! Elevators !! Radiator
|-
| < 810 || < 750 || < 700 || N/A
|-
|}

==== Engine performance ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine
! colspan="4" | Aircraft mass
|-
! colspan="2" | Engine name || Number
! colspan="2" | {{Annotation|Basic mass|Mass of the aircraft with pilot and engine oil, but no fuel or weapons load}} || colspan="2" | Wing loading (full fuel)
|-
| colspan="2" | MTU Aero Engines J79-MTU-17A || 2
| colspan="2" | 14,375 kg || colspan="2" | 398 kg/m2
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine characteristics
! colspan="3" | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) || rowspan="2" | Max Takeoff Weight
|-
! Weight (each) || colspan="2" | Type
! 8m fuel || 20m fuel || 27m fuel
|-
| 1,724 kg || colspan="2" | Afterburning axial-flow turbojet
| 15,941 kg || 18,196 kg || 19,595 kg || 24,000 kg
|-
! colspan="3" | {{Annotation|Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)|The maximum thrust produced by each engine, while mounted in the aircraft. NOTE: Thrust varies significantly depending on speed & altitude.}}
! colspan="4" | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
|-
! Condition || 100% || WEP
! 8m fuel || 20m fuel || 27m fuel || MTOW
|-
| ''Stationary'' || 5,200 kgf || 8,008 kgf
| 1.00 || 0.88 || 0.82 || 0.67
|-
| ''Optimal'' || 5,200 kgf (0 km/h) || 10,170 kgf (1,400 km/h)
| 1.28 || 1.12 || 1.04 || 0.85
|-
|}

=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Avia-Armour}}

In terms of armour, there is no armoured glass in the cockpit of the F-4F, nor any relevant armour protecting any crucial part of the plane. There is an 8.5 mm thick steel plate just below the forward fuel tank of the plane, but due to its size relative to the size of the plane, it might as well not be there at all.

All fuel tanks are self-sealing, but this is pretty much standard at this battle rating. Pilots should note that right behind the cockpit, the middle and back section of the plane is littered with modules - fuel tanks, engines, and control surface controls are all tightly packed together and thus any hit to this part of the plane will cause critical damage to at least one component.

The F-4F is equipped with a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) from the get go and can unlock a countermeasures launcher as a tier I modification (unlike the [[F-4F Early]]).

Countermeasures are either Flares or Chaff. Flares are crucial to defeating IR guided missiles, while Chaff confuses enemy radars. Pilots should note that since F-4F is equipped with two engines, its heat signature is enormous, especially with afterburner active; thus they need to turn afterburner off in order to successfully evade IR missile.

RWR issues a warning to the pilot when it detects active radar pulsing towards the player; this will be heard as beeps. It also warns pilots when their plane gets "radar locked" by continuous tone. It also displays the approximate position of active radar relative to the plane and highlights radar that achieved "radar lock".

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

Pilots should start researching countermeasures from the get go, since it can be almost impossible to dodge advanced missiles such as Matra Magics without them. After that, pilots' focus should be on getting [[AIM-9J Sidewinder|AIM-9Js]], as those are F-4F strongest missiles and best weapon against enemy planes.

Order of modifications:

Countermeasures > AIM-9B FGW.2 > New boosters > AIM-9E > G-suit > Wings repair > AIM-9J

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Avia-Armaments}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | [[Ballistic Computer]]
|-
! CCIP (Guns) !! CCIP (Rockets) !! CCIP (Bombs) !! CCRP (Bombs)
|-
| {{Tick}} || {{Tick}} || {{Tick}} || {{Tick}}
|-
|}
=== Offensive armament ===
{{Specs-Avia-Offensive}}

{{main|M61A1 (20 mm)}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is armed with:

* A choice between two presets:
** 1 x 20 mm M61A1 cannon, chin-mounted (640 rpg)
** 1 x 20 mm M61A1 cannon + 90 x countermeasures

The M61A1 is an excellent cannon at its rank, its only disadvantages being the spool-up time and somewhat limited ammo count relative to rate of fire.

Armed with anti-air belts for Air RB, even a short connecting burst will be fatal to any enemy aircraft.

The cannon excels even in Ground RB equipped with armour-piercing belts, giving it 53 mm of penetration, which is enough to get through most SPAAs and light tanks armour and can even pierce the roofs and engine decks of MBTs such as T-90A.

With its extremely high rate of fire, trigger discipline is a must.

=== Suspended armament ===
{{Specs-Avia-Suspended}}

{{main|LDGP Mk 81 (250 lb)|LDGP Mk 82 (500 lb)|M117 cone 45 (750 lb)|LDGP Mk 83 (1,000 lb)|LDGP Mk 84 (2,000 lb)}}
{{main|AGM-65B|AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder|AIM-9E Sidewinder|AIM-9J Sidewinder}}
{{main|BLU-27/B incendiary|M118 (3,000 lb)|FFAR Mighty Mouse|Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP|GAU-4 (20 mm)}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:

* Without load
* 2 x 20 mm GAU-4 cannons (1,200 rpg = 2,400 total)
* 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
* 4 x AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder missiles
* 4 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
* 4 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles
* 24 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (12,000 lb total)
* 17 x 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs (12,750 lb total)
* 13 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs (13,000 lb total)
* 3 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs (6,000 lb total)
* 1 x 3,000 lb M118 bomb (3,000 lb total)
* 285 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
* 60 x Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets
* 2 x AGM-65B missiles

==== Custom loadout options ====
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" style="text-align:center"
|-
! !! width="6%" | 1 !! width="6%" | 2 !! width="6%" | 3 !! width="6%" | 4 !! width="6%" | 5 !! width="6%" | 6 !! width="6%" | 7
| rowspan="16" width="30%" | <div class="ttx-image">[[File:Hardpoints_{{PAGENAME}}.png]]</div>
|-
! 20 mm GAU-4 cannons (1200 rpg)
| 1 || || || || || || 1
|-
! 250 lb LDGP Mk 81 bombs
| 6 || 3 || || 6 || || 3 || 6
|-
! 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs
| 6 || 3 || || 6 || || 3 || 6
|-
! 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs
| 3 || 3 || || 5 || || 3 || 3
|-
! 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs
| 2 || 3 || || 3 || || 3 || 2
|-
! 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs
| 1 || || || 1 || || || 1
|-
! 3,000 lb M118 bombs
| || || || 1 || || ||
|-
! BLU-27/B incendiary bombs
| 1 || || || 2 || || || 1
|-
! FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
| 57 || 57 || || 57 || || 57 || 57
|-
! Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets
| 12 || 12 || || 12 || || 12 || 12
|-
! AGM-65B missiles
| || 1 || || || || 1 ||
|-
! AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder missiles
| || || 2 || || 2 || ||
|-
! AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
| || || 1, 2 || || 1, 2 || ||
|-
! AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles
| || || 2 || || 2 || ||
|-
| colspan="8" | Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 1,500 kg
|-
|}

'''GAU-4 gunpods''' - additional gunpods with M61A1 cannons, providing 1,200 rounds per gun. These basically allow pilot to put a wall of lead between their plane and the enemy, however, they severely hamper flight performance.

'''Air-to-air'''

'''AIM-9B FGW.2''' - Bravo version are F-4F stock missiles, should be used only until better options become available, as they are obsolete at this BR.

'''AIM-9E''' - First upgraded missiles available to F-4F, Echo Sidewinders provide much needed performance boost over the AIM-9B. Better speed, better range and wider seeker window allow Es to hit more reliably. Still, they retain its predecessor's poor G limit and should be used only as stop gap solution.

'''AIM-9J''' - Final upgrade available to F-4F, AIM-9Js provide excellent performance and are the best Sidewinders available to German pilots. They can pull twice the G limit of its predecessors, are resistant to flares, and can be radar-slaved (which helps in high traffic airspace or when leading a target). These bad boys should be the pilot's weapons of choice for engaging air targets.

'''Air-to-ground'''

As F-4F is equipped with a ballistic computer, coupled with its ability to equip massive amounts of ordnance, F-4F can become an extremely potent ground attacker with any ground attack payload.

'''FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets''' - Mighty Mouse rockets provide solid performance against ground targets. Sporting 290 mm of penetration, these can easily get through roof armour of most vehicles in-game, though some ERA equipped tanks can survive a few hits. While not having enough explosive mass to score kills with indirect hits, the ballistic computer can help with their aiming, and as F-4F can equip up to 285 of them, pilots can easily compensate accuracy with quantity.

'''Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets''' - Basically Mighty Mouse rockets on steroids, Zunis are an anti-everything tool. Their HEAT warhead provides up to 457 mm of penetration and thanks to their explosive mass equivalent to 8.91 kg of TNT, they can severely damage light targets with indirect hits.

'''AGM-65B missiles''' - Unique to the F-4F (compared to other German planes) are AGM-65Bs, more commonly known as Mavericks. These are fire and forget anti-tank missiles with TV guidance and a maximum range of 6 km. Their warheads can penetrate up to 830 mm of armour. As they are fire and forget, they are great to use in contested airspace when compared to bombs, though F-4F can carry only 2 of them at once.

'''Bombs''' - F-4F, being equipped with a ballistic computer, turns any bomb payload into a much more viable option. Turning on the ballistic computer allows pilot to use arcade-style crosshairs, so any pilot is capable of hitting ground targets with laser accuracy.

F-4F is capable of carrying up to 24 x 500 lb bombs and these are dropped individually, allowing the player in theory to achieve a whopping 24 kills per payload, thus completely wiping the enemy team from existence (in practice however, there will be enemy AA units, and F-4F carrying all that ordnance practically becomes a rock with wings). All bombs carried by F-4F are viable, so it is up to the pilot's personal preferences.

== Usage in battles ==

'''Ground battles'''

Most air-to-air combat in ground battles happens inside cannon range; thus it is not recommended to take Sidewinders to ground battles, and focus purely on CAS.

As stated above, the F-4F is an extremely potent ground attacker. Since there are currently only two AA vehicles armed with IR missiles ([[PGZ04A]] and [[Type 93]]) in-game, pilots should prioritise chaff when picking up countermeasures. Chaff helps with confusing enemy search and tracking radars, increasing probability of miss and thus increasing F-4F survivability.

Flying high above the battlefield is ill-advised, as this approach puts pilots in range of most enemy SAMs.

Radar needs an unobstructed line of sight to work properly, so flying low and utilizing ground obstacles helps with plane survival. Pilots should approach the battlefield at low altitude and do a flyby over enemy spawn in order to determine whenever the enemy team has active AA or not. RWR helps with this task, but pilots should note that lack of active radar does not necessarily mean that there's no AA active; some skilled players turn off search radars in order to drawn out enemy air assets out of cover. If there's enemy AA, it needs to be taken out first. Only then should the pilot gain altitude necessary for ground attacks. If the pilot gets warning that radar lock has been achieved, immediately deploy chaff, start evasive manoeuvres, and should consider disengaging for the time being.

Pilots should not be afraid to inform their teammates in chat while approaching the battlefield, as forward observers help immensely with locating enemy ground assets; F-4F working this way in tandem with squadmates on ground can turn the tide of battle in a matter of minutes.

'''Air battles'''

Generally speaking, pilots should always try to stick with their teammates. While the F-4F's agility might be tempting, due to its weight it bleeds speed a lot. Dogfighting a single plane might be doable, but doing so often leaves F-4F in low energy state and thus extremely vulnerable. Pilots also tend to tunnel vision on a single enemy, thus exposing themselves to other enemy planes; teammates can provide much needed cover in this scenario, allowing pilots to survive longer.

As for fuel load, F-4F performs best when afterburner is activated - but pilots should be aware that afterburner devours a lot of fuel. Thus it is not advised to take lighter fuel loads; pilots should take either 20 or 28 minutes load, depending on how much they plan to be active.

At the start of the game, pilots should first accelerate to a speed of 1,000-1,100 km/h, then climb to around 3 km altitude, and head towards the battlefield. As the F-4F is not armed with SARH missiles, climbing higher is ill-advised, as higher altitudes tend to be dominated by planes equipped with SARH missiles - those don't need rear aspect to achieve lock, as they use radar guidance and thus they can lock onto enemies from front and side. However, SARH missiles need continuous radar lock of enemy planes in order to score a hit; older radars (those without look down/shoot down ability) tend to pick up a lot of clutter (reflection of radar waves from the ground) when aimed towards ground. This means older radars lose their lock when aiming at the enemy that is below them, significantly reducing SARH missile effectiveness. By simply staying lower than SARH equipped enemies, pilots should be relatively safe (as long as they keep situational awareness). On top of that, pilots can equip chaff as another layer of protection against SARH missiles.

Pilots should not turn fight and instead stick to boom'n'zoom tactics. Luckily, thanks to excellent AIM-9Js, F-4F doesn't need to turn fight in most cases. Optimal launch range is from 1 to 3 km - closer and the missile might not be able to keep track, farther and the missile might run out of fuel before reaching its target. Missile range is dependent on several factors - altitude, the speed of the launching and targeted aircraft, their mutual distance, and the amount of manoeuvring the missile needs to do. Generally speaking, missile traveling in a straight line will have better range than manoeuvring missile. Also, missile launched from higher altitude and with initial speed advantage will also have better range. As for evading missiles, it depends on distance and type of missile launched. It is not advised to pull high G manoeuvres when the missile is launched outside 3.5 km range, as the missile still has time and energy to correct itself before impact, while the target plane just bleeds all of its energy and is left defenseless.

Missiles launched at 3-3.5 km range or greater can be dodged without need for high G manoeuvres - simply slowly zig-zagging while going fast is often enough to defeat them; this manoeuvre does not waste precious countermeasures nor energy. Of course, pilots can also turn off the afterburner and deploy flares as another layer of protection.

Missiles launched below 3 km require different tactics. As most modern missiles can pull 20 Gs or more, pilots need to get as many countermeasures as they can between them and the incoming missile; this often requires a combination with high G evasive manoeuvres, as countermeasures are not 100% guarantee and a missile that locked onto countermeasures might still continue in its path and hit an escaping plane.

If pilots need to counter ground based AA, the best tactic is to break line of sight; by either flying behind cover such as mountains or flying close to the ground.

'''Specific enemies worth mentioning:'''

* [[Mirage III (Family)|Mirage IIIs]], [[F-5C|F-5s]] and [[J35D|J-35s]]: While F-4F, thanks to its Agile Eagle upgrade, can get these planes in its crosshair, they are more than capable of out-turning F-4F in prolonged turns. On top of that, Mirage is armed with a dreaded [[Matra R550 Magic 1|Magic]] AAM that is capable of pulling 30 Gs.

* [[MiG-21 (Family)|MiG-21s]]s: Same case as above; Most of these planes are armed with [[R-60]] AAM, capable of pulling 30 Gs.

* [[F-4E Phantom II|F-4E]], [[F-4EJ Phantom II|F-4EJ]], [[Phantom FG.1]] and [[Phantom FGR.2|FGR.2]]: While these planes offer similar flight performance, they are armed with [[AIM-7E Sparrow|SARH]] missiles, and thus have significant advantage while fighting at high altitudes.
* [https://wiki.warthunder.com/A-10A A-10A]/[https://wiki.warthunder.com/A-10A_Late A-10 Late]: The A-10 presents itself as nucisense for the F-4F in a way that SARH-carrying F-4's do not have to worry about in the same way: the AIM-9J does not have the range to be able to hit A-10's out of visual range (i.e to prevent flaring) and in closer ranges the AIM-9J will be countered by the massive flare reserves available for A-10's. This necessitates CQC in the form of dogfighting; the F-4F's Agile Eagle package allows this to be done relatively easily, as the A-10 cannot rate/turn fight for a sustained amount of time (be wary about your first push onto one however, as they will still have enough energy to potentially launch an AIM-9L or get its lethal 30mm autocannon onto you).
** It is strongly advised to not engage A-10's in groups, as they can effectively protect each other due to their missiles and will rapidly drain you of energy and flares.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Good AIM-9J Sidewinder Air-to-Air missiles
* Powerful internal M61 Vulcan rotary cannon with high velocity, fire rate and damage
* Equipped with RWR and 90 Countermeasures
* Variety of large air-to-ground payloads, including the potent AGM-65B Maverick fire and forget missiles

'''Cons:'''

* Heavy, bleeds a lot of speed in turns
* Lacks SARH missiles that other Phantoms have
* Pure CAS loadout reduces flight performance
* Big size presents a giant target
* Limited ammunition for its internal cannon

== History ==

''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=f-4f_late Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|zuMxIkT1jLQ|'''Germany Suffers - Should You Grind The F-4F Phantom - Vehicle Review''' - ''Sako Sniper'' (Review starts at 0:53)}}

== 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 aircraft;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==

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

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

{{AirManufacturer McDonnell}}
{{Germany jet aircraft}}

Jagdpanther G1

2019-07-27T06:34:39Z

U35599929: Added many details on the tanks protection mobility, and gun performance.

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_panzerjager_panther}}
{{About
| about = tank destroyer '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = the premium version
| link-1 = Bfw. Jagdpanther
| usage-2 = the other vehicles of the family
| link-2 = Panther tank (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
The armor of the Jagdpanther in itself is average, but can be utilized to become extremely effective due to ricochet mechanics.

Lighter shells (i.e. 76mm M1 from the Sherman, 88mm L/56 from the Tiger I, 90mm M3 from the Jackson/Pershing) will have issues with shells ricocheting off the front plate due to the angle of the tank's upper frontal plate. However, heavier and/or higher velocity shells (SU-152, IS-2, T29/T34 are examples of tanks that will not experience this problem very much) will not have this issue due to the weight or velocity compensating for the increased slope and penetrating anyway (that is not to say that these types of shells cannot bounce, it is just much rarer due to their weight and high velocities.)

The best way to use the Jagdpanther's armor is to find a small hill where you can angle the front of your tank upwards to where your gun can still fire back at incoming enemies, but also have your frontal armor maximized (due to the fact that your frontal armor will be at a higher angle for incoming shells, which will dramatically increase the odds of a shell ricocheting. ) Just be sure not to allow your bottom plate to be shown, as it is a potential weakpoint of the tank.

The side and rear armor of the Jagdpanther is extremely thin (AA guns often can penetrate), and should be protected at all costs (as your ammunition is also stored in the sides.)

'''Armour type:'''

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

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (slope angle) !! Roof (Slope angle)
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (54°) ''Bottom glacis''|| 40 + 5 mm || 40 mm (24-26°) || 25 mm
|-
| Superstructure || Same as Hull || 50 mm (26-29°)|| 40 mm (36°) || 25 mm (85°)
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

*Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick, though the interleaved pattern of the wheels provides cumulative 20 mm protection.
*Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
*Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.
*Belly armour is 20 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===
This tank has decent mobility overall, but there is one major downfall of this tank: reverse speed. This tank cannot relocate quickly due to it's extremely slow reverse speed, so it is best to gain a position where this is not often necessary in the first place.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 46.0 || rowspan="2" colspan="1" | N/A || colspan="1" | 60 (AB)
|-
|55 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|994
|___
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|619
|700
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|21.61
|__.__
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|13.46
|15.22
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===
The main armament of the Jagdpanther is the PaK 43 88mm gun, which is one of the best all-around tank weapons at it's BR. With a 11 second reload (not including Ace crew), it is accurate as well as causing large amounts of damage during a penetrating hit, as it also contains explosive filler that detonates once inside the hull of the target.

The stock ammunition you get (PzGr 39/43) is by far the most useful ammunition for this tank, and should be the primary type you carry thought your battles.

The HE round (Sprgr) is ineffective against armored targets, and should only either be carried for AA guns or not carried at all.

Hl.Gr 39 is a HEAT round; it serves very little purpose, as it lacks enough penetration to penetrate tanks from the front (or even side at the B.R this tank is in).

PzGr 40/43 is the APCR round of this tank; although on paper it appears to be a significant improvement in penetration capabilities, in reality it is often ineffective for two reasons;

* The amount of damage the shell creates within the hull of tank upon penetration is very little, with little to no shrapnel being created by a penetration. This makes a direct hit onto a critical module (such as a Gunner or Ammunition) a necessity for this ammunition, which can be sometimes difficult depending on the enemy you are facing.
* Although the stat card shows that the penetration does increase, due to the overall weight of the shell decreasing, sloped armor is much more difficult to penetrate (which at this BR is very common.) This makes this shell somewhat useless as a result, with the standard ammunition (PzGr 39/43) being far more effective against slopped armor.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[PaK 43 (88 mm)|88 mm PaK 43]]
|-
! style="width:5em" rowspan="1" colspan="3" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 60 || -8°/+14° || ±11° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 7.04 || 9.75 || __.__ || __.__ || 13.93
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 4.76 || 5.60 || __.__ || __.__ || 8.00
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! style="width:4em" colspan="1" |Stock
! style="width:4em" colspan="1" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" colspan="1" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" colspan="1" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 11.05 || __.__ || __.__ || 8.50
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| width="100%" class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! class="unsortable" rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC || 236 || 234 || 221 || 207 || 193 || 180
|-
| Sprgr || HE || 13 || 13 || 12 || 11 || 11 || 11
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 272 || 270 || 250 || 228 || 208 || 189
|-
|}
{| width="100%" class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! class="unsortable" rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC || 1,000 || 10.16 || 0.8 || 28 || 108.8 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr || HE || 820 || 9 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 698 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.64 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 1,100 || +0° || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 1,130 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks_Jagdpanther.png|x250px|right|thumbnail|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Jagdpanther.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''60''' || 46 ''(+14)'' || 31 ''(+29)'' || 16 ''(+44)'' || 1 ''(+59)'' || style="text-align:left" | Yes
|-
|}

Left side empty: 31 ''(+29)''

=== Machine guns ===
The machine gun on this tank is functional, but is not powerful enough to cause much damage to even lightly armored targets (such as AA vehicles).

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Hull mount''
|-
! style="width:5em" rowspan="1" colspan="4" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,000 (150) || 900 || -5°/+10° || -10°/+5°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The '''Jagdpanther''' is best used defensively, to cover capture points and prevent their capture, and cover friendly tank advances. It's highly recommended to hide the lower frontal plate in this tank, as it has a frontal mounted transmission which will set the tank on fire if shot, as well as destroying the transmission. It's also strongly advised to use this tank at long range, and change position often.

It is important to keep in mind that the Jagdpanther's armour is sloped. Using it on the side of a hill facing the enemy is extremely dangerous since this would decrease the angle at which the frontal armour and sloped and thus negate a large part of its survival capabilities. By hiding behind buildings, trees and bushes, or on top of a hill, you optimise it's fighting capabilities. A well positioned Jagdpanther is very hard to destroy. In addition, using the Jagdpanther in a diamond position (with your right side facing the enemy) will mean that your most important crew members are better protected (driver, gunner, commander) since they are on the other side.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Good mobility
* Excellent firepower with great long-range sniping abilities
* Armour of a [[Panther A|Panther]], so adequately armoured
* Unlike earlier Tank destroyers as the [[StuG III G|StuG]]s, [[Jagdpanzer IV]]s, [[Marder III H|Marder]]s and [[Jagdpanzer 38(t)|Hetzer]]; it has 5 crew, rather than 4
* Front of the Jagdpanther makes it easy to attach a lot of camouflage to conceal the tank destroyer
* Gunsight has an enhanced zoom level
* Has fully functional hull machine gun
* Since it is an SPG, it requires fewer spawn points in RB than a normal tank

'''Cons:'''

* Bad reverse speed
* Panther hull armour isn't as effective against enemies it would face, rounds like the APDS from the 20 pdr can easily penetrate
* Front mounted transmission. Can catch fire and immobilizes vehicle when shot through lower frontal plate
* Like most Tank Destroyers, it lacks a turret
* A lot bigger than the [[StuG III G|StuG III]], [[Jagdpanzer IV]]s, and the [[Jagdpanzer 38(t)|Hetzer]], so may need to get used to the size and how to conceal it
* Penetration from the sides would often mean lethal as sides are littered with ammo

== History ==

===Development===
Nazi Germany created the formidable 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun, a longer version of the 8.8 cm Kwk 36. 2 attempts were made to fit this gun onto a self-propelled configuration, the first was [[Ferdinand|Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Ferdinand]] (later Elefant) and the second was the [[Nashorn]]. However, the Ferdinand was too heavy and unreliable while the Nashorn was too small and underpowered to propel such a gun. The '''Jagdpanther''' was proposed in late 1942, as a tank destroyer from the [[Panther D|Panther]] chassis that could mount the formidable 8.8 cm Pak 43 with good armour and speed. The tank destroyer was created and designated '''SdKfz 173''' and was demonstrated to Hitler on October 1943. Production then started in January 1944 under the simpler name '''Jagdpanther''' by Hitler rather than using the longer '''8.8 cm Pak 43/3 auf Panzerjäger Panther'''.

Throughout its production life of January 1944 to 1945, 415 total of these vehicles were made. MIAG produced 270 from January 1944 to the end of the war, MNH produced 112 from November 1944, and MBA produced 37 from December 1944. The supposed goal was 150 Jagdpanther produced a month, but Germany's deteriorating situation made this impossible. The Jagdpanthers were made in two variants, '''G1''' and '''G2'''. The G1 had a small internally bolted main gun and modified Panther Ausf. An engine deck while the G2 had a larger simplified, outer bolted mantlet with a modified Panther Ausf. G engine deck. A proposal to mount the 12.8 cm Pak 80 was mentioned but never came around to production.

The Jagdpanther was a rather good design as a tank destroyer, it had a good power-to-weight ratio and had a gun that could destroy any Allied tank in service in the war. It did not suffer as much reliability problems due to being based on the later model [[Panther G|Panther Ausf. G]], which had most of the initial problems fixed. It also used an improved transmission and final drive (the two sources of most Panther issues) that was planned for the Panther II.

===Combat Usage===
Jagdpanthers were assigned to heavy tank destroyer battalions in the Western Front and Eastern Front, though most of the Jagdpanthers were sent to deal with the Soviet onslaught, where it first saw combat action. In Normandy, few of these vehicles were encountered by the Western Allies, though 12 were deployed in one occasion by the 654 schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung against British units. One instance in July 30, 1944 saw three Jagdpanthers engage and destroy 10-11 Churchill tanks in about two minutes, though two of them were abandoned by the crew due to damage. The 654th was the only battalion to have a full complement of Jagdtigers of about 42 Jagdpanthers at the Western Front, the 559th battalion only had 10 to 14 of these vehicles. The largest concentration of the Jagdpanther on the west was during the Ardennes Offensive of about 20 vehicles combat-ready.

After the end of World War II with Nazi Germany's fall, the Jagdpanther and its original Panther configuration saw service with France. The Jagdpanthers served France from 1945 to the 1960s.

=== In-game description ===
"One of the most powerful and most successful German tank destroyers of World War II. This tank destroyer was designed by the company MIAG and was based on the Pz.Kpfw. V Panther tank. From October 1943 to April 1945, the MIAG, MNH, and MBA factories produced a total of 413 Jagdpanthers.

The Jagdpanther was mass-produced in three variants which differed in the following ways.

The first variant was the early version of the G1 self-propelled gun, produced from January to September 1944. These vehicles had an 88 mm 8,8 cm Pak 43/2 gun with a one-piece barrel. The gun was fixed to the front armor with bolts inside the vehicle. Anti-magnetic Zimmerit paste was applied to the vehicle's vertical surface in its characteristic squares. Also, this variant lacked a snorkel. The plate covering the engine either completely lacked an opening or had an opening which was plugged closed.

The second variant was the standard G1, which had an 88 mm 8,8 cm Pak 43/3 gun with a composite barrel. This tank destroyer also received a new gun mantlet. Zimmerit was not applied. Heat shields were installed around the exhaust pipe, and the guide wheels had a larger diameter.
The third variant was the G2, which was equipped with a new gun mantlet reinforced with bolts. An armored plate taken from the Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf. G Panther tank was installed over the engine. The trenching tool and cleaning rod tube was moved to the rear.

This tank destroyer was a very effective weapon against all types of Soviet and Allied tanks. It was used on the Western and Eastern fronts until the end of the war.

For a heavy vehicle, the Jagdpanther had good speed and maneuverability. On the other hand, this self-propelled vehicle inherited a number of disadvantages from the tank it was based on, primarily low mechanical reliability and relatively thin side armor."

== Media ==

Skin and Camouflages for the [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=germany&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=tank_destroyer&vehicle=germ_panzerjager_panther Jagdpanther] in Warthunder Live.

== See also ==


* [[Bfw. Jagdpanther]] - Premium version of the Jagdpanther.

== External links ==


* [http://storage.net-fs.com/hosting/3912593/3/index.htm 3D Experience - Jagdpanther interior]
* [[Wikipedia:Jagdpanther|[Wikipedia<nowiki>]</nowiki> Jagdpanther]]

{{Germany tank destroyers}}

StuG III G

2019-07-11T17:58:00Z

U35599929: I added info under the armor section, adding more detail so that readers have a better understanding about the protection charecteristics of the tank.

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_stug_III_ausf_G}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_StuGIIIG.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' (or '''StuG III Ausf. G''') is a Rank {{Specs|rank}} German tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. This vehicle was introduced in Update 1.43. With a low profile and a powerful 7.5 cm gun, it proves to be a formidable vehicle in the ambush role.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armor ===
While comparatively well armored to other tank destroyers of it's BR, it is not well-enough protected to allow it to be an assault tank. It is not recommended to attempt and angle the tank, as your sides are far too thin and will easily be penetrated if you attempt to angle the front. One slight advantage this tank has over the previous models of StuG's is the side skirts, which allow incoming HE and HEAT shells to be negated; they do not provide a large protection bonus for incoming AP rounds however.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armor

{| 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 || 50 mm (15°) ''Top'' 50 mm ''Bottom'' || 16 mm
|-
| Superstructure || 80 mm (10-11°), 30 mm (69°) || 30 + 5 mm || 30 mm || 11 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 50 mm || 11 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Front side is not all 80 mm thick, the rest are 30 mm, but are heavily sloped.
* The hull sides are protected by an extra 5 mm thick plate to protect against HEAT and HE rounds.
* Access to the [[Add-on Armor|Add-on Armour]] module

=== Mobility ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 23.9 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | 0.5 || colspan="1" | 44 (AB)
|-
|40 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|426
|525
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|265
|300
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|17.82
|21.97
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|11.09
|12.55
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|StuK 40 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[StuK 40 (75 mm)|75 mm StuK 40 L48]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 54 || -6°/+17° || ±10° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 13.21 || 18.28 || 22.20 || 24.55 || 26.12
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 8.93 || 10.50 || 12.75 || 14.1 || 15.00
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 7.6 || 6.78 || 6.25 || 5.9
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 90°'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39 || APCBC || 140 || 137 || 125 || 112 || 100 || 89
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 177 || 176 || 154 || 130 || 109 || 92
|-
| Hl.Gr. 38B || HEAT || 80 || 80 || 80 || 80 || 80 || 80
|-
| Sprgr. 34 || HE || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39 || APCBC || 750 || 6.8 || 1.3 || 15.0 || 28.9 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 930 || 4.2 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
| Hl.Gr. 38B || HEAT || 450 || 4.4 || 0.0 || 0.1 || 872.1 || +0° || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| Sprgr. 34 || HE || 570 || 5.7 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 715 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | Smoke characteristic
|-
! Ammunition
! Velocity in m/s
! Projectile Mass in kg
! ''Screen radius in m''
! ''Screen time in s''
! ''Screen hold time in s:''
! ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
|-
| K.Gr.Rot Nb. || 423 || 6.8 || 13 || 5 || 20 || 50
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''54''' || 35 ''(+19)'' || 19 ''(+35)'' || 1 ''(+53)'' || style="text-align:left" | Yes
|-
|}

== Usage in the battles ==

This tank destroyer is best played as a support vehicle. Unlike its predecessors, it has excellent armor and can be invincible from long ranges. However, if playing with this tank close to the front lines, (for example, capturing points) this armor will not be adequate against the close-range power of most vehicles. Any shot which penetrates the armour will most likely destroy the vehicle due to the small interior layout. The sides are a weak point from any ranges, so take care of that as well. Support teammates from the flanks, attack from long ranges, and never close in the distance even for objectives unless necessary. If properly concealed, the enemy will never know where they are attacked as they concentrate their assault forwards.

Once in a game, choose the spawn point patiently to pick the best area to start accepting firing positions. The open spaces are not good for the StuGs so when repositioning, make sure it is safe before moving ahead. Flank an objective point where the enemies will be capped, but the teammates will be frontally attacking. Be careful not to get detected by the enemy and find a place where the StuG can be in cover and start shooting. Always look around, and if the situation gets bad, relocate to another vantage point. If the StuG III is rooted in the enemy lines and alone, only attack if there is only one enemy. From long ranges, the StuG can always a winner in 1v1 duels if played cautiously. From short intervals, the key is situational awareness, and how fast the StuG III can shoot down the enemy before they fire and hit the StuG.

Some tips on enemies:

* American Tanks: M4 Shermans are easy targets, but in a 600 m area, they could penetrate the StuG's frontal armor if untangled. M4A3E2 Jumbos can lead to stalemates, but getting too close can allow the Jumbo to aim for weak spots. The best way to defeat the Jumbo is to flank and hit them at the side, preferably the lower area at the suspension where it is only 38.1 mm thick.
* Soviet tanks: T-34 will be dangerous from any ranges. It is easy to penetrate them, so the StuG must detect and shoot them down quickly. From long ranges, angling the StuG slightly might enhance the front armor against the T-34 shells, but angling too much will allow the T-34 to hit the vulnerable side armour.
* British tanks: The British tanks have some low calibre guns, but their high muzzle velocity and fast reload rate will penetrate and destroy the StuG easily. The Cruiser tanks like Cromwell will be a difficult target, as they are mobile and can flank the StuG easily. Be the first to detect the tank and fire at them while they are trying to position themselves, as their armor could be easily pierced by the 75 mm gun. If faced with a Churchill Mk.VII from the front, it is best to withdraw and call on teammates for support. If the Churchill is distracted, reposition to take aim at the side armour and devastate the interior with an APHE round. Other Churchills (Mk.I or Mk.III) can easily be penetrated frontally.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* Good penetrating 75 mm StuK 40 gun.
* 80 mm of front armour.
* Low silhouette.
* Additional side plates of armour.

'''Cons:'''

* Armour has some vertical areas in the front that is easier to penetrate.
* A penetration on the driver port can knock out the driver, gunner, and commander
* Fixed casemate superstructure restricts gun movement to the front.
* Machine gun shield on the roof can compromise low profile and also has no machine gun!
* A HE shell onto the machine gun shield can send the shrapnel down through the hull roof down into the crew compartment.

== History ==

===Development===
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.

On June 15, 1936, Daimler-Benz AG was ordered to develop a support vehicle mounting the 75 mm howitzer as its armament in a casemate structure with a traverse of 25 degrees. The vehicle was to provide full protection for its crew and be no taller than an average soldier. Daimler-Benz repurposed the chassis and running gear of their [[Pz.III E|Panzer III]] design for the role. These new vehicles were named the '''Sturmgeschütz III''' (assault gun), or the shortened '''StuG III''' and the finished designs were sent to Alkett for prototype production and five were produced in 1937. These prototypes were made of mild steel and had the 75 mm StuK 37 L/24 cannon, an adaption of the original 75 mm KwK 37 cannon on the [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IV]]. This gun would be featured on the StuG III variants [[StuG III A|Ausf. A]] to Ausf. E. The StuG III entered production from January 1940 to the end of the war on April 1945 due to the many upgrades done on the vehicle to increase serviceability and its low cost. At about a total production of 11,300 StuG III and its variants, the StuG III design was the most produced armoured fighting vehicle in German service.

===Design===
The StuG III had a fully enclosed armoured shell, keeping the crew safe within the vehicle. As a casemate structure, it has a limited traverse range for its front view, and the whole vehicle must be turned if a target is outside its traverse range. The StuG III featured about 50 mm of armour on the front, but about 30 mm of armour everywhere else, this was upgraded as the war progressed to 80 mm. The suspension system is identical to the Panzer III's, a torsion bar system. The StuG III had a crew of four, the commander, driver, loader, and gunner. Initial variants lack machine guns, so the StuG was required to work with support units to ensure it does not get overrun by infantry. It wasn't until December 1942 when a machine gun could be accommodated for the loader to use. Initial variants also did not have a commander's cupola, so his view was quite restricted. However, models after September 1943 had them installed.

===Combat usage===
During the initial stages of World War II, the StuG III with the 75 mm StuK 37 howitzer fared well in the campaigns in France and Poland, but when the invasion of Soviet Union commenced, the lack of German guns able to destroy their [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks prompted Germany to rearm their vehicles with newer guns. So the original StuK 37 cannon from the [[StuG III A|initial designs]] was upgraded to the 75 mm StuK 40 cannons. The [[StuG III F|StuG III Ausf. F]] has the shorter L/43 cannon, but the '''StuG III Ausf. G''' featured the longer L/48 cannon with improved design features on the vehicle. The Ausf. G was the most common and produced StuG III variant in the war. It featured a widened superstructure with a straightened back wall, also making it slightly higher with a height of 2160 mm now. The exhaust fan is moved to the back, and a commander's cupola is added onto the design. The driver's periscope on the design was abandoned, and the vehicle has ''Schürzen'' armour plates installed on the hull to protect the weaker hull sides against anti-tank rifles and HEAT rounds. Instead of the 50 mm hull armour with an additional 30 mm welded on the Ausf. F, the Ausf. G featured a solid 80 mm plate on the hull front. A machine gun mount has also become integrated into the design with a small shield for the loader as well to operate it in safety, though a "remote" operated version was also installed later so that the loader would only need to get out to reload the machine gun. This design is the most numerous of the StuG III variants, and the 11,300 StuG IIIs built, 8738 StuG III Ausf. Gs were built from December 1942 to April 1945, with some converted from fully built Panzer IIIs.

The new 75 mm StuK 40 cannon could engage many Allied tank designs. This upgrade changed the StuG III role from its usual infantry support role into a tank destroyer, though it can serve both roles with acceptable performance. The vehicles were deemed very successful and attributed to more tank kills than any other armoured fighting vehicle in German service. The success of the StuG III urged Germany to prioritize the production of casemate structure vehicles built from chassis of other vehicles for further development in tank destroyers such as the [[Jagdpanther|Jagdpanther]], [[Jagdpanzer 38(t)|Jagdpanzer 38(t)]], and the [[Ferdinand|Ferdinand]].

The StuG III design was also made into different variants with different armaments, such as a 105 mm howitzer on the ''[[StuH 42 G|StuH 42]]'' , a flamethrower on the ''StuG III (Flamm)'', and even a 150 mm sIG 33 infantry gun on the ''Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B''.

===Legacy===
The StuG III design would see service in the entire war due to its adaptability to the changing course of the war, going from an offensive support weapon to a defensive tank destroyer. The StuG III holds the distinct title of knocking out the most Allied tanks in German service with about 20,000 tanks killed, much more than the better [[Panther D|Panther]] and [[Tiger H1|Tiger]] tanks. It was a widely-exported design to Germany's allies, such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain, and Finland. The StuG III would continue serving in various countries past World War II in conflicts in the 1960s, such as the Six Days War in Syria's service that was donated by the Soviet Union. Today, some are still serving as static pillboxes on the Golan Heights.

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''

== Read 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.''

''ETC.''

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

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

{{Germany tank destroyers}}

Nashorn

2019-04-09T00:25:02Z

U35599929: /* Survivability and armour */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_panzerjager_nashorn}}

== Description ==
''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.''

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
The Nashorn's armor is paper thin; it will not protect you from even heavy-caliber machine gun fire and can be hull-broken from large caliber HE rounds.

The Nashorn also lacks a roof, making it a very desirable target for strafing runs by fighters, as well as rocket attacks by attack aircraft.

One interesting (and somewhat comical) note to the Nashorn's armor that it is so thin, shells may pass through it without exploding due to the fuse passing through enough material to set it off and detonate.

=== Mobility ===
''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.''

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===
''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.''

=== Additional armament ===
''Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on about how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.''

=== Machine guns ===
''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.''

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

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== Encyclopedia Info ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

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

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

{{Germany tank destroyers}}

Nashorn

2019-04-01T21:35:04Z

U35599929: Added section on machine guns.

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_panzerjager_nashorn}}

== Description ==
''In the description, the first part needs to be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert the screenshot of the vehicle. If the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, they will immediately understand what kind of vehicle it is talking about.''

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armor ===
The Nashorn's armor is paper thin; it will not protect you from even heavy-caliber machine gun fire, and can be hull-broken from large caliber HE rounds.

It also lacks a roof, making it a very desirable target for strafing runs by fighters as well as rocket attacks by attack aircraft.

One interesting (and somewhat comical) note to the Nashorn's armor that it is so thin, shells may pass through it without exploding due to the fuse passing through enough material to set it off and detonate.

=== Mobility ===
''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and maneuverability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.''

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===
''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibilty of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.''

=== Additional armament ===
''Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.''

=== Machine guns ===
While this tank does carry two machine guns, they serve no real purpose and are essentially decoration.

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

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.''

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''

== Read 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.''

''ETC.''

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

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

Nashorn

2019-04-01T21:33:33Z

U35599929: /* Machine guns */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_panzerjager_nashorn}}

== Description ==
''In the description, the first part needs to be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert the screenshot of the vehicle. If the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, they will immediately understand what kind of vehicle it is talking about.''

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armor ===
The Nashorn's armor is paper thin; it will not protect you from even heavy-caliber machine gun fire, and can be hull-broken from large caliber HE rounds.

It also lacks a roof, making it a very desirable target for strafing runs by fighters as well as rocket attacks by attack aircraft.

One interesting (and somewhat comical) note to the Nashorn's armor that it is so thin, shells may pass through it without exploding due to the fuse passing through enough material to set it off and detonate.

=== Mobility ===
''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and maneuverability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.''

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===
''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibilty of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.''

=== Additional armament ===
''Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.''

=== Machine guns ===
While this tank does carry one machine gun, it serves no real purpose and is essentially decoration.

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

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.''

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''

== Read 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.''

''ETC.''

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

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

Nashorn

2019-03-31T20:55:53Z

U35599929: I added the survivability and armor section.

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_panzerjager_nashorn}}

== Description ==
''In the description, the first part needs to be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert the screenshot of the vehicle. If the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, they will immediately understand what kind of vehicle it is talking about.''

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armor ===
The Nashorn's armor is paper thin; it will not protect you from even heavy-caliber machine gun fire, and can be hull-broken from large caliber HE rounds.

It also lacks a roof, making it a very desirable target for strafing runs by fighters as well as rocket attacks by attack aircraft.

One interesting (and somewhat comical) note to the Nashorn's armor that it is so thin, shells may pass through it without exploding due to the fuse passing through enough material to set it off and detonate.

=== Mobility ===
''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and maneuverability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.''

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===
''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibilty of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.''

=== Additional armament ===
''Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.''

=== Machine guns ===
''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft, but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.''

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

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.''

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''

== Read 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.''

''ETC.''

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

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