Olifant Mk.1A

2021-03-21T13:08:51Z

U43906249: /* Pros and cons */

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_olifant_mk_1a
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

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

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

''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''

'''Armour type:''' 


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

'''Notes:''' 


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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,162|rbMinHp=663}}

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

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

{{main|GT-3 (105 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[GT-3 (105 mm)|105 mm GT-3]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 72 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 11.4 || 15.8 || 19.2 || 21.2 || 22.6 || rowspan="2" | 8.71 || rowspan="2" | 7.70 || rowspan="2" | 7.10 || rowspan="2" | 6.70
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.1 || 8.4 || 10.2 || 11.3 || 12.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| M152 || HEATFS || 400 || 400 || 400 || 400 || 400 || 400
|-
| M156 || HESH || 127 || 127 || 127 || 127 || 127 || 127
|-
| M111 || APFSDS || 337 || 335 || 330 || 322 || 314 || 306
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| M152 || HEATFS || 1,173 || 10.5 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 1,270 || 65° || 72° || 77°
|-
| M156 || HESH || 732 || 14.85 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 4,310 || 73° || 77° || 80°
|-
| M111 || APFSDS || 1,455 || 3.79 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 78° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | Smoke shell characteristics
|-
! Ammunition
! Velocity (m/s)
! Projectile Mass (kg)
! Screen radius (m)
! Screen deploy time (s)
! Screen hold time (s)
! Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
|-
| M416 || 730 || 11.4 || 20 || 5 || 25 || 50
|-
|}

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


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''72''' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __
|-
|}

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

{{main|L3A1 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[L3A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L3A1]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 3,000 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

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

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* Strong APFSDS
* Laser range finder for long range operations
* Excellent gun elevation and depression angles (-10°, +20°)
* Enough armour to resist auto cannons and some poorly aimed shots

*

'''Cons:'''

* Very poor turret traverse making reactionary shooting hard without hull aiming
* Poor mobility and top speed compared to other MBTs at the BR
* APFSDS is a rank 4 modification
* Armour is very unreliable at stopping any APFSDS or HEAT rounds even from small calibre guns
* Ammo rack is in the front of the vehicle to the right of the driver and is a major weak spot

*

== History ==

=== [[wt:en/news/7052-development-olifant-mk1a-the-beast-of-desert-en|Devblog]] ===
Centurion tanks entered service with the South African armed forces already at the start of the Cold War in the early 1950s when South Africa purchased a few hundred Centurion Mk.3 tanks from the United Kingdom. However, operating the Centurions in the warm South African climate quickly turned out to be problematic as the tanks were prone to overheating. As a result, South Africa sold off many of its Centurions to Switzerland during the 1960s in order to acquire other equipment while many of the remaining tanks were relegated to reserve roles.

With conflicts in the region flaring up during the '70s, the South African armed forces were reminded of the importance of their armored units and several projects were initiated to modernize the Centurions in service. These projects resulted in the creation of two interim models of domestic Centurions - the Skoikaan and Semel. In parallel however, the South African government formed a company in the private sector to develop a proper modernization package for the Centurion.

Work on the project began in the mid '70s, with South African engineers taking inspiration from the Israeli Sho't Centurions and applying similar upgrades to what would eventually become known as the Olifant tank. The first prototype of the Olifant rolled out of the factory in 1976 and underwent testing. Shortly afterwards, the Olifant Mk1 entered production service in 1978, with production lasting until 1984. In the early 80s, the Olifant was upgraded to the Mk.1A modification, which featured a domestic version of the L7 cannon as well as other upgrades.

The Olifant Mk1A remained in service with SANDF into the 1990s before being succeeded by the Olifant Mk 2. In total, over 150 Olifant Mk1As were produced, some seeing action during the conflicts with Angola in the early 1980s.

== Media ==
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File:Olifant Mk1A WTWallpaper 01.jpg|
File:Olifant Mk1A WTWallpaper 02.jpg|
File:Olifant Mk1A WTWallpaper 03.jpg|
File:Olifant Mk1A WTWallpaper 04.jpg|
File:Olifant Mk1A WTWallpaper 05.jpg|
File:Olifant Mk1A WTWallpaper 06.jpg|
</gallery>

== 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;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Britain medium tanks}}

War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

Olifant Mk.1A