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Comet I

2021-02-02T15:22:02Z

U4662042: /* Optics */

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_a_34_comet
|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 1.55 "Royal Armour"]] along with the initial British ground tree. Armed with a [[OQF Mk.II (77 mm)|77 mm HV gun]], essentially a 17-pounder with a lower muzzle velocity, it has one of the more powerful guns available for a medium tank at the rating.

The Comet is an excellent medium tank. It has great mobility and acceleration, able to reach 38 km/h very quickly and stay there in full throttle, but its reverse speed is pitiful like the [[Cromwell V|Cromwell's]]. Firepower is also a benefit of the vehicle, especially after the unlocking of the APDS shot, giving it the penetration needed to deal with any threat you might encounter. The drawback of the design is the sub-par armour that can be pretty easily penetrated at BR 5.3. One should take advantage of the Comet's low profile and mobility to hide and manoeuvre from the enemy to catch them at an advantageous angle. The Comet also has a benefit the previous tanks in its branch, the [[Sherman Firefly]], didn't have in the great gun depression. This allows the Comet to more easily fire over hills in an hull-down position to destroy the enemy with the most the best terrain benefit for protection.

The Comet is a greyish-brownish colour like all other British tanks. It is also quite low in stature. The Comet has a unique turret design and has a nice long barrel. The barrel has a muzzle brake at the end of it. The machine gun beside the driver doesn't work.

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Turret front, Gun mantlet)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 76.2 mm (1°) ''Front plate'' 32 mm (72°) ''Front glacis'' 63.5 mm (19°) ''Joint plate'' 25.4 mm (69°) ''Lower glacis'' || 32 mm ''Top front half'' 25 mm ''Top back half'' 29 + 14 mm ''Bottom'' || 32 + 25.4 mm (1°) ''Top half'' 32 mm (32°) ''Lower half'' || 14 mm
|-
| Turret || 102 mm (3-57°) ''Turret front'' 102 mm (1-34°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 63.5 mm || 57.1 + 5 mm (1°)|| 25.4 mm ''Front half'' 20 mm ''Back half''
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 44 mm || 25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

*Suspension wheels and the tracks are 20 mm thick.
*There are tracks attached on the turret that provide an extra 20 mm armour where they are attached.
*Steel boxes on the left and right side of the hull by the turret gives 4 mm extra armour at their location.
*The bustle rack on the back of the turret gives an armour rating of 5 mm

Aim for the hull. You will almost certainly destroy the tank when a Comet player is reversing and panicking at the same time.

The turret is an unreliable area to target. Its armour is thicker and bouncy. A good Comet player will be in a hull down position, but you can easily take it out if you aim for the cupola or if your gun can take it, the turret cheeks.

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

{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 930|rbMinHp= 531}}

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

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

{{main|OQF Mk.II (77 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[OQF Mk.II (77 mm)|77 mm OQF Mk.II]] || 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" | 61 || rowspan="2" | -12°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 14.28 || 19.76 || 24.00 || 26.55 || 28.24 || rowspan="2" | 7.67 || rowspan="2" | 6.79 || rowspan="2" | 6.25 || rowspan="2" | 5.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.93 || 10.50 || 12.75 || 14.10 || 15.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| Shot Mk.6 || AP || 137 || 134 || 123 || 111 || 100 || 91
|-
| Shell Mk.1 || HE || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9
|-
| Shot Mk.4 || APC || 137 || 134 || 123 || 111 || 100 || 91
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APCBC || 152 || 149 || 137 || 124 || 112 || 101
|-
| Shot SV Mk.1 || APDS || 220 || 216 || 199 || 179 || 159 || 139
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| Shot Mk.6 || AP || 754 || 7.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| Shell Mk.1 || HE || 754 || 6.98 || 0.4 || 0.5 || 580 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Shot Mk.4 || APC || 754 || 7.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APCBC || 754 || 7.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Shot SV Mk.1 || APDS || 1,120 || 1.73 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 75° || 78° || 80°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''61''' || 54 ''(+7)'' || 46 ''(+15)'' || 38 ''(+23)'' || 30 ''(+31)'' || 22 ''(+39)'' || 15 ''(+46)'' || 8 ''(+53)'' || 1 ''(+60)'' || No
|-
|}

Right side empty: 23''(+38)''

==== [[Optics]] ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | {{PAGENAME}} Optics
|-
!
! Default magnification
! Maximum magnification
|-
! Main Gun optics
| X3.0 || X6.0
|-
! Comparable optics
| colspan="2" | [[VFW]]
|-
|}

Second tank in Medium tank British tech line to have X6 scope. It will not get any better than this until rank VI, so get used to it - it will be the same across entire tech tree for a while with SPAA being the only exception.

As of rank III, this scope is slightly or moderately superior to most medium and heavy tanks, but do not expect to outsnipe German SPG as they have same optics or even better.

With newfound APDS ammunition, you might want to take tank on a test drive to get used to APDS ballistic markings. As usually, each mark represents 200 m, but they skip over the 8 number on the scope, leaving inexperienced user guessing where is the 800 m mark. It is the second big line on your scope - try to remember it well.

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

{{main|BESA (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[BESA (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm BESA]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 5,175 (225) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

Fighting a tank of the same weight classification is relatively easy, but difficult against the more armoured [[Panther A|Panther]] and [[T-34-85|T-34]] tanks. Until the APDS shot can be unlocked, more decisive shots will have to be made to take care of these tanks, the Mk.6 and Mk.8 shot are the preferred ammunition to use. The Panthers should be targeted on the gun mantlet in the front and should be aimed at the gunner to immobilize their firepower and cause crew damage. The T-34-85 is a bit of a hit-or-miss due to the more heavy sloping nature of the armour and the turret. Penetrating through the front hull armour when it is facing directly at you is the best course of action against the T-34-85. Heavy tanks get even more tricky, but easier once the APDS round is unlocked for use. A [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]] is admittedly an easy tank to deal with due to the vertical slope of the armour. Problems arise with the [[IS-2]] tank that may show up, due to their heavy armour and their tendency to absolutely wreck vehicles with their 122 mm gun. Distance is not your friend against this tank, the closer the better for your gun to penetrate the weak spots on its frontal armour. A tough situation, but a survivable one.

For every Comet player that does not have the APDS shells, do not engage in long distance gun fights. You are almost certainly going to lose. So use it first as its intention is, a cruiser tank. Cap point and retreat. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, get as close to the enemy as possible and fire at it's side. Conduct the battle in this manner until the APDS is unlocked

The best tactic is flanking and "shoot and scoot". Your armour won't stand against T-34's and Tigers you'll meet so don't pick a snipe position and keep firing - sooner or later you '''will''' be pinned down. You need to locate a good spot for attack, fire a few shots (Comet has a great fire rate: use it) and relocate. Don't mind the damage you made: keep moving!

Also, another "never" to do with this tank, never go in reverse. You are almost certainly going to get yourself destroyed in the process as you have an awful reverse speed of only -3 km/h (-1 mph). If you want to reverse, turn the whole tank around instead using neutral steer or just charge at the enemy, circle him or her once and disappear the other way. You must do this as quickly as you appeared. You can use smoke grenades, but still, don't reverse, charge at the enemy. To not to get in the situation in the first place, choose where you are going to go carefully. You must study the situation quickly and cautiously to not to get yourself blown up in the process. The key is to run, run and run.

Overall, you must dedicate quite a bit of time to master the tank in all. Even when you have the APDS shells.

===Game mode specifics===
====Arcade battles====
In arcade domination mode where the cap points are arranged perpendicular to the cap points (ex. Poland, Ash River, Berlin, Korea, Karelia, Kuban, etc.), go for the flanks (A or C). If the cap points are diagonal (ex. Stalingrad), go for the closest cap point. And if the cap points are parallel to cap points (ex. Ardennes, Eastern Europe, etc.) go for the middle point as fast as you can. If you feel that you cant make it, help cap the point closest to spawn. You can also decide if you want to defend the point after capturing it. It is suggested to defend the cap point that has a lot of cover and an easy escape if overwhelmed (Suggested points to defend: A or C in Poland, C in Stalingrad, C in Ardennes).

====Realistic/Simulator battles====
In realistic and simulator, the Comet can become sluggish and isn't as fast as in arcade. A suggestion would be to capture the closest cap point, cap it, and then go into hiding. When you go into hiding, take every well placed shot you can and immediately run away from an encounter. You will mainly be facing Tiger IIs, Tiger Is, and Panthers, T-34-85s, rarely Chi-Tos and Chi-Ris. If you encounter them on a one v. one, always be on the move. Move around the other tank and try to hit it from the side (Panthers, Tiger Is, Chi-Tos, and Chi-Ris). If you encounter a Tiger II, slap it across the cheek with a APDS shell and take shoot it through the side. T-34-85 would be easier. You can easily penetrate the frontal armour of the T-34-85. It is just a matter of reaction time.

===Specific enemies worth noting===

All tanks when you do not have APDS shells yet. If you do, it a lot easier. As it has been mention before, when engaging a Tiger II, slap an APDS shell on the right turret cheek to knock out the gunner and finish it off from the side. The hardest tanks to counter are the following:

*[[Tiger II (P)|Tiger II]]s
*[[Tiger E|Tiger I]]s
*[[Panther A|Panther]]s
*[[T-34-85]]
*[[IS-1]]/[[IS-2|2]]

Although your gun can counter anything within the Comets BR range, you should constantly be aware that one hit from pretty much any gun to the front of the hull will knock out the Comet. In particular, the Russian 85mm and German 75mm/88mm guns should be taken very seriously. They have plenty of explosive filler. The turret on the Comet has the chance to bounce even the mighty 88mm gun found on the Tiger I, but only a chance. Your hull won't even protect you from the majority of rank 2 guns, so rank 3 and 4 guns will slice through the Comets armour like butter. Because of this, almost any enemy is dangerous. Even SPAA can be a frontal threat to you. In particular, the [[Wirbelwind]]/ [[Ostwind]] can cause serious damage at close/ medium range. Be particularly cautious late in a match when SPAA are more common.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent manoeuvrability and speed - second only by a little to the [[T-34-85 (D-5T)]] and [[Panther D|Panther D]]
* Good gun, precise and with good penetration values (vertical armour)
* Great turret armour
* Access to APDS shot
* Low profile
* Great gun depression of -12°, compared to [[Sherman Firefly|Firefly]] with only -5°
* 5 crew member, balanced crew survival
* Good climbing ability, can get to sniping positions that other tanks cannot
* When fully upgraded, the Comet I is fast and manoeuvrable
* Has access to neutral steering which allows quick repositioning of the tank
* APDS is great at taking out Panthers and Tigers at long range. One shot KO's are common if you know where the ammo racks are
* APDS makes the tank very easy to use in RB and SB. The round drops very little over distance and retains a lot of penetration

'''Cons:'''

* Bad penetration values against sloped armour without APDS
* Mediocre gun damage due to lack of explosive fillers, aim at the enemy gunner to increase your fighting chance
* The 77 mm HV does not have as much penetration as the true 17-pounder and other Rank III guns
* Overall bad armour for its rank, only the turret front has some good chance to bounce some hits
* Awful reverse speed of only 3 km/h (2 mph)
* APDS causes less post-penetration damage than the other AP rounds
* Painful to use when stock due to disappointing performance in terms of acceleration and frustratingly bouncy stock rounds

== History ==

===Development===
The British experience against the Germans during World War II showed that there were severe deficiencies with their cruiser tanks. The main cruiser tanks in the British inventory was the [[Crusader Mk II|Crusader]] tank, but suffered from a gradually inefficient armament and thin armour. A request was submitted in 1941 to the Nuffield Organization and Leyland Motors Ltd for a heavier cruiser tank that could take on the gradually stronger German tanks, the design was also to use components from the Crusader tanks for economic reasons. This became the A24 Cruiser Tank Mk VII Cavalier tank and the A27L Cruiser tank Mk VII Centaur tank, which are both superseded by the [[Cromwell V|A27M Cruiser Tank Mk VII Cromwell tank]]. The Cromwell ended up as a decent cruiser tank for the British Army, giving great mobility, reliability, and a decent OQF 75 mm gun (or a 6-pounder gun). However, it still had problems, such as being under-gunned against the more armoured German tanks and suspension problems.

It was determined that the British Army needed a tank that mounted the large 17-pounder gun, which would allow the tank to stand its ground against the German panzers. The first attempt was an upgraded Cromwell in the form of the [[Challenger|A30 Challenger]], but development and production was slow and the first mass-produced tank with the 17-pounder was the modified [[Sherman Firefly|Sherman Firefly]]. While the Firefly was adequate, it was a logistical burden when the Firefly is attached with Cromwell troops, which would require the troop to have maintenance requirements for a Cromwell and a Sherman tank. A more standard tank is needed to fix this, and development started on this with the General Staff specification '''A34'''.

The developing tank, now called '''A34 Comet I''', was meant to fix the issues from the Cromwell such as the suspension and the track shedding, plus also increase the firepower and speed. The gun mounted on the tank was the "77 mm HV", a specifically built gun for the Comet I. Though using the same projectiles as the 17-pounder, the 77 mm HV gun uses cartridges with different casings and thus the rounds between the two gun are different and the 77 mm HV produces a lower muzzle velocity for the round, but this allowed easier stowage in the gun due to the more compact size. The Comet I also gave a greater armour protection, a welded armour construction, cast gun mantlet, stronger suspension, a return roller established in the suspension, an electrically traversed turret, and ammo stowage inside armoured bins. The Comet I, though having the power to go faster than the Cromwell, is restricted with an engine governor to preserve the suspension, engine, and tracks. The Comet I entered prototype stage in February 1944, but delays caused production to start at September 1944 and then put into service in Europe at December 1944. By the end of the war, about 1,186 Comet I tanks were made for the British Army.

===Combat usage===
The first units to receive the Comet I tank was the British 11th Armoured Division, which was delivered in December 1944, and was the only division to be refitted with Comets by the end of the war. The Comet did not perform significantly in the battlefield due to its late arrival, but it was involved in the crossing of the Rhine and the Berlin Victory parade in July 1945. At Europe, the maximum speed of 51 km/h allowed the Comet I to exploit the German highways to travel throughout the entire countryside.

The Comet I saw service after World War II during the Korean War when it started, serving alongside its to-be successor [[Centurion Mk 3|Centurion tank]]. Though the Centurion was adopted in 1949, the Comet I continued to see service in the British Army until 1958, when it was then decommissioned and sold to foreign countries, which included South Africa, Finland, Ireland, Cuba, and Myanmar. Notable records with the Comet I sales was 41 tanks to Finland, which used them until 1970 and kept them in storage for much longer. In 1959, 4 were sent to Ireland in 1959 and another 4 the following year, the Irish kept them until 1973 before being withdrawn.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=britain&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=medium_tank&vehicle=uk_a_34_comet Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|aXLxiqyUgnM|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|oc_Z6gHeFCA|'''Comet A34 British Cruiser Tank''' - ''MilitArmy''}}

== 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 ==


* [https://warthunder.com/en/devblog/current/852/ [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> A34 Comet I and A30 Challenger]
* [http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Comets.pdf [Shaddock.free<nowiki>]</nowiki>Surviving Comet Is]

{{Britain medium tanks}}

Comet I

2021-02-02T15:21:38Z

U4662042: /* Optics */ 7 out of 10 vehicles has bugged ammo storages which still blows you up if bugged ammo was hit.Fix your game jackasses.

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_a_34_comet
|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 1.55 "Royal Armour"]] along with the initial British ground tree. Armed with a [[OQF Mk.II (77 mm)|77 mm HV gun]], essentially a 17-pounder with a lower muzzle velocity, it has one of the more powerful guns available for a medium tank at the rating.

The Comet is an excellent medium tank. It has great mobility and acceleration, able to reach 38 km/h very quickly and stay there in full throttle, but its reverse speed is pitiful like the [[Cromwell V|Cromwell's]]. Firepower is also a benefit of the vehicle, especially after the unlocking of the APDS shot, giving it the penetration needed to deal with any threat you might encounter. The drawback of the design is the sub-par armour that can be pretty easily penetrated at BR 5.3. One should take advantage of the Comet's low profile and mobility to hide and manoeuvre from the enemy to catch them at an advantageous angle. The Comet also has a benefit the previous tanks in its branch, the [[Sherman Firefly]], didn't have in the great gun depression. This allows the Comet to more easily fire over hills in an hull-down position to destroy the enemy with the most the best terrain benefit for protection.

The Comet is a greyish-brownish colour like all other British tanks. It is also quite low in stature. The Comet has a unique turret design and has a nice long barrel. The barrel has a muzzle brake at the end of it. The machine gun beside the driver doesn't work.

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Turret front, Gun mantlet)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 76.2 mm (1°) ''Front plate'' 32 mm (72°) ''Front glacis'' 63.5 mm (19°) ''Joint plate'' 25.4 mm (69°) ''Lower glacis'' || 32 mm ''Top front half'' 25 mm ''Top back half'' 29 + 14 mm ''Bottom'' || 32 + 25.4 mm (1°) ''Top half'' 32 mm (32°) ''Lower half'' || 14 mm
|-
| Turret || 102 mm (3-57°) ''Turret front'' 102 mm (1-34°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 63.5 mm || 57.1 + 5 mm (1°)|| 25.4 mm ''Front half'' 20 mm ''Back half''
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 44 mm || 25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

*Suspension wheels and the tracks are 20 mm thick.
*There are tracks attached on the turret that provide an extra 20 mm armour where they are attached.
*Steel boxes on the left and right side of the hull by the turret gives 4 mm extra armour at their location.
*The bustle rack on the back of the turret gives an armour rating of 5 mm

Aim for the hull. You will almost certainly destroy the tank when a Comet player is reversing and panicking at the same time.

The turret is an unreliable area to target. Its armour is thicker and bouncy. A good Comet player will be in a hull down position, but you can easily take it out if you aim for the cupola or if your gun can take it, the turret cheeks.

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

{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 930|rbMinHp= 531}}

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

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

{{main|OQF Mk.II (77 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[OQF Mk.II (77 mm)|77 mm OQF Mk.II]] || 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" | 61 || rowspan="2" | -12°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 14.28 || 19.76 || 24.00 || 26.55 || 28.24 || rowspan="2" | 7.67 || rowspan="2" | 6.79 || rowspan="2" | 6.25 || rowspan="2" | 5.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.93 || 10.50 || 12.75 || 14.10 || 15.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| Shot Mk.6 || AP || 137 || 134 || 123 || 111 || 100 || 91
|-
| Shell Mk.1 || HE || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9
|-
| Shot Mk.4 || APC || 137 || 134 || 123 || 111 || 100 || 91
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APCBC || 152 || 149 || 137 || 124 || 112 || 101
|-
| Shot SV Mk.1 || APDS || 220 || 216 || 199 || 179 || 159 || 139
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| Shot Mk.6 || AP || 754 || 7.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| Shell Mk.1 || HE || 754 || 6.98 || 0.4 || 0.5 || 580 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Shot Mk.4 || APC || 754 || 7.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APCBC || 754 || 7.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Shot SV Mk.1 || APDS || 1,120 || 1.73 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 75° || 78° || 80°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''61''' || 54 ''(+7)'' || 46 ''(+15)'' || 38 ''(+23)'' || 30 ''(+31)'' || 22 ''(+39)'' || 15 ''(+46)'' || 8 ''(+53)'' || 1 ''(+60)'' || No
|-
|}

Left side empty: 23''(+38)''

==== [[Optics]] ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | {{PAGENAME}} Optics
|-
!
! Default magnification
! Maximum magnification
|-
! Main Gun optics
| X3.0 || X6.0
|-
! Comparable optics
| colspan="2" | [[VFW]]
|-
|}

Second tank in Medium tank British tech line to have X6 scope. It will not get any better than this until rank VI, so get used to it - it will be the same across entire tech tree for a while with SPAA being the only exception.

As of rank III, this scope is slightly or moderately superior to most medium and heavy tanks, but do not expect to outsnipe German SPG as they have same optics or even better.

With newfound APDS ammunition, you might want to take tank on a test drive to get used to APDS ballistic markings. As usually, each mark represents 200 m, but they skip over the 8 number on the scope, leaving inexperienced user guessing where is the 800 m mark. It is the second big line on your scope - try to remember it well.

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

{{main|BESA (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[BESA (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm BESA]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 5,175 (225) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

Fighting a tank of the same weight classification is relatively easy, but difficult against the more armoured [[Panther A|Panther]] and [[T-34-85|T-34]] tanks. Until the APDS shot can be unlocked, more decisive shots will have to be made to take care of these tanks, the Mk.6 and Mk.8 shot are the preferred ammunition to use. The Panthers should be targeted on the gun mantlet in the front and should be aimed at the gunner to immobilize their firepower and cause crew damage. The T-34-85 is a bit of a hit-or-miss due to the more heavy sloping nature of the armour and the turret. Penetrating through the front hull armour when it is facing directly at you is the best course of action against the T-34-85. Heavy tanks get even more tricky, but easier once the APDS round is unlocked for use. A [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]] is admittedly an easy tank to deal with due to the vertical slope of the armour. Problems arise with the [[IS-2]] tank that may show up, due to their heavy armour and their tendency to absolutely wreck vehicles with their 122 mm gun. Distance is not your friend against this tank, the closer the better for your gun to penetrate the weak spots on its frontal armour. A tough situation, but a survivable one.

For every Comet player that does not have the APDS shells, do not engage in long distance gun fights. You are almost certainly going to lose. So use it first as its intention is, a cruiser tank. Cap point and retreat. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, get as close to the enemy as possible and fire at it's side. Conduct the battle in this manner until the APDS is unlocked

The best tactic is flanking and "shoot and scoot". Your armour won't stand against T-34's and Tigers you'll meet so don't pick a snipe position and keep firing - sooner or later you '''will''' be pinned down. You need to locate a good spot for attack, fire a few shots (Comet has a great fire rate: use it) and relocate. Don't mind the damage you made: keep moving!

Also, another "never" to do with this tank, never go in reverse. You are almost certainly going to get yourself destroyed in the process as you have an awful reverse speed of only -3 km/h (-1 mph). If you want to reverse, turn the whole tank around instead using neutral steer or just charge at the enemy, circle him or her once and disappear the other way. You must do this as quickly as you appeared. You can use smoke grenades, but still, don't reverse, charge at the enemy. To not to get in the situation in the first place, choose where you are going to go carefully. You must study the situation quickly and cautiously to not to get yourself blown up in the process. The key is to run, run and run.

Overall, you must dedicate quite a bit of time to master the tank in all. Even when you have the APDS shells.

===Game mode specifics===
====Arcade battles====
In arcade domination mode where the cap points are arranged perpendicular to the cap points (ex. Poland, Ash River, Berlin, Korea, Karelia, Kuban, etc.), go for the flanks (A or C). If the cap points are diagonal (ex. Stalingrad), go for the closest cap point. And if the cap points are parallel to cap points (ex. Ardennes, Eastern Europe, etc.) go for the middle point as fast as you can. If you feel that you cant make it, help cap the point closest to spawn. You can also decide if you want to defend the point after capturing it. It is suggested to defend the cap point that has a lot of cover and an easy escape if overwhelmed (Suggested points to defend: A or C in Poland, C in Stalingrad, C in Ardennes).

====Realistic/Simulator battles====
In realistic and simulator, the Comet can become sluggish and isn't as fast as in arcade. A suggestion would be to capture the closest cap point, cap it, and then go into hiding. When you go into hiding, take every well placed shot you can and immediately run away from an encounter. You will mainly be facing Tiger IIs, Tiger Is, and Panthers, T-34-85s, rarely Chi-Tos and Chi-Ris. If you encounter them on a one v. one, always be on the move. Move around the other tank and try to hit it from the side (Panthers, Tiger Is, Chi-Tos, and Chi-Ris). If you encounter a Tiger II, slap it across the cheek with a APDS shell and take shoot it through the side. T-34-85 would be easier. You can easily penetrate the frontal armour of the T-34-85. It is just a matter of reaction time.

===Specific enemies worth noting===

All tanks when you do not have APDS shells yet. If you do, it a lot easier. As it has been mention before, when engaging a Tiger II, slap an APDS shell on the right turret cheek to knock out the gunner and finish it off from the side. The hardest tanks to counter are the following:

*[[Tiger II (P)|Tiger II]]s
*[[Tiger E|Tiger I]]s
*[[Panther A|Panther]]s
*[[T-34-85]]
*[[IS-1]]/[[IS-2|2]]

Although your gun can counter anything within the Comets BR range, you should constantly be aware that one hit from pretty much any gun to the front of the hull will knock out the Comet. In particular, the Russian 85mm and German 75mm/88mm guns should be taken very seriously. They have plenty of explosive filler. The turret on the Comet has the chance to bounce even the mighty 88mm gun found on the Tiger I, but only a chance. Your hull won't even protect you from the majority of rank 2 guns, so rank 3 and 4 guns will slice through the Comets armour like butter. Because of this, almost any enemy is dangerous. Even SPAA can be a frontal threat to you. In particular, the [[Wirbelwind]]/ [[Ostwind]] can cause serious damage at close/ medium range. Be particularly cautious late in a match when SPAA are more common.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent manoeuvrability and speed - second only by a little to the [[T-34-85 (D-5T)]] and [[Panther D|Panther D]]
* Good gun, precise and with good penetration values (vertical armour)
* Great turret armour
* Access to APDS shot
* Low profile
* Great gun depression of -12°, compared to [[Sherman Firefly|Firefly]] with only -5°
* 5 crew member, balanced crew survival
* Good climbing ability, can get to sniping positions that other tanks cannot
* When fully upgraded, the Comet I is fast and manoeuvrable
* Has access to neutral steering which allows quick repositioning of the tank
* APDS is great at taking out Panthers and Tigers at long range. One shot KO's are common if you know where the ammo racks are
* APDS makes the tank very easy to use in RB and SB. The round drops very little over distance and retains a lot of penetration

'''Cons:'''

* Bad penetration values against sloped armour without APDS
* Mediocre gun damage due to lack of explosive fillers, aim at the enemy gunner to increase your fighting chance
* The 77 mm HV does not have as much penetration as the true 17-pounder and other Rank III guns
* Overall bad armour for its rank, only the turret front has some good chance to bounce some hits
* Awful reverse speed of only 3 km/h (2 mph)
* APDS causes less post-penetration damage than the other AP rounds
* Painful to use when stock due to disappointing performance in terms of acceleration and frustratingly bouncy stock rounds

== History ==

===Development===
The British experience against the Germans during World War II showed that there were severe deficiencies with their cruiser tanks. The main cruiser tanks in the British inventory was the [[Crusader Mk II|Crusader]] tank, but suffered from a gradually inefficient armament and thin armour. A request was submitted in 1941 to the Nuffield Organization and Leyland Motors Ltd for a heavier cruiser tank that could take on the gradually stronger German tanks, the design was also to use components from the Crusader tanks for economic reasons. This became the A24 Cruiser Tank Mk VII Cavalier tank and the A27L Cruiser tank Mk VII Centaur tank, which are both superseded by the [[Cromwell V|A27M Cruiser Tank Mk VII Cromwell tank]]. The Cromwell ended up as a decent cruiser tank for the British Army, giving great mobility, reliability, and a decent OQF 75 mm gun (or a 6-pounder gun). However, it still had problems, such as being under-gunned against the more armoured German tanks and suspension problems.

It was determined that the British Army needed a tank that mounted the large 17-pounder gun, which would allow the tank to stand its ground against the German panzers. The first attempt was an upgraded Cromwell in the form of the [[Challenger|A30 Challenger]], but development and production was slow and the first mass-produced tank with the 17-pounder was the modified [[Sherman Firefly|Sherman Firefly]]. While the Firefly was adequate, it was a logistical burden when the Firefly is attached with Cromwell troops, which would require the troop to have maintenance requirements for a Cromwell and a Sherman tank. A more standard tank is needed to fix this, and development started on this with the General Staff specification '''A34'''.

The developing tank, now called '''A34 Comet I''', was meant to fix the issues from the Cromwell such as the suspension and the track shedding, plus also increase the firepower and speed. The gun mounted on the tank was the "77 mm HV", a specifically built gun for the Comet I. Though using the same projectiles as the 17-pounder, the 77 mm HV gun uses cartridges with different casings and thus the rounds between the two gun are different and the 77 mm HV produces a lower muzzle velocity for the round, but this allowed easier stowage in the gun due to the more compact size. The Comet I also gave a greater armour protection, a welded armour construction, cast gun mantlet, stronger suspension, a return roller established in the suspension, an electrically traversed turret, and ammo stowage inside armoured bins. The Comet I, though having the power to go faster than the Cromwell, is restricted with an engine governor to preserve the suspension, engine, and tracks. The Comet I entered prototype stage in February 1944, but delays caused production to start at September 1944 and then put into service in Europe at December 1944. By the end of the war, about 1,186 Comet I tanks were made for the British Army.

===Combat usage===
The first units to receive the Comet I tank was the British 11th Armoured Division, which was delivered in December 1944, and was the only division to be refitted with Comets by the end of the war. The Comet did not perform significantly in the battlefield due to its late arrival, but it was involved in the crossing of the Rhine and the Berlin Victory parade in July 1945. At Europe, the maximum speed of 51 km/h allowed the Comet I to exploit the German highways to travel throughout the entire countryside.

The Comet I saw service after World War II during the Korean War when it started, serving alongside its to-be successor [[Centurion Mk 3|Centurion tank]]. Though the Centurion was adopted in 1949, the Comet I continued to see service in the British Army until 1958, when it was then decommissioned and sold to foreign countries, which included South Africa, Finland, Ireland, Cuba, and Myanmar. Notable records with the Comet I sales was 41 tanks to Finland, which used them until 1970 and kept them in storage for much longer. In 1959, 4 were sent to Ireland in 1959 and another 4 the following year, the Irish kept them until 1973 before being withdrawn.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=britain&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=medium_tank&vehicle=uk_a_34_comet Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|aXLxiqyUgnM|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|oc_Z6gHeFCA|'''Comet A34 British Cruiser Tank''' - ''MilitArmy''}}

== 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 ==


* [https://warthunder.com/en/devblog/current/852/ [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> A34 Comet I and A30 Challenger]
* [http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Comets.pdf [Shaddock.free<nowiki>]</nowiki>Surviving Comet Is]

{{Britain medium tanks}}

Sherman Firefly

2021-02-02T09:53:54Z

U4662042: /* Pros and cons */

{{About
| about = British medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other Shermans
| link-1 = M4 Sherman (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = M4 (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_sherman_vc_firefly
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} British medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced along with the initial British tree line in [[Update 1.55 "Royal Armour"]]. One of the most famous Sherman modifications in World War II, the Firefly introduces the potent [[Ordnance QF 17-pounder (76 mm)|17-pounder]] anti-tank gun as the main armament of the Sherman platform, presenting a very drastic increase in firepower over the original [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm gun]]. This variant, the VC, was based off the chassis of an M4A4 Sherman.

The Sherman Firefly is easily distinguishable by its ''very long'' gun, even compared to the Shermans with the American 76 mm guns. The muzzle brake on the cannon is also in a spherical shape rather than a horizontal rectangular shape so that is a distinction between the 76 mm cannon and the 17-pounder. The hull is resemblent to that of the [[M4|M4 Sherman]] although lacking the bow machine gun (it's actually based off an M4A4). The turret is also very similar, although the radio sticks out of the back in a bustle.

This tank should be the supporting line in both offensive and defensive actions, providing flanking fire, long-range fire, or fast and accurate fire to the target while the heavy tanks take up the brunt of the defense. The tank is as mobile as the M4 Sherman, so picking up speed to get around the enemy is not hard. Those familiar with a M4 Sherman control will pick up on this tank very easily. While this tank is also capable of being the frontal attack unit for an assault, it is strongly advised to not due to the thin armour of the tank, necessitating the users to always get the first shot off in an encounter, otherwise the enemy will be able to destroy the Firefly easily. For a conservative, almost TD-like role, it can also perform, destroying tanks from afar.

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
* Cast homogeneous armour (Transmission area, Turret)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 50.8 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 50.8 mm (7°) ''Driver's port'' 50.8 mm (1-53°) ''Transmission area'' || 38.1 mm || 38.1 mm (22-23°) ''Top'' 38.1 mm (1°) ''Bottom'' || 19.5 mm 12.7 mm ''Engine deck''
|-
| Turret || 76.2 mm (8-44°) ''Turret roof'' 50.8 + 88.9 mm (1-54°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 50.8 mm (2-38°) || 50.8 mm (2-67°) ''Turret rear'' 50.8 mm (1°) ''Radio box'' || 25.4 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 50.8 mm || 25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, bogies are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Access to the [[Add-on Armor|Add-on Armour]] modification will give the tank substantial coverings on the side hull, each track being 17 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.
* The bow machine gun area has been welded shut with armour, but is only 25.4 mm thick so may present a viable weakness to weaker enemies.
* Unlike the armour on the American Rank III Shermans which saw itself upped from 50.8 mm to 63.5 mm, the British Firefly in Rank III retains the old 50.8 mm base armour thickness on the front hull, as well as the protruding driver and co-driver hatches in front. This makes the Firefly a much more vulnerable Sherman tank than even the American versions, a trade-off for its more powerful armament.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=659|rbMinHp=376|AoAweight=1.805}}

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

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

{{main|QF 17-pounder (76 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[QF 17-pounder (76 mm)|76 mm QF 17-pounder]] || 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" | 77 || rowspan="2" | -5°/+25° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 22.8 || 31.6 || 38.4 || 42.5 || 45.2 || rowspan="2" | 7.67 || rowspan="2" | 6.79 || rowspan="2" | 6.25 || rowspan="2" | 5.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.3 || 16.8 || 20.4 || 22.6 || 24.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''Shot Mk.6:''' {{Annotation|AP|Armour-piercing}} - Standard penetrating round, use until better rounds are unlocked.
* '''Shell Mk.1:''' {{Annotation|HE|High-explosive}} - It is ideal for destroying SPAA and lightly armoured tanks, but useless against anything else.
* '''Shot Mk.4:''' {{Annotation|APC|Armour-piercing capped}} - Cap for better grip against sloped armour.
* '''Shot Mk.8:''' {{Annotation|APCBC|Armour-piercing capped ballistic capped}} - Like Shot Mk.4 but with a ballistic cap for improved flight path, as well as better penetration.

{| 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
|-
| Shot Mk.6 || AP || 171 || 168 || 155 || 139 || 126 || 113
|-
| Shell Mk.1 || HE || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9
|-
| Shot Mk.4 || APC || 171 || 168 || 155 || 139 || 126 || 113
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APCBC || 190 || 187 || 172 || 155 || 140 || 126
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| Shot Mk.6 || AP || 883 || 7.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| Shell Mk.1 || HE || 883 || 6.98 || 0.4 || 0.5 || 580 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Shot Mk.4 || APC || 883 || 7.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APCBC || 883 || 7.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
|}
{| 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)
|-
| 17pdr Shell SS Mk.1 || 229 || 8.44 || 13 || 5 || 20 || 50
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''77''' || 76 ''(+1)'' || 73 ''(+4)'' || 55 ''(+22)'' || 15 ''(+62)'' || 1 ''(+76)'' || No
|-
|}
Notes:

* As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set.

==== Optics ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
! colspan="3" | {{PAGENAME}} [[Optics]]
|-
! Which ones
! Default magnification
! Maximum magnification
|-
! Main Gun optics
| x3 || x6
|-
! Comparable optics
| colspan="2" | [[VFW]]
|-
|}

First tank in Medium tank British tech line to have X6 scope. It will not get any better than this until rank VI, so get used to it - it will be the same across entire tech tree for a while with SPAA being the only exception.

As of rank III, this scope is slightly or moderately superior to most medium and heavy tanks, but do not expect to outsnipe German SPG as they have same optics or even better.

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

{{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)|L3A1 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 750 (200) || 577 || -10°/+15° || ±180°
|-
|}
{| 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 || 5,000 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Shoot and scoot.''' Unless the enemy's tank gunner has been knocked out (black only), cannon breech has been disabled (red/black), or cannon barrel is disabled (red/black) that inhibits the enemy's ability to fire back, don't expose the tank after firing. Always try to retreat back into cover to reload. Once reloaded, preferably pop out of an area different from the last firing position and take another shot. Make sure to eliminate the enemy's ability to fire back by destroying their cannon breech and traverse gears, or incapacitate their driver and gunner again if they were replaced. During this whole process, watch out for other enemy tanks and avoid being swarmed. With situational awareness combined with the correct usage of the map, the Firefly becomes a decent tank capable of effectively fighting every medium and heavy tank it faces.

'''Supporting fire.''' Use your allies to your advantage. Your armor is not the best, but your gun can vaporize almost everything it encounters. Follow heavier, more armored allies and use them as a shield. Then, after the enemy has engaged your ally, you can pop out from behind and shoot. This will either destroy or injure the enemy where you or your ally can finish off.

'''Fire from afar.''' The Firefly can excel at vaporizing tanks that have clustered crew, like StuGs, SUs, T-34s, KVs, and even Panzer IIIs and IVs. The post penetration affect of the Firefly's shells after the AP buffs allow it to decimate those tanks. However, it is recommended to still shoot from afar, as all of these tanks can destroy the Firefly easily. If forced into a close-quarters fight, try to shoot first and hit their gunner. Then, you could finish them off with another shot.

'''Play it safe.''' Definitely do not play too aggressively. The huge weakness of the 3/4 crew in the turret is almost always pointed out immediately, because it's a huge issue. It good hit either means a quick trip back to the hangar, or a lengthy crew replenishment time on AB. But this ignores the fact that the tank is just a huge glass cannon, as any shot anywhere will likely cripple the tank.

The Sherman Firefly can dish out the punishment necessary for heavy tanks, but can't take it. Don't expose the tank towards enemy fire too long due to the thin armour on the Firefly in comparison to other tanks such as the Russian [[T-34-85]]s and the Germans [[Panther D|Panthers]]. Take a shot, preferably from a flanking location, then retreat into cover regardless of the shot's effect on target, because if the target could swing its gun towards the Firefly, or have friends that could hit it, consider writing off the Firefly very soon. This varies between different enemies, as going against something like the [[KV-2 (1939)|KV-2]] would be different than going against a [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]].

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Uses the tried and tested Sherman chassis. Experienced players will find this tank easy to use.
* Very fast turret traverse speed.
* The 17-Pounder gun, which can penetrate every single tank it faces, although newer players may struggle against the Panther.
* Fast reload even with untrained crew.
* 77 rounds maximum.
* Slow as King Tiger despite being half it's weight(If possible skip it's not worth the time).
* Access to [[Add-on Armor|additional armour]] that covers most of the front and sides.
* Has .50 cal AA machine gun that's unique among other vehicles as it can rotate for 360°.
* Has no side bulges unlike the Premium version.
* Post penetration damage tends to be enough to knock out crews when clustered together, such as on the T-34 series or turrets.

'''Cons:'''

* Armour of a [[M4|M4 Sherman]], very thin for a Rank III vehicle.
* Large profile.
* 4 crew members, 3 of which are clustered in the turret, making it easier to knock out.
* Bad gun depression of only -5 degrees.
* Gun post penetration damage is decent with the AP buffs, but still won't always one shot a tank.
* Smart enemies will shoot the spot where the radio operator gunner usually sat, as in the Firefly, that spot is replaced by ammo (unless carrying 54 ammo).
* Additional armour doesn't really help.
* Reverse speed is bad.
* Like all vehicles armed with early version of the 17-pounder gun, it will struggle before it has the Shot Mk.8.
* Stock AP round is painful to use. It fragments poorly, bounces often and does very little damage unless hitting ammo or modules.
* Unlike other Shermans, it doesn't have access to a gun stabilizer and thus the gun sight will rock up and down on a sudden stop.
* Traverse is mediocre.

== History ==

===Concept===
Around 1943 in World War II, the [[M4|M4 Sherman]] was one of the best tanks in use by the Allies. It superseded the German standard [[Pz.III J|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IVs]] at the time. However, it was during the middle of 1943 that the Sherman design was beginning to wane in superiority with the reveal of newer German tanks in the front lines, namely the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]] and the [[Panther D|Panther]] tanks.<ref name="ZalogaCh3Panther">Zaloga 2008, ''Chapter 3: The Panzer Nemesis: The Panther Threat''</ref> These tanks are able to not only take out the Sherman at a longer range than the Sherman can compete in, but could also withstand the 75 mm rounds fired from the Sherman with their frontal armour. In order to improve the Sherman's firepower against these better German tanks, the Americans decided to upgun their tanks with the better [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm gun]]. The British, however, decide to up the ante with one of the Allies' most powerful anti-tank gun at the time, the 17-pounder.

The ''[[Ordnance QF 17-pounder (76 mm)|Ordnance QF 17-pounder]]'' was a 76.2 mm anti-tank gun developed by the United Kingdom around 1942, but was considered as far back as 21 November 1940.<ref name="Fletcher17">Fletcher 2008, ''The 17-pounder''</ref> The British predicted that the Germans would be increasing their tank armour gradually to make current anti-tank weapons ineffective in North Africa, a lesson learned when their issued [[Ordnance QF 2-pounder (40 mm)|2-pounder]], [[Ordnance QF 6-pounder Mk.III (57 mm)|6-pounder]], and [[Ordnance QF Mk.V (75 mm)|75 mm]] guns were meeting heavier armoured tanks, and even tanks with superior firepower like the [[KwK 40 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK 40]] on the [[Pz.IV F2|Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2]].<ref name="Fletcher17" /> The first prototype batch was completed in Spring 1942 and the design was finalized in 1943 and accepted into service that same year, where it would see great effect in the Italian Campaign as one of the best Allied anti-tank guns.<ref name="Hunnicutt17pdr">Hunnicutt 1978, pg. 303</ref> One of the reasons why the 17-pounder was so effective was the use of the APDS shot (Armour-Piercing Discarding-Sabot), which could penetrate up to 256 mm of armour at 500 meters distance; this is due to the smaller, but much faster projectile used that contains more kinetic energy than a full-sized shot. However, drawbacks with this ammunition was the lack of tracer to be able to adjust shots, the inaccuracy beyond 500 yards, and the less damage it could cause to the enemy tank.<ref name="FletcherAmmo">Fletcher 2008, ''Ammunition''</ref>

===Development===
====A kick-start====
The 17-pounder effectiveness against the new German tanks and the lackluster anti-armour firepower on British tanks brought upon the concept of mounting the 17-pounder onto tanks. The first mention of mounting the powerful gun onto a tank carriage was as early as 09 December 1941 by Tank Board, which prompted the design specification ''A29'', a 45-ton 17-pounder armed tank that was eventually cancelled for another design. The next design took the [[Cromwell V|Cromwell]] tank as its basis, with development proceeding in 1942 as the ''[[Challenger|A30]]'' (later known as the Challenger). While A30 was in development, the prolonged development time had Tank Board set up for two more 17-pounder projects, the [[Comet I|A34]] (Comet) for a short term project and [[Centurion Mk 1|A41]] (Centurion) for a long term one, in the summer of 1943.<ref name="Fletcher17" /> However, in the same year, a side project for a 17-pounder tank was conducted by two officers.

Royal Tank Regiment major George Brighty, based at the Royal Armoured Corps Gunnery School at Lulworth in Dorset, had the belief that the M4 Sherman was a better tank mount for the 17-pounder than the A30, which was being tested in Lulworth. He experimented around an acquired Sherman, though came to a conclusion that the turret size was too small for the 17-pounder's breech and recoil. Still, he persisted in his efforts and in a rather absurd solution, fitted the 17-pounder into the turret by locking the gun into the mounts and removing the lengthy recoil system, forcing the tank's mass and suspension to absorb the entirety of the 17-pounder recoil. Though this proved to have worked, the modification was far from ideal for any practical usage.<ref name="FletcherLulworth">Fletcher 2008, ''Developments At Lulworth''</ref>

During his trials, Brighty joined up with another major of the RTR by the name of George Witheridge. Witheridge was also convinced of the Sherman's virtues from his time at Fort Knox when advising on tank gunnery techniques. While he appreciated the dual-purpose usage the [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm gun]] on the Sherman provided, he was concerned on improving the armour-piercing properties while retaining the same high-explosive charge. Witheridge arrived at Lulworth to Brighty's design, which he found unsuitable. In a statement on how confident such a design looked from the outside, Witheridge test-fired Brighty's 17-pounder Sherman from the outside three times before trying it out inside. Priority soon shifted to develop a recoil system for the Sherman-mounted 17-pounder. However, some time after Witheridge's arrival, the Department of Tank Design (DTD) sent a directive to the two lads to cease their development on the up-gunning of the Sherman, possibly to protect their A30 project. Witheridge, still keen to the idea of using the Sherman, tried to get this directive reversed by appealing to his connections, namely a man going by Major General Raymond Briggs. Briggs, Witheridge's commanding officer in North Africa and also enthusiastic about improving British tank firepower, put the word to Claude Gibb, Director General of Weapon and Instrument Production at Ministry of Supply, to which Gibb approved and the 17-pounder Sherman was back up. However, with the Ministry of Supply now involved with the project, the design was shifted from two enthusiastic officers to the engineers.<ref name="FletcherLulworth" />

====Professional's touch====
One person deemed responsible for completing the project was W.G.K. Kilbourn, a professional engineer at Vickers who was stationed at Chertsey when he was assigned the 17-pounder Sherman by the DTD.<ref name="FletcherDesign">Fletcher 2008, ''Designing The Firefly''</ref> He managed to fit the 17-pounder gun into the Sherman turret by extensively modifying the gun. He replaced the recoil cylinders with shorter ones mounted on the sides, opposite to each other top and bottom, on a special cradle, modified the gun barrel to fit onto the cradle for better support, and placed the gun breech to open horizontally (contrary to the statement that the gun was simply rotated 90 degrees sideways as the operators of the gun have not been rotated along with the breech).<ref name="MoransVideoPt2">Morans 2017, Time (3:00)</ref> The redesigned 17-pounder, named ''Mk IV'' was built on 11 November 1943 at the Royal Ordnance Factory and could fit into the Sherman turret,<ref name="FletcherDesign" /> but now the concern was on the crew inside. The large breech of the modified 17-pounder ate up a lot of internal space and isolated the loader on the left side of the gun and turret; the solution was to cut a hole on top of the loader's position and add a hatch. The radio, usually mounted on the rear of the turret, was deemed too close to the recoiling breech for comfort so an armoured box was welded to the turret rear for the radio and a hole cut into the turret rear for operating the radio away from the recoiling gun. The armoured box also had the benefit of acting as a counter-weight for the longer and heavier gun for the turret.<ref name="FletcherConversion">Fletcher 2008, ''The Conversion Programme''</ref> Finally, there was an issue of ammo stowage for the larger and heavier 17-pdr rounds, 6 inches longer than the 75 mm shells. The stowage on the tank was in bins in the turret for ready access, but a bulk of it was placed under the turret floor that could only be accessed when the turret was aligned a certain position for each bin, making them more for replenishing the ready racks during breaks in combat. To increase the stowage for more 17-pounder rounds, the bow machine gunner was removed along with his machine gun (the port welded over by a prominent wedge shaped armour) and a rack holding 15 rounds placed in his location, however the position for the rack was also impossible to reach during combat and one location on the rack was so hard to get to that it wasn't used, making the total stowage 14 rounds instead.<ref name="FletcherDesign" />

Kilbourn efforts and those of assisting engineers managed to finally fit the large 17-pounder gun into the constrained space of the Sherman turret intended to mount the 75 mm gun, as well as perform the necessary modifications to accommodate combat usage of the vehicle. It then moved onto the next stage of being approved for service.

====Conversions====
Inspection of the completed Sherman with the 17-pdr started on 06 January 1944, and the War Office wrote a requirement for up to 2,100 of the tanks to be upgunned. Not every Sherman could follow the conversion, whether by technical or logistics limitations, and only petrol-engined, M34A1 gun mounted, and have a hydraulic turret traverse system. This meant that the Shermans converted were the ''[[Firefly «Scorpion»|Sherman I]]'' ([[M4|M4]]),''Sherman I Hybrid'' (M4 "Composite") , and ''[[Sherman Firefly|Sherman V]]'' (M4A4). Technically the ''[[Sherman II]]'' ([[M4A1|M4A1]]) and Sherman III ([[M4A3 (76) W|M4A3]]) were also eligible for conversion with those standards, but information on the Sherman II are scarce and photographic evidence of cast hull converted Shermans usually turn out to be Sherman I Hybrids; Sherman III are all allocated to the U.S. Army as their mainstay tank so no M4A3 were even available in British service to convert.<ref name="FletcherConversion" /> Tanks armed with the 17-pounder were designated by a ''"C"'' in the name at the end of their mark number, leading to names such as the "Sherman VC" to denote a M4A4 with the 17-pounder conversion. Troops with the upgunned Sherman, as early as March 1944, were describing tank as a '''Firefly''', regardless of the type.<ref name="FletcherName">Fletcher 2008, ''What's in a Name?''</ref> How it got the name is debatable, but it is most likely due to the very prominent muzzle flash that the 17-pounder produces when firing.<ref name="ZalogaCh4British">Zaloga 2008, ''Chapter 4: The Future Sherman: Improve or Replace?: The British Approach''</ref>

Still, as D-Day approached for the Allied forces and the A30 Challenger was continually delayed, the eagerness of the troops to acquire the Firefly rose substantially. Four factories were prioritized for the conversion, two at London, one at Manchester and another at Nottingham. From the conversion period of 1944 to 1945, up to and between 2,100 to 2,200 Fireflies were converted, making it the most produced tank with the 17-pounder of the war. Allocation of the Fireflies was one troop per three Sherman troop (troop was an equivalent of platoon and consisted of 4 tanks), but even regiments that were equipped with Cromwells were supplemented with Fireflies until the A30 Challenger was fit for service. The Fireflies were also allocated to Canadian and Polish regiments.<ref name="FletcherConversion" /> Due to the relative newness of the Firefly, most of the training done on the utilization and deployment of the Fireflies were done on the combat field by each regiment.<ref name="FletcherDesign" />

===Combat usage===
====Fighting at the theaters====
The Firefly's first combat action on D-Day was not actually on the land of Normandy, but on the sea. The Firefly's were assigned an unusual role to, while on the LCT that would carry them to the beaches, would fire over the berm towards concrete fortifications and blast them with the 17-pdr. Six Fireflies were allotted, separated into pairs, to DD tank regiments of the British 13th/18th Hussars at Sword Beach, and the Canadians 1st Hussars and Fort Garry Horse at Juno. Though 13th/18th Hussars were reported to not have fired their Fireflies on the way in, 1st Hussars seemed to have good experiences with it in the rough weather. Once the LCT reached the shore, the Fireflies were ordered to disembark and head inland, finishing off obstacles and join their original tank regiments.<ref name="FletcherConcrete">Fletcher 2008, ''Concrete Busters''</ref>

The first non-DD tank regiment with Fireflies to land was the Staffordshire Yeomanry, which had at least 12 Sherman VC with 48 Sherman IIIs, however little information exists on how it performed on the opening days of the Normandy campaign. Other regiments were originally DD tanks with Fireflies, but were employed as regular tank regiments once inland.<ref name="FletcherConcrete" /> One of such regiments was the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry. It was they who, a few days after the landings, deduced that the Germans seemed to be targeting their Fireflies specifically for their longer guns. Though this deduction was not supported by evidence (19% of total Fireflies were lost, but 29% of regular tanks were lost as well), the concern of Firefly loss was great because of the supply issue. As illustrated that though 22 Fireflies were lost, by June 23 only six replacements had arrived. Experience from the ground and the density of heavy German tanks changed some initial organization of one Firefly troop per three Sherman troop into one Firefly per tank troop. Fireflies were in such high demand that some commanders have expressed thought of obtaining the [[Achilles|17-pdr armed M10]] as supplement.<ref name="FletcherAction">Fletcher 2008, ''The Firefly in Action''</ref> Still, the units acquiring the Fireflies appreciated what they had as it was the only tank in Normandy in the Summer of 1944 that had a reasonable chance of defeating a [[Panther G|Panther]] or [[Tiger E|Tiger]] at combat ranges in the front.<ref name="ZalogaCh6AmericanFirefly">Zaloga 2008, ''Chapter 6: To Paris and Beyond!: American Firefly Deferred''</ref> In fact, the Firefly is most likely the responsible tank that destroyed the Tiger tank containing the Tiger Ace Michael Wittmann on 08 August 1944.<ref name="ZalogaChampionFirefly">Zaloga 2015, ''Chapter 8: The 1944 Tank Contest''</ref>

Once Firefly supply to the Normandy campaign was satisfied in October 1944, Fireflies were allocated to the Italian theater, shared out to the Polish, Canadian, New Zealand, British, and South African regiments stationed there. With that, supply issue arose in that theater for the Firefly, causing the units that received the Fireflies to treasure them greatly. Heeding the comments on how Fireflies were singled out for their long guns, there were attempts to hide the prominent gun barrels, ranging from deceptive paint schemes, camouflage, and even dummy barrels on the back of the Firefly turret that would be pointed forward to mimic the short 75 mm gun.<ref name="FletcherAction" />

Still, the Firefly served in the British Armies in the European Theater of Operations up to and until May 1945, when they were retired along with the end of the war for the replacement of better designs like the [[Comet I|Comet cruiser tank]] and the [[Centurion Mk 1|Centurion tank]].

====Reception====
The Firefly's performance was very favorable for the troops that had to use them against the heavy German tanks. Though a good portion of Germany's armour in the Normandy front were Panthers, a good majority were still [[Pz.IV H|Panzer IVs]] and self-propelled guns,<ref name="ZalogaChampionFirefly" /> all of which were manageable even with the 75 mm guns. Field reports by a Colonel W.E.H. Grylls in 1945<ref name="FletcherAction" /> helped highlight the troop's sentiments on the Firefly in combat, and especially their deficiencies. The muzzle brake sometimes came loose from an inadequate locking design, the traverse gear also failed at times due to the extra turret weight from the gun, rain leaked into the radio box on some tanks, internal space for the Firefly turret crew was comparatively cramped to the Sherman's, the muzzle flash at the gun's muzzle brake can obscure the target enough that it is difficult to ensure the firing round hit it, and muzzle flash on the breech end of the gun inside the turret has a tendency to cause a fair share of discomfort and uneasiness for the crew. Grylls also highlighted the crew praise on how the Firefly tended to not catch fire as quickly as Shermans, though this is deduced to by the placement of the majority of ammunition on the bottom of the hull, like the "wet stowage" arrangement on the newer [[M4A1 (76) W|Sherman models]]. Some of the deficiencies were fixed, such as the flashback at the breech end by implementing a delayed action breech on the 17-pounder Mk.VII model, but all these faults never diminished the popularity of the Firefly, highlighted by the statements of Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery that he wished to have Fireflies replace all types of Shermans in British service.<ref name="FletcherAction" />

On the onset, the Americans were not enthusiastic about the Firefly because they believed they had a comparable design in the [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm]] armed [[M4A1 (76) W|Shermans]]. It was not until Normandy when they were proven wrong and learned the 76 mm were unable to contend against Panthers from the front. Though they soon developed the HVAP ammunition, General Omar Bradley's 12th US Army Group on 13 August 1944 requested for Fireflies to be made until better American armament like the [[M3 (90 mm)|90 mm]] could be fielded.<ref name="FletcherAmerican">Fletcher 2008, ''The American Angle''</ref> Due to supply constraints, they never received any during that time period. Not that the American's own industries were making the situation easier for the British as when they discontinued their M4A4 Sherman and 75 mm gun production, there was a quick drop in Firefly conversions in the latter part of 1944 until they could supplement the production with enough Sherman I models.<ref name="FletcherSupply">Fletcher 2008, ''Supply and Demand''</ref> In the American's own program, it was advised that they try mounting the 17-pounder in the T23 turret made for the 76 mm gun, but also mounted on the [[M26|T26]] chassis.<ref name="FletcherAmerican" /> This advice did not make much progress. It wasn't until February 1945 when the British finally made time for conversions for the Americans. The first trials were converting two M4A3 Shermans to fit American specifications like fitting their larger radios, adding stowage brackets for the M2 machine gun, and attachment of a M9 elevating quadrant on the gun cradle.<ref name="FletcherAmerican" /><ref name="Zaloga76mmUpGun">Zaloga 2003, ''Upgunning the M4 Tank''</ref> A request of 160 Fireflies were specified on 11 March 1945 for completion on April 30, with the Americans shipping suitable tanks from France back to England for conversion. On April 7th, the initial order was halved to 80 due to the incoming end of the war and its demand ending with the lack of encountered German armour after the Ardennes Offensive.<ref name="ZalogaCh9Firefly">Zaloga 2008, ''Chapter 9: On to the Rhine!: Firepower Improvements''</ref> On the war's end, there were 100 tanks sitting in depots ready for conversion, with 86 converted tanks.<ref name="FletcherAmerican" /> The excess Shermans were given away and the leaders were left on what to do with these Fireflies they no longer needed. It was decided on May 26<ref name="FletcherAmerican" /> that these American Fireflies were to be retained in Europe for equipping the occupational force.<ref name="Zaloga76mmUpGun" /> No evidence exist on what happened to these Fireflies past that point.

===Legacy===
The Firefly's reputation during and after the war is a product of hindsight. The British understood the trend that was happening in German armoured forces and acted accordingly with the 17-pounder. It should be noted that the 17-pounder's super round, the APDS, did not appear in Firefly stowage until August 1944,<ref name="FletcherAmmo">Fletcher 2008, ''Ammunition''</ref> and in combat was really inaccurate past 500 yards and the round fouled the barrel that it affected follow-up shots with APCBC rounds. As such, APCBC round would still be standard usage and though the 17-pounder was still slightly more powerful than the 76 mm, it traded crew comfort and design quality in the Firefly in comparison to the 76 mm gun in the larger T23 turret. What solidified the Firefly's place in history in comparison to the 76 mm Shermans was that on the very first day that the Allies invaded Normandy, the British actually brought the Fireflies while the Americans left their 76 mm guns in English depots.<ref name="Zaloga76mmFrance">Zaloga 2003, ''Initial Deployment Problems''</ref> Thus, the British can claim with great confidence that on the opening days of Operation Overlord, they had a tank that could kill the German cats.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=britain&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=medium_tank&vehicle=uk_sherman_vc_firefly Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|H-wHZ0dzbx4|'''{{PAGENAME}} - New London''' - ''Oxy''|VtuyDsTmcxg|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''}}

== See also ==


* [[Sherman IC "Trzyniec"]] - Gift version of the vehicle, representing the 2nd «Warsaw» Armoured Division.
* [[M4 Tipo IC]] - Italian Firefly turret on a composite hull.
* [[Sherman Vc (Italy)]] - Italian equivalent of the Firefly
* [[M4A4 (SA50)]] - France's post-war attempt to upgrade the Sherman similarly to the Firefly.

== External links ==


===References===
'''Citations'''
<references />

'''Bibliography'''

* Fletcher, David. ''Sherman Firefly'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2008. ''Kindle Edition''
* Hunnicutt, R.P. ''Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank'' U.S.A.: Feist Publications, 1978
* Morans, Nicholas. ''Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: Sherman VC "Firefly" part 2'' YouTube, 20 Mar. 2017. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYRFpe27SnA]
* Zaloga, Steven J. ''M4 (76mm) Sherman Medium Tank 1943-65'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003. ''Kindle Edition''
* Zaloga, Steven J. ''Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II'' U.S.A: Stackpole Books, 2008. ''Kindle Edition''
* Zaloga, Steven J. ''Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II'' U.S.A: Stackpole Books, 2015. ''Kindle Edition''

{{Britain medium tanks}}

Crusader III

2021-01-27T05:56:07Z

U4662042: /* Ammo racks */

{{About
| about = British light tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other uses
| link = Crusader (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_crusader_mk_3
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} British light tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced along with the initial British tree line in [[Update 1.55 "Royal Armour"]].

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Driver's port)
* Structural steel (Side skirts)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 20 mm (33°) ''Front plate'' 9 mm (78-85°), 20 mm (61°) ''Front glacis'' 20 mm (26-64°) ''Lower glacis'' || 4 + 14 + 14.27 mm || 14 mm (44-50°) ''Top'' (14-52°) 14 mm ''Bottom'' || 7 mm
|-
| Turret || 31.75 mm (1°) ''Turret front'' 30 mm (0-44°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 14 mm (50°) || 17 mm (28-53°) || 12.7 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.
* Interior 14.27 mm side armour is made of rolled homogeneous armour.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=527|rbMinHp=301}}

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

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

{{main|6pdr OQF Mk.III (57 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[6pdr OQF Mk.III (57 mm)|57 mm 6pdr OQF Mk.III]] || 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" | 65 || rowspan="2" | -12°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Vertical || 34.3 || 47.4 || 57.6 || 63.7 || 67.8 || rowspan="2" | 5.20 || rowspan="2" | 4.60 || rowspan="2" | 4.24 || rowspan="2" | 4.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 21.4 || 25.2 || 30.6 || 33.8 || 36.0
|-
|}

==== 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
|-
| Shot Mk.5 || AP || 101 || 97 || 82 || 66 || 53 || 43
|-
| Shot Mk.5 HV || AP|| 108 || 104 || 87 || 70 || 57 || 46
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APC || 110 || 106 || 89 || 72 || 59 || 48
|-
| Shot Mk.9 || APCBC || 122 || 118 || 101 || 84 || 70 || 58
|-
| Shell Mk.10 || HE || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| Shot Mk.5 || AP || 815 || 2.8 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| Shot Mk.5 HV || AP || 853 || 2.8 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APC || 853 || 2.87 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Shot Mk.9 || APCBC || 801 || 3.23 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Shell Mk.10 || HE || 655 || 2.72 || 0 || 0.1 || 590 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''65''' || 49 ''(+16)'' || 33 ''(+32)'' || 17 ''(+48)'' || 1 ''(+64)'' || No
|-
|}

Center and back left empty: 30+1 ''(+34).''

''Both racks have 15 each + 1 in the gun.''

''Ignorant soviet apes at their best......''

==== [[Optics]] ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | {{PAGENAME}} Optics
|-
!
! Default magnification
! Maximum magnification
|-
! Main Gun optics
| x1.9 || x3.5
|-
! Comparable optics
| colspan="2" | [[AMR.35 ZT3]]
|-
|}

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

{{main|BESA (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[BESA (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm BESA]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 3,375 (225) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

[[File:Crusader MkIII Poland rain.jpg|thumb|A Crusader III heading to combat on [[Poland (Ground Forces)|Poland]].]]
The Crusader tank was designed to be fast and highly mobile, exploiting enemy battle lines by penetrating the flanks and disrupting the enemy from behind. In the game, the Crusader should be used in a similar fashion. It is quick, well armed and highly manoeuvrable, making it great at rushing capture points and exploiting the enemies flanks. The 57mm gun is excellent for its tier, with high penetration and good ballistics. Very few tanks can withstand a hit from this gun without major damage or worse.

The tanks low profile is its main advantage. You can hide easily among vegetation and obstacles like walls, shooting from a concealed position or retreating if the situation is looking a little too dangerous.

Of course, you can't have everything. The tank has thin armour, so it isn't suitable as a front line tank. The armour is sloped, however, so you may bounce some smaller calibre shells. Explosive shells are your worst nightmare, so avoid getting hit by them.

The 57 mm gun has great penetration, but the Crusader has very thin armour. There are still plenty of enemies that can give you some trouble.

* T-34 (1940)- You will begin encountering early models of T34s at this tier. You can penetrate their turret easily and drivers port easily, but they can pose a serious problem when angled properly. Also, the 76mm L11 gun can easily take you out with its massive explosive power. Try to take out the gunner first and then deal with the rest of the crew members for a safe kill.
* Panzer IV F1- The rapid-fire 75mm short barreled gun can fire HEAT or APCBC rounds, which can penetrate and cause serious damage to the Crusader. Luckily, the F1 has flat armour which can be easily penetrated from the front. Range is your friend with these tanks. Their gun is very difficult to aim accurately over 500m. Hit it before it hits you and you will most likely come out on top.
* Panzer IV F2- If you get up-tiered then you will face off against the dreaded Panzer IV F2. Its gun is accurate, high penetration and causes massive damage upon penetration. It will kill you easily at range. Fortunately, it has the same weak flat armour as the F1, so can be easily dealt with if you get off the first shot
* KV1-L11 - These heavy tanks are rare at your battle rating, but can still be faced. They have great, bouncy armour and a deadly gun. Try to hit the turret cheeks or the side/rear armour.
* Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. L - This Panzer III has a great, high-velocity gun and excellent frontal armour. The extra 20mm high hardness plates make a massive difference to the frontal armour, making it more bouncy and harder to penetrate. Fortunately, your gun can reliably penetrate the Panzer III L. If you are unsure, aim for the drivers port to kill the driver, gunner and commander.

Almost every tank can kill you easily, even with Rank I guns. Stay mobile, take advantage of the tanks low profile and shoot only when you know you can penetrate. This can make you a formidable tank on the battlefield.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Good penetration for a Rank I light tank
* Diverse selection of shells
* Low profile
* Gun is very lethal at close/mid range. It can easily get through the armour of any vehicle at its rank and beyond
* Gun already has a quick fire rate and no loader, so if a crew member dies you cannot lose much of your fire rate advantage
* Makes a good sneaky flanker in later rank matches. The gun remains effective and your low profile can come in handy
* Armour is thin but has odd angles all over the place, causing some rounds to bounce
* Reverse speed is much better than the Cromwell tank, though still only average
* Good manoeuvrability
* Carries 50 smoke grenades, can lay down long smoke screens to cover large areas

'''Cons:'''

* Not as fast as some of the other light tanks at this rank
* Weak armour
* Face of the turret is flat, making it quite easy to kill the gunner
* Only 3 crew members, relatively easy to kill in one shot

== History ==

===Development===
In 1938, the General Staff of the British Army requested for a cruiser tank that was lighter and more affordable than the heavier A16 cruiser design developed by Nuffield Mechanizations & Aero. One of these designs was the designation ''Tank, Cruiser Mk.V'' based off the [[A13 Mk I|A13 cruiser tanks]], named the "Covenanter", and Nuffield was invited to become part of its development team, but they refused due to interest in developing their own cruiser tank. Their tank was designated the '''Tank, Cruiser Mk.VI Crusader''' and fell under the General Staff specification of ''A15''. The Crusader was a parallel design to the Covenanter but was ready six weeks earlier than the Covenanter despite starting at a later time. The Crusader was adopted into service with the British Army in 1941 and the 5,300 units were manufactured between 1940 to 1943.

===Design===
The Crusader features a new design that differs from its cruiser tank predecessors. The Christie suspension system on the Crusader had five road wheels for it instead of the usual four, which improves weight distribution of the increased 20-ton weight of the Crusader compared to the 14 tons of the A13 cruisers. The engine, steering system, and cooling system on the Crusader was different as well, but the Covenanter and Crusader use the same main turret. The polygonal shape of the turret gives the crew inside more room for the turret ring diameter.

The Crusader Mk.I and ''[[Crusader Mk II|Mk.II]]'' were equipped with the 2-pounder, which was aimed by the gunner inside with a padded shaft that allows them to elevate the gun by simply adjusting his own height. Later in the war where an up-gun of the tank armament was necessary and newer tanks such as the [[Cromwell V|Cromwell]] was delayed, the Crusader was upgraded into the '''[[Crusader Mk III]]''' variant with a 6-pounder instead, which restricted turret space, requiring the turret crew to be reduced from three to two. These first saw action in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.

===Combat usage===
The Crusader first saw action at North Africa, right after the British had been pushed back to the Egyptian border by Axis forces. The Crusaders were part of the huge shipment in the Malta Convoys to reequip the British forces there. Enough Crusaders arrive that the entire 6th Royal Tank Regiment was refitted with them, which joined up with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment to form the 7th Armoured Brigade "Desert Rats". The brigade's first action was in Operation Battleaxe, though it was delayed due to adapting the tanks for the desert environment. The operation, which called for the relieve of the siege of Tobruk in June, was initiated in June to which 11 Crusader tanks were lost to anti-tank guns, plus many more to mechanical faults. While more Crusader tanks came in to reinforce the cruiser tank forces, there were never enough to supply the continuously expanding armoured units as 7th Brigade was combined with the 7th Hussars, the 2nd Armoured Brigade was added to the 7th Armoured Division, and the 8th Hussars was combined with the 4th Armoured Brigade. Overall, the Crusaders proved effective in the North African Campaign, the Crusader was faster than any tanks on the opposing side and the 2-pounder was lethal to the [[Pz.III J|Panzer III]], but the tank suffered from its thin armour, mechanical problems in the desert, and the growing deficiency of the 2-pounder, which didn't have enough range to destroy farther tanks. The Crusader design also caused the ammo racks on the tank to easily ignite due to unprotected racks and shot traps on the turret design. Anti-tank guns continue to be the main reason the Crusader units suffer losses, rather than to enemy tanks.

By the end of 1941, only the 2nd Armoured Brigade retained the Crusaders, the rest of the other tank units were being refitted with better tanks, such as the [[Grant I|M3 Grant medium tank]] from the American Lend-Lease. Crusader units were also refitted with the more powerful Crusader Mk.III with the 6-pounder, which improved the Crusader's ability to destroy the gradually stronger German tanks. After General Bernard Montgomery took command of the British Army in 1942, more British tank units were re-equipped with the Grant and [[M4|M4 Sherman]] tanks while the Crusaders were relegated from the front-lines to "light squadrons" meant to flank the enemy and attacked at its exposed sides. When the British 1st Army engaged the Axis at Tunisia, some tank regiments still use Crusaders mixed in with [[Valentine Mk I|Valentine tanks]]. These units in the 26th Armoured Brigade, code-named "Blade Force", worked alongside the 78th Infantry Division as an independent armoured column. During Tunisia, the 1st Army was already converting the tank regiments into Shermans, but the 8th Army continued to use the Crusaders for much longer, which would see use at the Battle of Wadi Akarit and Mareth Line.

After the North African Campaign, the Crusaders no longer saw any use in the front-lines and were used in other roles such as gun tractors with 17-pounders or anti-aircraft mounts such as the ''[[Crusader AA Mk I|Crusader AA Mk.I]]'' and ''[[Crusader AA Mk II|Mk.II]]''. Some Crusader tanks equipped the tank regiments that stayed back at the British Homelands such as the 11th Armoured Division.

===Survivors===
About 21 Crusaders still exist intact in various parts of the world. The most notable places with the Crusaders are South Africa with 8 known survivors, a running Crusader Mk.III at Bovington Tank Museum at England, and an anti-aircraft version at Musée des Blindés of Saumur in France

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=britain&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=light_tank&vehicle=uk_crusader_mk_3 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|qdn6Q8vxOQQ|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|NEPCgdqjTUA|'''{{PAGENAME}}, British Tier-2, Light Tank''' - ''Angry Nerd Gaming''}}

== 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 light tanks}}

Crusader III

2021-01-19T18:34:10Z

U4662042: /* Ammo racks */

{{About
| about = British light tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other uses
| link = Crusader (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_crusader_mk_3
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} British light tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced along with the initial British tree line in [[Update 1.55 "Royal Armour"]].

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Driver's port)
* Structural steel (Side skirts)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 20 mm (33°) ''Front plate'' 9 mm (78-85°), 20 mm (61°) ''Front glacis'' 20 mm (26-64°) ''Lower glacis'' || 4 + 14 + 14.27 mm || 14 mm (44-50°) ''Top'' (14-52°) 14 mm ''Bottom'' || 7 mm
|-
| Turret || 31.75 mm (1°) ''Turret front'' 30 mm (0-44°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 14 mm (50°) || 17 mm (28-53°) || 12.7 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.
* Interior 14.27 mm side armour is made of rolled homogeneous armour.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=527|rbMinHp=301}}

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

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

{{main|6pdr OQF Mk.III (57 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[6pdr OQF Mk.III (57 mm)|57 mm 6pdr OQF Mk.III]] || 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" | 65 || rowspan="2" | -12°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Vertical || 34.3 || 47.4 || 57.6 || 63.7 || 67.8 || rowspan="2" | 5.20 || rowspan="2" | 4.60 || rowspan="2" | 4.24 || rowspan="2" | 4.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 21.4 || 25.2 || 30.6 || 33.8 || 36.0
|-
|}

==== 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
|-
| Shot Mk.5 || AP || 101 || 97 || 82 || 66 || 53 || 43
|-
| Shot Mk.5 HV || AP|| 108 || 104 || 87 || 70 || 57 || 46
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APC || 110 || 106 || 89 || 72 || 59 || 48
|-
| Shot Mk.9 || APCBC || 122 || 118 || 101 || 84 || 70 || 58
|-
| Shell Mk.10 || HE || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| Shot Mk.5 || AP || 815 || 2.8 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| Shot Mk.5 HV || AP || 853 || 2.8 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| Shot Mk.8 || APC || 853 || 2.87 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Shot Mk.9 || APCBC || 801 || 3.23 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Shell Mk.10 || HE || 655 || 2.72 || 0 || 0.1 || 590 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''65''' || 49 ''(+16)'' || 33 ''(+32)'' || 17 ''(+48)'' || 1 ''(+64)'' || No
|-
|}

Center and front rack empty: 33 ''(+32)=FALSE''

Center & back left rack empty:31(Center 1st rack,back left 2nd rack,back right 3rd rack & front 4th rack).

Russians & Gaming is like giving neanderthal New Iphone or S20 Samsung before they discovered fire.

==== [[Optics]] ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | {{PAGENAME}} Optics
|-
!
! Default magnification
! Maximum magnification
|-
! Main Gun optics
| x1.9 || x3.5
|-
! Comparable optics
| colspan="2" | [[AMR.35 ZT3]]
|-
|}

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

{{main|BESA (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[BESA (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm BESA]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 3,375 (225) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

[[File:Crusader MkIII Poland rain.jpg|thumb|A Crusader III heading to combat on [[Poland (Ground Forces)|Poland]].]]
The Crusader tank was designed to be fast and highly mobile, exploiting enemy battle lines by penetrating the flanks and disrupting the enemy from behind. In the game, the Crusader should be used in a similar fashion. It is quick, well armed and highly manoeuvrable, making it great at rushing capture points and exploiting the enemies flanks. The 57mm gun is excellent for its tier, with high penetration and good ballistics. Very few tanks can withstand a hit from this gun without major damage or worse.

The tanks low profile is its main advantage. You can hide easily among vegetation and obstacles like walls, shooting from a concealed position or retreating if the situation is looking a little too dangerous.

Of course, you can't have everything. The tank has thin armour, so it isn't suitable as a front line tank. The armour is sloped, however, so you may bounce some smaller calibre shells. Explosive shells are your worst nightmare, so avoid getting hit by them.

The 57 mm gun has great penetration, but the Crusader has very thin armour. There are still plenty of enemies that can give you some trouble.

* T-34 (1940)- You will begin encountering early models of T34s at this tier. You can penetrate their turret easily and drivers port easily, but they can pose a serious problem when angled properly. Also, the 76mm L11 gun can easily take you out with its massive explosive power. Try to take out the gunner first and then deal with the rest of the crew members for a safe kill.
* Panzer IV F1- The rapid-fire 75mm short barreled gun can fire HEAT or APCBC rounds, which can penetrate and cause serious damage to the Crusader. Luckily, the F1 has flat armour which can be easily penetrated from the front. Range is your friend with these tanks. Their gun is very difficult to aim accurately over 500m. Hit it before it hits you and you will most likely come out on top.
* Panzer IV F2- If you get up-tiered then you will face off against the dreaded Panzer IV F2. Its gun is accurate, high penetration and causes massive damage upon penetration. It will kill you easily at range. Fortunately, it has the same weak flat armour as the F1, so can be easily dealt with if you get off the first shot
* KV1-L11 - These heavy tanks are rare at your battle rating, but can still be faced. They have great, bouncy armour and a deadly gun. Try to hit the turret cheeks or the side/rear armour.
* Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. L - This Panzer III has a great, high-velocity gun and excellent frontal armour. The extra 20mm high hardness plates make a massive difference to the frontal armour, making it more bouncy and harder to penetrate. Fortunately, your gun can reliably penetrate the Panzer III L. If you are unsure, aim for the drivers port to kill the driver, gunner and commander.

Almost every tank can kill you easily, even with Rank I guns. Stay mobile, take advantage of the tanks low profile and shoot only when you know you can penetrate. This can make you a formidable tank on the battlefield.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Good penetration for a Rank I light tank
* Diverse selection of shells
* Low profile
* Gun is very lethal at close/mid range. It can easily get through the armour of any vehicle at its rank and beyond
* Gun already has a quick fire rate and no loader, so if a crew member dies you cannot lose much of your fire rate advantage
* Makes a good sneaky flanker in later rank matches. The gun remains effective and your low profile can come in handy
* Armour is thin but has odd angles all over the place, causing some rounds to bounce
* Reverse speed is much better than the Cromwell tank, though still only average
* Good manoeuvrability
* Carries 50 smoke grenades, can lay down long smoke screens to cover large areas

'''Cons:'''

* Not as fast as some of the other light tanks at this rank
* Weak armour
* Face of the turret is flat, making it quite easy to kill the gunner
* Only 3 crew members, relatively easy to kill in one shot

== History ==

===Development===
In 1938, the General Staff of the British Army requested for a cruiser tank that was lighter and more affordable than the heavier A16 cruiser design developed by Nuffield Mechanizations & Aero. One of these designs was the designation ''Tank, Cruiser Mk.V'' based off the [[A13 Mk I|A13 cruiser tanks]], named the "Covenanter", and Nuffield was invited to become part of its development team, but they refused due to interest in developing their own cruiser tank. Their tank was designated the '''Tank, Cruiser Mk.VI Crusader''' and fell under the General Staff specification of ''A15''. The Crusader was a parallel design to the Covenanter but was ready six weeks earlier than the Covenanter despite starting at a later time. The Crusader was adopted into service with the British Army in 1941 and the 5,300 units were manufactured between 1940 to 1943.

===Design===
The Crusader features a new design that differs from its cruiser tank predecessors. The Christie suspension system on the Crusader had five road wheels for it instead of the usual four, which improves weight distribution of the increased 20-ton weight of the Crusader compared to the 14 tons of the A13 cruisers. The engine, steering system, and cooling system on the Crusader was different as well, but the Covenanter and Crusader use the same main turret. The polygonal shape of the turret gives the crew inside more room for the turret ring diameter.

The Crusader Mk.I and ''[[Crusader Mk II|Mk.II]]'' were equipped with the 2-pounder, which was aimed by the gunner inside with a padded shaft that allows them to elevate the gun by simply adjusting his own height. Later in the war where an up-gun of the tank armament was necessary and newer tanks such as the [[Cromwell V|Cromwell]] was delayed, the Crusader was upgraded into the '''[[Crusader Mk III]]''' variant with a 6-pounder instead, which restricted turret space, requiring the turret crew to be reduced from three to two. These first saw action in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.

===Combat usage===
The Crusader first saw action at North Africa, right after the British had been pushed back to the Egyptian border by Axis forces. The Crusaders were part of the huge shipment in the Malta Convoys to reequip the British forces there. Enough Crusaders arrive that the entire 6th Royal Tank Regiment was refitted with them, which joined up with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment to form the 7th Armoured Brigade "Desert Rats". The brigade's first action was in Operation Battleaxe, though it was delayed due to adapting the tanks for the desert environment. The operation, which called for the relieve of the siege of Tobruk in June, was initiated in June to which 11 Crusader tanks were lost to anti-tank guns, plus many more to mechanical faults. While more Crusader tanks came in to reinforce the cruiser tank forces, there were never enough to supply the continuously expanding armoured units as 7th Brigade was combined with the 7th Hussars, the 2nd Armoured Brigade was added to the 7th Armoured Division, and the 8th Hussars was combined with the 4th Armoured Brigade. Overall, the Crusaders proved effective in the North African Campaign, the Crusader was faster than any tanks on the opposing side and the 2-pounder was lethal to the [[Pz.III J|Panzer III]], but the tank suffered from its thin armour, mechanical problems in the desert, and the growing deficiency of the 2-pounder, which didn't have enough range to destroy farther tanks. The Crusader design also caused the ammo racks on the tank to easily ignite due to unprotected racks and shot traps on the turret design. Anti-tank guns continue to be the main reason the Crusader units suffer losses, rather than to enemy tanks.

By the end of 1941, only the 2nd Armoured Brigade retained the Crusaders, the rest of the other tank units were being refitted with better tanks, such as the [[Grant I|M3 Grant medium tank]] from the American Lend-Lease. Crusader units were also refitted with the more powerful Crusader Mk.III with the 6-pounder, which improved the Crusader's ability to destroy the gradually stronger German tanks. After General Bernard Montgomery took command of the British Army in 1942, more British tank units were re-equipped with the Grant and [[M4|M4 Sherman]] tanks while the Crusaders were relegated from the front-lines to "light squadrons" meant to flank the enemy and attacked at its exposed sides. When the British 1st Army engaged the Axis at Tunisia, some tank regiments still use Crusaders mixed in with [[Valentine Mk I|Valentine tanks]]. These units in the 26th Armoured Brigade, code-named "Blade Force", worked alongside the 78th Infantry Division as an independent armoured column. During Tunisia, the 1st Army was already converting the tank regiments into Shermans, but the 8th Army continued to use the Crusaders for much longer, which would see use at the Battle of Wadi Akarit and Mareth Line.

After the North African Campaign, the Crusaders no longer saw any use in the front-lines and were used in other roles such as gun tractors with 17-pounders or anti-aircraft mounts such as the ''[[Crusader AA Mk I|Crusader AA Mk.I]]'' and ''[[Crusader AA Mk II|Mk.II]]''. Some Crusader tanks equipped the tank regiments that stayed back at the British Homelands such as the 11th Armoured Division.

===Survivors===
About 21 Crusaders still exist intact in various parts of the world. The most notable places with the Crusaders are South Africa with 8 known survivors, a running Crusader Mk.III at Bovington Tank Museum at England, and an anti-aircraft version at Musée des Blindés of Saumur in France

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=britain&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=light_tank&vehicle=uk_crusader_mk_3 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|qdn6Q8vxOQQ|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|NEPCgdqjTUA|'''{{PAGENAME}}, British Tier-2, Light Tank''' - ''Angry Nerd Gaming''}}

== 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 light tanks}}

T25

2020-11-21T02:12:30Z

U4662042: /* Pros and cons */

{{Specs-Card|code=us_t25}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.53 "Firestorm"]]. The T25 is, for all intents and purposes, a prototype [[M26|M26 Pershing]], with nearly the same design, turret, and gun. It comes directly after the [[M4A3 (76) W]] in the American medium tank line.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

'''Armour type:'''

*Cast homogeneous armour (Front, Turret)
*Rolled homogeneous armour (Side, Rear, Roof)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 76.2 mm (47°) ''Front Glacis'' 63.5 mm (56°) ''Lower Glacis''|| 50.8 mm ''Front half'' 38.1 mm ''Rear half'' || 38.1 mm (7-22°) || 19.05 mm
|-
| Turret || 76.2 mm (1-80°) ''Turret front'' 88.9 mm (7-80°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 63.5 mm (0-31°) || 63.5 mm (1-3°) || 25.4 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 76.2 mm || 25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels, bogies, and tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Machine gun port on hull is vulnerable due to flat armour.

=== Mobility ===


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=775|rbMinHp=442}}

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

{{main|M3 (90 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M3 (90 mm)|90 mm M3]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 50 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Vertical || 22.85 || 31.62 || 38.40 || 42.47 || 45.18 || rowspan="2" | 9.75 || rowspan="2" | 8.63 || rowspan="2" | 7.95 || rowspan="2" | 7.50
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.28 || 16.80 || 20.40 || 22.56 || 24.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| M77 shot || AP || 162 || 160 || 148 || 135 || 123 || 113
|-
| M82 shot || APCBC || 173 || 170 || 159 || 145 || 133 || 121
|-
| M304 shot || APCR || 287 || 281 || 259 || 234 || 211 || 191
|-
| M71 shell || HE || 13 || 13 || 13 || 13 || 13 || 13
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| M77 shot || AP || 822 || 10.61 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| M82 shot || APCBC || 813 || 10.94 || 1.2 || 14.0 || 137.2 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| M304 shot || APCR || 1,021 || 7.62 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
| M71 shell || HE || 823 || 10.55 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 925 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''50''' || 41 ''(+9)'' || 33 ''(+17)'' || 25 ''(+25)'' || 17 ''(+33)'' || 9 ''(+41)'' || 1 ''(+49)'' || No
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount
! Capacity (Belt capacity)
! Rate of fire (shots/minute)
! Vertical guidance
! Horizontal guidance
|-
| Pintle || 500 (200) || 576 || -10°/+60° || ±180°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M1919A4]]
|-
! Mount
! Capacity (Belt capacity)
! Rate of fire (shots/minute)
! Vertical guidance
! Horizontal guidance
|-
| Coaxial || 4,500 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The T25 is a medium tank, but the mobility can give the impression that it is a quick heavy tank when driving it. Its top speed is on par with the [[Comet I|Comet]], but it accelerates slower. The T25 is respectably mobile and is one of the first American tanks to have neutral steering, which allows for excellent and light low-speed handling and useful in tight urban maps. The T25's saving grace is the fact that it's got the 90 mm, on par to the Tiger's [[KwK 36 (88 mm)|88 mm gun]].

When using this tank, use it as what it is - a medium tank. It has many of the very desirable qualities for a medium tank - containing elements of a tank destroyer, a medium tank, and a heavy tank into one powerful package. Its armour is above average, being on par with a Tiger I, because of it being sloped. When angled, the tank is extremely tough, but do not expect the armour to save the T25 every time - the common [[IS-2]] is extremely dangerous. Its hide may be thick, but once upgraded, it can keep up with things like Panthers, but don't expect to win any running races soon! Its speed is what surprises many players, as American tanks are not known for their speed. This speed can allow flanking manoeuvres and to get to positions impossible for most American tanks. This leads into its tank destroyer capability - the part that makes the T25 very effective. It has access to the famed M82 APCBC rounds, which matches Russian tanks on post-penetration effect, owing to the round's massive 137 grams of explosive filler. And for good measure, it has the same penetration as a Tiger 1's 88mm APCBC rounds. It even has access to very powerful APCR rounds for it's BR, but the T25 will not usually need 260 mm of penetration. Its various qualities make it a jack of all trades, with its only weakness being mobility and thin side armour. The T25 gives a glimpse of American medium tank gameplay after the Sherman series.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Mobility
! Protection
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Tracks
|
| Parts
| M82 shot
| Horizontal Drive
|-
| II
| Suspension
| Brake System
| FPE
| M304 shot
| Adjustment of Fire
|-
| III
| Filters
|
| Crew Replenishment
| Elevation Mechanism
|
|-
| IV
| Transmission
| Engine
|
| Artillery Support
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Powerful 90 mm gun, same gun mounted on the M26 and the M36 GMC
* Vertical gun stabilizer that works up to 24 km/h
* Mounts a .50 cal machine gun on top for anti-aircraft defence
* It's a middle ground between the M26 and the M4A3 (76) W
* Lower profile than the [[M4A3 (76) W |M4 Sherman]] tanks
* Much more manoeuvrable and faster than the M26 Pershing
* Can immediately research the M82 shell upon purchase
* Has neutral steering
* Similar play style to that of the M26 Pershing
* .50 cal AA machine gun that can rotate a full 360 degree

'''Cons:'''

* 90 mm cannon is notorious for having a longer reload time than its competitors
* Armour is woefully inadequate at its rank
* Slow, can't keep up with T-34 and Panthers even King Tiger is faster then T25 on any terrain
* Stock shell is bad

== History ==

=== T20 series ===
After the [[M4|M4 Sherman]] was adopted as the United States military's standard tank, work began on a new tank design to be the successor of the M4 Sherman. U.S. Ordnance Department got to work in spring of 1942, which would lead up to the ''[[T20]]'' tank designs. The T20, along with its variants like the ''T22'' and ''T23'', were all marginal improvements over the M4 Sherman with a more powerful [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm gun]], a rear transmission design, and having a much lower profile. While the Ordnance Dept. tinkered around with these designs with various components, the Armored Board rejected the few designs offered to them for being maintenance extensive, as well as not seeing a need to replace their abundant and well-suited M4 Shermans on the field. While the tanks were rejected, they did provide some technical upgrades to the current Sherman designs. An example of this is the horizontal-volute suspension system (HVSS)that eventually became the suspension of the "E8" Shermans such as the [[M4A3 (76) W|M4A3E8]].<ref name="PershingHunnicutt">Hunnicutt, R.P. ''Pershing: A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series'' U.S.A.: Feist Publications, 1971</ref> Another example is the T23 turret, which would become the main turret on Shermans mounting the 76 mm cannon on the "E6" program.

Though the Armored Board rejected the tanks for immediate combat use, the Ordnance Dept. continued their development. The T20s were not completely disregarded, as one of the models, the T23, was seen as promising enough that an initial order of 250 tanks was placed in May 1943. As tests continued, the order was modified. 50 of the tanks were to be adapted to use a [[M3 (90 mm)|90 mm gun]] as its main armament. Forty of them were to be simple T23 upgrades with the new turret, but ten were to also have additional armour on the hull. These two 90 mm tanks asked are designated the '''T25''' and ''T26'' respectively.<ref name="PershingHunnicutt" />

===Development of the T25===
The first T25 was made by adding a 90 mm gun turret onto the T23. This converted T23 first arrived at Aberdeen Proving Ground on 21 January 1944, and a second one arrived at Fort Knox on 29 April. Both models had a horizontal-volute suspension system with 23-inch tracks. This original T25 was roughly 3 tons heavier than the T23 and carried the 90 mm gun T7, the prototype of the 90 mm M3. Other changes from the T23 consists of a narrower and longer driver hatch to adapt to the gun mantlet of the new turret, as well as smaller changes in the interior for increased ammo storage. The transmission was still that of the T23 with the electric transmission with a Ford GAN engine.<ref name="PershingHunnicutt" />

Another variant of the T25 was developed by the Ordnance Dept when they discovered that the electric drive on the T25 and T26 added too much weight to the overall design. This variation changed the transmission on the two tanks to a Torqmatic transmission design, essentially an improved T20's transmission design, as well as torsion bar suspension. These variants were designated with an "E1" name to ''T25E1'' and ''T26E1''. It was decided that the "E1" tanks were to be the standard production model with them to go along with the orders. Production and deliveries of the T25E1 and T26E1 were carried out between February to May 1944. The T25E1 and T26E1 participated in a series of tests at Aberdeen Proving Grounds and Fort Knox to determine their combat suitability and design flaws. Testing for the E1 tanks lasted from their arrival in February to summer of 1944.<ref name="PershingHunnicutt" />

===Rejection and fate===
By summer of 1944, Operation Overlord commenced and battle reports coming in from the troops are taken in for any suggestions on future tank development. The troops in Normandy were running into anti-tank defences able to destroy their [[M4|M4 Shermans]] with ease, and now they called for a tank with more powerful armament and increased armour. This new perspective caused an unfortunate setback for the T25 in comparison to its up-armoured brother T26. As such, priority on the T25 declined as priority work went into the T26 and into fixing its faults. Only 42 tanks, 2 T25 and 40 T25E1s, were produced between January and May of 1944.<ref name="PershingHunnicutt" />

The T25 and T25E1 tanks continued on in the Armored Board and Ordnance Dept. as test pieces for other projects. The T25 in Armored Board stayed in testing until the 28th of September, 1944, before their focus also switched to the T26 series. The Ordnance Dept. converted a T25E1 tank into a T26E3 variant to test for various modifications that would go onto the redesigning of the T26E1 into the T26E3. The T25E1 was also tested with various of guns like a 90 mm gun T14. There was also a proposal to mount a [[T5E1 (105 mm)|105 mm T5E1 gun]], but this never passed the concept drawing stages.<ref name="PershingHunnicutt" />

The T26 and T26E1 models, now the main focus of the Ordnance Dept. and Armored Board, had the defects found from field testing fixed by late 1944. This polished variant was designated the ''T26E3''. This tank, with an order of 250 already made since January of 1944, went on into production that November, with 40 tanks delivered by the end of the year. The T26E3, in a bid for further testing, was sent to Europe for combat evaluation on the field against German armour. The T26E3 would provide sterling service against German heavy tanks like the [[Panther G|Panther]] and [[Tiger E|Tiger I]]. The T26E3 tank was then finally accepted and standardized on March 1945 in Army Ground Forces as the [[M26|M26 Pershing]].<ref name="PershingHunnicutt" />

=== In-game description ===
An experimental medium tank built at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant in January, 1944. Only two of them were ever built. They were never used in combat. One of the precursors to the M26 medium tank, armed with a 90mm gun and comparable armor.

== Media ==


;Skins


{| class="catlist" frame="box" style="background: #efefef;" align="center"
|[[File:GEN_LIVE_WT_1_HPL.jpg|510px|link=https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=usa&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=medium_tank&vehicle=us_t25|]] ||
|-
|}

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|yHuUGzezChI|'''Best after-party picks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 2:08 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

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

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

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/devblog/current/814/|[Devblog] T25 Medium Tank and Panzerwerfer 42 Auf.Sf - with developer's answers]]

===References===
<references />

{{USA medium tanks}}

Leopard 2K

2020-11-20T05:25:53Z

U4662042: xxx

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_leopard_2k}}
{{About
| about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Leopard 2 (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===


{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Armour!!Front (Slope angle)!!Sides!!Rear!!Roof
|-
|Hull||160 mm ''Upper''
120 mm ''Lower''
|65 / 95 mm ''Top''
35 / 110 mm ''Bottom''
|38 / 48 mm||20 mm
|-
|Turret||160-350 / 220-500 mm ''Turret front''
|60 / 90 mm||46 / 96 mm||20 mm
|}

<nowiki/>* Kinetic/Chemical mm

=== Mobility ===


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=2,032|rbMinHp=1,327}}

The mobility of the {{PAGENAME}} is astonishing, making it one of the most agile MBTs in its BR, able to reach a speed of 70 km/h (RB) on road.

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

{{main|Rheinmetall L44 (120 mm)}}

The Leopard 2K's gun is a 120 mm Rheinmetall L44. It can be found on the later models of the tank, such as the [[Leopard 2A4]] and [[Leopard 2A5]], but does not get all of the later rounds(But russian tanks get same rounds from 9.0 to 10.7BR aka BIAS/staljin thunder). The rounds that the Leopard 2K gets are a DM12 HEATFS and DM13 APFSDS just like the [[Leopard A1A1 (L/44)]]. Being fitted with a 120 mm Rheinmetall gun it is effective at all ranges, capable of penetrating tanks even 1,000 m away

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Rheinmetall L44 (120 mm)|120 mm Rheinmetall L44]] || 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" | 41 || rowspan="2" | -9°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 38.1 || 45.0 || 64.0 || 70.8 || 75.3 || rowspan="2" | 8.7 || rowspan="2" | 7.7 || rowspan="2" | 7.1 || rowspan="2" | 6.7
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 23.8 || 28.1 || 34.0 || 37.6 || 40.0
|-
|}

==== 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
|-
| DM13 || APFSDS || 393 || 390 || 384 || 376 || 367 || 359
|-
| DM12 || HEATFS || 480 || 480 || 480 || 480 || 480 || 480
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| DM13 || APFSDS || 1,650 || 4.44 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 78° || 80° || 81°
|-
| DM12 || HEATFS || 1,140 || 13.5 || 0.05 || 1 || 2,150 || 65° || 72° || 77°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''41''' || 11 ''(+30)'' || 1 ''(+40)'' || No
|-
|}

* The 2nd ammo rack is a First-stage ammo stowage and will refill from the 1st rack.

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|Rh202 (20 mm)|MG3A1 (7.62 mm)}}

The tank has a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun situated on top of the turret which can fire over cover and be used to knock out gun barrels and tracks, light tanks, helicopters and planes. The belts are alternating HEFI-T/HVAP-T, with 57 mm of penetration at 0 degrees at 10 m. The 20 mm has quite good elevation, and rotates independently from the turret, able to surprise light tanks attempting to flank following turret ring immobilization.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Rh202 (20 mm)|20 mm Rh202]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 750 (750) || 900 || -9°/+45° || ±180°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG3A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm MG3A1]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 4,000 (1,000) || 1,200 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Stock Gameplay:'''

As with any vehicle, the Leopard 2K finds itself at a serious disadvantage while stock. Without access to the DM13 APFSDS round, users will need to play more carefully. While the DM12 HEAT-FS round is powerful, it struggles against composite armour and ERA, as well as having lacklustre post-penetration effects. Players will have to aim more carefully to deal effective damage with the DM12 HEAT round.

'''Spaded Gameplay:'''

The Leopard 2K is a powerful tank. The DM13 APFSDS round has adequate penetration, and it should be easy to destroy most enemy vehicles. The gun, ammo, and reload rate are comparable to other main battle tanks of the battle rating. The Leopard 2K does however struggle in some regards against top of the line tanks such as the [[Leopard 2A5]] and [[M1A2 Abrams]]. The armour on the Leopard 2K is rather limited, only effective against autocannon fire. Additionally, the lack of thermals means that it will be difficult for Leopard 2K players to spot enemy tanks before they are spotted. The biggest advantages of the 2K are the 20 mm which is effective against light vehicles and aircraft, and the speed of the 2K.

'''Close Range Engagements:'''

The Leopard 2K is very capable at close range. It has impressive acceleration and gun handling, giving it an edge over other vehicles. The 20 mm will easily destroy enemy light vehicles and cannon breaches, while the reload rate on the main gun is comparable to its adversaries. Brawling is one of the Leopard 2K tanks' strong suits.

'''Long Range Engagements:'''

The Leopard 2K is capable at long range, but is outclassed by many other vehicles. The cannon is powerful, but not especially so compared to its adversaries. The biggest issues the Leopard 2K will face in regards to long range engagements are the thin turret armour and lack of thermals. While the DM13 APFSDS round will fail to penetrate the turret cheeks of vehicles like the [[Challenger Mk.2]] and [[T-64B]], their rounds will have no such trouble with the Leopard 2K. The lack of thermals makes it difficult to scout for enemies through foliage, meaning trying to snipe is not an effective strategy against any enemies equipped with thermals, as they will almost certainly spot you first.

'''Gameplay summary:'''

Although the Leopard 2K is somewhat weak when stock, it is an adequate frontline tank while spaded. The good APFSDS round and 20 mm give it a strong position in the German high tier lineup. However, Leopard 2K tank commanders should play to mitigate their disadvantages in thin armour and lack of thermals. The Leopard 2K does best in close to medium range fights.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Mobility
! Protection
! colspan="3" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Tracks
|
| Parts
| Horizontal Drive
| DM13
|
|-
| II
| Suspension
| Brake System
| FPE
| Adjustment of Fire
|
|
|-
| III
| Filters
|
| Crew Replenishment
| Elevation Mechanism
| Smoke grenade
|
|-
| IV
| Transmission
| Engine
|
| Artillery Support
| Laser rangefinder
| NVD
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* 120 mm gun with effective rounds
* Sloped armour has a tendency to bounce shots
* 20 mm cannon very effective against light armour, cannon barrels, and aircraft
* Excellent mobility

'''Cons:'''

* Thin armour overall
* Relatively high profile, the 20 mm gun often sticks out behind cover
* Stock HEAT-FS round struggles against some enemy vehicles' armour, especially those with ERA or composite armour
* Lack of thermals

== History ==

In the 1960s, Germany and the United States were jointly-developing the MBT-70, and Germany was contractually prevented from developing any new MBTs independently until the joint project with the US was completed.

But development problems plagued the MBT-70 project, and it appeared that the vehicle would not be finished within an acceptable time frame—so Germany found a way to bypass contractual limitations for the MBT-70 development.

Instead of ordering the development of a new tank, the German government issued an order to the Porsche company to research ways to improve the Leopard I tank already in service with the German army. This enabled Germany to research a more advanced fighting vehicle without breaching the contract signed with the US.

Porsche's first study of the Leopard I revealed a lot of room for improvement, and second study focusing on upgrading the Leopard I to match the MBT-70's firepower was launched almost immediately. This eventually resulted in the construction of two prototype vehicles—one in 1969 and one in 1970—nicknamed Keiler (tusker).

In the early 1970s, Germany was able to back out of the MBT-70 project due to spiraling development costs. Instead, they continued work on the development of the Keiler, which was renamed to Leopard 2.

The Leopard 2 project was expected to yield two versions: the Leopard 2K armed with a cannon, and the Leopard 2FK armed with a gun/launcher similar to the MBT-70. In 1971, ten prototypes were ordered, and seven more orders followed shortly thereafter.

To get the most out of their prototypes, German engineers equipped each one with different components to determine what worked best. Some Leopard 2 versions were equipped with a 105mm smoothbore cannon, whereas others were fitted with 120mm smoothbore cannons. Some prototypes received a hydraulic suspension while others didn't, and there was even a version equipped with the 20mm anti-air mount on the turret (similar to the one found on the Kpz-70).

Sixteen out of seventeen Leopard 2 prototypes were built and tested, yielding many refinements to the Leopard 2 design. Subsequent models further increased the Leopard 2's capabilities, with each variant making it more powerful—and ultimately into the Leopard 2 known today.

''- From [[wt:en/news/5309-development-leopard-2k-a-legend-in-the-making-en|Devblog]]''

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=germany&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=medium_tank&vehicle=germ_leopard_2k Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|WMxQNdaqA7E|'''You Need To Play This Tank Again: {{PAGENAME}}''' - ''Virus''|gyrbSUvCj-8|'''{{PAGENAME}}: the Original German Ingenuity''' - ''JustinPlaysYT''|p6cWlyUnJQA|'''Top 7 off-road beasts''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 4:00 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|WA3jQgZLjAg|'''The Shooting Range #94''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:29 discusses the Leopard 2K.|t6rKdgkbEWc|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|vF02GuEIww0|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''Napalmratte''}}

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

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

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/5309-development-leopard-2k-a-legend-in-the-making-en|[Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> Leopard 2K: A Legend In The Making]]

{{Germany medium tanks}}

Leopard 2K

2020-08-28T03:23:18Z

U4662042:

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_leopard_2k}}
{{About
| about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Leopard 2 (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===


{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Armour!!Front (Slope angle)!!Sides!!Rear!!Roof
|-
|Hull||160 mm ''Upper''
120 mm ''Lower''
|65 / 95 mm ''Top''
35 / 110 mm ''Bottom''
|38 / 48 mm||20 mm
|-
|Turret||160-350 / 220-500 mm ''Turret front''
|60 / 90 mm||46 / 96 mm||20 mm
|}

<nowiki/>* Kinetic/Chemical mm

=== Mobility ===


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=2,032|rbMinHp=1,327}}

The mobility of the {{PAGENAME}} is astonishing, making it one of the most agile MBTs in its BR, able to reach a speed of 70 km/h (RB) on road.

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

{{main|Rheinmetall L44 (120 mm)}}

The Leopard 2K's gun is a 120 mm Rheinmetall L44. It can be found on the later models of the tank, such as the [[Leopard 2A4]] and [[Leopard 2A5]], but does not get all of the later rounds. The rounds that the Leopard 2K gets are a DM12 HEATFS and DM13 APFSDS just like the [[Leopard A1A1 (L/44)]]. Being fitted with a 120 mm Rheinmetall gun it is effective at all ranges, capable of penetrating tanks even 1,000 m away

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Rheinmetall L44 (120 mm)|120 mm Rheinmetall L44]] || 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" | 41 || rowspan="2" | -9°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 38.1 || __.__ ||64.0||70.8||75.3|| rowspan="2" | 8.7 || rowspan="2" | 7.7 || rowspan="2" | 7.1 || rowspan="2" | 6.7
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 23.8 || __.__ ||34.0||37.6||40.0
|-
|}

==== 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
|-
| DM13 || APFSDS || 393 || 390 || 384 || 376 || 367 || 359
|-
| DM12 || HEATFS || 480 || 480 || 480 || 480 || 480 || 480
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| DM13 || APFSDS || 1,650 || 4.44 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 78° || 80° || 81°
|-
| DM12 || HEATFS || 1,140 || 13.50 || 0.0 || 0.1 || 2,150 || 65° || 72° || 77°
|-
|}

==== [[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
|-
| '''41''' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|Rh202 (20 mm)|MG3A1 (7.62 mm)}}

The tank has a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun situated on top of the turret which can fire over cover and be used to knock out gun barrels, light tanks, helicopters and planes. The belts are alternating HEFI-T/HVAP-T, with 57 mm of penetration at 0 degrees at 10 m. The 20 mm has quite good elevation, and rotates independently from the turret, able to surprise light tanks attempting to flank following turret ring immobilization.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Rh202 (20 mm)|20 mm Rh202]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 750 (750) || 900 || -9°/+45° || ±180°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG3A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm MG3A1]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 4,000 (1,000) || 1,200 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Stock Gameplay:'''

As with any vehicle, the Leopard 2K finds itself at a serious disadvantage while stock. Without access to the DM13 APFSDS round, users will need to play more carefully. While the DM12 HEAT-FS round is powerful, it struggles against composite armour and ERA, as well as having lacklustre post-penetration effects. Players will have to aim more carefully to deal effective damage with the DM12 HEAT round.

'''Spaded Gameplay:'''

The Leopard 2K is a powerful tank. The DM13 APFSDS round has adequate penetration, and it should be easy to destroy most enemy vehicles. The gun, ammo, and reload rate are comparable to other main battle tanks of the battle rating. The Leopard 2K does however struggle in some regards against top of the line tanks such as the [[Leopard 2A5]] and [[M1A2 Abrams]]. The armour on the Leopard 2K is rather limited, only effective against autocannon fire. Additionally, the lack of thermals means that it will be difficult for Leopard 2K players to spot enemy tanks before they are spotted. The biggest advantages of the 2K are the 20 mm which is effective against light vehicles and aircraft, and the speed of the 2K.

'''Close Range Engagements:'''

The Leopard 2K is very capable at close range. It has impressive acceleration and gun handling, giving it an edge over other vehicles. The 20 mm will easily destroy enemy light vehicles and cannon breaches, while the reload rate on the main gun is comparable to its adversaries. Brawling is one of the Leopard 2K tanks' strong suits.

'''Long Range Engagements:'''

The Leopard 2K is capable at long range, but is outclassed by many other vehicles. The cannon is powerful, but not especially so compared to its adversaries. The biggest issues the Leopard 2K will face in regards to long range engagements are the thin turret armour and lack of thermals. While the DM13 APFSDS round will fail to penetrate the turret cheeks of vehicles like the [[Challenger Mk.2]] and [[T-64B]], their rounds will have no such trouble with the Leopard 2K. The lack of thermals makes it difficult to scout for enemies through foliage, meaning trying to snipe is not an effective strategy against any enemies equipped with thermals, as they will almost certainly spot you first.

'''Gameplay summary:'''

Although the Leopard 2K is somewhat weak when stock, it is an adequate frontline tank while spaded. The good APFSDS round and 20 mm give it a strong position in the German high tier lineup. However, Leopard 2K tank commanders should play to mitigate their disadvantages in thin armour and lack of thermals. The Leopard 2K does best in close to medium range fights.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Mobility
! Protection
! colspan="3" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Tracks
|
| Parts
| Horizontal Drive
| DM13
|
|-
| II
| Suspension
| Brake System
| FPE
| Adjustment of Fire
|
|
|-
| III
| Filters
|
| Crew Replenishment
| Elevation Mechanism
| Smoke grenade
|
|-
| IV
| Transmission
| Engine
|
| Artillery Support
| Laser rangefinder
| NVD
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* 120 mm gun with effective rounds
* Sloped armour has a tendency to bounce shots
* 20 mm cannon very effective against light armour, cannon barrels, and aircraft
* Excellent mobility
* OP/Nerfed on regular basis according to "Historical Stats" pulled from unicorns ass.

'''Cons:'''

* Thin armour overall
* Relatively high profile, the 20 mm gun often sticks out behind cover
* Stock HEAT-FS round struggles against some enemy vehicles' armour, especially those with ERA or composite armour
* Lack of thermals

== History ==

In the 1960s, Germany and the United States were jointly-developing the MBT-70, and Germany was contractually prevented from developing any new MBTs independently until the joint project with the US was completed.

But development problems plagued the MBT-70 project, and it appeared that the vehicle would not be finished within an acceptable time frame—so Germany found a way to bypass contractual limitations for the MBT-70 development.

Instead of ordering the development of a new tank, the German government issued an order to the Porsche company to research ways to improve the Leopard I tank already in service with the German army. This enabled Germany to research a more advanced fighting vehicle without breaching the contract signed with the US.

Porsche's first study of the Leopard I revealed a lot of room for improvement, and second study focusing on upgrading the Leopard I to match the MBT-70's firepower was launched almost immediately. This eventually resulted in the construction of two prototype vehicles—one in 1969 and one in 1970—nicknamed Keiler (tusker).

In the early 1970s, Germany was able to back out of the MBT-70 project due to spiraling development costs. Instead, they continued work on the development of the Keiler, which was renamed to Leopard 2.

The Leopard 2 project was expected to yield two versions: the Leopard 2K armed with a cannon, and the Leopard 2FK armed with a gun/launcher similar to the MBT-70. In 1971, ten prototypes were ordered, and seven more orders followed shortly thereafter.

To get the most out of their prototypes, German engineers equipped each one with different components to determine what worked best. Some Leopard 2 versions were equipped with a 105mm smoothbore cannon, whereas others were fitted with 120mm smoothbore cannons. Some prototypes received a hydraulic suspension while others didn't, and there was even a version equipped with the 20mm anti-air mount on the turret (similar to the one found on the Kpz-70).

Sixteen out of seventeen Leopard 2 prototypes were built and tested, yielding many refinements to the Leopard 2 design. Subsequent models further increased the Leopard 2's capabilities, with each variant making it more powerful—and ultimately into the Leopard 2 known today.

''- From [[wt:en/news/5309-development-leopard-2k-a-legend-in-the-making-en|Devblog]]''

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=germany&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=medium_tank&vehicle=germ_leopard_2k Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|WMxQNdaqA7E|'''You Need To Play This Tank Again: {{PAGENAME}}''' - ''Virus''|gyrbSUvCj-8|'''{{PAGENAME}}: the Original German Ingenuity''' - ''JustinPlaysYT''|p6cWlyUnJQA|'''Top 7 off-road beasts''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 4:00 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|WA3jQgZLjAg|'''The Shooting Range #94''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:29 discusses the Leopard 2K.|t6rKdgkbEWc|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|vF02GuEIww0|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''Napalmratte''}}

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

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

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/5309-development-leopard-2k-a-legend-in-the-making-en|[Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> Leopard 2K: A Legend In The Making]]

{{Germany medium tanks}}

M60

2020-08-23T03:02:38Z

U4662042: Reload time/Ace/Full crew

{{Specs-Card|code=us_m60}}
{{About
| about = American main battle tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other vehicles of the family
| link-1 = M60 (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = M60 (Disambiguation)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_M60.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.51 "Cold Steel"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

'''Armour type:'''

* Cast homogeneous armour
* Rolled homogeneous armour (Rear roof, Rear)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope Angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 93 mm (65°) ''Front Glacis'' 143 mm (55°) ''Lower Glacis''|| 74 mm || 41 mm || 20 mm
|-
| Turret || 127 mm ''Turret front'' 152 mm ''Gun Mantlet''|| 100 mm - 50.8 mm || 50.8 mm || 24 mm
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 35 mm || 25.4 mm || 25.4 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick and tracks are 30 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 1162|rbMinHp= 663|}}

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

{{main|M68 (105 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[M68 (105 mm)|105 mm M68]]
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 57 || -9°/+19° || ±180°
|-
! 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'' || 14.28 || 19.80 || 24.0 || 26.60 || 28.24
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 14.28 || 16.80 || 20.4 || 22.60 || 24.00
|-
! 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.
|-
| 10.80 || 9.55 || 8.80 ||6.70
|-
|}

===== 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''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| M392A2 || APDS || 303 || 302 || 296 || 277 || 257 || 252
|-
| M393 || HESH || 145 || 145 || 145 || 145 || 145 || 145
|-
| M456 || HEATFS || 400 || 400 || 400 || 400 || 400 || 400
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! 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%
|-
| M392A2 || 1478 || 5.8 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 75° || 78° || 80°
|-
| M393 || 730 || 15 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 4,310 || +0° || 73° || 77° || 80°
|-
| M456 || 1173 || 11 || 0.0 || 0.1 || 1,270 || +0° || 65° || 72° || 75°
|-
|}
{| 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):''
|-
| M416 || 730 || 11 || 20 || 5 || 25 || 50
|-
|}

'''M392A2 ''APDS''''' (Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot) is capable of easily penetrating the majority of the foes it meets, but these rounds do require finesse as to their placing. Because the shell lacks an explosive filler, the best bet is to try and either knock out the majority of the enemy tank's crew or to destroy the enemy by ammo or fuel detonation through hitting their respective storage capacities. This, of course, requires knowledge about the vehicles the M60 may face - so be sure to use the game's X-Ray view in the hangar and analyse the potential foes for their weak spots! Also, keep in mind that with increased armour thickness the number of shrapnel shrinks.

'''M456 ''HEAT-FS''''' (High-Explosive Anti-Tank Fin Stabilized): The knowledge of enemy vehicle layouts gained from the stock shell (DM13), will be handy to use for the M60's fullest potential - as the M456 is an ammunition round which can penetrate most vehicle's armour frontally. Like the APDS shot, increased armour thickness results in a reduced amount of shrapnel after penetration. Unlike APDS it has one downside: Given that it is a chemical energy round, its fuse is highly sensitive in regards to its practical application in battle. As a result, virtually anything, such as trees or even a fence, will set it off prematurely, so the HEAT-FS round cannot fire through obstructions with this kind.

'''M393 ''HESH''''' (High-Explosive Squash-Head) works very differently than other shell types. It ignores any angle, except for ricochet and deals damage by metal-flakes which are blown off inside the armour by the exterior explosion. Basically, the fighting compartment is showered in metal rain. Currently, only true armour thickness (opposed to the line of sight thickness) will provide sufficient means of protection, benefiting the USSR turret designs and in general German tanks. Like all high-explosive shells, the fuze is very sensitive and can be set-off by most objects e.g. fences, trees, pillars.

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks_M60.png|right|thumbnail|x250px|Ammo racks of the M60.]]
{| 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" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''57''' || 42 ''(+15)'' || 36 ''(+21)'' || 27 ''(+30)'' || 16 ''(+41)'' || 1 ''(+56)'' || style="text-align:center" | No
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|M85 (12.7 mm)|M73 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[M85 (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M85]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Pintle mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 900 (200) || 576 || -15°/+60° || ±180°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[M73 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M73]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 5,950 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


To use this tank effectively do not charge straight into battle, instead, go around. Use the terrain, make it harder to be identifiable by selecting the appropriate camouflage and navigate using the map. To flank, the opponents from the sides or the rear, use a flanking tactic to surprise the enemy tankers and destroy them. However, do not let the M60 be seen and the longer it can stay hidden, the higher the chances of finding more tanks off guard and surviving the match. Try to attack from long distances: The M60 has a very powerful and accurate cannon. This can be equipped with some of the most lethal ammunition in the game. It will turn the biggest and most powerful tanks into blazing wrecks.

The M60 looks similar to the T-54 series of tanks an unskilled T-54 player will pause for a short amount of time to identify the tank. This will give the tank extra time to angle the tank and to calculate a perfect shot and destroy vital parts of the enemy tank. Do not expose/show the rear of the tank as this will give away the M60 immediately since the rear does not resemble a T-54 and is one of the weakest places on this tank.

Playing on maps which have villages, towns, and city centres modelled, such as Poland, Advance to the Rhine, Normandy etc. These require a more specific tactic to survive in these locations as being flanked and not knowing about it until it's too late is very common. A good way of preventing this while using an M60 tank is to not enter the urban environment. In these environments, the M60 will be normally too close for the armour to work as effectively. However, if going around the sides of the town and move in and out of streets, this will prevent the enemy team to predict where the M60 will go. The M60, once upgraded, offers some of the best handling in the game, use that as an advantage in narrow and congested streets.

When engaging with other medium tanks, the M60 offers an excellent gun which can dominate any other medium tank. If the '''HEATFS''' is unlocked, the M60 will be able to terminate any tank with one hit most of the time. The closer to the enemy tank, the higher the odds of ending it with an instant termination. When using '''HESH''' rounds, do not hit the sides of the enemy tank, it won't really do much damage. However, when the enemy has exposed the front, especially the Upper Glacis of the tank, using the '''HESH''' rounds will cause a lot of damage to the Crew and could also end that tank in one shot. Examples are the [[T-54 (1949)|T-54's]], [[IS-3]] and [[IS-4M|-4M's]]. Against [[T-10M]]'s, its not that reliable because of spaced armour.

Make sure to not expose the rear or sides of the tank and turret. These are weakest parts and if hit is likely to end the tank.

===Modules===
{| class="wikitable"
!Tier
! colspan="2" |Mobility
!Protection
! colspan="3" |Firepower
|-
|I
|Tracks
|
|Parts
|Horizontal Drive
|
|
|-
|II
|Suspension
|Brake System
|FPE
|Adjustment of Fire
|M393A2
|
|-
|III
|Filters
|
|Crew Replenishment
|Elevation Mechanism
|M416
|NVD
|-
|IV
|Transmission
|Engine
|
|Artillery Support
|M456
|Rangefinder
|-
|}
After researching Parts and FPE, it is recommended to focus on reaching the M456 HEATFS shell, which will allow the player to capitalize on the M60's excellent gun. After that, it is recommended to research mobility modifications.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* Powerful gun
** Very accurate gun at long ranges when upgraded
** Good stock shell (APDS)
** HEAT-FS and HESH shells available
* Decent turning capability
* Very good stock turret transverse speed
* Great off-road speed (but not as great compared to [[Leopard_I|Leopards]] and [[T-10M]]s)
* Front hull impenetrable against most Rank IV & some high-Rank V tanks
* Once fully upgraded it offers very sharp handling and manoeuvrability
* Excellent acceleration when fully upgraded

'''Cons:'''

* Very high profile (cupola)
** Commander cupola Armour is very thin, can be penetrated easily by APCBC and HEAT rounds
** Enemy shells can bounce off the turret roof (due to the angle) and could enter the cupola
** Commander's .50cal HMG is slower in manoeuvrability and not as effective compared to earlier vehicles due to the cupola
** .50 cal coverage is limited due to commander's cupola
* Sides are only 41mm thick, they can be penetrated easily
* Gun mantlet is 152 mm thick with little sloping, can easily be penetrated even by lower-tier tanks
* Turret ring can be penetrated by enemy rounds
* Front is vulnerable to HEAT and the most powerful APHE ([[T-10M]], [[Maus|Maus]]) at close range
* No shells with HE core

== History ==

====Development====
The M60 was the American response to the [[T-54 (1949)|Soviet T-54A]] main battle tank after one was captured by Hungarians during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The American main tank at the time, the [[M47|M47]] and [[M48A1|M48 Pattons]] and with their [[M3 (90 mm)|90 mm cannon]], was found to be incapable of defeating the T-54 armour from the front. Plus, with the rumour that a new Soviet tank better than the T-54 was in development with a 115 mm cannon (which would be the [[T-62]]), the Americans saw a need to upgrade or replace their M48 Patton tanks. These upgrades are focused on improving the armour, a bigger gun, better rangefinders, and even an autoloader system.

At the time, a program designated the ''[[T95E1|T95]]'' launched in June 1954 was meant to replace the M48 Patton with a better gun and mobility. This new tank development was approved in August 1957 and was intended to be a radical change in the American tank doctrine, changing from the World War II era weight classes of light, medium, and heavy tanks and instead classifying as an all-purpose "main battle tanks" or an "airborne reconnaissance/assault vehicles". However, as the development came to a slow speed, it was determined that the T95 series was only marginally better than their improved M48A2 Patton, so it was proposed that the M48 design be upgraded with the new improvements made by the T95 program, focusing on better firepower and fuel efficiency. This development would be designated the ''XM60''.

The main gun on the new design was to be the new [[M68 (105 mm)|105 mm M68 cannon]], which was similar to the British 105 mm L7 Royal Ordnance gun made in response to the Soviet T-54 tank, even firing the same ammunition. The decision was made among six different tank guns for accuracy, damage on target, rate of fire, and penetration. The cannon parts were initially imported from Britain until American licensed version could be produced at the same quality. Armour was initially going to be composite armour made out of silica glass in response to better anti-tank weapons being produced. However, during production, the composite armour was changed back to conventional steel due to manufacturing constraints and cost. The XM60 design was accepted in 1959 and standardized as the '''[[M60|105 mm Gun Full Tracked Combat Tank M60]]''' in March 1959, entering service in 1960. During its production life from 1959 to 1987, over 15,000 units were produced. Despite its common naming as the '''M60 Patton''', it is never officially classified as a series of the ''Patton'' tanks and only as a "product descendant".

The M60 was meant to only be an interim design in the "main battle tank" designation, but it featured many innovative upgrades. The 105 mm gun with a bore evacuator, a straight sloping front armour rather than the rounded one on the M48, three rollers on the suspension and road wheels made out of aluminium. The design also used an improved engine, transmission, and driving unit. M60 design could be cast or welded together, and the turret was largely similar except the different mantlet to accept the new 105 mm gun. The tank had a crew of four, the commander, gunner, loader, and driver. The M60 was the last American tank to feature conventional steel armour in its design.

====Variants====
The M60 started with its base variant, which was very similar to the M48 Patton, the differences between the two being a wedge-shaped hull, three return rollers, and aluminium road wheels. The next one is the ''[[M60A1 (AOS)|M60A1]]'' variant, which began production in October 1962 with a better "needle-nose" turret, improved armour protection, and suspension. This was meant to be the main variant, but the development of a "main battle tank" was slower so the M60A1 served much longer than its intended period, from 1960 to the 1980s. Another variant to be made was the ''[[M60A2|M60A2]]'', which had a changed turret design and had the [[M81 (152 mm)|152 mm gun]] found on the [[M551]] that could fire standard HEAT shells or an anti-tank missiles, but this variant was found to be unreliable and was phased out quickly. The last major variant was the ''M60A3'', which featured many technological enhancements with a new rangefinder, ballistic computer, and a turret stabilization. This tank is the most modern of the three variants and is still being used by certain countries with even some advantages over the American main battle tank M1 Abrams during its introduction with better thermal sights, diesel engine, escape hatches, variety in ammunition, and ability to act as artillery.

====Combat usage====
The M60 in American service were first deployed in Vietnam, but only as engineer vehicles or bridge layers. The M60s continued to serve in American service all the way to the Gulf War in Operation Desert Storm in the Marine Corps and Air Force, however, at the time the newer M1 Abrams in service were already replacing the M60 tanks. Despite that, they did well in combat, where M60A1s in Marine service fought an Iraqi force composed of Soviet T-54s and T-72s and destroyed 100 tanks with the loss of only one M60 tank. The M60s were all retired after 2005 in US service.

Israel was another large user of the M60 tanks, seeing service in the Yom Kippur War with the quantity of 150, but many were destroyed by the new anti-tank missiles supplied by the Soviets to Egypt. It was widely praised for its firepower and manoeuvrability, however, and many were upgraded with better tracks and armour in the form of explosive reactive armour to combat anti-tank missiles. They saw service again in the 1982 Lebanon War against T-54s and T-72s and even World War II era [[T-34-85|T-34s]]. The M60 in Israeli service were retired by 2014. Today, the M60 tanks are still used in many different countries, such as Egypt, Brazil, Greece, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, China, and more. Despite its age, attempts at upgrading its armour and armament had been made American defence contractor Raytheon, able to keep the M60A3 up to date with the newer M1A1 Abrams with the 120 mm Rheinmetall gun and reactive armour.

=== In-game description ===
The M60 primary combat tank was designed to have a standard layout with the control compartment in the front part of the vehicle, the combat compartment in the middle, and the engine and transmission compartment in the rear. This new vehicle was a synthesis of the M48 turret and the new 105mm M68 cannon, similar to British guns of the L7 series, which was produced in the US under license and adapted to the tank’s diesel engine. Unlike the curved front end of the M48, the new vehicle had a standard rectangular body. In terms of the division of the body, the similarity to a boat was preserved throughout the length of the vehicle.

In order to reduce the tank’s weight, which inevitably grew due to its thicker armour and heavier new cannon, aluminium alloys had to be widely used during its construction. Aluminium was used to make parts of the undercarriage, the fuel tanks, the rotating shelf in the turret, the shelves over the treads, and various levers and fastening components. The cramped M1 commander’s tower was replaced with a spacious, low-profile M19. The first version of the ХМ60 was built in March 1959. It was added to the US arsenal under the name M60.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=usa&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=medium_tank&vehicle=us_m60 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|zoBPU0n65_A|'''The M60 family''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:47 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|pYgCfNq30zw|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|LJFnDITc5Us|'''M60 Patton tank''' - ''Simon Hutchinson''}}

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

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

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/devblog/current/794/|[Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> M60]]
* [[wt:en/news/3330/current/|[Vehicle Profile<nowiki>]</nowiki> U.S. medium tank M60]]

{{USA medium tanks}}

M60

2020-08-23T03:01:43Z

U4662042: /* Main armament */

{{Specs-Card|code=us_m60}}
{{About
| about = American main battle tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other vehicles of the family
| link-1 = M60 (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = M60 (Disambiguation)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_M60.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.51 "Cold Steel"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

'''Armour type:'''

* Cast homogeneous armour
* Rolled homogeneous armour (Rear roof, Rear)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope Angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 93 mm (65°) ''Front Glacis'' 143 mm (55°) ''Lower Glacis''|| 74 mm || 41 mm || 20 mm
|-
| Turret || 127 mm ''Turret front'' 152 mm ''Gun Mantlet''|| 100 mm - 50.8 mm || 50.8 mm || 24 mm
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 35 mm || 25.4 mm || 25.4 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick and tracks are 30 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 1162|rbMinHp= 663|}}

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

{{main|M68 (105 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[M68 (105 mm)|105 mm M68]]
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 57 || -9°/+19° || ±180°
|-
! 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'' || 14.28 || 19.80 || 24.0 || 26.60 || 28.24
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 14.28 || 16.80 || 20.4 || 22.60 || 24.00
|-
! 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.
|-
| 10.80 || 9.55 || 8.80 || 6.70
|-
|}

===== 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''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| M392A2 || APDS || 303 || 302 || 296 || 277 || 257 || 252
|-
| M393 || HESH || 145 || 145 || 145 || 145 || 145 || 145
|-
| M456 || HEATFS || 400 || 400 || 400 || 400 || 400 || 400
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! 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%
|-
| M392A2 || 1478 || 5.8 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 75° || 78° || 80°
|-
| M393 || 730 || 15 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 4,310 || +0° || 73° || 77° || 80°
|-
| M456 || 1173 || 11 || 0.0 || 0.1 || 1,270 || +0° || 65° || 72° || 75°
|-
|}
{| 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):''
|-
| M416 || 730 || 11 || 20 || 5 || 25 || 50
|-
|}

'''M392A2 ''APDS''''' (Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot) is capable of easily penetrating the majority of the foes it meets, but these rounds do require finesse as to their placing. Because the shell lacks an explosive filler, the best bet is to try and either knock out the majority of the enemy tank's crew or to destroy the enemy by ammo or fuel detonation through hitting their respective storage capacities. This, of course, requires knowledge about the vehicles the M60 may face - so be sure to use the game's X-Ray view in the hangar and analyse the potential foes for their weak spots! Also, keep in mind that with increased armour thickness the number of shrapnel shrinks.

'''M456 ''HEAT-FS''''' (High-Explosive Anti-Tank Fin Stabilized): The knowledge of enemy vehicle layouts gained from the stock shell (DM13), will be handy to use for the M60's fullest potential - as the M456 is an ammunition round which can penetrate most vehicle's armour frontally. Like the APDS shot, increased armour thickness results in a reduced amount of shrapnel after penetration. Unlike APDS it has one downside: Given that it is a chemical energy round, its fuse is highly sensitive in regards to its practical application in battle. As a result, virtually anything, such as trees or even a fence, will set it off prematurely, so the HEAT-FS round cannot fire through obstructions with this kind.

'''M393 ''HESH''''' (High-Explosive Squash-Head) works very differently than other shell types. It ignores any angle, except for ricochet and deals damage by metal-flakes which are blown off inside the armour by the exterior explosion. Basically, the fighting compartment is showered in metal rain. Currently, only true armour thickness (opposed to the line of sight thickness) will provide sufficient means of protection, benefiting the USSR turret designs and in general German tanks. Like all high-explosive shells, the fuze is very sensitive and can be set-off by most objects e.g. fences, trees, pillars.

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks_M60.png|right|thumbnail|x250px|Ammo racks of the M60.]]
{| 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" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''57''' || 42 ''(+15)'' || 36 ''(+21)'' || 27 ''(+30)'' || 16 ''(+41)'' || 1 ''(+56)'' || style="text-align:center" | No
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|M85 (12.7 mm)|M73 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[M85 (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M85]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Pintle mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 900 (200) || 576 || -15°/+60° || ±180°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[M73 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M73]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 5,950 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


To use this tank effectively do not charge straight into battle, instead, go around. Use the terrain, make it harder to be identifiable by selecting the appropriate camouflage and navigate using the map. To flank, the opponents from the sides or the rear, use a flanking tactic to surprise the enemy tankers and destroy them. However, do not let the M60 be seen and the longer it can stay hidden, the higher the chances of finding more tanks off guard and surviving the match. Try to attack from long distances: The M60 has a very powerful and accurate cannon. This can be equipped with some of the most lethal ammunition in the game. It will turn the biggest and most powerful tanks into blazing wrecks.

The M60 looks similar to the T-54 series of tanks an unskilled T-54 player will pause for a short amount of time to identify the tank. This will give the tank extra time to angle the tank and to calculate a perfect shot and destroy vital parts of the enemy tank. Do not expose/show the rear of the tank as this will give away the M60 immediately since the rear does not resemble a T-54 and is one of the weakest places on this tank.

Playing on maps which have villages, towns, and city centres modelled, such as Poland, Advance to the Rhine, Normandy etc. These require a more specific tactic to survive in these locations as being flanked and not knowing about it until it's too late is very common. A good way of preventing this while using an M60 tank is to not enter the urban environment. In these environments, the M60 will be normally too close for the armour to work as effectively. However, if going around the sides of the town and move in and out of streets, this will prevent the enemy team to predict where the M60 will go. The M60, once upgraded, offers some of the best handling in the game, use that as an advantage in narrow and congested streets.

When engaging with other medium tanks, the M60 offers an excellent gun which can dominate any other medium tank. If the '''HEATFS''' is unlocked, the M60 will be able to terminate any tank with one hit most of the time. The closer to the enemy tank, the higher the odds of ending it with an instant termination. When using '''HESH''' rounds, do not hit the sides of the enemy tank, it won't really do much damage. However, when the enemy has exposed the front, especially the Upper Glacis of the tank, using the '''HESH''' rounds will cause a lot of damage to the Crew and could also end that tank in one shot. Examples are the [[T-54 (1949)|T-54's]], [[IS-3]] and [[IS-4M|-4M's]]. Against [[T-10M]]'s, its not that reliable because of spaced armour.

Make sure to not expose the rear or sides of the tank and turret. These are weakest parts and if hit is likely to end the tank.

===Modules===
{| class="wikitable"
!Tier
! colspan="2" |Mobility
!Protection
! colspan="3" |Firepower
|-
|I
|Tracks
|
|Parts
|Horizontal Drive
|
|
|-
|II
|Suspension
|Brake System
|FPE
|Adjustment of Fire
|M393A2
|
|-
|III
|Filters
|
|Crew Replenishment
|Elevation Mechanism
|M416
|NVD
|-
|IV
|Transmission
|Engine
|
|Artillery Support
|M456
|Rangefinder
|-
|}
After researching Parts and FPE, it is recommended to focus on reaching the M456 HEATFS shell, which will allow the player to capitalize on the M60's excellent gun. After that, it is recommended to research mobility modifications.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* Powerful gun
** Very accurate gun at long ranges when upgraded
** Good stock shell (APDS)
** HEAT-FS and HESH shells available
* Decent turning capability
* Very good stock turret transverse speed
* Great off-road speed (but not as great compared to [[Leopard_I|Leopards]] and [[T-10M]]s)
* Front hull impenetrable against most Rank IV & some high-Rank V tanks
* Once fully upgraded it offers very sharp handling and manoeuvrability
* Excellent acceleration when fully upgraded

'''Cons:'''

* Very high profile (cupola)
** Commander cupola Armour is very thin, can be penetrated easily by APCBC and HEAT rounds
** Enemy shells can bounce off the turret roof (due to the angle) and could enter the cupola
** Commander's .50cal HMG is slower in manoeuvrability and not as effective compared to earlier vehicles due to the cupola
** .50 cal coverage is limited due to commander's cupola
* Sides are only 41mm thick, they can be penetrated easily
* Gun mantlet is 152 mm thick with little sloping, can easily be penetrated even by lower-tier tanks
* Turret ring can be penetrated by enemy rounds
* Front is vulnerable to HEAT and the most powerful APHE ([[T-10M]], [[Maus|Maus]]) at close range
* No shells with HE core

== History ==

====Development====
The M60 was the American response to the [[T-54 (1949)|Soviet T-54A]] main battle tank after one was captured by Hungarians during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The American main tank at the time, the [[M47|M47]] and [[M48A1|M48 Pattons]] and with their [[M3 (90 mm)|90 mm cannon]], was found to be incapable of defeating the T-54 armour from the front. Plus, with the rumour that a new Soviet tank better than the T-54 was in development with a 115 mm cannon (which would be the [[T-62]]), the Americans saw a need to upgrade or replace their M48 Patton tanks. These upgrades are focused on improving the armour, a bigger gun, better rangefinders, and even an autoloader system.

At the time, a program designated the ''[[T95E1|T95]]'' launched in June 1954 was meant to replace the M48 Patton with a better gun and mobility. This new tank development was approved in August 1957 and was intended to be a radical change in the American tank doctrine, changing from the World War II era weight classes of light, medium, and heavy tanks and instead classifying as an all-purpose "main battle tanks" or an "airborne reconnaissance/assault vehicles". However, as the development came to a slow speed, it was determined that the T95 series was only marginally better than their improved M48A2 Patton, so it was proposed that the M48 design be upgraded with the new improvements made by the T95 program, focusing on better firepower and fuel efficiency. This development would be designated the ''XM60''.

The main gun on the new design was to be the new [[M68 (105 mm)|105 mm M68 cannon]], which was similar to the British 105 mm L7 Royal Ordnance gun made in response to the Soviet T-54 tank, even firing the same ammunition. The decision was made among six different tank guns for accuracy, damage on target, rate of fire, and penetration. The cannon parts were initially imported from Britain until American licensed version could be produced at the same quality. Armour was initially going to be composite armour made out of silica glass in response to better anti-tank weapons being produced. However, during production, the composite armour was changed back to conventional steel due to manufacturing constraints and cost. The XM60 design was accepted in 1959 and standardized as the '''[[M60|105 mm Gun Full Tracked Combat Tank M60]]''' in March 1959, entering service in 1960. During its production life from 1959 to 1987, over 15,000 units were produced. Despite its common naming as the '''M60 Patton''', it is never officially classified as a series of the ''Patton'' tanks and only as a "product descendant".

The M60 was meant to only be an interim design in the "main battle tank" designation, but it featured many innovative upgrades. The 105 mm gun with a bore evacuator, a straight sloping front armour rather than the rounded one on the M48, three rollers on the suspension and road wheels made out of aluminium. The design also used an improved engine, transmission, and driving unit. M60 design could be cast or welded together, and the turret was largely similar except the different mantlet to accept the new 105 mm gun. The tank had a crew of four, the commander, gunner, loader, and driver. The M60 was the last American tank to feature conventional steel armour in its design.

====Variants====
The M60 started with its base variant, which was very similar to the M48 Patton, the differences between the two being a wedge-shaped hull, three return rollers, and aluminium road wheels. The next one is the ''[[M60A1 (AOS)|M60A1]]'' variant, which began production in October 1962 with a better "needle-nose" turret, improved armour protection, and suspension. This was meant to be the main variant, but the development of a "main battle tank" was slower so the M60A1 served much longer than its intended period, from 1960 to the 1980s. Another variant to be made was the ''[[M60A2|M60A2]]'', which had a changed turret design and had the [[M81 (152 mm)|152 mm gun]] found on the [[M551]] that could fire standard HEAT shells or an anti-tank missiles, but this variant was found to be unreliable and was phased out quickly. The last major variant was the ''M60A3'', which featured many technological enhancements with a new rangefinder, ballistic computer, and a turret stabilization. This tank is the most modern of the three variants and is still being used by certain countries with even some advantages over the American main battle tank M1 Abrams during its introduction with better thermal sights, diesel engine, escape hatches, variety in ammunition, and ability to act as artillery.

====Combat usage====
The M60 in American service were first deployed in Vietnam, but only as engineer vehicles or bridge layers. The M60s continued to serve in American service all the way to the Gulf War in Operation Desert Storm in the Marine Corps and Air Force, however, at the time the newer M1 Abrams in service were already replacing the M60 tanks. Despite that, they did well in combat, where M60A1s in Marine service fought an Iraqi force composed of Soviet T-54s and T-72s and destroyed 100 tanks with the loss of only one M60 tank. The M60s were all retired after 2005 in US service.

Israel was another large user of the M60 tanks, seeing service in the Yom Kippur War with the quantity of 150, but many were destroyed by the new anti-tank missiles supplied by the Soviets to Egypt. It was widely praised for its firepower and manoeuvrability, however, and many were upgraded with better tracks and armour in the form of explosive reactive armour to combat anti-tank missiles. They saw service again in the 1982 Lebanon War against T-54s and T-72s and even World War II era [[T-34-85|T-34s]]. The M60 in Israeli service were retired by 2014. Today, the M60 tanks are still used in many different countries, such as Egypt, Brazil, Greece, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, China, and more. Despite its age, attempts at upgrading its armour and armament had been made American defence contractor Raytheon, able to keep the M60A3 up to date with the newer M1A1 Abrams with the 120 mm Rheinmetall gun and reactive armour.

=== In-game description ===
The M60 primary combat tank was designed to have a standard layout with the control compartment in the front part of the vehicle, the combat compartment in the middle, and the engine and transmission compartment in the rear. This new vehicle was a synthesis of the M48 turret and the new 105mm M68 cannon, similar to British guns of the L7 series, which was produced in the US under license and adapted to the tank’s diesel engine. Unlike the curved front end of the M48, the new vehicle had a standard rectangular body. In terms of the division of the body, the similarity to a boat was preserved throughout the length of the vehicle.

In order to reduce the tank’s weight, which inevitably grew due to its thicker armour and heavier new cannon, aluminium alloys had to be widely used during its construction. Aluminium was used to make parts of the undercarriage, the fuel tanks, the rotating shelf in the turret, the shelves over the treads, and various levers and fastening components. The cramped M1 commander’s tower was replaced with a spacious, low-profile M19. The first version of the ХМ60 was built in March 1959. It was added to the US arsenal under the name M60.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=usa&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=medium_tank&vehicle=us_m60 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|zoBPU0n65_A|'''The M60 family''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:47 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|pYgCfNq30zw|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|LJFnDITc5Us|'''M60 Patton tank''' - ''Simon Hutchinson''}}

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

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

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/devblog/current/794/|[Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> M60]]
* [[wt:en/news/3330/current/|[Vehicle Profile<nowiki>]</nowiki> U.S. medium tank M60]]

{{USA medium tanks}}

StuG III G

2020-08-12T12:47:16Z

U4662042: Changed ammo count for 1st & 2nd ammo rack empty to 17(16 in rack #3 +1 in main gun).

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_stug_III_ausf_G}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_StuGIIIG.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or '''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.43]].

Compared with previous models, the Ausf. G of the StuG III tank destroyer comes with thicker armour of 80 mm in the front glacis and a 75 mm StuK 40 L/48 gun that gives the vehicle's characteristics on par with Panzer IV tank. However, with this cannon combined with a low profile construction due to its casemate design, the StuG III G can prove to be a formidable vehicle in the ambush role.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===


While comparatively well armoured to other tank destroyers of its battle rating, it is not well-enough protected to allow it to be an assault tank. It is not recommended to attempt angling the tank, as the 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 StuGs is the side skirts, which may 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 armour

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 30 mm (86°), 80 mm (50°) ''Front glacis'' 80 mm (19°) ''Lower glacis'' || 30 + 5 mm || 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 ===


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

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

{{main|StuK40 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[StuK40 (75 mm)|75 mm StuK40]] || 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" | 54 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+17° || rowspan="2" | ±10° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.21 || 18.28 || 22.20 || 24.55 || 26.12 || rowspan="2" | 7.67 || rowspan="2" | 6.78 || rowspan="2" | 6.25 || rowspan="2" | 5.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.92 || 10.50 || 12.75 || 14.10 || 15.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| PzGr 39 || APCBC || 140 || 137 || 125 || 112 || 100 || 89
|-
| Hl.Gr 38B || HEAT || 80 || 80 || 80 || 80 || 80 || 80
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 166 || 162 || 146 || 128 || 112 || 98
|-
| Sprgr. 34 || HE || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39 || APCBC || 750 || 6.8 || 1.2 || 14.0 || 28.9 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Hl.Gr 38B || HEAT || 450 || 4.4 || 0.0 || 0.1 || 872.1 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 930 || 4.1 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
| Sprgr. 34 || HE || 550 || 5.74 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 686 || 79° || 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)
|-
| K.Gr.Rot Nb. || 540 || 6.2 || 13 || 5 || 20 || 50
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''54''' || 35 ''(+19)'' || 17 ''(+37)'' || 1 ''(+53)'' || style="text-align:left" | Yes
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


This tank destroyer is best played as a support vehicle. Unlike its predecessors, it has excellent armour and can be invincible from long ranges. However, if playing with this tank close to the front lines, (for example, capturing points) this armour 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 armour 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 armour 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 armour 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.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Mobility
! Protection
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Tracks
| Ostketten
| Parts
| Horizontal Drive
|
|-
| II
| Suspension
| Brake System
| FPE
| Hl.Gr 38B
| Adjustment of Fire
|-
| III
| Filters
|
| Crew Replenishment
| PzGr 40
| Elevation Mechanism
|-
| IV
| Transmission
| Engine
| Add-on Armor
| K.Gr.Rot Nb.
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Powerful 75 mm cannon with decent penetration, great accuracy and velocity, and a piercing APCR: even with the stock AP it can frontally one-shot most opponents like the [[M4]], [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]], [[Cromwell (Family)|Cromwell]] or even the [[KV-1 (Family)|KV-1]]
* Great frontal armour of 80 mm plus 20 mm add-on tracks (100 mm total, same as Tiger I) makes it immune to low-penetrating tanks like the [[T-34 (1942)|T-34 1942]], 75 mm [[M4]] and [[M24 (Family)|M24]]
* Low silhouette makes the StuG easy to conceal in RB and SB
* Large side skirts can more or less provide some additional protection, especially against HEAT
* Multi-role potential: can be effective in city combat or close quarters, or long-range sniping

'''Cons:'''

* Vertical parts of frontal armour can still get penetrated by tanks like the [[T-34-57]] and [[M4A1 (76) W]], which are commonly seen
* A penetration through the driver port can knock out the driver, gunner, and commander, resulting in instant death for the StuG
* Fixed casemate superstructure restricts gun movement to the front
* Machine gun shield on the roof can compromise low profile and doesn't come with a machine gun
* A HE shell onto the machine gun shield can send the shrapnel down through the hull roof down into the crew compartment, particularly from the large calibre cannon on the [[KV-2 (Family)|KV-2]]

== 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 tanks destroyed 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 destroyed, 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.

=== In-game description ===
The final and most mass-produced variant of the Sturmgeschütz III. These guns began to be released in December 1942 and continued to be made until the end of the war. With these modifications, the designation of production models was changed to StuG.40 Ausf. G. The design of their conning tower was different from that of previous variants. The tower was wider, and extended halfway over both of the vehicle's treads. A commander's cupola was installed, which greatly improved the gun commander's view and required an increase in the emplacement's height, up to 2,160 mm. The ballistic protection of the gunner's sight was also improved. The first series of this assault gun still had 50 mm of forward armor, but by the summer of 1943 this had been reinforced by additional plates 30 mm thick. From May 1943 onward, the vehicles were fitted with Schurzen side skirts as a means of protection against high-explosive anti-tank shells and anti-tank rifle bullets. From August 1943 to September 1944, the assault guns were coated with an anti-magnetic Zimmerit paste. Some sources claim the paste could make shells ricochet off, but it was probably applied to counter magnetic mines.

Vehicles manufactured before October 1943 had a commander's cupola which could rotate, as it was mounted on ball bearings. However, due to a lack of ball bearings, the cupola began to be welded on in September 1943 and following. From August 1944 to the end of the war, the self-propelled assault guns once again had rotating commander's cupolas.

In 1944, the troops began to receive assault guns with remote-controlled machine guns to fight against infantry, in addition to a new, streamlined gun mantlet. The characteristic outline of this mantlet received the name Saukopfblende.

By the end of the war, the companies Alkett and MIAG had built 7,834 StuG.40 Ausf. G assault guns.

The overall quality of the armament and armor of this assault gun made it a frequent winner in battles against allied tanks.

== 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}}

Bf 110 G-2

2020-07-01T23:39:43Z

U4662042: Bf110 G2 AB/RB stats when "Upgraded Aircraft/Stock Crew"for turn rate/climb

{{Specs-Card|code=bf-110g-2}}
{{About
| about = German twin-engine fighter '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Bf 110 (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage Bf110G-2.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German twin-engine fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.79 "Project X"]].

== General info ==
=== Flight Performance ===

[[File:Cockpits Bf110.jpg|thumbnail|right|Cockpit features great side & forward visibility despite the struts. Although the tail section is obscured by the armoured headrest, the gunner can function as an early warning indicator.]]

The {{PAGENAME}} is a textbook example of what classifies a twin-engined fighter. Positive capabilities of this aircraft include an outstanding turn time, menacing offensive armament, amazing acceleration and all-out straight-line speed. This aircraft is incredibly versatile due to the variety of offensive weapons which can be selected. Depending on the weapon loadout chosen, this twin-engine fighter can take on the roles of attacker, bomber and even bomber interceptor. Though the Bf 110 can take on fighters when the opportunity comes up or is necessary, caution must be taken as any single-engine fighter will likely out-turn the Bf 110 and manoeuvre into an attack position, effectively reversing roles.

When compared to its predecessors, the [[Bf 110 F-2|F2]] and the [[Bf 110 C-7|C7]], the G-2 is a noticeable upgrade in regards to both armament and flight performance. With the addition of the more powerful DB-605B engines, the G-2 has more power and responsive performance than the earlier versions. The G-2's default configuration consists of two MG151/20 cannons (same used on the [[Bf 109 (Family)|Bf 109]]s) and two 30 mm MK108 cannons (same used on the [[Me 262 (Family)|Me 262]]s) which are a lethal combination and when compared to contemporaries such as the [[Beaufighter (Family)|Beaufighter]] family of twin-engined aircraft, the G-2 clearly packs a more powerful punch.

The {{PAGENAME}} is considerably more manoeuvrable than contemporary twin-engine aircraft and if needed can outrun most, however, once the aircraft is outfitted with other than the default offensive armament and ordinance, its manoeuvrability becomes less effective and becomes an easier target for enemy aircraft.

The {{PAGENAME}} can effectively take on different roles, depending on the map played or the targets intended. Knowing the manoeuvrability challenges faced with selecting the various armament load-outs will help the G-2 pilot ensure to avoid areas of the map where they will be at a major disadvantage and ensure effective use of the ordinance on board.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="8" | Characteristics
|-
! colspan="8" | ''Stock''
|-
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 6,200 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (meters)
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb (meters/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run (meters)
|-
! AB
! RB
! AB
! RB
! AB
! RB
|-
| 573 || 557 || 11,000 || 25.1 || 26.0 || 9.9 || 9.9 || 444
|-
! colspan="8" | ''Upgraded/Stock Crew''
|-
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 6,200 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (meters)
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb (meters/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run (meters)
|-
! AB
! RB
! AB
! RB
! AB
! RB
|-
| ? || ? || 11,000 ||22.9||24.0|| 17.2 ||13.1|| 444
|-
|}

====Details====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" | Features
|-
! Combat flap
! Take-off flap
! Landing flap
! Air brakes
! Arrestor gear
|-
| ✓ || X || ✓ || X || X 
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" | Limits
|-
! rowspan="2" | Wing-break speed (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Gear limit (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Combat flap (km/h)
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
|-
! +
! -
|-
| {{Specs|разрушение|конструкции}} || {{Specs|разрушение|шасси}} ||490|| ~?? || ~?
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities
|-
! Ailerons (km/h)
! Rudder (km/h)
! Elevators (km/h)
! Radiator (km/h)
|-
| < 360 || < 350 || < 370 || > 715
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Compressor (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Setting 1
|-
! Optimal altitude
! 100% Engine power
! WEP Engine power
|-
| 5,650 m || 1,260 hp || 1,399 hp
|-

|}

=== Survivability and armour ===


* 58 mm Bulletproof glass in front of the pilot
* 5.5 mm Steel plate under the pilot
* 8.5-10.5 mm Steel plate behind the pilot
* 5.5-6 mm Steel plate in front and below the liquid cooling system
* 6 mm Steel plate around the liquid cooling system in wings
* 8.5-10.5 mm Steel plates around MK 108 guns
* 6 mm Steel plate under defensive gunner
* 8.5 mm Steel plate in front of the defensive gunner

== Armaments ==
=== Offensive armament ===

{{main|MK 108 (30 mm)|MG 151/20 (20 mm)}}

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

* 2 x 30 mm MK 108 cannons, nose-mounted (120 rpg left + 135 rpg right = 255 total)
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, chin-mounted (400 rpg left + 350 rpg right = 750 total)

Of the four cannons, the 20 mm cannons are mounted in the belly of the fuselage right under the pilot's seat while the two 30 mm cannons are mounted in the upper fuselage in front of the pilot. Each cannon is armed with a different amount of ammunition, which means that all guns will run out of ammunition at different times with the 30 mm cannons running empty first.

=== Suspended armament ===

{{main|MG 151/20 (20 mm)|BK 3,7 (37 mm)|Wfr.Gr.21}}
{{main|SC50JA (50 kg)|SC250JA (250 kg)|SC500K (500 kg)|SC1000L2 (1,000 kg)}}

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

* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total)
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total) + 12 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (600 kg total)
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total) + 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (500 kg total)
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total) + 1 x 500 kg SC500K bomb (500 kg total)
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total) + 2 x 500 kg SC500K bombs (1,000 kg total)
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total) + 1 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bomb (1,000 kg total)
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total) + 1 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bomb + 1 x 250 kg SC250JA bomb (1,250 kg total)
* 1 x 37 mm BK 3,7 cannon belly-mounted (66 rpg)
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total) + 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, belly-mounted (secondary) (100 rpg = 200 total)
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total) + 4 x Wfr.Gr.21 rockets
* 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons (350 + 400 rpg = 750 total) + 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, belly-mounted (secondary) (100 rpg = 200 total) + 4 x Wfr.Gr.21 rockets
* 1 x 37 mm BK 3,7 cannon, belly-mounted (66 rpg) + 4 x Wfr.Gr.21 rockets

=== Defensive armament ===

{{main|MG 81 (7.92 mm)}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is defended by:

* 2 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine guns, dorsal turret (750 rpg = 1,500 total)

== Usage in battles ==
''Describe the tactics of playing in an aircraft, the features of using vehicles in a 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. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''

===Manual Engine Control===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | MEC elements
|-
! rowspan="2" | Mixer
! rowspan="2" | Pitch
! colspan="3" | Radiator
! rowspan="2" | Supercharger
! rowspan="2" | Turbocharger
|-
! Oil
! Water
! Type
|-
|Not controllable|| rowspan="2" | Controllable || rowspan="2" | Controllable || rowspan="2" | Controllable || rowspan="2" | Separate || rowspan="2" |Not controllable|| rowspan="2" | Not controllable
|-
|}

===Modules===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="1" | Tier
! colspan="2" | Flight performance
! colspan="1" | Survivability
! colspan="3" | Weaponry
|-
| I
| Fuselage Repair
| Radiator
|
| Offensive 20 mm
| WEB 151
| Turret 7 mm
|-
| II
|
| Compressor
| Airframe
| New 20 mm Cannons
| Bk 3,7 Cannon
| New 7 mm MGs (turret)
|-
| III
| Wing Repair
| Engine
|
| Offensive 30 mm
| Offensive 37 mm
| ETC IXb
|-
| IV
|
| Engine Injection
| Cover
| New 30 mm Cannon
| New 37 mm Cannon
| R6 Modification
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Twin 30 mm Mk 108 cannons as primary armament at all times in the nose of the aircraft
* Comes with a default twin 20 mm MG 151 secondary armament with a generous amount of ammo (375 RPG) mounted to the chin
* Replaces the single MG 15 rear gunner turret with a twin MG 81 mount
* Can mount an additional twin MG 151 on the belly of the aircraft for a total of 4 x MG 151's
* A wide variety of bombs and rocket options to carry in combination with gunpods
* Can mount a BK 3.7 cannon with either HEFI-T or HVAP-T shells (or both)
* Fastest Bf 110 variant with the highest rate of climb
* Like all 110’s, the G2 is very sturdy and can survive a lot of punishment
* Can suit a lot of different play styles like bomber hunting, CAS, or opportunistic support fighter

'''Cons:'''

* Mk 108 cannons require significant leading in order to secure a hit, making them unsuitable against fast-moving players
* Still significantly slower and bulkier than any single-engine fighter it flies against
* The second, extra 20 mm MG 151 gunpod only carries 200 rounds between them, compared to the first MG 151 gun pod with a total of 750 rounds
* A big target and very easy to hit in a turn
* In a dogfight a 110 will be picked apart by the horde of Allied seagulls

== 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 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 ==

{{Youtube-gallery|AW9Gjrax8Zg|'''The Shooting Range #53''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 03:07 discusses the Bf 110.|akxAxhPBA3k|'''The Shooting Range #101''' - ''Tactics & Strategy'' section at 14:24 discusses the Bf 110 G-2.}}

== 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 ==


* [https://warthunder.com/en/news/5560-development-messerschmitt-bf-110-model-updates-new-modifications-en [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> Messerschmitt Bf 110 model updates, new modifications]
* [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/414728-bf-110g-2/ [Forum<nowiki>]</nowiki> BF 110 G-2 Data Sheet]

{{AirManufacturer BFW}}
{{Germany twin-engine fighters}}

M22

2020-06-20T08:54:04Z

U4662042: /* Ammunition */

{{Specs-Card|code=us_m22_locust}}
== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_M22Locust.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American light tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was one of the first American tanks to be released with the American ground tree in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]]. One of the tiniest tanks in the game, the Locust is able to manoeuvre some of the smaller areas on the battlefield to get a clean shot on an opponent.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

Outside of heavy machine guns and autocannon rounds firing at a bad angle-of-attack, the M22's armour offers very little ballistic protection against the standard kinetic shells encountered. With only three men in the tank clumped together around the center, a single penetrating shot through the center is bound to knock out two or more crew member and leave the tank immobile or incapacitated.

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

'''Armour type:'''

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

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

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

=== Mobility ===


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

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

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

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

{{main|M6 (37 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[M6 (37 mm)|37 mm M6]]
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 50 || -10°/+30° || ±180°
|-
! 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|| 19.52 || 27.01 || 32.80 || 36.27 || 38.59
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 12.2 || 14.35 || 17.42 || 19.27 || 20.5
|-
! 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.
|-
| 3.77 || 3.33 || 3.07 || 2.90
|-
|}

===== 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''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| M74B1 || AP || 78 || 76 || 65 || 54 || 44 || 37
|-
| M63 Shell || HE || 2 || 2 || 2 || 2 || 2 || 2
|-
| M51B1/B2 || APCBC || 87 || 84 || 73 || 60 || 50 || 41
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! 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%
|-
| M74B1 ||883 || 0.87 || N/A || N/A || N/A || -1° || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| M63 Shell || 807 || 0.73 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 38 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| M51B1/B2 || 883 || 0.87 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks M22.png|right|thumbnail|300px|[[Ammo racks|Ammo rack]] of the M22 Locust.]]
{| 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
|-
|| '''50''' || 34 ''(+16)'' || 17 ''(+33)'' || 1 ''(+49)'' || style="text-align:center" | No
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|M1919A4 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M1919A4]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,000 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

Perhaps the best word to describe this tank is -- tiny -- it really is, no other tank is as small as the ''Locust'' (save the [[ASU-57]]). This is a pro and a con, which we will cover in a second. The ''Locust'' is a light tank and thus is never really meant to go up against other tanks in the game. This severely limits the opponents you are able to face against "fairly" in this tank as your small size also means the crew is compacted into a small area and a crew knockout is very easy to do onto you, so in order to beat the odds, some trickery has to be put into play...

===Tactics===
Just about any vehicle is a threat, except those only with machine guns, such as the [[GAZ-AAA (4M)|4M GAZ-AAA]]. Either way, if one should find an enemy vehicle just use the blistering pace that this tank has to run away and find another space to flank from the side of the enemy. Also do not forget to research the enemy tanks to know which enemy you can penetrate.

;Run and Gun

* The ''Locust'' is really fast, and although its handling can be hard at maximum speed, this can be exploited in any terrain with sufficient cover in order to get to the enemy flanks and subdue them. The tiny size of the tank helps by presenting a smaller target to the enemy and allows the usage of smaller cover not typically used by an average tank of the rank. With fast manoeuvring and sneaky movements across terrains, you can proceed unchecked and surprise the enemy from the sides.

;Get in Close

* The riskier tactic, but it may work if done well, is to just get right up onto the enemy tank. The Locust, as stressed repeatedly, is ''tiny'' and though this makes it easier for you to be knocked out, that also means you can exploit some of the other tanks weaknesses, like say their gun depression. Get up right on that tank, point blank on the sides, you will find that (most) enemies will not be able to even move their gun down to hit you if you stay close to them. Use this opportunity to find weak points on their side or rear armour and fire away until a penetration and a subsequent knockout. It's a risky tactic but will feel glorious and proud for your tiny tank.

===Modules===
{| class="wikitable"
!Tier
! colspan="2" |Mobility
!Protection
! colspan="2" |Firepower
|-
|I
|Tracks||
|Parts
|Horizontal Drive||M51B1/B2
|-
|II
|Suspension||Brake System
|FPE
|Adjustment of Fire||
|-
|III
|Filters||
|Crew Replenishment
|Elevation Mechanism||
|-
|IV
|Transmission||Engine
|
|Artillery Support||
|-
|}
=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* Enormous hp/ton ratio, allowing fast acceleration
* Great speeds across flat terrain
* Extremely low profile; tanks without a lot of gun depression can't shoot at you at close range
* The gun has no trouble penetrating tanks at its BR range
* Easy to turn a complete 180° at low speed and at a stop

'''Cons:'''

* High acceleration and speed make tank handling rather difficult unless familiar with specs
* Handling becomes sluggish at higher speeds, noticeably in 3rd Gear
* Small crew of 3 confined in tiny space, no spare crew members to take over incapacitated ones, a penetrating shot can take out two of them easily
* Weak armour; will only stop 12.7 mm rounds, and sometimes not even
* Due to its low suspension, it may get stuck in the soft or uneven ground
* Strange driving issue, in arcade mode, that causes the ''Locust'' to shudder, wobble, and not accelerate at a constant rate
* Doesn't have explosive filler for the 37 mm shells

== History ==

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

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

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

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

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

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

=== In-game description ===
"In 1941 an airmobile light tank designated the T9 entered development, with three major companies assigned the project: Christie, GMC, and Marmon-Herrington. The design provided by Marmon-Herrington proved the winner, as it satisfied practically every client requirement.
Trials of the new tank began in the fall of 1941, and in November 1942 the third T9E2 pre-production prototype was built.

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

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

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

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

== 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 ==


* [http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_M22_Locusts.pdf Surviving M22 Locusts] (PDF)

{{USA light tanks}}