War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

KV-220

2023-03-12T13:44:42Z

U7877218: /* History */ Yet some language clarifications and fixing a spelling error

{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_kv_220
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
|market=KV-220
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium gift rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update 1.61 "Road to Glory"]] in the "[[Operation S.U.M.M.E.R.]]" event of [[wt:en/news/4151-special-operation-s-u-m-m-e-r-updated-03-08-2016-en/|2016]] that lasted from 22 July to 22 August, unlocked after obtaining 36 tanker Marks of Distinction.

The KV-220 is played almost like the previous KV iterations in the Soviet heavy tank line-up. The great improvement over the predecessors is the improved all-around armour to 100 mm, meaning that the tank can angle its hull with more confidence without revealing a side weak point or the such. The great armour, decent mobility, and adequate gun gives the KV-220 a diverse role to play in, from a short-range brawler, a support tank, and a long-range sniper.

The KV-220 is quite a heavy tank of its own calibre. With 100 mm of armour all around the hull and turret, the angling of the hull can be done to maximize both front and side armour without worry of exposing weak points. Not to mention for its weight, the KV-220 is quite agile. While the 85 mm gun is powerful by its own remarks, it is inferior to the same 85 mm gun that is on the [[IS-1]] that shares the same BR as the KV-220. This is because the 85 mm on the IS has access to the more potent BR-365A and APCR shells. Thus, the KV-220 provides a heavy tank with an impressive arrangement of armour with decent mobility, but with a gun that may feel lacking in the battlefield against other heavy tanks.

There is one frontal weak point on the KV-220, and that is the gun mantlet. Not that the gun mantlet area is easy to penetrate, but that it curves downwards on the lower end of the shape. This presents a shot trap able to be exploited by any gun to ricochet a round off that and into the hull roof, which is only 30 mm thick. Do note this when facing an enemy taking aim at the tank.

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Commander's cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 100 mm (30°) ''Front Plate'' 80 mm (70°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (26°) ''Lower glacis'' || 100 mm || 60 mm (8-72°) ''Upper'' 100 mm (19°) ''Lower'' || 30 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 90 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 100 mm || 100 mm || 40 mm
|-
| Cupola || 130 mm || 130 mm || 130 mm || 30 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 30 mm thick
* Unlike most other Soviet heavy tanks, KV-220 have a crew of 6

The KV-220 has some of the best armour in its tier. While on paper it's just like German Tiger tank, in reality it can withstand much more opponents than the Tiger. The front has 30 degree slope that makes the armour even thicker. The sides of the turret and hull are also 100 mm, making KV-220 invulnerable when facing enemies at a 45 degree angle. Due to the all around 100 mm armour, KV-220 is invulnerable to all SPAA it might see from all directions.

The KV-220 has a crew of 6, making it harder to knock out. The side of the hull is also protected with fuel tanks which can absorb large amount of damage.

The only weak spot is the gun mantlet which is 90 mm thick. Penetrating this part of armour from the front is more promising than other parts when facing the KV-220. The gun mantlet is more flat compare to other parts, especially when the KV-220 is angled. It will also disable the cannon breech right behind the gun mantlet.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,097|rbMinHp=752}}

The KV-220 has a power-to-weight ratio of 13.6. But surprisingly the mobility of this tank is quite good despite the 62.7 tons of weight. The diesel engine has greater torque at lower RPM than similar gasoline engines, providing KV-220 great acceleration and higher cruise speed but lower top speed. Due to the great mobility in its class, the KV-220 can arrive at the front line with the medium tanks, holding better positions than the late-comers. Despite the good speed, its turn rate is relatively low.

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

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

{{main|F-30 (85 mm)}}

The KV-220 carries a 85 mm F-30 cannon. The firepower is not as good as the 122 mm D-25T cannon installed on IS-2 in the similar BR, but the F-30 cannon has much better fire rate - almost three times faster. The KV-220 also have a good gun depression of -6° when comparing to other soviet heavy tanks. Despite the good rate of fire and relatively good gun depression angle, the F-30 cannon is still not as good as other cannons installed on heavy tanks in the similar BR. Treat the KV-220 as a medium tank with heavy armour rather than a heavy tank.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[F-30 (85 mm)|85 mm F-30]] || 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" | 91 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+23° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 9.71 || 13.44 || 16.32 || 18.05 || 19.20 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.14 || 8.40 || 10.20 || 11.28 || 12.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:F-30 (85 mm)/Ammunition|BR-365A, O-365K}}

==== [[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
|-
| '''91''' || 87 ''(+4)'' || 82 ''(+9)'' || 77 ''(+14)'' || 45 ''(+46)'' || 1 ''(+90)'' || No
|-
|}

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

{{main|DT (7.62 mm)}}

There is a coaxial 7.62 mm DT machine gun and another one installed in the commander's cupola. The usage of these machine guns is relative limited due to the small calibre. You may use the DT machine gun on commander cupola against air targets. You may get a hit if you are lucky. In most cases the machine guns are used to check if the target in the front is still alive or not.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DT (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm DT]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 1,890 (63) || 600 || -5°/+60° || ±180°
|-
| Coaxial || 1,890 (63) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Fighting tanks'''

* Tiger I [[Tiger H1|H1]]/[[Tiger E|E]] - They are usually very easy to destroy and protecting the KV-220 is easy with the right angle of armour, but one mistake and the 88 mm guns can eliminate the KV-220.
* [[M18 GMC|M18 Hellcat]] - Very fast and manoeuvrable. Do not let them flank, if they get onto the sides, they will be able to penetrate. Try to shoot them from a distance.
* Tiger II ([[Tiger II (P)|P]]/[[Tiger II (H)|H]]) - They are better than the KV-220 in every aspect. Try to avoid them and shoot them in their side.
* [[Pz.Bfw.VI_(P)|Panzerbefehlswagen VI (P)]] - Usually, the 85 mm can't penetrate their 200 mm frontal armour, so try to aim for the angled cheeks.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Long barreled 85 mm gun
* More well armoured than most tanks
* 100 mm of armour ''all around'', sides and rear aren't weaker than the front (Though the slight sloping gives the front about 15 more mm in effective armour)
* Great acceleration
* Machine gun turret can traverse 360 degrees
* 85 mm shell has great HE filler
* When angled properly, the tank can bounce or soak up many shots
* Lots of ammo (91 rounds)
* Game changer, as it's very hard to dislodge a well positioned KV-220 especially when the player knows it perks
* 6 crew for large damage sponge
* Good gun depression

'''Cons:'''

* Very sluggish in turns.
* Tall profile and hull is longer than other KV and IS series tank
* Despite firing the BR-365A used on the other 85 mm armed tanks, this gun mounted on the KV-220 is among the earliest model, so it has lower penetration rating compared to others
* Slow turret traverse speed
* Only two types of ammo available (APHEBC and HE)
* Lower gun mantlet is a shot trap - Can direct ricochets into hull roof
* Some ammo will be stored in the turret rear if carrying full ammo
* Unlike other tanks, losing a loader will hinder the loading process by a large margin

== History ==

The KV-220 was a further development of the Kliment Voroshilov heavy tank series. It was one of the prototypes intended to become the "KV-3". The design of the KV-220 started in the summer of 1940. Initially the improved tank was envisioned as being very similar to the in production KV-1, with the major difference being in armour and armament. The improved vehicle was to feature 90-100 mm of armour, and to be armed with a 76 mm gun with the ballistics of the 3-K anti-air cannon (F-27), however due to concerns with the power of such a gun, an 85 mm with the ballistics of the 52-K anti-air cannon (F-30) was later also included in these plans. It was realized that in order to fit the 85 mm gun, a larger turret was required, which in turn required an elongated hull. Several prototypes were ordered with differing specifications.

The first prototype was built in December 1940, and was called the T-150 (or 150, Object 150, KV-150). This vehicle came closest to the initial plans. It featured 90 mm of frontal armour and was not elongated. However, due to issues with the F-27, the prototype only ever received an F-32 gun. This vehicle was approved for production under the name KV-3 in March 1941, however these plans were never realized. The following two prototypes had an elongated hull, 100 mm of armour, and were called T-220 (or 220, Object 220, KV-220, M-220 and even KV-4). Due to the increased weight, a much improved engine was needed in the form of the 850 hp-producing V-2SN (or V-2F). A fourth prototype was also designed, elongated like the T-220, but with only 90 mm armour; construction began but it was never completed.

Only one of the KV-220s received the new turret, mounting a 85 mm F-30 gun. The tanks, especially their automotive parts, performed poorly in trials to the point where one was re-engined with a less powerful V-5 engine since all spare parts for the V-2SN had been used up. The other was simply left non-operational in the factory. At the same time, the requirements had been raised, and an 85 mm was no longer sufficient. New plans were drawn up to create an even heavier, more heavily armoured and armed version, called the 223 (or Object 223), more often called the KV-3. Notably, it was to be armed with the 107 mm F-42 (later called ZiS-6) gun. The KV-220 was used as a testbed for the 223, until the factory had to be relocated to Chelyabinsk due to the invasion of the Germans. At that point, the turret with the F-30 was removed, as the gun had never been trialed. Both vehicles received regular KV-1 turrets with 76 mm F-32 guns, were made operational and sent to the 124th tank brigade, and fought in the war. One of the vehicles were destroyed in November 1941, the other fought until early 1942, after which it was only used as a training tank, with an unknown final fate.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_kv_220 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|zO-puJ00UP8|'''Using Event Tank to Get Event Tank KV 220 Still Got It''' - ''Napalmratte''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[KV-1 (Family)]]
* [[KV-2 (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/4155/current|[Devblog] KV-220]]
* [[wikipedia:Kliment_Voroshilov_tank|[Wikipedia] Kliment Voroshilov tank]]
* [http://pkka.narod.ru/kv-vers.htm <nowiki>[PKKA-CA]</nowiki> KV modifications.]

{{TankManufacturer Kirov}}
{{USSR heavy tanks}}
{{USSR premium ground vehicles}}

M14/41 (47/40)

2023-03-12T12:55:02Z

U7877218: /* History */ Removed implication that the vehicle did not exist. And tried to add as much actual information about it

{{About
| about = Italian medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = the regular M14/41
| link = M14/41
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=it_m14_41_47_40
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_M14-41_(47-40).jpg|ArtImage M14-41 (47-40).png}}
|store=9258
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium rank {{Specs|rank}} Italian medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Regia Marina"]]. This tank is a one-off modification of the in-tree [[M14/41]] with the 13.2 mm hull-mounted machine-gun which can be useful, but it is purely situational, and an upgraded main gun (the same as mounted on the [[M15/42]]).

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


'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
* Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 30 mm (12°) ''Upper plate'' 50 mm (12°) ''Driver view port'' 30 + 30 mm (12°) ''MG bulge'' 30 mm (spherical) ''MG port'' 25 mm (80°) ''Front glacis'' 30 mm (cylindrical°) ''Lower plate'' || 25 mm (8°) ''Top'' 25 mm ''Bottom'' 30 mm (9-12°) ''MG bulge'' || 25 mm ''Upper part'' 27 mm (21°) ''Lower part'' || 25 mm (10°) ''Front glacis'' 25 mm ''Crew compartment'' 8 mm (15°) ''Rear section - Engine'' 5-25 mm (8°) ''Rear section - Radiator vents''
|-
| Turret || 30 + 40 mm (cylindrical) ''Gun mantlet'' 45 mm (13°) ''Turret front'' 50 mm ''Turret ring'' || colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 25 mm (20°) 50 mm ''Turret ring'' || 15 mm (5°)
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick and bogies 10 mm thick.
* The belly is 14 mm thick.
* Mudguards are 4 mm thick.

The {{PAGENAME}} offers decent armour protection and survivability for a rank II tank, but it has to be played carefully. The turret can block some shells with its 45 mm front, and the mantlet can ricochet some rounds, but due to the rank increase, it will be more and more challenging to rely on your armour alone. The upper glacis can be penetrated, but some sharp angles can occasionally save you. The driver's vision-port is 50 mm thick. The most obvious weak spot is the side armour, which is only 25 mm unsloped. Spacing between the crew members will save you, but if shots penetrate, it won't be easy to recover. The driver and machine gunner sit behind the transmission, which can increase their chances of survival.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=248|rbMinHp=142}}

The mobility of this tank (and also the [[M14/41]]) is not great, but not terrible, either. The player won't be the first one at the capture point, but won't be the last either. There is no neutral steering, so the tank will take a moment to turn around.

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

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

{{main|47/40 mod.38 (47 mm)}}

This tank fields a standard-issue Italian 47 mm cannon, which can be found on the [[M15/42]] as well. As with all low to mid-tier Italian guns, this 47 mm features a good selection of shells. The APBC offers excellent penetration and after effect capabilities, which will always reward the player who can find weak spots on the enemy tanks.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[47/40 mod.38 (47 mm)|47 mm 47/40 mod.38]] || 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" | 87 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.3 || 18.5 || 22.4 || 24.8 || 26.4 || rowspan="2" | 3.77 || rowspan="2" | 3.33 || rowspan="2" | 3.07 || rowspan="2" | 2.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.3 || 9.8 || 11.9 || 13.2 || 14.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:47/40 mod.38 (47 mm)/Ammunition|Granata mod.35, Granata Perforante mod.39}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_M14-41.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the M14/41 (identical)]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''87''' || 79 ''(+8)'' || 54 ''(+33)'' || 1 ''(+86)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* As they are modeled by sets of 2 or 3, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire all shells in the set.
* Turret empty: 54 ''(+33)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|4}}

{{main|Breda Mod.31 (13.2 mm)|Breda Mod. 38 (8 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Breda Mod.31 (13.2 mm)|13.2 mm Breda Mod.31]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Hull || 300 (30) || 450 || -8°/+20° || ±10°
|-
|}

The hull-mounted 13.2 mm Breda Mod.31 heavy machine gun can deal a good amount of damage to open-top and lightly armoured vehicles by picking off enemy crew members one by one. Since it is hull-mounted, its traverse and firing angles are limited and it can attack only foes coming at you frontally. The clip capacity of the Breda Mod.31 is poor, as it relies on a magazine of 30 bullets instead of a belt like similar machine guns from other nations. It will also become unusable the moment the tank loses the machine gunner/radio operator.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Breda Mod. 38 (8 mm)|8 mm Breda Mod. 38]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,424 (24) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 288 (24) || 600 || -10°/+30° || N/A
|-
|}
The small calibre of the Breda Mod. 38 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.
The pintle-mounted machine gun cannot traverse independently of the turret horizontally and is limited by the rather slow rotation speed of the turret. Furthermore, its limited elevation and traverse does not allow to target low-flying aircraft. The clip capacity of the machine gun is poor, as it relies on a magazine of 24 bullets instead of a belt like similar machine guns from other nations.

== Usage in battles ==


;Combat tactics

The {{PAGENAME}} is basically a M14/41 tank boasting a better gun and thus sitting at a higher battle rating. With the BR increase, the competition gets also tougher. That's why the {{PAGENAME}} features henceforth average armour for its rank, especially the sides and around the turret. Frontally, the massive 30 mm front plate is the biggest weak spot: flat, hard to miss and a penetrating shot through this plate will kill the driver and the gunner that sits behind him. To avoid this, you can angle your tank about 30 degrees to the left to hide your flat plate and present instead the MG bulge that could absorb some shots. This however is not a durable strategy, any expert tanker won't fall for that trick.

The {{PAGENAME}}'s top speed of 38 km/h limits its opportunities as a flanker. Its flat armour also limits its capacity to advance exposed in the open and its rather slow turret rotation prevents it from reacting quickly to 360° threats as a frontline tank. Its solid 47 mm gun on the other hand coupled with 10 degrees of gun depression makes the {{PAGENAME}} a good support tank. Stay behind cover at a distance (500 to 700 m) from the frontline to support spearheading tanks, this will also increase your armour advantage. On top of that, the {{PAGENAME}} sports with a crew of 4 (and 1 spare) a longer durability than most tanks at its BR. When being focused on the action, it is imperative to always check for 2 main threats: flanking enemies who could reach you quickly from the frontline and tank destroyers with a high penetration power lurking at a safe distance. If you're flanked, your turret doesn't turn all too fast: rotate your hull instead. Pivot turning in the {{PAGENAME}} will always be faster than turning your turret. If you spot a tank destroyer aligned on your position, retreat or get behind cover.

;Notable enemies

* Heavy tanks like B1 bis or B1 ter whose armour is too strong for your gun,
* Tank destroyers with powerful guns like the Marder III, ZiS-30, Ho-Ni I, Ho-Ni III, Chi-Ha LG or the LVT(A)(4) (ZiS-2) (China),
* Tanks with HEAT shells like the Pz. IV E, F1, the StuG III A or the StuH 42 G,
* Tanks with APDS shells like the Strv m/40L, the Strv m/41 S-II or the Lago I,
* Tanks with many crew members like the M3 Lee, the Grant I, the T-28 or the T-28E whose durability is high.

;How to defeat a {{PAGENAME}}

Rule of thumb is to get as close as possible as you can to maximise your penetration power as its armour is flat.

* In a frontal encounter, shoot right in the middle of the front plate if the {{PAGENAME}} did not angle its hull. This will knock out the gunner and the driver.
* If it is hull down, aim at the turret cheeks.
* If its hull is angled, aim at the flat corners of the hull.
* If you manage to flank the {{PAGENAME}}, aim for the hull spot right under the center of the turret or the turret itself.
* From the rear, target the turret first and then the crew compartment right under the turret (avoid shooting in the engine compartment: it will absorb shots with little damage to the crew).

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Thick mantlet
* Good gun depression
* Main gun is upgunned with the 47 mm 47/40 mod.38 cannon found on the [[M15/42]]
* 13.2 mm heavy machine gun is potent
* Playstyle is identical to previous low-tier Italian medium tanks

'''Cons:'''

* If not angled, other tanks will be able to penetrate the armour with ease
* The large flat plate on the hull front provides a massive weak spot
* The narrow tracks will slow the tank down on loose terrain
* 13.2 mm heavy machine gun becomes inoperable the moment the machine gunner is knocked out

== History ==

{{main|M14/41#History|l1=History of the M14/41}}

[[File:M41 Carro Comando(A M41 Self Propelled Command Tank).jpg|thumb|343x343px|M41 Carro Comando (An M41 Self-Propelled Command Tank)]]
Little is known about this vehicle. The hull mg was replaced with a 13.2 mm Breda machine gun, as similarly done on M14/41 command tanks. These command tanks were however turretless. The cannon de 47/32 was also replaced by the longer cannon de 47/40. It is possible this was a post war restoration effort, fitting the turret of an M15/42 onto an M41/41 command tank, for display purposes.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=it_m14_41_47_40 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|FTt9VNw-fY4|'''Italian Beginner's Pack Full Review - Should You Buy? Re 2001 Gruppo 22 & {{PAGENAME}}''' - ''Tankenstein''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[M14/41]]

;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[Chi-He]] / [[Chi-He (5th Regiment)]]

== External links ==


* [https://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/italy/Carro_Armato_Medio_M14-41.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Carro Armato M14/41]

{{TankManufacturer FIAT-Ansaldo}}
{{Italy medium tanks}}
{{Italy premium ground vehicles}}

KV-220

2023-03-11T12:00:13Z

U7877218: /* History */ very minor language chcange

{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_kv_220
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
|market=KV-220
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium gift rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update 1.61 "Road to Glory"]] in the "[[Operation S.U.M.M.E.R.]]" event of [[wt:en/news/4151-special-operation-s-u-m-m-e-r-updated-03-08-2016-en/|2016]] that lasted from 22 July to 22 August, unlocked after obtaining 36 tanker Marks of Distinction.

The KV-220 is played almost like the previous KV iterations in the Soviet heavy tank line-up. The great improvement over the predecessors is the improved all-around armour to 100 mm, meaning that the tank can angle its hull with more confidence without revealing a side weak point or the such. The great armour, decent mobility, and adequate gun gives the KV-220 a diverse role to play in, from a short-range brawler, a support tank, and a long-range sniper.

The KV-220 is quite a heavy tank of its own calibre. With 100 mm of armour all around the hull and turret, the angling of the hull can be done to maximize both front and side armour without worry of exposing weak points. Not to mention for its weight, the KV-220 is quite agile. While the 85 mm gun is powerful by its own remarks, it is inferior to the same 85 mm gun that is on the [[IS-1]] that shares the same BR as the KV-220. This is because the 85 mm on the IS has access to the more potent BR-365A and APCR shells. Thus, the KV-220 provides a heavy tank with an impressive arrangement of armour with decent mobility, but with a gun that may feel lacking in the battlefield against other heavy tanks.

There is one frontal weak point on the KV-220, and that is the gun mantlet. Not that the gun mantlet area is easy to penetrate, but that it curves downwards on the lower end of the shape. This presents a shot trap able to be exploited by any gun to ricochet a round off that and into the hull roof, which is only 30 mm thick. Do note this when facing an enemy taking aim at the tank.

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Commander's cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 100 mm (30°) ''Front Plate'' 80 mm (70°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (26°) ''Lower glacis'' || 100 mm || 60 mm (8-72°) ''Upper'' 100 mm (19°) ''Lower'' || 30 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 90 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 100 mm || 100 mm || 40 mm
|-
| Cupola || 130 mm || 130 mm || 130 mm || 30 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 30 mm thick
* Unlike most other Soviet heavy tanks, KV-220 have a crew of 6

The KV-220 has some of the best armour in its tier. While on paper it's just like German Tiger tank, in reality it can withstand much more opponents than the Tiger. The front has 30 degree slope that makes the armour even thicker. The sides of the turret and hull are also 100 mm, making KV-220 invulnerable when facing enemies at a 45 degree angle. Due to the all around 100 mm armour, KV-220 is invulnerable to all SPAA it might see from all directions.

The KV-220 has a crew of 6, making it harder to knock out. The side of the hull is also protected with fuel tanks which can absorb large amount of damage.

The only weak spot is the gun mantlet which is 90 mm thick. Penetrating this part of armour from the front is more promising than other parts when facing the KV-220. The gun mantlet is more flat compare to other parts, especially when the KV-220 is angled. It will also disable the cannon breech right behind the gun mantlet.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,097|rbMinHp=752}}

The KV-220 has a power-to-weight ratio of 13.6. But surprisingly the mobility of this tank is quite good despite the 62.7 tons of weight. The diesel engine has greater torque at lower RPM than similar gasoline engines, providing KV-220 great acceleration and higher cruise speed but lower top speed. Due to the great mobility in its class, the KV-220 can arrive at the front line with the medium tanks, holding better positions than the late-comers. Despite the good speed, its turn rate is relatively low.

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

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

{{main|F-30 (85 mm)}}

The KV-220 carries a 85 mm F-30 cannon. The firepower is not as good as the 122 mm D-25T cannon installed on IS-2 in the similar BR, but the F-30 cannon has much better fire rate - almost three times faster. The KV-220 also have a good gun depression of -6° when comparing to other soviet heavy tanks. Despite the good rate of fire and relatively good gun depression angle, the F-30 cannon is still not as good as other cannons installed on heavy tanks in the similar BR. Treat the KV-220 as a medium tank with heavy armour rather than a heavy tank.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[F-30 (85 mm)|85 mm F-30]] || 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" | 91 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+23° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 9.71 || 13.44 || 16.32 || 18.05 || 19.20 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.14 || 8.40 || 10.20 || 11.28 || 12.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:F-30 (85 mm)/Ammunition|BR-365A, O-365K}}

==== [[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
|-
| '''91''' || 87 ''(+4)'' || 82 ''(+9)'' || 77 ''(+14)'' || 45 ''(+46)'' || 1 ''(+90)'' || No
|-
|}

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

{{main|DT (7.62 mm)}}

There is a coaxial 7.62 mm DT machine gun and another one installed in the commander's cupola. The usage of these machine guns is relative limited due to the small calibre. You may use the DT machine gun on commander cupola against air targets. You may get a hit if you are lucky. In most cases the machine guns are used to check if the target in the front is still alive or not.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DT (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm DT]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 1,890 (63) || 600 || -5°/+60° || ±180°
|-
| Coaxial || 1,890 (63) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Fighting tanks'''

* Tiger I [[Tiger H1|H1]]/[[Tiger E|E]] - They are usually very easy to destroy and protecting the KV-220 is easy with the right angle of armour, but one mistake and the 88 mm guns can eliminate the KV-220.
* [[M18 GMC|M18 Hellcat]] - Very fast and manoeuvrable. Do not let them flank, if they get onto the sides, they will be able to penetrate. Try to shoot them from a distance.
* Tiger II ([[Tiger II (P)|P]]/[[Tiger II (H)|H]]) - They are better than the KV-220 in every aspect. Try to avoid them and shoot them in their side.
* [[Pz.Bfw.VI_(P)|Panzerbefehlswagen VI (P)]] - Usually, the 85 mm can't penetrate their 200 mm frontal armour, so try to aim for the angled cheeks.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Long barreled 85 mm gun
* More well armoured than most tanks
* 100 mm of armour ''all around'', sides and rear aren't weaker than the front (Though the slight sloping gives the front about 15 more mm in effective armour)
* Great acceleration
* Machine gun turret can traverse 360 degrees
* 85 mm shell has great HE filler
* When angled properly, the tank can bounce or soak up many shots
* Lots of ammo (91 rounds)
* Game changer, as it's very hard to dislodge a well positioned KV-220 especially when the player knows it perks
* 6 crew for large damage sponge
* Good gun depression

'''Cons:'''

* Very sluggish in turns.
* Tall profile and hull is longer than other KV and IS series tank
* Despite firing the BR-365A used on the other 85 mm armed tanks, this gun mounted on the KV-220 is among the earliest model, so it has lower penetration rating compared to others
* Slow turret traverse speed
* Only two types of ammo available (APHEBC and HE)
* Lower gun mantlet is a shot trap - Can direct ricochets into hull roof
* Some ammo will be stored in the turret rear if carrying full ammo
* Unlike other tanks, losing a loader will hinder the loading process by a large margin

== History ==

The KV-220 was a further development of the Kliment Voroshilov heavy tank series. It is one of the prototypes intended to become the "KV-3". The design of the KV-220 started in the summer of 1940. Initially the improved tank was envisioned as being very similar to the in production KV-1, with the major difference being in armour and armament. The improved vehicle was to feature 90-100mm of armour, and to be armed with a 76mm gun with the ballistics of the 3-K anti-air cannon (F-27), however due to concerns with the power of such a gun, an 85mm with the ballistics of the 52-K anti-air cannon (F-30) was later also included in these plans. It was realized that in order to fit the 85mm gun, a larger turret was required, which in turn required an elongated hull. Several prototypes were ordered with differing specifications.

The first prototype got built in December 1940, and was called the T-150 (or 150, Object 150, KV-150). This vehicle came closest to the initial plans. It featured 90mm of frontal armour and was not elongated. However, due to issues with the F-27, the prototype only ever received an F-32 gun. This vehicle was approved for production under the name KV-3 in March 1941, however these plans were never realized. The following two prototypes had an enlongated hull, 100mm of armour, and were called T-220 (or 220, Object 220, KV-220, M-220 and even KV-4). Due to the increased weight, a much improved engine was needed in the form of the 850hp producing V-2SN (or V-2F). A fourth prototype was also designed, elongated like the T-220, but with only 90mm armour, construction of it begun, but was never completed.

Only one of the KV-220's received the new turret, mounting a 85mm F-30 gun. The tanks, especially their automotive parts, performed poorly in trials to the point where one was re-engined with a less powerful V-5 engine since all spare parts for the V-2SN had been used up. The other was simply left unoperational in the factory. At the same time, the requirements had been raised, and an 85mm was no longer sufficient. New plans were drawn up, to create an even heavier, more heavily armoured and armed version, called the 223 (or object 223), more often called the KV-3. Notably being armed with the 107mm F-42 gun. The KV-220 was used as a testbed for the 223, until the factory had to be relocated to Chelyabinsk due to invasion of the Germans. At that point the turret with the F-30 was removed, as the gun had never been trialed. Both vehicles received regular KV-1 turrets with 76mm F-32 guns, were made operational and sent to the 124th tank brigade and fought in the war. One of the vehicles were destroyed in November 1941, the other fought until early 1942, after which it was only used as a training tank, with an unknown final fate. During the move to Chelyabinsk, all these extremely heavy heavy tank projects effectively died.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_kv_220 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|zO-puJ00UP8|'''Using Event Tank to Get Event Tank KV 220 Still Got It''' - ''Napalmratte''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[KV-1 (Family)]]
* [[KV-2 (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/4155/current|[Devblog] KV-220]]
* [[wikipedia:Kliment_Voroshilov_tank|[Wikipedia] Kliment Voroshilov tank]]
* [http://pkka.narod.ru/kv-vers.htm <nowiki>[PKKA-CA]</nowiki> KV modifications.]

{{TankManufacturer Kirov}}
{{USSR heavy tanks}}
{{USSR premium ground vehicles}}

KV-220

2023-03-11T02:15:00Z

U7877218: /* History */ Further, smaller changes for the section

{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_kv_220
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
|market=KV-220
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium gift rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update 1.61 "Road to Glory"]] in the "[[Operation S.U.M.M.E.R.]]" event of [[wt:en/news/4151-special-operation-s-u-m-m-e-r-updated-03-08-2016-en/|2016]] that lasted from 22 July to 22 August, unlocked after obtaining 36 tanker Marks of Distinction.

The KV-220 is played almost like the previous KV iterations in the Soviet heavy tank line-up. The great improvement over the predecessors is the improved all-around armour to 100 mm, meaning that the tank can angle its hull with more confidence without revealing a side weak point or the such. The great armour, decent mobility, and adequate gun gives the KV-220 a diverse role to play in, from a short-range brawler, a support tank, and a long-range sniper.

The KV-220 is quite a heavy tank of its own calibre. With 100 mm of armour all around the hull and turret, the angling of the hull can be done to maximize both front and side armour without worry of exposing weak points. Not to mention for its weight, the KV-220 is quite agile. While the 85 mm gun is powerful by its own remarks, it is inferior to the same 85 mm gun that is on the [[IS-1]] that shares the same BR as the KV-220. This is because the 85 mm on the IS has access to the more potent BR-365A and APCR shells. Thus, the KV-220 provides a heavy tank with an impressive arrangement of armour with decent mobility, but with a gun that may feel lacking in the battlefield against other heavy tanks.

There is one frontal weak point on the KV-220, and that is the gun mantlet. Not that the gun mantlet area is easy to penetrate, but that it curves downwards on the lower end of the shape. This presents a shot trap able to be exploited by any gun to ricochet a round off that and into the hull roof, which is only 30 mm thick. Do note this when facing an enemy taking aim at the tank.

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Commander's cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 100 mm (30°) ''Front Plate'' 80 mm (70°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (26°) ''Lower glacis'' || 100 mm || 60 mm (8-72°) ''Upper'' 100 mm (19°) ''Lower'' || 30 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 90 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 100 mm || 100 mm || 40 mm
|-
| Cupola || 130 mm || 130 mm || 130 mm || 30 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 30 mm thick
* Unlike most other Soviet heavy tanks, KV-220 have a crew of 6

The KV-220 has some of the best armour in its tier. While on paper it's just like German Tiger tank, in reality it can withstand much more opponents than the Tiger. The front has 30 degree slope that makes the armour even thicker. The sides of the turret and hull are also 100 mm, making KV-220 invulnerable when facing enemies at a 45 degree angle. Due to the all around 100 mm armour, KV-220 is invulnerable to all SPAA it might see from all directions.

The KV-220 has a crew of 6, making it harder to knock out. The side of the hull is also protected with fuel tanks which can absorb large amount of damage.

The only weak spot is the gun mantlet which is 90 mm thick. Penetrating this part of armour from the front is more promising than other parts when facing the KV-220. The gun mantlet is more flat compare to other parts, especially when the KV-220 is angled. It will also disable the cannon breech right behind the gun mantlet.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,097|rbMinHp=752}}

The KV-220 has a power-to-weight ratio of 13.6. But surprisingly the mobility of this tank is quite good despite the 62.7 tons of weight. The diesel engine has greater torque at lower RPM than similar gasoline engines, providing KV-220 great acceleration and higher cruise speed but lower top speed. Due to the great mobility in its class, the KV-220 can arrive at the front line with the medium tanks, holding better positions than the late-comers. Despite the good speed, its turn rate is relatively low.

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

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

{{main|F-30 (85 mm)}}

The KV-220 carries a 85 mm F-30 cannon. The firepower is not as good as the 122 mm D-25T cannon installed on IS-2 in the similar BR, but the F-30 cannon has much better fire rate - almost three times faster. The KV-220 also have a good gun depression of -6° when comparing to other soviet heavy tanks. Despite the good rate of fire and relatively good gun depression angle, the F-30 cannon is still not as good as other cannons installed on heavy tanks in the similar BR. Treat the KV-220 as a medium tank with heavy armour rather than a heavy tank.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[F-30 (85 mm)|85 mm F-30]] || 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" | 91 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+23° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 9.71 || 13.44 || 16.32 || 18.05 || 19.20 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.14 || 8.40 || 10.20 || 11.28 || 12.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:F-30 (85 mm)/Ammunition|BR-365A, O-365K}}

==== [[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
|-
| '''91''' || 87 ''(+4)'' || 82 ''(+9)'' || 77 ''(+14)'' || 45 ''(+46)'' || 1 ''(+90)'' || No
|-
|}

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

{{main|DT (7.62 mm)}}

There is a coaxial 7.62 mm DT machine gun and another one installed in the commander's cupola. The usage of these machine guns is relative limited due to the small calibre. You may use the DT machine gun on commander cupola against air targets. You may get a hit if you are lucky. In most cases the machine guns are used to check if the target in the front is still alive or not.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DT (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm DT]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 1,890 (63) || 600 || -5°/+60° || ±180°
|-
| Coaxial || 1,890 (63) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Fighting tanks'''

* Tiger I [[Tiger H1|H1]]/[[Tiger E|E]] - They are usually very easy to destroy and protecting the KV-220 is easy with the right angle of armour, but one mistake and the 88 mm guns can eliminate the KV-220.
* [[M18 GMC|M18 Hellcat]] - Very fast and manoeuvrable. Do not let them flank, if they get onto the sides, they will be able to penetrate. Try to shoot them from a distance.
* Tiger II ([[Tiger II (P)|P]]/[[Tiger II (H)|H]]) - They are better than the KV-220 in every aspect. Try to avoid them and shoot them in their side.
* [[Pz.Bfw.VI_(P)|Panzerbefehlswagen VI (P)]] - Usually, the 85 mm can't penetrate their 200 mm frontal armour, so try to aim for the angled cheeks.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Long barreled 85 mm gun
* More well armoured than most tanks
* 100 mm of armour ''all around'', sides and rear aren't weaker than the front (Though the slight sloping gives the front about 15 more mm in effective armour)
* Great acceleration
* Machine gun turret can traverse 360 degrees
* 85 mm shell has great HE filler
* When angled properly, the tank can bounce or soak up many shots
* Lots of ammo (91 rounds)
* Game changer, as it's very hard to dislodge a well positioned KV-220 especially when the player knows it perks
* 6 crew for large damage sponge
* Good gun depression

'''Cons:'''

* Very sluggish in turns.
* Tall profile and hull is longer than other KV and IS series tank
* Despite firing the BR-365A used on the other 85 mm armed tanks, this gun mounted on the KV-220 is among the earliest model, so it has lower penetration rating compared to others
* Slow turret traverse speed
* Only two types of ammo available (APHEBC and HE)
* Lower gun mantlet is a shot trap - Can direct ricochets into hull roof
* Some ammo will be stored in the turret rear if carrying full ammo
* Unlike other tanks, losing a loader will hinder the loading process by a large margin

== History ==

The KV-220 was a further development of the Kliment Voroshilov heavy tank series. It is one of the prototypes intended to become the "KV-3". The design of the KV-220 started in the summer of 1940. Initially the improved tank was envisioned as being very similar to the in production KV-1, with the major difference being in armour and armament. The improved vehicle was to feature 90-100mm of armour, and to be armed with a 76mm gun with the ballistics of the 3-K anti-air cannon (F-27), however due to concerns with the power of such a gun, an 85mm with the ballistics of the 52-K anti-air cannon (F-30) was later also included in these plans. It was realized that in order to fit the 85mm gun, a larger turret was required, which in turn required an elongated hull. Several prototypes were ordered with differing specifications.

The first prototype got built in December 1940, and was called the T-150 (or 150, Object 150, KV-150). This vehicle came closest to the initial plans. It featured 90mm of frontal armour and was not elongated. However, due to issues with the F-27, the prototype only ever received an F-32 gun. This vehicle was approved for production under the name KV-3 in March 1941, however these plans were never realized. The following two prototypes had the enlongated hull, 100mm of armour, and were called T-220 (or 220, Object 220, KV-220, M-220 and even KV-4). Due to the increased weight, a much improved engine was needed in the form of the 850hp producing V-2SN (or V-2F). A fourth prototype was also designed, elongated like the T-220, but with only 90mm armour, construction of it begun, but was never completed.

Only one of the KV-220's received the new turret, mounting a 85mm F-30 gun. The tanks, especially their automotive parts, performed poorly in trials to the point where one was re-engined with a less powerful V-5 engine since all spare parts for the V-2SN had been used up. The other was simply left unoperational in the factory. At the same time, the requirements had been raised, and an 85mm was no longer sufficient. New plans were drawn up, to create an even heavier, more heavily armoured and armed version, called the 223 (or object 223), more often called the KV-3. Notably being armed with the 107mm F-42 gun. The KV-220 was used as a testbed for the 223, until the factory had to be relocated to Chelyabinsk due to invasion of the Germans. At that point the turret with the F-30 was removed, as the gun had never been trialed. Both vehicles received regular KV-1 turrets with 76mm F-32 guns, were made operational and sent to the 124th tank brigade and fought in the war. One of the vehicles were destroyed in November 1941, the other fought until early 1942, after which it was only used as a training tank, with an unknown final fate. During the move to Chelyabinsk, all these extremely heavy heavy tank projects effectively died.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_kv_220 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|zO-puJ00UP8|'''Using Event Tank to Get Event Tank KV 220 Still Got It''' - ''Napalmratte''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[KV-1 (Family)]]
* [[KV-2 (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/4155/current|[Devblog] KV-220]]
* [[wikipedia:Kliment_Voroshilov_tank|[Wikipedia] Kliment Voroshilov tank]]
* [http://pkka.narod.ru/kv-vers.htm <nowiki>[PKKA-CA]</nowiki> KV modifications.]

{{TankManufacturer Kirov}}
{{USSR heavy tanks}}
{{USSR premium ground vehicles}}

KV-220

2023-03-11T02:06:30Z

U7877218: /* History */ Rewrote entire section to be more accurate, as well as providing more information and insights.

{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_kv_220
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
|market=KV-220
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium gift rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update 1.61 "Road to Glory"]] in the "[[Operation S.U.M.M.E.R.]]" event of [[wt:en/news/4151-special-operation-s-u-m-m-e-r-updated-03-08-2016-en/|2016]] that lasted from 22 July to 22 August, unlocked after obtaining 36 tanker Marks of Distinction.

The KV-220 is played almost like the previous KV iterations in the Soviet heavy tank line-up. The great improvement over the predecessors is the improved all-around armour to 100 mm, meaning that the tank can angle its hull with more confidence without revealing a side weak point or the such. The great armour, decent mobility, and adequate gun gives the KV-220 a diverse role to play in, from a short-range brawler, a support tank, and a long-range sniper.

The KV-220 is quite a heavy tank of its own calibre. With 100 mm of armour all around the hull and turret, the angling of the hull can be done to maximize both front and side armour without worry of exposing weak points. Not to mention for its weight, the KV-220 is quite agile. While the 85 mm gun is powerful by its own remarks, it is inferior to the same 85 mm gun that is on the [[IS-1]] that shares the same BR as the KV-220. This is because the 85 mm on the IS has access to the more potent BR-365A and APCR shells. Thus, the KV-220 provides a heavy tank with an impressive arrangement of armour with decent mobility, but with a gun that may feel lacking in the battlefield against other heavy tanks.

There is one frontal weak point on the KV-220, and that is the gun mantlet. Not that the gun mantlet area is easy to penetrate, but that it curves downwards on the lower end of the shape. This presents a shot trap able to be exploited by any gun to ricochet a round off that and into the hull roof, which is only 30 mm thick. Do note this when facing an enemy taking aim at the tank.

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

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Commander's cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 100 mm (30°) ''Front Plate'' 80 mm (70°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (26°) ''Lower glacis'' || 100 mm || 60 mm (8-72°) ''Upper'' 100 mm (19°) ''Lower'' || 30 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 90 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 100 mm || 100 mm || 40 mm
|-
| Cupola || 130 mm || 130 mm || 130 mm || 30 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 30 mm thick
* Unlike most other Soviet heavy tanks, KV-220 have a crew of 6

The KV-220 has some of the best armour in its tier. While on paper it's just like German Tiger tank, in reality it can withstand much more opponents than the Tiger. The front has 30 degree slope that makes the armour even thicker. The sides of the turret and hull are also 100 mm, making KV-220 invulnerable when facing enemies at a 45 degree angle. Due to the all around 100 mm armour, KV-220 is invulnerable to all SPAA it might see from all directions.

The KV-220 has a crew of 6, making it harder to knock out. The side of the hull is also protected with fuel tanks which can absorb large amount of damage.

The only weak spot is the gun mantlet which is 90 mm thick. Penetrating this part of armour from the front is more promising than other parts when facing the KV-220. The gun mantlet is more flat compare to other parts, especially when the KV-220 is angled. It will also disable the cannon breech right behind the gun mantlet.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,097|rbMinHp=752}}

The KV-220 has a power-to-weight ratio of 13.6. But surprisingly the mobility of this tank is quite good despite the 62.7 tons of weight. The diesel engine has greater torque at lower RPM than similar gasoline engines, providing KV-220 great acceleration and higher cruise speed but lower top speed. Due to the great mobility in its class, the KV-220 can arrive at the front line with the medium tanks, holding better positions than the late-comers. Despite the good speed, its turn rate is relatively low.

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

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

{{main|F-30 (85 mm)}}

The KV-220 carries a 85 mm F-30 cannon. The firepower is not as good as the 122 mm D-25T cannon installed on IS-2 in the similar BR, but the F-30 cannon has much better fire rate - almost three times faster. The KV-220 also have a good gun depression of -6° when comparing to other soviet heavy tanks. Despite the good rate of fire and relatively good gun depression angle, the F-30 cannon is still not as good as other cannons installed on heavy tanks in the similar BR. Treat the KV-220 as a medium tank with heavy armour rather than a heavy tank.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[F-30 (85 mm)|85 mm F-30]] || 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" | 91 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+23° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 9.71 || 13.44 || 16.32 || 18.05 || 19.20 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.14 || 8.40 || 10.20 || 11.28 || 12.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:F-30 (85 mm)/Ammunition|BR-365A, O-365K}}

==== [[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
|-
| '''91''' || 87 ''(+4)'' || 82 ''(+9)'' || 77 ''(+14)'' || 45 ''(+46)'' || 1 ''(+90)'' || No
|-
|}

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

{{main|DT (7.62 mm)}}

There is a coaxial 7.62 mm DT machine gun and another one installed in the commander's cupola. The usage of these machine guns is relative limited due to the small calibre. You may use the DT machine gun on commander cupola against air targets. You may get a hit if you are lucky. In most cases the machine guns are used to check if the target in the front is still alive or not.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DT (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm DT]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 1,890 (63) || 600 || -5°/+60° || ±180°
|-
| Coaxial || 1,890 (63) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Fighting tanks'''

* Tiger I [[Tiger H1|H1]]/[[Tiger E|E]] - They are usually very easy to destroy and protecting the KV-220 is easy with the right angle of armour, but one mistake and the 88 mm guns can eliminate the KV-220.
* [[M18 GMC|M18 Hellcat]] - Very fast and manoeuvrable. Do not let them flank, if they get onto the sides, they will be able to penetrate. Try to shoot them from a distance.
* Tiger II ([[Tiger II (P)|P]]/[[Tiger II (H)|H]]) - They are better than the KV-220 in every aspect. Try to avoid them and shoot them in their side.
* [[Pz.Bfw.VI_(P)|Panzerbefehlswagen VI (P)]] - Usually, the 85 mm can't penetrate their 200 mm frontal armour, so try to aim for the angled cheeks.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Long barreled 85 mm gun
* More well armoured than most tanks
* 100 mm of armour ''all around'', sides and rear aren't weaker than the front (Though the slight sloping gives the front about 15 more mm in effective armour)
* Great acceleration
* Machine gun turret can traverse 360 degrees
* 85 mm shell has great HE filler
* When angled properly, the tank can bounce or soak up many shots
* Lots of ammo (91 rounds)
* Game changer, as it's very hard to dislodge a well positioned KV-220 especially when the player knows it perks
* 6 crew for large damage sponge
* Good gun depression

'''Cons:'''

* Very sluggish in turns.
* Tall profile and hull is longer than other KV and IS series tank
* Despite firing the BR-365A used on the other 85 mm armed tanks, this gun mounted on the KV-220 is among the earliest model, so it has lower penetration rating compared to others
* Slow turret traverse speed
* Only two types of ammo available (APHEBC and HE)
* Lower gun mantlet is a shot trap - Can direct ricochets into hull roof
* Some ammo will be stored in the turret rear if carrying full ammo
* Unlike other tanks, losing a loader will hinder the loading process by a large margin

== History ==

The KV-220 was a further development of the Kliment Voroshilov heavy tank series. It is one of the prototypes intended to become the "KV-3". The design of the KV-220 started in the summer of 1940. Initially the improved tank was envisioned as being very similar to the in production KV-1, with the major difference being in armour and armament. The improved vehicle was to feature 90-100mm of armour, and to be armed with a 76mm gun with the ballistics of the 3-K anti-air cannon (F-27), however due to concerns with the power of such a gun, an 85mm with the ballistics of the 52-K anti-air cannon (F-30) was later also included in these plans. It was realized that in order to fit the 85mm gun, a larger turret was required, which in turn required an elongated hull.

The first prototype got built in December 1940, and was called the T-150 (or 150, Object 150, KV-150). This vehicle came closest to the initial plans. It featured 90mm of frontal armour and was not elongated. However, due to issues with the F-27, the prototype only ever received an F-32 gun. This vehicle was approved for production under the name KV-3 in March 1941, however these plans were never realized.

The following two prototypes had the enlongated hull, 100mm of armour, and were called T-220 (or 220, Object 220, KV-220, M-220 and even KV-4). Due to the increased weight, a much improved engine was needed in the form of the 850hp producing V-2SN (or V-2F). Only one of the KV-220's received the new turret, mounting a 85mm F-30 gun. The tanks, especially their automotive parts, performed poorly in trials to the point where one was re-engined with a less powerful V-5 engine since all spare parts for the V-2SN had been used up. The other was simply left unoperational in the factory. At the same time, the requirements had been raised, and an 85mm was no longer sufficient. New plans were drawn up, to create an even heavier, more heavily armoured and armed version, called the 223 (or object 223), more often called the KV-3. The KV-220 was used as a testbed for the 223, until the factory had to be relocated to Chelyabinsk due to invasion of the Germans. At that point the turret with the F-30 was removed, as the gun had never been trialed. Both vehicles received regular KV-1 turrets with 76mm F-32 guns, were made operational and sent to the 124th tank brigade and fought in the war. One of the vehicles were destroyed in November 1941, the other fought until early 1942, after which it was only used as a training tank with an unknown final fate. During the move to Chelyabinsk, these projects effectively died.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_kv_220 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|zO-puJ00UP8|'''Using Event Tank to Get Event Tank KV 220 Still Got It''' - ''Napalmratte''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[KV-1 (Family)]]
* [[KV-2 (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/4155/current|[Devblog] KV-220]]
* [[wikipedia:Kliment_Voroshilov_tank|[Wikipedia] Kliment Voroshilov tank]]
* [http://pkka.narod.ru/kv-vers.htm <nowiki>[PKKA-CA]</nowiki> KV modifications.]

{{TankManufacturer Kirov}}
{{USSR heavy tanks}}
{{USSR premium ground vehicles}}

Jagdpanther G1

2022-10-27T10:23:10Z

U7877218: /* Development */ Corrected distinguishing features between G1 and G2 models

{{About
| about = tank destroyer '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = the premium version
| link = Bfw. Jagdpanther
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_panzerjager_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]].

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

The armour of the Jagdpanther in itself is average but can be utilized to become extremely effective due to ricochet mechanics.

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

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

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

'''Armour type:'''

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

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

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

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=852|rbMinHp=531}}

The {{PAGENAME}} has decent mobility overall, however, there is one major downfall to this vehicle: its extremely slow reverse speed. For this reason, the {{PAGENAME}} cannot relocate quickly so it is best to position your vehicle in a spot where repositioning won't be necessary.

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

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

{{main|PaK43 (88 mm)}}

The main armament of the Jagdpanther is the 88 mm PaK43 gun, which is one of the best all-around tank weapons at its BR. With an 11-second reload stock, it is accurate as well as causing large amounts of damage during a penetrating hit, as it also contains explosive filler that detonates once inside the hull of the target.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[PaK43 (88 mm)|88 mm PaK43]] || 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" | 60 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+14° || rowspan="2" | ±11° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 7.04 || 9.75 || 11.84 || 13.09 || 13.93 || rowspan="2" | 11.05 || rowspan="2" | 9.78 || rowspan="2" | 9.01 || rowspan="2" | 8.5
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 4.76 || 5.60 || 6.80 || 7.52 || 8.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''PzGr 39/43''', APCBC: stock ammunition, is by far the most useful ammunition for this tank and should be the primary type you carry through your battles.
* '''PzGr 40/43''', APCR: although on paper it appears to be a significant improvement in penetration capabilities, in reality it is often ineffective for two reasons:
** The amount of damage the shell creates within the hull of tank upon penetration is very little, with little to no shrapnel being created by a penetration. This makes a direct hit onto a critical module (such as a gunner or an ammunition rack) a necessity for this projectile, which can be sometimes difficult depending on the enemy you are facing.
** Although the stat card shows that the penetration does increase, due to the overall weight of the shell decreasing, sloped armour is much more difficult to penetrate (which at this battle rating is very common.) This makes this shell somewhat useless as a result, with the standard ammunition (PzGr 39/43) being far more effective against slopped armour.
* '''Hl.Gr 39''', HEAT: it serves very little purpose, as it lacks enough penetration to penetrate tanks from the front (or even side at the battle rating of this tank).
* '''Sprgr.43''', HE: it is ineffective against armoured targets, and should only either be carried for open-topped vehicles (SPAA/TD).

{| 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 39/43 || APCBC || 237 || 234 || 222 || 207 || 193 || 180
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 279 || 273 || 252 || 227 || 205 || 185
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| Sprgr.43 || HE || 14 || 14 || 14 || 14 || 14 || 14
|-
|}
{| 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 39/43 || APCBC || 1,000 || 10.16 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 1,130 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.64 || 0 || 0.3 || 1,100 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| Sprgr.43 || HE || 820 || 9.4 || 0 || 0.1 || 1,000 || 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
|-
| '''60''' || 43 ''(+17)'' || 25 ''(+35)'' || 19 ''(+41)'' || 1 ''(+59)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Right side empty: 19 ''(+41)'' shells.

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

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

The machine gun on this tank is functional but is not powerful enough to cause any damage even to lightly armoured targets (such as AA vehicles).

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Hull || 3,000 (150) || 900 || -5°/+10° || -10°/+5°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

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

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

'''Enemies worth noting:'''

* [[IS-2]], [[ISU-122]], [[SU-152|SU]]/[[ISU-152]]: The Jagdpanther relies on its frontal armour a lot to survive, so the biggest threats are generally the vehicles with high penetration. These machines with high calibre guns pose the biggest threat, as their APHEBC shells will slice through the Jagdpanther's frontal armour like butter, and their damage is more than enough to kill all the crew inside. Try and finish them off first before they see you. If they do, quickly go to a nearby cover and either call for help, or wait until they fire or get distracted.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Armed with the long 88 mm KwK43 gun. One of the best pound-for-pound guns in the game thanks to the great accuracy, penetration, damage potential, and rate of fire
* The default APCBC shell has great accuracy, penetration, and damage potential at all ranges
* Really good top speed and manoeuvrability. Makes getting into a strong early game position a breeze
* The tank is based on the Panther chassis, meaning the frontal armour is really strong against guns packing less than 200 mm of penetration
* Carries a large amount of smoke grenades
* 5x Sight provides sufficient zoom for most engagements
* Despite not having a turret, the tank still has good gun depression

'''Cons:'''

* Terrible reverse speed. Shoot and scoot tactics are nearly impossible to pull off
* The hull armour is tough, but common enemy tanks like the [[Centurion Mk 3]] and [[IS-2]] laugh at the Jagdpanther's frontal armour
* Terrible side armour. Angling is ill-advised
* Like most tank destroyers it lacks a turret. Coupled with the terrible reverse speed, getting flanked is almost always a death sentence
* Despite the 5 men crew, the crew compartment is small. Any APHE shell that penetrates the armour will likely knock out all the crew in one shot
* Despite not having a turret, it's still a big tank. Finding proper concealment can be a challenge
* Roof armour is weak. Attackers and even some fighters machine guns can be lethal
* The HEAT and HE rounds are completely useless while the APCR has mediocre penetration and damage potential. Don't bother taking anything but the default APCBC round into battle

== History ==

===Development===
Nazi Germany created the formidable 8.8 cm Pak43 anti-tank gun, a longer version of the 8.8 cm KwK36. 2 attempts were made to fit this gun onto a self-propelled configuration, the first was [[Ferdinand|Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Ferdinand]] (later Elefant) and the second was the [[Nashorn]]. However, the Ferdinand was too heavy and unreliable while the Nashorn was too small and underpowered to propel such a gun. The Jagdpanther was proposed in late 1942, as a tank destroyer from the [[Panther D|Panther]] chassis that could mount the formidable 8.8 cm Pak43 with good armour and speed. The tank destroyer was created and designated Sd.Kfz. 173 and was demonstrated to Hitler on October 1943. Production then started in January 1944 under the simpler name Jagdpanther by Hitler rather than using the longer 8.8 cm Pak43/3 auf Panzerjäger Panther.

Throughout its production life of January 1944 to 1945, 415 total of these vehicles were made. MIAG produced 270 from January 1944 to the end of the war, MNH produced 112 from November 1944, and MBA produced 37 from December 1944. The supposed goal was 150 Jagdpanther produced a month, but Germany's deteriorating situation made this impossible. The Jagdpanthers were made in two variants, G1 and G2. The G1 had a modified Panther Ausf. A engine deck while the G2 had a modified Panther Ausf. G engine deck. Several changes were implemented throughout its production and as such some features were exclusively present on G1's. Examples include a smaller, and internally bolted gun mantlet/mounting, a monoblock 8.8 cm PaK 43/3 and a three piece exhaust system. A proposal to mount the 12.8 cm Pak80 was mentioned but never came around to production.

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

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

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

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

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

The first variant was the early version of the G1 self-propelled gun, produced from January to September 1944. These vehicles had an 88 mm 8,8 cm Pak43/2 gun with a one-piece barrel. The gun was fixed to the front armour with bolts inside the vehicle. Anti-magnetic Zimmerit paste was applied to the vehicle's vertical surface in its characteristic squares. Also, this variant lacked a snorkel. The plate covering the engine either completely lacked an opening or had an opening which was plugged closed.

The second variant was the standard G1, which had an 88 mm 8,8 cm Pak43/3 gun with a composite barrel. This tank destroyer also received a new gun mantlet. Zimmerit was not applied. Heat shields were installed around the exhaust pipe, and the guide wheels had a larger diameter.

The third variant was the G2, which was equipped with a new gun mantlet reinforced with bolts. An armoured plate taken from the Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf. G Panther tank was installed over the engine. The trenching tool and cleaning rod tube was moved to the rear.

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

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

== Media ==


;Skins

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

;Videos

{{Youtube-gallery|uCO0chq-xcw|'''The Shooting Range #186''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:37 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|lpBqzSQyuv0|'''Tank Chats #153 - Jagdpanther - The Tank Museum''' - ''The Tank Museum''|bpMgT_WH36g|'''Jagdpanther: King Tiger's Gun & Panther's Chassis''' - ''Military History Visualized''|4bj1Tm7YNrs|'''Jagdpanther Tactics''' - ''Military History Visualized''}}

== See also ==


;Related development

* [[Panzer V Panther (Family)]]

;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[SU-100]]
* [[CA Lorraine]]

== External links ==


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

{{Germany tank destroyers}}

Panther II

2022-06-02T17:51:52Z

U7877218: Removed "In game description" tag as it has no basis, and contained fabricated information

{{About
| about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other versions
| link-1 = Panther tank (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_panther_II
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]] as a main tree vehicle, however, as of [[Update 1.91 "Night Vision"]] it was shifted to become a gift vehicle for players who previously owned it.

The Panther II comes with the The "Fahrgerät" FG1250 IR night vision equipment, which had seen limited service. The driver of the tank also gets an IR vision.

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


'''Armour type:'''

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

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 100 mm (55-56°) ''Front plate'' 60 mm (50°) ''Lower glacis'' || 60 mm (30°) ''Top'' 60 mm ''Bottom'' || 40 mm (29-33°) || 30 mm
|-
| Turret || 120 mm (20-21°)''Turret front'' 300 mm ''Gun Mantlet'' || colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 60 mm (25°) || 30 mm
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 100 mm (57°) || 100 mm (33°) ''Outer ring'' 30 mm ''Centre''
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
* Side skirts are 5 mm thick and act as additional protection against explosive warhead
* Part of the hull is covered by tracks, adding additional 20 mm of armour

The armour on this variant has better frontal and side armour than the [[Panther F]], which will protect you against the weaker guns at this BR but it won't hold up when facing higher calibre guns such as the [[M3 (90 mm)]], [[D-25T (122 mm)]] and [[20pdr OQF Mk.I (84 mm)]] that you will likely meet at this rank. The best tactic to survive is to not get hit by an enemy attacker, as the crew is quite cramped and will typically be disabled with one well-placed shot. Also, the Panther II can angle its hull slightly more, unlike the other Panthers, which can provide greater protection.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,395|rbMinHp=796}}

As with all Panthers, this tank has excellent mobility both on and off road. One notable difference between the {{PAGENAME}} and the other Panthers is its reverse speed. Comparing to a max -4 km/h reverse speed on the rest of the Panthers, the Panther II provides a -12 km/h reverse speed, which can help a lot in battles.

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

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

{{main|KwK43 (88 mm)}}

The Panther II boasts the excellent 88 mm KwK 43 with its notably punchy PzGr 39/43 shell, with a reload speed comparable to that of the [[Tiger II (P)|Tiger II]]. Thus, it represents a threat for every tank on the battlefield, even at long ranges. Its rather poor gun handling, however (7.1°/s turret rotation on a stock tank with a level 1 crew) means close-quarters engagements and particularly urban combat should be avoided if possible. This can be somewhat remedied by its ability to neutral steer to acquire a firing solution faster. The optimal ammo loadout is 15 rounds, since it eliminates the ammo racks at the sides of the hull, while still providing a decent quantity of ammunition. It is not recommended to load anything other than PzGr 39/43 shells since it can readily hull break most opponents that have such a feature and it provides consistent ballistic characteristics, while still maintaining a fairly good penetration against sloped armour.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK43 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK43]] || 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" | -8°/+15° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 11.4 || 15.8 || 19.2 || 21.2 || 22.6 || rowspan="2" | 11.05 || rowspan="2" | 9.78 || rowspan="2" | 9.01 || rowspan="2" | 8.50
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.1 || 8.4 || 10.2 || 11.3 || 12.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC || 237 || 234 || 222 || 207 || 194 || 181
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 279 || 273 || 252 || 227 || 205 || 185
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| Sprgr.43 || HE || 14 || 14 || 14 || 14 || 14 || 14
|-
|}
{| 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 39/43 || APCBC || 1,000 || 10.16 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 1,130 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.64 || 0 || 0.3 || 1,100 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| Sprgr.43 || HE || 820 || 9.4 || 0 || 0.1 || 1,000 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|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
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''50''' || 42 ''(+8)'' || 34 ''(+16)'' || 26 ''(+24)'' || 18 ''(+32)'' || 11 ''(+39)'' || 5 ''(+45)'' || 1 ''(+49)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Racks 6 & 7 are ready-racks.



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

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

The Panther II's coaxial 7.92 mm MG 34 is rather anaemic, and thus, not very versatile. It won't pose much of a threat to any vehicle that doesn't have exposed crew members, and it won't do much damage to aircraft. It can, however, be used to highlight enemy vehicles to friendlies, but it comes with the risk of alerting enemies of an enemy vehicle.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 3,000 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The Panther II is a medium tank that performs in many roles. With its powerful gun, it can very effectively take out opponents at its battle rating at both close and long ranges. The turret traverse is slow, which makes close-quarters engagements and urban combat difficult. But, this can be made up for by careful positioning and the use of the tank's neutral steering. The gun has a fairly standard gun depression and a good reload. All in all, the Panther II's armament is decent.

The Panther II is also armed with a 7.92 mm machine gun. This won't do much damage to any enemies except those with exposed crew members. And, it won't do much damage to enemy aircraft. However, it is still useful for spotting enemies and notifying teammates of their presence.

The vehicle's mobility is also quite good. Reverse speed is much better than that of the earlier Panthers, which makes peeking out from behind cover to fire much more viable. On both roads and terrain, the tank is able to reach a respectable top speed, and in general, the mobility is quite nice, and is suited for both crossing the map to reach favourable positions and for close-quarters brawling.

As for armour, the Panther II's protection is the same as that of the [[Panther F]]. It can protect against most small-calibre guns, but won't hold up against larger guns such as those found on the enemy's medium and heavy tanks. The best survival tactic, as usual, is to avoid being hit entirely. The crew compartment (and the turret especially) is quite cramped, and the Panther II can take debilitating damage from even one shot. Many enemies will aim to hit the Panther's turret cheeks, since a hit to the turret can do extreme damage. To prevent this, it is helpful to wiggle the turret from side to side. Although this doesn't always work, it can sometimes throw off the enemy's aim enough so that the shot doesn't do much damage.

The Panther II is a classic medium tank. While it doesn't excel in any one role, it performs well in many. It can snipe, brawl, or do practically anything in between. When the tank's weaknesses are understood, it can be used to great effect to destroy the enemy.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Armed with the impressive KwK 43 gun that's great for the BR thanks to the very high accuracy, velocity and fire rate.
* The default APCBC shell has fantastic penetration, and damage potential at all ranges.
* The gunner has a really nice set of optics that provides 2.5x-6x of magnification. Great for quick target acquisition at close range, while still being great for long range sniping.
* The Panther II's speed and manoeuvrability is almost as good as the Leopard 1's.
* Much better frontal armour than the other Panthers. When properly angled, the upper plate is basically immune to anything that isn't packing 250 mm of pen.
* Unlike the other Panthers, this tank actually has a really nice reverse speed.
* The gun mantlet is not that large, but it is very tough.
* One of the few tanks at this BR that can use night vision.

'''Cons:'''

* The night vision gear on the commander's cupola makes it very easy to spot the tank.
* Same turret as the Panther F, but at a much higher BR. Taking a straight shot from any contemporary tank is almost guaranteed to end in disaster.
* Bad turret traverse. Reacting to flanking enemy's isn't that easy.
* The sides of the hull is lined with a lot of ammo. Enemy shells that enter the sides will likely destroy the tank.
* Transmission is mounted in the front, meaning that the tank can be immobilized from both front and the rear.
* There is some night vision gear on the drivers side of the upper hull. So the gun will have less gun depression than normal over this area of the tank.

== History ==

=== Development ===
In late 1942, German designers started the development of a more powerful and slightly larger version of [[Panther D|Panther]] mounted on a newly designed chassis. In January of 1943, Adolf Hitler agreed on the development of Panther with increased armour protection especially for the needs of the Eastern Front. This project was designated '''Panther II''' and its design was planned along with the development of [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]]. In February of 1943, it was decided that Panther II, in its design would resemble Tiger II and would have many common components such as tracks, transmission, suspension and road wheels. Both designs had common components in an attempt to standardize the production. Overall dimensions were very similar to those of [[Panther G]] hull's design was very similar to that of the late model Panther G but with many modernizations such as the arrangement of observation equipment and new engine deck. Its armour protection was significantly increased if compared to any other Panther variant produced. Side armour protection was 60 mm thick while frontal armour protection was 100 mm thick. It was planned to arm Panther II with the latest 75 mm KwK 42 L/100 or even 88 mm KwK 43 L/71 (without a muzzle brake) gun mounted in a newly designed narrow turret – Turm Panther 2 (Schmale Blendenausführung) (Turret Panther 2 (narrow mantlet variant)) - an early version of the Schmalturm. The Schmalturm itself was not designed until after the Panther 2 had been cancelled - designed by Rheinmetall in 1944 and to be produced by Daimler-Benz.

The Panther II in the game with the Schmalturm and 8,8 cm KwK therefore represents a configuration that never made it out of the suggestion phase.

Panther II's ''Schmale Blendenausführung'' (narrow mantlet variant) turret was significantly different to the Schmalturm of [[Panther F]]. The Schmalturm turret used on the Panther II in game has armour protection significantly increased if compared to any other Panther turret. The front was 120-125 mm, gun mantlet was 150 mm, while sides and rear were 60 mm and the top was 30 mm thick. Schmalturm had special mountings for infra-red device and telescopic range finder. All of those modifications increased Panther II's weight to 47 tons. Panther II was to be powered by a new Maybach HL234 engine with a total power of 900 hp operated by 8-speed hydraulic transmission. Instead, Maybach HL 230 P 30 engine was mounted and Maybach HL234 was later on due to being completed in August of 1945, for future Panther series. It was believed that Panther II's performance would be similar to that of Panther G, while if ever produced Panther II would most likely suffer from the same problems as Tiger II. Simply because of its great weight and high fuel consumption which made it extremely slow. It is also unknown what other modifications would be made if Panther II would be combat tested.

In March of 1943, plans were laid that the production of the first series would start in late 1943 or early 1944 and that by spring of 1944, full-scale production of Panther II would start. On May 20th of 1943, Rheinmetall-Borsig proposed special air-defence turret designed for Panther II, mounted with four 20 mm MG151/20 guns but it never reached prototype stage.

=== Production and cancellation ===
In early 1944, MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nuremberg) was allowed to produce two prototypes but was only able to produce one in early 1945, without the newly designed Schmalturm turret. On May 4th of 1944, it was realized that German industry was unable to start Panther II's production and this project was abandoned in favour of further development of Panther based on lessons learned from Panther II. On June 3rd of 1944, all companies which were to produce Panther II were ordered to instead start the production on the regular Panther tank. The war ended with only one Panther II chassis produced.

The lessons from Panther II, specifically the ''Schmalturm'' turret, would be used on main Panther tank, resulting in the planned [[Panther F]] variant.

===Survivor===
The Americans captured the Panther II chassis and it was shipped to the states. Sometimes after 1946, a Panther G turret was added onto the chassis while it was at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. In the 1960s, the Panther II chassis was transferred to the Smithsonian Institute, who proceeded to give the tank to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox in the 1970s. Following the closure of the Patton Museum, the Panther II is currently at the in-construction National Armor and Cavalry Museum at Fort Benning.<ref name="ArmorJournalPantherII">The Armor Journal. "Panther II. NACM, Ft.Benning. TAJ Walkarounds." Panther II. NACM, Ft.Benning. TAJ Walkarounds. Waddling Penguin Publishing, LLC, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2017. [http://www.armorjournal.com/index-tanks-PantherII-NACM.php Website]</ref>

== Media ==


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

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|hbNzrbSgGag|'''Panther II - The "Forgotten" Panther''' - ''JustinPlaysYT''|PUw2CQ8e0lE|'''Best Combo #1''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 5:30 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|HMMSwpM-fdE|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''}}

== See also ==


;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
* [[AMX-50 (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6317-development-changes-and-optimization-in-the-german-tech-tree-en|[Devblog] Changes and optimization in the German tech-tree]]
* [[wikipedia:Panther_II_tank|[Wikipedia] Panther II tank]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2-germany-panther-ii-mit-88cm-kwk-43-l71/ <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Panther II mit 8.8 cm Kw.K. 43 L/71]
* [https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/08/30/schmale-blendenausfuhrungn-rheinmetall<nowiki>[Weapons and Warfare]</nowiki>Schmale Blendenausführung]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/panther-ausf-f.php<nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki>Panzerkampfwagen Panther Ausf.F (Sd.Kfz.171) ]

=== References ===
<references />

{{Germany medium tanks}}
[[Category:Hidden vehicles]]

Tiger II (10.5 cm Kw.K)

2022-06-02T17:45:15Z

U7877218: Removed "In game description again. As it has no basis and is completely fabricated information.

{{About
| about = German heavy tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other variants
| link = Tiger II (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIh_kwk46
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or just '''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced to the main tree during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]] as a main tree vehicle, however, as of [[Update 1.91 "Night Vision"]] it was shifted to become a gift vehicle for players who previously owned it. Increasing Tiger II's main cannon to a whopping [[KwK L/68 (105 mm)|10.5 cm cannon]], the Tiger II (10.5 cm Kw.K) boasts a much more powerful armament than any of the preceding German heavy tanks.

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

The armour on this variant is the same as on the regular Tiger II (H). The upper front plate provides excellent protection against any regular AP (APCBC, APHE etc.) shell you might face. The turret, however, is only 185 mm and easily penetrated by most enemies, but you can make it very difficult to hit by "wiggling" the turret left and right which will often result in bounces or non-pens. The lower glacis is a weak spot but the transmission right behind it often takes most of the shrapnel, it can catch fire pretty easily though, meaning researching FPE should be done as soon as possible.

'''Armour type:'''

*Rolled homogeneous armour
*Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola, driver MG port)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 150 mm (50-51°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (50°) ''Lower glacis''|| 80 mm (27°) ''Top'' 80 + 5 mm ''Bottom''|| 80 mm (28°) || 40 mm
|-
| Turret || 185 mm (8°) ''Turret front'' 200 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 80 mm (19-21°) || 80 mm (20°) || 40 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 150 mm || 150 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
* Some part of the turret side have track links on them, which gives an additional 30 mm of protection to the armour.
* The weak spot is the front of the turret (185 mm), but it is small and very difficult to hit at mid-long ranges, where it is also harder to penetrate.
* Machine gun port could be marked as a close-range weak spot. Although most of it is still 150 mm thick, the angling is much worse.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,162|rbMinHp=796}}

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

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

{{main|KwK L/68 (105 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK L/68 (105 mm)|105 mm KwK L/68]] || 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" | -8°/+15° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 15.0 || 20.7 || 25.2 || 27.8 || 29.6 || rowspan="2" | 20.02 || rowspan="2" | 17.71 || rowspan="2" | 16.32 || rowspan="2" | 15.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.0 || 13.0 || 15.7 || 17.4 || 18.5
|-
|}

==== 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.Rot || APCBC || 251 || 248 || 234 || 219 || 205 || 191
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.4 || HE || 20 || 20 || 20 || 20 || 20 || 20
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 304 || 298 || 274 || 248 || 223 || 201
|-
|}
{| 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.Rot || APCBC || 1,005 || 15.6 || 1.2 || 19 || 343.2 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.4 || HE || 900 || 15.1 || 0 || 0.1 || 1,550 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 1,150 || 10.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! Ammo part
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''54''' || style="text-align:right" | ''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 43 ''(+11)'' 45 ''(+9)'' || 27 ''(+27)'' 37 ''(+17)'' || 15 ''(+39)'' 19 ''(+35)'' || 1 ''(+53)'' 9 ''(+45)'' ||   1 ''(+53)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Right side empty: 27 ''(+27)'' shells.

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

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 5,850 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -55°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

This tank's best role is as a sniper/support tank. Stay at distance, or your reload time and mobility will be the death of you.

Use your mobility to reach sniping zones and wait for enemy tanks to show up. Keep your distance to maximize the effectiveness of your armour and use cover to reload without having to worry about being destroyed. Avoid close combat as much as possible since most of the other tanks at your battle rate can penetrate your armour very easily and your reload rate is 20 secs so if your shot doesn't penetrate you will be easily killed.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Armed with a 105 mm gun that rivals the American 105 mm gun found on the [[T29]], [[T28]], and [[T95]]
* Really good ballistic properties on the default APHE round, making it fantastic at long range sniping or shooting at moving targets
* Due to the high TNT load of the default APHE shell, shots that penetrate an enemy's crew compartment almost always leads to an instant kill
* Once fully upgraded, the 10.5 Tiger II's engine is even better than the one found in the [[Tiger II (H) Sla.16]]
* Upper front plate still borderlines on being impenetrable with the exception of inbound APDS and HEAT rounds
* Lower plate susceptible to penetration, however, the transmission stands a good chance of absorbing all the potential damage
* Runs with a 6-man crew. Knocking out the tank with a single shot is difficult to achieve unless the ammo is hit
* Armed with a 12-shot, semi-automatic smoke grenade launcher

'''Cons:'''

* The sides of the turret now have a two ears that can be penetrated, making the turret even worse than the one on the Tiger II (H)
* Sluggish main gun reload time of 15 seconds, so snap-shooting or engaging in brawls is ill-advised
* Despite being quick and manoeuvrable for a heavy tank, do not expect to outmanoeuvre any medium which may be on the battleground
* As long as the tank carries at least 2 shells, there's always ammo stored in the back of the weakly armoured turret

== History ==

===Tiger II===
The ''[[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]]'' with its 8.8 cm KwK 43 cannon was one of the most formidable tanks in World War II. Its 150 mm thick front armour plate sloped was never penetrated by an Allied tank throughout the war and its cannon could destroy any Allied tank fielded in the war. However, some German higher-ups believe that the armament on the Tiger II was just not enough, something more was needed.

===Concept===
Ideas of rearming the Tiger II was brought up by Krupp in sometime in late 1944. The concept drawing Krupp made was for the Tiger II to be rearmed with a 10.5 cm KwK L/68 cannon. This design would require new mountings and new mechanical parts to be optimized for the larger 10.5 cm gun. While the idea was indeed a very interesting one to up gun the Tiger II, it was never implemented because of its drawbacks. The 10.5 gun uses two-piece ammunition, which requires the presence of another loader. This is impossible because the turret is already cramped as is with three people inside, and the addition of another will make the interior a very miserable place to be in. Plus, the fact the gun's ammunition is two-piece already means that the drawback behind this upgrade is a much slower fire rate. This causes the concept to be rejected by German high command, and if it wasn't, it certainly ended with Germany's surrender in May 1945.

No prototypes were made and its existence is only proven by a concept drawing.

== Media ==


;Skins
* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIh_kwk46 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

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

;Images
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200">
File:Tiger II 105 Concept.jpg|The Tiger II 10.5 cm concept art from Krupp
</gallery>

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Germany heavy tanks}}
[[Category:Hidden vehicles]]

Panther II

2022-05-17T19:41:13Z

U7877218: Removed "in game description", as such a thing has never existed, and was entirely fiction, and if it had existed in game, should not be part of the history section.

{{About
| about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other versions
| link-1 = Panther tank (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_panther_II
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]] as a main tree vehicle, however, as of [[Update 1.91 "Night Vision"]] it was shifted to become a gift vehicle for players who previously owned it.

The Panther II comes with the The "Fahrgerät" FG1250 IR night vision equipment, which had seen limited service. The driver of the tank also gets an IR vision.

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


'''Armour type:'''

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

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 100 mm (55-56°) ''Front plate'' 60 mm (50°) ''Lower glacis'' || 60 mm (30°) ''Top'' 60 mm ''Bottom'' || 40 mm (29-33°) || 30 mm
|-
| Turret || 120 mm (20-21°)''Turret front'' 300 mm ''Gun Mantlet'' || colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 60 mm (25°) || 30 mm
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 100 mm (57°) || 100 mm (33°) ''Outer ring'' 30 mm ''Centre''
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
* Side skirts are 5 mm thick and act as additional protection against explosive warhead
* Part of the hull is covered by tracks, adding additional 20 mm of armour

The armour on this variant has better frontal and side armour than the [[Panther F]], which will protect you against the weaker guns at this BR but it won't hold up when facing higher calibre guns such as the [[M3 (90 mm)]], [[D-25T (122 mm)]] and [[20pdr OQF Mk.I (84 mm)]] that you will likely meet at this rank. The best tactic to survive is to not get hit by an enemy attacker, as the crew is quite cramped and will typically be disabled with one well-placed shot. Also, the Panther II can angle its hull slightly more, unlike the other Panthers, which can provide greater protection.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,395|rbMinHp=796}}

As with all Panthers, this tank has excellent mobility both on and off road. One notable difference between the {{PAGENAME}} and the other Panthers is its reverse speed. Comparing to a max -4 km/h reverse speed on the rest of the Panthers, the Panther II provides a -12 km/h reverse speed, which can help a lot in battles.

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

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

{{main|KwK43 (88 mm)}}

The Panther II boasts the excellent 88 mm KwK 43 with its notably punchy PzGr 39/43 shell, with a reload speed comparable to that of the [[Tiger II (P)|Tiger II]]. Thus, it represents a threat for every tank on the battlefield, even at long ranges. Its rather poor gun handling, however (7.1°/s turret rotation on a stock tank with a level 1 crew) means close-quarters engagements and particularly urban combat should be avoided if possible. This can be somewhat remedied by its ability to neutral steer to acquire a firing solution faster. The optimal ammo loadout is 15 rounds, since it eliminates the ammo racks at the sides of the hull, while still providing a decent quantity of ammunition. It is not recommended to load anything other than PzGr 39/43 shells since it can readily hull break most opponents that have such a feature and it provides consistent ballistic characteristics, while still maintaining a fairly good penetration against sloped armour.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK43 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK43]] || 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" | -8°/+15° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 11.4 || 15.8 || 19.2 || 21.2 || 22.6 || rowspan="2" | 11.05 || rowspan="2" | 9.78 || rowspan="2" | 9.01 || rowspan="2" | 8.50
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.1 || 8.4 || 10.2 || 11.3 || 12.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC || 237 || 234 || 222 || 207 || 194 || 181
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 279 || 273 || 252 || 227 || 205 || 185
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| Sprgr.43 || HE || 14 || 14 || 14 || 14 || 14 || 14
|-
|}
{| 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 39/43 || APCBC || 1,000 || 10.16 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 1,130 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.64 || 0 || 0.3 || 1,100 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| Sprgr.43 || HE || 820 || 9.4 || 0 || 0.1 || 1,000 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|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
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''50''' || 42 ''(+8)'' || 34 ''(+16)'' || 26 ''(+24)'' || 18 ''(+32)'' || 11 ''(+39)'' || 5 ''(+45)'' || 1 ''(+49)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Racks 6 & 7 are ready-racks.



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

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

The Panther II's coaxial 7.92 mm MG 34 is rather anaemic, and thus, not very versatile. It won't pose much of a threat to any vehicle that doesn't have exposed crew members, and it won't do much damage to aircraft. It can, however, be used to highlight enemy vehicles to friendlies, but it comes with the risk of alerting enemies of an enemy vehicle.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 3,000 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The Panther II is a medium tank that performs in many roles. With its powerful gun, it can very effectively take out opponents at its battle rating at both close and long ranges. The turret traverse is slow, which makes close-quarters engagements and urban combat difficult. But, this can be made up for by careful positioning and the use of the tank's neutral steering. The gun has a fairly standard gun depression and a good reload. All in all, the Panther II's armament is decent.

The Panther II is also armed with a 7.92 mm machine gun. This won't do much damage to any enemies except those with exposed crew members. And, it won't do much damage to enemy aircraft. However, it is still useful for spotting enemies and notifying teammates of their presence.

The vehicle's mobility is also quite good. Reverse speed is much better than that of the earlier Panthers, which makes peeking out from behind cover to fire much more viable. On both roads and terrain, the tank is able to reach a respectable top speed, and in general, the mobility is quite nice, and is suited for both crossing the map to reach favourable positions and for close-quarters brawling.

As for armour, the Panther II's protection is the same as that of the [[Panther F]]. It can protect against most small-calibre guns, but won't hold up against larger guns such as those found on the enemy's medium and heavy tanks. The best survival tactic, as usual, is to avoid being hit entirely. The crew compartment (and the turret especially) is quite cramped, and the Panther II can take debilitating damage from even one shot. Many enemies will aim to hit the Panther's turret cheeks, since a hit to the turret can do extreme damage. To prevent this, it is helpful to wiggle the turret from side to side. Although this doesn't always work, it can sometimes throw off the enemy's aim enough so that the shot doesn't do much damage.

The Panther II is a classic medium tank. While it doesn't excel in any one role, it performs well in many. It can snipe, brawl, or do practically anything in between. When the tank's weaknesses are understood, it can be used to great effect to destroy the enemy.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Armed with the impressive KwK 43 gun that's great for the BR thanks to the very high accuracy, velocity and fire rate.
* The default APCBC shell has fantastic penetration, and damage potential at all ranges.
* The gunner has a really nice set of optics that provides 2.5x-6x of magnification. Great for quick target acquisition at close range, while still being great for long range sniping.
* The Panther II's speed and manoeuvrability is almost as good as the Leopard 1's.
* Much better frontal armour than the other Panthers. When properly angled, the upper plate is basically immune to anything that isn't packing 250 mm of pen.
* Unlike the other Panthers, this tank actually has a really nice reverse speed.
* The gun mantlet is not that large, but it is very tough.
* One of the few tanks at this BR that can use night vision.

'''Cons:'''

* The night vision gear on the commander's cupola makes it very easy to spot the tank.
* Same turret as the Panther F, but at a much higher BR. Taking a straight shot from any contemporary tank is almost guaranteed to end in disaster.
* Bad turret traverse. Reacting to flanking enemy's isn't that easy.
* The sides of the hull is lined with a lot of ammo. Enemy shells that enter the sides will likely destroy the tank.
* Transmission is mounted in the front, meaning that the tank can be immobilized from both front and the rear.
* There is some night vision gear on the drivers side of the upper hull. So the gun will have less gun depression than normal over this area of the tank.

== History ==

=== Development ===
In late 1942, German designers started the development of a more powerful and slightly larger version of [[Panther D|Panther]] mounted on a newly designed chassis. In January of 1943, Adolf Hitler agreed on the development of Panther with increased armour protection especially for the needs of the Eastern Front. This project was designated '''Panther II''' and its design was planned along with the development of [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]]. In February of 1943, it was decided that Panther II, in its design would resemble Tiger II and would have many common components such as tracks, transmission, suspension and road wheels. Both designs had common components in an attempt to standardize the production. Overall dimensions were very similar to those of [[Panther G]] hull's design was very similar to that of the late model Panther G but with many modernizations such as the arrangement of observation equipment and new engine deck. Its armour protection was significantly increased if compared to any other Panther variant produced. Side armour protection was 60 mm thick while frontal armour protection was 100 mm thick. It was planned to arm Panther II with the latest 75 mm KwK 42 L/100 or even 88 mm KwK 43 L/71 (without a muzzle brake) gun mounted in a newly designed narrow turret – Turm Panther 2 (Schmale Blendenausführung) (Turret Panther 2 (narrow mantlet variant)) - an early version of the Schmalturm. The Schmalturm itself was not designed until after the Panther 2 had been cancelled - designed by Rheinmetall in 1944 and to be produced by Daimler-Benz.

The Panther II in the game with the Schmalturm and 8,8 cm KwK therefore represents a configuration that never made it out of the suggestion phase.

Panther II's ''Schmale Blendenausführung'' (narrow mantlet variant) turret was significantly different to the Schmalturm of [[Panther F]]. The Schmalturm turret used on the Panther II in game has armour protection significantly increased if compared to any other Panther turret. The front was 120-125 mm, gun mantlet was 150 mm, while sides and rear were 60 mm and the top was 30 mm thick. Schmalturm had special mountings for infra-red device and telescopic range finder. All of those modifications increased Panther II's weight to 47 tons. Panther II was to be powered by a new Maybach HL234 engine with a total power of 900 hp operated by 8-speed hydraulic transmission. Instead, Maybach HL 230 P 30 engine was mounted and Maybach HL234 was later on due to being completed in August of 1945, for future Panther series. It was believed that Panther II's performance would be similar to that of Panther G, while if ever produced Panther II would most likely suffer from the same problems as Tiger II. Simply because of its great weight and high fuel consumption which made it extremely slow. It is also unknown what other modifications would be made if Panther II would be combat tested.

In March of 1943, plans were laid that the production of the first series would start in late 1943 or early 1944 and that by spring of 1944, full-scale production of Panther II would start. On May 20th of 1943, Rheinmetall-Borsig proposed special air-defence turret designed for Panther II, mounted with four 20 mm MG151/20 guns but it never reached prototype stage.

=== Production and cancellation ===
In early 1944, MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nuremberg) was allowed to produce two prototypes but was only able to produce one in early 1945, without the newly designed Schmalturm turret. On May 4th of 1944, it was realized that German industry was unable to start Panther II's production and this project was abandoned in favour of further development of Panther based on lessons learned from Panther II. On June 3rd of 1944, all companies which were to produce Panther II were ordered to instead start the production on the regular Panther tank. The war ended with only one Panther II chassis produced.

The lessons from Panther II, specifically the ''Schmalturm'' turret, would be used on main Panther tank, resulting in the planned [[Panther F]] variant.

===Survivor===
The Americans captured the Panther II chassis and it was shipped to the states. Sometimes after 1946, a Panther G turret was added onto the chassis while it was at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. In the 1960s, the Panther II chassis was transferred to the Smithsonian Institute, who proceeded to give the tank to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox in the 1970s. Following the closure of the Patton Museum, the Panther II is currently at the in-construction National Armor and Cavalry Museum at Fort Benning.<ref name="ArmorJournalPantherII">The Armor Journal. "Panther II. NACM, Ft.Benning. TAJ Walkarounds." Panther II. NACM, Ft.Benning. TAJ Walkarounds. Waddling Penguin Publishing, LLC, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2017. [http://www.armorjournal.com/index-tanks-PantherII-NACM.php Website]</ref>

== Media ==


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

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|hbNzrbSgGag|'''Panther II - The "Forgotten" Panther''' - ''JustinPlaysYT''|PUw2CQ8e0lE|'''Best Combo #1''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 5:30 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|HMMSwpM-fdE|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''}}

== See also ==


;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
* [[AMX-50 (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6317-development-changes-and-optimization-in-the-german-tech-tree-en|[Devblog] Changes and optimization in the German tech-tree]]
* [[wikipedia:Panther_II_tank|[Wikipedia] Panther II tank]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2-germany-panther-ii-mit-88cm-kwk-43-l71/ <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Panther II mit 8.8 cm Kw.K. 43 L/71]
* [https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/08/30/schmale-blendenausfuhrungn-rheinmetall<nowiki>[Weapons and Warfare]</nowiki>Schmale Blendenausführung]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/panther-ausf-f.php<nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki>Panzerkampfwagen Panther Ausf.F (Sd.Kfz.171) ]

=== References ===
<references />

{{Germany medium tanks}}
[[Category:Hidden vehicles]]

Tiger II (10.5 cm Kw.K)

2022-05-17T19:30:39Z

U7877218: Removed incorrect and non existant "in game description" part

{{About
| about = German heavy tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other variants
| link = Tiger II (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIh_kwk46
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or just '''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced to the main tree during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]] as a main tree vehicle, however, as of [[Update 1.91 "Night Vision"]] it was shifted to become a gift vehicle for players who previously owned it. Increasing Tiger II's main cannon to a whopping [[KwK L/68 (105 mm)|10.5 cm cannon]], the Tiger II (10.5 cm Kw.K) boasts a much more powerful armament than any of the preceding German heavy tanks.

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

The armour on this variant is the same as on the regular Tiger II (H). The upper front plate provides excellent protection against any regular AP (APCBC, APHE etc.) shell you might face. The turret, however, is only 185 mm and easily penetrated by most enemies, but you can make it very difficult to hit by "wiggling" the turret left and right which will often result in bounces or non-pens. The lower glacis is a weak spot but the transmission right behind it often takes most of the shrapnel, it can catch fire pretty easily though, meaning researching FPE should be done as soon as possible.

'''Armour type:'''

*Rolled homogeneous armour
*Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola, driver MG port)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 150 mm (50-51°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (50°) ''Lower glacis''|| 80 mm (27°) ''Top'' 80 + 5 mm ''Bottom''|| 80 mm (28°) || 40 mm
|-
| Turret || 185 mm (8°) ''Turret front'' 200 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 80 mm (19-21°) || 80 mm (20°) || 40 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 150 mm || 150 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
* Some part of the turret side have track links on them, which gives an additional 30 mm of protection to the armour.
* The weak spot is the front of the turret (185 mm), but it is small and very difficult to hit at mid-long ranges, where it is also harder to penetrate.
* Machine gun port could be marked as a close-range weak spot. Although most of it is still 150 mm thick, the angling is much worse.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,162|rbMinHp=796}}

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

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

{{main|KwK L/68 (105 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK L/68 (105 mm)|105 mm KwK L/68]] || 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" | -8°/+15° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 15.0 || 20.7 || 25.2 || 27.8 || 29.6 || rowspan="2" | 20.02 || rowspan="2" | 17.71 || rowspan="2" | 16.32 || rowspan="2" | 15.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.0 || 13.0 || 15.7 || 17.4 || 18.5
|-
|}

==== 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.Rot || APCBC || 251 || 248 || 234 || 219 || 205 || 191
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.4 || HE || 20 || 20 || 20 || 20 || 20 || 20
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 304 || 298 || 274 || 248 || 223 || 201
|-
|}
{| 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.Rot || APCBC || 1,005 || 15.6 || 1.2 || 19 || 343.2 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.4 || HE || 900 || 15.1 || 0 || 0.1 || 1,550 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 1,150 || 10.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! Ammo part
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''54''' || style="text-align:right" | ''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 43 ''(+11)'' 45 ''(+9)'' || 27 ''(+27)'' 37 ''(+17)'' || 15 ''(+39)'' 19 ''(+35)'' || 1 ''(+53)'' 9 ''(+45)'' ||   1 ''(+53)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Right side empty: 27 ''(+27)'' shells.

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

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 5,850 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -55°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

This tank's best role is as a sniper/support tank. Stay at distance, or your reload time and mobility will be the death of you.

Use your mobility to reach sniping zones and wait for enemy tanks to show up. Keep your distance to maximize the effectiveness of your armour and use cover to reload without having to worry about being destroyed. Avoid close combat as much as possible since most of the other tanks at your battle rate can penetrate your armour very easily and your reload rate is 20 secs so if your shot doesn't penetrate you will be easily killed.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Armed with a 105 mm gun that rivals the American 105 mm gun found on the [[T29]], [[T28]], and [[T95]]
* Really good ballistic properties on the default APHE round, making it fantastic at long range sniping or shooting at moving targets
* Due to the high TNT load of the default APHE shell, shots that penetrate an enemy's crew compartment almost always leads to an instant kill
* Once fully upgraded, the 10.5 Tiger II's engine is even better than the one found in the [[Tiger II (H) Sla.16]]
* Upper front plate still borderlines on being impenetrable with the exception of inbound APDS and HEAT rounds
* Lower plate susceptible to penetration, however, the transmission stands a good chance of absorbing all the potential damage
* Runs with a 6-man crew. Knocking out the tank with a single shot is difficult to achieve unless the ammo is hit
* Armed with a 12-shot, semi-automatic smoke grenade launcher

'''Cons:'''

* The sides of the turret now have a two ears that can be penetrated, making the turret even worse than the one on the Tiger II (H)
* Sluggish main gun reload time of 15 seconds, so snap-shooting or engaging in brawls is ill-advised
* Despite being quick and manoeuvrable for a heavy tank, do not expect to outmanoeuvre any medium which may be on the battleground
* As long as the tank carries at least 2 shells, there's always ammo stored in the back of the weakly armoured turret

== History ==

===Tiger II===
The ''[[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]]'' with its 8.8 cm KwK 43 cannon was one of the most formidable tanks in World War II. Its 150 mm thick front armour plate sloped was never penetrated by an Allied tank throughout the war and its cannon could destroy any Allied tank fielded in the war. However, some German higher-ups believe that the armament on the Tiger II was just not enough, something more was needed.

===Concept===
Ideas of rearming the Tiger II was brought up by Krupp in sometime in late 1944. The concept drawing Krupp made was for the Tiger II to be rearmed with a 10.5 cm KwK L/68 cannon. This design would require new mountings and new mechanical parts to be optimized for the larger 10.5 cm gun. While the idea was indeed a very interesting one to up gun the Tiger II, it was never implemented because of its drawbacks. The 10.5 gun uses two-piece ammunition, which requires the presence of another loader. This is impossible because the turret is already cramped as is with three people inside, and the addition of another will make the interior a very miserable place to be in. Plus, the fact the gun's ammunition is two-piece already means that the drawback behind this upgrade is a much slower fire rate. This causes the concept to be rejected by German high command, and if it wasn't, it certainly ended with Germany's surrender in May 1945.

No prototypes were made and its existence is only proven by a concept drawing.

Production on the new Tiger II project, featuring the 10,5 cm KwK L/68 gun, was never launched.

== Media ==


;Skins
* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIh_kwk46 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

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

;Images
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200">
File:Tiger II 105 Concept.jpg|The Tiger II 10.5 cm concept art from Krupp
</gallery>

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Germany heavy tanks}}
[[Category:Hidden vehicles]]

Tiger II (10.5 cm Kw.K)

2022-05-17T19:26:03Z

U7877218: Removed "In game description" part of History section. As there is no such thing as "in game description", nor was it correct.

{{About
| about = German heavy tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other variants
| link = Tiger II (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIh_kwk46
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or just '''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced to the main tree during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]] as a main tree vehicle, however, as of [[Update 1.91 "Night Vision"]] it was shifted to become a gift vehicle for players who previously owned it. Increasing Tiger II's main cannon to a whopping [[KwK L/68 (105 mm)|10.5 cm cannon]], the Tiger II (10.5 cm Kw.K) boasts a much more powerful armament than any of the preceding German heavy tanks.

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

The armour on this variant is the same as on the regular Tiger II (H). The upper front plate provides excellent protection against any regular AP (APCBC, APHE etc.) shell you might face. The turret, however, is only 185 mm and easily penetrated by most enemies, but you can make it very difficult to hit by "wiggling" the turret left and right which will often result in bounces or non-pens. The lower glacis is a weak spot but the transmission right behind it often takes most of the shrapnel, it can catch fire pretty easily though, meaning researching FPE should be done as soon as possible.

'''Armour type:'''

*Rolled homogeneous armour
*Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola, driver MG port)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 150 mm (50-51°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (50°) ''Lower glacis''|| 80 mm (27°) ''Top'' 80 + 5 mm ''Bottom''|| 80 mm (28°) || 40 mm
|-
| Turret || 185 mm (8°) ''Turret front'' 200 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 80 mm (19-21°) || 80 mm (20°) || 40 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 150 mm || 150 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
* Some part of the turret side have track links on them, which gives an additional 30 mm of protection to the armour.
* The weak spot is the front of the turret (185 mm), but it is small and very difficult to hit at mid-long ranges, where it is also harder to penetrate.
* Machine gun port could be marked as a close-range weak spot. Although most of it is still 150 mm thick, the angling is much worse.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,162|rbMinHp=796}}

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

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

{{main|KwK L/68 (105 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK L/68 (105 mm)|105 mm KwK L/68]] || 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" | -8°/+15° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 15.0 || 20.7 || 25.2 || 27.8 || 29.6 || rowspan="2" | 20.02 || rowspan="2" | 17.71 || rowspan="2" | 16.32 || rowspan="2" | 15.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.0 || 13.0 || 15.7 || 17.4 || 18.5
|-
|}

==== 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.Rot || APCBC || 251 || 248 || 234 || 219 || 205 || 191
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.4 || HE || 20 || 20 || 20 || 20 || 20 || 20
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 304 || 298 || 274 || 248 || 223 || 201
|-
|}
{| 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.Rot || APCBC || 1,005 || 15.6 || 1.2 || 19 || 343.2 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4.4 || HE || 900 || 15.1 || 0 || 0.1 || 1,550 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| PzGr 40 || APCR || 1,150 || 10.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! Ammo part
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''54''' || style="text-align:right" | ''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 43 ''(+11)'' 45 ''(+9)'' || 27 ''(+27)'' 37 ''(+17)'' || 15 ''(+39)'' 19 ''(+35)'' || 1 ''(+53)'' 9 ''(+45)'' ||   1 ''(+53)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Right side empty: 27 ''(+27)'' shells.

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

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 5,850 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -55°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

This tank's best role is as a sniper/support tank. Stay at distance, or your reload time and mobility will be the death of you.

Use your mobility to reach sniping zones and wait for enemy tanks to show up. Keep your distance to maximize the effectiveness of your armour and use cover to reload without having to worry about being destroyed. Avoid close combat as much as possible since most of the other tanks at your battle rate can penetrate your armour very easily and your reload rate is 20 secs so if your shot doesn't penetrate you will be easily killed.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Armed with a 105 mm gun that rivals the American 105 mm gun found on the [[T29]], [[T28]], and [[T95]]
* Really good ballistic properties on the default APHE round, making it fantastic at long range sniping or shooting at moving targets
* Due to the high TNT load of the default APHE shell, shots that penetrate an enemy's crew compartment almost always leads to an instant kill
* Once fully upgraded, the 10.5 Tiger II's engine is even better than the one found in the [[Tiger II (H) Sla.16]]
* Upper front plate still borderlines on being impenetrable with the exception of inbound APDS and HEAT rounds
* Lower plate susceptible to penetration, however, the transmission stands a good chance of absorbing all the potential damage
* Runs with a 6-man crew. Knocking out the tank with a single shot is difficult to achieve unless the ammo is hit
* Armed with a 12-shot, semi-automatic smoke grenade launcher

'''Cons:'''

* The sides of the turret now have a two ears that can be penetrated, making the turret even worse than the one on the Tiger II (H)
* Sluggish main gun reload time of 15 seconds, so snap-shooting or engaging in brawls is ill-advised
* Despite being quick and manoeuvrable for a heavy tank, do not expect to outmanoeuvre any medium which may be on the battleground
* As long as the tank carries at least 2 shells, there's always ammo stored in the back of the weakly armoured turret

== History ==

===Tiger II===
The ''[[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]]'' with its 8.8 cm KwK 43 cannon was one of the most formidable tanks in World War II. Its 150 mm thick front armour plate sloped was never penetrated by an Allied tank throughout the war and its cannon could destroy any Allied tank fielded in the war. However, some German higher-ups believe that the armament on the Tiger II was just not enough, something more was needed.

===Concept===
Ideas of rearming the Tiger II was brought up by Krupp in sometime in late 1944. The concept drawing Krupp made was for the Tiger II to be rearmed with a 10.5 cm KwK L/68 cannon. This design would require new mountings and new mechanical parts to be optimized for the larger 10.5 cm gun. While the idea was indeed a very interesting one to up gun the Tiger II, it was never implemented because of its drawbacks. The 10.5 gun uses two-piece ammunition, which requires the presence of another loader. This is impossible because the turret is already cramped as is with three people inside, and the addition of another will make the interior a very miserable place to be in. Plus, the fact the gun's ammunition is two-piece already means that the drawback behind this upgrade is a much slower fire rate. This causes the concept to be rejected by German high command, and if it wasn't, it certainly ended with Germany's surrender in May 1945.

No prototypes were made and its existence is only proven by a concept drawing.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIh_kwk46 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

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

;Images
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200">
File:Tiger II 105 Concept.jpg|The Tiger II 10.5 cm concept art from Krupp
</gallery>

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

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

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

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

{{Germany heavy tanks}}
[[Category:Hidden vehicles]]

IS-2 (1944)

2022-05-06T17:06:14Z

U7877218: Corrected and rephrased the sentences regarding the new sloped front plate

{{About
| about = Soviet heavy tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = IS-2 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_is_2_1944
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]].

The IS-2 mod. 1944 was created after the initial disadvantages of the previous [[IS-2]] model (IS-2 mod. 1943), being vulnerable against the 75 mm guns of the German StuGs and Panzer IVs due to the nearly flat frontal armour. The Soviet high command then decided to produce another version of the IS-2 with a heavily sloped armour plate, generally known as the IS-2 mod. 1944. It was used successfully on the Eastern front until the end of the war and is remembered as one of the mightiest tanks of World War 2.

In the game, the IS-2 mod. 1944 sits at a BR which is higher than the first [[IS-2]]. It now features a mighty frontal plate, sloped at 61° backwards and also a 12.7 mm DShK machine gun on top for AA-defense. It has the same gun as its predecessor, but even at a higher BR, it is one of the most destructive guns in the game, with high penetration and devastating post-penetration damage.

Another unique aspect of the IS-2 mod.1944 is that it is the only of the two non-premium WW2 vehicles in the Soviet Tree with an researchable add-on armour package, which can be also found on the gifted [[T-34-85E]], made out of iron beds, which stop occasional HEAT shell.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}
[[File:IS-2 1944 Screenshot 1.jpg|thumb|IS-2 1944 on [[Finland]] ]]
The armour, while having a nigh-impenetrable front plate and a decent turret, has many weak spots.

First, there is the right part of the turret because while on the left side the gun mantlet is connected to the turret armour, there is no mantlet on the right-hand side, so it has just half the thickness of the left side.

Next, we have the lower glacis, which is a very prominent target, with very little armour for its BR (~130 mm effective thickness). Shots of a German 88 mm or an American 90 mm will wreak your IS-2 1944.

Last but not least, we have the driver's hatch. While not as prominent as the first two mentioned, many experienced players will go for a shot right here, when you are hull-down. With around 120 mm effective thickness, it is really easy to penetrate even with small guns such as the American 76 mm and has a devastating effect on your tank.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 671|rbMinHp= 460|AoAweight= 0.15}}

The forward and reverse acceleration on the {{PAGENAME}} is quite superb even when stock. However, the {{PAGENAME}} suffers especially when attempting to turn. Speed will bleed out very quickly when turning, this can lead to difficulty when attempting to turn at low speed and so will require the tank to move forwards until it reaches a good speed to turn adequately to respond to any targets not at the direct hull front.

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

When researching the first modifications, it's a priority to research Parts and FPE (you may want to activate several universal back-ups to be able to respawn twice in one match if you really wish to upgrade this vehicle quickly).

General stock advice:

* Don't show your rear to any enemies, because a single fire will be your death.
* Your gun is still very effective, so don't be afraid to attack enemies frontally, just make sure to aim for weak-spots if possible.
** Shooting at planes in Arcade with your machine gun (or main gun) and scoring some hits can often award you a kill if the plane crashes, which grants points.
* Play as a support tank - push with your team and let them take fire, then poke out and take your shots, then retreat back into cover.
* Try to push into objectives with your team to gain those points as well.

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
[[File:IS-2 1944 Screenshot 2.jpg|thumb|IS-2 1944 on [[Finland]]]]
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|D-25T (122 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[D-25T (122 mm)|122 mm D-25T]] || 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" | 28 || rowspan="2" | -3°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 11.33 || 15.68 || 19.04 || 21.06 || 22.4 || rowspan="2" | 27.1 || rowspan="2" | 23.92 || rowspan="2" | 22.05 || rowspan="2" | 20.8
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.33 || 9.8 || 11.9 || 13.16 || 14.0
|-
|}

===== 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
|-
| BR-471 || APHE || 205 || 201 || 183 || 162 || 144 || 128
|-
| BR-471B || APHEBC || 205 || 203 || 191 || 178 || 166 || 155
|-
| OF-471 || HE || 37 || 37 || 37 || 37 || 37 || 37
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| BR-471 || APHE || 795 || 25 || 1.2 || 19 || 246.4 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| BR-471B || APHEBC || 795 || 25 || 1.2 || 19 || 246.4 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| OF-471 || HE || 800 || 25 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 3,600 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_IS-2.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the IS-2]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! Ammo part
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''28''' || ''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 13 ''(+15)'' 27 ''(+1)'' || 1 ''(+27)'' 24 ''(+4)'' || N/A 21 ''(+7)'' || N/A 11 ''(+17)'' || N/A 6 ''(+22)'' || N/A 1 ''(+27)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* The {{PAGENAME}} uses two-piece ammunition, composed of projectiles (yellow) and propellant bags (orange). Both have separate racks.
* Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
* Centre floor rack emptied: 11 ''(+17)'' shells.

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

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

The machine gun armament of the {{PAGENAME}} is vastly improved from the [[IS-2|previous iteration]] due to the presence of a 12.7 mm DShK machine gun on a pintle-mount. This allows not only a better ability to defend against aircraft, but as an alternative offensive capability to the slow-firing 122 mm gun. Penetrating more than 20 mm of armour from at maximum 500 metres, the DShK is great to attack lightly armoured vehicles. The coaxial gun in this case has little use aside from an harassing tool against an armoured enemy or foliage clearing device against fences that may be in the way. Still, these two machine guns should not be neglected from the arsenal of the {{PAGENAME}}.

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DShK (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm DShK]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 250 (50) || 600 || -10°/+60°|| ±180°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The IS-2 '44 is a definite improvement on its predecessor, the [[IS-2]]. Most notably the frontal armour now features a slope, which can bounce or outright block some rounds, although the 0.6 Battle Rating increase seems slightly too much. This iteration of the IS-2 also features a roof-mounted machine gun that can be used to attack aircraft without moving your turret (by using weapon selection keys set in the controls). Otherwise, the IS-2 '44 is identical to the IS-2.

If you are to apply bushes onto the IS-2 1944, consider putting most of them on the curved sides next to the upper glacis. You can even leave the upper glacis exposed, as it is very tough. This is because that quite some opponents will automatically target the curved armour, knowing that area is a common weakspot when the IS is angling. By covering up these curves, it will cause some confusion and delay the enemy's reaction & aiming time, as they now cannot directly see where your curved armour is, gifting you a few precious seconds before they open fire. For any leftover bushes, the turret front and the lower front plate are also good spots to put them on.

[[File:IS-2 1944 Screenshot 3.jpg|thumb|IS-2 1944 on [[Finland]]]]

=== General Gameplay ===
At its BR, you will face the Tiger II (H) a lot, as well as much more heavily armoured vehicles such as the Jagdtiger, the Ferdinand, the T32 and the T95 (in an uptier). These tanks are near-impossible to penetrate frontally, so you will have to try to flank them. Otherwise, the gameplay remains the same as with the previous IS-2.

Overall, you shouldn't over-extend into enemy territory because your reload is still slow; you should play off of your teammates and use your great reverse speed to get out of line of sight as soon as you shot, or have been shot; you should have fun with the 122 mm gun that blows roofs off of most enemies you penetrate. Flanking is best done in Arcade, while in Realistic you're better of setting up ambushes at a medium distance away from main pathways.

==== Arcade Battles ====
In Arcade, the IS-2 proves to be quite mobile when fully upgraded. This can be used effectively to get into superior positions to engage enemies early in the match when they haven't yet set-up camp in well-covered positions and/or presented their strongest armour. Thus, it's easy to gain a kill at the start of the match, if you are comfortable with the 122 mm gun.

Close quarters combat proves even more deadly in Arcade Battles because all opposing vehicles will be able to easily overrun a single IS-2, especially after it has shot and is now waiting through it long reloads (20 seconds). Hence why it's advised to use your improved reverse speed to quickly disengage after shooting and retreating towards your teammates, who will likely be able to return fire. If the map forces you to fight in close quarters, attempt to get into a position where your teammates can cover your sides, while you can face forwards and clear the road. If the map allows, you can try taking 5 rounds of ammunition and camp at a capture point (usually one that's given to your team) to snipe all enemies that enter your line of sight while reducing your chances of blowing up at the first incoming shot.

In rare cases, it's possible to rush with the IS-2 and surprise lighter vehicles at a contested capture point in the early stages of a game. This strategy relies on the capture point being unpopular and being lucky to face only one enemy vehicle at a time. Some light tanks are unable to penetrate the IS-2 frontally, especially if they are from a much lower rank (e.g. [[BT-7]], the [[Sd.Kfz.234/2|Puma]] or the [[R3 T20 FA-HS|R3]]), so that's an added benefit of being a decently mobile heavy tank. If successful, the IS-2 can then flank to other objectives or advance to the enemy spawn to destroy another enemy or two. You shouldn't expect a lot of easy targets with this strategy, because it exposes your tank to potentially a lot of enemy fire.

==== Realistic Battles ====
In Realistic, the IS-2 begins to feel like a heavy tank. Its mobility is heavily reduced and its speed is outmatched by practically everything, mostly due to poor acceleration off-roads. However, this should be used as an advantage to gauge where the enemies are set-up, by looking where your teammates are killed from. You can then decide to return fire, although sometimes opponents don't show themselves until later in the match, in which case you should stay passive and try to remain behind your team's front lines.

Due to generally increased map size in Realistic, you will have to get comfortable with the bullet drop. There is an added benefit to that because the following [[IS-3]] and [[IS-4M]] mount the same gun (as does [[T-44-122]] and [[KV-122]], if you have them), and [[T-10M]] has similar bullet drop. Now, the IS-2 performs decently well at longer ranges, but it will cost you a lot if you miss or don't penetrate, because the reload is so long. Often, you will need to rely on the rangefinder, the teammates or map knowledge to gauge how high you need to shoot, so it might be a great idea to take out another vehicle first (such as the [[T-44]] or [[T-34-85]]) remember the distance and then take the IS-2 out. However, on larger maps, it is generally a better idea to take out other vehicles.

A more reliable strategy for the IS-2 is to camp nearby an objective and pick off any enemies who pose a threat. Just make sure to find a flat spot with cover, because your poor gun depression and long reload will be your death in hilly or open areas. It's also a good idea to target heavy enemies, because they are easier to hit, and also will likely pose a larger threat to your general team (e.g the [[Ferdinand]], the [[Ho-Ri Production|Ho-Ri]] or the [[Tiger II (H)]] ).

====General Tactics====

Although classified as a heavy tank and an upgraded improved design over the KV predecessor, the IS-2's armour will no longer hold up to its more common and heavier opponents of its Battle-Rating and Rank. Compared with other vehicles such as the new German Tiger II, American heavy T-series tanks; most of which can easily deflect even the most powerful shots of the IS-2 unless targeted specifically and known weak-spots. Because of this, it is recommended to always travel and fight in groups of two or more vehicles. The slow and difficult in the manoeuvring of the vehicle (especially in confined spaces) will more than once place the IS-2 in significant danger. It is recommended to field the IS-2 into a fire-support role, peeking over the shoulder of friendly, more heavier vehicles and firing a shot against the opposition in tandem.

Another significant note of this vehicle is the IS-2's considerably fast reverse rate, the highest of its Rank and Battle-Rating for the nation's faction inherited from its IS-1 predecessor, topping at 17 km/h. During situations where engagement is expected, an unorthodox strategy can be utilized where the operator of the IS-2 tank re-positions the vehicle 90 degrees and drive in reverse with the rear-facing towards the enemy. By driving in reverse this way, the engine blocks make a crude yet somewhat effective shield to protect the more delicate crew members. As the fuel tanks are mostly stored at the front on the left and right side of the driver's station, the risk of fire and fuel-tank explosion is reduced significantly (but not completely eliminated) and thus, the tank is able to resist even the most powerful of shots. Be aware that more experienced players may attempt to instead fire at the more exposed turret of the IS tank and instantly knocking out the crew with a common APHE penetrating shell in this way.

In regards to shells, the D-25T cannon is also equipped with powerful High Explosive (HE) Shells which should not go ignored. Firing a HE shell with precise aim directly underneath the chassis of enemy vehicles were the armour, like on the top of the vehicle if thinnest, can cripple or instantly destroy said enemy vehicles. In rare instances, the HE shell of the D-25T is so powerful to the point two or more medium or heavy tanks close to each other can be destroyed with a single exploding HE Shell. Alternatively, the powerful armour-piercing capability of the D-25T cannon's APHE rounds has also been documented to pierce two or three light-armoured targets without exploding.
[[File:Wsp volumetric shell diagram.png|thumb|Differences between non-volumetric shells and volumetric shells hitting a Tiger I]]
An important note when engaging tanks, especially Tiger I's, is that, with the implementation of volumetric shells, you can no longer expect your shells to pierce through small openings or right past an obstacle. The large 122 mm calibre of your shells will result in it catching on an armour plate's edge very often, losing all of its penetration. For example, a Tiger I has some edges that can absorb your shell unexpectedly, despite having flat armour. Thus you must always make sure that where you are aiming at is absolutely free of obstruction, or it may result in a non-penetration or a ricochet. This can be seen in the diagram to the right.

=== Moving from IS-2 to IS-2 (1944) ===
This section will go into more detail about the differences between fighting with this machine, the challenge is that some of the enemies which can be faced are simply impenetrable frontally. You will have to either have to run or outflank them! However, it is critically important to watch your flanks, due to the other enemies which will also be facing, trying to outflank you and hit you in your sides!
because of the saturation of good and highly mobile vehicles that other nations have at this Battle Rating such as: [[Ru_251]], [[Panther_(Disambiguation)| Panther tanks]], [[Tiger_II_(H)|Tiger II (H)]], [[Caernarvon]], [[T34]], [[AMX_M4|AMX M4]] and many more.

==== Specific Enemies Worth Noting ====
These are new (or common) vehicles you will see in this tank. Read the specific enemies section in the IS-2 article to get a full run-down.

* ☠ T32 - You have to go for the MG port in the lower left of the UFP, otherwise you can only penetrate the side armour or the rear.
* ☠ T28 - You can only penetrate the cupolas on top of the tank. If they're hidden or you are unsure about the shot, you can try hitting the cannon barrel and running away.
* ☠ Ferdinand - Go for the angled armour at the sides of the lower front plate (below the casemate, but above the lowest plates), this will disable Ferdinand's engine and/or driver, so you can flank and finish it off.
* ☠ Jagdtiger - You cannot reliably penetrate or damage this tank frontally. You can try disabling the cannon barrel, and then flanking is your best option (or running away).
* ☠ Conqueror - Shoot the hull, don't shoot the turret.
* ☠ Ho-Ri Production - You cannot reliably penetrate or damage this tank frontally. You can try disabling the cannon barrel and then flanking is your best option (or running).
* ☠ AMX-50 Foch - You cannot reliably penetrate or damage this tank frontally. You can try disabling the cannon barrel and then flanking is your best option (or running).
* T34 / T29 - Turret cheeks can work, although it's best to go for the LFP because the ammo storage is very low in the tank. If you don't see the LFP, try going just below the turret ring, where the driver sits.
* Tiger II (H) / Panther II - You can easily penetrate the turret cheeks with BR-471B.
* Panther D, A, G, F - You can penetrate the UFP 
* Tortoise - Shoot to the right of the gun of the Tortoise, when you see it head-on if shoot on the left plate there is a chance of a one-shot
* AMX-50 Surbaissé - Go for the LFP.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Extremely powerful 122 mm gun. Can easily kill any tank with a single shot.
* The top 122 mm APHE shell has good overmatching mechanics. Can go through the upper plate of the Panther at 500+ m fairly easily.
* The gunner has a decent set of optics with 4x magnification.
* Upper plate is as tough as the Tiger II's upper plate. Basically immune to anything that isn't HEAT or APDS.
* Has good mobility and a high top speed for a heavy.
* Has a roof mounted 12.7 mm machine gun. So dealing with lightly armoured vehicles and defending its self from planes is possible.
* Is a good flanker and ambushing tank thanks to its good top speed, armour, and massive gun.
* Add on spaced armour to protect the turret

'''Cons:'''

* Terrible reload speed. Getting into brawls with contemporary heavies like the Tiger II is ill advised.
* Despite the good overall armour, has some serious weak spots on the turret.
* Horrible gun depression. Hill fighting is nearly impossible without exposing the entire tank.
* Has a massive, flat, and weakly armoured lower plate. All 6.0 and up tanks can slice right through.
* Very small crew compartment. Any APHE shell that pens it will likely kill everyone in the tank.
* Can't effectively side scrape due to its hull cheeks.
* The 12.7 mm machine gun isn't as potent as American .50 cals due to the low mag size and low total carried ammo.

== History ==

===Development===
The effort began on another heavy tank after the [[IS-1]]'s 85 mm gun no longer had a firepower advantage after the standard [[T-34 (1942)|T-34]] medium tank was upgraded with the same gun into the [[T-34-85]]. Due to that, the IS-1 was discontinued in January 1944 with about 107 units produced.<ref name="ISZaloga">Zaloga, Steven J. ''IS-2 Heavy Tank 1944-73'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1994</ref> Those in storage still awaited upgrade to become a more powerful heavy tank.

In late 1943, the upgrade of the IS tank began and the choices available were rounded down to two weapons, the 122 mm A-19 gun and the 100 mm D-10 gun. Both guns had their advantages and disadvantages in their specifications, the 100 mm D-10 had a much better armour penetration capabilities and uses a single-piece ammunition, the 122 mm A-19 has a better high-explosive round and used a two-piece ammunition In the end, the 122 mm A-19 (adopted as the D-25T) gun was chosen as the gun of the new IS tank due to larger supply of the gun available for use (the D-10 was a newly produced gun) and the better high-explosive round available. The better high-explosive round is due to the heavy tank's specification as a "breakthrough" tank than an anti-tank role, so it was meant to fight fortifications more than against armour. Nevertheless, against armour, the 122 mm gun proved a very lethal cannon against armour, having the capacity to knock out any German tanks fielded in the war, even the [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]], though the ease of knocking them out vary from their armour protection.

The 122 mm gun's two-piece ammunition was perhaps the gun's worst drawback, this along with the heavy shells and charges that it uses causes reloading speed to only be one and a half rounds per minute maximum. Even after some modernization to the gun including a semi-automatic breech, the firing rate only increased to two to three rounds per minute. Another drawback of the gun was the size of the ammunition that the 122 mm gun uses, the IS tank interior could only hold 28 of such ammunition, which restricts the time the IS could last in battle before requiring a resupply. In battle, the usual distribution of the shells is 20 high-explosive and 8 armour-piercing rounds.

The finished IS tank with the 122 mm gun, first called the IS-122, was finally approved and renamed the '''IS-2''' heavy tank, some were rearmed IS-1s from the factory with the 122 mm gun. The IS-2 tank, like the IS-1, was superior to the previous [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|KV-1]] tanks used in the Red Army. Production of the IS-2 started in October or November 1943 and by the end of World War II when production ended, a total of 3,854 units were produced.

===Design===
The IS-2 tank hull was identical to the IS-1 tank, but the turret was modified to accommodate the larger 122 mm D-25T gun. The suspension was a torsion-bar suspension system and the tank was powered by a diesel V2-IC engine. The drivetrain and the engine were taken from the KV-1S tank, yet was considerably more mobile. The armour on the IS-2 was a 60 mm thick front plate sloped at 72 degrees with a small step 120mm thick at 30 degrees in the front for the driver. This [[IS-2|"early version"]], developed from the KV-13 design, was produced from the initial production lines until August 1944, where the '''[[IS-2 (1944)|IS-2 mod. 1944]]''' version was modified with a new front plate, now a single piece, sloped 90mm welded, or 100mm cast plate at 60 degrees with no interruptions in order to eliminate weaknesses in the armour design. Other design changes when the IS-2 was upgraded to the 1944 model was a stronger gun mount, wider mantlet, and an addition of a DShK machine gun on the turret. The formidable armour of the IS-2 is able to withstand the 88 mm shells from the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]] at 1,000 m out, yet the whole tank weighs less than the Panther at only 46 tons. Despite its construction, the IS-2 was still quite crude in quality and can have signs of being hastily built from the factories. This did not affect its battlefield performance greatly and the crude construction is merely a side effect of the fast production of the tanks to fill battlefield demands.

===Combat usage===
The IS-2 first saw action in early 1944. The IS-2 was organized in heavy tank regiments, each with 21 tanks. Their role was to spearhead the offensives launched at each sector, breaking through enemy emplacements and supporting the infantry by destroying enemy fortifications, they were not meant to exploit breakthroughs and this role was given to the lighter [[T-34-85|T-34]] tanks. Their first reported action was in April 1944 in the 11th Special Guards Heavy Tank Regiment near Tarnopol, Ukraine. The IS-2 presented such a surprise to the Germans as no Soviet tanks before could engage with accurate fire from more than 3 kilometres away. A bigger shock was when they found out the 88 mm of the Tiger I couldn't adequately penetrate their armour. The IS-2 initial combat experience was limited due to the inexperienced crew and organization, but more and more IS-2 started to come in to reinforce the Soviet forces.<ref name="ISZaloga">Zaloga, Steven J. ''IS-2 Heavy Tank 1944-73'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1994</ref>

The IS-2's next great effort was in Operation Bagration in July 1944. By this time period, the heavy tank regiments were allocated to one for each tank corps. During Operation Bagration, the IS-2 combat effort contributed to the decimation of the German Army Group Center. The IS-2 was able to deal with the troublesome German Panther and Tiger I tanks with ease. By December 1944, enough IS-2 was produced that the Soviets began outfitting them to Guards heavy tank brigades, consisting of 65 IS-2 tanks with other vehicles for support. Though the number of these brigades were still limited, they proved valuable in breaking through German lines, as used in January 1945 against the German in the Oder Offensive. It should be noted that despite having a role similar to the Tiger heavy tank battalions in the German service, they are produced in far greater numbers to enforce every tank corp with one heavy tank regiment that allowed even the IS-2 to overwhelm German defences. Like other tanks, IS-2 struggled in the urban combat against German anti-tank weaponry, so some crews improvised and welded mesh sheets to the tank, partially mitigating the damage done by the infantry's hand-held anti-tank weapons. The IS-2 continued to see combat service for the Red Army all the way to the Battle of Berlin and the end of World War II.<ref name="ISZaloga">Zaloga, Steven J. ''IS-2 Heavy Tank 1944-73'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1994</ref>

After World War II, the IS-2 production was replaced by the more heavily armoured [[IS-3]]; however, the IS-2 stayed in service up until 1982 due to modernization efforts on the IS-2. This modernized IS-2 was named the IS-2M and was done in the mid-1950s. These modernization efforts added external fuel tanks and stowage bins onto the hull and protective skirts on the edges of the tracks. The IS-2s were finally placed into storage in the 1990s and were kept in reserves or sold out as scrap metal.

Like most of Soviet Union's military hardware, the IS-2 was given out to the Warsaw Pact nations as supplies. The IS-2 was thus lent out to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, China, North Vietnam, and maybe North Korea. Later in 1960, a shipment of IS-2 was also sent to Cuba, which were converted into bunkers and coastal defences as spare parts for the tank never made it to Cuba due to the US blockade imposed in 1962.

=== In-game description ===
In 1944, the IS-2 was modernised. The new model had a flattened sloping frontal hull, and a slot covered with a glass brick was installed to replace the driver's observation hatch. This increased the front hull projection's defences. A high-calibre 12.7 mm anti-aircraft DShK machine gun was attached on a trunnion fixed to the command cupola's traverse circle.
The turret could be rotated mechanically and electrically. With electric drive activated, its maximum speed reached 2.4 revs/min.

The IS-2 was advantageous for its economy and relatively low material requirements in general. With a mass of 46 t, the Soviet tank was far better protected than the German Panther. It also surpassed the 55 tonne Tiger I in this regard and was only somewhat inferior to the 68 tonne Tiger II. Its design had some serious flaws. Its tight layout meant that some of the fuel tanks had to be placed in the fighting compartment and there was no space for a driver's hatch, which often led to an injured tanker being unable to quickly leave a burning tank.
On the whole, the new tank met the leadership's expectations in full as a means of strengthening units and divisions intended to break through the enemy's preemptively well reinforced defensive lines and storm cities.

IS-2 tanks were put into service in separate tank regiments which received the "guards" designation during their formation.
Manufacturing continued until 1946, and around 3,300 were made.
After the war, the IS-2 was modernised and served in the Soviet and Russian armies until 1995.
A small number of tanks of this model were given to China in the 50s. Later, some of these tanks were deployed in Vietnam.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_is_2_1944 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|0tRz1s5AL2M|'''IS-2: When 85 mm is not enough''' - ''Military History Visualized''}}

== 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/news/2824/current/ [Vehicle Profile<nowiki>]</nowiki> IS-2 Mod. 1944]

==References==
<references />

{{USSR heavy tanks}}

Ikv 73

2020-08-17T22:53:12Z

U7877218: Fixed AB maximum forward speed and AB maximum horsepower values

{{Specs-Card|code=sw_ikv_73}}

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium gift rank {{Specs|rank}} Swedish tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update "Starfighters"]] as a reward for the [[wt:en/news/6808-special-operation-s-u-m-m-e-r-2020-en|2020 Operation S.U.M.M.E.R.]] event.

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

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

=== Mobility ===


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=582|rbMinHp=363|AoAweight=|abForwardSpeed=46|abMaxHp=717}}

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

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

{{main|kan m/41 (75 mm)}}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[kan m/41 (75 mm)|75 mm kan m/41]] || 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" | 59 || rowspan="2" | -15°/+25° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.21 || 18.28 || 22.20 || 24.55 || 26.12 || rowspan="2" | 7.67 || rowspan="2" | 6.79 || 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
|-
| slpprj m/40 || AP || 85 || 83 || 74 || 64 || 55 || 48
|-
| sgr m/40 || HE || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9 || 9
|-
| slpprj m/40B || APBC || 85 || 82 || 73 || 63 || 54 || 46
|-
| slpgr m/39 || APHE || 63 || 61 || 53 || 44 || 37 || 31
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| slpprj m/40 || AP || 580 || 6.6 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| sgr m/40 || HE || 570 || 6.43 || 0.4 || 0.5 || 580 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| slpprj m/40B || APBC || 590 || 6.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| slpgr m/39 || APHE || 580 || 6.5 || 1.2 || 9.0 || 260 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
|}
{| 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)
|-
| rökgr m/22 || 496 || 6.6 || 13 || 5 || 20 || 8
|-
|}

==== [[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
|-
| '''59''' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|ksp m/36 (8 mm)}}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[ksp m/36 (8 mm)|8 mm ksp m/36]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (250) || 649 || -__°/+__° || ±__°
|-
| Coaxial || 2,000 (250) || 649 || -__°/+__° || ±__°
|-
| Coaxial || 2,000 (250) || 649 || -__°/+__° || ±__°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

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

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Mobility
! Protection
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Tracks
|
| Parts
| Horizontal Drive
|
|-
| II
| Suspension
| Brake System
| FPE
| Adjustment of Fire
| rökgr m/22
|-
| III
| Filters
|
| Crew Replenishment
| Elevation Mechanism
| slpgr m/39
|-
| IV
| Transmission
| Engine
|
| Artillery Support
| slpprj m/40B
|-
! colspan="6" | This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===

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

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==

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

== Media ==

''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.''

{{Sweden tank destroyers}}
{{Sweden premium ground vehicles}}