War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

MiG-21PFM

2021-07-21T22:04:00Z

U87104243: /* Description */

{{About
| about = Soviet jet fighter '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = MiG-21 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=mig-21_pfm
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
|market=items_MiG-21PFM (USSR)
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a gift rank Rank Vi Soviet jet fighter with a battle rating of 9.3 (AB/RB) and 10.0 (SB). It was introduced during [[Update "Hot Tracks"]] as a reward for the [[wt:en/news/6981-special-operation-w-i-n-t-e-r-en|2020 Operation W.I.N.T.E.R.]] event.

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


The MiG-21PFM has the same overall flight performance as other MiG-21s. It has strong acceleration and great climb rate at its BR allowing it to outclimb and outrun almost every aircraft it encounters. The aircraft has slightly upgraded performance over the prior MiG-21F-13 with a better climb rate. However, the aircraft has one major disadvantage: its turning ability. While it can certainly turn, the MiG-21PFM suffers from an absolutely terrible MER (Manoeuvring Energy Retention) that will make it bleed over half of its speed in turns. Thus, extended turn fights are not advised as the MiG-21 will be left slow and vulnerable to a follow-up missile attack.

The MiG-21 has a strong set of control surfaces including an all-moving tail, which keeps the aircraft responsive up to higher speeds (>1,300 km/h). However, be aware that the aircraft has two limiting structural factors - firstly, the aircraft will rip its wings at 1,300 km/h IAS, which it can reach at lower altitudes. Secondly, the aircraft has a 12-G structural limit. Stronger turns should thus be avoided as there is a chance that they will rip the aircraft's wings.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="70%"
! rowspan="2" | Characteristics
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 13,000 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb (metres/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB
|-
! Stock
| 2,211 || 2,196 || rowspan="2" | {{Specs|ceiling}} || 37.6 || 38.1 || 123.2 || 115.9 || rowspan="2" | 750
|-
! Upgraded
| 2,280 || 2,240 || 34.8 || 36.0 || 168.6 || 145.0
|-
|}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="7" | Limits
|-
! rowspan="2" | Wings (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Gear (km/h)
! colspan="3" | Flaps (km/h)
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
|-
! Combat !! Take-off !! Landing !! + !! -
|-
| {{Specs|destruction|body}} || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} || N/A || 524 || 450 || ~12 || ~6
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities (km/h)
|-
! Ailerons !! Rudder !! Elevators !! Radiator
|-
| < 650 || < 600 || < 900 || N/A
|-
|}

==== Engine performance ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine
! colspan="5" | Aircraft mass
|-
! colspan="2" | Engine name || Number
! colspan="2" | {{Annotation|Basic mass|Mass of the aircraft with pilot and engine oil, but no fuel or weapons load}} || colspan="3" | Wing loading (full fuel)
|-
| colspan="2" | Tumansky R-11F2S-300 || 1
| colspan="2" | 5,312 kg || colspan="3" | 319 kg/m2
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine characteristics
! colspan="4" | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) || rowspan="2" | Max Takeoff Weight
|-
! Weight (each) || colspan="2" | Type
! 10m fuel || 20m fuel || 30m fuel || 33m fuel
|-
| 1,120 kg || colspan="2" | Afterburning axial-flow turbojet
| 5,927 kg || 6,542 kg || 7,157 kg || 7,342 kg || 9,500 kg
|-
! colspan="3" | {{Annotation|Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB)|The maximum thrust produced by each engine, while mounted in the aircraft. NOTE: Thrust varies significantly depending on speed & altitude.}}
! colspan="5" | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
|-
! Condition || 100% || WEP
! 10m fuel || 20m fuel || 30m fuel || 33m fuel || MTOW
|-
| ''Stationary'' || 3,536 kgf || 5,304 kgf
| 0.89 || 0.81 || 0.74 || 0.72 || 0.56
|-
| ''Optimal'' || 3,536 kgf (0 km/h) || 5,398 kgf (1,200 km/h)
| 0.91 || 0.83 || 0.75 || 0.74 || 0.57
|-
|}

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

The {{PAGENAME}} does not have more than the basics to ensure its survival.

Armour is paltry for the pilot, with a 60 mm bulletproof glass in their direct front cockpit window, and a 10 mm steel plate behind the pilot's head. The rear armour plate is not in an ideal location either; shots aiming for penetrate that plate from the front will go through the pilot (knocking out the plane instantly). If shots to the plate come from the rear, the tail or fuel tanks are going to be hit first before the pilot, which can cripple the aircraft.

All fuel tanks on the {{PAGENAME}} is self-sealing, which is good news if the aircraft gets grazed by a heavy machine gun bullet. However, the fuel tanks make up a good portion of the aircraft surface area inside the thin fuselage and the wings. A hit by a cannon at any of these locations, if they do not cripple that area of the plane, will certainly light one of the fuel tanks on fire and cause devastating damage that will more likely than not spread and destroy the plane.

The {{PAGENAME}} does not have flares neither any radar warning receiver. This means the {{PAGENAME}} has a distinct disadvantage when fighting against enemies with infrared missiles, radar, or radar-guided missiles. A pilot needs to constantly keep an eye out of their rear from any enemy firing an infrared missile, and their direct front/sides for any aircraft firing a SARH missile.

Damages to the engine are also not sustainable, as there will be significant loss in plane control. If a pilot is not flying the {{PAGENAME}} at a high-enough altitude, there's a more than likely chance the plane will descend into the ground.

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

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

{{main|GSh-23L (23 mm)}}

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

* 1 x 23 mm GSh-23L cannon, belly-mounted (200 rpg)

The 23 mm GSh-23L cannon is attached to the {{PAGENAME}} as a gunpod at the belly, similar to the [[M61 (20 mm)|20 mm M61]] cannon on the [[F-4C Phantom II|F-4C]]. Unlike the F-4C, however, there is no option to remove the gunpod to focus on suspended armaments.

Despite the odd configuration, the armament firepower is not any lacking compared to the other MiG-21 variants, having more ammunition than the [[MiG-21F-13]]'s 30 mm and identical to the [[MiG-21SMT]]'s identical 23 mm in an internal mount. As such, new pilots simply need to compensate the odd firing angle of the belly-mounted gunpod to make the {{PAGENAME}} work in a dogfight.

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

{{main|OFAB-250sv (250 kg)|FAB-500M-54 (500 kg)}}
{{main|Kh-66|R-3S|S-5K|S-24}}

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

* Without load
* 32 x S-5K rockets
* 64 x S-5K rockets
* 2 x S-24 rockets
* 2 x R-3S missiles
* 2 x Kh-66 missiles
* 2 x 500 kg FAB-500M-54 bombs (1,000 kg total)
* 2 x 250 kg OFAB-250sv bombs (500 kg total)

== Usage in battles ==

The MiG-21PFM was designed to be a fighter-interceptor, similar to the earlier F-13, and thus all of its design features shape it into virtually a missile with a cockpit. Thus, it is quite effective in air battles in the interceptor role. However, note that this MiG-21 gets access to the Kh-66 guided air-to-ground missiles making it a viable option for ground battles as well.

In air battles, one good strategy is to utilise its excellent speed and rate of climb and gain altitude and begin to level off when you are either at bomber altitude or just above any enemy fighters flying around. It is here you can use the great [[Boom & Zoom]] qualities of the aircraft and select a target and begin to dive on it. It is during this phase when you can attempt to get a lock with the R-3S air-to-air missiles and launch it or you can strafe any unwary targets with the GSh-23L cannon. Extremely short bursts are a must in order to conserve ammunition as the guns have an absurdly high fire rate. Once shots have been taken, regardless if they hit or missed, engage the afterburner and return to higher altitudes and set up for another Boom & Zoom run. [[Boom & Run]] techniques also work in that you can use the phenomenal speed of the MiG-21PFM to outrun almost every aircraft at its BR.

The MiG-21PFM gets access to several ordnance options such as bombs and rockets, which make it quite viable for ground battles. When attacking ground targets with unguided ordnance, it is best to place the MiG-21 into a relatively shallow dive, it is important to remember to properly line up for the target ahead of time because with the external ordnance fine-tune manoeuvring can be difficult especially when corrections need to be made at the last minute. Lack of a bombsight makes smaller targets a bit more difficult to hit. When flying low to take on ground targets, make sure you leave yourself an out when the situation turns bad. The best practice here is to ensure you keep your speed up, slow enough to hit the target, but fast enough to get away if the situation turns.

However, the MiG-21PFM gets access to one more trick up its sleeve - the Kh-66 guided air-to-ground missiles. Packing an impressive punch, these missiles are mouse-guided, meaning that you can simply point the nose of the aircraft at the tank, launch the missile, and watch it explode. The missile itself is capable of destroying most ground targets at its BR with a single hit. Note that you must keep the aircraft's nose pointed at the target until the missile hits, meaning that you cannot pull out of a dive or other attack run until the missile has reached its target.

===Radars===

The MiG-21PFM is equipped with a RP-21 Sapfir search and tracking radar. The radar is mounted in the nose of the aircraft.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="4" | RP-21 - Target Detection Radar
|-
! {{Annotation|Maximum Detection Range|The maximum possible range at which a target can be detected}}
! {{Annotation|Guaranteed Detection Range|The range, below which, detection of a target is practically guaranteed}}
! {{Annotation|Max Azimuth Scan Angle|How far to each side the radar can scan (widest search mode)}}
! {{Annotation|Max Elevation Scan Angle|How far up and down the radar can scan (widest search mode)}}
|-
| 30,000 m (theoretical) || 20,000 m || ±30.0° || -3.0°/+17.0°
|-
! colspan="4" | RP-21 - Target Tracking Radar
|-
! {{Annotation|Maximum Tracking Range|The maximum range at which a target can be tracked}}
! {{Annotation|Minimum Tracking Range|The range below which targets cannot be tracked by the radar}}
! {{Annotation|Azimuth Tracking Angle|How far to each side the radar can track a target}}
! {{Annotation|Elevation Tracking Angle|How far up and down the radar can track a target}}
|-
| 20,000 m || 300 m || ±30.0° || ±17.0°
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Good ordnance options including guided air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons
** Mouse-guided Kh-66 missiles allowing for long distance air-to-ground engagements
* Competitive acceleration and climb rate at its BR
* Good manoeuvrability at high speeds
* Has a ballistic computer for rockets and bombs

'''Cons:'''

* Only 2 pylons for suspended weapons limit the total amount of ordnance
* Bleeds lots of energy in sharp turns due to its delta wing design
* Low amount of ammunition
* No flares or RWR
* Poor cockpit visibility in Simulator battles

== History ==

Described as the "AK of airplanes", the MiG-21 is a robust, reliable, and easy to maintain jet fighter developed during the second generation of jet fighters that has since the 1950s earned a strong place in air forces of the Soviet Union as well as foreign operators such as North Korea, India, and Croatia. With many variants, the aircraft has had many life extensions over this 60+ year period of operation, with some aircraft in air forces having been in service for more than 30 years.

The story begins in 1953, when the Soviet government issued a requirement for a lightweight aircraft capable of Mach 2 for its Frontal Air division of the Soviet Air Force. Having had experience in the field of swept-wing, fast jet fighters Mikoyan-Gurevich felt confidently about their ability to produce such an aircraft. An aircraft such as the MiG-21 was only able to come to fruition after multiple test models and research with various prototypes. Beginning with the Ye-1 the Mikulin AM-11 turbojet was fitted, which in turn created another model called the Ye-50. This second one-off prototype was essentially a Ye-1 with the addition of the AM-9Ye turbojet in place of the AM-11, as well as adding liquid-fuelled rocket boosters for added thrust. After the initial prototypes, the Ye-2 was designed with the idea of using the original AM-11 turbojet, but was left waiting and soon opted to use the AM-9B found on the existing MiG-19 "Farmer" series of aircraft also produced by Mikoyan-Gurevich. This third aircraft was leads ahead of the previous models, having had development so far along that on February 14th, 1955 it took to the skies for the first time. This aircraft had good results, but was also slow as well leaving much to be built upon. With this, a similar aircraft called the Ye-4 was built and flown on June 16th that same year. This aircraft had many design implementations found on the final MiG design, such as the small-area delta wings and conventional tailplane. However, this prototype wouldn't be much of an improvement over the previous prototypes, only proving marginally better in terms of performance. With the first flight of both the Ye-5 and Ye-501 prototypes occurring on January 9th, 1956, Mikoyan-Gurevich was confident production would begin soon and issued two company designations for each model. These being MiG-21 for the delta-wing modification as well as MiG-23 for the swept-wing design, the latter not to be confused with the swing-wing supersonic aircraft also built by MiG.

The western world would finally get a peek at this development on June 24th, 1956 when variants of each design flew over during the Aviation Day celebration at the Moscow Tushino airfield. Taking notice of this, NATO and western observers would quickly take note, leading to NATO giving the codenames "Faceplate" and "Fishbed" to the swept and delta wing designs respectively. Development didn't end there however, as more prototypes were built and flown. Three Ye-6 aircraft were soon seen wearing the tailed-delta wing design seen on the previous Ye-5 but featuring clipped wingtips as well as a redesigned nose cone. With flight testing underway by May 20th, 1958, it was soon brought to a halt when the Ye-6/1 prototype lost its engine during a test flight. An effort was made by the test pilot to get it restarted but was in vain as the aircraft was lost, with the test pilot following shortly after injuries sustaining from the accident. However, with these setbacks testing and development would soon turn into production as the aircraft soon succeeded the requirement set by the Soviet government, hitting a speed of Mach 2.05. Production forms followed, and the western world would get a look in 1961 during a public appearance at the final production version of the MiG-21. The MiG-21 served continuously in the Soviet Air Force, and later the Russian Air Force, for many years following its introduction, orders and deliveries having been placed in 1957 that continued into the next year. While in service, the aircraft would first get the designation MiG-21F in 1959, and the aircraft would have a fruitful career with Russia as well as many foreign operators.

One notable example of the MiG-21, built off of the PFS airframe, was the PFM. This aircraft featured many improvements and reductions from the existing airframe. While retaining its ability for unpaved field operations this design featured the removal of the internal mounted gun under the nose. This variant also featured the addition of an inflated fuselage section behind the new split canopy design allowing for more space for electronics as well as fuel tanks within the fuselage. Stated before, it was designed without and internal gun forcing the aircraft to rely on suspended armaments such as missiles, rockets such as the RP-21M, and a belly-mounted GP-9 gun pod. Seeing production for the Soviet Air Force in Gorki from 1964 to 1965 and foreign production and export in Moscow from 1966 to 1968, the MiG-21PFM saw great success with foreign operators, seeing extended use throughout the years with air forces such as Poland, India, and Egypt in addition to the Soviet Union.

=== [[wt:en/news/6999-development-mig-21-pfm-en|Devblog]] ===
During the modernization of the second generation of MiG-21 fighters, the Soviet military authorities demanded the design team to modify the aircraft for takeoff and landing from unpaved airfields. As a solution, the engineers proposed equipping the aircraft with a system for blowing the boundary layer from the flaps, and the Tumansky and Metskhvarishvili design bureau began developing a version of the R11F-300 engine with an air stream from the compressor. The boundary layer blowing system significantly improved the take-off and landing characteristics of the aircraft, the takeoff and run lengths were reduced, and the landing speed drastically reduced. Along with other modifications and improvements, the serial modification of the MiG-21 with the boundary layer blowing system began to be produced under the MiG-21 PFS index, later upgraded to the MiG-21 PFM version. Aircraft of this modification were produced in fairly large numbers since 1964, both for domestic use and export. The MiG-21 PFM served in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=ussr&vehicleType=aircraft&vehicleClass=jet_fighter&vehicle=mig-21_pfm Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Images

<gallery mode="packed" caption="MiG-21 PFM Devblog Images" heights="200">
File:MiG-21 PFM WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:MiG-21 PFM WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:MiG-21 PFM WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
</gallery>

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|wZYxbo03Qis|'''Should You Grind the MiG-21PFM? - Review/Buyer's Guide''' - ''theScottishKoala''|23btLYsrhPQ|'''The Worst Jet In The Game: MiG 21 PFM Review''' - ''Sako Sniper''}}

== See also ==


; Other members of MiG-21 series

* [[MiG-21F-13]]
* [[MiG-21SMT]]
* [[MiG-21bis]]
* [[J-7II]] - Chinese tech tree
* [[MiG-21MF_(Germany)|▀MiG-21MF]] - German tech tree

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6999-development-mig-21-pfm-en|[Devblog] MiG-21 PFM]]
* [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/509731-mig-21pfm/ Official data sheet - more details about the performance]
* [https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=68 <nowiki>[Military Factory]</nowiki> Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 "Fishbed"]
* [https://www.historynet.com/the-iconic-mig-21-fishbed.htm <nowiki>[History Net]</nowiki> The Iconic MiG-21 "Fishbed"]

{{AirManufacturer MiG}}
{{USSR jet aircraft}}
{{Winter Event}}

Talk:AH-1Z

2021-05-30T17:01:41Z

U87104243: Created page with "Why's the wiki say the AIM-9L requires a rear aspect shot on targets?"

Why's the wiki say the AIM-9L requires a rear aspect shot on targets?

M117 cone 45 (750 lb)

2021-01-27T00:32:26Z

U87104243: /* Vehicles equipped with this weapon */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:750 lb M117 cone 45 bomb}}
{{About
| about = American '''{{PAGENAME}}''' bomb
| usage = other versions
| link = M117 (Family)
}}

== Description ==
''Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.''
[[File:M117 cone 45.png|left|thumb]]
{{Break}}

=== Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===
A-4E

{{Navigation-Start|Vehicles equipped with this weapon}}

{{Navigation-First-Line|'''Jet fighters'''}}
{{Navigation-Line|F-4}}{{Specs-Link|f-4c}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|f-4e}}
{{Navigation-Line|F-100}}{{Specs-Link|f-100a_china}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|f-100d}}
{{Navigation-Line|F-104}}{{Specs-Link|f-104c}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|f-104g}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|f-104g_china}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|f-104s}}

{{Navigation-Line|'''Jet attackers'''}}{{Specs-Link|a_4e_early}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|a_7d}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|saab_105g}}

{{Navigation-Line|'''Jet bombers'''}}{{Specs-Link|so_4050_vautour_2a}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|so_4050_vautour_2a_iaf}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|so_4050_vautour_2b}}

{{Navigation-End}}

== General info ==


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" | Bomb characteristics
|-
| '''Mass'''
| 362.42 kg
|-
| '''Explosive mass'''
| 175.1 kg
|-
| '''Explosive type'''
| Tritonal
|-
| '''TNT equivalent'''
| 206.62 kg
|-
| '''HE max penetration'''
| 110 mm
|-
| '''Armour destruction radius'''
| 9 m
|-
| '''Fragment dispersion radius'''
| 134 m
|-
|}

=== Effective damage ===
''Describe the type of damage produced by this type of bomb (high explosive, splash damage, etc)''

=== Comparison with analogues ===
''Give a comparative description of bombs that have firepower equal to this weapon.''

== Usage in battles ==
''Describe situations when you would utilise this bomb in-game (vehicle, pillbox, base, etc)''

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==

Early in aviation history, applications for aircraft to serve in a military capacity surfaced, not only with the intent to scout a battlefield from an aerial vantage point but for the possibility to drop explosive bombs too. Due to the frail nature of the early wood-frame and cloth covered aircraft, lifting capacity resulted in the ability to only carry small bombs. Effectively these early bombers were hailed as aerial artillery fire which could reach targets hundreds of miles further than the most powerful land-based cannons of the time. Prior to the war, contests abounded where pilots would drop oranges or flour sacks upon predesignated targets to see who could hit closes to the centre.

Italian aviators were the first to use bombs in a warfare capacity in 1912 during their campaign of Tripoli. These first bombs were conversions of existing cannon ammunition and were effective only against personnel as they did not provide a strong enough provision to damage hardened equipment or structures. As lifting capacity of aircraft increased, so did the ability for them to carry more and larger explosives.

For the United States, bomb design did not become a priority until the middle of 1917 when a French official came to the U.S. with several samples of the Gros Andreau bombs which the French were using in large quantities at that time. Immediately these bombs were accepted by the U.S. and used as a standard in developing the first three sizes to be implemented in the military. These three bombs were known as the early "Mark" series, 25 lb Mk.I demolition bomb, 50 lb Mk.I demolition bomb and the 100 lb Mk.I demolition bomb. By December 1917, only six months later, the military put forth requirements for the development of bombs larger than the existing 100 lb bomb. After two more months of development, production of demolition bombs up to 1,000 lbs was started. Rejected 3-inch artillery rounds were the basis for early 25 lb bombs which were modified into a streamlined shape, very similar to the British Cooper bombs of the time. Larger bombs were manufactured and filled with explosive filler, all of which were placed into a streamlined body, of which a cylindrical shape was the most advantageous.

Early on, the Mark series of bombs proved to be largely unsatisfactory in a number of different areas. The bomb body itself was weak due to the sheet metal it was made from and the number of welds needed to join the pieces together. The stabilizing fins were made of flimsy metal which tended to distort during both the handling and flight of the bomb, adversely affecting accuracy. For the field technicians, inserting the fuze was a complicated process which required removing the stabilizing fin structure potentially damaging the fins. The fuzes tended to have a high fail rate and due to their design, they would instantly arm after release from the aircraft posing a direct to the delivery aircraft. Later modifications would eliminate many of the negative factors to include adding a nose fuze, time delaying arming of the fuze, strengthening of the stabilizing fins and adding primer detonators to ensure proper explosive train sequences. Other changes including streamlining all bomb bodies and utilising 100% T.N.T. as an explosive filler resulted in the newer "Modified Mark" series of Army bombs.

Prior to World War II, the military determined that the Modified Mark series of bombs were obsolete requiring newer and up-to-date bombs to be developed. Both the U.S. Army and Navy began development of their own series of bombs, the Army with the "M" series and the Navy with their "Mk" series. Both similar, these bombs were designed with parallel sides, an ogival nose and a boat tail which is a box type-tail reinforced to prevent warping and aid with accurate drops. Due to the shortage of T.N.T., the Army filled their bombs with 50/50 Amatol with T.N.T. ends to seal in the Amatol and protect it from moisture. The Navy, on the other hand, continued to manufacture their bombs with 100% T.N.T.

With the approach of World War II, the U.S. Army (including the Army Air Corps) and the Navy standardized their series of bombs allowing for interchanging between services, consolidating manufacturing capabilities and allowing for modifications which enabled British service aircraft to mount these bombs too. Even after the standardization of bombs in 1941, the standardization process went through a few phases of further refinement, the first of which changed all high-explosive bombs to be termed general purpose (G.P.) or general purpose high-explosive (G.P.H.E). Later the designation of demolition bomb would come back for a few specific bombs.

When bombs are dropped, there is always a chance that something in the explosive train of the bomb will fail and it will not explode. Early AN style bombs were defuzable in the event they did not explode on contact, meaning that any unexploded AN bomb could have the fuzes and boosters removed without the bomb exploding, rendering it inert. To counter this and allow for the potential "dud" bomb to explode when tampered with, the AN G.P.H.E. series bombs with the modification "A1" annotated that these bombs now had special pins mounted in the bomb's baseplate which fuzed with the explosive filler making it impossible to remove the booster without causing the bomb to detonate. Other modifications later added would include minor changes to the bomb body or the type of explosive filling used. During this time a second option for bomb tails was added, the box-type tail was already the mainstay of the bombs, however, to create a more aerodynamic bomb a conical tail assembly was added. This stretched out low profile tail improved the aerodynamics of the carrying aircraft, allowing it to carry more ordnance.

Progressing towards the Korean and Vietnam wars, piston-driven aircraft were giving way to jet fighters, bombers and attackers, many of which carried their ordnance on external pylons hung under the wing or underbelly. The new Mk 80 series bombs (Mk 81, 82, 83 and 84) were developed to keep external hung ordnance from creating too much drag on the delivery aircraft. Initially, the Mk 81 250 lb bombs were considered ineffective for their size or required a large amount to be effective and were removed from the munitions inventory. All-weather fighters and attackers were now being outfitted with the Mk series bombs and a new problem developed when it came to low-altitude attacks (typically coming in under low cloud cover) where the aircraft would deploy its ordinance which would hit the ground and explode catching the delivery aircraft in either the explosive blast or the shock-wave from the blast.

Modifications were developed to slow down or retard the flight of bombs, allowing for the delivery aircraft to depart out of the blast zone before they hit and detonated. Several options became available which allowed these bombs to remain aerodynamic low-drag while en-route to the target, but when deployed converted to high-drag, slower falling bombs. One option was to attach four bladed plates to the rear of the bomb so that when the bomb deployed, these plates would pop out and create high-drag to slow the fall. Another option was to use a ballute which was basically an airbag which deployed from the rear of the bomb that acted like a drogue chute, effectively causing high-drag. Later during the fighting in Iraq, the US military brought back the 250 lb Mk 81 bombs due to their ability to be used when deploying against a specific target and to help minimize collateral damage.

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

== See also ==


* [[US Bombs General Information]]

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

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

{{Bombs}}

[[Category:Suspended armaments]]

T7 (155 mm)

2020-07-31T18:43:06Z

U87104243: /* Description */

== Description ==
''The '''155mm L/40 T7''' was an American rifled tank gun developed in 1945. The T7 was to be the main armament for the T30 Heavy Tank, but only a handful were produced due to the T30 project being cancelled after trials in the late 1940s.''

''The T7 used two-part separated ammunition like the 105mm T5E1 gun on the T29 Heavy Tank. It had a low velocity of only 701 m/s (2,300 ft/s) compared to the 120mm T53 on the T34 Heavy Tank (945 m/s) and the 105mm T5E1 on the T29 Heavy Tank (945 m/s). However, the 43 kg (95 lbs) High-Explosive shell was demonstrated to have a powerful demolition effect.''

=== Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===


* {{Specs-Link|us_t30}}

== General info ==
''Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.''

=== Available shells ===
''Describe the shells that are available for the cannon and their features and purpose. If it concerns autocannons or machine guns, write about different ammo belts and what is inside (which types of shells).''

=== Comparison with analogues ===
''Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns, that have firepower equal to these type of weapons.''

== Usage in battles ==
''The 155 mm gun T7 is 6.74 m (22.1 ft) long cannon unique to the T30 Heavy Tank'', a U.S. premium tank at 6.7 BR. It has a distinctive muzzle break which allows it to be distinguished from similar tanks using the T5E1 or T53 cannon such as the T-29 and T-34. It is slightly shorter than both cannons.

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.''

'''Pros:'''

* The 155mm HE round is capable of killing most tanks in the game
* Both types of AP rounds are almost guaranteed to result in a kill if they penetrate a tank's armor

*

'''Cons:'''

* Shells have less explosive filler than slightly smaller German HE rounds
* Shells travels at significantly slower velocity than the T5E1 and T53 guns mounted on the T29 or T34. (roughly 700 m/s compared to over 900 m/s)

*

== History ==
''Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of this weapon. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(weapon-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article.''

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article would be a video guide, as well as 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 article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;''
* ''references to approximate analogues by 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 weapon;''
* ''other literature.''

{{USA tank cannons}}

[[Category:Tank cannons]]

T7 (155 mm)

2020-07-31T18:39:52Z

U87104243: /* Pros and cons */

== Description ==
''Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Make an air or ground vehicles list on which this weapon is installed in our game.''

=== Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===


* {{Specs-Link|us_t30}}

== General info ==
''Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.''

=== Available shells ===
''Describe the shells that are available for the cannon and their features and purpose. If it concerns autocannons or machine guns, write about different ammo belts and what is inside (which types of shells).''

=== Comparison with analogues ===
''Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns, that have firepower equal to these type of weapons.''

== Usage in battles ==
''The 155 mm gun T7 is 6.74 m (22.1 ft) long cannon unique to the T30 Heavy Tank'', a U.S. premium tank at 6.7 BR. It has a distinctive muzzle break which allows it to be distinguished from similar tanks using the T5E1 cannon such as the T-29 and T-34. It is slightly shorter than the T5E1.

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.''

'''Pros:'''

* The 155mm HE round is capable of killing most tanks in the game
* Both types of AP rounds are almost guaranteed to result in a kill if they penetrate a tank's armor

*

'''Cons:'''

* Shells have less explosive filler than slightly smaller German HE rounds
* Shells travels at significantly slower velocity than the T5E1 guns mounted on the T29 or T34. (roughly 700 m/s compared to over 900 m/s)

*

== History ==
''Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of this weapon. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(weapon-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article.''

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article would be a video guide, as well as 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 article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;''
* ''references to approximate analogues by 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 weapon;''
* ''other literature.''

{{USA tank cannons}}

[[Category:Tank cannons]]

T30

2020-07-31T02:45:51Z

U87104243: "Is simply a worse T29" based on what? A T30 can 1 shot every tank in the game. This would be like me going on the T29 page and posting "Is simply T30 with a much worse gun."

{{Specs-Card
|code=us_t30
|market=Heavy Tank T30 (USA)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium gift rank {{Specs|rank}} American heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.85 "Supersonic"]] in the 2018 "Festive Quest" that took place between 21 December 2018 to 14 January 2019. It was obtainable via completing 10 Christmas Toys for tankers. It could also be purchased on the Gaijin market after the event was over.

The {{Specs|pseudonym}} was a World War II American tank project developed to counter new German tanks, such as Tiger I, Tiger II, and tank destroyers, such as the ''Jagdtiger'', or Soviet heavy tanks, such as IS-1 or IS-2. The T30 was designed at the same time as the T29 Heavy Tank. However, it had a 155mm gun mounted on the same hull and turret as the T29 and T34 heavy tanks.

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


'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull roof, sides & rear - engine bay, hull bottom)
* Cast homogeneous armour (hull front, sides & roof - fighting compartment, turret, gun mantlet, cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 102 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 70.25 mm (61°) ''Lower glacis - centre'' 70.25 mm (40°) ''Lower glacis - sides'' 102.5 mm (5°) ''MG housing'' 88 mm (sphere) ''MG port'' || 76.2 mm ''Front half'' 51 mm ''Rear half'' || 51 mm (5°) ''Top'' 51 mm (60°) ''Bottom'' || 38.1 mm (57°-81°) ''Front'' 38.1 mm ''Rear''
|-
| Turret || 203 mm ''Gun mantlet'' 158.7 mm ''Gun mantlet frame'' || 158.7 mm || 102 mm ''Vertical part'' 50 mm (71°) ''Turret ring area'' || 38.1 mm (79°)
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 152.45 mm (45°) || 38.1 mm (79°)
|-
|}

'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
* Mudguards are 4 mm thick.
* Frontally, the MG housing (around the MG port) as well as the lower glacis are weak spots on the {{PAGENAME}}.
* The bottom of the hull is only 25.4 mm thick, making it vulnerable to powerful HE shells shot under the belly.

=== Mobility ===


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 1046|rbMinHp= 716}}

The {{PAGENAME}}'s mobility is good for the role it fulfills. Its acceleration and maximum speed are good for a heavy tank.
While the reverse speed is average, it isn't a handicap. And the {{PAGENAME}} can brake quickly in spite of its weight.
Neutral steering allows you to turn your hull towards flanking enemies relatively quickly on the spot.
The offroad mobility is good: the {{PAGENAME}} can reach 15 km/h when climbing uphill from idling and 21 km/h when fording. Due to its weight, the tank's mobility is unhindered by obstacles.

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

{{main|T7 (155 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" width="100%" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[T7 (155 mm)|155 mm T7]] || 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" | 34 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+15° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 14.5 || 20.1 ||24.5||27.1|| 28.8 || rowspan="2" | 38.9 || rowspan="2" |34.4|| rowspan="2" |31.7|| rowspan="2" | 29.9
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 10.7 || 12.6 ||15.3||16.9|| 18.0
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
The available choice of ammunition focuses on heavily armoured targets:

* '''M112B1''': APBC; an armour-piercing ballistic capped shell with high explosive mass and good penetration power that will one-shot any tank it penetrates.
* '''T29E1''': APCBC; an armour-piercing capped shell with a ballistic cap offering an increased penetration compared to the M112B1.
* '''M107''': HE; a powerful high-explosive shell useful to destroy all enemy vehicles and even open and lightly armoured vehicles indirectly with the blast.
* '''M110''': Smoke; useful to blind enemy vehicles that are too remote for you to disable so that you can progress towards objectives.

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" style="text-align:center"
! 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
|-
| M112B1 || APBC || 179 || 177 || 168 || 158 || 148 || 139
|-
| M107 || HE || 54 || 54 || 54 || 54 || 54 || 54
|-
| T29E1 || APCBC || 199 || 197 || 187 || 175 || 165 || 155
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" style="text-align:center"
! 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%
|-
| M112B1 || APBC || 670 || 45 || 1.2 || 20 || 640 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| M107 || HE || 717 || 43 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 6860 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| T29E1 || APCBC || 670 || 45 || 1.2 || 19 || 640 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | Smoke characteristic
|-
! Ammunition
! Velocity in m/s
! Projectile Mass in kg
! ''Screen radius in m''
! ''Screen time in s''
! ''Screen hold time in s:''
! ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
|-
| M110 || 717 || 45 || 25 || 5 || 30 || 50
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! Ammo type
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''34''' || ''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 30 ''(+4)'' 21 ''(+13)'' || 8 ''(+26)'' 7 ''(+27)'' || 3 ''(+31)'' 3 ''(+31)'' || 1 ''(+33)'' 1 ''(+33)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* The {{PAGENAME}} uses two-piece ammunition, composed of projectiles (yellow) and propellant bags (orange). Both have separate racks.
* Racks 3 and 4 are first stage ammo racks. They total 7 shells for projectiles and 6 shells for propellant bags.
* These racks get filled first when loading up the tank and are also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 4 - 3 - 1 - 2.

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" width="50%" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount
! Capacity (Belt)
! Fire rate
! Vertical
! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 1200 (200) || 577 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 1000 (200) || 577 || -10°/+50° || ±120°
|-
|}

These heavy machineguns can be extremely useful for gauging distance measurements (coaxial), engaging lightly armoured vehicles or shooting down enemy aircraft (pintle).

== Usage in battles ==

Despite its labeling as a heavy tank, the {{PAGENAME}} is better used as a tank destroyer and being more of a supportive role than a breakthrough role that most heavy tanks were designed to do. With its long reload for the 155mm makes it's gameplay a bit similar to tank like [[KV-2]] than tank like [[T29]] or [[T34]]. The T30 can handle itself on its own if in a one on one encounter but will be at a disadvantage if it is facing more than one due to the long reload time. So to fully utilize that heavy gun it might be best to be a supportive role tank for the medium tanks or the MBTs that got a faster reload but not the same destructive power as the T30's 155mm have.

The T30 share similarities with the armour as the [[T29]] and [[T34]], having a thick heavily armored turret got it's advantages. Since it's most heavily armoured part is the front turret it can be a key factor on how to make plans where to best utilize the tank, keep in mind even if having the turret only exposed it's not a 100% guaranteed safety from shells like APDS that will with ease be able to penetrate turret. But shells like HEAT-FS will mostly not do same amount of damage but can take out the gunner or in worst case scenario the gun's breech.

Enemy tanks to be aware of is mostly MBTs like [[Leopard 1]], [[M60]], [[Vickers MBT]], [[T-54 (1951)]], [[STB-1]], [[OF-40]], [[Strv 101]]. But that is not the only threat there is also ATGM Vehicles and large caliber tanks that can have enough Power to disable the T30's turret when hull down and out flank the slow T30's position.

===Modules===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" |Mobility
! Protection
! colspan="2" |Firepower
|-
| I
| Tracks||
| Parts
| Horizontal Drive||
|-
| II
| Suspension||Brake System
| FPE
| Adjustment of Fire||
|-
| III
| Filters||
| Crew Replenishment
| Elevation Mechanism||M110
|-
| IV
| Transmission||Engine
|
| T29E1||
|-
! colspan="6" |This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Inherits the great armour layout of the [[T29]]
* Huge 155 mm gun that packs a devastating punch
* HE shell is great at taking out heavily armoured tanks if the explosion occurs over the turret, or under the hull
* Because of the slow shell velocity, this is one of the few tanks that's really good at hitting targets behind cover
* Despite the massive breech, the tank still has 10 degrees of gun depression
* Has two .50 cal machine guns that can rip apart lightly armoured vehicles

'''Cons:'''

* Has one of the slowest reloads in the game, an ace crew will only reload the gun every 29.9 seconds
* Despite the massive gun, the top APCBC shell only has 199 mm of pen at point blank range
* Bad shell velocity makes hitting moving targets at ranges exceeding 500 meters a challenge
* Has one less .50 cal machine gun than the T29 and [[T34]]
* The first stage ammo rack means there is almost always ammo in the turret

== History ==


In 1944, the Army requested 4 prototypes for heavy tanks, two armed with a 105 mm gun and two armed with a 155 mm gun. The intention was to create vehicles that could face enemy heavy tanks on even terms, or even advantageous terms. The vehicles armed with the 105 mm gun were designated [[T29]], and the two armed with a 155 mm gun were designated [[T30]].

The armament of the T30, a 155 mm T7 L/40 gun, was one of the largest guns ever fitted to an armored fighting vehicle made in the United States. The gun was carried in a tall, long turret with rounded edges. The height of the turret was quite necessary, as the size of the gun and its ammunition required a standing loader. The hull of the T30 was the same as the T29. It was a lengthened version of the [[M26|T26E3 chassis]]. The armor of the T30 was quite thick, and the hull was also well angled, as one of the requirements for the design was protection from the German [[KwK43 (88 mm)|long 88 mm anti-tank gun]]. The T30 carried a crew of six men. These were the driver, commander, bow machine gunner, gunner, and two loaders. One loader moved the crane that placed the shell, and the other used the rammer that put the shell into the breech. The gun could only be loaded at certain angles. The T30 saw an upgrade, called the T30E1, which added an automatic loading system, which moved the gun to the correct position, loaded the shell, and moved the gun back to the firing position. A hatch was added to the rear of the turret to allow the ejection of shell casings after firing.

World War 2 ended before the heavy tank designs ([[T28]], [[T29]], T30, [[T32]], [[T34]]) could enter service, and the development of these vehicles ended, but the development of these heavy tank designs provided experience that proved useful when designing the [[M103|M103 heavy tank]] during the Cold War.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23t30 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|Ucr-wFDeLRA|'''T30 Tank Review: Missing Punch''' - ''Napalmratte''}}

== See also ==


;Other tanks sharing the design:

* [[T29]] - 105 mm gun
* [[T34]] - 120 mm gun

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/5963-development-t30-premium-heavy-tank-en|[Devblog] T30 Premium heavy tank]]
* [[wikipedia:T30_Heavy_Tank|[Wikipedia] T30 Heavy Tank]]
* [https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=353 Military Factory - T30 (Heavy Tank T30)]

{{USA heavy tanks}}
{{USA premium ground vehicles}}
{{Winter Event}}