Difference between revisions of "Marder A1-"

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== Description ==
 
== Description ==
 
<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' -->
 
<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' -->
−
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German light tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Red Skies"]].
+
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German light tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Red Skies"]]. Being the first true IFV in the German tech tree, Marder A1 offers some unique options to its operator with regards to dispatching its opponents, no matter if they come on ground or by air.
  
 
== General info ==
 
== General info ==
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{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}
 
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}
 
<!-- ''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.'' -->
 
<!-- ''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.'' -->
−
''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.''
+
Overall, armor on Marder A1 is what you would expect from IFV not designed to fight tanks on its own; thin armor that relies heavily on slope for protection. Good news is, your turret is unmanned, and coupled with great gun depression of -17°, you can fight hull down really well.
 +
 
 +
In the frontal arc, you can shrug off most heavy machine guns and autocannons up to 23mm caliber, like those found on Shilkas. Be wary though as lucky shots can get through your turret ring or shatter on your drivers optics, sending shrapnel inside the fighting compartment. 
 +
 
 +
From sides and rear, even .50cal will do some serious damage to you, so try to keep your front armor towards the enemy, especially if you know they are armed with heavy machine guns.
 +
 
 +
With only three crew members available, Marder can't afford to take any hits. When looking at Marder from front, the driver on the right side is protected only by 11mm thin armor plate angled at 73°, so expect your driver to die a lot to enemy fire. Commander and gunner both sit side by side below the unmanned turret, protected by transmission and engine (similar to Merkava tanks). While that won't protect you from rounds with explosive filler or modern kinetic penetrators, it can negate shrapnel from older chemical and HESH rounds. Commanders and gunner survivability is thus significantly higher than that of a driver, allowing you to fire back at the opponent in most cases.
 +
 
 +
Last thing to note about armor is that your roof armor is 11mm only, making you heavily vulnerable to air attacks.
  
 
'''Armour type:''' <!-- The types of armour present on the vehicle and their general locations -->
 
'''Armour type:''' <!-- The types of armour present on the vehicle and their general locations -->
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! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Hull || ___ mm || ___ mm ''Top'' <br> ___ mm ''Bottom'' || ___ mm || ___ - ___ mm
+
| Hull || 11 mm (76°) top
 +
32mm (21°) bottom
 +
| 15 mm (32°) top <br> 15 mm (0°) bottom || 11 mm (22°) || 11 mm
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Turret || ___ - ___ mm ''Turret front'' <br> ___ mm ''Gun mantlet'' || ___ - ___ mm || ___ - ___ mm || ___ - ___ mm
+
| Turret || 15 - 25 mm turret front <br> 11 mm gun mantlet || 11- 15 mm || 11 - 15 mm || 11 mm
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Cupola || ___ mm || ___ mm || ___ mm || ___ mm
+
| Cupola || 11 mm || 11 mm || 11 mm || 11 mm
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}
 
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}
 
<!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' -->
 
<!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' -->
−
''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.''
+
Mobility of Marder is really, really good, allowing you to rush favorable positions at the start of the battle or flank really well. With a reverse gearbox, you can move backwards as fast as you are going forward, making disengaging an enemy or retreating from unfavorable situations an easy task.  
  
 
{{tankMobility}}
 
{{tankMobility}}
  
 
=== Modifications and economy ===
 
=== Modifications and economy ===
−
{{Specs-Economy}}
+
{{Specs-Economy}}Since Marder is in its stock configuration already powerful in the firepower department thanks to its MILAN ATGMs, you should have no problems dispatching your enemies. After Parts and FPE, you can either start upgrading your mobility package, or go for DM43 APIT belts to have better chances when fighting light vehicles.
 +
 
 +
Since you won't be engaging enemies at longer ranges with your autocannon and MILANs are SACLOS guided, getting laser rangefinder is not a priority. Instead, going for recon upgrades and smoke grenades might be preferable. Night vision devices could be also considered, but night battles on this BR are rare.
  
 
== Armaments ==
 
== Armaments ==
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<!-- ''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.'' -->
 
<!-- ''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.'' -->
 
{{main|Rh202 (20 mm)}}
 
{{main|Rh202 (20 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.''
+
Marder A1 is armed with dual feed Rh202 20mm autocannon. Veteran German tankers will know this weapon from Kpz-70 and Leopard 2K; the difference being you get dedicated belts on Marder instead of being limited only to multipurpose stock belts.
 +
 
 +
Rh202 has fantastic gun handling. Even though it is not equipped with stabiliser, it's barely noticeable even when firing on the move, allowing you to successfully engage enemies without stopping at close range.
  
 +
With a great rate of fire (noticeably faster than 30mm found on BMP-2s), you can shred light vehicles, low flying planes and helicopters to pieces in a matter of seconds. Even heavier tanks are not safe since you are able to disable their critical components with well aimed burst, crippling their main and secondary arments and tracks, making them easy kills for your MILANs or your heavily armed teammates.
 +
 +
With 65° degrees of gun elevation, you can even work ad hoc as makeshift SPAAG. This is especially useful against helicopter rushes, which are common at the start of the round, when chances of friendly AA being active are low. Even planes are not safe when Marder is around, since you are able to successfully engage low flying aircrafts with enough practise.
 +
 +
 Rh202 operates on 200 round belts, Marder can take 6 of them in total and you can switch between different belts with ~1 second delay. Empty belt is reloaded after 8 seconds when spaded.
 
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
 
|-
 
|-
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|}
 
|}
  
−
==== Ammunition ====
+
'''Ammunition'''
 +
 
 +
* '''Defalut''' - stock belt that consists of APCRT and HEFIT rounds in ratio of 1:1. It works, but can have problems penetrating lighter vehicles due to the off chance that you won't hit a critical component with an APCRT round.
 +
* '''DM51A1 HEI-T''' - stock belt that consists of HEFIT and APCRT rounds in ratio of 3:1, this belt would be of great use against infantry. Since we do not have that in Warthunder, it is useless, since HEFIT rounds have only 2mm of penetration while having the same explosive filler as APCRT rounds. It could have some use against helicopters and low flying planes, but it is redundant as of now.
  
−
* '''Default:''' {{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}
+
* '''DM43 API-T''' - Tier I upgrade, this belt consists of APCRT and HEFIT rounds in ratio of 3:1. This belt should be your primary type of ammo for Rh202, since not only has best available penetration, but APCRT rounds '''have the same explosive filler as HEFIT rounds'''.
−
* '''DM51A1 HEI-T:''' {{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}
 
−
* '''DM43 API-T:''' {{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}
 
  
 
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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
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! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
 
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Default || __ || __ || __ || __ || __ || __
+
| Default || 57mm || 52mm || 37mm || 24mm || 15mm || 10mm
 
|-
 
|-
−
| DM51A1 HEI-T || __ || __ || __ || __ || __ || __
+
| DM51A1 HEI-T || 2mm || 2mm || 2mm || 2mm || 2mm || 2mm
 
|-
 
|-
−
| DM43 API-T || __ || __ || __ || __ || __ || __
+
| DM43 API-T || 57mm || 52mm || 37mm || 24mm || 15mm || 10mm
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 +
*
  
 
==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
 
==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
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<!-- ''Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on about how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.'' -->
 
<!-- ''Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on about how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.'' -->
 
{{main|MILAN}}
 
{{main|MILAN}}
−
''Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on about how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.''
+
Marder A1 is armed with a MILAN ATGM launcher with SACLOS guidance. Its older missile, lacking tandem warhead, but since composite and reactive armor is a rare sight on BR 7.3 - 8.3, it works wonders. It is your main weapon of choice when engaging targets beyond 200m and when engaging anything heavier than BMP or SPAAG. Marder only gets 4 of those, so firing them recklessly can leave you unable to dispatch heavier opponents. Frequent visits to capture points are must in order to keep fighting. 
 +
 
 +
To fire them, Marder needs to be going slower than 5km/h, which can be disadvantageous against enemy tanks with stabilisers - be sure to distract the enemy first with your autocannon fire.
 +
 
 +
Also be aware that launcher can't depress as much as your autocannon - this is of utmost importance when fighting in hilly terrain. While it is possible to fire and hit an enemy, the missile needs few seconds and distance to correct itself, making close range shots impossible without considerable skill and practise ( for some theory on this, visit [[Striker]] wiki page).
 +
 
 +
MILANs are guided in SACLOS manner, meaning they follow your crosshair, making them so much easier to use than older missiles such as SS.11 or Malyutkas. Marder is also one of the earliest vehicles to get SACLOS missiles, together with Ratel 20 and BMP-1, and unlike BMP-1, you have them wehn stock - no research required!
 +
 
 +
Last thing to note about those is their limited range - just 2km. Most of your engagements do happen inside this range, but on larger maps such as Maginot line, it won't hurt checking enemy distance with your laser range finder before firing.
  
 +
As SACLOS missiles, they can be used with some success against ATGM helicopters hovering on the battlefield, but again, checking their range is necessary in order not to waste your precious missile.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
 
|-
 
|-
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! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
 
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
 
|-
 
|-
−
| MILAN || ATGM || __ || __ || __ || __ || __ || __
+
| MILAN || ATGM || 530mm || 530mm || 530mm || 530mm || 530mm || 530mm
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
 
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
 
|-
 
|-
−
| MILAN || ATGM || ___ || _,___ || _.__ || __ || _._ || ___ || __° || __° || __°
+
| MILAN || ATGM || 200 || 2,000 || 6.55 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 1.83 || 80° || 82° || 90°
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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<!-- ''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.'' -->
 
<!-- ''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.'' -->
 
{{main|MG3A1 (7.62 mm)}}
 
{{main|MG3A1 (7.62 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.''
+
Marder is armed with two MG3 machine guns. One is co-ax to your Rh202, second is in a small independent turret above troop compartment.  
 +
 
 +
MG3 is a standard machine gun for German vehicles. While having a nice rate of fire, they are rifle-calibre and thus have very low penetration, useful only as deterrent against low flying aircraft and helicopters and to clear obstacles in front of your main arment. They are almost useless against enemy tanks, and only pose a threat to few open top vehicles. 
  
 +
One thing of note is that the second MG3 in its independent turret can only turn in 90° degree arc on the back of Marder, thus making it even more useless than your co-ax. It can be used to paint enemies that manage to sneak up on to you from behind, or, if you turn your back against incoming aircraft or helicopters, to increase your firepower against them. Other than that, it only blocks your Rh202 from depressing on the back of your vehicle
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
 
|-
 
|-
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! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
 
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
 
|-
 
|-
−
| || ___ (___) || ___ || __° || __°
+
|Coaxial|| 4,500(1,000) || 1,200 || N/A || N/A
 
|-
 
|-
−
| || ___ (___) || ___ || __° || __°
+
| Independent turret
 +
| 1,000 (1,000) || 1,200 || __° || __°
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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== Usage in battles ==
 
== 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).'' -->
 
<!-- ''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).'' -->
−
''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).''
+
Marder A1 is a pretty decent IFV for its rank, but it is not designed to fight enemy tanks head on. 
 +
 
 +
Best strategy is to either rush favorable positions near capture points in order to spot and counter enemy light vehicles rushing them while occasionally firing your ATGM at high-value targets.
 +
 
 +
Another good strategy is to go for flanks - most of the time, you will meet enemy light vehicles flanking, and your autocannon shreds them like cheese, denying enemy flanking routes and funneling them towards your allied tanks. Keep spotting, and save your ATGMs for self defense, since you will be away from capture points in this scenario and thus unable to rearm. That doesn't mean you can't take out high value targets such as top tier tanks which happen to drive into your sight line.
 +
 
 +
If forced to CQC or brawl, try to stick to your allies and support them. As soon as you see enemy tank fire, rush him and disable his gun and tracks, making him an easy target for your team mates. 
 +
 
 +
If there are no allies in close proximity, then your speed and ability to fire on the move can be exploited in aggressive pushes, but narrow corridors and streets often present major disadvantages for your lightly armored IFV; so sticking to ambush tactics might be preferable.
  
 
=== Pros and cons ===
 
=== Pros and cons ===

Revision as of 11:27, 6 June 2021

Marder A1-
germ_marder_1a1.png
GarageImage Marder A1-.jpg
Marder A1-
Germany flag.png Germany
V Rank
Battle rating:
AB RB SB
7.7 7.7 7.7
Class:
Research:95 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:270 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The SPz Marder A1- is a rank V German light tank with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Red Skies". Being the first true IFV in the German tech tree, Marder A1 offers some unique options to its operator with regards to dispatching its opponents, no matter if they come on ground or by air.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
Armourfront / side / back
Hull32 / 15 / 11
Turret25 / 15 / 15
Crew3 people
Visibility86 %

Overall, armor on Marder A1 is what you would expect from IFV not designed to fight tanks on its own; thin armor that relies heavily on slope for protection. Good news is, your turret is unmanned, and coupled with great gun depression of -17°, you can fight hull down really well.

In the frontal arc, you can shrug off most heavy machine guns and autocannons up to 23mm caliber, like those found on Shilkas. Be wary though as lucky shots can get through your turret ring or shatter on your drivers optics, sending shrapnel inside the fighting compartment. 

From sides and rear, even .50cal will do some serious damage to you, so try to keep your front armor towards the enemy, especially if you know they are armed with heavy machine guns.

With only three crew members available, Marder can't afford to take any hits. When looking at Marder from front, the driver on the right side is protected only by 11mm thin armor plate angled at 73°, so expect your driver to die a lot to enemy fire. Commander and gunner both sit side by side below the unmanned turret, protected by transmission and engine (similar to Merkava tanks). While that won't protect you from rounds with explosive filler or modern kinetic penetrators, it can negate shrapnel from older chemical and HESH rounds. Commanders and gunner survivability is thus significantly higher than that of a driver, allowing you to fire back at the opponent in most cases.

Last thing to note about armor is that your roof armor is 11mm only, making you heavily vulnerable to air attacks.

Armour type:

Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 11 mm (76°) top

32mm (21°) bottom

15 mm (32°) top
15 mm (0°) bottom 		11 mm (22°) 11 mm
Turret 15 - 25 mm turret front
11 mm gun mantlet 		11- 15 mm 11 - 15 mm 11 mm
Cupola 11 mm 11 mm 11 mm 11 mm

Notes:

Mobility

Reverse gearbox
Forward and backward movement is possible at the same maximum speed
Speedforward / back
AB84 / 84 km/h
RB and SB76 / 76 km/h
Number of gears8 forward
8 back
Weight29.2 t
Engine power
AB1 145 hp
RB and SB600 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB39.2 hp/t
RB and SB20.5 hp/t

Mobility of Marder is really, really good, allowing you to rush favorable positions at the start of the battle or flank really well. With a reverse gearbox, you can move backwards as fast as you are going forward, making disengaging an enemy or retreating from unfavorable situations an easy task.

Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 84 84 29.2 _,___ 1,145 __.__ 39.21
Realistic 76 76 _,___ 600 __.__ 20.55

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB2 996 → 4 398 Sl icon.png
RB3 578 → 5 252 Sl icon.png
SB4 873 → 7 153 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications77 600 Rp icon.png
129 800 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost2 000 Ge icon.png
Crew training78 000 Sl icon.png
Experts270 000 Sl icon.png
Aces1 100 Ge icon.png
Research Aces670 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
110 / 160 / 200 % Sl icon.png
190 / 190 / 190 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
4 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 500 Sl icon.png
195 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
6 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
330 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
260 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
260 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
2 600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 500 Sl icon.png
195 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
1 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement ger.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
6 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
330 Ge icon.png
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
260 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
4 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 500 Sl icon.png
195 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
20mm_rh202_AP_ammo_pack
Research:
4 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 500 Sl icon.png
195 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods airstrike.png
Airstrike
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods tank laser rangefinder.png
Laser rangefinder
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
6 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
330 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
260 Ge icon.png
Mods scouting.png
Improved optics
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
260 Ge icon.png
Since Marder is in its stock configuration already powerful in the firepower department thanks to its MILAN ATGMs, you should have no problems dispatching your enemies. After Parts and FPE, you can either start upgrading your mobility package, or go for DM43 APIT belts to have better chances when fighting light vehicles.

Since you won't be engaging enemies at longer ranges with your autocannon and MILANs are SACLOS guided, getting laser rangefinder is not a priority. Instead, going for recon upgrades and smoke grenades might be preferable. Night vision devices could be also considered, but night battles on this BR are rare.

Armaments

Laser rangefinder
Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Main armament

20 mm Rh202 cannon
Ammunition1 200 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate801 shots/min
Vertical guidance-17° / 65°
Main article: Rh202 (20 mm)

Marder A1 is armed with dual feed Rh202 20mm autocannon. Veteran German tankers will know this weapon from Kpz-70 and Leopard 2K; the difference being you get dedicated belts on Marder instead of being limited only to multipurpose stock belts.

Rh202 has fantastic gun handling. Even though it is not equipped with stabiliser, it's barely noticeable even when firing on the move, allowing you to successfully engage enemies without stopping at close range.

With a great rate of fire (noticeably faster than 30mm found on BMP-2s), you can shred light vehicles, low flying planes and helicopters to pieces in a matter of seconds. Even heavier tanks are not safe since you are able to disable their critical components with well aimed burst, crippling their main and secondary arments and tracks, making them easy kills for your MILANs or your heavily armed teammates.

With 65° degrees of gun elevation, you can even work ad hoc as makeshift SPAAG. This is especially useful against helicopter rushes, which are common at the start of the round, when chances of friendly AA being active are low. Even planes are not safe when Marder is around, since you are able to successfully engage low flying aircrafts with enough practise.

 Rh202 operates on 200 round belts, Marder can take 6 of them in total and you can switch between different belts with ~1 second delay. Empty belt is reloaded after 8 seconds when spaded.

20 mm Rh202 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 1,200 (200) 800 -17°/+65° ±180° N/A __._ __._ __._ __._ __._ _.__ _.__ _.__ _.__
Realistic __._ __._ __._ __._ __._

Ammunition

  • Defalut - stock belt that consists of APCRT and HEFIT rounds in ratio of 1:1. It works, but can have problems penetrating lighter vehicles due to the off chance that you won't hit a critical component with an APCRT round.
  • DM51A1 HEI-T - stock belt that consists of HEFIT and APCRT rounds in ratio of 3:1, this belt would be of great use against infantry. Since we do not have that in Warthunder, it is useless, since HEFIT rounds have only 2mm of penetration while having the same explosive filler as APCRT rounds. It could have some use against helicopters and low flying planes, but it is redundant as of now.
  • DM43 API-T - Tier I upgrade, this belt consists of APCRT and HEFIT rounds in ratio of 3:1. This belt should be your primary type of ammo for Rh202, since not only has best available penetration, but APCRT rounds have the same explosive filler as HEFIT rounds.
Penetration statistics
Belt Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
Default 57mm 52mm 37mm 24mm 15mm 10mm
DM51A1 HEI-T 2mm 2mm 2mm 2mm 2mm 2mm
DM43 API-T 57mm 52mm 37mm 24mm 15mm 10mm

Ammo racks

Full
ammo 		1st
rack empty 		2nd
rack empty 		3rd
rack empty 		4th
rack empty 		5th
rack empty 		6th
rack empty 		Visual
discrepancy
6 __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __

Additional armament

MILAN ATGM
Ammunition4 rounds
Belt capacity1 rounds
Fire rate5 shots/min
Vertical guidance-5° / 20°
Horizontal guidance-30° / 30°
Fire on the moveup to 5 km/h
Main article: MILAN

Marder A1 is armed with a MILAN ATGM launcher with SACLOS guidance. Its older missile, lacking tandem warhead, but since composite and reactive armor is a rare sight on BR 7.3 - 8.3, it works wonders. It is your main weapon of choice when engaging targets beyond 200m and when engaging anything heavier than BMP or SPAAG. Marder only gets 4 of those, so firing them recklessly can leave you unable to dispatch heavier opponents. Frequent visits to capture points are must in order to keep fighting. 

To fire them, Marder needs to be going slower than 5km/h, which can be disadvantageous against enemy tanks with stabilisers - be sure to distract the enemy first with your autocannon fire.

Also be aware that launcher can't depress as much as your autocannon - this is of utmost importance when fighting in hilly terrain. While it is possible to fire and hit an enemy, the missile needs few seconds and distance to correct itself, making close range shots impossible without considerable skill and practise ( for some theory on this, visit Striker wiki page).

MILANs are guided in SACLOS manner, meaning they follow your crosshair, making them so much easier to use than older missiles such as SS.11 or Malyutkas. Marder is also one of the earliest vehicles to get SACLOS missiles, together with Ratel 20 and BMP-1, and unlike BMP-1, you have them wehn stock - no research required!

Last thing to note about those is their limited range - just 2km. Most of your engagements do happen inside this range, but on larger maps such as Maginot line, it won't hurt checking enemy distance with your laser range finder before firing.

As SACLOS missiles, they can be used with some success against ATGM helicopters hovering on the battlefield, but again, checking their range is necessary in order not to waste your precious missile.

MILAN missile Reloading rate (seconds)
Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Full Expert Aced
4 ±5° N/A N/A _.__ _.__ _.__ _.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
MILAN ATGM 530mm 530mm 530mm 530mm 530mm 530mm
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Velocity
(m/s) 		Range
(m) 		Projectile
Mass (kg) 		Fuse delay
(m) 		Fuse sensitivity
(mm) 		Explosive Mass
(TNT equivalent) (g) 		Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
MILAN ATGM 200 2,000 6.55 0.05 0.1 1.83 80° 82° 90°

Ammo racks

Full
ammo 		1st
rack empty 		2nd
rack empty 		3rd
rack empty 		4th
rack empty 		5th
rack empty 		6th
rack empty 		Visual
discrepancy
4 __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __

Machine guns

7.62 mm MG3A1 machine gun (coaxial)
Ammunition4 600 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate1 200 shots/min
7.62 mm MG3A1 machine gun
Ammunition1 000 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate1 200 shots/min
Main article: MG3A1 (7.62 mm)

Marder is armed with two MG3 machine guns. One is co-ax to your Rh202, second is in a small independent turret above troop compartment.  

MG3 is a standard machine gun for German vehicles. While having a nice rate of fire, they are rifle-calibre and thus have very low penetration, useful only as deterrent against low flying aircraft and helicopters and to clear obstacles in front of your main arment. They are almost useless against enemy tanks, and only pose a threat to few open top vehicles. 

One thing of note is that the second MG3 in its independent turret can only turn in 90° degree arc on the back of Marder, thus making it even more useless than your co-ax. It can be used to paint enemies that manage to sneak up on to you from behind, or, if you turn your back against incoming aircraft or helicopters, to increase your firepower against them. Other than that, it only blocks your Rh202 from depressing on the back of your vehicle

7.62 mm MG3A1
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 4,500(1,000) 1,200 N/A N/A
Independent turret 1,000 (1,000) 1,200 __° __°

Usage in battles

Marder A1 is a pretty decent IFV for its rank, but it is not designed to fight enemy tanks head on. 

Best strategy is to either rush favorable positions near capture points in order to spot and counter enemy light vehicles rushing them while occasionally firing your ATGM at high-value targets.

Another good strategy is to go for flanks - most of the time, you will meet enemy light vehicles flanking, and your autocannon shreds them like cheese, denying enemy flanking routes and funneling them towards your allied tanks. Keep spotting, and save your ATGMs for self defense, since you will be away from capture points in this scenario and thus unable to rearm. That doesn't mean you can't take out high value targets such as top tier tanks which happen to drive into your sight line.

If forced to CQC or brawl, try to stick to your allies and support them. As soon as you see enemy tank fire, rush him and disable his gun and tracks, making him an easy target for your team mates. 

If there are no allies in close proximity, then your speed and ability to fire on the move can be exploited in aggressive pushes, but narrow corridors and streets often present major disadvantages for your lightly armored IFV; so sticking to ambush tactics might be preferable.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • 20 mm cannon is very effective at quickly destroying aircraft, SPAA, and lightly armoured vehicles
    • High fire rate - 800 rpm
    • Plenty of ammo
    • Very fast turret rotation
    • 17 degrees of gun depression, 69 degrees of gun elevation, with very fast vertical traverse speed
  • Effective MILAN missile
  • Very manoeuvrable, top speed of 84 km/h and high power-weight ratio

Cons:

  • 20 mm gun is largely ineffective against a large majority of ground vehicles you will face
  • Only 4 MILAN missiles
  • Thin armour
  • Rather tall

History

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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

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  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.


Germany light tanks
Pz.II  Pz.II C · Pz.II C (DAK) · Pz.II C TD · Pz.II F · Pz.Sfl.Ic
Sd.Kfz.234  Sd.Kfz.234/1 · Sd.Kfz.234/2 · Sd.Kfz.234/2 TD
Marder  Marder A1- · Marder 1A3 · Begleitpanzer 57 · DF105
SPz PUMA  PUMA · PUMA VJTF
Wheeled  Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41) · Class 3 (P) · Radkampfwagen 90 · Boxer MGS
Other  Ru 251 · SPz 12-3 LGS
Argentina  TAM · TAM 2C · TAM 2IP · JaPz.K A2
Czechoslovakia  Pz.35(t) · Pz.38(t) A · Pz.38(t) F · Pz.38(t) n.A. · Sd.Kfz. 140/1
France  Pz.Sp.Wg.P204(f) KwK
Lithuania  Vilkas
USA  leKPz M41
USSR  SPz BMP-1

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