Ariete (P)

This page is about the Italian MBT Ariete (P). For other vehicles of the family, see Ariete (Family).

Ariete (P)

▄Leopard 1A5

Ariete PSO

Ariete (P)

▄Leopard 1A5

Ariete PSO

Italy

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.7	10.7	10.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:260 000

Purchase:710 000

Description

The C1 Ariete (Preserie) is a rank VII Italian medium tank with a battle rating of 10.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.87 "Locked On". The C1 Ariete Preserie is one of the MBT players unlock before researching the production C1 Ariete PSO. The C1 Ariete was developed by OTO Melara during the late cold war to allow the Italian army to equip itself with a modern tank which could easily deal with Yugoslav and Warsaw pact tanks. The one represented in game is the preserie variant which means you don't get access to stronger equipment the production model has, however the preserie is at a lower battlerating which means the majority of enemy vehicles you face can be easily handled when used by someone who can make the most of its pros and cons. It has great mobility and the armour is surpisingly effective at its battlerating, players can research this tank to add to their 10.0 lineup, when all modifications are unlocked the preserie surely will exceed expectations.

General info

Survivability and armour

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull110 / 65 / 20

Turret140 / 60 / 20

Crew4 people

Visibility88 %

The Ariete Preserie is one of the least armoured MBTs in the game, but it can surprisingly withstand a lot of damage from enemies at its battle rating. The hull is one large weak spot with a huge LFP consisting of just one angled 50 mm plate that won't stop anything fired at you, while the UFP is made out of spaced armour that can only stop autocannon rounds or 105 mm APDS shells. Like most MBTs, you really don't want to be shot from the sides, as exposing that part of your tank will more than likely lead to a swift end. Unlike some Soviet or American tanks you'll face, you cannot rely on your armour to absorb shots, as a rule of thumb its best to keep your distance and pick off enemies that cannot severely damage you. In conclusion, it is advised to play this tank away from the front lines, and sniping whenever possible and peaking from behind cover to maximize the use of your turret armour.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
• High-hardness rolled armour (hull UFP, turret front)
• Composite armour (turret front)
• Spaced armour (hull UFP, gun mantlet, turret sides)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	Spaced Armour Upper glacis 50 mm (50°) Lower glacis 35 mm (60°) Sponson front	10-20 mm Top 35 mm Bottom	20 mm	35 mm Crew compartment 20 mm Engine compartment 5 mm Exhaust radiators
Turret	Composite armour Turret front Spaced armour + 90 mm Gun mantlet	Spaced armour	20 mm + 10 mm	40 mm Front portion 20 mm Rear portion

Internal armour:

• 20 + 35 mm - Upper hull sides
• 10 mm - Between driver and hull ammo rack
• 8 mm - Between crew and engine compartments

Composite/spaced armour	Front	Sides
Hull	Upper glacis 300 - 400+ mm Chemical 235 - 300+ mm Kinetic	N/A
Turret	Turret front 520 - 600+ mm Chemical 380 - 400+ mm Kinetic Gun mantlet 210 - 530+ mm Chemical 175 - 400+ mm Kinetic	Turret side 45 - 400+ mm Chemical 45 - 225+ mm Kinetic

Notes:

• Tracks and suspension - 20 mm
• Side skirts and fenders - 4 mm

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB73 / 52 km/h

RB and SB65 / 47 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight54.0 t

Engine power

AB2 480 hp

RB and SB1 300 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB45.9 hp/t

RB and SB24.1 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	73	52	54	1,761	2,480	32.61	45.93
Realistic	65	47		1,150	1,300	21.3	24.07

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 444 → 6 612

RB4 306 → 6 407

SB5 033 → 7 489

Total cost of modifications209 200

348 000

Talisman cost2 800

Crew training200 000

Experts710 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces1 080 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 200 / 250 %

232 / 232 / 232 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 330 Suspension Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 390 Brake System Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 390 Filters Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 330 Transmission Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 450 Engine Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 450	Improved Parts Research: 3 300 Cost: 17 000 330 Improved FPE Research: 3 900 Cost: 20 000 390 Crew Replenishment Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 330	Horizontal Drive Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 330 120mm_NATO_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 330 Adjustment of Fire Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 390 Elevation Mechanism Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 330 Smoke grenade Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 330 NVD Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 330 Artillery Support Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 450 120mm_DM_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 450 Laser rangefinder Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 450

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

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

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

120 mm OTO Breda 120/44 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition42 rounds

First-order15 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

7.8 → 6.0 s

Vertical guidance-9° / 20°

120 mm OTO Breda 120/44					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	42	-9°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	38.1	52.7	64.0	70.8	75.3	7.80	6.90	6.36	6.00
Realistic					23.8	28.0	34.0	37.6	40.0

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
DM12A1	HEATFS	480	480	480	480	480	480
DM23	APFSDS	410	408	401	393	384	376
DM33	APFSDS	481	478	470	461	450	440

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
DM12A1	HEATFS	1,140	13.5	0.05	0.1	2.15	65°	72°	77°
DM23	APFSDS	1,640	4.3	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
DM33	APFSDS	1,640	4.3	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Ariete (P)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
42	16 (+26)	1 (+41)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Rack 2 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 15 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from rack 1 into rack 2. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.

Machine guns

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition4 600 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate801 shots/min

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59 machine gun

Ammunition2 000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate801 shots/min

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,600 (200)	1,200	N/A	N/A
Pintle	2,000 (200)	1,200	-8°/+60°	±120°

Usage in battles

When playing the Ariete (P), there are 2 main ways to maximize your effectiveness. First, if you are playing at your actual battle rating, your armour can actually withstand a lot of shots if played right. Knowing that, play aggressively and surprise the enemy where it does not expect you, an enemy taken by surprise might shoot by reflex without taking the time to aim carefully, giving you enough time to make a clean shot and move onward to the next target. Remember that in Arcade Battles, enemies can easily find out where you are with your name tag and where your weak spots are. Second, in the occurrence of an up-tier, it puts you at a severe disadvantage, since you cannot rely on your armour anymore. It also means you'll have trouble actually picking off enemies as your ammunition will also lack penetration power. So the best playstyle would be more supportive: try flanking manoeuvres, stick with your better armoured teammates who can withstand hits, try your best to attack from the sides as they are always a weak spot, even for the most armoured of MBTs. Doing this will help you stay alive longer and be a useful asset to your team.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 120 mm gun
• Decent frontal armour, thanks to the use of composites
• DM33 is a 10.7 round at a full BR lower - can penetrate all tanks at its own BR and can easily penetrate weak spots in an uptier
• No ammo rack in the turret - a penetration in the turret rarely destroys the tank in one shot
• Front of the turret is immune to 105 mm HEATFS and lower tier 105 mm, 120 mm and 125 mm APFSDS
• Generation 1 thermals for the gunner
• High reverse
• High turret rotation speed
• Can make good use of hull down positions, though not as effectively as some contemporaries
• Decent mobility at medium and high speeds
• Fantastic gun handling characteristics
• All-round capable and fun tank to use

Cons:

• Low reactive mobility at low speed
• Armour is thin and should not be relied upon - a trait shared by all versions of the Ariete
• Huge ammo rack in the front
• The front armour of the turret can be pierced by higher tier 105 mm, 120 mm and 125 mm APFSDS
• The 2 rifle calibre machine guns are not very effective against enemy helicopters or aircraft
• Weak spot beneath the gun always knocks the gun out

History

The C1 Ariete Preserie was one of the first pre-production batches of the C1 Ariete MBT. The Preseries vehicle lacked a lot of details and modifications that the production C1 Ariete would end up having. But before we get into that, the C1 Ariete was born out of the need of the Italian army to modernize the fleet of tanks they had during the cold war. The Italian army utilized several tanks through the years, but the ones that they had in service would not longer be advanced enough to compete with what the rest of the world was doing in terms of tank development. What the Italian army sought was a new main battle tank that could completely replace and finally put out of service their Leopard and M60 tanks. For this, 2 Italian companies took the lead in making the new tank, Iveco and OTO Melara. Iveco primarily dealt with the hull, transmission and engine, while OTO Melara took care of the turret, cannon and the installation of sights. After a few iterations, and mock-up tanks, the first time they were shown to the public, was at a presentation inside of La Spezia in 1987, which also included another new Italian vehicle, the B1 Centauro. The C1 Ariete had many new up-to-date additions, such as having access to the TURMS 3rd generation LTFCS made by Officine Galileo, which gave the capability to the Ariete to fire on the move, both at day and at night. It is not known how many Preseries were be made. One of the Preseries Arietes was for example tested alongside the Italian M60s and Leopard tanks to see how it fared against them in a competition, not surprisingly, the Ariete surpassed them by a long shot, which further propelled itself into being bought and put into official service inside of the Italian army. There were many differences between the Preserie C1 Ariete and the production ones. The Preseries differed heavily design-wise: the Preseries turret was "cleaner", the production one having additional bolts to allow the Ariete to easily install add-on armour if needed,like it happened with the C1 Ariete "WAR" package. The Preseries did not have access to the PSO kit, which alongside the WAR, was available to the production models of the C1 Ariete. It also lacked commander thermals, an upgrade that was performed on the last 50 C1 Arietes produced. The Preseries also lacked one of the more powerful CL3143 APFSDS shells that the production model uses. The cannon the C1 Ariete uses can shoot all NATO standard rounds if needed. Lastly, the Preseries just lacked the overall aesthetic design choices that the production model would have. Once the production models of the C1 Ariete started entering in service, the Preseries were eventually moved into the Italian military vehicle graveyard at Lenta. It is not known if they are still there, but that was the last known places that they were found in.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Ariete (P) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

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

• Ariete
• Ariete PSO
• Ariete AMV

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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

OTO Melara
Light Tanks/IFVs
Centauro	Centauro I 105 · Centauro I 105 R · Centauro I 120 · VRCC
Dardo	Dardo · VCC-80/30 · VCC-80/60
Other	C13 T90 · R3 T106 FA
MBTs
OF-40	OF-40 · OF-40 Mk.2A · OF-40 (MTCA)
Ariete	Ariete (P) · Ariete · Ariete PSO · Ariete AMV
Other	M47 (105/55)
Tank Destroyers	M113A1 (TOW)
SPAA	R3 T20 FA-HS · SIDAM 25 · SIDAM 25 (Mistral) · OTOMATIC
Patrol Boats
Sparviero-class	Sparviero*
See Also	OTO
	*Built by OTO Melara in La Spezia under the Alinavi S.p.A. consortium