Light AA Mk I

Light AA Mk I

Staghound AA

Light AA Mk I

Staghound AA

Britain

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

SPAA

Research:4 000

Purchase:2 100

Description

The Tank, Light AA Mk I is a rank I British self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X".

This tank makes for a good entry-level anti-aircraft vehicle; good speed, manoeuvrability and a devastating short to medium range AA attack. This vehicle should be used in the rear end of an assault, watching the skies for incoming bogies. However, the real ace is that the guns lack accuracy but trade for a sheer volume of fire, filling the skies with a hailstorm of bullets that can discourage bandits from lining up on an attack run. However, anything beyond effective range won't be struck down effectively.

General info

Survivability and armour

• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	14 mm	14 mm	14 mm	4 mm
Turret	14 mm Turret front	14 mm	14 mm	N/A

The Light AA Mk I has very little armour. Most of the hull has 14 mm of armour, which is sufficient only against rifle-calibre rounds. However, the gunner is exposed to machine gun fire, and being that there are only 2 crew members, if he dies, the entire vehicle is destroyed. This means even enemy machine guns can kill you if they hit your gunner. You may be able to somewhat protect the gunner by aiming upwards with the machine guns, but this is not reliable. In any case, the Light AA Mk I is vulnerable to any vehicle in the game.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	55	7	4.9	125	168	25.51	34.29
Realistic	51	7		78	88	15.92	17.96

Armaments

Main armament

7.92 mm BESA (x4)						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	3,600 (225)	600	-10°/+65°	±180°	N/A	52.8	73.1	88.8	98.2	104.5	7.8	7.0	6.4	6.0
Realistic						37.5	42.0	51.0	56.4	60.0

Ammunition

• Default: Ball · T · IT
• Universal: AP · T · IT · Ball
• API-T: IT · IT · AP · T
• AP-T: AP · AP · IT · T

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	8	7	5	3	3	3
Universal	13	11	9	7	4	3
API-T	13	11	9	7	4	3
AP-T	13	11	9	7	4	3

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Light AA Mk I

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
16	4 (+12)	4 (+12)	4 (+12)	4 (+12)	Yes

Notes:

• 1 belt contains 225 bullets. 3600 bullets in total represent thus 16 belts.
• However, ammunition is modeled as 50 boxes, grouped in 4 racks (rack 1: 12 boxes, rack 2: 13, rack 3: 13 and rack 4: 12)
• Racks 1, 2 & 3 will disappear only if you have 4 belts left.
• If you pack 16, 12 or 8 belts the 4 racks will be displayed as full.
• Racks will successively disappear if you pack 16 belts and shoot them until depletion.
• Pack the maximum amount of ammo to go into battle as you are a SPAA.

Optics

Light AA Mk I Optics
Which ones	Default magnification	Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics	x2.1	x3.7
Comparable optics	M13 MGMC

Usage in battles

The Light AA Mk I is a very vulnerable vehicle, so commanders should be careful not to expose themselves to enemy fire. Take care to find a position where you will not be seen by enemy ground vehicles, and watch the sky. Due to the low velocity of the machine guns, the Light AA Mk I should not open fire until the enemy plane is very close, probably within 1 km. If you begin to fire while the enemy plane is out of range, they will likely divert course and stay away from your position. Also be wary if there is more than one enemy plane up, as you can be strafed to death by machine gun fire. Once you have a good shot on the enemy plane, the 4 machine guns are capable of dealing more damage than one might expect, you can easily down various aircraft quite quickly, although twin engine fighters and bombers will be difficult to destroy.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	Universal
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	API-T
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	AP-T
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great placement as a Rank I SPAA
• 4 x BESA machine guns mean a high ammo load and a good rate of fire
• 4 x machine guns means that you have a high hit probability
• Armour provides some protection from machine-gun fire, though the gunner is vulnerable
• Excels at taking down fighters
• Can be used against low tier SPAA and open-top tank destroyers, however, it is best suited to strictly SPAA duties
• Small and mobile

Cons:

• Cannot defend itself from ground attacks, all belts cannot penetrate any tanks
• Damage output is nowhere near comparable to SPAA armed with 20 mm autocannons at this tier
• The gunner is exposed to machine-gun fire from above and the front
• The armour will not protect you from 12.7 mm rounds and above
• Vulnerable to artillery

History

The machine-gun armed Mark VI light tank formed the bulk of British tank strength in 1939. They were intended for colonial duties and reconnaissance but would see front-line combat as late as the British defeats in Java in early 1942. In 1940 they were in use in the light tank squadrons of armoured regiments and the main body of the divisional cavalry regiments. They carried a .50 calibre or 15 mm machine gun as the main armament. They were also used in the early war as command vehicles for armoured units.

As they were withdrawn from service, some Mark VI's were converted to anti-aircraft vehicles, raising the superstructure and replacing the turret. In practice the commander also being the gunner was ineffective. British armoured regiments and tank battalions were supposed to have 4-8 of these vehicles each in mid-1942. By mid-1943 they were taken out of service, replaced for this purpose by the significantly more versatile 20 mm-armed Crusader AA Mk II tank.

Media

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

See also

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

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

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.

Britain anti-aircraft vehicles
Crusader AA	Crusader AA Mk I · Crusader AA Mk II
Wheeled	Staghound AA · AEC AA
Radar SPAAG	Chieftain Marksman
Missile SPAA	Stormer AD · Stormer HVM
Other	Light AA Mk I · Falcon
Canada	Skink · ADATS (M113)
South Africa	Ystervark · Bosvark · ZA-35