Ratel 20

This page is about the British light tank Ratel 20. For other versions, see Ratel (Family).

Ratel 20

Ratel 20

Description

The Ratel 20 is a rank British light tank with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "Ixwa Strike".

The Ratel 20 is the original variant of the versatile Ratel IFV built by South Africa in 1976, to meet their tactics on mobile warfare. It is granted the title of the first wheeled IFV to enter service worldwide.

While the mobile and indirect playstyle of the previous Ratel 90 continues, the variation in weaponry sets ups for a somewhat more defensive and supporting approach during armoured engagements. The fast-firing 20 mm GI-2 automatic cannon and the powerful Milan ATGM are alternative armaments that will require some practice due to their situational unreliability when compared to a classical high-calibre cannon layout.

Aside from the alternative weaponry, the pros and cons of the Ratel chassis remain essentially unchanged, therefore the Ratel 20 still relies on his firepower and mobility; both are effective tools when in the hands of skilled players.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola)
• Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet)
• Wheel (tires, suspension rods)
• Bulletproof glass (driver windows)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	15 mm (30°) Front plate 10 mm (75°) Upper Glacis 20 mm (30°) Lower plate	8 mm (26°) Top 10 mm (2-27°) Bottom	10 mm (0-43°)	6 mm
Turret	12 mm (30°) Turret front 12 mm (8°) Gun mantlet	10 mm (17-21°)	10 mm (16°)	10 mm (16°) Front part 10 mm Rear part 8 mm Gunner hatch
Cupola	8-10 mm (spherical)			8 mm (46-85°) Hatch

Notes:

• Wheels and suspension are 10 mm thick.

• Belly is 8 mm thick.
• Unlike Ratel 90, the radiator's armour is 10mm instead of 5 mm thick.

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				437			__.__
Realistic				249			__.__

Armaments

Main armament

20 mm GI-2						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 (150)	750	-8°/+38°	±180°	N/A	22.7	31.4	38.1	42.1	44.8	10.40	9.20	8.48	8.00
Realistic						14.2	16.7	20.2	22.4	23.8

Ammunition

• Default: HVAP-T · HEF-I
• M594: HEF-I · HEF-I · HVAP-T
• M601: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEF-I

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	57	52	37	24	15	10
M594	57	52	37	24	15	10
M601	57	52	37	24	15	10

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Ratel 20

Full ammo	Ammo type	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
10 1,200	Clips Rounds	9 (+1) 1,080	8 (+2) 960	7 (+3) 840	6 (+4) 620	4 (+6) 480	3 (+7) 360	2 (+8) 240	1 (+9) 120	Yes

Notes:

• Ammunition is modelled as 10 clips of 120 rounds.
• The visual discrepancy concerns the number of clips: 10 clips can be fired but only 8 are modeled.

Additional armament

MILAN missile
Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer
7	±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	530	530	530	530	530	530

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	6.7	0.05	0.1	1,830	80°	82°	90°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Ratel 20

Full ammo	Visual discrepancy
7	No

Notes:

• Missiles are modeled individually and disappear after having been launched.
• It is not possible to select how many missiles to bring into battle.
• The missiles deplete from 1 to 7.

Machine guns

7.62 mm Browning MG4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3,000 (250)	500	N/A	N/A
Pintle	3,000 (250)	500	-10°/+3°	±120°

Usage in battles

Use your excellent mobility on roads to flank the enemy and use your autocannon to hit side and rear armour. If you ever come face to face with a heavily armoured vehicle, use your ATGM. On rough terrain, support your teammates and use your ATGMs to pick off targets passing by. You can also help repair teammates and destroy lightly-armoured targets with your autocannon. Since your 20 mm isn't very useful against most tanks from the front, use it to take out tracks and gun barrels. The ratel is very long and hard to hide so always be careful that you are not exposing sections of your vehicle that the enemy can see.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• MILAN ATGM has good penetration values and overpressure capabilities
• Ratel chassis is decently mobile once fully upgraded; also great reverse speed of 17 km/h
• 20 mm GI-2 gun has a high rate of fire and a useful elevation of +38°; perfect against low flying aircraft

Cons:

• Large size; difficult to conceal and manoeuvre on urban maps
• No stabilizer; the vehicle must stop to use the GI-2 cannon effectively
• Low engine power; the wheels also struggles on snow, sand or mud
• GI-2 cannon has poor performance against sloped thin armour as those on BMP-1 (Family), R3 T106 FA or AUBL/74
• Armour is unreliable and poor; only 3 crew members and a large ATGMs rack

History

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

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Ratel 20 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #244 - Pages of History section at 03:36 discusses the Ratel 20.

See also

Related service history

• Eland 90 Mk.7
• Ratel 90
• T-34-85
• PT-76B
• T-54/55 (Family)

Similar Playstyle

• Warrior
• BMP-1
• UDES 33
• FIAT 6614

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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

Sandock-Austral
Ratel	Ratel 90 · Ratel 20 · ZT3A2
Eland	Eland 90 Mk.7