Ratel 20

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

Ratel 20

Ratel 90

G6

Ratel 20

Ratel 90

G6

Britain

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	6.7	6.7

Class:

Light tank

Research:27 000

Purchase:185 000

Description

The Ratel 20 is a rank IV British light tank with a battle rating of 6.7 (AB/RB/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

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull20 / 10 / 10

Turret12 / 10 / 10

Crew3 people

Visibility84 %

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 10 mm instead of 5 mm thick.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB117 / 20 km/h

RB and SB106 / 18 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

2 back

Weight18.9 t

Engine power

AB538 hp

RB and SB282 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB28.5 hp/t

RB and SB14.9 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	117	20	18.9	437	538	23.12	28.47
Realistic	106	18		249	282	13.17	14.92

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB2 114 → 3 069

RB2 594 → 3 766

SB3 459 → 5 022

Total cost of modifications47 600

86 700

Talisman cost1 500

Crew training52 000

Experts185 000

Aces710

Research Aces480 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

100 / 140 / 170 %

166 / 166 / 166 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tires Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 400 160 Suspension Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 120 Brake System Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 120 Filters Research: 3 900 Cost: 7 100 260 Transmission Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 210 Engine Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 210	Improved Parts Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 400 160 Improved FPE Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 120 Crew Replenishment Research: 3 900 Cost: 7 100 260 Smoke grenade Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 210	Horizontal Drive Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 400 160 20mm_Oerlikon_HE_ammo_pack Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 400 160 Adjustment of Fire Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 120 20mm_Oerlikon_AP_ammo_pack Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 120 Airstrike Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 300 120 Elevation Mechanism Research: 3 900 Cost: 7 100 260 Artillery Support Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 210 Improved optics Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 600 210

Armaments

Main armament

20 mm GI-2 cannon

Ammunition1 200 rounds

Belt capacity150 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate750 shots/min

Vertical guidance-8° / 38°

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 · HEFI-T
• M594: HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HVAP-T
• M601: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEFI-T

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HVAP-T	57	52	37	24	15	10
HEI-T*	6	6	4	3	2	2

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HVAP-T	1,100	0.11	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°
HEI-T*	1,054	0.12	0.1	0.1	27.2	-	-	-

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 ATGM

Ammunition7 rounds

Vertical guidance-5° / 15°

Horizontal guidance-30° / 30°

Flight speed200 m/s

Range2 000 m

Fire on the moveup to 5 km/h

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

Missile details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Range (m)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
MILAN	ATGM	200	2,000	6.7	0.05	0.1	1.83	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 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition3 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

7.62 mm Browning MG4 machine gun

Ammunition3 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

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

Development

A UN Ratel-20 IFV in the Royal Tank Museum, Jordan.

Named after the tenacious honey badger, the Ratel Infantry Fighting Vehicle's development began in 1970 when the South African Defence Force required armoured vehicles which could cover the vast distances of the African plains. These requirements prioritised strong firepower and good protection to enable mechanised infantry to play their role within a highly mobile warfare doctrine. The SADF were already using British APCs, but these aligned with the British doctrine of mobilised infantry dismounting for engagements which was counter-intuitive to the direction of the diverging South African structure. The SADF also used South African-designed armoured vehicles, yet these were liable to breakdowns and weapon failures which peaked during the South African Border War, exposing the weaknesses of older and cheaper IFV models and exposing the necessity for complete replacement to the more durable and reliable Ratel models. The South African derivative of the AML, the Eland was successful as a reconnaissance vehicle with remarkable self-defence, and this would inspire the design of the Ratel which shares visual similarity.

Combat usage

The Ratel would enter production in 1975 and see immediate success in the Angolan War from 1978. Despite a design based around flat terrain and infantry combat, the Ratel found itself excelling in challenging mountainous terrain and rainforests, fulfilling additional combat and support roles. In later produced modular variants, the Ratel utilised the cannon turret of the Eland, ATGMs, and also support platforms such as observation and logistics.

The Ratel-20 would see combat in Operation Reindeer, 1978, Operation Sceptic, 1980, Operation Askari, 1983, and Operation Excite, 1988 for the SADF in Angola. It still serves several African nations in the present day, including South Africa which maintains over one thousand Ratel IFVs in total comprising a significant percentage of the SADF's land fighting capability, and Ratel-20s have been used extensively by countries participating in United Nations peacekeeping missions.

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

Other vehicles based on the Ratel chassis:

• Ratel 90
• ZT3A2

Vehicles of similar design and role:

• Warrior
• Marder A1-
• Pbv 302 (BILL)

External links

Bibliography

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