Marder 1A3

This page is about the German light tank Marder 1A3. For the other version, see Marder A1-.

Marder 1A3

Marder 1A3

Description

The Marder 1A3 was one of the most important upgrades of the regarding the Marder IFV. The vehicle was produced from 1988 to 1998 and around 2100 A1/A2 models were upgraded to this standard. The vehicle received a more capable armour, intended to resist the 30mm autocannon used by the BMP-2, which started to be fielded by East Germany around the time of the upgrade. Other changes included an upgraded turret and upgrades to the suspension to avoid loss of mobility due to the increased weight.

It was introduced in Update "Direct Hit". The Marder 1A3 is an improvement over the Marder A1- with additional High Hardness armour plates added all around the hull that should make the vehicle better withstand autocannon rounds from a distance, though close-range side armour is still paper thin. The additional armour implemented on Marder 1A3 does make the vehicle slightly heavier than the Marder A1-, and while this should make impact mobility slightly, the differences in in-game performance is negligible. Armament between the two variants are similar too, with the Marder 1A3 retaining the MILAN ATGM and the 20 mm Rh202 autocannon. Armament differences lay in the APDS availability for the 20 mm autocannon and the removal of the rear-mounted MG3A1, which greatly improves versatility, as the new DM63 rounds can now penetrate BMP based hulls from 500 meters and other comparable IFVs within 1000 meters, disregard the Warrior.

General info

Survivability and armour

The Marder 1A3's armour is minimal, albeit superior to it's predecessor's thanks to the use of High Hardness Rolled Armor instead of Rolled Homogenous Armor. This variant of the Marder is the only Marder based hull capable of deflecting APDS from the BMP-2 and similar IFVs. However, it is still very vulnerable to regular tank shells. Therefore, you must be careful to not expose the vehicle.

Armour type:

• High hardness rolled armour (hull front, roof, additional side plates)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull sides, rear, gun mount, cupola)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	11 + 8 mm (77°) Upper plate 32 + 32 mm (21-58°) Lower plate	15 + 8 mm (33°)Top 15 + 5 mm Bottom	11 mm (22°) Rear plate and hatch 5 mm (22°) Vents	11 + 8 mm (13°) Engine compartment 11 + 8 mm Crew compartment
Gun mount	25 + 20 mm (38°) Base front	20 + 15 mm	11-20 mm	11 mm
Cupola	11 mm	11 mm	11 mm	11 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.

Mobility

The mobility is very good with a top speed of 84 km/h both forwards and backwards. This makes you faster than most other tanks at this battle rating.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade				930			__.__
Realistic				531			__.__

Armaments

Main armament

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	57.1	79.1	96.0	106.2	112.9	10.40	9.20	8.48	8.00
Realistic						35.7	42.0	51.0	56.4	60.0

Ammunition

• Default: HVAP-T · HEFI-T
• DM51A1: HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HVAP-T
• DM43: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEFI-T
• DM63: APDS · APDS · APDS · 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
HEFI-T	7	6	5	3	2	2
APDS	66	61	45	31	21	14

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°
HEFI-T	1,100	0.13	0.1	0.1	11.05	79°	80°	81°
APDS	1,150	0.13	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Marder 1A3

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
6	4 (+2)	2 (+4)	0 (+6)	No

Notes:

• Ammunition is modeled as 6 belts of 200 rounds.
• Racks disappear after you've fired all belts in the rack.

Additional armament

MILAN missile				Reloading rate (seconds)
Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
4	±5°	N/A	N/A	13.00	11.50	10.60	10.00

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

Full ammo	Visual discrepancy
4	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.

Machine guns

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

Usage in battles

The Marder 1A3 is best used carefully, since most shells will penetrate your armour easily. The best tactic when hunting for enemy tanks is to hide behind cover and only expose your missile launcher or turret due to the smaller target. The Marder is highly capable of taking on air targets such as enemy close air support and helicopters. The 20mm gun is best used for air targets or enemy light tanks. If played correctly, the Marder can be a terror to the enemy team for both ground targets and air targets.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good mobility
• Respectable ATGM for defeating most tanks
• Equipped with thermal sights and laser rangefinder
• 20 mm autocannon is effective against aircraft
• Removal of the rear unmanned machine gun from the Marder A1- provides better view of the back
• Addition of the DM63 APDS belts increases the effectiveness of the 20 mm

Cons:

• Mediocre survivability
• Poor gun depression of the ATGM Launcher limits close-range effectiveness when the tank is on a high incline, and sometimes the missile will hit the ground regardless.
• Large profile
• Only carries 4 ATGMs

History

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Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Marder 1A3 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

• Marder A1-

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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