Difference between revisions of "M113A1 (TOW)"

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== General info ==
 
== General info ==
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpfull for survival in combat?''
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<!--''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpfull for survival in combat?''
  
''If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''
+
''If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''-->
 +
 
 +
The vehicle profile is literally a rectangle. Only the front is slightly sloped, to increase protection from machine gun fire. There isn't much else worth firing at, but launcher, machine gun and vehicle itself.
 +
 
 +
Armour of M113A1 barely stops 7.62 mm machine gun fire, anything of higher caliber will very likely penetrate it.
 +
 
 +
Gunner is standing outside of vehicle, directing the launcher, and thus can be hit. In fact, if someone accidentally hits rangefinder (near to launcher) with APHE, it may detonate right into their face.
 +
 
 +
Since armour is very thin it often does not detonate shells, and armour-ripping shells cause less than fatal damage. Vehicle also seems to not have hull break, as ATGM hits to the side in arcade mode only set it on fire.
 +
 
 +
All in all, it's best to just get out of the way of other tanks and sneak around.
  
 
=== Mobility ===
 
=== Mobility ===
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== Armaments ==
 
== Armaments ==
 
=== Main armament ===
 
=== Main armament ===
''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.''
+
<!--''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.''-->
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 +
Vehicle is using TOW missile launcher on it's back to attack enemy. It only has 10 shots.
 +
 
 +
ATGM loaded in this launcher have 2 purposes: Be extremely fast, and attack at absurd ranges. As such, of all ATGMs at it's BR, this one is probably one of the fastest with launch and top speed of 300 m/s. It can be easily beaten by hybrid tank ATGMs, but they're mostly used since BR of 9.
 +
 
 +
The placement of weapon is high enough to fire over cover, but problem is, since in case of this vehicle gunner stands tall outside of vehicle all the time and can be easily hit, it's hardly an advantage.
 +
 
 +
Launcher has rather limited arc of fire - 45 degrees in either direction, which isn't compensated by missile's characteristics, like in case of [[Swingfire]] or armour like in case of [[IT-1]]. If you want to fire over cover, you'll probably need to stand far away from the enemy and cover, or right in front of cover.
  
 
=== Machine guns ===
 
=== Machine guns ===
 
<!--''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.''-->
 
<!--''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.''-->
The single 12.7 mm machine gun can be effective when fighting against open-topped vehicles or to cause some confusion to your enemies as you reload your vehicle. At your battle rating, all you can do against air vehicles is keep helicopters from getting too comfy, the rest should be left to the designated anti-air vehicles.  
+
The single 12.7 mm machine gun can be effective when fighting against open-topped vehicles or to cause some confusion to your enemies as you reload your vehicle.  
 +
 
 +
Technically, you can use it against other poorly armored ATGM carriers, but the idea of them directly attacking your vehicle is rather ridiculous.
 +
 
 +
At your battle rating, all you can do with it against air vehicles is to keep helicopters from getting too comfy, the rest should be left to the designated anti-air vehicles or your main weapon, if necessary.
  
 
== Usage in the battles ==
 
== Usage in the battles ==
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'''Pros:'''
 
'''Pros:'''
 
* The obscene lack of armour makes it possible for over penetration (combined side armour amounts to less than the shell detonation value)
 
* The obscene lack of armour makes it possible for over penetration (combined side armour amounts to less than the shell detonation value)
 +
* It seems as if the vehicle was specifically designed for Realistic mode, where it's weaknesses don't really matter, and fast ATGMs can oneshot tanks before they can even react
  
 
'''Cons:'''  
 
'''Cons:'''  
 
* Extremely vulnerable against anything better than a standard machine gun
 
* Extremely vulnerable against anything better than a standard machine gun
 +
* Rather slow
 +
* Gunner can be taken out by ''anything''
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==

Revision as of 14:39, 25 April 2019

M113A1 (TOW)
it_m113a1_tow.png
M113A1 (TOW)
Research:135 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:380 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png

Description

GarageImage M113A1 (TOW).jpg


The OTO Melara VTC M113A1 TOW is a Rank VI Italy tank destroyer with a battle rating of 8.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic".

General info

Survivability and armour

The vehicle profile is literally a rectangle. Only the front is slightly sloped, to increase protection from machine gun fire. There isn't much else worth firing at, but launcher, machine gun and vehicle itself.

Armour of M113A1 barely stops 7.62 mm machine gun fire, anything of higher caliber will very likely penetrate it.

Gunner is standing outside of vehicle, directing the launcher, and thus can be hit. In fact, if someone accidentally hits rangefinder (near to launcher) with APHE, it may detonate right into their face.

Since armour is very thin it often does not detonate shells, and armour-ripping shells cause less than fatal damage. Vehicle also seems to not have hull break, as ATGM hits to the side in arcade mode only set it on fire.

All in all, it's best to just get out of the way of other tanks and sneak around.

Mobility

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and maneuverability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.

Armaments

Main armament

Vehicle is using TOW missile launcher on it's back to attack enemy. It only has 10 shots.

ATGM loaded in this launcher have 2 purposes: Be extremely fast, and attack at absurd ranges. As such, of all ATGMs at it's BR, this one is probably one of the fastest with launch and top speed of 300 m/s. It can be easily beaten by hybrid tank ATGMs, but they're mostly used since BR of 9.

The placement of weapon is high enough to fire over cover, but problem is, since in case of this vehicle gunner stands tall outside of vehicle all the time and can be easily hit, it's hardly an advantage.

Launcher has rather limited arc of fire - 45 degrees in either direction, which isn't compensated by missile's characteristics, like in case of Swingfire or armour like in case of IT-1. If you want to fire over cover, you'll probably need to stand far away from the enemy and cover, or right in front of cover.

Machine guns

The single 12.7 mm machine gun can be effective when fighting against open-topped vehicles or to cause some confusion to your enemies as you reload your vehicle.

Technically, you can use it against other poorly armored ATGM carriers, but the idea of them directly attacking your vehicle is rather ridiculous.

At your battle rating, all you can do with it against air vehicles is to keep helicopters from getting too comfy, the rest should be left to the designated anti-air vehicles or your main weapon, if necessary.

Usage in the battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • The obscene lack of armour makes it possible for over penetration (combined side armour amounts to less than the shell detonation value)
  • It seems as if the vehicle was specifically designed for Realistic mode, where it's weaknesses don't really matter, and fast ATGMs can oneshot tanks before they can even react

Cons:

  • Extremely vulnerable against anything better than a standard machine gun
  • Rather slow
  • Gunner can be taken out by anything

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read 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.

ETC.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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


Italy tank destroyers
  Italy
M41  75/18 M41 · 75/32 M41 · 90/53 M41M
M42  75/34 M42
M43  105/25 M43 · M43 "G.C.Leoncello" · 75/34 M43 · 75/46 M43
Wheeled  Lancia 3Ro (100/17) · AS 42/47 · Breda 90/53 · Breda 501
Other  L3/33 CC · 47/32 L40
Germany  ▄StuG III G
USA  M36B1 · ▄M109G · M113A1 (TOW)
  Hungary
Zrínyi  Zrinyi I · Zrinyi II
USSR  ◔2S1