76 mm/60 AK-176M (76 mm)
Contents
Description
Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
The AK-176M is the russian equivalent of the 76 mm/62 OTO-Melara Compact. It has a similar handling to the AK-726 but with half the RPM due to being a single cannon. It has a fast aiming speed both vertically and horizontally, faster than the AK-726 and comparable to the OTO Melara 76/62. As already seen in Russian 76mm cannons, they tend to be a multi-purpose and reliable weapons against all sorts of threats: strong power against surface vessels and annihilating power against airborne threats. If somone is used to the handling and use of the OTO Melara 76/62 in the OTOMATIC or the Sparviero, you will immediately notice that it is nearly the exact same thing. One of the main downsides of the AK-176M compared to the OTO Melara 76/62 is the lack of armor piercing ammunition. As seen in game so far, the OTO Melara 76/62 has access to HE, HE-VT*, SAPOM and APFSDS (only available in the OTOMATIC). The AK-176M only and solely relies on HE and HE-VT*. This should not be underwhelming as they are very capable of decimating enemy targets.
Available ammunition
The AK-176M has access to exactly the same rounds seen in the AK-726: the 76 mm HE OF-62 and 76 mm HE ZS-62 HE-VT*. Noticing that the proxy fuze on the HE-VT* is not triggered when fired at surface targets, this is the recommended round to carry always due to the increased explosive load (from 400g to 480g) and the fact is has proxomity fuze that can be used in immediate defense against airborne targets. If the OTOMATIC has been used before, you will see that the proxy fuze makes aircraft engaging much easier with the minimal required ammo to fire. This is also shown in with the AK-726 but due to being dual cannon, the explosive damage is doubled and cannot be "exactly comparable".
| 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 | ||
| 76 mm HE OF-62 | HE | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 76 mm HE ZS-62 | HE-VT* | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of
warhead |
Velocity
(m/s) |
Projectile
Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay
(m) |
Fuse sensitivity
(mm) |
Explosive Mass
(TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| 76 mm HE OF-62 | HE | 980 | 5.9 | 0 | 0.1 | 616 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| 76 mm HE ZS-62 | HE-VT* | 980 | 5.9 | 0 | 0.1 | 739.2 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Comparison with analogues
Compared to AK-726:
It has a better handling in general, expected from a much modern weapon system with reduced annihilating power due to being half of the system. Regardless of that, the AK-176M is clearly one if not the best 76 mm deck gun seen in game after the OTO Melara 76/62. It should be notted it has a significantly reduced dispersion mainly for the fact it is A) a much modern system and B) a single cannon gun.
Compared to 76 mm/62 OTO-Melara Compact:
It is pretty much a copy paste of the OTO-Melara except that it does not have access to armor piercing ammunition. The fact it carries more ammunition (152 vs 115) makes it a higher capable gun in sustanined combat despite having a x4.2 slower firing rate (3s vs 0.7s). However, the lack of armor piercing ammunition really hits the AK-176M in anti-ship warfare as it is only able to effectively combat lightly armored vessels and lightly armored destroyers and frigates. Has absolutely no chance against cruisers (which are seen in 5.0+ games).
When talking about just the HE and HE-VT* shells, the OTO Melara 72/62 has a much higher explosive payload (nearly double) but has a significant speed loss (925 m/s vs 980 m/s). Both systems do the same purpose with different approaches, one uses a faster round with less payload and the other viceversa.
Compared to 3 inch Mk.33 (76 mm)
The AK-176M is overall better than the Mk.33 with exception of the RPM as the ships seen with this system have 2-4 cannons. It absolutely destroys the Mk.33 in terms of firing rate (compared to a single cannon) and the fact it has higher explosive payload for HE and HE-VT*. The main downside compared to Mk.33 is that it has access to APHE while the AK-176M does not.
Usage in battles
The AK-176M, again, has a very similar handling to the OTO Melara 76/62, a quick firing multi-purpose gun capable of destroying surface targets and annihilating airborne targets. The gun has two different engagement modes which will be described further:
Long range engagements w/ airborne engagements:
The fact the gun has a low disperssion and high muzzle velocity, meaning it has a high accuarcy, makes it very good at long range engagements. However, sometimes someone may go with a "happy trigger" and fire salvo after salvo of countless rounds to engage a target. That is exactly what you should not do in long range engagements. Instead, fire in salvos of 2-5 rounds to ensure accuarcy and reduce ammo waste. Make sure to not engage with targets past 10km. Past that range the gun looses tremendous accuarcy, if can reach ranges up to 15km but the optimal is smaller than 10km.
Airbone engagements:
It is pretty straight forward, detect/designate/track/engage. However, again with the happy trigger sydrome. Reduce the ammo waste by firing 2-5 round salvos. Hitting airborne targets is harder than surface targets despite the use of proximity fuze. Make sure you leave a firing gap between your first and second salvo. Example: first salvo of 3 rounds, wait for them to reach the target, confirm if there has been any hit or manuvering instead, correct aiming if needed, second salvo of 4 rounds, etc etc etc. The use of tracking radar makes plane hunting easier, but it should be notted that sometimes tracking radars tend to display a somewhat awkward lead indicator. Use it as a guide but do not solely rely on it.
Close range engagements w/ airboone engagements:
The story somewhat changes in this matter. The "happy trigger" syndrom here is not as backfiring as when in long range, instead, it is actually needed and required in some cases, specially when it comes to point blank defense or inside ranges closer than 1.5km. Salvos here are not exactly needed or there is a recommended salvo count. Fire at dicression. Be aware! If the gun keeps firing for long, it will overheat!
Airbrone engagements:
This is easier but trickier than long range, this is why: when it comes to close range air defense (0-5km), there is so much time you have to engage the target before it is too late, make sure you engage them ASAP. The main downside of close range engagements is the fact you have a much smaller correction window as the aircraft is able to fly above you, forcing you to elevate the gun completely and/or rotating to be able to keep him on sights, something that tends to create issues and reduced combat performance as you have your gun out of combat. While it does not take much time to aim once again, it sometimes can be the difference between life and death.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful ammunition
- Fast firing rate
- Enhanced accuarcy compared to previous systems
- Comparable to one of the most feared anti-air systems seen in game
Cons:
- Low ammo count (higher than some other high caliber corvettes and patrol boats though)
- Relys solely on HE ammunition
History
Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon 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 weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-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 />.
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 article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
- references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.
External links
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- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the weapon;
- other literature.
