SPz 12-3 LGS

SPz 12-3 LGS

SPz 12-3 LGS

Description

The Schützenpanzer 12-3 mit Leichtgeschütz is a premium gift rank German light tank with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "La Royale" as a reward for Battle Pass: Season XII, "Armour Breaking Ambusher".

General info

Survivability and armour

The protection of the SPz is poor, even for that of a light tank. The armour is scarcely sufficient to defend itself against heavy machine gun fire, with the majority of the hull and portions of the turret easily ripped to shreds. However, the poor armour protection can sometimes be a benefit, with rounds capable of passing through one side and out the other if lucky enough.

The SPz 12-3's crew compartment is a bit strange in terms of layout, with 3 of the crew being cramped together in the nose of the vehicle near the turret and the other two being fairly separated from the pack. This can allow for players in this vehicle to take a hit and survive, with crew often able to simply change positions, provided the vehicle does not explode from its ammo storage being essentially all over the vehicle.

The one redeeming quality in terms of survivability this vehicle has is its extremely small stature. This enables the SPz to very easily hide behind objects that would otherwise be of little use to its larger counterparts, and even operate its gun from behind appropriately sized obstacles with no risk of being destroyed, as the recoilless rifle sits well above the squishy body of this light tank.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	30 mm (55°) Upper glacis 20 mm (45°) Lower glacis	15 mm (34°) Top 15 mmBottom	20 mm (55°) Upper glacis 20 mm (45°) Lower glacis	30 mm (35°) Front glacis 10 mm Crew and engine compartments 20 mm (35°) Rear glacis
Turret	30 mm (55°) Turret front 30 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet	15 mm (14-17°)	15 mm (14-15°)	30 mm (35°) Turret front 10 mm (6°) Turret rear)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, tracks, and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 11 mm thick.
• Track undersides are 10 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				341			__.__
Realistic				195			__.__

Armaments

Main armament

106 mm M40A1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	28	-6°/+13°	±180°	-	9.5	__._	__._	__._	__._	13.00	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic					5.9	__._	__._	__._	__._

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
M344A1	HEAT	433	433	433	433	433	433
M361A1	HESH	152	152	152	152	152	152

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M344A1	HEAT	503	7.96	0	0.01	1.65	65°	72°	77°
M361A1	HESH	498	7.95	0.1	4	5.04	73°	77°	80°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
28	25 (+3)	21 (+7)	1 (+27)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear from the rack after having been loaded into the breech.
• Rack 3 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 20 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
• This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 3 - 1 - 2.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 and 2 into rack 3. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.

Additional armament

20 mm MK20-1						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	600 (120)	900	-6°/+20°	±100°	-	29	__._	__._	__._	__._	9.10	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic						18	__._	__._	__._	__._

Ammunition

• DM51A1: HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HVAP-T
• DM43: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEFI-T

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
5	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

12.7 mm M80
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	120 (5)	300	-	-

Usage in battles

In this vehicle, every other vehicle is a major threat to your existence. Cover, concealment, scouting, and striking first are essential if you want to effectively use this vehicle. Although it may be small and pack a punch like its Italian cousin, the FIAT 6614, you will not be able to speed across the map and take up positions quickly. Lying in wait, traveling beneath cover, and striking from the sides will get you the most success. The recoilless rifle mounted on this vehicle will afford you some amount of leeway in terms of shot placement, but be aware that the drop on projectiles is quite significant, and ranging may be necessary if you are not familiar with the shot arc, even at relatively close ranges.

It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with roof height obstacles and terrain. These will afford you useful positions to occupy and fire from as your weapon sits high above the roof and can expose itself worry-free as the rest of your tank sits behind these objects.

Pros and cons

Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".

Pros:

Cons:

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

Videos

The Shooting Range #367 - Metal Beasts section at 00:24 discusses the SPz 12-3 LGS.

Battle Pass: Armour Breaking Ambusher discusses the SPz 12-3 LGS at 2:37 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

Related development

• Schutzenpanzer Lang (Family)

External links

• [Devblog] Battle Pass vehicles: SPz 12-3