MEPHISTO
Contents
Description
The Véhicule de Combat Anti-Char, MEPHISTO is a rank French tank destroyer with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone".
General info
Survivability and armour
As with all French wheeled vehicles, the armour is little to none and MEPHISTO is no an exception. It barely has the armour to survive hits from 12.7 mm machine guns and in some places even 7.62 mm. The armour is not to be relied on due to the fact that even artillery fragmentation can pose a significant threat to the platform. However, due to the crew spacing, the first half of the crew being at the front and the other half far behind, both pairs being separated by the engine block, makes the MEPHISTO capable of surviving more than one hit from the side as long as the shot is not placed in the center of mass with explosive filler. However, the best armour is to not be seen in the first place.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 8 mm (27°) Top 8 mm (74°) Upper glacis 8 mm (45°) Lower glacis |
8 mm (28°) Top 8 mm (12°) Bottom |
8 mm (7°) | 8 mm |
| Turret | 5 mm Turret front | 5 mm | 5 mm | 5 mm |
| Cupola | 8 mm (cylindrical) | |||
Notes:
Mobility
Mobility-wise, the MEPHISTO leaves nothing to be desired. It is a fast and agile platform with a very high top speed. However, like other wheeled vehicles, it lacks traction in muddy and snowy terrain, draining the speed significantly. While it does not lack a decent reverse speed, it is certainly not the best, it can reach up to 9 km/h. It holds a significantly amazing acceleration and an amazing turn rate as the short length and both axle turn make it capable to do a full 360° turn in ~4-8 seconds depending on terrain. The MEPHISTO is also fully amphibious, meaning it can cross and reach specific places in the maps inaccessible to other vehicles.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | Expression error: Unexpected * operator. | 312 | Expression error: Unexpected round operator. | __.__ | |||
| Realistic | 195 | Expression error: Unexpected round operator. | __.__ | ||||
Modifications and economy
Armaments
Main armament
The MEPHISTO ('Module Élévateur Panoramique Hot Installé Sur Tourelle Orientable', French for "elevated panoramic HOT launch module on rotating turret") is the primary weapon mount. It is able to fire four HOT or HOT-2 missiles in a rapid succession. HOT missiles are nothing new to French commanders and they have proven to be very capable in combat. It is a similar system as the TUA ('TOW Under Armour') seen in the M901 but with differences. While it is able to hold double the amount of much more capable missiles, the reload rate is considerably slower for multiple reasons: turret traverse speed and missile reloading. However, it is significantly more powerful when it comes to penetration. It has an advantage over any missile carrier, the missile launcher does not have to be deployed while stationary and it is two-plane stabilized, meaning it is able to quickly brake and engage a target without the need of reacquiring the target. The stabilizer also proves to be beneficial when on water as the waves can make the launcher bounce, just as seen in the M901.
| HOT missile | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity (Belt) | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 12 (4) | ±10° | ±180° | Two-plane | 26.4 | 36.5 | 44.4 | 49.1 | 52.2 | 15.00 | 15.00 | 15.00 | 15.00 |
| Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| HOT | ATGM | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 |
| HOT-2 | ATGM | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
| HOT | ATGM | 250 | 4,000 | 23 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 3,800 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
| HOT-2 | ATGM | 250 | 4,000 | 23 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 4,870 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Usage in battles
The only reliable playstyle for the MEPHISTO is hull-down. In a battle, this vehicle is best played behind a rock, so that rounds won't dip and hit the main chassis. If this is not possible, try to find a ridge to hide behind or a depression in the terrain. Since your launcher is the only thing exposed, expect for your launcher to get hit and receive a 10-second repair. (Note for stock vehicles, you will still be able to fire). Some players will be smarter and will shoot HESH rounds at you, the splash damage will be enough to either overpressure or knock out the rest of the tank. Since you only have 12 missiles (4 in the launcher, 8 stowed away) you will have to be patient and skilled at using this missile. If in the right hands, it is incredibly strong and can hold an important spot and single handedly deny the enemy any chance of taking an area. This will reward you a large number of targets destroyed as well as gaining a large number of points from people shooting at the launcher.
However, there are a couple of issues. The missile can only be fired when stationary, though the launcher remains deployed even if moving at very high speeds. The reload also requires the launcher to traverse round towards the rear of the vehicle and further lengthening the reload. One way to combat this is to have the rear end of the vehicle towards the target, therefore reducing the time taken to traverse the launcher back to the firing position.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Amazing mobility and handling
- Potent ATGMs
- Gen 2 thermals
- Amphibious capabilities
Cons:
- Long reload
- Paper-thin armour
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
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 series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| France tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Lorraine 40t derivatives | CA Lorraine · Lorraine 155 Mle.50 |
| ATGM | MEPHISTO · AMX-10M |
| Other | AMR.35 ZT3 · Lorraine 37L · SAu 40 · ARL-44 · ELC bis · AMX-50 Foch · AuF1 |
| USA | ▄M10 GMC · ▄M36B2 |
