BT-42

BT-42

BT-42

Description

The BT-42 is a rank Swedish tank destroyer with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "Fire and Ice".

Perhaps one of the most iconic light tank in Finland service and being a "meme" tank among players due to its screen time in Japanese animation film; this captured BT-7 modified with a huge QF 4.5 inch howitzer onboard will strike fears to enemies with its fearsome firepower while still retaining the iconic fast and nimble of a BT light tank.

General info

Survivability and armour

If only looking at the hull alone, BT-42 is exactly like any other BT-7 tanks in Soviet service; but what makes it stand out among its "ancestors" is the turret- Finnish upgraded its gun with British QF 4.5-inch (114 mm) howitzer and installed it along with a new welded turret that somewhat resemble to the infamous KV-2 from Soviet Union as well. But the common feature of BT tanks still persist on BT-42, namely its poor protection; other than the mantle, any high-caliber machine guns will have no trouble penetrating its armor even at longer ranges, especially its hull. So be extra careful on where to appear at uptier battles where HMGs such as M2HB start to be common.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	5 mm (61°) Upper front glacis 20 mm (18°) Driver's hatch 20 mm (5-52°) Lower front glacis	20 mm Driver compartment 15 + 4 mm Fighting & engine compartments	10 mm (55°) Upper glacis 13 mm (15°) Centre plate 13 mm (58°) Lower glacis	10 mm 4 mm Engine vents
Turret	16 mm Turret front 16 mm Gun mantlet	16 mm	16 mm	9 mm

Notes:

Mobility

Finnish didn't upgrade BT-42's powerplant as it was deemed sufficient, so it retained the same Mikulin M-17T engine and transmission; for players of Soviet BT tanks, they will soon get on hand with the excellent mobility at its rank and make sure it can flank the enemies with ease.

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

Armaments

Main armament

The most iconic feature of BT-42 is the QF 4.5-inch howitzer from Great Britain (named as 114 mm Psv.H/18 in Finnish service); although the revised turret that fits this very gun turns even slower than the original BT-7, if aimed properly, it can even hit tanks behind cover thanks to its ballistics of a howitzer.

114 mm Psv.H/18					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	22	-5°/+25°	±180°	N/A	__._	__._	__._	__._	__._	13.0	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic					__._	__._	__._	__._	__._

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
akr 32/41	HE	25	25	25	25	25	25
hkr 42/C	HEAT	115	25	25	25	25	25

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%
akr 32/41	HE	350	14.4	N/A	0.1	2	79°	80°	81°
hkr 42/C	HEAT	357	13.5	0.05	0.1	2.55	62°	69°	73°

The stock akr 32/41 round is an HE shell, although its velocity at barely supersonic makes it unsuitable for hitting mobile targets at some distance; but thanks to its 2 kg of explosives, if it hits the roof armor of tanks or spots that will cause overpressure, it can make sure the crew will knock-out right away, let alone a near-miss to truck-based SPAAs at its rank with minimal protection; alternatively, the curve ballistic also means a bad news for enemies who took cover at longer ranges- there are still chances of being hit from the roof.

The only researchable round, hkr 42/C is a HEAT round; while it can functionally replace the stock shell and penetrates up to 115 mm of armor at any given range, do remember that HEAT has very few spalling against heavier targets, so make sure to hit the ammunition of enemy targets.

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
22	17 (+5)	12 (+10)	6 (+16)	0 (+22)	No

Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

Pros:

• One of the largest guns of its rank
• Fast and nimble for flanking
• Surprisingly fast reload for its calibre
• Both HE and HEAT have high explosive contents
• HEAT has extremely high penetration for its rank

Cons:

• Lightly armoured
• Big profile
• Slow turret traverse
• HEAT is still unreliable
• uptierd to 2.7 frequently

History

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Media

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See also

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• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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Sweden tank destroyers
Strv m/41 derivatives	Spj fm/43-44 · Sav m/43 (1944) · Sav m/43 (1946) · Pvkv II · Pvkv III
Ikv 72/103	Ikv 72 · Ikv 103
Pvkv m/43	Pvkv m/43 (1946) · Pvkv m/43 (1963)
ATGM	UDES 33 · Pbv 302 (BILL) · Pvrbv 551
Other	SAV 20.12.48 · Bkan 1C
Norway	VIDAR