M109G
Contents
Description
The M109G is a rank IV German tank destroyer with a battle rating of 6.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Kings of Battle".
General info
Survivability and armour
Similar to all other vehicles in the M109 family, the M109G lacks for armour whatsoever, and will only stop light machine gun rounds. Although, on paper, the vehicle is protected by ~30 mm of armour frontally, it being made of aluminium reduces its effectiveness. Strafing aircraft, even those with only .50 cals, will be deadly to the M109.
The SPH has a generous 6 crew member count, five in the turret and one in the hull. Thanks to the gigantic gun breech, the turret crew sits far apart, with the gunner sitting on the left (from rear POV). Thus, a penetrating hit from AP/APHE shells will rarely one-shot you. They will most likely take out the large breech or destroy the gun barrel instead, far worse than losing a few crew members. Thankfully, the driver and engine sit away from the turret, oftentimes allowing you to escape after suffering a hit. Other HE/HEAT slingers, though (e.g. M109A1, 2S1), will perforate your vehicle no matter what. Overall, try not to be hit, and break cover only to fire.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | ___ mm | ___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom |
___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Turret | ___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet |
___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Cupola | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm |
Notes:
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 | 62 | 13 | 24.5 | 575 | 773 | 23.47 | 31.55 |
| Realistic | 57 | 12 | 358 | 405 | 14.61 | 16.53 | |
The M109G is sufficiently fast to allow it to be able to get to a position in time, without being flanked immediately by other, faster tanks. The M109G does feature neutral steering, which allows it to turn in place which helps its agility when turning. The M109G's turning is also decent enough for the job.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Like with all ground vehicles, always research parts first. Proceed, then, to mitigate the terrible turret traverse with "Horizontal Drive" and (if you so desire) "Tracks". An improved "Brake System" and "Suspension" will help the gun stabilize faster. At Tier III, prioritize "Elevation Mechanism" for even better gun controls. Then, research smoke screen, or skip to engine upgrades.
Armaments
Main armament
What makes the M109G so lethal is its gun: a huge 155 mm howitzer. Being a cold-war invention, the gun can fire HE rounds with 9 kilograms of TNT equivalent. When properly aimed, it will take out any tank, up to top-tier MBTs. To do so, aim at either the lower turret face or turret top to destroy the weak roof armour on tanks. Refrain from shooting the hull, as tracks will frequently absorb the round, or pure armour will prevent it from dealing damage. The stock HE shell should be your main choice.
There is an unlockable HE-VT round that can be utilized against planes, but its mere 3 metre trigger radius and low velocity discourages an AA play style. Another option, the M110 shell, will deploy a smoke screen wherever it lands. On other tanks, this may be useful in certain situations, but the long reload time, and the fact that HE shells do not lose penetration over range, makes firing smoke questionable at best.
| 155 mm M126 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 28 | -3°/+75° | ±180° | - | 9.7 | 13.4 | 16.3 | 18.0 | 19.1 | 17.29 | 15.30 | 14.10 | 13.30 |
| Realistic | 6.5 | 7.7 | 9.4 | 10.3 | 11.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| M107 | HE | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 |
| M107 (PF) | HE-VT | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| M107 | HE | 563 | 43.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 9.14 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Proximity-fused shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| M107 (PF) | HE-VT | 580 | 43.1 | 0 | 0 | 300 | 3 | 9.14 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |
| Smoke shell characteristics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Screen radius (m) |
Screen deploy time (s) |
Screen hold time (s) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
| M110 | 717 | 44.63 | 21 | 5 | 30 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
A main feature that separates the M109G from most others in the M109 family is the lack of a .50 cal defensive MG. Instead, a low-calibre 7 mm is present, offering little protection against planes. Never rely on this gun, and certainly do not fire at planes with this (unless they are diving at you), since it will attract their attention to a juicy target.
| 7.62 mm MG3A1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 2,000 (200) | 1,200 | -10°/+50° | ±180° |
Usage in battles
Originally designed to provide heavy fire support for armoured forces by the United States Army, the M109G should be played in a similar role in War Thunder. Stick close to allies, and act as manually-aimed artillery, engaging enemies while they are distracted.
It is advised not to engage in a sniping engagement with other tanks, especially if you have the high ground. Due to the poor gun depression and difficult to master shell arc, it is extremely difficult to hit enemies at range. Instead, attempt to target enemies at medium to short range, preferably with immediate cover available after firing. Utilize the reverse speed to back away from cover, exposing only your turret, and fire. Never attempt to brawl on this vehicle; an inadequate turret traverse, coupled with painfully long reload speed, reduces your ability to quickly react.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Quite mobile with good reverse speed
- Smoke grenades can cover you whilst reloading
- Thin armour
- Most APHE shells won't fuse
- Most AP derivatives won't create sufficient spalling
- Powerful armament, can one-shot anything
- Neutral steering
- The commander mounted MG3A1 (7.62 mm) has an extremely fast fire rate making it effective against closeby flying aircraft
Cons:
- Only -3° gun depression
- Slow turret traverse speed
- Almost nonexistent armour
- Thin enough that LMG fire potentially penetrates
- Long reload
- Slow shell velocity and average optics zoom making it hard for sniping
- No .50 cal HMG
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:
External links
| Germany tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Pz. I Derivatives | Panzerjäger I |
| Pz. II Derivatives | 15cm sIG 33 B Sfl |
| Pz. 38(t) Derivatives | Marder III · Marder III H · Jagdpanzer 38(t) |
| Pz. III Derivatives | StuG III A · StuG III F · StuG III G · StuH 42 G |
| Pz. IV Derivatives | Jagdpanzer IV · Panzer IV/70(A) · Panzer IV/70(V) · Dicker Max · Nashorn · Brummbär · VFW |
| Pz. V Derivatives | Jagdpanther G1 · Bfw. Jagdpanther G1 |
| Pz. VI Derivatives | Sturer Emil · Elefant · Ferdinand · 38 cm Sturmmörser · Jagdtiger |
| Wheeled/Half-track | 8,8 cm Flak 37 Sfl. · Sd.Kfz.251/9 · Sd.Kfz.251/10 · Sd.Kfz.251/22 · Sd.Kfz.234/3 · Sd.Kfz.234/4 · 15 cm Pz.W.42 |
| ATGM Carrier | RakJPz 2 · RakJPz 2 (HOT) · Wiesel 1A2 |
| Other | Waffenträger · M109G · JPz 4-5 · Raketenautomat · VT1-2 |
