Tzefa A
| This page is about the Israeli attack helicopter Tzefa A. For other versions, see AH-1 (Family). |
Contents
Description
During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Israel saw a gap in their doctrine and armament. They realized that they lacked fast response units and that helicopters could be the way to go. The first batch of AH-1s (called Tzefa in Hebrew) arrived at Israel in 1977. During its early days, the Tzefa saw most of its actions in Lebanon, suppressing enemy uprisings, countering enemy armour and attacking entrenched infantry in buildings and fortifications. They also saw extensive use against Syria in the 1982 Lebanon War where several trucks and tanks were destroyed. The Tzefa had no modifications over the American AH-1G, but was upgraded over the years up to the Tzefa E variant. This helicopters were eventually fitted with TOW ATGMs and due to the US arms embargo they were used alongside MD-500 Defenders (Lahatut).
Introduced in Update "Danger Zone", the AH-1G Tzefa A has the same exact model and performance of the American AH-1G, thus they have the same performance. It's a fast helicopter, at its BR, it's quite agile but it lacks ATGMs unlike many helicopters. Instead of that, it only has access to rocket pods without ballistics computers. It also has 2 x 7.62 mm minguns and a 20 mm rotary cannon, but those are not very useful even against lightly armored targets. In Arcade Battles, the helicopter can be a little hard to level up, it could be used against enemy columns and positions but SPAA is very lethal at short ranges, so it's a good idea waiting for slower helicopters armed with ATGMs to take them out. In ground RB or SB, the Tzefa A can rush the frontline really quickly, and destroy a few targets if its flown with careful planning. Since SPAA can destroy you in a single salvo, it's a good idea using buildings and hills as cover and get close while the enemy is not engaging you.
General info
Flight performance
The Tzefa A has a relatively slow climb rate, descent speed, and mediocre acceleration. In order to accelerate quickly, you need to tip the nose of the helicopter almost perpendicular to the ground. The manoeuvrability is also quite descent at high speeds, having good control. However, something to note is that when trying to suddenly stop the helicopter, if you tip the nose up, you will start to roll to one side. This essentially eliminates the ability for this helicopter to stop quickly. Keep that in mind when flying this vehicle. There are several weapon selections for this vehicle. This includes a 20 mm cannon, 2 x 7.62 mm machine guns, 28 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets, or 76 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 1,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | ||
| Stock | 258 | 245 | 3475 |
| Upgraded | 296 | 277 | |
Survivability and armour
This helicopter is quite resilient when it comes to being hit. Being how skinny it is, it is quite hard to hit, especially when moving at high speeds. The pilot and gunner are secured in two separate cockpits in the front of the helicopter with 20 mm of kevlar protection for the crew. The most vulnerable part of the helicopter is the engine and tail. Being shot in these two vital places is almost guaranteed to send you back to the respawn screen. Being shot in the engine significantly decreases your flight performance which can lead to a crash due to terrain. Also, being shot in the tail will probably take out your tail control. With no tail control, you spin out of control and you'll crash.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The Tzefa A is armed with:
- A choice between two presets:
- 2 x 7.62 mm M134 Minigun machine guns (4,000 rpg = 8,000 total)
- 2 x 40 mm M129 cannons (300 rpg = 600 total)
There are essentially three options for offensive armaments. A 20 mm cannon, 2 x 7.62 machine guns, or FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets. The 20 mm cannons are good for dealing with light vehicles and IFVs. The 7.62 mm is good if you wish to defend yourself against open-top vehicles or planes, and the FFAR rockets are good for destroying tanks. Most of the time, you'll take the FFAR rockets into battle. These rockets are unguided, which means you'll need to "spam" them in order to hit a target.
Suspended armament
The Tzefa A can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mm M195 cannons (950 rpg) | 1 | ||||
| 7.62 mm M134 Minigun machine guns (1,500 rpg) | 1 | 1 | |||
| FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets | 7, 19 | 7, 19 | 7, 19 | 7, 19 |
| Default weapon presets | |
|---|---|
| |
Usage in battles
The Tzefa A is a quite low profile helicopter. This means you can easily "sneak" around the battlefield almost unseen. Your best element in this helicopter is the element of surprise. Try not to linger too long in any specific area, or you'll most definitely be shot down. Another tactic is to simply run straight into the battlefield at a low altitude, high speed, and "boom n zoom". Using this tactic is much riskier as you are most prone to being fired upon, but it also offers a quicker disengagement. The most dangerous enemies you'll encounter are the Gepard, Strela, and most AA at this BR. The best way to kill these targets is to fly low to the ground, and flank around to their side and shoot them.
In summary, the Tzefa A should be played cautiously. With correct usage, it can wreak havoc on the enemy team. Be careful when you come into contact with enemy AA, as you are very vulnerable in certain spots. Try to avoid getting shot in the engine and tail as those are vital to the flight of your helicopter. As you engage targets, make sure you always have a plan to disengage quickly in case things go wrong. Use the low profile of the helicopter to your advantage to "sneak" around and only pop up when you're about to strike.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High manoeuvrability
- Lots of rockets
- Low profile makes it a small target to hit
- The airframe is very resilient
- High speed
Cons:
- Being shot in the engine/tail is almost guaranteed to knock the helicopter out
- Low climb rate
- Cannot stop quickly if needed
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the helicopter 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
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Related development
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Bell Aircraft Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Aircraft | |
| Fighters | P-39N-0 · P-39Q-5 |
| P-400 | |
| P-63A-10 · P-63A-5 · P-63C-5 · ␠Kingcobra | |
| Jet Fighters | P-59A |
| Export | ▂P-39K-1 · ▂Pokryshkin's P-39N-0 · ▂P-39Q-15 · ▄P-39Q-25 |
| ▂P-63A-5 · ▂P-63A-10 · ▂P-63C-5 · ▄P-63C-5 | |
| Helicopters | |
| Attack | AH-1F · AH-1G · AH-1Z · AH-1W |
| OH-58D | |
| Utility | UH-1B · UH-1C · UH-1C XM-30 |
| Export/Licensed | ▅UH-1B · ◄UH-1D |
| Tzefa A · Tzefa B · Tzefa D/E · ▅AH-1S early · ▅AH-1S · ▅AH-1S Kisarazu · ␗AH-1W | |
| ␗OH-58D | |
| See Also | Fuji Heavy Industries · Agusta |
| Israel helicopters | |
|---|---|
| Attack | |
| MD 500 | Lahatut |
| Battle Hawk | AH-60 |
| Cobra | Tzefa D/E · Tzefa A · Tzefa B |
| Apache | Saraph · Peten · AH-64A Peten |
