Pr.183 BM-21
| This page is about the premium Soviet motor gun boat Pr.183 BM-21. For the regular version, see Pr.183. |
Contents
Description
The Pr.183 BM-21 (NATO: P-6) was a non-standard Project 183 PT boat, exported to Egypt, which had its rear turret and torpedoes removed for the installation of a BM-21 MLRS - likely an improvised solution during the Six-Day War as a means to bombard Israeli forces from coastal waters. The major difference between the Pr.183 and the Pr.183 BM-21 is the BM-21 Grad 122 mm MLRS launcher on its aft platform in place of the turret; it also features a new radar, replacing the original dome-like one.
The Pr.183 BM-21 was introduced during Update "Apex Predators" as a reward for Battle Pass: Season X, "Royal Guard". Although the installation of the BM-21 MLRS costed the aft autocannon turret and torpedo tubes, thus halving its firepower against light vessels, it now comes with forty 122 mm rockets situated at the aft, allowing players to utilise this infamous 'Hailstone (Grad)' to bombard even destroyers with salvos. However, do remember to take cover from time to time to maximise the survival of this vessel.
General info
Survivability and armour
Being one of the last PT boats built by the Soviet Union, the ship itself is rather unprotected: its hull is still made of wood, whereas only the 25 mm autocannon turret and superstructure are constructed with 4 mm hardened steel. Any projectile larger than rifle-calibre will have no problem penetrating the mere 4 mm of steel on the turret and command tower, let alone the hull itself, being only 10 mm of wood. A near-miss from higher calibre cannons can do serious damage to the ship itself.
Mobility
The ship is propelled by four M50-T diesel engines with 4 shafts, propelling the ship at up to 70 km/h (37.8 kt). This ensures the overall flexibility of the ship to retreat from a heated battlefield and navigate through complicated water channels.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 109 | 44 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 81 | 33 | |
Modifications and economy
2 × 100 / 150 / 50 % 2 × 154 / 154 / 154 % | Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
With the aft turret and torpedo tubes removed, the only main weapon onboard is the front 25 mm 2M-3 twin mount autocannon. While the ammo count and the penetration of the cannon is more than enough to tear down small vessels, this is the only primary armament: keep the turret in operation at all costs to maximise its efficiency.
Special armament
The 122 mm BM-21 rockets, commonly known as "Grad" (Hailstone), are installed as an MLRS. The launcher itself can traverse 360° thanks to its clearance to the superstructure. While the original intention of the MLRS on an attack boat was purely for coastal bombardments against enemy ground targets, if enemy boats or auxiliary ships such as minelayers or destroyer escorts are within its range, all the 40 rockets onboard with almost 10 kg TNT equivalent of explosive contents will certainly give them a bad day, either from being detonated on impact or critically damaged by the salvo.
Usage in battles
A common characteristic of PT boats is their rather unprotected hull and superstructure, this being especially true for the Pr.183 due to its size and weight. The ship has only 10 mm of wood for its hull and 4 mm steel for the turret and command tower; anything larger than .30 calibre has a very high chance of penetrating the ship itself, let alone direct hits from cannons. Staying away from the battlefield is therefore extremely crucial for its survival. This limitation is also exacerbated by the relatively small crew pool of only 16 members; even if the ship might remain afloat after a hit, the crews will be quickly depleted.
The Egyptian Navy removed the aft twin 25mm autocannon turret and torpedo tubes on board, installing a BM-21 MLRS instead. The projectiles themselves - 122 mm rockets with 10 kg of TNT - will be a nightmare for light vessels, as it will likely mean a knock-out for them. Even larger ships up to destroyers could fall victim to it, given its 40-shot salvo and potential to trigger extensive damage to exposed components or over-pressurize turrets, disabling the ship or sinking it outright. Although the Pr.183 has one less autocannon turret than its base model, the remaining 2M-3 twin mount 25 mm autocannon still has rather high penetration for its calibre and can deliver 120 shots per magazine; this makes it capable of causing havoc to ships that show their sides or have rear-mounted weaponry. To maximise the efficiency of the ship, it is suggested to play it as a "guerrilla-on-water", using its reasonable mobility to manoeuvre around inland channels where it can take cover behind terrain and then strike out for a sudden attack on enemy ships; alternatively taking cover and utilising the rockets to take down unnoticed enemies.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Extremely lethal twin 25 mm turret with high ammo count and devastating firepower
- Small and nimble for navigating through inland channels
- 40 rocket salvos with high explosive content, extremely lethal to smaller vessels
Cons:
- Equipped with only one turret and its rocket launchers
- Extremely fragile to gunfire
- The size of the rocket launcher could trigger a detonation and lead to complete loss
- Relative small crew pool for replacement
History
As one of the last PT boat classes built by the Soviet Union, the Project 183 Bolshevik class PT boat was a major export vessel to allied countries, including the PLAN (which later built them domestically as the Type 6602 under the June 4th Agreement), KPAN, and notably, the Egyptian Navy.
During Nasser's presidency, the country had a good relationship with the Soviet Union, which provided a significant amount of aid and military equipment, ranging from assault rifles to jet fighters. The Project 183 was also among the sales made to Egypt, with 46 boats delivered to their navy. Although already obsolete by the late 1960s, leading to some losses against Israel; in July 1967, two were sunk by Eilat. However, the Egyptian Navy gained revenge on 21st October 1967 by sinking Eilat and claiming the first anti-ship missile kill in history using a heavily-modified Project 183R with P-15 missiles.[1]
While the Egyptian Navy maintained a relatively large fleet of Project 183s, 12 boats were modified to carry BM-21 Grad MLRS at the cost of some onboard armaments; these ships would have likely been decommissioned by the late 20th century and very few images remain as proof of their existence.
Media
- Videos
See also
Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the ship;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
References
| USSR boats | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | D-3 · G-5 · G-5 (ShVAK) · Pr.123-bis · Pr.123K (A-10bis) · Pr.123K · Pr.183 |
| Motor gun boats | TKA-412 · MO-4 · OD-200 · Pr.253L · Pr.183 BM-21 · Ya-5M |
| Motor torpedo gun boats | Pr. 206 · Pr.206-M · MPK Pr.12412 · MPK Pr.12412P · MPK Pr.11451 |
| Gunboats | Groza |
| Armoured gun boats | BMO · MBK-161 early · MBK-161 late · MBK pr.186 · MBK pr.186 (MK 85) · Pr.1124 early · Pr.1124 late · Pr.1124 MLRS |
| Pr.191 · Pr.191M · Pr.1204 · Pr.1204 late | |
| USSR premium ships | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | G-5 (ShVAK) · Pr.123K (A-10bis) |
| Motor gun boats | TKA-412 · Pr.183 BM-21 · Ya-5M |
| Motor torpedo gun boats | MPK Pr.12412P |
| Armoured gun boats | MBK-161 early · MBK pr.186 (MK 85) · Pr.1124 MLRS · Pr.1204 |
| Sub-chasers | MPK Pr.122bis |
| Frigates | Rosomacha |
| Destroyers | Kerch · Ryany · Leningrad · Stroyny · Smelyi · Neustrashimy · Blagorodnyy |
| Light cruisers | Murmansk · Kerch · Zheleznyakov |
| Battleships | Marat |
