M3A3 Bradley
Contents
Description
The Fighting Vehicle, Cavalry, M3A3 is a rank VII American light tank with a battle rating of 10.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Ixwa Strike". The M3A3 variant differs mainly from the M3 Bradley by its laser rangefinder, its APFSDS belt for the 25 mm cannon and more powerful TOW missiles.
General info
Survivability and armour
Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.
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 | 68 | 16 | 29.9 | 942 | 1,145 | 31.51 | 38.29 |
| Realistic | 62 | 14 | 538 | 600 | 17.99 | 20.07 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
| 25 mm M242 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 1,500 (300) | 201 | -9°/+59° | ±180° | Two-plane | 57.1 | 79.1 | 96.0 | 106.2 | 112.9 | 0.26 | 0.23 | 0.21 | 0.20 |
| Realistic | 35.7 | 42.0 | 51.0 | 56.4 | 60.0 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: APDS · HEI-T*
- M791: APDS · APDS · APDS · HEI-T*
- M919: APFSDS
| Penetration statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | |
| Default | 81 | 80 | 76 | 70 | 66 | 61 |
| M791 | 81 | 80 | 76 | 70 | 66 | 61 |
| M919 | 101 | 100 | 97 | 93 | 89 | 85 |
| Belt details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| M919 | APFSDS | 1,385 | 0.1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Additional armament
Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on about how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.
| BGM-71 TOW missile | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity (Belt) | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| 12 (2) | -19°/+29° | N/A | N/A | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
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 | ||
| TOW-2 | ATGM | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| TOW-2B | ATGM | 430 | 430 | 430 | 430 | 430 | 430 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| TOW-2 | ATGM | 329 | 21.4 | 0 | 0.01 | 3,130 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
| TOW-2B | ATGM | 309 | 22.6 | 0 | 0.01 | 4,100 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
| 7.62 mm M240 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 4,400 (200) | 941 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Access to a full belt of 25 mm APFSDS shells - higher consistent performance against (the sides of) enemy vehicles than the M3 Bradley's mixed APDS/HEI-T belts
- Access to the fast travelling TOW-2B top-attack missile - capable of penetrating the weak top armour of enemy tanks, and targeting vehicles that are hiding behind cover
- Access to excellent 2nd generation gunner's thermals and CITV
- Respectable reverse of -13 km/h
- Scouting ability
- Can use the engine smoke system mechanic - deployment of a smoke screen by using the engine and its fuel
- Good mobility
- Can engage enemy aerial vehicles with the main gun due to +59 degrees of gun elevation
- -9 gun depression and a small turret mean you can effectively use hull down tactics
- Laser rangefinder for the main gun
- Great zoom of 4.0x - 12.0x and a good sight FOV of 18-6
- The TOW-2B missiles, scouting mechanic and excellent thermals make the M3A3 very effective even at top tier
- More armour than the M3 Bradley, can absorb up to 30 mm APDS (as fired by, for example, the BMP-2) in some places at range
- Quick turret traverse
- Decent reactive mobility
- Shreds light vehicles and lightly armoured MBTs with the APFSDS belt
Cons:
- Slightly less mobile and less willing to accelerate than the preceding M3 Bradley, due to the increase in weight
- Continuously firing the main gun increases dispersion, thereby reducing accuracy
- Low rate of fire for the main gun
- Cannot fire missiles while moving at a speed greater than 4 km/h
- Missile launchers take some time to deploy
- Cannot reliably engage enemy MBTs from the front with 25 mm APFSDS
- Infrared countermeasures (as found on the French AMX-30B2 BRENUS and Russian T-90A) will knock the missiles off course
- Despite the increase in armour over the regular M3, the armour is still thin and only 3 crewmembers - low survivability
- Missiles can be detonated when hit by enemy fire, even while still in the launcher
History
Devblog
Following the Gulf War of the early 1990's, US engineers developed a new modification of the widely used M3 Bradley in order to incorporate improvements derived from the operational experience gained during the conflict. As such, the Bradley received numerous upgrades to its electronic systems, including a new fire control system, a laser rangefinder and thermal imaging for the commander along with other improvements to the vehicle's protection and firepower.
The M3A3 modification of the Bradley started being shipped to the first U.S. Army units in 1998 with the first vehicles officially entering service in 2000. By late 2010, well over 3,300 Bradleys were converted to the A3 standard and the vehicle continues serving as one of the cornerstones of the U.S. armored units today.
Media
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.
| USA light tanks | |
|---|---|
| LVT | LVT(A)(1) · ○LVT(A)(1) · LVT(A)(4) |
| M2 | M2A2 · M2A4 · M2A4 (1st Arm.Div.) |
| M3/M5 Stuart | M3 Stuart · M3A1 Stuart · M3A1 (USMC) · M5A1 · M5A1 TD · ▃Stuart VI (5th CAD) |
| M22 Locust | M22 |
| M24 Chaffee | M24 · M24 (TL) |
| M18 Hellcat | M18 GMC · M18 "Black Cat" · Super Hellcat |
| M41 Walker Bulldog | M41A1 |
| M551 Sheridan | M551 · M551(76) |
| M3 Bradley | M3 Bradley · M3A3 Bradley |
| Wheeled | M8 LAC · T18E2 · M1128 · M1128 Wolfpack |
| Other | M8A1 GMC · T92 · T114 · HSTV-L · CCVL · XM8 · XM800T · AGS |
