LCM(6) Zippo

LCM(6) Zippo

LCM(6) Zippo

USA

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Armored gun boat

Heavy boat

Boat

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

Description

The Landing Craft Support (Flamethrower) Zippo is a premium gift rank III American armoured gun boat with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Fire and Ice" as a reward for Battle Pass: Season IX, "Smell of Victory".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Main fire tower25 / 25 / 25 mm

Hull6 mm (steel)

Superstructure4 mm (steel)

Number of section3

Displacement77 t

Crew15 people

Steel screens and armoured plates cover the side of the Zippo's 6 mm steel hull. The superstructure and turrets are covered in plating equivalent to or better than the famed USSR gunboats at the same battle rating. These plates will protect the turrets and bridge crew against machine guns and light auto-cannons, but will offer little resistance against AP shells from heavy cannons. However, the screens do act as a sort of spaced armour, detonating HE shells and even stopping 40 mm explosive rounds from breaching the hull behind them. The wide and unprotected bow often makes for a good target, with the associated compartment extending nearly half the length of the boat and housing a third of her crew. Given the location of her main gun and the location of her ammo racks, as well as her obvious lack of mobility, it is advised to attack enemies while facing them bow-on.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB21 / 16 km/h

RB16 / 12 km/h

The Zippo is easily a contender for the slowest boat in the game, only capable of an agonizing 16 km/h in RB - even slower than the infamously sluggish German flak barges. In some cases, it can take nearly the entire match to reach a capture point! For this reason, you're going to want to find a spot with solid land cover and good visibility so that you can support your team with ranged fire or pick off flankers trying to stall their advance. While the flamethrowers are very deadly, their short range and your slow speed prevents you from using them in most circumstances.

Like Soviet riverboats, the shallow draft of the vessel contributes to poor stability on the waves. It's advised to move across the waves rather than over them, since her wide hull can somewhat reduce the roll imparted as they impact the vessel. Her incredibly low top speed and rapid-fire armament are also beneficial in compensating for inaccuracy should you be forced into poor weather or open seas.

Finally, this boat is very sluggish in turns, but can slow or stop quickly should that be required. The hull produces substantial drag while turning, which can be used to rapidly bleed off the little speed you have and assist the engines as you go full astern.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	21	16
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	16	12

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB1 547

RB3 018

Crew training10 000

Experts115 000

Aces500

Research Aces640 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 110 / 170 / 50 %

2 × 142 / 142 / 142 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Rudder Replacement Propeller Replacement Engine Maintenance	Damage Control Division Fire Division Smokescreen New Pumps	Anti-Air Armament Targeting 40 mm HE clips 20 mm HE magazines Auxiliary Armament Targeting 40 mm AP clips 20 mm AP magazines Primary Armament Targeting Artillery Support

Armament

Primary armament

Turret40 mm Bofors L/60 Mark 3 gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity4 rounds

Fire rate160 shots/min

Vertical guidance-1° / 30°

Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: {{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.

• Universal: AP-T · HEFI-T
• 40 mm AP clips: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · HEFI-T
• 40 mm HE clips: HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T · AP-T

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEFI-T	3	3	3	3	3	3
AP-T	81	78	68	58	49	41

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEFI-T	874	0.9	0	0.1	67.13	79°	80°	81°
AP-T	874	0.89	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°

Secondary armament

Turret20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II autocannon

Ammunition1800 rounds

Belt capacity60 rounds

Fire rate450 shots/min

3 х Turret12.7 mm Browning AN-M2 machine gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Fire rate577 shots/min

4 х Turret7.62 mm M73 machine gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Fire rate500 shots/min

Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control Select secondary weapon. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.

• Universal: HEF-T · HEF-I · AP-T
• 20 mm HE: HEF-T · HEF-I · AP-T · HEF-I
• 20 mm AP: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · HEF-I

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEF-T	2	2	2	2	2	2
AP-T	34	32	24	17	12	8
HEF-I	2	2	2	2	2	2

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEF-T	830	0.12	0	0.1	6.57	79°	80°	81°
AP-T	830	0.12	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
HEF-I	830	0.12	0	0.1	11.17	79°	80°	81°

Anti-aircraft armament

2 х TurretFlamethrower

Ammunition800 rounds

Belt capacity800 rounds

Fire rate1200 shots/min

Flamethrowers are a very unique weapon in naval battles and can even burn on the ocean's surface. The system mounted to the LCM(6) Zippo has long range for a flamethrower, but it is very short-ranged in terms of naval weapons - typically only able to hit targets out to 200 metres.

Like the Churchill Crocodile, one of this weapon system's disadvantages is being mounted to a vehicle that cannot quickly close the gap between it and the enemy to get within range. If they do, however, the flamethrower can make quick work of small vessels with open gun positions. Larger vessels hit by the flamethrowers can be distracted by the fires, as they can be deadly if left uncontrolled.

Though the system is bound to the anti-aircraft suite, the flamethrowers unfortunately do not have the traverse speed or range to effectively combat enemy aircraft. Like other naval weapons, flamethrowers will elevate so that they can reach their effective ranges but with the dual mount, the M73 machine guns will be elevated the same. This means that while the flamethrowers can get on target, the machine guns will be elevated to such a degree that they become virtually unusable since bullet drop differs significantly from the fire arc.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 40 mm Bofors and several 20 mm Oerlikon auto-cannons
• Features two flamethrowers as a deadly close-range weapon
• Napalm fuel can light the water surface on fire for a brief moment, causing any boats that pass on it to catch fire

Cons:

• Abysmal top speed and mobility
• Rather poor survivability due to low crew count
• Shallow draught cause the boat to be constantly rocking around even in calm sea, hampering the accuracy
• Careless discharge of napalm fuel on the water surface may cause damage to the friendly vessels and even your own boat
• The 40 mm Bofors is housed in a turret with poor elevation, leaving the boat vulnerable to aircraft attacks

History

LCM(6)(F) "Zippo" using its flamethrower in Vietnam

Many WWII-surplus LCMs (Landing Craft, Mechanized) were modified by the Mobile Riverine Force in Vietnam as "monitor" patrol craft.

Flamethrowers were added to the LCM(6) which increased the offensive capabilities of the vessel, giving it the ability to clear vegetation and burn out enemy positions by the riverside. These flamethrowers gave the vessel the "Zippo" nickname, after a popular brand of cigarette lighters.

Media

Videos

Battle Pass: Smell of Victory discusses the LCM(6) Zippo at 00:45 - War Thunder Official Channel

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

• [Devblog] Battle Pass vehicles: LCM(6)(F) "Zippo"