FV4201

[Halmbarte]

Brit tank goodness. 

 

And thank the Maker that WoT has quit playing that garbage music over the narration. 

H

[FogForever]

They never demonstrate how to back up one of those monsters...especially with all hatches closed.

[Halmbarte]

9 hours ago, FogForever said:

They never demonstrate how to back up one of those monsters...especially with all hatches closed.

I imagine it involves the tank commander yelling a lot at the driver

[Centurian52]

I can't wait to see the Chieftain in action. I don't think we'll see much from it in terms of firepower, at least in terms of armor penetration, since it's a bit ammunition challenged in this period (though it sounds like it may prove to be more accurate than the M60A1). It is still using the same L15 APDS round it entered service with in 1965, and the more powerful L23 APFSDS round won't start production until 1983. It should have impressive anti-personnel/anti-fortification firepower compared to the M60, having a HESH round.

But mostly I am very curious about how survivable it will be. My guess is that its survivability in the 1976-1982 period will prove to be underwhelming for its reputation. Its thick and steeply sloped armor should have made it a tough nut to crack for the APDS rounds of the 60s and early 70s. But I have doubts that any homogenous steel armor, no matter how thick or steeply sloped, can stand up to the HEAT and APFSDS ammunition of the mid/late 70s and 80s (Stillbrew composite won't be added until 1986). This simulation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t-Vi4unTLQ) would certainly seem to suggest that the T-62 should have no trouble penetrating the Chieftain. Still, I have seen the M60 bounce rounds off of its turret cheeks every once in a while, and the Chieftain's thicker armor should prove able to bounce rounds at least as often.

Overall my guess is that, like the M60, HEAT and APFSDS rounds will usually penetrate the Chieftain. Like the M60, the Chieftain will manage to bounce those rounds a minority of the time. Since the Chieftain is more heavily armored than the M60, it is only logical that it should bounce those rounds a more significant minority of the time than the M60. The question is, will this translate into an overall increase in survivability over the M60? Will the Chieftain's poorer mobility increase its chances of getting hit, so that it suffers an overall decrease in survivability despite having a slightly higher chance of surviving a hit? Or will it be about as survivable as the M60, with any increase in the chance of surviving a hit being either too small to be significant or being balanced by its poorer mobility?

 

[Vergeltungswaffe]

I think you've described the situation well.

There will be times when we curse the Chieftain for not being able to dash across a gap or get to a position quickly enough, but I also feel like Chieftains sitting in keyholes will stand up at least a little better than M60's.

[Centurian52]

The T-62 simulation had me thinking that we wouldn't see much improvement in survivability from the Chieftain. But this new simulation has me thinking that maybe the Chieftain will survive more threats that the M60 wouldn't have survived (at least from lower tier Soviet equipment). Does anyone happen to know which APFSDS rounds the T-55 is modeled with in-game?

 

[ThathumanHayden]

The big three Soviet 100mm sabots of the time were 3BM8, 3BM20, and 3BM25. 3BM8 and 3BM20 should have relatively similar penetration against flat RHA steel. The big difference was that 3BM20 could be manufactured with only a small portion of the tungsten that 3BM8 required (although performance may vary against sloped or composite armor). 3BM25 was introduced in the late '70s so it might be out of the time frame for the BAOR module. In-game the manual states that the base T-55 uses 3BM8 and the T-55A uses 3BM25. This is a threat that the Chieftan might be able to handle, although most Soviet forces in GSFG had T-62s by the mid '70s. I look forward to what the Chieftan's armor can withstand in-game.

[Halmbarte]

At least the Chieftain doesn't have a turret on a turret so it's a bit lower silhouette than an M60...

Do we have any info on T55 HEAT performance vs Chieftain? I notice that in game, T55s frequently use HEAT against the American tanks to great effect.

It can be kinda disheartening that a T55 with the laser RF upgrade can get 1st round hits & kills while my M60s are plugging away with 1 round high, 1 round low, 3rd round hits...

H