Pvkv II – Glass Cannon

Tank destroyers are obvious in what they do: they sport firepower and ammunition to take down tanks (obviously), whether light or heavy, with ease. However, certain tank destroyers, like the M10 or the StuG have armor to keep them alive in combat, and not all tank destroyers have access to such armor. That doesn’t stop tank destroyers like the small but mighty Pvkv II from picking their targets out like fish in a barrel.

Survivability

The Pvkv II is certainly not a conventional tank destroyer, as it has virtually no armor for the turret, and has a hull that would normally be seen in a lower BR. However, do not underestimate this TD, for even though it is vulnerable to fire from 12.7 mm and 14.5 mm machine guns (sometimes even 7.62 mm if you’re unlucky enough), as well as overpressure from High Explosive munitions, it makes up for that with its 75 mm cannon, which can frontally penetrate the armor of a Tiger 1, and its paper-thin turret armor that can cause solid armor-piercing rounds to overpenetrate, causing little damage to your tank.

Ammunition and Firepower

The Pvkv II sports the 75 mm lvkan m/37 A cannon, a powerful gun for its calibre as it can dish out damage that can leave a tank either dead on the spot or critically damaged to no repair. Its 13-second reload (10 if aced) is a small drawback but is negligible with the ammunition it uses against the target it faces.

The stock round it possesses, slpprj m/41, is a solid AP round that has an impressive max pen of 146 mm of armor penetration and can relatively penetrate the front of many tanks you couldn’t have done before in the Pvkv III, but doesn’t have the post-penetration damage like the APCBC round with HE filler, slpgr m/43, so it relies on shrapnel damage, careful placement of the shot, and knowledge of the layout of the tank to maximize the potential of the stock round, like crippling the engine or cannon breech of a tank. Once you unlock the slpgr m/43, you can throw out the worry of post-penetration damage as this will wipe out the tank in one hit, or bitterly cripple the tank to where it can’t fight back easily.

The HE round of this tank, sgr m/38, leaves much to be desired, but can come in handy against light targets, open-top vehicles, and SPAA with overpressure, knocking them out completely.

Be mindful of the gun when stopping however, as it is a little shaky when trying to recenter its aim, causing a little bit of irritation for you if you’re currently in sniper mode, so make sure to stop and allow the gun to recenter before entering into sniper mode.

The gun’s zoom of 8x to 15.7x lets you zoom in close to an enemy tank and be able to hit it easily from a distance, allowing you to get a shot off without worrying about how far the target is when sniping (though you still need to account for range).

Mobility

Its mobility is a little slow in both Arcade and Realistic Battles, but 41 km/h is usually enough to take either capture points on the map, or to a position where it can pick enemies off from a long distance.

In Arcade battles, this tank is pretty fast and can quickly move into a position of sniping, or take any capture points without any issue (be aware of certain ground vehicles that can detect from a long distance in arcade battles, as they can become a problem). In Realistic battles, on the other hand, this tank is relatively slow with only enough mobility to take it to a vantage sniping point, and combined with its weak armor, it makes it a target for enemy snipers trying to get the jump on you and your team before your team can.

The reverse is an issue at 6 km/h, as it is abysmally bad in certain situations when you’re in the open; with no smoke shells or smoke grenades to rely on, you’re dead in the water, even in the moment you get your transmission or engine crippled.

Playstyle

Like other tank destroyers with high magnification scopes, this tank is more suited to the playstyle of a sniper, opting towards positions of the map where one can snipe enemy ground vehicles with ease, all while concealing your presence.

If you find yourself in an urban environment with no hills in sight, you will find it easier to deploy ambush tactics, as its firepower and small width (but not height, it can be seen over bushes and fences and most walls) allows you to fit in a small spot, and any unsuspecting tank stopping to fire nearby will be mercilessly wiped clean. However, keep in mind its -6 km/h reverse speed when trying to exit out of said spot, as if an enemy spots you and you’re still reloading and are trying to move away, you’ll be crippled, if not destroyed already, in an instant.

Types of enemies encountered

While you have enough firepower to finish off tanks with relative ease, there are certain notable tanks around the BR of 4.0 that can easily wipe out the Pvkv II in one hit or bitterly cripple it as the TD can to them:

• StuH 42 G: With the firepower of this tank able to cripple and destroy other tanks thanks to its HEAT rounds, this poses a huge threat in the form of overpressure. Fortunately, it takes a while to reload in this tank, and can easily be flanked due to being a fixed-gun platform, so flanking can prove to be tremendously useful.
• M4A3 105: This tank, although with a terrible turret traverse speed at 4.2°/s, this SPG can cause heavy damage with overpressure with either HE or HEAT round, and on top of its armor capability, it can absorb a few shots (except the APCBC with HE filler for the Pvkv II) and fight on. Make sure to aim carefully, so that you don’t mess up a shot.
  
• KV-2 (1939): With a HE round that can destroy light tanks, TDs like the Pvkv II, and SPAAs by shooting the ground or anything relatively close to the target, this is one of the most feared targets of all, with its destruction top priority. Luckily, it suffers from slow turret traverse and long reload, so it can easily be combatted by flanking or sniping.
  
• HMGs and SPAA: HMGs (Heavy Machine Guns) in the calibre range of 12.7 mm to 14.5 mm can easily tear through your turret, killing your crew. Most SPAAs are also a threat since they have calibres ranging from 12.7 to 20 mm that can cripple your tank with a couple of well-placed shots, so try to pick them off from a distance with your HE round so that you don’t get torn up yourself.