The Begleitpanzer 57 is a West German experimental vehicle of the late 1970s. Developed by Thyssen-Henschel in collaboration with Bofors, it was designed to fill a presumed niche in the fighting vehicles market at the time. The Begleit, based on the chassis of the Marder IFV, was classified as an Armored Infantry Fire Support Vehicle, or AIFSV for short. This vehicle has been developed privately with no government contract or similar ever given out for it. Only one prototype of this fighting vehicle was ever finished.
In War Thunder, this light vehicle can be found in the German ground tree among the other light vehicles of said nation. The Begleitpanzer was added to War Thunder in the "Viva la France" update.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Access to HE-VT ammunition with big trigger radius | Only gets solid shot AP for fighting ground vehicles |
| ATGMs as secondary armament, great for destroying heavily armored vehicles | Poor side and roof armor, vulnerable to .50 cal |
| Access to Thermal Vision as well as a Laser Rangefinder | Only 48 shells fit in the loading system, depleted quite fast if not careful |
| Access to a scout drone | Below average shell velocity |
Mobility
The maneuverability of the Begleit can simply be described as great. The vehicle is based on the chassis of the Marder and carries over the same engine and transmission of said vehicle, giving it not only a great top speed of 75 km/h in both directions but also good acceleration on all terrain types.
The engine can generate up to 600 horsepower, giving the 28.5 ton heavy vehicle a decent power-to-weight ratio of 21.05. Further, the neutral steering speed of the Begleit is on par or better than comparable light vehicles in the game, making traversing on the spot easy.
Firepower
This vehicle's main armament is the 57mm Bofors L/70 cannon, paired with a TOW ATGM launcher as secondary armament.
The main cannon has a 0.3 second reload between every shot and can hold up to 48 rounds in the mechanized ready rack. Further, this gun has access to 4 different rounds, namely, a solid shot APCBC, a SAPHEI shell, a normal HE, and a HE-VT. All of these rounds have unique characteristics as well as different use cases in battle, but most of the time you will only need the AP and HE-VT. Further, the shell velocity of all rounds this tank can carry is not the greatest, with only 950 m/s on the AP and SAP rounds and 1020 m/s on the HE.
First of all, the APCBC round. It is, in general, the most versatile round this tank has to offer. It has enough penetration for nearly all vehicles you might encounter in this tank, especially when being able to fire at the side of the enemy. The rather low shell velocity and rather high penetration drop-off after the 500-meter mark make it a bit hard, but not impossible, to effectively use this shell on very long ranges.
Additionally, the vehicle also has access to a SAPHEI shell. This grenade acts a lot like an APHE shell, however, it lacks the penetration power to be used effectively against armored targets. This SAP shell only has a maximum possible penetration power of 47mm and could only be used effectively against lightly armored targets.
Last but not least, the HE and HE-VT rounds of the Begleit. Both shells have the same characteristics in terms of explosive mass and penetration as well as the velocity of 1020 m/s. The only difference is the proxy fuze with a 6-meter trigger radius on the HE-VT shell. Unlike the standard HE, this shell first needs to be researched before it can be used on the Begleitpanzer.
The HE-VT can also be used to destroy bombs and incoming air-to-ground missiles.
Keep in mind that the Begleitpanzer can only carry 2 different rounds for the cannon. I personally recommend only bringing APCBC and HE-VT in this vehicle.
Secondary Armament
As secondary armament, the Begleit can carry up to 6 TOW or I-TOW semi-automatic ATGMs. While the TOW is available from the start, the I-TOW has to be researched as a modification and is better than the standard TOW ATGM in most cases. In general, there is no reason to take the standard TOW into battle once the I-TOW has been researched.
The I-TOW ATGM is an improved variant of the normal TOW missile. It is minimally slower than the normal TOW by 3 m/s and has significantly less explosive mass but comes with a new warhead, which has a lot more penetration. It also has a longer missile guidance time and a 0.75 km longer range compared to the normal TOW. Both ATGMs lack IRCCM, which makes them useless when fired at a vehicle that is equipped with an Electro-Optical APS frontally. A few examples of vehicles with this type of APS are the AMX 30B2 BRENUS, the ZTZ96A (A), the T-90A, and the T-80UK. There are also helicopters that are equipped with IRCM, a full list can be found here: Helicopters with IRCM.
Keep in mind that the ATGMs on the Begleit can only be fired when standing still.
Usage in Battle
The Begleitpanzer embodies the role of being the support for your team, like no other vehicle in the German tech tree, and this is also how the vehicle should be played.
By using the Begl's great mobility, it is possible to reach key positions and cap points before the enemy does to give your team an early advantage. This advantage in mobility can also be used to quickly take a flank off a map and either prevent the enemy from using said flank to their advantage or to support the team from the sideline or even from behind enemy lines. Although the shell velocity is rather low, the good fire rate, combined with thermal vision and a laser rangefinder, makes it easy to hit a non-moving target even at a distance. And for the cases where the cannon cannot penetrate or hit a target, the ATGMs are able to step in.
The Begleitpanzer also has access to a scout UAV as a researchable modification. Although many often overlook this feature, it is a great help for gathering intel for yourself or your team. By just launching it early in the match and getting it positioned rather high above the battlefield, it can be a great help throughout the entire match. It is definitely recommended to use it when it is not clear whether a position, cap point or flank is safe. With the new UAV Picture-in-picture feature, it became even easier to use said drones to support friendlies even when being positioned on the opposite side of the map.
Further, the HE-VT is an important part of playing this vehicle as the perfect support vehicle for the team. Although the Begleit has no IRST device, the HE-VT combined with the laser rangefinder can still hit non-maneuvering helicopters far out, and at close range, it is possible to just eyeball it. The amazing fire rate will make it easy to land a hit before the enemy aircraft can go back behind cover. It is also possible to shoot down scout drones using the HE-VT, which is why this vehicle is also often an important asset for squadron battles.
Keep in mind that this is a baseline on how the vehicle and its features can be used in battle, every battle plays differently and it comes down to the player to adjust how they use the tank accordingly.
