BTR-80A: The need for speed

Do you have a need? A need for speed? Then the BTR-80A is for you. This is one of the fastest vehicles at its rank, able to zip around the map riddling tanks to shreds with the 30 mm autocannon it is equipped with. Now, to get in those positions, it requires skill, patience and map knowledge. How do you use that skill, and how is it played?

Armament

Let’s start with the centrepiece of the BTR — the 2A72 autocannon. This is the same cannon found on the BMP-3, so the APDS belt is quite potent, however it might struggle against foes like the Maus. You have access to 4 belts, all in a table below -

The turret traverse is alright. With a traverse of 21°/s horizontally and 9.8°/s vertically, it allows you to get your gun on target quickly. The actual depression and elevation angles are also okay, with -5°/70°, allowing you to shoot at planes.

All the early belts aren’t really good for anything apart from shredding light tanks. Once you get the APDS belt it will open up a range of opportunities, as you will be able to fight at longer ranges instead of up close. With such a dramatic increase in penetration, many vehicles are now vulnerable when presenting their side to you. This makes many useful tactics, like sitting at a spot overlooking high traffic routes, more effective, and allows you to remove light tanks even more efficiently than before. In general, due to the higher penetration, more foes can be picked off from wherever you are, and it makes tactics like flanking more effective as you can kill more enemies than before.

In summary — use the APDS belt, it’s very useful.

Armour

This is the one major drawback to this vehicle. The turret is resistant to only .50 calibre, which isn’t great as any hits to the turret mean that you cannot fire the cannon. The actual hull of the vehicle is susceptible to .50 calibre, making it very easily killed. Any kind of chemical munition will overpressure the vehicle, and it’s not hard to hit either. A very tall profile and you being a large tank greatly affects the survivability of the vehicle.

Overall, the armour is terrible, the profile doesn’t help, and it is very easy to die in it. No processes like angling can really apply, so staying out of sight is the best idea here.

Mobility

This is what most people like about this tank, allowing you to zip around the map at cosmic speed.

The BTR-80A is equipped with a 260 hp engine. This may not seem like much, but considering the vehicle only weighs 14.6 t, it allows it to reach incredible speeds. The power to weight ratio of the vehicle is 17.8 hp/t, and while this is similar to many light tanks, the BTR is faster than many of them.

You get a top speed of 87 km/h forward, which is blisteringly fast, and 12 km/h back, which is okay. Being a wheeled vehicle, you might struggle to traverse terrain like hills, and it means travelling along roads is the easiest course of action. The only downside is it might be predictable to the enemy.

Playstyle

There is only really a couple of ways you can play this tank, and both are only really good when you unlock the APDS belt. They can still be used with the base AP belt.

The first one is to sit at a point, overlooking high traffic areas. You should selectively shoot targets that you are able to penetrate, and ignore heavily armed targets. The only problem with this is you will need a clear view, so they will find your location eventually, or a stray CAS aircraft will strafe and kill you. This is, as usual, extremely effective when using the APDS belt, however depending on the traffic, the AP belt can work just fine.

You could try to use the belts against low flying planes, it is the kind of weapon that can easily dispose of planes so long as you hit them and the elevation angles allow. Just make sure to hit your shots, otherwise you will be riddled to bits by the guns of the plane.

The other, most common playstyle is flanking. You have speed, so use it. Run around the map, cripple any tanks you can’t penetrate, and rip to shreds ones you can. What is meant by ‘crippling’ an enemy is taking out the tracks and barrel. The only belt that cannot do this is the HE belt. Either of the other belts can quickly dispose of tracks and the roof mounted .50 cal of some vehicles, and if you shoot the end of the barrel from the front or the side of the barrel aiming for the end of it, you can get rid of the barrel as well. Just make sure you don’t use the HE belt. It is a very ratty playstyle, something which many people enjoy, and is what this tank is good at. This is typically only truly effective with the APDS belt, however light targets that can be found will die to the AP belt also.

This is a vehicle that rewards strategic thinking, positioning, and map knowledge. With some luck and a little bit of speed, you should be able to rack up some easy kills.

I hope this guide helped!

Credits

• WT Live // Images by 작은이빨족제비여우원숭이
• WT Live // Image by SeRBUSKA
• WT Live // Image by Laseraptor_