Hovet

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Rank VII | Premium | Golden Eagles
Challenger DS Pack
il_m163_vulcan.png
GarageImage Hovet.jpg
Hovet
AB RB SB
7.7 7.7 7.7
Class:
Research:82 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:240 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
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Description

Hovet (חובט - "batsman") was the Israeli designation for the American M163 VADS. The vehicle joined the Israeli Air Defense Command (IADC) in 1975, operating alongside the MIM-72 Chaparral which had been introduced a year earlier. It earned its first victory against an enemy target in the 1982 Lebanon War, and further served in the IDF for more than two decades until the IADC was disbanded, leading to the decommissioning of the Hovet and its modernised variant, Machbet.

Introduced in Update "Wind of Change" along with the initial Israeli tech tree, the Hovet performs identically to its American counterpart. It is a fairly strong self-propelled gun, the main feature of which is its six-barreled M168 gun with a rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute. However, it lacks a search radar, and has a relatively low effective range. The M113 chassis offers minimal protection due to the aluminium alloy construction, but provides good mobility and manoeuvrability.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull38 / 44 / 38
Turret17 / 17 / 17
Crew4 people
Visibility117 %

Armour is thin enough and can be destroyed by 12.7 mm machine gun fire from the sides and rear, and by any cannon calibre from the front. The turret is partially open, leaving the crew vulnerable to enemy small arms fire. If attacked, the best bet for taking a hit and surviving is to point the engine towards the enemy and hope it absorbs the shot.

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 38+6 mm (45°) Upper Glacis
38 mm (26°) Lower Glacis
29 mm (45°) Engine Maintenance Hatch
44+6 mm Top
32 mm Bottom
38 mm 38 mm
Turret 17 mm Turret Front
150 mm Gun Mantlet
17 mm 17 mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB70 / 17 km/h
RB and SB65 / 15 km/h
Number of gears6 forward
2 back
Weight11.2 t
Engine power
AB404 hp
RB and SB212 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB36.1 hp/t
RB and SB18.9 hp/t

The Hovet suffers from a low power-to-weight ratio and low top speed. One of its upsides is the good acceleration

Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 70 17 11.2 301 404 26.88 36.07
Realistic 65 15 188 212 16.79 18.93

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB3 730 → 5 147 Sl icon.png
RB3 385 → 4 671 Sl icon.png
SB4 541 → 6 266 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications68 900 Rp icon.png
116 400 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost1 900 Ge icon.png
Crew training68 000 Sl icon.png
Experts240 000 Sl icon.png
Aces990 Ge icon.png
Research Aces620 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
140 / 170 / 230 % Sl icon.png
184 / 184 / 184 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
3 600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 900 Sl icon.png
170 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
3 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
3 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
5 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 600 Sl icon.png
280 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
5 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 500 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
5 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 500 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 900 Sl icon.png
170 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
2 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement il.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
5 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 600 Sl icon.png
280 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
20mm_Vulcan_HEI_ammo_pack
Research:
3 600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 900 Sl icon.png
170 Ge icon.png
Mod arrow 0.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
3 600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 900 Sl icon.png
170 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
20mm_Vulcan_API_ammo_pack
Research:
3 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
3 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
150 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
5 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 600 Sl icon.png
280 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
5 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 500 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png
Mods night vision device.png
NVD
Research:
5 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 500 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Night vision device
Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Main armament

20 mm M168 cannon
Ammunition2 200 rounds
Belt capacity1 100 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
26.0 → 20.0 s
Fire rate3 000 shots/min
Vertical guidance-5° / 80°
Main article: M168 (20 mm)
20 mm M168 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 2,200 (1,100) 3,000 -5°/+80° ±180° N/A 66.0 91.4 111.0 122.8 130.6 26.00 23.00 21.20 20.00
Realistic 44.6 52.5 63.8 70.5 75.0

Ammunition

  • Default: AP-I · HEI-T · API-T
  • HEI: HEI-T · HEF-I · API-T · HEF-I
  • AP-I: AP-I · API-T · HEF-I · API-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
AP-I 40 36 22 12 6 3
API-T 40 36 22 12 6 3
HEF-I 5 5 3 2 2 2
HEI-T 5 5 3 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%
AP-I 1,030 0.1 - - - 47° 56° 65°
API-T 1,030 0.1 - - - 47° 60° 65°
HEF-I 1,030 0.1 0.1 0.1 17.12 - - -
HEI-T 1,030 0.1 0.1 0.1 12 79° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
2 __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __ (+__) __

Usage in battles

The Hovet has an amazing rate of fire with the M168 gun, thus it has amazing damage output. In an anti-aircraft role, it is best used as a point-defence SPAA, defending a group of allies/cap zone from air attack. Its range isn't as good as the M247, so it's best to keep in mind the approximate 1 km targeting zone of the Hovet.

The Hovet wields about 60 mm of penetration, which is enough to mortally wound/destroy many lightly-armoured vehicles such as the Leopard, AUBL, and Centauro. The high rate of fire also allows the Hovet a sort of CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) type of role, as it can easily spray in the direction of an incoming bomb, thus destroying it and saving nearby allies. This is especially easy against the infamous FAB-5000 bomb from the Soviet Pe-8, as the bomb is large and easy to track.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Can be used as a last resort weapon to shoot down incoming bombs and rockets
  • Cannot be easily killed by .50 cal MGs, meaning you are stronger against strafing aircraft
  • High rate of fire

Cons:

  • Long reload time
  • The 20 mm shells lose velocity quickly, making it very difficult to attack fast planes past 2 km or light tanks past 1 km
  • No passive radar search
  • The gun overheats rather quickly
  • Low penetration

History

According to the description from Israel Air Force, the M163 VADS (which consists of 2 batteries per unit) joined the Israeli Air Defense Command in 1975; these batteries would usually deployed near the northern border of Israel where the Purple Line (post-1967 ceasefire line between Israel-Syria by the Golan Heights) sit during peaceful times; but as soon as there was any need for armed conflicts, the vehicles would redeploy with the ground forces. After 7 years of service, the system achieve 3 victories including the first victory of M163 VADS against jet aircrafts in 1982. On 1982/6/10, an battery commanded by Lt. Dobi Amitai was having conflicts with insurgents during the 1982 Lebanese War (Operation Peace for Galilee) at Douha near Beirut, where Sgt. Yoav Weinkert spotted a Syrian MiG-21; the other battery commanded by Roni Kovertovsky spotted the same jet from the eyes of gun director Tamir Mor. Both batteries, now at 4 vehicles, fired upon the jet while covering each other as they were taking fire from insurgents at the same time; 15 seconds later, the jet was shot down by the batteries.[1]

Some of the M163 were also converted into the Machbet (מחבט, lit. racquet) with upgrades including opto-electronic tracker, TVD and 4 FIM-92 Stingers mounted next to the turret. After the disbandment of the IADC in 2006, these vehicles were decommissioned.

Media

Skins

See also

Related development

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.


Israel anti-aircraft vehicles
Half-track  TCM-20
M163 derivatives  Hovet · Machbet · Imp.Chaparral
Captured  ZSU-57-2 · ZSU-23-4