LeKPz M41
This page is about the German light tank LeKPz M41. For other variants, see M41 Walker Bulldog (Family). |
Contents
Description
The leKPz M41 is a rank IV German light tank with a battle rating of 6.3 (AB) and 6.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.95 "Northern Wind".
Essentially a West German-operated model of the American M41 Walker Bulldog, the leKPz M41 features smoke grenades and a different ammunition selection. It offers scouting capability and a powerful armament in a highly mobile package.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
- Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Lower glacis)
Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hull | 28.5 mm (49°) Front glacis 63.5 mm (33-37°) Lower glacis |
28.5 mm | 28.5 mm (46°) Top 25.4 mm (1°) Middle 25.4 mm (20°) Bottom |
12.7 mm |
Turret | 44.4 mm (11-13°) Turret front 50.8 mm (2-43°) Gun mantlet |
31.75 mm (1°) | 31.75 mm (1°) | 12.7 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels, bogies, and tracks are 15 mm thick.
- An extra 12.7 mm RHA metal plate is present on the right side of the turret near the pintle 7.62 mm machine gun.
- A 4 mm Structural steel box is present, mounted on the vehicle rear turret.
The M41's armour is very light and practically useless. With some luck, a few shots may bounce off of the turret if at an angle but don't expect that to happen often. As for the rest of the tank, it has no real armour and will be penetrated by any tank cannons at its rank. However, this means that APDS rounds used by some contemporary tanks will not create much spalling, which limits the post-penetration damage of poorly aimed shots. The armour is thick enough to trigger the fuses on APHE rounds, so be wary of instant knockouts. The most vulnerable part of this tank is the large turret. Three crew members are located here and most shots to the right of the gun will immediately destroy the tank. The turret does have a lot of empty space on the left side of the gun causing most solid shots there to do no damage. Still, avoid keeping the turret exposed, it is an enticing target for APHE rounds and a single one of those can send the tank back to the hangar.
Compared to some other contemporary light tanks like the Ru 251 or T92, the M41 is at least immune to heavy machine guns from the front and sides. Watch out for autocannons, though, as they will knock out your vehicle quickly.
Mobility
Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
Arcade | 81 | 21 | 23.1 | 775 | 954 | 33.55 | 41.3 |
Realistic | 73 | 19 | 442 | 500 | 19.13 | 21.65 |
Modifications and economy
Armaments
Main armament
76 mm M32 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
Arcade | 65 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | - | 22.8 | 31.6 | 38.4 | 42.5 | 45.2 | 7.67 | 6.79 | 6.25 | 5.90 |
Realistic | 14.3 | 16.8 | 20.4 | 22.6 | 24.0 |
Ammunition
The leKPz M41 has the same ammunition types as the T92. Unlike the original US M41A1, the stock round is the M319 APCR, which has poor angled penetration, low post-penetration damage, and is generally painful to use. Unfortunately, APCR is the only anti-tank round available until Tier 3 of upgrades. If forced to use it, aim for very flat armour, with the hope that this ends up causing some damage, and allow a teammate to finish the job.
The APCR should be replaced as soon as possible by the unlockable M331A2 APDS, which is superior in all aspects. The APDS has high muzzle velocity and penetration, being decent against angled armour as well. It will penetrate the frontal armour of a M26 Pershing or Centurion Mk 3 with ease and can penetrate the turrets of most Soviet tanks. However, the upper glacis of the T-44 and IS-2 (1944) are immune to it, and US heavy tanks like the T34 can be tough customers. The best usage of APDS is for crippling targets. In frontal engagements, try to take out the enemy gunner or cannon breech first, and from the side, shoot for the engine or driver. Additional follow-up shots can be made as necessary to prevent return fire. Once the target is immobilized and neutered, the APDS can be fired at ammo racks or remaining crew members to deliver the coup de grace. This might take a few tries, and it's not uncommon for teammates to swoop in and secure the kill.
The unlockable M496 HEATFS round is one of the main selling points of the LeKPz. It has a lower muzzle velocity than the APDS and can be interrupted by bushes or fences, but it does offer slightly better flat penetration and significantly better angled penetration at any distance, which can help against hard targets. It is also more helpful against light targets as the explosive content may inflict overpressure damage to SPAAs and other light tanks. The post-penetration damage is otherwise nothing special. While inferior overall to the Ru 251's HEATFS, it is still worth taking.
The stock M352 HE shell can inflict overpressure damage, but is otherwise useless. Once the HEATFS is unlocked, the HE should be avoided as it has significantly worse ballistics and utility in return for only slightly more explosive content.
The leKPz M41 does not have the M339 AP shot or the M361 smoke round from the US M41A1, which makes it more difficult to finish off crippled targets and blind enemies from afar.
Penetration statistics | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
M319 shot | APCR | 206 | 200 | 174 | 146 | 122 | 103 |
M352 shell | HE | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
M331A2 shot | APDS | 300 | 296 | 278 | 256 | 237 | 219 |
M496 shell | HEATFS | 254 | 254 | 254 | 254 | 254 | 254 |
Shell details | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
M319 shot | APCR | 1,234 | 3.2 | - | - | - | 66° | 70° | 72° | |||
M352 shell | HE | 732 | 6.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 867.22 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
M331A2 shot | APDS | 1,257 | 2.81 | - | - | - | 75° | 78° | 80° | |||
M496 shell | HEATFS | 1,082 | 3.2 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 653.69 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
Ammo racks
Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
---|---|---|---|---|
65 | 45 (+20) | 12 (+53) | 1 (+64) | No |
Notes:
- Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- Rack 3 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 11 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
- This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 3 - 1 - 2.
- If you pack 15 (+40) shells, it will keep most of the hull empty of ammo.
- Full reload speed will be realized as long as shells are available in the ready rack 3. If the ready rack is empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
- Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-3 into rack 3. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.
The ammo racks of the leKPz M41 are the same as the original M41A1. Ammunition tends to be stored initially in the fighting compartment and there is an enormous ammo rack to the right of the driver which would normally be a large survivability issue. However, since this is a light tank with little expectation of survivability to begin with, in practice this is not a huge problem. It is still recommended to take less ammo so that the fighting compartment is mostly empty. This way, penetrating rounds with punctual damage are less likely to blow the tank sky-high from shots aimed at the side or at the driver.
Keep in mind that due to the limited post-penetration damage of its ammunition, the M41 goes through its APDS and HEATFS rounds quickly. Keep a reasonable number of them in stock to avoid having to run to capture points frequently. The recommended ammunition load is three fourths (3/4) APDS and one fourth (1/4) HEATFS for cities and other CQC maps, and vice versa for long-range maps.
Machine guns
12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
Pintle | 2,200 (200) | 575 | -10°/+70° | ±60° |
7.62 mm M1919A4 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
Coaxial | 5,000 (250) | 500 | - | - |
Usage in battles
The leKPz M41 is best used as a support tank, covering teammate advances and scouting enemies from afar. While it can be used for brawling, the terrible armour, bouncy gun handling, and inability to destroy enemies quickly mean that this role should be left to other tanks if possible.
At the start of the match, use the mobility to move up and find a good vantage point. Stick close to cover and watch carefully for enemies. When they appear, scout them and wait for an opportune time to attack, perhaps when they have been distracted by teammates or are not looking in the M41's direction. As mentioned earlier, it is important to cripple enemies quickly and efficiently to avoid return fire, at which point they can be dismantled at one's leisure or left for teammates to clean up. A good M41 user can keep multiple tanks disabled at the same time, turning the tide of battle.
Move up or otherwise switch positions every once in a while to avoid retaliatory flanks or bomb deliveries, and keep a comfortable distance away from where enemy tanks are expected to appear. Only advance to capture points if the coast is clear, and again, this job is better left to heavier tanks. Note that unlike the Ru 251, the M41's large profile and comparatively worse mobility make long flanks and aggressive pushes more risky, and these tactics are not preferred.
The good optics, decent gun depression, and high velocity APDS/HEATFS make the M41 a good sniper. Most enemies that it will encounter do not require precise aiming to penetrate unless the tank has been uptiered. Just be prepared to reverse into cover or pop smoke if the target only sustains superficial damage. Watch out for other light tanks like the T92, M56 Scorpion, and Type 63-I. They are capable of dispatching the M41 with ease and their high mobility makes them difficult to account for when wrangling multiple opponents. The best tools against these are HEATFS and the M2 Browning machine gun. Thankfully, as a German tank, the M41 will usually not face the Ru 251 in realistic battles.
Stick close to trees or tall buildings if aircraft are around. The M41's size and bulbous turret makes it easy to spot and even aircraft armed with heavy machine guns can penetrate the roof easily. It should go without saying that bombs and rockets are also very lethal.
Remember to scout enemies as often as possible. This makes it much easier for your teammates to stay alive and dispatch them, and when the latter happens a reward is given and the SP cost of aircraft is reduced. A successful run can result in very cheap aircraft spawns, which is a good consolation if the M41's career ends with a revenge bomb or untimely snipe from a camping opponent. Do not fret if not many kills are achieved, it is common to rack up lots of assists and still contribute a lot to the team - definitely nice considering the difficult stock grind.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Agile tank, has good reverse speed and can turn in place
- Good top speed 72 km/h (average speed is more around 35-40 km/h)
- Fast turret traverse
- Has access to the same HEATFS shell as the T92
- .50 cal AA machine gun with good coverage, for use against aircraft and light targets
- Equipped with smoke grenade launchers
- Can fulfill the role of the Ru 251 for players that don't have it
Cons:
- Large profile for a light tank
- Bad armour, can be ripped to shreds by all the AA guns at the tier
- Armour is thick enough to fuse APHE rounds
- All ammo types cause punctual post-penetration damage
- Painful stock grind that begins with an APCR stock shell
- HEATFS is mediocre
History
Usage by the Bundeswehr (leKPz M41)
The leKPz M41 (short for leichter Kampfpanzer M41 (light MBT M41) was the Bundeswehr variant, serving in the West German Army from 1956 to 1969. The leKPz M41's served in Panzeraufklärungsbatallione (tank reconnaissance batallions) and Panzerjägerbataillione (tank destroyer batallions). Very few served in Panzergrenadierbataillione (tank grenadier bataillions). From 1969, the leKPz M41 was replaced by the Leopard 1 in reconnaissance bataillions and by tank destroyers like the JPz 4-5 and the RakJPz 2 in tank destroyer bataillions. Variants with a slightly modified chassis of the M41 remained in service in the form of SPAA (Flakpanzer M42) as well as in the form of tank howitzers (lePzH M52 and mPzH M44).
Media
- Skins
- Images
- Videos
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
Germany light tanks | |
---|---|
Pz.II | Pz.II C · Pz.II C (DAK) · Pz.II C TD · Pz.II F · Pz.Sfl.Ic |
Sd.Kfz.234 | Sd.Kfz.234/1 · Sd.Kfz.234/2 · Sd.Kfz.234/2 TD |
Marder | Marder A1- · Marder 1A3 · Begleitpanzer 57 · DF105 |
SPz PUMA | PUMA · PUMA VJTF |
Wheeled | Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41) · Class 3 (P) · Radkampfwagen 90 |
Other | Ru 251 · SPz 12-3 LGS |
Argentina | TAM · TAM 2C · TAM 2IP · JaPz.K A2 |
Czechoslovakia | Pz.35(t) · Pz.38(t) A · Pz.38(t) F · Pz.38(t) n.A. · Sd.Kfz. 140/1 |
France | Pz.Sp.Wg.P204(f) KwK |
Lithuania | Vilkas |
USA | leKPz M41 |
USSR | SPz BMP-1 |