Pz.Sfl.Ic

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Rank VI USA | Premium | Golden Eagles
A-10A Thunderbolt (Early)
Pz.Sfl.Ic
germ_pzkpfw_ii_ausf_h.png
GarageImage Pz.Sfl.Ic.jpg
ArtImage Pz.Sfl.Ic.png
Pz.Sfl.Ic
AB RB SB
2.3 2.3 2.3
Show in game

Description

The 5 cm Pak38 auf Pz.Kpfw.II Sonderfahrgestell 901 is a premium gift rank II German light tank with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced as a premium pack in Update 1.43 as the Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. H (shortened to Pz.II H). In Update 1.89, the vehicle was renamed to the current designation. It was purchasable from the store until the 2021 May sale after which it was removed from sale. It has since been made available for purchase in-game with Golden Eagles Ge icon.png temporarily for the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 "German Unity Day" mini-events.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull30 / 20 / 20
Turret30 / 20 / 20
Crew3 people
Visibility75 %

Having 30 mm of frontal armour, this tank isn't made for the frontline. The three crew members mean that single-shot destruction is a common possibility. Worse still, this tank has no roof protection with the cloth covering being only cosmetic. Unfortunately, this also means that you are very vulnerable to aircraft attacks too. Your demure silhouette will let you easily hide in the small nooks and crannies of maps and lets you cover your entire tank with bushes for extra concealment.

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 30 mm (13°) Upper plate
10 mm (74°) Upper glacis
30 mm (18°) Lower plate
5 mm (68°) Lower glacis
20 mm 20 mm (4-16°) 10 mm
Turret 30 mm (17°) Turret front
20 mm Gun mantlet
20 mm (12°)

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels and torsion bars are 10 mm thick while tracks are 15 mm thick.
  • Belly armour is 5 mm thick.
  • A 5 mm thick plate separates the crew compartment from the engine compartment.
  • Mudguards are 4 mm thick.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB62 / 12 km/h
RB and SB56 / 11 km/h
Number of gears6 forward
1 back
Weight10.5 t
Engine power
AB382 hp
RB and SB200 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB36.4 hp/t
RB and SB19.0 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 62 12 10.5 310 382 29.52 36.38
Realistic 56 11 177 200 16.86 19.05

The Pz.Sfl.Ic has a power-to-weight ratio of nearly 20 hp/ton which translates to a very mobile and nimble tank. The top speed of 56 km/h (RB) is good but still pales in comparison next to the 90 km/h of the Puma armoured cars. However, its tracks handle much better at high speeds than the Puma's wheels, and it is able to make far tighter turns and faster stops. The maximum reverse speed is -10 km/h, which for a tank is decent and will let you easily get out of perilous situations where other tanks of the same rank struggle when retreating.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost
AB645 Sl icon.png
RB999 Sl icon.png
SB2 065 Sl icon.png
Crew training4 800 Sl icon.png
Experts32 000 Sl icon.png
Aces210 Ge icon.png
Research Aces440 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
Talisman.png 2 × 50 / 70 / 90 % Sl icon.png
Talisman.png 2 × 124 / 124 / 124 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Mods tank reinforcement ger.png
Crew Replenishment
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Mods tank ammo.png
50mm_kwk_38_39_APCR1_ammo_pack
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Mods airstrike.png
Airstrike
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Mods tank ammo.png
50mm_kwk_38_39_APCR2_ammo_pack
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Mods scouting.png
Improved optics

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition40 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
7.6 → 5.9 s
Vertical guidance-5° / 18°
Main article: PaK38 (50 mm)

The 50 mm PaK38 is probably the best gun you can find at this battle rating. The shells have decent penetration, good post pen damage and an incredible APCR round makes this tank able to punch way above its weight. Don't be afraid to take this tank into higher rank battles. Beware, though, it will struggle against the upper front plate of T-34s and Shermans, so remember their frontal weak spots. Not that you should be engaging those tanks frontally anyway. Always bring high explosive rounds, as the lack of any secondary armament makes lighter vehicles harder to fight effectively.

50 mm PaK38 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 40 -5°/+18° ±180° N/A 13.3 18.4 22.4 24.8 26.4 7.67 6.79 6.25 5.90
Realistic 8.3 9.8 11.9 13.2 14.0

Ammunition

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
PzGr 39 APC 106 101 83 65 50 39
PzGr 40/1 APCR 130 121 90 62 43 29
PzGr 40 APCR 137 126 88 56 36 23
Sprgr. 38 HE 12 11 9 7 6 5
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%
PzGr 39 APC 835 2.05 1.2 9 28.9 48° 63° 71°
PzGr 40/1 APCR 1,130 1.07 - - - 66° 70° 72°
PzGr 40 APCR 1,180 0.9 - - - 66° 70° 72°
Sprgr. 38 HE 870 1.82 0.4 0.1 217.6 79° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Pz.Sfl.Ic
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
40 27 (+13) 14 (+26) 1 (+39) Yes

Notes:

  • Racks disappear after all shells in the rack have been shot or loaded.
  • The visual discrepancy concerns the number of shells per rack:
    • For rack 1, 20 shells are modeled for 14 available.
    • For racks 2 & 3, 11 shells are modeled for 13 available.

Usage in battles

In battles, it performs well as a scout vehicle with its high mobility in all game modes. It can also function well as a tank destroyer with its high penetration power. It has very little gun depression, which means you won't be able to reliably shoot over hills. It also lacks a machine gun to combat planes and open-topped vehicles, which can be a burden.

It's advised that you keep on the move while using the Pz.Sfl.Ic as any aircraft with guns can take out your turret crew which will knock your vehicle out. Most SPAAs at your BR will also be able to penetrate your hull even frontally, so try to stay out of sight. You are generally safe from .50 cal HMGs although from the rear and non-angled sides they can still penetrate.

In the Pz.Sfl.Ic, you should avoid well-protected tanks like the KV-1 (L-11), the T-34 (1940) or the M4A3 (105) as their armour will make it difficult for your 50 mm cannon to penetrate in an uptier. Your cannon still can go through any of their weak spots. Generally, you should stay on the move and make sure you're not spotted, try to stay off the frontline, but don't be afraid to use your gun if you have to since it's very potent at its BR except against the most armoured targets.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Has a gun that will reliably penetrate pretty much any of its expected enemies
  • Very fast (max speed off-road of around 56 km/h)
  • Has a decent reload speed
  • Has the scouting ability, which can earn you some extra silver lions and valuable intel for your team
  • Because of lack of armour, some shells will pass right through you
  • Can change positions very quickly if needed
  • Can get to the cap points and good positions early in the match

Cons:

  • Weak armour - trade-off of speed for less weight
  • Open-top, planes can destroy the vehicle with machine guns when strafing very easily
  • Has very bad depression angles
  • Can get slowed down in difficult terrain

History


Archive of the in-game description

In July, 1940 Armament Command ordered two light tank prototypes with enhanced weaponry from the company MAN. Rheinmetall-Borsig built the cannons and the bulkheads comprising the body.

In January, 1942 four tanks were produced and immediately sent to the Eastern Front as part of the 1st and 3rd squads of the 559 Antitank Battalion.

An open-top rotating hexagonal turret with no rear wall was installed. Its primary weapon was a 50mm KwK 39.


Media

Skins
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

Germany premium ground vehicles
Light tanks  Pz.II C (DAK) · Pz.Sfl.Ic · Pz.Sp.Wg.P204(f) KwK · Sd.Kfz. 140/1 · Sd.Kfz.234/1 · Ru 251 · SPz 12-3 LGS · TAM 2IP
Medium tanks  Nb.Fz. · Pz.III N · Pz.Bef.Wg.IV J · ▀M4 748 (a) · ▀T 34 747 (r) · Ersatz M10
  mKPz M47 G · Turm III · Leopard A1A1 (L/44) · Leopard 2 (PzBtl 123) · Leopard 2A4M
Heavy tanks  ▀Pz.Kpfw. Churchill · ▀KV-IB · ▀KW I C 756 (r) · ▀KW II 754 (r)
  VK 45.01 (P) · ␠Tiger · Pz.Bef.Wg.VI P · Tiger II (H) Sla.16
Tank destroyers  Sd.Kfz.234/3 · Sd.Kfz.234/4 · Sd.Kfz.251/10 · Sd.Kfz.251/22 · 15 cm Pz.W.42
  Brummbär · Panzer IV/70(A) · VFW · Bfw. Jagdpanther G1 · Elefant · 38 cm Sturmmörser