View source for MZ1

{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_mz_1
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==
<!-- ''In the first part of the description, cover the history of the ship's creation and military application. In the second part, tell the reader about using this ship in the game. Add a screenshot: if a beginner player has a hard time remembering vehicles by name, a picture will help them identify the ship in question.'' -->
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German motor torpedo gun boat {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.79 "Project X"]] as part of the fleet closed beta test.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}
<!-- ''Talk about the vehicle's armour. Note the most well-defended and most vulnerable zones, e.g. the ammo magazine. Evaluate the composition of components and assemblies responsible for movement and manoeuvrability. Evaluate the survivability of the primary and secondary armaments separately. Don't forget to mention the size of the crew, which plays an important role in fleet mechanics. Save tips on preserving survivability for the "Usage in battles" section. If necessary, use a graphical template to show the most well-protected or most vulnerable points in the armour.'' -->
Armour protection on the MZ1 is almost nonexistent. Other than a 15 mm gun shield on the 88 mm guns, the boat does not have any protection even against smaller calibre guns. To make the matter much worse, at its BR, the MZ1 will face several opponents with either high-calibre guns or autocannons, both of which are a great threat to the ship's survival. On the plus side, however. The MZ1 can take a high amount of crew loss by up to 37 when aced thanks to its fairly large crew count of 52 and its huge, spaced profile.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}
<!-- ''Write about the ship's mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward and reverse speed.'' -->

{{NavalMobility}}

Mobility of the MZ1 is mediocre at best and poor at worst. When stock, the boat has a terrible top speed of only 29 km/h (AB) / 23 km/h (RB) and awful traverse speed (even worse than some motor barges). This, combined with its poor protection, makes the stock MZ1 very frustrating to play. After getting a mobility upgrade, the MZ1's top speed is more tolerable and gives more room for evasive manoeuvre.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}
<!-- ''Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: <code><nowiki>{{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}</nowiki></code>. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.'' -->
{{main|S.K.C/35 (88 mm)}}

The MZ1 is equipped with two 8.8 cm S.K.C/35 cannons placed at the bow and stern. These cannons have a relatively quick reload time of 5 seconds, and are quite deadly against lightly-armoured boats with direct hits. The 88 mm cannons have two types of ammunition which are largely the same, the only differences being the researchable HEF-I shell is capable of dealing more damage via incendiary fillers and has a higher chance of detonating the enemy boat's ammunition racks.

{{:S.K.C/35 (88 mm)/Ammunition|8.8 cm Spgr. L/4.5 Lh 31, 8.8 cm Spgr. L/4.5 Br. Lh 31}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}
<!-- ''Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control <code>Select secondary weapon</code>. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.'' -->
{{main|FlaK-Lafette C/36 (37 mm)}}

Secondary armament consists of a single 3.7 cm FlaK cannon mounted at the bridge. This multipurpose cannon is very useful against most opponents it faces. Due to its high penetration, this cannon is more useful against well-armoured targets such as Soviet armoured boats. The downside is that it cannot fire backwards because the bridge obstructs its line of fire.

* '''Universal:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary}}
* '''37 mm HE clips:''' {{Annotation|HEF-I|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}
* '''37 mm APT clips:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary}}

{{:FlaK-Lafette C/36 (37 mm)/Ammunition|HEF-I, AP-T}}

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}
<!-- ''An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control <code>Select anti-aircraft weapons</code>. Talk about the ship's anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets. If there are no anti-aircraft armaments, remove this section.'' -->
{{main|2 cm/65 Flakvierling 38 (20 mm)|2 cm/65 Flakzwilling 38 (20 mm)}}

The MZ1 is equipped with 4 x 2 cm FlaK cannons. These cannons are adequate for fending off incoming aircraft, although it may be more efficient to manually aim the guns yourself instead of leaving it to the AI.

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}
<!-- ''Describe the available additional armaments of the ship: depth charges, mines, torpedoes. Talk about their positions, available ammunition and launch features such as dead zones of torpedoes. If there is no additional armament, remove this section.'' -->
{{main|G7a (533 mm)|WBD depth charge}}

The MZ1 is equipped with two G7a torpedoes launched from the bow. These torpedoes are powerful enough to destroy most targets in a single hit. However, due to the boat's poor mobility, launching torpedoes can be tricky, especially when you're moving around rocks and small islets.

== Usage in battles ==
<!-- ''Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->

The MZ1 is best described as a glass cannon, with its slow speed and powerful armaments. The two 88 mm cannon can deal massive damage to anything it hits, however, another effective method to use the ship is to switch to the auxiliary weapon, the 37 mm cannon. The 37 mm has a high rate of fire and can fire hard-hitting shells which will overwhelm both boats and planes. This weapon is the best use on coastal vessels and aircraft, while destroyers are best dealt with using torpedoes.

The MZ1's biggest weakness is its slow speed, compounded with the limited armour. Positioning is key: never advance to a risky area without support. The largest threats to the MZ1 are destroyers which can bombard the vessel and autocannons which can quickly deplete the crew.

=== Pros and cons ===
<!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' -->
'''Pros:'''

* Fairly powerful armament, both large and small calibres
* Torpedoes can knock out most targets in one hit

'''Cons:'''

* Poor top speed and mobility
* Non-existant armour; relies entirely on large crew count for survival
* Very vulnerable against large-calibre HE shells due to its size and speed
* Performs poorly when stock

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==
<!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' -->

;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_mz_1 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|xTibyCaPA9Y|'''The Shooting Range #30''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 05:16 discusses the MZ1.}}

== See also ==
''Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the ship;''
* ''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.'' -->

* [[wt:en/news/4444-development-big-boat-the-mz1-en/|[Devblog] Big Boat: The MZ1]]

{{ShipManufacturer Stülcken-Werft}}
{{Germany boats}}