2S38

2S38

2S38

USSR

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.3	10.3	10.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:9 270

Show in game

Description

Originally designed as a technology demonstrator, the 2S38 was chosen as a possible replacement for the 2S6 Tunguska adopted in the 1980s. The vehicle was based on the BMP-3 platform, but fitted with the equipment and armament to lock and engage low-flying aircraft like helicopters, CAS, or even large calibre rockets/missiles. The vehicle is operated by 3 crewmembers, in a single compartment, since it uses a remote-controlled turret for its 57 mm cannon. As of 2020, the vehicle is still in very low numbers and slowly being adopted into the military.

It was introduced in Update "Fire and Ice". Built on the BMP-3 platform, the 2S38 was an attempt to transform the platform into a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a 57 mm autocannon and a tracking system capable of fighting low-flying aircraft. In the game, the rapid-firing 57 mm autocannon allows the 2S38 to engage a wide range of enemies from tanks to fighter jets while maintaining the same profile and mobility of the original BMP-3. The 57 mm autocannon of the 2S38, paired with both APFSDS and APHE ammunition, can prove extremely deadly in good flanking manoeuvres, even the APHE shells can penetrate lightly armoured targets from the front like the Leopard 1, and several IFVs. Also, its good fire rate and accuracy makes the 2S38 a very deadly light tank; however, as with all light tanks, the armour is not enough to stop high calibre projectiles, but it's still enough to stop up to 14.5 mm shots from all sides.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

LWS

Notifies about the vehicle's exposure to laser emissions

Self-entrenching equipment

Creation of ramparts and trenches in soft ground

Armourfront / side / back

Hull60 / 43 / 13

Turret43 / 43 / 43

Crew3 people

Visibility79 %

The 2S38 armour is essentially non-existent for the rank it is in. While the front array may be resistant to some autocannons from a long-distance, it isn't really reliable.

The rearranged modules within the 2S38 does improve the vehicle's overall survivability compared to the BMP-3 however. Firstly, the ammunition is a lot smaller and harder to hit, and they are all stored in the center so can be harder to hit if not precisely targetted. There are more empty space within the 2S38 as well, increasing the chances of a shot penetrating the armour, but not causing any critical damages to the components.

The crew are all arranged in the front, three in a row. This improves crew survivability in hull-down position as there is no crew in the turret anymore. This also marginally improves survivability to shots from the front, as there is a small chance a shot from the front does not knock out two or all the crew members in one shot. Given both the gunner and commander can fire the main gun, enemies would need to knock out both of them at the same time to disable the 2S38's armaments.

Overall, the 2S38 is favored comparatively to the BMP-3 in terms of being able to survive the first shot while also retaining the ability to fire back at the offending opponent.

Armour type:

• ABT-102 alloy - Hull and turret
• Rolled homogeneous armour - Gun mask
• Structural steel - Add-ons on the sides

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	18 mm (81°) Front glacis 60 mm (25°) + 12 mm + 10 mm Lower Glacis (Upper) 60 mm (45°) + 10 mm Lower Glacis (Lower) 60 mm Turret ring	60 mm + 4 mm Top Front 43 mm + 4 mm Top & Bottom	43 mm Upper Glacis 43 mm (22°) Lower Glacis	15 - 18 mm Hull 20 mm Turret ring
Turret	43 mm (0°-23°-43°) Front 20 mm (0°-45°) Gun mantlet	43 mm	43 mm	20 - 43 mm

Notes:

• Tracks are 15 mm thick, suspention and it's wheels are both 10 mm thick.
• Hatches are 18 + 20 mm (81°) thick.
• At the rear there is a 100 mm thick log, but it does not provide any real protection

Mobility

Amphibious

The design allows you to swim and control movement in the water

Speedforward / back

AB78 / 23 km/h

RB and SB71 / 21 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight21.5 t

Engine power

AB954 hp

RB and SB500 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB44.4 hp/t

RB and SB23.3 hp/t

The 2S38 drives like the BMP-3. Namely, it is fast and accelerates well even in cross-country terrain. Travelling on long-distance maps will not be an issue for the 2S38. The only significant difference is that the 2S38 weights about 2.8 t more than the BMP-3, and so the small weight difference may affect the fine acceleration and forward momentum, but not by much.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	78	23	21.5	775	954	36.05	44.37
Realistic	71	21		442	500	20.56	23.26

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB2 992

RB2 797

SB3 683

Crew training10 000

Experts1 160 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces2 150 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 140 / 170 / 220 %

2 × 232 / 232 / 232 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment ESS	Horizontal Drive Dozer Blade Adjustment of Fire Airstrike LWS/LR 57mm_APFSDS_ammo_pack Elevation Mechanism Smoke grenade Scout UAV Artillery Support NVD Improved optics 57mm_HE_VT_ammo_pack

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

57 mm 2A90 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition148 rounds

Reload0.5 s

Vertical guidance-5° / 75°

The 57 mm 2A90 is a dual-purpose autocannon and can allow players to use it in both an anti-tank and anti-aircraft gun. While its top penetration for the anti-tank role is not ideal, with a point-blank penetration of 225 mm with the 3UBM22 APFSDS rounds, the rapid fire nature of the 57 mm gun means that quick follow-up shot from the first successful penetration can cripple, if not destroy, the enemy tank.

If firing at a tank's side armour, firing the BR-281U APCBC round with explosive filler can be considered to absolutely devastate the enemy interior with fewer shots and can destroy enemy units by aiming at weak, external spots (cupolas). It would trade maximum penetration of the round for destructive power, so it is up to player preference on which ammunition to use aiming at tank side armour.

57 mm 2A90						Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader
Arcade	148	120	-5°/+75°	±180°	Two-plane	57.1	79.1	96.0	106.2	113.0	0.50
Realistic						35.7	42.0	51.0	56.4	60.0

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
BR-281U	APCBC	151	147	132	114	100	87
OR-281U	HE*	17	17	15	13	11	10
3UBM22	APFSDS	225	221	209	193	177	161
3UO8	HE-VT*	17	17	15	13	11	10

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%
BR-281U	APCBC	1,000	2.8	1.2	9	20.02	48°	63°	71°
OR-281U	HE*	1,000	2.8	0.4	0.1	235.62	79°	80°	81°
3UBM22	APFSDS	1,500	0.95	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Proximity-fused shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Arming distance (m)	Trigger radius (m)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
									0%	50%	100%
3UO8	HE-VT*	1,000	2.8	0.1	0.1	500	6	231	79°	80°	81°

The sole and mechanized ammo rack for the autoloader.

Ammo racks

Full ammo	Visual discrepancy
148	Y/N (See note 1)

Notes:

• As they are modeled by sets of 2 or 3, shells disappear from the rack only after you've fired all shells in the set.
• As the 2S38 is equipped with an autoloader, manual reloading of the gun is not possible.
• The restocking time is longer than the normal reload time of the gun. Take this into account when playing.
• There is only 1 ammo rack, which is the mechanized ammo rack. Thus, all ammo is ready to be loaded.
• A damaged or destroyed power system increases the time to reloading rate (around 1 second when destroyed), but can be restored to full function
• Destruction of the autoloader disables reloading of the cannon until it is repaired

Machine guns

7.62 mm PKTM machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition750 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate700 shots/min

7.62 mm PKTM
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	750 (250)	700	-	-

Usage in battles

The 2S38 is played like a standard light tank: use your mobility and speed to flank enemies, and your gun is powerful enough to penetrate most tank's side and back armour. The gun has a very short reload time for its class (57mm) at an astounding 0.5s, letting you fire a few shots before the enemy can turn around and counterattack, that is if they aren't already heavily damaged or crippled. The 2S38 also has proximity-fused HE shells, allowing it to fire at helicopters and other aircraft to great effect because of its firerate, but also has an IRST system that can track air targets with a lead circle, turning the 2S38 into a jack-of-all-trades light tank. Because of the only and autoloaded ammo rack, you can fire many shots with the only consequence of overheating. The 2S38 also has great optics for its with gunner and commander thermals coupled with decent sight zoom. The decently high gun with the slim turret profile can help greatly when shooting over cover. All of these factors can make the 2S38 one of the best multirole ground vehicles in War Thunder. A shot to the rear is still going to damage the vehicle modules, but atleast the engine is low enough it can be damaged little.

However, it is not without its problems. Unlike some light tanks around its battle rating, it lacks the ability to reliably tank a shot or two. This is because of how many modules are scattered in the 2S38. As some light tanks can absorb shots because of empty space, such as in the rear, or engines taking the brute of damage, the same shots will cause crippling damage and often destruction to the 2S38, with the only relatively tanky area being between the engine and autoloader, but that should never be relied on. Shots into the front plate spell immediate doom for the 2S38 if it penetrates past the fuel tanks. Not only that, unlike a few light tanks, it doesn't have any meaningful armor and can be destroyed by 12.7mm machine guns to the side at close range, let alone autocannons, or even HE(AT) rounds hitting the upper roof plate or turret. If a shot doesn't knock out the three crew members lined up side by side at the front, it's almost guaranteed it'll take out the aiming drives and autoloader, not to mention the almost completely ammo-filled center, leading to ammo detonation and at best a powerless vehicle. The plentiful amount of modules means that even in the possibility of tanking a shot, does not mean you are always without crippling damage. Almost every aspect of the tank can be disabled: the stabilizer, IRST and autotracker, driving controls, autoloader, LWS/LR and thermals.

So, the 2S38 is the one of the best examples of a glass cannon in War Thunder: Powerful cannon, impressive mobility, strong optics, but armor as fragile as paper and internal survivability being near non existent.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Extremely fast reload at 0.5 seconds for the 57mm
• High mobility
• IRST target tracking system and HE-VT round allow for good anti-air capability
• Unmanned turret means it can get hit and not suffer crew losses
• APCBC is great for other IFVs, SPAAs, MBT sides, and APFSDS is good for almost all frontal armour for MBTs
• Large ammo rack at 148 pieces ensure you won't be running out of ammo soon
• Ammo variety lets it become one of the best multi-role vehicles, and is also amphibious + has a digging blade
• Modules can still be repaired to full function
• Great optics with thermals for gunner and commander, with decent zoom
• Relatively empty rear section, can tank a few shots, but not towards the center of mass

Cons:

• Weak armour, can be 12.7mm'd to the sides at close range
• Terrible post-penetration survivability, almost every aspect of the 2S38 can be disabled if lucky enough to even survive the shot. Plus, no reliable cover (engine, RHA) for the crew, only protected by fuel tanks that are prone to exploding or catching fire.
• Can overheat the cannon at prolonged periods of fire, but easily avoidable
• All crew in the front, lined up, so knock-outs are common
• Fuel tank explodes very easily
• Ammo near the turret means ammo detonations are incredibly easy when shooting at the turret, even when hull-down
• Crammed cannon section modules make multiple module destructions common, making it easy to cripple

History

In the mid 2010s, the Central Scientific Research Institute Burevestnik in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, developed an artillery turret with a 57mm cannon, designed for ships and armored vehicles. A little later, the module was upgraded for installation on the 2S38 platform (a modified version of the BMP-3 AFV chassis). The first prototype was demonstrated to the public in 2018, in 2020 2S38s took part in the Victory Day parade on Red Square in Moscow. At the moment, the vehicle is being commissioned for service with the Russian army.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the 2S38 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Unmanned Turret Tanks: Showcasing New Tech discusses the 2S38 at 01:56 - War Thunder Official Channel

The Shooting Range #328 - Metal Beasts section at 00:28 discusses the 2S38.

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

• [Development] 2S38 - Fast and Angry