SPz 12-3 LGS

SPz 12-3 LGS

SPz 12-3 LGS

Germany

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	6.7	6.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

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Description

The SPz 12-3 LGS is based on the HS.30, a German Infantry Fighting Vehicle, which was also the first IFV in the world. Unfortunately, being the first in any field has consequences, and the HS.30 was quickly outpaced by first the Soviet Union's BMP-1 and a mere 4 years later (from the SPz 12-3 LGS's deployment) by the Marder family of IFVs in the Bundeswehr. Due to performance shortfalls and a rocky development history, the vehicle's initial 10,680 strong order was drastically slashed to just 2,176 vehicles, of which the SPz 12-3 LGS was a part of. The most notable change from the HS.30 to the SPz 12-3 LGS is the very noticeable 106 mm recoilless rifle that takes up the infantry compartment, which augmented the vehicle's lethality against enemy armoured vehicles with its high-penetration chemical rounds. The SPz 12-3 LGS was produced starting 1965 as a conversion of the HS.30, but all HS.30-derived vehicles were all but retired by the 1980 mark as the Bundeswehr transitioned to the Marder series of IFVs as well as the Raketenjagdpanzer series of tank destroyers in a transition to more effective, reliable vehicles.

The Schützenpanzer 12-3 mit Leichtgeschütz was introduced in Update "La Royale" as a reward for Battle Pass: Season XII, "Armour Breaking Ambusher". Equipped with a 20 mm MK20-1 autocannon and a 106 mm M40A1 recoilless rifle, it is able to engage both light and heavy armour effectively with high levels of versatility. While the hull is noticeably more sluggish compared to its upsized brethren such as the JPz 4-5 due to an underpowered engine, it is also a much smaller vehicle and can easily hide the hull behind cover to ambush unsuspecting enemies. However, as the gun depression of the M40A1 is only -6 degrees, the vehicle doesn't have as much flexibility as other 106 mm recoilless rifle carriers at a similar BR, such as the M50 and its -10 degree gun depression. Still, it is enough to utilize most spots on the map by only showing the upper right corner of your hull to fire, greatly increasing your survivability by not being seen in the first place until it's too late. Armour is adequate enough to stop low powered autocannons at range, but any serious enemy fire will easily penetrate your thin armour without much issue, so it's best to use the map to play around this weakness. And it has a really cool, you no see me gun.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull30 / 15 / 20

Turret30 / 15 / 15

Crew5 people

Visibility84 %

The protection of the SPz 12-3 is fairly poor. The armour is insufficient to protect itself against close up heavy machine gun fire, with the majority of the hull and portions of the turret easily ripped to shreds from any angle. However, the poor armour protection can sometimes be a benefit, as rounds may pass through without fusing the shell's explosive filler. It is best to assume any hit you take will be fatal, and you should play around this fact accordingly to increase your potency on the battlefield.

The SPz 12-3's crew compartment is a bit strange in terms of layout, with 3 of the crew being cramped together in the front of the vehicle near the turret, and the other two being behind them with ammunition between the two compartments. This can allow some glancing shots - mostly lower calibre rounds or rounds with relatively low spall such as APDS rounds - to be taken, although the abundance of ammunition inside the vehicle somewhat diminishes this upside.

The one redeeming quality in terms of survivability this vehicle has is its extremely small profile. This enables the SPz 12-3 to very easily hide behind objects, and even operate its gun from behind fairly low obstacles with little risk of being destroyed, as the recoilless rifle sits well above the squishy body of this light tank.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	30 mm (55°) Upper glacis 20 mm (45°) Lower glacis	15 mm (34°) Top 15 mmBottom	20 mm (55°) Upper glacis 20 mm (45°) Lower glacis	30 mm (35°) Front glacis 10 mm Crew and engine compartments 20 mm (35°) Rear glacis
Turret	30 mm (55°) Turret front 30 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet	15 mm (14-17°)	15 mm (14-15°)	30 mm (35°) Turret front 10 mm (6°) Turret rear)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, tracks, and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 11 mm thick.
• Track undersides are 10 mm thick.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB62 / 15 km/h

RB and SB56 / 13 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

2 back

Weight16.0 t

Engine power

AB420 hp

RB and SB220 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB26.3 hp/t

RB and SB13.8 hp/t

The SPz 12-3 LGS is slightly underwhelming as a vehicle in terms of mobility. The later JPz 4-5 and RakJPz 2/RakJPz 2 (HOT) hulls have significantly better mobility as well as a reverse gearbox, while the LGS has a HP/ton between that of the Tiger 1 and Panther series of vehicles at best and is not suited to flanking across the map early on. The vehicle's top speed is adequate at 56 km/h, and the reverse gear also isn't lacking at a sufficient 13 km/h speed. Overall, the vehicle will carry you to where you need to be, but it is always best to assume enemy light tanks have already taken the most advantageous positions by the time you reach similar spots.

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	15	16	341	420	21.31	26.25
Realistic	56	13		195	220	12.19	13.75

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB2 161

RB2 638

SB3 608

Crew training10 000

Experts440 000

Aces1 100

Research Aces1 340 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 120 / 160 / 210 %

2 × 190 / 190 / 190 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment Smoke grenade	Horizontal Drive Adjustment of Fire Airstrike Elevation Mechanism Artillery Support Improved optics

Armaments

Main armament

106 mm Recoilless Rifle M40A1

Ammunition28 rounds

First-order20 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

13.0 → 10.0 s

Vertical guidance-17° / 65°

The SPz 12-3 LGS comes equipped with a 106 mm recoilless rifle - sporting fairly hefty damage but with a noticeable reload and slow traverse rate - traits that limit your reactiveness as lining up a shot takes longer than most contemporaries. This lends the vehicle more to an ambush playstyle to play around the gun, using slight inclines to 'lob' the shells at your enemies exploiting the somewhat high drop the shells have after launch. It is preferable to use the HEAT ammo over the HESH ammunition, as the HESH rounds are more fickle with damage and are less flexible overall.

106 mm M40A1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	28	-6°/+13°	±180°	-	9.5	13.2	16.0	17.7	18.8	13.00	11.50	10.60	10.00
Realistic					5.9	7.0	8.5	9.4	10.0

Ammunition

The SPz 12-3 LGS uses the same 106 mm recoilless rifle, widely used by multiple Western-aligned countries at this BR. Players can utilize either the M344A1 or M361A1 projectiles as their primary ammunition - M344A1 is a shaped charge ammunition with high penetration, while M361A1 is a HESH round that can go through even high angled plates of thin thickness. M344A1 is sufficient at penetrating anything the SPz 12-3 LGS faces at its BR, but the damage can be mediocre as the jet travels in a straight line inside the vehicle. M361A1 on the other hand lacks the raw penetration of the HEAT round, but doesn't care about angles so if you shoot at an armored plate with a thickness lower than your shell's penetration, however angled, the shell will be able to do critical damage to the enemy. However, when M361A1 comes into contact with spaced armour, it will do no damage because of how HESH works. Both rounds are chemical in nature with very sensitive fuses, so the rounds can explode early if they come in contact with objects such as fences, bushes, ERA, tracks or spaced armor - meaning players should be aware of their surroundings when shooting an enemy. Both rounds also have low muzzle velocity at 503 m/s and 498 m/s and a noticeable shell drop, which can be a blessing and a curse at the same time as it's hard to get used to but also allows you to lob shells on arcing trajectories over small obstacles. Sniping at range isn't impossible but is generally not recommended due to the innately slow muzzle velocity and significant shell drop.

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
M344A1	HEAT	433	433	433	433	433	433
M361A1	HESH	152	152	152	152	152	152

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M344A1	HEAT	503	7.96	0	0.01	1.65	65°	72°	77°
M361A1	HESH	498	7.95	0.1	4	5.04	73°	77°	80°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the SPz 12-3 LGS

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
28	25 (+3)	21 (+7)	1 (+27)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear from the rack after having been loaded into the breech.
• Rack 3 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 20 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.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 and 2 into rack 3. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.

Additional armament

20 mm MK20-1 cannon

Ammunition600 rounds

Belt capacity120 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

9.1 → 7.0 s

Fire rate900 shots/min

Vertical guidance-6° / 20°

Horizontal guidance-100° / 100°

The SPz 12-3 LGS comes equipped with a 20 mm autocannon, capable of moderate traverse both in the vertical and horizontal axes. It has moderate penetration and slews slower than expected, meaning it's more ideal against enemy open top or light vehicles than enemy aircraft. Against an enemy plane it is better to try and 'pre-aim' to a spot the plane will be passing rather than trying to actively adjust your aim, as the slew rate is below average and will most likely be unable to keep up with a close up aircraft in at least one axis. It is also a very helpful tool to destroy fences and trees for the 106 mm main gun, letting you stay in less ideal spots that other players may not expect to pounce on them at an opportune moment.

20 mm MK20-1						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	600 (120)	900	-6°/+20°	±100°	-	29	39	48	53	56	9.1	8.1	7.4	7
Realistic						18	21	25	28	30

Ammunition

The MK20-1 comes with 2 belts, DM51A1 and DM43. Your primary belt should be DM43 as it contains 3 HVAP rounds for 1 HEI-T round in the belt. While the DM51A1 can be used to destroy extremely light or open-topped vehicles with the HEI-T rounds in the belt. Players are also able to utilize the MK20-1 to shoot at low-flying aircraft, however this should be a last resort due to the poor vertical traverse and poor turret rotation speed of the gun. It is to be noted that the autocannon cannot switch belts immediately like on the Marder IFVs due to the lack of a dual feed system, so caution is to be exercised when firing the gun with a loose trigger finger.

• DM51A1: HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · HVAP-T
• DM43: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEFI-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
HVAP-T	57	52	37	24	15	10
HEFI-T*	7	6	5	3	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%
HVAP-T	1,100	0.11	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°
HEFI-T*	1,100	0.13	0.1	0.1	11.05	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
5	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

12.7 mm M8C machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition120 rounds

Belt capacity10 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

3.2 → 2.5 s

Fire rate300 shots/min

The SPz 12-3 LGS is also equipped with a spotting machine gun attached to the recoilless rifle. Due to the gun's fixed mount and very low ammunition count per clip, it is only useful for knocking down fences or killing exposed crew in case the 20 mm autocannon is unavailable.

12.7 mm M8C
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	120 (5)	300	-	-

Usage in battles

The SPz 12-3 LGS is a versatile ambusher with many tools available to it. Think of the vehicle as a Swiss Army Knife of sorts - it has various tools at its disposal that let it perform many things despite its other shortcomings. It may not be the best choice for every map or situation, but on most maps it can offer at least some kind of strength in its role respective to other vehicles in your lineup.

The armour is probably the weakest aspect of the vehicle, something which is painfully obvious for all vehicles on similar hulls. The HS.30 was the world's first IFV, and as such the pioneering nature of the vehicle in the field does little to help your survivability on the battlefield. More akin to APCs of the time like the M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier than the BMPs or Marder IFVs in armour, your best survival tactic is to just avoid enemy fire entirely. The vehicle's low profile thankfully helps with this a lot, letting you use low mounds or roads as basic cover in times of need. Try and position yourself so that the vehicle can reverse out to get your gun on target, which also allows you to scoot off quickly after firing to evade return fire completely.

Mobility is slightly disappointing, with the vehicle sporting a HP/ton between that of the Tiger and Panther at around 13.75 HP/ton, which is surprisingly low considering the modified and improved Kanonenjagdpanzer hull has a HP/ton of near 20. This means that the SPz 12-3 LGS won't be leading the vanguard to the enemy frontlines; rather, you will be moving alongside your medium and heavy tanks as the second line of defense. As such, it is important to keep in mind that the best ambushing positions are likely to already have been taken by both your enemy and your own team's light vehicles. Playing slightly more laid-back also helps as your reload is slower than average, so this lets you retreat safely without the threat of being run over.

Firepower is the real standout of the vehicle - if you could call it that. The 106 mm Recoilless Rifle is hard to master at ranges past a few hundred meters, but it also has fairly good damage, causes overpressure easily on open top vehicles and the arcing trajectory sometimes enables shots that would be troublesome with contemporary tank guns. The 20 mm autocannon also allows you to knock down terrain obstructions on the map - something its similar cousins such as the FIAT 6614 or Type 60 SPRG (C) noticeably lack - while also letting you conserve ammunition / act as a fallback against light vehicles and the occasional plane. The cannon can also be used to disable an enemy's tracks or barrel when retreating, and the 106 mm can launch over small hills as enemies try and push up to overrun you. The long reload and sometimes inconsistent spalling of the HEAT round are, however, downsides you should keep in mind at all times.

Overall, while the vehicle isn't the most versatile, it is still a surprisingly capable vehicle that overcomes a fair few problems similar vehicles of its type have. It does noticeably lose out on some areas, for example size and gun angles for the Type 60 and mobility for the FIAT 6614, but the 20 mm autocannon turret and low profile generally lend itself well to ambush plays. Some tricks, like positioning the gun to one side and reversing out a mild incline to 'shoot'n scoot', can add to the versatility of the vehicle, but at the end of the day the SPz 12-3 LGS performs best on fairly close quarters, shrub-free maps. Hiding behind concrete piles with the gun just barely sticking out, shooting a critically damaging shot before scooting off to another position on the map, you can be a thorn in the enemy's side and cause all sorts of problems when masterfully played. Just remember at all times that your gun may not deal a one-hit kill all the time, and that if you do miss your armour is lacking and your gun's reload fairly long, and the vehicle will allow some very unique playstyles for the German tree.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 106 mm recoilless rifle can effortlessly cleave through enemy armour with HEAT
• 20 mm MK20-1 autocannon will shred and destroy lightly-armoured vehicles, aircraft and enemy track/barrels
• 20 mm cannon also lets you destroy shrubs and fences, clearing the way for your main gun
• The recoilless rifle is lifted high above the vehicle, allowing the vehicle to exploit positions that can cover the entire vehicle while having the gun sticking out, usually to one side
• Hull is very small and low to the ground

Cons:

• Poor survivability against anything above light MG fire
• The 20 mm MK20-1 cannon has a sluggish traverse rate, limiting effectiveness against aircraft
• 106 mm recoilless rifle rounds have poor muzzle velocity and high shell drop
• Bushes and fences can catch the 106 mm HEAT rounds if unattended to with the 20 mm
• Reload is fairly lengthy, can be very punishing
• Somewhat low ammunition count of 17 rounds

History

Anti-tank modifications on the Swiss-developed HS.30 armoured personnel carriers began to be introduced to the Bundeswehr in 1966. They were built as the long-chassis APC SPz 12-3 (SPz lg) with a roof-mounted rotary mount with an American M40A1 106mm recoilless rifle. This modification was a fighting vehicle with 5 men crew to control both the 20-mm automatic gun and anti-tank rifle. Since 1971, the anti-tank SPz 12-3 vehicles have been gradually withdrawn from the regular formations of the German army and replaced with the Marder infantry fighting vehicles. A small batch of SPz 12-3 was handed over to the Peruvian army, the rest of the vehicles were dismantled, used as targets at training grounds, or placed in museums.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the SPz 12-3 LGS from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #367 - Metal Beasts section at 00:24 discusses the SPz 12-3 LGS.

Battle Pass: Armour Breaking Ambusher discusses the SPz 12-3 LGS at 2:37 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

Related development

• Schutzenpanzer Lang (Family)

External links

• [Devblog] Battle Pass vehicles: SPz 12-3