Tzefa A

This page is about the Israeli attack helicopter Tzefa A. For other versions, see AH-1 (Family).

Tzefa A

Tzefa A

Israel

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	8.0	8.0

Class:

Attack helicopter

Research:Free

Purchase:390 000

Show in game

Description

During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Israel saw a gap in their doctrine and armament. They realized that they lacked fast response units and that helicopters could be the way to go. The first batch of AH-1s (called Tzefa in Hebrew) arrived at Israel in 1977. During its early days, the Tzefa saw most of its actions in Lebanon, suppressing enemy uprisings, countering enemy armour and attacking entrenched infantry in buildings and fortifications. They also saw extensive use against Syria in the 1982 Lebanon War where several trucks and tanks were destroyed. The Tzefa had no modifications over the American AH-1G, but was upgraded over the years up to the Tzefa E variant. This helicopters were eventually fitted with TOW ATGMs and due to the US arms embargo they were used alongside MD-500 Defenders (Lahatut).

Introduced in Update "Danger Zone", the AH-1G Tzefa A has the same exact model and performance of the American AH-1G, thus they have the same performance. It's a fast helicopter, at its BR, it's quite agile but it lacks ATGMs unlike many helicopters. Instead of that, it only has access to rocket pods without ballistics computers. It also has 2 x 7.62 mm minguns and a 20 mm rotary cannon, but those are not very useful even against lightly armored targets. In Arcade Battles, the helicopter can be a little hard to level up, it could be used against enemy columns and positions but SPAA is very lethal at short ranges, so it's a good idea waiting for slower helicopters armed with ATGMs to take them out. In ground RB or SB, the Tzefa A can rush the frontline really quickly, and destroy a few targets if its flown with careful planning. Since SPAA can destroy you in a single salvo, it's a good idea using buildings and hills as cover and get close while the enemy is not engaging you.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 1 000 m277 km/h

Max altitude3 475 m

EngineLycoming Engines T53-L-13

Power1 100 hp

Take-off weight4 t

The Tzefa A has a relatively slow climb rate, descent speed, and mediocre acceleration. In order to accelerate quickly, you need to tip the nose of the helicopter almost perpendicular to the ground. The manoeuvrability is also quite descent at high speeds, having good control. However, something to note is that when trying to suddenly stop the helicopter, if you tip the nose up, you will start to roll to one side. This essentially eliminates the ability for this helicopter to stop quickly. Keep that in mind when flying this vehicle. There are several weapon selections for this vehicle. This includes a 20 mm cannon, 2 x 7.62 mm machine guns, 28 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets, or 76 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 1,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)
	AB	RB
Stock	258	245	3475
Upgraded	296	277

Survivability and armour

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural450 km/h

Gear420 km/h

This helicopter is quite resilient when it comes to being hit. Being how skinny it is, it is quite hard to hit, especially when moving at high speeds. The pilot and gunner are secured in two separate cockpits in the front of the helicopter with 20 mm of kevlar protection for the crew. The most vulnerable part of the helicopter is the engine and tail. Being shot in these two vital places is almost guaranteed to send you back to the respawn screen. Being shot in the engine significantly decreases your flight performance which can lead to a crash due to terrain. Also, being shot in the tail will probably take out your tail control. With no tail control, you spin out of control and you'll crash.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB9 628 → 12 574

RB2 778 → 3 628

SB4 189 → 5 470

Total cost of modifications112 500

208 500

Talisman cost2 100

Crew training110 000

Experts390 000

Aces1 700

Research Aces720 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

100 / 300 / 430 %

196 / 196 / 196 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Compressor Research: 4 600 Cost: 8 500 170 Replacing helicopter blades Research: 8 500 Cost: 16 000 320 Engine Research: 14 000 Cost: 26 000 520	Flak jacket Research: 4 600 Cost: 8 500 170 Helicopter frame Research: 8 500 Cost: 16 000 320 Cover Research: 12 000 Cost: 22 000 450	M163_Minigun_new_gun Research: 4 600 Cost: 8 500 170 Gun pod M18A1 Research: 4 600 Cost: 8 500 170 M200A1 Research: 4 600 Cost: 8 500 170 M129 Research: 8 500 Cost: 16 000 320 Gun pod XM-35 Research: 14 000 Cost: 26 000 520 grenade_launcher_M129_new_gun Research: 12 000 Cost: 22 000 450 ah_1g_xm35_belt_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 22 000 450

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Tzefa A is armed with:

• A choice between two presets:
  • 2 x 7.62 mm M134 Minigun machine guns (4,000 rpg = 8,000 total)
  • 2 x 40 mm M129 cannons (300 rpg = 600 total)

There are essentially three options for offensive armaments. A 20 mm cannon, 2 x 7.62 machine guns, or FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets. The 20 mm cannons are good for dealing with light vehicles and IFVs. The 7.62 mm is good if you wish to defend yourself against open-top vehicles or planes, and the FFAR rockets are good for destroying tanks. Most of the time, you'll take the FFAR rockets into battle. These rockets are unguided, which means you'll need to "spam" them in order to hit a target.

Suspended armament

The Tzefa A can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

	1	2	3	4
20 mm M195 cannons (950 rpg)			1
7.62 mm M134 Minigun machine guns (1,500 rpg)		1	1
FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets	7, 19	7, 19	7, 19	7, 19

Default weapon presets
Without load 28 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets 76 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets 2 x 7.62 mm M134 Minigun machine guns (1,500 rpg = 3,000 total) 1 x 20 mm M195 cannon (950 rpg)

Usage in battles

The Tzefa A is a quite low profile helicopter. This means you can easily "sneak" around the battlefield almost unseen. Your best element in this helicopter is the element of surprise. Try not to linger too long in any specific area, or you'll most definitely be shot down. Another tactic is to simply run straight into the battlefield at a low altitude, high speed, and "boom n zoom". Using this tactic is much riskier as you are most prone to being fired upon, but it also offers a quicker disengagement. The most dangerous enemies you'll encounter are the Gepard, Strela, and most AA at this BR. The best way to kill these targets is to fly low to the ground, and flank around to their side and shoot them.

In summary, the Tzefa A should be played cautiously. With correct usage, it can wreak havoc on the enemy team. Be careful when you come into contact with enemy AA, as you are very vulnerable in certain spots. Try to avoid getting shot in the engine and tail as those are vital to the flight of your helicopter. As you engage targets, make sure you always have a plan to disengage quickly in case things go wrong. Use the low profile of the helicopter to your advantage to "sneak" around and only pop up when you're about to strike.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• High manoeuvrability
• Lots of rockets
• Low profile makes it a small target to hit
• The airframe is very resilient
• High speed

Cons:

• Being shot in the engine/tail is almost guaranteed to knock the helicopter out
• Low climb rate
• Cannot stop quickly if needed

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the helicopter 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 vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Tzefa A from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

AH-1 Cobra Ultimate Review - Bob Dickinson

See also

Related development

• AH-1 (Family)
  • AH-1G
  • Tzefa B

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

Israel helicopters
Attack
MD 500	Lahatut
Battle Hawk	AH-60
Cobra	Tzefa D/E · Tzefa A · Tzefa B
Apache	Saraph · Peten · AH-64A Peten