P.7.T AA

P.7.T AA

P.7.T AA

France

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.3	1.3

Class:

SPAA

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

Show in game

Description

The Citroen Kegresse P.7.T is a rank I French self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". With its four 13.2 mm Hotchkiss Mle 1930 machine guns, it poses a certain threat to enemy aircraft while featuring poor mobility (off-road) and armour.

The P.7.T AA is a very classic interwar anti-air defence system with its guns mounted on a mobile but vulnerable chassis.

With only 3 exposed crew members, anything can damage, disable or destroy this vehicle. Its armour does not provide enough cover to the crew from any angle. Even .30 cals guns can easily destroy this vehicle, so be sure to stay out of sight from enemies.

The half-track configuration usually provides increased off-road mobility to wheeled vehicles while enabling to carry more weight over the tracked section, a rule to which the P.7.T AA is no exception: It can reliably move itself across any rough terrain. The only downside to this vehicle is its low HP, which makes hill climbing quite slow. This little engine also struggles to bring this much weight to its max speed: One should go downhill and hit the gas in order to reach 40 km/h. Turning on the spot is also a no-go since the tracks do not provide enough traction to the ground: Hit the forward key and gain some speed before attempting any manoeuvre. Be patient and choose your path wisely and you should reach your destination soon enough.

With its four HMGs, this SPAA is quite reminiscent of the GAZ-AAA (4M) while having much more firepower. Since these weapons fire simultaneously, one hit usually means four holes in your opponent, a heavy toll to the early planes (and biplanes) you will be shooting at this BR.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull0 / 0 / 0

Turret0 / 0 / 0

Crew3 people

Visibility67 %

Armour type:

• Structural steel (chassis, gun mount)
• Wheel (front tires)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Chassis	3 mm			N/A 3 mm Engine hood
Gun Mount	30 mm Base 20 mm Frame			N/A

Notes:

• Front tires are 10 mm thick.
• The gun platform is 10 mm thick (wood).
• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 7 mm thick, and torsion bars are not modeled.
• A 3 mm plate separates the driver cabin from the gun platform.
• Mudguards are 3 mm thick.

The P.7.T AA has practically no armour. Every crew member sits exposed to enemy fire, so even a light machine gun can knock out the entire crew in a matter of seconds. This means that the P.7.T AA should never be exposed to any enemy fire, including artillery barrages, enemy ground fire and even strafing attacks from aircraft. The only parts of the vehicle that might stop a rifle-calibre round are the engine block and the gun mount.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB44 / 8 km/h

RB and SB41 / 8 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

1 back

Weight2.2 t

Engine power

AB38 hp

RB and SB20 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB17.3 hp/t

RB and SB9.1 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	44	8	2.2	28	38	12.73	17.27
Realistic	41	8		18	20	8.18	9.09

The mobility is above average and smooth overall, while no terrain poses a challenge due to the half-track system. Due to the relatively high potential speed, the P.7.T AA can quickly get into an advantageous position on the map to shoot down planes. Just be sure to keep an eye out for flanking light tanks or fast medium tanks such as the Panzer III and IV, as anything can annihilate you with mere MG fire.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB102 → 131

RB90 → 115

SB139 → 178

Total cost of modifications2 970

890

Talisman cost190

Crew training200

Experts1 000

Aces20

Research Aces96 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

10 / 10 / 20 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 200 Cost: 60 50 Suspension Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Brake System Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Filters Research: 250 Cost: 75 65 Transmission Research: 320 Cost: 95 80 Engine Research: 320 Cost: 95 80	Improved Parts Research: 200 Cost: 60 50 Improved FPE Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Crew Replenishment Research: 250 Cost: 75 65	Horizontal Drive Research: 200 Cost: 60 50 Adjustment of Fire Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Elevation Mechanism Research: 250 Cost: 75 65 Artillery Support Research: 320 Cost: 95 80

Armaments

Main armament

4 x 13.2 mm Hotchkiss Mle 1930 machine gun

Ammunition1 440 rounds

Belt capacity30 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

3.9 → 3.0 s

Fire rate450 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 45°

The quad 13.2 mm Hotchkiss HMGs have excellent performance against low-tier aircraft and start fires very easily since the belts contain pure AP rounds. With their above-average rate of fire, high damage, good accuracy and decent reload speed, they are an excellent choice for someone who enjoys AA gameplay. It is worth noting that they have a limited magazine capacity, only 30 rounds per gun, but this is more-or-less remedied by the fact that there are 4 guns, allowing for 120 rounds total.

The P.7's low BR also means that the 13.2 mm MGs can be decent at destroying reserve and BR 1.3 tanks from the sides and rear. Generally speaking this is a terrible idea though, and should only be reserved as a last ditch effort.

13.2 mm Hotchkiss Mle 1930 (x4)						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	1,440 (30)	450	-10°/+45°	±180°	N/A	52.84	73.13	88.80	98.20	104.47	7.80	6.90	6.36	6.00
Realistic						35.70	42.00	51.00	56.40	60.00

Ammunition

• AP-T: AP · AP-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
AP	28	25	16	10	6	3
AP-T	28	25	16	10	6	3

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
AP	800	0.05	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°
AP-T	800	0.05	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the P.7.T AA

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
48	40 (+8)	36 (+12)	28 (+20)	20 (+28)	4 (+44)	Yes

Notes:

• The ammunition is modeled as clips of 30 rounds.
• The visual discrepancy concerns the total number of clips as well as the number of clips per rack:
  • 38 clips are modeled but you can pack 48 clips.
  • Rack 4 is modeled as 8 clips but contains 10 clips (the last 2 clips count for 4 clips).
  • Rack 5 is modeled as 8 clips but contains 16 clips (every 2 clips count for 4 clips).

Usage in battles

Overview:

The P.7.T AA has a total lack of armour, so the best strategy is to stay away from enemy ground vehicles and focus on planes. However, the guns do have some penetration, so targeting enemy ground vehicles is a possibility. The limited mobility and lack of armour make fighting enemy ground vehicles very difficult for the P.7.T AA.

Tips:

Playing the P.7.T by focusing on air targets is the most viable strategy. Do not spawn this vehicle early game since there will be few planes to shoot at. Do not engage aircraft too early, as you will only expose yourself. Begin firing at less than 1 km range for the best effect. Always watch out for multiple aircraft, as if they strafe you, you will almost certainly die. The guns are surprisingly potent, and will quickly dispatch most air targets after a few hits, although some heavy fighters and bombers may prove challenging to destroy. When engaging enemy tanks, you can reverse from behind a building to only expose the gunner to enemy fire.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Four 13.2 mm machine guns, able to destroy weakly armoured foes like the Ha-Go, AS 42 or T-26, and aircraft like the He 51
• AP/AP-T belt as default means it has anti-tank potential even when stock
• Excellent at actually being an SPAA. A high rate of fire and powerful rounds will shred planes at the rank
• Good at suppressing enemy vehicles
• Light: easy to tow from enemy fire when immobilised
• Can damage some tanks from their weaker sides, like the LVT(A) series, Pz.IV C or Pz.II
• Does not lose too much speed when turning due to the half-track configuration

Cons:

• Very low survivability - the crew is exposed, extremely vulnerable to anything especially enemy MG, nearby artillery, bombs and rockets and HE shrapnel, even 7.62 mm MGs can damage critical parts like the engine or transmission
• Has difficulty penetrating most enemy tanks frontally, for example Pz.II, B1 bis
• Reload time is rather long, stopping it from firing back in critical times
• Poor off-road mobility and climbing ability makes it slow on hills
• The four cannons fire synchronously, which reduces the chances to hit an aircraft
• Gun platform turning and elevation rate are a bit slow (slow reaction, hard to follow close/fast targets)
• Limited elevation of 45° limits its effectiveness against targets directly above it, for example dive bombers like Ju 87 B2
• Driver blocks the gun in a frontal ~90° arc, may not be able to swing the hull around in time to combat sudden encounters

History

The first half-tracks were built by Frenchman Adolphe Kegresse for Russia in 1910-11. After the First World War Kegresse returned to France to work with Citroen to produce half-tracks for the French Army starting in the 1920s. By 1940, these unarmoured Kegresse-Citroen half-tracks (the P.17, P.19, P.107, and MCG variants) were used primarily for towing artillery, although a small number of closed-top half-track armoured cars (the P.16) were also in service. The P.7.T had been an earlier Kegresse model, built between 1925 and 1927. The French, who had created the first self-propelled anti-aircraft gun-truck back in 1913, would continue through the interwar period experimenting with various truck-mounted AA weapons like those shown in this model.

Media

Images

• 

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the P.7.T AA from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #141 (April Fool's) - Metal Beasts section at 00:39 discusses the P.7.T AA.

See also

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• M13 MGMC
• GAZ-AAA (DShK)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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

France anti-aircraft vehicles
Wheeled/Half-tracked	P.7.T AA · CCKW 353 AA · TPK 6.41
AMX-13 Derivatives	VTT DCA · AMX-13 DCA 40
Radar SPAAG	AMX-30 S DCA
Missile SPAA	SANTAL · Roland 1 · ▄ItO 90M
Other	AMX-10P