Difference between revisions of "B1 bis"

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(Updated template w/ new design, Moved texts around to appropriate sections)
(Removed mentions of the grille being a weakpoint, as it's no longer so. Edited armor table. Filled in missing values for 47mm turret traverse and reload speed table.)
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''If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''-->
 
''If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''-->
−
In order to effectively use this tank's armour, there is a few things to consider. First of all, there ''a lot'' of shot traps, the main ones being the turret ring, the grille on the left side and the hull gun mount, in order to minimize your enemies' chance to hit these weak spots, stay away from them. Second, even if your armour is ''very strong'' for the BR, do not completely rely on it by sitting around in an open field: you will eventually get hit where it hurts. The third thing to consider is your small and thick turret: hide that big clumsy hull behind a hill and pop out only your hard "head", take a shot, fall back, reload, repeat. If something goes wrong (i.e. getting shot in the turret ring), there is usually enough men left to take the job left by their dead "camarade". Do not bother getting spotted: it is your job to stay in the enemies' sights while your lighter teammates do what they ought to. In some situations, it can even be used as a breakthrough tank, rely on your own experience to guess when it is time to do so.
+
In order to effectively use this tank's armour, there is a few things to consider. First of all, there ''a lot'' of shot traps, the main ones being the turret ring and the hull gun mount, in order to minimize your enemies' chance to hit these weak spots, stay away from them. Second, even if your armour is ''very strong'' for the BR, do not completely rely on it by sitting around in an open field: you will eventually get hit where it hurts. The third thing to consider is your small and thick turret: hide that big clumsy hull behind a hill and pop out only your hard "head", take a shot, fall back, reload, repeat. If something goes wrong (i.e. getting shot in the turret ring), there is usually enough men left to take the job left by their dead "camarade". Do not bother getting spotted: it is your job to stay in the enemies' sights while your lighter teammates do what they ought to. In some situations, it can even be used as a breakthrough tank, rely on your own experience to guess when it is time to do so.
  
−
When fighting the B1 bis, due to the extremely heavy frontal armor, one should try to use mobility to flank the B1. However, if that isn't possible, you'll want to try and hit the "mailslot" of the turret ring. It may be a tricky shot, but there's only ~40 mm of armor there. If left flank is exposed, the grille is only 15 mm thick and has a well-placed fuel tank right behind it, turning the B1 into a burning torch, ready to explode.
+
When fighting the B1 bis, due to the extremely heavy frontal armor, one should try to use mobility to flank the B1. However, if that isn't possible, you'll want to try and hit the "mailslot" of the turret ring. It may be a tricky shot, but there's only ~40 mm of armor there.
  
 
'''Armour type:'''
 
'''Armour type:'''
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! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Hull || 60 mm (7-62°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 60 mm (32-48°) ''Lower glacis'' || 55 mm ''Center'' <br> 55 + 55 mm ''Border'' <br> 15 mm ''Engine grille'' || 25 mm (77°) ''Top'' <br> 50 mm (1°) ''Center'' <br> 55 mm (46°) ''Bottom'' || 25 mm  
+
| Hull || 60 mm (7-62°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 60 mm (32-48°) ''Lower glacis'' || 55 mm ''Center Mass''<br> 55 + 55 mm ''Border'' || 50 mm (1-47°)   || 25 mm (77-89°)
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Turret || 56 mm (0-46°) ''Turret front'' <br> 56 mm (1-85°) ''Gun mantlet'' <br> 56 mm (0-49°) ''Machine gun cover''|| 56 mm (2-19°) || 56 mm (18-19°) <br> 38.1 mm (18°) ''Turret hatch'' || 30 mm
+
| Turret || 56 mm (0-46°) ''Turret front'' <br> 56 mm (1-85°) ''Gun mantlet'' <br> 56 mm (0-49°) ''Machine gun cover''|| 56 mm (2-19°) || 56 mm (18-19°) || 30 mm (62-89°)
 
|-
 
|-
 
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof  
 
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof  
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* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
 
* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
−
* Turret ring armour is 25-40 mm thick.
+
* Lower turret ring armour 40 mm thick, while upper turret ring
 +
* armour is 25 mm plus 40 mm thick.
 +
* Belly armour is 20mm thick.
 +
* Gun barrel is 15mm thick.
  
 
=== Mobility ===
 
=== Mobility ===
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|''Arcade''
 
|''Arcade''
 
|396
 
|396
−
|___
+
|488
 
|-
 
|-
 
|''Realistic/Simulator''
 
|''Realistic/Simulator''
 
|272
 
|272
−
|___
+
|307
 
|-
 
|-
 
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
 
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
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|''Arcade''
 
|''Arcade''
 
|12.37
 
|12.37
−
|__.__
+
|15.25
 
|-
 
|-
 
|''Realistic/Simulator''
 
|''Realistic/Simulator''
 
|8.50
 
|8.50
−
|__.__
+
|9.59
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
 
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
 
|-
 
|-
−
| ''Arcade'' || 5.90 || 8.20 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
+
| ''Arcade'' || 8.09 || 11.20 || 13.6 || 15.04 || 16.00
 
|-
 
|-
−
| ''Realistic'' || 5.90 || 7.00 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
+
| ''Realistic'' || 5.95 || 7.00 || 8.50 || 9.40 || 10.00
 
|-
 
|-
 
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
 
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
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! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace Qualif.
 
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace Qualif.
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 9.80 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
+
| 9.75 || 8.62 || 7.95 || 7.5
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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== See also ==
 
== See also ==
 
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
 
''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;''
 
* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
 
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''
 
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''
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== External links ==
 
== External links ==
 
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
 
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
 +
 
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
 
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
 
* ''encyclopedia page on the tank;''
 
* ''encyclopedia page on the tank;''

Revision as of 02:48, 25 May 2019

Rank VI USA | Premium | Golden Eagles
A-10A Thunderbolt (Early)
B1 bis
fr_b1_bis.png
B1 bis
France flag.png France
II Rank
Battle rating:
AB RB SB
2.3 2.3 2.3
Class:
Research:7 900 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:10 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game
This page is about the heavy tank B1 bis. For the pack version, see B1 ter.

Description

GarageImage B1 bis.jpg


The Char de bataille B1 bis (Battle tank B1 "repeated") is a Rank II French heavy tank with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". With arguably the best armour at its BR, this tank is a beast in long-range engagements since it is hard to penetrate at distances. While not having the best armament, it should do the job taking care of these dangerous early SPGs and light tanks. The "bis" suffix is a French way of marking an improved version.

General info

Survivability and armour

In order to effectively use this tank's armour, there is a few things to consider. First of all, there a lot of shot traps, the main ones being the turret ring and the hull gun mount, in order to minimize your enemies' chance to hit these weak spots, stay away from them. Second, even if your armour is very strong for the BR, do not completely rely on it by sitting around in an open field: you will eventually get hit where it hurts. The third thing to consider is your small and thick turret: hide that big clumsy hull behind a hill and pop out only your hard "head", take a shot, fall back, reload, repeat. If something goes wrong (i.e. getting shot in the turret ring), there is usually enough men left to take the job left by their dead "camarade". Do not bother getting spotted: it is your job to stay in the enemies' sights while your lighter teammates do what they ought to. In some situations, it can even be used as a breakthrough tank, rely on your own experience to guess when it is time to do so.

When fighting the B1 bis, due to the extremely heavy frontal armor, one should try to use mobility to flank the B1. However, if that isn't possible, you'll want to try and hit the "mailslot" of the turret ring. It may be a tricky shot, but there's only ~40 mm of armor there.

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
  • Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)'
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 60 mm (7-62°) Front glacis
60 mm (32-48°) Lower glacis 		55 mm Center Mass
55 + 55 mm Border 		50 mm (1-47°) 25 mm (77-89°)
Turret 56 mm (0-46°) Turret front
56 mm (1-85°) Gun mantlet
56 mm (0-49°) Machine gun cover		 56 mm (2-19°) 56 mm (18-19°) 30 mm (62-89°)
Armour Sides Roof
Cupola 48 mm 30 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
  • Lower turret ring armour 40 mm thick, while upper turret ring
  • armour is 25 mm plus 40 mm thick.
  • Belly armour is 20mm thick.
  • Gun barrel is 15mm thick.

Mobility

This tank's mobility won't allow you to position fast enough. Taking time is the only way to get where you want safely. Since this tank is pretty long and narrow, do not engage in cramped spaces since you will not be allowed to manoeuvre as you wish. You reverse speed won't allow you to retreat if things get bad around you, stay behind the frontlines, making good use of your armour.

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons) Add-on Armor
weight (tons) 		Max speed (km/h)
32.0 N/A 29.8 (AB)
28.0 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode Stock Upgraded
Arcade 396 488
Realistic/Simulator 272 307
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode Stock Upgraded
Arcade 12.37 15.25
Realistic/Simulator 8.50 9.59

Armaments

Main armament

Main article: SA35 L/17 (75 mm)

With the same gun as most other Rank 2 French tanks, the B1 bis will never be recognized for having a fearsome armament: penetration rates are even lower than most reserve tanks while reload time is twice as long (a known feature of early French tanks). The turreted armament is only good at firing light targets such as SPGs and light tanks. Elevation and depression angles are amazing but turret slewing rate is a bit slow: this tank has been designed to be hull-down. As for the hull-mounted gun, it should only be used as a close range defence device, as it has poor penetration rates and high drop. Exposing your hull-mounted gun for long range engagements does not only makes you vulnerable, it is also mostly ineffective.

75 mm SA35 L/17
Capacity Vertical
guidance 		Horizontal
guidance 		Stabilizer
74 -20°/+25° ±1° N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode Stock Upgraded Prior + Full crew Prior + Expert qualif. Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade __.__ __.__ __.__ __.__ __.__
Realistic __.__ __.__ __.__ __.__ __.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock Prior + Full crew Prior + Expert qualif. Prior + Ace qualif.
__.__ __.__ __.__ __.__
Ammunition
Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
10m 100m 500m 1000m 1500m 2000m
Mle1910M APHE 57 55 52 47 44 37
Mle1915 HE 11 11 11 11 11 11
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Velocity
in m/s 		Projectile
Mass in kg 		Fuse delay

in m:

Fuse sensitivity

in mm:

Explosive Mass in g
(TNT equivalent): 		Normalization At 30°
from horizontal: 		Ricochet:
0% 50% 100%
Mle1910M APHE 500 6.4 1.2 25 90 ° 43° 30° 25°
Mle1915 HE 500 5.6 0.4 0.1 740 +0° 11° 10° 9°
Ammo racks
Ammo racks of the B1 Bis.
Full
ammo 		1st
rack empty 		2nd
rack empty 		3rd
rack empty 		4th
rack empty 		5th
rack empty 		6th
rack empty 		7th
rack empty 		8th
rack empty 		9th
rack empty 		10th
rack empty 		11th
rack empty 		12th
rack empty 		13th
rack empty 		14th
rack empty 		15th
rack empty 		Visual
discrepancy
74 68 (+6) 64 (+10) 62 (+12) 60 (+14) 56 (+18) 53 (+21) 38 (+36) 36 (+38) 25 (+49) 23 (+51) 21 (+53) 14 (+60) 9 (+65) 3 (+71) 1 (+73) no

Additional armament

Main article: SA35 L/32 (47 mm)
47 mm SA35 L/32
Capacity Vertical
guidance 		Horizontal
guidance 		Stabilizer
50 ±18° ±180° Vertical
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode Stock Upgraded Prior + Full crew Prior + Expert qualif. Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade 8.09 11.20 13.6 15.04 16.00
Realistic 5.95 7.00 8.50 9.40 10.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock Prior + Full crew Prior + Expert Qualif. Prior + Ace Qualif.
9.75 8.62 7.95 7.5
Ammunition
Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
10m 100m 500m 1000m 1500m 2000m
Mle1935 APC 69 67 57 48 27 24
Mle1935 HE HE 4 4 4 4 4 4
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Velocity
in m/s 		Projectile
Mass in kg 		Fuse delay

in m:

Fuse sensitivity

in mm:

Explosive Mass in g
(TNT equivalent): 		Normalization At 30°
from horizontal: 		Ricochet:
0% 50% 100%
Mle1935 APC 660 1.6 N/A N/A N/A ° 48° 63° 71°
Mle1935 HE HE 590 1.4 0.4 0.1 143 +0° 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 		7th
rack empty 		Visual
discrepancy
50 39 (+11) 27 (+23) 25 (+25) 23 (+27) 21 (+29) 11 (+39) 1 (+49) No

Machine guns

Main article: MAC 31 (7.5 mm)
7.5 mm MAC 31
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity) Fire rate
(shots/minute) 		Vertical
guidance 		Horizontal
guidance
5,100 (150) 1,350 N/A N/A

Usage in battles

The Char B1, upon playing it for the first time will be slow in both acceleration, max speed and turret rotation speed. the Hull gun is most likely the most frustrating gun to aim because of the limited firing arc it has. The best way to play the B1 bis is to hold down a position, preferably hull down (as its turret is thick and small, it will ricochet most shots it will take). Playing the B1 bis rightly, there is only 3 ways to get killed:

  • Being outflanked by a light tank
  • The enemy has been lucky enough to get a shot through a shot trap
  • Meeting a dangerous gun (see Specific enemies worth noting)

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Overall good armour
  • Very heavy frontal armor for its rank.
  • Strong turret from the front
  • Good at sidescraping (thick sides)
  • Nearly impenetrable hull when angled
  • Armour is quite thick and curvy at the driver's port area
  • Decent firepower
  • One of the best in-game depression (-18°, turret gun)
  • Has 2 main armaments
  • A rare feature on French tanks: it has APHE ammunition.
  • MAC 31 coaxial MG
  • Turret gun has LOCK, which makes stop-and-shoot tactics effective.

Cons:

  • Armour has many shot traps, easing the task of killing it
  • Engine grille on left side is a 15 mm weak point, nullifies angling from this side.
  • Fuel tank behind the grille lights up very often when penetrated.
  • Large turret ring is weak (25-40 mm poorly sloped)
  • Hull gun mount is a weak spot and can be penetrated by most guns of the tier.
  • Crew is cramped
  • Turret rear is only 38 mm thick
  • Has a tall and "thin" cupola
  • Literally has an hallway full of ammo in the back
  • Guns feel lacking
  • Lacking penetration from both of its guns
  • Abysmal traverse on 75 mm gun (~1° left to right)
  • Slow reload on both guns
  • Only stock ammo choices
  • APHE shell won't detonate when shooting at light targets (25 mm or less armour)
  • Hull gun is hard to master (not beginner-friendly)
  • Mobility is subpar
  • Not very mobile due to weight.
  • Slow hull turning rate
  • Reverse speed is low (-3km/h)

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, 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>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • encyclopedia page on the tank;
  • other literature.


France heavy tanks
B1  B1 bis · B1 ter
2C  2C · 2C bis
ARL-44  ARL-44 (ACL-1)
AMX-50  Somua SM · AMX-50 Surbaissé · AMX-50 Surblindé
USA  ▄M4A3E2

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