Shturm-S

Shturm-S

IT-1

Object 775

Shturm-S

IT-1

Object 775

USSR

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	8.7	8.7

Class:

Tank destroyer

ATGM vehicle

Research:160 000

Purchase:450 000

Show in game

Description

The 9P149 Shturm-S is a rank VI Soviet tank destroyer with a battle rating of 8.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	14 mm (54°) Front Plate 7 mm (80°) Upper glacis 14+5 mm (38°) Lower glacis	7 mm (23°) Top 7 mm Bottom	15 mm Middle 7 mm Top/Bottom	7 mm
Turret	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	7 mm (30°)	7 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 10 mm thick while tracks are 15 mm thick.

Pretty much every enemy tank in the game will be able to destroy the Shturm-S including rank 1 anti-air. From the side, within 200 m the crew compartment can be penetrated by 7.62 mm. There are very few areas on this tank that can be hit by a cannon round and survive. Given that this vehicle only has 2 crew and is susceptible to hull break with paper-thin armour, generally, avoid everything. Put a solid piece of dirt between you and the enemy and only shoot if the kill is guaranteed. You are protected from .50 calibre from the front so if need be aim your front to an enemy who still has his heavy mg working. Artillery is especially lethal to this tank, so much so that the vehicle might as well be without armour.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	67	12	11.8	341	458	28.9	38.81
Realistic	62	11		212	240	17.97	20.34

The mobility is best described as nippy but not fast. Compared to Russian tanks of its BR, the Shturm-S is faster but compared to other nations it is slower. The mobility hindrance in higher BRs is much more noticeable for the Shturm-S, being 50% slower than MBTs such as the M1A1. The rear gear only goes up to -10 km/h meaning battle mode can be maintained in reverse. The Shturm-S lacks neutral steering meaning that turning around can take some time.

Armaments

Main armament

Cannon Name					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	__	-__°/+__°	±___°	__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic					__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__

Vehicles use ATGM launchers by using a special handle at its rear. Once the missile is fired, the handle simply discards them and picks up a new one from inside of the tank. The handle is put down if the vehicle speeds up too much - if you need to drive around, use cruise control "combat," which goes forward at a speed of about 10 km/h.

The vehicle can carry up to 12 of missiles. It is best to choose next ATGM before firing the current one because once the handle starts picking the next launcher up, it can't change payload choice or put it back.

When rearming, only the main type of ATGM is rearmed (the one on top-left of "ammo distribution" UI), so choose carefully. Rearming is rather slow with about 35 seconds for one missile.

The list of available ATGM in order of acquirement:

HEAT - Default ATGM, which has about 550 mm penetration. Can deal with anything of BR 8.3-9.3 without much issue, but tanks with heavy NERA or ERA amount can resist it and suffer less than fatal damage.

Tandem HEAT - ATGM with a double payload. Extremely high post-penetration damage. Designed to annihilate ERA and other countermeasures and then destroy the tank in one hit. Each payload can penetrate about 800 mm of armour.

In-game, the tandem missile seems to work this way: If a missile hits something (for example, track or ERA), it explodes, destroying whatever was blocking the way, then the secondary payload is fired in a line in front of ATGM tip, ignoring the first obstacle. If a secondary projectile hits anything important, it tries to penetrate it and explodes. If it doesn't hit anything (the first payload already hit the tank carcass itself) it just returns back to impact point and explodes there instead.

HE - A guided missile with a HE payload. Can penetrate about 55 mm of armour. Almost useless against medium and heavy tanks, especially in up-tier, but hull breaks or destroys light tanks, SPAA and can fatally damage other ATGM carriers. Although it has more penetration the projectile has less shrapnel to its conventional shell counterpart.

Proximity HE - A guided missile specifically designed to destroy planes and helicopters. Has a proximity detonator, which activates after missile flies about 300 m away from carrier, which helps with hitting aircraft despite not having radar or any other targeting devices. While detonator is set to explode next to the aircraft (about 5 m away) if possible, certain support helicopters can survive the explosion. Missile has enough fuel to fly for about 7 km away. Whether Proximity HE can hull break light tanks or not is currently unknown.

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
9M114	ATGM	560	560	560	560	560	560
9M120	ATGM (tandem)	800	800	800	800	800	800
9M120F-1	ATGM-HE	55	55	55	55	55	55
9M220O	ATGM-VT	51	51	51	51	51	51

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%
9M114	ATGM	400	31.4	N/A	0.01	2,470	80°	82°	90°
9M120	ATGM (tandem)	550	49.5	0.2	0.01	3,804	80°	82°	90°
9M120F-1	ATGM-HE	550	49.5	0.2	0.01	6,930	79°	80°	81°
9M220O	ATGM-VT	550	49.5	N/A	0.01	6,160	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
__	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Usage in battles

Overview & Strategies

The Shturm-S can be effective in battles if used correctly. Shturm-S commanders should make sure to use their advantages while playing to negate the weaknesses of the vehicle. For the Shturm-S, playing in a backline role behind cover at medium ranges is the best option. Players should use the thermal sights to spot enemies easily and ambush them while they are not looking. Use of cover is essential due to the total lack of armour on the Shturm, even a .50 cal machine gun can penetrate some points in the frontal armour. It is ill advised to push aggressively in the Shturm due to the ATGM launcher which will retract when moving. Additionally, engaging at long range may be difficult as the ATGMs can take some time to reach the target, meaning the target has plenty of time to move into cover. Using the Shturm at close range is suicidal. Luckily the ATGMs on the Shturm are quite satisfactory. The 9M120 ATGM has a tandem shaped warhead which negates ERA protection, and the 9M220O ATGM has a proximity fuse which can easily destroy helicopters. It is recommended to use these two ATGMs, taking mostly the 9M120 HEAT ATGM to destroy enemy armour, with a few of the 9M220O ATGM to deal with enemy helicopters.

Notable Enemies

There are many notable enemies for the Shturm, being that basically any vehicle in the game armed with anything bigger than a rifle-calibre machine gun is capable of killing it. However, some threats are greater than others. Shturm-S commanders should watch out for:

Autocannon armed vehicles. These will easily shred the Shturm in seconds and should be avoided.

Vehicles with substantial composite armour. Most vehicles at and below the tier of the Shturm-S do not have armour capable of stopping its top ATGM, but many top tier tanks (which the Shturm will face often) such as the M1A2 or Challenger 2 are able to easily stop its ATGM with their thick turret armour. Shturm-S commanders should learn the weak spots of enemy tanks.

Arcade Battles

Unfortunately the Shturm-S is practically useless in Arcade battles. This is because it is a lightly armoured vehicle with an ATGM (which is slower than cannon rounds) and has to wait for its missile launcher to deploy after moving. Being that ambush tactics are not viable in Arcade, the Shturm-S will not be useful.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection		Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts		Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE		9M120
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment		9M120F-1
IV	Transmission	Engine	ESS	9P149M	9M220O

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Access to "Shturm" and "Ataka" ATGMs with a total of four different variants of missiles - HEAT, tandem HEAT, HE-frag, and proximity-fused HE-frag
• Fast-flying, relatively easy to control missiles are great for longer ranges where regular tank shells and shot lose velocity and become hard to hit with
• Can still launch missiles while driving at about 10 km/h (cruise control)
• Very low profile - combined with good positioning, the vehicle can be invisible with only the launcher peeking over a hilltop or wall
• Swims! (capable of travelling across water, although relatively slowly and with poor control)

Cons:

• Poor defence - the armour stops absolutely nothing but 7.62 mm MGs and may protect against 12.7 mm from a further range
• Very vulnerable from the top, making it easy prey from the air - unless equipped with proximity HE ATGM (the last one available for unlock) for self-defence against air targets
• Cannot change missile type mid-reload, nor after one is reloaded
• Rearming is rather slow, and leaves you vulnerable
• Relatively limited arc of fire; while the launcher can rotate quite a bit, either way, the guidance module sits at the front of the vehicle, and after firing at a target located to the sides of the vehicle, the missile will require some distance before flying straight - self-defence for close-range combat is difficult

History

The MT-LB, also known as "Mnogotselevoy Tyagach Legky Bronirovanny" in Russian (which stands for "Multi-Purpose Towing Vehicle Light Armoured"), has been mass-produced since 1966. The vehicle was primarily used as an artillery tractor that acted as a means of transport of the gun crew and ammunition complements. However, as it happens with every well-designed platform, the carrier ultimately became a base for all kinds of armament sets. In the early 70s, the USSR began development of an anti-tank hypersonic missile system with a strike range of up to 5,000 metres for armoured targets. The system received the designation "Shturm" and was intended to be equipped on both air and ground units. In the end, it was the MT-LB that was chosen as the base for the former role. In 1979, the new ground combat vehicle was put into service under the designation 9P149 "Shturm-S".

- From Devblog

Media

The Shooting Range #154 - Metal Beasts section at 00:39 discusses the Shturm-S.

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

• [Devblog] 9P149 "Shturm-S": The Invisible Hunter